STRONGER BY ASSOCIATION
O
ver the years, DSA member executives have shared stories of how joining DSA changed the trajectory of their company’s future for the better.
In 2004, Heidi and I had an idea for a business that led us to the Direct Selling Association.
We know that an after-hours call to then DSA VP of Membership Eileen O’Neil resulted in the launch of Creative Memories. From that conversation, a publishing house executive turned a fledgling product into a line of photo and memory items that launched a decade of scrapbooking success for a generation of direct sellers and their customers.
Through DSA, Heidi and I met friends and mentors who guided us through our company’s initial years. Scentsy is the company it is today because of the lessons learned from the Association and its events.
Consider the lunchtime conversations at DSA conferences that start with a CEO asking another CEO a question about compensation plans. The friendly exchange develops into a wide-ranging discussion covering various topics. From that talk, the CEO concludes that her original idea—had it been pursued—could have bankrupted the company. Outcomes that seem like kismet are commonplace when colleagues and peers come together to engage in the safe, private, and confidential meeting spaces provided by DSA. These in-person opportunities are a catalyst for much more. The direct selling culture of sharing and helping one another is replicated in the Association’s DNA for all its members. THE POWER OF ASSOCIATION: Living DSA’s #SrongerTogether Brand The term direct selling includes more today than even before. Some of direct selling’s brightest brands describe themselves in several ways: social sellers, network marketers, and party plan consultants, as well as door-to-door, person-to-person, and big-ticket distributors. No matter the name, those choosing this go-to-market strategy have the channel in common.
I still remember the first DSA workshops, where speakers inspired us and gave us vision. We met friends, freely compared notes, and learned what it would take to build a great company. DSA ENGAGE and the VISION Sales & Marketing conferences always gave us something to bring back home to put to work right away. Scentsy belongs to DSA for its advocacy work, government relations activities, affinity program, insurance program, and the friends and mentors that come with being a part of this Association. DSA is the reason we go back to our business with the best ideas to make our company the best it can be. —Orville Thompson, Co-CEO, President & Chief of Staff, Scentsy, Inc.
“The Association publishes insights and research on the DSA way of doing business for member dsa-dsj.org
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