When you’re a part of an MLM business, you need PEOPLE to help your business grow. The only way to get these people is to make them as wildly interested in your business as you are. This requires talking to them in the right way. Following are five tips for talking to prospects in person and turning them into successful recruits:

1. Put yourself in the prospects’ shoes. See things the way he, or she does. Consider what you’re hearing about their finances and other important factors that will affect a successful recruit.

2. Identify with the prospects’ interests. Be ready to explain what your prospect will get out of joining your company. This is the bottom line for them. They’re not interested in being sold on a business opportunity.

3. Approach prospects the way YOU would like to be approached. Think back to the person that recruited YOU. He, or she, must have said SOMETHING right or you might have walked away without looking back. Remember that when approaching each new prospect to increase your chances of a successful recruit.

4. Ask the right questions. If you ask enough questions, the prospect will be doing the majority of the conversation. Listen to what he, or she, is saying to you because, in essence, you’re being told HOW to successfully recruit this prospect.

5. Look your prospects in the eyes. Looking them directly in the eyes gives a feeling of confidence and helps you appear sincere and honest about everything you’re saying.

Alicia Brown bag girl

Name:

Alicia Butler

Business:

Brown Bag Party

How long have you been in this business?

I have been in direct sales for 5 years. I have   been in the romance industry for 4 years.  My two year Brown Bag Party anniversary is next month!

What do you love about this business?

 I love enriching others relationships by giving them the tips and tools neccessary to create the romance they desire.  As a team leader I love helping others achieve their own dreams.  Another thing I love about BBP is the sisterhood that we have.  I had a miscarrriage in October and I considered leaving the business, but I stayed because of the suppor and encouragement from my Brown Bag Party sisters.

What is your number one Tip for others who wish to start a Direct Sales Business?

 Take your time and do your research. If I could go back to the begining 5 years ago this is the one thing I would change. Instead of jumping in and then company hopping for 3 1/2 years I would have really set out and found out what was available and then did my research to find the right company for me.

If you knew “then” what you know now?

 I kind of explained this one above but it’s just knowing that their are thousands of companies out there in various areas. Just because someone is pressuring you to join their company doesn’t mean you have to.  Take your time and find what you love and make your decison based on the company that suits you. You have to work hard to be successful so you really have to love what you are doing. 

Alicia

Your favorite business tool?

 I have many, many faves.  I think one of the best hidden gems is postcalls.  It allows you a fast alternative to follow up calls it’s fantasic!

Your favorite business book?

 I love the It’s A Party Out There system from Karen Phelps.

Your favorite social networking site?

 I have recently fallen in love with Twitter. You can meet so many people in so many different ways and it’s fabulous.  My username is brownbbaggirl for those who want to follow me.

How can people reach you? 

You can go straight to my website and sign up there. www.brownbagparty.com/aliciabutler

Anything else you want to share?

 Brown Bag Party is a romance party plan  company. We offer parties for both women and couples.  Our parties are fun, free, and educational. Our consultants love to share tips and simple techniques you can use to help you enhance your romantic life. We also offer Pole Parties, Fellatio Fun Parties, Lap Dance Parties, and tons of other specialty themes.

  How can people contact you again?

Alicia Butler
  870-277-4665
  brownbaggirl@hotmail.com
  twitter.com/brownbaggirl
  facebook.com/brownbagpartybyalicia
  www.brownbagparty.com/aliciabutler
  www.thebuzzworthybabes.webs.com
  http://www.romancerepopp.webs.com/

Melody & Family in Hawaii

Name: Melody Thacker

Business: Independent Watkins Associate

How long have you been in this business?

9 years

What do you love about this business?

What I love most about my business is helping people. My customers are generally very friendly, happy to have found me and grateful to get the products they want! How could I not love that?

Plus I love working with and coaching the associates on my team. It’s awesome to see them make things happen with their businesses.

What is your number one Tip for others who wish to start a Direct Sales Business?

Use the products! When you use the products yourself you can explain the features and benefits much better. People will often ask you, “Which one do you use?” or “Which one do you like the best?” And then they’ll buy the one you use or like because they couldn’t decide!

If you knew “then” what you know now?

Don’t forget or be afraid to ask! Ask how many they want, ask them to set a date to hold their party, ask them when you should contact them again, or ask them if they are ready to join now. I know I was afraid to ask because I didn’t want to be too pushy but people actually appreciate it when you ask and are helpful.

Melody & Ray in Hawaii

Your favorite business tool?

The telephone, some days it rings nearly nonstop and it’s a great tool for coaching. Nothing beats talking with someone in person and the telephone is the next best thing. Customers are always happy to hear a real person on the phone, not a recording! People often prefer a live person who can answer questions or explain things.

