Direct Sales Marketing Success

Let's face it, more and more shopping is being done online. It makes sense to develop an online presence in your direct sales business. However, there is a wrong way and a right way to do it.
Your company has given you an online shopping site. If not, there are prehistoric. Your online website is focused on selling your company and its products. You can send customers there to shop and you never have to do anything more to build your site other than pay for it.

Unfortunately, your site has not been created to sell you. What makes you different than all the other thousands of consultants in your company and from your competitors? That's where online marketing comes in.

Online marketing is not for everyone, which can be an advantage for you. Did you notice your company does not teach you online marketing skills other than promoting the company website? Of course not. This is for good reason.

First, they do not want distributors abusing and tarnishing the company image. It happens. Some distributors create sites or blogs using the company name, products and attempt to market without the expertise of the company itself. Your company has probably spent millions of dollars finding the perfect copy and marketing strategies to brand itself. It markets factual information rather than exaggeration.

Second, there will always be disgruntled distributors who create sites offering products at bargain prices or attempt to sell products on Ebay.

Third, the company training is geared for the status quo. 95% of distributors have no clue how to set up a website. Some have trouble sending a simple email. To market your business online, it takes a willingness to learn computer skills. Most distributors would be completely confused and frustrated.

If you are in the 5% or so who can use a computer with at least a slight bit of savvy, online branding and marketing will help you expand your territories beyond your 3 foot rule.

In order to develop an online presence, your job is to solely market yourself. Think of your company as YOU INC. Why would someone come to you for information rather than someone else? How can you stand out as an expert in your field and as a leader to others? The answer is by giving your target market valuable information they can use without launching into a sales pitch. This can be done in several ways;

Create a blog or simple website:

Depending on what your product is, you can offer tips that would be related to that product. For instance, if you sell wellness products, create tips about how to stay healthy or eat nutritious foods. If you sell cosmetics, offer beauty or fashion tips. In order to stay within your company guidelines, make no mention of either your company or its products.

If you want to establish yourself as a leader, (an even better idea) offer tips and strategies to help prospective recruits learn how they can improve their financial future and better their lifestyle.

To set up a very simple blog or website, you can go to http://www.blogger.com or http://www.weebly.com They are free and great for beginners. As you hone your website skills, you can graduate to wordpress.org or joomla.com. A self hosted site is more professional than a free site, but it is more important to get started than wait until you have mastered blogging skills.

Your most important asset in YOU INC is your list and this needs to be a list that is responsive to what you have to offer:

To do this it is essential to have an auto responder and broadcast email service. The benefit of using an auto responder service as opposed to your regular email account, is that you can start collecting names of interested prospects who have given you permission to send them email newsletters or messages. I personally recommend aweber.com You can have multiple lists of clients, prospects, team members, etc., for the low price of $19 per month.

Once you pick an auto-responder service, they will give you HTML code to paste into your blog or website that will turn into a form for people to enter their name and email address.This gives you permission to email them. In order to get them to subscribe, it is recommended that you offer them something for free such as a free report or ebook. You can create this on Microsoft word and convert it into a pdf file. Simply upload it onto a separate thank you page on your website or use the auto responder thank you page. Ask existing customers or people you meet during the course of the day if they would like to be on your list. Send them a link to your website or blog.

Take advantage of social networking sites:

Social Networking is powerful. Start with Facebook.com. It is free to join. Set up your profile. The most important part of your profile is your picture. Very few people will make friends with a blank face. Make sure it is of you smiling and not your dog, baby or a plant.

Fill in your profile information and make sure to make it interesting and compelling. Avoid blatant sales pitches. Add your website, preferably your blog if you have one. If your company allows it, you can add your shopping site as well.

Join groups that have interests similar to yours. After you have joined a group, look at their member list. You can ask members of the group to be your friend by sending a short message letting them know that you are both members of the same group and that you would like to connect with them. Most people will friend you back.

Update your status on a daily basis if you want to start creating relationships with your friends. Many people sign up for Facebook and rarely update their status. Then they wonder why social networking doesn't work. When you enter status updates, offer helpful information, quotes, tips, and anything that would be interesting to read. You can send out links to your blog posts to entice them to visit your site. Send out links no more than 30% of the time on your status. Do not post links on other people's walls or in comments. They may perceive it to be spammy.

Avoid negativity on your status. Do not blurt out "I had a terrible day today!" Do not beg for business or preach your religious / political views.

