On DSN’s 20th anniversary, we asked industry leaders and legends to share how past evolutions and current opportunities are shaping the future of the industry.

In 2004, Stuart Johnson, now CEO of Direct Selling Partners, Direct Selling News (DSN) and NOW Tech, held a clear vision: to create a monthly publication that offered timely and useful information to direct selling executives. Today, that vision has expanded beyond a print publication to include podcasts, workshops, executive forums and informative in-person events featuring the biggest names in the industry. The format and appearance of the magazine has changed throughout the years, but the original foundation of Johnson’s vision remains unchanged.

As we celebrate 20 years of innovations and insights, we take a look back on a few of DSN’s most important milestones. But even before DSN’s debut in 2004, Founder and CEO Stuart Johnson had an illustrious career influencing the channel. He founded VideoDirect in 1987, which ultimately became VideoPlus and then SUCCESS Partners. He launched SUCCESS Partners University, an education conference for direct selling corporate executives in 2002.

DSN, now in its twentieth year of publication, continues to be the go-to resource for well-researched global industry news, expert insights and interviews with the founders and executive leaders behind the channel’s legacy companies and rising stars.

Deborah K. Heisz, now Neora Co-CEO, and John Fleming, a DSN Legend and former Avon executive, were two of the original staff members tasked with assembling the publication’s flagship print issues.

“At the time, there was no real periodical resource for legitimate news and information for people who were leading and operating direct selling companies,” Heisz said. “People were hungry for a trade journal they could rely on, and we received feedback from dozens—if not hundreds—of executives and owners across the industry letting us know we had truly filled a need.”

From a simple eight-page newsletter to the robust, global magazine it is today, DSN remains committed to supporting, informing, connecting and challenging direct selling executives across the US and around the world.

“I planned to stay for two to three years, but I remained Publisher and Editor in Chief for nine,” Fleming said. “We started by building something relevant and, in many ways, it has become far more relevant than we ever envisioned.”

Twenty Years of Industry-Changing Trends

The past two decades have been host to some of the most dramatic shifts in the channel, including the proliferation of the internet; the broad adoption of mobile devices; and pandemic-induced social distancing that forever changed the way shoppers buy products and interact with brands. With each paradigm shift, the direct selling industry learned to evolve and adapt.

We asked these executives: In the last 20 years, what changes have had the greatest impact on the industry?

“The vast majority of companies started in the industry by sharing products at home parties. Now, we’re sharing the opportunity virtually and across the globe without concern for physical barriers. Digital platforms forced all of us to adjust, while opening up a world of opportunity.”—Mark Pentecost / It Works! Founder and Chairman

“The operating landscape has permanently changed. Millennials want their own gig, but the average direct-to-consumer venture lacks the ability to scale up the way a direct selling company can with sales organizations.”—Rick Goings / DSN Legend, Chairman Emeritus and former CEO of Tupperware Brands

“Twenty years ago, signups and applications required a stack of paper. Today, it’s all done digitally. Technology has enabled much more efficient point-of-sale transactions and created the ability to connect and communicate with more people.”—John Addison / Addison Leadership Group; Board Member for Primerica, LegalShield; Senior Advisor to Utility Warehouse

“The digital revolution of the early 2000s felt, at the time, like a once-in-a-lifetime revolution, but it proved to be just the beginning of an avalanche of technology and business models that would profoundly change the world around us. Through all of these changes–the rise of social media, gig platforms and AI, and the challenges of the pandemic—we have demonstrated that, as a channel, we can adapt and evolve quickly.—John Parker / Amway Chief Sales Officer

“Technology has been the biggest gamechanger for us. I believe you have to have a robust strategy in both automation and face-to-face interactions for success in today’s marketplace. It is a delicate balance. Simplicity and speed can be the difference between success and failure.”—Kevin Guest / USANA Executive Chairman

The Next 20 Years

Lessons from the past 20 years have illustrated that change is not only inevitable; it is a critical part of healthy evolution. It was by welcoming social media, ecommerce and a digital-first footprint that the industry was prepared to not only survive but thrive during the pandemic. And as industry leaders look to the horizon, it will be that same bold approach and nimble, open mindset that will prepare the next generation of direct sellers for success.

We asked these executives: What actions should leaders be taking now to prepare for the future?

“We need to remember what got us here. We have always been an industry that focuses on building people, and then those people go on to build our business. We can ensure our future success by remembering that the most valuable asset any direct selling company has is our loyal, hardworking distributor field!—Rudy Revak / DSN Legend, Founder of Symmetry and Xyngular

“As technology continues to create opportunities and disruptions, I believe the future of direct selling will have to be centered around community and the social dynamic in our businesses. Great products, compelling income opportunities, competitive customer and representative experiences will continue to be basic requirements, but the community and social experiences we offer can be real differentiators.—John Parker / Amway Chief Sales Officer

“We empower women and others to work a meaningful business in pockets of their day. That’s the best part of direct selling. That’s how we win. We must continue to create and emphasize this opportunity—the side hustle is always in style.—Sarah Shadonix / Scout & Cellar Founder and CEO

“Leaders in the channel should plan for growth. Those who stay current by investing in the technologies of today and tomorrow—including new ways to purchase, improve speed to customer and product value—will thrive.—Joni Rogers-Kante / SeneGence Founder and CEO

“Direct selling will continue to thrive where the exchange of value is ongoing and supportive—like in following a nutrition or fitness plan—because of the importance of accountability to achieve success, but we need to acknowledge that affiliate marketing will replace network marketing where the relationship is purely transactional.—Carl Daikeler / BODi CEO

“Personalization and integration of AI in customer service are trends that we find exciting and that we are integrating into our strategy. Direct selling is also very unique; we never work solely online or offline. The future is hybrid, and we are relying on hybrid solutions in our strategy and development to be active pioneers in our industry.—Rolf Sorg / PM-International Founder and CEO

Creating a Lasting Impact

DSN has always strived to stay on the cutting edge of direct selling trends, news and thought leadership through its educational initiatives and events. We asked these executives: How has DSN’s coverage and perspective impacted your businesses over the past two decades?

“DSN has challenged the way I think about our business and the future of our channel. It helps me sift through the hype and understand the real innovations and opportunities that will shape our future. I am so grateful for the connections and insights that DSN has brought to me and our industry.”—John Parker / Amway Chief Sales Officer

“What DSN provides is something critical for the industry: a collegial way to share best practices with one another. One of the great things about the direct selling industry is people’s willingness to share both their successes and failures. DSN gives executives a way to learn and grow their businesses.—John Addison / Addison Leadership Group CEO; Board Member for Primerica, LegalShield; Senior Advisor to Utility Warehouse

“DSN is a powerful source of knowledge, allowing companies to learn from each other and grow. DSN has always offered great insights and innovative ideas. When there can be criticism of our industry, it’s important to have a platform like DSN to speak of the positive impact we’re having around the world.—Mark Pentecost / It Works! Founder and Chairman

“DSN is an important forum for keeping abreast to fast changing forces and how others are approaching and adapting to remain vital and resilient.—Rick Goings / DSN Legend, Chairman Emeritus and former CEO of Tupperware Brands

“The DSN articles and DSU events have been an amazing asset to the corporate leaders of this channel. They both create opportunities to gain valuable information, ideas and strategies, and they give guidance during changing and challenging times.—Rudy Revak / DSN Legend, Founder of Symmetry and Xyngular

“DSN continues to be an important voice and resource for steering the direction of this method of sales and marketing. It’s easy for institutions and regulators to lose sight of the individuals who legitimately use direct selling as their livelihood. DSN helps us all remember who is most important in this industry, and it’s not the company—it’s the distributors and customers.—Carl Daikeler / BODi CEO

“When DSN started, I remember thinking: ‘Finally! One place to get timely, reliable and insightful information on other direct sellers.’ Before DSN, people had to constantly scan multiple sources. It was very easy to miss company announcements and releases because so many direct sellers were private or just starting out.—David Holl / Mary Kay Chairman and former CEO

“DSN is my ‘go-to manual’ when I have questions; seek insight; look for surveys; or simply look for inspiration when I need it. I never throw away a publication, as I know I’ll need to refer to it one way or another. It helps me stay informed and current with what is going on in our channel.”—Joni Rogers-Kante / SeneGence Founder and CEO

“The community gains so much strength when we all work together, and DSN makes that happen. They are invaluable to the ongoing growth and professionalism of this industry, and I am so grateful for their work.”—Michele Gay / LimeLife by Alcone
Co-Founder & Chairwoman

“The coverage of the direct selling landscape in DSN is like no other, providing a clear and nuanced view into an industry that thrives on personal connections and innovative strategies. The articles are a testament to the precise research and commitment to detail that the team embodies, making Direct Selling News an invaluable resource for anyone involved in or interested in the dynamic world of direct sales. It’s journalism that not only informs but enriches and compliments the conversation around this unique sector of commerce.—Rolf Sorg / PM-International Founder & CEO

Building a Legacy Meant to Last

Reflecting on the past 20 years, the DSN team continues to build and plan for an even brighter future with more events, global coverage, expanding platforms and an unflinching grasp of Johnson’s original vision. The next 20 years will expand on that relevancy and commitment, providing more insights, developing broader resources and presenting more opportunities to support the executives working diligently to strengthen and scale the one-of-a-kind entrepreneurial possibilities found within the direct selling channel. 

From the January/February 2024 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post Cheers to 20! first appeared on Direct Selling News.

The new platform will also offer masterclasses and entertainment that help viewers feel equipped to change their lives and impact the world, as well as exclusive access to livestreaming events, uplifting movies, documentaries, original programming, interactive technology and series that are specifically curated for the Impact audience. 

“I have been able to meet and learn from the country’s leading business people as we have watched a dramatic workforce migration away from corporate jobs toward self-employment and entrepreneurship,” said Kyler Pentecost, son of Mark Pentecost and It Works! Ambassador Diamond Distributor. “We will take those important insights from high-profile leaders and craft diverse programs that entertain while also instructing,” 

The post It Works! Founder Launches Streaming Platform  first appeared on Direct Selling News.

