The direct selling industry, known for its adaptability, is gearing up for transformative changes in 2024. The traditional face of direct selling is changing. Embracing innovation and agility is becoming crucial as companies respond to evolving consumer behaviors and technological advancements. Corporate executives need to stay ahead of these shifts to drive growth and retain a competitive edge. Let’s delve into the key trends reshaping the landscape: 

Affiliate Programs Revolutionizing Sales 

More than 35% of existing direct selling companies are anticipated to incorporate affiliate programs, emphasizing straightforward selling, and offering attractive commissions ranging from 15% to 40%. Start-up companies have adopted this approach right from inception, acknowledging the appeal of simple, high-commission structures. 

This allows the direct sales industry to compete with the retail industry. More than 80% of retail brands use Affiliate Marketing programs. And 80% of advertisers set aside approximately 10% of their marketing budget for these projects. Why? Because it helps businesses reach more people, drive leads, and boost sales, all without spending much money on hiring a marketing company. 

The affiliate program offers an appealing alternate avenue to generate revenue for companies with the Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z, who may have no interest in team building but will promote and sell products they believe in. Plus, it allows the affiliate to sell multiple products from different companies with no conflict of interest.  

Attraction of Different Generations 

Affiliate marketing is drawing in younger generations like Millennials and Gen Zers who are adept at social selling. The ease and familiarity of affiliate-based models resonate with these demographics, influencing their engagement within the direct selling space.  Research shows that this type of model is in tune with bloggers, influencers, university students, and young parents who are searching for an avenue of additional income stream that is time flexible. 

Payout Frequency and Adaptability 

To get ahead in the race for attracting talent amongst the growing gig economy, direct selling companies need to pay attention to the evolving preferences of their field. A recent study conducted by Dr. Robert A. Peterson and John T. Fleming and sponsored by PayQuicker found that 83% of gig workers cite the importance of being paid immediately for performance when looking for a new gig (The Future of Work: Insights into the 2023 Gig Economy Workforce). Companies that offer flexible payment options and safe, secure, speedy payments—usually on the same day—provide a better experience; improve attrition rates; and become more attractive to those entrepreneurs looking for a side or full-time home business to join. Instant payments build loyalty, trust, and engagement. This, in turn, creates a desire to grow their businesses and the desire to increase income. This adaptation aims to retain talent and remain competitive in the dynamic market. 

Global Expansion and Localization 

With the world becoming increasingly interconnected, direct selling companies will focus even more on global expansion. However, localization will be critical for success. Executives understand the diverse market nuances, adapting strategies accordingly, and establishing strong local networks and partnerships. We know the world is smaller because of our ability to communicate face to face via technology like Zoom, Teams, etc. It can be as simple as speaking in the country’s native tongue vs English, (with a translator if necessary), or even ease of commissions transferred to the local currency.  

AI Integration for Enhanced Efficiency 

AI, including chat-based technologies like ChatGPT, is becoming a staple both in corporate operations and field activities. Field leaders are leveraging AI-driven posts to support and guide their downlines, streamlining operations and enhancing productivity. In 2024, more companies will also utilize AI to support their leaders in the field and keep costs down. 

Amplified Social Media Support 

Field members now expect an array of social media posts—up to 20 different choices per week—to amplify their online presence and reach. Providing diverse content options empowers distributors and fuels their social selling strategies. Their posts need to give the potential consumer a reason to buy through them vs someone else. The objective is to gain traffic and convert that traffic into customers and sales; companies that are supporting this will see more traction than ever before in this space.  By being diverse, it generates more traffic to their business and will far outreach their personal circle of influence. This, in turn, opens opportunities to reach the right people.   

Resurgence of Live Events and Recognition 

Regional and annual/bi-annual conventions are experiencing a resurgence, significantly impacting company growth, and fostering brand loyalty.  On-stage recognition at these events is imperative, driving motivation and engagement among field members.  There is nothing like receiving an award or walking on stage in front of peers.  In the past, before the world was on lock-down, most direct sales companies focused on driving their team members to live events regionally monthly, quarterly, bi-annually and annually, knowing that this increased retention with the field and belief in the company. With the lock down, companies got very comfortable with Zoom and Team events, and while it has become a fantastic add on to businesses, and cost effective, it does not replace live events. More and more companies that did return to live events in 2023 are promoting more live events in 2024 than ever. 

