Even though, we're just starting to see the April showers and early flowers, now is the time to start planning out your Summer business schedule.
If it seems this year as though I'm harping on planning, there's a method to my madness. We've just wrapped up the first quarter of the year. Nearly 1/3 of 2010 is GONE, and what do you have to show for it in your direct sales business?
Bookings beget bookings, and if your calendar is looking thin now, imagine how barren it will be come July!
The school year is coming to an end, and families are planning their vacations, getaways and summer activities now. As a business owner, you need to be on their radar, and plant the seed now that a Summer show is just the ticket to reconnect, relax, and enjoy good times with friends.
Contact the hosts from last Summer now, and give them first dibs on your calendar. Just like Christmas, you can have a full Summer schedule if you give people plenty of notice. In my business, I rarely booked a show closer than 3 weeks out because I need that time to get out invitations, and do effective hostess coaching. The exception to this was repeat hosts. They are usually already schooled on how I run my business, and are quick to get all my show requirements (like guest lists) back to me in plenty of time for the event.
Repeat hosts are your best testimonials, because they liked your work enough to invite you back! You owe it to yourself to reward them with the best spots in your calendar.
Words to say:
"Hi Sally, this is Lisa (with ABC company). I'm planning now for my summer schedule. It may be a little early yet, but I know that my most successful parties are the ones that are planned in advance. Since you're one of my repeat hosts, I want to say thank you by giving you first dibs on my Summer show calendar. You held a Chocolate Lover's party last June and it was such a blast. What theme would you like to try this year?"
Assume the booking. Your repeat hosts already know you do business, and know what to expect from you. If they're not interested, they'll tell you right away. Instead, assume they love you so much they want to repeat that amazing experience they had last year. Build up the excitement and re-establish the emotional high they had at their last party by mentioning positive memorable moments from the last party. It's a psychological trigger that puts them in a positive frame of mind to book their next show with you.
If you're new to Direct Sales, or re-starting your business like many teachers I know, it's even more imperative that you start now to secure shows for your Summer calendar. Consider asking one of the parents from your child's class to host a get-together during the Summer. Or better yet, host your own and double dip on host benefits as well as your consultant income. An early summer barbecue can have the guys hanging out at the grill, the kids playing in the back yard, and the women shopping from their seat in the comfort of your home. Worried that your house is too small? Host a series of parties to invite your child's best friends over a few at a time.
Summer events are also a great way to bring in new business. If you sell a product that you can demonstrate, consider teaching a course during the summer related to your product line. Renting a small hotel conference room or even a large dining room in a restaurant can bring in new customers interested in learning the how-to of your product, and lead to big sales at the end of the session. Just be sure that the focus of the class is not selling stuff, but teaching skills. Not only can you generate revenue from the sales of products, but also from registration fees from the class. Check with your local community education office for opportunities to share your expertise there as well. Many of the Summer session classes are being decided right now.
However you choose to grow your business this summer, now is the time to start planning. Look at your own family commitments and decide when you're available to work your direct sales business. Being in business for yourself gives you some flexibility, but if you let the entire Summer pass you by, you'll miss out on a great income potential as well as those highly-coveted fall bookings. For a great Fall, you need a great Summer, and Summer selling starts by booking shows now.
© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.
==========
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com/
Showing posts with label offline marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label offline marketing. Show all posts
Direct Sales Tips: 3 Must Haves for Successful Events
As a direct sales consultant, I was party to more than my share of horrible events.
You know the kind: five consultants standing around in a mostly empty booth, while the crowds of passersby pass you by.
You look on, longingly hoping that someone, anyone, will enter the booth to talk to you.
But people keep walking by, afraid you'll all descend like vultures.
Yeah. I've been there. Thousands of people, no leads to speak of.
Then I had the opportunity to set up my own booth at a 2-day event, instead of "buying in" to someone else's.
I had complete control over how things were "supposed" to go (more on that in a minute).
I learned there were three critical factors to a successful event booth:
1. Traffic
2. Leads
3. Buzz
If you do it right, it's like a circle. Traffic generates leads, which creates buzz, which stimulates traffic.
But you can't get those three things to work if you haven't done your homework BEFORE the event. Here are the three MUST HAVES for any successful expo-type vendor event.
