A junior/senior level sales class in The Professional Sales Institute of Illinois State University recently donated more than $7,500 of commissions from the sale of Cutco cutlery to Homes of Hope located in Normal, Illinois. The cutlery was sold by Vector Marketing, the sole distributor of Cutco, which trained the students.

The check for $7,634.34 was presented December 8, 2009 by several of the class’s top students who attended the organization’s annual holiday banquet. The announcement was made by Dr. Jill Attaway, professor in Illinois State’s Professional Sales Institute’s Department of Marketing, who teaches this experiential learning program, known as “Selling Smiles.”

Homes of Hope, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that provides quality homes and support services, promoting optimal independence, community inclusion and personal satisfaction to adults with developmental disabilities regardless of social, racial, cultural or religious affiliation. Homes of Hope currently maintains three homes dedicated to providing Christian residential living for those in need.

“On behalf of Homes of Hope, I would like to thank Dr. Jill Attaway and her marketing class students for the sales work that they did and choosing Homes of Hope as their recipient,” said Maureen McIntosh, executive director of Homes of Hope. “The Homes of Hope residents got to meet the students and were a part of ISU activities. We appreciate the donation as well as allowing our residents to be part of their college lives.”

Logo from Vector Marketing

A Minneapolis company is taking the female tradition of sales parties in a new, male-oriented direction with back yard barbecue events.

John Schaffran, a San Jose, Calif., sales representative for Man Cave, said there are a few tricks to a successful sales party with men, including premiums for large purchases and the ever-important free beer, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.

“Free beer is something that will always get a crowd of guys together,” Schaffran said.

Logo from ManCave

Wendy Lee, a stay-at-home mother of three kids in the Dallas area recently launched www.AuthenticCandleWarmers.com to boost her home-based, network marketing candle business.

When her husband lost his job in the spring of 2009, Lee began thinking of ways she could bring in extra income working part-time while still taking care of her three young children. She then came across an opportunity to market and sell Scentsy candles. She knew she loved candles, and the direct selling industry has always intrigued her.

“I’m not a salesperson, but so many of my friends and family love candles, so I knew it would be easy for me to tell people about it,” Lee says. “So far it really has been easy and fun, and launching AuthenticCandleWarmers.com will hopefully take it to the next level.”

While her Scentsy business is still in its early stages, Lee says that it has already taught her a lot about the power of entrepreneurship and networking with other people. It has caused her to get out of her comfort zone and learn new things.

“I never knew I was capable of managing my own business,” she says. “But I get to work at my own pace and be my own boss. I’m also learning a lot about marketing, communications and helping others. Most importantly, I’m learning a lot about my capabilities and skills.”

Logo from Scentsy

Multi-level marketing is a business opportunity with infinite potential – but only if you stay on the path to success and steer clear of the common mistakes made by many rookie network marketer. The most common pitfalls encountered in MLM include:

1. Listening to People Who Have Never Made It
Anyone can call himself an expert and try to teach other people, but many of the so-called authorities haven’t actually achieved success themselves. If you want to make progress with your business, the surest and quickest path is to follow in the footsteps of those who have already done it. Don’t take advice from amateurs or beginners who don’t have experience and proven results.

2. Targeting the Wrong Audience
This is a common mistake for network marketers, and it crops up in many forms. Have you been pitching your business for too long to people who aren’t really interested? Scared to go outside your comfort zone and try a new audience? Do you spend too much of your time talking to skeptics, while others snap up the really committed and interested prospects? Networking with new people and in new environments can go a long way toward revitalizing your business.

3. Marketing Instead of Connecting
The #1 trait that sets great network marketers apart is their ability to truly connect with people. Customers turn to them for a relationship, not just a product, and every part of their approach reflects this awareness.
Too many network marketers believe that all it takes is pitching their product again and again, to anyone and everyone, to create a thriving business. In reality, it takes sensitivity and excellent listening skills. Don’t just market your product – engage with people. Get to know them and their motivations, so you’re better equipped to help them. Make sure every part of your business interactions, from the initial conversation to the follow-up call, reflects your commitment to relationships and value. People will notice the difference and customers will flock to you.

4. Focusing on Last Year
It’s easy to get caught up in the same mentality as last year and assume that your strategies, language, and pitches will yield the same results as they did in the past. But time marches on, and it’s important to spruce up your MLM business by trying new locations, talking to new people, and – most importantly – by providing your long-time customers and associates with new and exciting opportunities that will keep them coming back for more – and keep you moving forward into a prosperous future.

5. Thinking of Your MLM Business as Part Time
If you truly intend to succeed in this business, it’s important to take the long view. Don’t think of yourself as a part-time rep or distributor; think about where you’d like your business to be in one year, two years, five years… and then visualize yourself on that path. Although you may be working part-time for now, this could soon become your primary income if you have the drive and enthusiasm.

When you make it your intention to succeed, that awareness will permeate every nuance of the way you talk to distributors, customers, and prospects. They’ll notice the difference and respond to it in positive ways. It really is all about you and what you put into your business – your mind, your heart, and your purpose.

Photo by Robert Couse-Baker

How do I put this?  It’s Salt Water!

This company wants you to buy a case of Salt Water for $150.

Seriously, I took a screen capture of the label:

Ingredients: Distilled Water and Sodium Chloride. Uhhhh, that’s Salt Water!

The site has a whole bunch of mumbo jumbo simulated science, but the label is pretty clear.

Most students find part-time jobs working in downtown restaurants, clothing stores or on campus. Although these places are common for student employment, there has been a rising trend in the number of students getting paid to party.

This growing part-time job is a Passion Parties consultant.

Carly Anderson, a sophomore nursing major, recently decided to become a consultant after hearing about Passion Parties from a friend, she said. After one week of starting her business, Anderson had scheduled six parties.

“I choose my own hours, I’m my own boss and I get to meet all sorts of people,” Anderson said. “I basically get to party for a living, which is really awesome.”

Passion Parties is a professional company established in 1994 and sells a variety of sensual products, she said. The party-planning company currently has 15,000 consultants in the United States and 2,500 consultants in Canada.

Passion Parties products are designed to promote intimacy and communication between couples, according to the company’s Web site.

Most women do not want to go into a sex store because they feel self-conscious and worried about who they might see while shopping for their sexual fantasies, Anderson said. With Passion Parties, women can order their products in their own home with the help of a consultant.

Amy Gordon, a team manager for Passion Parties in Chico and Gridley, has been in the Passion Parties business for almost two years.

“This job is one of the best jobs for college students, really for anybody,” Gordon said. “I would most definitely recommend it.”

The biggest advantage for college students is the scheduling process, Gordon said.

Logo from Passion Parties

The government will amend the Direct Sales Act 1993 to protect consumers from becoming victims of pyramid scheme scams, said Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

He said the new Act will enable action to be taken against unlicensed companies.

“We are now finalising this Act as it is not very clear from the aspect of defining a pyramid scheme and also the action or punishment against unlicensed companies,” he told reporters after officiating the opening of the new Amyway (Malaysia) Holdings Bhd headquarters here on Friday.

The amended Act will be tabled for its first reading in Parliament at its next session in March.

The issuance of new licences will continue for companies wanting to enter the direct sales field.The period of the licences has however been reduced to a year only, compared to five previously.

A total of 32 new annual licences were issued in 2009 with the overall total to date being 491.

“The issuance of the licence has to be done carefully, with the business plan being carefuly scrutinised first.We will not issue a licence for a plan that is suspect,” he said.

Photo by Visions of Domino

Lia sophia recently awarded top honors for its Excellent Beginnings Program Achievers to Krystal Ruiz of Jackson.

Ruiz earned this award in her first 15 weeks by attaining certain sales levels and sharing lia sophia with other new advisers.

Lia sophia is a direct-selling company, offering fashion jewelry through personalized, in-home demonstrations.

Logo from Lia Sophia

Usana announced today that its blog, What’s Up, USANA?, is a finalist in min’s Best of the Web Awards for Best Blog. min’s Best of the Web Awards is the industry’s top honor in the digital space, recognizing outstanding Web sites and digital initiatives among consumer and b2b media companies.

“We are honored that What’s Up, USANA? is a Best Blog finalist in min’s Best of the Web Awards,” said Dan Macuga, USANA Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations. “USANA launched the blog just over a year ago and since that time it has become a must-read for thousands of the company’s independent distributors who want timely, informative, entertaining and often exclusive information about USANA.”

USANA’s blog, which aims to inform and entertain USANA distributors and the general public, is frequently updated with a variety of material, including exclusive videos, contests and corporate news. The blog is part of a recent initiative by USANA to employ social media, along with more traditional forms of communication, to promote company products and events. What’s Up, USANA? spent the last couple weeks blogging live from Kari Feinstein’s Style Lounges at the Golden Globes and the Sundance Film Festival.

Other finalists in the Best Blog category include Entertainment Weekly, RealSimple.com, and Wired.com.

Logo from What’s Up, USANA?

Conceived in the 1950s by saleswoman/hostess with the mostess Brownie Wise, the party plan revolves around heavily female fêtes where socializing merges with direct sales. It, of course, got its start with those indispensable plastic containers, Tupperware. Growing up, I don’t recall any raging Tupperware Parties being thrown in my neighborhood but I do remember Discovery Toys-hawking hostesses living among us.

The party plan functions best when niche, fun-to-demo items — toys (for both kids and consulting adults) cosmetics, lingerie, jewelry, food storage containers — are offered. This is what makes Zola Goods, a Georgia-based direct sales company following the home party model so interesting … all of the products sold by Zola “Coordinators” are eco-friendly in one way or another.

In addition to offering only planet-bettering products, Zola (which means “piece of Earth” in Italian) claims to differ from traditional direct sales outfits in other ways: there are no selling or recruiting requirements and the company is just as driven by grassroots environmental nonprofits as it is by supplemental money making opportunities. Basically, Zola Goods is direct selling with a purpose — a hybrid of eco-empowerment and education and old-fashioned entrepreneurship.

Logo from Zola