Are You a Direct Sales Addict?

Hi. My name is Kimberly and I'm addicted to direct sales.

There. I've said it in public!

What do I mean by "addicted" and how do you know if you've got it too?

Well, I'll start on the consumer side. I am one of those people who LOVED going to home parties, back in the days before my husband's business turned seriously disasterous and we had two incomes and plenty of moula. I was the guest who could be counted on to spend $50 - 75. And, I loved the social aspect of getting together with a bunch of gals and having an adult beverage and gabbing, and oh yeah, SHOPPING. I rarely go to malls or even department stores anymore, so for years when my kids were really young, I did my shopping at home shows.

Only ONE time did I have to work really hard to find something in the catalog that I wanted. Most of the time, the list was longer than the allowance. I love the opportunity to play with products, to learn about them ,etc.

What can I say - dream guest, right?

And yeah, I've bought a few kits in my day!

In general, I am not a "kitnapper." That's someone who buys the kit with no intention of selling, but just to get the items in the kit and/or the discount for a period of time. In fact, only once did I actually buy a kit for that reason and it was with the full endorsement of my sponsor. She suggested it when she saw how much stuff I wanted to buy. I'd been a loyal customer of hers for about ten years at that point, hosted a good show years before, etc.

Two other times...no maybe three, I bought a kit to help out a friend with the express purpose of adding a new recruit to her lineage during a contest or promotion effort. Again, with the understanding that she needed a body for a period of time, and I had no intention of actively selling the products.

Three times I have retailed product aggressively and sponsored or built teams, once up to the half-million in sales, 200+ team size.

Twice I have found products I thought were great, but never got traction retailing the product. In both those cases, I truthfully did not try very hard.

So yeah....I am pretty sure when you tally the list of the number of times I've joined a company, I qualify as an addict! Even though, in all fairness to myself, I NEVER INTENDED to retail most of those products.

Still...the list is long.

Does this matter? Does it affect my credibility as a sales person? Unfortunately, it may. Likewise, you may find if you have done a variety of companies that your friends will say to you, "Oh no, what now!?"

On the flip side, should you continue to sell a product that doesn't inspire you? I would definitely say "no." And, I've met a whole LOT of ladies like myself, who have tried lots of things. Sometimes for the right reasons, sometimes for the wrong ones. Sometimes because we thought a company was a great opportunity, sometimes because the product was cool. Sometimes because we needed a quick $1000 and doing something for a couple months produced that.

The constant that I see in these (mostly) gals is that they have a passionate desire to improve their lives, and the lives of people they touch. It just takes some of us LOTS of frogs to find the "prince" of a product we can both sell consistently, enjoy consistently, and want to do to the exclusion of other things.

So, go on, go shopping at that home show.

Or, go ahead, take the plunge. Found yet ANOTHER product you love and want to try to sell?

Go for it.

(You may have to find some new friends to sell to though!) ;)

I'm looking at my list and thinking, do I do it AGAIN? For the first time, I've found a product that I want every single thing in the catalog - I've never responded to a line like that before. I've tried the product and LOVE what it is doing for me. Joining companies before has mostly been a more practical decision, timing, market, etc.

Decisions, decisions.

Hi. My name is Kimberly, and I'm a direct sales addict.

SALES...the Life of the Party Plan

Kimberly Bates

Follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/kimberlybates
Learn my system for selling without feeling or being a pain the butt, The Gentle Seller System
http://www.beabetterseller.net

P.S. EDIT If you read my last post, it was about the Trump Network. Just FYI, I don't consider that a traditional "party plan" opportunity. My husband is very interested, and we are researching their products. But, Trump is NOT the company I am referring to above, when I say I want everything in the catalog. That is a different company.

The Trump Card

Okay, I'll say it.

Why are the people who are touting the Trump Network approaching everyone with "have you heard about the Trump Network?" and nary a mention of what is a terrific product line? (So good, I may join.)

