2008 Direct Selling 101: Learning the Ropes


DSA's 2008 Direct Selling 101: Learning the Ropes Seminar has concluded. Thank you for your interest in this seminar's content. A DVD of this seminar is available for purchase through DSA's store. Please feel free to order a copy of the seminar, and we'll look forward to seeing you in 2009!

Direct Selling 101: Learning the Ropes
March 18-19
Hyatt Bethesda
Bethesda, Maryland

A seasoned panel of direct selling pros with hands-on experience working with successful start-up companies will lead you through the basics of direct selling during our 2008 Direct Selling 101 Seminar. You’ll gain information on key topics including marketing and compensation plans; promotions, direct selling philosophy, business plans and budgets and much more!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

8:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Registration Open
8:00 a.m. - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 8:40 a.m. Introduction to Direct Selling
8:40 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. The Search Begins: Finding the Right Marketing Plan
9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Networking Refreshment Break
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Compensation Plan Design Essentials
11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. Key Operating Indicators
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Networking Luncheon
12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Promotions that Drive your Business
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Five Keys to a Fast Start
2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Networking Refreshment Break
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Three Principles & Four Questions
3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Legal Issues
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Learning From Experience
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Ask the Veterans Panel
6:30 p.m. Dinner On Your Own
6:30 p.m. Party Plan Council Dinner

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

8:00 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. Registration Open
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Business Plans & Budgets
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. The 10 Most Common Mistakes in Direct Selling
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Bringing the Dream Alive
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 Assessing Your Technology Needs
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Networking Luncheon

Tuesday, March 18

8:00 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Registration Open

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 8:40 a.m. Introduction to Direct Selling
Direct selling is defined as the sale of a consumer product or service in a person-to-person fashion, away from a fixed retail location. But there’s more to the story than the simple sale of products. This introduction to direct selling will provide you with the foundation you need to carry you through this seminar and into the future of your company.

  • Joseph Mariano, Executive Vice President, Secretary & Legal Counsel, Direct Selling Association
8:40 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. The Search Begins: Finding the Right Marketing Plan
The kind of marketing plan a company utilizes can be the deciding factor in the success of the organization. The plan you select will shape your company and affect every decision your executive team makes as the company grows. How should you go about choosing the plan that will best fit your growing business? Which approaches have the highest success rates, and how have others implemented them quickly and successfully? These and many other questions will be answered in this insightful session.
  • Alan Luce, President, Luce & Associates
9:45 a.m. – 10:0 a.m. Networking Refreshment Break

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Compensation Plan Design Essentials
Compensation plans are designed to encourage and provide motivation for specific behaviors from your sales representatives and their customers. New direct selling companies quickly learn that a winning compensation strategy is critical to their success. In this informative session, you’ll learn how to choose a compensation plan strategy that is right for your business model and how to leverage your compensation plan for aggressive growth.
  • Alan Luce, President, Luce & Associates
11:00 a.m – 11:45 a.m. Key Operating Indicators
Successful direct selling companies make operating decisions only after evaluating the critical metrics that gauge their success: salesforce turnover, retention, recruitment, sales, incentive success and others. Many corporate decision-making pitfalls can be avoided if your company establishes effective strategies for gathering and evaluating these metrics. This session will provide you with a system to utilize your company’s data, as well as address mistakes commonly made when executives exclusively use “gut feelings” or “intuition” for key business decisions. Successful and confident decision-making starts here!
  • Alan Luce, President, Luce & Associates
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. Networking Lunch

12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Promotions that Drive your Business
Promotional programs are marketing activities designed to motivate the salesforce to take two basic actions: sell products and recruit others to sell. If your company isn’t selling enough product or recruiting enough distributors, you won’t have a company for very long. Our expert will explore when and why promotions are needed and how to fit them into your regular business structure at the drop of a hat. You’ll also learn the importance of matching promotions to your company’s preferred method of selling and gain essential tips on how to do so.
  • Jan Gilmore, Principal, Jan Gilmore Unlimited
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Five Keys to a Fast Start
Ever wish there was an “easy button” to growing your salesforce? Five easy concepts will have new distributors banging down your door. Our panel of experts will discuss such topics as basic order processing and customer service infrastructure, creating the “business in a box” to promote distance recruiting, field services to promote growth, field communications including newsletters, recognition and more; and building the home office team: what is needed, what isn’t?
  • Alan Luce, President, Luce & Associates
2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Networking Refreshment Break

