How You Can Make Money as a Party Plan Consultant

Party plan is a term synonymous with fluffy slippers, a host with a lounge room of giggling women, and sadly pyramid schemes. For years this vehicle for making money has been pushed aside, defamed, ridiculed and the butt of jokes. But who’s really having the last laugh? In a tough economic climate, this time tested means for making money has become the salvation for many. Party planners are laughing all the way to the bank, these everyday people who have put aside their prejudices and joined world wide recognised brands like Mary Kay, Tupperware, Creative Memories are making money, flying in the face of a recessionary tornado.

Why are party planners so successful? Simple, they sell everyday products consumed by everyday individuals, in everyday homes, all with the convenience of home shopping. In a time poor society, home shopping has becoming increasingly popular, akin to shopping online but with the added benefit of personal customer service.

According to the worldwide federation of direct selling this billion dollar industry, boosts annual sales of US$114 billion generated through the activities of more than 62 million independent sales representatives members world wide. Even former US president Bill Clinton, recognises the merits of the industry, officially endorsing the direct selling industry, saying ‘Direct selling strengthens the US and its economy, providing an opportunity for a better future’. In fact so popular is party plan, it is estimated, a Tupperware party starts somewhere in the world every 2.3 seconds;

‘Putting aside the statistics, there are too many success stories, to deny the industry its due merits. Well known author Robert Kiyosaki, of the bestseller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, recognises the benefits offered by direct selling. He has been quoted singing the industries praises, he says ‘A business in direct selling is the ticket to what I call freedom money’. Where the average person can enjoy the benefits of financial success without the hassles associated with a traditional business’.

A complete misunderstanding of party plan, is probably the main reason why it is not readily considered as an alternative and safer option to start a business from home. Each and every day, across world small business owners are hitting the wall, sinking considerable amounts of capital, chasing their entrepreneurial dreams. Whereas a distributor has the opportunity to make money, with the support and stability from multi million dollar icons like Avon who have successfully weathered several recessions.

There are several reasons why party plan could work for you;

• Flexibility work life balance

Party plan allows you to work the hours you want and when you want. Party plan consultants are rewarded according to the effort they exert. Moms in particular are empowered to work around their family’s busy schedule and commitments.

• Equal opportunity

One of the endearing and compelling merits of party plan, is the underlining non-discriminatory nature of the industry.’ No prior qualifications are required to ensure success; you need only possess, commitment, determination and a ‘can do’ attitude.

• Low Cost

Party plan provides anyone and everyone with an opportunity to realise their entrepreneurial dreams, this is in part because the cost to start a business as a party planner, is much more affordable than buying the latest designer pram or plasma TV. This is an important point, many people want to start their own business, but lack the capital to do so.

• Low risk

Going into business for yourself, means you are not only risking personal capital you are exposed to a plethora of business related worries and stress, it can be very overwhelming and very risky. Party plan provides quite the opposite opportunity, you are exposed to a limited risk because you don’t bear the burden of the managing the company, your role is to simply support the company as a party plan consultant.

• Free support

Party plan not only represents a relatively lower risk, party planners receive free training and enjoy the benefits of a well established business, including the support of a national marketing campaign, brand recognition and the strength in established systems and processes. Party planners are free of the cumbersome troubles that plague business owners, they are more empowered to get on with the job of building their business.

• Passive income

Party plan offers the opportunity to earn passive income.  Passive income is money you are entitled to without actually having to work for. For example once you sell a product to a customer, every time that same customer reorders, you will be entitled to a commission on the sale. Alternatively you could gain leverage by building a team, earning commissions from the sales made by your team. Most party plan companies empower their party planners to build teams – that’s money for jar.

For less than the cost of a dinner date, anyone and everyone can ‘Give it a Go’. Party plan is unequivocally the only equal opportunity where, few barriers to entry means no one is discriminated against, from the less educated to the Rhodes scholar, the defining point between success and failure is attitude.

About the Author: Sonia Williams is the author of several books, designed to guide budding entrepreneurs on how to make money from home, her current release Give it a Go what have you got to lose?, is an in depth investigation into how anyone and everyone can make money through party plan. Sonia interviewed hundreds of successful party plan consultants and reveals their secrets to financial success in Give it a Go.www.party-plan-consultant.com.

Can you Make Money With a Direct Sales Company?

Whenever I read work-at-home blogs or message boards, I always see some variation of the question “can I make money in direct sales"? Most of the answers to this question come from those who have recruited a few people so the answers are always very biased.

So back to the question, can you make money in direct sales? The quick answer is yes, you can. However I’d like to offer more details than just a “yes”.

Direct sales companies usually offer the distributor two ways to earn money. One is through the actual sale of a product and the other is through sponsoring or recruiting people to become representatives for the company.

This article will speak of industry-wide averages only. The average commission on the sale of a product in direct sales is roughly 30% to 35%. If in a week, you sell $100 worth of products, you’ll earn about $30 to $35 dollars. This will not pay your rent, but it’s $30 you didn’t have prior to selling the product!

When someone comes to me and says they want to earn $1000 per month, I cringe a little bit. Not because it’s not possible to earn $1000 per month, but because the vast majority of those involved in direct sales never earn this much. Speaking of sales only, in order to earn $1000 per month, you’ll need to sell about $3000 worth of products every single month. If the average customer spends $35 on products, you’re going to need at least 85 customers, each ordering $35 worth of product, to hit that $3000 sales mark. Again, this is not impossible, but almost no one can do this their first few months in business. It’s not easy finding 85 customers each and every month. For those who stick with it, for those who continue to pursue new customers each and every month, it is not uncommon to have several hundred customers in a couple of short years. Direct sales becomes especially profitable when you’re selling a product that has to be re-ordered each and every month.

Now let’s switch gears and talk about sponsoring others. The AVERAGE industry-wide income earned from sponsoring others is about 10%. This means for every $100 sold by those you sponsor, you’ll earn about $10. Again, using $1000 as our target income, you’ll need to create a group volume of at least $10,000. Ten percent of ten thousand is indeed the $1000 you were looking for. Again, this is not impossible to do, but it does not happen as often as the internet leads us to believe it does. Let’s say you sponsor one person per month your first year. This means you’ll have 12 people in your group at the end of that year. If each of those 12 people sold $500 per month in products, you’d have group sales of $6000. Not quite $10,000, but you’re definitely on your way.

The best advice I can give someone is that when they choose a direct sales company, they have to dedicate themselves to at least a 3 year plan. If you get involved with a direct sales company expecting to get rich overnight you may be very disappointed. Big money can be made for the average person but it takes time and dedication.

Author: Chad William Hershey of ManifestYourFortune is founder of his own home based business, The Pinnacle Group. He is a student and mentor of the Universal Law of Attraction, as seen in The Secret, and believes fully in The Master Key System. Chad shares his passion and knowledge of being in the home based business arena for the last 15 years and enjoys helping others succeed with Internet marketing.