Twitter.com is also an incredible tool. At first it may appear to be confusing. How do you communicate with others when you can only use 140 characters? Believe me it is hugely powerful. Download a free application called Tweetdeck.com. It will allow you to see your Twitter feed more clearly so that you can start to interact with others. Join in on the conversation if you have something helpful or inspirational to add. You can link your Twitter feed to your Facebook status update so you do not have to post to 2 separate sites. Use Friendfeed.com to link your sites.

Depending on your niche, you can join other social networking communities as well. As you connect with people on Facebook or Twitter, you will be able to access an overwhelming amount of information regarding online marketing including free teleseminars, courses and ebooks.

Just remember that your direct sales online marketing strategies should be focused on creating relationships and providing useful information. It is not about selling your products and services. That will come when you attract prospects to your email list. Ask others on Twitter and Facebook if they have products you are looking for. Become each other's customers and form alliances.

You finally get the nerve to recruit your first team member and she ends up doing squat. Chances are you decide never to recruit again. The average distributor recruits no more than 1 team member. Why does that happen?

A direct sales business offers a tremendous opportunity that can take someone from zero $ to millions of dollars. It is a viable business where success depends on skill and effort rather than luck. Unfortunately, most distributors target the everyday average person as a prospective team member, who does not possess any inkling of a business mentality.

The business sounds fun, at first, until they realize that there are marketing skills and start up costs involved. Sure, they may receive some help at the beginning. You might throw a party or two for them to get them selling and motivated. Then they are on their own and falter, eventually quitting. They were never meant to be business owners in the first place. They are glorified customers. Often, you will make more money keeping them as customers rather than recruiting them to be on your team.

The normal rule is that if you have a few people doing a lot and a lot of people doing a little, you will succeed. Many people have risen to the top that way but it takes an enormous amount of work. Basically what you are running is a babysitting service. That isn't fun and can be immensely frustrating. In addition to babysitting you are also subjected to major fits of drama. A person has a disappointment and the first person they blame is you. They do not realize that they have to take personal responsibility for their success and failure and that you are only there to coach and mentor them.

In order to avoid all that, you want to target prospects who have the same mindset as you have. Hopefully, you have an entrepreneurial mindset yourself. If not, you may want to get one if you want to become successful in direct sales.

There are signs a person is entrepreneurial even if they have never had a "real" business before. Here is what to look for:

They either own a business or have had a business in the past. Right now is a prime time to focus on this particular group. The economy is failing. Businesses are closing. Who better to look for than a business owner that may be looking to work from home rather than deal with the expenses that come from having a storefront. Join a Chamber of Commerce and attend events and mixers. You cannot simply join a networking organization and expect to get business. You must become involved.

Use Social Networking to connect with business owners or other network marketers. Often, network marketers, in particular, may not be happy with their current company or want to add an additional company to their plate. They understand what it takes to succeed in network marketing and are familiar with the lingo.

Consider freelancers. I am also an actor and live in Los Angeles. Actors are constantly on the hunt for work and can deal with rejection. Some are genuinely flaky and self absorbed, but there are those who realize that they cannot depend on a career in which their physical image or age is involved. Actors are also great at getting in front of groups to lead and motivate. The difference from being an actor, a hair dresser, or traveling notary is that their income is dependent on the amount of appointments or jobs they have. A direct sales business builds residual income that gets larger rather than smaller.

Look for someone who is naturally self motivated. They will seek out information on their own and implement it without requiring prodding from you. They also have a distinct reason that they want to have their own business and are determined to succeed. Just being a PTA President does not qualify someone to be in business. They may be great at organizing or implementing activities but without a compelling "why" they will not be any better than anyone else you may find off the street.

Look for someone who understands that becoming educated in their business is critical for success. They show up and attend conference calls, meetings, seminars and put what they learn into action. You may find people attending meetings simply because of the social interaction who still do nothing. They are nice to have around for support but do not expect them to be leadership material.

The products sold in direct sales companies are simply vehicles for something even more important. You do not become a leader in direct sales because you sold more products or recruited more people than anyone else. You become a leader because you have grown as a person. Direct Sales is about self help. That is its most important product. When you allow yourself to grow and learn you rise to the top. If you ask a person who has reached the top of your company what was the most valuable thing they received from the company, it would not be the money, prizes or recognition. It would be the entire journey and how they grew as a person along the way.