Incentives and Travel Programs Driving Engagement 

Companies are elevating incentives and incentive travel programs, incorporating both sales and recruitment criteria. This dual-pronged approach not only motivates sales but also fosters team building and network expansion. 

In summary, the direct selling industry in 2024 is undergoing a profound transformation driven by affiliate programs, AI integration, increased social media support, and a renewed focus on live events and incentives. Corporate executives are embracing these trends to navigate the evolving landscape, foster innovation, and maintain a competitive edge in this dynamic sector. Adaptability and responsiveness will be key in seizing the opportunities presented by these industry shifts.  

Here’s to an exceptional 2024 for the industry! 

PayQuicker is a leading provider of financial transaction and treasury management technology and innovation for a wide range of industries requiring mass payouts to their participants. Our cloud-based and regulatory-compliant BaaS software stack offers custom-branded global treasury solutions that power clients to seamlessly deliver secure, instant payouts and digital wallets to millions of consumers, independent contractors, distributors, influencers, and affiliates around the globe. Schedule a free demo to learn more about the PayQuicker global treasury management solution.

The post Direct Selling Industry Trends for 2024: Navigating the Evolution for Corporate Executives  first appeared on Direct Selling News.

In this new digital world, they expect whatever business(es) they choose to work with to be current with trends, simple to operate, profitable—and FAST! Plus, the competition to attract and retain field members is fierce in today’s workforce.

With a 3.7 percent unemployment rate, US employers are aggressively competing for workers everywhere—and the direct selling industry is no exception. Every direct sales business needs a strong, reliable, engaged and satisfied field, so the race for attracting talent in a competitive landscape can be challenging. The direct sales landscape (like all other industries) is unrecognizable compared to a decade ago and even more so in the past three years. Is this a good thing? YES!

The direct sales industry can compete within the gig economy and win! As a channel, we have so much more to offer. We are, after all, The Original Gig. Working from the comfort of home, low start-up cost, quick compensation, company support and personal growth can be much more attractive than many other gig opportunities out there.

Flexible Financial Freedom

How can we do that? Attracting new entrepreneurs means satisfying their expectations. Companies that offer flexible payment options and safe, secure, speedy payments—usually on the same day—provide a better experience; improve attrition rates; and become more attractive to those entrepreneurs looking for a side or full-time home business to join. Instant payments build loyalty, trust, belief and engagement. This, in turn, creates a desire to grow their businesses and the desire to increase income. It becomes a snowball effect.

Instant payments are key to unlocking the vast talent pool of the growing gig economy. The Future of Work: Insights into the 2023 Gig Economy Workforce study conducted by Dr. Robert A. Peterson and John T. Fleming and sponsored PayQuicker found that 83 percent of gig workers cite the importance of being paid immediately for performance when looking for a new gig. The importance of immediate pay for performance was endorsed by the gig workers surveyed, particularly women. A large percentage of the direct sales industry salesforce are female and being paid immediately for performance was stated as more important for female gig workers.

Instant Payment Supports Retention

When asked, “How do you primarily use the money you earn from your gig,” 49 percent of the gig workers surveyed in 2023 stated that they used their gig earnings to pay household bills. This percentage is a significant increase from 2020, when 37 percent of the gig workers surveyed stated that they used their gig earnings to pay household bills. This 12 percent increase for households indicates that independent contractors are relying on being paid on time to pay their bills. Getting instant access to commissions earned could create more loyalty to the brand and support retention of the salesforce.

Another important factor is security and fraud protection. This is extremely important to today’s salesforce. Having a secure, safe platform with secure commission accounts that ensures authentication of the user; has multifactor authentication; bank-grade security; and is compliant with regulations worldwide allows the field to feel safe with their earnings that are deposited into a personal account.

