CHAPTER 6

On the Benefits of Direct Selling

Robert A. Peterson

From a macromarketing perspective, direct selling is a business model or a channel of distribution for consumer products and services. Simultaneously, from a micromarketing perspective, direct selling is face-to-face selling activity away from a fixed retail location (e.g., Peterson and Wotruba 1996). According to the Direct Selling Association (2020), 6.8 million individuals were classified as “active direct sellers” in the United States in 2019. Of the active direct sellers, 13 percent were classified as full-time direct sellers, whereas 87 percent were classified as part-time direct sellers. Virtually all direct sellers are independent contractors, not employees of direct selling companies, and about three-quarters of direct sellers are women. As such, direct selling is part of the so-called gig economy.

This chapter attempts to answer the quasi-rhetorical question, “Why do people become direct sellers, and what are the possible benefits accruing to direct sellers as a result of their direct selling experience?” Broadly speaking, there are two categories of possible reasons for becoming a direct seller: financial and nonfinancial. Financial benefits are writ large: people become direct sellers because of monetary or economic rewards received from their direct selling activities. However, it is possible that people become direct sellers for nonfinancial reasons and benefits that are more subtle and nuanced than financial reasons and benefits. Such reasons relate to (but are not limited to) opportunities for social interactions, personal learning and growth, and feelings of accomplishment. Specifically, this chapter seeks answers to three questions:

To provide an introductory context for addressing these questions, the next section presents reflections provided by three women regarding their respective direct selling experiences, two current direct sellers and one former direct seller. The remainder of the chapter conveys the results of two empirical surveys designed to produce at least preliminary answers to the three questions. In particular, the following section discusses the results of a nationwide survey of gig workers regarding their reasons for entering the gig economy, with an emphasis on the expected and actual financial rewards of gig workers who are direct sellers. By definition, and as discussed later, direct sellers constitute a subset of gig workers. Hence, it is instructive to compare the characteristics and motivations of direct sellers with those of other gig workers. The subsequent section contains observations based on a separate nationwide survey of direct sellers regarding the reasons they became direct sellers and the ensuing nonfinancial benefits that they acquired as a result of their direct selling experience. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the collective survey results and their implications.

Three Direct Selling Experiences

To complement the survey findings and provide a personal perspective on benefits derived from a direct selling experience, direct selling reflections were solicited from three geographically dispersed female direct sellers. The first is a woman who sells cosmetics; the second sells women’s clothing; and the third is a former direct seller who sold household products. The direct seller who sells cosmetics is a “career direct seller” who has worked more than three decades in direct selling. The second, who sells women’s clothing, has been a direct seller for about three years. The third is a former direct seller who sold household products for two years. The reflections are free-form and essentially verbatim (with minor edits). Although the reflections are those of only three individuals, collectively they illustrate several direct selling benefits and are consistent with prior research findings on direct selling as well as the survey findings presented in this chapter.

Direct Seller One

My [direct selling] career has been life-changing and has resulted in a very close and loving family as we have been able to spend so much time together because of career flexibility. The relationships I have been able to form all over the United States and Canada are the most trusting and loving I could ever imagine. I definitely feel confident in front of large audiences as a result of my direct selling activities. I look forward to getting up at 5 am or earlier to plan my work and work my plan. I don’t ever want to retire because my career is so rewarding, and I love the energy it gives me and the challenges and opportunities it provides. I especially enjoy enriching the lives of others and love watching how their lives have changed.

Among the things I learned from direct selling was to make a list of the six most important things I will do tomorrow before I go to bed at night and post the weekly schedule on the refrigerator. Soon my children were making lists. Everyone in our family knew the important activities as they were posted on the refrigerator. We even planned a family night when we would go out to eat once a week and let each family member talk about issues or events that were important to them. When the children were small, I would kiss them goodbye and tell them not to disturb me unless it was an emergency (which meant blood) and I would see them in one hour so that I could make my sales phone calls uninterrupted while their father or a caregiver would be with them. My children learned to respect my business, and my clients were able to have my undivided attention.

