January 2021 Direct Selling News

VOLUME 17 / ISSUE 1

JANUARY 2021

THE TIME IS NOW W H AT I T ME A N S T O B E C U S T O ME R - C E N T R I C — A ND W H Y IT M AT TERS MORE TH A N E V ER!

F E AT URE / E-COMMERCE EXCELLENCE F E AT URE / A YEAR OF CHANCE, CHANGE AND CHALLENGES COMPANY PROFILE / RUBY RIBBON: READY FOR LAUNCH

With Gratitude to Our Direct Selling Clients and Partners for Making Exigo the Established Global Leader.

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E-Commerce Excellence B Y N OAH W ESTER LU N D W ITH H E ATH ER MARTI N

2021 A Year of Chance, Change and Challenges B Y W. AL AN LU C E

32 50

SPOTLIGHTS

Ruby Ribbon

Ruby Ribbon: Ready to Launch B Y J EN N Y VE T TER

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W O R K I N G S M A R T/

7 Top Impacts Accelerating Change for the Direct Selling Industry

Reimagine Payouts—From Checks to Tech B Y K AR EN D W O R A CZ Y K

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The Power of Momentum B Y TO N Y J E ARY

IN EVERY ISSUE 4-5 AD INDEX // 7 FROM THE EDITOR // 9 INDUSTRY NEWS // 28 FORWARD THINKING // 79 DSA MESSAGE // 80 VENDOR DIRECTORY //

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Serving the Direct Selling and Network Marketing Executive Since 2004 A SUCCESS Partners Company

COVER STORY

FOUNDER AND CEO

Stuart P. Johnson CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

John Fleming EDITOR

Patricia White editor@directsellingnews.com C R E AT I V E D IR E C T O R

Julio Garcia SENIOR ART DIREC TOR

Susan Douglass ART DIREC TORS

Laura Castillo Jenny Paredes PRODUCTION MANAGER

Virginia Le COPY EDITOR

Peter Tepp BUSINESS DE VELOPMENT MANAGER

Melinda Bogoslavsky advertising@directsellingnews.com

THE TIME IS NOW

What it means to be customer-centric— and why it matters now more than ever!

CONTRIBUTORS

David Lee Heather Martin Sarah Paulk Courtney Roush Jenny Vetter

BY COURTNEY ROUSH

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E D Direct Selling News is excitedE to C present O G N I Zthe

Customer-Centric Recognition (CCR) Program to celebrate companies that are leading the way toward a sustainable, customer-centric future for the industry. Qualifying companies utilize business models that boast high customer-to-distributor ratios and prioritize customer sales.

Submit Your CCR Program Application Today.

The CCR Program is based solely on a company’s customer-to-distributor ratio taking into consideration the following definitions:

■ Distributor—someone who DOES have a distributor agreement in place ■ Customer—someone who

DOES NOT have a distributor agreement in place ■ Active is defi ned as each customer and distributor must have made a product purchase during the last six months. Active customer and distributor counts are limited to those in the U.S. and Canada.

Companies must have been in business for at least one year and have a minimum of $5 million in annual revenue. Qualifying companies must attain: 5:1 up to 10:1 for Gold status and 10:1 or more for Platinum status.

Companies who wish to learn more or to submit an application can go to www.directsellingnews.com/ccr or contact editor@directsellingnews.com

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FROM THE EDITOR Here’s to Brighter Days, Happier Tomorrow and a Healthier New Year!

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APPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. While 2020 will be remembered as a year of adversity and challenges, it was a year of renewed interest and growth in the channel.

In tough times the strong grow stronger, and that is just what our channel did!

The term “customer-centric” isn’t new, but what is new is the unique and expanded opportunities direct selling companies and their distributors now have to serve customers in ways that meet the challenges of our present times. In our cover story, The Time is Now, found on page 40, discover what it means to be customer-centric today.

Noah Westerlund, senior vice president of business development, SUCCESS Partners, and Heather Martin teamed up to bring you four benchmarks to be competitive in the digital marketplace. Check out E-Commerce Excellence on page 32 to read about accessible technology, scalable systems, simple tech processes and meaningful data.

This month we are honored to have Alan Luce contribute a fantastic article on 2021: A Year of Chance, Change and Challenges. On page 50, Alan offers great insights and recommendations on what to think about for the new year—the elements of chance, the impact of change, and challenges facing the industry in 2021.

In this issue, we highlight Ruby Ribbon. “I saw big potential. I saw a company that ought to be four or five times bigger than it was, and with the right amount of execution, could be there,” states Chief Executive Officer Clint McKinlay. On page 58, we highlight how Ruby Ribbon is positioned for an exciting new chapter with a fresh foundation, new team members and new strategies.

One of DSN’s highlights of 2020 was the introduction of our Customer-Centric Recognition Program. We feel it is essential to be a customer-centric industry where we build strong retail bases, and opportunity seekers will follow. Find the latest list of Customer-Centric Recognized companies on pages 24 and 25. If you have any questions or want to apply, visit DirectSellingNews.com/ccr/.

As we focus on what 2021 will bring, let’s strive for a year of resilience—of adapting to the new normal which is a perpetual state of change. To be resilient, we can use our greatest resources—each other. At Direct Selling News, we endeavor to be a source, resource and thought leader for all in the direct selling channel. So, if you have a suggestion, a need or an inspiration to share, please reach out. We would love to hear from you.

Happy New Year,

PATRICIA WHITE | EDITOR | PWHITE@DIRECTSELLINGNEWS.COM FOLLOW US ONLINE:

@directsellingnews

@DSNUpdate

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COMING APRIL 2021!

BEST PLACES TO WORK IN DIRECT SELLING

Last Year’s Best Places To Work

PRESENTED BY DIRECT SELLING NEWS

DIRECT SELLING IS THE ORIGINAL PEOPLE BUSINESS. Measuring field engagement is critical to any company’s success, but the field is only part of the people equation.

Once again, Direct Selling News has partnered with HR technology company Quantum Workplace to celebrate the important role direct selling companies play as employers in the marketplace and to identify the best of the best when it comes to creating engaging work environments. The Best Places to Work in Direct Selling will be featured in a special publication distributed in our April 2021 edition.

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IN THIS ISSUE

T HE MON T H IN NE W S A F F E C T IN G O UR C H A NNE L

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UK DSA Reports 45.5 Percent Channel Growth

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DIREC T SELLING AUDIENCES A RE F OCUSING ON THE P OSITI V E

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ASEA Celebrates Its 10th Anniversary

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Transformation Capital Financial Analysis

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Digital Momentum Rankings

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onsumers Are watching more shortform, fun content according to new research. In a survey of more than 2,000 men and women ages 16-55 and over in the United States, new findings illustrate that Americans are preferring positive content. This research was conducted

by TheSoul Publishing, an independent digital studio, to better understand how the pandemic has impacted the digital viewing preferences and habits of Americans.

Younger audiences have notoriously been drawn to short-form online videos,

made famous by platforms like TikTok, a reiteration of the Vine videos that were wildly popular in 2014, but this new survey points out that the pandemic is pushing a wider swath of consumers to these quick bite-sized entertainment segments.

A sizeable 84 percent of respondents said they spent more or the same amount of time watching these short-form style videos now, during the pandemic, than they did before. These quick videos serve as a distraction, participants said, helping them cope with the difficulties of living life

during a pandemic.

• 30 percent of Americans watch positive short-form videos to improve their mood • 26 percent of Americans watch to gain product ideas and inspiration • 19 percent of Americans watch to escape current news reports Regardless of their reason for turning to quick, positive videos, 78 percent of participants believe feel-…

To read the full news feature, scan the QR Code, or visit http://bit.ly/DSNQR

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T H E Y S A ID I T !

With low overheads and the ability to be far nimbler than many traditional channels, I expect to see strong sales via the channel into 2021, particularly given the considerable growth in people joining brands to earn this way as independent salespeople.

— S U S A N N A H S C H O F I E L D , O B E , D i r e c t o r G e n e r a l o f T h e D i r e c t S e l l i n g A s s o c i a t i o n , U K w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 9

I N D U S T R Y N E W S For full article visit

directsellingnews.com /category/news/

News in Brief

UK DSA Reports 45.5 Percent Channel Growth in 2020

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NewAge and ARIIX Merger

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olorado-based NewAge, Inc. has completed its official acquisition of ARIIX. The merger agreement, which was announced in July of this year, will combine the revenues of these two entities, plus four more e-commerce and direct selling companies: Zennoa, LIMU, MaVie and Shannen.

“We are very pleased to be able to fully converge these great companies now that the merger is complete,” says Brent Willis, NewAge Chief Executive Officer. “Both the revenue and cost synergies of the combined organization will start to be recognized immediately in Q4, in our financial results.”

Together, the companies’ combined annual net revenue is expected to exceed $500 million, with a blended gross margin of 70 percent and an expected EBITDA of more than $30 million. ARIIX’s Chief Executive Officer Fred Cooper will now join the NewAge Board of Directors.

“Completing this merger with NewAge is a tremendous milestone for all of our independent representatives, employees, and customers who have been a part of ARIIX over the last nine years,” Cooper says. “We are better positioned than ever before to continue to disrupt the industry and further our strategy to become the world’s leading social selling and distribution company. We believe providing our representatives with access to more markets, more products, and more opportunities will accelerate our organic growth and incentivize our leaders to grow their businesses at an even faster pace. We believe we are very well positioned to take advantage of global consumer trends to buy direct and capture additional market share.”

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t an industry roundtable event chaired by retail analyst Natlie Berg, the UK industry body, The Direct Selling Association, reported that a survey of its members points to a 45.5 percent growth in sales in the channel in 2020.

Chief executive officers from four of the leading direct selling companies in the UK also discussed current and future trends, including: • The Body Shop at Home is now one of the largest direct selling companies in the UK, with 60,000 distributors.

• Amway UK and Ireland General Manager Andy Smith reported that November 2020 was its strongest sales month in more than 15 years.

“Twenty-twenty has been an immensely disruptive year in retail, and direct selling is emerging as one of the big success stories of the last few months,” says Natalie Berg, Founder of NBK Retail and chair of the roundtable. “Many [direct-toconsumer] brands have demonstrated successful ‘pandemic pivots’ to accelerate digital transformation and adapt the way they do business to suit the changing way in which we are all shopping now in response to the COVID-19 situation. Direct selling will certainly be a channel to watch in 2021.”

The survey also pointed to a strong salesforce, with a 46.4 percent increase in the number of distributors joining in 2020.

Usborne Books at Home, in particular, reported a 101 percent increase in the number of representatives joining the brand.

“We anticipated reasonably strong growth for direct-toconsumer retail at the start of 2020, but no one could have predicted what happened following COVID-19,” says Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General of The Direct Selling Association. “Despite considerable uncertainty for many brands in March and April, direct-to-consumer retailers rapidly adapted to serve customers when other more traditional forms of retail were closed during lockdown. With low overheads and the ability to be far nimbler than many traditional channels, I expect to see strong sales via the channel into 2021, particularly given the considerable growth in people joining brands to earn this way as independent salespeople.”

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I N D U S T R Y N E W S For full article visit

directsellingnews.com /category/news/

Youngevity International, Inc. Receives Notice of Nasdaq Delisting

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oungevity International, Inc. announced that it has received notice from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel that its company’s securities will be delisted from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. This determination was made based upon the company’s non-compliance with the filing requirements set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) for failing to file its Form 10- K .

Youngevity expects its common stock and Series D preferred stock to be eligible to trade on the OTC Markets

system on the same day. Both Series D and OTC Markets stocks will likely continue to be traded under its current trading symbols YGYI and YGIP. “We are in the process of preparing a shareholder communication letter which will provide an update on recent progress that has been made at the company including business highlights, and our plan to become current in our financial reporting and relist on Nasdaq or another national securities exchange,” says Youngevity International, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Wallach.

ASEA Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Reliv International Delists its Common Stock from Trading

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SEA, which has headquarters in Pleasant Grove, Utah, was founded by Tyler Norton in 2010.

The company offers products that utilize molecules native to the human body to enhance vital cellular functions.

“From one country in 2010 to 33 countries in 2020, and from a small production line to a state of the art 66,000 square-foot redox production facility today, I want to thank all of our associates and employees for their contribution to ASEA over these past 10 years,” said Norton. “I could not be more proud of our heritage and the legacy we are creating towards a common mission and vision to positively affect every aspect of health and wellness through our breakthrough redox technology.

Our future is bright and exciting.”

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n December, Reliv International delisted its common stock from trading on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange.

The company announced it will suspend its obligations to file reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission This decision comes voluntarily after the company’s leadership reviewed the financial and administrative burden of its Nasdaq listing. The company’s 1-for-2,000 reverse stock split of its common stock will be immediately followed by a 2,000-for-1 forward stock split, as previously approved by a majority of common stockholders.

Stockholders owning fewer than 2,000 common stock shares will be converted into the right to receive a cash payment of $3.75 per share. Registered stockholders with more than 2,000 common stock shares will not be cashed out and total shares will not change. DSN

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Executive Announcements DR. NICO N. RACZEK, JINA ANSON, JÖRG HÖCHE AND EDOUARD GUG, ASEA Announces Leadership Promotions Jörg Höche is the new Chief Revenue Officer. In his new As the Chief Science Officer, Dr. Nico N. Raczek will lead role, he will oversee global sales growth for ASEA, leading ASEA’s global approach to the power of redox, bringing to his corporate sales and regional teams. role decades of leadership in scientific strategies, new product Edouard Gug is now Vice President, ASEA Europe. Over development, research, and regulatory and scientific affairs. the last four years at ASEA, Gug has successfully developed Jina Anson, the new Chief Marketing Officer, has been and grown the European region. leading ASEA’s global marketing for over a year, preparing ASEA for a new phase of growth and development.

