Ten years ago, I was newly married and dead set on finding a way to make money that worked in alignment with my skill-set and particular situation. The idea was to not be chained to a desk so I could spend time with my (future) children and to find something that fit the military lifestyle.
Direct sales was a no-brainer: I knew I could set my own hours and the opportunities for growth are nearly endless. But there are many, many direct sales companies operating in the United States, so the questions became, which product do I want to sell, and which company is the best fit for me?
Why I Chose to Sell Wine
If there’s one giant truth about direct sales, it’s that you have to be passionate about the products. Whether you’re selling jewelry, makeup, vitamins, supplements, or even (ahem) personal pleasure items, everyone knows you can’t sell something if you don’t believe in it!
When I looked at all the opportunities in the direct sales market, none of them were “Diane.” Personally, I don’t think anyone wakes up in the morning and says, “Gosh, if I could just sell vitamins, I would be so happy!”
But people DO think, “Gosh, if I could just get into the wine business, my life would rock!”
I am one of those people.
I’m not into makeup, I’m not into cooking and I don’t wear a ton of jewelry. I don’t want to carry inventory or have to convince people as to why my line of products is better than another one (which is exactly what happens when you get involved with a skin care or makeup line: you have to convince people to break their brand loyalty… and that’s too hard for me!).
Products like makeup and supplements are consumables; people use them up and have to buy more. That is a good thing.
But here’s the thing: wine is considered an ultra-consumable. Many households will go through a bottle or two per week or more! Not only that, but you can buy my product to gift, to drink or to horde. Whatever floats your boat! Which is an even better thing!
Nothing is more giftable than wine and WineShop at Home has an entire product selection specifically tailored to corporations – which means there’s great potential for consultants to land corporate accounts. Cha-ching!
Unless wine’s not your thing, to me, selling wine is by far the best option when it comes to direct sales.
Why I Chose WineShop at Home
There are other companies that sell wine with a direct sales model (they shall remain unnamed), but not one of them does it as well as WineShop at Home.
In fact, at one point before joining WineShop I was approached by another direct sales company and asked to sell their wine. I turned them down. Why? Because WineShop meets a set of standards that no other company can match:
WineShop understands the industry. The wine industry is regulated closely by countless laws and restrictions that don’t exist in other direct sales segments (as far as I know, there aren’t any government restrictions on selling candles!). It takes a specialized team to make sure we’re following all the laws AND being productive. Many companies that sell wine don’t have the proper infrastructure to really handle the regulations– WineShop does.
WineShop has the best products. I wanted to work with a company that produces high-quality wine that people actually want to buy. WineShop has the means to invest in crafting the best product around with the most current technologies and innovation – we’re competitive.
WineShop has mastered the direct sales model. Companies are drawn to the direct sales model because it’s so powerful, but they often have trouble keeping their sales force motivated. To this day, I’m still surprised at how high WineShop’s consultant commissions are and how effectively their team leaders continue to operate. WineShop invests a lot of time and energy into their consultants by offering fantastic training and incentives.
So now you’ve heard why I chose to work with WineShop at Home. And by the way, I was quickly able to achieve all of the goals I set out with ten years ago: I walk my kids to school every day, and even when my family has to move due to a military relocation, I’ve never seen a dip in my income.