Avoiding Last Minute Cancellations in Your Direct Sales Biz

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 18-08-2010

Category : Biz Tips

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Don’t you hate those? Those last minute cancellations. I know I do! You’ve worked so hard with your hostess to get ready for her party. You’ve invested time, money and energy into helping her invite guests, get outside sales and plan her show. All of the sudden, just as your getting ready to head out the door, your hostess calls and says she wants to cancel. It’s not an emergency or anything like that, she just feels like no one is going to come, or doesn’t think her show is going to be a success.

Unfortunately, this scenario plays out a lot when you own a direct sales business. So, what can you do to avoid those last minute cancellations?

Encouragement
Obviously the first thing to do is encourage her to hold the show. Let her know you are on your way over and if no one shows up you can talk about what to do next once you arrive.

If she still insists on canceling, encourage her to book the show for the following week. Let her know you will help her invite friends and encourage sales. Ask her if she’s taken the catalogs to her friends, family and co-workers? If she has not, remind her that a lot of people will buy something, although they may not physically show up to her party. Outside sales are a great way to increase overall show sales. They are also a great way to find potential hostesses and customers.

Offer a Outside Sales Only Show
Another thing you can suggest is that your hostess holds what is known as a “book” party. If she is truly adamant and thinks no one will show up, encourage your hostess to get outside sales only. I’ve had many successful shows from “book” parties. Remind the hostess to get all the contact information from each person who purchases so you can follow up with them.

Plan Ahead & Keep in Contact
The best way to avoid those last minute cancellations is to do the work ahead of time. Keep in contact with your hostess from the time she booked the show up to the day before the show. Send out thank you notes, reminder cards and make phone calls to encourage her and help her to feel confident in her hosting abilities.

Supply the Tools for Success
Remember, most people who hold shows for you do not do this for a living. You’ll need to do a bit of detective work to find out what your hostess’ personality type. If you can figure out the type of person she is, you’ll be able to help her and her show be a huge success. Work with her and give her the tools necessary based on your findings.

For example, if your hostess is shy and reserved, help her by giving her “words” or scripts to use when calling her potential guests. Put the information in her hands to help keep her positive and thriving.

If your hostess is unorganized, but social (those two personality traits usually go hand in hand) help her get organized by giving her ‘save the date’ cards or magnets she can have in front of her at all times. Give her a plan or help her schedule time to make phone calls to friends and family. Give her plenty of brochures to hand out to co-workers and make sure she puts them in her briefcase or by her purse so they go with her to work the next day.

Sometimes in direct sales, we do have to assist some of our hostesses. You have to help them along, every step of the way. Not all hostesses are like this, but a lot more than you might realize are. For me personally, I would say at least half of my hostesses have needed a helping hand of some magnitude along the way. And that is what you are there for.

You can never go wrong by investing a little time and effort in someone to help her flourish. After all, your success depends on her success. In direct sales you won’t be in business long if you are not willing to invest time, energy and some money into the lives of others. You have to help others be a success if you’re going to be a success too!

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.

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

Tags: , ,

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.

Fundraising Online With Your Direct Sales Business

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Posted by Chris | Posted on 15-01-2010

Category : Biz Tips, articles

Tags: ,

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.

Got a Difficult Customer? Here’s some tips on how to survive.

Posted by Chris | Posted on 19-10-2009

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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Dealing with a Difficult Customer

Have you ever had a difficult customer or someone who made excessive returns on used product or even had a customer bounce a check on you? Did you stress out trying to deal with the issue or did you just let the customer walk over you as it was easier to deal with it all that way?

Well you are not alone! Many of us have had challenging customers
at one time or another. It is a fact of life with our type of business. But the difference is in how you deal with it.

Remember this first and foremost when dealing with a customer service issue. You are the business owner. You are. You need to deal with that customer in a professional, business type manner. You can get your message across that your customer is doing something that is over and above what you will accept in your
business without being negative, frightened, or walked on. It’s all in the delivery of the message.

**Be upfront with them from the beginning that this is your business.

**Be firm. Do not hesitate or be wishy washy. They can sense that and will not respond in the way you need them to.

**Offer a solution along with the issue. IE.. I’m sorry you are having problems with my product. I am in this business to assist you, so should we schedule an appointment so we can get together to find the product that matches your needs so you won’t have to be frustrated with returns?

**Think like a professional and let the professional take over in sticky situations. Change hats when you have to be the bad guy. Professionalism will always win! Meaning… be polite even if you cannot come to terms.