Here's the story as I understand it.

Donald Trump said several years ago that if he was starting over, or going into a new business, or some such thing, that he would do network marketing. I THINK it might have been on Oprah in the past ten years. It's probably on youtube...

Anyway, when things started turning south in the economy last year, he decided, "now's the time." So, he went searching for a company to buy. He had some strong criteria. He wanted a company already in business, but one that had not reached explosive growth. He wanted a health and wellness product. He wanted a quality product. He ended up purchasing a company by the name of Ideal Health. They've been around about twelve years - successful, but not hugely, in an admittedly crowded market.

Several months ago, they went into pre-launch. Ever since, I've seen tweets on twitter, mentions on facebook, a few blogs, etc. And every single one of them focuses on one thing.

Donald Trump.

Now, Mr. Trump is a bonafide force of nature. And having his name, credibility, financial backing, and marketing savvy behind a product is absolutely a good thing. But here is my question.

What are these recruiters going to say to people in a year when everyone knows about the Trump Network? What reason will they give for joining then?

More important, as I have previously discussed here on this blog, it is the retail selling of product that pays the bills in any network marketing or direct sales structure. Even IF a commission is paid on start-up kits, long term, it's residual continuous product sales that really drive checks.

Are all these people signing up for the Trump name thinking they only need sign up a bunch of others and sit back and let the money roll in? If the sole message going out to the public is "Sign up because it's Donald Trump," what does that portend for the ultimate success of the company?

My greatest fear here is that people are signing up literally not caring what the product is. If it's Trump, they're in.

Sigh. Well, to each his or her own. Millions will be made either way.

And, on the plus side, having someone like Trump endorsing network marketing could give an industry that has traditionally suffered mis-understanding and negativity a much deserved dose of credibility.

I'm still sayin'...

SALES, the Life of the Party (or any other direct sales) Plan!

Kimberly Bates
The Better Seller Coach

Follow Me on Twitter http://twitter.com/kimberlybates
Get Selling Skills tailored to party plan http://www.beabetterseller.net

Direct Sales Best Practices

Wow...sorry I missed a week posting. We are in rec league baseball insanity here, plus I've been feverishly writing articles on a variety of topics. Didn't realize I was a week behind.

This week, I would like to ask you for help for something I've wanted to write about for a long time - best practices by direct selling companies. Problem is, I need to hear from you what your company does really well. Something that is a terrific service to the reps, and not disguised or hidden. Let me give you an example.

I know of a company that claims to pay 30% commission. However they only actually pay 25% to the consultant, and put 5% into an account for buying supplies like catalogs. That is not a best practice! It's deceptive and elitest. Pay the reps what you say you pay them and let them decide how to spend it.

On the other hand, I'll commend Southern Living at Home for putting 5% of a consultant's personal sales into an account to buy supplies. Without claiming it to be compensation! (I assume they still do that.) Why is it a best practice?

Because it serves the consultants AND the company.

Consultants who have to spend $$ on catalogs are stingier with them. Period. When consultants can get catalogs and brochures basically "free" based on personal sales, they will give them out more freely, leave them places, etc. All furthering the interests of the company.

That's a best practice.

Please share with me your company's best practices. Email me at kdbates@aol.com or follow me on twitter http://twitter.com/kimberlybates and send me a message. As soon as I have eight to ten, I'll share them with everyone. (I've already got a couple, but would like another 5 -7)

SALES...the Life of the Party Plan

Kimberly Bates, the Better Seller Coach
http://www.beabetterseller.net
@kimberlybates on twitter

Is Your Upline a Stalker?

Sheez...I must have a torture wish taking this one on!

I'll tell you what, there's a whole lot of opinions out there about how we should interact with fellow consultants both up and down line. So, take mine for what it's worth.