After a multi-year hiatus, Direct Selling University was back in-person at the Omni Hotel in Frisco, Texas, infused with more energy and excitement than ever before. The educational and networking opportunity, which has been held virtually during the pandemic, offered experience-based, high-impact insight into everything from improving communication and onboarding practices to the importance of sustainability and diversity.

“Being back in person for the first time in three years was incredibly energizing,” said Shelley Rojas, Publisher and Chief Brand Officer for Direct Selling News. “The human connectivity and interaction reuniting with our in-person attendees was inspiring and a lot of fun.”

Headlining the event was Jason Dorsey, author, speaker, researcher and President of The Center for Generational Kinetics, who shared an extensive data-backed look at the generational trends in consumer purchasing, recruitment, communication and engagement. His keynote address inspired an enthusiastic conversation among attendees about how companies can leverage their culture, technology, digital footprint, messaging tactics and customer service strategies to successfully reach even more people.

“It’s always important to have outside, expert perspectives to help everyone learn, grow, stretch and evolve individually and as a channel,” Rojas said. “Jason’s insights and research on generational trends are fascinating.”

Technology was by far the most discussed category among the generational divides, with Dorsey highlighting how each age group interacts with online platforms in unique ways. By honoring every generational segment within the industry, from Gen Z to Baby Boomers, and acknowledging their separate needs and preferences, Dorsey illustrated how the channel has the opportunity to become not only more relevant, but more effective as well.

“Direct selling has and will always be a people business,” Rojas said. “The more companies focus on how to understand and embrace people from every generation for their strengths and communication styles combined with diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in their decision making and culture building, we believe significant shifts and evolution can happen.”

Edify and Inform

This year’s lineup featured more than 30 speakers from top performing direct selling brands, rising stars within the industry, marketing experts and innovators, with thought leaders and top executives from companies around the world gathered to network, learn and share insights throughout the two-day event.

“At DSN, we strive to edify, inform and educate the channel and the executives that lead it,” said Stuart Johnson, Direct Selling News Founder and CEO. “Direct Selling University serves as a strong foundation for that goal by bringing together some of the channel’s most prominent executives, champions and thought leaders. We create an open, transparent environment that’s designed to foster the sharing of ideas and best practices for the betterment of direct selling as a whole.”

Carrying that mission beyond the event, Direct Selling News also shared its new opportunities for connection, through the DSN VIP Community, a fully customizable text messaging platform that sends news alerts based on user preferences, and the DSN Membership Program, which provides exclusive training and educational opportunities to keep corporate staff members one step ahead with the most important trends and breaking news.

“We’re in the midst of a strategic renaissance here at Direct Selling News and are eagerly looking for ways to share practical solutions to common challenges with the executives who are leading the future of this channel,” Rojas said.

Jason Dorsey, Author, Speaker and President of The Center for Generational Kinetics, brought decades’ worth of data to the stage, sharing the generational angles that no one is talking about and how paying attention to the differences in these segments can help companies future-proof their businesses.

Stuart Johnson, CEO, Direct Selling News, Direct Selling Partners & NOW Technologies, pointed out how the pandemic accelerated trends that were already in motion within the industry and how the channel can use sampling and referrals to capitalize on that customer-centric momentum.

Rolf Sorg, Founder & CEO, PM-International, illustrated how he used solution-oriented thinking to find opportunity within the challenges of the past year to exceed $2 billion in sales.

Sarah Shadonix, Founder & CEO, Scout & Cellar, shared some of her young company’s biggest mistakes and how learning from previous fumbles can help leaders build better businesses.

Brian Underwood, Co-Founder & CEO, Prüvit, and Terry Lacore, Founder & CEO, Lacore Enterprises, in a Q&A panel with Wayne Moorehead, Host of The Direct Approach Podcast, explained how their innovative partnership with Sunbasket is driving consumer engagement while building cost-effective and simple onramps for complicated products that develop loyal customers.

John Parker, West Region President and Chief Sales Officer, Amway; Mark Pentecost, Founder & Chairman, It Works!; and Tarl Robinson, Founder & CEO, Plexus Worldwide, participated in a panel led by Stuart Johnson, and shared why investing in growth amid incredible momentum is critical; offered an inside look at Amway’s approach to sustaining an entrepreneurial culture while leading one of the most well-known brands in America; and how to embrace every phase of a company’s growth.

Ami Perry and Noah Westerlund of NOW Technologies leveraged their data analytics to illustrate how to improve adoption of digital platforms and increase recruitment and retention numbers.

Russ Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer, Xyngular, taught a Personal Development 101 course on stage, sharing how to involve distributors through quick, digital engagements while monitoring perceived value.

Shelley Rojas, Publisher and Chief Brand Officer, Direct Selling News, shared the many free resources available to direct selling executives to connect with breaking news, inspiring stories and education to find answers to everyday leadership challenges through DSN’s VIP community and vast masterclass archives with the DSN Membership Program.

Mike Lohner, President and Chief Financial Officer, Direct Selling Acquisition Corporation, provided an update on the first special purpose acquisition company entirely focused on the direct selling channel and traded on the New York Stock Exchange, including its overwhelmingly positive reception on the market that resulted in raising $230 million.

Kelly Bellerose, Senior Vice President, 4Life, used data from recent studies to explain how vital imagery is for brand communications and why cohesion through consistency, familiarity and repetition can form a brand language that draws in customers in a way that text alone never could.

Debbie Bolton, Co-Founder, Norwex, told the story of how she switched her mindset from a perspective of building a dynasty to creating a legacy, and how leading with the future in mind has helped her company stay relevant.

Daniel Picou, Founder and CEO, Vasayo, discussed lessons learned during international expansion into China, and how to build a sustainable business through steady growth built on customer loyalty and a flexible leadership team.

Kindra Hall, Author, Speaker and Storytelling Expert, explained why the stories we tell ourselves can limit our success, and offered an action plan for transforming the lives of potential superstar leaders by teaching them how to change their own storytelling.

Jesse McKinney, Amanda Moore, Genie Reese, Co-Founders, Red Aspen, interviewed by Heather Chastain, Founder & CEO, Bridgehead Collective and new Strategic Advisor at DSN, shared how they drive engagement through constantly refreshing their product offerings and why sharing all of their marketing assets and training materials publicly has decreased skepticism.

Kevin Guest, Chairman & CEO, USANA, talked about how 30 years of successful business has illustrated the importance of focusing on active customer counts rather than revenue to maintain the overall growth and long-term sustainability of a company.

Sinan Tuna, CEO North America, Farmasi, shared his perspective as a Gen Z leader and how his company has crafted a winning expansion strategy by being nimble, responsive and fast moving.

Wayne Moorehead, Marketing, Brand Strategy & Direct-to-Consumer Industry Expert and Host of The Direct Approach podcast, discussed the changing competitive landscapes direct sellers operate in and how companies can deliver a timely, relevant message across a growing array of customer touchpoints.

Katy Holt-Larsen, President and CEO, Kyäni, talked about how to take the industry to the next level by fighting back against “business as usual” and casting a resilient vision.

Stuart MacMillan, President, MONAT, pointed out the uniqueness of the channel and how an unwavering commitment to acquiring and satisfying customers is the best engine for growth and an effective defense against an ever-changing regulatory environment.

Crayton Webb, Founder & CEO, Sunwest Communications, shared lessons from pop culture about crisis preparedness and how quick, clear communication can prevent damage to a brand’s reputation.

Kirsten Aguilar, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing and SeneCare, SeneGence, shared how they have leveraged a collaboration with distributors who have massive social media followings to promote products in a budget-friendly, viral way.

Paul Adams, Founder & CEO, Adams Resource Group, offered a blueprint for how to create, own and defend your company culture.

Deborah K. Heisz, Co-CEO, Neora, explained the importance of leading rather than reacting in a crisis and shared the key components of their success amid a lengthy battle with the FTC.

Heather Chastain, Founder & CEO, Bridgehead Collective, encouraged leaders to manage field expectations through realistic stories and thoughtful transparency to help them reach their goals.

Kindsey Pentecost, Chief Marketing Officer, It Works!, shared how authenticity, caring for their corporate team as well as the field, being willing to fail, and aligning their culture with their brand accelerated their growth and gave them a competitive advantage.

Don Thompson, President, LegalShield, discussed the challenges of being an established subscription-based service company with aging field leadership and their innovative solutions that honor these legacies while infusing energy into new recruits.

John Addison, Chief Executive Officer, Addison Leadership Group, called people to take charge of their thoughts and attitudes to cultivate a better life and become a person that people want to follow.

From the June 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post Direct Selling University 2022 first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Last year, It Works! celebrated 20 years of business—or as Founder and Chairman of the Board, Mark Pentecost prefers to think of it, two decades of helping people achieve their dreams.

Founded | 2001

Headquarters | Palmetto, Florida

Founders | Mark & Cindy Pentecost

Products | Beauty, Nutrition, Personal Care

It’s human nature to define accomplishment as sales or revenue. Yet how I would define success looking back over the past 20 years is how many lives we’ve changed.

—Mark Pentecost / Founder & Chairman of the Board

Mark and his wife, Cindy, attribute their success to being others-focused, having founded It Works! as a vehicle to change lives. Throughout the tenure of their leadership, this philosophy has served them well. From bootstrapping the company in its early days to owning a private island, the Pentecosts have embodied the American Dream through their experience with It Works!.

Now, after 21 years of business, the company and product line continue to evolve, but the foundation of It Works! remains the same. “I’m so proud of what we’ve built over the last 20 years, but what I’m most proud of is how many lives we’ve been able to impact in the process,” said Chief Field Officer, Kami Pentecost. “I get goosebumps when I think about how many more families will get to achieve their dreams over the next 20 years with the opportunity we’ve created.”