1. Know the desired outcome. What is it you're looking for from this event? More bookings? More recruits? More sales? A combination of the three? Be very clear on what it is you want from the leads that enter your booth.
2. Know the special offer. The best events I've ever had included some kind of incentive for creating the desired outcome AT the event. A special incentive for booking your party at the expo, for example.
3. An eye-catching display and sticky collateral. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to be vertical. Something tall and easy to spot across a crowded expo center, or takeaways that have your visitors advertising for you, are both effective means of generating buzz once people have made it to your booth.
There's one more thing you need to plan for before the event - time to follow up with leads. If you're too busy to follow up with contacts you've made at the event, don't bother going. It's the equivalent of flushing your money down the toilet. Before the big day, block out time in your calendar AFTER the big event to be sure you can reach out to as many of your prospects as possible. If you've made a plan for the three must-haves, you'll need that time after the event to connect and close your leads.
Done properly, these three items are the biggest determining factors of your event success. If you handle yourself well and stick to the plan, you'll likely come out with more leads than you can handle.
If you opt to do things the old-school way (as did some of the consultants that joined me in my booth), you'll drive people away.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say. I set up my booth, told the other consultants how we we're going to handle the event, and left to speak on the main stage at the event. When I returned, two of the consultants were out in the aisles, passing out business cards and begging for bookings.
These two ladies were not on my team, but were part of my leader's team. They had paid to share the booth with us, so I wanted them to be successful. I politely explained to them that they needed to be in the booth, following the outline we had created to make the event successful for everyone.
"But that's too distracting. We aren't talking to as many people that way. Out in the aisle, we're talking to eveyone that comes by."
"My point exactly." I said, as I motioned for my team mate to join us in the aisle.
She was finishing up scheduling a booking on her calendar and I asked her to report out her results.
"I've booked a show and scheduled one recruiting appointment, but I've only talked to about 15 people since you left."
I then turned my attention to the ladies in the aisle.
"We've passed out about 50 business cards. I've got one lady that said she'd come back later to talk about booking a party. She's a friend of mine from work."
She did book that party. But at the end of the evening, when we were sorting out the leads, those two women had decidedly fewer leads than my team. They also had fewer booked appointments, and fewer business cards in their hands.
They didn't come back the next day. On their way out for the evening, they grumbled about how poorly the event fared for them, and how I must have somehow cheated to get nearly twice as many leads for my team.
Ladies! It's about quality, not quantity. Those women were forcing themselves on anyone that stood still long enough to take a card, instead of getting people to be excited about what they offered, and sharing that excitement with everyone they came in contact with.
Who's going to keep a business card? Not very many people. Who's going to wear a sticker that says "I got lucky!" and then tell other people at the event where they can go to get a sticker of their own?
Now you see my point. My team was engaging people in a game and putting the sticker on these people so that we would know who'd already played the game. People were coming to our table to play the game, walking away with a sticker and doing the advertising for us about our booth. We didn't have to go out into the aisle. They were coming to us.
But playing the game takes about 45 seconds per guest. That means you won't talk to as many people. BUT the ones you DO talk to are engaged, excited about what you're offering, and more likely to book, buy, or consider joining your team.
So I guess you could say we cheated. We used the power of the crowd on itself. We created a viral marketing campaign right there in the event. We created buzz, which drew traffic, which generated leads...
...And we had more leads than we could handle at the end of the night - and looked forward to even more on the next day.
© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com/
You know the kind: five consultants standing around in a mostly empty booth, while the crowds of passersby pass you by.
You look on, longingly hoping that someone, anyone, will enter the booth to talk to you.
But people keep walking by, afraid you'll all descend like vultures.
Yeah. I've been there. Thousands of people, no leads to speak of.
Then I had the opportunity to set up my own booth at a 2-day event, instead of "buying in" to someone else's.
I had complete control over how things were "supposed" to go (more on that in a minute).
I learned there were three critical factors to a successful event booth:
1. Traffic
2. Leads
3. Buzz
If you do it right, it's like a circle. Traffic generates leads, which creates buzz, which stimulates traffic.
But you can't get those three things to work if you haven't done your homework BEFORE the event. Here are the three MUST HAVES for any successful expo-type vendor event.
1. Know the desired outcome. What is it you're looking for from this event? More bookings? More recruits? More sales? A combination of the three? Be very clear on what it is you want from the leads that enter your booth.
