Future of Direct Selling

A Vision to Spark Conversation

Engagement Lead, Creative Director, Producer, and Storyteller

This future vision was designed to spark meaningful conversations with executives from our direct selling customers and prospects. As the industry evolves, so do the expectations and experiences of distributors. This initiative was created to explore what’s next—offering a shared vision that invites collaboration, feedback, and forward-thinking ideas.

This is a conversation starter, not a finished product. It’s meant to evolve alongside the needs of the industry, serving both as inspiration and a framework for continued exploration.

What We Set Out to Do

Share an early-stage vision to engage leaders around the future of direct selling
Encourage feedback and collaboration to shape a more relevant and impactful direction
Explore how Salesforce can play a larger role in the space, even without a dedicated “Direct Selling Cloud”
Provide a flexible framework for internal teams and partners to build upon and localize
Begin imagining scalable experiences that empower distributors and enhance customer relationships

Impact

Directly informed Marc Benioff’s fire side chat content at the WDFSA World Congress
Presented vision to Shaklee, Rodan and Fields, Herbalife, Tupperware Melaleuca, Young Living, and DōTerra Executives with opportunities for others
Presented internally to Jujhar Singh (Chief Operating Office and General Manager of Salesforce Industry Clouds), Kishan Chetan (SVP and GM Retail and Consumer Goods), Alex Dayon (President and Chairman of Advisory Board), and David Schmaier (President & Chief Product Officer)
The work had potential to save at least $5M in attrition with current direct selling customers, impact new ACV, and influence potential product decisions that pave the way for how we integrate Slack and consider some of our solutions beyond RCG/the direct selling sub-vertical
Achieved a 10/10 CSAT score, reflecting outstanding stakeholder satisfaction

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Research & Discovery

We began by immersing ourselves in the world of direct selling—conducting in-depth interviews with executives, distributors, and industry experts across a range of organizations. These conversations provided firsthand insights into shifting distributor expectations, pain points in the current ecosystem, and emerging market trends. This foundational research helped us surface key opportunities and unmet needs within the industry.

What This Looked Like

Secondary Research – We reviewed a wide range of industry reports, analyst insights, and market news to quickly build fluency in the direct selling space. This helped frame emerging trends, technology gaps, and shifts in consumer behavior.
Expert Interviews – We conducted interviews with industry experts, including leaders from Salesforce, Groundswell, Shaklee, and dōTERRA. These conversations helped us gain a high-level perspective on current dynamics and future opportunities across the direct selling ecosystem.
Stakeholder Interviews - To ensure alignment with internal priorities, we spoke with key Salesforce stakeholders to clarify business objectives and explore adjacent initiatives that might influence this work.
Distributor Interviews - We held in-depth interviews with active distributors from companies like Amway, Beautycounter, Pampered Chef, and Rodan + Fields. These conversations provided ground-level insights into the distributor journey—highlighting friction points, shifts in expectations, and opportunities for improved tools and experiences.

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Insight Synthesis & POV Development

With a wealth of qualitative input, we synthesized themes across stakeholder groups to define a clear, compelling point of view on the future of direct selling. These insights shaped the narrative and framework of the vision, identifying critical tensions, innovation gaps, and strategic levers where Salesforce could uniquely deliver value—even without a dedicated Direct Selling Cloud.

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Co-Creation Workshop & Solution Framing

To move from insight to action, we facilitated a collaborative workshop with cross-functional teams—including account leads, industry strategists, solution engineers, and product experts. Together, we aligned around business priorities and ideated early-stage, product-relevant concepts that could address distributor and customer needs. The result was a set of visionary yet plausible scenarios that imagined how Salesforce could create differentiated value within the direct selling space.

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Executive Presentation & Strategic Activation

We developed a compelling narrative and designed a high-impact presentation used to engage both external executives (e.g., Herbalife, Tupperware, Young Living, Rodan + Fields) and internal senior leadership (e.g., Jujhar Singh, Alex Dayon, David Schmaier). The work served as a strategic conversation starter, influencing thought leadership moments like Marc Benioff’s WDFSA keynote, while also providing a flexible roadmap for future product innovation and account engagement.

Confidential & Proprietary
This webpage contains confidential information and proprietary work. It is intended solely for the recipient and may not be shared, copied, or distributed without explicit permission.