In catching up on email this morning I read a recent lesson from Bob the Teacher titled “Pick a Lane.” In it, he talks about the importance of focus in business. Too many people try to build two or more businesses at once and end up struggling with them all.

All too often direct sales consultants will respond to a struggling business by adding a second or third business. If you aren’t earning enough from your current business, resist the temptation to offer your customers another product line in the hopes that the more things you offer them the more likely they are to buy from you. Before you add a second business, learn how to make your first one a success. Or if it wasn’t the right business to start with, switch businesses. But don’t make the mistake of adding additional businesses to struggle with.

Nearly five years ago I posted about this same topic in “Is joining another direct sales company the right answer?” You might find that article and the linked resource helpful.

As I said in that earlier post, I think it’s a good idea to have multiple streams of income. But to succeed at any of them, you have to get one running smoothly and successfully before adding another.

According to an article at Reuters.com last year’s big surge in the number of new direct sales consultants did not translate to more sales. Hopefully the 2009 figures, which aren’t yet available, will show better results, but direct sales revenues have been dropping over the past couple of years according to DSA reports. In 2006 direct sales were $32.18 billion; in 2007 the figure was $30.8 billion, and sales dropped again last yer to $29.6 billion.

The full article, “Avon calling: More workers try direct sales” can be found at
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BF55A20091216

Does that mean people shouldn’t start a direct sales business or should drop the one they already have? I don’t think so. What I think it means is that direct sellers should adjust their marketing and their approach. Market what your customers are want to buy and focus on providing extra customer service and amenities. When you can’t compete on price, compete on a more personal level.

People would still rather buy from someone they know and trust. When you go the extra mile to provide personal attention they can’t get elsewhere you often gain a customer for life.

For some direct sales consultants it becomes difficult to maintain a steady schedule of sales parties. Direct sales business coach, Lisa Young shares some of the secrets to staying booked.

In Direct Sales – 5 Secrets to Fill Your Calendar Without Overcoming Objections
By Lisa Young

With the grim economic outlook, some direct sales consultants are pulling out their hair trying to secure bookings and keep their calendar full. Some of the most experienced consultants are scrambling, buckling down, and “getting back to basics” in an effort to fortify their fading calendar.

But the savvy direct sales and home party consultants are still holding a consistent book of shows, with calendars that are full and steady. As a business coach, I work with consultants with many different companies, and the successful consultants are revealing their dirty little secrets to massive success – even during the economic slump we’re facing today. At first blush, these “secrets” are common sense ideas that will make you roll your eyes into the back of your head. Before you get dizzy, however, ask yourself how well you are implementing these secrets.

