The thing is, if you've encountered a consultant from any company that makes you think and feel this way, they're doing it wrong. Direct sales is not about pressuring your friends and family to buy your product, host a party, or join your team. It's not about randomly calling someone you haven't seen in ten years and trying to get them to buy, host, or join. Anyone who runs their business that way is doing it wrong and is doing you, themselves, and the rest of this profession a grave disservice.
Here's what direct sales and multi-level marketing is truly about: sharing. I am not a sales person. This is not a sales job. Cheesy as it sounds, I share for a living. I'm serious when I say I get to hang out with awesome people for a living. That's actually what I do. I share a product, and people buy if it they want it. If they don't, that's cool. I share the rewards of hosting a party, and if people choose to host, great. If not, equally great. I share my business opportunity. If people choose to join my team, awesome. If not, equally awesome.
Any really good consultant is in the business of helping people, of sharing a product and opportunity that we feel can change someone's life. If I talk to you about my product or business, it's because I want to help you. Yes, I make real money, just like with any job. It makes a difference in my family's budget. I also have the flexibility to work when it fits into the rest of my life. And I love my job, unlike any other job I've had before. But my underlying motive is to help people. Really.
The term "direct sales" is almost always misinterpreted. All it means is that the product is not sold in stores. It's sold directly to the customers. Instead of paying for retail product placement, advertising, and endorsements, companies that choose the direct sales model pay people like me to share the product for them. They pay people like me the money that would have gone for those other things. Everyone wins in this business model. The products get to customers, and people like me get to work for ourselves.
My name is Leila Hays, and I'm proud to call myself a Jamberry Independent Consultant.
