Your Daily Direct Sales Business Tasks: Money Making Activity or Time Suckers?

Posted by Chris | Posted on 01-09-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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Your Daily Direct Sales Business Tasks: Money Making Activity or Time Suckers?

There are so many aspects in running a successful direct sales business; it can get overwhelming if you let it. Do you find yourself continually running out of time and not getting anywhere in your business? If so, you are probably spending your time on “time suckers” instead of money making activities. How do we know what activities are time wasters and what are money making activities?

Well, here’s a little evaluation or check system you can use to ensure you’re spending quality time building your business instead of wasting time on activities that are keeping your business at a standstill.

When working on an activity, ask yourself these questions to determine if it’s a money maker or a time sucker:

• Is what you’re doing going to help your business grow and make you money immediately? The most obvious money making activity is holding shows. Does the activity you’re working on involve booking and holding more shows? If the answer is yes, then that is a money making activity.

• Is what you’re doing going to help your business grow and make money in the near future? Planning ahead for future business is always smart and in direct sales this also involves recruiting new people to your team. When your are interviewing potential recruits be sure they are:

o Truly interested in the business or learning more about it
o In love with the product and excited about it.
o Ready and have the time to start a new business.

You don’t want to waste your time trying to force someone into the business who isn’t interested, doesn’t love the product or have the time to put into the business to make it successful. This is a real time sucker a lot of consultants get stuck in because they are trying to recruit anyone and everyone into the business. Following the above guidelines when considering having someone join your direct sales team will ensure you are not wasting your precious time.

• Is what you’re doing helping you be a better consultant? If you are working on getting more organized or learning to speak better in front of people, those are definitely not time suckers. Bettering yourself will always help you be more successful in all you do. Just be sure you use what you learn and don’t let it go to waste! Knowledge without action is a time sucker! What’s the use of knowing something but never putting that knowledge into action?

Below are some time suckers which are easy to get caught up in:
• Talking to the same people over and over about holding a show for you or becoming a recruit when they’ve already told you they’re not interested is a time sucker. Move on into new territory and don’t continue wasting time on them.

• Being unorganized is a huge time sucker that a lot of people have to learn to overcome. When you are unorganized you waste valuable hours trying to find a sales order, or the phone number of that customer whose call you need to return.

• Being unprepared for your shows or interviews is a time sucker. You may think that preparing for a show or going over questions to ask a potential new recruit is a time sucker, when in fact the opposite is true. When you go into a show without having gone over your check list first and organizing your products and displays, you will waste valuable time trying to arrange your products or displays. Plan ahead how you are going to set your products up for your shows; be sure you have all the items necessary to display your products professionally and in an organized manner. That means packing your displays and products away properly at the last show, so get a system set up that makes this process smooth and easy. It will save you hours of valuable time; hours you can use making money.

Whatever task you are working on, before diving in, go over these things either with this article in hand or in your head to make sure that the things you are spending time on are in fact money making activities and not time suckers. Doing this simple little exercise each time will ensure you are spending your time wisely, getting you closer to your business goals.

Do You Have What It Takes To Succeed In Direct Sales?

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 28-05-2010

Category : Best of Direct Sales Talk, articles

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You’re so excited. You just had an awesome party for your favorite skin care or home décor products and your consultant knows you’d be perfect at being a consultant too. After all you just had the best show she’s had in 6 months. That must mean you’re cut out to do direct sales, right? Well…maybe.

Before you go diving into joining a direct sales company, there are a few things you need to ask yourself. You’ll then find out if you are ready to make direct sales a way of life and really make a successful career out of it. After all, you wouldn’t want to invest in something that isn’t right for you, right?

Sit down with a pen and paper. Jot each of the following questions down. Then, think about the honest answer for each one. The answers should be true for where you are right now in life and your current situation. I’m not trying to discourage you from starting a career as a direct sales consultant. I’m trying to help you see the areas you may need to work on while building your career and help you avoid a possible costly mistake. Believe me. I’ve made them and I hate to see others do the same when it could be avoided altogether. What should you ask yourself before making the jump into direct sales?

1. Do I have the time, right now in my schedule needed to work and build my business? I know too many times a recruiter will tell you they only work a couple of hours a week and make hundreds of dollars. While their actual shows or parties may only take a couple of hours a week, you must consider the set up time, the bookkeeping time, driving time, organization time, meeting time, etc.

When you account for all of those things that are necessary to make a direct sales business successful, do you, right now, have the time for that? Do you work another job full time or part time? Do you have a family that obviously requires nurturing and caring for? Do you attend church regularly or belong to other organizations that take up some of your time? Okay, that’s more than one question, but you need to consider all of these things when accounting for what free time you have available.