Humble Beginnings

Although It Works! was founded as a means to change lives, originally, the Pentecosts were the ones who needed a change. In the 1990s, Mark taught high school math and coached basketball while Cindy stayed home with the kids and ran a daycare. As a growing family living on limited income, they sought to earn an extra $500 a month to make ends meet. Direct sales provided the answer.

Mark and Cindy joined a popular network marketing company and quickly achieved success—earning the highest rank possible. But the opportunity didn’t last. “We were fortunate enough to be Top Ten in a very successful company,” explained Mark. “But they didn’t keep up with the products, and it went away. We said if we ever do this again, we are going to own the company. We want control of our destiny.”

Through their industry connections, a unique product eventually crossed their path. In 2001, armed with their famous Skinny Wrap, a body contouring wrap, and the intent of serving others, the Pentecosts launched their own family business: It Works!. But even with an effective product, the company experienced a rocky start.

“People see where we are today—the office, the energy—and they don’t realize there was a time when our CFO asked how long he should allow me to keep putting money into It Works!,” Mark remembered. “But it’s hard to beat someone who never gives up.”

His tenacity paid off. Before long, the supply of Wraps couldn’t meet the demand. Mark chuckled, “We called it The Great Wrap Shortage. In business, there are always going to be ups and downs. The first 20 years wasn’t always smooth sailing. We hit obstacles, but we found a way with a great team to figure out how to get through it together and to find the ‘win’.”

Defining Success

In the years since, It Works! has expanded into four distinct product categories that provide a holistic approach to well-being—from energy and nutrition, to beauty and weight management. And through founding the It Works! Gives Back Foundation in 2014, the Pentecosts helped generate a tidal wave of philanthropic change that continues to swell. Last year, the It Works! Gives Back Foundation united with the Pentecost Foundation pledged $1 million to charity in commemoration of the company’s 20th anniversary.

“It’s human nature to define accomplishment as sales or revenue,” Mark observed. “Yet how I would define success looking back over the past 20 years is how many lives we’ve changed. Each team member is a life, a family. We have many multi-generational businesses within It Works!. Others have moved on but come back years later to say they were able to use our core values and principles of debt freedom to live better lives. To me, that’s success.”

Building on the Dream

Between their family-focused company culture and first-to-market product offerings, the Pentecosts laid a solid groundwork for It Works! from the beginning—a foundation on which they’ve been steadily building ever since. Looking to their next 20 years, the It Works! team is focused on growing more strategically than ever, particularly in a post-pandemic market threatened by recession.

Ever the optimist, Mark and his team only viewed these challenges as learning opportunities. “The pandemic forced people to evaluate who they work for, when they work and how they work,” he said. “In a person-to-person industry, the pandemic made us realize we needed to improve our training and onboarding virtually. It was tough, but it made us stronger. We already knew the importance of a mobile-first approach. The pandemic simply made us speed up those timelines.”

The It Works! corporate team continues to embrace a digital approach to direct sales while promoting human connection. Developing innovative ways for the field to work their business from their phones remains a top priority, including the introduction of a new platform, Impact Professionals, which gives their leaders a place to learn and grow.

“We equip them with tools to grow anywhere, anytime. We empower our team for social selling and influencing, because our teams are getting younger and connection happens differently now,” Mark explained. “Impact Professionals is an example of how we combine training, education from some of the finest minds in today’s world and a place for influencers to share great ideas. Change is hard, but it’s so important to evolve. The days of your grandma’s in-home living room party are over. But the fundamentals of It Works! are the same: we treat people well, and we show appreciation and recognition. It’s just a different delivery—through a mobile app or a social channel. Sometimes it’s a hybrid approach, but connection is constant.”

For example, the corporate team initially planned for the 2022 It Works! Conference to remain entirely virtual. As time progressed, they realized the importance of getting leaders together in person and quickly pivoted. After the main Conference ran virtually, the team took the event on the road across seven states, meeting with thousands of team members in person—as well as over 10,000 virtually.

“What we’ve done in the last few years is set ourselves up to be ahead of the trends, with products, branding, and marketing tools, to be ready for what’s next,” Kindsey Pentecost, Chief Marketing Officer, shared. “We have a dynamic team that is able to move quickly in all of our markets, here and abroad.”

Intentional and International

In the early days of It Works!, resources were at a minimum and hiring competitively was difficult. As the business quickly scaled, constant product development, field training, market launches and events were the collective priorities. But Mark says one thing he’s learned from the last 21 years is the importance of slowing down enough to be intentional.

“We’re now focused on building a ‘Power Team’ in every department,” he explained. “We have exceptional talent that has grown with us, and we have amazing talent that we’re bringing in. We are looking for our Corporate Team to represent our Field Team demographically. We’re thoughtfully putting together departments that are the best of the best in our industry. Our goal is to change even more lives.”

The “Power Team” hiring strategy excites Mark, who believes it will help the company continue to scale with unparalleled quality, particularly as growth continues internationally. With products in multiple recession-proof categories, International President David Vanderveen agreed. “It Works! has laid a remarkable foundation for growth internationally. Navigating the pandemic gave us tremendous opportunities to improve service levels for social selling and remote training while finding new ways to work. I’m incredibly excited about what we are doing and the potential for quantum leaps that we are starting to experience in international markets.”

Committed to Winning

Learning from the past and evolving with the present has helped position It Works! for a bright future—but Mark of all people knows it won’t always be easy. “When you achieve some success in life, people say, ‘You’re so lucky.’ But ‘lucky’ is grit. ‘Lucky’ is heart. You have to keep pushing through the tough times to reach the other side.”

For the Pentecosts, the direct sales industry provided the platform for success that they needed all those years ago. “I’m really proud of this industry,” Mark shared. “It still gives opportunity to people no matter their background, education or demographic. There isn’t a ceiling. That’s what it did for my family; we are products of this industry. We needed a vehicle that would work for us if we worked hard. To pay that forward has been a blessing, because that’s why we built It Works!—to help others.”

And after more than two decades in business, It Works! is only getting started. “The world has changed, and we have felt it in every space, including our channel,” said Chief Sales Officer Meredith Tieszen. “It Works! focused the last 20 years on our culture, field leaders and providing a great opportunity. We are prepared for the next 20 years and beyond.”

Always dreaming big dreams for the future, Mark agreed. “We entered 2022 with a new kind of energy and momentum, both at home in the United States and in our international markets. We learned a lot through the pandemic about how to improve our tools. We’re building our Power Team. These opportunities are only making It Works! stronger. Together, we’re more committed to winning than ever before!”

From the May 2022 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post It Works!: The Evolution of a Dream first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Despite the diversity of attitudes about what constitutes the best working environment, one reality is hard to dispute. The global pandemic has forced a reckoning of sorts about what’s really necessary for employees to be productive, and the truth is that there is no single answer. However, granting employees flexibility in their workplace environments may lead to improved morale, longer tenure and a competitive advantage for those companies who potentially can cast their nets wider for talent. The industries with the highest number of remote workers are healthcare (15 percent), technology (10 percent) and financial services (9 percent), according to video conferencing company Owl Labs.

In March 2021, Prudential commissioned a survey entitled Pulse of the American Worker: Is This Working? A Year In, Workers Adapting to Tomorrow’s Workplace. This study of 2,000 adults working full time found that 87 percent of American workers who have been working remotely during the pandemic would prefer to continue working remotely at least one day a week, post-pandemic. Among all workers, 68 percent say a hybrid workplace model is ideal. That’s a double-digit percentage point jump from a similar question in a survey conducted in fall 2020. It suggests that the pandemic has highlighted what American workers value most in their respective places of employment.

Further, these responses indicate that such perks as flexible schedules and the reduction or elimination of daily commutes potentially outweigh any drawbacks associated with remote work, like isolation and increased work hours. Most consequential, the survey found that employees who don’t have access to the benefits they want post-pandemic are prepared to seek them elsewhere if necessary. Nearly half of current remote workers (42 percent) say if their current company doesn’t continue to offer remote-work options long term, they’ll look for a job at a company that does.

It’s not just employees who have had a few revelations during the pandemic. Their employers, too, are reconsidering what the optimal work environment looks like. We reached out to several direct selling companies to find out how they’re managing the future of their respective workplaces and what they’ve learned in the process. Here’s what we learned:

Hybrid Format Preferred

A hybrid approach, consisting of work hours both in the office and at home, was the preferred format of our respondents. That decision was usually based upon employee feedback, which drew companies’ attention to the fact that the pandemic was having disproportionate effects on caregivers of preschool and school-age children and elderly family members, as well as those with preexisting health conditions. At the same time, direct selling executives recognized that there were inherent challenges associated with a purely remote work environment – namely, maintaining strong and personal culture, bringing new employees into the fold and continuing to recognize, motivate and engage existing employees.

While leading a Zoom call several months ago, It Works! Founder and CEO Mark Pentecost looked at the faces staring back at him from his computer screen and had a revelation. He recalled the incident during a Direct Selling News Executive Insights interview with Stuart MacMillan, President of MONAT Global: “I was looking at the different people in the Zoom, and I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, I haven’t said good job to her, or I haven’t congratulated that person.’ It really overwhelmed me. How do I show appreciation? My background’s coaching. I coach someone who’s maybe underperforming, or tell someone who’s really knocking it out of the park that ‘I see you. Nice job, I really appreciate it.”

It Works! reopened its corporate office June 1 as part of a hybrid work solution for employees. “Our secret sauce is the hugging and acknowledgment and pats on the back. It’s not as easy to do that out of your home,” Pentecost says. “There are three things I’m focused on—boosting engagement, encouraging collaboration, and increasing morale. I wanted to make sure our field team knew how much I appreciated how they’re working through this period. And those are the three things that I realized people needed the most.”

