Jesus Was in Direct Sales: The Gospel of Direct Selling

Joseph the Carpenter by Georges de La Tour 

It's amazing how many people are willing to BUY things that are sold, but somehow "selling" and "direct selling" are dirty words! Guess who has been involved in Direct Sales? Almost everyone in the "good ol' days" before things like national retail chains, malls and the internet. This includes many people in Biblical times, like Jesus.

Direct Selling in Days Gone By

Yes, back in those long-ago days we look on with such nostalgia, farmers sold their eggs and produce  directly to the consumer. Dairies delivered milk directly to their customer's doors. Cobblers measured and sold their shoes, seamstresses and tailors measured/made/and sold clothes -- you guessed it -- directly to consumers. 

Methods of Direct Selling

Olden-days entrepreneurs sold their wares from carts, from tents, from boats, from the backs of donkeys, at makeshift markets, and from their cabins and houses or in their customers' homes for generation upon generation. In colonial times and earlier, direct selling was probably the most common form of selling,  because many people had little or no access to cities and stores. People commonly sold goods to each other and used the barter system. Even in rural communities today, direct selling of home-made and home-grown goods is commonplace.

The Gospel of Direct Sales

The Bible tells us Joseph, the father of Jesus, was a carpenter (tekton) and the gospel of Marks says Jesus was also a carpenter. Guess what carpenters do? They sell their services or they sell their products -- directly to consumers. Jesus and his disciples were also fishermen. Guess what they did with all those fish??? They SOLD them -- more than likely straight to the consumers. Oh, the SHAME of it!!!

But the "good news" is there is NO shame in it.

Definition of Direct Selling

Direct selling is the marketing and selling of products directly to consumers away from a fixed retail location 

So, where is the shame in that?

Benefits of Direct Marketing

With direct sales, you aren't dealing with a clerk who has no authority, no ownership and frequently no interest--you are dealing directly with a small business owner--someone who takes pride in his products and his business and who is INVESTED in the business and in marketing his products to build a relationship in order to build a business. 

So the next time you say "direct sales" with a condescending tone or like it is somehow less reputable than other professions -- like lawyers, politicians and IRS agents for instance -- slap yourself in the face and save me the trouble!

Direct Selling Opportunities

Since more and more workers with tenure are losing jobs in major businesses and industries --everything from accountants to retail clerks, from factory workers to teachers -- direct selling is proving to be a very viable business model. It is the oldest,  most reputable and usually the most profitable form of selling, after all. If you would like to know more about a great direct sales opportunity in skin care, partnering with the dermatologists who created Proactive, contact me!