2. Do I absolutely LOVE the products I will be selling? Are you 100% sold out? Do you already tell your friends and family about it and essentially “sell” them on it? One of my biggest pet peeves is to have a consultant who really isn’t sure about the product themselves. Maybe they got in because of the lure of working only a couple of hours a week and making a ton of money doing so. Perhaps they were looking for a way to make more money and their recruiter made it so appealing to them by saying, “This product will sell itself, you don’t even have to try. Once a person tries it or sees it, they will buy it”.

I know I’ve fallen for those words myself. You must truly know your product and love it. I can’t sell something I don’t love. I just don’t feel right about it. It’s like I’m lying. I don’t LOVE every single product I’ve sold for a particular company, but I loved the main product or the products that were right for me (i.e. my skin type), but you must love the products you are using, and you have to use them yourself.

3. Am I driven and motivated? Do you have the desire deep in your heart to really work your business? Are you a goal setter and strive to always reach your goals when you set them? I believe that in order to be successful at anything, you must have a long term goal and short term goals that will help get to your long term goal.

Is the nice car your long term goal? What do you have to do to earn it? Earn x amount of sales or recruit x amount of people? What are you going to do to get your first recruit, your second and so on? How are you going to motivate your down line to success? How many shows do you have to hold a week to reach the ultimate dollar amount in sales to earn the car? Are you ready and motivated to do this? Is it your desire to be able to quit your job and work from home full time in direct sales? Then you’re going to have to work twice as hard. You’ll need to work your full time job and work your direct sales business in the evenings or on weekends until you can afford to leave your current job.

4. Can I speak to a group of people? Do you have the ability to talk in front of a group of people? If you are shy and timid, certainly you can overcome shyness, but if you have trouble standing in front of a group and speaking, how are you going to hold shows, parties and presentations?

You will want to work on overcoming your shyness before diving into a direct sales business. You can practice by holding shows for your close friends and family, which is where you usually start anyway. Each show will get you more and more comfortable speaking in front of others. Another way to help you overcome shyness is by reading books about building your confidence or public speaking.

Once you sit down with and ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly, you will know whether you have what it takes to be a success in direct sales. As you answer them, you may find you are qualified in some areas, but not all. If this is the case, then maybe you do have what it takes to be successful at starting a direct sales business, while working on one or two of the other areas to give your business the kick it really needs to be a success.

Be honest with yourself, determine which characteristics you already possess and determine which ones you need to work on and go from there. And don’t let a recruiter convince you otherwise. Sit down with your hubby or best friend and ask them how they would answer these questions about you. You don’t have to make a decision on the spot and a good recruiter will give you the time you need to really consider these things. A good recruiter will want you to succeed because it will help them be more successful as well.

Where are Your Habits Leading You?

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 19-05-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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I have a guest Blogger today. Bill Bell is one of my upline and he wrote such a great article I had to share it with you all! Thanks for the inspiration, Bill!

Where are Your Habits Leading You?

Copywrite 2010 ~ By Bill Bell

You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed to how you shower; how you dress; how you walk, sit and talk; how you respond to the world; how you act in front of others; and how you think, you are living out your habits. Habits are necessary. They free up your mind so that you can concentrate on how to survive every day. You don’t have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the lookout for danger while you are driving. You don’t have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you are going.

Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success. To become successful, you will need to drop bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live. People do not suddenly appear in the life they want to live—habits determine their outcome! What are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals? Are you always running late? Do you return phone calls within 24 hours? Do you get enough sleep? Do you speak clearly and look people directly in their eyes? Do you eat healthy meals? Ask others what they observe about you and make a list of all the behaviors that keep you from success.

Imagine what your life would be like if all those habits were their productive counterparts. What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What would your life be like if you saved money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What would your life be like if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears and began networking with people in your field? Write down the more productive habits and visualize your life as it would be if they were your habits right now.

Decide to develop four of your new habits each year, one for each quarter. Create a method that will support your new habit. What will keep you motivated? How will you remind yourself of your new habit? You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read over several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could enlist the help of an accountability partner who also has habits to change. Be specific about the steps that you are willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one. Do not be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so that you can recognize situations that call for you to act out your new habit.

Once you have picked your habit for that quarter, make a 100 percent commitment to stick to it. Do not tempt yourself by making it optional every time a situation arises. If your new habit is to go to bed by 10 p.m., then go to bed at 10 p.m., even if you are not feeling tired. Just go there and relax, read a book, visualize or meditate, but don’t compromise on your new habit. If you make an exception once, you are more likely to make an exception the next time, and soon you will be back to your old habits.

Even four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you see more clearly how your old habits are not serving you anymore. You can do it!

Guest Blogging with Deb and Customer Service

Posted by Chris | Posted on 26-04-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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I had the opportunity to be a guest blogger/ article writer with my friend Deb Bixler. Customer Service and Direct Sales was the topic of the day.

