Direct selling is at a serious inflection point. With the triple threat of inflation, post-pandemic malaise, and the invasion of Ukraine continuing to burden sales for industry leaders, companies must ask themselves: how have distributor and consumer desires, expectations, and behaviors changed? Many direct selling companies have made the mistake of focusing on their processes, operations, and business results without considering the psychologies and behaviors of distributors and end consumers.

What can direct selling companies today do to account for these changes? How should direct sellers evolve to compete in the New Economy of the 2020s? The answers to the questions are at once simpler and more complex than most people think.

1. Distributors Are Tired.

While direct selling is somewhat siloed off from the larger economy (due to the industry’s singular nature), still, it can’t help but be affected by some of the dominant trends in the workforce. Chief among them is the same sense of overwork that sparked, first, the Great Resignation, and second, “quiet quitting” in traditional organizations. 81%+ of the workforce as of last year felt overwhelmed, while threats of a recession looming will not have helped matters in 2023.

The story isn’t all that different in direct selling, where 2021, the latest year with conclusive data, showed a 5.2% decrease in direct selling distributors overall. At best, it seems that consultant turnover rates remained stagnant through 2022, with sales productivity not reaching the highs of the pandemic, when members of the field were stuck at home and more likely to spend more time on social business-building at a time when loneliness was rampant among older adults.

In addition, distributors have simple ways to earn money that in their eyes, might not require as much initial effort. They can sign up with a gig platform. They can create an eCommerce shop after registering with Etsy. They can find part-time or freelance work. How can direct selling persuade distributors to give it their “timeshare” in today’s marketplace? If the New Economy has been defined so far by trends like the Great Resignation and quiet quitting, direct selling decision-makers need a way around this.

Direct selling field operations cannot proceed as normal without enhancing reliability, capability, and ultimately sales performance at scale among field distributors. Leaders in field operations and sales must reconsider how they drive field efforts or risk further corporate downturns.

SOLUTION: Embrace digital transformation and the benefits of modern technology.

At a basic level, direct selling is at even more of a disadvantage than traditional companies here. Distributors are obviously not employees and cannot be compelled to perform or be productive. They must be subtly, continually persuaded to sell. And so the “tools” that direct sellers use to appeal to distributors take on outsize importance.

The “tools” that distributors have access to, the means by which they onboard, upskill, and sell to consumers, are the points of connection between the company and the distributor: they are the main hinge point that binds the company together with the individual. When distributors see the company’s tools as bare bones, their estimation of the company goes down. When distributors see the company’s tools as state-of-the-art, their estimation of the company goes up. We see this borne out at Rallyware, where we provide an all-in-one field Performance Enablement Platform for sales forces.

Last year direct selling companies, after adding “Incentives & Recognition” tools to their Distributor Experience (i.e., the set of tools the distributor has access to), saw a 3.4X average increase in user sessions, meaning that richer, smarter, more state-of-the-art tools–or points of connection–result in a more engaged, less “tired” field.

We’ll dive into this more later, because from this solution alone, it’s not clear what kinds of tools are useful for the New Economy.

2. Consumers Are More Cautious.

Today’s consumers have to navigate inflation, a more uncertain job market, and the pressures of interest rates, all at once. It makes sense, then, that consumer-facing industries like retail and direct selling have seen downturns even among leaders. Meanwhile, as of December 2022, consumer spending on services had jumped 8.7% year over year, reflecting a shift in priorities away from tangible goods.

So part of the reason why direct selling has seen flagging distributor enthusiasm is this–it’s just become harder to sell. It’s harder to get customers to part with their hard-earned money. This is particularly true in the wake of the pandemic, when many consumers were spending more freely and now are tightening their purse strings. How do direct sellers drive field sales performance and behaviors, and thus more revenue (as well as earnings for distributors themselves, encouraging them to stay in the field)?

Again, though this might seem to be a consumer-facing question, it really impacts field operations. A maximally empowered field will be able to convert more customers. Operations and sales leaders would do well to pay attention.

SOLUTION: Embrace digital technology that connects distributor activities to real, measurable sales results. and the achievement of distributor goals and corporate business outcomes, at every turn.

Many technological, distributor-facing platforms simply provide “onboarding tools” or “learning tools” to make these processes easier, “digitalizing” them. While such tools can be helpful, they do not quite meet the moment nor the market, which require field sales performance enablement at every turn. Largely, Rallyware’s “Performance Enablement” model of technology architecture has been built to address this reality.