Direct Seller Two

Having my own (direct selling) business allows me to be in charge of my calendar and to work as much or as little as I want and set my office hours and my availability to do shows. That being said, my time management skills have been sharpened because I know how to better say “yes” and sometimes “no.” My organization skills have improved as my sales volume has increased. I am constantly juggling orders, handling customer returns/exchanges, communicating with (and coaching) my show hostesses, sending follow-up e-mails to clients, and keeping on top of marketing efforts.

My presentation skills have improved because there is now a “script” for me to follow and it helps me to stay within the desired presentation window. Of course, I can add my own verbiage so that I don’t sound too scripted and I like to make sure to interject some humor as well. I am more comfortable in front of a group of people and feel like I can keep them engaged throughout.

My focus is on developing relationships with my clients so therefore I have learned to ask more questions and listen for cues and talk less about myself! As a result, I am able to better serve my clients, help them make better product choices and increase their confidence. I’m also able to empathize with my clients’ frustrations of traditional shopping (and the overwhelming shopping choices online) and offer a real solution to their product needs.

Former Direct Seller

I use [company] to explain how my life pivoted from being a shy individual who lacked confidence to the outspoken strong successful confident woman I am today. As a result of [company] training, direct selling program, and management support, I gained the skills, strength, and confidence to not only speed through promotions but also to handle my family situation! I was able to successfully turn a negative situation into a positive one in my life. I am also thankful for the additional opportunities presented by [company]. Because I excelled as a direct selling representative, I had a fantastic experience that shaped the beginning of my career in sales. The skills I gained from [company] helped me with interviews, sales positions, and everyday life! Thank you [company] for creating an opportunity that changed my life in a positive manner!

The Gig Worker Survey

At its essence, the gig economy is a heterogeneous collection of firms and individuals—“gig workers” or “on-demand workers”—engaged in a wide variety of ad hoc or short-term activities and tasks (e.g., Benoit, Baker, Bolton, Gruber, and Kandampully 2017; Duszynski 2020). Gig workers range from an Uber driver to a freelance artist to a day laborer who waits on a street corner to be picked up for that day’s work to a direct seller. Researchers (e.g., Kuhn and Maleki 2017) have variously labeled gig workers as independent contractors, freelancers, sellers, partners, micro-entrepreneurs, and so on, all terms that reasonably apply to direct sellers. In general, regardless of their specific gig(s), individuals who work in the gig economy do so “to earn a little extra money” and have “freedom to work from wherever they want.”

To obtain empirical data about the reasons why people become direct sellers and the financial rewards that direct sellers seek and obtain, 2,210 members of a large, nationwide (USA) Internet-based consumer panel were contacted.¹ These panel members were randomly selected and, after appropriate quality-control screening, asked to read the following definition of a gig: “A gig is defined as a flexible work arrangement that allows a person to work how, when, and where he or she wants to work. Even full-time and part-time employees may sometimes work gigs in their free time.” Eight examples of gigs were provided to contextualize the definition, such as “skill-based services (home repair, yard maintenance, house cleaning);” “ridesharing, transportation services;” and “professional services (accounting, law, consulting, graphic design, photography).” Included among the examples, and the focus of this chapter, was “selling products through a direct selling or network marketing business.”

After reading the definition and examples, panel members were asked whether they have “worked a gig in the past 12 months.” A total of 1,001 panel members, approximately 45 percent of those asked, indicated that they had worked a gig in the 12 months preceding the survey (i.e., the time period was July 2019–June 2020). These individuals constituted a sample of self-identified gig workers. Approximately 51 percent of these gig workers (survey participants) consisted of males, 35 percent were 18 to 34 years of age, 39 percent were 35 to 54 years of age, and 26 percent were 55 years of age or older. Fifty-four percent of the survey participants were married. Forty-seven states in the USA and the District of Columbia were represented in the sample.

