During the holidays, it becomes almost effortless to sign new recruits to your direct sales team. The lure of holiday cash, the abundance of parties, not to mention the great incentives from your company make joining a direct sales business almost too good to pass up.

Getting new recruits started can be a challenge, and getting them to stick around after the holidays can be even more challenging. Here are three tips to help you get new consultants off on the right foot:

1. Know their “why” and their “what”. It’s easy to find out why a consultant is joining your business. Extra income, the ability to quit a part-time job, or the flexibility of schedule are three common reasons people join a direct sales business. It’s more difficult to understand their “what” – the reason underneath their “why”. The “what” is all about understanding what’s so important to them about having that extra income, quitting that job, or having that flexibility. The “what” is the reason that will keep them working the business when things get difficult, when they it a slump, or when things simply aren’t going according to plan. It requires building a relationship with your consultants. They won’t tell you their “what” if they don’t think you really care about them.

2. Don’t leave them hanging. Create a follow-up system that provides them ongoing training in small, “bite-sized” chunks. Don’t just expect you can give a consultant a kit, do her starter show, and set her on her way. She’ll have questions. You need a system for answering the common ones, so that you can take more time building relationships to solve the more difficult questions. An autoresponder training series, sent via email, is one example of a way to provide short, timely training tips to a new recruit – even before her kit arrives.

3. “Raise them up in the way they should go.” This biblical quote reminds us to set an example of how we want our team to perform and behave. We train people how to treat us, AND how to treat their business. If you take it seriously, chances are good they will, too. Don’t ask more from your team than you are willing to do yourself. People talk, trade notes, and they will find out if you’re not pulling your own weight in the business.

As your team develops, it becomes important to spend the bulk of your training and coaching time building relationships with your team members. Direct sales consultants may be in business for themselves, but often, they need to be reminded that they are not in business by themselves.

© 2010 Lisa Robbin Young

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Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at https://www.homepartysolution.com.

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