Your favorite business book?

My favorite business book is a set, Build It Big: 101 Insider Secrets from Top Direct Selling Experts, More Build It Big: 101 Insider Secrets from Top Direct Selling Experts and the The Build It Big Workbook by the Direct Selling Womens Alliance. I use all three of them as references when I’m coaching associates. I think Build It Big is a must have, success manual for every direct seller.

Your favorite social networking site?

It took me a while to really get the hang of it but I’m loving Facebook now.  Unlike some other social networking sites, I don’t use it specifically to meet new people. I’ve found it’s a wonderful way to build relationships with people I’ve already connected with. So I’ve got a mix of real life friends, family, customers, business friends, associates and new friends too.

You can connect with me here: http://www.facebook.com/melody.thacker

How can people reach you?

Call me toll free 1-866-452-6948

or visit my website http://www.watkinsonline.com/thacker to request a business information package or join us as an associate.  http://www.associatemelody.com

Anything else you want to share?

Melody Thacker on Stage

I’d like to thank Stephanie for the opportunity to do this interview and for the readers for taking the time to read it.

I’d like to encourage each of you to follow your dreams, a direct selling business can be extremely rewarding in so many ways. For me, this business has build my self-esteem, my confidence, my people skills, and my bank account.

I’ve earned numerous awards and free luxury vacations from Watkins and the satisfaction of seeing I could do it! Who knows what it can do for you?

How can people contact you again?

thacker@watkinsonline.com

1-866-452-6948

http://www.watkinsonline.com/thacker

Recommended Books, Resources and Product Links below for your convenience:

If your direct up-line will not help train you, find out who their up-line is and ask them if they actively train and motivate.  The great thing about Direct Sales is that oftentimes even if your direct up-line is not helping you their up-line probably will because they will make more money if you are successful. They will likely be more than happy to assist you. If they suck too, keep moving on up until you get to the top, and you will eventually find someone who offers the training and support that you require.

But seriously, you do not really need help from your up-line at all. Your company likely provides tons of training via documentation, phone support, phone calls, maybe even webinars or direct training on location. Sign up for all the training you can afford and then implement it.  I mean, I’m sure you know plenty of educated people who do nothing and are not successful.  Education only works if you actually DO SOMETHING!

So, get out your materials right now, find out what those materials tell you to do, and do them. Do not try to reinvent the wheel, there is no point. One reason why you joined a Direct Sales Business is the same reason people buy a franchise… The kinks are already worked out, someone already created a wonderful business plan and model for you to follow.

Let me know what you are going to do starting today to improve your business without your up-line. After all, you are the CEO of your business, act like one.

With a WordPress site you can create great capture pages, blogs, sales pages, squeeze pages, and more. You can even create a nice little “community” type website for your team. It can be completely private like a membership website and you can do it relatively easily once you learn about all that WordPress can do.

Of course if you are not interested in learning how to build a site on your own there is another reason why WordPress is perfect; It is easy to find someone to build it for you at a price you can afford. It is such a commonly used platform that you can find someone to build your site with all the bells and whistles that you need without spending 10,000 dollars.

In fact for well under $1000 dollars you can have a wonderful site that does what you need if you use WordPress and use their free plug ins, and use free templates. You can even do it yourself for far less than that. I’m not kidding about this. Take a look at our Business Directory and you will find someone who can help you.

Alternatively just ask around. If you know someone who has a site you like, ask them who did it, and ask them how much it cost. You might be surprised!

It is important to make sure the business you choose is product centered, has great associate support, and is established. Unless you already have track record of proven success with a direct selling business, stick with established businesses. Once you make this business successful you can always try out a “start at the bottom” deal.

While a lot of people will say it does not matter, picking the right person to be sponsor or up line does matter. Especially if you’re new to running a direct sales business. You can succeed without them, but it will help.

Pick someone who is established, has been with the company for awhile,  earns their full time living via the company, and who will help you.

Yes, you are going to be new and you want new people to sign up with you, but having a great up line with experience will help you get ahead of the pack.

You should have a special place for your business. If you cannot have an actual office, then have a space that means “work” , so that you can transition easier between work and home life.  You need a work space, or desk, computer, paper, and typical office supplies and tools.

Create a business and marketing plan.  You do not have to reinvent the wheel, and in fact you should not. You should read, memorize and get to know all your training information from the company. Also, you should follow the steps suggested for the most success. These are steps that someone else followed already, and had success, use them.