DR. CHRISTOPHER CAIRES AND SUSAN VANDEGRIFT, Solvasa, President and Chief Administrative Officer Dr. Caires, in his new role as President, will manage the product portfolio strategy and develop and oversee the organization’s marketing, digital assets, logistics and supply chain.

Susan Vandegrift, in her new role as Chief Administrative Officer, will be in charge of the organizational functions of the company, including legal, human resources, finance and internal facing information technology.

“Creating what is essentially a new category in the beauty and wellness space is a bold undertaking,” says Lori Bush, Solvasa Co-Founder. “Chris and Susan bring a complement of grit and leadership talent that will advance our purposeful mission and bring vision to fruition.”

BOSCO CHIU AND ALEX AMEZQUITA, Herbalife, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Financial Officer Bosco Chiu will serve as the company’s first-ever chief risk officer.

“With the creation of this new office, our company will become best-in-class in risk management, controls and compliance,” said John Agwunobi, chairman and CEO of Herbalife Nutrition.

In conjunction with this move, Herbalife Nutrition has promoted Alex Amezquita to chief financial officer.

Both Chiu and Amezquita will report directly to Agwunobi and continue to serve on the Executive Committee.

ANDREW ANNOR APO, MyDailyChoice, Vice President Africa Operations Andrew Annor Apo will serve as Vice President of Africa for MyDailyChoice. Before launching MyDailyChoice, Chief Executive Officer and Founder Josh Zwagil was previously a distributor alongside Apo, who has helped launch other companies into the African markets.

“Andrew is an incredible leader and great friend,” Zwagil says. “I’m excited to reunite with him and put together one

of the most dynamic opportunities for affiliates in Africa. I believe we will revolutionize network marketing in Africa.”

MyDailyChoice currently has seven offices and employs 30 staff members in Africa, with a presence in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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JENNA LISONBEE, 4Life, Service Ambassador 4Life announced that Jenna Lisonbee, daughter of 4Life founders David and Bianca Lisonbee, will now take the lead of Foundation 4Life, the company’s nonprofit organization.

Jenna takes the place of former head of Foundation 4Life Catherine Larsen, who will now concentrate on the growing needs of the company’s International Product Registration (IPR) branch.

“Jenna is ready to take the program and fly with it,” Larsen says. “She has great vision for Foundation 4Life, and where she can take this service arm of our company going forward.”

DR. FRED W. COOPER, NewAge, Inc., Board of Directors Dr. Fred W. Cooper, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ARIIX prior to the company’s recent merger, will join the NewAge, Inc. Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Cooper to the board and look forward to working closely with him to further the success of NewAge,” says NewAge Chairman of the Board Greg Fea. “His track record in the industry is unmatched, which along with his diverse experience as a successful business owner, entrepreneur, and a former top executive of a publiclytraded company, significantly strengthens the NewAge Board.”

CHRISTA ACEVEDO, Southwestern Family of Companies, Vice President of Operations Southwestern Family of Companies promotes Christa Acevedo to Vice President of Operations. This new position will be in addition to her current role as Director of Operations.

“In her time with Southwestern Consulting, Christa has implemented systems and processes that advanced the success of the business,” says Dustin Hillis, Chief Executive Officer of Southwestern Family of Companies.

“Christa brings her proven talents, skills, service-minded problem solving and system delivery capabilities to her new role with the family of companies.”

TIM ABNEY, Cosway Beauty Brands, Global Director of Education Cosway Beauty Brands announced it has named Tim Abney as the new Global Director of Education.

“We are incredibly thrilled to have Tim join the CBB team at such a pivotal and exciting time,” says Rick Kornbluth, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cosway Beauty Brands.

“Tim brings a vast knowledge of salon professional education, a fresh perspective, keen eye for detail, and a drive for success that truly sets him apart. We look forward to Tim spreading his magic here.”

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DONNA VALDES AND ALLEN SPENCE, Kynect, Senior Vice President of Sales & Field Development and Senior Vice President of Innovations Dallas-based Kynect announced the additions of Donna Valdes and Allen Spence to its executive team. The hires come as the company readies for continued national expansion.

Valdes brings more than two decades of experience leading multimillion-dollar direct sales operations and will lead as Senior Vice President of Sales and Field Development.

Spence, whose 15 years of career experience in product development and growth and marketing strategies, will serve as Senior Vice President of Innovations, Services and Product.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Allen and Donna to Kynect,” says Kynect Chief Executive Officer Bouncer Schiro. “Our executive team is now fully fleshed out and positioned to drive the nationwide growth we’ve been building toward throughout 2020. With Truvvi launched as our platform for all future growth and the right leadership in place, we’re ready to run.”

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BETTY PEREZ, Jeunesse, President of North America Jeunesse announced it is naming Betty Perez as President of North America.

“We are proud to welcome Betty to the Jeunesse Family,” says Jeunesse Chief Visionary Officer Scott Lewis. “Her distributor-centric mindset, passion for the industry, and commitment to helping others make her a natural fit for Jeunesse. She has a remarkable background in the industry and brings a new perspective to her critical leadership role as our President of North America. Betty has a great vision for our North American market, and I am certain she will play a significant role in our future success.”

Perez brings 12 years of experience in the industry, developing a direct selling platform, leading sales teams and working with distributors.

KATY HOLT-LARSEN, Kyäni, President Health and wellness company Kyäni named Katy Holt-Larsen as the new company President.

Holt-Larsen brings more than 25 years of experience in the direct selling industry, with an emphasis in product development, customer experience and business strategy execution.

“I’m excited to see Katy use her unique experience and insights as both a distributor and corporate executive to work with Kyäni’s field leaders,” says Kyäni Founder and Chairman Carl Taylor. “She has an impressive record of energizing the field, and I believe her leadership will help our business partners continue to grow and flourish.”

DEBORAH D. MCWHINNEY AND MELVIN C. HALL, LegalShield, Board of Directors LegalShield named Deborah D. McWhinney and Melvin C. Hall to its board of directors.

McWhinney, a business leader, and Hall, a civil rights attorney and author, join LegalShield’s mission to “protect and empower people with tools and services needed to affordably live a just and secure life.”

“LegalShield is driven to create a world where access to justice and security are equal for every human,” says LegalShield Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bell. “Debby and Melvin bring the right experience and passion to help us achieve both our corporate and societal goals. Melvin possesses a wealth of insights gained from his service as an assistant district attorney and through his many years of raising awareness on civil rights issues and practicing civil rights law. Debby, in addition to her financial expertise and knowledge of the cybersecurity industry, joins us with an impressive record in advancing women’s workplace equality.” DSN

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In Memoriam Erick Laine and Monty Barber

Former DSA Chairman Erick Laine

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aine served as DSA Chairman from 19941995 and as DSEF Chairman from 1995-1996.

He is remembered by CUTCO/Vector Marketing Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Stitt, Jr. as a charismatic and visionary leader whose contributions to the direct selling community will resonate for generations. Laine was inducted into the DSEF Circle of Honor in 1999 and was honored with the DSA Hall of Fame award in 2002.

“For those of you who never had the opportunity to know Erick, I will always remember him as a storied direct selling leader,” says Joseph N. Mariano, DSA President. “His vision for the channel’s potential is largely responsible for creating CUTCO, one of direct selling’s most legendary brands. We convey our deepest condolences to Erick’s wife Marianne, the entire Laine family, and all whose lives Erick touched.

Direct Selling Advocate Monty Barber

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ormer Direct Selling Association Chairman of the Board of Directors (1983-1984) and Vice Chairman Direct Selling Education Foundation (1984-1985) Monty Barber passed away at the age of 89.

A 1988 DSA Hall of Fame honoree, Barber was a leader in the industry who promoted self-regulation programs and championed ethics. Barber also served as General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Mary Kay, Inc., and manager and Trustee of the Mary Fay Foundation, now known as the Mary Kay Family Foundation.

“On behalf of the entire direct selling community, DSA wishes to extend its deepest condolence to his children Kelly, Brandon, as well as to his family,” says Direct Selling Association President Joseph N. Mariano. DSN

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I N D U S T R Y N E W S

Transformation Capital November Showed Direct Selling Stocks Outperforming Markets.

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OVEMBER REPRESENTED a strong period for direct selling stocks as a whole, as reflected in the Transformation Capital Direct Selling Index (TDSI), which rose an additional 20 percent over the course of the month. Direct selling stocks continue to outperform, driven by exceptional third quarter financial results related to uncommon strength in both domestic and European markets.

The performance of the domestic market points to a record domestic direct selling revenue for 2020. Of the multinationals reporting segmented information, Herbalife reported 55 percent year-over-year growth in North America; Nu Skin reported 81 percent growth in a segment which includes North America; Medifast, a primarily domestic company, reported 43 percent growth; Tupperware reported a growth of 42 percent and USANA reported 12 percent.

“The performance of direct selling stocks, as a group, has been something to watch over the last eight months,” says Stuart Johnson, CEO of Transformation Capital. “Six stocks amongst our tracking set have more than doubled over that period and four are up over 200 percent including gains of 1,080 percent, 497 percent and 458 percent.”

L ARGE-CAP STOCKS Standouts among large-cap stocks include Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED), which advanced an additional 45 percent during November, reporting revenue up nearly 43 percent year-over-year, with a gain of nearly 154 percent since the end of February; Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI) which advanced more than 18 percent during November after a stagnant three months; and eXp World Holdings (NASDAQ: EXPI), which added 25.8 percent to its gains and now stands nearly 458 percent above February levels.

Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE: TUP) advanced an additional 6.1 percent and now stands 1,081 percent above its February 2020 closing price.

Nu Skin Enterprises (NYSE: NUS) rose 5.2 percent and now stands 115.3 percent above its February 2020 closing price. The company grew revenue 19 percent year- over- year.

Herbalife Nutrition, Inc. (NYSE: HLF) reported the largest sales quarter in the company’s history on November 5. HLF now stands 48 percent above its pre-

pandemic levels. The company has more than $1 billion in cash on the balance sheet and, based on its track record, is expected to aggressively return value to shareholders, which would further buoy the stock price.

Medifast, Inc. (NYSE: MED) now stands 153.8 percent above its February 2020 closing price. The stock has steadily advanced and now sits in a consolidating pattern, above $200, after setting a 52-week high on November 30.

USANA Health Sciences, Inc. (NYSE: USNA) declined 0.6 percent in spite of reaching $298.5 million in third quarter revenue, well ahead of analyst consensus estimates of $280 million. EPS increased 32 percent and represented a record quarter for the company. eXp World Holdings (NASDAQ: EXPI) rose an additional 25.8 percent and remains a top leader with the tracking set, posting gains of 458 percent since the end of February.

Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI) advanced 18.5 percent, and revenue and EPS grew 9 percent and 23 percent yearover-year respectively, compared to analyst expectations of 4 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.

SM A LL-C A P S T OCK S The group as a whole performed well, with 5 of the 8 companies included posting gains of 10 percent or more.

NewAge, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBEV) gained an additional 46 percent, buoyed by optimism surrounding its merger with ARIIX, while Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:

This is a summarized report; for more information, please contact info@transformationcap.com.

NATR) rose 19 percent and has now advanced 51.6 percent during the pandemic period.

NewAge, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBEV) rose 46.6 percent and now stands 69.8 percent above its February close.

Management expects the recent merger with ARIIX to result in a combined entity with more than $500 million in annual revenue and to realize cost synergies of more than $20 million.

Sharing Services Global Corporation (OTCBB: SHRG), the parent company of Elepreneurs, advanced an additional 22.6 percent and now stands 500 percent above its February 2020 close.

Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc. (NASDAQ: NATR) rose 19 percent and has now advanced 51.6 percent during the pandemic period. The company reported its highest revenue quarter in company history and a more than fourfold increase in EPS. L OOK ING F OR WA RD “With a remarkable, to say the least, 2020 coming to end, we find ourselves taking stock of what has transpired and, more importantly, what to expect in the future,” says Stuart Johnson, CEO of Transformation Capital. “The question now becomes what’s next? We believe the market dynamics that have driven performance in the pandemic era have not changed and will not change quickly. As a result, we believe that at least the first half of 2021 will continue the current trend of strong growth across the majority of the industry.” DSN

TRANSFORMATION CAPITAL, LLC is a boutique investment banking, business development and corporate finance advisory firm primarily focused on the direct selling vertical, as well as ancillary businesses. Located in Dallas, Texas, Transformation’s core service offerings include both buy and sell-side M&A advisory, equity and debt financing, as well as joint venture and partnership opportunities. For more information please visit our website at: www.transformationcapital.com

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DIREC T SELLING

Digital Momentum Rankings Direct Selling News in partnership with Transformation Capital presents the third Direct Selling Digital Momentum Rankings monthly list. The purpose of these rankings continues to be to evaluate and acknowledge the companies experiencing significant growth in their online presence within the last 30 days.

Components

The list represents months of analysis across the three core pillars of social media marketing: web traffic & SEO analysis, Facebook activity, and Instagram activity.

Eligibility

A company is included in the Transformation Capital Direct Selling Momentum ranking when it has an active website, at least one active social media account, and at least 50,000 followers or fans for a single account (Facebook or Instagram).

As noted, our initial ranking methodology focuses exclusively on three primary drivers of online presence: web traffic, Facebook activity, and Instagram activity. We’ve aggregated roughly a dozen metrics from these three sources and assessed their change over the last thirty days in an attempt to measure the growth in a company’s online audience, or momentum.

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A brief explanation of Transformation Capital’s proprietary methodology follows:

Web Traffic & SEO

We analyze web traffic statistics as a measure of general interest, including searches, visits and clicks on a company’s domain.

Additionally, we analyze third-party referrals and associated keywords and popular phrases across the web. By assessing change in these metrics over time, we estimate demand for the company across the web.

Facebook & Instagram Activity

We gather a collection of thirty-day metrics to assess social attention, engagement, momentum and brand awareness.