Performance Enablement means that each action taken by a distributor gets leveraged intelligently by the platform to enable higher (sales) performance. Nothing happens in a vacuum. When the distributor gets recommended learning content, the platform intelligently calibrates the right content to company KPIs (does revenue need to rise? How about retention?) and the distributor’s self-defined goals and sales progress.

The result is not just a “learning journey.” It’s a business-building experience attuned to the shifting needs and goals of the distributor, with the aim of driving the sales performance and behaviors that will benefit her and the company. Learning becomes upskilling, the enhancement of field capabilities. What we see is knowledge for the sake of enablement.

The point here is that it’s not enough to digitalize field operations, but to digitally transform the field experience in a way that enables and prioritizes sales performance. This explains why we’ve calculated that direct selling companies on average +53% sales productivity growth via upskilling in the Performance Enablement model. Distributors become active salespersons, not just reps to be bought from.

3. Distributors Want Direct Selling Companies to Care About Them.

With a larger amount of direct selling companies competing for a smaller amount of distributors, organizations have to stand apart from the pack. Furthermore, consumers generally want brands to care about them, and there’s no reason why distributors shouldn’t feel this way as well: after all, logically speaking, they’re representing a brand, and they should feel connected to it. Distributors want a personalized experience with the direct selling brand they rep–that feeling of, “Oh, they know me.” Having this capability is at the very least a way for an organization to stand apart.

This is a tall ask at a time when companies are competing to see how much they can cut costs. Every week brings a fresh round of layoffs for major companies (Amazon, Meta, Disney, Lyft), and though that wave may not have hit direct selling yet, still there’s the imperative in an uncertain environment to slash expenses. Yet how can you invest in personalization and recognition for the field while trimming budgets?

Surprisingly, you can do both by digitally transforming field operations using the Performance Enablement model.

Solution: Embrace consolidation in digital transformation.

Tech consolidation helps you both cut expenses, by cutting out multiple vendors, and further personalize the distributor’s experience. At Rallyware, we’ve found that the Performance Enablement model for consolidating tech has borne fruit. Customers bring multiple tools under one umbrella, saving money and time spent on separate vendors.

At the same time, data from separate tools flow into the results and recommendations from the others. This leads to an optimally personalized experience, enabling the distributor for sales performance in the way that’s right for her. The business outcomes are significant and measurable. To be specific, on average, our internal research has found, direct sellers see 30.3% sales growth year-over-year when consolidating learning and rewards and recognition tools, versus customers who implement field enablement learning tools alone.

Further, as we discuss in our Performance Enablement Platform white paper, learning activities consolidated with business activities, smart notifications, and social features result in an average 38% increase in productivity.

Cutting costs while doing more with your technology sounds like a paradox, doesn’t it? It’s not, really. It’s simply what’s required to grow in, and transform field operations for, the distributor and consumer of the 2020s. And it’s what Performance Enablement technology is built to provide.

Finally, breakthrough technologies like an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chat Agent will help the distributor feel a connection with the brand, the company, and its products. In essence, this Chat Agent, as developed and exclusively provided by Rallyware, uses the latest advances in natural language processing to deliver an AI-enabled smart assistant to the distributor, answering her queries and showing her not only answers, but sales aids and suggestions to help her sales performance. With an easy-to-use, mobile smart assistant, the distributor feels cared for. She also feels: this company is on the cutting edge of technology. She trusts them.

Rallyware invests in, and delivers, major leaps forward in direct selling technologies. We’re transforming direct selling today with the tools and products of tomorrow. Accelerate your digital transformation and clear the competition. Request your demonstration today.

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There is a war on talent out there, so it’s imperative that companies create an environment where people want to work from Day One.

There are two key questions that every direct selling company should be asking right now: How do we bring new people into the industry? And how do we keep the talent we already have?

The past two years have been called the Great Resignation, but I think we should reframe that as the Great Realignment. People have experienced a traumatic, generation-defining pandemic. Most aren’t quitting because they don’t want a job, they’re just switching away from jobs that are no longer the right fit for them.

This group career shift means we are seeing the most competitive hiring landscape ever, and one that our data shows requires a different approach than it did before. Young professional applicants don’t just want to get paid well, they also want more scheduling freedom; the space to be creative; better integration of technology; and more emphasis on social causes that matter. What worked for one generation may not be what the next one is looking for. This is a season of values clarification for workers, and it can be an enormous opportunity for us to recruit and invest in the right team members—but only if we’re willing to smartly adapt.

Sell the Sizzle and Find Fit Fast

We rigorously tested job descriptions and found that younger generations often don’t read to the bottom of the job description, they often skim the first paragraph to see if it catches their attention and, if not, move on to the next job opening. Capturing attention and interest has to happen in the first paragraph of the job description. Sell the sizzle upfront by placing scheduling flexibility, salary, benefits and social causes in the very first paragraph.