Additionally, a brand debit/credit card validates and helps to promote the entrepreneur’s business, while a reliable payment back office that tracks payments, expenses and even offers tax documents increases the loyalty, trust and belief of the entrepreneur.

Plus, the ability to purchase anywhere with personal branded debit cards (virtual and plastic) instantly, with the option of mobile wallets, is a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Multiple, flexible payment options are key as well. Instant access to a virtual card that they can start spending on immediately upon registration is also extremely important. They want to use their earnings immediately.

What Entrepreneurs Want—and Need

This is what today’s entrepreneur wants with their commissions. While faster payments are just one of many ways that the relationship between the field and the company becomes stronger, it IS known as one of the top items on their checklist when choosing a company to represent.

One last observation which I think is the most important is that those who have fast access to their earnings work harder and more frequently. People love getting paid for a job well done and seeing it in black and white. It helps as a motivator to work toward that $500 needed to pay bills, a mortgage, pay down debt, etc. This is the golden nugget, that intangible that makes a difference. There is no better satisfaction for everyone involved in this industry than seeing those goals achieved and success attained. I’m glad we are all a part of the equation to help their success in an ever-changing and complex economy.

In conclusion, direct selling organizations need a secure and compliant solution to deliver payouts to their salesforce with minimum overhead that caters to the diverse payment needs of all global demographics. Keeping sellers engaged in today’s competitive market is a top priority, while increasing internal efficiencies and reducing costs are key to business growth. Faster payments to your distributors mean they grow their business—and yours—faster.

With over 30 years of experience in the direct sales industry, Darla Brown is a seasoned executive who began her career as a distributor in the field and then moved into the corporate world of direct sales as an executive in sales, marketing and management. As Global Vice President of Customer Growth at PayQuicker, Darla supports new and existing clients with their global payout needs.

From the November 2023 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post How to Get Ahead in the Race for Attracting Talent first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Direct selling enterprises can provide competitive advantages through implementing strategic payout processes and technology. Partnering with the right global payout platform can help treasurers of international businesses achieve both.

Here are four actionable tips on how treasurers of direct selling businesses can add value and reduce risk with improved global treasury management for global payouts:

1 / Manage Globalization

As the trend of business globalization continues heavily in the direct selling space, treasury is an increasingly international operation. Implementing a global treasury system is an important initiative for international businesses to ensure operational proficiency and compliance with local practices and regulations.

Treasury rules and regulations vary between countries and can be a complicated area to navigate. It is essential for companies that are expanding globally to recognize that business practices can differ in local markets. The complexities of treasury are magnified as companies expand into emerging markets or multiple markets simultaneously.

In today’s fast-paced global economy, treasurers are critical leaders who deliver tremendous value to companies.

Businesses can structure their governance systems to recognize these global differences and strengthen their responsiveness to local requirements. This can often be a headache for CFOs and treasurers, especially in emerging markets where governance is often weak or nonexistent. It is critically important to select partners and service providers that understand local markets and effectively respond to varying practices and regulations to lift the burden off internal finance teams.

In summary, direct selling organizations can manage global growth by:

• Recognizing that business practices, rules and regulations can differ in local markets and across countries
• Structuring governance systems to recognize these differences and strengthen responsiveness
• Choosing technology partners that understand these differences

2 / Mitigate Risks

With global growth comes the onset of more complex treasury activities and corresponding risk. There are four very important risk areas for treasurers to consider to lower their company’s risk profile including:

• Foreign exchange
• Money laundering
• Taxation
• Data and information security

Foreign Exchange / Companies can reduce foreign exchange (FX) risk and manage working capital more effectively by matching local currency revenues with payouts in the same local currency.

There is a strategic benefit for global direct selling businesses to match local currency revenues as most distributors prefer to be paid in local currency to avoid the burden of FX fees that they would have to bear if they are paid in U.S. dollars. By conducting payouts in local currency, global businesses can gain a competitive advantage while reducing foreign exchange risk.

