direct sales

Host Coaching is Non-Optional

29 September 2017 By LA Leave a Comment

All hosts: home party, basket portable party, and online party, need coaching from the consultant.

To coach someone means simply: To train or tutor or to act as a trainer or tutor. Direct sales party hosts aren’t expected to be professional hosts and know all there is to know about home, basket or online parties (else he or she would probably be a consultant!)

Without coaching, you should plan on low attendance, low sales and low, if any, bookings. Many consultants who don’t coach don’t do so because they think they are bothering their host. Instead of thinking of host coaching as being a bother, consider it more that you are cheating your host out of his or her rewards if you don’t properly coach.

Coaching doesn’t always work – some will let it go in one ear and out the other. But that doesn’t give you an excuse not to do it. Coach the same, each time, so you cover all your bases; don’t take short cuts. Online and basket hosts need as much or more coaching that home party hosts. The better you become at it the easier it gets. If you think your host doesn’t need a portion of the coaching, ask them to just humor you so that you can continue to give them uniform training.

What to Tell the Host

One of the most important things to educate your host on is their guest list and its importance. This is the key to the success of their show. Remind them that often 30 invites can go out and only one person will show. It’s vital to invite many, many, many! Three hundred invites might net you thirty people … maybe. But only inviting 10-20 people will not give much attendance, possibly none at all.

Next on the list of importance is the hosts follow-through with those who have not RSVP’d (and that will be a long list) or for those who can’t make it. They should ask every non-attending guest if they wants to order from the catalog. Asking every guest, does not mean putting a blast on Facebook. That doesn’t count. The host must personally call or text, or better yet ask in person – Individually. “Hi Chris, I wanted to you mind you about the Scentsy party Thursday.” If they say they can’t make it, then “I can still submit an order for you. Did you look through the website or catalog yet or do you need one?”

The snacks are secondary. Whether it’s a bowl of chips or an impressive spread, the guests are coming for your product display. Munchies should not be any work for the host. Easier said than done, I know. Many host freak out over cleaning the house and having just the “right” food. If your host is wigging out, offer to bring a batch of cookies and you’ll even push the vacuum for them. Really, they needs to relax about the house.

Collecting Orders

It is not a good idea to hold the party open for days (or longer). All the order collecting should be done prior to the party. If there happens to be some people who RSVP’d that they come to the party but did not show, or won’t have any money until after the date of the party, then don’t hold the party open for one person that may or may not come in. Instead flip them to be a host for another party.

Remember each time you need to make another trip to the host it eats into your profit margin – in both time and gas. If you let your host know in advance to get advance orders, they will usually do what you tell them to.

It is equally important that you remind your home, basket, and online party host what they are getting out of hosting the party; and that getting every item of their wish list for free is the goal for the party. The host should take an interest in getting people to attend. If the host does little to nothing to promote the party, the host will earn little to nothing.

Effective coaching increases attendance, sales and your paycheck!

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Throw Out That List of 100

15 September 2017 By LA 4 Comments

**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 some 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 decor or any other product offering, wouldn’t you have better results if you presented your new product line specifically to the people whom you believe could benefit from and enjoy your goods?

Market to Those Who Have a Specific Want or Need

This concept of making a list of 100 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. But is that the reputation you really want to start off with? Or would you aim narrow, and therefore miss narrow?

I’m Not The Only One Who Believes This Way

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 you’re 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.”

If You Said Yes …

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 2017, time (way past time) to throw out your “List of 100 People You Know.”

*I originally wrote this post in 2008, and periodically revise it to ensure it’s still current.

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Direct Sales for Fun

31 July 2017 By LA Leave a Comment

Most people join direct sales to have fun and to save a little or earn a little extra money.

Being casual and a part time or person use seller with direct sales is perfectly okay. That’s what most consultants do.

Did you know that 2% or less of the consultants in direct sales hit top leadership ranks? It’s not because they can’t or that it’s too difficult. It’s generally because that was never their goal.

People join direct sales for a season. Some stick around 3, 6 or 9 months. Others stay a consultant for a few years. And some make a full-time career with their DS business.

No one is a failure

I’ve been in direct sales almost 30 years. I’ve seen a lot in this industry. One of the saddest misunderstandings I see is consultants feeling like a failure.

Some sponsors feel like a failure because their team members quit.

Some consultants feel like a failure because they quit something they were once excited about.

Being a direct sales consultant has many benefits – one being that it’s easy to get into. Because it’s easy to join a DS company, it’s equally as easy for some to walk away. That’s okay. It has nothing to do with being a failure.

For a season

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Are You a Good Scentsy Leader?

7 July 2014 By LA 1 Comment

Sales are key in maintaining your direct sales business. Though to keep growing it’s vital you also build a team.

When you build a team, the focus changes from primarily sales to that of a mentor. Once you become a team leader, you still need to work your own business, and you’ll also be responsible mentoring and supporting others as well.

Tips to be a Great Leader

Here are some tips and suggestions that will go a long way in making you a team leader anyone would be proud to work with.

Put others first. Any good team leader will realize it’s no longer only about yourself and your business. You will need to put the needs of your downline above your own. Success will happen for your recruits, which in turn means you too. You don’t succeed if team members don’t succeed. “I’ll get my minimum sales in, and then I can help my team member” is backwards thinking. Flip the order of that and you’ll get better results.
Learn to prioritize. You must be able to put things in order of importance as a team leader. By doing this you will be better organized and show your team members how to do the same.
Walk the walk. As a leader you must lead by example. You can’t tell your team to do something and expect them to follow you if you’re not doing it too. A word of caution though, don’t rub it in their faces about how wonderful you are and all your sales and your recruiting success. That will demotivate, not motivate them. If you’re walking the walk, especially in this day of technology, they’ll know it. You won’t need to throw yourself a parade to ensure your downline knows you’re working.

Why Are Some More Successful in Direct Sales?

30 January 2014 By LA Leave a Comment

Ever wonder why some direct sales consultants seem to have more success than others? Why some make it look easy and yet you can’t seem to get one sale, booking or recruit? First of all, know that direct sales can be an easy sell, but it’s certainly not easy. If it were, everyone would do it.

Below are a handful of actionable items you can do that separate the successful ones from those who constantly struggle.

1. Don’t quit.
Many consultants quit their direct sales business after just a short time – far too early before they can become successful. Sadly some desperate to recruit new team members like to say: “It’s easy! It’s fun! You’ll make great money!” While all those are certainly possible, you won’t find it easy, fun and profitable without a great deal of work. This is true for all direct sellers. If you decide to give yourself just six months and if by then you’re not rolling in the dough and have your calendar booked, you’re quitting … well that’s just unreasonable. Successful direct sellers keep on keeping on – even when they don’t feel like it and even when it’s hard.

2. Work hard.
See #1 above. Treat your business like a business, not like a hobby. If you want to work from home, you have to show up to work … and be prepared to work. It takes discipline to work when there are so many other distractions and there isn’t a boss monitoring your work. You wanted to be your own boss, so monitor your work. If you joined mainly for the purpose to get the host rewards of free or half off product, then perhaps business ownership isn’t for you at this time; and that’s okay. You can be the hostess with the mostess; your friends will look forward to your fun parties and you can still reap the benefits of the products without all the responsibilities of business ownership.
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