When a product is sold directly to the customer in a non-retail environment by the agent/ representative of the enterprise, it is known as direct selling. These products are not usually distributed through regular channels and are rarely found in supermarkets or any other retail stores.
One has to either purchase the products from the agents or buy online from the website of the enterprise. Direct selling can be of two major types- single-level and multi-level. Many enterprises follow the multi-level model of marketing, giving this another name, Multi Level Marketing or MLM. MLM model is also known as the network marketing model as the agents are arranged in a pattern resembling a network.
The agents are paid a commission based on the number of sales they generate. The percentages of the commission and other incentives or benefits are calculated using a compensation plan. There are various compensation plans to choose from. Enterprises that follow direct selling marketing models use exclusive software to keep track of the business.
Known as direct selling software, this software solution aims to help enterprises in streamlining the business and increasing profits. It helps agents to stay updated about their network status, referrals, commissions, and more by accessing their user profiles. Agents can also sell products and hire new agents online.
There are many reasons for a network marketing enterprise to choose this software. Let us take a look at some of the Benefits Of Direct Selling Software.
Optimizing Resources and Performance
The software allows enterprises to bring together the various factors of production, free accounting software, human resources, marketing, customer service, etc. on a single platform. This reduces the amount of resources required to perform a task. At the same time, the software also automates the processes so that employee efficiency is improved.
- Motivating the Sales Force
- The agents can be motivated to sell more products by providing them benefits based on their network ranking. The direct selling model is essentially profit-driven as it doesn’t involve third-party distributors in the network.
- Easy Integration With Various Software Solutions
- Direct selling software allows endless integrations. Ecommerce integrations, bitcoin integration and promotion, payment gateway integration, multilingual and multicurrency module integration, etc. are some examples.
- Increased Productivity
- When the business model is streamlined and uses optimum resources, the output will increase proportionally and result in increased productivity.
- Better Communication
- The software allows admins (of the enterprise) to send automated messages to agents and customers. SMS and email integration make it easy to spread and share the latest updates with others. Every agent will be automatically updated about new product releases, meetings, etc. Better communication between the enterprise and the agents will give good results.
- Faster Return on Investment
- One of the biggest Benefits Of Direct Selling Software is the ability of the software to help enterprises generate faster returns. This is the aim for any business for a simple reason that the success of an enterprise is measured based on its ROI.
- Reduced Cost of Investment
- By streamlining daily operations, enterprises can reduce the cost of investment. The direct selling model by itself requires less investment as there is no advertising involved. But the other costs can also be reduced substantially by using the software.
- Customizing Compensation Plans
- As mentioned earlier, there are many compensation plans that can be used to calculate the commission and network status of the agents. Enterprises usually choose one plan, customize, and follow it as their business model. Though the plan can be changed over time, it would result in changing the overall outlook of the business.
- Mobile Application
- The software runs of desktops, laptops, and is also available as a mobile application. This allows the agents and admins to stay connected throughout. Irrespective of where the agents are located, they can use the software.
- Payment Gateway Integration
- Enterprises can pay the agents their commission online. They can sell the products online to a customer in any part of the world. This improves the ease of doing business. And since enterprises have more reach in the market, they can expand their customer base.
- Customer Relationship Management
- Direct selling software can also be used integrated with CRM software to track and handle customer queries and complaints. Responding faster to customer complaints, sending them personalized new alerts based on purchase history, offering them special deals, etc. can be taken care of using this software,
Being an excellent tool for enterprises that follow the network marketing model, direct selling software is sold by many companies. Most of the software solutions have similar basic features that can be customized as per the needs of the business. Enterprises can choose a service provider based on the technical support and maintenance services offered by the company.