When posting that job description, find out where your ideal candidates are and then meet them there. That might mean advertising on Indeed or Ladders; promoting the job opening via professional or college alumni associations; or recognizing that the right hire may not be from within the industry or even very knowledgeable about the industry.

Once you find a potential hire, speed is essential. Video interviews are now often viewed as the norm, so don’t get mired in scheduling conflicts while you wait for an in-person meeting. The sooner you can have a conversation, the sooner you can talk with the candidate and determine whether you are the right fit for going further into the recruiting process.

Winning the War on Talent

Something new and pervasive that we’ve found to be true at every level of employment, including leadership positions, is the problem of ghosting. This means that someone is hired for a job, accepts the job, but then they don’t report for their first day of work. We’ve seen this happen from leadership roles to frontline team members. No industry or position seems immune.

Ghosting puts tremendous strain on an organization because they’ve gone through the process of preparing for the candidate and adding their talent to the team, yet they no-show or cancel at the last minute. All of this is hard on the team and company doing the hiring.

The best solution that we’ve found to combat this problem is text message onboarding. Yes, text message onboarding. Texting the new hire all the way through to their first day, our insights show, drives an increase in the number of people who actually show up for the job. There are a variety of services, like Enboarder, that can automate this for companies at scale; measure the results; and continually provide the insights that leaders need—all by text.

This approach can also be wielded to provide a highly personalized welcome that drives engagement on Day One. By automated text, leaders can discover a new employee’s personal preferences and then create a custom welcome experience, like having their favorite snack waiting on their desk when they arrive, or inviting them to lunch with the executive team at the local eatery they said they loved. It might also be sending them a personalized Welcome Package if they’re starting virtually that still makes them feel like part of the team.

It’s these sort of “wow” experiences that we want to try to create, particularly as we recruit different generations of executives. These added layers of interaction aren’t something companies have had to focus on before but are now well worth the effort and minimal cost. There is a war on talent out there, so it’s imperative that companies create an environment where people want to work from Day One.

Empower and Equip

Hiring the right person is not the finish line. In fact, it’s a real risk to companies to not develop people once they are under your company umbrella. We’re big advocates for giving talent their own professional development budget—even if it’s only $100 per year—and empowering them to decide what online courses, training, learning experiences or books they’d like to use to advance their skills, talent and mindset.

Beyond that, establishing an actual talent development program is essential. This can be as informal as a quarterly sit-down in a small group with a senior executive that allows young professionals the space to have engaged and constructive conversations or as formal as regular projects that pair junior executives with senior executives to solve a challenge. This cross-generational format provides a great opportunity for senior staff to identify and engage their next level of talent, while infusing initiatives with the innovation and values that more diversity in age, generation and life stage can provide.

The next generation has a different relationship with technology; a different approach to problem solving; and a different set of social causes and missions that our research has shown is also relevant to other generations. Adding younger generations of talent to executive meetings and including their voices is the key way to harness that unique viewpoint.

Succession Planning Is Key

If a company’s entire executive team is within a generation of the CEO, when that person retires, much of the talent around them might be poised to leave, too. Stability is found in making sure the next generation of leaders are not only ready to go but excited to grow the organization. Promoting and preparing younger professional voices is one of the most important ways a company can future-proof itself. Succession planning may not be a hot topic at a leadership or strategy meeting, but it’s absolutely essential for long-term organizational stability, innovation and growth.

Ask yourself, when your key leadership retires, will there be an enthusiastic and equipped group of younger executives ready to lead? 

4 Tips To Keep Younger Executives Engaged

1 / Communication is critical. The younger a person, the more frequently they may want to connect with bosses and colleagues. This doesn’t mean an overwhelming amount of information but rather short messages that drive tangible engagement, such as a group text or a thread on Slack. This is even more relevant for hybrid or remote workers.

2 / Assign projects, not just responsibility. Younger people are project- and outcome-driven. Give them the opportunity to show you what they can do.

3 / Create more multigenerational teams. Working with new and different generations keeps people interested and adds valuable diversity of thought.

4 / Highlight progress when you can’t deliver promotions. Younger generations have a higher expectation for frequency of promotions, yet many companies can’t promote quickly. In fact, our research shows that younger adults might even think that if they’re not getting promoted, they’re not moving forward. If you can’t deliver promotions, instead take the time to highlight how that young professional is learning and growing in different, valuable ways between their annual review or raise.

