Marisa Sinamban, a stay-at-home mother to her three sons, engaged in direct selling to contribute to the family's household income. To her pleasant surprise, profit from the sales of cosmetics and personal care items in her starter kit was soon augmenting their budget.

"Face-to-face selling" of products that can be "practically anything" is how the Direct Sellers Association of the Philippines defines direct selling. Companies under its umbrella offer products ranging from fashion accessories to books and nutritional supplements.

Direct selling customers value convenience and personalized service. So if you are thinking of wearing the sales hat, consider the following pointers to a rewarding direct selling stint:

Brand selection. Affiliate with a company that you believe has products with huge and recurrent demand. "Colognes and underwear sell a lot," says Marisa. The more popular the brand, the more people will buy it.

Find a network that best suits your interests because you cannot moonlight for a competing brand. Little-known products, like herbal formulas, can fetch higher sales if they already have a niche in the market.

Contacts. You don't need to look far and wide for potential customers - your family and friends (and officemates, if working a full-time job) offer an initial captive market. "I started selling to my neighbors whom I trusted would pay come due date," Marisa shares with a laugh.

From them, she expanded her reach by asking for referrals and by word of mouth. There are no quotas to fill in direct selling but some items need to be sold within a given period.

Market. How much you earn from direct selling depends on the volume of products you bring to your customers' doorsteps. To maximize your sales pitches and product demos, Marisa suggests hosting afternoon socials to gather as many people as possible.

Product catalogues and brochures prepared and handed down to you by your distributor (usually at a minimal cost) are your promotional materials. Marisa advises, "Get more than one copy of catalogues so that you may leave it with customers for following up."

Collect and remit. Before you distribute the goods to your customers, spell out the terms of payment, i.e., when you should receive the initial and succeeding payments. Be sure to collect on payments, which may take informal forms like four "gives" or payments within one or two months.

Remit payments as scheduled to maintain good standing and to establish your reliability. Otherwise, Marisa warns you may incur penalties that are charged against your commissions.

Account. Check your account regularly for commissions. Set targets. Picture how much your income from direct selling should be for a period, say P3,000 monthly, so you have something to gauge the effort you devote to it.

Marisa says that there are also other perks and recognitions given to hardworking direct sellers: free consumable items, discounted product rates, performance bonuses.

(This article is from MoneySense, the country's first and only personal finance magazine. Visit www.moneysense.com.ph for more.)