7 Direct Sales Leader Tips

When you sponsor someone into Scentsy, you become a leader. As you grow your team you’re expected to lead. But what if you’ve never had to do that before? 

I have a background and education in business, and I’ve been in direct sales thirty (30) years. But not everyone has that experience.  Many independent consultants who have a downline find it difficult to figure out how to lead a team, especially when it’s a new role for them. Below are my seven Direct Sales Leader Tips.

My Top 7 Tips to Lead a Team 

1. 1. Be Yourself. Don’t try to copy or emulate others or your upline if you don’t share the same style. Your business style is your style. It’s also your business to operate as you see fit. Be who you are, not who you think you’re supposed to be.
   2. Praise Down, and Bitch Up. With your downline freely share praises with them. Encourage and support them. Catch them doing something great. If you have a complaint about someone or something always privately direct that up to your upline or corporate. Do not air any grievances with your peers or downline. It’s totally inappropriate for a leader to do that, and makes you look like a drama queen (or king.)
   3. Nothing Changes. I often hear of new directors who think they have to take on a new role. Wrong. Whatever you did to become a director, keep doing that. You still need to keep working your own personal business and you have to be available to your team. Nothing changes.
   4. If no one is upset with you, then you’re not doing enough things right. I’m not suggesting you intentionally try to piss people off. But you cannot be BFFs with your team AND be their fearless leader. Sometimes in leadership you need to make difficult decisions that aren’t always popular, but are for the greater good.
   5. Assigning tone or intent to someone’s written word can only lead to trouble. This happens with my messages on occasion. I’ll say something on Facebook that is encouraging or perhaps no emotion at all, rather merely ask a question or make a statement, but it invariably makes someone mad because they chose to misinterpret my tone or intent. I rarely use exclamation points and I don’t feel comfortable with a bunch of smiley faces or hahas in my writing. I’m also not passive aggressive and I’m too old for drama, so you will never find me posting anything with a bad intent. Take others’ words at face value. If you think it’s intended to be snarky, pick up the phone and ask before you jump to conclusions.
   6. Trust your judgement. You’ll always be better off trying something, or making a decision, even if it turns out to not be the best choice, instead of doing nothing. Mistakes are proof that you’re trying. Don’t question everything you do. Make a decision, commit to it and do it. You can always apologize or fix it if necessary but just do it.
   7. Take responsibility for your own training. If I hear one more leader playing the victim saying, “No one ever told me …” I’m going to lose my mind. We all have access to the same information in the workstation, and we all have the ability to ask questions if we don’t understand something. If you don’t have access to something it’s likely not a need to know (covered under Non-Disclose Agreement). You don’t have to do this business on your own, so if you need some help, be proactive to get it. There are plenty of people and resources available to give you all the assistance you need, but you have to let someone know you need help in finding answers.

In summary, stay true to who you are; stay drama free, this means no gossiping privately or publicly via video, FB live, blogs, etc. as it only reflects poorly on you; if someone talks smack, or blocks you, that’s their issue, you don’t need to let it take up space in your head; and if you need help, ask for it because people want you to succeed and are happy to help.

Please Like, Share or Post a Comment!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a homebased business in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland, UK, France, Austria and Spain. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/ 

Be sure to connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest