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If one more direct selling company or sponsor encourages new recruits to “Make a List of 100 People You Know” I’m going to stick a fork in my eye! I’m talking about the practice of spamming the snot out of their friends, family and acquaintances. It goes against the entire concept of target marketing and finding a niche. No wonder the direct selling industry still has a bad reputation in many circles.

This archaic and tired practice claims that if you make a list of 100 people to hound, it’ll be your first networking contact list that will supposedly help launch your new direct sales career. Although, whether you’re selling candles, jewelry, kitchenware, makeup, home décor or any other product offering, wouldn’t you have better results if you presented your new product line to the people whom you believe could benefit from and enjoy your goods?

This concept is ridiculous. What if your dental hygienist started a business selling metal widgets that would help expedite an automobile factory manufacturing process. If this person made a list of 100 people she knows and included you in that list to push her steel vehicle widgets on, you’d think she was totally off her rocker for wasting your time. Yet as direct sellers, we’re supposed to do just that; having no regard to market to those who have a specific want or need.

Instead of investing precious time trying to list and then contact all of the people you know such as: Family, Friends, Neighbors, Your friends’ parents, Your parents’ friends, Your parents’ colleagues, Your children’s friends’ parents, Classmates, Alumni of any school you attended, including high school, Members of the local chamber of commerce, Members of your church, temple, or other faith-based groups, Professors, Teachers, Mentors, Former Bosses, Former or current colleagues, Former or current customers, Former employees whom you managed, Members of the YMCA, YWCA, or other clubs, Members of professional groups to which you belong, Members of a service organization (e.g. the Rotary), School committee members, Counselors, Friends from military service, Coaches (in sports, arts, hobbies, etc.), Your doctor, Your lawyer, Your insurance agent, Your accountant or tax preparer, Your auto mechanic, The manager of your favorite coffee shop, The bartender at your favorite watering hole, The owner of maitre d’ of your favorite restaurant, Your barber/hairstylist, Your mortgage broker, Your real estate broker, Your veterinarian, Your dry cleaner, Any shop or business owners who know you by name (especially in ‘high touch’ businesses like art dealers, florists, dress shop managers, wedding planners, wine dealers—people who have long conversations with others), Any acquaintance who owes you a favor, spend some time defining your target market.

The likely results of spamming the above list:

• You’ll ostracize yourself from them so that in the future they’ll be forced to check Caller-ID before taking your call or find themselves suddenly running late for an appointment and need to promptly depart your presence.
• You may get a few mercy purchases from those who have a hard time saying no because they don’t want you to feel discouraged.
• If you stumble upon someone who is genuinely interested in what you’re offering, it is mere statistics. If you spray enough bullets you’re bound to eventually hit something.

Leslie Truex of Work at Home Success agrees, “Having a business is about finding the market that wants your product/service, not brow beating people you know into supporting you. Plus if your successful without the list, your recruitment may go up because talking to friends and family is a major reason why many people avoid direct sales and you’ll be able to show them how to do it without a list.”

Further, Adriaan at Direct Sell Assistant concurs that “90% of new consultants will stay with this list and expect to make a lot of money. I wish more people that get recruited are rather shown how to market a product and find new customers, than to write down that list of a 100.”

Lastly, if you’ve signed up for a company that has a fantastic product line, don’t you think you should be able to find others who enjoy and benefit from it as much as you do? No need to approach your auntie who has severe allergies to buy your candles or your sweet bald mechanic about your organic shampoo. Just because you may know 100 people, doesn’t mean they’d be good customers.

My advice: It’s 2010, time (way past time) to throw out your “List of 100 People You Know.”

I see many direct sales consultants discussing the marketing technique of hanging catalogs on neighborhood doors.  Do door hangers really work?  Or is it just an added expense and expenditure of human resources to employ this tactic?

One rule of thumb to keep in mind when you are trying different marketing techniques is whether or not you acted on a similar campaign.  For example, have you ever made a purchase off of any ad you saw on someone’s vehicle? (I have not)

Have you ever taken advantage of an offer that was hung on your door (I have not) or did it likely go straight into the trash or blow away in the wind or eventually get soggy with rain?

