This is very exciting news!

A new Direct Selling Certificate program will be available to community colleges across the country in the spring of 2012. Even more exciting is that direct sellers can participate in the pilot program for free. It’s being offered at three Community Colleges starting on October 17 or 18, 2011.

Get the details now by clicking the link >>> DSEF Direct Selling Entrepreneur Certificate.

The Direct Selling Education Foundation (DSEF) partnered with the National Association of Community College Entrepreneurship to offer this program. According to DSEF Program Director Robin Diamond, “This new educational program will help direct selling entrepreneurs build their businesses by combining strong entrepreneurship skill training with direct selling-specific learning.”

Some of the reasons why I find this program so exciting :

• A certificate program further legitimizes direct selling as a serious, professional business.
• Many direct sellers start with little or no business experience and a strong desire to succeed. Additional education will certainly go a long way towards achieving success.
• Offering the program through community colleges will help keep it affordable and accessible for many more direct sellers.

Check it out today. The free pilot program starts in in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York in mid-October on a first-come first-served basis. It will be available to community colleges across the country in the Spring of 2012.

Get the details now by clicking the link >>> DSEF Direct Selling Entrepreneur Certificate.

Thank you @JenFongSpeaks for bringing the program to my attention.

Image courtesy of sidewalk flying

Training is generally something direct sales consultants either love or hate. One of the reasons you might not look forward to training is that it can take away from the time you might be selling. It’s all a matter of perspective really. When you provide your recruits with great training you are growing your business. The more successful they are, the more successful you are.

That doesn’t mean training has to eat up all of your time. You can connect with and train your direct sales consultants online. Let’s take a look at a few tips and success strategies.

1. Webinars
   A webinar is an online seminar. You can find free conferencing programs, online services that start around $50/month, or you can set up your own online video conferencing or Skype system. Webinar services make it easy for your trainees to connect. They simply have to get online, click a link and they’re there.

   You can hold monthly webinars to answer questions, present materials, and motivate your team. Webinars can be fun too. You can play games, acknowledge profitable teammates and explain new products and promotions. It’s a great way to connect with your team on a monthly basis and to offer them the training and support they need.

2. Online discussions
   Another useful tool is an online discussion group for your team. You can set up a private forum, chat room, or Facebook group. Regularly upload training materials and connect with your direct sales team on an as needed basis.
3. Private Blog
   If you have a blog you can create training materials including videos and downloadable print materials and deliver them privately to your team. WordPress for example, offers plug-ins that gives you the ability to set up memberships and private access pages.
   Blogging Resources

   How to Create a Blog
   How to Choose Blog Web Hosting

4. Email training
   Using an autoresponder service you can set up a series of email messages to be delivered on a schedule to train a new team member and also send broadcasts when you have new information to share with the entire team. Since email training is not interactive you probably want to use it in conjunction with one of the other more conversational methods.

There are also many other ways you can use the internet to train your direct sales team. Before you decide on a system consider how you want to train your direct sales team. What materials will you provide? How often do you want to meet? Also consider the technical ability and comfort level of your direct sales recruits.

Create a plan. Choose a tool or system that supports your plan and get started. Save time, grow your business and use the internet to train your direct sales team.

Goal setting can be extremely helpful for you. It can help you identify a target and create a plan to hit it. Goal setting can also help your teammates find the extra inspiration and motivation they need to achieve success. As a Direct Sales consultant and team leader holding goal setting sessions can help grow your business and your profits. Here are a few ideas to help you hold successful goal setting sessions with your team.

1. Make Sure Everyone Is On the Same Page

   When inviting teammates to the meeting make sure they understand that it is a goal setting meeting. You might stress why you think this is so important for their success but also stress how excited you are to help them achieve success. Make the meeting enjoyable – all work and no play doesn’t generate inspiration or motivation. Hold it at your home and serve delicious food or have the meeting at a local café. Make attending the meeting as exciting as possible.

2. Create Handouts

   Handouts help guide the meeting. They also help your recruits jot down their thoughts, goals and action plan as the meeting progresses. Handouts can be designed as worksheets leaving plenty of space for each person to write as much or as little as they need. Handout questions might include:
   What do you want to accomplish this month/quarter/year?
   What motivates you to achieve?
   What is working for you as a direct sales consultant? What isn’t?

3. Seek Input from Each Person in the Meeting

   In addition to possibly going over the handouts and corresponding questions, ask each person for their input. A successful goal setting session is a discussion. It’s a cooperative group of people supporting each other to succeed. This is accomplished when everyone feels comfortable enough to share and contribute.

4. Share Your Own Goals and Motivations

   As a team leader you have a very important role. Your role is to motivate and inspire. This is often accomplished by sharing your personal experiences and stories. Let others learn from your mistakes and from your accomplishments. Also, share your agenda. What do you want to accomplish this month or quarter? What are your goals for the year? What motivates you? How do you plan to achieve your goals?