A Note on Facebook vs. Instagram

To ensure appropriate credit is given, our metric analysis considers which platform– Facebook or Instagram—appears to be the primary for each company. As an example, if a company has 20,000 Instagram followers and 80,000 Facebook fans, all Facebookrelated metrics will be weighted at 80 percent (80/100) of the total weighted social media metric score.

DECEMBER’S RANKING LIST debuts an adjustment to our social media engagement metrics: While we continue to prioritize growth in fan/follower count and organic web traffic, the ranking now gives more weight to the change in continued community engagement (primarily likes) than prior lists. This change benefits any organization, small or large, with an active and thriving social media community.

DECEMBER’S

TOP 50

MOMENTUM R ANKINGS ARE:

# COMPAN Y NAME

# COMPAN Y NAME

1 FORE VER LIVING

2 6 TUPPERWARE

2 JEUNESSE

2 7 MONAT

3 JUICEPLUS

2 8 ISAGENIX

4 K YANI

2 9 TRUV Y

5 EPICURE

3 0 OP TAVIA

6 AVON (LGHNH)

31 USANA

7 KELLER WILLIAMS

3 2 NU SKIN

8 BE ACHBODY

3 3 AMWAY

9 NATURE’S SUNSHINE

3 4 LE-VEL

10 A C N

3 5 YOUNIQUE

11 UNICIT Y

3 6 JAFR A

12 HERBALIFE

3 7 LEGALSHIELD

13 DŌTERR A

3 8 X YNGUL AR

14 4LIFE

3 9 LIMELIFE

15 PLE XUS

4 0 YOUNG LIVING

16 MASKCAR A

41 MARKE T AMERICA

17 USBORNE BOOKS

4 2 PAPAR A ZZI

18 E XP RE ALT Y

4 3 MARY K AY

19 HEMPWOR X

4 4 TLC

2 0 PRINCESS HOUSE

4 5 IT WORKS!

21 MEL ALEUCA

4 6 MODERE

2 2 SCENTSY

4 7 CABI

2 3 PART YLITE

4 8 NEOR A

2 4 COLOR STREE T

4 9 BE AUT YCOUNTER

2 5 WORLDVENTURES

5 0 RE VITAL U

For more information or questions, submit your inquiry to editor@directsellingnews.com.

This is a summarized report; for more information, please contact info@transformationcap.com.

TRANSFORMATION CAPITAL, LLC is a boutique investment banking, business development and corporate finance advisory firm primarily focused on the direct selling vertical, as well as ancillary businesses. Located in Dallas, Texas, Transformation’s core service offerings include both buy and sell-side M&A advisory, equity and debt financing, as well as joint venture and partnership opportunities. For more information please visit our website at: www.transformationcapital.com

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ER CE N OM T T R S

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CCR

ER CE N OM T T R S

P L A T I N U M

D E C O G N I Z E

Be Customer‑ CCR Centric Recognized.

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D E C O G N I Z E

The CCR Program is based

solely on a company’s customer-

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definitions:

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ER CE N to-distributor ratio taking O M T T R S into consideration the following

Distributor—someone

who DOES have a distributor agreement in place n

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DOES NOT have a distributor agreement in place n

Active is defined as each

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D E C O G N I Z E

customer and distributor must

Direct Selling News is excited to present the Customer-Centric

have made a product purchase during the last six months. Active

Recognition (CCR) Program to celebrate companies that are leading the

customer and distributor counts

way toward a sustainable, customer-centric future for the industry. Qualifying

are limited to those in the U.S.

companies utilize business models that boast high customer-to-distributor

and Canada.

ratios and prioritize customer sales.

Companies must have been in business for at least one year and have a minimum of $5 million in annual revenue. Qualifying companies must attain: 5:1 up to 10:1 for Gold status and 10:1 or more for Platinum status.

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Companies who wish to learn more or submit a CCR Program Application can go to www.directsellingnews.com/ccr/ or contact editor@directsellingnews.com

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IRECT SELLING COMPANIES with a strong retail base of satisfied customers are

experiencing impressive growth and deserve recognition and acknowledgment for their S

ER CE N OM T

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efforts. With evolving consumer expectations and regulatory scrutiny, customer‑centric equals U

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IC

CCR

success for everyone—distributors, direct selling companies, and the channel as a whole.

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D Z E

O G N I The DSN Customer-Centric Recognition Program acknowledges these companies.

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CCR P L A T I N U M R

D E C O G N I Z E

P L AT I N U M 10:1 and above

MONAT GLOBAL

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NEORA

BHIP GLOBAL, INC.

PERFECTLY POSH

IT WORKS!

TOTAL LIFE CHANGES

KYNECT

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IC

CCR

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GOLD 5:1 up to 10:1

D E C O G N I Z E

ER CE N OM T

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CCR

S

P L A T I N U M R

D E C O G N I Z E

LE-VEL

LULAROE

NU SKIN, INC.

SCENTSY, INC.

SOMETIMES YOU NEED A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE Adding expert content to your event strategy (virtual or in-person) is one of the best ways to invest in your distributors’ success. Our editors have put together a list of the best motivational speakers to inspire, educate and motivate your field.

SHAWN ACHOR

MICHAEL BERNOFF

shawnachor.com

michaelbernoff.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

BRANDY

MICHAEL BERNOFF

SHAWNACHOR.COM/CONTACT/SPEAKING-INQUIRIES

INFO@MICHAELBERNOFF.COM

GOODTHINKINC@GMAIL.COM

866.241.5111

_____________________________

_____________________________

JOHN ADDISON

BRENE BROWN

johnaddisonleadership.com

brenebrown.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

DAYNA STUCKEY

SPEAKERS OFFICE

470.208.3124

SPEAKERSOFFICE.COM/SPEAKERS/DR-BRENE-BROWN

DAYNA@JOHNADDISONLEADERSHIP.COM

_____________________________

_____________________________

ANDY ANDREWS

LES BROWN

andyandrews.com

lesbrown.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

PREMIER SPEAKERS BUREAU

LES BROWN

615.261.4000

LESBROWN.COM/BOOK-LES

800.726.2639

954.724.0990

_____________________________

_____________________________

SIMON T. BAILEY

BRENDON BURCHARD

simontbailey.com

brendon.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

SIMON T. BAILEY

KAREN GELSMAN

HELLO@SIMONTBAILEY.COM

KAREN@BRENDON.COM

888.592.1820

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BOB BURG

CONNIE PODESTA

burg.com

conniepodesta.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

BOB BURG

CONNIE PODESTA

BOB@BURG.COM

CONNIE@CONNIEPODESTA.COM

_____________________________

_____________________________

RITA DAVENPORT

MEL ROBBINS

ritadavenport.com

melrobbins.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

RITA DAVENPORT

DARRIN POWELL | POWELL SPEAKERS

RITADAVENPORT@COX.NET

DARRIN@POWELLSPEAKERS.COM

_____________________________

_____________________________

AMANDA GORE

TONY ROBBINS

amandagore.com

tonyrobbins.com

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

AMANDA GORE

GALE STOIA

ADMIN@AMANDAGORE.COM / 214.469.9764

GALES@TONYROBBINS.COM / 858.775.1020

AMANDAGORE.COM/CONTACT

_____________________________

_____________________________

KINDRA HALL

JAY SHETTY

kindrahall.com

jayshetty.me

POINT OF CONTACT:

POINT OF CONTACT:

KINDRA HALL

JEANETTE FERNANDEZ | POWELL SPEAKERS

KINDRA.HALL@KINDRAHALL.COM / 800.258.3719

JEANETTE@POWELLSPEAKERS.COM

KINDRAHALL.COM/CONTACT

_____________________________

_____________________________

ROBERT KIYOSAKI

CHRIS WIDENER

richdad.com POINT OF CONTACT: CHRISTINA INGEMANDSDOTTER CHRISTINA@RICHDAD.COM

chriswidener.com POINT OF CONTACT: CHRIS WIDENER WIDENERGROUP@GMAIL.COM

_____________________________

_____________________________

JOHN MAXWELL

DON YAEGER

johnmaxwell.com POINT OF CONTACT:

donyaeger.com POINT OF CONTACT:

CHAD JOHNSON

DON YAEGER

CHAD.JOHNSON@JOHNMAXWELL.COM

DON@TEAM180.COM / 850.412.0300

_____________________________

JOSEPH MCCLENDON josephmcclendon.com POINT OF CONTACT: JOSEPH MCCLENDON JOSEPHMCCLENDON.COM/SPEAKING

_____________________________

IT ONLY TAKES ONE IDEA TO SPARK MOMENTUM! Contact a Speaker Today.

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F O R W A R D T H I N K I N G

THE NEW FACE-TO-FACE

How to make in-person events safe & effective.

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HILE VIRTUAL MEETINGS have become a necessity in the “COVID economy,” in-person meetings and presentations are slowly starting to reemerge. They may look and feel a bit different. Still, with proper planning, expectations and safety measures, the positive impact of meeting and building relationships in-person can resume as a fundamental aspect of what makes the direct selling industry so unique.

Many companies and organizations inside and outside the industry are already rediscovering an appreciation and the value of getting people together. One Harvard Business School study found that face-to-face meetings are 34 times more successful than simply using email. In a Forbes Insight study, 85 percent of people said they build stronger, more meaningful business relationships during in-person meetings and conferences.

“They allow salespeople to make personal connections, build rapport and deepen relationships,” says an article on ResourcefulSelling.com about in-person meetings. “Personal meetings also give salespeople better opportunities to clarify complex information, understand customers’ situations and challenges, and negotiate in good faith with winning results.”

DON ’ T S T IF L E C OMMUNIC AT ION Body language and facial expressions are critical for effective communication. While masks are worn in public, communication can be disconnected and result in misunderstandings. Maintaining clear communication in meetings and conferences can be difficult. Offer see-through face shields so attendees can better see full facial expressions.

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Masks can muffle voices, so provide microphones when possible. Find other ways to allow attendees to communicate.

Use video boards and whiteboards in clear view so attendees can follow along and have a visual representation of the presentations. Consider giving attendees small, individual whiteboards and markers. This can help increase engagement when close physical proximity isn’t possible. Conducting polls or Q&A sessions can also help engagement.

13 -P OIN T CHE CK L IS T F OR ORG A NIZING S A F E A ND EF F E C T I V E IN-P ER S ON MEE T ING S Successful Meetings, a meeting and convention strategy resource provider, offers these tips for setting up safety guidelines, scheduling, and food and beverage planning.

SCHEDULING AND PLANNING 1. Give attendees a bag with branded face masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and a touchless door opener. This helps people feel comfortable when entering the event.

2. Health-screen attendees at the main entrance, checking temperatures and asking about health symptoms. Have attendees fill out an email health survey before the event.

3. Place sanitizing stations evenly throughout the venue space so that attendees don’t have to walk a long distance.

Schedule time for cleaning and sanitizing rooms and equipment between meetings or sessions.

HOW RISKY IS YOUR EVENT? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines for the risk of spreading COVID-19 at events and gatherings (as of November 2020).

LOWEST RISK

4. Avoid crowd bottlenecking by staggering entry and on-site registration times.

5. Have attendees pre-register enough in advance to determine room capacity for individual sessions.

6. Plan for overflow areas if rooms reach capacity.

Livestream speakers in overflow rooms, or consider livestreaming the event on screens throughout the venue.

FOOD AND BEV ER AGE 7. Traditional self-serve buffets aren’t plausible right now.

Try serving individually-packaged food such as boxed lunches, snacks and bottled beverages as opposed to self-serve pitchers.

8. If you have a bar, create a batched cocktail menu or serve canned wines and bottled beers.

9. For outdoor spaces, use food trucks spaced out to avoid clustering in lines.

ORGANIZING THE V ENUE 10. Use large plants to create boundaries between seating setups. Large floral arrangements on tables can help create space. If you can’t separate seats, place pillows or signs to block off seats enough to create space.

12. Arrange seating at larger tables to allow for the maximum amount of space. Set up small tables with two or three seats to encourage smaller gatherings.

Virtual-only activities, events, and gatherings.

MORE RISK Smaller outdoor and in-person gatherings in which individuals from different households remain spaced at least 6 feet apart, wear masks, do not share objects, and come from the same local area (e.g., community, town, city, or county).

HIGHER RISK Medium-sized in-person gatherings that are adapted to allow individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and with attendees coming from outside the local area.

HIGHEST RISK Large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area.

13. Use outdoor spaces that give attendees more room to spread out. Consider trendy seating elements like spacious outdoor igloos, huts, or yurts for smaller groups to host guests. DSN w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 2 9

F O R W A R D T H I N K I N G

MUST READS BELIEVE IN MORE: THE VALUES THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF MY LIFE. Author: Tyler J. Ross—A Passionate Autobiography of Jack Fallon

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ho knew the lessons we learned at Grandma’s also apply to running multimillion-dollar businesses?! Detroit native and CEO of Total Life Changes, Jack Fallon, created his global company built on advice from…his grandma! In Jack Fallon’s autobiography, Believe in More, he details seven core values he learned from the women in his life and how those values became the foundation for his wildly successful company. Believe in More outlines how Jack built his company and offers advice to young entrepreneurs. This book should inspire others to achieve success with a spirit of gratitude in both their personal and professional lives.

ATOMIC HABITS: AN EASY & PROVEN WAY TO BUILD GOOD HABITS & BREAK BAD ONES Author: James Clear (Avery, 2018)

A

tomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving—every day. James Clear, one of the world’s leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible.