Survey participants reporting they had worked a gig in the 12 months preceding the survey were first asked how many gigs they had worked. Then, depending on whether they had worked one or more than one gig, they were presented with a list of 14 gig types (plus an “other”) and asked to indicate the type of gig they had worked (as their only, primary, or primary and secondary gigs). Approximately 8.7 percent of the survey participants stated that their only (2.6 percent), primary (2.9 percent), or secondary (3.2 percent) gig was “selling/representing products through a direct selling or network marketing business.” (As an aside, it is noteworthy that more than two-thirds of the direct sellers worked more than one gig.) To avoid possible confounding due to differences between an only/primary direct selling gig and a secondary direct selling gig, only survey participants who stated their only/primary gig was direct selling (55 individuals or 5.5 percent of the total sample) were the focus of this chapter.²

In general, relatively fewer direct sellers than other gig workers considered their gig to be part-time (62 percent of direct sellers versus 73 percent of other gig workers). All survey participants were asked to think back to when they first started working their gig. Specifically, they were presented with 16 reasons for entering the gig economy and asked the extent to which they agreed or disagreed that each reason influenced their decision to enter the gig economy. The most important reason people entered the gig economy was “I wanted to make a little extra money.” This was true for both direct sellers and other gig workers; 75 percent of each group agreed that this was a reason for entering the gig economy.

Other important reasons people entered the gig economy include “I wanted to enjoy both work and life more” and “I wanted freedom to work from wherever I want.” The least important reason people gave for entering the gig economy was “I wanted to receive a discount on products or services;” 31 percent of the survey participants agreed that this was a reason for joining the gig economy. However, interestingly enough, direct sellers were significantly more likely than other gig workers to state that they entered the gig economy to receive a discount on products or services; 46 percent of the direct sellers agreed with this reason as compared with 30 percent of other gig workers. Direct sellers were also significantly more likely than other gig workers to have entered the gig economy to be part of a supportive group or community.

To explore the financial rewards associated with various gigs, all survey participants were asked three questions:

Tables 6.1 to 6.3 respectively provide answers to these questions. Table 6.1 reveals that more than 7 out of 10 direct sellers (71 percent) expected to earn less than US$500 per month when they entered the gig economy. This is slightly more than the 66 percent of other gig workers who expected to earn less than US$500 per month when entering the gig economy.

Table 6.1 Expected monthly gig income

Expected income	Percentage response
	Direct sellers	Other gig workers
Less than US$100	25.5	22.7
US$100–US$299	23.6	24.9
US$300–US$499	21.8	18.4
US$500–US$999	9.1	14.4
US$1,000–US$1,999	9.1	9.5
US$2,000 or more	10.9	10.1

Table 6.2 Actual gig monthly income

Actual income	Percentage response
	Direct sellers	Other gig workers
Less than US$100	25.5	20.0
US$100–US$299	23.6	26.9
US$300–US$499	23.6	17.2
US$500–US$999	7.3	15.3
US$1,000–US$1,999	14.5	10.4
US$2,000 or more	5.5	10.2

Table 6.2 reveals that, in general, both direct sellers and other gig workers actually earn about the same amount or more than they expected to earn. More specifically, based on a cross-tabulation of responses to the income categories in Tables 6.1 and 6.2, 80 percent of the direct sellers stated that they earned as much or more than they expected to earn when entering the gig economy. This compares with 85 percent of other gig workers.

Table 6.3 contains answers to the question regarding the percentage of total household income due to gig work. The table indicates that a plurality of both direct sellers and other gig workers earn less that 10 percent of their household income from gig work.

When asked how they primarily use the money earned from their gig, direct sellers and other gig workers displayed somewhat different spending patterns. To illustrate, whereas 31 percent of the direct sellers use their gig earnings to pay household bills, 37 percent of other gig workers use their gig earnings to pay household bills. Furthermore, whereas 26 percent of the direct sellers use their gig earnings to improve their personal lifestyle, 15 percent of other gig workers use their gig earnings in this fashion. Moreover, whereas 22 percent of the direct sellers save or invest their gig earnings, the corresponding percentage for other gig workers is 31 percent.

Table 6.3 Gig income as a percent of household income

Percent of income	Percentage response
	Direct sellers	Other gig workers
Less than 10%	40.0	46.3
10%–24%	32.7	20.8
25%–49%	18.2	15.6
50%–74%	7.3	8.4
75%–100%	1.8	8.9

Finally, to assess overall reactions to their gigs, survey participants were asked two closed-end questions: “How would you rate your overall experience working your gig?” and “How likely are you to recommend your gig to a friend or colleague?” When considered together, these questions address survey participants’ satisfaction with their gig. Response categories for the first question ranged from “very positive” to “very negative.” Response categories for the second question ranged from “not at all likely” to “extremely likely.”

