Customers Are Everywhere, If You Know Where To Look

Take a good look at the picture. This is solid proof that customers are everywhere around you.

You just have to keep your eyes open.

This is what I’ve coined the “Sales Cycle” – and it’s where you can find customers at any point in your business. Some people you are just meeting, others, you have been doing business with for a long time, while others still have known you, but never done business with you.

It works kind of like a wheel. You are at the hub, and each “spoke” represents a public-facing point in your business where you could potentially meet new customers. The right half of the image is where most people think of meeting new clients (Meet, Lead, Client), but customers are also found on the left half of the Cycle.

But like Thomas Edison once said, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work“. The left side of the Cycle takes a little more work, but produces far better customers as a result.

We dig in deep on this concept in Direct Sales 104, and as part of the updated, expanded Direct Sales 101, I’ll be sharing specific examples of each. For now, let’s give you an overview of what each spoke represents in your business. That just may give you all the fuel you need to make fast progress at attracting new customers to your direct sales business.

1. Meet People – this is something you do every day of your life. You’re online or off, you’re connecting with strangers, and adding them to your circle. Some of these people will pretty much stay strangers in your life – you may never encounter them again. Many of them, however, have the potential of becoming…

2. Leads – these are the folks that have at least a remote interest in who you are and what you’re doing. Over time, if they have a need, and know you, like you, and trust you to their satisfaction, they’ll cross a threshold into…

3. Clients – people that pay you money for what you do! Too often, we think these people are the only people that exist. While it’s true that you’ll spend less money to keep current clients than you will to attract new ones, that is only helpful if you actually have clients in the first place – and enough of them to keep you in business. For most of direct sales professionals, with a re-order rate of 1.1 (meaning for every eleven people that buy from you, ONE of them will make a repeat purchase – and only once), this group won’t be helpful on their own, unless you move them into…

4. Delivery – this is where the client relationship is fortified. Typically, it begins at the time of product delivery, which is why I call this spoke delivery. But it could just as easily begin as soon as you take the order – before they’ve received anything more than your good will and gratitude.  How you deliver to the client is far more important than what you deliver or when. All of them are necessary, but it’s the how that often determines repeat business. When it’s done right, it’s a…

5. Bonus – this is where the client relationship is intensified. When you go out of your way to surprise and delight your clients with occasional bonuses, they are oft wont to talk you up, referring to you favorably with their friends and colleagues. Positive referrals beget more business, more customers, and the opportunity to build deeper, richer client relationships. This ultimately gives you the opportunity to…

6. Reciprocate (giving back) – call it charity, tithing, or donating your time or money, the name doesn’t matter. Reciprocity is when you give of your blessings to bless others. You might think it strange to include this as part of the Sales Cycle, since it can often be such an intangible thing to measure. However, my experience, and that of my clients has proven time and again that some of the best business (and positive public exposure) comes from giving back to the community – and often it’s better to give of your time than your money, so there’s very little cost involved to make it happen. People talk about you when you’re going out of your way to make a positive impact in the world. Your direct sales business can be a vehicle for great things, if you remember to include giving back in your Sales Cycle. The best part? Getting involved and giving back often puts you in a position to…

7. Meet People – oh! here we are at the top of the Cycle again. See how that works?

You could easily find yourself on different spokes of the Sales Cycle at the same time with different people. Unlike a “funnel” where you’re trying to “push” clients through it to your desired end result, this Sales Cycle gives you an at-a-glance approach to dealing with each person uniquely. You can see quickly where they fall in the Cycle, and what your best approach is to working with them.

Over time, the Sales Cycle becomes a powerful tool to help you track the opportunities in your business, by making it clear where to focus your business development. Not generating enough leads? Take a look at what you’re doing to meet the right people for your business. Surprising and delighting your customers, but not seeing referrals? How are you handling delivery? If you keep an eye on each of the spokes of the Sales Cycle, your business will continue to roll along nicely.

Interested in learning more? Join us for Direct Sales 101, and get the inside track. Our next class starts February 6!

Online Marketing When Your Direct Sales Company Says “No”

Talking with one of my VIP coaching clients this week, she shared her frustration that her company has put the kibosh on consultants using Facebook Pages to promote their business. Along with a slew of other fuzzy guidelines, her company is essentially pulling in the reins on all forms of online marketing using the company name, logo, or likeness. She expressed that not only were the consultants upset with the change, but also many of teh leaders, who had been using Facebook as their personal online sales magnet for months now.

I told her that this was an opportunity to get excited instead of getting bummed. Because now, the playing field truly was level, and everyone could market themselves rather than the company they represented.

Follow-Up Success: Slow and Steady Wins The Race

[Editor's note: I am thrilled to bring the customer service know-how of Jen Fitzgerald to Direct Sales Classroom. Jen is the owner of The Client Angel and will be writing a regular "column" on customer service and follow-up in your direct sales business.]

==========

Whenever you do a home show or meet a potential client for the first time, you need to record their important information (such as e-mail and phone numbers). Once you have that information, then the balancing act begins. There’s a delicate balance you must maintain between consistent follow-up and “pushy-ness”.

On one hand, you want to keep them informed, sending them e-mails about your sales, your products, hostess benefits and your company. The problem is you don’t want to feel like you are bombarding them with e-mails that are pushy or full of sales all the time.

Where’s The Money At In Your Direct Sales Business?

The other day, I shared the news about a new project I’ve been working on for some time now. I’ve recently launched an entirely new division of my business, focused on helping entrepreneurs discover their hero potential and become the hero of their own business. As part of that project launch, I filmed a video to help entrepreneurs understand where the money’s at in their business.

Then, the emails and tweets came out of the woodwork about how I was able to do “all the stuff” I do. Mom, wife, biz owner, coach & mentor, writer, performer, etc. Amid the encouragement and positive vibes people were sending about the new project, there was this underlying question:

“How do you make it all happen?”

Stop Boring Your Customers! 5 Tips To Keep Your Demonstrations Fresh And Effective

As a direct sales coach, one of the questions I see regularly is on the topic of keeping things interesting during a home show or demonstration.

Before I offer my tips, I want to take a moment to offer a warning:

Just because YOU think your demo is boring doesn’t mean your customers do. When a consultant gets used to a routine, it can seem monotonous or tedious to “perform” the same show or demonstration over and over at every event or home party. For you, this is “same stuff, different day”, but for your host or clients, this may be entirely new for them.

In the advertising world, it’s said that when the company is tired of seeing their commercials on TV, that’s when they’ve finally started being effective, because people now recognize them. In that instance, change would be a bad thing, but very often, that’s exactly what the companies do.

The result is often counter to their desired outcome.

Think of it this way: if a musician or an actor has been practicing the same part for months on end, it can get very monotonous for the player. However, the audience will only hear them perform it once. Twice if it’s exceptional. Three or more times if it was recorded AND exceptional.

The audience will rarely get bored. And it would be in poor taste for a performer to show up and decide they were going to do something completely different just to “spice things up” for the show. Imagine the shock and horror if a saxophonist decided that, just for tonight, he was going to play some jazz instead of the Mozart piece everyone else was scheduled to play. Or an actor shows up ready to do Neil Simon, only to find out the director decided to do Shakespeare tonight instead.

Before you get itchy to change things up in your demonstration, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Your boredom is not necessarily the right reason.

That said, if you find yourself doing the same presentation over and over to the exact same audience, you may find it’s time to change some of the elements of your presentation to keep listeners engaged. Here are some suggestions: