It’s always been my opinion that the sales part of direct sales is more important to success than team building. A team of hundreds is meaningless if no one is selling anything. It’s sales that results in income. Jeanette Fisher explains further in her article below. Direct sales – do it your way – recruit or not you can be successful.

You Can Succeed in Direct Selling Without Recruiting

By Jeanette Joy Fisher

One of the most enduring myths about the direct selling industry is that the key to success is being able to recruit hundreds of people to your team. However, that has never been true and it never will be.

Small and Strong Sales Team

Of course there is no doubt that finding and mentoring a team of strong and enthusiastic people can be a component of elevating your level of success. However, recruiting is not absolutely necessary to make a good living in direct sales. You will naturally attract people who like you and your products who will gravitate toward you. If you train a small motivated team well, you will generate more sales than if you try to work with too many uninterested people.

Statistics from Sales

Historically, the statistics back up that statement. In fact, a 1999 survey by National Sales force reported that 34% of all American direct sellers make no money at all from the sales efforts of others. Every cent of their income was derived solely from selling their companies products themselves.

The fact is that a sizeable majority of MLM people first became involved in the direct marketing business because they initially used the products themselves. After using those products for awhile, they were impressed enough with the quality of those products to prompt them to take a larger role in the company.

The key to success is to promote a product you love and believe in. Your enthusiasm will inspire your customers and sales team. Your sales team will see your high sales from your concentrated efforts and want to follow your example.

Public Growth Regarding Direct Sells

Every year, the direct selling industry continues to grow in the United States. A recent study showed that one out of every two American adults purchased a service or product from a direct sales representative last year. That figure represents more than 150 million American residents. To service that huge market, there are some 15.2 million people involved in direct sales in the United States alone.

So, if you are not the sort of person who feels comfortable recruiting other people to join your marketing team, you can take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. Recruiting is not for everyone. That is one of the beautiful things about direct marketing. Even if you have no desire to recruit other people to your cause, you can succeed through your own sales efforts.

Free “8 Easy Steps to Online Selling.” Learn how to sell your products online and create an Internet presence for your business. http://SimpleStepSolutions.com. Reduce your learning curve for free and make money faster.

Copyright 2010 Jeanette Fisher

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WordPress is the website building tool of choice for many business owners these days. It’s a great option. No software needed on your computer, great functionality and flexibility – and you can update your site content from any computer, netbook or smart phone. It’s no wonder that it’s become so popular.

You’ve probably heard that WordPress is incredibly user friendly – and it is! Still, most first time users find it overwhelming at first. If you ever tried to tackle WordPress on your own and felt like giving up, you’re not at all alone. There’s a lot to take in at first.

I was lucky though. I had several patient friends available to help me over the learning curve. Still, I wouldn’t say that I felt truly comfortable for months after. The more I got to know it, the more I realized that WordPress is both simple and complex all at the same time.

If you only want to use WordPress to publish content, it’s pretty darned simple. The visual editor operates like any basic word processor. You enter content, press publish and you’re finished.

Think of WordPress as being three things at once.

1. It’s a Content Management Script that runs on your web server, letting you enter content as easily as writing an email.
2. Your content is stored in a Database on your web server.
3. Finally, it wears a Theme, a set of template files, that determines how the content is displayed online.

Entering content is easy. The database takes care of itself. Customization, want to alter your design and manipulate the database for special needs, you have to tap a whole other area of knowledge and that’s where many get stuck.

There’s good news and bad news for those who want to learn more about managing their WordPress site. The good news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users who are willing to answer your questions. The bad news is that there’s a huge resource of documents and a large community of developers and users…

The trouble for newcomers is usually that they don’t know how to ask the right questions to produce the answers they really need. The documents and forums seem to be written in a foreign language and newbie questions are often answered with links to more foreign explanations that just add to their feelings of overwhelm.

My advice? Don’t give up. Keep asking questions. To get the best answers, provide as much information about your problem as you can. If you’re persistent, you’ll find that things come easier over time.

About the Author:

Kelly McCausey of Mom’s Talk Biz invites you to WordPress Orientation, your all access pass to exclusive WordPress learning. We demonstrate answers to your questions during our live web conference sessions. If you’re goal is to do it yourself WordPress Orientation is your pathway to learning how.

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Image courtesy of mikkime.

For your blog to be successful it’s important to regularly post fresh content. But it can be difficult to continually come up with new ideas for blog posts. Even the best writers suffer writer’s block sometimes. If you feel like you are running out of ideas, here are some ways to find things to write about.