1. Create a schedule and stick to it. Top direct sales consultants will tell you that they work when they want to, and fill their work calendar around their life calendar. This is a critical component for any successful consultant. You need to know WHEN you want to (and are able) to work. Mark it down and do your work when you’re working. By scheduling and utilizing time that is set aside to work, you’ll be a million miles ahead of the consultant that prays for bookings to fill the empty white space on her calendar. When you know your next two or three available work dates at a moment’s notice, people take you and your business more seriously. And if you don’t have a show planned on a day you have scheduled to work? Work anyway! Practice your demo, download a teleclass, read up on product knowledge or network. Do SOMETHING to grow your business.
2. Desperation stinks. Customers and clients can smell desperation a mile away. When you need shows, and start doing “Crazy Eddie” antics to get them, people stop taking you seriously. You don’t see Bill Gates jumping up and down on begging people to buy Windows. Neither should you. This is where most consultants develop their fear of “being too pushy”. You should ALWAYS present the opportunity to join, host, or buy, but once a client says no, and you’ve answered her questions, leave it alone. I can’t count the number of recruits I’ve signed at a later date because I was patient and didn’t sit on their doorstep waiting for them to join my opportunity. Attraction marketing (aka gravitational marketing) helps you create an identity, establish yourself as an expert in your field and draws interested, like-minded people into your circle of influence. They naturally gravitate to you and, ultimately, choose to do business with you – no desperation required.
3. Touch your business daily. While you can bet that Donald Trump isn’t sitting in the office every day making deals, he is touching his business in SOME way every day. Be it a public appearance, speaking engagement, television episode, or contract closing, he’s busy being an entrepreneur and making sure that his delegates are tending to business in his absence. Likewise, you as a consultant need to be making contact with your business on a daily basis. Your store is essentially “closed” any day you’re not working. Working doesn’t mean doing parties. It means preparing hostess packets, making coaching calls, holding recruiting interviews, doing customer care and follow up. You don’t have to work all day everyday, but you should make a point of doing SOMETHING connected to your business that propels you and your company forward. By the way, YOU are the CEO of your own company as an independent Direct Sales consultant. Legitimate networking, travel and mastermind groups all count as toughing your business. Organizing your desk, socializing on the phone, cleaning your stapler and vacuuming the floor do NOT count.
4. Keep in touch. Regardless of the method, hostesses, customers and recruits want (and need) to hear from us. A Hostesses number one complaint is that their consultant didn’t make enough contact with them. Most coaching programs recommend ten different times to contact a hostess before, during and after a party. Customers should be contacted at least once every two months – and preferred customers at least monthly. Attraction marketing pros use ezines, conference calls, and newsletters to keep in touch, automatically and en masse, with a personal feel. These lead generating, rapport building tools are only part of the arsenal that propel the big money earners to the top of their company rankings.
5. Be “REAL” and talk to everyone. This is not exactly the same as the old-school 3-foot rule, where you would talk to anyone that would listen about your “amazing, ground floor opportunity.” Rather, this is an invitation to release inhibitions and strike up conversations with anyone and everyone about anything and everything. Be friendly. People like and gravitate toward friendly. Opening channels of communication help you to discover common interests, and open doors to natural conversations about booking, sales, and recruiting. When you are likable, and easy to talk with, people enjoy your presentations more. Enjoyable presentations lead to more bookings, more sales and more recruits – without having to beg for “just one more host” at any party.

As direct sales consultants around the globe are waking up to the power of the Internet, and the potential of automating contact with their prospects, more leaders are growing into powerful, marketing savvy machines. These attraction marketing whiz-bangs are raking in recruits, selling up a storm, and breaking booking records – without ever having to overcome a single objection, because people are seeking THEM out for their expertise and professionalism. They have become the hunted, instead of the hunter. Begin implementing these five secrets today and watch your business soar. Who knows? Maybe YOU’LL be the next top achiever at your company’s National Conference.

Tired of trading hours for money, Lisa Young gave up her 8 to 5 for a direct sales career that now spans over 10 years. Lisa’s blog, Real Life Marketing, reveals the realities of what it takes to be successful in the eyes of your customer, using real-life examples you can learn from today. You can visit Real Life Marketing at http://lisamrobbin.blogspot.com

Unlike other industry writers, who left direct sales to pursue speaking careers, Lisa is still in the trenches, running her direct sales business and leading her teams to success. Her book, Home Party Solution is a step-by-step method to harness the Internet to boost bookings, sales and recruits. Read the first chapter free and subscribe to the monthly business boosting e-zine, “PartyOn!” at http://www.homepartysolution.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Young
http://EzineArticles.com/?In-Direct-Sales—5-Secrets-to-Fill-Your-Calendar-Without-Overcoming-Objections&id=1268425

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For more home party tips, visit Direct Sales Assistant.

Last week Jennifer Fong notified her readers about a new policy at WordPress.com which bans MLMs blogs on their service. While the main purpose of her post, Important Information for WordPress.com Users, is to inform bloggers about the new policy and to offer tips on continuing to blog there and stay within their policies, she also asked, “What do you think about these rules? Do you think the actions of a few “bad apples” is messing it up for the rest of us? Is it fair?” This is my response to those questions.