Following a lot of discussions, Team National recently announced its 2021 hybrid plan for employees. “We’re allowing most staff—a few job descriptions aren’t favorable to work from home, so those staff are in house, such as our network administrator—but most may choose to work from home daily, come in daily, or split their time in any given week,” says Angela Loehr Chrysler, President and CEO. “All new hires must be in office for their probationary 90 days for training and then, if eligible, they can request work from home. But to keep our fun, family-friendly, ‘treat others the way you want to be treated’ culture, we require all staff to be in the office every other month for two to four days by department.” Department heads will coordinate their team members to be together those two to four days to encourage in-person collaboration and discussion. Staff members also will be required to be in the building for special events. Team National’s first all-staff day took place July 16 when one of the company’s top leaders was in the office for a special event.

“We’re mostly remote at the moment, but we’re working on a phased approach to welcoming employees back to the office at our Gilbert, Arizona, headquarters—voluntarily, with encouragement and incentives—given our culture thrives on in-person interaction and collaboration,” says Justin Powell, Isagenix International Chief Legal Officer. “From a more long-term perspective, we’re revisiting our remote work policy, which represents a hybrid approach, and expect to expand it to allow maximum flexibility for eligible employees to work remotely on a more regular basis as long as business needs are being met.”

Mental Health Comes into Sharper Focus

About one-third (31 percent) of all respondents participating in the Deloitte Global 2021 Millennial and Gen Z Survey reported that they have had to take time off of work since COVID due to stress and anxiety. It’s incumbent on employers, then, to support employees’ mental health through any means possible—and reconnect with their purported and respective missions.

Referencing the Deloitte survey, Brent Willis, CEO of NewAge, says, “The incremental stress of COVID coupled with an accountable and performance-oriented work culture is a change. So, we focus on over-communication, building the right culture, and engaging with all associates so they feel heard, valued and connected to the purpose and cause of the company.”

For NewAge, COVID has left an imprint on the company’s culture, inviting an even more egalitarian, collaborative style as employees leave individual offices behind for a new space that allows them to more easily engage with coworkers—whether they’re three desks down or working remotely. “NewAge is completely redoing the office model of old,” says Willis. “We’re going to hybrid systems, hoteling, building social studios in every location around the world for brand partners, and creating community hang-out spaces, so our offices have become ‘multifunctional hubs’ instead of desks with stacks of paper and pictures of grandma. We’re creating multifunctional collaboration, coordination and training spaces, and eliminating many of the expensive mega shrines of the past. Even the CEO has no door—just a few comfy chairs for meetings and a stand-up desk.

“We love the value of social connection, instant coordination and informal communication that has historically come from an in-office work environment,” he continues. “But we have learned that with all of the digital connectivity tools available today, you can achieve all those things without physically being in the same space all the time.”

The Takeaways

Preparation is key.

If the pandemic taught us all anything, it’s the critical importance of preparation. Those companies who had the technical infrastructure in place before the pandemic were more agile and could pivot to remote working environments more easily.

In the process, companies reaped the benefit of several key learnings they plan to incorporate into their ongoing operations. “Working remotely helped us better utilize technology to improve collaboration with our international offices, so we’ve been increasing our efforts to work more seamlessly together,” Powell says.

For Young Living, the pandemic has served as a reminder of the value of sound crisis management procedures. The company established a crisis communications process and application where employees could receive real-time updates and remain informed as local and national agencies set health and safety guidelines. “It’s very important to have a plan and to be able to communicate to your entire workforce as quickly as possible when a major crisis occurs,” says Gene Schrecengost, Chief Human Resources Officer for Young Living. “What surprised us was that employees continued to stay positive and connected, even through such consistent change.”

Involve employees in decision-making.

As Mary Kay Ash so wisely said, “People will support that which they create.” Taking the pulse of employee sentiment about optimal work environments has served direct selling companies like Isagenix well. The company deployed an anonymous survey to its U.S. workforce to gather feedback, “which we felt was a critical component to our return-to-office planning,” says Powell. “The survey was designed to measure current and future attitudes around coming back on-site at our headquarters. We’re taking that into account as part of our return-to-office plans.”

As for It Works! hybrid work style, “I want it to be led by our employees,” Pentecost said in his Executive Insights interview with MacMillan in July. “I want them to tell me what they need to be the most efficient. The world’s never going to be the same. We’re going to go back, and it will be different. There are no rules we need to follow. How much do we need to be in the office? What departments never need to be in the office? Who needs the collaboration and people? We’ve started opening the office so that if you want to come into the office, you’ll be able to. We’ll be there. We’ll sanitize. We’ll keep it safe. We’ll have some rules, but we’re not going to tell you yet that you have to come back, or you have to do this.”

Have clear guidelines in place.

Plexus’ new policy includes clear eligibility guidelines and best practices for effectiveness and team collaboration. “When the pandemic hit, many office-based organizations had to move quickly to transition teams to work from home,” says Mary Beth Reisinger, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer. “This is not the same as deliberately offering a telecommuting option. One was out of necessity; the other was intentional. Setting rigor around what telecommuting looks like, giving leaders the flexibility to determine what schedule works for their teams, being intentional about culture-building, and lots of communication are a few vital elements. Additionally, we held mandatory training for leaders to focus on team building, accountability, and measuring performance.”

“Challenges with a flexible working situation are likely the same at any company,” says Schrecengost. “We worked with our Legal team to establish a ‘Ways of Working Policy’ in which we outlined the expectations for all employees eligible for flexible working arrangements. This policy allows everyone to be on the same page about meeting performance standards and keeping in communication with each other as we move into a blended working environment.”

Keep employees around the campfire through any means available.

Direct selling companies, like the independent distributors they serve, in large part have been founded on strong cultures. Gathering one’s employees around the campfire, so to speak, will almost certainly be a challenging prospect when they’re rotating in and out of the office. Companies like Plexus are striving to create a happy medium between offering greater flexibility and maintaining the kind of culture they need to gain employee buy-in, fulfill their objectives and keep retention high.

Fridays are sacred days at Plexus, reserved for events like team celebrations, cultural initiatives, weekly raffles, so “our hybrid work environment offers eligible team members the choice of working from home two days per week, with the exception of Fridays,” says Reisinger. “We recognize that we will have to be more deliberate at maintaining a team-like atmosphere, so we’ve trained and tasked our leaders with cultivating an inclusive and dynamic team environment.

“Although 2020 was a strong year for our business, we learned that the stressors of the pandemic and an overnight shift to work from home were not optimal for our team members,” she continues. “Innovation and cross-functional collaboration slowed, and our new hires didn’t get the benefit of cultural immersion. A key takeaway was that we would need some additional structure and imagination to ensure that moving to a hybrid work environment going forward would still support and preserve those things.”

Young Living “struggled to stay connected as a greater team,” Schrecengost says, “so our Employee Experience teams held weekly ‘happy hours’ where our employees could connect and laugh with our executives and leaders over video conference. This helped employees feel more connected even though we were working apart.”

Reassess periodically.

Companies generally are approaching the transition to hybrid work on a contingent basis; they’re rolling it out, seeing how it goes and intend to revisit it after a trial period. Team National, for example, will review its work from home policy at the start of 2022, Loehr Chrysler says, to determine if adjustments need to be made or if it should remain as is. At this time, the company has 20 employees who split their time in and out of the office and another 23 who work from home daily.

The Future: Remote Work as an Employee Benefit?

As our economy continues to recover and employees feel emboldened to start making changes in their respective careers, direct selling companies will inevitably begin to consider how they can distinguish themselves in a competitive market. Could offering such benefits as remote work tip the scales in your company’s favor? The following statistics, compiled by Findstack.com, are worth considering:

•  99 percent of people would choose to work remotely for the rest of their lives, even if it was just part-time (source: Buffer).
•  Remote workers save around $7,000 per year in transportation, food and childcare (TECLA).
•  Companies that allow remote work see an average increase of $2,000 in profit per remote worker (Stanford).
•  64 percent of recruiters say that being able to pitch a work-from-home policy helps them find high-quality talent (IWG).
•  In 2017, there was a 50 percent decrease in resignations in companies that allowed remote work (Stanford).

“Remote work has allowed more flexibility for our employees to effectively meet the demands of their jobs as well as balance their family responsibilities, which employees have shared reduces their stress levels,” says Powell. “In a survey of our U.S. employees, they reported that remote work has had a positive impact on their personal productivity, work satisfaction, and collaboration.”

This isn’t to imply that remote work is without its complications. Social media management software company Buffer found that the three biggest challenges associated with remote work are unplugging after work (22 percent), loneliness (19 percent) and communication (17 percent). Seventy percent of remote workers report receiving regular training from their companies (TalentLMS). Fifty-four percent of IT professionals consider remote workers to pose a greater security risk than traditional workers (OpenVPN).

No Single Solution

Ultimately, what determines the ultimate success or failure of any new workplace policy differs from company to company.

“I think this is a case where one-size-fits-all solutions unfortunately do not exist; different conditions may call for different approaches,” said Raffaella Sadun, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School, in an article for Harvard Business Review {“COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?” by Dina Gerdeman; March 8, 2021). “A practical piece of advice is thus to be proactive and elicit workers’ preferences and explore different approaches now. The return to the office may not be as simple as we imagined at the beginning of the pandemic.”

In January 2021, Oakland, California-based management consulting firm Great Place to Work released the results of its survey of 79 executives from 56 Fortune 500 companies.

The surveyors wanted to gauge leaders’ thoughts and plans for returning to the workplace, or if a return was in their plans at all. Pre-COVID, the average percentage of employees working from home for these companies was just 16 percent. Perhaps not surprisingly, executives were divided on the subject of how working from home has affected company culture and productivity:

• 50 percent of executives surveyed believed productivity wasn’t impacted by remote work.
• 30 percent of executives believed teams were more productive while working from home.
• 20 percent reported mixed impacts across teams and business units, with some improving while others appeared to be suffering.

