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How May I Help You?

Whether or not you are a fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, everyone should add ‘Attend a Notre Dame Football game’ to their bucket list.  It truly is an experience like no other.  And, as the above title suggests, there are also some direct sales lessons that can be learned from a trip to Notre Dame.

First it’s important to understand a bit about the Notre Dame Usher program. I’ll give you examples of their outstanding customer service, then hopefully you can transfer this knowledge to your own direct sales business.

Notre Dame has almost 900 ushers who work each game.  They each know they are Ambassadors to the University.  They represent a one of a kind institution and must reflect that at all times.  One thing you will hear over and over is “Welcome to Notre Dame” “Welcome to Notre Dame” “Welcome to Notre Dame”. No substitute will do.  Ushers are required to welcome anyone who comes across their path. Saying nothing is as bad as just saying “Hi or Hello.”  It’s “Welcome to Notre Dame”.  The first time guests are pleasantly surprised and the return guests have come to expect it.

Also, another term you will hear repeatedly is “How may I help you?”  Not, “Do you need any help?” and not  “Let me know if you need any help?”  “Do you know where you’re going?’ is totally unacceptable – it implies the guest is an imbecile.  Instead, “How may I help you?” is stating the fact that I am here to help you; or that “There must be something that I can do to make your visit more enjoyable.” Under no circumstances must a guest need to ever ask an usher, “Can you help me?”  The usher should have already inquired as to HOW he/she can help.

Another prohibited response is, “I don’t know.”  Rather, it’s “Let me find someone who can help.”  And at that point, the usher would walk with the guest to another usher who will have the correct response.  “That man in the white hat will know” is also something you should never experience at Notre Dame.  “Let me find someone who can help.”

It’s quite simple actually – “Welcome to Notre Dame.  How may I help?” – two small sentences that speak volumes and are so very important to the Notre Dame mystique.  Paying attention to these powerful details is one of the reasons that even visiting team guests who have blatant disdain for the Fighting Irish, will send letters and post online about how they were pleasantly surprised and impressed at the hospitality shown to them during their stay in South Bend.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Notre Dame Ushers, read Ode to the Ushers

How can you use this little illustration in your direct sales business?

• Do your new (and even veteran) team members really feel welcomed on your team?  Or do they feel like they’re just a residual income to you?

• Do your customers feel like they receive added value from purchasing through you?  Or do they get the impression that you are you only interested in the sale?  Is there anything you do or say to your customers that would encourage them to return again to “your campus”?  Or are they likely to invest their hard earned dollars elsewhere?

• Do you anticipate needs before they arise?

• Do you respond, “I don’t know?” (Or worse yet, don’t respond at all?)  Or do you say, “I’m not sure, let me find out and I’ll get back to you”?  It’s really ok not to have all the answers.  It’s not ok, however, to not help find solutions when problems arise.

Starting right this moment, decide to run your business in the same way that the Ambassadors to Notre Dame treat all home game days.  Let me know the results, I’d love to hear how this slight change is affecting your bottom line!

By the way, this year’s annual Notre Dame Blue/Gold intrasquad scrimmage is on April 24, 2010. Will I see you there?

GO IRISH!

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.”

by Guest Blogger: Chris Carroll

For those of us in a Direct Sales type business, a natural way to grow your income and business is through building a team. A lot of companies preach that this is the Only way to make real money. That may be true, but only the people that are already successful in their business and are prepared will be successful at building a team.

Building a team is hard work. Yes, it may be joyful and fun, but it is work! You must work at it all of the time. Talking to people and being excited about your business is the best way to start, grow and maintain your team.

Some reps are successful at newspaper ads; some at planting seeds at parties; some at chatting with people, but any way that you handle the function of recruiting still means a maintenance of the team by continuing to recruit each day.

Talking and actually interviewing the prospect is an awesome way to find out their goals and dreams. Why do they want to join this business? What sparked their desire to join today? Have they used the product before? How are they going to sell the product and to whom? What are they going to use the extra money for? By having this type of information, you can tailor their training and follow up to their personal situation.

People come and go and that is a natural occurrence. Some find the business not to their liking. Some people’s expectations are large and they may not make money right away. Some just get tired and leave. Whatever the reason, it happens.

But as you add to your team, they will need your continued support and training. You must continually build your team with people and then build your team with knowledge.

Train your team to be just like you. Show them how to duplicate yourself. Are you great in sales? Share all of your tips with them. Are you awesome are growing your team? Show them what you do. Teach them what makes You awesome and they too will become that way. Show them how you explode your business and they will do it as well. Make yourself duplicatable and they too will show their team the same. Now you are growing!

The more you build your team with knowledge, the more you build your team’s moral and keep the excitement in place. If we could all stay as excited as we were when we first joined our company, think how awesome your team would be today. So spark their interest and get them excited again about the business. Use their goals and dreams!! Remind them o why they got into this business. Be excited when you talk to them. Let them know that you Love your job!

