When is the last time you worked on a day or evening that you had set aside to do something with your family and went to an appointment or party instead? How did you feel when you were there? Did you feel a little angry for letting the people who are most important in your life down? It’s not a great feeling is it?

One of the most important things I took into consideration when I was beginning my job in Direct Sales was that I needed something that I could work around my family and other obligations. It would be a lot different from what I was accustomed to which was working my family and other obligations around my job! This is what draws a lot of people into the Direct Selling business! Yet, there are so many consultants that are so afraid to set limits with others for fear of losing business if they don’t work when the customer or hostess wants that it absolutely amazes me!

I consistently held three to four parties a week for approximately 48 weeks of the year (4 weeks vacation wasn’t bad) for over 22 years! Yet I never worked a day or evening that I didn’t want to. Every party I booked was on a date that I had pre-selected and one that fit into my schedule. You too can set yourself free when you take back control. Here are some of the ways I kept in control.

1. Identify how many times per week you want to go out for your business. Remember, even if this is your part-time business you still need to leave the house once in awhile and go to work! If you are holding parties the average party takes approximately three hours plus some time at home for preparation and closing the party. A part-time consultant should be holding a minimum of two parties per week and a full time consultant should be holding three to four parties per week. (Would you believe full time with four parties is actually only 12-16 hours per week?) Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

2. Identify the days of the week that you want to go out to do your business. For example, my goal was to work my business on Monday through Thursday evenings. I took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off for myself and family. If you attend church on Wednesday evening, mark off every Wednesday on your calendar and work around them.

3. Each month schedule in all of your business meetings as well as any of your family’s events that you want (and need) to attend. If your upline has a monthly meeting it is your responsibility (if you want to be successful) to be there if you want the information. If your daughter has a dance recital mark off that date on your calendar.

Continue reading 7 Ways to Control Your Direct Selling Appointment Schedule

If you are in direct sales, it is extremely important that you grow a healthy downline. Not only are you building a relationship with your customers through sales, but you should build a healthy relationship with your sales team. Here are 7 tips to generating a strong downline and keeping your direct sales business growing every day.

TIP #1: GET PERSONAL Your downline wants to know who they are working so hard for. Send a monthly newsletter will sales tips, monthly numbers, top salesperson, etc. Offer a free forum or chat group to your team so everyone can share ideas and offer support to one another.

TIP #2: BE AVAILABLE Schedule time to speak with your sales team often. Constant contact will show them that you care. This gives your team a chance to share their concerns, thoughts and ideas with you. It also allows them the opportunity to ask questions.

TIP #3: HOLD A CONTEST Offer prizes or free services to new recruits. Offer special discounts or coupons to the team member who recruits the most new partners.

TIP #4: WRITE ARTICLES Article marketing provides an avenue for free web site traffic. Write five articles, linking to a web site where your products are sold, then submit them to various free article directories.

TIP #5: EDUCATE YOUR TEAM Provide your current sales team with powerful information about your business and products. By educating your sales team, you will create an aura of excitement. This excitement pushes your team to recruit their acquaintances into this wonderful opportunity for self-based employment.

TIP #6: LOSE YOUR MIND Sometimes the silliest ideas are the ones that often get noticed in sales. If you’ve been playing it safe, get crazy with promoting your business. Print fliers, bookmarks, calling cards, booklets, etc. Go door-to-door and promote your business and sales opportunity. Focus only on promoting awareness of your business instead of sales.

TIP #7: DON’T STOP It has been said many times that for every 9 no’s you get, you’ll get one yes. Don’t stop promoting recruits, regardless of how many no’s you’ve had this far. Eventually someone will say, Yes!  Sometimes the squeakiest wheel is the one that gets oiled!

Stefanie Fauquet is the owner of http://www.workathomemomonline.com  A Site Devoted to Helping Moms Make Money in Direct Sales. Need More Recruiting Tips? Check out http://www.workathomemomonline.com/building-a-downline.html

Testimonials are a great way to market your business and service. They give you credibility a third-party endorsement. It is no longer you alone saying that you and your company and products or services are phenomenal it is someone else saying that they are phenomenal! When you place an ad, everyone knows that you have paid for it. It is you tooting your own horn. Much more believable and credible is someone else who is tooting your horn!