Money Laundering / Anti-laundering regulations across regions must be met to reduce risk and to ensure smooth and timely execution of payments and transfers. Treasury departments of global direct selling enterprises are tasked with the crucial responsibility of eliminating the risk of fraud and asset mismanagement.

Taxation / Tax is a complex yet integral subject for businesses that is dependent on many factors unique to each company. Treasurers of U.S. entities must strategically manage their foreign profits and repatriation of those profits to ensure the most tax efficient structure. This can be a complicated task for treasury teams. Consultation with a tax professional is essential to formulating and executing any tax strategy.

Data and Information Security / The threat of cyberattacks continues to grow globally. According to research by the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach grew to a record-high $4.24 million in 2021. Finance and treasury departments are a prime target for hackers and fraudsters. Corporate treasurers need to ensure their financial data—and that of their distributors—is protected and secure.

3 / Manage Cash Flow and Liquidity

Ensuring cash is in the right place, at the right time, in the right currency is an omnipresent never-ending key focus for treasurers. Corporate treasurers safeguard cash flow and make sure funds are circulating around the business smoothly. Effective global treasury management ensures the financial health of the company by optimizing liquidity and carefully managing relationships with banking partners, ensuring cash is available and payments are made and received on time.

Streamlining global payment processing is an important part of managing and optimizing cash flow. It minimizes costs associated with the complexity of supporting numerous countries and currencies, increases the speed and efficiency of payouts and consolidates corporate global treasury reporting. In the rapidly evolving world of payments, global enterprises are able to track real-time payment data and instantly respond to their liquidity position.

4 / Reduce Costs

We live in a world of constraints, and achieving global treasury goals on or under budget is part of the treasurer’s daily charge. Partnering with a global treasury management solution helps treasurers achieve payment processing goals. Treasurers should ensure the following needs are met when choosing the right solution for their global company:

• Consolidate payments with a global payout provider
• Reduce cost of ACH/EFT payments and paper checks
• Reduce rework of correcting failed ACH/EFT transfers
• Avoid security risks by eliminating burden of storing personal banking information
• Eliminate FX fees with local currency payout options
• Re-deploy resources to value-added activities

In today’s fast-paced global economy, treasurers are critical leaders who deliver tremendous value to companies. This value is enhanced when treasurers merge their traditional role of managing risk and providing liquidity with executing strategic vision and providing competitive advantages.

Providing competitive advantage can be accomplished through implementing strategic payout processes and technology. Treasurers have the vision and, with the right global payout platform that provides valuable tools, global businesses can effectively manage payouts to countries across the world with local currencies to gain a competitive advantage.

Joseph Bertalli is the Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer at PayQuicker. PayQuicker is a leading provider of financial transaction and treasury management technology and innovation for direct selling enterprises across the globe.

From the December 2021 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post 4 Tips for Treasurers to Reduce Risk & Add Value with Global Treasury Management first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Providing competitive advantage can be accomplished through implementing strategic payout processes and technology. Partnering with the right global payout platform can help treasurers of international businesses achieve both.

In this article, Joe Bertalli, PayQuicker Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, shares four tips on how treasurers can add value and reduce risk with improved global treasury management for global payouts:

1. Manage globalization
2. Mitigate risk
3. Enhance cash flow and liquidity
4. Reduce cost

1. Manage Globalization

As the trend of business globalization continues heavily in the direct selling space, treasury is an increasingly international operation. Implementing a global treasury system is an important initiative for international businesses to ensure operational proficiency and compliance with local practices and regulations. Treasury rules and regulations vary between countries and can be a complicated area to navigate. It is essential for companies that are expanding globally to recognize that business practices can differ in local markets. The complexities of treasury are magnified as companies expand into emerging markets or multiple markets simultaneously. Businesses can structure their governance systems to recognize these global differences and strengthen their responsiveness to local requirements. This can often be a headache for CFOs and treasurers, especially in emerging markets where governance is often weak or nonexistent. It is critically important to select partners and service providers that understand local markets and effectively respond to varying practices and regulations to lift the burden off internal finance teams.

