Direct Selling: Building relationships

As direct sellers, we are often faced with the following dilemma. We are taught that you start by selling your products to friends or family. But what if you have exhausted this avenue or like me, you prefer not to sell to your friends and family. That leaves us with the option of selling to strangers which offers a new set of challenges.

When a customer goes to a shop, she has a specific need and is in the correct frame of mind to buy. She will also most likely go to her preferred shop or shopping centre; a place that she knows with products or services that she trusts. As direct sellers selling to strangers we will need to approach potential customers who don’t know us and in all likelihood will not trust us.

My top tips to convert strangers into customers and building relationships are:

1.  First Impressions last forever.

The way we dress, talk and smell make a lasting impression on a customer. Practice what to say to a potential customer in front of a mirror, or to a family member or friend. That way you will see what they see. It will also help to improve your self-confidence.

2.  Ask open-ended questions.

“What type of perfume do you like?” This will start a conversation where “Do you like perfume?” may end up in a “NO” from a potential customer and an end to your sales pitch.

3.  Respect their opinions & objections.

Objections are a positive element of the sales process. It allows you to engage with the customer.

Example:  A customer may ask you if the perfume will last the whole day, which you can respond to with an offer for the customers to test the fragrance and to buy at a later stage when they have experienced the product for themselves.

4. Keep Record

Make a note not only of their contact information but also important information like birthdays, pay dates, buying preferences etc. This will ensure that you can follow up regularly to get repeat sales.

5.  Follow up

Direct sellers often neglect to follow up a few days after the product was delivered. Doing so, not only allows you to ensure that the customer is still happy with the product but also to ask for referrals. It has been proven that it is ten times easier to sell to a referral than to a new customer.

6.  Make regular contact.

In the new social landscape that we operate in, it is refreshing to receive contact from people that are not always trying to sell something to you. I like to send to all my customers a motivational image to remind them that I think about them. The aim is not to overload a customer with useless information, but to connect with them on a personal level.

7.  Care about their needs.

Put your customer’s needs first. I have on occasion refused to sell a product to a customer because I listened to what they really needed and realized that my offering would not fulfil their need. It is not about what you want, but about what the customer wants!!

Happy customers will become your number one advertisement and keep your business growing from strength to strength.

Happy Selling
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The business culture of a direct seller

Heritage day on 24 September is an opportunity for us as South Africans to celebrate our cultural heritage and our diverse beliefs and traditions. As a business owner, I would like to encourage you to reflect on your business culture and ensure that it reflects who you are and what you stand for. A company's culture can influence results from top to bottom. With this in mind, I reflect on 5 common business values that you can adapt for your own small business as a direct seller:

Trust and Reliability

It is a fact that customers buy products or services from companies that they trust. Millions of rand are spent on advertising campaigns to create a sense of trust and reliability. In direct selling, it all starts with you. You have to live and breathe trust. How do you show your customers that they can trust you? Are you reliable in the delivery of promises made to your customers?

By ensuring a reliable supply and products they trust, you will be able to get not only get repeat business from customers but referrals. 

 

Respect

Treating everyone like you would like to be treated is an easy way to show respect. Respect that your customers may come from different backgrounds and have different traditions than yours. Show them that you respect them and they will respect you.

Ask yourself: "Do I respect my customer's time, objections, and traditions?" 

"Do I respect the terms and conditions of my supplier?"

By showing respect, respect will be given to you.

 

Teamwork

No one is an island! Whether you have no employees or thousands, working in a team makes everything easier. Many network marketers have downlines that will become part of your team. Listen to your team's challenges and offer the support that they need. Don't forget that you are also in a team with your supplier company. Make time to participate in team activities that your supplying company offer which can include workshops and other team events.

 

Consistency

"Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity" – Bruce Lee, martial artist

It is no surprise that financial giants like Coronation have adopted this saying as one of their core values. As a direct seller, you will find great benefits in being consistent. Apply it in your communication with your customers; to your service delivery; in all other aspects of your business. Regular communication, reliable delivery times and consistent quality of product will strengthen your relationship and engagement with your customers.

 

Diversity

South Africa has 11 official languages and a multilingual population fluent in at least two. IsiZulu and isiXhosa are the largest languages, while English is spoken at home by only one in 10 people – most of them not white. We live in a country rich in diversity of culture, languages and beliefs. Embrace diversity in your business by not limiting yourself to your own culture.

Financial Freedom in Network Marketing

April is the month in which we as South African celebrate the birth of our democracy and commemorate the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994. The South African government is dedicating this whole month to celebrating progress in democratic freedom.

