16May
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Are you planting seeds with everyone that you encounter about your direct sales business? These seeds relate to purchasing, hosting and even joining if they are so inclined. You have interactions and conversations with a variety of people every day and you could be passing up all sorts of people who are interested n your product and would love to be involved! Set a goal to use one of these methods every day to talk to someone about your direct sales business.
A Friendly Stranger
“You are so friendly and fun loving! Have you thought about having your own business? You would be great!”
Life of the Event
“You are such a fun person! Have you considered a career where you can party, have fun and make some new friends? Could you get excited about that?
The Put Together Person
“You seem to have a talent for (pick something sincere and business related). I would love to show you how that can be turned into your own business. I cannot believe that I get paid for doing something I love!”
Opportunity Enthusiast
“My business involves having fun and (type of product). I show people how to turn a love for (type of product) into a rewarding and profitable business. Do you know someone that would be interested in this type of business?”
Get into the habit of planting direct sales opportunity seeds, set a goal to approach at least one person, but actually to approach three people, every day. Make a note of who you approach and what the outcome is. Fill your business card holder before you head out as once you get started, you may not want to quit! This technique is best used in person and you may want to practice some of the wording beforehand. Words have power!
Business, direct sales seeds, Direct selling, planting direct sales seeds, planting seeds in direct sales
14May
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You want to work for yourself so you can keep the profits, set your own rules and enjoy working, right? So things like procedures and manuals seem a bit heavy and boring – especially when you’re busy trying to get things done.
I’m a bit of a free spirit myself – I hate being restricted and having to do things someone else’s way, and I never used to get excited by a procedure or manual either!
Consistency builds strong foundations
Consistency really is a key to business success.
Policies and procedures (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Being consistent builds your reputation and encourages people to come back and recommend you to others.
It also makes life easier for you – for example, if you always put the same information at the start or finish of a presentation it becomes habit and you won’t forget to say anything important.
A written procedure makes it much easier to stay consistent – just the act of writing it down will help cement the steps in your mind.
Once you build a team of consultants, a written procedure is a good way to help them remember their training and do things the most efficient or effective way. This way you get consistency throughout your team, not just from yourself.
Spending time to save time
Writing procedures will take some time – but probably not as much as you expect. Just jot down the steps as you do something and you have the basis of a procedure.
Once you have a procedure written down, it can save you time by:
- You don’t have to remember how to do something you don’t do very often (for example recording unusual items in your accounts or completing an online tax return)
- Training recruits is easier as you need only show them once and let the procedure remind them
- Giving a copy to your team so they don’t have to ask you about basic processes and concepts as often
- Ensuring tasks are done correctly and accurately, saving you needing to retrain
- Knowing your team has the procedures to do things correctly without extra effort on your part – which means less work for you when it comes to training.
Professionalism starts with little things
Being seen as professional builds trust and credibility for you and your business. That doesn’t mean you have to be impersonal and formal, but you do need to take care of the details.
Professionalism is built on consistency and perceptions.
Once you build a team and need to train people, you will appear much more professional handing out written procedures than giving some unprepared talks without notes. Impressing your team with your professionalism makes it more likely they will act professionally and try to live up to your standard.
Not sure where to start or need to learn more? Tash has written a no-nonsense eBook on writing procedures, as well as giving tips on effective communications in her blog.
communication, Consistency, direct sales manual, procedures, Professional, team manual, Writing, writing a manual
11May
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The direct seller knows about the importance of booking parties to make money. But, as long as there are parties on the book, the direct seller likely doesn’t worry about learning how to get bookings (a subtle difference). This is not something that a person can remain ignorant about because there will be a day when the calendar is empty or they are trying to increase their business and knowing how to get bookings will come in handy.
The biggest aspect of getting bookings is learning how to ask for them. While that sounds easy, how likely are you to put up the phone and say “Hey Jane, will you book a party with me?” – Probably not too likely. This is going to tackle how to do that while being comfortable and natural.
Identify Concerns – They say that there are six main concerns that you will encounter. You likely can easily identify them if you think about it for a few minutes. So you need to be prepared for these and provide a response. You may have answers in the training materials you received when you joined your company or you can talk to your upline.
Turn it into a Question – Many of us do not want to ask for what we want as we are afraid of rejection. But what about turning it around and seeing it as a need for more information instead of being turned down? For instance, if Jane says she doesn’t know enough people, it could be that she is actually saying, could I just have a few people attend? Or if she says that she does not have the time, what she is really saying how long will this take or why should I spare you the time? Once you look at it this way, you can likely come up with a response to get what you want.
Another method that you can use to address concerns customers have is the “feel, felt, found” method. It allows you to stay in agreement with your hostess but you are able to offer another view on the concern.
Taking the example of your hostess being too busy, you can turn it to something like this.
“Jane, I understand how you feel about being busy. Many of the hostesses I deal with feel that they need a lot of time to prepare. But, in reality, I find it only takes them about 45 minutes to prepare their guest list, make some calls and email everyone else. That’s all you need to do! I keep my presentation simple the night of the evening and bring everything needed. You get to enjoy a night with the girls, have fun, and earn free product.”