Additionally:

• Most leaders were targeting a return to the workplace within the next 7-12 months.
• Camaraderie and morale (61 percent) and collaboration (45 percent) were the top ways executives expected returning to the office would improve company culture.
• Over half (58 percent) anticipate reducing their office space by at least 10 percent from pre-COVID needs, and over one-third expected to reduce their office space by 25 spaces.
• Three out of five executives believe up to 25 percent of their workforce will continue to work remotely full time.

From the September 2021 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post The Future of Work first appeared on Direct Selling News.

REMEMBER WHEN it was easy to network with your peers during industry events and meetings? Remember the insights and ideas that those conversations prompted? The DSN Executive Insights interview series is working to bring those priceless exchanges of stories and ideas back.

In the second interview in the series, Stuart MacMillan, President of MONAT Global, and his friend and colleague, Mark Pentecost, CEO of It Works!, discuss problems, pivots and plans.

Here is a partial look at parts of their conversation. For the entire interview you can listen to the DSN podcast or watch the interview.

STUART MACMILLAN: I have the honor and privilege of hanging out for a little while with my friend, Mark Pentecost, from It Works!. The last 18 months have been extremely interesting for both your company and ours. Where did you have to pivot? Where did you have to go, ‘Hey, we need to do this differently?’

MARK PENTECOST: We didn’t expect this. We didn’t say, “Let’s go home, work from home for the next 16 months.” We thought it was just going to be for a month or two. In the beginning, it was like, “Hey, this is fun, working from home. It’s exciting. It’s something different.” But over time, different things have crept in, and I hear different words today. I hear COVID fatigue, Zoom fatigue. Some highfliers that work well by themselves, and there are people that don’t.

My background’s coaching. So, I was thinking, what if I never went to practice and just rolled the balls out and said, “Hey, guys, practice hard. I’ll be back in two hours.” And so that really got me to thinking of how do we empower our people, but how do we inspect what we expect? I heard something the other day that I really liked— “Don’t let your comfort zone dictate your destiny or your success.” And I thought, “That’s happening here. We’re getting in a comfort zone.”

The biggest challenge to me has been with changes—especially big changes. We just didn’t know what they were. I love to read, but I couldn’t pull a book out and say, “All right. What is the playbook for COVID pandemic, and you have to go home for, you don’t know how long?” We’ve just had to maneuver. Is that how you feel?

STUART: I feel the same, and I think that it’s been enlightening. I know you and I are similar. We have this sense that we need to control a lot of things and watch it, and I think, if this has done anything for me, and I’m wondering if it has for you, it’s given me a sense of, “Hey, it’s okay.” It’s that balance, right? So, it’s the tension between, ‘Yes, we still need to measure, but hey, it’s okay for them not to be under my eyes 24/7.’

MARK: Our secret sauce is the hugging and acknowledgment, and pats on the back. It’s not as easy to do that out of your home. I think team and teamwork is so important, but an organization’s success depends on strong individual performances

Recently, I was looking at the different people in the Zoom. And I’m like, “Oh, my goodness, I haven’t said good job to her, or I haven’t congratulated that person.” It really overwhelmed me on how do I show appreciation, and how do I coach someone that’s maybe underperforming or someone that is really knocking it out of the park, and I let them know, “I see you. Nice job, I really appreciate it.”

STUART: I actually had the same challenge. One of the things I would often do is walk across the parking lot to the Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant and go, “Hey, you. You know what? You’ve done a great job. Come with me.” And having not done that for a year, I realized that a piece of my management style was gone. I hadn’t replaced it with anything. So, what are you doing to combat that, in this kind of environment?

MARK: There are three things I’m focused on—boosting engagement, encouraging collaboration, and increasing morale. I wanted to make sure our field team knew how much I appreciated how they’re working through this period. And those are the three things that I realized people needed the most.

I want to acknowledge that we started opening the office on June first.

We’re working on a hybrid solution, and I want it to be led by our employees. I want them to tell me what they need to be the most efficient. The world’s never going to be the same. We’re going to go back, and it will be different. There are no rules we need to follow. How much do we need to be in the office? What departments never need to be in the office? Who needs the collaboration and people?

We’ve started opening the office, so that if you want to come into the office, you’ll be able to. We’ll be there. We’ll sanitize. We’ll keep it safe. We’ll have some rules, but we’re not going to tell you yet that you have to come back, or you have to do this.

STUART: I think we’re all facing some of those similar challenges. One thing you said that I think is really interesting is that this hybrid initiative is going to be employee led. I think what that will mean is that while we can throw out some ideas, it’s going to be unique to the company. It’s going to be unique to the personality of the company and unique to the departments. Which departments, in your mind, are the ones that really seem to be missing that collaborative, creative catalyst? Sometimes, the hallway is a catalyst for great discussion. Where do you think that’s missing?

MARK: I love marketing. I love sales. I think one of the things It Works! does well is social selling, gathering customers. We do it with Zoom, but what inspires me and really gets my creative juices going is when I’ve got five or six other people together, sometimes a little bigger, at the office, and someone goes, “Man, I got a crazy idea.” That’s usually when my antenna goes up.

That seems to be code for, “This is about to get good.” I miss that part because I’ll have some good ideas, but after some people pick holes in it or push a little bit, or, “Why not this?” We’ve tried to create that. For those who live in the area, we met outside at my house. I was amazed by what happened to a great idea when we were in the same place together. We ended up doing a promotion. And when we’re trying to duplicate that, it’s just different.

STUART: It is. It’s not quantifiable, but it absolutely is true. You sit in the same room and ideas happen. It’s hard to get the energy you have in a room of a bunch of people who are trying to think about things. To get that on Zoom is tough. Speaking of energy, so one of the things I’ve admired is your ability to transfer passion. Part of the success of It Works! is for your ability to convey passion and excitement and take things to a whole ‘nother level. How do we channel that into getting people excited about our business and what we had to offer?

MARK: What I’m realizing is that I’ve got to try and be intentional. If people are laughing and enjoying, we’re winning! Winning doesn’t mean always just the score, you’re the winner. Winning is helping people pay off debt. It’s helping people control their time through this. Winning is helping people feel accepted wherever they’re at.

STUART: Let’s talk a little bit about customers. There was a bit of a pivot from where It Works! started to say, “Hey, we’re going to focus on having products that stand-alone, that would be bought by anybody, irrespective of the channel.” You guys are doing a great job in terms of your customer-to-distributor ratio. Talk to me about your adjustments.

MARK: We battled that for quite a few years. I think in the beginning, people thought we were a little crazy. Some people actually thought, if you got a customer, you had failed because you didn’t understand the opportunity to become a part of the team. That’s just the way they’re brought up, but we could see that it’s two separate things. We had two different buckets. One bucket was a customer, and one was someone selling products for us.

The biggest change out there today is how to get a customer because people don’t watch commercials anymore. So, we have the opportunity in our industry to talk to people. We realize customers are so important, and they are the lifeblood. We get customers so well because of the interaction. And the competition now is, you believe this as I do, it’s not the other companies. The competition is Amazon.

We have a little motto—Amazon leaves a box on your front porch with a smile on it. We stay around for the hug. We got to smile, but we got to hug them.

We don’t have to convince people to get customers anymore. I think they realize that if you don’t have customers, you don’t have the lifeblood of a strong business. And today, it’s how we keep getting better at it.

STUART: Well, when you think about it, we should have an unfair advantage over the Amazons and the retailers because we’re all about relationship, right? Talk to me about compliance and the environment. How are you adapting to the new world—where it’s very difficult to actually sell the opportunity. There are so many things you can’t say. How do you get around that?

MARK: That is tough. There are some rulings lately that maybe there’s some light at the end of the tunnel, but I do feel like some of the regulations have put more strain on our channel, industry than others. Sometimes you feel like, “Here. This is a brown bag. Look at it. See what you think. I can’t say anything about it.” It’s put more on us to be sure of our products—that we can get ingredients that we can have clinicals on. I think our product team has done a great job realizing this. There are some claims right now that we’re able to say because of the clinicals. We’re being very intentional.

On the business side, we’ve got our income disclosure. There are people like, “Why do we have to do it?” Almost like raising our kids. “Why do we have to be in at curfew? Nobody else does.” My response is “I don’t pay that group, but I know I want to keep paying you. I want to make sure we have a great opportunity. And yes, it is, but we take the extra step.” We’ve added more compliance. It protects and educates us. We’re training more on what we can say or not say.

We do a lot more in training, and we try to put more time into it. That’s our reality. You got to know the rules of the game, so that you can stay in the game, and that’s what we spend time, even behind the scenes.

STUART: At the end of the day, our role is to build a long-term sustainable business for customers and our distributors, and that’s what I told our folks. I would encourage other presidents and CEOs and other leaders of organizations, let’s take the high road and keep focused.

Our role as executives in this industry is really to create that level playing field, and to fertilize it, so that everybody has a place to play and everybody has the same opportunity. 

From the July 2021 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.

The post Stuart MacMillan Talks with Mark Pentecost About Pivots, Plans, being Customer-Centric & More. first appeared on Direct Selling News.

Through the It Works! Give Back Foundation, Pentecost hopes to illustrate the big impact that is possible when a community combines the smallest donations and efforts to make a difference. Supporters of the foundation can sign up to give as little as $1 per month to “make a donation that matters.”

It Works! supports a number of charitable causes, including organizations that work to prevent human trafficking, fight pediatric cancer, support veterans, provide humanitarian aid and support through crisis response, and community outreach to food banks and shelters.  

“During a pandemic, the stress and pressure on these families are even greater,” said Meg Lokey, Executive Director of The Payton Wright Foundation. “It’s times like these that it’s more important than ever to have support from our partners to help the children going through treatment and their families.” 

The “business of giving back” is a value Pentecost believes is an important part of entrepreneurship, and he is committed to reinvesting money he has made into the economy and community to benefit others.