This inspired me to talk to you about financial freedom and how that relates to us in the direct selling, and network marketing industry.

Financial freedom usually means having enough savings, financial investments, and cash on hand to afford the kind of life we desire for ourselves and our families. It means growing savings that enable us to retire or pursue the career we want without being driven by earning a set salary each year.

Whenever I ask a person what it is that attracted them to the direct selling network marketing industry, the answer most of the time is: “I want to be financially independent.” What all of these people realized is that no one will offer us financial freedom on a silver platter. We cannot simply rely on the Government or our employers to look after us if we don’t start looking after ourselves today.  

I have read many articles and many offer very good advice, I want to share with you my top 3 tips for gaining financial freedom.

1.   Goal / Budget

    We all have bills to pay and financial obligations to meet. But we don’t want to work only to pay the bills. Set yourself some goals to achieve the lifestyle that you desire. Have short-term goals and long-term goals. You may want to have enough money to pay for your children’s school fees, but you also want to save for their education should they wish to study further after school. Work towards your goals and how to achieve them.

2. Work for knowledge and not money.

Regardless of what your goals are, the world does not stop moving or waiting for you to get caught up on your skills.  Empower yourself with knowledge. Understand the Company's compensation plan and how you can use it to maximize your income. Throughout my career in this industry, I have seen countless people who never took the time to understand the business they were in, to understand what they had to do to make money. So many people only want to do the bare minimum and expect the money to come rolling in. Like to many things in life, it is all about ‘what you put in, you get out.’ Network marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme; it is a full-time career. Those people who took the time to understand the business are also the ones that are constantly asking for advice and improving their skills. It is also no surprise that they are the ones that are making money in the industry.

 

3.  Make money work for you.

Recruiting other people into your network is the easiest way to earn money from other people’s efforts. But this means that you will have to invest time and money into developing these people. Spend time with your downlines and teach them to be better in the business than what you are. The African saying goes: Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. What it does not say is that in network marketing if you teach him how to fish, he will not only feed his own family but also your family.

 

 

Network Leadership

In May and June, we normally celebrate mother’s day and father’s day and this inspired me to talk about “parenting” in the network marketing business.

In some network companies, the upline, or the person that introduced you to the business is referred to as the parent.

Similar to being the parent for your child, you also have to teach your downlines everything you know about the business. You do not expect your baby to be able to run before he/she can crawl. The same applies to your new downline. Teach him/her step by step about the business and help them when they fall down. Also remember that not all children are the same, and some may take longer to walk than others. Some downlines will be able to move faster than others. Treat each one according to his / her strengths.

With this in mind, I would like to share 3 topics with you:

1.      Build relationships with your downlines

Your relationship with your downlines starts long before they join the business. It starts with the first time that they show interest in Sunbird. Take time to understand your leads’  goals and dreams. Each person has different goals and if you understand what he/she wants to achieve, you can offer the best advice. For example, Some downlines only have limited time available for a side hustle and may only want to make pocket money selling perfumes to friends and family, Therefore you can rather focus more on the profits from personal sales than the downline can make and not as much on recruiting.

In building a relationship, you don’t only have to focus on the business aspect but focus also on the person. Remember important things like birthdays and special occasions. We all want to feel appreciated and a birthday message or even a motivational message can achieve that. Make regular contact with all your downlines and help them with advice when they are facing challenges.

2.      Invest in your downlines

The most important investment that you can make in your downlines is time. Make time in your schedule to teach your downlines about the business. Remember that some of them are new in the business and you might have to repeat your training a few times before they understand. Do not fall into the trap of doing everything for a downline. The age-old saying is: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day but teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Example: So many Uplines fall into the trap of doing the orders for a downline. These downlines become lazy and will expect you to carry them all the time. It is similar to a baby who wants you to carry them all the time because it is so much easier than walking on their own.

Just to name a few: Teach them how to handle their money from the first sale that they make and to keep aside the stock money from the profit they make. Teach them how to place an order, to follow up. Teach them how to sell to an easy customer and to a difficult customer.  Teach them how to use social media and how to use the Company resources available to them.

3.      Lead by example

We all have seen how children copy their parents. Many of us have been embarrassed when a child repeats a swear word that we might have used in private and they loudly use the word in public. The same can be said of our downlines in the network business. You are their example, the person that they aspire to be like and they will copy your habits. Your actions speak louder than words. You cannot expect your downline to make personal sales or recruit if you don’t. Sometimes it means that you have to take them out in the field and show them practically how to sell or how to recruit.