New Numbers for a New Year

It’s 2024! In an age of unprecedented access to data and AI, it’s very easy to get lost in all the data we have access to. I’m intrigued and amazed by it all, but I’m also a rather simple man. I tend to find ways to simplify and synthesize things so I can actually do something with it, while also not getting too caught up in finding 10 different ways to essentially show me the same thing.

So what numbers are you focused on in 2024?

My partner and co-founder of Strategic Choice Partners, Alan Luce, used to coach clients that, if you could only track one number to determine the health of your direct selling business, track the ups and downs of your paid-as leaders. In other words, it’s one thing to track the number of Consultants who have achieved a certain rank in your company at some point, but what really matters are the number of Consultants who actually produce at those levels each month. Typically, if the number of Consultants achieving at each level rank increases for a month, some good things happened. If not, it was probably a weaker month.

Alan was right (he typically was). There can be exception to the rule, but tracking this one number not only typically captures the trends in revenue and recruiting for the month, but also the “pulse of the field.” Nothing causes more excitement than promotions and rank achievements. And, it has an interesting ability to track not only lagging indicators, but also predictive indicators in your business.

So, let’s start with saying this: If tracking paid-as leaders each pay period is not a part of your core KPI review each month, it needs to be.

As I’ve worked with clients the last few years, I’ve also noticed my fondness for tracking some often overlooked metrics that I feel have way more impact than most that we share. I even wrote about it here a while back.  Sure, we still need to track revenue, recruiting, new customer acquisition, order counts, order averages and more. But so often some of those data points can only capture a piece of the real puzzle. When you start asking questions like “why is recruiting important?”, or “why do new customers matter?”, you can find some deeper meaning in what I think are better numbers.

So, here are three numbers I think every direct selling company should start tracking diligently in 2024 and beyond:

Consultants Who Sold to a Customer

Enrolling new Consultants into your business is always important, and always will be. But why is it so important? Where the company may run campaigns for customer acquisition, it’s just acquisition by addition. The very nature of a “Consultant” should be that they are joining as a Consultant to sell to Customers (and maybe more). So they represent customer acquisition by multiplication.

But, of course, we know not every Consultant sells to a Customer every month. Or every quarter. Or sometimes even every year. We love ‘em all, but what we really need are Consultants who sell to a Customer.

So, start tracking how many Consultants sold to at least one customer in a month. Doesn’t have to be a new customer; just any customer. Some companies call these “Active” Consultants. Regardless of what you call them, set your baseline as to how many Consultants typically act like Consultants in a month, and then put together programs and campaigns to increase that number.

Focusing on multiplication efforts over addition efforts makes sense every single time.

Here’s a twist on these numbers to consider, too:

• What percent of total “Active” Consultants on your roster actually sold this month? So, if you have 50,000 Consultants on the books, and 20,000 of them sold to a Customer this month, that’s 40%.
• How many sold to 2 Customers? 3 Customers? 5+?
• How many new Consultants sold to a New Customer? (However you want to define “New”).

Consultants Who Sponsored Another Consultant

Much like tracking how many Consultants sold to a Customer, we also need to track how many Consultants sponsored another Consultant, for all the same reasons. This number will be much lower than the selling Consultants number (and it should be). But again, you want to really track your producers, not just people who sign up with good intentions.

Here are some twists you can put on this data as well:

• Track it quarterly as well as monthly; for most Consultants, sponsoring once a quarter is still very reasonable and denotes a high level of involvement.
• What % of your total Consultant roster sponsored this month?
• How many new Consultants sponsored a New Consultant?

# of Customers Who Placed Their Second Order

Customer Acquisition gets so much attention. But what does one order get us, really?!? What we really need to do is turn that acquisition into repetition. So much goes into getting new customers, and we so often completely drop the ball when it comes to retention. Start tracking how many Customers place their second order.

In the work I’ve done with clients, just getting more second orders from a new Customer can lead to thousands, even millions in new revenue.

Once you start tracking this metric, you’ll be shocked just how much it will shape your sales and marketing efforts moving forward. And the cost for the second order it normally way less than the first, in terms of total effort and investment.

We all love third, fifth, tenth orders, but none of that happens until you get the second. Focus way more on getting the second order from your new customers and watch what happens.

Where Do I Start?

Ready to get going? Here’s a simple place to start:

• Figure out how (and who) will track these new metrics.
• Backdate these new metrics for each month in 2023 to serve as your baseline.
• Set aside 30 mins each month to review your numbers, comparing them to last year, and make decisions on how you can improve them in 2024.

I’d love to hear about your results. Just think of what 2024 could like if more Consultants sold and sponsored, and more Customers came back and ordered more.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post New Numbers for a New Year appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Turning Customer Acquisition Into Customer Repetition: Breaking Down the Fundamentals of a Customer Rewards Program

Without a doubt, what I have been asked to help companies with the most over the last three years is in helping them create and launch a Customer Rewards Program. These programs are called all kinds of different things (e.g. Loyalty Programs, Referral Programs, Preferred Customer Programs, Points Programs etc.), but the core interest is in finding ways for the corporate team to engage Customers more in a way that leads to more orders and more introductions to the brand.

There’s been a lot of focus on Customer Acquisition over the last five years, and for good reason. After all, a core reason for being for any business is to acquire Customers. But with all this acquisition, companies are now also seeing huge opportunities in turning that acquisition into repetition. In other words, what we all really want isn’t just “Customer Acquisition,” but rather “Repeat Customer Acquisition.”

In my estimation, this is where a Customer Rewards program helps the most. Leverage things like ad spend and promotions and discount codes and Distributors to focus on acquisition, but introduce a Rewards program to really tap into repetition.

There’s a lot to putting a good Customer Program together. Lots of modeling, and data, and process thinking. So a single article can’t cover it all. What I can do is pass along six core foundations to impact your thinking and planning as you put your own program together.

1. Let Your Data Tell You What to Target.

There is no one-size-fits-all program for every company. There will certainly be similarities, but the nuances of your company and the customer behavior at your company is what will make your Rewards Program sink or swim. So before you start putting the parameters of your program together, dig into the data and let it show you where you need to focus.

In my article “3 Stats Direct Selling Companies Must Pay More Attention to in 2022,”, I outline three reports that are proving to be very powerful for every company who digs into them. These are reports you may already run, but my experience has shown me most companies do not, or at least not to the degree that they need to be executed.

The first report I mention is referred to as “Purchasing Data”. You need to get a clear look at how your current customers purchase specific to frequency. Find out how many customers purchase only once a year, only twice a year, etc… If you’re like most companies, at least 80% of your customers order twice or less a year (for many companies, 80% of customers only order once a year). This is quite a revealing stat. And even if your numbers are better than this norm, it’s your baseline that you want to try to improve.

While we would all love to receive orders from customers six or more times a year, we can’t build programs around such a high expectation. And yet, often we do. Your data is going to show you where to focus. Most of the time, it’s in the area of shifting some of those one-time purchasers to get to two or three times in a year. The volume at this level alone has the ability to make a significant impact to a company’s revenues.

Don’t build your program until you’ve let your data show you where the opportunity actually is. Pinpoint it, and then build a program around it.

2. The First Order Is a Means to the Second Order.

One of my clients said this the other day, and the more I think about it, the more I agree with it. On the surface, it can seem a little soul-less, but that’s not the intent. Are any of us doing what we’re doing so we can just sell a product? No, we’re not. We’re interested in impacting a life with our products, and impact almost always requires more than a single order.

On top of that, we all know that the acquisition costs (for corporate and the distributors) for that new customer is typically much higher than ongoing orders. Stack on top of that that our distributors need to see repeat orders in order to experience the success that’s going to keep them going, and we see just how important this mantra becomes.

When you take on the mindset that “the first order is just a means to the second order,” how does that change how you create a sales program? A promotion? Sales training?

A Customer Rewards program can cover a lot of ground, but its fundamental focus must be on getting second orders (and beyond).

3. Give Them Something That Brings Them Back.

So then the question becomes: “Well, how do I get a second order?” Glad you asked…

Of course, for some customers, they’re sold on the value of your product right away. And that’s great. But they aren’t the majority.

Some of your thoughts may go straight to your autoship program. And autoship programs are a very powerful part of “customer repetition,” for sure. But to expect someone to go from one order to autoship is a fairly hefty leap for most. A single experience with your product is typically not enough to commit to ongoing monthly shipments.

