Everyone has their own reasons for becoming a direct sales consultant and an entrepreneur. Some people just need a bit of extra income to achieve their financial goals. Others prefer to be their own boss. Some seek unlimited earning potential. Still others are excited about the prospect of the social aspect of direct sales – hosting parties and connecting with people is fun.

Whatever the reason behind your decision to become a direct sales consultant, there often comes a time when you question your path. Your direct sales business may not meet your needs.

How Do You Know if Your Direct Sales Business is Meeting Your Needs?

It can be difficult to answer this question. However, there are a few key indicators. Take a look at the following questions and answer them honestly.

• Are you excited to get to work when you wake in the morning? If you’re not excited about your business when you get up in the morning that’s okay. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve made the wrong decision. It may simply mean a few changes are in order to help you find that excitement and motivation.
• Are you successful? Everyone has their own definition of success. For many people success has a dollar sign. You’re successful when you make a desirable income. Others define success by having the free time they want while also being able to make a living. For example, you’re successful when you only work one day a week and make the money you want or need.
• Still others define success by how they impact others. They’re successful when they help someone else. How do you define success and are you achieving it? Again, if you’re not that’s okay. It simply means you may need to make some adjustments to your business so that they support your definition of success.
• Is direct sales providing you with what you need or want? You became a direct sales consultant for a reason. For example, to make extra money. Is your business providing you with that extra money? If not, it’s time to make a few changes.

Changing Your Business So It Meets Your Needs

If your business isn’t meeting your needs then it’s time to take that metaphorical bull by the horns and change things. You’re in control here. The first step is to evaluate what isn’t working and why. For example, if you’re not making the money you thought you would make then why isn’t that happening? Maybe it’s a matter of simply selling more or maybe it’s because you’re not excited about your products.

Once you know what isn’t working and why, the second step is to create a plan. If you’re not making the money you want to make because you’re simply not motivated or excited by the products, you can change your mindset and research the benefits your products offer. If that doesn’t renew your enthusiasm for the products, you can find a new company to represent that does excite you. In either case, be sure to include goals in your plan. Include what you want to change, how you’re going to change it and how you’re going to know when you’re successful.

Direct Sales is a challenging business. It can also be extremely rewarding. Consider how your business is meeting your needs and what needs to change to improve your business and your lifestyle. Then, because you are in control, make the necessary changes to live the life you want.

Image courtesy of EvelynGiggles

Without regular communication with your direct sales team it’s almost impossible to build a successful team. Communication helps keep your team motivated to build their own businesses which in turn helps build yours.

Begin with a commitment to regular, consistent contact with your team. Make communication a part of your daily routine. You can use email, phone calls, and mail to check in with your team and to send company news, tips and resources, success quotes, motivational thoughts, or reminders of deadlines. Consistent communication might include a weekly newsletter, a blog that is updated regularly, note cards, or text messages. Your messages don’t have to be long or profound; the idea is to stay in touch so your team knows you’re available and are committed to communicating with them.

Make notes to yourself on your planner or set up an automated system on your computer so you will remember to send out birthday or anniversary cards to team members. Call your consultants to congratulate them on their first party, sales goal, recruit, or any other important milestone.

Your messages don’t have to be perfect, but try to communicate clearly. Team members need to know that you have valuable information to share with them, and that you can help them succeed. This is much simpler when you can express yourself well and communicate your message clearly, whether on the phone or in writing. If your communications are hard to understand, poorly written, sloppy or simply disorganized, they won’t be nearly effective as clear, concise communication with your team. When writing, keep your sentences short, use spelling and grammar checkers, and proofread before sending. These simple task will take only minutes, but will pay off greatly in building rapport with your team. If writing and grammar are not your strong points, enlist the help of a proof reader.

With so many communication tools and options at our disposal these days, there is no excuse for lack of communication with your team. Make sure you never have to apologize for being out of touch. Communicating with your team will help keep them interested and motivated.

As the new year approaches many of us start setting new goals or making New Year’s resolutions. Here are a few tips to help you be successful in reaching those goals.

1 – Reach High
While you don’t want to set your sites on goals that are completely out of reach, to be able to achieve, you need to reach for something just beyond your grasp. Something that will motivate you to do more. Otherwise you’ll just end up where you started.

2 – Be Realistic
Yes, that sounds contradictory to tip #1, but it’s really a balancing act. For example, a goal of increasing your subscriber base by 20% a month may be a bit of a stretch, but increasing your subscriber base by 20,000 a month that’s probably unrealistic. If your goals are unrealistic and you continually fail, you’ll eventually just give up and settle for less than you are capable of.

Unrealistic goals can also put undo stress on you which can lead to other problems, including poor health.

3 – Make a Plan
Once you set your goals, make a plan of exactly how to get there and follow through. Be sure your plan includes ways to measure your progress and success. If you aren’t moving towards your goals you may need to revise your plan.

Your plan can include shorter term goals and objectives. If your goal is to make twice as much money in the New Year, set monthly goals that will let you see your progress and help keep you motivated.

4 – Keep Your Objectives in Mind
It’s easy to get caught up in everyday tasks and forget your goals. Visual reminders, notes to yourself, and daily motivators can help keep you moving in the right direction. If you’re working towards a down payment for a car or a house, post pictures of them in your office. Make weekly notes to yourself with your countdown to the vacation you are working towards or chart your progress. These will help keep you focused on your goals and motivated to do the job at hand.

5 – Tell Someone
An accountability partner can remind you of what you’re working for, and provide encouragement and motivation.

And remember, even if you fail, you can learn from what you did wrong. Never give up. Continue to aim realistically high and you will succeed.

*image courtesy of EvelynGiggles

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.

From MondayCafe.com
– The Direct Sales Movie — “Today!”