What Are the Different Types of Direct Selling Opportunities?

Direct selling is a type of selling technique in which goods and services are marketed directly by the manufacturer to consumers, without any type of third party being involved in the process. This approach has been used by many companies over the years, making it possible to successfully build a reputation among consumers without the need to rely on some channel of distribution such as retail stores to generate sales and build those reputations. There are a number of direct selling opportunities in existence today, including the door to door sale of goods as well as direct sales supported by mail campaigns and even using a web site for direct marketing purposes.

One of the more time-honored direct selling opportunities is that of engaging a sales team who go door to door in order to sell specific lines of goods. This approach involves a salesperson going into the homes of customers, offering demonstrations of the products offered, taking orders and ultimately delivering those ordered items to the customers. Many companies today continue to use this approach as a means of selling everything from kitchen spices to health and beauty products to small appliances intended for home use.

Another example of direct selling opportunities is known as the house or home party. With this approach, the salesperson arranges for a client to host an event in which the goods offered for sale are demonstrated to a larger group of people, but still in a home setting. Typically, the host or hostess receives some sort of credit or other reward for providing the site for the event, while the salesperson has the chance to earn a commission off any sales that are generated from the home party.

Direct mail advertising is also one of the more popular examples of direct selling opportunities. With this approach, advertising is sent through the post to potential customers. The advertising usually includes descriptions of the goods offered for sale, as well as instructions on how to place an order. Since the advent of the Internet, this same approach is sometimes used to send out email solicitations that essentially provide the same level of detail, but often direct the recipient back to a web site where goods can be purchased.

In any of its several incarnations, direct selling opportunities circumvent the need to involve a third party between the manufacturer and the buyer. Instead of relying on a retailer to stock the goods and advertise them to potential customers, the manufacturer goes directly to the consumer. It is not unusual for many companies today, including those who have traditionally relied upon direct sales as the main way of reaching customers, to adapt their processes so that selling opportunities online are also used to best advantage. Typically, these newer processes are viewed as being natural extensions of the time honored direct selling methods, allowing manufacturers one more way to directly interact with consumers.