In direct selling there are two prominent organizations, the DSA and the MLMIA.

Why Join A Trade Organization?

By Jay E. Leisner,
Sylvina Consulting
© 2002

Trade organizations exist in many industries.

Women in the cosmetic industry can join Cosmetic Executive Women (http://www.cew.org), an organization of approximately 1,500 executives in the beauty, cosmetics, fragrance, and related industries.

Educational software developers can join the Educational Software Cooperative (http://www.edu-soft.org/index.shtml).

In direct selling, there are two prominent organizations, the Direct Selling Association (DSA) and the Multi-Level Marketing International Association (MLMIA). If you're launching or growing a direct selling company, you should seriously considering joining at least one of them.

Direct Selling Association (DSA)

The DSA traces its roots back to the Agents Credit Association, formed in 1910. Over the years the name of the association was changed several times. Since 1968, it has been known as the Direct Selling Association. Today, the DSA is a national trade organization with approximately 150 corporate member companies, and similar number of supplier members.

The DSA is based in Washington, DC and has a full-time staff that not only organizes its semi-annual conferences and other events, but also works to monitor the laws that the governments are considering that would specifically impact direct selling companies. The DSA helps to ensure that direct selling remains legal, by self-policing its members and by setting good examples of how direct selling companies should behave with respect to ethics in business. With its political connections, The DSA is the industry's watchdog.

Membership fees for member companies are based on a percentage of sales, so larger companies pay a higher annual fee to be members. A new company can join for a minimal fee, the amount of which increases as the company grows.
Why join the DSA? Member companies join the DSA for many reasons. The DSA has the resources and the budget to provide significant value to member and supplier companies alike.

New companies learn from the experiences of others, who freely share their successes (and failures) in presentations at DSA events.

"They welcomed us with open arms," says Jennifer Schaumburg of Taste of Gourmet, a Mississippi-based company. "They take the little people in and tell them how to do it all. I have found that the DSA gives the most knowledge and information."

Larger companies have the opportunity to "give back" to the industry.

Heidi L. Everett of Creative Memories states, "We have a sense of pride in the credibility DSA provides. The association demonstrates and educates on ethical, fair business practices that protect our organizations, our sales force and our consumers."

Multi-Level Marketing International Association (MLMIA)

The Multi-Level Marketing International Association (MLMIA) is another trade organization to which direct selling companies and supplier companies can join.

Unlike the DSA, the MLMIA does not currently have regularly scheduled meetings and events, nor does it have a full-time paid staff. The organization is headed by Doris Wood, an industry icon who has led the charge (sometimes single-handedly) to be a supportive influence in direct selling.

The MLMIA also has both corporate and supplier members.

Eric Fagan, CEO of American Financial Access, Inc., speaks highly of Doris Wood. "Going into the MLM business world without membership in MLMIA would be like trying to learn to drive all by yourself in a car without any license plates. The service provided by Doris Wood alone is worth the price of admission."

Ian Cordell, CEO of MLM Technology Corporation, feels that the MLMIA is "a centralized source of information for start-up companies." Ian adds, "For a supplier, it is a worthwhile membership because it does provide credibility by virtue of membership."

Benefits of Joining

Trade organizations offer companies and individuals many tangible benefits, including opportunities to

• Learn about the successes (and failures) of similar businesses
• Attend conferences and seminars where topics of interest to you are presented
• Listen to expert speakers share their knowledge
• Meet and talk with professionals who work in similar businesses
• Locate and hire professional talent for your company
• Connect with multiple suppliers in the same location

Conclusion

If you have a direct selling company, you should seriously consider joining at least one of the industry trade organizations.

In addition, if you can find a trade organization that caters to companies selling products or services that are similar to yours, consider joining it as well.

Jay Leisner is President of Sylvina Consulting, a business and software consulting firm with more than 16 years of experience in direct selling, and a DSA supplier member. Sylvina Consulting provides a wide range of services to both new companies and established firms.

Sylvina's business consulting services include business plan review, financial budget review, development of marketing strategies, compensation plan evaluation, business evaluation, industry and software training, and management mentoring.  Their software consulting services include software and vendor evaluation, preparation of Request for Proposal (RFP) documents, business analysis, gap analysis, software design, data and system migration, and project management.  For more information on Sylvina Consulting, please contact Jay at 503.244.8787 or visit www.sylvina.com.