HAVE A LISTEN

HOW TO HAVE YOUR BEST YEAR EVER

By Jim Rohn (Nightingale-Conant, 1997)

E

xperience a year unlike any you’ve known before! Imagine yourself as the person you’ve always wanted to be. How far are you from that vision today? Whether you’re a short step or a long journey away, this energizing and highly motivating audiobook will give you the tools and confidence you need to get all the way there—and then go miles beyond it! In How to Have Your Best Year Ever, Jim Rohn acts as your guide toward guaranteed personal and professional success. This four-audio session

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delivers dozens of proven ways to transform you, including how to: • Keep your priorities straight • Release yourself from the crowd of followers • Reverse failure by uncovering the essence of it • Make yourself more valuable • Discover the four “seasons” of opportunity and make them work for you • Ignite your ambition and launch yourself to the highest heights • And much more! DSN

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OU R SE RVICES I NCLU DE: ■ Gateway connectivity

to accept payments in 50 countries in 150 currencies.

■ Secure tokenization

technology.

■ Connectivity, APIs, and

systems linking to the most common global alternative payment types out of the box.

■ Comprehensive fraud

DON’T LET SALES SLIP AWAY BECAUSE OF UNSUPPORTED PAYMENT TYPES… CONNECT WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS IN THEIR LANGUAGE AND CURRENCY OF CHOICE! LaCore Payment Technologies helps you deliver a customerfriendly, global payment & checkout experience designed to support the needs of direct sellers worldwide. Our state of the art technology platform delivers international payment expertise directly in digital form, integrated with a variety of other tools and services to help you meet any challenge—across multiple payment types, anytime, anywhere—across the globe!

With years of industry experience and the latest in machine learning and data processing technologies, we provide a customer-focused, customized gateway platform that helps you maximize revenue, control costs and deliver an excellent customer experience. Open new markets and grow sales internationally on a platform that will grow with you!

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management solution build on the latest machine learning and artificial intelligence tools.

■ Proprietary Fraud Hawk tool

to analyze fraud patterns and fraud networks in depth so you can stay above the fray.

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F E A T U R E /

E - C O M M E R C E

E X C E L L E N C E

E-Commerce Excellence Four tech benchmarks you must meet to be competitive in the digital marketplace.

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BY

N O A H W E S T E R L U N D , NO W Technologies W ITH

H E AT H E R

M A R T I N

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F E A T U R E /

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E X C E L L E N C E

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S IF THE DELIVERY truck caravans in our neighborhoods and the cardboard stacks in our garages weren’t proof enough of a pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom, look at the data: Online retail sales for the third quarter of 2020 were nearly 40 percent higher than for the same period in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

And Statista predicted that by the end of last year, global e-commerce sales would reach $4.2 trillion and make up 16 percent of total retail sales.

These numbers will likely increase as the world battles another COVID-19 surge that has sent us home to wait, work and shop. Is your company’s technology on point to meet this constant and rising demand from virtual distributors and customers? If you can answer “yes” to these four questions, or if you can at least see “yes” on the horizon, you are in the game and maybe even ahead of it.

1. IS YOUR TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBLE? 2. IS YOUR SYSTEM SCALABLE? 3. ARE YOUR TECH PROCESSES SIMPLE? 4. DO YOU COLLECT MEANINGFUL DATA?

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“

Technology that makes shoppers feel seen and taken care of has a direct effect on your top line.

W H AT A C CE S SIBL E T E CHNOL O G Y LOOKS LIKE It’s personalized. When we log into our Amazon accounts, we don’t have to remember the name of the masks we bought last time because Amazon has conveniently kept a record of our purchases and lets us purchase them again with just a few clicks.

Amazon and other leading online retailers go to great lengths to know what we want and even what we didn’t know we wanted.

They do this through sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) tools that help them learn and

leverage individual shopper preferences and predict future purchases. AI must be part of your tech strategy this year if it’s not already. Analysts at Juniper Research predict that online sellers will spend $7.3 billion on AI by 2022.

Technology that makes shoppers feel seen and taken care of has a direct effect on your top line, say e-commerce experts at BigCommerce: Personalized e-commerce site experiences have been shown to have a strong effect on revenue, with one study finding that such sites saw a 25 percent revenue lift. Recent data also shows personalization efforts can reduce bounce rates by 45 percent.

It’s optimized. We all know what responsive websites are— they rearrange content to be effectively displayed on whatever screen (mobile, tablet, computer) someone is looking at. But take this a step further: What customers see when they login to their account on your site should feel familiar to them and be different than what distributors see. For example, a customer should see the latest products and content that helps them learn about what those products can do for them.

The distributor view would include product info, too, but also content relevant to business building and customer recruiting.

Regardless of the audience, pay particular attention to how well your mobile interface works, because according to Statista, 73 percent of e-commerce sales will occur on mobile devices by the end of 2021.

73 %

of e-commerce sales will occur on mobile devices by the end of 2021.

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Make sure your technology supports the languages of all of your customers and distributors and that the content in those languages is easy to find.

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W H AT A S C A L A BL E S Y S T EM LOOKS LIKE It’s big and small. They work just as well for one-to-one marketing—when a distributor is talking directly to a friend and sharing a product—as they do for engaging hundreds through social media or other platforms.

It’s fluid and integrated. Your website talks to your back-office systems, which communicate with your mobile app and your selling system.

All of this technology also should easily be able to grow as your business grows.

It translates well. Not all cloud platforms are created equal. If you’re doing business internationally, make sure your platform meets the privacy laws (General Data Protection Regulation in Europe, for example) in the countries and on the continents where you’re doing business. Also, make sure your technology supports the languages of all of your customers and distributors and that the content in those languages is easy to find.

W H AT SIMP L E T E CH PROCESSES LOOK LIKE Most distributors are not internet marketers or e-commerce experts. That doesn’t mean they are not capable of learning a few skills, but you want them to spend most of their time creating relationships and selling. Your systems (mobile app, business creation and operation tools, etc.) should not require highly specialized knowledge or experience to use.

Take a “McDonald’s approach” to creating the tech tools that distributors use. They should be easy to learn and work the same way, reliably, every time. Think about it the way journalists are taught to write their stories, which is to write them so that the average middle schooler or high schooler can understand them.

On the flip side, make it as easy as possible for shoppers to move through your system. Of course, one of the most important shifts in our industry in the last few years has been to allow customers to purchase products without signing

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Take a ‘McDonald’s approach’ to creating the tech tools that distributors use. They should be easy to learn and work the same way, reliably, every time. up to become a distributor. If you haven’t embraced that concept yet, that needs to be your first order of business.

Beyond that, consider the journey a prospect takes from browser to buyer, and make it as pleasant as possible, especially at the point of purchase. One of the biggest challenges for online retailers is cart abandonment when shoppers get to that last step and then bail because the checkout process is onerous.

According to some research, the average e-commerce store loses between 75 percent and 83 percent of its sales to cart abandonment. So, make sure your transaction process is easy, quick and secure—and consider allowing shoppers to:  Check out as a guest, without creating a profile or an account; (Capture them as a lead and consider creating a lead program for your field).  Opt-out of marketing emails.  Choose from a range of common payment methods, including alternative options like PayPal and Apple Pay as well as credit cards besides Visa and MasterCard.

For customers and distributors, connecting with someone at your company when they have questions should be easy, too. When you have a question about a product or process, there’s nothing more frustrating than not being able to communicate with someone who can help.

Whether it’s an email address, a phone number or a live chat—provide clear, accessible user support options.

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faster response time. One study found that more than 60 percent of customers report that they actually prefer it when websites, apps or chatbots answer their simpler inquiries.

W H AT ME A NINGF UL D ATA L O OK S L IK E It starts with Google. From basic demographic and geographic information about your website visitors to such metrics as click-through rate, cost per lead and cost per acquisition, Google Analytics is critical. They help you understand who comes to your door (and where they live, what they like), who comes through the door, and who spends money while they’re there.

It gives you deeper insights. Collecting data and knowing how to navigate and act on the data is the difference between just having information and gaining valuable knowledge.

60%

of customers report that they actually prefer it when websites, apps or chatbots answer their simpler inquiries.

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Collecting data and knowing how to navigate and act on the data is the difference between just having information and gaining valuable knowledge.

For example, are you collecting data that tells you the average number of first-touch pieces (product samples, videos, texts, calls) a distributor needs to share in order to enroll a new customer? If your system doesn’t match activity data with transactional data, you’ll never know—and you’ll never know how effective (or ineffective) your sales system or its components are.

It distinguishes correlation from causation. If your data analytics are strategic, you will be able to tell when you’ve acquired a customer as a direct result of a certain marketing campaign and when a campaign simply coincided with that new enrollment.

R E S O LV E T O UP Y O UR T E C H G A ME If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that things can and will change quickly. Those who are prepared to pivot reap the benefits, and those who are not prepared scramble to catch up.

Most of you quickly went virtual last year when the pandemic forced us to keep our distance. You probably discovered technological capabilities you didn’t know you had, and you also probably learned where your systems are vulnerable or lagging. Make 2021 the year you invest in and build on your areas of tech strength and address your tech challenges aggressively. DSN

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A boutique investment banking, business development and corporate finance advisory firm with a primary focus on the direct selling vertical.

Stuart Johnson, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SUCCESS Partners and Direct Selling News, is a cofounder of the new firm. Transformation Capital’s experience and relationships are unmatched within the direct selling community.

SERVICES OFFERED INCLUDE: • Buy side and sell side M&A advisory • Equity and debt financing • Proprietary transactions • Joint venture and partnership opportunities • Institutional advisory

The firm has quickly established itself as a significant resource for direct selling industry participants and is actively engaged in the marketing of potential transactions in excess of $700 million.

Visit us on the web at: www.transformationcap.com or contact our partners directly as follows: info@transformationcap.com | 214-308-6020

Stuart Johnson, Partner | spj@transformationcap.com Ryan Bright, Partner | jrb@transformationcap.com

THE TIME IS

N W H O W W H AT I T ME A N S T O B E C U S T O M E R - C E N T R I C

—A ND W H Y IT M AT T ERS MORE T H A N E V ER !

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We would be crazy to think that the global pandemic will not shift our model in some capacity permanently.

— SARAH BJORGAARD, Regional President of Nor th America for Young Living

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N TOUGH TIMES, the strong grow stronger. The organizations that will perform the best through this period and beyond will be those that maintain a strong customer-centric focus while dealing with the complexity, uncertainty and risk that cloud the business landscape. This means knowing the sources of risk and opportunity within the global customer base. It means finding new routes to reaching customers—increasingly, through channels that customers control. And it means focusing less on driving customer transactions for short-term gain, and more on fostering trust-based relationships over the long term,” quoted in Why Customer Centricity Matters, Accenture.

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The term “customer-centric” isn’t new. Leaders in USAGE TAGLINED marketing and academia have been usingOF it for years—and, long LOGOS before the global pandemic began, direct selling companies tagline "AUDIT.TAX.ADVISORY" were giving thought to how theyThe could either implement only accompanies the logo in circumstances where contextby requires or enhance the customer loyaltyclarification programs offered their about what Squire can do for current and potential customers independent distributors. (the audience).

What is new are the unique and expanded opportunities For example, Squire.com and its subsequent web pages feature the one-have that direct selling companies and their distributors now tagline version (HIGHER to serve customers in ways that PERSPECTIVE meet the challenges of our ONLY) of the Squire logo because the subpage content present times. The ability to serve themthewithout compromising throughout site provides adequate context to visitors. the highly personalized service those customers expect. In so On the other hand, if the team attends doing, they underscore the adaptability of thetrade direct selling a national financial show where Squire should differentiate itself from a neighboring financial software company, then trade show banners need to include the tagline, “Audit-TaxAdvisory.”

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AUDIT · TAX · ADVISORY

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business model while positioning distributors to attract new customers as well as repeat orders from their existing customers. At a time when so many brick-and-mortar retailers are limiting foot traffic or closing their doors altogether, direct selling is poised not only to survive, but also to thrive.

That’s why so many direct selling companies have been giving serious thought to what customer-centric means in 2021.

Just as corporations and organizations among nearly every industry sector have speculated that a remote workplace may be the new normal, direct selling leaders are considering that customer engagements are likely to be more digital in nature, not just until we find a cure or a vaccine for coronavirus, but perhaps indefinitely.

“Certainly, the way we’ve done business in the past will not be how we do business moving forward,” says Sarah Bjorgaard, Regional President of North America for Young Living. “We would be crazy to think that the global pandemic will not shift our model in some capacity permanently.”

A streamlined yet personalized shopping experience is one the consumer is more likely to repeat—especially given the alternative of waiting outside of a retail location in a socially distanced line. From the distributor’s standpoint, repeat sales mean long-term or even lifetime customers—the hallmark of a strong direct selling business. Those loyal customers are not only brand advocates; they’re the distributor’s advocates—and they may become distributors themselves.

Direct Selling News covered the topic of “customer centrism” throughout 2020 and, in the process, we learned a lot about how companies throughout the industry are approaching this opportunity. Based on all of those interviews and interactions, it’s clear to us that the time is now for all direct sellers to explore and understand what customer-centric will mean to our business model and to capitalize on this moment in time to raise the bar on how we attract, serve and ultimately retain customers.

THE EVOLUTION OF 'CUSTOMER CENTRIC' Ours is an industry-created with a mission to facilitate personal interactions between distributors and customers.

While personalized service and strong customer relationships remain the hallmark of direct sales, the methods distributors use to serve their customers have changed. Originally, distributors purchased products from their companies at wholesale prices, then resold them to customers at a suggested retail price—either in person or via a personal website.

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Today, distributors build independent micro-enterprise direct selling businesses by promoting the products and services they represent through personalized, casual and friendly marketing efforts using the most popular social and digital tools supported by an e-commerce platform. The focus is on delivering an experience that transcends the transaction.

In fact, the experience may even be more important than the price, even in times of economic uncertainty.

Customer-centrism affects the distributor’s role, as well; in North America, distributors no longer have to carry large inventories because direct selling companies are handling the order processing, fulfillment and payment of commissions— usually within the same week, and soon perhaps even within hours of the transaction. So, while highly personalized customer service remains the cornerstone of direct sales, the industry has been hard at work to raise the bar on convenience factor not only for customers but also for distributors— simultaneously making it easier for customers to buy and reorder our products and lowering the barriers to starting a business for existing and potential distributors.

