Did you know that more than half (56%) of organisations now deliver learning to external, non-employee, channel partners such as distributors, wholesalers – and yes, independent salespeople? While that’s an encouraging statistic, it does beg the question: Why are the other 44% not doing this?

A fully informed and customer-ready sales rep is worth their weight in gold – and in the world of direct selling, where the self-employed salesforce is often par for the course, extending L&D to these key customer audiences/channel partners, is fundamental to performance success.

Learning that links the supply chain

The reality is that learning should be optimising profitability across the entire business ecosystem. Why? Because it holds the key to making every individual – employee or otherwise – perform at their best.

In fact, when you think about the role that customer-facing sales representatives play in building brand loyalty, could it not be argued that business leaders should be prioritising learning for these end-of-supply-chain audiences?

Keeping pace with knowledge change

Add to this the fact that fast-moving product lines and continual knowledge change mean rapid upskilling is especially important in the direct selling industry. In this environment, field salespeople need ongoing, continual education if organisations are to support productivity, drive revenue, increase retention, and deliver consistently great customer experiences.

Modern learning technology is certainly a key driver here – but not just any technology. The solution lies in empowering direct sellers to access and instantly apply the exact knowledge they need to solve problems in the flow of work. To do this, independent sales reps must have continual access to the organisation’s corporate brain – a company-specific search engine full of explicit organisational knowledge and experience-based, tacit know-how.

Sales metrics that matter

Get this right, and the enterprise will be well on its way to building an extended learning ecosystem that generates bigger revenue return. But while revenue is of course central to business success, it’s not the only sales metric that matters. There’s also the significant cost-savings that come with reduced ongoing training costs, improved sales rep retention, and increased customer loyalty.

Avon: Accelerating sales with engaged learning

Avon – the direct to consumer beauty giant – is one company that is pioneering in its application of extended learning. The company has a direct seller audience made up of +5 million self-employed beauty entrepreneurs, spanning 53 markets worldwide.

To say that’s a vast and diverse audience, would be an understatement. Can you imagine being a senior sales executive in charge of even one of these markets? That alone would involve engaging with tens or hundreds of thousands of beauty reps who never work in-house, and who are disparately located. Ensuring that all of those individuals, each with their own needs and wants, are continually learning about new products and campaigns would be, to put it bluntly, a never-ending nightmare.

That is unless, like Avon, you have modern learning technology that not only supports learning to extended enterprise audiences, but which does so in a way that enables easy and instant access to knowledge in the flow of work. Technology that facilitates learning at the moment of need – and which therefore, crucially, enables direct sellers to keep pace with constantly evolving product lines. This is how we create better people experiences and drive measurable performance benefits.

Avon’s Digital Experience Manager, Andy Stamps, explains:

“We’d identified a 90-day tipping point with retention so we knew we had to create better experiences for our beauty entrepreneurs. Many have 9-5 jobs and childcare responsibilities on top of the work they do for Avon, so it was about making their lives easier by integrating the right learning content at the right touchpoints.”

After decommissioning its incumbent LMS platforms and replacing them with Fuse as one unified platform for learning – both for employees and beauty entrepreneurs – the positive impact on business performance was undeniable.

Just 16 months in, 45 of Avon’s 53 markets had been onboarded to Fuse, each offering a best-fit, learner-centric experience. The platform was being actively used by 700k beauty entrepreneurs, and there were +200 individual learning communities, and +1 million pieces of learning content.

Beyond this, the platform also began to provide Avon’s beauty reps with a vital sense of connection and belonging. Direct sellers began to actively engage with one another, answering each other’s questions and sharing tacit knowledge. As Andy says, “Fuse became a means for us to engage our beauty entrepreneurs with our brand and product in a way we hadn’t been able to do before.”

Channel learning that ignites performance

Clearly, there was a strong appetite for learning amongst Avon’s beauty entrepreneur community. The real ‘show me the money’ sales metrics came in the form of an undeniable discovery, however. Data revealed that even an incremental increase in monthly visits to the platform – the difference between low frequency (1-2 visits per month) and medium frequency (3-4 visits per month) – had created dramatic uplifts of up to 320% in aggregate sales in the first 6 months alone.

