Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you into the game. Service wins the game. Tony Alessandra (source: customerservicepoint.com)

I don’t know any direct seller or network marketer that doesn’t think their company has the best products. We get it. Let’s focus on something that’s more important than products and that is your customers and potential customers.

Here’s a recent experience of mine …

I emailed a consultant inquiring about her company product and it took five days, yes five days, for her to respond. Unfortunately for her, it was just easier to head on down to my local store to get what I needed. You see, it’s not about the products, because products are everywhere.

I wasn’t just buying products because truthfully, when it comes to products, there are more places that offer what I need than I could possibly do business with. My goal was to support another direct seller’s business because being in the business, it’s good karma. 

Not to mention, you generally (with the exception of this one), tend to get great service when you work with a direct seller. Most consultants are grateful for the opportunity to send you samples, a catalog, or whatever else you need to earn your business. But five days for a response? Enough said.

But it’s not about the products. It’s the experience you offer your prospects or valued customers, that keeps them loyal.

One of the reasons I love the direct sales business is the personal service you get. I love Target but there’s no one in the beauty area  to answer my questions or send me sample after sample to try.  The “personal service” is your unique selling position.

You need quality products at a reasonable price. You also need to go above and beyond because you’re a small direct seller.

There’s a reason people love Zappos, not because of their ”shoes” selection or thousands of other products they sell. People love Zappos because of their outstanding attention to personal service. I recall mentioning “Zappos” on Twitter and within seconds someone responded to my tweet.

If you don’t deliver outstanding, personal service and in a timely manner, you’re dispensable, as Seth Godin would say. You’re NOT going to be able to compete with millions of other companies that will be happy to take your customer’s business.

Instead of focusing on the products and how scientifically superior your products are, focus on your customers. Be responsive,  put a smile in your email, don’t send out a canned product script, be original, be you.

Your thoughts?

’til next time,

Janette Stoll

P.S. On a positive note, I have several friends that offer excellent service in skin care, beauty, home decor, if you need a referral. I’m not affiliated with their businesses or get anything for it, just pointing out some great ladies in direct sales .

**This is a special treat for you gals and guys on Valentine’s Day. A guest post from my friend, Brett Duncan, at Marketing In Progress. 

Brett had this brilliant idea to create an ebook featuring 33 marketers and how to rock your business in 2011. The ebook is awesome and it’s free to download. Yours truly is on page 45 .

I love Brett’s idea so much that I asked him to write a post on the inspiration behind the ebook. Enjoy and share with your friends.

5 Things I Learned from Creating a Free Marketing eBook

So as 2010 was winding down, I, like you I bet, found myself conjuring up some new ideas for 2011. It was the same old pattern I’ve stitched before, reinventing myself just for the sake of having resolutions. It dawned on me that this approach has never been too effective before, so why should I even bother now.

Then a simple idea popped into my head: “I wonder what some of my colleagues would say is their best ‘idea advice’ for an entrepreneur in 2011?”

Typically, this is where I would smirk, grunt a bit and then let the idea disappear between my ears. But for some reason, I decided to act on this little whim, and immediately. I jumped into my email, shot a message out to about 60 folks I’ve met in person or online, and asked them to send me their one big idea, in 500 words or less. 

32 people immediately responded with an “I’m in.” The result is something I’m very impressed with, a free eBook titled Rock Your Business: 33 Mind-Blowing Ideas from Today’s Top Marketers. You can download it now for absolutely free (I don’t even ask for your email address).

You see, after I received each marketer’s idea, I collected them into an eBook and made it available for anyone. My thought was rather remedial in motivation: I bet if I would like something like this, others would, too.

And boy, have they. In just the first four days it was available, the eBook was download by more than 500 people.

But while the book is targeted to entrepreneurs, direct sellers are going to enjoy it even more, because there are folks like Janette Stoll who are proven experts in our industry included.

There are several corporate marketers (like myself) from some of the biggest direct sales companies in the world. On top of that, the eBook also includes some of the top trainers in the industry, sharing their specific tips for direct sellers.

What I’m saying is you, the direct seller, are kinda getting bonus material in this thing. Cool, huh?

What I Learned From Creating an eBook

Probably more importantly, though, is what I’ve learned in the process of this whole process. Ideas like these:

1. It’s easy and complex all at the same time. For one, putting an ebook together isn’t necessarily difficult, but it is tedious. The formatting, the proofing, the layout … it’s more than just a copy and paste job, that’s for sure. And yet, it’s so accessible for all of us, and should be seriously considered, especially if you’re building your business online.
2. eBooks are great for attracting inbound links. If you know anything about search engine optimization, you know inbound links are the golden egg. Offering a free eBook (especially one with multiple authors) is a great way to increase your inbound links quickly. Given that it’s a free resource that doesn’t even require an email address to access, people are quick to link to it from their own website.
3. It’s great for traffic. I’m sure it’ll die down, but I’ve seen the traffic to my website spike by about 150% on average.
4. It’s great for list-building. Interestingly, even though I’m not asking for an email address, people are still voluntarily joining my email list at a much higher rate. That’s always good.
5. Crowd-sourcing is fun. I don’t know any other way to describe it. Getting like-minded people together, all doing a small thing that becomes a very big thing when combined just feels really good. And it’s so efficient.