As someone who offers free and paid advertising and marketing services for direct sellers, I have a lot of sympathy for WordPress.com’s position. Of course I don’t think all MLMs are pyramid schemes. There are many legitimate, worthwhile MLMs, but I also think there are more than a few bad apples in the industry. Personally, I don’t want to do anything to help any scams and schemes promote themselves, so I do what I can to avoid accepting advertisements from them on my sites. But how do I draw the line?

The frustration over trying to decide whether the relatively few questionable requests I get each week are legitimate MLMs or a schemes or scams led me to also set new rules. I now don’t accept listings for companies more commonly referred to as MLMs, and accept only what I call “party plan” companies. Yet at times I still struggle over classifying some companies that are more like hybrids than like one or the other.

At WordPress.com, more than 450,000 new blogs were created just last month. If they don’t just ban MLMs outright, how much time can they be expected to devote to making determinations of who should stay and who should go? Or should they not have rules at all?

Perhaps it is unfair to ban all MLMs, but I think it’s also unfair to call it discrimination as some did in Tweets. In a sense, they are simply setting an advertising policy the same way any other publication does. If everyone had played by the rules in the first place, and not created WordPress.com blogs “to direct readers to external domains for commercial purposes,” new rules wouldn’t be necessary. But like everything else, there are too many people willing to exploit, and they make it harder for the rest of us. More restrictive policies become necessary.

And by the way…. while they are lumped together in one category I don’t think WordPress.com called all MLMs pyramid schemes. The sentence reads, “This includes multi-level marketing (MLM) blogs and pyramid schemes.” (Emphasis on the “and” added by me.) However, I would say that some more clarity there is probably a good idea.

Ask any experienced business owner how important their customers are and they will tell you that customers are the lifeblood of their business. Because of that, many direct sales consultants believe that the key is to constantly find new customers. Successful consultants know that it’s just as important, perhaps even more important, to develop long-standing business relationships with existing customers and to keep them coming back.

There are many benefits of repeat customers.

First of all, when customers come back for repeat purchases, you will not need to spend as much time finding new customers.

Your business income will be more consistent with purchases coming in regularly, instead of always having to chase down new customer orders.

It is also a more cost-effective way to do business. You won’t need to invest as much in marketing and advertising campaigns.

Happy, long-term customers are also more likely to send referrals to a business. If a satisfied customer runs into a friend or colleague needing what you offer, they will give that person your contact information resulting in a new customer you didn’t have to chase after.

If you like the sound of enjoying repeat business with your current customers while spending less time and money attracting new clients, here are some tips on how to keep your customers happy and coming back.

• Offer quality products
  Without a quality product, there really no reason for your customers to come back.
• Provide exceptional customer service.
  This is one area where direct sales consultants really have a chance to shine by providing the personal attention that is often missing from the big box stores. A general rule of thumb is to always treat your customers the way you would like to be treated. That simple statement will ensure you will have customers coming back time and time again.
• Practice effective communication.
  Stay in touch with customers and keep them informed of new products, special offers, and notify them of any problems like delivery issues or back orders.

Keeping your existing customers happy is one of the most effective and efficient ways to build your business.

Image courtesy of Photo Mojo.

It’s always wise to research and question any business opportunity before signing up. And as explained in Adrian Jock’s article below, income claims that you see as part of a sales letter or opportunity promotion don’t tell the whole story. Read on for the question you need to ask.

(And I highly recommend Adrian’s newsletter, even though it is “the worst.”)

The Secret Behind the Earning Claims
by Adrian Jock

If you didn’t land yesterday on the wonder planet called Internet, it’s impossible not to have seen a lot of testimonials, headlines or calls to action that contain earning claims similar with this one: “Using this great marketing system I made $x,xxx last week”. Many salesletters even show you some proofs of earnings like screen captures taken from seller’s or members’ PayPal accounts. Did you know that there is a well guarded secret behind them?