And as if that wasn’t enough, there was a 20% retention increase amongst beauty reps who were engaging with the platform at a medium or high frequency, versus those who weren’t – and those same beauty reps were also producing around 6% more revenue in terms of Average Order Value.

Case studies like these demonstrate the critical value of extending enterprise L&D to external audiences – and show that in doing so, there is huge opportunity to positively transform the top line.

If you’re ready to replace channel learning complexity with a high-performance extended learning ecosystem, get in touch with the Fuse team.

…….

Written by Roberta Gogos. Roberta is VP of Marketing at Fuse – the learning and knowledge platform that ignites people performance by giving learner’s access to the exact answers or information they need in the flow of work. Roberta has over a decade of experience in the HR and learning tech space, and specialises in brand, position, and developing strategies that build market share and profitability.

The post Why Extending L&D to Direct Sellers Will Transform Your Top Line appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

As an Associate with Strategic Choice Partners, Rick helps companies update their sales efforts in a way that works in today’s direct selling climate while also taking into account the quickly moving landscape from a regulatory perspective.

Building GREAT Sponsors

IT’S AMAZING WHAT OUR PEOPLE DO!

Our businesses rely on the efforts of the sponsor (coach / upline) to equip, guide and support new recruits. It’s a fascinating process to observe, and so multifaceted that it’s hard to say any one component is more important than another. Used to, we at the corporate office let sponsors handle the onboarding of their new Distributors almost entirely. Today, that’s not the case, for several reasons.

Previously, I shared what I consider to be Part 1 of this series on “Becoming Brilliant in the Basics”. If you haven’t read that article, I suggest you do it now for a proper frame of reference. The corporate team is much more responsible for pretty much every area of a direct sales operation than it used to be. This is especially true when it comes to helping our people not just sell well, but also sponsor well. That’s what I want to focus on in today’s article.

Typically, sponsors serve as teachers, trainers, encouragers, product experts, compensation gurus, sources of inspiration, boundary enforcers, information centers, and much more. Additionally, many of these sponsors are actually very young in their journeys, and thus leaning on their sponsor for the same kind of help they are trying to give others. Each of them deserves a standing ovation for every day they stay in the mix.

KEY QUESTION:  What is the company’s role in supporting and equipping sponsors to be GREAT at what they do?  They want to be effective and successful, their sponsors want them to be successful, and the company wants them to be successful, no doubt. Yet frequently there is no specific training or defined pathway for becoming a great sponsor. Often, it’s more “Catch what you can, when you can, if you can!” for them.

No doubt some veterans take this very seriously and give their best efforts, but sadly, this needed training remains far from the top of the priority list in so many companies.

This is not optimal, but it’s understandable. The corporate team is busy, most associates are very part-time, time for training in general is scarce, and the upline veterans have their hands full already. However, there is a price to be paid for leaving skills training – such as being a great sponsor – to something akin to chance.

OPPORTUNITY IS STARING US IN THE FACE

We know that people respond to product offerings. Some purchase at full retail. Some go on to become preferred customers. Some go on to become Distributors.

Some engage the business casually. And some move through the ranks as they choose. In the midst of it all, quite a few purchasers / preferred customers will cross over from purchaser to seller. And every one of those people deserve the company’s best efforts to help them become competent, comfortable and confident.

“But that’s the role of the upline!” I understand this has been the typical approach for a long time, but the view has shifted dramatically over the past few years. Consider this:

• The highly-skilled sponsors in most companies comprise a small percentage of the active Distributors.
• A percentage of those choosing to become Distributors (sellers) are not structurally near the highly-skilled sponsor above them.
• Those who are close to a highly-skilled sponsor will typically not get a lot of time with her or him.
• There can be (and often is) notable variation in how different leaders present basic orientation and training.
• New Distributors need simple, absorbable and duplicable tools.
• Everyone using the same “playbook” is a win for each and every Distributor.
• Efforts invested here consistently can increase productivity.
• A collaborative content-creation group of corporate staff and veteran Distributors can design this in a relatively short period of time.
• Great sponsors support sales, volume, revenue and growth for the company.

Some in our companies will say, “We have videos on our website that address some of this.” We do well to look at it from a different angle: How many people have watched those videos all the way through? How frequently do we hear stories of people using the videos and increasing their retention and volume? Are we seeing any growth in retention of engaged associates, or is it flat-lined? Is the challenge to build GREAT sponsors worth the effort?

