3 Stats Direct Selling Companies Must Pay More Attention to in 2022

One of the things I love about my job as a consultant to direct selling companies is that I get to work with a variety of companies at a variety of stages. And while I see little nuances and differences among them all, I can promise you that all direct selling companies have much more in common than they think.

So, when I start to see some work that I’m doing with several clients resonate at a really high level, it makes me think, “That would make for a great article!” And today’s article is most definitely birthed from that very experience.

Even though my roots in direct selling are as a marketing guy, I’m really quite the data hound. In fact, I would say all great marketers in today’s digital age need to be. So I’ve had a lot of fun over the past couple years helping companies uncover the data that matters for the strategies they’re considering. And there have been three reports that, over and over again, seem to get the most attention.

So as we kick off 2022, my resolution for all of us is to pay more attention to the right data. And the right data is data that shows us the real-life behaviors and responses that our Customers and Distributors are having to our company. These three report suggestions are definitely capable of creating your next big “a-ha” moment, so if you’re not tracking these KPIs, I urge you to begin.

Purchasing Segments for Customers and Distributors

Over the last couple years, I’ve worked with lots of companies to put together updated Customer Programs to increase acquisition and retention. These are programs that are typically called things like “Customer Rewards” or “Loyalty Program” or “Preferred Customer Programs,” or a little bit of all of the above. Regardless, there’s no doubt that today’s direct selling company is more focused on acquiring more new Customers and getting current Customers to purchase more.

As I start working through a program that makes sense for the company, I’ve found that there’s one report I request that always clarifies where the focus should be more than others. Some companies track this info regularly; most do not.

What you need to understand is how often and how much your current Customers and Distributors purchase from you over the span of 12 months. To do this, I like to create about five buckets, or segments, and place all of your current Customers and Distributors into one of these buckets:

• Purchased only 1 time the past 12 months.
• Purchased 2-3 times …
• Purchased 4-6 times …
• Purchased 7-10 times …
• Purchased 11+ times …

Then, for each segment, I want to know the total revenue generated by that segment, the total # of orders and the average order size.

Split up your Customers and Distributors so you can look at the data for each separately (which means you end up with a total of 10 buckets). Also, adjust the ranges in a way that fits your company. If it makes more sense for the top tier to be 12+ orders, change it. But I would not change the first two, at the least. You definitely want to know how many Customers only purchased once, and you certainly don’t want to mix up your 4-timers with your 2-timers.

When you put this data together, you will be shocked at what it reveals pretty quickly, and how it will help you a) set reasonable expectations for these segments and b) create program updates that match those new expectations. The other thing it should do it also underscore the importance of segmenting your communication across all of your members (rather than just sending everyone everything).

There are all kinds of insights and industry benchmarks I can share here, but I’ll leave it with just one: the biggest group, at least for Customers, will be the one-timers (which may surprise you). I’ve seen the percentage of the total vary quite a bit across a few different companies, but it’s always the majority. The range I’ve seen has been as low at 55% and as high as 85%. So run the numbers for your company and see where it ends up. Inevitably, you will recognize that the real opportunities for increased productivity and retention are among those who order only 1 to 3 times a year.

Acquisition Segments for Distributors

Most companies have a decent handle on how many of their Distributors are active recruiters. But there’s another level you should take curiosity to that can help reveal opportunities in your business.

First, notice that I call these “Acquisition” Segments, instead of “Recruiting” or “Sponsoring.” I do this because, for many of us, “recruiting” implies signing up other Distributors. Some companies get so focused on Distributors getting Distributors that they lose sight of the Distributor’s primary job, which is to get Customers. “Acquisition,” to me, speaks to both Customers and Distributors.

So, for all of your existing active Distributors, create the following data tables:

Table 1: Customer Acquisition

• Distributors who have acquired zero Customers in the last 12 months.
• Distributors who have acquired one Customer ….
• Distributors who have acquired 2-3 Customers …
• … 4-6 Customers …
• … 7-10 Customers …
• … 11-15 Customers …
• … 15-20 Customers …
• … 20+ Customers …

Like before, once you get past 4-6 Customers, you may want to tweak the ranges in a way that makes more sense for your company. And, if you ever see a segment that looks too big, divide it into two if it helps you gain insights.

For each bucket here, find out the total revenue generated by Customers, the total orders and the avg. order size. This gives you an idea of the annual value of Customer Acquisition of your Distributors who are engaged at different levels.

Then, create similar segments for Distributor Acquisition

Table 2: Distributor Acquisition

• Distributors who have acquired zero Distributors in the last 12 months.
• Distributors who have acquired one Distributors ….
• Distributors who have acquired 2-3 Distributors …
• … 4-6 Distributors …
• … 7-10 Distributors …
• … 11-15 Distributors …
• … 15-20 Distributors …
• … 20+ Distributors …

For this group, you can pull numbers in a way that makes the most sense for you. At a minimum, show the revenue generated by the new Distributors brought in and their organizations (including personal purchases, Customer purchases and Distributor volume). You can add to it if you want, but what you’re really going for here is to understand the annual value of an acquisition. Among other things, once you have this information, you can make some great decisions on what and how you should invest in acquisition campaigns.

Fast Start Production for New Distributors

Most direct sales companies have a fast start program. And… most direct sales companies try to accomplish too much with their Fast Start Program. I’ve worked some companies that I felt really didn’t need a compensation plan because their Fast Start Program pretty much already covered it all!

I’m a firm believer that a Fast Start Program should cater to the “lowest common denominator” Distributor at the beginning and help reveal potential up-and-comers by the time it’s finished. And I’ve found that pulling some pretty simple data can help reveal just exactly where in the process a company should focus its Fast Start efforts.

So, let’s assume you have a 90-Day Fast Start Program, with three tiers, each ending on the 30^th day, 60^th day and 90^th day, respectively. In this case, pull the following data on your Fast Start participants:

Of all of the New Distributors who joined over a given period …

• How many didn’t achieve Fast Start at all?
• How many achieved Tier 1?
• How many achieved Tier 2?
• How many achieved Tier 3?

Now, for each of these segments of Distributors, show the following data two different ways. The first way is to show these numbers over the actual 90-day Fast Start period. In other words, what volume/activity did they drive during their actual Fast Start? Then, show the same data for their first full 12 months as a Distributor (which should include 3 months of Fast Start Period and then 9 months after). This should give you an idea of their first-year results.

• Total # of Distributors in this segment
• % of Total Distributors shown here
• Total Volume (this varies by company, but should account for all of their personal purchases, their Customers’ purchases and any volume driven by Distributors they sponsored.
• Total Customers acquired (or “sponsored”)
• Total Distributors sponsored

You can obviously slice and dice more data into this, but I would encourage you to start with just these basics and make sure you have a handle on the data before you start stretching it out.

If you’ve done this correctly, you should be able to figure out pretty quickly things like …

• What does a Tier 1 New Distributor typically produce in a year?
• Do we have the right balance in terms of how many New Distributors are escalating through the program?
• Is the criteria too difficult? Would we be better off engaging more people with easier criteria?
• What’s the value add when someone moves from Tier 2 to Tier 3 longterm?

Know Your Numbers

There’s no shortage of data in today’s world. The real issue that most direct sales companies deal with has more to do with a) paying attention to the right data and b) taking the time to actually assess the data and let it inform decisions.

We throw around the phrase “Key Performance Indicators” a lot, and they typically refer to ALL of our data. Which is why it seems so overwhelming to us. We forget that the whole idea of the concept of KPIs is “KEY.” We want to really pay attention to those “key” indicators, because they seem to influence a lot of the other stuff.

