According to Forrester Research Inc., nearly one-third of all households in the United States make at least one online purchase each year. That’s a good amount of money being spent online, and they suggest that the figure will rise to nearly 40% by 2009.Wouldn’t it be great to have a piece of that financial pie?

It’s a match made in heaven – the internet and direct sales businesses. Anyone who has been around the internet for any length of time can tell you that the internet is here to stay. There are new marketing strategies popping up every day. Someone is making money from having an online business, and it might as well be you! How can the internet improve your direct sales business? This series will endeavor to show you how.

Internet Friendly Direct Sales Companies

It’s foolhardy to have such potential at hand and yet refuse to take advantage of it, yet many direct sales companies require their associates to work strictly in a party plan or with face-to-face contact. There are some, however, that have realized the importance of internet marketing and are making it easier for their associates and consultants to use the internet.

Do a little bit of research before signing up with a direct sales company. Ask the following questions of any prospective company:

• Do they offer a company-made website for associates?
• Are the company-made websites easy for both associates and prospective customers to get around?
• Does the company have a “chat” area designated for online parties?
• If they don’t have a company-made website, will they allow you to create your own website or blog in order to sell the product or recruit others?

When you’ve found the answers to the previous questions, determine the company’s rules regarding online advertising; some do not allow any online advertising at all. Follow written company rules regarding online advertising; don’t take the word of someone in your upline even if they say that it’s alright.

What happens if you’ve fallen in love with a particular product and feel you could stand behind it, yet the company does not allow online marketing? Don’t let this one point keep you from possible success. There are other ways to market products than online. Get plugged in with your upline, the training they provide, and then do your work within their guidelines. You may find success without the internet.

Virtual or Online Stores

There are three types of virtual stores:

1. Hard good retailers – Those that sell a physical product that you can hold such as computer hardware, clothing, and books. These products must be delivered to the customer through traditional means.

2. Soft good retailers – These stores sell information such as ebooks, software, and articles. These products are delivered through the internet or via CD/DVD mailed to the customer.

3. Service providers – These providers sell consulting services, information subscriptions, or reservations to exclusive training. Most of these services are conducted on the internet.

Not everyone wants to spend a great deal of time flipping through catalogs to find things they might like. Most direct sales companies how have online stores or catalogs of all of their products; most have a search function to make things easier for you. With a few keystrokes on the keyboard and a click of a mouse, you can find just what you’re looking for. What could be easier?

If the company doesn’t have an online store or catalog, but would allow you create one using their products, there are many options. With the advent of audio and video on the internet, you can create an online catalog that uses pictures, sounds, and videos to demonstrate a product that just isn’t possible with a traditional paper catalog.

Another benefit of having an online store or catalog is the ease of shopping. People shop online for ease of use, ability to shop around for a great price, and paying for the items quickly and securely on trusted websites.

After you have the products in your online catalog, you need to determine the best way to allow those purchasing to pay for those items. That’s where the Shopping Cart comes in.
There are many shopping cart options available online, some of them free, but you’ll want to do some research before settling on one.

Hosting companies may include shopping cart software as part of hosting your online store’s website. Beware, however, as these hosting company-provided shopping carts may not meet your business’ needs. You can find free shopping carts online, as well as paid third party sites. Take the time to do some research to find one that meets all of your e-commerce needs.

A couple of free, open-source shopping carts available are ZenCart, PhpShop, and MyMarket. Each one offers features that allow non-technical people to install and maintain them with little problems. Another shopping cart is to use the one offered by PayPal. Although you will have to pay a user’s fee, most online customers will be aware of PayPal and be quite comfortable with using it. There are also total solution shopping carts such as StoreFront. This program will allow you to build a shopping cart from the ground up and is something to consider if you’re tech-savvy.

I highly recommend this shopping cart, it’s one I’m very familiar with and you can even post your products to eBay if you want.

In Part 2 we’ll uncover how to really ramp up your internet business.