1. Keep your blog readers informed about the changes you have made to your website. Whether you’ve added a new article, made major design changes, added new products or services, have a special offer, write a blog post to let your readers know what’s new.
2. Post lists of tools and resources that your readers will find useful.
3. Use a search engine like Google News to find news stories that relate to your business. For example, if you are in direct sales, you may find a news article explaining the benefits that a career in direct sales offers (which would make a great recruiting tool). You can post your thoughts or feelings on the news item and include a link to the original article. Watch your local news too. There might be something going on in your local area that you can write about and tie into something about your business,
4. Let your readers know when you find something of interest on another blog.
5. When a customer or blog reader emails you with a question, turn the answer into a blog post (don’t name the person who asked unless you get their permission). Or start a series of FAQ’s.
6. Visit message boards and social networks to see what information your target market is looking for or what types of questions are frequently asked.
7. You can give reviews of products and services that you have personally used. And check for an affiliate program for the product so you can include an affiliate link in your post. (Be sure to research, understand, and follow the FTC rules about posting affiliate links on blogs.)
8. Use a video service like YouTube to find and post videos about topics in your niche.
9. Define some of the common and/or more complex terms used in your industry.
10. Give your readers a glimpse of yourself. Every post doesn’t have to relate directly to your business. You can blog about a particularly busy day you had and include your favorite crock pot recipe. The people who read your blog may be very busy business people as well and can appreciate the fact that you too are struggling to get everything done.

Always be sure to invite your readers to comment on your posts. Some lively discussions can result as well as other new ideas for blog posts. So please, post a comment here and share your ideas for overcoming writer’s block.

There’s a huge demand for online content and as more and more people start blogs and websites the demand just keeps growing. Many people struggle with the need to continually provide fresh content for their sites and turn to Private Label Rights (PLR) content to meet their needs. You can be one of the people they turn to for content by starting your own PLR content business.

And you don’t even have to write the content! All Resell Content provides all of the articles. Just set up your website and shopping cart and start selling.

Your membership provides you with 50 new, high-quality PLR articles every month. Articles that you can sell to your customers for them to use on their blogs and websites. You’ll provide the content they’ve been looking for.

I’m going to cut to the chase here and get this information posted. I’ve been buying content from Alice and Mila for years. I’ve never been disappointed. You won’t be either.

Membership is limited so check it out right now at All Resell Content.

All the links in this post are affiliate links(Why tell?)

A NOTE about the price: As I’m writing this it seems as though the pricing hasn’t been changed on their website, but they are already in phase two of pricing at $64 a month phase 3, full price of $77 per month (edited 3/28/10 and 4/24/10)

Image courtesy of Alanna George.

Having a Web log, or ”Blogging” as it’s more commonly called, is a great way to share information with others in a public forum, by posting comments on a (often free) website.

Blogs are easy to build; even a novice can set one up in just an hour or less. With free applications like Google’s “Blogger” (blogger.com) or the easy to use Wordpress (Wordress.com), a simple blog can be put together that will highlight your thoughts and images. By setting it up with a clean format and using the latest templates, this increases the blog’s appeal and it can be updated as often as you wish.

One fun and profitable way to blog is by starting a recipe blog (and there’s plenty of information on the topic in this Just Add Sweat guide). A recipe blog is where you can post your favorite family recipes, restaurant secrets or other popular “dishes” about the world of cooking. It’s perfect for people who have tried recipes and thought they could do better. Or those who have sampled restaurant cooking and found a favorite they’d like to share. If cooking is your passion, blogging about it is a wonderful way to get more information out there about this interest. It’s also a great way to tell others about new products available in the world of cooking.

A recipe blog can also offer the opportunity for an entrepreneur to build a home based business. How? By offering for sale cooking products, popular recipes, cook books and other tools that the budding chefs of the world would like. In this way, a blogger can build a nice residual income to support their cooking habit.

Popular blogs that earn a substantial amount of website traffic can earn even more revenue. Through the power of using web traffic tracking tools, a blogger can earn ad revenue or earn commissions by recommending product from other companies. Successful bloggers can even sell their blogs to others and earn an income from developing popular topics into highly trafficked websites.

With a little bit of time and a lot of creativity, a recipe blogger can create an income working from home.

Recommended Additional Resource:

To learn exactly how to set up your blog and how to create a recipe blog that people love, talk about and come back to, grab Just Add Sweat Guide to Start a Recipe Blog. You’ll also learn how to get traffic to your blog and make money doing something you enjoy.