I could go on and on about the process, but suffice it to say that I see creating eBooks as a very important part of any online strategy now. Yes, it’s great all the analytics-related stuff, but even more importantly, they’re extremely helpful in brand-building.

And if it’s ideas you need, I know where you can get 33 really good ones … for free! Download the Rock Your Business eBook now. And be sure to check out Janette’s contribution on how direct sales is changing, and what you can do about it.

Brett Duncan shares marketing ideas and tips regularly at MarketingInProgress.com. He currently serves as the Sr. Director of Global Online Solutions for Mannatech, Inc.

Go download this free ebook and soak up the knowledge. Love to hear your thoughts. I hope this inspires you to start one too.

’til next time,

Janette Stoll

P.S. There are a lot of folks that will benefit from this free ebook … will you share with your pals? Thank you.

I don’t know about you but I’ve made plenty of awful lead generation mistakes early on. These are just five of them – surely there were more .

If you’re in direct sales, do these mistakes sound familar to you?

#1 Talking to everyone about your new business without pre-qualifying them first.

It’s understandable because you’re excited and want everyone to know.  You’re also told to tell your friends, family, neighbors right away about your business.

This isn’t bad advice but there’s a difference between telling someone that you just started a new business versus “I think it’s an amazing opportunity and you should consider joining too”. I’ve certainly done it and it’s a typical rookie mistake.

The more you talk and convince others, the more desperate and unattractive you appear. It’s a lot like dating. It’s a turn-off if you’re always going after some guy or girl.

If the person you’re talking to doesn’t seem interested, don’t keep hammering away. Try not to convince others why it’s such a great opportunity. If someone’s interested, they’ll ask for more info.

#2 You don’t have to sell because the products sell themselves. Really? If that was true you’d see more direct sellers in business wouldn’t you? Products don’t sell themselves.  If you’re told by your uplines or direct sales company to wear the jewelry, you are marketing the product.

We’re bombarded with product promotions, movies, events, everywhere we look. Why? Because products don’t sell themselves – the right kind of marketing does.

#3 Over-promising the opportunity. Yes, direct sales is a simple business but only in concept. Your job is to sell products and sponsor a team. The latter is optional depending on your goals.

The concept is simple. But before a sale takes place, there are pre-selling steps you must master.

That’s one of the biggest obstacles for direct sellers because most people that joined the direct selling business don’t have the skills to sell and market their business. So they go around looking for anyone that seems interested.

It’s simple to sell a few products and even recruit your friends at the beginning. But if you want to growing your business long-term, you’ve got to get real, and learn how to build your business like a real business.

People do not buy products – they buy solutions. -Ewen Chia #1 Super Affiliate Marketer & Author.

#4 Leading with the products instead of offering a solution. There are millions of products on the market. Truthfully, your company product isn’t all that unique. Consumers are bombarded with the abundance of product choices.

In fact, too many direct sales products are on Ebay, to name just one. What’s going to separate your business from others is the solution and personal service you bring to your potential customers.

For example, you can offer product samples to try before they buy. You can follow up with phone calls or emails to offer your assistance. This isn’t something you’re going to get from a regular store.

Remember, successful business people solve their prospect’s problems.

#5 Using the old methods of marketing. I’m not suggesting you abandon offline traditional methods completely.

But you need to consider the return on your investment based on the products you’re selling. If you’re selling $10 candles or lip gloss, is it the best investment of your money to spend hundreds of dollars on a local ad?

There are many ways to generate leads and even free and low-cost using offline methods.

As a small direct seller, your budget is limited. That means you’ll need to be creative and explore different ways to promote your business based on the type of business you’re in. 

Thanks to the internet, there are many free and effective ways to generate leads painlessly that brings results.

How about you? What other mistakes do you see direct sales distributors make?

’til next time,

Janette Stoll

P.S. If you want to learn how to generate targeted-leads using free and low-cost methods, shoot me an email for details janette(at)marketingdirectsales.com

Can’t think of anything to write? Start reading other blogs, articles, news online, books or pay attention to what’s being discussed in your social circles.

The best way to create great content for your blog is to start writing. Even if you can’t think of  a specific topic, pick a general topic, and just write. Write anything that comes to mind. A word or two will do.

A couple words as a starter leads to full sentences then paragraphs then voila you’ve got a blog post. The problem is we tend to edit as we write which can stump our creativity. Or we nix the idea thinking it’s not good enough to be published. 