I certainly wouldn’t suggest that the three reports I’ve mentioned here cover everything a good KPI report would cover. But my experience shows me that most companies aren’t really tracking their data this way, and inevitably I’ve seen when they do, it brings visibility and clarity like never before.

Commit this year to tracking the work that actually matters in your business when it comes to your Customers and Distributors. Serve them best by truly understanding where they’re at and what they’re interested in. So often, we put together programs that never resonate with our people because they miss the mark of the masses.

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Trust and Communication: The Foundation of Success in Direct Sales

I’ve discovered what lies at the foundation of every success, and every failure, in direct sales.

It’s not a sales tool, or a new product. It’s not a promotion, or a tweak to the compensation plan. It’s not a great executive, or even a great field leader. Those things are all important, but you can have them all and still come up short.

What lies at the foundation of every success in direct sales is “Trust & Communication”. And, what lies at the foundation of every failure in direct sales is (a lack of) “Trust & Communication”.

In my own corporate experiences, and in working with many other clients, this simple but profound truth cannot be ignored: Both success and failure are directly linked to the level of trust a company has established and the effectiveness of their communication.

It works in every possible relationship of our business: from corporate office to Distributor; from Distributor to Distributor; from office to customer; from Distributor to customer; and everything in between. For this article, I’m going to use the “office-to-Distributor” scenario for most of my examples.

Note that I have linked “Trust & Communication” together as a single component, not as two separate components. That’s on purpose, and here’s why: One impacts the other (both positively and negatively). They cannot be thought of separately, because they cannot exist separately. They are two sides of the same coin. Phases of a single cycle that continually feed off of each other.

Let’s break that thought down a little bit further, in a positive light. If you trust me, then you are more open to communication from me, right? You don’t spend time questioning my motives or wondering what’s really going on, what I’m really thinking. You just trust me, so you focus on the message being communicated. Likewise, because I communicate with you effectively, you trust me more. Which means you become even more open to communication, and so on and so on.

Now, let’s look at it in a more challenged situation. If you do not trust me, then you’re not very open to my communication efforts, and they are often received hesitantly and with skepticism. If I don’t communicate well, or often, or not at all, then your trust decreases, which then makes you less open to communication, and so on.

“Brett, why are you spending so much time making such a simple and seemingly obvious point?” Because every challenge in direct sales you’re facing now or will face in the future will at the least be indirectly impacted by Trust & Communication, and in many cases is actually caused by a breakdown in Trust & Communication. Put another way, while more specific issues may get the blame for any challenges a direct sales company is facing, more times than not the real guilty party is a lack of adequate Trust & Communication.

In rare occasions, the breakdown in Trust & Communication is deliberate; most of the time, it is accidental, due to a lack of preparation or awareness.

Here are just a few common examples:

Company A is set to launch a new back office system set to be a game changer for the business. They announce one date for launch, only to have to announce another date later, and then another date after that. Pretty soon, Company A stops talking about it so much, which leads the field to wonder what’s happening, which lowers trust moving forward. Because the communication was inaccurate, then less frequent, trust decreased.

You may be tempted to say the back office system is the issue here. But it’s not. Back office systems are always difficult to implement, and they never go as planned. But companies get through that. The real issue here was in Trust & Communication. It’s how the roll out of the new system was being handled that caused the biggest issues. If the Home Office tapped the brakes after the second or third push of the date, then explained that a) things haven’t gone exactly as planned, b) we don’t want to introduce anything to the field that hasn’t been properly tested, c) we will continue to update you on progress, d) we apologize for the confusion from this, and e) we ask that you focus on working your business right now and we will get this to you as soon as possible, then you still would have had some Distributors upset, but the “Trust” would not decrease anywhere near as much, which means they would continue to be open to your “Communication” as you worked through the issue.

If they stop trusting you, they stop listening to you. And if your tribe isn’t listening to you, it gets really hard to lead them anywhere.

Company B just revised their compensation plan, and significant changes were made in how leader’s will earn income that is less than their earning potential before (or at least it’s perceived that way). The Company announces the changes but doesn’t effectively communicate the reasons behind the changes. In addition, the Company has more of a “get on board” attitude about it. Because the communication falls short of helping people understand the reasons behind the change, and because it rushes past any form of empathy, a distrust is created with the field, which then makes any future communication hard to receive, which only further negatively impacts trust. Because the communication was “incomplete,” trust decreased.

In this instance, it’s the tone and style of communication that really makes the difference. The end result may be the same: you have to make the change to the compensation plan, and you have to do it no matter how many people get on board or not. Sometimes, this is just how it is. However, to have a well-planned schedule and approach to sharing this information with the right people at the right times, giving them a chance to understand and comprehend it all, and giving them a chance to share their thoughts (whether they can impact the end decision or not) drastically improves how the communication is received, and therefore drastically improves how these new programs are rolled out.

I bet you have your own stories. And I bet as you take a good look at them, you can see where Trust & Communication were the real key to success or failure in each one.

By the way, the Trust & Communication principle doesn’t just apply to direct sales. It appears to be universal.

The interesting thing here is that there isn’t such a thing as a “Trust Switch” that you can just flip on. It’s something you have to constantly attend to, recognizing the benefits of doing the work to build Trust today likely won’t be seen for months or even years to come. You have to do it anyway.

And while there are no shortcuts to trust, there is a pretty clear path: honest and ongoing communication. Your Distributors must have access to you in some form (be it in person, on Facebook lives or even simple emails) on a regular basis for trust to be built. So if you’re facing a challenge with trust between the Corporate Office and the field, start communicating constantly.

Here are just a few practical thoughts to keep in mind as you get more intentional about building Trust & Communication properly in your business (and life):

1. You can control how you communicate. Start here.
You don’t get to dictate if others trust in you or not; that’s up to them. You can do things to influence their trust journey, and that starts with communication. If you find yourself in a low-trust environment, go beyond what you feel is “normal” for communication, in terms of frequency and transparency. And remember that communication is a two-way street. Make sure you’re available and open to the communication of others. This often impacts their trust in you more than anything.

2. You can choose to trust others.
While you can’t force others to trust in you, you can decide to trust others. People have a way of instinctively sniffing out if you don’t trust them, which only makes them not trust you. Make the choice to trust others as much as possible, and set the example.Side note: “Trusting others” doesn’t mean you do whatever they want. Sometimes that’s just not possible.

3. Communicate more frequently with leaders.
This point is key for direct sales. Your field leaders don’t only have questions themselves, but they’re also getting questions from their team members. Invest time in this group, and over-communicate. “Over-communicate” means you communicate often, and you repeat important messages often. Inform them, equip them, empower them and include them. Not only will this open the opportunity to rebuild trust, but it will also help them share the correct message moving forward.

4. Don’t communicate messages that aren’t ready to be communicated.
We direct sellers are so guilty of this. Stop sharing dates for launches of stuff that’s not ready yet. Stop sharing info that’s not final yet. This is always good guidance, but it’s especially important when trust is low. Expectations for your communication are low when trust is low, so reset those expectations. Create an environment over time where people know that what you communicate can be counted on.

5. Be quick to apologize and correct.
No matter what, you’re going to make a mistake. Sometimes, it’s something you have absolutely zero control over. Other times, you did have control, and you just screwed up. It happens. When it does, apologize quickly, and communicate your plans moving forward.Sometimes, it makes sense (at the time) to break Point #4 above and communicate something a little early, only to see a need to change your plans. When it does, just apologize, and try to let be the exception instead of the rule. Sometimes an authentic apology for a mistake does more to build trust than doing it right in the first place.