This is going to sound quite simple, but your Customer Rewards Program must look for ways to bring them back for another order. You need to give them something that can only be used on their next order. In most cases, this is some form of product credit or discount.

As simple as this sounds, we often do the opposite. We often offer big discounts and rewards and freebies on their first order. And while that has its place, giving a big discount on a product that I’m not even sure I want yet doesn’t really make a lot of sense. In most cases, that first order really isn’t about price; it’s about value. A new customer has yet to experience the value your product brings to their life, and no discount can substitute that. So while a deep promo on that first order can sometimes push someone to make a purchase, it still hasn’t addressed the biggest question that needs to be answered.

However, after they purchase the product and experience, things have changed completely. They know the value the product brings (or doesn’t). So they’re open to perks that can be used on another order.

And the best news is that… I’ve yet to see a perk toward a second+ order that costs more than everything that goes into the first order. So you’re economically better off saving your discounts for after the first purchase, and focus your marketing efforts (story, video, ad spend) and distributor efforts on finding new customers to place their first order.

4. Expiration and Breakage Are Keys to Success.

Whatever reward you offer in your program, make sure it has an expiration date. Simply put, we all need a deadline to do something.

Some clients I’ve worked with have had a rather altruistic attitude about the program, and hate the idea of expiration. And I applaud the thought behind that. But it doesn’t work.

Your Customer Rewards program will work because it gives you opportunities to inform your customers of something that most of them will appreciate: “Your discount is about to expire.” In my experience, nothing gets people to act like the threat of something expiring.

That said, some perks will expire. As a matter of fact, a lot of them will. Make no mistake: You’re not putting this program together so people don’t use their rewards. If you construct your program correctly, it will be in your best interests (from all perspectives) for customers to redeem rewards.

But some still won’t. As a matter of fact, probably 50% of them won’t. Maybe more. I typically like to assume that only 30% will expire, and build a program around that assumption, but I’ve yet to see it be that low in real life.

5. Success Lies in How You Communicate the Program (Not the Program Itself).

As I alluded to in the last point, the real value of a Rewards Program is that it gives you all kinds of reasons to stay in contact with your customers. They may tire of your promotions, or your marketing emails, or your newsletters, but no one thinks badly about the person who reminds them that they have a reward they can come redeem.

The corporate team who figures out how to effectively segment their communications related to their Rewards Program is the one who truly wins with a program like this. The communication around the program is way more important than the program itself. As you can imagine, this is also where most companies fall short.

We direct sellers are great at launching things, but typically lack in the nurturing process that should begin after a launch. We just move on to the next thing to launch. If you do that with your Rewards Program, expecting it to flourish on its own, it’s already failed. So don’t do that.

Of even more importance is that a Reward Program gives your distributors an amazing reason to stay in front of customers, and that’s the real win. As I’ve said on many instances, the fundamental unit of success in direct selling is a conversation. If a conversation about your company isn’t taking place, then nothing else can. It all starts with a conversation. Your Rewards Program gives your distributors a simple way to spark all kinds of conversations.

6. Don’t Expect Too Much Out of Your Referral Program.

Many Customer Rewards Programs incorporate some form of referral component for customers. I think this is a fine idea, and should be considered in most cases. Just don’t expect that much out of it.

We direct sellers think we can talk anyone into sharing how amazing our company is. And in an era when the average distributor may be falling short of the productivity that we think should be in place, it’s only natural to wonder how we can get customers to go out and do some sharing for us.

But customers aren’t that interested in your referral program. Think about all the different rewards programs you’re a part of. I’m sure some of them offer referral plans, too. How often have you referred them for someone using the program? I bet it’s not many of us.

If you’re customers were that interested in sharing your company with others, they would become a distributor! So, definitely incorporate a referral component of your program (when it does work, it’s great). And add all kinds of other stuff, too, if you want. But just remember that what most customers think of is simply this: “When I spend $XX, I get X back.” That’s it. Don’t overthink it.

BONUS: Rethink Your Host Program Through the Lens of a Customer Rewards Program.

In this era of Customer Rewards Programs, party plan companies are facing an interesting dilemma: How does a Customer Rewards Program co-exist with our Host Program?

I’ve certainly seen it work where both can exist. The real question, though, is why bother with both? At its core, a host program is a referral program, yes? At least that’s what it’s supposed to be. But in today’s world, where distributors regularly host their own shows, and collect orders and submit as a “show,” the host program is being used in ways it’s not intended.

If you find yourself in these shoes, I would challenge you to rethink it all. Don’t make your Customer Rewards Program be a slave to your host program; rather, think about how you could maybe merge them together. There’s no straightforward answer on how to do that, but it’s a paradigm worth taking on. Otherwise, not only will your many different programs be confusing and maybe even compete with each other, but you’ll also be losing a lot of margin.

I hope this helps. There’s always so much more to think through when it comes to these programs. Of course, you also have to make it work within the structure of your compensation plan. Which means you may need to tweak it a bit to account for your new Rewards program.

I’d love to hear what experiences you’ve had with Customer Programs below.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post Turning Customer Acquisition Into Customer Repetition appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Key Takeaways From theJuice

I got to be a part of something really special recently.

Since 2015, I’ve helped organize an event called theJuice here where I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, along with Kate Gardner from C3 Executive Search. theJuice is focused on delivering “fresh intel for direct selling executives.” In its typical format, we feature a single speaker over breakfast or lunch to talk about what’s working, and what’s not, at their company. Anyone who works for a direct selling company is welcome to come, and typically 40-60 people attend. We deliberately follow a very informal format, with tons of Q&A and time for conversations. Over the years, we’ve featured executives from Mary Kay, Bellame, Mannatech, Neora, AdvoCare and beyond.

But on September 13, we took theJuice to the next level. We featured not one, but six great speakers from our space in a single day. Our hope was to deliver practical, actionable content in a single day, while also leaving room for catching up with colleagues and meeting new industry friends.

So in this article, it makes more sense to me to share key insights from each speaker. Here’s a paragraph or two highlighting each speaker from theJuice on September 13, 2023. It’s important for me to clarify that these takeaways are based on my own personal notes and revelations, and don’t necessarily represent verbatim statements made by the speakers:

Brian Dill, Vice President US Sales at Norwex

“The Transformation to a Modern Sales Team”

Brian kicked off the day detailing a transition that Norwex recently took on to help focus its mission and positively strengthen and clarify its culture. The transition incorporated updates ranging from mission statement to messaging to host rewards, so it was no small task, and we all know how the field deals with change, right?

Brian stressed the importance of field input and involvement in any change process, and also spoke to the company’s increased focus on more segmented communications. Direct sales companies are notorious at sending every piece of communication to everyone in their database. There should be no excuse for companies to leverage easily accessible tools (like features in your email platform) to better segment communication so we’re relaying messages that resonate, rather than bore or even aggravate, the recipient. This is especially important when undergoing major transition, as we quickly realize that many of our changes only matter to a small group sometimes.

A specific element of transition that Brian shared is in the company’s host program, evolving from a “typical” host program featuring different gifts at different levels with a certain amount of customers, to a more open, certainly simpler program of just offering product credits based on the sales from a show. I’ve talked about my thoughts on host programs and party plan companies before, and I think we’ll see more and more simplification of host programs in the next two years, as our customers are begging for straightforward programs.

Melissa Soete, Sales Strategist

“Unlocking the Psychology of Top-Producing Leaders”

Melissa Soete is a sales strategist and keynote speaker who has worked closely with several direct sales companies over her career, most recently with Color Street and Green Compass. Her experience in fast-growing operations is unparalleled, making her insights into how things are really working for top leaders today extremely valuable.

An idea that Melissa shared is likely my biggest takeaway of the whole day, and serves as a challenge for all of us. We would all agree that hearing from and connecting with our sales leaders is important. But what are we actually doing to make sure that happens?

Here’s a suggestion that Melissa shared:

• Pick 50 leaders to connect with.
• Pick a topic or two that you would like to discuss with them. Maybe it’s customer retention.
• Block an hour and a half each day for the next month to connect with these leaders.
• Email each leader, and ask them to a) reserve a 30-minute time with you, and b) to think about ways we can increase the number of orders our customers place with us.
• When you’re on the call with the leader, truly connect with them. For the first 5 minutes, learn about them and their family. What led them to your company?
• Have their info so you can speak specifically to how their business is doing. It makes them feel seen and heard.
• Ask them what their ideas are related to your topic. Focus on truly hearing not just the solution they’re proposing, but also the problem their trying to solve. Collaborate with them and see how you can make the idea even better.