Where should you use them? Use testimonials in your marketing materials, use them on your web site, use them in advertisements, use them in your media kits, put them on business cards and make sure to use them in your sales presentations and/or on the telephone as success stories. Use them as often as possible people love to see what other people say, who they are and what their experience was with your service. If possible, follow a current trend of putting a small picture of the person giving the testimonial next to it. This really helps your potential customers feel more comfortable by putting a face to the testimonial.

So, how do you get all of those glowing testimonials from satisfied customers? Simply just ask them. Get in the habit of asking every single satisfied customer for a testimonial. It may take some time to get comfortable with but once you do it will come naturally. Your customer will be pleased you asked them for their viewpoint and likely happy to oblige!

In getting testimonial, there are many ways to get them. Here are a few:

1. Ask your customers to fill out a brief customer satisfaction survey. Leave space for comments at the end. Make sure to also ask at the end of the survey, May we use your name and comments in our marketing materials? Have a space for them to check �yes� or �no, along with their signature. Most people are delighted to have you use their comments!

2. If you use public speaking to increase your visibility and generate leads for your business pass out an evaluation form to your audience. Make sure to ask at the end of the evaluation form, May we use your name and comments in our marketing materials?�Have a space for them to check �yes� or �no, along with their signature. Again, most people are delighted to have you use their comments!

3. Using the satisfied customer’s name greatly increases your credibility. It is far stronger to have an endorsement with a name than without. Use the customer’s name and the company name. Make sure to ask permission to use their name first.

4. Ask your customers to write testimonial letters. Say, I was wondering if you could help me. (People love to help!) Would you write a testimonial letter for me outlining how happy you are with our product/service? (Only ask customers that you are sure are happy!)

5. Offer to write it for them, I know that you are very busy. I’d be more than happy to draft something for you to edit. People do genuinely want to help, and people are also genuinely very busy. This makes it easy for them to help.

6. Every time you complete a project and/or a customer says something positive to you about your product/service, say to them, Would you write that down on your letterhead? It would be a big help to me, and I would use it to market my product/service.

7. Use your testimonials as success stories when speaking with prospects or even customers. This enables you to tell others what you have accomplished for your customers without appearing to brag. The model of a success story is: Your customer had a problem. You fixed it. They are now very happy. Remember to always tell your success story from the customer or prospect’s point of view. That means stick to the benefits that your customers received from your work.

8. On blue days, post your favorite testimonial letters on a bulletin board or clear wall space near where you work. Put the rest into a three-ring binder. Anytime you start to feel blah, read through your letters from all of the people saying how much you have helped them. It will perk you right up!

Sell More Today!
K. Moehr owns Moehr & Associates, a specialty marketing firm for direct sales/small business. Ms. Moehr is author of several marketing books, including the Direct Seller Guide and Top Sellers Tell Direct Sales Professionals Tell How They Achieved BIG Success! www.isellmoretoday.com

One of the many useful communication tools you can provide for your business is a newsletter. With the options of being able to communicate a brand image, connect with your customers and prospects on a different level, and provide value to your readers, you can also communicate any promotions and product deals you may be offering. With a monthly or weekly newsletter, your customers can be kept up to date with all of your business endeavors.

The following steps will help you create a newsletter to build your business presence:

1. Decide on the frequency. How often do you want to publish your newsletter? As each issue will involve a few hours of preparation including creating the content, you will want to make sure you establish a schedule you know you can keep up with. You can always add special editions or increase the frequency at a later date if you find you can afford the time. Most businesses choose between quaterly, weekly or monthly options.

2. Email/print? How are you going to distribute your newsletter? Sending a newsletter by email is cost effective and immediate. Some businesses prefer print due to the fact it allows something tangible for the customers to hold in their hands.

3. If you are going to email your newsletter, you should consider paying a professional service that will manage your list and distribute your email. These companies provide you with a pre-set newsletter template you can design to your own preference. These programs manage your list, provide unsubscribe options, and enable you to create many newsletters at once and schedule them in advance. Although prices vary, many companies base their pricing on the size of the list being emailed.

4. Add a signup form to your website. This is a good way to increase traffic and allows you to build a bigger list of contacts and customers.