Never forget that people are in the business for a multitude of reasons. Some only want personal sales. Some want part time work to pay a few bills and very few are full timers. Watch how you spend your valuable time. 80% of your time should be spent on the top 20% of your producers. Don’t neglect any one, but realize that you want your time best spent where you are going to get a return. If someone is only in the business for personal sales, don’t spend days with them showing them how to recruit. The chances of that are slim. Instead, show them how to grow their customer base and save the other stuff for those that want the information on recruiting. Spend your time wisely.

Keep tabs on all of your reps, because things do change and some day they will be asking for your help with a different portion of the job. Use the information you gathered when you interviewed them to identify their goals and inspire them. As they grow their business, you too will be successful and efficient in your own business and your business will have come full circle.  You inspire them and they inspire you!

Congratulations! You are awesome and successful!

About the Author:  Copyright 2004 by Chris Carroll. Chris is a work at home mom that has been in sales for 20+ years. She has a BS in Business Management and is the host of http://www.DirectSalesTalk.com

Although, you run your own business, when you start in direct sales there is another person you should think about when it comes to your success. Your up line leader, or the person who recruits you that you’ll train under, is an extremely important person to your business. Because sponsors are so significant, you’ll want to choose wisely when signing up in a down line. Here are some more things to look for in a direct sales sponsor.

1.    An up line leader who knows the company and product very well.  The more your sponsor knows the business, the better she will be at teaching and motivating your team.

2.    Someone with a positive outlook on business and life in general will go a long way. If you have an up line leader who likes to gossip or has a negative attitude all the time, chances of her being able to encourage you during the down times will be slim to none. Look for someone who has a natural knack for creativity, because these slow times will require you to use your noggin and come up with things that will help you pick up sales, continue making money, etc.

3.    Consistency is important in a leader. Look for someone who communicates regularly with the team via meetings, telecons or message boards. You want to learn from someone who is successful so don’t try to reinvent the wheel with your business. If you have an up line leader who isn’t growing it might be a better idea to find someone else to join under if you can.

4.    A good leader realizes it’s not all about her. You should look for someone who loves helping her team succeed. One who is willing to share the ropes and teach others based on what works and what doesn’t. She allows you to learn from her mistakes and gives you ways to avoid them. When you succeed she is just as happy as if she had met one of her own goals.

5.    Find someone who has a good reputation in the business. If someone has made a bad name for herself or the direct sales company, your chances of overcoming that negativity with customers will not be easy. It can be done, but it will very hard and can hinder your own business success.

You want to find an up line leader who is dependable, determined and has a natural willingness to see you succeed. She should know what she is doing and be able to teach, motivate and encourage her team. Find a team who possesses a leader with these qualities and you’ll be well on your way to a successful direct sales business.

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

By definition, an “incentive” is something that “incites action” or is “a motive.”  To look closer – to incite is to “spur to action or to urge”.  Likewise, synonyms for motive include “goad: suggests a motive that keeps one going against one’s will” and also “inducement: prompted by deliberate actions.”

Humor me with one more definition:  “Bribe: something that serves to induce or influence.”  Therefore could one could say that an incentive is a form of a bribe?

Yet every day in the direct sales circle I see advertisements and announcements such as:
“Join my team and get a free xyz” and “Refer a consultant to my team and receive a free xyz.”

Isn’t it true that most direct sales companies have a starter kit and a business opportunity that are supposedly of great value containing all that is needed to start and thrive at a home business?  If that were truly the case, what message would a consultant be sending when offering an incentive or bribe (there’s that word again) to people to join her team? That the starter kit and/or business opportunity isn’t a good value?

Or would she be sending a message that she doesn’t believe strongly enough in her self as a leader to encourage people to join her team on merit alone?  And in a general sense, who do you think redeems these types of bribes?  People who firmly believe in the product, opportunity and sponsor and definitely want to be a part of the company or the people who are in it for freebies without regard to best value?

As a leader, would you rather have team members who are committed to making the business work; who firmly believe they are about to embark on a fantastic journey? Or someone who wants the freebies and who may or may not try the business to see how it goes?

The same holds true for referrals.  Any good businessperson will always ask for referrals.  She should be confident in what she is offering to know that others would be happy to recommend her and her company to others.

Consider this: You ask an acquaintance if she knows of anyone who may be interested in starting a business.  The person thinks about it and then responds in the negative.  But then you offer a freebie.  Do you think that suddenly the person who couldn’t think of anyone who may benefit from your offer will suddenly have her memory jogged at the enticement of a freebie?  Or will she merely give you a referral if she genuinely knows of someone?

I realize this is a controversial topic.  Some consultants insist that bribing works.  They argue that people love freebies.  I tend to agree – people do love freebies.  But do they truly work?  Do they bring about the desired results?  Do they help the bottom line or do they merely increase number of team members without regard to return on investment?

My twenty plus years in direct sales, testing and sampling of this tactic reveal that incentives to join are not generally worthwhile to anyone except the person who accepts the freebie.

We should try to succeed by merit, not by favor. He who does well will always have patrons enough. -  Plautus

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About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan. She started her first home business in 1988. As a single parent, Laurie has supported her family by working at home as an Independent Consultant and Star Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/