As a direct salesperson, you serve a vital function in our society. You create a market for products. To be a good salesperson you must take pride in your profession, be it part-time or full-time. Below are eight sales tips to help you along in selling your products.

1. You must honestly believe and feel that what you are selling is a worthwhile and honest value in order to be a success in selling. When you have the conviction that you are selling a worthwhile product, you will sell with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is contagious. When the prospect becomes enthusiastic, he buys.

2. Don’t be impatient. Too many inexperienced salespeople call on one or two prospects and quit if they don’t get immediate results. It takes time for people to gain confidence in you and your products. Many people will buy at once, but a big proportion will wait to think things over.

Most of your business will eventually be repeat orders from customers. Almost all business depends on repeats. A retail establishment will lose money for quite a period until they build up a flow of repeat customers. Any worthwhile endeavor requires effort. The amount of money you will make will be directly proportional to the effort you put forth.

Some people believe there is an innate trait that makes some people good at sales and others failures. Several marketing authors have dispelled this fallacy. You can and will make money selling your products if you put forth an effort.

3. Be yourself. Many people visualize a successful salesperson as a hail and hearty person with an outgoing personality. If they are not the image of what they expect is a success, they try to imitate. I recently read…, “One of our most successful salespeople is a man who ‘never sold a thing in his life’ before he joined us. He turned to selling in desperation, when he lost his job and needed an income to support his family. He didn’t like to dress in a jacket or tie so he called on his prospects in his everyday “house” clothes. He was terrified at selling and the first two calls took more courage than he thought he had. He sold both prospects! When you are not yourself, you’ll appear phony.” Just act your natural self, and you will do well.

4. Don’t try to sell by force. If you do pressure a person into buying something they don’t want, you haven’t developed a customer.

5. Don’t plead. “Please try my product because I need the money badly.” Maybe you’ll get a sympathy sale, but again, you haven’t developed a customer.

6. Emphasize value, need and satisfaction, and your prospect will buy if you can explain to him that your product is a good value, it serves a need, and that he or she will derive pleasure or satisfaction from the sale. Of course, you must know your product before you can convince others that it is worthwhile buying.

7. Ask for the sale. Closing the sale is the critical part of any sales approach. You must not be afraid to ask for the order. The close naturally depends upon the proper overall presentation. If you have shown the prospect that your product has value, need, or potential enjoyment, you’re ready to ask for an order.

Test closes are made by asking, “Which do you prefer the peach or the aqua color? I can deliver your order overnight, or would Saturday be preferable?”

8. Set goals for yourself. When you’re in sales you must be self motivated. You won’t have any boss or foreman telling you what to do and when. It becomes too easy to find excuses for not making calls unless you establish goals for yourself. Keep accurate records of all sales by the week and by the month.

© 2008 Regina Baker WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Regina Baker is the Ecommerce Advisor at http://Wahmcart.com, ecommerce solutions for small businesses. Ready to jumpstart your ecommerce business? Grab her free ecourse.

When Charles Schwab came across some of his employees smoking, immediately under a “No Smoking” sign, he walked over to the men, handed each one a cigar, and said, “I’ll appreciate it, boys, if you will smoke these on the outside.

He let them know that he was aware of their actions, let them know that it was not acceptable, but he did it indirectly.

Do you think they got the message? You can be sure they did. They were not, however, embarrassed by being caught doing something they knew not to do.

The purpose of the indirect approach is to get people to change their behavior, while not offending them or causing resentment. This works very well for your Business Opportunity when you want to assist your team and spur them on to greater success.

In a previous discussion we talked about how to begin a conversation that involved correcting unacceptable actions or behaviors – begin with praise and honest appreciation. There is an additional change that can be made: avoid using the word “but”.

For example… Joe, you did a great job with Mr. Smith last week. He was completely satisfied that you had fixed the problem for him, but don’t forget to check your work before presenting to your customer from now on.

The praise and honest appreciation is negated by the critical statement that followed the “but.”

Often people will question the sincerity of the praise, feeling as though it was just a lead-in to the criticism.

This could be easily overcome by changing the word “but” to “and.”