6. Schedule time for proper communication.
As you plan for more frequent, more inclusive communication, make sure you allow the proper time for it. If you have something ready to launch on March 1, you may need to spend March 1 – March 31 communicating it properly with your different audiences, and launch it on April 1. Don’t skip the appropriate timelines for communication. It will make or break the success of whatever it is that you’re doing.

7. Trust comes from understanding your heart more than your head.
I’m guilty of diagramming and “Powerpointing” my audience to death at times. The details are important, and they need to be shared. But they don’t even compare to your heart.When it comes to building trust, people will connect with your heart, your emotions, your soul much more than anything else. For some of you, this comes naturally. For others, not so much. Regardless, people need to see it. Do what you need to do to share it. Direct sales is a very emotional business, so don’t ignore your own emotions when communicating.

As you navigate our way through so many new things in direct sales, it’s more important than ever to tend to Trust & Communication in a heightened way. Go the extra mile to intentionally do this well. You’ll not only love the results, but even the process.

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The Truth About Your Top Leaders

There’s a good chance I end up regretting that I wrote this article.

I can feel the hostility and defensiveness forming now. The “virtual vegetables” being thrown my direction. The accusations of blasphemy, even.

I’ve talked myself out of writing this article several times this year. While the topic continually pops to the front of the line in my brain when I’m up for a new post, I’ve desperately searched for other subjects to write about to avoid it altogether. I figured I didn’t need the hassle the will inevitably come with it, and maybe it wasn’t the right audience for it.

But, alas, it’s a topic that won’t leave me alone. I guess its time has finally come. So here we go.

A few disclaimers before we dive in:

1. I work with corporate executives of direct sales companies. I have served as one myself in the past. So, while this article will be talking a lot about top field leaders, its target is actually the corporate executive.
2. I’ve shared these thoughts we a few companies over the last year or so, and I’ve always been surprised at just how well it has been received. Which only underscores the fact that it’s as much of a challenge and issue for direct selling companies as I observe that it is.
3. I love direct sales, and I love direct selling leaders. You will likely question my sincerity on this one several times over throughout this article, so I will likely repeat this fact throughout.
4. More importantly, I respect what top leaders have accomplished, immensely. I haven’t done it myself, and I probably couldn’t do it. On top of that, the character and work ethic that is required to make it happen is something I find beyond honorable.

OK, now that we have that out of the way, shall we get started?

The Game Has Changed

But first, an allegorical reference that I think could help.

I played baseball growing up, all the way into college. In many ways, it consumed my life until I was 20. I was pretty good at it, and played for a great program. Specifically, I was a pitcher. I was quite successful, and the last game I pitched in was in the College World Series. It was a good run.

Now, I have a 12-year old who is involved in Select Baseball, and I get to help coach the team. I love it. It takes a lot of our time, but it is so worth it. My son is also becoming quite a pitcher, so I’m trying to steward that talent in him the right way.

Here’s what I’ve realized, and I’ll keep referencing throughout this article: Baseball has changed since I played it last in 1997. I didn’t want it to, but it did. And my coaching for my son and his team in 2021 will only go so far until I accept, and adapt, to this fact. It’s as simple as that.

And while baseball has changed a lot over the last 25 years, I think direct selling has changed even more. And yet, I watch so many companies revert back to tactics and strategies that worked so well 10,15, 20 years ago. And I see so many companies hide behind the bravado and type-A personalities of their field leaders, while they hesitate to make the bold decisions that are necessary to adapt to the way the game is played today.

As I’ve shared with them what I’m about to share with you, I’ve seen heavy burdens lifted from their shoulders, and sparks of enlightenment twinkle in their eyes.

I know The World of Direct Selling has its fair share of both corporate executives and field leaders, so let me just say this again: This article’s primary audience is the corporate executive, but I’m also hoping it provides some enlightenment and guidance for field leaders to consider, too.

Two Undeniable Truths About Your Top Leaders

Corporate execs have such an interesting relationship with the top leaders in the field. They are the Distributors you will hear the most from, interact with the most and include the most in your planning and strategizing. On the one hand, you covet their buy-in and praise for everything you do. On the other hand, their constant requests, frequent complaints and occasional drama can push you to the edge at times.

It’s an interesting relationship, but it’s a necessary one. So learning how to best navigate it is of utmost important, for both parties.

Here’s truth #1 about your leaders: We love them, and we wouldn’t be where we are today without them. And, we want nothing but the best for them.

I’m going to assume we can all agree with this.

Here’s truth #2: In a direct sales company that’s 15 years old (maybe even 10?) or older, your current top leaders cannot be the source of your future growth.

I’ll wait just a second to let the sting wear off of that one for a bit.

I’m not speaking to the skills or capabilities or heart of your leaders. I’m simply speaking to the extremely logical facts surrounding their situation and yours. Let me break it down for you in three core points.

Direct Sales Has Dramatically and Fundamentally Changed

Many articles have been written here about the changes we’re facing in direct selling. I even wrote about 2019 as The Year Direct Selling As We Know It Changed Forever. So I don’t think we need to spend time making this point.

What we do need to spend time on is taking the next step in our thinking: If things have changed so much, then we must recognize that what worked well before might not (probably doesn’t) work so well now.

Your top leaders obviously did something right. There’s no disputing this. The real question is… “What is right for right now?” At least some of what your top leaders relied on before as a key part of their success doesn’t work the same and/or as well as it did when they were climbing the ranks. And yet, that’s the system they know the best and believe in the most. Because it’s the system that worked for them!

We all like to lean on “tried and true” methods. But too many of them aren’t “tried” as much anymore, and many aren’t quite as “true” as they used to be.

Let me dip back into my baseball allegory. There are mechanics and principles of pitching that I swore by, and my coaches swore by, as I was developing in the 1990s. They worked for me then. But as a coach, I’m realizing there are some key elements that I would swear by that professionals are telling me is not longer seen as a best practice.

For example, above all else, I was taught to keep the ball low. If I could keep most of my pitches down in the zone, then everything would be alright. Now, hitters have actually been trained to change the path of their swings, so that keeping the ball low on every pitch no longer makes sense. And it’s batting, not pitching, that has required pitchers to rethink this principle. Put another way, if I was pitching now, and I lived by the creed to keep all of my pitches down in the zone, I wouldn’t experience anywhere near the success I did in the ‘90s. Because the game has changed.

Don’t get me wrong; there are plenty of principles from the ‘90s that do still apply to today’s game. But sometimes even those need to be applied a little differently to adapt. Now that I’m a coach, I owe it to the kids I coach to learn the new principles as best I can, and teach them that. It won’t help them for me to show them the now outdated approach that I swore by in the ‘90s, no matter how much I loved it or how well it worked for me.

Harsh statement alert: Your top leaders aren’t the experts they think they are. It doesn’t mean they aren’t experts, and it certainly doesn’t mean they don’t know what they’re talking about at times. But my experience is they often lose sight of the fact that the game has changed, and those principles that worked so well for them, like 3-way calls or leading with opportunity or even in how they position their income claims, just don’t work the same way today (thanks to technology, the regulatory environment and the marketplace).

And even when what used to work still does work, it often doesn’t work as well, and requires a lot more work to get the same results.

They Don’t Have the Growth Mindset Like They Used To

Now I’m really stepping on toes.

It is very rare for your top leaders to truly have the growth mindset needed to grow your business. It’s not their fault; it’s human nature. If I was in their shoes, I would be the exact same way.

Your top leader has likely earned a great income with your business, and established a strong recurring paycheck. And this is awesome, because it is one of the great benefits of our model. So, your leader’s primary driver right now, especially if your company has experienced a recent decline in sales, is to keep what they have. Like I said, this is human nature. Your leaders will innately prioritize anything that keeps them from losing what they have over anything that will increase what they have.