Schedule your business.  It is important for your family and the health of your business to have clear working times. Yes, it is flexible, but try to carve out specific times to work whether it is one day a week, five days a week, or just a few hours a week. Schedule it, and stick to it as much as possible.

If you follow these suggestions you will be successful in your direct sales business. Do you have some tips to share about being successful with a direct sales business? Let’s hear them!

The truth is that managing your time can be the biggest obstacle to working from home and being successful in your direct sales business. Learning to overcome these challenges can be the solution to running and being successful at your direct sales business.

Many people all the idea that they are “perfectionist” as an excuse; a way to look and feel busy doing things over and over and never letting it go. For example, you are building a website but because the color is half a shade off from what you envisioned in your mind you spend hours upon hours trying to fix it, and you never can, so you never release the site. Get a site up, even if it is not perfect, it is better to be out there, than hidden.

Others put off doing things because they fear failure. They do not make phone calls because they know the other party will say no. They don’t join a local business group because they fear they will be rejected.  You might be too tired and feel like avoiding anything related to your business. If you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself why, and do at least one thing on the list that you do not want to do.

Some people cannot say no to anyone. They do not say no to their friends, or family, or co workers. Then they get overwhelmed and feel resentful. You are not super woman. I’m sorry but super mom does not exist. Learn to say no and feel fine about saying no.  You have a right to do things for yourself and your business without being made to feel guilty. Only you can control this issue.  Say no, mean it, and move on.

Lack of organization is a big problem with time management. We have all been caught up doing all of the following way too long.

• Social networking (Facebook, Twitter)
• Email (no you don’t need to spend hours reading it)
• Phone calls (if you’re chatting and messing around get off the phone)
• Checking stats and website analytics (This is important but you don’t need to obsessively watch the numbers)
• Surfing the net, reading blogs and industry information (pick a day and a time, and stick to that)

One quick email check can turn into hours of time down the drain. Learn to be more organized about how much time you spend on these items. Make a plan and stick to it. Use a timer if you need to.

Sometimes poor time management skills have  a deeper meaning. Ask yourself the following questions:

What’s stopping you? What are you afraid of? What do you need to fix the issue?

Setting goals and priorities are important components of time and business management. Set attainable goals with reasonable time limits. Do not set yourself up for failure by setting impossible standards. But do set some goals, and do move forward daily to reach those goals.

Make lists and make them off. There is a great way to organize yourself using a program that is free called Many Moon. It is a google App. Just go to http://www.manymoon.com. You can upgrade to a paid version but the free version is perfect for a single person running a direct sales business to keep track of what they need to do.

Use your calendar, or google calendar, to schedule in not only working times, but also free times. Yes, write down that you’re going to take little Jonny to the park at 2pm on Thursday. Then when someone asks you to do something at that time you can honestly say, “No thank you, I have an appointment.”

Make sure you  set realistic times to get something accomplished, take into consideration all factors so that you can get a good estimate of how long a task takes. Schedule in planning time too. Each night before you finish your day, take a look at your calendar to remind yourself of the priorities you have set for yourself for the next day, week, and month.

You can use a PDA or a pocket calendar, do not make this too hard on yourself. Just do it, low tech, high tech, it does not matter.

If you really feel overworked , it may be time to hire an assistant. Remember that a CEO has an executive assistant so why shouldn’t a successful direct sales consultant with a large team have an assistant? There are many places you can hire someone. A really good place to find a Virtual Assistant is at VaInsiders. You can submit a request for proposal (RFP) there. Hire people to do the tasks you do not enjoy doing. Most of the time these are the administrative tasks. You can also hire a housekeeper if daily chores are a distraction from your business. And don’t forget about automation. Many tasks can be automated to free up your time.

Time management issues can quickly be a thing of the past with proper planning, organization and the right mindset.  You can be hugely successful in your direct sales business if you just pick one new idea and try it for a month. You never know, you might become the most organized person you know.

1. Exchange shows – chances are you know other people who have direct sales businesses. If your goal is to book another party, ask them to do it and then tell them that you would book a party through them in return.

2. If the school doesn’t object, leave a catalog or two in the teacher’s lounge where your child goes to school. Teachers are always on the lookout for bargains and things that will benefit their children. If you sell educational toys or items, you may be able to obtain more than one booking.

3. Leave brochures or catalogs in the waiting room at your doctor’s or dentist’s office on your next visit. Also leave a copy with the receptionist or ask if you can leave one in their lounge.

4. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce to see if there is a Welcome Wagon for new people moving into the area. If there isn’t a Welcome Wagon, ask them if you could leave a stack of brochures or business cards to be placed in welcome packages for new citizens.

