Having started my career in the direct selling industry in 2002, you can imagine the swift changes I’ve experienced in a relatively short period of time in how direct selling works. I’m sure many of you can say the same. As the model evolves and adapts, we found ourselves today rethinking components of direct selling that seemed like bedrocks of our business. Technology = Opportunity & Confusion At the forefront of these changes, you’ll find technology as an equal-opportunity … [Read more...]
DSA Fall Conference Top Takeaways
This year’s DSA Fall Conference combined regulatory, marketing, communications and technology-driven content. It was an immersive program of inspired speakers, thought-provoking sessions and provocative questions with global peers plus a keynote from the new FTC chairwoman. Brett Duncan, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Strategic Choice Partners, and Michel Bayan from DirecTech Labs discuss their top three takeaways from the DSA Fall Conference in their guest article on The SourceDS titled, … [Read more...]
4 Ways for Direct Selling to Compete as a Modern Distribution System
Sooner or later this question pops up just about every time I have a conversation with a direct selling executive these days: What will direct selling look like in 5 years? 10 years? Can we compete with the online sales onslaught? If so, how? As a method of distribution, direct sales has some real challenges ahead. However, let's take a look at the basic competitive advantage direct sellers have always had over traditional fixed-location retailers. Alan Luce, Co-Founder and Managing … [Read more...]
Navigating the E-Commerce Implementation Process
This article is part of an ongoing series by Doug Finnie, titled “In Search of the Perfect E-Commerce Solution Series.” View the rest of the series HERE. Continuing with the fourth part of a five-part series on, “In Search of the Perfect Software Solution,” where we have been discussing the different phases of searching for and implementing software solutions. The fourth part will cover the software implementation phase. So far, we have done our homework, identified software requirements … [Read more...]
Understanding the Due Diligence Process When Selecting a Software Vendor
This article is part of an ongoing series by Doug Finnie, titled “In Search of the Perfect E-Commerce Solution." View the rest of the series HERE. E-commerce software comes in many shapes, sizes and costs. The type of solution you pursue will depend on your internal resources. If you have little to no internal IT staff, then you want to seek out highly configurable solutions that non-IT personnel can manage. If you do have internal technical staff, then you can also include extensible or … [Read more...]
Understanding Why Requirements Are So Important
This article is part of an ongoing series by Doug Finnie, titled “In Search of the Perfect E-Commerce Solution Series." View the rest of the series HERE. As previously defined, determining the right software and vendor requires you to determine what your business needs are versus your wants. Think of it as if your car breaks down and you need ‘a car’ so you shop for a car and your first test drive is a new car with electric windows, seats, seat warmers, sunroof, 6 CD player with high-end … [Read more...]
In Search of the “Perfect” E-Commerce Solution for Your Direct Selling Company
This article is part of an ongoing series by Doug Finnie, titled “In Search of the Perfect E-Commerce Solution Series." View the rest of the series HERE. Searching for the perfect e-commerce solution can be like searching for the big-foot monster, you have heard from others that it exists or maybe you have actually thought you have seen it, but in the end, it cannot be found. It’s not that thousands of businesses haven’t tried to find it and hundreds of software companies haven’t attempted … [Read more...]