Are You Maximizing Your Profits in Your Direct Sales Business

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Category : Direct Sales Articles, Direct Sales Work at Home Business Tips, Home Party Plan Tips

Maximizing your profits in your direct sales or party plan business really comes down to how you run your business. So let me ask you. Are you a sales based direct seller or a recruiting based direct seller? Does it really matter?

I am a sales based direct seller. I believe that sales are the foundation and basis of our business in direct sales. By using customer sales and the growth of your business through sales as the main basis of your income, then you will have a stronger business overall. With this said, I am also of the belief that strong sales will lead to strong recruits who also use sales based business model.

Another important reason that I use a sales based business model is that you actually make more money from your team sales as you are getting paid on their sales as well as any increase in income from adding a recruit to your line. I truly believe that sales drive the whole system of getting paid from your recruits. They will also sell product and make money and start then recruiting, just as their upline shows them. And the circle continues and the strenght of the whole team grows. The more product your team sells, the more money you make as well as the company.

Recruit based income is a hard concept for me sometimes. By putting the most eggs in your basket based on recruiting and then hoping that you will build yourself a team that will support you is tough. How do you make a living in the mean time, while you are building your team? And how does your teammember become good at selling the product, if no one is showing them how to? Also, if no one sold product, how can the company continue to exist?

It would make me nervous to expect a team to support me. What if they all quit? What if they didn’t buy anything next month? What if the party circuit dried up for them and their recruting efforts died? If the product doesn’t sell, the company cannot profit either….

Where do you want your business to go? Have you thought about how you have structured your business? Are you maximizing that structure to the benefit of your income and your recruits income as well? Make sure you look at all sides of the business when setting up your business plan and structuring how you do business and share all sides with your recruits as well. Recruits will tend to follow your lead until they can create their own plan and become comfortable with the business as well as learning to maximize their own profitibilty. We certainly have a responsibility to our new business partners to make sure they are being profitable so that we have a long and mutually satisifying relationship.

So now you know the best of part of being a home based business owner. Maximizing your profits and your recruits profits as well. The more you sell, the more you earn!

The Secret to Selling More

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Category : Article Marketing, Direct Sales Articles, Direct Sales Work at Home Business Tips, Ghostwriting for Blogs

I have a secret. The secret to selling more product and making more money. I don’t know if you are ready for it yet, though. Its a pretty big secret! What do you think? Are you up for it? Well, I am going to be nice and not hold back and longer.

For those of you crying the blues about making money in your direct sales business or MLM business or other home based small business, here is the scoop. The big scoop.

ASK for the SALE

I Know! What a riot!! Just think how I felt when I realized that…..

Ok, no more kidding around.

Seriously, people. If you have the tools at your finger tips to sell more product, why aren’t you doing it? If you have the tools and the product to sell, what is stopping you? The longer you whine and complain about not having sales, the less effective your whining is. Because people for hundreds and thousands of years have been selling product to feed their family, house their family and make a dang good living.

You have made a decision about the types of product that you want to sell the day you paid the money to join the business; the day you created the product line; the day you published the ebook or report, so what is stopping you? Are you afraid to ASK someone to buy from you?

I know it is easy to giveaway products and services and hope that lucky person will come back and actually buy from you. But that cannot happen forever. You have to get off your bootay and get out there. Get out into your community. Get out into other streams of people on the internet. By hanging with the same old crowd, you are going to get the same old results.

Come up with creative ways to market your products and ask for the sale. It sounds so simple and it really is. Ignore the negative nellies in your life and just do it. You just need to do it!

Just think how nice it will be to have money in your pocket and product moving. You know that having this product at your finger tips means that you can have money any time. Just go sell something. You love your product. That is why you wanted to sell it. And Guess what? Other people love your product as well. You just need to find them and they will appreciate you. Don’t let any negative thoughts get in your way. Get rid of the excuses and just go for it.

Okay….. off my soap box now.

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 Beauty On A Budget. If you would like to use this article for your newsletters or website, all links must be live and clickable.

Person to Person Sales Means More Money in Your Pocket

Category : Direct Sales Articles, Direct Sales Work at Home Business Tips

Person to Person Sales Means More Money in Your Pocket

In the direct sales business, it is so easy to just have a customer call you with an order, especially if she is a regular client of yours. But sometimes we forget that this is a person to person business that we are running and actually seeing your customer face to face can mean more money in your pocket.

