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NMBJ 2 March 2009 Executive's Corner 679 views No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

By Peter O. Hayes • NuVitae, Inc

We’ve all heard the saying, at least if you’ve been in network marketing for more than an hour, that tough economic times for most businesses and people creates a good (or great) opportunity and environment in the direct selling industry. And, in some regards, that statement has validity. However, managing a direct selling business in an economic “slow down” like the one we are engulfed in today, is much more treacherous and is the subject of this article.

During normal times, producing and packaging the right products, charging the right amounts for those items, designing and attracting great distributors with rewarding and lucrative compensation plans, designing tools to help distributors build successful businesses, and finally create a fun and exciting culture that will encourage those distributors to stay with a company are some of the most basic business fundamentals that direct selling companies must focus on to be successful. But these aren’t normal times. Just turn on the television and listen to the news, and all you will hear about is recession, Wall Street depression, and financial Ponzi schemes. That is not a good (or great) environment for any company to find itself operating in, including network marketing businesses. But there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

People historically during financial recessions, have looked for additional ways to earn more money. Many get part-time jobs, ask for overtime, or if you are already a small business owner, pursue business opportunities they normally would have turned down, because it was “too small,” “not our specialty,” or simply “too far away.” And of course, those same people when presented with an income opportunity from a reputable direct selling company, may more than they might have under normal circumstances, think about becoming a distributor. That much is true, and typically distributor enrollments do rise during these difficult economic times.