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Sylvina Consulting BlogInsights for network marketing, MLM, and party plan companies
Visit With Oxyfresh and Scentsy!February 10th, 2010Join us on March 17th and 18th in Boise, Idaho at the Direct Selling Association’s “Companies in Focus” Seminar for a close-up, personal look at how three direct selling companies - Melaleuca, Oxyfresh and Scentsy - each operate. The agenda features company facility tours, educational sharing sessions with company leadership and plenty of Q & A to get to the heart of what you want to know about what makes these companies succeed. What About Sales Tax?February 10th, 2010If you’re launching a new direct selling company, you should be asking this question! Collection and RemittanceMost businesses register for sales tax collection authority, collect sales taxes, and remit collected taxes only in the states where the business has a physical presence (a store, an office, or a warehouse). However, direct selling companies are regulated differently. Ask Victoria: Do I Need A Business Plan?February 10th, 2010If you are thinking about or are in the midst of creating a new party plan or MLM company, you may be wondering if you need a business plan. A business plan is like a road map to a specific destination. You’re more likely to get to your destination if you have a map (or GPS!) that tells you how to get there. The tasks to be performed are like stops along the way. When you include a financial plan, a business plan can help you to identify the types of expected expenses and how much it will cost to build and operate your company. Business plans help you and others to see your vision more clearly. MLM Startup GuideJanuary 5th, 2010If you are starting a network marketing or home party plan company, you may be looking for an MLM Startup Guide and the best resources to help you to create, launch and grow your new business. Start Here: A Guide for Starting Your Own Home Party Plan or Network Marketing Company is a 250-page workbook that was written to give you a well-grounded start on your new direct selling business. Each chapter includes essential information, a series of thought-provoking questions to direct you to action, examples and suggested next steps. 900% Growth in 2009!January 5th, 2010An interview with Gigi Hill Bags President, Monica HillmanQ: How long has your company been in business? A: We created our LLC in October, 2005 and began selling our products the next summer. Q: What types of products or services do you sell? A: Handbags, carryalls, and accessories. Q: How is your home party experience different from others? Ask Victoria: What Advice Do You Give Most Often To Established Direct Selling Companies?January 5th, 2010As a senior consultant at Sylvina Consulting, each week I talk with many executives of party plan and MLM companies. I hear firsthand about a company’s successes and challenges. I love direct selling because it’s a people business. Sometimes, a company has a specific issue or group of issues in which our help is requested. At other times, everything appears to be running fine, but that’s when I worry most. Preventative maintenance is recommended for all automobiles. Measuring and adding air to tires extends their lives. Periodic oil changes extend the life of engines. If you waited until your engine seized up to change your oil, you would be too late! Annual 40-point inspections can spot problems early and help avoid costly repairs. Direct selling businesses need inspections, too. The advice I give most often to established companies is not to wait until a crisis to enlist the skills of a consulting firm like ours to review, evaluate, and improve the performance of your business. To learn more, ask me about our annual business review consulting service! The Best Measurement for Predicting GrowthNovember 24th, 2009Direct selling companies measure their businesses in many ways. While monthly sales is a good measure of company month-to-month or year-to-year performance, it isn’t the best measurement for predicting the future. The best measurement for predicting the future of a direct selling company is the number of leaders in your sales force. This is because leaders have great influence over others. What is a leader?A leader is a person who has personally enrolled at least 3 others and who is active in the business by meeting or exceeding the minimum personal and group sales requirements of the company’s compensation plan. It would be great if everyone who joined a direct selling company became a leader. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen. Instead, leaders comprise a small but important minority. What should be measured?Each month, you should measure the numbers of active representatives, active leaders, and active leaders as a percentage of all active representatives. If you see all three numbers increasing, this is good news. It means your business is growing larger with a greater density of leaders. Looking forward, your rate of growth can be predicted to accelerate. If your percentage of leaders is falling but the total number of active representatives is growing strongly, additional information is needed to draw a conclusion. Has there been a sudden burst of new recruits that has diluted the number of leaders, or are there simply fewer leaders? If you see all three numbers falling, this means your business is shrinking and unless you take steps now to reverse the tide, things will only get worse. Leadership development is important for every direct selling company. Leadership DevelopmentMost leaders in the sales force aren’t naturally born that way. Leadership development is the name given to a system that identifies prospective leaders and provides them with training, tools, support and recognition. An investment in the future of others, leadership development is a priority of all successful direct selling companies. A Helping HandSylvina Consulting can assess your business, identify areas in need of solutions, and help you to grow your business faster with a strong leadership development program. Contact Jay or Victoria at 503.244.8787 for further information.
Take the 7-Question Compensation Plan QuizNovember 24th, 2009Compensation plans should be designed to motivate and reward seven key behaviors. To find out how your compensation plan is doing, answer “yes” or “no” to each of the following questions: 1. Personal ConsumptionDo your independent representatives personally use or consume your products? 2. Sales to Retail CustomersIs the percentage increasing of total company sales to non-participants in the income opportunity? 3. RetentionIs your rate of retention of representatives above average for companies like yours, or if not, is it on the rise? 4. Recruiting/SponsoringAre you seeing increases in the percentages of representatives who have recruited at least one person and the percentages of representatives who have recruited at least two people? 5. Supporting OthersIs your compensation plan driving a team-building culture? 6. Becoming a LeaderDo you have an effective Leadership Training Program for all ranks of field leadership? 7. Developing LeadersAre there sufficient financial rewards and recognition for developing leaders? If you answered “no” to any questions, you have some work to do. The first step is to measure the performance of your compensation plan over periods of time in each of the key areas so that you can see clearly what is working for you and the areas in need of positive change. Are the performance results of your sales force in line with industry averages? Better yet, is your company “beating” industry averages? Once you’ve identified your targets of opportunity, you can proceed to the next step… adjusting your compensation plan to achieve optimum results. Be sure to include a transition plan to introduce the plan changes to your field and to minimize the effects on individual representative compensation. When you encourage and reward properly each of the key behaviors, the success of your representatives will propel your company forward. Sylvina Consulting can help you to evaluate the performance of your compensation plan and, if needed, to design changes to encourage higher rates of activity, retail sales, retention, rates of recruiting and leadership. For a confidential, no obligation discussion of your compensation plan needs, contact Jay Leisner at 503.244.8787 or email jay@sylvina.com. A Great Gift!November 24th, 2009The holiday rush is on and you have been wondering what to get your wife, your husband… Oh wait, what about you? Throughout the year, we have spouses call us to ask about our services and how we may help their loved ones. While we provide a wide range of consulting services, my first response is to tell them about our guide, “Start Here”. Start Here is a 250-page workbook that is filled with information, questions to answer, and activities needed to create, develop and launch a successful direct selling company. Included are 14 chapters of essential material on these important topics
and much more! The guide is presented in a 3-ring binder. In addition to the information provided, in the guide you can gather your thoughts and ideas all in one place and it comes with an hour of guide consulting.
Here is what one of our guide customers told us: Starting a business can be overwhelming. This guide is incredibly helpful because it takes me step-by-step through what needs to be done. For additional information or to order a copy of the guide for your loved one or for yourself, click Direct Selling Guide. If you have any other questions about Start Here or you would like to take a few moments to discuss your direct selling company, please feel free to contact me at 503.244.8787 or email me at victoria@sylvina.com. |
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