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Yes, everybody could use more money. But most mom business owners and business seekers I know aren’t looking to make millions. Most of us want to contribute to the family income while staying at home with our children. Especially initially, our goals are usually more family focused, like paying the mortgage, getting a new car, saving for college, or being able to go out to dinner a couple times a month. We want a business that we can enjoy and still have time to enjoy our family.

I recently posed a question on a popular message board and the responses I got confirmed that “rich” isn’t always the goal. Moms want to “pay bills and have some in savings,” “pay my bills and take care of kids, and “pay the bills, have some fun and still have enough to set aside in savings/retirement.” Others mentioned “financial security” and the “peace of mind” that comes from not worrying about money.

Often after meeting some immediate needs with our first business endeavor, we start looking more towards the future and wanting a little more. I think about how I’d like to enjoy retirement without worrying about money. And how I’d like my son to be able to choose his career or business path without being so concerned about whether his chosen path will net enough income. I even think about how much fun it would be to help other moms get started in business by providing some start-up cash or funding a business expansion.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t go for millions if that’s what you want. In fact there were a few responders who said they want to be rich and be able to afford luxuries. What I am suggesting is that if you are marketing your business to moms, don’t assume we’re all looking for big bucks. Promising fancy cars and six figure incomes doesn’t attract as many moms as you think it might.

The key is to listen to what each individual prospect is looking for and help her meet her goals.

Cookie Lee Jewelry consultants sell fashion jewelry and accessories at home parties, office shows, and using other direct selling methods. The companies namesake, CEO and Chief Designer, Cookie Lee began selling her jewelry designs in 1985 and launched the direct sales opportunity in 1992.

Things consultants seem to especially like about selling Cookie Lee Jewelry:

• Customers take home their jewelry the night of the party so consultants receive their proceeds immediately
• The incentive programs, including trips and cars
• The jewelry is very reasonably priced

 


Get more information and contact a consultant to find out how to start your own home business direct selling jewelry by visiting the Cookie Lee Jewelry company page in the InternetBasedMoms.com Direct Sales Directory.

When you sponsor other consultants into your direct sales business you become a team leader with a new set of responsibilities. Here are 5 tips to help you develop successful leadership skills:

1. Lead by example. Many of your team members will emulate you not only when leading their downline, but when dealing with customers. Setting a good example will have a positive effect on the entire team’s business. Be respectful, courteous, and honest in all your interactions. Reply to emails and return phone calls in a timely manner. Treat your team the way you want to be treated and the way you want them to treat customers.
2. Leaders need to have confidence in their self, their decisions, and in their actions. If you, as a leader, are constantly second guessing things, it will be hard for your team to take you seriously. If you find yourself wondering about a decision or choice you made, consult your own upline or the company. It’s fine to ask your team for input before you make a decision, but once you make it, don’t ask you team to weigh in whether or not it was the right decision.
3. Communicate clearly and make sure you encourage your team to ask questions when they don’t understand something.
4. Listen. When your team members ask questions, ask for help, or make suggestions make sure you really hear and understand what they need. Sometimes we get so caught up in delivering our planned presentations that we forget to adjust for the audience.
5. Be organized. Good organization saves time, reduces stress, and helps you present yourself more professionally.

By being a good leader you will help your entire team stay motivated and become more profitable.

Are you using social media to drive traffic to your website and increase sales? Or are you still sitting in the skeptics camp not certain that social media is anything other than a waste of time?

If you are not using social media to promote your services, products and website, you are missing out on one of the hottest marketing trends in years. And in doing so, your competition is very likely capturing sales that could be yours.

Social media is opening doors for entrepreneurs and businesses worldwide. Through social media you can:

• Formulate joint venture partnerships with someone you otherwise would have never connected with.
• Interact with customers and clients in real time offering support and guidance.
• Interact with people who are interested in your product and services and in you.
• Drive traffic to your website, squeeze page and brick and mortar or online store.

And, if all that isn’t enough to convince you to incorporate social media into your strategic marketing efforts, the costs of social media most likely will.  Aside from your time to network and connect with friends, followers and connections, nearly all social media tools and applications are free. Affordable and powerful strategic marketing…NICE, huh?

Ready to get started?

Click the “Add to Cart” button below and find out whether Twitter, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn are the right social media platforms for you and your business. Learn social media best practices and how to avoid the pitfalls of social media marketing. And get a list of tools that will help you make the most of your social media efforts.

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