Using the above example… Joe, you did a great job with Mr. Smith last week. He was completely satisfied that you had fixed the problem for him, and you’ll remember to check your work before presenting to your customer from now on.

It’s a very simple and effective way to get your point across without the negative inference.

I’ve tried to apply my knowledge and understanding of these ideas in the operation of my Direct Sales Marketing.

Nancy Collins enjoys building furniture, home renovations, landscaping and network marketing, among other things. Share in her journey of personal development by visiting her blog http://www.NancyECollins.net

In direct sales leadership mindset is one of the critical factors to success. The right mindset can move you quickly through the ranks toward upper-level leadership. Developing the proper mindset takes work. And most often we as leaders fall short in teh critical area of setting boundaries and expectations.

In previous articles, I’ve talked about the power of setting expectations with your hosts. As a direct sales leader, it is equally important to set expectations with your personal recruits as well as other team members. Failing to set healthy boundaries in your business can often result in being pushed to do too much hand-holding, and is often at the expense of your own personal book of direct sales business.

Here are “the don’ts” – five of my top ten tips for setting clear expectations with your direct sales team:

1. Don’t waffle. As leaders, we want to help our teams be successful. In as much as we need to be firm with expectations when communicating with our hosts, so too must we be firm with the expectations we set with our teams. Adhere to your call-in hours, and when someone tries to violate them, be firm, and clear. Respect their time, and they will learn to respect yours.

2. Don’t coddle. Hand-holding is not doing your consultants any favors. You are actually enabling them, and they will come to you for everything – including the resources they could easily find on their own. Quality leadership means training your team to know where to go to get their questions answered. You should only be the last resort resource and the go-to for new training, tools and advice. Require your team to understand the consultant manual, order entry, presentation basics and how to hold a recruiting interview. While it’s a nice ego boost to be asked to assist on a recruiting call, it’s hardly the best use of your time if you could be holding your own appointments in that time slot.

3. Don’t give up your own book of business. See number two above. If you’re spending all your time working with consultants, when do you have time to work your own book of business? Make your own business a priority and lead by example. A healthy calendar full of appointments that serve your own business is just as important as coaching and training time with your team.

4. Don’t give up your life. The only thing perhaps more important than number three above is to make time for your personal needs and your personal life. Direct Sales is a vehicle to make your dreams come true, but if you’re bogged down in the grunt work of your business, you’ll never have time to live that dream. Delegate the non-essentials to your team or an assistant (see number 5).

5. Don’t do it alone. Whether you have family support, team support or a personal assistant for your business, know your limits, and find qualified help to handle the rest. A true leader focuses on what I call IPA – Important Personal Activies or Income Producing Activities. When you step into a leadership role, it’s silly to try to keep all the plates spinning by yourself. You’ve earned the right to have help. Ask for it!

These five tips are foundational to a healthy set of boundaries as a direct sales leader. Without them, you’ll spend too much time not making money. That’s a sure fire way to go out of business fast.

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking 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.

When coaching with my direct sales clients, one of the first things that always seems to come up is a discussion about recruiting. Most direct sales professionals understand that if they want to earn a comfortable six-figure income (or more), leadership is a necessary component to build a strong book of business.

A lot goes into being a direct sales leader. Whether you’re a leader of one or one hundred thousand. I’ve written previously about retention strategies, leading by example, and other qualities that a direct sales leader needs in order to successfully navigate being a leader. This series of articles serves as a starting point for more of the mindset issues that leaders face when trying to lead by example.

Only You Can Motivate You Motivation is a curious thing. No one else can motivate you, they can only inspire you to take action. Motivation (the latin root means to move) is about movement and action. No one else can take action for you. You must take action, therefore, you must motivate yourself.

In direct sales, we talk extensively about a person’s “why” – the reason they joined the business, or more to the point, the surface-level reason that they stay in the business. To be frank, a “why” will rarely, if ever, sufficiently motivate a direct sales consultant to keep working when times are tough.