By approaching your customers in this method, it will feel more natural and comfortable for you which will come across. Your customers will not feel that you are pushing them and you should have better success.
Business, company, Customer, direct sales booking concerns, direct sales concerns, Direct selling, free product, getting bookings in directs sales
09May
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If you have been in direct sales for any amount of time, chances are you have accumulated inventory that you do not need. Maybe it was free with a purchase and a customer didn’t want it, maybe it was a hostess gift not taken or maybe it was a purchase at 50% off. Regardless, you have these items taking up space in your home. Instead of them taking up room and having them cost you money (especially if it was stock product you paid for), put them to work earning income for you.
Bookings – Offer a gift when someone books a party. Maybe you already do – you can sweeten the pot with something extra. Bring the list, talk to the hostess about their likes, or find some other method to remove something from your stock pile to their house for hosting.
Customer Orders – Another great incentive is offering a gift or discount when a customer spends a certain amount. You could offer ½ off an item from a list (your stock list) or maybe a free gift. It is up to you. You will be surprised how many people will spend an extra 10 or 15 bucks to earn something free!
Recruits – Have someone new signing up or thinking of signing? Offer to give them extra stock to help them get started. But, make it contingent on them achieving various levels of sales or some other incentive.
New Catalogue Party – Host a party at your house when the new catalogue comes out. Put your stock out for sale at discounted prices. Keep any current product and sell it at current rates, but anything that is no longer available – discount it and get it out!
Rewards – Do you have team contests and offer prizes? Give them items from your stockpile! Depending on where they are in their business, they can then give it away for hostess gifts or sell it. Win, win for everyone!
Donations – Is there a cause that is near and dear to your heart looking for prizes to give away or raffle? Here is a great time to contribute something – you get a tax receipt and exposure and the charity can earn money from your product.
Trade – Have products that you would like from other companies? See if they would like something of yours and do a trade for it.
Gifts – Do you have something in your stock pile that you know that your aunt would love? Why not give it to her as a gift? It could be for her birthday, the holidays or a just because type of gift.
Do you use your stockpile of goods for any other purpose? What do you think is the best use for it? Please share in the comments.
direct sales stock, extra stock, extra stock in direct sales, stock in direct sales
20Apr
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If you have been in direct sales for any amount of time, you know that the money is in making phone calls. But for many people, that phone weighs a million pounds and we do everything we can to avoid using it. That said, if you want to get your business to pick up and expand, it is essential that you make calls. Start by making customer care calls – they are not sales calls, they are just calling to see if your customer is happy.
Start by making a list of those people that have bought or hosted a party with you. This is your warm list and you can be more confident calling them to start out with.
If you are not sure what to say, here is a script to help you out:
“Hi Jane, its Sharon calling from XYZ Company. We met at Susie’s party back in September. I have a note that you purchased Y widget, I’m just wondering how that is working out for you?”
Depending on the response you get will determine where the conversation goes.
Ran out of product – This is pretty easy. If Jane ran out of product, ask her if she is interested in hosting her own event and earning product free.
Doesn’t like it – Ask her what it is that she does not like. Maybe she picked the wrong style/colour/scent or something that is easily remedied. Depending on the situation, you may want to offer an exchange or a discount on a future purchase.
If she does not provide much feedback, you may want to move onto a different topic. In this case, you could try any of the following ideas:
- A new product that was just introduced
- Information about a new catalogue that was just released
Hopefully when you get off the phone you have either gotten an order or you have a booking. Depending on how the conversation went, you could ask Jane if you can call her again in a few months to see if she needs more product or to host.
Challenge yourself to make two calls a day. If your calling list is short, ask those you call for a referral. You may want to consider implementing a referral program for that reason.
Business, Customer, Customer service, customer service calls, customer service telephone calls, direct sales telephone, Direct selling, phone calls, Telephone, Telephone call, telephone calls
19Apr
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As much as many direct sellers hate the phone, it’s important that we use it to keep our business moving. Many do not even realize what you can accomplish by making customer care calls but have you considered these reasons:
- Check to see how a customer likes their purchase
- Call to see if the customer needs to purchase additional product or replacements
- To introduce a new catalogue or product line
- To advise of products being discontinued
- Add bookings to your calendar
- Get orders and reorders
- Asking for referrals
- Invitation to events
When you are getting ready to make your calls, there are a few things you can do to make them more pleasant for you.
- Be positive when picking up the phone and smile.
- Be professional. People decide within 15 seconds if they are going to talk to you.
- Ask if now is a good time to talk. If not, ask if you can call back at a later time and if there is a time that would be better.
- Have a purpose when you pick up the phone and let them know right away
- Personalize your call. Add notes to your call list for the next time you call and refer to them. Ask about their new baby or the new job.
- Be confident! You have something exciting to share so make sure this comes through.
- Have a script prepared. But.. do not write it in paragraph form, make it in bullet points so that it feels more natural.
