Should You Sign Up With a Company Because You Absolutely Love the Products?

Whether you’re considering starting a business as a network marketer or if you already have a business but are entertaining switching to a different or additional company, read on.

There are so many options available if you want to be part of the direct selling industry. There is no shortage of product lines and of companies whose primary product line is similar to other companies. You certainly have your choice of which company to represent. In your decision process you should consider the company’s compensation plan, policies and procedures and whether or not the products are consumables – making it likely customers will reorder.

What about particular products?  Should you sign up with a company just because you love the products? While liking the product line can help you be a more enthusiastic sales person, there's a few other things you should consider.

Clearly you should at least like the products. If you don’t have any interest in what you are selling it will show; and could present some real challenges in your business. If you don’t wear jewelry and it’s not something that interests you, how well do you think you could represent a jewelry company? Yet the question remains: do you need to be full-on, passionate about the products? Some will say emphatically, Yes!  Others will disagree that being passionate about the company’s products is a necessity for success.

Let's take a look at an example to help you understand why passion might not be the best indicator of potential business success. 

Company A has a product line that you absolutely love. You want one of everything in the catalog, and have already started amassing quite a collection. After you reviewed their compensation plan you see that earning more than 25% is virtually impossible. It’s a ground floor opportunity, and while customers won’t need any refill on a regular basis, they certainly could come back to give the products as a gift. But the products are to die for - and you just love them!

Company B has some cute, unique products. You’re hardly passionate about the items, but you can think of some target markets that would benefit from the product line. This company pays their consultants almost 50% commission, in addition to extra percentages available. The primary product line is something customers would replace frequently. They’ve been in business for about six years, have a proven track record of growth in both sales and recruits. You read about them in the Direct Selling news and know they’ve won a number of awards. You showed the catalog to a couple of your friends and they like what they see. You just don’t happen to see yourself needing to fill your home with one of everything from the catalog.

Obviously, if you're in business to make money (and aren't we all?) then Company B has a whole lot more going for it than Company A. If all you're looking for is a fun way to earn a little spending money, though, by all means stick with the company whose products you're passionate about.