Do you often read and act upon fliers you find around town? (I have not)

Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but I would caution you to target your marketing to a particular segment (new moms, elderly, college kids, empty nesters, nail salons, doctors offices, etc.). Then relay your message to that market in a method they will respond to.

Blanket fliers and neighborhood blitzes don’t always work.  It’s like spraying an arsenal of bullets, hoping to hit something.

Instead, try a small sampling – test to see if it is effective, if not – then try something else. Perhaps your time and financial resources could be better spent with some direct mailing of your company catalog.  Then follow-up within a week to ensure the business owner received your catalog.  Provide a special offer to entice a call to action.

If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve been getting.

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

Many direct sales companies prohibit the practice of selling their company product line on eBay or other online auctions.  Yet why not use that auction vehicle to sell your non-direct sales items and then include a company catalog and sample along with the winning item?

You never know where your next customer is going to come from.  You already know that anyone who wins your eBay auction is already comfortable making purchases online. It’s not going to cost you anything extra to include some of your business marketing collateral with the package that contains the red leather boots or Laverne and Shirley DVD that you just sold.

You can also create an About Me page at eBay to tell the world about yourself and your interests. You can use this page to:

·    Let the eBay community know who you are.
·    Show off your fabulous finds.
·    Display your items up for bid.
·    Describe your favorite hobby.

Keep in mind that while you may include links to your About Me page in your listings, you may not include language within those links that promotes items or other Web sites.  You can link in your auction listing “Check out my About Me page” but your About Me page cannot have a “Click here to go to my Direct Sales Web Store” link.

eBay allows only a few links from a listing page because the primary purpose of the listing page is to describe the item for sale. The About Me page is a permitted link because it lets others in the eBay community learn more about the seller, helping the buyer to make a more informed decision prior to purchase.

Now that you know the rules as far as eBay is concerned with regard to linking; and hopefully you fully understand your direct sales company policies and procedures as far as selling on eBay is concerned.  Since you know what you can’t do – that should also mean that you know what you can do.

Think outside the box to get to your target market.  If you sell candles through your direct sales company, then find a non-DS candle either from your own closet or from the thrift store, and list that for sale with a $.99 opening bid.  Why? Because anyone who bids on and wins that candle will most likely already enjoy candles.  True you may not make much of a profit on that auction item after considering fees, yet it’s given you a free opportunity to include a catalog and sample of your direct sales candles.

I wouldn’t invest too much time using this method of advertising your direct sales business.  Yet if you already have a possession that you’re going to list on eBay then take full advantage of the sale and legally promote your direct sales business.

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

There’s a familiar quote attributed to Chinese general and military strategist, Sun-tzu: “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”  It means that if you know your enemies, and you know what they are up to, you can keep a close eye on them. It’s easier than if you don’t know them at all; that makes them unpredictable. The same is true your direct sales competitors.  One way to increase your business is to take existing ideas and put your own spin on them. By the way, there are no new ideas, just reworked ones.

Who are your competitors?  Some consultants believe other companies that sell similar products are their competitors.  Could be.  Others believe that their product line is unique enough to set them apart from other companies therefore their true competitors are other consultants within the same company.

Regardless, we are all in competition.  If you have a business, then you are in competition with everyone else who has a similar business.  To find new customers and potential team members, investigate what your competitors are doing.  There is nothing illegal or unethical about evaluating how a competitor markets her product or business opportunity.

Assuming your competitors have a website, because in this era it’s pretty much a necessity, there are some statistics you need to gather about those competitors to get the information you need.

* Is their website professional to where they bring in customers with the content?
* How long have they been with this company? with direct sales?
* What are their rank positions on the major search engines?
* Do they have a niche?
* How are they finding leads?

Many direct selling companies offer replicated websites to their consultants, but these affiliate type sites are not sufficient for bringing in the kind of traffic that will widen your customer base.  Invest in an external website, if permitted by your agreement, to showcase your business and get traffic.

There are many ways to attract customers.  If you are just getting started, investing time finding out how the competition markets their products gives you a jump on where to start with your business.  Sometimes the most valuable and worthwhile tactics are right in front of you.

