What Does (and Doesn’t) Motivate Today’s Direct Seller

A deep dive into today’s direct seller and what they are looking for.

BY JOHN T. FLEMING

Hen Direct Selling

NEWS ASKED FOR my thoughts on what motivates today’s direct sellers, I knew this topic was complex. What motivates people is never a simple “black-and-white” answer. The motivations can be as varied as the number of participants. What is readily apparent is that motivations are evolving. The ultimate objective of all direct selling companies is to grow the business by growing the number of customers. Direct sellers are the intermediaries in this process. Therefore, what motivates a direct seller is important for the company to understand.

DIRECT SELLING opportunities will become more attractive—even a preferred choice—for those looking for new revenue streams.

Direct Selling Is Poised for Growth

Relevant direct selling models are in position to grow market share in the current favorable environment of consumers actively seeking more efficient ways to purchase products and services. Therefore, direct selling opportunities will become more attractive— even a preferred choice—for those looking for new revenue streams.

The key word in the above hypothesis is “relevant.” In Ultimate Gig, we devoted an entire chapter to motivations for working a gig. In this article, we correlate insights gained from Ultimate Gig findings with experiences, observations and study of additional empirical research. These three insights reveal what we consider to be important to understanding what motivates direct sellers in today’s marketplace.

1/ The origins of direct selling offered an opportunity to represent a brand, enabling consumers to purchase the brand through a very personalized approach. Direct sellers sold to consumers and serviced customers consistently. However, over recent years, we may have lost some of the excitement related to successfully attracting and retaining real customers of the brand. Contemporary direct selling companies are just beginning to recognize the value of analyzing and tracking the behaviors of consumers of their products and services acquired through independent direct sellers. It is as honorable to “sell” as it is to “buy,” and when we can benefit from a sale, we activate new possibilities and opportunities to repeat the process again and again.

Three Key Takeaways

1 / DIRECT SELLING IS WELL POSITIONED FOR GROWTH

Many gig economy participants currently are not involved in direct selling. By expanding the channel’s scope, direct selling can get a much bigger slice of the gig economy pie.

2 / MODERNIZING HOW DIRECT SELLERS ARE PAID IS IMPERATIVE

A key motivator for gig-economy enthusiasts is immediate pay for immediate work. The channel needs to adopt a quick-pay mindset.

3 / NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF DIRECT SELLING CAN BE REVERSED

As the definition of what direct selling is expands to become more inclusive of other gig economy opportunities, the channel’s reputation can be improved.

2/ As direct selling evolved to include new methods of compensation not explored or used by any other business model, the hypothetical math associated with the opportunity may have become more important than the philosophy behind the brand and the importance of transactions with consumers and customers of the brand. To explain further, David McConnel, Earl Tupper, Stan Beveridge, Mary Kay Ash, Mary Crowley, Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel appear to have been very focused on the principles and values upon which they founded their companies. I do not recall anything of importance associated with the