Some others in our companies will say, “The existing sponsors can handle it; we don’t need to get in that loop.” Again, look at it from a different angle: When a purchaser or preferred customer chooses to start selling, we owe them all the resources we can muster. They come with hope and the willingness to try something that is probably totally new for them. They are “buying into” more than just their upline; they are now willing to speak and act in support and endorsement of the brand at large. Many, if not most of them, have a sponsor not fully equipped to train them. Without guidance, a new seller – who will face “no’s”  or “let me think about it” responses in their natural market- may quickly set selling aside and default to just purchasing.

Minimal efforts to equip new Distributors get minimal results. And, while maximal efforts here do not guarantee anything, real-world and relevant training will capture the attention of some new Distributors. And that can…

• Accelerate their learning curve,
• Build their confidence,
• Increase their sales,
• Support retention of their purchasing base,
• Lead to duplication of these their skills in more new associates.

What if there was a 3% growth in retention of active Distributors? What if it was 5%?

The point here is simple: The business relies on committed, competent, confident and consistent Distributors. So, taking a minimal or arms-length approach to equipping them is unwise.

We can take this statement to the bank: “People don’t respond much to what is said or published; they respond to what is EMPHASIZED!” If we believe strongly that GREAT sponsors are keys to our future growth in all categories, then creating and continually emphasizing solid tools for them makes perfect sense.


TRAINING WE CAN OFFER OUR NEW SPONSORS / DISTRIBUTORS

New sponsoring Distributors have much to learn and master. Most of them need specific guidance and direction, enabling them to start building their own business. Even more important is their ability to then transmit the learning to their downline. This is why simple and duplicable strategies are essential, and companies who choose to own the training will be in an advantaged position.

Here are some example modules we can create and provide for our associates:

I. CELEBRATE THEIR DECISION TO BUILD!

A. Thank them for their trust, affirm their choice, and pledge support / help

B. Give them a vision of what’s ahead

1. Influencing the thinking, behavior and development of others
2. Adding value to their lives with our products
3. Learning as you go and increasing leadership skills
4. Receiving help and coaching from your upline
5. Growing in competence, comfort and competence

C. You’ll enjoy the intangible and tangible rewards that can come with our business

II. PERSPECTIVE ON THE PROCESS THEY ARE BEGINNING

A. There is so much common ground

1. You AND your new Distributors are all “volunteers”; you do what you do for reasons that matter to you
2. You and your Distributors work your businesses with discretionary time (Free to choose how much time / effort you will invest)
3. Your leverage with others is your character, commitment and consistency
4. Leading others here is influence, not management
5. Your role is to guide and equip those who want to build

B. Your upline knows all of this; ask for their help and support as you go

C. The target is to make progress in the process

1. Keep a narrow focus initially: what do I do next?
2. Emphasize action; knowledge will come as you go
3. There is a learning curve with anything new; be patient with yourself
4. You may move fast; others may move slower or faster; it’s not a contest

III. STRATEGIES AND MECHANICS TO MASTER

A. Learn and role-play key behaviors (repetition increases skill)

1. The mindset for a relaxed conversation with a prospect
2. Learn to share a story that’s real in you and relevant to others
3. Speak confidently about products you value; simple and short
4. Ask relevant questions, and listen carefully to what’s said
5. Embrace the reality of questions; they are to be expected and most often are a signal of interest
6. Respond well to “No” or “Not now”

B. Develop language for comfortably moving to a decision; stay with it

1. Summarize: “Here’s what I heard you say…”
2. Identify: “I really hear that…I remember my own experience with…”
3. Affirm: “I’m confident I can help you, and I pledge that I will…”
4. Recommend: An affordable group of products that meets the target
5. Ask: “Let’s go ahead and place your order now, okay?”

C. Having business conversations with downline associates

1. Reinforcement: “Let’s walk through this again and nail it down”
2. Clarifying: “Tell me where you are with this; I want to serve you well”
3. Corrective: “Your energy is great; let me help you with some changes we need to look at…”
4. Boundaries: “I’m for you; I’m sensing resistance to what we agreed we would do together… Can we talk about that?”