As a leader, you must identify the “what” of your team. Once you’ve ascertained a consultant’s “why”, you need to dig deeper. It means sometimes hitting an emotional hot spot, and could even result in a few tears. If you’re a leader working from a place of compassion, that’s perfectly fine. The objective is to discover “what” really motivates them to stay engaged in the business. Here’s what I mean: A consultant may tell you that they joined the business because they want to be able to pay for their children’s college education. That’s a great “why”, but there’s a deeper reason here. Perhaps, upon further investigation, you discover that paying for their children’s college education is important to them because they weren’t able to go to school themselves, and they see a college education as a symbol of freedom from financial bondage and hope for a better life for their children. So their “what” is really freedom from financial bondage and hope for a better life for their children.

It takes time and you must build relationships with your team in order to dig this deep. It’s rare that a person will be able to bridge this kind of emotional gap on a first encounter, although it’s possible. You must demonstrate compassion and be a trusted source before someone will share their “what” with you. That’s logical, though, because it’s hard to share what sometimes may hurt.

And who’s the best consultant on your team with which to practice this new skill? You.

Get clear on your “what” before you ever approach your team. Knowing what motivates you makes it easier to share and connect with your team – especially when times are tough. It’s up to you to take the necessary actions to move your business forward. If you’re leading by example, you’ll need to know what really motivates you before you can ever inspire your team to get motivated themselves.

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking 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.

To offer equal time to my Father this month as I did my mother last month, I sat to think about the things I learned from my Dad that I have applied to both my direct sales business and my coaching business. Dad wasn’t a highly educated man – he never finished high school – but he was smart. He served in World War II, in Hawaii as a mechanic, and could fix just about anything. This guy took a Chevy Blazer, chopped off the back end, and built himself a tow truck because he always wanted to own one. He saw obstacles as opportunity, and like my mom, was as stubborn as the day is long.

Here are a few of the lessons Dad schooled me on that I now apply to my own business:

1. “Don’t tell everything you know, Kid.” Dad rarely called us by our names. He was 56 when I was born, so I think it just kept him from being confused. When he used this Dad-ism on me, it was usually because I was getting excited about something I felt I just had to share. What he meant was to hit the highlights, and save the details for people who are really interested – like when you’re trying to book a party or give your recruiting talk. Hit the highlights, don’t tell everything you know to the uninitiated. Save the details for the people who are really interested.

2. “Take care of your own self first, Kid.” This was Dad’s comprehensive way of telling us to mind our own business. Usually, this happened when I was busy trying to parent someone or something else. Stray animals, inattentive siblings. I thought I knew better sometimes. Dad’s advice was to take care of my own business first, THEN I could worry about helping my brother or sister or the stray cat on the street. My modern-day equivalent is to put my own oxygen mask on first. Self-care has become an integral part of my daily routine. This also applies to my business. I need to focus on my business needs before I look to the needs of my direct sales team or their extended team members.

3. “Don’t take no crap from anybody, Kid.” Pretty self-explanatory, I think. In my business, I’ve translated this into not chasing after clients, or begging for bookings in my direct sales business. I lay out my expectations when host coaching, and I stick to my guns. If someone’s waffling on their guest list, I call their bluff. I’d rather be up-front and know what to expect in my business, than stand around scratching my head wondering why my host has cancelled again.

4. Be proud of who you are and what you’ve accomplished. This one is hard for most of us – especially mompreneurs. We face so much guilt on a regular basis, that it becomes challenging to recognize the good work we do every day. Even if our efforts don’t always produce the results we desire, the fact that we’re giving it our all is truly commendable. I had to wait until my Father was in the hospital dying to finally hear him tell me he was proud of me. It was worth the wait, but not something I’d recommend to others. Don’t wait for someone else to tell you how great you are and what a great job you’re doing. See it in yourself – and celebrate it now!

Building a strong direct sales business takes courage and faith. Dad was a strong, positive old coot that didn’t take “no” for an answer. This Father’s Day, when you’re remembering your Dad, remember the lessons that you can apply to growing your business as well.

Copyright 2010, Lisa Robbin Young.

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking 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.

As a leader you have the opportunity to touch the lives of your team members in a way that will make a difference in many areas of their lives. Yet, your role as a “coach” is not to teach, instruct or direct, but rather to encourage, inspire, and love.

Let’s be honest. Have you ever avoided calling a team member because you did not want to hear them lament over a problem or report they have not yet followed through?