Being customer-centric involves more than just asking what your customers want. It’s about having the data to back up those assertions, acknowledging when changes to your business model are in order, and then following through on those modifications, even if they involve an element of risk, uncertainty or trial and error. It’s also about embracing the fact that you’re going to have to make periodic tweaks to your system because with customers as well as with technology, change is constant.

“Many of us have been in the industry for 10, 15, 20-plus years. It’s imperative to realize that change is critical for growth,” says Bjorgaard. “That means that the way we used to do business to achieve our goals is not the way we will do business tomorrow to achieve our goals. The industry is changing, consumers expect more in order to shop with us, and building a community of followers connected to a larger purpose is essential. Leaders of tomorrow will need to embrace change, see the future, build a strategy to get there and become an expert vision-caster.”

The overriding objective behind adopting a more customercentric focus and remaining open to continuous evolution is to help your distributors grow their customer base and keep them—to achieve that holy grail of sales, the repeat customer.

“We’re finding that, especially with younger generations,

“

If you don’t focus on your customers, you’ll be found out quickly.

We’ve been in business for 15 years, and we’ll continue to focus on our customers.

— MARK “BOUNCER” SHIRO, CEO, Kynect

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As we see this new generation of social sellers join the business, we know that they want on-the-go options to grow a business anytime, anywhere.

— M A R K PE N T E C O S T, C EO, I t Work s !

they aren’t forming opinions on our company solely based on the products. They’re also looking at a company’s ethics, practices, and social impact,” says Kindsey Pentecost, It Works! Chief Marketing Officer. At the beginning of 2020 before the pandemic began, It Works! launched a sampling app that allowed distributors to share the company’s products with potential customers via their smartphones. “As we see this new generation of social sellers join the business, we know that they want on-the-go options to grow a business anytime, anywhere.

Especially given today’s climate, this flexibility and ease are even more important,” adds It Works! CEO Mark Pentecost.

“Customer experience has always been a priority for us. We don’t want customers for a month. We want customers for life.”

Increased customer acquisition and retention drove the direct selling industry’s growth last year. According to information from Transformation Capital, 2020 proved to be a record-breaking year on several fronts: 80 domestic direct selling companies generated more than $50 million in annual revenue; 25 companies were on track to grow by at least $100 million; 10 companies were on track to double their sales; and two companies—MONAT and Scentsy—grew in revenue in excess of $400 million.

“There is evidence that the more a direct selling company knows its customers, the more likely it will grow. Among 38 surveyed companies in our QuickPulse research, sales fell on average in 2019 for those companies that said they know 4 6 D I R E C T S E L L I N G N E W S |

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their customers ‘not at all’ or ‘somewhat’ but grew on average for those whom they know their customers ‘very well,’” says Benjamin Gamse, Senior Marketing Research Manager at the Direct Selling Association.

The opportunity to sample a product and experience its tangible benefits is powerful to be sure—and it is what drives what Bjorgaard refers to as “good gossip,” or the natural inclination of consumers to share their product experiences with others. Service providers are in the unique position of not being able to offer the consumer the opportunity to try before they buy, which makes customer centrism an even more vital component of the selling proposition.

“Because we’ve always been a service company, we’ve always been a customer-centric company,” says Mark “Bouncer” Schiro, Chief Executive Officer at Kynect. “It’s been at the core of our belief system that if you focus on customers, it’s easier to build teams.” Since the pandemic began, however, the company has put extra emphasis on holding Zoom meetings, providing training for its associates in the field on such topics as using social media to grow their businesses, build their teams and create a strong sense of culture. “Our associates have been receptive to it because it was the only way they could build,” Schiro says. Kynect’s associate base demographics are rather unique; more than 50 percent of them are over the age of 50.

“When you sell a commodity, you have to focus on your customers. You can’t focus on the opportunity nearly as much.

We’ve all had hiccups, but in the end, we continue to do what’s right and make it better for the customers’ experience and, ultimately, easier for our associates. We have to convince you that we’re doing right by your customers by providing fair value. We’re not the cheapest—we never will be—but we’re always competitive and offer a value proposition. Your associate is your concierge … how many people can be directly in touch with someone who offers them an energy product? We don’t expect our associates to be experts in energy; we expect them to be experts in customer service and empathy.”

He adds that while customer acquisition hasn’t increased, customer retention has. He attributes the phenomenon to the fact that many customers have been less likely to switch energy providers when they’re apprehensive about our economy and the stability of their jobs.

“Through social media, social influencers and the Internet, this world is becoming smaller and smaller. If you don’t focus on your customers, you’ll be found out quickly,” he continues.

“We’ve been in business for 15 years, and we’ll continue to focus on our customers.”

In an effort to encourage the growth of customer centrism, Direct Selling News introduced its new Customer-Centric Recognition Program (CCR) in September. One of the unique aspects of the program is the willingness of participating companies who agreed to publicize their average number of active customers per active direct seller. For most companies, this is a new metric that may not have been measured and/ or publicized in the past. However, now that direct selling companies are processing and fulfilling orders that come directly from customers, obtaining the number of customers per active direct seller is possible. A 5 customers-to-1distributor ratio earns companies a gold CCR designation, while a 10-to-1 ratio earns them platinum recognition. While company participation in the program is completely voluntary, w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 4 7

publishing this simple statistic draws our attention to how many customers are actually being served, on average, by hundreds of thousands of direct sellers.

In 2021, brick-and-mortar and online retailers continue to struggle not only with the economic impact of the global pandemic but also with consumers’ growing preference for a highly personalized buying experience. Our industry can continue to distinguish itself—attracting loyal customers, enhancing our reputation and nullifying any lingering regulatory concerns—through our unique ability to provide a buying experience in which personalization and convenience aren’t mutually exclusive.

NOT JUST ANOTHER ‘SIDE HUSTLE’ The gig economy has received even more media attention since the global pandemic triggered an economic downturn, mass layoffs and job insecurity. Direct selling enjoys a competitive advantage when considered alongside “side hustle” opportunities like Instacart, Lyft or Taskrabbit: distributors receive education, professional development resources, digital marketing and tools to grow their independent businesses, along with a connection to a strong culture and a global network of fellow distributors. When we also factor in the industry’s growing focus on customer centrism—particularly when the average number of customers per direct seller begins to grow—the business opportunity becomes even more attractive in this competitive marketplace.

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Direct selling is uniquely positioned to offer not just a means of supplemental income but the opportunity to build longevity—a business built on a strong foundation of satisfied customers. When 10, 20, or more customers are purchasing products each week, month or quarter, earning potential can become significant for the average distributor who simply loves the company’s products or services, shares her experience and influences others to purchase. Providing independent contractors with a flexible business opportunity and enabling the average person to use state-of-the-art tools and support—including a personalized e-commerce platform where customers can shop and purchase at their convenience— changes the game.

It’s important to note that effective customer centrism begins at home, with your employees—particularly those who are in the front lines of communication with your distributors.

“Your value proposition begins internally first,” says Bjorgaard. “It’s critical to make sure that every employee understands what you offer and what sets you apart from other companies. Your employees are essentially creating your communication channel strategy and are personally communicating with your customer and distributors. Once your employees have embodied your value proposition, it’ll be easy to infuse it in your social marketing strategy, your fieldfacing teams, and in all your corporate literature. It becomes second nature. It’s who you are.”

A more customer-centric focus leads to a stronger direct selling conversation—and that may be easier to understand for the masses whom we know are looking for income possibilities that can make a difference in their lives. A business model based upon more participants who are able to support the acquisition of more customers who continue to engage the brand, in turn, creates stronger companies, increased market penetration for brands and a more promising, successful and sustainable opportunity for those who become influencers of the brand: the new direct sellers.

“The biggest mistake any company can make right now is staying stuck in who you were,” Bjorgaard adds. “It’s critical for all of us who lead companies in our industry to share ideas and help take each of our companies into the future. This change is monumental for our industry, likely the biggest shift any of us have ever seen. We’re all trying to figure out our next steps. Let’s keep in mind that our real competition is with the B to C businesses—not so much with each other. Let’s help each other through this incredible change and make sure our industry is what helps the general public with incredible products and life-changing opportunities.”

In short, if there was ever a time to be customer-centric, it’s now! DSN

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W H E N I T H I N K A B O U T O U R F I R M ’ S 2 0 2 1 P L A N S , T H E S E LY R I C S T O G A R T H BROOKS’ HIT “THE DANCE” KEEP RUNNING THROUGH MY THOUGHTS…

“Our lives are better left to chance.

I could have missed the pain, But I’d have had to miss the dance.”

THE ELEMENT OF CHANCE And boy, what a dance it’s been lately! I’ve been in direct sales for more than 40 years, and no other year has been as difficult to forecast as 2021. The element of chance dominates our planning as never before. The biggest 2021 chance factors are:  W HEN will safe COVID-19 vaccines become available to all?  W HAT percentage of the population will actually take the vaccines to avoid being infected?  A nd then, WHAT degree of normalcy will the vaccines allow us to resume, compared to pre-COVID times?

Regardless of when it happens, our return to normal activities and schedules is likely to have significant impact on our sales and inventory forecasts. Here’s why: The negative impacts of COVID are many. Death, illness, job and income loss have had catastrophic effects on the lives of millions. Just as profound—the effects of isolation, i.e., 5 2 D I R E C T S E L L I N G N E W S |

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“hunkering down at home.” For close to a year now, social distancing has dictated a culture of not doing things. We’re not going out, not attending meetings, not going to sporting events and church services. If there’s a silver lining to any of this, it’s the fact that three extremely significant opportunities have emerged for direct sellers.

1. People, especially women, have been at home, day and

night, in percentages not seen since the 1950s. For that reason, virtual selling events using Zoom and Facebook are now drawing large audiences—much larger than they might have attracted earlier in the pandemic. People have been at home for months now; they’re more likely to be available for virtual selling events regardless of how much notice of the event they receive.

2. The loss of jobs, again, especially among women, has been staggering. Jobs in retail and restaurants have disappeared in the millions. Many women, and to a lesser extent, men, have been faced with a choice: Stay at home to help their children with remote learning, OR find work to help pay the bills. For that reason, many have been willing to consider joining a direct selling company to help with family finances. Simply stated, more people than ever are at least willing to listen to our parttime income opportunities.

3. Direct selling has another important competitive advantage over other gig economy options. Independent direct sellers can do their business online and make money while never having to leave home. No travel time required. No child care needed. Direct sellers can safely socially distance, hunker in and keep their families safe. Unlike other members of the gig economy (Uber drivers, shoppers, delivery people), there’s no need to go out into the world and be potentially exposed to infection. Direct sellers can avoid all of the expenses of these other gig opportunities and stay safe for their families as well.

Again, our forecasting difficulty arises because of the big “when” question—When will vaccines enable us to return to some level of pre-pandemic activities? When that finally happens, some of the advantages direct sellers have enjoyed since March will be significantly reduced or go away altogether. We need to be ready for our new normal.

“

People have been at home for months now; they’re more likely to be available for virtual selling events regardless of how much notice of the event they receive.

THE IMPACT OF CHANGE It’s hard to imagine a year of greater change for direct sellers than 2020. The basic takeaway is this—all the negative side effects of COVID—unemployment and the need for replacement income, social distancing, isolation, the need for child care and home learning and reduced in-store shopping—have actually worked to the benefit of retail-focused direct sellers.

Prior to the pandemic, direct sellers had to compete for the time and attention of potential customers. Once people started staying at home and hunkering-in, they became available to take an online appointment or attend an online group product demonstration event.

Along the way, we’ve adapted even more by switching to online conventions and meetings and making greater use of smartphones and computers as direct selling tools.

So yes, we’ve seen a lot of change in 2020.

But here’s the big news—2021 may bring even more changes than this year has. w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 5 3

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CH A LLENGES FACING THE INDUS TRY IN 2021 One of direct selling’s traditional strengths has been the fact that most company founders and senior sales executives came out of the field. Now that’s changing. Going forward, solid experience in “traditional” direct selling basics could become less of an asset and more of a challenge.

But now the field has been forced to find their way to success using online sales events, social media and customer acquisition tools. They’ve had to create their own new methods or learn from others who successfully made the change. For the most part, these new techniques have been developed by field leaders using trial and error rather than experience.

In recent months, I have had senior sales executives admit in private that they have no idea how to lead, train and motivate an entirely online independent sales force.

Those are the smart executives; they’ve already accepted the situation. However, other executives seem to be in denial.

I know some of my Strategic Choice Partners colleagues have experienced significant pushback from corporate sales leaders who simply do not know how to lead in this increasingly unfamiliar environment.

MY RECOMMENDATION TO THOSE FOLKS HAS BEEN AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE: 1) Pick up a kit 2) Attach yourself to the best online sellers and learn what they do 3) Then do it yourself.

Finally, take those concepts and turn them into companyprovided training materials and supportive technology tools.

It’s significantly easier for traditionally retail-focused direct selling companies. Because they focus on sales to ultimate consumers who are not part of the compensation plan, it becomes a question of managing the margins and providing the sales force with appropriate product promotions. BOGOs and free shipping options keep them competitive with e-commerce 5 4 D I R E C T S E L L I N G N E W S |

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sellers and other gig economy opportunities. In some cases, margin issues and shipping expenses may impact the array of products that the direct seller can offer.

On the other hand, companies with a traditional consumption-based marketing and compensation plan have a very tough transition to manage. Binary and matrix compensation plans especially depend more on structure than volume. The result can be a senior field leader culture that’s difficult to change. Transitioning to a more retail-focused company will require shifting some portion of the current payout from the top of the plan to the bottom. That alone becomes a huge challenge for management.

Now What?

“

Along the way, we’ve adapted even more by switching to online conventions and meetings and making greater use of smartphones and computers as direct selling tools.

