Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

I see many direct sales consultants discussing the marketing technique of hanging catalogs on neighborhood doors. Do door hangers really work? Or is it just an added expense and expenditure of human resources to employ this tactic?

One rule of thumb to keep in mind when you are trying different marketing techniques is whether or not you acted on a similar campaign. For example, have you ever made a purchase off of any ad you saw on someone’s vehicle? (I have not)

Have you ever taken advantage of an offer that was hung on your door (I have not) or did it likely go straight into the trash or blow away in the wind or eventually get soggy with rain?

Do you often read and act upon fliers you find around town? (I have not)

Of course there are exceptions to every rule, but I would caution you to target your marketing to a particular segment (new moms, elderly, college kids, empty nesters, nail salons, doctors offices, etc.). Then relay your message to that market in a method they will respond to.

Blanket fliers and neighborhood blitzes don’t always work. It’s like spraying an arsenal of bullets, hoping to hit something.

Instead, try a small sampling – test to see if it is effective, if not – then try something else. Perhaps your time and financial resources could be better spent with some direct mailing of your company catalog. Then follow-up within a week to ensure the business owner received your catalog. Provide a special offer to entice a call to action.

If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’re going to keep getting what you’ve been getting.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business. You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

I can hear the groans already. Are you kidding? Try to transition my direct sales hobby into a flourishing business in the summer? There’s no way – the kids are home, people are on vacation and it’s just plain too hot to even think about it.

I disagree. (you’re not surprised).

Summertime is a great time to transition your direct sales business from one that is more of a hobby to one that actually makes you money. Getting a summertime routine in place establishes momentum for your business and by fall, you’ll be rockin’. And here is the main reason why…

You’re forced to set office hours. Setting office hours is the one main step you need to take if you want to transition to a serious business and summertime can force you to do so. Why? Because your kids are home and you must set a specific time when they’re busy or occupied to work your business.

When you have a set schedule – and a limited time to get things done – you’ll be more productive and less prone to spend time doing things that don’t make you money.

If needed, hire a local teenager for an hour or two every day (or every other day) to keep the kids occupied at the park while you work. When they get back, close the office door (either physically or emotionally – or both) and concentrate on them again.

Ideally you want to set the same time each day for your office hours but there is flexibility here. If you’re working around music, sports or other kid activities that’s ok… just schedule time in and make it your goal to WORK and work hard. Use the “power hour” system or something similar. But just work – and don’t use this time to clean your desk, check emails or spend time on twitter. Focus on those activities that make you money: booking parties, contacting your current and future customers and building and training your team. Use a functional to do list system and you’ll be successful in no time!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Direct Selling and Tough Economy (bizop.ca)
• 5 questions you should ask your future MLM sponsor before joining him or her (dreamteamformula.com)
• Women in Business (5min.com)

If you’ve been on twitter for a while you’ve probably seen the different terms that fly about in twitter language. It’s kind of fun but when you’re new to the game it’s not always easy to figure out what in the world everyone is talking about.

But it’s good to know some of the terms and use them if you’re going to use twitter effectively. A few of my favorites:

Tweet – when you actually post your 140 character message on twitter you’re sending a tweet.

Twitterer – someone who is on twitter and tweets

Twitaholic – enough said!

Tweetie – I can’t find this one officially in the twitter dictionary (is there such a thing) but I like to use it – similar to tweetheart. I use it more generically to sign off as in “see you later tweeties”. Others might say “see you later tweeple” – that works too.

Actually there is, sort of, a running twitter dictionary over at www.twittonary.com so you can find other fun “tw” words. It’s a growing list so have fun!

But most of all, just start interacting with people. We’ll talk about following and getting followers in another post. Enjoy!