Is this a big investment of time? You bet! Is there anything else you’re doing that could produce better insights and innovations for your company? Probably not.

I challenged every attendee to take on this approach and see what happens. I’m doing the same with you!

Dave Fleming, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Neora

“You’re Doing It Wrong!”

Dave’s presentation title was admittedly click-bait, but his fast-moving content certainly supported the idea that we’re probably all not really doing modern direct selling right. One of the big takeaways for the entire audience was research that Dave shared related to gig workers in the U.S. today:

• 93% of employees in the U.S. either already have or are looking into a side gig. In Dave’s room, if you don’t have a side gig right now, you are the weird one.
• The average gig worker earns $483 per month.
• The average gig worker works 40-50 hours per month.
• Therefore, most gig workers are earning $10-$12 per hour.

Most direct sales companies stack up very favorably to these findings. But are we positioning what we do, and focusing how we do it, so that we’re even considered?

Dave also challenged us all to live up to the ecommerce experiences we all favor for our own personal shopping. Stop comparing yourself to Amazon; they’re in a league of their own. Rather, identify the standalone ecommerce sites that you enjoy the most. Think about why, and then look at your company’s site and figure out how to get better.

Finally, an extremely powerful snippet from Dave based on a study he had done before was this: Distributors who earn something and receive payment in their first week of being a Distributor stick around 24 times longer than Distributors who do not. How does that idea change your thoughts on fast-start programs?

Damian Mobley, Chief Technology Officer at Immunotec

“Hero or Scapegoat?” 

Is great technology the key to success? Is bad technology the reason for your failures? Damian presented the idea that “none of the above” is actually the correct answer. For too long, direct selling has looked to technology to save the day, to not just support success, but to be the reason for it altogether.

In Damian’s words, “Given proper design and implementation of a technology product, that technology product can neither be praised or cursed for success or failure of sales.”

Say that again?!?

It’s possible we haven’t all experienced a “successful tech launch,” whatever that means, but I feel rather assured that we have all shared in blaming technology for our shortcomings. Damian pushed us to think differently. Sure, we shouldn’t blame tech for all of our problems, but we also shouldn’t lean on it for all of our successes.

Technology enables sales; it does not create them.

Damian pointed out that a piece of paper and a pencil is actually technology. We just don’t think of it that way. Which got me to thinking about writing in my journal. I right notes about everything; it’s how I process my thinking. So in my journal, there are ideas scribbled out that could be a really big deal for my clients, or maybe my own business. Or possibly a thought for a keynote presentation, or a comp plan, or a promotion, or who knows what else?

If any of those ideas became a success, no one would ever give my journal credit for it. Alternatively, if any of those ideas were horrible failures, no one would blame the pen with which I wrote it down.

We must think of technology the same way.

Brent Kugler, Partner/Chair of Direct Sales Litigation Section at Scheef & Stone

“Sleepless Nights for MLM Attorneys”

A lot has happened on the regulatory front in the last five years in our industry, and it’s still happening. Brent offered a brief overview of the good, the bad and the downright worrisome in his presentation. A short summary here won’t really do any of them any justice, but I will try to capture the bigger points that stood out to me:

• Get your policies and procedures and your Consultant agreements reviewed. It seems more stringent approaches to our agreements and P&P documents are being required. Links to other documents, or reference to items in the backoffice, are increasingly becoming unacceptable in certain cases where full disclosure is in question. I think every company should have these documents reviewed by a third part professional (like Brent) immediately, based on what he shared. This goes for subscriptions and autoship policies, too.
• Do Not Call complaints are broadening. With the prevalence of text messaging and other tools used by the field to contact prospects and customers, following the proper (and oft updated) guidance and gaining sufficient permissions can be a moving target. Many companies are being accused of disregarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in light of these developments. A careful review of not just what you’re doing from the corporate office, but also what is occurring directly from your field leaders would be prudent.
• Law Firms Directly Investigating Direct Sales Companies. Recently a California law firm has been using online advertising and other tactics to target Distributors for specific companies, and then building a case for the Distributor to join a class action suit against the company. These are not government agencies, but rather private law firms, gathering clients for such actions.

Odin Clack, Sr. Director of Digital Marketing at AdvoCare

“Find New Customers”

We’re all so fascinated with what AdvoCare is doing because, frankly, they’ve been forced to do what so many of us may feel like we should be doing, in some form or fashion. Odin Clack leads the digital marketing efforts at AdvoCare, and he shared a wide range of advice for companies.

Odin’s biggest advice throughout his presentation was to know your customer really well, and make sure you personalize and customize every possible experience for them, based both on what you know about them, and also how they’re finding you. If they have a history of buying Fruit Punch Spark, don’t waste too much time trying to tell them about Pineapple Spark. If they see a picture of someone that looks like them on an ad, make sure that same person is showing up on the landing page they click to.

Odin touched a bit on some of the specifics of the work his team does, as well. One note that really stood out to me was in the use of journeys, particularly email journeys. Most email platforms have journey creation tools that are very powerful. Are you using them? Take the time upfront for every campaign you do to build full journeys that dictate what to do next if someone opens an email, or clicks a certain link, or doesn’t. Leveraging automations like this can make small teams produce at a much larger level.

Odin also made the point that “your Distributors aren’t Influencers, so stop treating them that way or trying to make them become one.” Could you have some influencers who have joined your company? Of course. But too many direct selling companies are trying to turn their Distributors into influencers, when that’s not really what they want.

Come to theJuice!

There was so much more shared at this one-day event. You can learn all about it (and check out all the great sponsors who made it possible) at theJuiceDFW.com. More importantly commit to attending any and all of the events in our channel. There are so many good ones, and the interaction with people who “do what you do” is always time well spent.

If you were at theJuice on September 13, drop a comment below and let us know what your biggest takeaways were.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post Key Takeaways From theJuice appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

9 Surefire Ways to Supercharge Your Strategic Planning

“On a scale of one to 10, how would you rate your company’s strategic planning process?”

I recently asked that question to a group of about 25 direct selling executives, and the average answer was a “5”, with the highest being a “7”. That should tell us a lot about how we feel about our planning process.

Dwight Eisenhower once said, “In planning for battle, I have always felt that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” I love that quote, because it speaks to the priority of the planning process over even the plan itself.

I once heard someone else suggest that humans are horrible at planning. Given how the group above rated their own planning process, I think we may have to agree.

But even if plans are seen as useless, or our skills as planners are marginal, we still must respect the process of planning. In my experience, this is exactly where most companies fall short. Companies are not very strategic about being strategic; they lack a planning process for their planning process.

With that sad truth in mind, I wanted to offer some guidance for you as many of us enter our strategic planning processes for 2023. My hope is you’ll find at least one or two tips here that can transform your approach this year.

1. Understand the Actual Role of Strategy.

To do something well, it makes sense to understand what that “something” actually is, right? In the case of strategy, I’m often surprised at how many executives don’t truly understand the role of strategy.

We often look at strategy as the highest level of professional thinking. But it’s not. Strategy focuses on the “how.” It connects your company’s objectives (what we want to accomplish) and goals (by what measure) with the actions and tactics you will choose to make those goals a reality. This makes strategy a bit more specific than most people tend to give it credit for.

A clear strategy is powerful in that it helps you know what not to do just as much as it helps you determine what you will do. There are often many different paths that could lead you to your final destination; your strategy is the chosen path for your company and your circumstances. Put another way, you don’t have a strategy until you can say “no” to a really good idea that doesn’t match your plan.

Here’s a quick example to help you:

* The objective is to increase our profitability.
* The goal is to increase profitability by 5% over last year.
* The strategy we choose to make this happen is to raise retail prices.

Simply put, there are lots of ways to increase profitability. You can lower costs. You can discontinue certain products. You can reduce your manpower. You can increase volume. But in this situation, the chosen path is to raise retail prices. That decision will drive specific actions that would be very different than other paths. That’s the power of a clear strategy in a very basic form.

2. Don’t Feel Pressured to Completely Reinvent Yourself Every Year.

The annual strategic planning process can elicit a huge amount of pomp and circumstance at some companies. There is a natural temptation to take an all or nothing approach each and every year, a sense that this year requires a completely new approach for a completely new time and place. Sometimes, that temptation is completely warranted and legitimate. But most of the time, it is not.

Let’s get real for second: Most strategic plans don’t begin and end in exactly 12 months. Which means your best strategic plan for 2023 may be the same as 2022, with a tweak here or there. Your company may be right on track for success that matches your goals. So don’t get in the way of that, just because you need a big strategy to share with the board.