5. Create a Plan
   As each person on your team begins to develop their goals the next step is to help them create an action plan to achieve them. A goal without a plan to achieve it is nothing more than a dream. Show your team how to create goals that can be measured. Show them how to break larger goals down into smaller, achievable goals. Show them how to schedule their action so they stay on track. Again, this can be communicated through discussion, personal examples, and through your handouts.
6. Seek Commitment
   Before you end the goal setting session seek commitment from each team member to achieve their goals. Consider creating an accountability and support system. For example, you might hold monthly meetings where everyone discusses how they’re doing on their path to achieve their goals. This accountability can be motivating. It can also offer the support they need to be successful.

Successful goal setting sessions are easy to accomplish when you have a goal and a plan – sound familiar! Determine your goal for the meeting. Then create a plan to achieve it. Offer your direct sales teammates as much information and support as possible. Their success is your success.

Direct Sales Classroom is launching Direct Sales 102 with a series of free coaching videos.

In the first video Lisa Robbin Young reveals a bit about how she came to learn and practice the principle that makes her successful, and she invites you to learn it too. Click the link to watch the introduction to the free direct sales coaching.

In this 2nd short video, Lisa answers the question, “Why your husband says ditch your direct sales biz.”
Click the link>>> 2nd video about free direct sales coaching.

The 3rd video is an introduction to Income Producing Activities and Lisa’s asks if you are doing “whatever it takes” in your direct sales business.

Let me know what you think.

Training your team members helps them feel more confident, which will increase their success. That in turn motivates them to work harder and sell more.

Team training should cover every aspect of direct sales success you can think of. This might include business promotion, building their own sales team, telephone tips, turning “no” into “yes” and more.

There are a variety of ways to present team training. Consider weekly emails, conference calls, local meetings in a business office or restaurant, online chats, tip sheets, or even one-on-one. All of these approaches will work in different circumstances, so try them out and choose the ones that are most effective for you and your team.

Encourage your team to attend company conferences together or take your team to a sales training conference or seminar. In addition to the training your team will get, attending together builds team unity and creates an opportunity for team members to bond.

If your local team is large enough, you could invite a guest speaker to one of your team meetings. There are a number of professionals who offer this service for a fee, or ask your upline director or a company executive. Often, if they’re free, these people are glad to share their knowledge and insight to help newer reps build their businesses.

Subscribe to a direct sales magazine or organization for your team members. Possibilities include Direct Selling News or the Direct Selling Association. You might even consider a subscription as a prize for top sellers during the month.

Create and use a simple training system for new team members. This might involve a few sessions where you meet in person, talk via the telephone, or chat via the Internet. Each session can provide a separate training theme such as booking the first show, getting past family and friends, how to deal with rejection, and other tips for getting started. Set up a sessions in a clearly defined order with specific topics you’ll cover in each one. Then use your beginners training session with every new recruit you sign on.

You can also create a more advanced training system, or an on-going one, that you use for team members who stick with the company. These sessions could involve more advanced sales techniques, building a profitable website, finding the first recruit, and more. These ongoing sessions can be sent via email using an autoresponder service or provided by teleseminar or webinar.

In addition to improving skills and confidence, team training is a highly effective strategy for motivating your team.

Finding the motivators that drive your direct sales team to achieve their personal goals will ensure greater success, for both your team members and you. As a direct sales team leader, one of the best ways to grow your own business is to motivate your team for higher profits.

People’s reasons for becoming a direct sales consultant vary. Some reps may join simply because they want to receive a discount on the products they buy. Others may want a reason to get out of house and away from the kids. Still others join because they want, or need, to make additional money.

Some consultants will be self-motivated. They’ll be determined to succeed whether you encourage them, or ignore them. Most of your team members, however, will need some motivation to help them reach their goals, while helping you reach yours.

What do team members want?
Motivating someone requires discovering what they want and helping them to achieve it. One way to determine a team member’s motivation is to ask why they joined your team. You can then provide ways to help them reach their goals and get what they want from their association with your group. That’s what motivation is all about.

Let’s assume your team members are motivated by more money. To help your members use that motivation, encourage them to think about what they might do with that money. Would they pay off some bills? Buy a new car? Save for the kids’ education? Take a vacation?

If you can get your team thinking about what it feels like to have that extra money and how they want to spend it, you’re well on your way to motivating them to work harder to earn it.

Help your team set goals.
One way to motivate your team members to reach their goals is to have them write the goals down. Remind your team that if they don’t know where they’re going, they will never know when they arrive!

Hold monthly team meetings and encourage every member of the team to set a sales goal for that month. Then, have them write down that goal and post it in a conspicuous place in their own home. Your team members are much more likely to achieve that goal when they see what they’re aiming for.

Contests and prizes.
Contests are another great way to motivate your team members. Offer a prize to the member who has the most sales, holds the greatest number of shows or recruits the most new consultants. Whatever the goal is, encourage your team members to work the contest daily and send you an update on their progress.