IT’S WORTH IT FOR EVERYONE

Distributors are the most valuable assets. When equipped and enthusiastic, they can accomplish so much that matters to so many. Knowing that, helping them become GREAT sponsors makes perfect sense.

Many years ago, my mentors in the financial services industry modeled for me extreme ownership of their highly successful business. They understood that the quality of their investment in a client could literally change the trajectory of that client’s life. They never handed key / critical matters off to other members of their team. They counted it their responsibility and privilege to ensure that clients received the best counsel and support possible, personally. I’m now an advocate of that approach. One of their favorite sayings is timely for us right now: “If you own your own business, then be SURE you OWN your business.” Let’s own our businesses, and give our people the tools they need to succeed.

Footnote:
Video modules make the most sense, with a corporate team member and a respected Distributor guiding the conversation. Six to eight minutes is common, but remember that people who really want to learn will stay with you longer if the content is solid. And, spreading out the content in absorbable segments is preferred over attempting to cover everything in one setting.

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As an Associate with Strategic Choice Partners, Rick helps companies update their sales efforts in a way that works in today’s direct selling climate while also taking into account the quickly moving landscape from a regulatory perspective.

Becoming Brilliant in the Basics: What is the Company’s Responsibility for Sales Training?

“Pay attention to detail; leave nothing to chance.” My mentor in direct sales stood on this maxim daily, and I watched as he proved its value again and again.  It is timeless wisdom we would do well to heed.

One of the “detail” items that can be amplified and accelerated in our companies now is the development of “specific guidance for people to use in their selling conversations”. Why? Let’s reflect for a moment on things we already know:

• The vast majority of our associates have never been in a sales venture.
• Many, if not most, have no appetite for “selling”, even though it’s what we do.
• They will “share “ the product with others if they believe it to be high value.
• They either “fly solo” in their efforts, or are directed by their upline to “just do what I do.”
• Statistically, and for many reasons, most stop trying fairly soon.

So, what do we do with all that? In an industry that, for years, has relied so heavily on a “This is just how we do it!” mentality, the corporate team finds itself at an interesting and recurring crossroads when it comes to sales training. Here are some approaches I’ve seen over the years:

* Leave all sales-training to the upline leaders; let them train as they choose. After all, they know best, don’t they? They have the track record to prove they know what it takes to be successful. This is problematic; the company is ultimately responsible, and accountable, for all content produced.

* Provide some resources on websites or in conferences, but with little energy or planning. The problem with this approach is it takes more of a “check it off my to-do list” approach. Sure, you can say training is available. But is it any good? Is it actually what you want to see duplicated? If it’s worth doing at all, it’s worth doing with excellence and energy.

* Employ the motivational challenge of “You’ve just got to talk to more people.” The content of the training doesn’t matter quite as much as the sharing of that content. But, of course, the content does a lot.

We are better than any of that. Or at least, we should be.

Before serving for 20+ years as an executive in direct sales, I worked as a registered representative for a financial services company. The sales training I received during that tenure was unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. It was thorough, detailed, accurate and, most importantly, effective. I understand fully that what we do in our industry is not the same as my previous engagement. Yet, I see a tremendous opportunity for us to find some healthy, engaging and profitable middle ground for our companies to “own sales training”. What if our efforts here increased retention, engagement, and sales by just 5%? Would that be worth the effort?

3 Reasons the Company Must Take on Full Responsibility for Training

The rationale for a company to fully own sales training and provide associates with the needed guidance is sound.

First, from a regulatory standpoint, each company is 100% responsible for any messaging presented to consumers by the company, by associates, in any form and via any method / tool. That’s sobering, but it’s true. We do well to own this, and certainly can engage key associates to help create and refine it. But the company must be its owner, ultimately.

Second, our messaging shapes the way consumers view us. So, it’s a big deal. Our websites, videos, promotions and imaging are meticulously reviewed to ensure a “best foot forward” effort. Why not apply that same diligence to a simple, cohesive and duplicable guide for the entire associate base?

Third, simple processes can be duplicated quickly by existing associates and absorbed quickly by new associates. Duplication is a key part of what we do; it’s wise to standardize tools and move away from many versions of trainings that result in confusion. This confusion consumes precious time that could be given to business-building activities. With the participation of veteran leaders, companies can establish  content in a standardized guide and drive it deep for the entire organization. An environment wherein everyone uses the same messaging – along with their respective styles, strengths and personalities – will unify and solidify key components of the business.