2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Three Principles & Four Questions
It can make or break your company if your corporate team doesn’t understand the underlying philosophies that guide our industry. Individuals new to direct selling often find its concepts and practices difficult to master. Questions like, “Why do direct sellers do the things they do?” “How do they think?” and “What are they talking about?” can often stop company growth in its tracks. Our expert has developed a decision process tool to help new employees and executives understand how to think about things in a direct selling context and make decisions based upon that thinking. He calls this process the “Three Principles and Four Questions.” Find out how it can keep your company on the right track to growth and success.
  • Alan Luce, President, Luce & Associates
3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Legal Issues
The laws surrounding direct selling vary widely, and are sometimes complicated, but staying on the right side of the law is critical to your company’s—and our industry’s—success. In this discussion, we will cover the basic legal topics about which every company should be familiar, featuring DSA’s Code of Ethics, state and federal laws including independent contractor issues, and DSA-produced model anti-pyramid scheme legislation. We’ll also cover the FTC and Internet issues in this layman’s session on direct selling law.
  • Spencer Reese, Partner, Grimes & Reese
4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Learning From Experience
Sit back and enjoy a relaxed hour of story-telling, as executives from two successful direct selling enterprises tell you about their experience getting started in the industry, including pitfalls avoided—or not—and valuable lessons learned. Get a feel for our industry’s wonderful tradition of information-sharing and garner some great tips you couldn’t have learned anywhere else—and won’t want to learn through experience.
  • Jacques Mizrahi, Chief Executive Officer - SwissJust North America, SwissJust
  • Barb Pitcock, Vice President, Livinity, Inc.
  • David Pitcock, CEO & President, Livinity, Inc.
  • Orville Thompson, President & CEO, Scentsy, Inc.
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Ask the Veterans Panel
Digest everything you’ll have learned during the first nine hours of this seminar through an open Q & A session. Ask questions, benefit from the questions others ask and wrap your mind around everything you’re starting to understand about our industry.
  • Jan Gilmore, Principal, Jan Gilmore Unlimited
  • Alan Luce, Chief Executive Officer, Wildtree Herbs, Inc.
  • Jacques Mizrahi, Chief Executive Officer - SwissJust North America, SwissJust
  • Barb Pitcock, Vice President, Livinity, Inc.
  • David Pitcock, CEO & President, Livinity, Inc.
  • Spencer Reese, Partner, Grimes & Reese
  • Orville Thompson, President & CEO, Scentsy, Inc.
6:30 p.m. Dinner On Your Own

6:30 p.m. Party Plan Council Dinner
For individuals whose companies will utilize the party plan method of selling, you’ll want to be in attendance at the Party Plan Council Dinner. Enjoy great food and take part in the Council meeting as challenges specific to party planning are discussed. (Separate registration applies.)

Wednesday, March 19

8:00 a.m. – 2:15 p.m. Registration Open

8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Business Plans and Budgets
You can’t have a successful company – direct selling or any other kind – without money, and a plan for making more of it. For many companies just getting started, the financial aspects of running a direct selling business may be uncharted waters, but building a solid financial plan is one of the key steps in creating and growing a successful company. This session will answer critical questions including, “Why is a business plan important?” “How much will it cost to get my company launched?” and “What are the factors that will influence my growth and profitability?”

  • Daniel Murphy, Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer, Princess House, Inc.
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. The 10 Most Common Mistakes in Direct Selling
If you fail to study history, you may be doomed to repeat it. Learn from our expert how to avoid the pitfalls others have encountered and capitalize on successful strategies to insure your future.
  • Dan Jensen, Compensation Plan Specialist, Dan Jensen Consulting
10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Bringing the Dream to Life
Direct selling is fundamentally different from other retail industries, and without a firm understanding of those differences, your company will not be able to succeed. Our expert will walk you through everything from product marketing to shipping and distribution to budgetary expectations and much more to provide you with an in-depth understanding of the differences you can expect, and what that means for your company’s operations as you bring the dream to life.
  • Jan Gilmore, Principal, Jan Gilmore Unlimited
  • Jacques Mizrahi, Chief Executive Officer - SwissJust North America, SwissJust
  • Barb Pitcock, Vice President, Livinity, Inc.
  • David Pitcock, CEO & President, Livinity, Inc.
  • Orville Thompson, President & CEO, Scentsy, Inc.
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Assessing Your Technology Needs
Compensation plans, budgets, marketing, accounting, distribution …. These are just a few of the elements that comprise the foundation of your direct selling company. And they all need to be tied together with the appropriate software to keep your company operating full speed ahead. Can you use DreamWeaver to assemble your Web site? Will QuickBooks take care of your accounting needs? Can you keep track of your company’s downline in Excel? And when will it be time for an upgrade? This session will cover these important topics and address the pitfalls that exist for the young and growing direct selling company.
  • Bob Hipple, President, Eaglecap Consulting
12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. Networking Lunch
Grab a bite to eat before you hit the road! Continue previous conversations with your colleagues before you head out of town to put the information you’ve learned into practice!