One of the topics I discuss with my clients and prospective clients is the importance of a direct selling business plan. When I bring this subject up, I hear some very interesting reasons why they don’t bother to write one. Here are some of them: My idea is too big. I can’t write it down,…
Ask Victoria: What Should I Do About Leaders Who Stop Leading?
Leaders are so important to the success of all direct selling companies. They sell more, recruit more, and stay active in the business longer than the average representative. That’s the good news. The bad news is that, eventually, all leaders stop acting like leaders. Why? There are many reasons and there is a lot you…
Ask Victoria: Can You Grow With Easy Requirements?
Some people who start companies believe that they need to be really nice to their representatives. Their MLM startup or new party plan company is not going to be like the others. Their philosophy is to offer an opportunity that is easy on performance requirements and expectations. The thought is that if we don’t ask…
Ask Victoria: What Is The #1 Quality You See In Successful Direct Sales Companies?
At the end of April, we held our 11th Direct Selling Edge Conference which is our two-day school for owners, executives, and employees of network marketing and party plan direct selling companies. We co-sponsor this educational event two times each year. Our panel of direct selling experts was asked, “What is the number one quality…
Ask Victoria: Who Do I Hire First?
When you are starting a new direct selling company, you know you are going to need to hire employees. What types of people should you be hiring? Who should you hire first? Interestingly, the skills you will need in your first employees are the skills you don’t have or the skills you don’t want to…
Do This For Project Failure
At some time in your life, you’ve probably read about what it takes for a project to be successful. Equally important, however, is knowing what you should not do. Whether your project is an MLM software implementation, the launch of a new direct selling company or the relaunch of one, a marketing campaign, or anything else…
Training Done Right
Your company’s success depends in part on how well your independent representatives are trained. Are you training on the right topics, in the right ways? Training Topics Your independent representatives need to be trained on several topics. These are: History of your company and your company story Your products or services, and their features…
Ask Victoria: Are You Driving Business To Your Competitors?
One of my favorite sayings is, “Any degree of difficulty makes it less likely a customer will buy from you.” What if a person has a question about your products or your income opportunity? He or she looks at your website and there is no way to call you to ask questions because you’ve chosen…
Ask Victoria: How Do I Make My Website Better?
When I talk with young direct selling companies, I always ask for their website addresses so I can learn more about their products and more about them. However, I also want to see where they are focusing their efforts and to check if their website reflects their intentions. If you want to concentrate on the…
Ask Victoria: How Do You Teach Others How To Sell?
That’s easy. Just answer this question: “What do your independent sales representatives need to know to be the best salespeople for your products or services?” If only life was that simple. While knowledge is important, being a good salesperson takes more than just information.
Are Business Cards Still Relevant?
Are you still purchasing and giving others your business cards? Are your independent representatives? Heck, we don’t even have to talk with each other face to face anymore….or do we? We can just use our phones to text each other, so, I ask you, “Do we need to be passing out these pieces of paper?”…
Ask Victoria: How Do I Teach A Positive Attitude?
Positive attitudes start at the top. If you are the owner or a top executive with your direct selling company, I’m looking at you, kid. Every owner faces this issue at one time or another… They hear rumblings of negativity throughout their company or their sales force. Unchecked negative attitudes can spread like wildfire. The…