Direct Sales Definitions: Know These Terms
Like all jobs, direct sales have its own vocabulary that
you'll need to get to grips with if you're thinking about
joining a direct sales company. The jargon includes terms like
up and down line, cold calling and hostess. Some will be
familiar, others entirely new, and extending your vocabulary
will help you to hone your business skills. This two-part
glossary of key terms will get you started.
Annual conference, annual meeting, seminar: A gathering
usually held in a major center where all the local direct sales
personnel can congregate and be rewarded for their successes.
They can feature classes, ceremonies with awards for achievers
and shows. They are designed to be fun and inspiring to people
in the field. Companies may reward high achieving staff with
free or cut-rate registration costs.
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Client (plural 'clientele'): Essentially, an upmarket
word for a customer.
Close, closing a deal: The stage of a sale where a client
agrees to make the purchase.
Cold calling: A way of making sales by targeting blocs of
people who are not known to be seeking the product or service,
using telephone marketing.
Commission: The proportion of a sale, or of profits, that
accrues to you as the salesperson.
Consultant: In direct sales, another title often used for
a salesperson.
Consumers: The market made up of individuals who buy and
use the service or product.
Customer service: Courteous and professional treatment of
customers and dealing with their needs and concerns.
Database: The records and information about your clients
and their purchases and requirements. Some databases are paper
records in filing cabinets or on index cards, while other
records are stored using computer spreadsheets like Microsoft
Excel.
Demographics: Information about the client base in an
area that is relevant to targeting sales, including whether
people own or rent homes, age, ratios of men, women and
children, income brackets and so on.
Distribution center: A place or building such as a
warehouse (in the case of physical goods) where the sales items
are centrally managed before shipping or dispatch.
Host or hostess: In direct sales selling, the term for
the person who offers their home for a party, class or other
event in their home. Typically the host/hostess is rewarded with
free goods or discounts on purchases for reaching or exceeding
sales targets.
Incentive: A reward-based way of motivating people to buy
(or sell).
Inventory: A catalogue of the items a company has on
hand, available for dispatch.
These are terms that are everyday parlance in the world of
direct sales. In the next section, we'll introduce you to some
more.
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