It is worth noting that today some US companies are being very specific and directive with messaging, and strongly recommending that it be employed across the company. It appears that a unified message is actually quite successful. Simple, clear and duplicable works well.

Training Basic Selling Skills: Where to Start

What selling skills do we train? With so many companies and products inside our industry, any recommendations will have to be modified to accommodate the company’s unique offerings. That said, here are intentionally simple, duplicable examples of the training we can and should provide for our associates. They are not intended to be scripts, although the language is solid. But if you’re not exactly sure where to start, creating training that addresses the topics listed below is a perfect guideline for you.

1. Your Mindset for a Relaxed Conversation

• I’m meeting / talking with a valued friend.
• I’m sharing good things with my friend…things that matter to me.
• I’m a bit nervous since I just started, and it’s OK to share that with my friend.
• I’ll own what I know, and what I don’t know.
• My friend may or may not have interest; either is OK.
• I will learn a lot about me and about this process; that’s a win!
• I’ll get better with repetition.

2. Sharing Your Story in 2-3 Minutes

• Invest some time affirming your relationship with the prospect.
• A question: “May I share with you something I have found?”
• Where I was when I learned about this.
• What I saw and heard, and what I felt.
• What I did (purchased / used product, enrolled, etc).
• The results I’ve seen and value I’ve found here.
• A question: “Does any of that pique your interest?”

3. Being Comfortable with Questions

• Questions are to be expected; we all ask them.
• Affirm the question with a smile.
• Questions are most often signals of interest.
• Give simple answers if you can; say “ I don’t know” if you don’t.
• Pledge to get the answer if you don’t know.
• Ask, “Are there any other questions that come to mind?”
• Continue the conversation.

4. Asking Good Questions and Listening Carefully

• Have you ever used products like this?
• What was your experience?
• What did you like or not like about it?
• Why did you stop?
• May I ask what kind of support you received?
• Would you be open to trying my product?
• May I offer you a plan to get started?

5. Language for Moving to a Decision

• Summarize: “So, here’s what I’ve heard you say… did I get that right?”
• Identify: “I understand… I recognized I needed to do something new.”
• Affirm: “I really believe I can help you here, and I pledge that I will.”
• Recommend: “Here’s what I recommend for you today…”
• Ask: “Let’s go ahead and place your order, okay?”

As simple and obvious as these may seem, they work and can make a massive difference in how associates develop in pursuit of their goals. My experience with so many companies today is that they bypass these simple, foundational trainings and instead seek out trendier topics or novel approaches, hoping to find a shortcut to success. Online marketing and social media techniques have certainly accelerated this approach. But ask yourself this question: what happens when my new associate makes a connection on social? Won’t they still need to address the same questions I’ve listed above?

Regardless of the medium used to share these message, the content itself needs to be crystal clear to your new associate. From there, sharing gets so much more comfortable, across any communication channel.

Make the Transition in Your Training

Our respective teams of associates are precious gifts, and we should steward them with the very best we have to offer. Equipping them to be competent, comfortable and confident in the marketplace is a privilege and responsibility that rests on our shoulders. If we do this well, they can accelerate their growth…

• From mechanical to relational
• From tense or intense to relaxed
• From monologues to conversations
• From “telling” to partnering
• From heavy promotion to attracting and drawing others to join

Finally, I repeat the initial quote from my mentor: “Pay attention to detail; leave nothing to chance.”

Footnote: Video presentations with PowerPoint and two “live” trainers guiding the conversation are effective. And, utilizing role-play scenarios in the videos will amplify the learning notably. Additionally, making the text versions available for download from your website can be useful to many.

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A real, economically sustainable success can never fully be tied to one determinant. In my opinion, it is the result of a combination of five factors:

Compensation Plan

Despite a widely accepted belief among entrepreneurs, the compensation plan should never be the starting point for a new venture. Nor could it bring success (regardless of how well-developed it can be), if the other pillars that I will explain are not strong enough.

All good compensation plans on the other hand, has several common characteristics:

• It is an integral part of the overall company strategy.
• It rewards all (and only the) key behaviors on the field.
• It is easy to understand, easy to explain.
• It provides unlimited income opportunity to the direct seller.
• It is a controlled expense to the company.
• It is in full compliance with regulations.