If you’re always worried about what others might think, you’ll never get your ideas off the ground.

The thought that our ideas are online and seen by others create fear in some people. It’s also one of the reasons I think some direct sellers are fearful of online marketing.

Writing is a process. And don’t worry whether someone’s going to love it or not. Some will, some won’t. As Seth Godin says in one of his posts … just get the idea out the door.

With that said, here are 6 simple tips to creating great content for your blog:

#1 Do a search to see what topics are hot and relevant in your industry right now. What’s being talked about in your social networks? Choose a topic that grabs someone’s attention is more likely that your article will be searched and found online.

#2 Does the topic solve a problem or help your reader? I love reading blogs that I can learn something from. And so do most people. With every article, aim to inform, share, and add relevance to your readers.

Everyone’s time is limited and it’s harder than ever to grab people’s attention. If it’s not interesting and benefit the readers they’re not likely to read, re-visit your blog, or share with others.

So make each article count.

#3 Optimize your articles. Optimizing your articles is a powerful way to get your articles found online and reach your target audience.  Writing without targeted keywords diminishes your article’s searchability.

Using the right keywords starts with knowing your prospect. What does your prospect need or looking for?  With a clear picture of your ideal prospect, it’s easier to choose a topic, and write for that one prospect.

#4 Do you have links throughout the body of your article? Top bloggers strategically have links throughout their articles. They use internal and external links.

Using internal links with anchor texts to reference your previous or popular articles. And link out to an article that relates to the article you’re writing.

All blogs love the link love. It’s also  good blogging etiquette.

#5 Do you have a call-to-action? Encourage your readers to participate in the conversation by prompting them with a call-to-action. Go beyond the ’share by retweeting’.

Ask your readers to share their thoughts or ask a question on the topic.

#6 Remember the P.S. Every top blogs have a P.S. at the end of each post. It’s your last chance to squeeze in a call-to-action or add something important. 

I read quite a few blogs and so do you. So I tend to scan articles, and the P.S. is hard to miss. 

Remember, just like your business, your blog needs awesome content and marketing to attract readers.

With various online marketing platforms to deliver your content,  a quality blog is a magnet for attracting all kinds of prospects to your business.

’til next time,

Janette

P.S. An idea I’ve got: with frequent emails asking me about article marketing, I’m thinking of starting an article/writing series. Are you game to get the scoop on this series? It’ll be free . Shoot me an email and get on the list janette@marketingdirectsales.com

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about? -Henry David Thoreau

Time is relative. You need to manage you not time itself. Here are 5 time management strategies to get more done.

#1 Social media is the rage. Since everybody’s on Facebook you think you should be too. But the trap is in what you’re doing on social media.

As the above quote says “what are we busy about?” Instead of wandering on Facebook reading one update after another. Choose a few friends that you want to know better and engage with them.

#2 Focus on a few. Nicole Dean wrote a great post on the problems with social media for small businesses and this applies to direct sales consultants too.

Creating a Facebook Page isn’t going to drive traffic on its own. You need to promote it, market it, and engage with the folks that ‘liked’ your page. The   pages I really like are relevant to my business and encourages discussions that I can learn from.

#3 Do something with it every day. Once you decide where to spend your time. Do something everyday to create content and promote your online presence.

Are you writing for your blog at least once a week? Are you reaching out to new members on LinkedIn? This is content creation for your business. Are you doing something every single day to create content and promoting it? In other words, are you running your direct sales like a business?

#4 Be stingy with your time. I rarely spend more than an hour on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook combined. Most people on social media you’ll never interact with.

Engage with your quality tweeps and friends but be open to reaching out to other contacts that you haven’t connected with. If you’re going to do social media, commit to it, and be diligent with your time.

#5 Track your efforts. At the end of the week I do an assessment of what I’ve done and the results from my efforts. Numbers don’t lie and I’m the first to admit when I’ve slacked off.

By tracking your efforts you’ll know what you need to focus on and eliminate time wasters.

For example, do you need to check out every Facebook invite or email? You’ll be amazed how much time you’ll save if you delete or delay the things that don’t require your immediate attention.

Online and social media are incredibly effective and free marketing to drive your direct sales business to the next level. But it can be a curse for some of us that aren’t disciplined with time management.

It’s not time itself you need to worry about because we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It’s how you are using your time that matters.

Take notice on how the pros and top money makers are crushing it. They understand the monetary value of their time.

Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week. -Charles Richards

Make your business work for you by managing how you are using your time. Discipline yourself to be really stingy when it’s on YOUR time. Because that’s the only time that matters.

How are using your time on a daily basis? Share your thoughts. 

’til next time,

Janette

P.S. Remember to share this post with your friends on Twitter and Facebook.