Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an enforcement of action was to be initiated by the FTC and several state attorneys general against Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing (FHTM). The action is related to the company being considered a pyramid scheme. The Direct Selling Association (DSA), Southwestern Advantage’s trade association, was contacted numerous times to find [...]
As I sit here and reflect – yesterday, September 11, marked the 11th anniversary of the most devastating terrorist attack in U.S. history. It is the day four commercial aircraft were hijacked and used as weapons against unsuspecting civilians. While the victims and their loved ones were changed forever, all Americans were united by tragedy [...]
Earlier this year, the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee (BBB) published a report regarding trust, integrity and ethics in the marketplace. Included in this information were some interesting numbers and statistics. Southwestern Advantage is a charter member of the BBB of Middle Tennessee, having become a member when they started in 1961. Southwestern is [...]
The Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) had a recent blog I thought had some very good information about how to identify a pyramid scheme. Most people throw around the term “pyramid scheme” not knowing what one really is. They use it in a derogatory sense to describe network or multilevel marketing, business models they do [...]
Something not heralded enough about door-to-door sales people is the fact that they are in the neighborhood. Too often it is the opposite. The industry takes a negative hit because the solicitors are perceived as a nuisance or are “up to no good.” “Surely, if there is no fixed retail location, it must be a [...]
Working for a company that trains college students to run their own business selling an educational learning system to families door-to-door, I engage with communities on a frequent basis regarding their solicitation ordinances. Most communities are receptive to the Southwestern Advantage student dealers – as long as they follow existing ordinances. If the ordinances are [...]
With 244 years gone by, Britannica says good-bye to the print version of their encyclopedias. At Southwestern Advantage, we have a great deal of respect for the company and their encyclopedias. After all, we know what it means to be successful selling books door-to-door. So it is with sadness we bid that part of their [...]
When soliciting door-to-door – you have to have a two things: a sense of humor and an appreciation for irony. According to the Fairlawn-Bath Patch, two door-to-door salesmen were selling steaks. When they knocked on the door of one of the homes in the area they were working, a little girl answered the door. When [...]
Southwestern Advantage has consistently promoted the importance of doing things the right way when it comes to selling to families door-to-door. As one of Nashville’s oldest companies and the oldest direct selling company in the nation, our longevity is proof of our comittment to excellence in all areas. One of those areas is the continued safety of [...]
DOOR-TO-DOOR SAFETY TIPS FROM SOUTHWESTERN ADVANTAGE! In researching traveling sales crews, I often find a commonality with them: many of their paying customers don’t get the magazine subscription they ordered. To me, that’s a problem. That is one of the many problems and is a contributing factor as to why rogue door-to-door sales companies tarnish [...]