How to Future-Proof Your Business

Through our research at the Center for Generational Kinetics, we’ve proven that generational insights—especially when considered within geographical context—are powerful and predictive clues to faster connect, build trust and drive influence. Understanding generations provides a tremendous head start for leaders in understanding as well as creating empathy for and appreciation of seeing the world through a segment of the population’s eyes.

All of us want to feel loved, included, valued and to believe that our work matters, but how we go about pursuing those outcomes can be different, particularly when it comes to different generations and communication, learning, incentives, events and training. Understanding these cross-generational strengths, differences and opportunities can help us future-proof our businesses. And if we don’t adapt to younger generations, someone else will—full stop.

3 Hard Truths about Attracting Millennials & Gen Z:

1 / “Mobile first” is no longer good enough, you have to be mobile only. If distributors have to leave their smartphone to complete any task that is part of their business—run an e-commerce store, enroll someone—you’ve just lost a huge number of people.

2 / One-size-fits-all doesn’t work with younger generations; and, frankly, older generations don’t like it either. Creating deeper personalization that is predictive and knows what customers and distributors need, when they need it, is key. No one should have to go to a big arena rally to learn how to be successful. Great training should be on-demand.

3 / Younger generations expect to be able to earn things faster. Gen Z and Millennials need to feel like they’re moving forward and don’t automatically connect building loyalty with a willingness to wait a long time for rewards. To them, loyalty should be rewarded even if it’s only their first purchase!

Jason Dorsey has become the world’s foremost expert on generational research. He has appeared on 200+ television shows and has headlined events worldwide, sharing his global view of generational differences and helping separate generation myth from truth through data. For more insights from Jason Dorsey, listen to his full interview on The Direct Approach podcast.

From the March 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post How to Hire, Build & Retain the Next Generation of Direct Selling Executives first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Almost two tumultuous years later, life at the office barely resembles the rigid nine-to-five template that has defined workplace culture for generations. The pandemic ushered in a rapid acceptance and adaptation of a new way to work, and as teams learned to collaborate virtually, industry leaders watched in real-time as productivity and efficiency didn’t falter, and, in most cases, actually improved.

But after months of supply chain challenges and geographic restrictions, the pandemic had another alarming surprise up its sleeve: An unprecedented labor shortage. In September 2021 alone, more than 4.4 million workers walked off the job. With this trend, dubbed the “Great Resignation,” companies are now seeking to hire from a pool of talent that has significant leverage.

To stay in the game, companies must offer flexibility and a category of benefits workers didn’t feel empowered to ask for previously, like the opportunity to build their careers and spend more time with their families (all while wearing comfortable pants).

With new metrics in hand of how remote and hybrid work can positively impact the bottom line, executives now have the opportunity to reshape what work could look like for their employees and independent workforce. But will the direct selling channel be willing to reimagine and reinvent itself—not just for the field but for corporate employees as well?

Trust and Flexibility Go Hand-in-Hand

At Scentsy, the approach to developing a work model for its knowledge worker base has radically transformed. Their once one-size-fits-all on-campus corporate model has become a customizable framework, tailored to each department and individual manager.

“I would say Scentsy was a place that was not massively conducive to flexible work options prior to the pandemic,” said Mark Stastny, Scentsy Chief Marketing Officer. “Coming out of that, our worldview changed and forced us to put in place not only tech solutions but also a level of cultural shift and trust.”

Stastny says Scentsy’s default corporate mindset previously assumed that creating a collaborative culture that seamlessly functioned across team boundaries required people to sit in the same conference rooms.

When the company was forced to send much of its knowledge workforce home and learn to utilize technology more productively, the corporate team discovered that collaboration could not only happen digitally, it also made everyone better communicators. Meetings became more intentional with the purpose made crystal clear, and catch-all conference room invites were ditched in favor of looping in only those absolutely necessary to make the decision.

When it was deemed prudent to return to company headquarters, each department was able to choose what worked best for their team. For some, naturally migrating back to an in-office structure made the most sense. For others, leaning heavily on remote work was more efficient. The result has been a healthier culture that attracts the right talent.

“What we saw was productivity increased, and people were actually happier in some ways relative to the flexibility it gave them in their lives,” Stastny said. “Hybrid meetings are still not very fun, but what we learned is that we could trust it.”

The New Office Etiquette

MONAT, who recently made the decision to end the lease on its legacy office while it constructs a new distribution and office facility in suburban Miami, has gone to a “default-remote” model and relies on technology platforms like Miro, which provides virtual whiteboarding in the meantime. The company’s remaining facilities are now only utilized for high-value, in-person gatherings.