Globalization Summary

• Recognize business practices can differ in local markets
• Rules and regulations can differ across countries
• Structure governance systems to recognize these differences and strengthen responsiveness
• Choose a partner that understands these differences

2. Mitigate Risks

With global growth comes the onset of more complex treasury activities and corresponding risk. There are three very important risk areas for treasurers to consider to lower their company’s risk profile including:

• Foreign exchange
• Money laundering
• Taxation
• Data and information security

Foreign exchange risk: Companies can reduce foreign exchange (FX) risk and manage working capital more effectively by matching local currency revenues with payouts in the same local currency. There is a strategic benefit for global direct selling businesses to match local currency revenues as most distributors prefer to be paid in local currency to avoid the burden of FX fees that they would have to bear if they are paid in US dollars.  By conducting payouts in local currency, global businesses can gain a competitive advantage while reducing foreign exchange risk.  

Money laundering risk: Anti-laundering regulations across regions must be met to reduce risk and to ensure smooth and timely execution of payments and transfers. Treasury departments of global enterprises are tasked with the crucial responsibility of eliminating the risk of fraud and asset mismanagement.

Taxation: Tax is a complex, yet integral, subject for businesses that is dependent on many factors unique to each company. Treasurers of US entities must strategically manage their foreign profits and repatriation of those profits to ensure the most tax efficient structure. This can be a complicated task for treasury teams.  Consultation with a tax professional is essential to formulating and executing any tax strategy.

Data and information security risk: The threat of cyberattacks continues to grow and treasury is a prime target for hackers and fraudsters. Corporate treasurers need to ensure their financial data, and that of their distributors, is protected and secure.

3. Manage Cash flow and Liquidity

Ensuring cash is in the right place, at the right time, in the right currency is an omnipresent never-ending key focus for treasurers. Corporate treasurers safeguard cash flow and make sure funds are circulating around the business smoothly. Effective global treasury management ensures the financial health of the company by optimizing liquidity and carefully managing relationships with banking partners, ensuring cash is available and payments are made and received on time.

Streamlining global payment processing is an important part of managing and optimizing cash flow. It minimizes costs associated with the complexity of supporting numerous countries and currencies, increases the speed and efficiency of payouts, and consolidates corporate global treasury reporting. In the rapidly evolving world of payments, global enterprises are able to track real-time payment data and instantly respond to their liquidity position.

4. Reduce Costs

We live in a world of constraints and achieving global treasury goals on, or under budget, is part of the treasurer’s daily charge. Partnering with a global treasury management solution helps treasurers achieve payment processing goals. Treasurers should ensure the following needs are met when choosing the right solution for their global company:

• Consolidate payments with a global payout provider
• Reduce cost of ACH/EFT payments and paper checks
• Reduce rework of correcting failed ACH/EFT transfers
• Avoid security risks by eliminating burden of storing personal banking information
• Eliminate FX fees with local currency payout options
• Redeploy resources to value added activities

In today’s fast-paced global economy, treasurers are critical leaders who deliver tremendous value to companies. This value is enhanced when treasurers merge their traditional role of managing risk and providing liquidity with executing strategic vision and providing competitive advantages.

Providing competitive advantage can be accomplished through implementing strategic payout processes and technology. Treasurers have the vision and, with the right global payout platform that provides valuable tools, global businesses can effectively manage payouts to countries across the world with local currencies to gain a competitive advantage.

PayQuicker is a leading provider of financial transaction and treasury management technology and innovation for a wide range of industries requiring mass payouts to their participants. Our cloud-based and regulatory-compliant BaaS software stack offers custom-branded global treasury solutions that power clients to seamlessly deliver secure, instant payouts and digital wallets to millions of consumers, independent contractors, distributors, influencers, and affiliates around the globe. Schedule a free demo to learn more about the PayQuicker global treasury management solution.

The post 4 Tips for Treasurers to Reduce Risk and Add Value with Global Treasury Management first appeared on Direct Selling News.