This is an extremely understandable mindset. But it is not a growth mindset.

When your leaders started, they most definitely had a growth mindset. All they could do is grow. They had nothing to lose. Now, they have so much to lose. To expect them to not protect what they have for the good of the company overall is ridiculous. They have a maintenance mindset.

Hear me out: I’m not saying that your top leaders don’t want to grow. As a matter of fact, I can promise you that most of them do want to grow. But they want to grow without risking what they’ve already built. And that is where the friction lies.

They Don’t Have the Energy or Time They Once Had

Your top leaders have worked really hard for a really long time. And yet, it seems most companies continue to ask for even more from them because of their status. Which only exhausts and burdens them more, which ends up being unproductive.

Sure, these are the people that were your road warriors before, who would stand in front of the state until 1 a.m. talking with anyone and everyone who wanted to chat. They had a drive and energy that was unmatched, and, especially in those early years, the business essentially rose and fell with them.

Now, they are in a different place in life. They’ve been successful. They’ve reaped rewards for their work and commitment. To expect them to have the same drive and tenacity now that they had 15 years ago to get their (and your) business off the ground is unrealistic.

And yet we keep asking our top leaders to do the bulk of the work. Not only is it unfair to them, but it’s actually not the way our model works.

Direct selling is not made to succeed from the work of just a few top leaders. By its very nature, it rewards everyone the most when more people are doing a little bit of work and buying a little bit of product.

On top of that, especially if your company is experiencing a decline (which is inevitable if your 10 years old or older), that means your top leaders’ income has also dipped. And I’m sure, for many of them, that they are frustrated by the fact that, in some ways, they have to start all over again. At least it can feel that way sometimes. I’m sure many of them didn’t think they would still have to work this hard or this much to keep the business going.

So as the corporate leader, how much are you burdening amazing leaders to accomplish a mission they’ve already accomplished? Could it be that the corporate team is relying on those top leaders even more than the top leaders want to be relied upon?

There’s a Necessary Cycle to Direct Sales

The very design of this model creates the very issue we’ve been talking about. It’s an issue that rises up every 10-15 years. It has to do with generations of leaders. And I would daresay it is the fundamental component of longterm success for a direct sales company.

If your company is not seeing a new generation of top-performing leaders rise up every 10 years, you can almost guarantee a decline until you do. If your company continues to burden your top leaders with the responsibilities that should be given to that next generation of leadership, then you will stumble and shrink. Because this model celebrates the development of the next generation of leaders.

There are so many components to the “growth formula” for a direct sales company. To be honest, it’s no formula at all; every company is different. But I do think you’ll find these three elements at the core of any growing company in our channel:

• New People (Customers and Distributors): If new people aren’t coming in at a regular pace, then growth will not occur.
• Young Leaders (not in age, but in tenure and ranks): If new leaders aren’t rising up, then growth will eventually stall out.
• Market-friendly Offer: If you don’t have a great product and/or a great program to introduce those products that’s easy to share, then eventually people stop talking about you.

As a corporate executive, you are the steward of your business. And while it’s unfair to expect everyone to have a growth mindset in the field, it’s not unfair to expect you to always have it. In fact, that’s your job. The best way you can support everyone involved in your company is to nurture growth at every turn. I believe that starts with making sure the three components above are addressed and re-addressed on an ongoing basis.

And, it also means that you have to know how to receive the feedback from all of your constituents, and filter them accordingly. It’s not easy, but it’s necessary.

I hope it’s obvious that I value top leaders, and their opinions, and all they do and have done. I wouldn’t exchange it for anything. I’m in no way saying you should ignore them or overlook them. But my challenge to the corporate executive is that you can’t stop there. You have a lot more people you’re responsible for beyond your top leaders. And to rely solely on their input, or to not use discernment or understand the context, is lazy leading.

It’s a paradox, really. Ultimately, the thing that will help your top leaders the most is growth below them in the organization. So focus on a growth mindset at all times, even when all the input you may be receiving is rooted in a maintenance mindset.

My high school baseball coach had an interesting saying. He would always tell us, “There’s no such thing as staying the same. You’re either getting better, or you’re getting worse.” He typically would tell us this right before we were going through a hard round of conditioning. While I would finish those burpees or run those foul poles, I would ponder that statement a lot. I would think, “Wait a second, I think it is possible to stay the same.”

And yet, the more I played baseball, and, more importantly, the more I’ve lived life, the more I’ve realized how true his statement is. There ain’t no staying the same. You’re either growing, or you’re shrinking.

Commit to growing. It’s the best thing you can do for everyone (whether they know it or not).

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The Makings of a Modern Compensation Plan for a Direct Sales Company

In April, I shared with you my thoughts on The Makings of a Modern Marketing Team for a Direct Sales Company. As so many areas of direct sales has shifted over the last 10 years, in light of both changes in direct sales as well as around direct sales, it is imperative that members of the corporate team, those who are stewards of the brand and the model, proactively shift components of the business to keep up, if not stay ahead.

But marketing is not the only area that deserves our attention here. In fact, while my firm, Strategic Choice Partners, has always worked with direct sales companies to create or adjust their compensation plans, we’ve seen a massive increase in both the number of companies and the breadth of changes requested over the last 18 months.

This makes sense, of course. The regulatory environment alone is requiring every company to take a hard look at the structure of how it pays compensation. There’s no need for me to go into those details here; plenty has been written about it already. I will say that I have been a tad surprised at the lack of urgency that most companies have had in making what appear to be obvious updates in their plans in light of these new regulatory insights.

Beyond these regulatory changes, however, is an even bigger question that seems to be at the top of every executive’s mind, either consciously or subconsciously, when it comes to thinking about compensation plans. That question is this: “What exactly am I paying for?”

It’s a simple but extremely profound question. And it is of utmost importance when working through any updates to your compensation plan. If you aren’t clear on what you’re paying for (and what you’re not), then you’ll never really be clear on what your compensation plan needs to accomplish.

As I mentioned in my Annual Checkup for 2021: “As direct sales companies continue to dish out 40%+ in commissions, they find themselves asking a very important question: “What am I getting in return for that 40%?” The expenses and responsibilities of the home office in today’s direct sales landscape is much more involved than in decades past, and yet the payout of the compensation plan in most cases has not been adjusted to account for those additional expenses. It makes for quite a tight margin!”

So, what are you paying all of your commissions for? Are you leaning on Distributors to acquire new Customers, and let the corporate office do the rest? Are you leaning on Distributors to do much more? Are Distributors your primary marketing channel, or are you having to invest more in things like online advertising, influencer outreach and video production?

Here’s the fundamental thought: If you’re still paying a 1990s compensation plan for a 2021 deliverable, you’re probably finding it very hard to finance “all the other stuff” that the corporate office has to do now.

With the rest of this article, I want to merely skim the surface of a few areas that are becoming bigger and bigger parts of compensation plan design today. It’s not intended to be comprehensive. But as I’ve had conversations with so many executives over the last few months, I’ve noticed these areas and ideas always seem to resonate with them most.

1. Your Preferred Customer Program

A Preferred Customer program is nothing new in direct sales. That said, many companies (especially 10+ year-old network marketing companies) are still struggling to find the right fit in this area. This struggle is due mostly to the hope that a simple Preferred Customer program can be incorporated without impacting much of the rest of your compensation plan.

This, of course, is futile. On the one hand, to create a Preferred Customer program that doesn’t require some other shifts in your compensation plan creates a Preferred Customer program that no customer actually prefers. If we prioritize keeping our comp structure in place, paying out the way it does, hoping we can just add this new component, then it’s extremely difficult to a) create a program that’s attractive to a Customer while b) incorporating compensation components that are attractive to the Distributor for obtaining Preferred Customers.