Have you noticed I have not mentioned “being new / unused” or “having the biggest payout”?

Operations

Operations within this context encompasses all tasks that are to be accomplished for the purpose of enabling the independent direct seller to build and grow his/her business.

This pillar consists of such building blocks as product procurement, distribution, information technologies, commissions payouts, customer services to give a few examples.

A not-so-well constructed operations brings only crises… on a daily basis. Some of these could be small and some of them more substantial. Yet, some of the crises could be quite catastrophic.

Communication

Good communication is vital in direct selling, period. There are two major aspects of this as far as we are concerned: Field and general public.

Field communication includes a) all “transmission” to the direct sellers to help continue their businesses smoothly, and b) keeping the channels open for them to facilitate their voices being heard.

Communication with the public, serves two purposes: Building awareness and trust towards the brand among people and voluntarily representing oneself to the authorities.

Compliance

Thanks to the bad apples in the industry, this pillar has been more important than ever before. Regulators around the world are bringing in tighter restrictions every day and consequently, compensation plans and “claims” are being scrutinized heavily. Therefore, it is essential to make sure every aspect of a company’s dealings with direct sellers and the direct sellers’ with end-users are in full compliance with the regulations in that market.

Needles to say, failures in this area only lead to investigations, substantial fines and sometimes, to closures of that business. The harm done to the industry as a whole is an additional collateral damage.

Training

A well-prepared training strategy is critical in becoming a winning direct sales venture. In essence, the objective of training is to show the field members ways to do their businesses better and to earn more.

Field training has several sub-headings like product, selling techniques, working with the compensation plan, leadership, compliance etc. And each of these will have to be provided in various levels such as introductory, mid-level and advanced.

The primary benefit expected to be provided to the field is “knowledge”. Yet, an important side-benefit is always “motivation”. So, this part should never be neglected.

Product Portfolio

No, I have not forgotten about the products. It is just so obvious that there should be a reasonable product portfolio that will be demanded by the end users and wide enough to allow independent direct sellers to make money. Without it, those five pillars above will take the business nowhere but to a launch that is doomed to fail.

…..

Hakki Ozmorali is the Founder of WDS Consultancy, a management consulting and online publishing firm in Canada, specialized in providing services to direct selling firms. WDS Consultancy is a Supplier Member of the Canada DSA. It is the publisher of The World of Direct Selling, global industry’s leading weekly online publication since 2010. Hakki is an experienced professional with a strong background in direct sales. His work experiences in direct selling include Country and Regional Manager roles at various multinationals. You can contact Hakki here.

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Guest post by Daryl Wurzbacher
How Your Competitors Use Technology to Stay Ahead

By leveraging technology in the right areas, it enables direct sales companies to create a frictionless experience that eliminates or significantly reduces the obstacles representatives and customers typically experience when interacting with your brand. Delivering this type of experience not only improves the likelihood of a sale, but it also allows your business to operate at much faster speeds gaining dramatic increases in economic efficiency.



When given a choice between companies that just leverage technology, and those that choose the RIGHT technology and RIGHT solution that impacts the overall brand experience –  the companies with the “right” technology win every time. So what can you do to leverage technology the right way to compete in the modern marketplace? I believe this boils down to 3 pillars:

1) Credibility – Your technology has to provide credibility for your brand and elevate the reputation of your Representatives. You must build and maintain credibility for Representatives to put their reputation on the line by sharing their replicated website, the products and your overall brand experience with their Customers. I believe one of the biggest “risks” Direct Sales companies face comes from the field putting their credibility on the line; if the company fails the credibility test it’s a huge issue.

2) Simplify – Your technology has to simplify the experience for Representatives & Customers. It is essential to avoid the tendency that I see in technology where things become more complex. The quote you commonly hear is that “humans have a shorter attention span than a goldfish.” If you watch consumer behavior, you can see this with the rise in popularity of sped-up cooking videos on Facebook,  and the increase of short videos on Snapchat and Instagram. People expect to get what they need, NOW, in a SIMPLE WAY

3) Automate – Your technology has to provide a consistent onboarding and ongoing experience for your Representatives. You need to be able to deliver training and coaching at the time when it’s needed. When a Representative gets their first Customer sale, you should be coaching them on what they need; or when they’re close to the next rank you should be mentoring them on the specific actions they need to take to promote. Additionally, your technology should provide relevant education that is delivered in bite sized trainings that can be immediately applied.
 