In past articles, I have talked about the difference between an order taker and an order maker. Just taking a customer’s order; thank you very much; and hanging up the phone is really cutting into your potential profits.

Become that order maker. Make an appointment with your customer to stop by and get her order. That is a very personal touch and while you are there, you can recommend different products to try. Show her your traveling basket filled with new items that have arrived recently. Have her sample something new; maybe recommend an add on item that ties in with her original order. Tell her about upcoming specials and new products that may interest her. Talk to her about your business.

You know that it is so much easier to tell someone “No” on the phone than it is in person. When you are recommending a product in person, you have become an advisor. You have gone out of your way to offer a special service and that will stand out to your customer. You have increased your professionalism a few notches. Cementing your relationship with your customer will not only add money and profit into your pocket right now, but in the long run, the results will be clear. That customer will be yours for life.

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 Customer Appreciation Days in Your Direct Sales Business

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Category : Direct Sales Articles, Direct Sales Work at Home Business Tips

Using Customer Appreciation Days in Your Direct Sales Business

We talk a lot about customer service and how to make sure that your focus is on retaining customers and growing your business.. Using a one day function is an added benefit to your mission to Spoil the Customer!

There are so many ways you can easily and effectively spoil your customer. I am going to share a few ways with you.

• Have a Progressive Sale. Start your sales at 8am and offer a discount of say 30% from 8:00-9:00am. From 9:01-10:00 the discount goes to 25%. From 10:01–11:00 it drops to 20% and so on. You can run your sales anytime of the day; early, late, whatever works for you. I would caution you to only do this once per year as it can take a big chunk out of your profits. So make it a super special event and pick an obscure day to hold it each year so they can look forward to it, like St Pat’s day or the First Day of Spring.

• Do an Open House. Another special 1 day event that can really allow your customers to get to know you and spend one on one time with you. Offer specials deals, free gifts, basket drawings; whatever you like. Set up beautiful displays and let them browse new product lines and get to know your business. Offer cookies and coffee and sit and chat with them. By really getting to know your customer, you can offer them products to fit their needs in the future.

• Free Gift with Purchase. This can be a special Customer Service Week offer. “For all orders received the week of…. A free gift will be included with your order in appreciation for your loyalty. Thank you for being My Customer and friend” or something like that. This is a great tool to use as you will not be losing profits as much as you would with a progressive sale. Gifts to customers in the US up to a certain amount are allowed to be written off on your taxes. (check with your tax advisor as I am not one!)

• Big, Fat Clearance Sale. I love doing this one and usually do 2 a year. It allows me to lower my inventory and bring cash into my pocket. I usually do one over the holidays to lower my inventory for year end and one when I am feeling cash poor. It is amazing how much inventory we can accumulate over the year. I make a flyer with all of the inventory on it with the price and make it “first come first serve”. “Existing inventory only!” I mail it out first to my customers and then 1 day later put it out on the email addresses so they all get it about the same time. Make it a good deal and you can move some of this product out.

There are many, many more ideas that I am sure you can come up with but these are the ones I have effectively used in my business. By using one, two or all of these ideas and doing them each year, you will continue to cement your relationship with your customers. Keeping their support is key to your success. Enjoy!

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.

Making the Call

Category : Direct Sales Work at Home Business Tips, Home Party Plan Tips

How many times do you call your customers? Do you call them?

Do you have a plan in place to call them at certian times?

Create a procedure to call your customers on a regular basis. If you are in a party plan, you should be calling customers the next day after the party. Don’t know what to ask? Here are a few suggestions.

*You were so busy totalling up the orders you did get a chance to ask them about any questions they have had.
*Do they want to add anything?
* Is there something you loved and didn’t order? Booking opportunity right there.
*Are they interested in hearing more about joining your company? *How about if they know anyone how many be interested in joining or having a show

If the customer was a catalog order and was not at the party, a call to them would be very important. Talk about your company, if they have never ordered before. What things do they like? Favorite products make it easier to ask for a party date. How about friends they may know that would be interested in purchasing or hosting a party? Ask about interest in joining your company.

Other times to call your customers is when new books come out and when new Product lines are introduced that they will be interested in. Also after the orders are delivered, if the hostess is making the delivery for you. Make sure the product is correct and they know how to use it. Tips on the use of products is a sure winner in keeping a customer satisified.

I keep an index file on my customers and their favorite items, scents, shades. You will always have something to talk to them about and that makes for super customer service. You want your customer with you for a long time, not just one order.

So put your plan in place and increase those sales today and develop your customer for a long term relationship.