When you called, did your heart sink when you heard, “I’m just not having any luck with my calls.” Or, “I just don’t know if I should be doing this.”

If this rings true, take heart. You are most definitely not alone!

Dealing with negativity or pessimism is a natural part of being a leader. The trick is in how you view and respond to the scenario, that marks you as a leader.

Here are some suggestions:

Don’t take another’s dejection personally!

When a team member is feeling discouraged about her business, remember, it is not about YOU, it is about them! Whether pressure at work or issues at home, Consultants often displace their frustrations and take it out on their business. In reality, however, the business is something that brings them great joy.

Don’t get any on you!

Sometimes managers become so connected to their team members that they actually feel responsible for their success. Do not allow the mood of a team member determine your level of commitment. Stand strong in your belief, yet compassionate, and you will help raise your team member to your level, rather than get dragged down in the dumps with them.

Respond with love and empathy!

Be aware there will be times when what your team member needs is not another suggestion, tip, or idea. Instead, she simply needs someone to listen without judgment, respond without advice, and reiterate a belief in her ability to work through the challenge.

Be there for them.

Communicate four times a week with those Consultants who are demonstrating a high level of commitment to their business, and less often with those who are not. Review their progress on a regular basis and determine your personal communication by matching your efforts to theirs. Consultants who are spending a considerable amount of time on their business merit more of your time. Consultants who invest little effort in their business should receive less of your attention.

Many times an encouraging word and a pat on the back is all that is needed to help your team member through a challenge and on to success! So pick up your pom-poms and offer encouragement! You’ll be amazed how wonderful it makes you feel in the process!

Jane Deuber is a Co-Founder of http://www.DSWA.org (the only association dedicated to the needs of the independent party plan and network marketing professionals). Discover what makes the DSWA so unique. Listen to three motivating and informative free teleseminars by visiting http://www.mydswa.org/tele_class.asp

Mirror, mirror on the wall – which incentive plan is the most effective of all?

Granted, it’s not the most scientific method of determining your course of business this year, but in this age of rapidly changing technology, fickle customer loyalty and increasing distributor expectations, more and more companies are needing to pull out all the stops in order to keep expanding in the coming years. So if you don’t happen to have a magic mirror hanging around, where can you turn for the answers?

Let’s look at the options.

Past Performance- Certainly the person who coined the phrase “the best predictor of future performance is past performance” did not live in the age of technology, where change is the norm and predictability is out the window. Executives today need to think “future focus” not pine for the good old days.

Technology – After a decade of trial and error and billions of dollars invested, direct selling companies have emerged sharper, more efficient and realistic, recognizing that technology is a tool for growth, not the end-all answer to our prayers. Your strategic plan for this year must include advancements in the area of technology, but not rely solely upon it.

Consultants – When you find one who brings a combination of practical field experience in your particular market segment (party plan or network marketing), keen business savvy, a track record of success, and the ability to translate trends into solid strategies for growth, consultants can be very valuable. However, the investment of two precious resources, time and capital, demand that the results generated are both measurable and substantial.

So what is the answer, you ask? Well, at the risk of sounding a little like the keynote speaker you paid to grace your stage at Convention… the answer is in your own back yard! The story, “Acres of Diamonds” comes to mind, about the man who traveled the world searching for riches, only to return to his home and learn that the farm he once considered useless, was home to one of the largest diamond mines ever discovered. The diamond mine that houses your gems, the answer to your question of how to grow your business, is right in your own back yard as well – your distributors!

Want the perfect location for your next Convention that will attract record numbers of attendees? Are you searching for just the right incentive that will inspire even the most seasoned distributor? Is your product line in need of a sizzle item that will boost moral and increase sales? Want to know what would inspire more people to book in-home shows or hold more interviews?

The answers to these questions, and the others you’ve pondered can be answered honestly, accurately and cost-effectively through an ongoing, well thought out Customer Survey Program.

WHO Should You Survey?
A campaign that queries all the experts: distributors, customers and hostesses (if applicable) will result in the most comprehensive data. So don’t make the mistake of focusing on only one segment of your very broad market. Surveying all groups on a regular basis will result in a constant stream of feedback, suggestions and ideas, the likes of which would impress even the most experienced industry consultant.