You can compile the results at the end of each day, or week, and let the group know where everyone stands. Competition is a great motivator for some. Use it to your advantage and see your profits rise right along with your team members’ success!

Be sure to provide a prize to the winner. A gift card, a free product, or if possible, an added percentage of profits. The gift isn’t nearly as important as the contest itself, but again, it will serve as motivation.

Keeping your consultants excited about the company, the products, and being a part of your team will go a long way in helping to motivate your team to higher profits. Look for ways to do that every week, and your success potential will soar!

A motivated team is a productive team. And motivating them doesn’t have to be a huge, complicated process. Here are some quick and easy ways to get your direct sales team energized and active.

1. Email your team on a regular schedule.

   Taking the time to create a weekly email for your direct sales team will pay off greatly in terms of added sales, team unity, and longevity of team members. Topics to cover might include sales updates, team member welcome notes, contests, selling tips, home show tips, hostess coaching ideas, business promotion help, and anything else of interest to your team.

2. Online Team Chats

   If your team is scattered across the country, as many direct sales teams are these days, holding a regular sales meeting at a local meeting spot is quite a challenge. But that doesn’t mean your team can’t get together. Instead of a local meeting, host an online team chat that will serve the same purpose. This will help your team develop stronger relationships, as well as keeping them updated with important information.

3. Training Tip Sheets

   If you aren’t able to prepare a full-fledged weekly newsletter or detailed email, offer your team some training tip sheets to help them succeed. Your team members will appreciate all the business building help they can get. Cover one training tip at a time and help your team learn to sell more, book more shows, promote their businesses, deal with difficult customers, build a website, handle rejections, and anything else you can teach them to better their business results.

4. Contests

   Monthly or quarterly contests can be a huge boon to your business and will tremendously motivate a large number of your team members. Look for simple ideas such as the most sales in a given period. Offer a prize, then let your team’s ingrained sense of competition take over and make it fun.

5. Recognition

   While money motivates some people, and the sense of freedom in entrepreneurship motivates others, some people will be more motivated by simple recognition of their efforts and successes than by anything else. Let your team know you’re proud of them. Use your weekly emails to share team members’ successes such as a first party, a record-breaking sales week, a birthday or anniversary, etc. You might be surprised at the encouragement this provides.

There are any number of ways to get your team members excited and wanting to sell more. Start with these five simple ideas for motivating your team and then build on them as you see what works for your specific, changing team.

Image courtesy of Search Engine People Blog.

This question has been on my mind quite a bit lately. How much online success is possible if you aren’t one of the movers and shakers? Can someone who isn’t usually among the first marketers to promote a new product or service or who isn’t using the latest tool make it in the fast paced online world?

Admittedly, I don’t have the answer, but I do have some thoughts. Please comment and let me know what you think.

Like everything else, I think the answer depends in part on your market. If you sell technology you better be up-to-date with the latest gadgets and gizmos every day. You probably aren’t going to be highly successful if you don’t know what an iPad is or if “Droid” brings to mind a movie robot. When most customers are in the market for a computer, T.V. or cell phone, they want the latest technology. If you can’t keep up with that demand, your customers will likely shop elsewhere.

But I know of a text-based website that sells fountain pens where you email the owner to reserve a pen, and then you send a check by snail mail. The company is well-known and highly recommended by pen aficionados. While I’m not an expert, I’d venture a guess that fountain pen technology doesn’t change very rapidly and there’s probably a viable market for older versions. So someone who sells pens can afford to take a little time to stock and market the latest pen.

In party plan companies, even through your company may update products regularly, the primary sales method really hasn’t changed that much. A home sales party today is based on many of the same techniques of the original Tupperware parties of the 1950s. Sure, companies have added online ordering, social networking, and other new marketing techniques and tools, but you can still be successful yourself, and train a profitable team, using the sales party as your primary marketing technique.

Another “old-fashioned” technique I think party plan consultants can use to a huge advantage is great customer service. With big box stores, self-checkout at the supermarket, online shopping, ATMs and telephone customer service, many people crave the personalized, individual attention they can get from a direct sales consultant. A great deal of success can be built from knowing your customer’s name and needs.

Are you a mover and shaker or are you succeeding at a slower pace? How important is it to be up-to-date on the latest tools and marketing methods? What other factors contribute to your point of view? Please leave your comments and questions.

I’m probably not a mover and shaker, but rather I tend to use and teach more of the “tried and true” methods of marketing and sales. But I also try to provide my audience with trusted resources for new tools or methods that I may not be up to speed on yet.

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.

The Direct Selling Women’s Alliance just released a new audio series called, “Mentored by the Masters: Proven tips and strategies for greater passion, purpose and profits.”

It’s a monthly audio series featuring industry direct sales leaders on topics including selling, sponsoring, coaching, running you business and more. In addition to the monthly CDs there is also a special website resource area for subscribers.

Get more information and subscribe to “Mentored by the Masters: Proven tips and strategies for greater passion, purpose and profits” here.