5. Send catalogs or opportunity literature to people chosen randomly from the telephone book. Make sure to keep a record of everyone that you have sent this information. If you choose to try this tip in the future, you want to send the information to other people.

6. Begin your demonstration by mentioning to the guests that the hostess will be receiving free gifts for having the party. Also tell them what the hostess is working toward and exactly what she needs to receive that item. Don’t be afraid to boldly ask them to book a party to help the hostess reach that goal.

7. Make the suggestion that by booking a second show in the future, the hostess will be guaranteed an opportunity to see and try new products as they are released. This is particularly effective if your hostess last held a show in the spring. Hosting a party closer to the holidays would help her save money on her own holiday shopping.

These seven tips for getting more bookings at your next direct sales party are just a drop in the bucket. Take a few minutes to think of other things you could do to get bookings. If all else fails, ask family if they will host a party for you.

How do you make your website search engine friendly? Following are some hints to make your website easier to find.

1. Submit your direct sales website to the largest directories and search engines. Concentrate on the Yahoo! and Open Project Directory directories. Google and AOL would be good choices for search engines to target.

2. Submit just the main page of your website, not each individual page. The other pages will be found by following the links from the main page. Creating a “site map” might help the search engines find all of your links, but there’s no guarantee.

3. Choose keywords that are as specific as possible. If your direct sales companies sells educational toys, you’ll do better by using “educational toys” than you would using “toys and games” as your keywords.

4. The more websites you have linking to yours, the better your site will rank on the search engines. To get links back to your website, consider a “link exchange” campaign. Find other websites in your same niche and ask them if they would exchange links with you. If they do, both websites should benefit.

5. Your title page tag is the first thing a search engine displays, so you’ll want yours to be good. Take your time and come up with something that will explain your website.

6. Search engines, while important, are not the only way to drive traffic to your website. Consider adding a signature line to your outgoing email that includes your business email address. Write articles and submit them to various free article sites; make sure to include a bio box with your URL at the bottom. Find and post at related forums, posting your link in your signature line, if it is allowed.

7. Don’t forget about offline marketing. Have pens, business cards, and flyers printed with your direct sales business email and website. Bumper stickers might be another good bet, as well as magnets.

Creating a website isn’t that hard to do. Take some time, think things through, make a plan, and then follow it. If you have problems, you can always ask at different forums for ways to improve your search engine results. People are generally willing to help make your direct sales website search engine friendly.

Grow your Direct Sales Business by getting updates on the latest information and trends in Direct Sales. Sign up for the DSB Newsletter now and as a BONUS receive a copy of “How the Internet Can Improve Your Direct Sales Business” Special Report.

Many direct sales businesses offer their sales associates a website that links directly back to the parent company’s site. You might even have taken a bold step and chosen to purchase a domain name and created your own business website. Those are both good ideas, but perhaps you should also add a blog to your arsenal of online marketing tools.

You want to use every available option when promoting your direct sales business, whether offline or online. You wouldn’t think of starting a new home business without purchasing business cards. Why would you consider having one without using a blog to help generate leads and possibly recruit new team members?

A blog can be effective for promoting your business. It can also help you meet new prospects, either as customer or as part of your downline. Blogs can also be a creative outlet when you’ve had to deal with the restrictions of some direct sales companies. A blog can truly help your business reach a new level.

Before you jump on the blog bandwagon, however, you need to read and understand your company’s policy about using the internet for marketing. If they do not allow personal internet advertising it would be better to set this idea aside. Use whatever means they allow to do your marketing.

Consider your goals for having a blog and write them down. Know what you want to accomplish with your blog before you write your first sentence. Think about the people that will be reading your blog, usually your prospective customers or downline, then design your blog with them in mind. Find an area to focus on – whether sales, recruiting, or training – and build your blog around that focus area.

Blogging about your direct sales business gives you an outlet to discuss new products and specials that will be coming up, and gives your team members and customers a sneak peak at new items before they are available. Blogs also allow you to share things that may be related to your business but not a direct part of it. For instance, if your products relate to cooking, use your blog to post recipes for your readers to enjoy. Try to remember who your target market is and provide them with things they will find valuable.

It is easy to see why blogging has become so popular. Millions of people use their blog to express themselves every day. Why not take advantage of this tool and use it to help your direct sales business grow? All it takes is a little bit of time and thought, and a desire to offer your customers and team members another outlet to success.

Grow your Direct Sales Business by getting updates on the latest information and trends in Direct Sales. Sign up for the DSB Newsletter now and as a BONUS receive a copy of “How the Internet Can Improve Your Direct Sales Business” Special Report.