Approximately 93 percent of the direct sellers viewed their experience as either “very” (49 percent) or “somewhat” (44 percent) positive. This compares with 52 percent of the other gig workers who viewed their experience as “very positive” and 35 percent who viewed it as “somewhat positive” (which total to approximately 87 percent). When asked how likely they were to recommend their gig to a friend or colleague, 66 percent of the direct sellers and 65 percent of the other gig workers stated they were either “very likely” or “extremely likely” to do so. Thus, while slightly more direct sellers than other gig workers were satisfied with their gig experience, the likelihood of recommending their gig to a friend or colleague was virtually identical for direct sellers and other gig workers.

The Direct Seller Survey

This section of the chapter reports findings based on research conducted by Peterson, Albaum, and Crittenden (2019) and Peterson, Crittenden, and Albaum (2020). These researchers studied a sample of direct sellers by surveying members of a large, nationwide (USA) Internet-based consumer panel. (The gig worker and direct seller surveys were independent and conducted at different times.) All selected Internet panel members successfully passing quality-control screening read the following definition of direct selling:

After reading this definition, panel members were asked: “Are you currently an independent contractor (i.e., an independent associate) for a direct selling company?” Panel members who answered “yes” to this question constituted a sample of 495 self-identified direct sellers.

Approximately 69 percent of the direct sellers were females; 75 percent worked for a direct selling company that is commonly termed a network marketing company or a multilevel marketing company.³ Sixty percent were married. Thirty-seven percent were 18 to 34 years of age, 39 percent were 35 to 54 years of age, and 26 percent were 55 years of age or older. Forty-six states in the USA were represented in the sample. Eighty percent of the direct sellers stated that they also had a job other than direct selling. Comparison of the demographic characteristics of gig workers in general with those of direct sellers corroborates a conclusion that direct sellers are merely a subset of gig workers. It is noteworthy that even though proportionately more than twice as many women as men tend to be direct sellers, significantly more male direct sellers than female direct sellers—54 percent versus 31 percent—want direct selling to be their “full-time gig.”

Direct sellers were presented with a list of 12 possible reasons for joining their current direct selling company and asked to indicate which, if any, of the reasons applied to them. The reason with the largest agreement percentage was “I believed that the products are of such value that I wanted to share them with my friends, neighbors, and the public.” Eighty-one percent of the direct sellers stated that this was a reason they joined their current direct selling company. The second most frequently cited reason was “I wanted to buy the company’s product(s) for myself and/or family at a discount;” 74 percent of the direct sellers stated this was a reason for joining their current direct selling company. The third- and fourth-most cited reasons were “flexible working hours” and “needed the income.” The least-frequently mentioned reason direct sellers gave for joining their current direct selling company was “I wanted a full-time working career.” Thirty-five percent gave this as a reason; this finding reinforces the notion that direct selling should be characterized as gig work.

Although the reasons direct sellers gave for joining their current direct selling company were fairly consistent across demographic characteristics, a few significant differences were observed between male and female direct sellers. These differences can be interpreted as suggesting that male direct sellers tend to seek more financial and business-oriented benefits than do female direct sellers, whereas female direct sellers tend to be relatively more motivated by the social aspects of direct selling.

Personal Life Self-Efficacy and Direct Selling

Beyond providing overt financial benefits, direct selling can provide nonfinancial benefits. In particular, the direct seller survey documented that a direct selling experience can enhance or facilitate personal self-efficacy, separately from any financial benefits received. Self-efficacy is “the belief in one’s capabilities to organize and to execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (Bandura 1997, 2). As such, self-efficacy reflects the confidence that one has regarding his or her abilities to accomplish certain goals or undertake specific activities. It does not reflect the ability to actually accomplish the goals or carry out the activities. Even so, in a sales context, research has shown that the greater a salesperson’s self-efficacy, the more superior his or her sales performance is (e.g., Peterson 2020). Unlike a personality trait, self-efficacy is more akin to a psychological state that is specific to a particular goal, task, or activity domain. Consequently, self-efficacy is malleable, that is, it can be, at least theoretically, enhanced or degraded through, among other mechanisms, personal experience gained from direct selling.