“Giving back through effective charitable initiatives is an aspect of leadership that I find to be especially crucial,” Pentecost said. “It provides an opportunity to express gratitude for those in essential service and gives the chance to make a positive change in the world. By growing our local and global communities, we are becoming better leaders and providing resources for the leaders of tomorrow.”

The post It Works! Give Back Foundation Uses Power of Collective Efforts to Make Big Impact first appeared on Direct Selling News.

“Our organizations have been able to stay ahead of the business curve by embracing new trends and technologies as strategic investments before they were a necessity, all while providing back to the community what we have learned and sharing these gains,” said Pentecost.

Pentecost’s insights after analyzing the first quarter of 2021 include an emphasis on:

• E-commerce adaptation—Digital retail has grown exponentially throughout the pandemic and a virtual presence has moved from necessary to critical in order to survive in the new market landscape. 
• Creating customer-centric cultures—Customer connection is essential, but doing so with an empathetic tone that takes into account everything customers have been through in the past year and a half is just as important. Catering to their needs while relating to their human experience will accelerate brands tremendously.
• Financial literacy—It Works! is a debt-free business. Right now, it is crucial for new businesses to minimize costs and expenses and budget for the most impactful ROI.
• Going digital—Remote work is here to stay. Design a digital infrastructure that integrates social media, conference calls and virtual work into a streamlined and efficient system that takes employee satisfaction and safety into account.
• Resetting your mindset—Risks are even more challenging right now, so use this time to reinvent yourself, rethink your approach to obstacles and prepare for future action. 

The post It Works! Founder Mark Pentecost Shares Predictions and Trends for the Channel in 2021 first appeared on Direct Selling News.

History circles back on itself. The commonplace gets modified over time with newer methodologies, but transformation—even in the world of direct selling—meanders through trial and error and sometimes re-emerges closer to the beginning than we expected.

Door-to-door sellers of the late 1800s introduced innovative, useful and pampering products to often isolated and ever-curious customers. That’s how the direct selling industry was born.

Selling products direct—where retail couldn’t or wouldn’t stretch—lightened consumers’ already heavy load. Quality products earned a loyal customer base for the sellers—often with regular routes—and the companies that would become household names: Fuller Brush, J.R. Watkins Co., Stanley Home Products, and later Tupperware, Avon, Mary Kay and the like.

As more than a century of industry transformation unfolded, the focus on customers waxed and waned. Never completely out of mind, customers sometimes fell down the list to other business model priorities. Some direct selling companies and their independent distributors experimented with financial growth strategies that became problematic, controversial and subject to scrutiny by regulators.

Amid the switchbacks taken by some companies, however, legacy direct selling businesses flourished by focusing on selling and servicing customers and sponsoring people who wanted to do the same thing. Central to their success was a business model based on actual customers buying real products.

Today, these types of companies identify as customer-centric—a newer label for something that’s been around in direct selling as long as the industry itself. Customer-centric companies possess really attractive products that disrupt traditional businesses to the benefit of the consumer, and they represent a 21st century direct selling business model that stands up to the expectations of customers, regulatory scrutiny and the sustainability goals for companies and the larger industry.

“As we march into a very different future, one where technology has changed the game, a new type of focus on customer acquisition and retention just makes sense. No business succeeds and achieves sustainable success without a strong base of real consumers,” says John Fleming, owner of Ideas and Design Group, LLC; former DSN Publisher and Editor-in-Chief; and former Avon executive.

WHAT CUSTOMER-CENTRIC LOOKS LIKE TODAY?

Customer-centric companies embrace their ability to fill a void in today’s marketplace, taking aim outside the channel to compete through product efficacy, value, impact and service. Product performance, pricing, packaging, marketing, customer service, shipping time and costs, loyalty programs and rewards—all of it aims to benefit, engage and retain the consumer. These companies invest in, focus on, track, and measure every facet in order to meet today’s consumer expectations.

“This is worth getting good at! The benefits to the company and the field organization can be massive, long-lasting and far-reaching. Repeat customer purchases create repeat sales and increased revenues. Customer-centric growth is typically more profitable and stable,” says Garrett McGrath, president of Elepreneurs.

Bouncer Schiro, CEO of Kynect, says the lifetime value per customer is exponentially greater as well. But the customer centric approach isn’t without its hurdles. “In the early days, our biggest challenge was that we were simply growing too fast. Our systems couldn’t keep up, but we solved most of those issues by listening to and focusing on the needs of our customer.”

“A quality product that provides high value is essential to get the consistent ongoing purchases from your ever-growing customer base. The most significant elements to get us there were first of all to ensure that our compensation plan was focused on customer acquisition and ongoing customer sales.

Secondly, we needed to have direct and consistent communication with our customer base around what about our products they like, what new products they were looking for and how we enhanced our preferred customer program,” says Stuart MacMillan, president of MONAT Global.

Customers are empowered these days, and their expectations are evolving. They find products and services at a click or with a simple voice command through e-commerce platforms. Most growing direct selling companies have robust customer acquisition and retention abilities online, as well as sophisticated point-of-sale systems that capture customer information and feeds data for all sales motions back to the home office.

“Direct selling companies that recognize themselves as platforms and provide the digital tools which enable distributors to market in a more personal manner will support a redefining of the direct selling model,” says Fleming.

QUICKENING THE PACE OF TRANSFORMATION

Technology is facilitating a transformation of the direct selling model, but it’s regulatory scrutiny that is—or should be—quickening the pace of companies to lean in to their customers.

The MLM regulatory landscape shifted in the U.S. with Federal Trade Commission lawsuits filed against Vemma Nutrition (2015) and Herbalife (2016), and more recently AdvoCare and Neora. These cases reflect a heightened scrutiny of both MLM compensation structures and unsubstantiated earnings claims. Companies have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in restitution; spent millions overhauling operational systems; restructured compensation plans; and in AdvoCare’s case, dismantled its MLM structure entirely.

While this type of scrutiny is not new, Brent Kugler, attorney with Scheef and Stone, says, “Today’s MLM company must have a compensation plan that in structure, practice and terminology emphasizes compensation and rewards based upon bona fide retail sales activity. Just as importantly, MLM companies should accurately and transparently disclose the earning or lack of earnings of all program participants, not just the participants who earned commissions in a given time period.”

The FTC has made clear that it intends to hold companies responsible for improper earnings claims made by their distributors and to expect aggressive scrutiny of MLM compensation plans that include threshold-based and duplication-based rewards.

Older comp plans that define volume and base rewards on distributor purchases need revision and rewriting to emphasize retail sales and rewards to distributors for verified retail sales activity instead. Calculations of distributor commissions, likewise, should generate from retail sales to non-distributors and omit personal purchase volume because it no longer counts in rank advancement. MLM purchase requirements should also change to minimum sales requirements.

“In the current regulatory environment, every MLM company needs to be taking a hard look at its compensation model and how it is deriving its revenues,” says Kugler. Recent FTC rulings indicate that companies—to remain compliant and not be labeled as pyramid schemes—must demonstrate actual retail demand for its products and services. This means a healthy majority of company revenues should be generated from bona fide sales to actual, non-distributor customers. Ideally, a customer-to-distributor ratio of 5:1 or higher is the aim, says Kugler.

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN ICING AND CAKE

“The customer purchase decision must be able to stand on its own as a ‘fair trade,’ and then the personal touch by a caring consultant and the opportunity to earn by also supporting customers’ purchases is the icing, not the cake,” says Orville Thompson, co-owner and co-CEO of Scentsy.

Direct selling business models need to distinguish between icing and cake in order to remain FTC compliant. Customers do not have a representation agreement in place with a direct selling company. Distributors do have an agreement in place with a direct selling company. Differentiating and tracking purchases of active customers and distributors is vital because “actual” customers engage, purchase and continue to do so for enjoyment, not for the purpose of qualifying for some component of a compensation plan.

“The entire validity of direct selling is predicated on real customers, buying real products at real prices. By focusing on the customer and the product or service value being provided to them, companies can make decisions that bring sound business results while enhancing the direct selling environment,” says Thompson.

“If the product is relevant, distinguished and desired, then people will want it without having to start a home-based business. Indeed, if a direct sales company truly loved its distributors, it would ensure they succeed by having a high percent of their business done through retail sales,” says Jeff Bell, CEO of LegalShield.

“The only real money in direct sales is from a consumer who is engaged, satisfied and retained. Having a model focused upon signing up distributors is not only reckless but potentially illegal,” he adds.

“I believe that the days of just selling opportunity are long gone and that we have to lead with customer experience, customer education, and customer value,” says Brian Underwood, owner and CEO of Prüvit.

“If education and growth aren’t the focus and you build it based on the deal or opportunity, there is always another million-dollar deal out there, right around the corner. It doesn’t create any real new value or innovation,” he adds.

THE BENEFIT OF RAVING FANS AND CUSTOMERS

Distributors need valuable and innovative products and services to build a strong book of business. A high level of consumer experience generates repeat sales of in-demand products, and those loyal customers become the heroes of customer-centric direct selling companies.

“It Works! is a customer generating machine!” says Mark Pentecost, CEO. “This year, we’ve hit record sales with 75 percent of all of our sales coming from customers. That is industry changing!” They boast a 9:1 customer -to -distributor ratio.

“I think every company that has succeeded at a massive level is because of the benefit of having raving fans and customers. Raving fans share their passion with other people, which helps continue the company’s growth,” says Underwood.

“If you focus first on the value you’re offering your customers, your business proposition becomes more powerful and sustainable. Kynect’s customer-to-Associate ratio is 9:1, not because of the FTC’s influence but because our main focus is creating value for our end users. Then we worry about the business opportunity,” says Schiro.

“Customers have always been important to sustainable business growth. In our space—and in these unprecedented times—companies who produce impactful, affordable products and serve their customers well are outperforming those who are not. FTC Guidelines are pointing all direct selling companies in this direction. This IS the future of our industry,” says McGrath.

