16Apr
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Throw Away the Strong Odors
While your significant other might find that perfume or cologne to be devastating and attractive, wearing strong scents to work is never a good idea. The risk of offending a customer is not worth the ten seconds it took you to splash on that cologne, so skip the odors in favor of possible orders.
The only time colognes or perfumes are truly acceptable are when you are a salesperson in that direct field. Even then it is best to simply carry samples with you rather than risk a severe customer reaction. Nothing says “bad day” more than a customer sneezing all over your suit thanks to an allergic reaction to the scent you have chosen for the day.
Be Assertive but Courteous
There is a fine line between the words assertive and pushy. The same can be said for the words courteous and simpering. While you do not wish to appear pushy and overbearing, you do need to be firm. It is not necessary to pander to every single one of the customers whims. If you feel a customer is asking for too much of a discount on a product, simply explain that you cannot make such a commitment and excuse yourself from the situation politely.
On the other side of the coin, you do not want to dissuade potential customers either, so it is important to find a solid balance between assertion and acquiescence in order to maintain good customer relations. By offering a fair value while still holding firm to your own necessary limits, you will show customers that you are willing to work with them, while still making a profit for yourself.
Sell Yourself and Your Product
By following the aforementioned suggestions, you will quickly find it easier to sell your product, as you fall into a proper system for selling yourself without effort. This will lead to more sales, greater productivity, and a happier customer base that may just increase your exposure with excellent word-of-mouth recommendations.
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Kathryn Baughman is a writer for Franklin Debt Relief, a leading debt reduction firm in Chicago, Illinois.
business appearance, direct sales, direct sales appearance, professional appearance, Shopping
13Apr
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When you are dealing with direct sales, such as in party planning, door-to-door product pitch, or even in a brick and mortar establishment, your appearance means everything. There is nothing that can turn a potential sale away faster than a poorly managed salesman, which is precisely the effect you want to avoid.
Here we will discuss the five simple steps that can help to improve your appearance and raise your chances of success in a sales based environment.
Dress for Your Product
Imagine a car salesperson from Ferrari walking up to you in a concert t-shirt, ripped jeans, and a pair of beat up tennis shoes. While the cars they are selling might be top of the line, their mode of dress is not a good reflection of their product. It is not only unprofessional, but distasteful to the majority of their potential customers.
While this concept may sound silly, it is a simple truth in sales. Salespeople must exemplify the reputation and quality of the products they sell, or risk a lack of sales, thus cementing their own failure. By dressing for the product they sell, they are telling potential clients how they feel about the product itself.
Know Your Product
Simply knowing the average usage information or a long list of technical terms for your product is no longer enough. In the age of the Internet, consumers expect more from a salesperson. If they want to know all the technical jargon they will Google, Bing, or Wiki the information themselves.
Impress your potential customers with direct knowledge of your product. Use the product yourself. In cases where that is not possible (we cannot all afford a Ferrari), at least test-drive the product to get a better idea of what it is capable of. Consumers are impressed by first-hand knowledge. Use this fact to your advantage and make a great impression.
Smile, Smile, Smile
No one wants to deal with a sour salesperson. Remember to keep your personal life at home and your work in the workplace. Greet your customer with a smile. This is also a good time to mention dental hygiene. Not everyone cares about perfect, straight, dazzling white teeth. However, they do care about obvious yellow plaque, coffee stains, poppy seeds, and onion bagels.
Nothing conveys a bright mood better than a smile, except of course in the instances mentioned above, in which case you are going to regret smiling if you have forgotten to brush your teeth. A smiling, cheerful, and engaging salesperson is far more likely to land a sale.
Come back Monday for Part 2!
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Kathryn Baughman is a writer for Franklin Debt Relief, a leading debt reduction firm in Chicago, Illinois.
Brick and mortar, Business, business sales, direct sales, direct salse, Marketing, Product (business), professional appearance, sale, sales appearance, sales apperance
19Mar
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Everyone loves a discount, except the person selling the product. But, keep in mind that depending on where you are shopping, their markup could be at least double their cost, making a 50% markdown equivalent to their cost. Unless you are receiving that much in commission or you enjoy losing money, you cannot afford to give that type of discount within your direct sales business.
