Just by hearing the name Direct Selling, half of its meaning is known, what Direct Selling is. Direct means direct, and selling means selling. Overall, direct selling means selling directly. Even today, when we buy goods from a shop, the product travels from the manufacturer to us.

But before that, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers come to us. In direct selling, the product comes directly from the manufacturer to the seller and then to us.

Direct selling is a product or service distribution and marketing method. In direct selling, the units of the traditional distribution chain (distributor, wholesaler, retailer) are removed, and the direct seller is brought in.

Direct-selling companies do not advertise, and due to the short product-distribution chain, money goes to fewer people on the sale of the product. Therefore, direct selling provides products to consumers at lower prices.

Types of Direct Selling

Now if we talk about the type of direct selling, it is divided into two parts.

1. Single Level Marketing (SLM)

First of all, single-level marketing comes from direct selling. In which a person himself joins a company as a direct seller. He takes the products from the branch of the direct-seller company and sells them further.

In this case, the direct seller gets some percentage of the profit as per the product MRP.

2. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)

Multi-level marketing, network marketing, chain marketing, pyramid selling, and referral marketing. All are the same people, just know them by different names.

The most famous form of direct selling is multi-level marketing. In which people sell the company's products and also add new people to the company, which is called downline. When the downline buys the product, the person connecting it, i.e., the upline, also gets some percentage of the profit.

Levels are created according to the people who join them, and hence it is called multi-level marketing.

Direct selling (MLM) is completely legal in India. However, there is a lot of fraud and deception in MLM. In the name of direct selling to people, the pyramid scheme and the Andponzi scheme are added.

Therefore, direct selling guidelines have been made.

Direct Selling Guidelines

To stop the increasing fraud in the name of direct selling, the Government of India has issued MLM Guidelines. The difference between pyramid schemes and MLM has been mentioned in the guidelines, yet there has been no reduction in pyramid schemes.

Both the direct selling company and the direct seller have to follow the rules mentioned in the guidelines, but very few direct sellers know these guidelines.

Direct Selling and MLM

You must have now understood what direct selling and MLM are.

To put it again in simple words, MLM is a type of direct selling. Every MLM company specializes in direct selling, but not all direct selling companies are MLM.

The importance of a direct selling company is very important to the success of the direct seller. The company's products, plans, policies, and committees play a big role in its success.

Therefore, it is very important to check with a good MLM company. Some people get greedy and join pyramid schemes instead of MLM companies, which leads to huge losses.

There are some advantages and disadvantages to direct selling. Therefore, it is very important to know both.

Benefits of direct selling

Everyone can do direct selling; any person of any age, degree, caste, or gender can join it. No qualification is required for this. Direct selling can be done anytime, anywhere. You just need to have consumers.

Through direct selling, the company's products are available at lower prices. If someone joins a company as a direct seller, he gets the company's products at a price lower than MRP, which he can save by using them himself.

Many companies themselves teach direct selling to the people joining direct selling, which gives them an opportunity to learn and do a lot of new things.

Disadvantages of direct selling

Direct selling requires communication and marketing skills. Which not everyone has. Because people have to tell everyone about their product and company, it is not so easy. In direct selling, people often get involved in pyramid schemes in the name of MLM by luring people, due to which their money and time get wasted.

In direct sales, people often fail initially and feel weak. That's why many people do not like direct selling. The MLM success rate is very low. And due to the distribution of commissions to the direct seller, the consumer gets expensive products.

Direct selling has a very bad image all over the world due to fraudulent companies, selfish leaders, expensive products, and low success rates.

Future of direct selling

In the end, the question arises: What is the future of direct selling? And can one make a career out of it? So the answer depends on the person.

Direct selling is also like a job, in which the products of a company have to be sold and people have to be connected.

There is no fixed salary in this; rather, the income is fixed on the sale of the product and the purchase of the product through the downline. Therefore, the bigger your network, the more you earn.

Conclusion

We hope that you have learned a lot from this article about direct selling. Complete information about direct selling and MLM must have been found.