- Follow up on your presentation before hanging up. If you called to ask about a booking but you got side tracked, return to it and ask before ending the call.
Chances are a lot of the reason why you avoid doing calls is that you do not feel confident or how to approach them. Follow these ideas and you won’t even notice the weight of the phone.
calling customers, Customer, customer calls, customer care calls, Customer service, making phone calls, making telephone calls, Telephone, using the telephone
08Apr
Filed in Bookings | Consultant | Getting Started
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Now that you are going again, are all updated and ready to party, its important to keep your business going and growing. This can be the easiest thing to do once you start getting parties, but if you are having difficulties, do not give up. It may take a bit of time to get your business growing and busy again, but it will happen if you keep at it.
Organize your Calendar
Make sure you know when you are available for parties and when you are not. You want to be booking at least two parties at every event you do – one to replace the one you had and one to grow your business. Even if you cannot get a hostess to 100% commit to a date, if you can get them to tentatively commit and pencil that date in, chances are it will follow through. But if they tell you that they will contact you, you likely will never hear from them again.
Following Up
If you called someone originally about booking a party and they were not ready at that point, make sure you put them on your list to call again. I keep a spreadsheet of all my customers and who I have called and when. If they tell me I can call again in a few months, I will make a note of call in September – new baby. Then, when I call, I can ask how the new baby is which impresses them and I am calling when they asked me too.
Keep Up
One of the biggest things I always tell people is to keep current on all your communications. If you have social media accounts you should be checking them on a regular basis. If you have an email account, you should be checking it at least daily. If you have voicemail, you should be returning calls within 24 hours. I have had many customers who have told me that they contacted several consultants but that I was the only one that replied. You want to be the first response as they will likely book/buy with whoever gets in touch with them first.
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bookings in direct sales, Business, direct sales bookings, Direct selling, Marketing and Advertising, Multi-level marketing, Small business, social media
06Apr
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Now that you are up to date on what is happening with your company and you have your kit updated, you are ready to get bookings. Actually, you can work on getting these bookings while you wait for our new products. So how should you get your calendar booked up?
Contact prior customers
The best method to get your business running again is to contact those that you have already dealt with. You know that they are interested in the product and they may be in need of more or different product. Whether they hosted a party or attended and purchased, contact them.
“Hi Jane, its Sharon calling with XYZ company. You previously hosted a party/purchased from me. I am trying to get my business going again and I wanted to know if you needed anything or if you would be interested in hosting a party”.
You may find it beneficial to offer an incentive if they book with you. If they are not interested, you could try asking if they know anyone that they would refer you to. Do not forget to ask them if you can call them again in a few months time – this can be especially helpful if they say now is not a good time due to moving, a new baby or family stress.
Advertising
Make sure that you get out there and advertise yourself. This could be ads online or putting up posters wherever you can. You may want to look for trade shows that you can get involved in and promote yourself. There are a lot of avenues available to you to advertise that do not have to cost you much or anything. See my ideas on Free Advertising Offline and Free Online Advertising.
Social Media
Do not forget to promote yourself on social media. If you have a Facebook, Twitter or any other type of account, make sure that you post that you are back in business and looking for party hosts. Ask your friends to also post for you to expand the circle. You don’t know who is out there looking for your company and they see the post and contact you.
bookings in direct sales, Business, direct sales, direct sales and bookings, direct sales booking, facebook, Online Communities, social media, Social network, Trade fair, twitter
07Mar
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One of the most fun things in direct sales is to receive a box of goodies. But then you have to go through it, sort it, and deliver it. This can be a great way to see products that you have not seen already but if you have a large order, it can be time consuming and cumbersome. Not only that, but how do you pack it to get the maximum benefit to your business?
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This is the way I unpack and re-pack my orders. This is just one idea as I’m sure others have found a method that works for them.
- Unpack the box – locate everything that may be hiding under the packing peanuts
- Put my re-order labels on everything that I can
- Grab a customer order
- Find a bag, label it with their name, and locate their products.
- Check their products off
- Place a copy of the order form in their bag
- Put bag into box for delivery
Occasionally I have discovered there was an addition error on an order that requires a customer to be given change. At this point, if I have not already calculated it, I will figure it out and put the money in an envelope. This gets stapled to their copy of the order form.
I repeat this for all orders making sure that I have nothing leftover or missing. At this point, if there are leftover items, I will check what I ordered from the company to see if I screwed up my order or if I just mis-sorted. I have had both situations happen. If I am missing a product, I will put a note in the bag and I likely will call them as well so they know I am aware of it.
Once this is done, I will go through and put various paper in the bags:
- Product Care Card
- Business cards (usually 3)
- Referral Card
- Any other information I feel is relevant.
I find it easier to do the paper all at once as then I do not have to remember who did or did not get paper.
Do you sort your orders in a similar way? What do you do differently?
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Business, Card stock, Cardboard box, direct sales orders, packing orders, packing your direct sales orders, Plastic bag, supplies