2. Know the special offer. The best events I've ever had included some kind of incentive for creating the desired outcome AT the event. A special incentive for booking your party at the expo, for example.
3. An eye-catching display and sticky collateral. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to be vertical. Something tall and easy to spot across a crowded expo center, or takeaways that have your visitors advertising for you, are both effective means of generating buzz once people have made it to your booth.
There's one more thing you need to plan for before the event - time to follow up with leads. If you're too busy to follow up with contacts you've made at the event, don't bother going. It's the equivalent of flushing your money down the toilet. Before the big day, block out time in your calendar AFTER the big event to be sure you can reach out to as many of your prospects as possible. If you've made a plan for the three must-haves, you'll need that time after the event to connect and close your leads.
Done properly, these three items are the biggest determining factors of your event success. If you handle yourself well and stick to the plan, you'll likely come out with more leads than you can handle.
If you opt to do things the old-school way (as did some of the consultants that joined me in my booth), you'll drive people away.
The proof is in the pudding, as they say. I set up my booth, told the other consultants how we we're going to handle the event, and left to speak on the main stage at the event. When I returned, two of the consultants were out in the aisles, passing out business cards and begging for bookings.
These two ladies were not on my team, but were part of my leader's team. They had paid to share the booth with us, so I wanted them to be successful. I politely explained to them that they needed to be in the booth, following the outline we had created to make the event successful for everyone.
"But that's too distracting. We aren't talking to as many people that way. Out in the aisle, we're talking to eveyone that comes by."
"My point exactly." I said, as I motioned for my team mate to join us in the aisle.
She was finishing up scheduling a booking on her calendar and I asked her to report out her results.
"I've booked a show and scheduled one recruiting appointment, but I've only talked to about 15 people since you left."
I then turned my attention to the ladies in the aisle.
"We've passed out about 50 business cards. I've got one lady that said she'd come back later to talk about booking a party. She's a friend of mine from work."
She did book that party. But at the end of the evening, when we were sorting out the leads, those two women had decidedly fewer leads than my team. They also had fewer booked appointments, and fewer business cards in their hands.
They didn't come back the next day. On their way out for the evening, they grumbled about how poorly the event fared for them, and how I must have somehow cheated to get nearly twice as many leads for my team.
Ladies! It's about quality, not quantity. Those women were forcing themselves on anyone that stood still long enough to take a card, instead of getting people to be excited about what they offered, and sharing that excitement with everyone they came in contact with.
Who's going to keep a business card? Not very many people. Who's going to wear a sticker that says "I got lucky!" and then tell other people at the event where they can go to get a sticker of their own?
Now you see my point. My team was engaging people in a game and putting the sticker on these people so that we would know who'd already played the game. People were coming to our table to play the game, walking away with a sticker and doing the advertising for us about our booth. We didn't have to go out into the aisle. They were coming to us.
But playing the game takes about 45 seconds per guest. That means you won't talk to as many people. BUT the ones you DO talk to are engaged, excited about what you're offering, and more likely to book, buy, or consider joining your team.
So I guess you could say we cheated. We used the power of the crowd on itself. We created a viral marketing campaign right there in the event. We created buzz, which drew traffic, which generated leads...
...And we had more leads than we could handle at the end of the night - and looked forward to even more on the next day.
© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com/
Create an Editorial Calendar for Your Direct Sales Business
Magazines and periodicals have a nifty little tool that lays the groundwork for every issue they print. The editorial calendar guides the topical content for each article in a particular issue.
The most logical direct sales equivalent is our monthly host or guest specials - which are usually set up by our companies, and fed to us no more than a month or two in advance.
That's not the most effective way to create a strategic plan for your business year.
The solution is to create your own "editorial calendar" of sorts.
Each month of the year represents at least one new reason to contact your clients. In fact, this is one of the strategies I'm teaching in depth in my new Direct Sales 101 small group coaching program. An editorial calendar is a great guideline for both your newsletter AND your parties/presentations, because:
1. It allows you to have a plan in place for each month of the year at the beginning of the year - regardless of what your company proposes.
