For most of us in Direct Sales, 10 new recruits equals a promotion – either for someone in our organization, or for ourselves. Sometimes it equals qualifications for a special incentive – perhaps a trip to some exotic locale, or maybe some designer jewelry.

Most of us, who follow the out-dated ideas that our upline offers have been spinning our wheels watching THEM earn trips and recognition, while we sit scratching our heads, wondering why we aren’t getting in on the action. I mean, after all, we’re doing exactly what they told us, exactly the way they told us to do it.

Is this happening to you?

• Our upline said make a list of 100 people. Check.
• Our upline said contact them all and ask them to “help” you get started. Check.
• Our upline said it’s a numbers game, talk to everyone. Check.
• Our upline said to stay away from running ads in the paper. Check.
• Our upline said to do 3 way calls. Check
• Our upline said bring our recruits to the opportunity meetings. Check.
• Our upline said pass out 500 business cards each month. Check.
• Is your team growing by leaps and bounds?
• Our upline never told us to be an authority on our company’s best product (that would be YOU!).
• Our upline never told us to market ourselves first, and the company second.
• Our upline never presents us as the authority. They become the “guru” instead of us!
• Our upline never told us we could use the Internet to build our businesses on autopilot.

It means you need to position yourself as the expert. Set yourself apart and start thinking and acting like a leader NOW. Change your mindset – even if you’ve been in the business for years, start thinking like a leader at the next pay level. Already at the top of your game? Great. Start thinking like the owner of your company.

By the way, YOU are the owner of your company. You have the best product to offer anyone – and that is YOU. You can’t get that product from any other company.

Christie Northrup, the Lemonaid Lady, is a champion of ditching the FRANK list. She talks about using “WILMA” instead:

“Who

Is a

Likely

Marketing

Audience?”

Target marketing is the best way to see desirable results. The Shotgun methods still work, but the amount of time and energy you put into growing a business that way is, to me, excessive.

Let’s break down the numbers. ASSUMING you can buy 500 business cards for just the cost of shipping (there are online companies that run specials periodically), You’ve got a $10 investment in materials, plus the time it takes to deliver all of them. From here, we have to make a lot of assumptions:

* Assume you give away 30 at every party (3 to each guest – who needs 3 business cards?)
* Assume you have 8 parties per month (that’s pretty standard in Direct Sales)
* Assume you give away 1 to every person you meet outside a party (that’s another 260 people each month)
* Assume it takes 1 minutes to deliver each card outside a party (and really, you’re not building a relationship, you’re just shoving a card into their hand)
* Assume a 1% conversion rate

You’re spending 4 hours each month just giving away cards, plus the additional 24 hours you’ve spent preparing and doing your parties. And I must reiterate – who really needs 3 of your business cards? More to the point, who’s going to TAKE 3 of your business cards?

And if you give away 6,000 cards each year, you’ve got 60 new leads (about 5 per month) that may book, buy or recruit. Most of those will probably come from your shows anyway, to be honest. For $120 in business card expenses (plus other show and travels costs) and 336 hours of your life. Each POTENTIAL lead costs you $2 and 5.6 hours of your life!

Is your head spinning yet?

Now if you really, truly have no other method of building your business, it’s a start. But I hope you realize that there are other, better options to growing your business. You could definitely be putting that time (and money) to better use elsewhere.

Find a niche and fill it.

In direct sales, there are targeted groups of prospects for every product line available. All you have to do is ASK your home office what the target demographic is for your direct selling company. If they can’t tell you, you’ve got bigger problems. If you sell kitchen tools, who it your target market? Men? Women? What about age, income, ethnic origin? The more you focus, the smaller your market will be.

Smaller market=bigger return on investment

If you invest your time and money wisely in your target market, you can easily bring your time and money cost to less than half of what you would have paid for the shotgun business card method.

Think of it this way, would it be wise for a retailer to send advertisements to everyone in an entire city, when all they sell is children’s clothing? Absolutely not! A better use of their advertising dollars would be to focus on places where there are mothers of children who want/need their kind of clothing. Moms buy the clothes, not the kids (in most cases), so it’s wise to find out where they buyers are.

Think about your product? Who are the most likely buyers? Yes, contrary to what your upline has told you, it IS okay to pre-judge. At least for now. Focus in on that market. You know where they are most likely to spend their money (with you!), now figure out where they are most likely to spend their time. Go there. Market yourself THERE.

You’ve heard it said before that parties/demos are the life blood of a direct sales business. Your most targeted market is right in front of you – in a semi-captive group. This is a place where you would NOT want to pre-judge. Everyone is there for a reason. That reason may be you.