Among other questions, the direct sellers were presented with a series of 13 statements regarding personal life skills and asked to indicate the extent to which “you agree or disagree that you have benefitted from your direct selling experience in terms of improved … skills.” Because these statements reflect perceived personal life skill benefits, they, individually and collectively represent measures of self-efficacy. Agreement/disagreement was captured by means of four-point rating scales having response categories “strongly disagree,” “somewhat disagree,” “somewhat agree,” and “strongly agree.” Specifically, the direct sellers were asked, “Apart from direct selling, to what extent have you benefitted from your selling experience in terms of your personal life? In other words, to what extent have you been able to transfer skills learned from your direct selling experience to your personal life?”

In addition, direct sellers who stated they had a job other than direct selling were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “Because of my direct selling experience, I perform better in other, non-direct selling jobs” using a four-category rating scale ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Of these direct sellers (80 percent of all direct sellers surveyed), 84 percent either somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement, illustrating that the “lessons learned” from a direct selling experience can carry over and enhance performance of nondirect selling jobs.

Table 6.4 presents the 13 personal life skill statements that were analyzed, the percentages of direct sellers indicating agreement or disagreement with each statement, and the mean agreement (average rating scale response) for each statement. The mean serves as a summary statistic of agreement. The larger the mean, the more the direct sellers believed that their direct selling experience was beneficial with respect to that skill. Note that a direct “test” of self-efficacy (“I enhanced my self-esteem”) was embedded among the statements as a check on survey validity. Across the 13 personal life skills studied, a minimum of 74 percent of the direct sellers strongly or somewhat agreed that their direct selling experience enhanced each of them. Slightly more direct sellers believed that their listening skills and their confidence were most improved by their direct selling experience; 83 percent of the direct sellers somewhat or strongly agreed that these skills benefitted the most from their direct selling experience.

Table 6.4 Personal life skills benefitting from direct selling experience

	Percentage Response
Life Skill	Strongly Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Somewhat Agree	Strongly Agree
I feel more at ease in front of an audience (Mean = 2.99)	8	17	43	32
I improved my decision-making skills (Mean = 3.07)	6	13	49	32
I am better at communicating with groups (Mean = 3.05)	6	16	46	32
I am better at time management (Mean = 3.06)	6	14	48	32
I am better at managing my finances (Mean = 3.00)	6	18	46	30
I enhanced my self-esteem (Mean = 3.08)	7	14	44	35
I enhanced my confidence (Mean = 3.08)	6	11	50	33
I am better at interpersonal relationships (Mean = 3.04)	6	15	49	30
I am better at coping with and managing stress (Mean = 2.96)	7	19	46	28
I am better at problem solving (Mean = 3.08)	6	13	46	35
I improved my entrepreneurial skills (Mean = 3.09)	6	12	48	34
I enhanced my critical thinking ability (Mean = 3.00)	7	15	49	29
I improved my listening skills (Mean = 3.13)	5	12	48	35

Source: Peterson (2018).

It is perhaps not surprising that there was a significant positive relationship between responses to each of the 13 personal life skill statements and responses to the self-perceived nonsales job performance rating scale. That is, the greater the perceived personal skill benefit (perceived nonsales job performance) resulting from a direct selling experience, the greater the perceived nonsales job performance (perceived personal skill benefit). These relationships are consistent with what has been found in prior self-efficacy—sales performance research (but begs the question whether there is a causal relationship between the two).

There were generally no significant differences in reported personal life skill benefits obtained from a direct selling experience between urban and rural direct sellers or among direct sellers with different lengths of time working with their current direct selling company. Similarly, there were generally only minor differences between millennials and nonmillennials with respect to personal life skills acquired from a direct selling experience. Even so, relatively more millennials than nonmillennials reported that their direct selling experience helped them improve their interpersonal relationships (87 percent versus 75 percent) and made them more able to cope with and manage stress in their personal lives (81 percent versus 70 percent).