If you want the truth and nothing but the truth… include in your target groups inactive distributors, one-time hostesses and customers you’ve not served in 18 months. If you are willing to get a little knocked around and can separate the real feedback from the mean-spirited feedback, this is where you will discover how you can truly transform your business.

WHAT Should You Ask?
Here in lies the secret to a good customer survey – the questions.

Some traits of an effective survey are:

• Objective – The tone or nature of the questions must not indicate a preferred answer.
• Non-leading – If asking participants to select from a list of answers, the options must represent a wide range of sentiments.
• Concise – Questions must be short and address only one topic.
• Simple – Keep vocabulary simple, saving the big, impressive words for your annual report.
• Brief – The ideal survey can be completed in 5 minutes.
• Anonymous – Allow participants to offer input without concerns of negative repercussions.

For those who do not have the luxury of a department or staff person who is trained in the area of writing and conducting customer surveys, engage the services of an expert who can provide guidance. For those “do it yourself-ers” who have the time to hone their skills, check out these two resources. “Guide to Customer Surveys: Sample Questionnaires and Detailed Guidelines for Creating Effective Surveys” by Trevor M. Punt and “Talking With Your Customers: What They Will Tell You About Your Business When You Ask the Right Questions” by Michael J. Wing.

WHERE and WHEN Should You Survey?
A thorough Customer Survey Program collects data not just from a broad range of target groups but also catches these groups at significant “moments of truth.”

For example, survey:

• Customers at the close of the product sales presentation.
• Potential distributors at the close of the opportunity presentation.
• Hostesses after the in-home show when the experience is fresh in their minds.
• Show guests who chose not to place an order.
• Customers when they receive their products.
• On-line guests who visit your business opportunity pages.
• And so on…

What Methods Should You Use?
There are primarily three methods of gathering information via customer surveys. They are paper, web-based and telephone surveys.

For the purposes of this article, in-person surveys are not listed because they do not provide participants’ anonymity and therefore taint the resulting data.

Paper surveys This is perhaps the most popular survey method because it is user-friendly and enables you to reach a broad audience. For example, provide distributors with postage-paid survey cards that are given to customers once the sale transactions are concluded. Ask that the completed surveys be given to the hostess who drops them in the mail at no charge. To encourage distributor and customer participation, why not offer an incentive, discount or contest in exchange.

Web-based surveys: Although these surveys reach only tech-savvy customers, it is cost effective, convenient, reaches an international audience and the data is easily stored, retrieved and analyzed. If using this method, invest in the necessary technology that encrypts the resulting data in order to protect the privacy of the survey participants.

Telephone surveys: This method is best used with warm markets that have a vested interest in seeing that the survey is conducted. For example, distributors will be more receptive to a telephone survey as it demonstrates a sincere interest on the part of the company. Cold markets such as customers or inactive distributors often view telephone surveys as a violation of privacy, generating more ill-will than good.

Ten Steps To Mining Your Diamonds
Consider these ten steps when planning your Customer Survey Program:

1. Define the survey objectives and budget.
2. Select appropriate survey methods. (Can be one or a combination of the three.)
3. Design survey questions.
4. Conduct the survey.
5. Extensively analyze the results for core threats and opportunities.
6. Identify core discoveries as a result of the survey.
7. Select three core discoveries to focus on in an Executive Summary. (Use graphs, pie charts and bullet points to easily communicate findings.)8. Establish recommendations and define strategies for implementation.
9. Implement strategies.
10. Continue to survey, assess and monitor progress toward defined objectives. While steering your direct selling company toward new horizons, it is vital that you allot the precious resources of time and money to areas that will pay the biggest dividends.

A Customer Survey Program just might be that project, resulting in greater needs awareness, smarter strategic decisions, wisely allocated capital, more effective promotions and greater customer and distributor satisfaction. Not bad when you consider that a Customer Survey Program may be the least expensive project on the list.