I hope that you take a moment to stop by a read it. Improve Direct Selling Customer Service Its full of some great tips and info for you and your business.

Hope you enjoy it!

How to Deal With the Negative Nellies

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 22-03-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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You know they are out there. You may even know a few or perhaps live with one. The Negative Nellies of the world…. Nothing can make them happy.

But what happens when you run into one you are trying to sell your product to? All you hear from them is negative.

“Oh, I can get that cheaper at Wal-Mart.”

“Oh, I can’t use things with cheap ingredients.”

My Favorite one – “Oh another home business? You are always doing something different.”

Ummm, not really, thanks for pay attention!

So what can you do? How can you take one more complaint or criticism to your choice of business?

Well, the way I see it, you have 3 options.
1) Ignore them and keep on presenting. You are going to eventually find something they like
2) Ignore them and stop the sales process because they are probably going to return anything you may be able to sell them anyway.
3) Turn the sales process around.

I personally vote for number 3. Here are a few ways you can turn the sales process around.

– Ask them what they like about your line. What are they looking for? What makes a good product a good value – then recommend items that fit those responses.

- Introduce them to other parts of your line that they may not have complaints about.

– Let them sell themselves. Let your Negative Nellie tell you what they are looking for or need to buy. They may not even realize they have been sold to.

– Give them samples and let them do their own comparisons without being told how great your product is or what they will expect to see. Let them find to their own results then ask them about how they liked the product.

If worse comes to worse, you can always just have a friend and not a customer in that person because sometimes it may just need to be that way. And probably a lot easier too!

7 Tips to be an Effective Direct Sales Leader

Posted by Chris | Posted on 06-03-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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In direct sales there are always opportunities to become a leader of
other people. Sometimes known as down line or recruits, they become a
part of our team. Sometimes leaders feel compelled to become
responsible for their teams overall performance. They fret and
sweat and break their own backs to try and make others successful.
Giving others leads and recruits to boost their numbers. Finding
new customers to place orders to keep the sales where they need to
be. Basically doing everything to support someone elses business in order to make yours successful, to get that extra bonus check or promotion.

But my question is Has It Been Worth It?

If you have been doing so much work for others, have you been able to
keep your business where it should be or could be?

And if the other rep is not as compelled as you are to be successful and
quits their business in a few months, you have just lost everything you
put into that others business.

I would suggest that you take the time to step back and look at your
business and how much you actually do for others and maybe look at
some tough questions and alternatives.

* Are you helping or hindering that other persons business?
* Are they going to be able to learn and grow their own without your
help someday?
* Interview your new potential people. Do they have experience in
sales? How much are you going to have to help?
* Learn when to let go and let them fly
* Lead by example and they can copy You
* Give them the tools and the expectations and they can be successful
if they want to.
* Know that some will and some won’t. Don’t take it personally.
* Know that they have to have the drive inside but you can inspire it.

Teach your recruits to fish. Don’t give them the fish and expect then them to have a strong business. Teaching is powerful and it will make you a stronger leader.

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Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved
Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site DirectSalesTalk. You can also find her at her business site ShopOnYourSeat If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

Using Introduction Letters for Your New Direct Sales Business

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 27-02-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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It can be overwhelming the first days of a new Direct Sales business. There is training to complete, product information to learn, business tools to order and create and most of all, notifications of your new business to be sent out. We always want to let our friends and family know about our new business in hopes that we can use them for bookings for those important starter parties.

Another thing to remember is that even if we are super busy getting the business off the ground with our friends and family, we also need to notify those around us, such as neighbors, acquaintances, people we know in the community and local businesses.

One way to do that is through a letter of introduction. This is a simple letter that tells the reader who you are, how long you have been in the community, a little about you and your business and a call to action. A call to action can be to call you for a book or to visit your website. It can be to place an order and get a gift or anything that you want to reader to do.

One important thing that I have found that works is to make sure that the reader understands that you are local and that you live and work in the neighborhood. Furthermore, make sure they know that this is your business and that you will be there when they need you. An important thing to remember and for you to embrace is that your business may be a work at home Direct Sales business, but it is the same thing as a brick and mortar business. The only difference will be the fact that you don’t pay rent on a building and your level of professionalism. And that level of professionalism is going to be up to you to determine.

The best way I have found to use this letter is by incorporating it in with a mini mailer or catalog drop. This way the recipient can see your product and it adds more branding power to you and your business. You want them to remember you and associate your name to your business. The more you can do that, the better and faster your business can grow.

Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved
Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site DirectSalesTalk. You can also find her at her business site ShopOnYourSeat If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

What Is Direct Sales Marketing?

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 25-02-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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Here is a post by a guest blogger, my friend, Deb Bixler . Enjoy!

