The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) places high importance on customer-focused sales in the direct selling industry. Their concern is that companies shouldn’t rely primarily on recruiting new representatives for revenue. Instead, there should be clear evidence of real customer demand.
In fact, the FTC has emphasized that at least 50% of a company’s product sales should come from genuine customers—not just from internal distributors purchasing for personal use. This helps to define a given direct sales company as a legitimate business model.
80% Customers, 100% Confidence: What Sets Our Business Apart
Thankfully, the direct sales company I work with exceeds that standard significantly—around 80% of our sales come from actual customers, not independent reps. That’s up from 70% from three years previous. This all is a strong indicator of responsible business practices, product value, marketplace demand, and long-term sustainability. That kind of ratio doesn’t just protect our business—it validates that we’re offering products people genuinely want, with or without a business opportunity. They’re just happy customers. That says a lot about the integrity of the model, and it reassures us that we are building something real and lasting.
Happy Customers and Global Good Go Hand in Hand
This discouragement by the FTC of what we might call the “mutual backscratchers society”—where representatives mostly sell to each other or sign up just to buy, falls short of real consumer demand. But our company gets it right, with a product line that has a high appeal to customers. We then fold in our Social Business 3.0 platform where customers can be assured that their purchases are matched to make life-saving impact on vulnerable children globally with the same efficacious products that they, too, enjoy.