By Jay Leisner, President, Sylvina Consulting
“To understand another, you must first walk in her shoes.”
Imagine that you are someone else, looking for something new in your life.
It could be a part-time income opportunity, or perhaps to replace or exceed the income from your job. It could be the chance to belong to an organization that champions a cause that you can believe in. Or it could be the opportunity to become a leader to help others achieve their goals while you achieve yours.
If you are in a transitional state of mind, you might consider becoming an independent consultant or distributor with a direct selling, home party plan, or multilevel marketing company.
There are hundreds of these kinds of companies in the United States. Which one would you join and how would you make the decision?
If you are launching or growing one of these companies, these are important questions to think about as you build your business.
Image
First impressions leave lasting memories.
When I was seventeen years old, I worked for a company that sold vending machines to people looking to start their own businesses. While the company was young and lean on staff, they portrayed an image of sophistication with their gold leaf stationery, prestigious Beverly Hills address, and full-page advertisements in the Sunday Los Angeles Times. Prospective customers were given the impression that this was a business run by professionals. The company’s image was a key factor in attracting customers.
Today, as we consult with companies of all sizes, I have the opportunity to review the websites of many companies. The level of sophistication in presentation and the quality of the content varies widely. Companies that place a high priority on their image tend to grow faster and to attract more sophisticated consultants and customers than those that don’t have this focus.
Whether you have an unlimited budget to promote your company or you are in bootstrap mode,
invest the time to create your image. Focus on both content and presentation. Ask yourself, “If I was a successful person, would I consider joining this company?”
If you’re new to direct selling, consider investing in the services of a consulting firm with expertise in this area. The image you present of your company is significant in your ability to attract and to retain sales representatives.
Culture
Every company has a culture, direct selling companies included. They have their customs and rules for acceptable behavior.
Most direct selling companies have business processes and policies and procedures that are typically included in a distributor kit. The same information may appear on the company’s website.
As you prepare your collateral materials, work hard to communicate clearly your views of the business and your outlook on consultant performance. Ask yourself, “Would I join a company with these rules?”
If the answer isn’t “absolutely yes”, serious consider changing the rules so that you can answer “yes.”
Some of the consultants interested in your income opportunity will have worked previously for other similar companies. They’ll come to your company with a set of expectations that you may or may not meet. If you’re too far off course, you may push away some of these “experienced” people who will go elsewhere to meet their needs.
If you’re new to direct selling and you want your culture to not drift too far from those of other companies, you may wish to consider obtaining guidance from experts in reviewing or in writing your business processes and your policies and procedures.
Differentiation
It’s unusual to find a direct selling company that is first to market with its type of product or service.
If you were to look over a list of active direct selling companies, it would be easy to conclude that many are selling nutritional products, skincare, specialty foods or home décor items.
If you plan to sell any of these types of products, does this mean there isn’t room for you? Of course not.
What it does mean, however, is that you have an additional task to add to your “to do list” for your company and that task is product differentiation.
“Why should consumers buy your products instead of the products of that other company?” This is another one of those questions that you should ask as you walk in the shoes of your customer. As you form your business model and develop your collateral materials, you’ll want to answer this question early and often.
It may be difficult to find a unique selling proposition, but it’s not impossible. Every product or service can be described or packaged in a special way.
Conclusion
Image, culture and differentiation are three of the important ingredients in building a successful direct selling company. Spend the time to make sure that these three are as strong as they can be.
Jay Leisner is President of Sylvina Consulting, a business and software consulting firm with more than 19 years of experience working with over 200 direct selling, home party plan and multilevel marketing companies.
To request free information on launching and growing a direct selling company, visit www.sylvina.com or contact Sylvina Consulting directly at 503.244.8787.