Today, we will focus on what credibility means in direct sales. At the core, credibility is a feedback loop:

This feedback loop is moving faster than ever before, and inadequate technology fuels an instant reaction. There is a zero-tolerance to slow or down websites and poor online experiences.

When a new Representative joins your company, one of their first actions it to look at their replicated website. While they’re new and excited, this is the time when they’ll share this website with their community – putting their credibility on the line. Your replicated websites should include:

• A modern user interface with a beautiful design
• Intuitive navigation with accurate menu titles
• Be fast with no delays
• The Representative’s photo, their story, and other personal information they choose to share.

 
Today consumers expect an easy online experience regardless of the device they use – phone, tablet or desktop. I’ve heard stories of Representatives being ashamed to share their website due to the poor user experience. If your Representatives are embarrassed to share their website — they’re not going to stake their credibility on your brand or product line.



How does your e-Commerce experience stack up against Amazon? That is the comparison your customers are making when they evaluate your credibility. To deliver a modern experience to your customers, think about including:

• Authentic product reviews
• Beautiful images
• Related products linked to each product
• Clean categorization of your products
• Wish List
• Links for Social Sharing that are associated with an individual representative for commissions

 
When you take a step back and intentionally design your online experience for the user’s journey, it enhances your brand. The key is that you must make it EASY for people to buy from you. The best advice I can give you is to go through your website as if you were a consumer. What does the experience look like? What needs to be changed? If you aren’t sure what to look for, ask a family member or friend whose opinion you respect to give you honest feedback.

As you build your credibility, you also build recognition, loyalty, and competitiveness. As an added benefit, you will discover that credibility has a direct connection to a customer’s intent to purchase. We all want to buy from companies we trust, like, and know.

Credibility, like respect, must be earned. I hope that these tips will assist you in laying a foundation of trust and consistency that will grow into a solid reputation based on credibility.

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Guest Post by Vince Han
What Direct Sellers Can Learn from the Corporate Training Industry

The success of any direct selling organization is determined by how knowledgeable, skilled and motivated their field distributors are. Thus training has always been a major pillar of a direct seller’s sales and marketing strategy.

Similarly, large corporations (or any size corporation for that matter) are only successful as far as their people are able to carry them. All major corporations have a team dedicated to training and developing their people. These teams are often called L&D (Learning and Development) or Talent Management teams.

Of course, direct sellers differ because their sales organizations are not employees that report to an office and a manager,subject to promotions or firings based an annual performance review. No, direct sellers have a decidedly unique challenge in influencing and shaping the development of its army of entrepreneurs. That said, there is much that direct sellers can learn from the structured, methodical way that corporations train and develop their staff.

Here are the top lessons that direct sellers can learn from corporate training best practices:

• Enable learning technology 

Corporations have turned to learning technologies such as Learning Management Systems, chatbots, e-learning courses, e-learning libraries and alike to empower employees to be able to constantly learn and develop. These tools also allow the organization to manage and measure all the learning that takes place. Direct sellers can take advantage of the plethora of learning technologies that have been developed in the past decade to power the development of their field.

• Hire instructional designers

Believe or not, there is an army of specialists whose expertise is designing training to be most effective for a learning audience. Direct sellers can tap into this talent pool to update their training materials to meet today’s ever changing digital workforce.

• Establish a training ROI sensibility and measurement infrastructure

In an always data-driven environment, corporations are insisting that every investment have an ROI associated with it. Why should training be any different? Smart organizations can tie training initiatives to business outcomes, thereby manage their investments strategically and wisely. Direct sellers should be able to ask themselves, “If we teach a certain skill, how can we measure its outcome?”

• Identify skills gaps

A key element in many corporation’s training strategy is to start with assessments to determine skills gaps. Whether a “360” assessment or some kind of personality guide assessment, helping people recognize their strengths and gaps is an important prerequisite to getting their buy-in with whatever training they need.