Define Sales Marketing

Sales is the art, science, and skill of creating more and more desire in the market place for your opportunity, product or services. Sales comes from a Scandinavian word that means to serve. Sales is a service business. When you serve your customers well you will make more sales. Businesses that operate with a sales or service focus are said to provide good customer service. When a business has good customer service, there will be more desire for their product, opportunity or services, and that in turn will result in sales.

Marketing Your Direct Sales Business

Let’s look at all the different parts of the direct sales marketing concept separately.

Art is closely tied to emotions. People connect on an emotional level. Using the art of connecting to people individually by focusing on their needs is truly the art of sales. When you do not include a focus on others in your sales pitch, then the sales are all about you or your products. Asking open-ended questions that give you more information about your customer, whether or not those questions actually relate to the sale, is a terrific way to learn more about your customers’ needs and how you may be able to serve them.

Science on the other hand is systematic. All successful companies are based on systems. If you are not getting the results that you want in your business, then take a look at your systems. Systems may be incorporated into your operation on many levels, including a system for presenting your product or opportunity, a system for closing the deal, a system for processing orders, etc. Systems make your business simpler and gives you a sales advantage. With good systems in place, you are freed up to focus on the emotional aspect of selling, which is essential.

Skills on the other hand, are based on practice. Practicing the art and science of selling gives you better skills. Practice brings sales and the more you practice, the better your skills, which in turn continues to generate more sales.

Good salespeople have the ability to generate desire in the market place for their product or service. Desire is when the customer wants what you have. When they want what you have, it is easy to sell or to serve their needs. How do you get them to want what you have? By sharing what is in it for them on an emotional level and understanding that everyone on earth is not going to have desire for what you are offering. It is important to realize that it is OK, because the person standing in front of you will not make or break your business. Sharing your wares on an emotional level takes practice. For example: A stainless steel whisk won’t sell well. A dishwasher-safe whisk may sell better. A whisk that will clean up in a snap and whisk you out of the kitchen to spend more time with your family will probably sell best.

Where is the marketplace? For a direct sales professional the marketplace is everywhere you go. That doesn’t mean you are talking business everywhere you go or every minute of every day. It means that you are connecting with people emotionally and sharing benefits of your company’s products, opportunity or services when appropriate, and using systems to fine-tune your skills at providing awesome customer service even when no sale is involved.

When you put art, science and skills to work in your business, sales will skyrocket. Learn more about Direct Sales Marketing at Create a Cash Flow Show.com

The Best of Direct Sales Talk

Posted by Chris | Posted on 12-02-2010

Category : Best of Direct Sales Talk, Show Archives, articles

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It’s here It’s here! The long awaited and often referred to ebook of my Hot Tips for Direct Sellers! Otherwise known as The Best of Direct Sales Talk

With all of the information available to you, I know it can be overwhelming to figure out the best things to do to get your business moving now. My Hot 17 brings you many of the most important tips for you and your business!

Best of all it is ONLY $5

Ya, that is not a typo. $5!

Why am I giving this away for so little? Simple. I want everyone to be able to afford a copy and be able to starting working on these tips for your business Today!

Click here to purchase and you will be redirected after payment to the link for downloading.


God Bless You and Your Business!

Fundraising Online With Your Direct Sales Business

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 15-01-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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Successful fundraising can be accomplished online as well. If you are one of the direct sellers that focuses her business online only, you will want to be able to offer fundraising as an option to your business plan. So how do you go about finding potential clients?

First and foremost, networking is going to be the main way of getting the information out there. Adding a sales page just for your fundraising options that you offer will be important to the salability of your program. While networking you will not have the ability to fully explain your program, but you will want to send them somewhere professional to get the information.

Write your sales page as clear as possible without confusion. If you know your program can be confusing, highlight the important specifics and have then contact you for more information. Do not try and explain the entire program. You want to sell the Product and the idea of your program. Killing the deal with details is easy to do.

Highlight the important factors such as the amount to be made by the customer, quality of the product, uniqueness of the product and the Why to choose you and your products.

Target the correct market for potential clients. Do some research to find the correct venues. If you are trying to market only to work at home moms also trying to market their own products, you may be wasting your time. But certainly add a tag line to your signatures on message boards and such. You never know who you may run into there.

Do not forget your offline friends, family and customers. You can direct them to your sales pages online and gather information there. Having a contact me form would be a great idea as well as a sign up sheet for future contact on specialty programs you may have.

Cross promote with someone else you know to help get the word out. Don’t forget testimonials as well!

Enjoy developing your custom fundraising program. It can certainly boost your sales!

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Copyright Chris Carroll All Rights Reserved

Chris Carroll is a sales professional that has made direct sales her business of choice and enjoys sharing with others. You can sign up for tips on managing and increasing your business at her site http://DirectSalesTalk.com .You can also find her at her business site http://ShopOnYourSeat.com . If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

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