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If this is the question you keep asking, we can help.

70+ direct selling clients since 2015.

300+ years of direct selling experience.

The most sought after consulting firm in the industry.

Learn more at StrategicChoicePartners.com/NowWhat

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The bottom line—change is inevitable. It might be nothing more than moving from in-person meetings to virtual meetings.

Or it could involve a major compensation plan restructuring.

Regardless, here are some basic change management actions that will help if the company practices them: 1. Be sure everyone involved understands the changes that are taking place in the market environment. That includes corporate staff AND senior field leaders. Education and transparency are key, especially where your field is concerned. That’s because…

2. Your senior field leaders are usually the least helpful source of good ideas regarding change. Sure, they probably helped drive the company to its current size and volumes. But for the most part, the only system they know is the one that got them to the top of your plan. Even if they had experience at other companies, they usually lack deep knowledge about the industry, the market and regulatory forces that drive change.

3. Compare the company’s key performance indicators (KPIs) against competitors that are growing. What factors are making other direct selling companies successful?

You may need to engage outside expertise to help you obtain and understand certain KPIs that the company may not have been tracking.

4. Test your proposed changes in the field. Pay particular attention to how successful your first-level leaders and new recruits are using the new programs.

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Yes 2021 is going to be a significant year of chance, change and challenges that will tax every direct selling company management team. Most companies will survive by implementing the needed changes, but some will not.

COMPANIES WILL BECOME SURVIVORS BY: A) Understanding what’s going on and why.

B) Identifying the challenges that are negatively impacting their companies.

C) Implementing the changes required to stay in business.

So, embrace the best change management practices. And educate your senior field leaders fully and transparently. You’ll need their help not only to recognize your common challenges but also to implement your corporate response. Hopefully, at this time next year, we can all say that 2021 was indeed a year of challenges and changes. But we made the changes and are looking forward to 2022!

Together we can make 2021 a great year! DSN

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RUBY RIBBON /

Ruby Ribbon, Ready for Launch

BY JENNY VETTER

W

HEN CLINT MCKINLAY joined Ruby Ribbon in January 2020, he was ready to take the steps necessary to launch the company in a new

direction—with the goal to become a $100 million premium brand. Little did he know that the challenges of 2020 would accelerate those steps and ignite

CLINT MCKINLAY

CHIEF E XECUTIVE OFFICER

RUBY RIBBON FOUNDED:

2011 HEADQUARTERS:

Burlingame, CA TOP EXECUTIVE:

even more positive change, propelling Ruby Ribbon into an exciting season of

Clint McKinlay, Chief Executive Officer

growth and crystal-clear vision.

PRODUCTS:

Shapewear and apparel

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Our Stylists love this product. The industry size is in the billions with significant topline opportunity and operationally, there is plenty of room for big gains in both EBITDA and cash flows.

— M I C H E L L E SA N F T, Chief Oper ating O f f icer/Chief Financial O f f icer

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“Once the pandemic sent us all home, there was no more time to lag. It was immediate pivoting into action. So we redesigned our sales program to be all virtual. And so far, it’s been positive.” ~Clint McKinlay, CEO

CHANGE AND CHALLENGES There was never any doubt that 2020 would be a big year for shapewear and apparel company Ruby Ribbon. Since its launch in 2011, the company had grown slowly and steadily but was clearly preparing for a new chapter in recent years with additions to the board of directors and the senior leadership team. With Clint McKinlay’s appointment to Chief Executive Officer in early January 2020, the company was poised for a game-changing year.

And then 2020 showed its cards. The COVID-19 pandemic stopped nearly all industries in their tracks, instantly shifting everyone’s plans, including McKinlay’s.

“I started on January 6th,” he shares. “I saw big potential. I saw a company that ought to be four or five times bigger than it was—and with the right amount of execution, it could be there.

I knew we would need to make changes in year one, but I also knew that the first couple of months weren’t the time to start banging loud, distracting drums. Right about the time where I started feeling ready to start making personnel changes and put everything into motion, that’s when the pandemic really picked up in March.”

Luckily, McKinlay had a partner to help him navigate the crisis that would define everyone’s year. Before the pandemic hit, he’d been actively recruiting longtime colleague Michelle Sanft.

“I knew I needed a partner like Michelle,” he says. “She really changed the game when she came on board, as it relates to finance and operations. She’s a very high-level executive.

And for a company this size to have someone like her, a lot of things were going to change quickly.”

While she was actively consulting throughout the first quarter, Sanft officially joined the company as Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer in June.

“When I first started understanding the business, I realized immediately that Ruby Ribbon offered amazing product,” says Sanft. “Our Stylists love this product. The industry size is in the billions with significant topline opportunity and operationally, there is plenty of room for big gains in both EBITDA and cash flows.”

One of the first challenges the pair and the home office team faced together was transitioning a company that had traditionally sold its apparel collection through in-person fittings to a completely virtual model. While some stylists had been working their businesses through virtual trunk shows, many had only sold in face-to-face settings.

“We were primarily an in-person company,” explains McKinlay. “Our Stylist onboarding was all written for person-to-person sales. Even though some Stylists were doing well online at the time, the company was lagging behind the field. But once the pandemic sent us all home, there was no more time to lag. It was immediate pivoting into action. So we redesigned our sales program to be all virtual. And so far, it’s been positive.” w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 6 1

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“

I saw big potential.

I saw a company that ought to be four or five times bigger than it was, and with the right amount of execution, could be there.

— C L I N T M C K I N L AY, C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r

As things were moving virtual, Loly Hlade, Chief Marketing Officer, joined McKinlay and Sanft. Hlade has led the evolution of the Ruby Ribbon brand and its new product development efforts within intimates, both key to the company’s growth plans. Ruby Ribbon remains a bodypositive company, offering intimate solutions for “every woman’s body.”

FINDING THE RIGHT FIT The Ruby Ribbon sales field of stylists faced more than a new virtual selling model. A new leadership team meant changes to the company’s compensation plan, inventory strategy, marketing and more, this time with a male CEO at the helm.

McKinlay was eager to drive these changes but wanted to earn the trust of both the corporate team and field.

“As a man, there is only one way in—as an ally and an advocate,” he explains. And as a company that believes in empowering women, we all felt we needed a new vision, mission, and values for a new day. I’m grateful to have those values that we believe in because it ultimately helps guide our decision making.

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Understanding that a new set of guiding principles would profoundly affect the culture of Ruby Ribbon, McKinlay and his team worked closely with a group of employees and stylists in the field to come up with values that would drive their programs and economic model. This collaboration has resulted in a stronger field organization, as the new values have resonated with stylists and helped them understand the purpose behind the many changes still rippling through the organization.

“We’ve enacted a lot of change in year one. It hasn’t been easy—because these are hard conversations that get to our identity—who we are as a company and why we do what we do,” says McKinlay. “But it has been totally worth it. We envision a world of empowered women, and we believe that care, comfort, and confidence empower real solutions.

New Ruby Ribbon stylists can join the company with one of four kit options, ranging from $59 to $719, which include everything needed to launch successful businesses. The stylist base is growing rapidly from coast to coast, with strong teams expanding in places like California, Texas and Pennsylvania.

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SHAPING THE FUTURE While 2020 might not have been the ideal timing for a complete reinvigoration of Ruby Ribbon, McKinlay and Sanft wouldn’t change a thing. The year’s uncertainty and overall instability forced the team to make tough and quick decisions that seem to have resulted in a stronger organization in less time than anyone would have imagined.

“This unstable year has delivered some sweet irony—it has been the year of stabilizing the business and turning the ship,” says McKinlay. “With Michelle’s operational leadership, the effort of our committed home office team, and the response of our field leadership, we’ve been able to accomplish that this year. I feel like we’ve gotten to a place where we can dream big because we’ve fixed some of those basic things that, until you fix them, you really can’t go hog wild. You have to have enough predictability in your business for the system to be stable.”

Building on the foundation shored up over the last 12 months, McKinlay and his team are focusing on new initiatives for 2021. With more women working at home and significant growth in the athleisure market, Ruby Ribbon has responded by investing in product development to expand the consumer base and the breadth of the product lines.

As Hlade explains, “Going beyond our original cami into more leggings, bottoms, and even lingerie allows us to offer solutions to women of all shapes and sizes for more occasions than ever before. And we are arming our stylists with more digital communications to expand their sales efforts and increase their ultimate success.” By improving the stylist experience and empowering women, Ruby Ribbon is providing new opportunities for women to develop entrepreneurial businesses and succeed on their own terms, namely enhancing the stylist experience in ways that align with the vision of empowering women.

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“When a woman is financially empowered, the world changes,” says McKinlay. “This is about giving a woman the power to make choices—to own her life, to live where she wants to live, to have more freedom in her relationship choices. I feel strongly about this. I have three daughters. I want to support them in discovering what they are passionate about in this life, whatever that is. No limits. I want that world for them.”

To launch these initiatives, the company is reimagining its regional strategy to put more training in place at events throughout the country, using a hybrid events approach currently in development.

“We’re looking forward to a very stable environment in the coming year with higher levels of productivity,” adds Sanft.

“The programs we’re developing are so important to growing the stylist base and providing them with tools to engage with their customers and downline in a more meaningful way.”

With a fresh foundation, new team members and new strategies all around, Ruby Ribbon is positioned for an exciting next chapter.

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“

I’m grateful to have those values that we believe in because it ultimately helps us make the final call on the hard decisions.

— C L I N T M C K I N L AY, C h i e f E x e c u t i v e O f f i c e r

“We’re looking for women who want to sell, who can get it done,” says McKinlay. “As the stylist base grows, the brand promise starts to be fulfilled in new ways. As company stewards, that’s very exciting for us.” DSN

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Top Impacts Accelerating Change for the Direct Selling Industry in 2021 Reimagine Payouts—From Checks to Tech

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D W O R A C Z Y K

IT’S MY YEAR-END RITUAL to research future trends at the start of a new year. During my recent exploration, I came across a DSA trend report from 2016. It’s interesting to compare where the direct selling industry was five years ago as a way to frame 2021 trends, the acceleration of change we are experiencing, and what direct selling organizations are doing to remain competitive.

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1. FUTURE OF SHOPPING In 2016, direct selling was positioned to enhance the inperson shopping experience and convert new customers through personal experiences. To support this strategy, DSA reported 68 percent of Americans (2016) reported they didn’t like shopping online because they couldn’t see, touch, or try on what they were buying. Direct selling companies set out to foster this market need for high-touch and intimacy.

Over the past five years, we have seen a radical shift in consumer behavior driven by a number of factors, including demographic shifts that prefer online shopping, accelerated in response to the 2020 pandemic crisis that restricted retail and in-person interactions. The increased need for online transactions has forced the direct selling experience online and accelerated the use of digital tools such as affiliate portals, digital shopping carts, and replicated websites.

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2. WORKFORCE TRENDS Remarkably in the same report, the 2016 discussion still centered around baby boomers. DSA reported that with greater interest in creative second careers, direct selling companies could attract the growing boomer segment with unique propositions that fit their post-retirement lifestyle: 74 percent of boomers reported they wanted the ability to work on and off when they want after they retire. Younger distributors were a secondary population. Though it was noted that direct selling companies needed to appeal to a more idealistic younger workforce, leveraging values as a form of attraction and retention, it was a future trend. Other needs of this population were not mentioned.

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Over the past five years, we have seen a RADICAL SHIFT in consumer behavior driven by a number of factors, including demographic shifts that prefer online shopping.

In 2021, the direct selling focus is squarely on recruiting millennial distributors and customers into the brand, as the largest workforce pool of talent, and to capture the longer customer lifetime value of a younger population.

Smart DSOs recognize that millennials have an entirely different mindset when it comes to work and payout expectations. They grew up in the instant-everything gig economy and can be choosy when it comes to how and when they work. Many companies have been slower to convert legacy systems and marketing efforts to attract the new workforce. In order to remain competitive, these DSOs will need to accelerate the adoption of new systems and processes, to attract and retain brand loyalists, and catch up to the competition made up of early adopting market leaders and start-ups who are already using new digital systems, processes, and instant commission payouts.

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3 . F U T U R E O F P AY O U T S There were at least five notable payment trends reported by a BAI Q insights article in 2016 that have continued through 2020 and will accelerate through 2021.

Q insights, Nasreen Quibria reported that 2015 and 2016 were transformative years that saw the rise of fintech’s disruptive technologies go mainstream, competing directly with the traditional financial services industry. We saw a surprising number of mobile wallet launches and announcements to compete with Apple Pay (Android Pay, Samsung Pay, Walmart Pay, Chase Pay, LG Pay, etc.) and continued interest in blockchain technologies such as Bitcoin. The industry saw greater adoption of point-of-sale systems that accept mobile payments, more linked loyalty programs,

and natural extensions into in-app purchases and peer-to-peer transactions. This positioned digital and mobile payments for the rapid adoption rate we saw through 2020. Worldpay FIS 2020 Global Payments Report predicts that digital/mobile wallet transactions will be over 52 percent of all transactions globally by 2023. This trend will accelerate within the direct selling industry in 2021 as legacy organizations catch up with moving from checks to tech to compete, attract, and retain distributors and customers.

The Q insights report projected, and today we are seeing more retailers, tech companies, banks and yes, DSOs offering their own branded mobile wallet systems through companies such as PayQuicker.

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4. BLOCKCHAIN UNLEASHED Five years ago, attitudes at companies and financial institutions were cautious about cryptocurrency due to fluctuating valuations and illicit activities.

Interest is accelerating at the end of 2020 driven by asset and fund managers at major institutions approving digital asset buys. We see several DSOs in this vertical and expect interest to continue into 2021.

5 . D E M A N D F O R F A S T E R P A Y M E N T S Faster payments initiatives were focused on same day ACH via U.S. NACHA and obtaining realtime payments systems via The Clearing House, VocaLink and FIS in 2016. The demand for instant communication, feedback, and search results created millennial expectations of high-speed access in every part of their lives, including commission payouts. w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 6 9

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To make and receive payments quickly is now a market requirement for digitally savvy millennials.

Payout frequency is also an accelerating trend that keeps distributors engaged and motivated to grow their business and, in turn, grow the direct selling organization’s business. This is also a global requirement, and countries around the world have launched major programs to enable these real-time payments, immediate payments, and instant payments to support the demand.

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6 . T R E N D T O F O R T I F Y S E C U R I T Y The staggering number of high-profile data breaches from 2015 through 2020 continues to fuel the need for direct selling organizations to invest in the highest levels of data security available in 2021 and beyond. We also see the trend to outsource the handing of sensitive data collection and storage to third party providers who specialize and are experts in security and compliance. In 2021, as spending on cybersecurity continues to soar at direct selling companies and financial institutions work to deploy added layers of security to protect against vulnerabilities to reduce the risk of data breaches, direct selling organizations will be looking for turnkey payout solutions that collect and store sensitive social identification numbers, tax forms, or banking information within specialized secure environments to relieve the growing burden.

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7. D I G I T A L P L A T F O R M D E S I G N A ND D ATA OP T IMIZ AT ION Even before 2015, new interconnected devices and technology forced companies to reengineer their businesses for optimization on digital platforms. Over the past five years, companies have been focusing on establishing consistent digital channels across the internet, mobile devices, and tablets. Plug and play, open-source application program interfaces (APIs) were projected to play a significant role as part of banking and program offerings. APIs will continue to play a significant role

Payout frequency is also an accelerating trend that keeps distributors engaged and motivated to grow their business and, in turn, grow the direct selling organization’s business.

in 2021 and long into the future. Innovative fintech organizations will continue to create a richer and more dynamic product and user experiences across these integrated platforms. Consumers will continue to win in 2021, being offered more meaningful information based on data, insights, and analytics that are provided through their interactions and device integrations.

The trends reported in 2016 by DSA and others were surprisingly accurate, and as we kick-off 2021, most trends are still relevant and even accelerating. Direct selling organizations that keep up with important consumer and market requirements such as shopping trends, workforce needs, increased payout speed and frequency, data security and compliance requirements, and digital design and optimization will be better able to meet the needs of their consumers and affiliates, and successfully compete and win in a rapidly changing market. DSN

KAREN DWORACZYK IS THE CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER AT PAYQUICKER. PAYQUICKER IS A LEADING PROVIDER OF FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION FOR DIRECT SALES ORGANIZATIONS. THEIR CLOUD-BASED, REGULATORY-COMPLIANT, SECURE SOFTWARE STACK OFFERS CUSTOM-BRANDED PAYOUT SOLUTIONS THAT POWER THEIR CLIENTS TO SEAMLESSLY DELIVER SECURE, INSTANT PAYOUTS TO MILLIONS OF INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, DISTRIBUTORS, INFLUENCERS, AND AFFILIATES AROUND THE GLOBE.

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MEMBERSHIP 2021

It’s time to renew!

Whether you’re a direct selling member company or a loyal supplier partner, those within the DSA family prioritize the values of community, home, and unity.

These ideals have been the source of our strength during these past months.

DSA engagement provides direct selling companies and industry suppliers alike with unparalleled access to channel research, educational programming, professional development, and fellowship with likeminded business leaders.

Our community is where we all can share, learn, grow, and act together, and we want your voice to continue shaping the channel’s future.

Reaffirm your membership and pledge your dues by March 15.

Your continued participation will continue to make our community even stronger together in 2021.

MEMBERS: dsa.org/renew SUPPLIERS: dsa.org/ supplierrenewal

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THE POWER OF MOMENTUM B Y

T O N Y

J E A R Y

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T H E

R E S U LT S

G U Y™

C

OVID HAS CHANGED THE WORLD—in some cases, for the worse and in

others for the better. One good thing that’s come from it is that it has helped us all reevaluate our priorities.

And here’s another big win: because of COVID’s effect on so many businesses, many people are turning to our industry—causing a lot of momentum. In order to take advantage of that momentum as we go into 2021, we want to make sure we’re as clear as we can be on what our force multipliers are so we can focus our teams and our efforts accordingly. We want to be sure and execute with precision and obviously with accountability and create wins in 2021.

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H

ere is a list of twelve distinctions that can help you have more momentum. You may want to take a picture of the list and talk about it in your staff meetings, or you may just want to review it for yourself ongoing and see which ones apply to help you have your best year ever.

1. CLARITY pulls you toward the direction of what

you set out to accomplish. You can gain clarity of your goals by writing them down, visualizing them, and employing positive self-talk.

2. FOCUS ensures you don’t waste energy. What you want is less Low-Leverage Activities (LLAs) and more High-Leverage Activities (HLAs).

“

Schedule actions on your daily lists, whether they are hand-written, on your computer, or on your phone (or all three).

3. EXECUTION is the foundation for momentum.

When you get things done and own that you’ve accomplished them, you get mental power that keeps you going.

4. Get RESULTS, not excuses! Whether you lead the pack, you’re in sales, or whatever your position, you have to keep things moving and own the fact that the results are up to you.

5. REVIEW your goals daily and adjust your daily lists

to be sure they align with your global goals. If you’re part of a team, huddle and synergize on the goals at hand.

6. SOLVE problems. Be a roadblock buster. Things can come up every day to get in your way. Life is not perfect. Be flexible and have the mindset of being a problem solver. If you can’t personally solve the problem, reach out for a “lifeline”—get more information, find a technology tool that will help you, or reach out to someone who can assist you.

7. Put it on your LIST. If it’s not on your calendar, it doesn’t matter that much to you. Schedule actions on your daily lists, whether they are hand-written, on your computer, or on your phone (or all three).

8. EMPLOY Production Before Perfection. Stuck

leaders can paralyze an organization. Be aware that people can get stuck because of perfectionism, and perfectionism can stunt momentum. Make sure to get people moving (including yourself) because a RESULTS culture is a winning culture! Procrastination is the enemy of momentum.

9. Have relentless levels of URGENCY. Understand

that thinking—the right thinking—impacts your success.

If you want more momentum, develop the thinking of Nike—Just do it!

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The sooner you get going, the easier it is to keep moving forward.

12. The stronger your desire, the more MOTIVATED 10. Get the Xs in the box. At the end of the day, you either got it done, or you didn’t. If you got it done, you can put an X in the box and feel the accomplishment.

Accomplishments support momentum!

11. Ask yourself what you can do right NOW to keep your momentum going. Maybe you need to:

 Make a phone call

 Send an email

 Send a text

 Give a gift

 Write a note

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you are. Be clear on what you value and know what you desire. Leverage self-talk. Say something like, “I am a person of action, and I get it done.”

The sooner you get going, the easier it is to keep moving forward. As you gain speed and stay focused, momentum will take over, and you’ll be unstoppable. DSN

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TEACHING TOMORROW’S BUSINESS LEADERS DSEF Fellows Make a Difference for Direct Selling More than 190 DSEF Fellows are changing the way direct selling is taught in universities across the US by using the Foundation’s teaching content, research

“The DSEF pedagogical support materials address real-world, timely marketing practices.

I especially like the CUTCO/Vector ‘The Cutting Edge of Quality’ video case. It not only highlights a successful approach to disintermediation and direct selling, it reinforces the importance of sales as the sole driver of creating revenues in any firm.

DR. LOU PELTON Associate Professor of Marketing University of North Texas

“As a DSEF Fellow, I was able to develop a teaching case that connected my research interest in effectuation and social entrepreneurship with the founders of Trades of Hope. As a bonus, many students were introduced to the direct selling distribution channel as an avenue for social entrepreneurship.

DR. CHRISTINE MOLLENKOPF-PIGSLEY Assistant Professor & Program Director Applied Organizational Studies Minnesota State University Mankato

and case studies. Here’s what they have to say about how DSEF benefits students and direct selling.

“My students have pointedly benefited from DSEF case materials. The Big Data video is highly insightful and garners substantial discussion. The Cocoa Exchange case, particularly the related video, is wonderful for discussing corporate social responsibility, women’s empowerment and direct selling.

DR. WILLIAM F. CRITTENDEN Professor, International Business and Strategy Northeastern University

1667 K Street, NW, Suite 1100, Washington, D.C. 202-452-8866 • info@dsef.org • www.dsef.org

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Our DSA Community

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n early January 2020, none of us could have foretold what 2020 would have in store for society and the global community.

At the outset of 2020, we set forth to pursue an agenda that would continue to build direct selling’s reputation as a consumer protection champion. Events and education sought to uncover new opportunities for driving the direct selling channel’s rejuvenation by embracing emerging technologies, a transformed retail landscape, and the unique way Americans work.

Little did we know then the acid test that 2020 had in store for our global society.

The pandemic has reinforced the core values we share as direct sellers and how these ideals are fundamental to who we are. Direct Selling Association members prioritize community, home, and unity. Thanks to their commitment to these guiding principles, DSA members have continued to engage and act together. DSA is proud to serve as the platform where direct selling executives share, learn, and grow from one another’s collective experience as peers.

The power of our Association has put direct selling in a position that sees beyond the uncertainties that we overcame in 2020 with the knowledge that our channel can elevate our community. And as DSA focuses on 2021’s membership renewal season, I am reminded of what we achieved during 2020: • Even amid a pandemic lockdown, a record number of DSA members engaged in DSA programs and worked together to ensure that direct sellers played an essential part in our communities’ recovery.

• DSA and its members continued our efforts in California and elsewhere to affirm the importance of our sellers’ independence; thwarting misguided efforts to reclassify some contractors as employees harm

NANCY M. BURKE is the Vice President of Membership for the Direct Selling Association (DSA).

direct sellers and their spirit as “America’s original entrepreneurs.”

• DSA welcomed new and established direct selling companies into the membership to continue to represent more than 80 percent of direct selling in the United States.

• We continued to support our self-regulatory efforts to ensure that direct selling has the best reputation for customer service and salesforce opportunity.

• The 50-plus installments of the DSA ENGAGE Webinar Series, together with virtual DSA events such as The Change Makers, DSA’s Legal & Regulatory Seminar, DSA ENGAGE @Home, the DSA Tax Seminar, and Direct Selling Day on Capitol Hill, empowered DSA member company executives to navigate this global health crisis.

• The work of protecting consumers and salespeople from scams and frauds continued undaunted, as the Association took steps to demand clear, consistent, and reasonable legal standards from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other regulators.

• Developed the Direct Selling Compliance Professional Certification Program (DSCPCP) that, starting in January 2021, will offer direct selling executives the opportunity to be recognized as they gain a demonstrated understanding of critical legal and regulatory compliance issues.

• DSA has continued to advance direct selling’s reputation as being more than just a needed distribution channel: we are increasingly known as America’s neighbors, friends, and relatives.

We are viewed as playing a vital role in bringing life back to normal.

I urge our members to take action and renew today. And, if your company is not currently in the DSA membership, consider joining with us. #community #strongertogether DSN w w w . d i r e c t s e l l i n g n e w s . c o m 7 9

540 NE 4th St. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 866-218-4668 i-payout.com

More payment options in 150 countries via the most flexible and customizable software solution. Unbeatable pricing.

LACORE PAYMENT TECHNOLOGIES

900 Wilmeth Road, McKinney Texas 75069

INFO@LAC O RETECHN O LO G IES . C O M

www.lacorepayments.com/

LaCore Payment Technologies is a payment platform designed to support direct selling companies globally. Our services include: Global connectivity to 150 countries in 50 currencies, including direct connectivity to most alternative payment types, secure tokenization, customized fraud solutions, including our proprietary Fraudhawk™, advanced reporting tools, and online dispute management.

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Instantly make secure and compliant global payouts to your distributors in local currency with PayQuicker’s fully customizable, client-branded solution. We offer secured bank accounts with prepaid debit cards, virtual cards and more—all through a single point of integration.

STRATEGIC CHOICE PARTNERS

2201 Long Prairie Road, Ste. 107-316 Flower Mound, TX 75022 407-891-9265 https://strategicchoicepartners.com/ SCP offers the most holistic consulting services specific to direct selling companies today. We’ve worked with more than 70 companies over the last three years alone, and served more than 250 years collectively in the industry.

COMPLETE MERCHANT SOLUTIONS

727 North 1550 East 3rd Floor, Orem, UT 84097 877-267-4324 www.cmsonline.com Complete Merchant Solutions (CMS) is a full-service US merchant account provider representing multiple banks. CMS safely and securely supports many types of payment processing for direct selling companies.

C R E D I T C A R D / P AY M E N T P R O C E S S I N G

PAYQUICKER 400 Linden Oaks, Suite 320 Rochester, NY 14625 844-258-3006 www.payquicker.com

D E S T I N AT I O N S / E V E N T V E N U E S

INTERNATIONAL PAYOUT SYSTEMS INC.

C O M M I S S I O N P AY M E N T S E R V I C E S

AccountingSuite tracks orders, inventory, and projects in the cloud. Our affordable Direct Seller Edition is perfect for individual sellers or companies may buy in bulk at a discount to include in a seller package to create another revenue stream.

C O N S U LTA N T S / M A N A G E M E N T

ACCOUNTINGSUITE 600 California Street, 12th Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 888-328-8275 www.accountingsuite.com

C R E D I T C A R D / P AY M E N T P R O C E S S I N G

C O M M I S S I O N P AY M E N T S E R V I C E S

A C C O U N T I N G S O F T WA R E / S E R V I C E S

Vendor Directory METRICS GLOBAL, INC 1160 N. Town Center Drive, Ste. 100 Las Vegas, NV 89144 702-757-9600 www.metricsglobal.com We are the industry’s leading payments partner, long-established advocate, and problem-solver. Our unified commerce & payments platform will connect you to a global marketplace, enable your international expansion strategy, and fuel your exponential growth plans. Let us show you how.