If the last two years have taught us anything, it is that we must prioritize the Customer. The modern comp plan needs to start with putting together the best offer for your Customers, and appropriately attractive compensation for those who find and serve those Customers. Figure that out, and try to work your way out from there.

2. Your “Hourly Rate”

Compensation plans don’t pay by the hour, but the normal Distributor is certainly going to think in those terms. In a world where gigs are abundant and easy for anyone to tap into, and where time and attention are more precious than they’ve ever been, a direct selling opportunity must prove (quickly) that it’s worth someone’s time to become a Distributor.

On average, what does someone make per hour spent sharing your products with new and prospective Customers? In our experience, reaching a rate of $30/hr. is a great target.

This doesn’t need to be an exact algorithm, but rather just simple, back-of-the-napkin math. If you’re a party plan company that offers 25% retail commissions, and the time spent to prep for, present and close out a party is 4 hours, and the typical sales of that party is $400, then your Distributor essentially earns $25/hr ($100 earned for 4 hours of work). Not bad, but you may want to consider a) raising your commissions to 30%, b) finding ways to increase the average party size or c) decreasing the time needed to conduct a party.

For a more one-to-one approach, if your company offers 25% retail commissions, and the time it takes for someone to post a live-streamed video to show your products takes about one hour total, and they sell $150 worth of product during that time, then that’s $37.50/hr.

As you can see, so much impacts the earnings per hour beyond just your retail commission rate. As my partner Alan Luce explained in his most recent article, “Added to what the companies are doing, existing sellers and potential direct selling candidates have discovered that selling online, rather than using the traditional face to face techniques, is actually more profitable than the old system.”

Dig into what this hourly rate could be for your company, and across the different selling scenarios.

3. Compensation Isn’t Just Commissions

One of more refreshing components of modern compensation plan design is recognizing that not all people are actually motivated by money alone. In fact, given that the vast majority of Distributors don’t expect their direct selling opportunity to provide anything close to a full-time income, we can sometimes find ourselves increasing compensation in ways that actually doesn’t resonate best with our constituents.

Many companies are starting to incorporate very creative loyalty and/or rewards programs that operate outside of/alongside the compensation plan. In some cases, these programs are only for Customers. In other cases, they include Distributors, too. Regardless, these programs offer all kinds of fun ways to earn discounts and credits toward product purchases, among other things. I’ve been involved in a few of these programs, and I can tell you, if done correctly, they can provide a very powerful motivation for otherwise overlooked Customers and Distributors, and a powerful lever for the corporate team to access as needed.

And a quick side note here: for party plan companies, the most common concern I hear is with Hostess programs. Namely, more and more, hostess programs are being used by Distributors to collect orders. While this isn’t “wrong,” it’s certainly not why the Hostess program was created. In its purest form, a Hostess program is a very rewarding referral program. Your Distributors have likely found very creative ways to take advantage of this program. This is all fine, but when you realize how much you’re paying out in Hostess Rewards, you want to make sure this is actually getting you maximum referrals. This has led many companies to consider incorporating a broader Rewards program instead. It’s worth looking into.

4. Learn from Affiliate Marketing

I think direct sales offers a much better overall platform than traditional affiliate marketing. That said, I believe we can learn so much from affiliate marketing programs. And the modern compensation plan design will look more and more like a multi-tiered affiliate marketing program than a traditional direct sales program.

I won’t go into all the details and differences of affiliate marketing, but I believe there’s a space between traditional direct selling and “traditional” affiliate marketing that represents the future of our industry. On the one hand, direct selling provides a community and culture that brands crave to have and customers love to be a part of. Ultimately, this is what everyone loves when they look at the companies within the direct sales channel. Relatively speaking, our compensation plans are massively more lucrative than affiliate marketing programs.

That said, affiliate marketing is simple, and proves that commissions probably don’t need to be so lucrative. Affiliate marketing is asking for help with brand awareness and customer acquisition, and that’s about it. The company will take it from there. So their commissions and rewards align with that.

Several direct sales companies have added and Affiliate level to their programs over the past few years. While I think this is a step in the right direction, we must get away from simply adding on components while ignoring the rest of the program. The modern direct sales compensation plan (and overall program) needs to be attractive to an affiliate marketer, and also to existing Distributors to acquire new affiliates. This requires a holistic look at your plan.

5. Plans Are Getting Flatter (Not Fatter)

The real hallmark of the modern direct sales compensation plan is that most plans are getting flatter. “Flatter” can mean a lot of different things, but it generally refers to plans not paying out on as many downline levels, and/or plans not paying quite so much to the very top leaders over time.

This trend is typically what stops 10-year-old+ companies in their tracks. And that’s mostly because the field leaders that have their ears the most are the leaders at the highest levels of the plan. I have a completely separate article on that I’ll share at a later time ;-).

Simply put, with a compensation plan, you get what you pay for. As any of us with any corporate experience can attest to, the field has uncanny ways of showing us what we’re really paying for, and you can’t blame them for that. But as stewards of the company, our responsibility is to help stabilize the company, and grow the company. This normally occurs at the lower to middle parts of our “plan”. Which is why the modern plan will be a little flatter than what we’ve been used to.

Especially when a company is experiencing a decline in sales, it is very common to introduce new bonuses, new levels or new compensation plan elements to motivate your top leaders, thinking these All-Stars, if they could just give a little more, will help make things right. This very rarely works. The reason it rarely works is because there’s only so much more your All-Stars can give you, incrementally speaking. They already give so much. And while it may be natural for them to want a bigger slice of a shrinking pie, your job is to increase the size of the pie.

Don’t look for ways to make the top levels of your plan fatter. Look for ways to motivate the new Distributor, the new Customer and the young leader. Not only will it help the company overall, but the fact that the pie is getting bigger will actually reward your top leaders more than anything else you could come up with.

6. Simplicity

The modern direct sales compensation plan will be more committed to simplicity that ever before. We’ve touted the importance of simplicity in our industry for a long time, but few companies have really made it happen. Sadly, is a running and well-known joke that compensation plans are too confusing. We laugh about it, and then we do nothing about it.

But the modern company won’t just talk about it. They will build plans that are simple and straightforward. New companies have the advantage of starting from scratch to make this happen. Existing companies have a tougher job, having to morph their existing plans into a more streamlined model. But the innovative ones will do it, no matter how hard it is.

For a plan to be truly simple, a company cannot start their plan design with figuring out how someone can make $500k per year, and then work your way down. The modern plan also won’t be as concerned with creating massive income for its top producers. Don’t get me wrong: There will still be plenty of high incomes with the modern plan design, but that will be because the sales volume warrants it, not because of “17 ways to earn income” and infinity bonuses and the like.

There are so many other intricacies and ideas that constitute a modern direct sales compensation plan. I’m sure many of you have incorporated some great improvements into your own plan over the last few years. I’d love for you to share them in the comments.

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Here is a list of areas where you can see the significant early warnings:

Number of New Members

Newcomers constitute the lifeblood of a direct selling business. They boost growth. Check if there is a decrease in their rate of inflow.

Number of Those Who Quit

Some of your field members will leave the organization for a variety of reasons. This is inevitable. However, it is not desirable at all to witness an upward trend in their numbers. Especially dangerous situation is an increase in the ratio of those who give up to the existing direct sellers.

Ratio of New Members to Those Who Leave

As a rule of thumb, the number of those who join should be greater than those who leave at a given period. The opposite would indicate that the field organization is shrinking instead of growing.