Sometimes your best plan forward is the one you already know, no matter how simple or boring that seems.

3. Be Comfortable with Accomplishing Less.

Many a strategic plan comes apart because it tries to accomplish too much. Direct selling companies are constantly facing new challenges and new changes in the market. We have a sales force that won’t hesitate for a nanosecond to let us know the most important projects we should be focused on at any given time. We watch what other companies in the industry are doing, and we want to do it, too. We have great ideas coming at us from other execs and department heads.

It’s a lot to process. And it’s also way too much to accomplish at the same time. Commit to doing less stuff this year. I often suggest that a company have around three to six corporate objectives for any given year, and eight at the absolute most.

In my experience, anytime a company starts creeping past even five objectives, what they are accounting for are really departmental objectives. Marketing wants to launch a new social media campaign. Finance wants to implement a new accounting platform. It’s all important stuff, but in most cases it’s not a corporate objective.

So let your department heads create objectives at the departmental level to match the higher corporate objectives, and keep those corporate objectives focused on the big areas that everyone can support and get excited about.

4. Don’t Invite Too Many People to Your Planning Session.

This is a planning session, not a brainstorming session. Your intentions may be great in wanting to invite that up-and-coming director so they can listen in, or that really creative lady in purchasing so she can be part of the process. You may be caught up in an extremely inclusive spirit. But when a planning session includes too many people, nothing gets done.

You want candid, focused, experienced input on your strategic plan. The point is not to come up with lots of fresh ideas. The point is to clarify your company’s next steps and to create buy-in and unity around it.

I suggest a group of about six to 10 executives is about right. If you’re a small company, even that may be too much. But when you get past 10 people in a meeting that is designed to maximize input from the entire group, I find it becomes difficult to truly gain the candor and comfort needed to accomplish that task.

Keep the group tight, and then cascade the info down throughout the organization as needed afterward.

5. Be Sure to Shift Your Resources to Match Your Plan.

This point can be really frustrating, and it happens all the time.

It’s great to create a clear, specific roadmap for moving forward, but if you don’t actually adjust your resources to support that plan, then why bother?

Too many companies start with the budgeting process, then they come up with a strategy that either fits neatly into that budget, or that requires a totally different approach than what that budget was built for.

Do you need to add some key positions to make your plan happen? Shift some dollars from one department to another? Reorganize the corporate team to accommodate the plan?

Don’t be afraid to shake things up a little to give your plan its best shot at success. Too many strategic plans have never made it to the finish line because the organization never matched their resources to the plan.

6. Invest in Preparation (and Professionals) Prior to the Session.

The worst thing you can do is just show up to your planning session and see what happens. Great planning sessions occur when great planning occurs for them well in advance.

So what does this look like? First, your planning session itself needs to have very well defined objectives. Be very clear on what your planning session will accomplish (and what it won’t). Err on the side of too specific here. The clearer your objectives are for the actual planning meeting, the easier it is for it to be successful.

Then, match the agenda of the planning session to your objectives. Map out almost every minute to make sure your objectives are met. Nothing sets the tone for a productive meeting like a well-tuned agenda, so invest the time in thinking and conversations necessary well in advance to make this happen. I typically like to have it all wrapped up and sent out to participants at least a week in advance of the session, if not two weeks.

I also strongly recommend you invest in hiring a third-party facilitator for the session. Yes, I confess that many direct selling companies hire me to do this for them, so I may be a tad biased. But here’s what I know from my days as an executive within our industry: your team will take the session more seriously and will participate more fully if someone outside of your company runs the meeting. Put another way, it’s hard for someone internally to facilitate a meeting like this with their colleagues, because there’s often too much familiarity and history (good and bad) to produce the most effective results. Plus a facilitator is being hired to ask the tough questions, whereas an employee may shy away from asking the tough questions.

In addition, a professional facilitator often has a methodology and templates you can leverage to save time and optimize the entire planning process. These tools and resources can prove to be invaluable in the moment and beyond.

Consider a third-party facilitator for your session, and eliminate these obstacles entirely. Don’t cheat your planning process by not being as bold and thorough as you can be.

7. Have Powerful Questions Ready. 

The key to a great strategic planning session is in the questions, even more than the answers. If you’re leading, or even participating in, a planning session, have powerful questions ready to present to the group at the right times.

That term “powerful questions” sounds a bit generic, I know. But in my training as an executive coach, I’ve learned that “powerful questions” are actually a very specific technique and have a distinct purpose. As one organization defines it, “powerful questions are provocative queries that put a halt to evasion and confusion. By asking the powerful question, the coach invites the client to clarity, action, and discovery at a whole new level.”

That sounds like something every organization could use a little more, don’t you think? So have a few powerful questions in your back pocket that you can use to provoke the group. Here are a few of my favorites:

a. What are we doing right that we need to do more of?
b. What do we need to stop doing?
c. How can we accomplish this in half the time?
d. What does success look like?

8. Document Your Session with Live Note-Taking.

If you’ve ever been part of a meeting with live note-taking, then you know just how powerful this approach can be. I do it with all of my clients, and it’s always the part of the session they remember the most.

Live note-taking is simple in concept, but can be the difference maker between good and great planning sessions. In short, someone with skills in not just capturing the input of the group, but quickly organizing, synthesizing and processing it on a document, participates in the session. The notes are projected on a screen for the entire group to see in real-time, and the facilitator, note-taker and entire group work collectively to refine their thinking in black and white for all to see and comment on. The result is a fine-tuned planning document at the end of the session that literally gets everyone on the same page.

9. Create a Follow-Up Rhythm That Leads to True Change (Not Just Lip Service).

A mantra our sales teams often echo is that “the fortune is in the follow-up.” That’s definitely true for a strategic plan.

Your strategic plan means nothing if you don’t follow it up with a plan for ongoing accountability and updates. Start with determining the success factors and key performance indicators for your corporate objectives, and then determine who is responsible for reporting on those factors and how often. I’ve seen too many companies fail to execute a strong plan because they never prioritize the reporting process.

In addition, many strategies require a shift in culture, and that’s never quick or easy. So go overboard in following up on the plan at the beginning. I typically recommend for the group to come together once every two weeks to discuss updates on the plan, and discuss the related data mentioned above. After three to six months, you may be able to shift to once a month, but don’t be afraid to overdo it at the beginning. The real key here is in shifting the thinking of the entire organization to focus on your objectives.

What are the strengths of your company’s planning process? What approaches have worked best for you?

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post 9 Surefire Ways to Supercharge Your Strategic Planning appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

The Easiest Thing to Sell

The easiest thing to sell is something someone already wants to buy. Prolific, huh?

If we can find people who are already prone to want what our product solves, and then offer that product to them, good things should happen most of the time.

But how often do we think of sales as more of an act of convincing, and not so much of offering? “He could sell ice to an eskimo.” We celebrate people who can do that. But at the heart of that statement, what we’re really saying is “He can get people to do something they really don’t want to do.”

Here’s the zinger, direct seller: How often are we asking our salesforce to do the same thing? To convince someone to do something they don’t want to do? And after a while, how many of them decide it’s not for them, because enough people aren’t buying what they’re selling?

What’s Your Core Compelling Offer?

If I asked you what the “core compelling offer” of your company is, what would you tell me? Would you be able to answer right away? Or would it take some time to think through? Would it be a short, succinct response, or would you meander through all kinds of thoughts?

You may stumble over just the understanding of what a core compelling offer is, so let’s define it (at least how I define it):

Core: It’s the offer at the center of your operation, the heart. It’s the offer that typically leads the way. It’s what the majority of Distributors share first (and maybe at all). It doesn’t cover everything, but it does cover the main thing. It captures the essence behind your brand.

Compelling: It’s something a certain group of people wants. That group may be huge, or it may be small, but for your target audience, they feel compelled to accept the offer. Because they deal with whatever the problem solves. Not only is the product compelling, but so is the offer itself. It’s hard to resist.

Offer: A solution is presented to an audience with a problem. Or maybe it’s not a problem, but a hope or a dream. Regardless, the offer is clearly presented, and it typically includes receiving money in exchange.

So, what’s the core compelling offer at your company?

At the rate of change in direct selling, it can feel overwhelming to keep up with it all. Compensation plan updates. Digital transformation. Affiliate programs. Customer reward programs. Social media. Promotions and incentives. These are all important and worthy of our attention. They need to be addressed.

