Reagan Norwood, of Forest, traveled to Washington D.C. as a representative of Mississippi and participated in the Direct Selling Day on Capitol Hill on September 18, hosted by the Direct Selling Association (DSA), the national trade association for direct selling companies.
The Direct Selling Association (DSA) is the national trade association for companies that offer entrepreneurial opportunities to independent sellers to market and sell products and services, typically outside of a retail establishment.
Norwood joined with other selected state representatives from 18 different companies. This event brought together more than 125 direct selling representatives from around the entire country, and every state in the nation was represented.
The representatives teamed up with sales executives in smaller groups to lobby nearly 100 members of Congress on the issues and concerns the DSA is currently working on. The members specifically requested that our elected leadership consider the implications and importance of maintaining the independent contractor status for all direct sellers in America.
More than 6 million entrepreneurs in the U.S. are selling products or services through the direct selling channel, providing a personalized buying experience for more than 36.6 million customers. Last year alone, direct selling in the U.S., generated approximately $35.4 billion in retail sales.
Norwood was one of three independent contractors representing the State of Mississippi at the Direct Selling Day. She said she was proud and extremely honored to represent her home state in Washington. “Each year the DSA selects three representatives from Mississippi to travel to Washington D.C. and participate,” Norwood said. “I was truly honored to be selected as one of the three independent contractors representing Mississippi. It was truly an amazing, and eye-opening experience, and I’m honored that I had the opportunity to be part of this and represent my home state.”
“I had traveled to Washington one other time, but that was for me being recognized for community service projects, and it was a completely different type of trip,” Norwood said. “It was exhilarating to have the opportunity to stand in front of these very powerful people, that have the ability to make many things happen, and talk to them about something I love and what I love to do. It was truly an incredible experience in every aspect.”
Norwood’s path to being selected to for the Direct Selling Day event actually started three years ago when she joined SeneGence International as an independent distributor. SeneGence is an American marketing company that sells skin care and cosmetic products on the global level. At that point in time, she was looking for a part-time career while she was in college. A close friend told her about the company, and after doing some research she took the plunge and signed up as a SeneGence independent distributor. She says that making that choice has been one of the best decisions she has made.
“I started with SeneGence just over three years ago and I have loved every minute of every day working with the company, “Norwood said. “I have always been interested in skin care products and cosmetics, so this was really a natural fit for me. It has worked great coinciding with my busy college course schedules. I really have a hard time calling what I do work because I enjoy it so much. It has been that way for me from the very beginning. After my first eight months with the company I was 19th in the entire country at recruiting new customers for my business.”
Norwood’s proactive approach, social media networking prowess and sales tenacity assisted greatly in helping her make a name for herself quickly within the company ranks. Much of her daily business and sales calls are conducted on the internet via her Facebook group page. She currently has over 4,000 members on her page, 350 customers that buy often and over 100 that buy from her consistently.
Norwood is currently a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi where she is scheduled to graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology. She is the daughter of Dr. Karen Norwood, Forest Municipal School District Superintendent, and plans to move back to the local area from Hattiesburg while she waits to start graduate school.
