Direct Selling For Dummies. Ellsworth Belinda

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ don’t need to be a computer geek, but companies are turning to technological solutions more and more. Currently that means e-commerce, mobile phone apps, and leveraging social media at the corporate level – and encouraging their independent representatives to do the same. They’re using apps, running webinars, and conducting online conferences. Some companies (most often in Hybrid and Network Marketing) even boast that you can “work your business from your phone.” To keep up, you’re going to need to plug in and connect online. See Chapter 11 for more on how to run a successful online business.

Commitment to personal development

      Efforts to build your vision, become a better communicator, and develop a more patient personality all fall under personal development. An essential part of your job in direct sales is to improve your attitude, resilience, interpersonal skills, and leadership skills.

      

You’ve got to realize that, although the time spent developing these skills may not appear to have an immediate or direct impact on your business, it makes a significant difference in your experience and your results. Reading books, listening to motivational audio, and seeking out additional training will all help with your personal development.

      I always laugh at the idea of a child walking into a stable filled with manure and gleefully shouting, “I know there’s a pony in here somewhere!” I laugh because life usually trains that optimism out of us. Personal development is a simple way to put it back in. Whether it’s a magazine article on how someone overcame the odds to achieve a dream or a podcast that helps bring to mind principles you already know, personal development material really does remind you that good things happen when you don’t give up.

      Surrounding yourself with people you want to be like and observing them will improve your skills. Each day is new, regardless of what you did or didn’t do yesterday, and you get to start fresh.

      

Be persistent, be patient, help others, keep an open mind, develop a positive attitude, and you will go far!

      Different Ways to Work Your Business

      One of the most exciting aspects of direct selling is the flexibility and variety of options that are available. In fact, you should use several different methods of touching your business and generating new contacts. (By touching, I mean interacting with.) The more different things you try, the more you’ll create a broad base of profit that will sustain you – and the more you’ll appeal to a broader number of prospective team members. Conduct business in multiple ways, and you’ll be presenting options that appeal to the desires of prospects who may not be exactly like you.

      I urge you to choose a few favorite methods from the options given in this section and try them. Keep the others in the back of your mind. Then if a day comes when new leads are decreasing, or you need more bookings, you can revisit the options for ideas of other ways you can expand your business.

Live presentations and home parties

      When people get to attend a party and interact with other guests, they experience that great energy that comes from people having a good time together. The right balance of fun, the excitement of seeing friends make similar purchases, the information provided in the brief presentation, and the added bonus of your expert advice all combine to create the social proof mentioned earlier in the chapter. Social proof can create stronger sales, result in more bookings, and even make recruiting new team members easier. In my experience, holding parties regularly results in higher sales and recruiting numbers.

Trade shows and vendor events

      Trade shows can help you reach out into your community and meet people you may not have met otherwise. Here’s something surprising: I’ve found that smaller, less expensive events tend to provide a bigger return on your investment.

      I’ve also discovered that there’s a key ingredient to creating success: Decide on your purpose for that particular event. If it’s to get bookings, then don’t focus on selling product. Concentrate on engaging people so that you get bookings. That means you’d most likely have just display product and only a small amount of product to sell. Your focus will be on creating an urgency to book a party with you, perhaps with a Book Today special.

      If your goal is to earn enough to pay for your booth as you expand your contacts, you’ll want to focus on selling product you have on hand. You’ll experience the best results if, instead of bringing along your catalog or a variety of items, you instead offer a specific Show Special. A Show Special is a particular item or bundle of items that you’re highlighting for that particular event. You’ll have a supply of this to sell cash-and-carry to people who visit your booth.

      If your goal is recruiting, make a gift basket that goes to a new team member and make sure all your conversations include the message “I’m looking for people to join me.”

Event parties

      Event parties are an exciting new twist on the home parties that have been the bastion of the Party Plan industry for decades. Event parties are held outside the home, and are growing more and more popular. There are two basic types of event parties: those held at an office, restaurant, or coffee shop and those held in partnership with a retail establishment. The first type has been around for years. It is really just a home party held in a different venue.

      The second type seems to be growing in popularity, as more shops are starting to pair up with representatives on a monthly basis. A boutique, gym, or bookstore might want representatives that offer tea or food samples, or even an unrelated but still non-competing product. A cafe might like to invite representatives of jewelry, clothing, or home decor companies to display their products.

      For example, a cafe near my home features a different party each month, displaying a flyer every day until the event. They let the selected representative set up a display of products, and the cafe owners and the representatives both tell me they love it.

      Because both the store front and the representative promote the event, it becomes a blending of their customers. The representative’s customers return to the store, and the store’s customers become the representative’s customers, too.

      Want more examples? Appliance stores let cookware representatives do cooking demonstrations. Women’s gyms love partnering with nutrition supplements and weight-loss product representatives. Some boutiques who don’t carry jewelry allow jewelry reps to set up their displays and meet their clientele during key weekends. Libraries have been known to allow food and beverage reps to distribute samples during book readings. The key is for the establishment to provide added value for their customers, while also using your business to drive more people to their location. Of course, the added benefit for you is the exposure to a new clientele.

Online marketing and online parties

      These days, one of the most touted aspects of direct selling is the benefit of doing business online. There’s no question that online parties can be a great boost to your business. They allow you to reach people outside your general vicinity and offer the convenience of being able to cover your responsibilities at home while popping over to the computer to host an online party on Facebook.

      When it comes to doing a great online party, you use exactly the same skills as an in-home party. The difference is in how you utilize those skills. To succeed with virtual parties, you need to engage guests, make it fun, and show them how your product really answers a need they have. Successful online parties also demonstrate why hosting a party is exciting and rewarding and how becoming a representative meets a need that each guest has.

      

You’ll find that doing a combination of virtual parties and live parties is often the best fit for both you and СКАЧАТЬ