However, if your core compelling offer isn’t adequately in place, what does it matter? It doesn’t’ matter how much your compensation plan pays out if no one buys your product. It doesn’t matter how well your website is built for conversion if the offer itself doesn’t convert. Your stories and reels and posts will fall flat. Your customer rewards program won’t work without customers.

In my experience, at the heart of every direct selling success story is a core compelling offer (CCO) that makes sense, and that works. Also, in my experience, most direct selling companies aren’t focused enough on their CCO. Either they’ve never really had one, or they had one before, but it’s fizzled out. We fully recognize the evolution of our channel, and business overall. That evolution can impact our CCO as much as our comp plan or our digital presence.

The Best Sales Tool You Can Give Your Distributor

Your core compelling offer is obviously important for customer acquisition.

But it’s also vital for Distributor success.

I’ll go so far as to say this: The best sales tool you can give a Distributor is an effective core compelling offer. Like I said, the easiest thing to sell is something someone already wants. If you can give that to a Distributor, not only will they experience success, but they’ll also grow in their confidence, and they’ll share more.

So let me challenge you to rethink and refine your core compelling offer. Some of you are likely reading this, and feel very confident that your CCO is in place and ready to rock. That’s great to hear. But for the rest of you, there may be no greater exercise you can go through that reframing the CCO for your company in 2023 and beyond.

Here are some thought-starters to get the conversation rolling:

• Why are you here? Is it time to revisit your mission, your reason for being? I once heard someone describe a mission statement as “what’s wrong with our world, and how we intend to fix it,” and a vision statement is “what the world looks like when we accomplish our mission.” It doesn’t cover everything, but it sure is practical, huh? How would you answer those questions?
• What do you solve for people? With a clear mission in place, make sure your brand messaging and positioning aligns. And make sure it’s crystal clear. We use a twist on the Storybrand methodology with our clients. It’s something you can walk through on your own (read the book). It is the most practical approach to clarifying your brand messaging that I’ve ever used.
• What are you actually offering? This may be a hero product, or maybe a special bundle of products. Maybe it’s a membership, or a subscription. Maybe it’s an introductory offer or welcome kit of some kind. Whatever it is, force yourself to think about it on a deeper level, and make sure this offer aligns with your mission and messaging!
• Simplify it. Now that you think you know your core offer, simplify it even more. How can you streamline your offer as much as possible. Remove every pinch of friction, and see where you end up.
• Clarify value. We’re not talking about price (yet); we’re talking about the value this offer brings to your audience. How can you clearly state the problem and issues you know will resonate with them? And what are the simple statements that address all of that to say about your product?
• Rethink your offer. Now we can talk about price. I’ll assume you have a fair retail price for your offer. But what should that core compelling offer be priced at? If your product is something that first needs to be experience before it’s fully valued, don’t let price be what keeps your audience from saying “Yes”. A lot of marketers would disagree with me on this, and say you need to let your product stand on its own, and establish value. And sometimes that’s exactly what you need to do. But I’ve seen too many companies move mountains to get someone to the point of checkout, only to lose them over the price. Rethink that introductory offer, and give your customers a chance to experience your product. If it’s valuable to them, they’ll come back for it, and they’ll pay full price. If they don’t come back, they were only going to buy from you once anyway.
• Rethink your offer like a Distributor. Now that you’ve rethought your offer overall, think about how a Distributor will go about sharing it. Does that change anything? Should it?
• Build your company around your CCO. Ready to get really crazy? Once you have a clear CCO, look at how the rest of your company works, and dream about what it would look like to build everything around this CCO. Need to tweak the comp plan for it? Then take a look at that. Need some sales funnel pages, or lead capture? Go for it. Rest of your product line feel too cluttered? Make some hard decisions and cut some of them. If your offer truly is compelling, and has the power to push your company forward, then why wouldn’t you build everything else around it.

So, what’s your company’s core compelling offer? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post The Easiest Thing to Sell appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

We’re Still Partying Like It’s 1999

I’m a huge Prince fan.

Not Harry or William. I’m talking the artist originally known as, then formally known as, then finally once again known as… Prince.

I loved him when I heard “When Doves Cry” for the first time when I was 7 years old, and I’ve loved him through every year since. Two of the best five concerts I’ve ever seen were of Prince.

Whether you love him or hate him yourself, it’s hard for me to imagine you’re not aware of who he is and many of his songs. And one of those unavoidable songs is no doubt “1999”, Prince’s poppy ode to the then-oncoming millennium.

“2000-00, party over
Oops, out of time
So tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999”

Even Prince knew 1999 couldn’t last forever. That something was gonna change, so might as well party now before we have to worry about it.

Prince has inspired my article with a message especially for party plan companies in direct selling today. Because while Prince has moved on, I fear too many of us have refused to. Too many of us are still partying like it’s 1999.

I Love a Good Party

I need to make something very clear here at the onset, and it will keep coming up throughout my article: I love party plan companies. Prior to consulting, I did not spend my career in party plan, so it was unfamiliar terrain for me. But well over half of my clients have been in the party plan space, so I caught up quickly, and I’ve developed a real love for what party plan companies are about. They’re just fun, and energetic, and I think, as a general rule, that they’re more open to evolving in direct selling than their counterparts.

And, I do love parties. Or shows, gatherings, tastings, trunk shows, demonstrations or whatever other name you may have for them.  I think demonstrations are absolutely vital for so many product types in our space. And I think the community and spirit of parties are beyond fun.

I love parties as an event; I just can’t stand them as an order type. And that’s what we need to address.

Keep the Party, Lose the Order Type

There are some clear obstacles to what we’ve included in the “party plan” bucket in terms of philosophical/marketplace concerns, and we’ll get to those, but I think the real issues with a traditional party plan model in the modern world has more to do with functional issues. And two things are at the heart of the cause: Order submissions and host programs.

Let’s start with order submissions… When I say “I love parties as an event, just not as an order type,” I typically tell a story to make my point.

The first network marketing company I worked for in my career was great in so many ways. They were a nutritional MLM that launched in the mid-nineties. They did OK for a bit, but they really took off when the women started holding what they called “mixers.” These mixers were nothing more than a home party, where people could try different products and learn about them in person. The company took off, and the rest is history.

Did these ladies have a great host program to tap into? Nope! It was a traditional MLM company – they don’t do those sorts of things. I’m sure they got creative on their own with promos and specials, but that’s kinda the point: on their own, these women realized that sharing these products in a social setting was a great way to sell them, and that in and of itself was reward enough to do it. They didn’t need extra perks to want to do that.

I still think this is true. I know home shows don’t happen anywhere near as often as they used to, but all of the data I see tells me that, when they do happen, they’re still really, REALLY good in terms of customer acquisition and sales revenue. And, if COVID taught us anything, it taught us that online “shows” and demonstrations can work, and I don’t see that going anywhere.

The challenge with “shows” is that they just don’t happen as often as they used to, no matter how much we try to convince the world that they should.

A lot has led to that: Schedules, society in general, an explosion of shopping options. But obviously the Internet and ecommerce are at the center of a lot of the shifts that party plan companies had to take on starting in the early 2000s.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also point out how the pandemic impacted not just direct selling in general, but party plan companies more specifically. Many party plan companies went from barely making it to hyper-growth over 2020 to 2021, only to come sliding back down rather quickly in 2022. Other party plan companies struggled just to keep up during the pandemic, and are still finding their footing. Of course, there are some companies who are doing just fine.

Many have called the pandemic the “Great Accelerator,” and I like that description. The trends we embraced weren’t necessarily new concepts to us; we’d been talking about them for years. But we were in a position where we had to commit to them, or die. We certainly saw the acceleration of live-streaming, online parties and social selling techniques over 2020 and 2021. But I don’t think the core opportunities I’m discussing in this article were created by that era. I think party plan companies were already on the path of evolution; the pandemic simply accelerated the progress.

Unintended Consequences

In response to all these changes, a lot of trends popped up in the party plan world. The motives behind them were all good and right. But the unintended consequences have been vast and problematic:

Self-Hosting: Self-hosted shows are pretty much the standard now, where Consultants themselves are able to stock up on the perks of the host program by hosting shows on their own. It’s not wrong or bad at all, and pretty much inevitable. But it’s not why your host program was created.

Order Gathering: If there’s one thing Consultants are amazing at, it’s figuring out the best way to milk any program for every possible discount, even if it hurts their own commissions. That’s admirable, actually. But in the spirit of doing that, the trend now is that Consultants simply open “shows” and collect orders from customers all together at once to tap into the host perks, even though there was never really a show or a true host. It’s not bad or wrong, but it’s not why your host program was created.