De-valuing Product – One of the biggest arguments against giving a discount to customer is the fact that they will come to expect it in the future. This is especially true if you offer the discount to a hostess and her customers in order to get them to book a party. Once you do this, it will be expected the next time and they likely will not even book until you promise them the same incentive. You may even have to increase the discount to the point that you are losing money on the party. Not only will this hurt your business but it will hurt other direct sales consultants as the customer will approach others in the same business expecting the same deal. They may even try approaching consultants with other companies to get the same benefit.
That said, there are times that a discount is appropriate such as clearing out older inventory that is no longer in season or that there is an issue with such as a crack or tear which does not affect performance.
If you feel the need to give a discount, you may want to consider offering a bonus or gift with the purchase instead as an incentive. One good reason to support this is that if they try something else, they may like it and purchase that in the future as well. This can be a great way to increase your sales instead of decreasing them with a discount.
Business, Business card, Customer, direct sales promotions, Direct selling, Home business, making sales in direct sales, Marketing and Advertising, promotions in direct sales, Salesmanship
16Mar
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There are some consultants that find that their company does not offer incentives that they feel their customers want. For that reason, these direct sales consultants go out of their way to offer their own perks to the hostess and customers. There are several ways that you can do this without cutting too far into your profits.
Bundles – Your company may offer some sort of bundle, but restrict the colours/scents/flavor to the ones that they select. One thing that you can do is offer your customer a customized bundle but at the same price. Make sure that y
ou state that it is only those specific items but they can select what colour/scent/flavor they want at the same price point. Be careful that customers do not try to substitute here as they might to try and get a better deal.
Packages – Maybe your company offers items that would go together well but yo find customers do not tend to buy the items together. Try offering packages putting the items together and allowing them to still customize the colour/scent/flavor that they want but you put together a package that includes three complimentary items for one price. You do not even need to discount it much as people will be happy that they can just pick a package and be done. A package that might cost $78 retail could be marked to $75 retail and it will sell just fine. Create a few packages at different price points but do not go crazy with a dozen different ones – it will just confuse people and they will not buy anything.
Free Gift – Another perk that I have seen offered is a free gift with purchase. This can be something that you ordered on a supply order for cheap or a sample of a different product. People do not tend to be picky about what they get for free; they are just happy to get something extra.
There is no rule that says you have to offer above and beyond what your company offers when working in direct sales, but sometimes it can be beneficial and help you to meet goals and quotas.
Business, company, consultant, Direct selling, increasing direct sales sales, increasing sales, making more sales, Price point, sales, Shopping, Shopping bag
14Mar
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Upselling is a great way to increase the total sales at a direct sales party, but there are also some other methods that you can use to increase sales. Here are a few ideas and how to implement them. See which one feels comfortable to you – it may vary depending on the party as well so be familiar with all the options.
“Did you see our specials?” – Do you have a customer special going on that the customer qualifies for? Quite often people get caught up in making sure that they ordered the things they wanted, they forget to look for the specials. Point them out so that they are not forgotten about.
“Is that everything?” – Another great way to get the total of the order to be higher is to ask them “is that everything?” Quite often they will say something like, “well, I was thinking of getting this, what do you think of it?” or they will just add it to their order.
Your Own Specials – Do you offer your own specials? Maybe you have a deal where they spend X amount of dollars and they get an item at half off. Point out to them that if they spend just $5 more they will qualify to get the item of their choice (or of your choice if you have created a special). Quite often, people will spend the extra money to get the incentive. You could also entice them with a free gift once they spend Y dollars.
Another good method to increase sales is to accept credit cards. When people can charge their purchases, they do not think about how much they are spending. Customers who pay cash or cheque tend to be watching their money a bit closer and will stick to what they planned to spend.