Tired of trading hours for money, Lisa Young gave up her 8 to 5 for a direct sales career that now spans over 11 years. Lisa’s blog, Real Life Marketing, reveals the realities of what it takes to be successful in the eyes of your customer, using real-life examples you can learn from today. You can visit Real Life Marketing at http://lisamrobbin.blogspot.com

Unlike other industry writers, who left direct sales to pursue speaking careers, Lisa is still in the trenches, running her direct sales business and leading her teams to success. Her book, Home Party Solution is a step-by-step method to harness the internet to boost bookings, sales and recruits. Read the first chapter free and subscribe to the monthly business boosting e-zine, “PartyOn!” at http://www.homepartysolution.com

In a report to the FTC, the Direct Sales Association (DSA) reported that “there are 7.2 million direct sellers nationwide and the industry has a very high attrition rate due to the temporary and part-time nature of 90% of our sales force.”

In fact, the direct sales industry is recruiting, on the average, over 70,000 new people per week. Additionally, 6% of U.S. households currently, have an active direct seller living there. 14% of U.S. households have a person who has been a direct seller at one time living in that household.

Sadly, the average attrition rate for Direct Sales companies is approximately 40%, meaning just under half of the people you recruit will stay on for a year – at most.

Most network marketing business owners who have managed to make an effective go of their first year in business find that their second year – and subsequent years – are much more fulfilling, and less problematic. The reason? With a learning curve behind them, consultants are now better able to handle not only product questions, but recruiting, training and the typical sales cycle “ups and downs” as well.

So how do you navigate the rough waters of the start-up year in order to come out ahead in year two?

First, don’t panic. Realize that you’re in business to make money, and that building a business takes time. Most recruits that stick with a company for a year, find that success comes much more easily in subsequent years so keep that result in mind. Commit yourself to staying “active” for a year.

Second, commit to working your business like a business. Hobbies are an occasional activity – something you might participate in a few times per month. In order to be successful in direct sales, you should insist on doing something related to your business every day of the week. It might be customer calls, or hostess coaching, or labeling your catalogs, but every day SOMETHING should be done to improve your business position. Take the weekends and holidays off, but make sure that you’re “operational” during regular business days.

Third, mark your time. Touching your business every work day shouldn’t take the entire work day. On the contrary, you should expect to spend no more than an hour each day that you’re not making presentations. On presentation days, I strongly encourage you to focus on the presentation and not have a lot of other business activities to deal with. You’ll be working hard enough doing your demo, you don’t need your mind distracted with creating hostess packets, promotional, flyers or other items related to your business.

When trying to figure out where you want to take your business financially, it is important to look at your metrics – your average sales per customer, lifetime value of a customer, and average show sales are a good place to start. Start keeping track of this data so you can periodically review it to see what needs improvement.

Next, consider catering to your target market. Target marketing is the process of focusing on a select and specific group of people you are advertising to. And it has everything to do with the product you are selling. For example, if you are marketing infant products, it would be very unwise to market to the elderly. While it’s possible there may be a few clients in that group (like grandparents), your best bet is to focus on new moms – a group that is likely to need infant products! Get to know the people that need your products. They are your target market and that is where you need to focus your marketing energy.

Remember to read and educate yourself by investing time into study. Learn the tricks of the trade. Make friends and associates with reputable trainers and others in your industry. Mastermind with others who have already done what you want to accomplish. It may mean a monetary investment, but you are trading it for valuable experience to shorten your learning curve. Don’t go hog wild, and set a training budget – and stick with it. There’s nothing worse than a new recruit spending all their earnings on the latest training program only to quit because they ran out of money. There will always be training opportunities – and don’t let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise. There

are also plenty of good books at your local library that won’t cost you a dime to read. Don’t make excuses. Learn more to earn more.

Lastly, apply what you have learned. Knowing and doing are not the same. At the end of a year, you will see a dramatic difference in your life, your mindset and your business. Start now to overcome the hurdles of the first year start-up blues. You’ll be amazed at the results.

After nearly 10 years in Direct Sales, Lisa Young stopped listening to her up-line and started seeking professional sales and marketing wisdom from the far corners of big business. Today Lisa offers ready-to-use insights, tips and inspiration to others in the Home Party Plan community looking to run their business like a business and achieve success. Lisa’s free monthly newsletter “PartyOn!” features articles from a business perspective designed to help MLM reps reach their booking, sales and recruiting goals. You can sign up for the newsletter at http://www.HomePartySolution.com

With Usborne Books you can promote literacy while making money.  No minimums and low start up costs!

