Saturation in the Industry? In Your Community?

As my daughter stands at the counter making her Tastefully Simple Giddy-up Guacamole in the Tupperware bowl, with a Pampered Chef spatula, she’s telling me she is going to need all these kitchen necessities when she gets married some day. She’s all of 17 now, without a boyfriend, but busy planning for the future. I am reminded by this comment that there is no such thing as saturation in direct sales. There will always be people who will buy from multiple companies. There will be young ones growing up expecting to buy and sell.

She finished her snack by serving her guacamole in the Longaberger bowl and she’s wearing her Lia Sophia Jewelry and Mary Kay cosmetics. Look around my kitchen and you’ll see the AtHOME America wreath, the tiered wire Home Interiors and Gifts fruit basket, a Signature HomeStyles basket of mail, and my Creative Memories scrap booking materials spread all over the table.

Off the top of my head, I counted 37 different direct sales companies that I have bought from and I know there are more. My kids have grown up understanding that this is the way we shop. When Weekenders USA closed their doors, Kari literally said “Now what am I going to do? I was planning on that as my back up after college.” I assured her there will always be a direct sales company that she will fit in when she’s ready to sell. Her generation is growing up knowing that direct sales is a part of life, not only for their personal and household needs but also to provide their lifestyle expectations. She expects it’ll be a part of her future.

Recognize how many different products you need in your home and that there are more generations growing up you begin to realize there are enough people to sustain all the direct sales companies and there will always be more people ready to sell your products. I won't even go into the topic of how many McDonnalds and other fast food restaurants are open in a community, or how many bank branches there are in the community, both indications that there is room for everyone and customers to sustain them.

So tell me, how many direct sales companies have you purchased from? Really, I'd love to know.