Most direct sales companies recognize their top sellers.  On various company websites you may be able to find lists of top consultants and the gross sales they have been earning on a monthly basis.  However, more companies are protecting this information.  Although if you consider other consultants within the same company your competition, then you should have access to this information. You may also find some interviews they have done. Read about them for helpful tips on how to find web traffic.

People love to read new tips and techniques to improve their own business (such as this article, for example!).  Keeping a website updated with new content is a must if you want repeat traffic.  Use PLR articles, content from article banks or hire a ghostwriter if you don’t fancy yourself much of a writer.

Something often overlooked is just because you have signed up to sell products doesn’t mean that you have to sell every product in the catalog.  Some will be better sellers than others depending on the preferences of your customer base.  The business website you set up can be geared towards the segment of products that you’ve chosen – again, if you’re allowed to have an external retailing site.   If a competitor focuses on a particular niche, see how she is accomplishing that.

One quick and simple way to evaluate marketing techniques for a competitor is to Google her.  If she is using content it will be ranked.  If she has written articles for other sites or have used keywords to set up the pages on her website that will be shown as well.  Articles that mention her name will also pop.

It is prudent to know what the competition is doing.  If you want to be able to stay in the game, it is essential.  Rest assured they will be looking at you.  If you don’t believe me, set up a free Google Analytics account and see who visits your site.  You might just be surprised (and flattered).

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

A surefire way to ensure your new business never gets off the ground is to make your own marketing material.  Sure there are exceptions to every rule and I have seen some very professional looking home made business cards, fliers, brochures, etc.  Yet those rare cases are not the norm.  For the most part, homemade marketing collateral screams amateur and hobbyist.

Whereas, the marketing materials your direct sales company provides are valuable tools available for direct sales consultants.  Use the professional design and printing to portray an image of professionalism.  Poor marketing causes more damage than no marketing at all, so take advantage of the pre-designed marketing material provided by your home office.

Catalogs are quite often the most common marketing tool your direct sales company will provide.  Catalogs make great direct mail pieces to send to people on your prospects, past and present hostesses, and past and present customers.  I’ve heard it argued that some consultants lament that they can’t afford to purchase the company provided marketing material.  I contend that you can’t afford not to.

Whether it’s product literature or business opportunity information, use these marketing collateral to pass out at parties, to send home with people who have shown an interest in your products, to give out to store clerks, waitresses and others you encounter throughout the day.

If your company provides business cards take advantage of them. If you print your own using an inkjet printer and perforated card stock, it will reflect poorly and let potential customers and prospects know that you’re not running your business like a business. If your budget is tight during the start up phase, then Vista Print offers free business cards for the price of shipping. That is an acceptable method to start if you must, however company provided business cards really provide the best brand image.

If you sell a product that is conducive to offering samples, be sure to attach a sample to each of your business cards.  We are a society who likes to touch, smell, feel and taste before we make a purchase.

Other marketing materials that your company may provide include:

Scripts for calling people to host a party and for contacting people who have been invited to a party.  Use these scripts but make sure to make them your own.  People will be able to tell if you’re just reading from a card.  Use it as a guide, not a be-all-end-all.

Hostess packages.  Some companies provide a complete hostess package with all the invitations, thank you cards, order forms and incentive and goal setting charts while others provide slightly less.  Take advantage of these materials.  They not only save you money and time, they provide a consistent message to everyone you come in contact with.  The same rule applies to all of the marketing material – a business venture is not the place to make up your own crafted materials (unless you have talented marketing and graphic design abilities).

Also check for a template library that may be available for company sponsored images, campaign text and newsletters. Again, these materials will save you time and money and save you the embarrassment of trying to act professional but looking like a hobbyist.

Marketing will play a big role in your business success. Rather than spending countless hours and dollars creating your own marketing collateral for your direct sales business you can use the marketing materials provided by your direct sales company.  It’s a quick and effective way to get your business up and running in no time – and they are tax deductible!  Don’t scrimp; you’ll end up paying for it dearly.

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com