One of the main problems within the "inner circle" of the mail order business is that everyone is selling everyone else's products. Pages crammed full with commission dealerships is turning a good thing out of hand.

It's been said over and over again, but newcomers to the industry should realize that they need to develop their own products and services. Commission dealerships are fine to compliment your business if the product is relative to your main product, but everyone should strive for developing their OWN product too. No one will ever get rich dealing in just commission dealer- ships. And people who think this way will give up over a period of time because they go broke. Let's stop this madness and spread the word about becoming a Prime Source.

How do you develop your own specialized product or service? It may take a few months to get your "feet wet" in mail order to determine your particular "niche." However, you should already know the talents you possess inside yourself and what your own capabilities are. There has to be more to your business than making money!

What are your hobbies and interests? What would you like to do more than anything else and would you do it if you were not getting paid? For instance, I personally enjoy publishing newsletters. I get a serge of electricity when I am working on them and wish my body would last 24-hours a day so I could work on them all the time. This is loving what you do.

On the other hand, this may sound really crazy to you. Perhaps you would rather write, edit, paste-up or seal envelopes. I remember Dorothy Christian (Shells 345) once explaining to me the "high" she used to get when doing a mass mailing. She loved peeling off labels, sticking them on envelopes and folding the materials to insert. She said that every envelope she stuffed, she felt it would generate a big customer order. This is enthusiasm!

Therefore, Dorothy could have developed a specialized or confidential mailing service. Unlike a big mail where she would be mailing circulars in envelopes, but a targeted-mailing for different programs and products. (Example: A circular selling books and reports would be marketed only to book buyers from lists Dorothy would purchase and use for these types of mailings. She also would be careful not to put any conflicting information in this special mailing she was preparing for specific customers.)

You can take anything you sell and creatively turn it into your own prime source product. A good friend of mine, Helen VanAllen loved to prepare big mails so she created the "Design-Your-Own-Big-Mail-Package." Customers were presented with a list of the circulars Helen had on hand and they checked off the ones that interested them. This is one example of how an old concept can be turned into something new with a twist that makes it YOUR OWN product.

There are several ideas that other mail order folks used to create their own product. You can use the same concept locally also. If you sell vitamins, for instance, you could sell them in individual packets and label them for each day of the week. Use the vitamins from the company you are working with but the individual packets and labels would be your own product. You can also charge more for this personal touch.

You are unique! You are an individual who has special talents and interests. Your business should be a reflection of YOU and your own contribution to mail order. Mail order is a wonderful business, filled with some of the best people in the world. But it's up to every one of us to keep it that way.