I am a believer that as a sponsor, you owe your downline a great deal. That does not include, however, dragging them over the finish line. You should train them. You should make certain they know the current specials. You should recognize outstanding sales or recruiting - via team emails, blog, phone calls. And not just to that person. Publicly praise as often as possible. Otherwise, make it clear to them you are available to help them achieve their dreams, but that they have to ask for your help and do the work themselves.

However, I believe your downline owes you...NOTHING. That is, they do not work FOR you. While their contributions matter to your success, they do not share in that to the extent you do. You promote, your "team" does not promote. (Lots of leaders will talk about becoming a "directorship" or part of a new entity of some sort. This is hooey.) The benefits of that still go to the person promoting. They did it because of the overall results, no doubt. But, with rare exceptions, the only benefit to having your upline promote is the gaining of information more quickly from the home office and maybe corporate leads. You are getting the bigger commission checks, not your team.

Please do not be that sponsor who stalks their team for results every month. They do not owe you. It is your responsibility to make your title numbers, not theirs. Period.

What if you have one of those uplines? The kind who calls around at the end of the month to see who's got shows open and what's going in this month, etc? What can you do?

First, let me see if I can give you a little bit of what they struggle with. It doesn't excuse that behavior, but at least you'll understand it. Many companies auto-promote. That is, you do a certain title level one month and BAM! you promote. Or, if they didn't promote, someone underneath them was going to go around them and be lost to them forever. This is really tough for a sponsor who has a small team that sells erratically. Especially if their compensation plan then penalizes them team members or commissions if they don't hold on to the title. The pressure can be intense, and they may well being pressured by THEIR upline.

Also, this might be all they know. If their sponsor is a sales-stalker, and that's all they've been exposed to, they might well think that's just how it's done.

What can you do?

One, break the cycle. Take responsibility for your personal sales production, and training and supporting your team as needed. If you don't have enough consistent sellers, go find some new people.

Two, break up with your sponsor. That is, be pleasant but firm and tell them you won't tolerate them pressuring you for results. You appreciate everything you've learned from that person, and you enjoy them. Right up until they get badgerish. Just make it clear, they push you and you will not respond. Don't do what I did in this situation several years ago and quit your company. I should have handled it better. There were lots of other things going on that no one knows about, but I still should have handled that situation better.

Please know, there are terrific sales leaders and trainers out there with fantastic reputations who have had huge success in this industry that advocate "tough love" with team members.

I just happen to think that's not a good policy. It still comes back to the basic structure. A team member is not an employee. It's a whole lot more like a volunteer army. Their own priorities way outweigh the sponsor's.

As a sponsor, make sure you are offering support to those that want to grow and are making the effort. Praise their success publicly and lavishly. Make training available to them. Let go of the ones who talk big, but do nothing. Constantly bring in new people.

As a downline, do not tolerate being bullied about sales from your upline. Stand your ground. Ignore them, and go run your own business. That's why they call you an Independent Contractor.

SALES....the Life of the Party Plan

Kimberly Bates, the Better Seller Coach
http://www.beabetterseller.net for a Weekly Selling Skill
@kimberlybates on twitter

MUST You Love Your Product?

Oooh, friends. THIS is a tough one.

I find myself coming down on both sides of this, but I tell you what - I'd MUCH rather sell a product I love than one I don't. Here's why.

The process of "selling" has evolved. No question about it. As we've previously discussed, "sell" has become one of the four-letter words we don't want to admit doing. We "offer." We find needs and fill them. We look for people who are looking for us. But heaven forbid, these days, it is very out to actually "sell." In fact, it's not unusual for someone to be recruited into our business - called "Direct Sales" by the way - and be told that they don't ever have to "sell."

Avoiding all the negatives of selling, then, the process has moved to one of "permission" marketing, storytelling, etc. I don't really have a problem with this - but it works a whole lot better IF you have a story to tell about your product or IF it has made some difference in your life that you just have to share. In essence, if you LOVE it.

