In a recent post about using Facebook as a direct sales tool, Jennifer Fong (@liajen) identifies a very important key to social media marketing success. The post is full of great tips, but in my opinion, this one section sums up the secret to becoming a direct sales consultant worth befriending and following:
“Folks, recruiting is a one on one activity that is accomplished after LISTENING. Your status update is not the place to broadcast your opportunity to the world. If you really want to recruit people through social media, build relationships and find people that actually need what you have to offer. Then share your opportunity privately, in a way that meets the needs of the prospect.”
Being social and personable, and not all business, will help you build lasting relationships that can benefit your business in many ways.
Admittedly, I struggle a bit with mixing personal with business. I don’t share a whole lot of my personal life online. But I think it’s very possible to be sociable without being too personal, which is my goal. It’s a little like how I get to know people in real life. Perhaps we meet at a social function or our kids’ school and exchange small talk at first. Later when we see each other again we ask about the kids and work. We find we have some interests in common and we decide to meet for coffee. A relationship develops. When it’s just the two of us, we share more personal stories and information.
Whether you choose to be more or less personal in your interactions, social media can be a powerful tool for online direct sales recruiting. But as Jennifer points out, you don’t want to become the person that everyone tries to avoid. It’s extremely easy to un-follow, un-friend, and block spammers and other annoying people in Facebook, Twitter, and the like. Be careful not to push people away by doing nothing but blasting your business offers.
August 27th, 2009 at 3:11 PM
Linda,
Great article, and thanks for sharing some of the content from my post, too! You’re right, it’s all about making that small talk and developing relationships FIRST. That’s what makes you a direct seller worth knowing on social networking sites.
Keep up the great work!
Jennifer Fong
January 7th, 2010 at 2:07 PM
Thank you both! I have seen this spamming and even been encouraged to apply it. My experience though; people don’t want things shoved in their faces. I’m learning the value of attraction and providing value. I believe we can attract more business when we are genuinely interested in others and provide true value. Enjoy Today! Regina : )
January 11th, 2010 at 8:20 AM
Thanks for stopping by and commenting Regina. I think you said it perfectly, “I believe we can attract more business when we are genuinely interested in others and provide true value.” People pretty much approach business opportunities with one question in the forefront – “what’s in it for me.” When you are genuinely interested in the other person, you learn what they’re looking for and can explain how you can provide it.