Shows That Never “Close:” In response to all the different ways that the host program and shows are being used outside of a traditional host, companies have gotten more open to allowing Shows to stay open indefinitely, or at least for months at a time. Online shopping before, during and after the party has warranted this, to a certain degree, but these never-ending orders have led to even more iterations of what a “party” actually is these days. And, it’s not why your host program was created.

Quasi-Customer Rewards Programs: The most creative Consultants figure out how to turn the company’s host program into a Customer Rewards Program. Many will open a “show” for every Customer, allowing for them to just collect their host perks over time (since they never close). It’s not a host program at this point, it’s a customer rewards program. Which is a great idea! But it’s not why your host program was created.

What’s the Purpose of a Host Program?

So why was a host program created? In its purest and most original form, a host program was created to allow customers (not Consultants) to invite friends and family for a show (traditionally, at their home). In exchange for that, they got to tap into all kinds of perks and discounts.

Sounds like a really amazing referral program to me!

When done this way, Host Programs make a ton of financial sense. Get your best customers to help spread the word and take on a lot of the heavy lifting of customer acquisition. It’s worth it!

And that’s exactly what a host program is intended to be. And the standard form of a host program (which gives discounts, free items and special access to hosts where Customers buys $200, $300, $400, etc., in a show) hasn’t really changed that much in over 30 years.

Even though everything around it, and everyone using it has pretty much changed in how they use it.

Now, let me say this again: I love parties, and party plan companies ;-). And I know that there are still genuine shows with Customer Hosts happening. And I think that’s great, and you should still make that a possibility for anyone who wants to do it. I’m a big believer in allowing anyone who wants to sell my products in any way, as long as it’s legal and compliant.

But for every company I’ve talked to who shows me that they have even 50% of their “shows” in a traditional sense, I meet five where the vast majority (70%+) of their “shows” actually fall into a self-hosted or order collection scenario.

And most of these companies all share the same sentiment: “I don’t mind investing in my host program; I just want to make sure that investment is going toward true incremental revenue.”

So the real proposition for party plan companies is in finding the best way to leverage the investment they’re making in their host program.

3 Core Challenges

I think there are three fundamental areas where applying a traditional host program in today’s direct selling environment are a real challenge. I’m sure there are more, but I think coming to grips with these alone should be enough to get serious about rethinking how you do host perks:

Technical Challenges: Every direct selling company is going to run into technical challenges, but it is extremely common in the party plan space for companies to be held back due to either technical issues with incorporating new ecommerce technologies to account for show orders and host perks, or due to their allegiance to their current system and processes because of their show orders and host perks that system supports. This isn’t a knock on the software providers in our space; they do great work here. It has more to do with recognizing that so many companies feel stuck in their capabilities because of one or two aspects of their business model.

Anytime you’re a slave to the system, you have an opportunity to rethink the path forward.

Financial Challenges: Party Plan companies spend a lot on host perks and maintaining show orders. Most host programs offer 15 – 30% in free products and other discounts alone. When that 15-30% is going to Consultants self-hosting, or to collections of orders that would have typically just come through as a retail order on your website, there’s a lot of payout and double-dipping that’s happening that can suck up the margin you thought you’d generate.

On top of that, there’s typically quite a bit of cost in maintaining and updating the systems and integrations to keep the program running.

Anything you sink more than 1% of total sales into regularly be looked at, optimized, refined and updated regularly to make sure that investment is well placed.

Customer Experience Challenges: The curse of knowledge is a real thing, and when it comes to our host programs, our Consultants certainly suffer from it. I’ve seen so many times where a Customer expresses that they’re ready to buy a product from the website directly (through their Consultant), but the Consultant will actually stop them, reroute them, ask them to click on a show link instead, enter their order there, and then explain some creative way the Consultant is going to leverage the perks for them, or a larger group.

It all makes total sense to the Consultant; it normally leaves the Customer’s head spinning.

I don’t consider myself an ecommerce expert, but when someone is ready to buy something, I’m pretty sure it’s not good practice to get in their way.

If there’s a part of your selling process that actually discourages Customers from buying when they want to buy, you need to rethink it.

So What’s the Solution?

Well, first let me remind you that I love party plan companies.

I also recognize how vital the “party” has been for so many companies in developing their overall culture (especially 15+ year-old companies). And no one wants to lose or threaten that.

But if you find yourself using parties and shows in ways they were never intended to be used, and paying host perks in ways you never expected (or accounted for), and having to explain why ordering through your company has to be done a certain way, I think it’s fairly clear that you need to reconsider some things.

I believe every company has a unique answer, so I won’t pretend to know what yours is. But here are some places to consider as a start:

1. Don’t discourage people from having shows (whatever that means): Demonstrating your products is always a good thing. Allow for it and facilitate it. Livestream it and all that good stuff. But…

2. Don’t require shows: So many party plan companies base recognition and even commission bonuses off of sales through shows. That used to make a lot of sense, but now, given all the reasons we’ve talked about above, you’re really just requiring Consultants to cram orders into shows that otherwise wouldn’t have done it, just to maximize the perks. Reward sales, regardless of how they come in. Many of your Consultants will choose to sell through shows, because that’s just a good way to share products!

3. Build around what you want (not what you have): In my experience, most party plan companies struggling to figure out where they belong in the modern social selling environment work too hard to try to figure out how to make parties work in this new world, instead of trying to figure out what it is they could truly offer in terms of Customer Rewards and Referrals. We love what true hosts do; let’s figure out a way to continue to reward them for their “super referrals” still but come up with a program to do it that isn’t so exposed to all of the challenges we’ve talked about. I have some ideas on that …

4. Ask one very important question: “If we were launching our company today, how would we do it?” Think about accomplishing whatever it is you want to accomplish, and think through what the best way to do that would be if you launched today. Once you have an idea of what that is, starting figuring out a path to get from here to there.

5. Remember your identity: You’re a great brand who has used the party plan model/direct selling space as a method of distribution, etc. Yes, it’s very, VERY easy to take that on as your identity. “We’re a party plan company.” But that’s not really true; you’re a lot more than that. Stick to the absolute core of your vision, and be open to updating and changing absolutely everything else.

I love party plan companies. But I feel like we’ve allowed the party to dictate way more about what we do and what we’re capable of becoming than it’s supposed to. At the end of the day, we must focus more on how customers want to buy than on how we want to sell.

We don’t need to toss out the spirit behind parties, or even host program. But we do need to completely rethink how we accommodate it.

Prince was always ahead of his time. He predicted a scary amount of what was going to happen in the music industry way before anyone else. He actually had his own personal iTunes service several years before there was an iTunes. And, he released “1999” in 1983! Prince knew things were changing, regardless of what he thought about it.

We need to keep partying, but we can’t afford to still party like it’s 1999.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post We’re Still Partying Like It’s 1999 appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Depending on the company’s overall strategy and on that specific product, the endorsing personality can be a movie star, a musician, model, athlete or even an ex-politician. If the company has operations in multiple countries, it is a good idea for that chosen figure to be internationally well-known. Generally, the characteristics sought-after are the familiarity of that figure to the target audience, trustworthiness and attractiveness.

Therefore, the effectiveness of a celebrity marketing program depends on finding the right figure for that product or business and obviously, on successfully executing the program after that. The celebrity’s personal stability and dependability are crucial for the program’s success. When all the pieces fit in, such campaigns can bring in huge benefits. On the other hand, there are also big failures ruining both the brand’s and the company’s image.

While some of the celebrities appear merely on product catalogues, websites or ad campaigns, others’ involvements might go deeper by being a spokesperson or the “face” of the brand or the whole company for longer periods of time.

The direct selling industry is no exception when it comes to utilizing this marketing tool. Here are some examples:

AMWAY

Movie stars like Alan Ladd, Sandra Bullock and Teresa Palmer, international football player Ronaldinho, NBA star Shaquille O’Neal and NFL Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner are on the list of famous figures Amway worked with.

AVON 

Avon has a long history and a long list of celebrity partnerships. The famous baseball player Joe DiMaggio, and the stars like Rosalind Russel, Claudette Colbert, and Catherine Deneuve are only a few of the icons that collaborated with Avon in the past. Then, came in other international stars like Jacqueline Bisset, Julia Roberts, Fergie, Reese Witherspoon, Patrick Dempsey, Megan Fox, Salma Hayek, and the famous tennis champion Maria Sharapova.

