Sales down, recruiting up for multi-level firms

Avon representative Peggy Lane of Sparks has run her independent sales business for 19 years and says her nearly constant work has made her Avon's top seller on the West Coast.

Times have changed.

"This is the hardest it's been," she says. "The gas prices are killing us. I'm paying double to do the same amount of driving."

But although sales may suffer in an economic slump, people in multi-level marketing organizations don't just sell. They also recruit, and recruiting is up in a job market rife with reduced hours and layoffs. A little business on the side can seem like a smart back-up plan to a worried worker.

Avon has changed over the decades since it was known for commercials that featured the sound of a doorbell and the tag line, "Avon calling." The company now sells everything from makeup to lingerie and even clothing.

Still, says Lane, "My sales are down quite

a bit from last year. Gifts and collectables and jewelry are down."

To help field agents counter the economic slump, the parent company has lowered the wholesale cost of its holiday gift bundle dramatically and upped the incentives for recruiting people into the organization.

Recruiting is up, says Lane. That's where sales leaders in all multi-level marketing companies derive a healthy slice of income as they get an ongoing percentage of sales made by each person they recruit into the organization.

"Last spring, interest picked up," says Lane. "During the last two months especially I've gotten really good calls. They need extra income."

Recruiting also is up for Mary Kay Inc. in northern Nevada.

"Recruiting is incredibly on the rise," says Suzie Kuczynski, an

independent sales director for Mary Kay in Reno. "With downsizing and instability, women are responsive to having a Plan B in their lives."

Results from her recruiting efforts are up 300 percent this year over last.

"I'm a three-time recipient in the Queen's Court of Sharing," says Kuczynski. "That means I've recruited 24 in a year."

The strong recruiting is frosting on the cake, she says, as sales have remained stable.

"Our company tends to be recession proof. We have a stable consumable product," Kuczynski says. "When it comes to personal appearance, women will feed their families rice and beans for a week rather than give up mascara and moisturizer."

A Reno company, MXI Corp., is busily building a multi-level network to sell its Xocai chocolate products that are marketed on claims of antioxidant health benefits.

Independent sales representative Pamela Coppee of Reno says she's recruited six distributors in two years and collects 10 percent of their total gross sales.

"You just get your people and help them sell," says Coppee, who recruits through home parties.

She's also seen steady increases as she spends about 20 hours a week selling Xocai products.

"When I'm out and about, standing in line, I ask people: 'Have you heard of the healthy chocolate?' and give out samples."

She's also hosted a few chocolate fondue tastings.

While MXI Corp. hasn't dropped prices in light of the gloomy economy, it introduced a holiday promotion product, sipping cocoa, only available for only a few months.