1/ SET UP YOUR HOME SALES BUSINESS

Do you want to know how to start selling clothing from home ? One of the first steps is to set up your company to obtain self-employed status. If you wish, you can also register with the Trade and Companies Register. Note that sellers who are not registered with the RCS are covered by the general social security scheme.

You're wondering what are the obligations for VDIs?? And how to declare income from home sales? Unlike employees, the self-employed are obliged to declare their income to URSSAF, in order to pay social security contributions and tax. This declaration can be made quickly and easily online.

Before launching your home sales business, sit down and make the right choices.

Choosing the type of VDI contract

As a VDI, you can choose between two types of contract : VDI agent and VDI buyer-reseller.

• The VDI agent

The VDI agent is similar to a distributor. They take orders directly from their customers on behalf of the company, so they won't have any stock problems.

• The VDI buyer-reseller

The VDI buyer-reseller buys the products from the company. She then resells them at a margin that she sets herself.

Weigh up the pros and cons to choose the contract that suits you best. The agent contract is better suited to ready-to-wear, while the buyer-reseller contract is better suited to selling make-up or accessories.

It is important to bear in mind that this investment will take place before you start canvassing customers. It is therefore necessary to have sufficient income beforehand to buy the current collection of products.

> Read also: Vdi status: total freedom to work

Define the time you want to devote to your business

Depending on your lifestyle and your needs, define the time you want to devote to your VDI activity. If you want to achieve your full potential, it's best if your work fits in with your life plan.

Some VDIs work full time, while others simply want to have a jobadditional income. . This is a good plan for people who want to have another job in addition to their salaried one, for financial reasons. Determine your availability during the week and organise your sales to suit your schedule.

Try to adapt your schedule to suit your customers' availability. The best times to organise meetings are generally :

• Saturday
• Sunday
• The evenings

Set yourself sales targets

Being an independent salesperson is first and foremost a business. Your level of income will depend on your turnover.

To help you get organised, we advise you to set objectives, which you can classify according to your priorities. These objectives (which will need to be quantified) could, for example, be :

• A certain number of private sales per week
• Increase the number of customers per month

Having a roadmap is important for many reasons, starting with maintaining motivation over time. By doing so, you'll also :

• Challenged on a daily basis
• More organised management of your resources
• Able to assess your progress over time

It's important to set goals that are both precise and realistic. They shouldn't be too easy or too difficult to achieve. It's up to you to find the right balance so that your motivation lasts! To help you do this, you need to consider a number of factors, such as :

● Your parallel activities, if any

● Your family responsibilities

● The time you can devote to training

Take the time to get to know the brand, its values and its products

Many companies are looking for independent profiles to join their sales teams. However, it is essential to offer your services to a brand that is in line with your values and that does not hesitate to take action to help your business succeed.

To sell well, you need to know the brand and the products you're offering. At Elora, we train you and introduce you to the brand. You will be monitored and supported by your mentor. You can also browse the extranet dedicated to consultants, as well as the Elora website, or talk to other VDIs in our network to help you!

2/ GET READY

To make your sales pitch more effective, we advise you to prepare your sales pitch carefully, in line with your objectives as a VDI.

Hostess

The sales pitch will be used to develop your network of hostesses. It must inspire confidence in them so that they invite you to their homes. You should also emphasise the benefits they will enjoy. It is advisable to emphasise the convivial aspect of the meetings. The aim is to provide a unique shopping experience for those present, by bringing them together as friends.

Products

This sales pitch is designed to make it easier to sell the collections to customers. For it to be effective, you will need to acquire in-depth knowledge of the collections. It will also be necessary to be able to quickly determine which pieces are suitable for which customers, based on what they show about their personality.

Role of VDI

This sales pitch is used to recruit other home-based sellers (co-optation/sponsorship). In particular, you need toknow the advantages and limitations of the VDI business inside outto be able to answer questions from people interested in this career choice. Declarations, tax, contributions, remuneration, etc. there is a wide range of subjects to know about VDI status.

All these sales pitches should be simple and like you. For example, those interested in becoming a hostess will be delighted to learn that they can decide the place, date and time of each private sale they host, as well as benefiting from discounts!

3/ TEST YOUR SALES PITCHES BEFORE TAKING ACTION

Before you embark on the adventure of door-to-door selling, we recommend that you test your sales pitches andtrain with people you know well. Here's how to do it:

1. Choose 4 or 5 people (of different ages if possible) that you like in your network and who are fans of shopping
2. Develop your 3 sales pitches according to the person you are talking to
3. Adjust your arguments with them

This can even be an opportunity to recruit hostesses, VDIs or acquire your first customers for a private home sale.

You'll be accompanied by your sponsor at your first meeting. She'll be there to support you, answer customers' questions and give you advice on how to improve next time.

4/ DEVELOP YOUR NETWORK

Once your sales pitches are well developed and you feel ready to launch your first sales, you can work on your network.

Your close circle

When you start a new career, the people around you are often your first supporters. Talk about your business with your family, friends and colleagues during break times.

In general, the first customers are part of your existing network!

Word of mouth

Word of mouth is one of the oldest and best methods of developing your network. Ideally, this is spontaneous, but it can also be encouraged. For example, you can :

• Ask the various hostesses to talk about the brand if they liked the private sale organised in their home;
• Ask hostesses and customers to post reviews on social networks.

Use social networks

Be active on social networkslike Instagram or Facebook to communicate with your network (hostesses, customers) and find new customers. It's a channel that works very well. However, it is preferable to create professional accounts to avoid mixing things up with your personal life. If you enjoy writing and taking beautiful photos, don't hesitate to start a blog.

In general, you can highlight new collections, but also offer practical advice. Fashion lovers are often very keen on this.

PS: for these different channels, don't forget that regular publication is the key to maintaining the attention of your followers. Don't forget to accompany your publications with attractive visuals.

> Read also : VDI and digital

Finding new customers

New customers are often found through members of our network. You can also talk to the shopkeepers in your neighbourhood and leave flyers on their counters. You can also go to fashion-related events and hand out business cards to those present.

Don't hesitate to take training courses on the subject.

> Read also : VDI: how to find new customers

Developing a network of hostesses

Elora advises you touse hostesses to expand your networkand meet new customers.

Hostesses host private sales (usually in their own homes) and share them with their own network. You organise the sale, so it's an ideal opportunity to reach an audience that you wouldn't have been able to reach on your own. It's essential to look after your loyal hostesses, by offering them benefits or previewing new collections, for example.

If you'd like to find out more about developing your hostess network, we've dedicated an article to this subject here!

STAY AT THE CUTTING EDGE OF SALES TECHNIQUES THROUGH TRAINING

As in all business sectors, sregular training is essentialFor :

• Keeping your knowledge up to date
• Acquire more skills
• Improving performance
• Increase your career prospects and your ability to seize professional opportunities (within the company or elsewhere).

At Elora, the VDIs receive a great deal of support. Allsales assistants benefit from a training programmerun by experienced coaches, which will give them an in-depth insight into the business, as well as teaching them the keys to selling from home on a self-employed basis.

This means they can start their business in the best possible conditions.

And last but not least, a number of e-learning training modules are available at any time for those wishing to perfect their knowledge.

These training courses can cover a range of topics such as organising working hours, preparing a product presentation meeting, management, etc. Over the years, Elora independent consultants have the opportunity to take on more responsibility by becoming team managers. They will then take part in training new recruits and help them to develop their sales.

> Read also : Home sales training