**Know that it’s is ok to “fire” a customer! If all you have is issues, tell them you can refer them to someone who can better serve their needs. Sometimes, it is not worth the stress to constantly deal with someone you can not get a long with… It’s OK! Really!

**Take a deep breath and move on. Don’t dwell on an issue. It is not worth it. Write it off to lesson learned and move on.

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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.

What is Holding You Back From Growing Your Business?

Posted by Chris | Posted on 04-10-2009

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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What is Holding You Back From Growing Your Business?

We hear a lot about dream and goals. Making a Dream Board is recommended to people all the time so you can visualize your goals. Visualizing your goals will make them real and obtainable, the experts say. I have one of my own!

But a lot of us have a Fear of growing our businesses. Some part of it could be old ingrained things from our parents. Some could be the amount of work recruiting and training really means. Some could be the fact that we are so overwhelmed with other Life issues that we don’t put the time into our businesses that it take to grow it. Status Quo is ok… Is that what is holding You back?

If you feel you have these things lurking in the back ground, what can you do about it? How can you overcome the ingrained fear of success?

• Realization is step one. If you do not recognize and admit that you may be this person I wrote about above, then you will not open the doors for change.
• Write it Down! What is your fear? Acknowledge it and begin the process to change it.
• Make a plan and work to break out of your comfort zone. Taking steps to overcome every day will help in becoming comfortable with the difference.
• Find out what it will take to reach your goal. Break it down into workable sections and plan out your work.
• Work on your plan every day! Sooner than you think you will realize your goals!

I know you can do it! Enjoy your success!

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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.

Money is in the Follow Up

Posted by Chris | Posted on 24-09-2009

Category : Biz Tips, articles

Tags: ,

How many times have you left messages for someone and they never return your call? It can be so annoying yet do we all do it sometimes? I know that I have not returned calls, be it for the lack of time at that moment, but fully intending to do so eventually…. :)

But in order to be successful in the direct sales business or any sales business, we have to talk directly to the intended person. Leaving messages just does not get the sales, the booking or the recruit. We must follow up. We must make that call again.

I know, you don’t want to be a pest. No one does, but understand this. There are several reasons why the intended did not answer or return your call.

1) She truely is swamped and busy!
2) She wrote it down and has been meaning to return your call.
3) She misplaced the number or mis wrote it
4) The kids deleted the message and she never got it
5) Hubby deleted the message because it sounded dangerous – $$$
6) She was going to call you back closer to payday
7) She really was ditching you

There is of course many more reasons, but this probably encompasses most of them.

So now you know WHY you have to make those follow up calls. You have to get a hold of that person. If she really was intending on returning your call and just hasn’t gotten to it, she will appreciate you for following up. If she never got the message, then how wil she know to call you back?

Let’s face it. We are the ones offering our products and services. We have to be proactive about our sales. The only way this is going to happen is if we talk to the intended person directly, not through email, not through voice mail. Things can be read into messages and emails. Face to face or person to person is the best way to acheive closure, which is what we are talking about.

So continue to call back your intended folks. Call at different times. You don’t have to leave a message each time you call. In fact, don’t leave a message unless time is of the essence. Then that message should contain enough urgency for that person to pick up the phone and call you right back.

Once you get used to talking directly to folks, you will find your closure rates have increased, which means more money in your pocket. You will find more things to talk about with that person and you will more than likely find a new business associate and even better, a new friend.

Don’t be Shackled by the Rules

Posted by Chris | Posted on 15-08-2009

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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Don’t be Shackled by the Rules

Does your company have tons of rules about advertising? How about websites? Do the rules make you feel like you are being restricted by the company? Well maybe you are not!

Let’s look at this from another point of view. Most Direct Sales businesses are geared to grow through personal contact. You talk to people. Share your goods and services and business opportunities. Direct Sales is based on personal contact. Ok, so what if you can’t have a website! Does that mean you are stopped from using message boards and forums to grow your business? Not really. So you can’t use print advertising or the name of the company in print. Does that mean you cannot make a generic ad for your business? Not really. No recruiting ads online? Big Deal!! You can recruit the heck out of your hostess and customers.

What I am trying to say is that since the concept of door to door sales and Direct Sales as a whole was conceived, it has been about Personal relationships and not about how good your ad was or how many ads you blasted out in the world. You mainly grow your business by talking to people, finding their likes and filling that need. Period!

