Having a hard time with your Independent Consultant title yet having policies and procedures thrust upon you by your Direct Sales company?
I have been in direct sales for 29 years. It’s a great industry to be in if you want to determine how often you work, when you work, and how much income you want to make.
It’s a convenient business-in-a-box that comes with a parent company to take care of supplying the products, paying the consultants, and providing marketing platforms for the business opportunity as well as the product line.
So then why is there a compliance department? Why do you have to get approval for certain ads? Why aren’t you allowed to do this or that? After all, you’re an independent consultant. You make individual decisions about your independent business, right?
Consider your Scentsy business as a jigsaw puzzle.
Many puzzlers (myself included) start with the edge, the border. I want to see how big the puzzle is. I want to see where the top is. I want to know how much room I have.
Scentsy, Inc. is the edge of the puzzle. To protect the integrity of the company and to ensure, as Scentsy, Inc. co-owner, Orville Thompson says, “that no one stands up in the theater” (because then in order for all others to see properly they too would need to stand up), all direct sales businesses include consultant Terms and Conditions how all independent consultant will operate.
Can you imagine trying to put together your jigsaw puzzle without having the edge? You wouldn’t know which way the design faced. How would you know where the top of the puzzle should be positioned? Where would you even start?
A starting point.
Consider the edge, the border, as your policies and procedures, as your company standards as the starting point. It gives you solid footing to then put the puzzle together in a manner that suits you.
Perhaps you don’t want to start until all the pieces are flipped up showing the image. Maybe you are the type of puzzler who needs to put all the colors together. Do you put all the “innies” on one side of the table and the “outties” on the other? There’s usually someone who likes to tuck a puzzle piece in their pocket so they can be the victor to finish the puzzle.
Multiple Ways to Work It
If you’ve ever tried to do a puzzle with others you quickly realize everyone has their own methodology how they tackle the project. If you know any other Scentsy consultants you know that rarely are any two businesses operated the same.
They may all have the same edge, but some consultants prefer home parties; other representatives work their Scentsy business mainly online; still other distributors thrive on doing vendor events. Some play games at parties; other consultants stick with a quick in-and-out open house style.
Yes you are an independent consultant. But remember that you are representing a company. You get all the benefits they offer in exchange for you agreeing to comply with the boundaries you are given. Scentsy offers independent consultants A LOT of leeway. Focus on all the opportunities you have, rather than getting frustrated that the edge of your puzzle.
Embrace the policies and procedures (Standards) that Scentsy has in place. They are there to protect you. The guidelines and standards exist to make your Scentsy journey run smoother.
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About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland, UK, France, Austria and Spain. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/
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If I have a storefront and essentially display in my store all to itself with my catalogs and cards can I do that I don’t sell out of the store I take orders and or refer them to my website that I pay $10 a month for but I don’t sell anything out of my store in fact I have a sign that says I can order anything you say , Or you can order it yourself on my website but I cannot sell these items out of my store can you tell me what I can and can’t do
Yes, Scentsy Standards do allow you to set up a small display to drive traffic to your website or to collect orders.
If I am not a consultant is there anything stopping me from selling Scentsy products I have on eBay, Amazon etc?
It’s an a cut and dry answer. If you received Scentsy as a gift or perhaps you bought it or hosted a party and no longer wanted your warmer, I don’t think anyone would think twice if you listed it for sale. If you were a consultant and are no longer and are trying to offload your inventory that could be a problem based on the terms of the your original contract that you originally signed. If you are getting Scentsy from another consultant and selling it for them or as part of an arrangement, that is definitely prohibited. If you want to get a clear cut answer to ensure you won’t have any problems, contact legal@scentsy.com. They are the experts on intellectual property.