What is the meaning of direct selling? You asked that question, I've got the answer for you. My name is Dave Lorenzo and this is the Inside B.S. Show. Today, I'm going to share five things with you that are powerful ways that you can enhance your sales process using direct selling.

I'm going to describe it to you and then I'm going to share how you can be better at it and then I'm going to share a sixth step, a secret to success at the end of our time together. You're not going to want to miss it. So stay with me all the way to the end.

Let's dive right into the content. What is the difference between direct sales and direct marketing? A lot of people, when they come to me and they say what is the meaning of direct selling, they think of direct marketing. Direct sales is people going out and selling stuff.

It's feet on the street. It's you going to offices and introducing yourself and offering to help people in return for financial compensation. The first time people meet you is when you show up to sell to them.

Direct marketing is different. Direct marketing is you sharing a message with people, a message that is focused, a message that is targeted to them and you're bombarding them with the message and at some point you may follow up with a sales call but you're softening the ground with your marketing. Direct sales is your first experience.

You're out there and you're hitting them in the mouth with a message that is, hey, buy this from me. Direct marketing softens the ground first and it shortens the path, in my opinion, to the sale. So the difference between direct marketing and direct sales is direct sales, we go out and we try in one column.

I had a boss, a former boss of mine who said go out and try in one column. Just go out and meet them and get them to give you some money today. Now, let me tell you, direct sales still works in some businesses.

I work with a payment company, a company that does credit card processing and they go into businesses, pizza shops and beauty salons and they try and sell their credit card processing direct to the customer. It still works in some instances like that but it's a much harder process. Direct marketing makes it easier.

So I've created a system and we'll talk about my system in a minute that helps you combine direct marketing and sales and it makes it much easier. It shortens the path to you getting what you want. Alright, so what else should we talk about when it comes to direct sales? Well, there's single level direct sales which is you going out and selling and that's the second thing you need to know about direct sales.

If you get a product, let's say you pay $50 for the product and you can sell it for whatever you want, you're a direct sales person. So you get a blender and you go out and you do demos in the mall. You rent a space, a kiosk in the mall and you do demonstrations about the great juices your blender can make.

So you're taking the blender, you're putting it on, you're starting it up and you're juicing something and you're pouring glasses of juice and serving it to people. They then say that blender is fantastic. How much is it? You sell it for $100.

You paid $50, you sell it for $100. That's single level direct sales. You get the product, you mark it up and you sell it, single level direct sales.

Lots of businesses work that way. Now, the third thing you need to know about direct sales is there's a business or an industry called host or party plan sales. This is like Tupperware or like in-home makeup or beauty products or there are some adult products and services that are sold this way.

You get products and services shipped to your house and you invite people over and you demonstrate in your home how these products work. And people, because they're friends with you, they buy $100, $200, $500 worth of products or services from you. This host or party plan sales concept is really popular with people who want to work part time.

It's also really popular with people who like second incomes or who want a side hustle. It's a business that has been around since the 40s and 50s and Tupperware really is one of the most famous of these host or party plan sales companies. Avon is another one.

Like I said, there are dozens of them out there and you can do very well selling these products or services through parties or in-home demonstrations and that's another form of direct sales. Now, the fourth thing you need to know about direct sales is something called multi-level marketing. Now, there are legitimate multi-level marketing companies out there that do a great job of offering products or services and giving the people that sell the products and services an incentive to recruit other people.

So, let's say that I sell insurance or financial services products and the company that I work for says, Dave, listen, you're gonna make 5% commission on any sale that you make of a new insurance or financial investment product. If you recruit someone into the business, you'll make 2.5% of everything that they sell. That's called an override and those people who you're making the 2% off of, they're often called down line representatives.

So, your job is not only to sell stuff, your job is also to recruit people. Many people in the multi-level marketing industry make more money recruiting people and getting them to sell and getting that override, that additional commission on the products or services they sell. Now, multi-level marketing is completely legal.

The fifth thing that I'm going to talk to you about is not legal and it's often confused with multi-level marketing and it's not direct sales. It's a pyramid scheme. Now, a pyramid scheme is illegal.

And what a pyramid scheme is, is it's similar to multi-level marketing in that you get paid when you recruit people but the entire focus of a pyramid scheme is for you to recruit people and they have to pay you to be a part of your team. And the money that you make is based on the money that people pay you to be a part of your team. So, you never focus on sales, you never focus on selling.

Your entire focus is on getting people to pay you to join your organization and then you keep rolling that money over. When somebody joins your team, you get paid. When somebody joins a team of someone that works for you, they get paid and you get paid.

And the money that comes in is basically only from people who are joining your team. The selling of products and services, the delivering of value is a distant second, if it's even focused on at all. So, a pyramid scheme, the person at the top gets rich, the people that cascade down, they only get rich if they get other people to pay them and they're not really delivering value.

So, that's why a pyramid scheme is illegal. Alright, so we've covered the five types of direct sales. Now, I'm going to share with you a secret to success.

The secret to success is that the people who sell the most belong to a community that supports them, that encourages them, and that keeps track of their progress and they're held accountable by the people in that community. So, if you're an entrepreneur, you're a business owner, and you want to sell more, regardless of whether you want to sell more personally, you want to do it yourself, or you want to grow your sales team and pick up new strategies, discover new ways to motivate your sales team to reach new heights, you need to belong to a community of like-minded business owners that are helping you grow and challenging you to be successful each month. If you have an interest in joining such a community, I have the solution for you.

Reach out to me, give me a call, and I will be happy to talk to you about our master's program in Exit Success Lab. This is an advanced coaching program for owners who want to take their businesses to the next level. If you're ready to grow, you're ready to challenge yourself, and you're ready to put yourself in a position to double, triple, or 10x your sales, this is the program for you.

You can reach out to me directly, and I will take your application personally, and if you're a fit for our community, we'll hold you accountable, and we will be the ones to encourage you to increase your sales. Don't wait. You've got to join me today.

Give me a call, and we will take your application right now. I'm Dave Lorenzo. This is the Inside B.S. Show.

We are here every single day with a brand new show for you. Join us tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. I can't wait to see you here on the inside. Until then, here's hoping you make a great living and live a great life.