Let’s put aside the fact that in many cases the testimonials are signed by a John Doe and you will never know whether they are true or not. Let’s pretend they are real.

Let’s put aside also the fact that the PayPal account that is shown may contain also earnings resulted from selling also many OTHER stuff. Let’s pretend that the earnings shown are resulted only from using that “great marketing system”, or that “great ebook”, or whatever it was advertised.

You know what the problem is? This is only HALF of the truth. The second half of the truth I noticed that no one tells you about includes many data, but the most important one is this: What were the MARKETING COSTS spent in order to get that figure?

This information is CRUCIAL. If you need to spend $5k in order to get $1k, what’s the deal?

So … always remember this: only half of the truth means really nothing.

When you see such figures, just pretend you didn’t see them and don’t let your buying/joining decision be influenced by such earning claims. Or ask upfront the customers support for the HIDDEN COSTS that are required and that include the MARKETING BUDGET that usually someone needs to spend in order to achieve that impressive figure.

To Your Success,
Adrian Jock

P.S. If you want to read more internet marketing tips, you’re invited to subscribe free to the Worst Newsletter in the World. Why would someone call his own newsletter “the worst”? The mystery is revealed here:
http://www.adsmarket.biz/internet-marketing-tips-news.html

It’s unfortunate that there are so many schemes and scams being promoted to people looking for a home business opportunity or way to make money online. Everyday I read stories of victims of scams who have lost a lot of money and who are now afraid to start any kind of home business or online opportunity. And everyday I see the question “Is it a scam?” asked about many different types of companies and opportunities.

Sometimes I think that if you’re asking the question, there must be something about the company or opportunity that makes you uncomfortable. If that’s the case, no matter what answer you get, it might be best to just move on and find something that doesn’t raise issues for you.

But in many cases, starting a new business or online job is just outside our comfort zone and asking the question can provide a bit of a reassurance.

Here are some things to keep in mind when looking for online opportunities:

• Legitimate companies sell a tangible product or service.
• Beware of promises of earning large sums of money in a short amount of time. Get rich schemes and scams abound.
• Similarly, be cautious about opportunities and jobs that promise that you don’t have to do a thing. You’ll have to work to make money.
• You should never pay to get a job. A business opportunity will likely have start up costs, but don’t send money or provide bank or credit card information before you’re sure the company is legitimate and that you want to move ahead with the opportunity. Legitimate opportunities will explain exactly what you get for your money and almost always have a product return policy.
• Legitimate companies provide full contact information including a physical address and a phone number. They will also name their management team.
• Use the Better Business Bureau and FTC’s websites as well as other online resources to search for information about the company and its leaders. But also be aware that on some websites it can be difficult to sort through accusations made by people who simply failed at a legitimate business vs. real concerns about schemes and scams. It’s best to use several sources for information and…
• … Don’t forget to use your common sense!

There are many real, legitimate opportunities to work from home and make money online. It’s good to be cautious and ask a lot of questions before signing up for anything, but don’t let fear paralyze you. Research completely, make sure you feel absolutely comfortable with the company and its products or services, and be prepared to put in the work necessary for success. Be careful out there!

While many of us have always dreamed of working from home, it’s not the right choice for everyone. If you’ve been thinking of starting a home business, but aren’t sure if it’s right for you, I just found something that might help. It’s a quick quiz that will show you if you’re suited for working at home and what type of business might be best.

The quiz only takes a couple of minutes and it’s anonymous. Click the link to try it out:
Work at Home Readiness Quiz.

It’s just 10 quick questions and you get your results immediately, along with some tips and resources to help you get started. Yes, some of the suggested resources are paid resources, but you don’t have to buy them. For the few minutes it takes for the quiz you’ll get some interesting insight into what might work for you.

Good luck!

