Letting Folks Know Who You Are in Direct Sales

If you run a direct sales business, you need to let folks know how to reach you. They want to know your name. They want to know your phone number and if they are local, they want to know your address.

I am often asked “how do I protect myself online from those who want to hurt me?”

If someone means to harm me they are going to find me and harm me. Those who are in the business of harming others know how to find those they wish to harm. Now, having said all of that, there are also some precautions you can take.

If you post a phone number online or in a newspaper, your phone will ring. I used to have a separate land line for business. It only rang in the other part of the house, so it NEVER woke anyone up. This was pre phone company "personal voice mail" days. In the morning, I would have messages on the machine ALMOST EVERY MORNING, meaning the phone rang while I slept. Unfortunately, there are kooks out there. I would have phone messages I was glad the kids weren’t around to here. This happens. It doesn’t mean someone wants to harm me; it means someone has a sick mind and too much time on their hands. They dialed a number. They have no idea who I am.

When I began selling Tupperware, I knew I would need a "business phone" and so I made the choice to use my cell phone. It has free long distance, 3000 free minutes and I have fairly decent reception. I do list my phone number on my website; however it's my cell phone. So the phone is not ringing in the house.

I then needed to determine what to do for my mailing address. Twenty-five years ago I made the decision to rent a Post Office Box. However since many folks won't take PO Boxes, I rented a box from a small postal business. Today, I still have a box through a postal business. My box is with The UPS Store. This is a nationwide chain. This means I have a true address. When you look at my address it appears I live in an apartment. It reads 123 Main Street #2. Then, town, state and zip. It's worth the fee I pay for the box to have mail delivered there and to have a non home address posted on the internet. These postal businesses accept UPS, Fed Ex and of course any form of postal mail.

It’s impossible to run a direct sales business without an address and phone number, but you can use these precautions to err on the side of safety.

Audrey Okaneko has been in direct sales since 1983. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or you can Become a Tupperware Consultant

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