• Espouse a career-building philosophy

Today’s workforce is accustomed to the idea that they are highly likely to switch jobs a number of times throughout their career. In fact, a recent PwC study^[1]showed that millennials most valued the opportunity to learn and grow when asked about what is most important to them in the workplace–rating it even higher than salary. Employers that help “up skill” their workforce do risk that they will be investing in their people only to benefit a future employer,but they risk even more by not training them. There is an purported exchange between executives of a major corporation that went like this:

CFO: “What happens if we train our people and they leave?”

CEO: “What happens if we don’t and they stay?”

Corporations cannot afford to ignore building the skill sets and careers of the people they most depend on.

• Make required training accessible and engaging

“Performance support” is a training buzzword that has really taken root among training professionals in recent years. The term refers to providing resources for an employee to help them do their job (e.g. imagine a job aid such as a picture of a pizza to help someone at a pizza store know what toppings to put on each type of pizza). In complex job functions like sales, providing resources at a learner’s fingertips delivers huge value to the learning curve of that person. Direct selling companies need to deliver training resources right at the fingertips of their field and that training should be easy to navigate and intellectually engaging.

• Understand the role of the manager

Corporations understand that training is only as effective as what lessons end up being applied on the job. Gone should be the days when someone attends a training and takes copious notes, only to forget everything learned a week later. Training is exponentially more effective when one’s manager gets personally involved in the training process. For example, what if your manager approached you and said, “Vince, I’m sending you to a training to learn how to work pivot tables in a spreadsheet. This is a vitally important skill that our team doesn’t have.When you get back, you’ll teach it to the rest of us.” In this scenario, how much more likely is Vince to pay attention and really focus on learning the training? A lot more. Similarly, if a new distributor’s sponsor or leader took express interest in the training path of their new team member, that training would be that much more meaningful and effective.

Direct selling companies can benefit tremendously by implementing these ideas and best practices garnered from the corporate training industry and, as they do so, they will not only see a more successful sales field but also a more loyal one.

^1] https://www.pwc.de/de/prozessoptimierung/assets/millennials-at-work-2011.pdf

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Ten of such issues seem to be outpacing others in significance.

1. Strategy

While this may seem a no-brainer to many, do you know how many start ups do not have a clear strategy and fail just because of lacking it?

2. Management

I believe this does not require much explanation. That said, direct selling companies that have failed due to poor top management are not so few. Alongside with having all necessary skills, the management in a direct selling company also has to learn well and respect the dynamics of this industry.

3. Products

Whether it be goods or services, the company needs to offer products that

a)    are of value to the end-user, and
b)    will create enough income to the sales organization.

4. Compensation Plan

A good compensation plan is the one that promotes the direct seller behaviors in line with company’s strategy, that creates unlimited income opportunities to the field, and where commissions are limited by the company’s overall bonus payout percentage.

5. Service / Operations

If the company has not taken all measures to provide a good-quality service to the direct sellers, it can just forget about succeeding. Good quality service includes fast and reliable order-taking and delivery, fast and proper communication, correct calculation and timely payment of commissions, and honestly, plus many others.

6. Training

No direct selling company on earth says it does not emphasize field training. On the contrary, many put this item on top of the list of areas that they are very good at. But, is it so in reality? Without high-quality training, it is simply not possible to move the full-timers towards company’s strategic targets and to have the part-timers climb the career ladder to become full-timers.

7. Communications

This is still a field that still has not gained the importance that it should have in some of the direct selling companies. This situation is quite ironic in an industry that claims to be “people business”. I believe not too few people would agree with me.

8. Motivation

With the disclosures of commissions data by various direct selling firms, it has now been publicized that a majority of the sales organizations consist of users and part-timers. Not only this very large group, but also the full-timers need to be constantly motivated by the company to be able to maintain and even grow their businesses.

9. Planning

It can be a short-term promotional campaign or for instance, a very long-term retention program. All such actions must be planned well with all the possible good and bad consequences in mind.

10. Sustainability

A vital issue in direct selling. To attract and further grow successful field leaders who would stay loyal to the company for years can only be achieved through a sustainable business.

I have seen many cases where the entrepreneur sees a successful direct selling firm in a product category and decides to take this route. However, success here is not that easy to achieve without taking into consideration all the universal managerial issues and the issues that are unique to this industry.

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