Sure there is going to be some people that have mainly done online sales and that is great. But in our world of Direct Sales, the more you do offline, the greater your sales will be. Offline contact will feed Online sales as well, so they do go hand in hand. But, by focusing on personal contact and one on one relationships, you will be successful.

Read your contract again and then read between the lines. It tells you all of the things you cannot do. But look for the things you can do. Focus on those and do them well! You will be a success and will not have to be frustrated any more.

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’s the Big Deal about Fundraisers?

Posted by Chris | Posted on 27-07-2009

Category : Biz Tips

Tags: ,

What’s the Big Deal about Fundraisers?

Did you ever wonder why people are so hyped up about fundraisers? I mean, what is really in it for you? Why should you deal with the hassle and even care?

Well, what is in it for you is the potential customers that can blow the lid off of your business! That is reason number One! Just think of the number of potential new customers you will reach if you do a t-ball team fundraiser. Yes there are only 10-12 kids on the team. Say 10 moms participate in the fundraiser. But those 10 moms sell to 5-10 of their friends. That is 50 – 100 new potential customers that you can reach! As you can see, holding a small fundraiser can pay off big.

So just how are you going to reach these potential customers? Several ways are available to you.
? Make sure plenty of flyers are available so your participants can have plenty to pass out. Don’t forget to have your contact info on them.
? Use business cards in each bag that goes out to the customers.
? Put in a thank you note with your contact information.
? Put in catalogs, if you can afford to. If not, use a flyer
? If you are able to have a copy of each of the participants order sheets, you have access to mailing addresses of the buyers of your product. Do some post card mailing.

These are just some simple ways of keeping in contact. Offering a simple percent off future orders is a great offering to add. One fundraiser that I did, I donated 15% of my earnings back to the club on orders that came from the fundraising customers for a month after the fundraiser held. I was able to form a relationship with these new customers and kept them long after the fundraiser and my donation period was over. The club president was very happy to get an additional check and her customers were pleased to know that they were still donating to the cause and getting great products. And best of all, guess who was invited back to do another fundraiser the following year? You betcha, ME~

Give your hand a try at fundraising. You never can tell if it will be successful unless you try! Enjoy!
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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.

Your Information Packet for Your Fundraising Contacts

Posted by Chris | Posted on 20-07-2009

Category : Biz Tips, articles

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Your Information Packet for Your Fundraising Contacts

Getting all of the information together to make a good impression on your future fundraising group is a crucial step in finding and getting your fundraisers booked. Since we always want to keep our best face forward, taking some time on your presentation packet is a good idea. You don’t want your packet to look like you threw it together at the last moment. But if you create and put together some forms and information ahead of time, you will be ready when the time comes to get a packet out quickly.

Some of the things that you want to think about and research is the amount of profit you are willing to give a said group. If you create a form that has the different breakdowns of what you can offer based on the groups volume, you will be ahead of the game. This research will be based on your profit you make from your company. Say you make 50% from your company if your order is over $1500 and 40% if the orders are under $1500. You need to keep some for yourself for supplies and to put a few bucks in your pocket. So, as an example, you can offer 35% if the fundraiser totals $1500 or are doing a few select items is to offer X dollar per item as their earnings. For example, if you make $6 per item, then you can offer them $3 per item and so forth.

Also, many companies, direct sales or not, now have fundraising promotions already set up with the pricing and your profit. These save you work and are easy to implement. Make sure to ask your company before moving ahead.

Make sure that you include shipping in your calculations. You do not want to go back to the club and tell them that you need to take out $500 for shipping from their profits. The same goes for Tax. If they are a non profit, make sure to get their number as your company will need that so that you do not have to charge them tax. Otherwise roll the tax into the selling price to keep it simple.

Once you have the profit that you are willing to give, create an easy breakdown sheet for your packet. Keep it generic so you can use it over and over. You can get more detailed when the time comes.

Another form that you can create is your introduction letter. Make it a clear and concise as possible. You do not have to put all of the details of your fundraiser into the introductory letter. Keep it informational yet concise. Most people scan a letter first to see if it is of interest. Short and sweet with the Why in the first paragraph so they can see what you are all about quickly. No more than a one page letter. Again, when you follow up with them, you can get more detailed.

If you have done some fundraising in the past, a testimonial page would be a great tool to toss in your packet. Have some phone numbers if they are interested in talking to your past customers. Testimonials speak very loudly!

If you create these things a head of time, you can personalize a packet very quickly and send it out as needed. Remember the Golden Rule! FOLLOW UP!

Have fun!

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.

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