Direct sales is a tool-driven business. Kinda.
It’s actually a people-driven business. The tools just help the people share the message consistently and confidently.
As you can imagine, much of my career working on the corporate side for direct sales companies has been spent focused on all kinds of tools. Magazines, mail-outs, emails, websites, social media, video, flyers, etc. I’ve done ‘em all.
Sure, I’ve launched some really bad tools. But I’ve also watched some great tools get so misused and misunderstood that they never get the credit they deserve.
If you’re a direct seller, you need to read this article I recently posted at Jen Fong’s blog, titled “6 Reasons Your Online Tools Don’t Work (and How to Fix Them)”. I go into great detail as to the reasons I typically see a distributor failing at using their tools. The great news is you can easily fix it.
Read the post now, and subscribe to Jen’s blog while you’re at it. It’s one of the best for direct sellers.
It’s great being a goofball. It’s even better being a goofball with a guitar. But it’s completely AWESOME when you can be a goofball with a guitar with a friend and business colleague at an industry event.
As I recently wrote about, my summer has been a busy one, and it started with the Direct Selling Association annual conference in Miami. Many of you already know of Jen Fong, the social media expert of the direct selling industry (as well as frequent commenter and guest poster here at MiP). But did you know she’s got the ghost of Pat Benatar hiding deep within her soul, and it came rushing out at the DSA’s Got Talent event at the convention this year?
I ran across these four great posts over the past couple weeks, mostly centered around social media and its implementation. Enjoy.
There. I said it. This is what most people outside of network marketing (and even some inside) think of the industry.
The stigma that the industry has taken huge strides in disproving and changing over the past couple decades is, well, still there. Maybe not to the tune of what we saw in the ’80s, but network marketing still has a horrible reputation.
And this battle is showcased beautifully in an exchange recently from Mr. UnMarketing himself, Scott Stratten and a good friend of mine and social media expert for the direct sales industry, Jen Fong.
Seems I came across some great tips specifically for network marketers this week, and since that’s exactly what so many of you are, consider this an extra special collection of the good stuff. Obviously, if you’re not a network marketer, you’ll still probably enjoy most of these links.
It’s been a while since I batched up of the great stuff I’ve read lately that you may have missed. Check these lil’ morsels out, and spread the love.
Men Are Idiots …: I’m only vaguely familiar with this story about Cali Lewis from GeekBeat.tv, but I know enough to know this is funny on many levels. Nice grab, Gio.
Alienating the 2%: Hey, what’s a mash-up list without a post from Seth, huh? His premise is that 2% of your crowd is gonna be disappointed with what you’re doing. They just squawk so much that you can’t tell if they represent everyone else, or if they are, truly, just 2%. My experience in direct sales also tells me this 2% is often your top leaders (at least in leadership levels), and therefore you listen even more. Seth says stop.
Content Strategy and the Dying Art of Execution: Forget that this is focused on content marketing. These pitfalls apply to just about any project. Joe’s nailed the pits of quicksand we so easily get stuck in. My favorite (if you can call it that)? Lack of support from the execs. Being able to get executive buy-in truly is a gift and skill. Find people who can do it and put ‘em to work.
8 Simple Facebook Tips: My friend Jen Fong neatly packages some nice Facebook reminders that are so easy to forget. Read ‘em. Do ‘em.
My Favorite WordPress Plugins: One of the things I love most about Michael Hyatt is how he so readily pulls back the curtain and let’s you know what he’s doing behind the scenes. WordPress plugins are a lot like iPhone apps: there are a lot of cool ones out there, but who’s got the time to weed through them all. Michael’s list will help you cut through some of the clutter.
Dave Sattler of Scentsy talks about what it means to have a democratized brand. His summary of what corporate and independent direct sellers should do is excellent.
Jen Fong, social media expert for the direct sales industry, thinks your social media efforts are doomed to fail. Check your social media strategy against these guidelines by Jen Fong.
Face it: most Super Bowl ads still suck. These five links don’t, so read them now, and tell your friends.