However, there were differences between male and female direct sellers with respect to perceived personal life skill benefits due to a direct selling experience. Male direct sellers were proportionally more likely than female direct sellers to believe that improvements in 8 of the 13 personal life skills occurred because of their direct selling experience. Thus, for example, whereas 88 percent of the male direct sellers believed that their direct selling experience enhanced their critical thinking ability, 74 percent of the female direct sellers held this belief. In brief, male and female direct sellers reported several proportionally different personal life skill benefits (with male direct sellers always more positive than female direct sellers):

Because male direct sellers were more interested than were female direct sellers in a full-time direct selling job, these differences require further investigation to untangle a possible relationship between gender and full- versus part-time direct selling job preferences; as such, they have implications for direct selling companies.

General Discussion

Direct sellers constitute a subset of gig workers and, analogous to gig workers, generally tend to be independent contractors pursuing part-time jobs. As such, direct sellers possess virtually the same demographic characteristics as do other gig workers. Moreover, direct sellers tend to share the same motivations as do other gig workers—the desire to earn “extra money” through a mechanism that offers work flexibility. This observation is perhaps the foremost “takeaway” from this chapter.

Direct sellers are not, as many in the popular press and on social media would have one believe, demons or people intent on taking unfair advantage of others through pyramid-like schemes (e.g., Tiffany 2020; Vesoulis and Dockterman 2020). Rather, they are, in most regards, merely a large (6.8 million) subset of gig workers driven by the same factors and motivations that drive gig workers generally. Additionally, like the gig economy and the gig workers that populate this economy, there exists heterogeneity among direct sellers. Even so, there are certain commonalities across direct sellers that merit consideration. Direct selling predates and helped form what we now know as the “gig economy.” In that context, the channel should be considered a time-tested viable alternative in the context of the gig economy rather than an unrelated phenomenon.

What emerges from the gig survey and the reflections presented in this chapter is perhaps a somewhat nuanced picture of direct selling and direct sellers. The picture is termed “somewhat nuanced” because it is based on a relatively small number of direct sellers. As documented by the gig survey results presented in this chapter, direct sellers and other gig workers are relatively similar with respect to demographic characteristics, motives for entering the gig economy, gig income expectations and actual income, and satisfaction with their gig (as indicated by how they rated their gig experience and whether they would recommend their gig to others).

The direct seller survey results both complement and supplement the gig survey results (and both surveys support the inferences that can be drawn from the individual direct seller reflections). Most notably, the direct seller survey results demonstrate that a direct selling experience can enhance an individual’s personal life self-efficacy and improve performance on nondirect selling jobs. At the same time, the results of the direct seller survey reveal differences in perceived benefits (improvements in self-efficacy) between male and female direct sellers.

Answers to the Questions

The chapter concludes with answers to the three rhetorical questions posed: (1) Why do people become direct sellers? (2) What do direct sellers expect to earn when they enter the gig economy, and what do they actually earn from their “direct selling gig?” and (3) Does a direct selling experience improve an individual’s personal life self-efficacy?

Why do people become direct sellers? Answers to this question come from the gig survey and the direct seller survey. People become direct sellers to obtain financial and nonfinancial benefits. The financial benefits are earnings derived from direct selling activities. Because a substantial majority of direct sellers only work their direct selling gig part-time, typical goals include earning “extra money” that can be used to pay household bills, improve personal lifestyles, save or invest, or be allocated in numerous other ways. However, the desire for “extra money” is only one of the reasons people become direct sellers and, in point of fact, this desire does not always seem to be the most important reason. Several nonfinancial reasons also appear to be the drivers behind someone becoming a direct seller. Indeed, there is some evidence that, at least for a segment of direct sellers, nonfinancial reasons for becoming a direct seller dominate financial reasons for becoming a direct seller. These nonfinancial reasons include a desire to purchase products or services at a discount from a favored company, a desire to share the products or services of the favored company with others, and a desire for social affiliation.