What if you don't have a story about how the product made a difference in your life? What if you don't use the product? What if you respect the product, but it just doesn't zing for you? Can you still sell it?

Yes, yes, and yes again. But don't lie. Use simple selling skills, and look for people for whom this product is the RIGHT answer to their needs. Just because it doesn't solve a need for YOU, doesn't mean it doesn't solve a need for someone else. I started out in this business selling a product for children before I had any. I believed in the product, but had no personal story or personal experience to share.

But, it's easier if you love it. It's easier if you've got a story. It's more fun if it's a passion.

Now, the hard part. What if it wasn't the product, but the opportunity that called to you?

This one has tangled up more than a few of us. Here's the dilemma. You hear about a great, probably start-up, company and you have a chance to get in on the "ground floor." It's not a product that excites you, but you're a smart enough business person to realize there IS a market for it. So far, so good.

But, because what attracted you was the "great opportunity" you MAY have the tendency to sell that, instead of the product. Just be aware. It's not going to be ground floor forever. This is the voice of experience sharing with you here. I'm not saying you should avoid a great opportunity - I just want you to make sure a great, viable product that you are comfortable selling is part of it.

So, do you have to LOVE your product to sell it ethically and effectively? Nope.

Does it help? You BET.

SALES...the Life of the Party Plan

Kimberly Bates, the Better Seller Coach
You can follow me http://twitter.com/thebetterseller

To receive a sequenced twenty-six week Selling Skills course via email, sign up here
http://www.beabetterseller.net

Is Your Market Saturated?

I’d like to tell you a story.

Several years ago I was part of the launch of a direct sales company. About a year and half later I had an opportunity to do a show for a friend of mine who happened to live in the company’s home city. The population of that metro area was 804,340 at the time. Using the 1 to 1000 rule, the area could sustain 804 active consultants. Using the 80/20 rule, we’d need five times that or just over 4000 signed up consultants to be saturated. (I'll talk about these "rules" below.)

Now, being as the company was based there, many of the first consultants and superstars lived there. In fact, at the time I did the show there were at LEAST five senior leaders – the top level of management with teams generating in the hundreds of thousands in sales per MONTH. Now, of course, the teams were spread all over the country, but a whole lot of them were in this city. Although no one person I knew had access to the company’s ledger, my senior leader estimated (based on conversations about team size with her counterparts, joint meetings, etc.) that there were about 4000 consultants SIGNED UP in this city at that time, eighteen months after launch. Using the 80/20 rule, there were probably 800 active, selling consultants.

So, I pretty much figured doing this show that the audience would have seen it all and heard it all about the company and products. To shorten it up, I did the show, booked two shows, and then one more from one of those. I did four shows there in three weeks, with approximately forty-four total customer guests.

I’d like you to take a guess at the following: How many of the forty-four had already been to one of our shows?

Are you ready for this?

One.

That’s right. Eighteen months after launch, in the headquarters city, with approximately 800 active consultants, ONE guest of forty-four had been to show. Even more interesting, at least HALF had never heard of the company before they were invited.

HALF!

This experience cured me of believing in saturation. But, let me put some "rules" and numbers around it so you can see where the expectations come from.

One reason is simple math. Different examples exist by various organizations, but common wisdom is that an area is saturated when there is one consultant for every 1000 people. Using Year 2000 census data, let’s pick a city. How about the metro Atlanta area? Using only four counties – Fulton, Gwinnett, DeKalb, and Cobb, the population was 2,678,150. So, theoretically that area would be saturated if there were 2,678 consultants for any given company in metro Atlanta.

But wait, don’t forget another common wisdom, the 80/20 rule. That is 80% of the work is accomplished by 20% of the people. So, should you consider the total number of consultants in an area, or 20% of that number? Using that rule, it would take over 13,000 signed up with 20% active to "saturate" these four counties.