RECOGNIZING CUSTOMER- FIRST COMPANIES

With that future in mind, Direct Selling News launches a new Customer Centric Recognition program celebrating direct selling companies that boast high customer-to-distributor ratios and prioritize actual customer sales.

“Businesses built on customer acquisition and retention, especially those that meet the 5:1 and 10:1 customer to- distributor qualifications of DSN’s CCR will be the competitors to beat in this marketplace and environment,” says Stuart Johnson, founder and CEO, SUCCESS Partners.

“What gets measured—and recognized—gets done. With Direct Selling News having created the Customer Centric Program to recognize customer-first companies, it cannot help but have a positive impact on our profession,” says McGrath.

“More than two million people have felt the Total Life Change through our products, and we are hungry for more to experience it. That’s why we are so excited to be a part of this DSN effort and doing what’s right for our customers, our Life Changers, and our entire industry,” says John Licari, COO of Total Life Changes.

“DSN’s recognition has been a strong driver to company behavior for many years. Direct selling organizations have strived for the recognition and rewards that DSN has offered. As the direct selling channel faces increased scrutiny, we are super supportive of DSN’s focus on customer acquisition and retention. We believe this will be instrumental in focusing companies on healthy, long-term sustainable growth and enhance the reputation of a channel we have come to appreciate and so many millions of people rely on,” says MacMillan.

“It is so exciting to launch a recognition of the values, integrity and behaviors that will move our industry into a more sustainable future,” says Johnson.

The new CCR Program will be open to companies with a minimum of one year in business and $5 million in annual revenue. Active customers and distributors are limited to those in the U.S. and Canada. More details can be found at www.directsellingnews.com/ccr/.

RE-EMERGING MORE  VIBRANT THAN BEFORE

But actual transformation takes more than recognitions. In this regulatory environment customer centric-ish won’t be enough for the direct selling industry to re-emerge more vibrant than before.

“Customer acquisition, service and retention shouldn’t be the window dressing. It should be the absolute foundation of who we are!” says Andy McWilliams, CEO of RevitalU. He believes subtraction is necessary too. “Get rid of fees to join, big pack purchases and recruitment bonuses thinly veiled by customer acquisition minimums! LET’S CHANGE!!”

The days of direct sellers purchasing inventory and servicing customers personally is falling away. More companies are facilitating purchases and fulfilling orders for their distributors—while at the same time changing distributors’ customer acquisition expectations. Fleming says 20 or more loyal customers, who purchase frequently, is certainly the possibility for any direct seller who focuses on customer acquisition and retention.

“This changes the game and becomes foundational to a future that appears to be bigger and brighter. Those who aspire to be micro-entrepreneurs, or even entrepreneurs, will benefit from sharing with others this unique model, and sponsoring others who adopt the new behaviors. More focus on customer acquisition and retention will result in a much stronger business model for all involved. It’s exciting. Direct selling will also become a much more vibrant player in the general marketplace!” says Fleming

The post THE RE-EMERGENCE OF CUSTOMER-CENTRIC first appeared on Direct Selling News.

That’s because direct selling was founded upon principles of exceptional service, personalization and taking care of one’s own. Those values are usually presented in the context of the relationships that independent distributors hold with their customers. But that’s only half the story. Direct selling companies also strive to apply those principles to their relationships they hold with their employees. The savviest companies realize that, given the incredible growth of this channel over the past several years, it pays to take good care of employees for two primary reasons. First, the obvious one: Turnover is disruptive, from the toll it takes on morale to the time and money it requires to replace employees who take their expertise with them out the door. Second, employees are on the front lines of communication with independent distributors. If employees are happy, distributors are happy. It’s just that simple. And, on a personal level, shouldn’t people enjoy what they spend most of their day doing and feel appreciated for that work?

“The company will only go as far as our employees take us, and they need to feel that they are being supported at all times. An engaged employee is one who believes in the company mission, and they’ll do everything in their power to showcase that to everyone they come across. That engaged employee becomes a company advocate, and dozens of others will follow that positive example.”

—Scott Lewis, Chief Visionary Officer, Jeunesse

Direct Selling News has once again partnered with Quantum Workplace to measure, analyze and, ultimately, honor the channel’s best places to work. We opened nominations Aug. 1, 2017, began surveying Oct. 30 and closed the survey Dec. 20. Thirteen outstanding companies made the cut for our 2018 finalists.

While each has their own distinctive story, these direct selling companies are united around a common theme of employee engagement.

For more than a decade, Quantum Workplace has been conducting in-depth surveys with organizations throughout the world, representing nearly every industry sector, in an effort to measure employee engagement. Higher levels of engagement are linked to better employee retention, higher productivity and more profit. Organizations that know where they stand can make an effort to focus more intensively on the drivers and address the detractors of employee engagement.

For the purposes of our 2018 Best Places to Work in Direct Selling survey, Quantum compared our survey results with all other Best Places to Work survey results, then held them up against the top three overall Best Places to Work results. Finally, Quantum compared the results of this year’s direct selling surveys against last year’s. All of those comparisons reveal some interesting findings worth considering.

“It’s imperative that you’re constantly making sure that employees understand why they’re working there and why their jobs matter. Then they feel more attached and engaged in the business. Our job is that we work for 23,000 people every day. We’re all in this together.”

—Chris Cicchinelli, CEO and President, Pure Romance

Here are some top-line takeaways from the direct selling analysis:

• Engagement increased slightly for our channel, up from 56.7 percent last year to 57.8 this year. The average national engagement rate was 67.5 percent, and for the top three regions, 74.5 percent. The direct selling channel, then, has an opportunity to increase employee engagement.
  Compared to our previous year’s data, and national data from Best Places to Work companies across the board, benefits and culture are strengths associated with direct selling companies. More direct selling employees report that their employer-provided benefits meet their needs and their families’ needs (82 percent); their employer’s culture supports their health and well-being (83 percent); and that their immediate managers care about them as people (82 percent).
• Compared with last year’s data, our channel scores increased slightly in three areas: team dynamics (agreement with the statement “My immediate coworkers consistently go the extra mile to achieve great results,” which increased 3 percent); individual needs (“I am paid fairly,” which increased 2 percent); and personal engagement (“I find my job interesting and challenging,” which increased 1 percent).
• Compared to the Top 3 Regions benchmark and National benchmark, the direct selling channel is behind on employee recognition, understanding why organizations make changes when they do, and employees believing their opinions count at work.
• Compared to last year, the proportion of Highly Engaged employees increased, yet the proportion of Barely Engaged and Disengaged also slightly increased. This suggests that the direct selling channel may becoming more polarized—that is, the “middle ground” (Moderately Engaged, in this case) was pulled both up (to Highly Engaged) and down (to Dis- and Barely Engaged).
• Compared to last year, Trust in Leadership seems to have decreased the most. There’s lower favorability toward believing the organization will be successful in the future, trusting senior leadership to lead the organization to future success, and that senior leaders demonstrate integrity. This suggests that trust in leadership is an area of potential concern for our channel, and one that should be addressed before it becomes a larger issue.

Quantum’s 2017 Employee Engagement Trends Report aggregated employee survey responses from more than 500,000 employees at more than 8,700 organizations throughout the United States in 2015, including direct selling companies. The report revealed that employee engagement across all industries increased .7 percent from 2015 to 2016, recouping losses experienced during 2015. Further, the report identified three key challenges that lie ahead for industries across the board: The engagement gap between hourly and salaried employees grows; low engagement threatens retention; and failed change management puts engagement at risk.

“When we show we care for our employees’ growth and well-being, we develop and retain a caring team that works together toward growth.”

—Angela Loehr Chrysler, President and CEO, Team National

Employee Engagement Is an Evolutionary Process

Employee engagement isn’t a one-and-done initiative—especially for the direct selling channel, in which so many companies are relatively new and undergoing rapid change. As organizations add staff, their employee engagement philosophies evolve. Sometimes they need to make tweaks.

In the early days of growing a company, “all you’re trying to do is keep your head above water,” says Chris Cicchinelli, CEO and president of Pure Romance. “As the business grows and you add employees, some may not have the same drive as you do. Some may not be as attached.” He continues, “We went through periods when we asked, ‘Why aren’t these people getting it?’ We realized we needed to do better job of explaining who they’re helping, who they’re taking care of, and what our company mission is. They’re not just writing code; they’re helping a mom support her family. It’s imperative that you’re constantly making sure that employees understand why they’re working there and why their jobs matter. Then they feel more attached and engaged in the business. Our job is that we work for 23,000 people every day. We’re all in this together.”

As a company adds staff, it also becomes more logistically difficult for leadership to get in front of employees as much as they’d like, our executives say. At Scentsy, regular calls with executives and founders help ensure that the company’s growing employee base has the opportunity to hear directly from leadership. Employee engagement is a continuous process. “We haven’t arrived—we’ll always continue to improve,” says Richard Steel, Scentsy’s chief human resources officer.

“It’s more challenging to keep employees engaged because the online resources available now make it easier for employees to leave for another company if their needs aren’t met at their current jobs,” says Team National President and CEO Angela Loehr Chrysler. “We focus on the personal growth of each employee that feeds into the engagement levels of our company’s people. When we show we care for our employees’ growth and well-being, we develop and retain a caring team that works together toward growth.”

The ability to retain employees is where thoughtful and intentional employee engagement efforts can really pay off. While it may be easier than ever to lose an employee to a better offer, it’s also never been more expensive.

According to research conducted by Quantum Workplace, the average cost to hire an employee is at an all-time high of $4,129, and research shows that 33 percent of new hires will start looking for another job within their first six months at your organization. One in four will leave before they reach their one-year anniversary.

It should come as no surprise that employees who aren’t engaged are more likely to leave. If you were to take a look around your organization, how could you tell who’s engaged and who isn’t? It may be tempting to categorize your high-performers as your engaged employees and assume that employees who are “just dialing it in” are disengaged. But it’s more complicated than that.