Business, Customer, direct sales and increasing sales, Direct selling, increasing sales in direct sales, sales, sales and direct sales, Salesmanship
12Mar
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upselling (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)
Do you try to upsell when you are at a direct sales event? If not, why don’t you? If you can a $10 item to every order, you could have an extra $50 to $100 or more in your pocket at the end of the night. This earns the hostess more rewards which will make her happier and more likely to host another event with you.
Not sure how to upsell while at a direct sales party? Here are a few ideas:
“Do you need…” – Depending on your product, there are likely some add-on’s that you can suggest. Do you sell cookware? Maybe you have a wonderful cloth or scrubby brush that works wonderfully on the cookware that they should have. Usually you want to suggest a product that is complimentary to the product they have purchased.
If there are multiple items, then you may try to upsell a few things but be careful that you do not become over-bearing or become that salesperson that everyone hates trying to jam things down other people’s throats. Focus on one or two upsell items per order or per party.
Does your company have one signature item that everyone knows and many buy? If your customer hasn’t bought that, ask them if they require one of Y product that everyone loves and raves about. They may tell you that they just bought it at another party, that they weren’t fond of it, or to add two to their order. You just never know what will happen.
Not everyone will jump on this bandwagon, but it does not hurt to try and see what kind of results you get from it. At worst, the person turns you down and the order does not increase. At best, they end up spending more which makes everyone happy all around.
Business, direct sales upselling, Direct selling, products, sales, Shopping, upselling at direct sales events, upselling in direct sales
25Feb
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Direct sales is entering a new age, when the pressures of technology are too much for many traditional commercial outlets. Click to call communications, social media, and mobile marketing are strong forces in modern day commerce. So how are the traditional giants of direct sales doing in this new landscape? Are they rising to the challenge, or withering under the pressure. The answer is that some companies are slowly adapting and tweaking their models, while others remain staunch in their ways:
Avon Products—Avon, the US cosmetics, perfume and toy seller, utilizes door to door sales, such as their well-known “Avon ladies.” Avon is a firm believer of direct selling, as they believe it builds a strong relationship-building, one-to-one bond with consumers that is free from whole sale, advertising and retail. Avon uses somewhere on the order of 87 million independent direct sellers in over 140 different countries.
Amway—Another of the big direct sales global companies, Amway specializes in health, beauty, and home care products. They have taken direct sales to a new level by incorporating social media campaigns into their strategy. While Amway still focuses on face-to-face interactions, social media is being used to follow-up the original meetings.
Natura—Natura is a Brazilian skin care, solar filters, and cosmetics manufacturer that has been using the direct sales model since 1974. Using a team of over 80,000 resellers spread across South America, Natura has become popular among women as a bikini waxing service.
Vorwerk—Ranked as the 4th largest direct selling company of all time, this vacuum cleaner company has been peddling household appliances for the better part of a century. Eschewing all e-commerce and even Facebook itself, President Dr. Friedrich Kroos believes it is the personal contact and emotional connection to the product—a kind of “lovemark mentality”–that has allowed Vorwerk to grow.
Herbalife—Herbalife is a global nutrition, weight-loss and skin care company that uses over 2 million independent contractors in 81 countries. Michael O. Johnson, Chairman and CEO of Herbalife, even wrote a 10 point manifesto outlining the merits of direct sales.
Only time will tell whether these companies can continue to grow their brands through direct sales alone. Several of them have implemented more complex multi-level marketing strategies that include network marketing, Velaro integration, and referral marketing. While some may say that direct sales that utilizes social media is a bit of a contradiction, many manufacturers have to begun to attempt to broach this paradox by using social media sites as secondary and complementary methods.
This article was brought to you by Amanda Green
Business, direct sales, Direct selling, Multi-level marketing, social media
30Sep
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Increasing Sales: Package Deals
A lot of people suggest that to increase your sales to offer package deals. I agree, it makes life easier for your customers as they do not have to think, but how do you offer a package deal for the best benefit?