HERBALIFE

Being predominantly a nutrition company, Herbalife’s choices have been among athletes and teams. Within this context, it worked with the two biggest names in international football: Ronaldo and Messi.

LR HEALTH & BEAUTY SYSTEMS

Germany-based cosmetics direct seller LR worked with stars to promote especially its fragrances. Among these were Bruce Willis, Michael Schumacher, Heidi Klum, and Karolina Kurkova.

MANNATECH

Mannatech is another company that decided partnering with athletes. Former basketball player nicknamed “Lady Magic” Nancy Lieberman was an example. Besides athletes, Mannatech was also endorsed by Dr. Ben Carson who then served as as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Trump Administration.

ORIFLAME   

This European direct seller had a list of international stars, working with some very familiar names like the actresses Demi Moore and Monica Belluci, and the famous tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

USANA

The last example that we cover here will be USANA. USANA works with quite a number of individual athletes and sports teams to get endorsements from them. The company was also endorsed by Dr. Oz as a “Trusted Partner”.

Although not too many, there are still people in the direct selling community who are categorically against doing any marketing activities. Whether a company should allocate budgets on activities like celebrity endorsements, instead of making the funds available to the field should not be a discussion in today’s day and age. The question here is choosing the right marketing tools and executing them effectively. Further to this, you might want to take a look at Brett Duncan’s insightful article that was published here: The Makings of a Modern Marketing Team for a Direct Sales Company

…..

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 the publisher of The World of Direct Selling, global industry’s leading weekly online publication since 2010. Hakki Ozmorali 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.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post Celebrity Usage in Direct Selling appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

The Fundamental Unit of Success in Direct Selling

“What is the fundamental unit of success in direct selling?”

Every chance I get, I ask my clients and their salesforce this question. As I give presentations, be it at company conventions for thousands of a client’s Distributors, or in the board room with a handful of executives, I make it a point to ask this question every time.

I always get lots of great answers, too. “Recruiting,” “customers” and “retention” are common, and worthy, answers. “Trust,” “service” and “products” pop up quite a bit.

They’re all great answers; they’re just not the answer I’m looking for.

The key to the question is in one word: “fundamental.” Something that’s fundamental is necessary. It’s essential. It’s not optional. It has to come first, before anything else can happen.

So, with that in mind, here’s the answer I’m looking for:

The fundamental unit of success in direct selling is a conversation.

Sounds too simple, and a tad elementary, doesn’t it?

But just think about it for a second: All those things we love about direct selling (sharing, selling, recruiting, retaining, personal development, etc.) can’t happen unless first there’s some form of conversation about your company.

Conversations are the seeds of success for any direct selling business. If your Distributors aren’t having a conversation about your company or your products, I can promise nothing else is happening in your business. So many companies struggle to get a large portion of their Distributors to engage enough to experience the earliest victories in your business. So many simply don’t share, or host, or sell, or sponsor, and your numbers show it. I bet, if you could track it, that you’d find out that most of them aren’t even having a conversation. They aren’t even planting the seed for success, so how in the world can they (or we) expect anything to grow?

It’s so easy for us to lose sight of one simple fact: most people are scared of having conversations about your company. Not everyone, of course. Not the real go-getters, or the top sellers, or the frequently recognized. But the majority of your Distributors aren’t comfortable with it. For some, they’re truly scared of the potential rejection that could come from it. For others, they just don’t understand how to start a conversation about your company. And for others, they just never get around to doing it.

So you’ve partnered up with a bunch of “farmers” who refuse to plant any seeds. Sounds like a recipe for famine. If it’s a big harvest you’re looking for, this is not the way to get there.

Once you truly grasp the significance of a conversation in your business, and its fundamental relationship to success (or lack of) for your business, as a corporate exec, you realize, then, that one of your fundamental responsibilities is to spark as many conversations as you possibly can about your business. If you feel stuck or confused in your planning, just ask yourself this question on a constant basis: “How can we spark more conversations today?”

What’s really interesting is that a “conversation” can take on so many forms these days. It can still be a one-on-one dialog in person with someone else. Or a phone call. But it’s also a text. And a tweet. And a post, a reel, a Live. They happen on Zoom, in your inbox and on TikTok. They can be in print, on a podcast, on TV or even a car decal. Today’s consumer consumes conversations more than anything else.

Here’s the thing: a conversation isn’t just the fundamental unit of success for a direct selling business; it’s fundamental for any business.

This fact should excite us, because our very business model is built around getting lots of people involved to have conversations. And yet, we still struggle. Here are some quick thoughts to help you shift when it comes to sparking conversations:

How are you helping your Distributors spark more conversations with their connections?

The biggest opportunity in “field development” today is in helping as many Distributors as possible spark a conversation about your Company. It’s likely that the majority of them aren’t doing it (or they give it a shot and then give up after a week). Check your data; it will prove it to you. It’s quite likely that at least 50% of your Distributors didn’t sell anything last month.

As a matter of fact, it’s likely that 50% haven’t sold anything in the last six months. And consider yourself very lucky if it’s only 50%!

I think it’s safe to assume that most of that 50% didn’t sell anything because they didn’t even talk about your brand. They didn’t have any conversations. They didn’t plant any seeds.

Streamline, accelerate and amplify both the quantity and the quality of the conversations your most “normal” Distributors have, and I can promise you’ll see a surge in field activity. Give them words to say. Give them examples of how to use it all. Spell it out for them. It’s safe to assume that they either a) don’t know what to do, or b) don’t have time to do it all, or c) both, so do everything you can to make it as easy as possible.

When a new Distributor signs up with your company, start looking at it a different way. Start thinking in terms of how many conversations that new Distributor represents. Is it 20 conversations? 50? 100? I don’t think 500 is overshooting at all, actually. And yet most new Distributors fall well short of having more than 20 conversations about your brand. Think of their “enrollment” as simply their agreement that they’re willing to have some conversations about your brand with their connections. Equip them to do it! It may not be something they’re too interested in doing for long, so you must spark those conversations while the iron’s hot! Don’t bother setting them on the road for years of success ahead with your company; they’re not even sure yet they still want to do this next month! Focus on partnering with them to spark as many conversations as possible in as small a window as possible. Help them plant seeds quickly and often.

Here’s the thing: many of us call ourselves “network marketing,” and yet we do so little to truly market to the networks of the people who join us as Distributors. Every Distributor represents a new network of people where new conversations can take place. Before we jump straight into asking that network to buy, or host, or join, or recruit, let’s first just make sure we plant the seed of conversation.

How are you sparking more conversations directly with your customers?

Corporate is obviously more involved in the entire selling process in direct selling than ever before, and for good reason. There are capabilities and access that corporate has that simply aren’t available otherwise.

So how are you leveraging these capabilities to spark as many conversations as possible? More importantly, when a Distributor does get the ball rolling, how are you sparking more follow-up conversations?

Every digital tool and platform you explore should ultimately help spark more conversations. Every campaign and promotion should be built with conversations as a major KPI. Every product launch should spark new conversations. Every convention speaker, training topic, comp plan update, loyalty program, publicity effort, executive hire… EVERYTHING should ultimately help spark more conversations.

When you can accept that conversations truly are the most fundamental unit of success in direct selling (and they are), then everything you do must somehow spark more conversations.

So, as you look at the challenges in your business today, how many of them are rooted in a lack of conversation? Or maybe the wrong conversation? Sure, “conversation” isn’t the answer to every challenge, but my guess is that it’s a big part of the answer for many of them, even most of them.

We so often focus on getting results and meeting goals that we lose sight of simply sparking the activity that leads to those results and goals. At the end of the day, the direct selling company that can get the most people doing just a little bit to share their brand wins.

Focus more on sparking conversations; it’s fundamental to your success.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post The Fundamental Unit of Success in Direct Selling appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Upon these developments, we asked some of the prominent persons of the direct selling community how they see the future of direct sales.

“Where do you think the industry is evolving into? Will we see more of these examples and why is that?” was the question.

Feel free to add your comments at the end of the text.

David Abbey, CEO and Co-Founder of Penny AI

“Social commerce is transforming shopping. The industry is moving towards expanding direct customer channel, leveraging affiliate-type programs with influencers at every level. We will see instant buying experiences across a variety of social platforms, without the requirement of enrolling as a consultant or building a downline. A new era of social storefronts will meet customers in the flow of engagement, and deliver an instant and convenient buying experience, building on the authentic connection with the affiliate influencer. The companies that pioneer this model will attract new sellers that drive referrals, loyalty, and trust.”

