Using Twitter to Build Your Online Business

As a direct sales professional, my first taste of success came when I discovered the power of the internet. In less than 90 days, I built a national team in a party plan company and promoted to leadership for the first time after more than a decade in the industry.

Then came social media. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and YouTube created an entirely new landscape to reach prospects, build business, and grow my organization.

And I was scared out of my mind.

See, I didn’t “get” the concept of social media. I was socially awkward myself. Plus, with all the confusing rules that most companies have about “internet advertising” I couldn’t figure out a way to navigate the social media landscape without pulling out my hair.

First, I went to MySpace, but with so much spam, and “fake accounts” I couldn’t tell who was real and who was scamming me. So I left.

I set up my twitter account and started following people. I didn’t understand why people were talking about what they ate for breakfast. How’s that beneficial to business?

So then I went to facebook, where it seemed like everybody I knew was “hanging out”. But there were so many applications. People were “poking” me, asking me to be in their “mafia war” or help them work on their garden in “farmville”, and it was maddening. Then, I got sucked into one of those games myself, and found i was spending more time playing than I was building relationships.

And I was too scared to do video. In fact, if it weren’t for a contest that Mark Joyner put together, I probably would never had made a video in the first place. In fact, I didn’t even use a video camera in my first video, just a picture, my voice, and some music I wrote. I ended up with an honorable mention in the contest, and a little less fear about doing video.

But I still wasn’t keen on the idea, so back to twitter I went.

This time, I just watched for a bit. Trying to figure out who I really wanted to connect with. I figured that if I was just talking to myself, I wouldn’t be too productive. So I started following people I wanted to learn more from. I watched what they were doing, who they were talking to and what they were saying to generate followers.

It didn’t take long to figure out I was doing some things wrong – and a few things right. That first year, I earned more than $30,000 because of twitter. Plus, I made some great contacts and new friends. REAL friends, which surprised me. And while I still don’t have fifty gazillion followers on twitter, the relationships I have are high-quality, conversational and engaging. I actually know most of the folks I “follow back” on twitter, and that’s a good feeling. Here are some lessons learned that may help you use twitter to grow your own direct sales business.

Direct Sales Success: Offline Marketing Ideas

In most direct sales circles, I’m known as an online marketing coach. When you’re looking to build a web presence, get into social media or expand your reach online, I’m one of a few “go-to girls” in the Direct Sales industry. It’s how I got my start as a successful direct seller, and online marketing will always be part of my arsenal of marketing tools.

However, if you’re relying solely on marketing your business using online methods, you’re severely limiting yourself.

Sure, it’s possible to build a successful, nearly passive revenue stream using online marketing strategies and techniques. I’ve done it myself and helped hundreds of other people do the same. But it takes more time than it used to, and most direct sellers don’t have the patience or freedom to wait several months for the leads to start coming in.

Not only that, but you’re leaving good money on the table if you ignore offline marketing methods. Outside your regular shows or sales presentations, there are still a variety of effective means to market yourself and your products or services. Consider adding one (or more) of the following to your marketing mix:

4 Pillars of Direct Sales Success

In all my years as a consultant, coach and trainer, the one thing I’ve NEVER heard anyone say is this:

“When I was a kid, I always dreamed of becoming a direct sales consultant.”

I’m still waiting for that day.

The reality is that nearly every single direct sales professional comes into this industry because it is a means to achieve something else.

• Paying for a child’s college education
• Getting out of debt
• Having some extra spending money, or to just make ends meet
• Earning a few vacations (all expenses paid, of course)

And yet few direct sellers understand that when they sign on the dotted line, they are actually going into business for themselves. You have just started your very own business! Now you have a whole new set of challenges:

Handle ‘Big Rocks’ to Gear Up For The New Year

It’s one of the biggest mistakes direct sales consultants make during the month of December.

They stop working their business.

They take a break, enjoy the holidays, and stop reaching out to their clients, leads and hosts.

Then, they have to start all over again in the new year.

In no other industry do we see such a full-scale shut down. Even in the automotive industry, when plant “changeovers” are scheduled during the holiday “shut down” period, there are still people in the plant, getting ready for the next model year. You’ve no doubt heard the direct sales axiom “so goes January, so goes the year”. Just because it’s harder to reach your hosts and clients, does not mean you should stop working your business.

So how can direct sellers continue to work their business, attend to holiday details, and still manage to save their sanity?

Save a Bunch, Sell a Bunch with Seasonal Products

It happens every year. Your direct sales company launches a bunch of “holiday must-haves” just in time to boost your bottom line and entice your buyers to spend more when they’re already in a spending mood.

It’s a great sales strategy. It’s akin to an upsell on steroids. Not only is it time sensitive, there’s a limited quantity, so those products are sure to go fast.

Problem is, sometimes they go TOO fast.

Invariably, one product outshines all the others, and when you come home to enter the show order – poof, they’re sold out.

It’s enough to drive a direct sales consultant insane. For a time, I even gave up on selling limited edition products because I ended up with leftovers: partially used, unsellable products that I didn’t want or wouldn’t use myself. I felt wasteful, and didn’t like the idea of spending money that wasn’t going to serve me well.

And then I got wise.

Directory Listings: Are they really worth it?

“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. ”
-Groucho Marx

*begin diatribe*

This week, I tripped over a new website that’s offering directory-style listings to a specific niche in the Direct Selling industry. I found it through a link being promoted on a friend’s website. When I clicked it, I was transferred to a directory-style website that features the so-called “best of the best” in this particular niche.

In short, my friend had a link on her site that was promoting her competition.

I was intrigued. What about this site was so amazing that she felt compelled to promote it on her blog? She does very well for herself in her business and I thought this must be some kind of new, high-profile award site or something, bestowing some kind of honor for folks like her.

Nope. It was a directory site. And she paid about $600 for the “honor” of being listed on this site.

*gag*