Let’s throw another common statistic. Among every three consultants who sign up, one will do nothing, one will sell for a while and eventually drop out, and one will sell something consistently. Then, of the three who sell consistently, one of those will sell only, the second will sell and sponsor and move into lower management levels, and one will sell well, sponsor and move into upper management. For the third, one in three is a superstar. If you’ve stayed with the math, one in nine works the whole business, and one in ninety-nine is a superstar.

Here’s another example, and I’m not picking on Mary Kay. I have PROFOUND respect for that company and what they have accomplished on behalf of all of us who do direct sales. But, there’s a perception that MK is saturated in the U.S. I beg to disagree. Let’s go back to the stats. Population – about 300 million. Divided by 1000 that’s 300,000. And yes, there are more than 300,000 MK reps in the U.S. But, how about the 80/20 rule? Last figures I could obtain for U.S. Mary Kay consultant numbers was around half a million – so 20% of that is 100,000 doing 80% of the sales.

Waaay under the 300,000 the population could sustain.

And no company has anywhere NEAR MK’s numbers. Not even close. I always ask people – is there a Mary Kay rep on your street? Do you know her name? You’d be amazed how few people actually know anyone who actively sells.

Do certain areas have a higher percentage of consultants to population for any company? Absolutely. Does that mean a passionate and determined sales person is destined to fail there? Absolutely NOT. There’s no substitute for effort. None.

Bottom line. Saturation is a myth. Don’t let the perception of saturation keep you from working. A determined sales person who is actively seeking customers will find them anywhere, regardless of how much presence the company has.

Do you love your product? Then just keep looking for people who need it. They’re out there. Just keep asking – and prepare to find customers!

SALES…the Life of the Party Plan.

Kimberly Bates, the Better Seller Coach
Twitter @thebetterseller
http://www.beabetterseller.net

Do You HAVE to do Parties?

Yes, you need to do shows.

This is coming from someone who doesn’t necessarily love the process of doing shows. That is, I absolutely loathe hostess coaching. Gotta do it, but I’m one of those sellers who wants to tell my hostess exactly what to do, have her do it without question, and then I show up at her door at the assigned time to a room full of excited prospects.

Not happening. But, that’s the topic of another blog. Today, we’re going to talk about why you need to do shows, even if you ALSO take the water to horse by "door to door" work, or other selling efforts.

It’s simple math – shows will almost invariably pay you more per HOUR for the simple reason that you walk into a room of pre-qualified prospects because they accepted the invitation to come to the show. That doesn’t mean they’ll buy, but it does mean you get a chance to see if your product fits their needs. It’s the audience that matters. A bigger group that someone else assembled is GOOD for your business.

Let’s do some math. It won’t be bad, I promise!

Suppose you call around to individual customers, or go visiting offices, or whatever, and collect enough orders to put in a show. For our example, lets say you spend two hours a day for five days one week and you get $500 in orders. I’ll pick a 25% commission rate since that’s common. So, you earn $125 in straight commission. You could also quantify soft costs of mileage, and soft gains of getting hostess benefits if you are allowed. But, to keep it simple, we’re going to use the $125 commission for $500 in sales for 10 hours of work.

That’s $12.50 per hour.

Now, you have a show for that Friday night. Spend half an hour prepping, half driving, two hours at show, half driving home,. That’s 3.5 hours. And you sell $500. So you earn the same $125 for 3.5 hours work or $41.67 per hour.

It’s almost a no brainer, all other things being equal. That is, you may get show leads from both efforts, meet consultants from both efforts, etc. You know from my previous post I’m a believer in working your business outside shows unless you have more than enough leads to suit you.

But, I want to make sure you get the biggest benefit of the show…SOMEONE ELSE does the initial prospecting for you. And prospecting is time consuming, no doubt about it. So, suck it up and do those shows, even if they aren’t your favorite part of the business!

SALES…the Life of the Party Plan

Kimberly Bates, the Better Seller Coach
http://beabetterseller.net/
On twitter, you can follow me @thebetterseller