The direct selling industry has been a significant player in the global economy for decades, offering a unique business model that promotes entrepreneurship and personal selling. However, with the advent of digital technology and changing consumer behavior, direct-selling companies are exploring new strategies to stay competitive and relevant.

One such strategy is the incorporation of an affiliate system, not only because it focuses on getting new customers, but because it’s easier to understand than a multi-tier compensation plan. This article will guide you through incorporating an affiliate system into a direct-selling company.

Understanding the Affiliate System

An affiliate system is a marketing strategy where individuals, known as affiliates, earn commissions for promoting a company’s products or services. Unlike traditional direct selling, affiliates do not have to purchase inventory or handle product delivery. They simply promote the products and earn a commission for each sale through their unique affiliate link.

Benefits of an Affiliate System

Incorporating an affiliate system into a direct-selling company can offer several benefits:

1. Expanded Reach: Affiliates can help a company reach a wider audience as they promote the products within their networks.
2. Cost-Effective Marketing: Affiliate marketing is performance-based, meaning companies only pay for successful sales. 
3. Increased Sales: With more people promoting the products, the potential for increased sales is significant. By simplifying the model people can better understand the benefits of an affiliate program and the barrier to entry lowers. 
4. Customer Centric Model: In the direct sales model generating customers is always part of the conversation, but not always the case. The Affiliate model is customer centric. No customers, no commissions. It’s that simple. 
5. Reaching New Generations: As companies try to make their business model more appealing to new generations, the affiliate model is gaining traction across multiple platforms. Influencers all over the world already leverage the affiliate model to make sales from brands they trust. Why not Direct Sales?

Steps to Incorporate an Affiliate System

1. Develop a Strategy: The first step is to develop a clear strategy for your affiliate program. This includes defining the commission structure, payment terms, and the type of affiliates you want to attract. 
2. Choose an Affiliate Platform: There are numerous affiliate platforms available that can help manage your program. These platforms provide tools for tracking sales, managing affiliates, and processing payments.
3. Recruit Affiliates: Once your program is set up, the next step is to recruit affiliates. This can be done through your existing direct sales network, influencer partnerships, social media, etc.. 
4. Provide Training and Support: To ensure your affiliates are successful, it’s important to provide them with the necessary training and support, just as if they were distributors. This should include product information, sales techniques, and marketing materials.
5. Monitor and Optimize: Finally, it’s important to monitor the performance of your affiliate program and make adjustments as necessary. This could involve adjusting commission rates, creating incentives, providing additional training, or recruiting new affiliates.

Incorporating an affiliate system into a direct-selling company can significantly boost a company’s marketing efforts. It allows companies to leverage the networks of their affiliates, resulting in increased reach and sales. However, it’s important to approach this process with a clear strategy and the willingness to provide ongoing support to affiliates to ensure their success. With careful planning and execution, an affiliate system can be a powerful addition to a direct-selling company’s business model.

Building Your Own Affiliate Platform for a Direct Selling Company: A Step-by-Step Guide

Incorporating an affiliate system into a direct selling company can provide numerous benefits, including expanded reach, cost-effective marketing, and increased sales. While many third-party affiliate platforms are available, building your affiliate platform can offer additional advantages such as full control over the system, customization according to your specific needs, and direct communication with your affiliates. However building something custom is time consuming and expensive.

That’s where Jenkon comes in. If you’re a representative, affiliate, or social influencer, Jenkon’s service provides dedicated account management features. You can track your earned points, manage credit redemption, access profile management tools, view order history, and redeem loyalty rewards. The service also supports new representative and affiliate enrollment, making it easy to expand your network.

With the corporate portal they provide, your company can efficiently manage JoTLive shows, access business dashboards, and communicate with representatives or affiliates. The portal offers features like show scheduling, real-time show metrics, sales analytics, and performance tracking. 

Things to Consider When Building your Affiliate Program

• Clear and Attractive Commission Structure: Define a commission structure that motivates affiliates to actively and easily promote your products or services. Ensure that the commission rates are competitive and appealing to potential affiliates.
• Targeted Affiliate Recruitment: Focus on recruiting affiliates who have relevance to your niche or industry. Target affiliates who have an audience or customer base that aligns with your target market, increases the chances of generating quality leads and conversions to grow your business. 
• Comprehensive Affiliate Training: Training is a must. Provide comprehensive training materials and resources to educate affiliates about your products, brand, and promotional strategies. Help them understand your target audience and provide them with the tools they need to effectively market your offerings.This will be the game changer for people just starting out and even for more advanced affiliates.
• Promotional Materials: Supply affiliates with a range of high-quality promotional materials, such as banners, graphics, text links, email templates and product images. These materials should be attractive, informative, and optimized for different platforms and channels. This also helps maintain your branding in place and it gives them a jumping off point. 
• Transparent Tracking and Reporting: Implement robust tracking mechanisms that accurately track and attribute affiliate sales. Provide affiliates with access to real-time reports and analytics, allowing them to monitor their performance and optimize their strategies accordingly. Jenkon’s portal provides all of this for direct sales companies and affiliates. 

• Regular Communication: Foster strong communication channels with your affiliates. Keep them informed about updates, promotions, and new product launches. Encourage feedback and provide support whenever needed.
• Incentives and Rewards: Offer additional incentives or rewards to top-performing affiliates to motivate them further. This can include bonuses, higher commission rates for higher volume, exclusive offers, prizes or recognition in your affiliate community.
• Strong Affiliate Support: Establish a dedicated support system for your affiliates, addressing their questions, concerns, and technical issues promptly. Ensure that they feel supported and valued as an integral part of your marketing team. Provide them with the same high level of support as if they were a distributor in your organization. 
• Compliance and Guidelines: Clearly outline affiliate guidelines and compliance requirements to ensure that affiliates adhere to ethical marketing practices. Protect your brand reputation by monitoring affiliate activities and taking appropriate action against any violations.
• Continuous Optimization: Regularly evaluate and optimize your affiliate program based on performance metrics and feedback. Identify areas for improvement, refine strategies, and adapt to industry trends to maximize the program’s effectiveness.

By focusing on these specific points, you can build a successful affiliate program that fosters strong partnerships, drives conversions, and helps your affiliates thrive. Most importantly helping your business grow.