In Gallup News article: “Talent Walks: Why Your Best Employees Are Leaving” (Jan. 25, 2018), reporter Ben Wigert reveals that “in our most recent work with organizations across various industries, we discovered something really interesting and somewhat unsettling: Highly talented employees who are not engaged were among those who had the highest turnover in each organization—on par with low talent, disengaged employees. In other words, when your best employees are not engaged, they are as likely to leave your organization as employees who tend to have performance issues and are unhappy.” And today, they have more choices than ever.

Given that employees are motivated by different factors, flexibility and personalization are important characteristics of any employee engagement initiative.

“You won’t accomplish anything with a one-size-fits-all approach, which means you need to dedicate more time to personalizing your engagement,” says Lewis of Jeunesse. “While that might not sound realistic, it’s critical as more of our workforce is dominated by millennials, who crave positive feedback. And within our companies, there are subcultures, meaning that those in marketing are different than those in IT, and those in sales are different than customer service. You have to know what engages those departments, and tailor your actions accordingly.”

“When we show we care for our employees’ growth and well-being, we develop and retain a caring team that works together toward growth.”

—Angela Loehr Chrysler, President and CEO, Team National

Steve Elder, COO of Xyngular, agrees. “How we connect with employees—how we communicate—happens in different ways,” he says. “We always want to provide clarity about our purpose and vision. We may think we’re communicating, but it may not resonate. Some people may want visuals. That’s our challenge. As we get larger, how to bring that vision as close to our employees as possible.”

High Employee Engagement

Among this year’s Best Places to Work in Direct Selling, we can identify some common contributors to high employee engagement, including:

ONBOARDING. As companies grow and add employees, it becomes more challenging to ensure the maintenance of their core values. That’s why onboarding is key. In less than seven years, the It Works! corporate staff grew from 58 employees to 207. Within the past year, the company established a formal onboarding program, including a mentorship component. Mentors are nominated by their managers and approved by the executive team. “The role of mentors is to teach employees about the It Works! way—our culture, values, expectations,” says Senior Marketing Director Kate Martin Carlson. “Over the years, we’ve had to be much more conscious about incorporating those elements as we’ve grown so quickly.”

STRONG CULTURE. As the Quantum Workplace survey indicates, culture is an area of distinct competitive advantage for the direct selling channel. Culture is defined as the pervasive character and personality of your organization—the sum of its values, behaviors, beliefs and attitudes. The more positive the culture, the stronger the engagement of employees. Steel of Scentsy sums it up perfectly: “When people drive into the parking lot, I want them to be excited.”

“People may think engagement is tied to how many parties or lunches we have, but that’s just window dressing for what our day-to-day culture is,” says Darren Jensen, CEO of LifeVantage. “It’s taking the time to give real thought to what the meaningful things are for your employee base.” As these executives suggest, employees need a “why” for their work, and while some say that’s especially true for younger demographics, having a sense of purpose is a strong motivator for employees of every age and background. That starts at the top. “The leadership of the company has to be crystal clear on vision, message and mission,” says Brant Wallace, senior vice president of resources and strategy at Zurvita. “When they’re interacting with someone—in customer service all the way to the executive vice president level—they have to be able to listen and take time to sow into that relationship. Then, they have to respond not from the standpoint of selling the mission, the vision, the goals, but really from a standpoint of how that goal, mission and vision apply to that employee. When I see that work, it works tremendously. When it doesn’t work, it leads to a misaligned and disengaged workforce that just wants to clock in, clock out and go home. They have to buy in to what leadership is saying, follow and bring others with them.”

SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES. The direct selling channel prides itself on a deep commitment to giving back. Each September, Scentsy holds an annual “Rock a Thon” near its Meridian, Idaho, headquarters to benefit a worthy cause. Last year, employees and members of the surrounding community filled 70 rocking chairs stationed on nearby Eagle Road. Local radio stations promoted the event, which culminated in a fireworks show. After 12 hours of rocking, the event raised $250,000 for a school for pregnant and parenting teens. Sometimes those efforts happen right at home. Approximately eight years ago, Nu Skin employees contributed to a voluntary fund established to help their fellow employees in need. To date, the fund has helped lighten the financial load for between 25 and 30 Nu Skin families facing medical issues. The company also sends a group of employees to Malawi, Africa, each year to work with local families on sustainability initiatives. Zurvita staff recently visited Puerto Rico, where they served meals to more than 3,000 people in one week. Across the board, direct selling companies embrace the opportunity to serve both locally and abroad.

PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. Direct selling is revered for its stories of personal and professional transformation in the field. Savvy companies are implanting similar offerings at home, giving employees exposure to training that develops and strengthens their direct selling knowledge and “softer” skill sets. Traits like resilience, perseverance, listening, empathy and other aspects of emotional intelligence may not be quantifiable. Nevertheless, they’re critical for success. Plexus is currently fine-tuning a series of curricula, which will be rolled out to almost every level within the company, says Mary Ann Luciano, vice president of learning and development. “Our CEO [Tarl Robinson] has said numerous times that he wants us to develop employees so they feel that while they’re at Plexus, they’ve been developed as well as we can possibly develop them. If and when they leave the company, we want them to take that Plexus development with them and know that we cared to provide development for them both as human beings and as potential leaders.”

At Nu Skin, where employees take advantage of such offerings as financial planning education, “We send a message to employees to spread their wings and fly,” says David Daines, senior vice president of global human resources at Nu Skin. “We’re trying to engage their whole lives, not just the time they spend here. If an employee leaves, we want them to be better than when they came.”

FUN. From theme park visits to sporting events, this year’s Best Places to Work in Direct Selling offer a lineup of events throughout the year for employees to downshift from their work and enjoy themselves. Every other Friday, Pure Romance employees enjoy “Drink Cart Friday.” Work stops at 3 p.m., and one department takes the lead, stocking the drink cart and passing through the building, encouraging employees to get out from behind their computers and connect with one another.

At It Works!, “We want people who are excited to come to work each day,” says CEO Mark Pentecost. “We want to have to ‘kick people out’ each night because they don’t want to go home—because they’re having fun.” The company’s waterfront corporate headquarters, Pentecost says, adds to that atmosphere of fun. “We chose our location to be a driver of the culture and environment we want to cultivate.”

Connection with salesforce. Relationships between employees and distributors are vitally important for several reasons: Distributors need to feel supported in their businesses, and employees need to understand the purpose behind their work. To that end, leading direct selling companies make a concerted effort to bring together employees and distributors in the same room. As members of the same team, they support each other, and everyone wins. Pure Romance, for example, holds periodic “town halls,” in which distributors come to the corporate office and share current challenges and opportunities with staff. Nu Skin offers a leadership program in which employees spend a day with a distributor in order to better understand their business. LifeVantage holds several large events throughout the year, and “we end up taking 60 to 70 percent of our employees with us to interact directly with the field,” Jensen says. In direct selling, companies place so much emphasis on products, promotions and distributors’ professional growth that it can be easy to lose sight of the development of employees. It’s a fine balance. “I don’t think it’s a zero-sum game. It’s not an ‘or’; it’s an ‘and,’ ” Jensen adds. “If you can take care of a distributor force of thousands, you can take care of a few hundred employees.”

HARD NUMBERS. Many direct selling companies, including several of this year’s Best Places to Work, are conducting employee engagement surveys to determine where they can improve. Results may be broken down by department so that specific groups can examine their results and analyze year-over-year changes. For the best results, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recommends that organizations reach beyond surveys and facilitate conversations with staff, asking questions such as “What does it take to be successful here?” and “If there is one roadblock between the organization’s ideal culture and the way it really is, what is it?”

It’s clear that employee engagement is about much more than great salaries or benefits packages; it’s about quality of life. “This goes beyond financial reward and gain,” says Daines of Nu Skin. “In the general workforce, roughly one-third of employees do just enough not to get fired. At Nu Skin, engagement matters because we’re trying to change the world. How can we change the world if we have employees who aren’t giving everything they have?”

Methodology

Since 2010, Quantum has surveyed more than 8,000 organizations annually representing numerous industry sectors through the Best Places to Work Program. This year marks the third year that Quantum has surveyed the direct selling industry. The Best Places to Work Program survey utilizes the same 30 questions across six categories for all participants, regardless of industry. No single question is weighted more heavily than the others, although certain topics may be covered more frequently than others.

Six of the 30 questions on the survey are designed to quantify discretionary effort, intent to stay and advocacy for company. The other 24 questions measure workplace culture, identifying, for example, the kind of conditions under which employees are more likely to advocate for their employers.

The questions may be standard, but the results are highly individual. They shed light on what each company can do to retain their valued employees. And, as we examine the direct selling channel, those results suggest some patterns within our broader industry that merit discussion.

Room for Improvement

Returning to the direct selling channel’s areas of opportunity—including trust in leadership, employee recognition, understanding the rationale for organizational change, and employees believing their opinions count—here are some suggestions from Quantum Workplace for how to increase engagement:

Change management

Pick up your April 2018 issue here.

Provide multiple mechanisms for internal communication. Encourage and solicit input from employees throughout the change. Consider issuing “pulse” surveys for a quick and accurate read on engagement amidst organizational change.

Employee recognition
Provide flexible work hours and encourage flexible work locations. Consider unlimited vacation. Ask your employees “When are you at your best?” and “What’s draining your energy, and how can you do less of that?” This conversation can lead you toward opportunities to challenge motivated employees and work more efficiently. Send handwritten letters of gratitude for a job well done. Ask your employees how they like to be recognized. Match employee philanthropy giving.

Trust in leadership
When failure happens, don’t gloss over those moments. Instead, use them as opportunities. A leader who owns up to a bad decision shows vulnerability, which in turn can foster trust among employees. Consider releasing the company at noon the day before a holiday. Create a feedback-safe environment. Conduct quarterly teambuilding offsite. Ask employees for advice.

Click here to view the Honorees of the Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018

The post Best Places To Work In Direct Selling 2018 first appeared on Direct Selling News.