Selection – I suggest keeping selection to a minimum. Have a few different priced packages so that people with different spending levels have an option but do not give them a million different options. Suggest complimentary products that go together and if there are options within that such as colour or scent, give them the option to pick between 2 or 3 of your best sellers. If they ask if they can switch it out for a different scent, definitely let them, but the majority will go with what you suggest so they do not have to think.
Price – I have heard a few different trains of thought on how to price these packages and what you do is ultimately up to you, but this is what I believe. Do not discount your packages, or if you do, not by much. If your package adds up to $47.65, you may want to list it at $47 for simplicity, but I would not recommend marking it down to $35. You are not doing yourself any favours and your customer likely is not going to bother adding the individual items up. If you mark it as “All this for only $47!” they will think they are getting a deal and not question anything.
Price Points – As I suggested above, have a few different packages that people can buy. Have an economy package with two or three items priced between $20 and 30. People who feel the need to buy something but do not want to spend a lot will gravitate to this. Create another one around $50 or 60 dollars and then a third one around $100. By creating these packages, you may also see your average sales per person go up.
When it comes to packages, make sure your customers know there are no substitutions beyond flavor/color/ scent or you may as well not even bother with the packages.
Have you tried packages before? Do you find they help your business?
Business, Customer, direct sales bundles, direct sales packaging, increasing direct sales sales, increasing sales, Product bundling
28Sep
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These days, many people are involved with shopping or buying groups. Have you ever considered starting one? I know of many people that do as these are a great way to have guaranteed sales each month.
Determine Requirements
You can do this in two different ways – start with a party total and work backwards, or you can work with an individual sales total and move forwards.
For instance, maybe $250 is an awesome hostess level – free product and a half off item. Now, if you split 250 by $25, which is reasonable, you would need 10 people. If you think you could get people to commit to $50, then you could decrease that to 5 people.
Set Rules
Let us stick to the $25 person group and 10 “parties per year”. When people join, they have to know that they are committing to this for 10 months of the year. A lot of people take December off and one of the summer months as it can be hard to organize.
Depending on the product, you as the consultant might have a pre-set order, for instance each month they are going to get this one specific product which is worth that $25. Or you may set it up that they have to have your orders to you by the 10th of the month, but they can pick their product. If you don’t hear from them, they get the default.
Where do the hostess benefits come in?
Here is the beauty of it! Each month, you select a different hostess to get the rewards. I have heard some people suggest you don’t pick the person until you have all the orders in as then if someone wants to order extra this month, you still get that order. Others recommend telling them at the beginning of the month that they are the hostess for so that they have time to have a party or collect other orders to increase their rewards. I definitely do not recommend telling your hostesses at the beginning of the year which month they are hosting in, as it will cause problems.
This may take a bit of organization to get going but once you have it setup, you have a great method of getting orders each month without a lot of work.
Note: I highly recommend you write up the terms and conditions of your shopping club, including that if someone is to terminate their membership, they have to find a replacement. You may want to have a credit card on file for each person as well as if you have to go to the default order; you still want to be paid.
Have you tried something like this? How did it work out for you? Would you recommend it to others?
Customer, direct sales shopping clubs, Direct selling, free product, Shopping, shopping clubs
22Apr
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Most of us in direct sales have been told at one time or another that they need to have a 30 second commercial. The main reason for your 30 second commercial is to introduce yourself. It should give the other person enough information that they know what you do. From that, they know if it is something they may be interested in or not. If they are, they will ask a question where you can get into more detail.
But in reality, does it truly have to be 30 seconds? Which would you rather listen to?
Approach 1: I help others to decorate their home as well as gain financial freedom while they are doing it.
Approach 2: I help others to decorate their home with our wonderful pieces which can be adapted to every different type of décor out there. No matter what your colour scheme or your budget, my company has something that will work for everyone. For those that are looking for a way to make some extra income, or maybe just save some money on their décor, they can join my team. For only a few hours of work you can earn enough money to pay your bills and have some leftover.
Which would you rather say? Which would you rather listen to?
30 second commercial, direct sales promotion, promoting yourself in direct sales, selling yourself in direct sales