2. It puts YOU in control of your business instead of waiting for details from your home office.
3. It gives you the ability to create special connections with your clients by tailoring your offerings to their needs/desires.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few sample ideas for a monthly newsletter, based on holidays. Remember that most people will place orders in the month BEFORE the holiday, so plan ahead with your offerings:
January: Love, Valentine's Day, Showing Your Love
February: Luck of the Irish, St. Patty's Day, Go Green
March: Spring, Easter, April Showers (showers of money for great recruiting, or baby/bridal showers)
April: Mother's Day
May: Father's Day
June: Independence Day (U.S.)
July: End of Summer
August: Back to School
September: Halloween
October: Being Grateful
November: Christmas
December: New Year, New You, New Products
These samples don't begin to cover topics that are product or service-specific to your company. You are truly only limited by your imagination. Have a bi-weekly or weekly newsletter? Sprinkle in a few more topics that are related to each month, or to a specific product that your company may be featuring.
An editorial calendar doesn't chain you to sticking to these topics, but it does give you a safety net that will keep your business growing throughout the year - even when you're not sure yet what your home office has planned. You won't be scrambling, trying to figure out what to do. You'll have a confident plan of action that will move your business forward throughout the year.
Billion-dollar business woman Anne McKevitt said something to me that hit home: "Never leave anything to chance." By taking the reins of your promotional and publication schedule, you're not leaving your direct sales success to chance.
© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com/
The most logical direct sales equivalent is our monthly host or guest specials - which are usually set up by our companies, and fed to us no more than a month or two in advance.
That's not the most effective way to create a strategic plan for your business year.
The solution is to create your own "editorial calendar" of sorts.
Each month of the year represents at least one new reason to contact your clients. In fact, this is one of the strategies I'm teaching in depth in my new Direct Sales 101 small group coaching program. An editorial calendar is a great guideline for both your newsletter AND your parties/presentations, because:
1. It allows you to have a plan in place for each month of the year at the beginning of the year - regardless of what your company proposes.
2. It puts YOU in control of your business instead of waiting for details from your home office.
3. It gives you the ability to create special connections with your clients by tailoring your offerings to their needs/desires.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few sample ideas for a monthly newsletter, based on holidays. Remember that most people will place orders in the month BEFORE the holiday, so plan ahead with your offerings:
January: Love, Valentine's Day, Showing Your Love
February: Luck of the Irish, St. Patty's Day, Go Green
March: Spring, Easter, April Showers (showers of money for great recruiting, or baby/bridal showers)
April: Mother's Day
May: Father's Day
June: Independence Day (U.S.)
July: End of Summer
August: Back to School
September: Halloween
October: Being Grateful
November: Christmas
December: New Year, New You, New Products
These samples don't begin to cover topics that are product or service-specific to your company. You are truly only limited by your imagination. Have a bi-weekly or weekly newsletter? Sprinkle in a few more topics that are related to each month, or to a specific product that your company may be featuring.
An editorial calendar doesn't chain you to sticking to these topics, but it does give you a safety net that will keep your business growing throughout the year - even when you're not sure yet what your home office has planned. You won't be scrambling, trying to figure out what to do. You'll have a confident plan of action that will move your business forward throughout the year.
Billion-dollar business woman Anne McKevitt said something to me that hit home: "Never leave anything to chance." By taking the reins of your promotional and publication schedule, you're not leaving your direct sales success to chance.
© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young.
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com/
Direct Sales Success: What's Your 2010 Strategy?
So now we've got a vision, what about a strategy?
You've probably been hearing a lot about Social Media strategies lately, and yes, that's important, but it's only part of the picture for a business strategy.
If you're serious abut growing a business, and not just having direct sales "hobby" income, you need to plan specific strategies for generating leads, and converting those leads into more bookings, sales and recruits.
Social media are tools you can use as part of that strategy. But if you put all your eggs in the social media basket, you're missing the boat.
Jennifer Fong, one of the foremost authorities on Direct Sales and Social Media often says that you need a strategy to attract the right people to your business. You have to know WHO and WHERE they are before you can determine WHAT tools are effective in reaching them.
Part of developing your strategy means identifying your target market. I hope by now, you've gotten the message that everyone is not your target market. In fact, if you're brand new in direct sales, I hope you'll take a serious look at what kinds of customers are your "perfect fit". This is a term I use for the people that make it easy for you to do business - the kind you actually WANT to work with.