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Choosing a company to join is the first step in starting your direct sales business. Choosing a sponsor to sign up under is an equally important step. Many consultants join under the first person who introduces them to the industry or under a friend or family member. That’s not always the best choice.

Of course if you’re joining the same company as your sister or your best friend, you really don’t have a choice of who to sign with if you want to save your relationship. But if you are choosing a “stranger” to join under, Rebecca_L._Olkowski offers some great tips tips to help you make that choice:

6 Tips to Qualify an Effective Direct Sales Mentor For Business and Leadership Skills
By Rebecca L. Olkowski

Seeking out the perfect direct sales mentor is often confusing and overwhelming. It seems that everyone is calling themselves a coach or mentor these days. Here are 6 Tips to choose the perfect mentor:

1. Always seek out the best information available, from people who have already achieved great success in their fields. You are the average of the 5 people you hang around with. Choose a person who is known for integrity and commands the highest respect.
2. Look for someone who has done what you want to do and is still doing it. There are coaches who have had experience working in a particular field, but are no longer active. A mentor, who is still in the trenches, will have the most updated and relevant information to convey. A top leader will have also overcome the inevitable obstacles that are likely to occur.
3. Find a direct sales mentor who resonates with you as a person. Each of us has a different personality type and learning style. An effective sales mentor has the ability to inspire a person to live up to their full potential and acquire leadership skills.
4. Avoid information overload. There is such a plethora of knowledge out there, especially on the Internet, that it is easy to follow too many people at a time. Cut your email subscriptions to a select group depending on what area of your life you are concentrating on. If you prefer to learn online, stick to one website rather than many to avoid confusion and overwhelm.
5. An ideal situation is to have a mentor who is easy to access. This could include a top leader in your company, an outside coach, or a online mentoring site that offers a variety of subjects and is available 24/7.
6. Business is just one aspect of success and happiness. In order to create true success, it is necessary to set targets for all areas of life experience.This includes spiritual nurturing, family life, physical health, financial status, and more. Ultimately the goal is to achieve a full and satisfying life.

All successful people have a mentor to guide them along the way, no matter what level of success they have achieved. The most important decision you can make is to seek out the best. It is better to learn from a millionaire than a coach with an overdrawn bank account.

I’m Rebecca L. Olkowski and I have been a direct sales consultant and leader for 10 years. I offer tools and ebooks for direct sales success We already know how to work our business. The problem is, we just are not doing it. Discover the missing link the top 5% of direct sellers and network marketers have figured out, that will create success and happiness in your life.

I invite you to visit my blog at http://mypinkpizazz.com

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter and video series with success tools and tips by entering your name and email on my blog. To create a success mindset in yourself and your team members please visit http://www.directsalesmissinglink.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_L._Olkowski
http://EzineArticles.com/?6-Tips-to-Qualify-an-Effective-Direct-Sales-Mentor-For-Business-and-Leadership-Skills&id=2483837

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Still need help finding the right company for you?
Claim your free guide, “Choose Your Opportunity” and find your perfect direct sales business.

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You may have realized this long before I did. Blog themes aren’t just about layout and design. Now even many free themes come with some cool functionality and features. And if you’re willing to spend a little you can find some amazing features included in some really nice designs.

I guess the whole concept of themes including functional features sort of snuck up on me. In the nearly five years that I’ve been blogging I’ve changed themes several times to change the look of the Business Opportunity Connection. This new theme is the first time I’ve gone looking for some functions I wanted, including the featured section at the top and the tabbed section in the sidebar that contains “Popular,” “Comments,” etc. I’m sure with a little know-how or research those elements can be added to almost any theme, but it’s great to find them bundled together and ready to go.

I modified the theme a bit to make it more my style and move some things around. For continuity I kept the same header graphic and some of the same colors. The big difference is the magazine style home page, which may take a little while to get used to.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think. How often do you change the look of your blog? Is it more about design or more about functionality for you?