Activity Among New Direct Sellers

There may be a downward trend in the sales made to new members. This could be in the form of less number of orders placed by this group or reduced average order size. The worst is a decline in both.

Activity Among Existing Sales Force

There may be a situation where newcomers lose their motivation after being active for a period of time (i.e. when they are no longer considered “new”). This may be due to many reasons each of which require immediate action.

Average Order Size

Within a year at most, a statistically reliable average order size establishes at new direct sales start-ups. A declining trend in the average order size is also alarming: Either the products are not seen as attractive anymore for some reason or the organization is not pushing them to the market as before.

Field’s Reaction to New Products or Campaigns

The sales organization may be getting less enthusiastic about your newly launched products or campaigns. This would be present in the number of orders per member, order sizes or the number of new products ordered from that offering, as compared to previous ones.

Activity Towards the End of a Commission Period

A flat activity throughout the period happens when the field members are not as motivated by climbing the career ladder in the compensation plan. As a result, they don’t work harder to close the period at a higher level. This is a serious problem!

Attendance to Meetings, Webinars and Conventions

If you see less and less people attending your events, this is just another sign of lost enthusiasm. Seeing the same faces come to your gatherings time and time again is just as dangerous.

Demands Coming from the Sales Organization

By nature, a sales organization has to be coming up with new demands, bringing in new ideas. A decrease in the inflow of these from the field shows that the members are losing faith in your business.

This list has not been intended to be in any order of importance. When any of these occurs, it should be considered as an alarm and taken seriously. Once a hiccup has been diagnosed, immediate action is always recommended. If the ball is left rolling in the adverse direction, after a certain point it might be impossible to stop.

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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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We have learned by experience that a compensation plan can boost a business when designed and implemented well. But it can also have disastrous impacts if this aspect of the operation is taken for granted.

In this article, we will briefly go over some of the most frequently asked questions:

1. What Is a Compensation Plan in Direct Selling?

It is a plan that shows how and by how much a company rewards its independent sales force for promoting and selling its goods and services to end-users.

2. Is There Only One Form of Compensation Plan?

There are various plan types; “stairstep-breakaway”, “unilevel” and “binary” are the most popular ones.

3. Is Any of These Types Better Than the Others?

Every plan has its own pros and cons. One type of plan can definitely be more suitable to a specific company’s strategies, products and culture. However, we cannot say one of them is categorically superior to others. This is why we see various plan types being used by different companies with great success.

4. What Does “Hybrid Plan” Mean?

A hybrid compensation plan is the one that brings two or more different plans together. For instance, if a plan is designed by putting together various components of a unilevel and a binary plan, we call the outcome a hybrid plan. While it might be rewarding a broader range of behaviors than an individual plan on the field, all hybrid plans bring the advantages and disadvantages of its components. A hybrid plan usually requires heavy field training due to its increased complexity.

5. Are There Other Names Being Used Instead of “Compensation Plan”?

While “compensation plan” is by far the most widely used name within the industry, some companies choose other names like “marketing plan”, “success plan” or “financial rewards plan”.

6. If a Compensation Plan Does Not Limit Depth, Is This a Sign of a Pyramid?

Not at all! There are numerous legitimate network marketing companies that use plans paying bonuses to unlimited depth.

7. From an Independent Direct Seller’s Perspective, Is it Always Good to Work with a Plan with Higher Commissions?

Obviously, a direct seller would want to make more money. However, the “income claim” is only one aspect of a plan. Few examples to other important aspects are: Legality of it, its appeal to candidates that will join with various expectations, and the required activities to earn commissions.

8. Are Complex Plans Better Than Simple Ones?

These come with their own advantages and disadvantages. While a complex plan can be rewarding a wider array of activities and success levels, a simplistically designed one can be easier to learn and to explain to others. If structured well enough though, a simple plan can also be rewarding all field activities that a company wants. Likewise, a complex plan can also be learned well if it is supported by a sound training program.

9. Do Compensation Plans Reward Those Who Join Earlier More?

This is an urban legend! A well designed compensation plan has no such “V.I.P rooms” for those who join earlier. If this was true, who would want to join a company later on?

10. Can a Company’s Compensation Plan Change in Time?

Regardless of how much thought was put into its initial design, after a while a plan may not be bringing in the expected results. At that point, certain modifications have to be implemented to improve the plan. This is a tricky task though, that must be done well and must also be communicated to the field well.

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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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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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We generally call this activity “recruiting”. What we also generally do is to accept a high level of attrition in this industry as a given… Even from the day those direct sellers join the company. But does this have to be so? Maybe not! Let’s have a look at the common causes of attrition.

1) Personal

Some of those independent contractors who leave a direct sales company do so because they feel they just don’t fit in. Whether the primary motive initially is to pursue a hobby, a way of socializing, a part-time source of income or a full-time business, this can happen to anybody.

As long as this is the true reason and there is nothing else behind it, there is not much a company can do to reverse this decision. But what if in reality, there is something else behind that have caused this?

2) Upline

In some cases, what motivates the direct seller to quit is the sponsor or even the whole upline. The sponsor’s neglect in “training & leading” usually ends up with losing the newcomer. In other times, it is an unrealistic income expectation that is created purely by the sponsor.

Even if it is merely a clash of personalities between two people, I believe there is a lot of homework that can be done by the management, most of it being on the field training side.

3) Company

And yes, sometimes it is the company itself that is the cause of people’s leaving.

Poor customer services, commissions payments not made on time, rejecting product return requests for no good reason, abruptly cancelling promotions, frequent price and/or compensation plan changes, failures in communicating news updates and announcements in a timely manner… These are not unheard of in this industry and they definitely lead to higher attrition rates.

4) Dissatisfaction with the Opportunity

Another common reason is direct seller’s discontent with present or potential earnings that the company provides. It may be that the individuals might have set their own expectations too high. Alternatively, the company might be intentionally or unintentionally sending wrong messages. And in some cases, the compensation plan itself is poorly designed.

Leaving aside pure consumers, most of the field members are part-timers and hobbyists in direct selling. This is a fact. Therefore, probably it will never be possible to even get close to perfection. Yet I believe companies can make significant moves in that direction.

The first step here is identifying the true reasons behind quitting. Once this phase is over, it will not be too difficult to deal with each of them and make improvements. Don’t you think?

…..

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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Daryl Wurzbacher began his career in the direct selling industry in 1999 as the Director of Information Technology for a direct sales start-up. That company was the first client of ByDesign Technologies, and Daryl was a critical liaison between ByDesign, the field leaders, and his corporate team. In that role, Daryl scaled the company from $0 to $70 million using ByDesign’s platform.

In 2007, Daryl transitioned to the supplier side as the Director of Technology for ByDesign. His strategic contributions led to his appointment as President in 2015 and CEO in 2018.

5 Essential Lessons on Success I Have Learned from Clients

Many of the most important things I have learned about success have come from clients. Today, I will be sharing 5 of the most important lessons that I have learned over the past two decades and how you can benefit from the hindsight, wisdom, and experience of hundreds of great companies.

1. The Grass Isn’t Always Greener.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence is an English proverb, which means that a different situation or circumstance always seems better than one’s own. When it comes to direct selling tools, technology, and back-office software, 90% of your current system may be excellent and working perfectly. But, the 10% that isn’t perfect can overshadow your perception of that product or vendor. You decide to look for a new vendor and find one who says all the right things, has a perfect way to solve all the items in your 10% list. Your company goes through a significant expense to migrate to the new vendor. Shortly after the launch, you realize that while the 10% items are, in fact, now great, the 90% that was perfect is now full of new issues and creating a lot of frustration for corporate and the field. You realize that your prior vendor was superior and make plans to migrate back to them.