This caveat is something that many companies, even those who have gone fully remote, continue to find to be true: That there is tremendous transparency of thought that can only come from watercooler banter, non-verbal communication and the contagious energy of a successful group brainstorming session. The lessons of the last two years, however, have taught executives how to better run those gatherings, whether virtual or in-person, by more skillfully wielding existing integrated technology.

“With a proliferation of meetings once informal information sharing in the office was no longer an option, it forced a discipline around focusing meeting attendance, being intentional with who is included in emails, and reinforced a focus on each team member’s specific contribution to each initiative,” said Jacob McLain, MONAT Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer.

Forced time out of office gave leaders the chance to reevaluate the system of work, measuring with fresh perspective the ROI on even subconscious office etiquette—like how much time is automatically blocked off for meetings in a group invite.

“We’ve learned that all meetings don’t have to be one hour just because it’s a convenient scheduling mechanism on our digital calendar,” Stastny said. “We now tend to try and schedule meetings for a shorter time and then schedule another one, if needed. It forces us to drive toward that decision in a shorter time frame.”

What’s more: Executives have discovered that some decisions shouldn’t be made in meetings at all, whether virtual or in-person.

“Meetings, if not managed properly, can be a lazy way to get business done,” Stastny said. “If you understand accountabilities and who decision makers are within the organization, there are much more efficient ways to make decisions and move the business forward than to get 12 to 14 people in a room and have a discussion about it.”

Permission to Play

Distributors were not exempt from the pandemic’s workplace challenges. While the majority of direct selling companies had already turned to online events and Facebook groups rather than party-based gatherings prior to regional shutdowns, distributors still had to find new pathways to reach customers when living rooms and coffee shops were no longer an option.

For Scentsy consultants, messaging platforms became the surprisingly powerful tool of choice for interacting with the field and inviting customers to engage with the products.

“It’s almost like the bulk of the energy of the party has shifted to that messaging platform,” Stastny said. “Yes, there is usually a linked Facebook party, but it’s happening on the text platform.”

Like the corporate office team, distributors and their customers have also spent the last two years evaluating their relationship to work, friendships and day-to-day tasks, like shopping, and how they want each category to fit into their lives. Receiving shopping content through a message, rather than a real-time virtual or in-person shopping event, allows customers the flexibility to absorb and act on the information whenever it is convenient for them.

“We’re always looking for ways to make customer contact and engagement as efficient as possible,” Stastny said. “There has to be an efficiency gain in there for why people are wanting to receive content that way, and that has caught us by surprise.”

With this understanding, a digital-first approach is now non-negotiable for every element of business, from onboarding to customer service. Training, product guides, shipping details, upline communications—all touchpoints need to be mobile-friendly. For MONAT, that has meant capturing the advantage that comes from relational selling and activating it through digital resources.

“Mobile tech will be permission to play in our channel,” McLain said. “Many companies purchase technology and adapt their business to the technology, but we are taking the inverse approach. We are building bespoke technology that leverages the learnings from the pandemic around customer trial, conversion and engagement, as well as Market Partner skill development and pivoting those to a digital-forward approach.”

Rebooting Normal

In many ways, the last two years felt like building the plane while flying. The circumstances demanded a mad dash to assemble and construct new organizational infrastructure without much preparation or the comfort of familiar rhythms, and many within the retail and service industry crumbled under the weight of these tasks. And while the direct selling industry, with its remote distributor workforce and established e-commerce platforms, was arguably better prepared than other industries, it was not without hurdles.

“Retail is declining; e-commerce is hypercompetitive and plays in a space of consumers who switch brands impulsively,” McLain said. “Our channel will need to bear in mind our competitive advantage—personal connection—but provide the tools for our distributors to drive that connection outside of parties, workbooks and team meetings. Digitizing what has been effective for decades should be front of mind for all of us in the channel.”

Personalizing digital connections to create distributor intimacy and customer loyalty over tech-enabled platforms is the next frontier for the industry, according to McLain. Showing up digitally will mean significant investments in mobile and e-commerce technology, but in a world that is rapidly embracing a digital-only work environment, it will be a prerequisite for success.

As the world crests what will hopefully be the final challenging hill of this pandemic, the industry now has a chance to reflect on lessons learned about how to design a healthy and productive office culture and then reboot what “normal” will look like from now on.

“Scentsy has always had the value that we want people to be meaningfully engaged in work, but we don’t want work to be everything to them,” Stastny said. “I think that dynamic, which has been around for some time, has been accelerated through what we learned through COVID. Regardless of what happens post-pandemic, we will never go back to what it was like before.”

From the January 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

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