If you're not new to direct sales, and you've already got a laundry list of clients that are not your "perfect fit", this is a great place to start looking at your target marketing strategy. One of the great things about deciding WHO you want to work with is that the crums you no longer want to work with will either drop off the face of the earth, or get their act together. Before that can happen, though, YOU need to make some decisions.
* What was the best party/sales event you ever attended? What made it the best?
* What was the worst party/sales event you ever attended? What made it the worst?
* What was your top selling show? Was it worth all the work?
* What was your top booking show? Why was it so successful?
These are just a few of the questions I ask clients when we do a target marketing strategy session. The answers to these questions will give you a good idea of:
* What you enjoy most about the work you do
* The kinds of people that you enjoy working with
* Where to draw the line (some times the money doesn't matter, it's still not fun!)
* The elements of a succssful show
From here, you can craft a strategy to attract the kinds of people to your business that will help meet your "perfect fit customer" profile.
If you're already a member of our online community, you have free access to my 30-day target marketing program. In January 2010, we'll be launching an entire course focused on helping you develop a clear vision for your target market (oops! I think I just let the cat out of the bag!).
Until then, keep in mind, as you peruse your customer lists, the kinds of people you'd LOVE to work with, and start figuring out where you can meet them. This isn't about excluding others, or NOT doing business with people just because they don't meet your requirements. It IS about taking control of your business, and running it like a real business owner - because that's what you are.
© 2009 Lisa Robbin Young.
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com
You've probably been hearing a lot about Social Media strategies lately, and yes, that's important, but it's only part of the picture for a business strategy.
If you're serious abut growing a business, and not just having direct sales "hobby" income, you need to plan specific strategies for generating leads, and converting those leads into more bookings, sales and recruits.
Social media are tools you can use as part of that strategy. But if you put all your eggs in the social media basket, you're missing the boat.
Jennifer Fong, one of the foremost authorities on Direct Sales and Social Media often says that you need a strategy to attract the right people to your business. You have to know WHO and WHERE they are before you can determine WHAT tools are effective in reaching them.
Part of developing your strategy means identifying your target market. I hope by now, you've gotten the message that everyone is not your target market. In fact, if you're brand new in direct sales, I hope you'll take a serious look at what kinds of customers are your "perfect fit". This is a term I use for the people that make it easy for you to do business - the kind you actually WANT to work with.
If you're not new to direct sales, and you've already got a laundry list of clients that are not your "perfect fit", this is a great place to start looking at your target marketing strategy. One of the great things about deciding WHO you want to work with is that the crums you no longer want to work with will either drop off the face of the earth, or get their act together. Before that can happen, though, YOU need to make some decisions.
* What was the best party/sales event you ever attended? What made it the best?
* What was the worst party/sales event you ever attended? What made it the worst?
* What was your top selling show? Was it worth all the work?
* What was your top booking show? Why was it so successful?
These are just a few of the questions I ask clients when we do a target marketing strategy session. The answers to these questions will give you a good idea of:
* What you enjoy most about the work you do
* The kinds of people that you enjoy working with
* Where to draw the line (some times the money doesn't matter, it's still not fun!)
* The elements of a succssful show
From here, you can craft a strategy to attract the kinds of people to your business that will help meet your "perfect fit customer" profile.
If you're already a member of our online community, you have free access to my 30-day target marketing program. In January 2010, we'll be launching an entire course focused on helping you develop a clear vision for your target market (oops! I think I just let the cat out of the bag!).
Until then, keep in mind, as you peruse your customer lists, the kinds of people you'd LOVE to work with, and start figuring out where you can meet them. This isn't about excluding others, or NOT doing business with people just because they don't meet your requirements. It IS about taking control of your business, and running it like a real business owner - because that's what you are.
© 2009 Lisa Robbin Young.
USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE!
Please do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate):
Lisa Robbin Young is a certified direct sales marketing coach, teaching direct sellers to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com
Using Direct Mail to Grow Your Direct Sales Business
It's not just about mailing your catalog. a simple postcard, when done properly, can result in thousands of dollars in monthly revenue.
This is an excerpt of the topics covered in the STAR Power Leadership Development program. To learn more visit:
http://www.homepartysolution.com/starpower
Registration closes May 19. Only 10 seats remain!
This is an excerpt of the topics covered in the STAR Power Leadership Development program. To learn more visit:
http://www.homepartysolution.com/starpower
Registration closes May 19. Only 10 seats remain!
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