To avoid this syndrome:
• Recognize that no one is perfect, no software is perfect, and no company is perfect. But they are each capable of improvement.
• Instead of changing vendors as a first step, focus on trying to resolve the issues. Collaborate with your technology providers and allow them the opportunity and time to correct things.
• Ask them how other companies have solved the problems you are experiencing, and for alternatives that you may not have considered.

Switching vendors is never an easy process, and there is always some level of pain involved in a move; it should be the last choice after you have done all you can to make things work in your current situation.

2. Experience Matters – Wisdom Prevents Mistakes.

Albert Einstein said, “The only source of knowledge is experience.” This is especially true when working with consultants or vendors that do not have a lot of Direct Selling experience as their value in many cases is limited due to having to learn through trial and error at a clients’ expense. Inexperienced people make more mistakes, and when they transfer their experience from other industries to direct selling, they can send your business down the wrong path.

To avoid this dilemma:
• Work with consultants or vendors with decades of Direct Selling, MLM, and Party Plan experience.
• Check for online reviews and case studies to learn more about the results other companies have had working with them.
• Pick partners that are experts in our industry and know where things are going — so they can help you get there faster.

Work with seasoned experts to benefit from the wisdom they have gained from each of their clients and avoid the mistakes they have seen other make over many years.

3. Stay Current with the Technology That Runs Your Representatives’ Business.

Before the pandemic, it was not uncommon for companies to get some pushback from the field regarding new tools or technology. A few leaders and representatives may believe that new technology will disrupt their business, and they may provide several alternative areas that must be fixed, such as the products, the comp plan, and shipping — diverting the efforts of corporate to areas that don’t require them to change. Companies that held back on launching new technologies found themselves scrambling to catch up when COVID-19 hit.

To avoid this situation:
• Give the field what they need, not what they want.
• Regularly assess your technology and take action before a crisis forces the change.
• When you find mediocre to poor experiences in any business area, look for ways that technology can be leveraged to enhance that experience.

When representatives worldwide were forced to rely on new technology to run their business this year, they realized the benefits of innovation. Staying current on your technology allows you to continually deliver that level of service to the field.

4. Momentum Becomes Possible When You Overcome the Trap of Inertia.

A company’s mindset has the same effect on its culture that an individual’s perspective has on their life. When there is a cultural belief that “we do things this way because it’s the way we’ve always done them,” it creates an aversion to new ideas, change, or risk-taking. This trap of inertia fosters organizational stagnation. The staff can become so comfortable that they are imperceptibly just going through the motions and relying on past achievements to carry the company into a successful future that never comes. The habit of rigid thinking binds a company to the status quo, halting growth, and ultimately leading to a loss of relevancy in the market.

To avoid this trap:
• Challenge every assumption.
• Encourage risk-taking and give your team permission to fail.
• Embrace a culture of change that creates a learning/growth mindset — personally, professionally and organizationally.

Staying relevant is the natural outcome of a corporate culture focused on learning and growing.

5. Always Have a Backup Plan When Doing a Tech Demo “Live” at Convention/Events.

For weeks you’ve been talking about the reveal of new technology at the convention. The day is finally here! The representatives are anxiously awaiting and enthusiastically cheer as you begin your presentation. You announce an incredible new tool and introduce your technology partner to do a live demo. Things are off to a great start and your reps are thrilled! Then, in a flash, the demo freezes, the spinning wheel appears, and then the internet connection fails. Several minutes go by as the team tries to get the internet working and the demo back on track.

Despite every effort to regain the excitement, the moment is lost.

To avoid this event mishap:
• Plan for both the perfect live demo and an excellent off-line demo as a plan “B.”
• Prepare a presentation that sets the context and provides the benefits of the new solution. Capture screenshots or short videos of the tool in action that can walk representatives through the screens and showcase the new features.
• If the technology has a mobile app, provide instructions on downloading it, and encourage reps to take a test drive. This allows them to see the tools in their business context and starts the adoption/training right away.

A live demo is always the best option, and having a plan B ready ahead of time will ensure a successful introduction.

The value of learning from the people around us cannot be overestimated. I hope that these 5 essential lessons that I have learned over the past 20 years will provide insights and inspiration for your company.

What have your clients taught you? Share your essential lessons in the comments below.

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Alan is a US DSA Hall of Famer and a member of the DSEF’s Circle of Honor. He’s served in executive roles at Tupperware, PartyLite, DK Family Learning and other companies, and has been a part of launching more than 30 direct selling companies over his career.

Alan Luce
Lessons from the Lockdown: Part Three:  The Pandemic Is Over, Now What? (*)

Imagine, if you can, that it is some point in the future and the threat from the Covid-19 pandemic is now mostly behind us. We have all has the vaccine and can begin to return to normalcy. Granted, we don’t know exactly what the new post pandemic normal is going to look like. We’re pretty sure that it will not be a return to exactly what it was before the pandemic but it is widely agreed that the following will be true:

• • Unemployment levels will continue to come down to 5% or so as the economy kicks back into high gear. Many of our current part-time sellers who are currently unemployed will have the option of going back to an employment position. Can your company’s income potential for a person willing to work at your business 20 to 40 hours a week compete with employment opportunities?

• • Our potential customers and sellers will once again be participating in weeknight events outside the home; church, clubs, kids’ sports, classes, hobbies, etc. etc. Getting their time and attention will become more difficult again. How are direct sellers going to capture their   attention and motivate them to devote some time to our sales demonstration?

• • Will direct selling ever return to a majority of sales coming in person events either one to one or one to many (parties) sales demonstrations? If direct selling becomes effectively an online selling process, what does this mean to company cultures and stories built around the idea of developing personal relationships. What’s more, virtual online sales force meetings have been well received by the sellers. Will virtual conventions replace in person national and regional sales meetings very personal hands on recognition and sales leader bonding during the down times. We have believed that these events are essential to building the culture and instilling company values. Can virtual conventions accomplish the same goals?

• • Social media platforms and smart phone technology tools have been immensely important in allowing direct sellers to switch from in person relationship selling to online relationship selling.

• • The regulatory environment continues to evolve with no clear rules that direct sellers can rely on as they develop their product claims, recruiting pitches, and compensation plan structures. One element of the regulatory drive is to make the industry more strongly focused on retail selling to end user customers who are not participants in the compensation plan.

Some companies are going to have to make changes to their compensation plans to create more profit potential from retail sales and shift the story from depending on aspirational “change your life from rags to riches” stories. Selling the new plan and business building strategies can be a real challenge and implementation of the new strategy is high risk to say the least.

These are some of the key issues that company senior executives must recognize and prepare strategies to address. But preparing the strategies is only part of the story, persuading senior field leaders to accept the changes and adopt the new strategies and tactics is the real challenge. Based upon our work with client companies during this time, it has been quite apparent that finding the ways to work online during the lockdown has been primarily led by mid-level leaders and part-time sellers. With a few notable exceptions, top field leaders have not been the driving forces behind developing new tactics and driving change.

Moreover, top leaders have too often led the resistance to change, especially if proposed changes to the compensation plan to improve retail profitability might reduce their income potential.

So, Now What?

What follows is a suggested process of defining your post pandemic strategies and implementing the changes you feel will be needed for your Company to make a successful post pandemic transition:

1. Identify your best lockdown performers in the sales force and learn what makes them so successful. Take those learnings and create training programs to promote those lessons and build or buy the online tools to make them as effective as possible. What each Company is looking for is a message that tells prospective sellers why joining that Company is the best part-time income opportunity available and train your sales force to use that message for sponsoring.