Jane Deuber is a Co-Founder of http://www.DSWA.org (the only association dedicated to the needs of the independent party plan and network marketing professionals). Discover what makes the DSWA so unique. Listen to three motivating and informative free teleseminars by visiting http://www.mydswa.org/tele_class.asp

Part of being a great party plan professional and network marketer is being well rounded. You want to be good at booking parties, good at boosting sales, and great at recruiting. You’ll notice that recruiting is on the end of that list. This is usually the progression that distributors take in building their business but the number one thing I hear when speaking to team leaders is that they wished they had started recruiting earlier. When starting a new venture like doing home parties or network marketing most people get nervous about signing someone on under them when they are so new themselves. The truth is though, you don’t have to be an expert to be a good team leader! This is something we all learn eventually but how can you get your new recruits over this barrier? Or how do you get your current team leaders to want to start their own team? Well the answers aren’t as difficult as you’d think! Here are four ways to turn your team into team leaders.

1. Make Recruiting a Part of Your Interview Process: Most of the time when we are talking about the business opportunity we focus on number of parties and commissions on sales. Are you incorporating the fantastic recruiting benefits that your company offers? If not then you are wasting a resource that is there for the taking. Many companies have incentives to get new distributors to recruit. Studies have shown and it stands to reason that when you have recruit, even just one, you stay with the company longer and try harder to build your business. Make sure you are asking in your recruiting interviews if your prospect has someone they think would like to sign on with them. Not only will they feel more accountable having someone sign on under them, but they will get the recruiting bug and start to build a team of their own.

2. Lead by Example: Most people don’t sign up as network marketers or home party professionals because of the money. While the money is great, most people sign on to have fun. The people at your party see you having so much fun that they want to do the same thing. It is no different when being a team leader. Show your team how much fun it is being a leader! If you’re like most team leaders then working with your team may be the funnest part of your job! Make sure they know that. When you’re having fun and setting an example of how easy it is to lead then they will feel more confident that they can do it as well.

3. Be Replicable: Your team doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel when leading their own recruits. Make it easy for them by bottling everything you do and making it easy to duplicate. For instance if you are having the same conversations with new recruits every time you sign on someone new turn these conversations into articles you write and send to new recruits. You can create an autoresponder that sends out your “steps to success” series of articles to get your recruit off on the right track. Another thing that I do personally is open up my weekly phone trainings to everyone in my downline, this way my new team leaders don’t have to create content right off the bat but can invite their team to listen in. When my leaders are ready to do their own trainings I share my notes with them so they already have something to start with. By being consistent and creating these systems you can easily pass these on to recruiters on your team and make it easy for them as well. If you’re successful and everything you’re doing is replicable then your team can be just as successful as you.

4. Make a Special Place on your Team for Leadership: If you’re already doing trainings for your team, or writing newsletters create the trainings in the same format you’re already doing but gear it toward leaders. This doesn’t even have to be extra work, you could just reserve one newsletter a month, or one training every so often for team leaders only (or those that want to be team leaders). By making it special you’re making it desirable. When you sign someone new on ask them if they would like to be a part of your “insert cool name for your leadership group here” which is reserved for people that are serious about the business and want to become leaders. When they say yes not only are you providing them the information they need to become leaders but you’re putting the idea in their head that they already should be recruiting and they’re making a conscious decision to do so even before they’ve started!

There you have it. Four ways to turn your already rocking team into a team of amazing team leaders! The key to remember is that as a leader you don’t have to have all of the answers. This is where the mantra “for yourself not by yourself” comes in for home party professionals and network marketers. You always have your upline and other distributors to ask questions of if you don’t have the answer. Don’t let lack of experience keep you from recruiting or your team from recruiting!

The last thing I will leave you with which could really be a number 5 to this list is don’t forget to set recruiting goals with your team! So often we focus on bookings and sales, don’t forget to set goals with your team about how many distributors they would like to sign on, keep it always forefront in their mind and pretty soon you’re going to see your downline grow and branch out with new teams.

Holly Chantal, M.Ed, is a Certified Book Yourself Solid Coach who helps direct sales professionals streamline their businesses and book themselves solid with ideal customers, hostesses, and prospects. She is currently working in the direct sales industry and enjoys sharing her experience as she helps other professionals achieve their dreams. Receive a Hostess Coaching Audio Training when you sign up for her ezine at: http://www.hollychantal.com.