Ask Victoria: When Should Starter Kits Be Discounted?

April 5, 2015 By admin Leave a Comment

Some companies choose to put their starter kits on sale from time to time, hoping that the substantially reduced price will motivate prospective representatives to enroll during a starter kit sale.

Unfortunately, starter kit sales do more harm than good.

Here’s why…

Many people who purchase starter kits on sale join for product discounts only. If a company doesn’t want people to join just for product discounts, this is a problem.
The career productivity of people who purchase starter kits on sale is less than those who pay the regular price.
The bigger problem with putting starter kits on sale is what happens when the sale is over. Recruiting plummets for one or more months. Reps who sponsor may come to believe they should recruit only during starter kit sales.

Like the cars for clunkers program, what appears at first to be a good idea is actually a bad one. I don’t recommend that starter kits are ever put on sale.

A Better Idea

Instead of putting your starter kits on sale, add an additional item free during those months when you would otherwise put your kits on sale. To prevent your reps from having a dependency on starter kit promotions to motivate recruiting, we recommend no more than two such starter kit promotions per year.

Starter Kit Wisdom

Would you like to know more about starter kits? Watch this short video our president Jay Leisner created to teach direct selling companies about starter kits.

Jay Leisner, the President of Sylvina Consulting, is a top compensation plan and direct selling expert, a trusted adviser to new and established network marketing and party plan companies. For more than 30 years, Jay has enjoyed assessing and improving network marketing, party plan and referral marketing companies across the globe.

Jay Leisner and Victoria Dohr authored the top-rated book for new and young network marketing, referral marketing, and party plan companies, "Start Here: The Guide to Building and Growing Your Direct Selling Company".

Available in English and Spanish. This startup guide contains 250 pages of wisdom that will guide you through the right steps to start and continue on your journey to build a successful direct selling company.

You will save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of your time using the information you will read in our book.

In 1986, Jay began his career in direct selling by working for a major direct selling software provider. First as a software developer and later as a project leader and a business analyst, Jay worked closely with new and established network marketing and party direct selling companies to provide them with software solutions to meet their unique requirements.

Jay contributed in many ways to the success of large implementation projects for many companies. Jay also worked with dozens of smaller companies to assist each of them in various capacities to provide them with the systems they needed to help their businesses to grow faster.

Along the way while working with them, he learned the secrets of successful direct selling companies and the challenges faced by them. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Jay’s decision in 1999 to start Sylvina Consulting as a direct selling consulting company was driven by what he saw was a need for answers, advice, and solutions.

In 2004, 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2018, Jay gave presentations on compensation plans, recognition, and field leadership development at conferences held by the US Direct Selling Association.

He traveled to South Africa in 2015, 2016, and 2017 to conduct workshops on compensation plan design and recognition programs for member companies of the South African Direct Selling Association.

In 2017, Jay spoke at the Canadian Direct Sellers Association Meeting on the importance of recognition.

More than just a compensation plan expert, Jay is exceptionally skilled at advising new and established companies on business strategies. Before offering advice or solutions, he asks important questions to understand each client’s specific concerns and goals.

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