2. Game out the possible consequences of a return to a more normal time without the necessity to for social distancing, limited group gatherings and fully open restaurants and bars. What will this mean for your business? How will this help or hurt a person’s ability to be successful selling your products and services? How will a return to more normal employment rates impact your  Company’s ability to attract sales people who, in turn, bring new customers? How will that change help and how will it hurt?

The job of senior management, among other duties, is to understand the marketplace and the civic environment and chart a course of action that will give the Company the best chance to be successful in a time of change. Gaming out the possibilities and planning strategies to optimize helpful trends and other strategies to counteract negative trends is a critical management skill. Producing such strategies is quickly becoming a business survival imperative.

3. If your Company has not moved toward providing your sales force with the technology to essentially conduct all aspects of their direct selling business on their smart phones, you need to move in that direction quickly. During this lockdown many, if not most, of our sellers, have learned to conduct their business online.

But the ability to sell and sponsor online was not the only things they learned. They found that doing business on line was easier, more convenient and required less time. No to and from travel time. No to and from expense for gasoline. No need for a car for that matter. No need to worry about child care when you are out of the house doing business. As a matter of money earned for time spent, working from a computer at home is far more efficient and raises the income received for the time spent on the business by the sellers.

As our society returns to some levels of pre-Covid-19 activities our sales forces expect their companies to provide them with the ability to conduct business on their phones. The rapid advance of mobile phone technology to enable the sellers to do so is indicative of that demand. Ignore or put this off at your peril. Not offering up to date mobile sales capability, access reports, CRM customers information and catalog access will put your company at ta distinct recruiting disadvantage.

4. Anyone who tries to tell you that they can predict where the regulators are going with the evolving rules to govern direct selling simply does not know what they are talking about. Between the court case challenges of FTC authority and the ominous statements coming out of FTC officers the only thing we know for sure is that a final set of rules that we can all rely on has has yet to be promulgated and approved.

So, what do we do in the meantime? Among other lessons coming out of the lockdown is that those companies that offer a reasonable profit for selling at retail to end user customers who are not members of the company compensation plan are the companies that are doing the best during the lockdown. This retail focused trend started several years ago and the lockdown impact has simply accelerated the shift from consumption to retail selling that had already been underway.



If your company is looking to revise their program to focus more on retail sales, keep the points I set out below in front of mind as you consider the options:

1. To make a successful transition to a more retail focused plan you must be sure to make selling at retail as profitable and easy to accomplish as possible. Typically, that means offering a retail profit of 20 to 25% of the retail sales price of the product. To recruit sellers successfully they must see the opportunity the company is offering provides a good opportunity to make $15 to $25 dollars for every hour they spend selling.

2. If you are modifying an existing plan, making retail selling more attractive and compelling will require either reducing company profits or shifting comp plan payouts from the middle and the top of the plan to fund the retail profit payout. In this situation it is imperative that the company senior management communicate and win the support of the field leadership to make the change.

To garner this support requires that management be more transparent than they may have been in the past about the percentage of revenue that is paid out to the field and the market trends and forces that are driving the need for change. It is really important that the field leaders fully understand that the shift toward retailing is not being forced upon direct selling by regulators. Market trends, the competition of the gig economy and the rise of ecommerce retailing are forcing this change even more than regulators.

In fact, one could argue that the regulators are simply trying to move the rules to conform with the unstoppable, unchangeable market forces. That does not mean that the regulators may not have gone to far. When believe that to be true, then the regulators must be challenged. However, in my view the evidence on an inevitable trend are clear.

3. Test your programs to find effective retail focused initiatives before making changes to the compensation plan. Top management should not expect the field leadership to simply accept a major change without proof that what is being substituted and driving that change works and that the data unequivocally demonstrates the new initiative’s success.

All in all, there is much for us to learn from the impact of the Corona virus lockdown about our businesses and our society. Don’t miss this opportunity. Take the time to really think about what has changed, what may stay the same and what your company must do to be successful in what is a very dynamic and rapidly changing environment. We may never see an opportunity like this again!

(*) Click to read the first two parts here: Lessons from the Lockdown and Lessons from the Lockdown – Part Two

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Max Pecherskyi
Help Distributors Focus on Relationships, Automate the Rest

No matter how much time direct selling HQs spend on building brand strategy, the actual brand experience depends first and foremost on distributors. They are the face of your business. So the more inspired but also consistent they are, the more positive the image people get of your company.

That’s why it’s definitely worth creating a supportive environment for them. This includes leadership, education, training, and — what matters a lot — providing easy-to-use technology that helps your distributors in their day-to-day communication with clients. Especially when it comes to social media communication. Social media has become the main conversation channel since the lockdown started. Research by the New York Times shows that Facebook usage has grown 27% during the pandemic. People have gotten used to chatting in messengers or Zoom rooms instead of going to parties and surfing the net instead of going to malls. This has changed customer behavior for good.

Your distributors have had to change their way of doing things as well. Before the pandemic they could give a party, showcase products personally, and exchange contacts. But now that offline communication has become a risk, they have had to find other ways of sharing their lifestyle and connecting with clients. Social media is definitely the most obvious solution, but it presents a challenge. Not all distributors are tech-savvy.

Building success on social media seems like a full-time job, from creating outstanding content to engaging followers with interactive formats. Thus, complicated posting can well be discouraging, making distributors lose interest in selling via social networks. As a result, they miss opportunities to find new people, build relationships, and create new clients.

To implement a win-win strategy, where distributors invest their time and effort in social media marketing, you need to create fertile ground for them. First of all, prove the value of building relationships. Second, guarantee your support and collaboration. Then provide educational resources to help your distributors master social media marketing. Once you join forces and start working as a team, you’ll achieve beneficial results for both parties.

Here’s what you can do:

Make daily social media posting a sure thing

To become successful on social, distributors need to show up there on a daily basis. That’s how social media platforms’ algorithms work: if distributors post once a week, their posts go unnoticed as their audience is not necessarily online when the post appears. However, regular posting increases the chances that posts will be seen. Such consistency is the only way to grow the reach of their posts, keep subscribers engaged, and get their attention.

You at the corporate office can ensure their posting is regular by pre-scheduling posts yourselves to your distributors’ social media calendars. Then all they have to do is to approve them. This becomes even more important during promotional campaigns. As they are limited offerings, on-time posting is a must. Your vendors who enable a one-click, on-the-go posting will help you be sure the campaign flow is consistent across your network.

Help distributors create content that stands out

No one can be full of ideas 24/7. Sometimes your distributors need to take a break and focus on other things besides coming up with brilliant ideas for their social media posts. But their social media audience still needs its portion of content.

“Our Wellness Advocates have great potential as authentic social sellers; they just needed better tools to market themselves online — tools that enable on-the-go posting and give them an opportunity to add a personal and authentic touch to their content and communication”, says John Dye, Senior Director of Marketing at dōTERRA in North America.

You can provide your distributors on-brand content by giving them access to an asset manager with branded templates so that they will always have fresh ideas at their fingertips. But the templates need to be aligned with each distributor’s unique style. By providing them with customization tools, you’ll make it possible for reps to retain their authenticity.

Finding their voice and approach and building a personal brand is what’s most valuable when it comes to distributors’ marketing themselves online. Telling a genuine story of success, showcasing products, and sharing lifestyle images is what attracts attention in the first place, as everyone wants to see a real human being behind the brand. It’s the way to connect with like-minded people and turn them into loyal clients.

Automation of social media content creation and posting is how HQ can help distributors fill their pages with a combination of lifestyle and branded content. Once they’re freed from the rote work, they’ll have time for sharing brand values and building relationships that convert to sales.

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