When a Direct Sales Company Closes Its Doors

We’ve all seen companies go out of business. Either they shut their doors or they are bought out. Either way, the business as we knew it no longer exists. Who can forget AT&T all of a sudden becoming Cingular and then just as quickly they were once again AT&T?

This can happen in small business, with large corporations and even with direct sales companies.

Direct sales companies shut down for a variety of reasons. For this article, the reason why the company shut down is unimportant. What is important is how you can stop yourself from losing both your customer base and also any team that you’ve built.

Personal branding is vital in keeping both customers and team members on your side when a company closes its doors.

I remember I was buying scrapbooking supplies from a direct sales consultant. The company she was representing closed its doors and within 2 days I had an email with the specials and product list from another company. She did not miss a beat in making sure her customers had a way to get their scrapbooking supplies. Our loyalty was to this consultant, not to the company she had represented.

My other story is about a trainer I once met. She had a huge downline of several hundred people. The company she represented was about to go under. She knew the end was coming. She emailed her entire team and let them know what she was doing to help find them all a new home. She then went to work speaking with other companies and was able to negotiate a start up special for those people on her team who joined the new company. At least seventy-five percent of her team made the move. They followed her because they believed in her leadership. They believed in her ability to keep them together and to work with them under this new company they all joined.

Both of these stories represent personal branding - having people follow a person versus being loyal to a company.

You never know when a company might fold. Be prepared on how you’ll keep your customers and downline intact should the company you represent close down.

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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