5. Let people know about your newsletter. By adding your link to all out going email correspondence, signatures, on your business cards, brochures, and other marketing methods, more people will be able to subscribe as they would like.

6. What is your newsletter going to be about? By reviewing other business newsletters you will be able to decide whether you would like to have a single article and a promotion, or 3-5 articles and an equal amount of promotional content. Consider what kind of content will provide value to your readers. Will you be writing these newsletters or hiring someone else to do it? What types of problems or concerns do your readers have that you could address?

7. Advertising? As a general rule of thumb, you should provide 80% informational content and 20% promotional content. If you would like an additional source of revenue and have a pretty good sized subscriber base, many businesses may be willing to buy advertising space on your newsletter.

8. Graphics. Many readers enjoy reading a newsletter that is visually interesting with logos or a header, photos, and even charts.

Providing a newsletter full of quality content on a regular basis is the key to a successful newsletter campaign. Newsletters are the perfect tool for both marketing and connecting with your customers and prospects on a regular basis.

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Having a home party? Direct sales businesses are booming and there are more home parties than ever. As a direct sales rep you want your home party to stand out and get attention, so that word of mouth will ensure even more bookings. Both recruiting new team members and sales can be had with great home parties. Home party themes are a fun way to be unique.

1. Pool Party–Hold show around pool, get a small plastic play pool and fill with ice and drinks. You might even have a swimsuit contest! (or encourage people to wear one and be cool)
2. Pina Colada Party
3. Strawberry Daiquiri Party
4. Margarita Party
5. Build your own Sundaes–Hostess provides the ice cream and the guests bring toppings.
6. Wine & Cheese Party–Hostess serves wine and cheese for dessert.
7. Saturday Brunches–while air is still cool, have a morning brunch or tea. exchange-bring favorite recipe and sample to share.
8. Summer sizzle–Have the guest bring their favorite way to cool down to the party and let them judge who is the & coolest.
9. Summer Salads–Ask each guest to bring their favorite summer salad recipe and exchange, maybe samples.
10. Sports–Decorate your table with your favorite sports teams themes and colors.
11. Patio Party–Have a party outside on the patio, serve nice tall glasses of lemonade.
12. Garden Party–Have the show in some-ones garden have every guest wear their garden hat or big floppy hat.
13. June is Strawberry month-serve strawberry shortcake
14. Very Berry Party–Make berry desserts or berry topping for cheesecake or ice cream
15. Red, White, and Blue Party–Have everyone come dressed in their favorite patriotic outfit. Serve Red, White and Blue dessert.
16. Creative Hat Contest–each guests creates their hat that they wear to the party, contest for the best hat.
17. Ten to Midnight Party–Do an outdoor party late at night.
18. Daycare Party–provide the sitter for a morning a day show for moms.
19. Picnic in the Park or Candles in the Park–Hostess supplies picnic and we do the show out in the park.
20. Potluck Shows–Each guests brings a dish–chose the theme for the potluck- example each guest is given a country and she must make a dish from that country to bring.
21. Christmas in July or August
22. Hawaiian Shirt Party–Each guest wears their favorite Hawaiian shirt, offer drink with little paper umbrellas; possibly get paper leis to put around each guest as they arrive.
23. Bring your own Nachos Party–Hostess provides the chips and each guest brings a topping.
24.  Naughty Nighty Contest–Each guest brings their favorite naughty nighty in a brown paper bag; try to match the nighty to the guest. No auditions required. Prizes awarded.
25. Big Chicken Party–Great way to get know new neighbors who just moved in or if you just moved. Invite people you don’t know or don’t know very well.
26. Men’s Only Party–Invite the men for an afternoon of football, pizza, soda (or beer) and Your Product. Set up a display and let let them shop for Christmas presents during halftime, tell them that when they place a $25 (or whatever) order, you’ll wrap the gift for them.
27. Happy Hour Party–Hostess serves munchies and drinks
28. Chocolate Lovers Party–Serve all chocolate desserts
29. Couple Party–Invite the significant others
30. Wedding Showers, Baby Showers, Birthday Parties, House Warming Parties, Anniversary Parties.

Article provided by: www.TheWAHMConnection.com