Contact Us: info@metricsglobal.com

DISNEY DESTINATIONS P.O. Box 10,000 Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-1000 321-939-7129 www.disneymeetings.com World-class convention hotels in destinations around the world. Discover the magic of Disney for your meetings, events or incentives.

EXPERIENCE COLUMBUS 277 W. Nationwide Blvd., Ste. 125 Columbus, OH 43215 614-222-6121 www.experiencecolumbus.com A 20,000-seat arena and 100+ unique restaurants surrounding our convention center makes Columbus feel custommade for direct selling conventions. With arts, live music and more, there’s always something to do in the capital of under-theradar cool.

AMWARE FULFILLMENT

LACORE LOGISTICS

4505 Newpoint Place Lawrenceville, GA 30043 678-377-8585 Sales@AmwareLogistics.com www.AmwareLogistics.com

900 Wilmeth Road, McKinney Texas 75069 214-817-4802 www.lacorelogistics.com

Handle fulfillment for 5 of the DSA top 100 companies. DSA member with 15 fulfillment centers, nationwide, for 1-2 day delivery to 98% of the U.S. Offering discount parcel solutions, kitting, same-day shipping, and a full menu of value-added services.

CANADA CARTAGE LOGISTICS SOLUTIONS

1615 Clark Blvd.

Brampton, Ontario L6T 4W1 905-564-2115 x2 www.canadacartage.com/logistics Single Source Solutions, Order to Delivery B2C Solutions, On-Time Order Fulfillment, Real-Time Inventory Visibility, NHP Site Compliant, SOP/GMP Compliant, and locations across Canada.

LaCore Logistics provides distribution and order fulfillment services. Our highly automated distribution center provides both domestic and international direct-to-consumer shipping solutions. We offer omni-channel fulfillment solutions ranging from marketplace fulfillment for leading marketplaces to businessto-business fulfillment for leading retailers.

STALCO INC. 64 Bakersfield Street Toronto Ontario M3J 2W7 647-367-2459 ext. 200 www.stalco.ca Stalco is your Canadian Distribution partner for all your requirements, including: regulatory approvals and management, importation (tracking and customs clearance), fulfillment (kitting, pick and pack, shipping), same day order processing, 2-4 day tracked delivery, and returns management.

D I S T R I B U T I O N / F U L F I L L M E N T/ L O G I S T I C S

International expansion expertise and technology and logistics solutions that grow clients’ businesses and brands around the world.

E-COMMERCE FULFILLMENT

Since 2001, a2b Fulfillment has been helping companies work smarter by outsourcing business support services, including order fulfillment, customer care, and valueadded solutions. Its same-day fulfillment philosophy ensures that customers aren’t waiting, and its one-call customer service resolution standard keeps them coming back.

GLOBAL ACCESS 9815 S. Monroe Street, Ste. 510 Salt Lake City, UT 84070 877-811-8108 www.globalaccess.com

E VENT PRODUCTION

A2B FULFILLMENT 150 Stewart Parkway Greensboro, GA 30642 866-843-3827 www.a2bf.com

D I S T R I B U T I O N / F U L F I L L M E N T/ L O G I S T I C S

D I S T R I B U T I O N / F U L F I L L M E N T/ L O G I S T I C S

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE VENDOR DIRECTORY, CALL 1-800-279-5249

VISIBLE SCM 5160 Wiley Post Way Salt Lake City, UT 84116 385-355-8840 www.visiblescm.com Choose Visible for efficient fulfillment processes and market-leading customer experience. Benefit from multi-carrier solutions, high-volume shipping rates, custom packaging, fulfillment, and a real-time inventory management system— with a 99.84% order accuracy rate.

VERST E COMMERCE FULFILLMENT

300 Shorland Dr., Walton, KY 41094 800-978-9307 www.verstlogistics.com

Verst offers robotic picking, 99% order accuracy, 6.5+M sf scalable warehousing space, air/rail-served, 1-2 days to over 85% of the U.S. Services include pick-pack, labeling, kitting, and custom packaging.

Our Business Is… An Extension of Your Business

BARTHA 600 N. Cassady Avenue Columbus, OH 43219 800-363-2698 www.bartha.com PMS 70% Black

PMS 7686

Excite & ignite your direct sales force by using Bartha­—the highest quality event production and staging company nationwide!

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Create lasting memories for your top producers. Reward & WOW them with a resort experience nestled in the world’s largest open air aquarium.

MULTI IMAGE GROUP

E.A. DION, INC.

1701 Clint Moore Road Boca Raton, FL 33487 800-523-2682 www.mig.cc

33 Franklin McKay Road Attleboro, MA 02703 800-445-1007 www.eadion.com

A full-service event production company specializing in helping DSA’s tell their stories. Creativity + Technology = Unforgettable Experiences.

Dion’s jewelry solutions are perfect for career path, sales & recruiting, corporate anniversaries and incentive travel recognition awards.

HANNA SHEA

FOSSIL GROUP

1835 W Chandler Blvd 103, Chandler, AZ 85224 844-344-7177 www.hannashea.com

901 S. Central Expressway Richardson, TX 75080 469-730-7619 www.fossil.com

Since 2007, Hanna Shea Executive Search has been the go-to search firm in support of the direct selling industry. Hanna Shea finds top talent for companies in need of building or improving an executive leadership team for organizational success.

Fossil Group is a global watch company specializing in the innovation and design of watches, wearables, jewelry, and leather goods. Our owned brands include Fossil, Michele, Misfit, and Skagen, and licensed brands, Armani Exchange, Diesel, Emporio Armani, kate spade new york, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Misfit and Tory Burch.

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INCENTIVES/RECOGNITION

ATLANTIS PARADISE ISLAND 1000 S. Pine Island Road Plantation, FL 33324 800-722-2449 www.AtlantisBahamas.com/meetings

M A NUFA C T UR ING/ P R OD . DE V E L OP ME N T

Fresh. Exciting. Bold. Your field deserves the best and we help you deliver. Out-of-the-box creative production with experienced show management. We execute on budget and make you look AMAZING!

INCENTIVES/RECOGNITION

KATAPULT EVENTS 5840 Red Bug Lake Rd, Ste. 140 Winter Springs, FL 32708 407-915-9060 www.katapultevents.com

MARK E TING/BR ANDING

E XECUTIVE RECRUITMENT

E VENT PRODUCTION

Vendor Directory ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL

1080 Caribbean Way Miami, FL 33132 Royal Caribbean International’s Corporate Sales Team 800-529-6916 www.royalcaribbeanincentives.com ICONIC SHIPS. EPIC ADVENTURES. ULTIMATE EVENTS. Royal Caribbean® transforms events into the ultimate productivity paradise. Impress your attendees with epic venues, vibrant restaurants, onboard thrills and beautiful destinations.

PROGRESSIVE LABORATORIES

3131 Story Road W Irving, TX 75038 972-518-9660 www.progressivelabs.com 40+ years of quality manufacturing of nutritional formulas specializing in capsules and powders. FDA registered and 3rd party UL certified facility.

SUCCESS PARTNERS 5800 Democracy Drive, Suite 100 Plano, TX 75024 800-752-2030 www.successpartners.com SUCCESS Partners is a full-service agency that creates strategies and solutions for direct selling companies to strengthen their brand, engage customers and boost their bottom line.

217 N. Westmonte Drive, Ste. 1007 Altamonte Springs, FL 32714 800-891-8601 www.SmartOfficeSolutions.com Your mobile strategy should be as smart as the phone in your pocket. Make a powerful statement about the value of social networks and personal connections with the SmartMobile app. Transform every share, text, call, and email into a positive sales and recruiting result.

BYDESIGN TECHNOLOGIES 9503 Princess Palm Avenue Tampa, FL 33619 813-253-2235 www.bydesign.com Award winning SaaS solutions including Geneology Management & Commissions, Inventory, Replicated Websites, Premier Rep Tools, Branded Mobile App, Virtual Parties, E-vites, Hostess Rewards, Bookings, Social Sharing, Promotions, & Shopping.

S O F T WA R E / T E C H N O L O G Y S O L U T I O N S

SMART OFFICE SOLUTIONS, INC.

S O F T WA R E / T E C H N O L O G Y S O L U T I O N S

MOBILE APPS & COMMERCE

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE VENDOR DIRECTORY, CALL 1-800-279-5249

EXIGO 1600 Viceroy Dr., Suite 125 Dallas, TX 75235 214-367-9933 www.exigo.com The global leader in cloud-based Platformas-a-Service (PaaS) for direct selling companies. An open framework for billiondollar giants to startup companies. Exigo supports MLM, Party Plan and Affiliate models, operating in single global markets.

SOCIALSALES.IO

DIRECTSCALE

INFOTRAX SYSTEMS

2024 W. 15th St., Ste. F-324 Plano, TX 75075 214-659-1549 hello@socialsales.io www.socialsales.io

350 South 400 West, Ste. 225 Lindon, UT 84042 801-701-3285 www.directscale.com

1875 S. State Street, Ste. 3000 Orem, UT 84097 801-431-4900 www.infotraxsys.com

Scalable software for your company and your sales force that’s delightful and easy to use.

Software & SaaS solutions for startup, emerging, and global direct selling companies. See our ad on the back cover.

SUCCESS PARTNERS

DIRECTECH LABS

5800 Democracy Drive, Suite 100 Plano, TX 75024 800-752-2030 www.successpartners.com

929 Colorado Ave Santa Monica, CA 90401 310-730-1246 CustomerCare@directechlabs.com www.directechlabs.com

INTERNATIONAL DIRECT SELLING TECHNOLOGY CORP.

Convert your social fans into paying customers. Our global SaaS platform includes the tools your sales force needs to succeed in today’s social selling environment. Scalable to fit any sized organization from startups to large global enterprises.

GROW NOW! The SUCCESS Partners’ NOW app drives results for direct selling companies making it incredibly simple to connect, communicate and convert. A mobile system designed for maximum duplication that promotes customer acquisition activityNOW. Contact us for a demo today!

The AI-powered messaging and analytics platform. Be a better opportunity in the gig economy. Actionable dashboards and automated opportunities that get your field and customers engaged into measurable action anywhere in the world.

1208 E. Kennedy Blvd., Ste. 222 Tampa, FL 33602 813-277-0625 www.idstc.com

Global Operations Management Software.

Advanced Comp Plan Programming. Sales Force Backoffice & Automation. Web Site Design & Replication.

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Corporate & Sales Force software for 21st century world-leaders in global direct selling. Cloud-based & on-premise solutions are available.

MW2 DIRECT

Nexio manages the chaos of payments offering: • Faster roll out for distributors or partners • Simplifies payment processing for corporations Nexio does this by being integrated with the majority of back-office software solutions in the Direct Sales Industry.

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Thatcher Technology Group provides Sales Force, Compensation and Incentive Management Software for the Direct Selling Industry.

686 E 110 S Unit 104 American Fork, UT 84003 385-448-1800 www.xirect.com

Combine the Magento Platform with powerful social and direct selling features available in the MW2 Direct platform.

Solving Digital Transformation for direct selling with personalization, party management, influencer marketing, commission, analytics.

NEXIO

55 Shuman Blvd., Ste. 350 Naperville, IL 60563 866-698-3848 www.thatchertech.com

XIRECT SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS

2033 Gateway Place, 5th Floor San Jose, CA 95110 408-573-6310 www.mw2consulting.com/direct

727 N 1550 E, 3rd Floor Orem, UT 84097 1-877-551-5504 www.nexiohub.com

THATCHER TECHNOLOGY GROUP, LLC

Scalable software from startup to enterprise. Your delivery expert in Commissions Calc / Consulting, Replicating Websites, E-Commerce, Reporting, Promotions, Localization, Multi-Currency, and more- The Perfect Cloud-based Direct Selling Software Partner!

SOVOS 200 Ballardvale Street, 4th Floor Wilmington, MA 01887 1-800-334-1099 www.sovos.com Save time and money with a smarter tax information reporting solution. Sovos solutions keep up with regulatory changes, perform TIN verifications, and automate your organization’s entire 1099 and 1042-S federal and state reporting process.

TOOLS, RECRUITING & TR AINING

JENKON 915 Broadway, Ste. 400 Vancouver, WA 98660 360-256-4400 www.jenkon.com

S O F T WA R E / T E C H N O L O G Y S O L U T I O N S

TO BE INCLUDED IN THE VENDOR DIRECTORY, CALL 1-800-279-5249

TA X S E R V I C E S

S O F T WA R E / T E C H N O L O G Y S O L U T I O N S

Vendor Directory

SUCCESS PARTNERS 5800 Democracy Drive, Suite 100 Plano, TX 75024 800-752-2030 www.successpartners.com SERVICES THAT SPARK GROWTH. From sampling and physical starter kits to digital marketing, we’ve got you covered.

We serve by working alongside you to design, develop, and deliver solutions that benefit you, your distributors, and your customers.

GET CONNECTED

“

To those who need your services.

Confidence in your media partner’s extensive reach and deep knowledge in the industry is a priority for PLT Health Solutions when promoting our brands and Direct Selling News is one of those partners.

—STEVE FINK, Vice President

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SAVE THE DATE MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Our goal for the 2021 event is to bring you the best of both worlds: a combination of onsite (in-person) and online experiences.

MAY 2021 Wednesday 19 – Friday 21 Renaissance Dallas at Plano Legacy West Hotel Plano, TX

REACH FOR THE STARS Planning your next big growth phase? FlexCloud can help you make it happen from start to finish. Our expert teams’ years of commissions and consulting experience, combined with customized, legendary software solutions, will point you in the right direction as you make your trek. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can create a tailored solution for your size, systems and teams.

It’s time. Take off with FlexCloud.

801.431.4900 | infotraxsys.com