Category: Features

In the past weeks we’ve all been flooded with emails and scary news, much of it causing angst and confusion. Yes, this is pretty awful. But we will get through it. We will be temporarily banged up, but we will definitely get through it, together.

Momentum Factor CEO Jonathan Gilliam recently interviewed Peter Marinello, Executive Director of the Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council (DSSRC) to learn how the program will impact the compliance function of direct sellers.

One of the most challenging issues facing direct sellers today is the advent of the unauthorized Amazon seller. From former distributors who post their products for sale to larger aggregators who deliberately buy up product and offer them at a discount in their own “Amazon stores”, many direct selling companies struggle daily with this competitive menace.

As we approach the deadline for putting GDPR compliance in place, our team at Momentum Factor is receiving more questions about our interpretation of the regs, what we’re doing about it, and what our clientele can do to protect against regulatory risk in the EU.

Google is the front door to your business.  Are you keeping it safe from intruders? Go ahead, Google the name of your company now. I’ll wait. With direct sales continuing to move toward more of an online model, it’s never been more important to protect your company’s reputation online. However, before even looking at the results page, what words follow your brand name in the auto-suggested results? Do the words “scam” or “pyramid” or “lawsuit” appear anywhere?

The fact that legal challenges can have devastating consequences for direct selling firms does not come as news to veterans of the industry. Fortunately, our experts interpret recent legal challenges as reminders of the necessity of rigorous, up-to-date compliance and practices and policies, not as omens of a regulatory sea change. Class action litigation will force companies to continue to examine their business practices to ensure that they are in compliance with current FTC directives.

As technology has evolved over time, it has become increasingly easy for people to sell products online – including the unauthorized selling of a company’s goods.

Anyone who has worked in legal or compliance for a direct selling company understands the incredible challenges presented online.  As networkers increasingly use the Internet to promote their businesses, companies are at more risk every day from uncontrolled or unmonitored claims by the field, often to disastrous effect.

Online reputation can have a massive impact on your bottom line yet maintaining clean search results is particularly challenging for direct sales companies.

Many companies today struggle with their products being sold without permission on websites such eBay and Amazon. Direct selling companies are particularly vulnerable from former distributors who post their products for sale, or larger aggregators who deliberately buy up product and offer them at a discount to prices the selling field can offer.