What do direct sellers expect to earn when they enter the gig economy, and what do they actually earn from their “direct selling gig?” Answers to this question are derived from the gig survey. In general, direct sellers, like other gig workers, appear to be realistic regarding money to be earned from a direct selling gig. Nearly 71 percent of the direct sellers expected to earn less than US$500 per month from their gig, consistent with findings that direct selling tends to be a part-time supplemental earning opportunity, undertaken to obtain incremental money, and, for a plurality of direct sellers, accounts for less than 10 percent of their household income. Moreover, consistent with their expectations, about 73 percent of the direct sellers stated that they actually earned US$500 per month or less from their gig. More to the point, 80 percent of the direct sellers stated that they actually earned as much or more than they expected to earn when they entered the gig economy. This reality no doubt contributed to the finding that 93 percent of the direct sellers rated their direct selling experience as being a positive experience.

Does a direct selling experience improve an individual’s personal life self-efficacy? Based on data from the direct seller survey, the answer appears to be “yes.” A minimum of three-quarters of the direct sellers surveyed indicated that each of the 13 personal life skills studied benefitted from their direct selling experience. Additionally, of the direct sellers holding a nondirect selling job, 84 percent stated that their direct selling experience enhanced their performance on that job. Hence, given that the perceptions of personal life skills can be considered dimensions of self-efficacy, personal life self-efficacy was believed to have been improved through a direct selling experience.

Concluding Comments

Given the nonfinancial benefits that direct sellers seem to want when entering the gig economy, and appear to acquire as a consequence of their direct selling experience, it seems logical that a direct selling company should take this information into account when creating recruitment, training, and retention programs. For example, a direct selling company might emphasize (and communicate) the existence of nonfinancial benefits such as personal life skill improvements that can result from a direct selling experience as well as improved performance in nondirect selling jobs, regardless of direct selling success. While financial benefits are obviously part of any “package” used to recruit and reward direct sellers, a focus on nonfinancial benefits might be more productive for improving the performance of both direct sellers and their direct selling company.

References

Bandura, A. 1997. Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York, NY: Freeman.

Benoit, S., T.L. Baker, R.N. Bolton, T. Gruber, and J. Kandampully. 2017. “A Triadic Framework for Collaborative Consumption (CC): Motives, Activities and Resources & Capabilities of Actors.” Journal of Business Research 79, pp. 219–227.

Direct Selling Association. 2020. “DSA Growth & Outlook Report: U.S. Direct Selling in 2019,” www.dsa.org/benefits/research (accessed November 1, 2020).

Duszynski, M. 2020. “Gig Economy: Definition, Statistics & Trends.” https://zety.com/blog/gig-economy-statistics (accessed November 1, 2020).

Fleming, J.T. 2021. Ultimate Gig: Flexibility, Freedom, Rewards. Bingley, UK: Emerald Publishing.

Kuhn, K.M., and A. Maleki. 2017. “Micro-Entrepreneurs, Dependent Contractors, and Instaserfs: Understanding Online Labor Platform Workforces.” Academy of Management Perspectives 31, no. 3, pp. 183–200.

Peterson, R.A. 2018. Social Contributions of a Direct Selling Experience. Washington, DC: Direct Selling Education Foundation.

Peterson, R.A. 2020. “Self-Efficacy and Personal Selling: Review and Examination with an Emphasis on Sales Performance.” Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management 40, no. 1, pp. 57–71.

Peterson, R.A., and T.R. Wotruba. 1996. “What is Direct Selling?—Definition, Perspectives, and Research Agenda.” Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management 16, no. 4, pp. 1–16.

Peterson, R.A., V.L. Crittenden, and G. Albaum. 2019. “On the Economic and Social Benefits of Direct Selling.” Business Horizons 62, no.3, pp. 373–382.

Peterson, R.A., G. Albaum, and V.L. Crittenden. 2020. “Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Direct Selling Sales Performance.” International Journal of Applied Decision Sciences 13, no. 4, pp. 448–463.

Tiffany, K. 2020. “This Will Change Your Life.” The Atlantic, https://theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/10/why-multilevel-marketing-and-qanon-go-hand-hand/616885/ (accessed October 28, 2020).

Vesoulis, A., and E. Dockterman. 2020. “Pandemic Schemes.” Time, pp. 85–91.

¹ This section of the chapter is based on research conducted for the Ultimate Gig Project (Fleming 2021).

² Because of the relatively small number of direct sellers in the sample, caution must be exercised when attempting to broadly generalize any findings based on them.

³ Technically, multilevel marketing (MLM) is a type of compensation, not a form of direct selling.