Essential oils are all the rage and for good reason. From aromatherapy to personal wellness supplements essential oils are king. Individual oils tend to have several uses depending on their constituents. Peppermint oil for example, can help soothe your sinuses during allergy season or soothe tired muscles as well as aid in digestion wellness.
I fell in love with oils. At least as soon as I found good quality oils. Like a lot of people I first bought some at a grocery store. They smelled nice but I didn't really get what all the hype was about. Then my cousin shared some of her high quality oils with me and I was hooked! There is such a difference in results and even smell when you have high quality oils.
Doing my do diligence I researched the best oil companies and chose Young Living for several reasons (You can find out why on my Essential oil page).
I was ordering oils and other products monthly and I loved learning and sharing the oils. So selling the oils seemed like a natural step for me. They are here on my blog and write a Wellness Wednesday post every week featuring something oil related and I also host classes on-line and in person.
I love owning my own businesses and having the freedom to work and grow in a way that fits into my life instead of being a slave to a 9 to 5 job. I've been doing this for a while now and felt like I should share some things I learned about selling oils... Below is my list.
1. You will fall in love with the Products
I didn't realize how much essential oils would take over my life (in a good way!) I've replace so many of the things I use everyday with Young Living products. I'm ridding my home and life of unwanted chemicals and replacing them with natural products every month. All purpose cleaner? Check. Toothpaste and mouthwash? Check. Non-toxic makeup? Check.
2. I am not a sales person
I hate sales spiels and I'm rubbish at pitching products. But that's okay with essential oils. The product will sell itself. Its just up to you to make the information available to the right people. If they are interested they will buy it regardless of your sales pitch (they just might buy from someone else if your pushy and off putting so be careful).
3. You have to show up
If you're not putting time into your oil business it will show and you won't grow. Like all MLM (multi level marketing) businesses you have to put in the work to get anywhere. Host classes. Do one-on-one's with people. Sell on-line. There are ton's of ways to show up for your oil business but you have to show up to grow and actually make money at it.
4. People either love or hate MLM's
I've been around MLM's all my life. I was the kid that always went with my mom to the 'at home parties' and I loved it. As an adult I understand how MLM's work and for me as long as you love the products it's a good business to be in. With that said though, MLM's are not for everyone and some people REALLY let you know they don't like them. Unless you have a thick skin and want to bother debating with them I find it best to ignore these people.
5. Quality is so important
The essential oil industry is booming and companies are popping up everywhere. Which is good and bad. I've had people tell me not to use oils because of X Y and Z reasons. When I research the problem it almost always come down to a low quality oil being used and something undesirable in the oil causing problems. Essential oil quality is not regulated by the government and even oils touting '100% pure' and 'Therapeutic grade' often are cut with other oils or can be contaminated. When you use and essential oil you want to be using a truly 100% pure oil. But how can you be sure? Find a company you trust! Young Living has their Seed to Seal promise which goes beyond organic and insures their oils are 100% pure every time.
6. Essential Rewards is amazing
One thing I never expected was all the free products and discounts I get with Young Living. Along with the 24% off retail prices that comes with your young living membership you also can sign up for Essential Rewards (When you sell Young Living you need to make a monthly $100 minimum Essential Rewards order to qualify for a paycheck). With these monthly orders you earn points back (starting at 10% and going up to 25%) which can be used to get more products AND with $100 order you qualify for the first tier of monthly promotions (usually an oil). They have 4 to 5 tiers and change them every month so your always earning something new. Even if you make a minimum order you're getting a free oil and $10 to $25 in points back.
7. Being compliant about oils is a learning curve
This has been a hard one for me because I feel like I'm being censored, but I understand the importance of being compliant. It's basically being careful about how you talk about oils. Unless you have a medical degree of some sort you can't tout any possible medical benefits an oil might have, because that's considered medical advice. Even if you find a medical study to back up your claims it's still a grey area on how much you should share. This is why you'll find a lot of oil users talking about wellness.
Like if I'm talking about an oil for stomach up set I can highlight on the fact that it can help support digestive wellness but not say it can help you get rid of ______ problem. Even personal testimonies are a grey area, especially if it's talking about a medical problem. There's also differences like I can talk about oils that help with anxiety (an emotional state) but not depression (a medical problem). At times its confusing so do your research on what being compliant means with essential oils. (P.S. I'm not a lawyer and am only explaining my understanding of what being compliant means, I could be wrong about something).
8. Learning about essential oils is addictive.
Once you start learning about them and all their uses you'll crave to know more. I find myself with new essential oil books all the time (my current favorite is how to use essential oils in the bedroom!). Knowledge is power and thankfully there is a plethora of books and articles out there to learn from (plus the more you read the more you'll be able to spot the crappy advice or false information that can be on the internet).
9. Some people will be afraid of you
You'll find people that want nothing to do with essential oils and will be afraid you'll bombard or harass them about using oils. Either they don't believe in them or they've been pestered so much by an oil enthusiast that they've sworn off trying them (I've never actually found someone who's tried good, high quality, oils and hated them). Leave these people alone. They are often your friends or family and if you leave them alone they might come around once they see what essential oils have done for you and your life. If they never come around that's fine too, but pestering them will only drive them further away.
10. Young Living is an awesome company full of amazing people
It sounds cheesy but one of the things I love about this business is the company and people who are in it. They are like minded, striving for a healthy lifestyle and sharing these natural products with people who need them. Both distributors and Young Living staff are some of the nicest people I've been around. I got the opportunity to go to the yearly international convention just one month after signing up. It was a blast and I was amazed at how friendly and helpful everyone was. I felt at home in a see of people I didn't know. Along with meeting some amazing people I also learned about Young Livings foundation, and global charity causes. They give tremendously to not only their members but they also enrich the lives of people around the world (check out the Foundation and all it's work here).
There you have it, 10 of the biggest things I learned about selling essential oils. If you'd like more information about Young Living oils and my Journey check out my Essential Oils page.
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