Door-to-door sales: vocabulary you need to know

VDI and fashion consultant

The term VDI stands for "Vendeur à Domicile Indépendant". In the ready-to-wear sector, they are also known as "fashion consultants". The title of home-based salesperson allows you to organise your work as you wish, to be autonomous and to achieve personal fulfilment if you choose a field that you are passionate about.

VDI is a legal status with an associated contract for people who sell a brand's product from home. Their earnings depend solely on their personal sales.

When you sign up as a VDI, you can choose between two contracts:

VDI agent: you have no stock and you place your orders as and when you make sales. This means you take no risk. The brand sets a commission that it pays you based on your sales.

VDI buyer-reseller: you buy stock and manage customer orders using the stock you buy. You set your own commission.

Remuneration = commission

As a VDI, you are paid on a commission basis. You will receive a percentage of what you sell. Depending on your contract, you determine your commission rate or the brand you work for will give you your rate.

At Elora, we've chosen to offer you VDI agent contracts. All you need to do is hold two meetings a week with sales of €600 over a month to reach the minimum wage. We don't set a threshold: your income is proportional to your investment.

Training & Coaching

When you start out on the Home Sales adventure, you're not alone: you're trained and coached. This is an important step in making your experience as a VDI a success.

At Elora, we suggest that you take part in our training sessions to learn more about the brand and the associated sales techniques.

You can be coached by our best saleswomen to help you boost your sales and implement a real sales strategy. You can also attend our monthly training seminars run by VDI professionals.

We have a telephone hotline to answer all your questions, as well as a dedicated web space and a mobile application to manage your home sales business.

Hostesses

Hostesses are very important for ready-to-wear door-to-door salespeople. Hostesses are not fashion consultants, but fashion enthusiasts who welcome private sales into their homes.

To hold a clothing sale, you invite people (your friends or colleagues, for example) but you need somewhere to welcome them. So the hostesses welcome the sales into their homes and invite their network!

It's as beneficial for you as it is for them. The hostesses choose the date and time of the sales, and receive a special discount and gift vouchers. As for you, you expand your network and your sales potential.

The principle of co-optation

In the VDI sector, sponsorship (known as cooptation) is very common. You can tell people around you about your home sales business. If someone is interested, you can recruit them as a VDI for your brand and become their godmother!

Co-optation allows you to increase your income by earning extra commission. It also gives you the opportunity to train, advise and manage employees if you wish.