Direct Sales Marketing & Mentoring- Nancy Sutherland

Direct Sales Women and WAHMs: Have you discovered the most powerful tool to build your direct sales business online? Using social media is a relatively new and well kept secret to success for your home business! Maybe you did not realize that it was even possible because your direct sales company handles the online portion of your business. Many direct sales companies have restrictions on using their trademark name in any way online. Without violating that regulation, is there a reason to spend time online creating an online presence for yourself? That really depends on where you are in your business.

If you are working a direct sales business part time while you work another job, the answer would be no. Your limited time and resources can be best spent offline developing and servicing new customers. However, if your direct sales business is a fulltime career choice that you have made for life it may be a good thing to develop an online presence..

Before you go out and start placing ads and spending money on that, I caution you that it is not the most effective use of your time or resources. Not only can placing ads be a waste of money for you but many of them can be non-compliant with your company. So how do you use the internet to grow your direct sales business while adhering to legal guidelines?

People like to do business with those who they know, like and trust. Although some companies place restrictions on sales and recruiting to within your home country, the world wide web is global, making your reach go out far and wide!

Initially your goal is to simply make new relationships and develop existing ones into better clients and team members by using the internet.

I have found that today’s women are attracted to those who make themselves transparent and authentic. Using tools like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace give you the ability to do that if you choose. Take advantage of those sites, but be careful. Place a recent photo on your profile. Take the time to do a brief bio, not just about your business , but about you. In my unit, the consultants stay with the same company for decades, but that is not the case for all direct sales home businesses. If you spend your time online branding yourself and developing relationships, you carry that with you to any endeavor.

Think outside the box. Look for new marketing opportunities in unlikely places. For example, if you develop a relationship with someone in a non competitive home business, you may want to consider doing collaboration with them to build both businesses, sharing your contacts.

Starting your own direct sales blog doesn’t have to be intimidating! You will find that you are creating a strong online presence by doing this, but I recommend starting with something that you have control of the readers initially. (by invitation to existing friends and clients)

Maybe you have no experience with journalism. You can develop your writing skills with your own direct sales blog. A direct sales blog is a creative and effective way to promote yourself as an expert within your niche. You can use your blog to attract new customers, keep current customers informed about your upcoming events and seminars that they may want to attend.

People want to buy from people they know. A blog for your direct sales business is one way to build credibility and connect with readers in a way that simply advertising cannot do!

Do’s and Don’ts

• Write about yourself, your business, your family and SHARE information about what you offer. Through casual writing you can share what you have learned and what is happening with your company. You can post news releases on niche related items of interest.. Learn to write with the customer and reader in mind.

• Offer information. Offer advice. Ask for feedback. Find a problem or need and help to create a solution. Encourage readers to post comments. This is how you grow relationships. Think of a blog as a conversation online.

• Pay attention to your online professional image so people will seek you out to help solve their problems.

• Don’t violate your company legal guidelines. If you have internet advertising restrictions for your direct sales company, adhere to it.

• Don’t jump into using social media with a constant or frequent pitch for your products or services. This will not help you attract your potential clients at all. Self promotion is not attractive to most of us. Don’t think of the internet as a place to advertise, but think of it as a way to display your expertise, your humor, and show who you are as a person. Not everyone will like you, but if you allow yourself to be authentic, your potential customers will connect with you and want more of what you have to offer!

• Remember the Golden rule. Not only is it a good business practice, but a way of life. Pass it on!

“If you make giving a way of life, you will find that you will be happier than you could have ever believed or imagines. Doing things for others fills you with a warmth you can never get in any other way.”- MKA