Maria White
Usborne Books & More
Team Leader & Educational Consultant
719-591-4022
Cell: 719-649-5507
SHOP ONLINE @ www.KidsReadBooks.com

Do you dream of owning your own business and working for yourself? Before you make this huge leap of faith and finances, ask yourself this question…could you imagine working for someone else if you were offered your dream job?

If this is the case then you should spend more time looking for the job you truly want and less time dreaming about becoming an entrepreneur. There are certain considerations that can give you great insight and help you decide if you do have what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

1. What is your motivation? Ask yourself if you would want to be an entrepreneur regardless of how much money you might make as you build your business. If your goal is simply to achieve an income your chances of success, and more importantly, personal satisfaction are limited. Your real motivation must come from something inside you, not from external rewards like monetary goals or praise from others.

2. Who will it benefit? Is your dream based on something you want to give, or is it more about something you want to receive? A true entrepreneurial spirit includes a desire to do something that reaches beyond oneself. This is the reward that spurs the spirit of an entrepreneur.

3. How hard are you willing to work? One of the biggest misconceptions about becoming an entrepreneur is that life will be easier than working for someone else. Rarely is this the case. Becoming successful requires tremendous commitment and usually the hours reflect the level of dedication to your dream.

4. Are you prepared? What are you bringing to the table? Even if this is your own company, you need to have the experience and knowledge required to succeed. Ask yourself if you would hire yourself? If the answer is no, then spend some time educating yourself at what you want to really do. If this doesn’t sound compelling then entrepreneurship may not be for you.

5. Can you handle success? How comfortable are you with personal success? One of the number one reasons independent businesses fail is the fact that many people are their own worst enemy. Some people like the idea of success and independence, but as their new business grows, self-sabotage becomes a factor and dreams become financial nightmares. Know right from the start that you are not someone who gets in his or her own way. Be certain that you know that you will always be your own advocate and that you are willing to go the distance to protect and fight for your dreams. You will encounter obstacles and negativity and doubt somewhere along the path. True entrepreneurs never accept defeat, and they never create it for themselves. Their entrepreneurial spirit pushes them past any difficulties and their greatest joy comes from the pride and sense of satisfaction that comes from living your dreams.

Anne Leedom is the Founder of www.parentingbookmark.com and www.netconnectpublicity.com. She is a graduate of San Jose State University. Her work has been featured in national print and radio and she is frequent contributor to DrLaura.com and other national websites. She lives in Northern California and is the mother of two daughters.

Opportunities are like doors…once opened the steps you take lead you to incredible places.  I am so thankful I opened the door when my girlfriend came knocking at my door and presented the gift of Rendi to me.

RENDI, one of the hottest and newest home party-plan companies, provides a way to create meaningful, custom picture frames and decor as gifts or for yourself. Every Rendi piece is custom made in the US, using 100% recycled wood and water-based finishes. Orders ship out in 48 hours direct to the customers doorstep, and arrive beautifully gift-wrapped.

For only $199 you will receive your “Business in a Box,” everything you need to start building your successful Rendi business, including NINE beautiful sample pieces. All orders are done directly online by the customer.  There’s no inventory. No paperwork.

Becoming a Rendi Independent Stylist has really empowered me as a woman, and I want to share this opportunity with all women, because, after all, we all deserve to feel empowered!  Contact me for information about joining Rendi.  I will be with you every step of the way, ensuring that you have all the tools and resources you need to be successful…no matter where you live…near or far.

2012 is going to be Rendi’s breakout year…hop on board before this train leaves the station!

www.KimH.RendiStyle.com

Heritage Makers offers a unique and fun business opportunity!  Heritage Makers uses a state of the art Online Publishing System (no software to download)!  You simply upload your photos, drag and drop your photos into a template (or you can start from a blank project.)  Change out the artwork and text.  Click publish and your custom projects are mailed to your door in a couple of weeks!  It is that simple!  Create photobooks, calendars, greeting cards, playing cards, scrapbook pages, canvas prints, business products, home decor and so much more!

The business opportunity with Heritage Makers is a dream come true!  There is no inventory to purchase, no deliveries to make, and no monthly minimums to worry about.  As a Personal Publishing Consultant, you can share Heritage Makers with others through home workshops or parties, studio demos and one on ones, fairs and shows and online!  You are your own boss and can work from the comfort of your own home.  Plus, the compensation plan with Heritage Makers is one of the best in the industry allowing you to earn a substantial career income or some extra money to pay a bill or take your family on vacation.  Join either as a hobbiest or as a career consultant for as low as $50!  Either way, you will be a part of helping others to preserve their precious memories through photos and stories for generations to come!

Heritage Makers
Kelly Murphy
mekellymurphy@gmail.com
www.PhotoProjectsWithKelly.com