The 10 Most Common Mistakes in Direct Selling Part 6
by Dan Jensen
#10: Growing Too Fast
While most businesses would give their right arms to grow at exponential rates, direct selling has a track record of just that. Unfortunately, this kind of growth has often been a major cause of the demise of many otherwise successful ventures. Success is wonderful, but it can bury you.
New businesses have new staff, new computer systems, new facilities, and are short on the experience to handle business efficiently. An office can only handle a certain volume of business. What if that volume is exceeded? Something must give. What if they run out of product for several weeks? Growth can be very expensive.
While growing, cash seems to be unlimited. Some growing companies go on a spending spree throwing money at their problems. This too, is a false security, for as surely as the growth came, it will level out, and eventually go downward for periods of time. It may be far better to limit growth temporarily, than to succumb to its crushing demands.
How can a direct selling company control its growth?
If you think your growth will outpace your capacity to sustain it, then consider the following options:
- Start locally by not accepting distributor applications from everywhere until you are ready. Distributors who seek to join from unopened regions are simply given a courteous thank you letter. Let them know how much you want to have them join, but that the opportunity isn’t available yet in their area. Notify them when they can join.
- Don’t sponsor road trips by corporate or field promoters. Take advantage of the less expensive local opportunities, first. Meetings can be held locally every night of the week for the cost of one meeting on the road.
- Don’t recruit professional direct selling promoters or big hitters. If they want to join, then they must join as any other distributor. Don’t, however, go out of your way to recruit them.
By controlling growth, a business plan can become a real guide to making the business profitable. Use the plan to make success become a reality and don’t be too anxious to build your walls before you have built a solid foundation.
Conclusion
Direct selling offers incredible opportunities but also has a vast assortment of pitfalls and traps. Life is too short to learn every lesson by ourselves. We are far wiser to observe others, and let their experiences teach us a better way. By recognizing these common but sometimes fatal mistakes, your potential for success will improve dramatically. Those that have money to burn can ignore these rules. Those that must be careful and have budgets to contend with should give heed to these 10 mistakes most often made by other direct selling companies. It may save your business and help you realize your dreams of success.