Shilpa Ajwani, Founder and CEO of unomantra

“A customer-focused business is present where the customers are! We have 5 generations of potential customers served by direct sales organisations today. All of them have a different preference of how, when and where they like to engage with a company and its representatives to purchase products or services. These generational preferences are also felt in the expectations sellers and leaders have in terms of ease of doing business, receiving trainings, communication, rewards, and recognition. That’s why direct sales organisations are transforming into ‘high-touch AND high-tech’ enterprises. We will see a creative omni-channel approach in distribution plus a combination of contemporary business practices merged into traditional business models to build and sustain loyalty – both from customers and representatives!”

Mark Beiderwieden, Founder of DiSSECT

“Growth in direct selling results from expanding your share of customer wallets (product/service portfolio) or increasing the number of customer wallets (recruiting). A DS company considering the retail sales channel is questioning its core competency.  It requires new structures and resources foremost in advertising, sales, and supply chain. It begs for portfolio pricing strategies permitting channels to co-exist without cannibalization and most important it requires an inclusive communication strategy to manage existing leader conflict. Can a multi-channel approach succeed with respect to existing values and ‘who you are’? The jury is out. If a current DS company is struggling, then modernizing and strengthening success fundamentals is a clearer strategy than challenging the channel and field reps that made you ‘who you are’ today.”

Robert Cavitt, CEO of Jenkon

“Affiliate relationships with retail consumers is one of the greatest opportunities for direct sellers to dramatically grow their business, while establishing safe-harbor for their business in times of aggressive regulatory oversight. Software technology today allows direct sellers to reward the end consumer for socially sharing their excitement for your products, while ensuring your sales organization still receives their commission and recognition. Consumers, especially the younger generations, demand a more authentic and interactive purchasing experience. Livestream shopping is the perfect answer. Live interaction and video-streaming is the future of digital commerce. Direct sellers can make that move today.”

Brett Duncan, Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Strategic Choice Partners

“Without a doubt, direct selling will evolve into more non-traditional channels and methods. The future belongs to companies who boldly embrace direct selling as a channel of distribution, a means to an end, and not the end itself. The marketplace still wants ‘opportunity’, but less and less the way we’ve offered it. So, let’s adapt to the market, rather than try to convince them to adapt to us. Don’t focus on how we want to sell; focus on how they want to buy.”

George Elfond, Co-Founder and CEO of Rallyware

“Following the upheavals of the pandemic, field consultants are becoming more like hybridized micro-retail businesses and gig platform contractors – mobile and adaptive – than what we have traditionally seen in direct selling. Retail is in a transitional space, with four major bankruptcies already in 2023. Direct selling is also going through transformation as industry leaders and emerging companies are increasingly finding themselves looking to reinvent the standard model and increase sales. It is only natural that these industries, which live and breathe by the selling power of their workforces, should experiment with new opportunities, whether that means expansions of direct sellers into retail, or retailers creating a more consultant-like personalized salesforce. Ultimately, I predict this road will lead direct selling to a hybrid model – grounded in synergies between the field and mobile technologies, retailers, and their communities.”

Jerome Freytag, Managing Director of Vente Directe Développement

“The new Affiliate role we are giving to our customers is a mix of Preferred Customers or Hostesses from the past. The principle is not new, nevertheless the digital tools are now ready to empower our customers in a very fluid and engaging way! Moreover, as the industry is being challenged towards more single level networks of independent representatives, Affiliates are a great first step to embark and then spot future leaders. Usually, we help our customers see Affiliation as a new entry title in their overall career plan. In the EU, some challenges arise due to statuses, but solutions exist.”

Jay Leisner, President of Sylvina Consulting

“Most direct selling companies are seeing drops in recruiting and sales. As a result, many direct selling companies are changing their focus. Rewarding the ‘selling’ behavior is becoming more important than building a team of distributors who buy products for personal use. Affiliate marketing is all about making sales to customers who are not affiliates. So, that is why direct selling companies are offering affiliate marketing opportunities. Will the downward trend in recruiting continue or will it reverse course? Only time will tell.”

John Lietsch, Chief Operating Officer of Bloo Kanoo

“Whilst external factors like the pandemic and the gig economy accelerated direct selling’s modernization, the resulting changes were long overdue. As modern retailers, it makes commercial sense to offer Loyalty Programs and, as opportunity providers, to offer ‘affiliate like’ relationships to gigify direct selling. And as both, it will become increasingly important to optimize the lifetime value of all our relationships, from consumer to business builder. I believe large brands will continue to successfully navigate multiple channels. However, I expect that SMBs (small and medium sized businesses) will remain dedicated to the direct selling channel because their success is underpinned by their multi-dimensional offering: Product. Opportunity. Founder. The evolution and modernization of direct selling is long overdue but with it comes the promise of a bright and profitable future.”

Lo Myrick, Owner of Lo Myrick Consulting

“Given the current state of the economy, the popularity of the gig economy, and the increasing demand for customers to be rewarded by the brands they buy from, I think it unwise for Direct Sales companies not to even consider affiliate marketing, loyalty programs, and limited-time retail programs. If Direct Sales companies want to compete with retail, or even succeed, they need to create trust and meet new consumer standards. While these programs are ‘buzzworthy’, implementing them presents its own challenges, especially as most enrollment programs are already confusing. To succeed in the coming years, executives need to simplify and create trust.”

Rodger Smith, Chief Marketing Officer of Exigo

“Tomorrow’s successful direct-selling companies will need great products promoted through various channels. They must adapt their commission programs to include affiliate and influencer models to thrive in the new omnichannel economy without alienating their legacy independent distributor networks. These trends make it essential that companies have a flexible, scalable infrastructure that allows them to adapt quickly and explore, deploy, and analyze these new adjacencies. To compete with other gig economy options, direct selling companies should embrace the proven elements that fueled their success in the past, establishing a culture that draws people in and prioritizes authentic personal relationships (in person, video, social media), personal development, and belonging.”

Terrel Transtrum, President and Founder of ServiceQuest

“The purpose of business is to get and keep customers profitably. Making sure the customer experience matches a clear brand promise will always be at the heart. Hustle, influence and relationships drive sales and always will. The industry will regularly adjust to consumer (and seller) preferences and technological advances. Work-from-home businesses in the USA grew from 10 million to 15 million in 20 years, without any sign of slowing down. Rewarding referrals, compensating affiliates and influencers for sales, and paying people for sales team productivity will evolve with creativity and innovation from marketers and entrepreneurs.”

Daryl Wurzbacher, CEO of ByDesign Technologies

“I see the industry evolving to better align with the broader direct-to-consumer expectations around both product experience and income earning opportunities. Successful companies have to lead with true product success stories and a winning experience, while at the same time – providing simple ways to engage in the income earning opportunity without having to make large purchases. I’m seeing companies from the direct-to-consumer/affiliate spaces having success adding multi-level compensation to grow their network of affiliates. I think the key for existing companies in our industry is to find the right balance between paying for affiliate/immediate sales, versus upline team compensation in order to make the opportunity appealing for casual sellers.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post In 100 Words: A New Era in Direct Selling? appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

Strategic Choice Partners is a comprehensive business development firm that combines the consulting and executive expertise to help direct selling companies determine their best next steps, and the hands-on capabilities to help you make it happen. We’re equal parts consulting firm and boutique agency, and our clients love us.

Co-founded by the late Alan Luce and Brett Duncan, and currently owned and operated by Brett Duncan, Strategic Choice Partners (SCP) brings together experts from different areas of direct selling to provide companies with support in just about every area of their business. Brett is considered one of the top thought-leaders in direct selling today, and has contributed many times to World of Direct Selling.

We’ve worked with more than 70 direct selling companies since 2014. We help direct selling companies in so many ways, but here’s a short video highlighting the Top 10 Reasons Companies Hire SCP:

Our Services

Work with Us

Ready to learn more? Let us customize a team of experts for your next project or initiative, and partner with Strategic Choice Partners. Learn more

The post Strategic Choice Partners appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

It’s Time to Do a New Thing

I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to write about this month. Not that I didn’t have ideas. I have lots of ideas. Tons of ‘em. Too many, in fact.

I mean, when you mix the “resolution-centric, hope-springs-eternal, goal-setting” spirit of the New Year with the “What-the-$#@&-is-going-on-around-here?!!” mindset of most direct selling execs these days, the stakes for picking the right article topic seem high.

I struggled with going uber-specific and tactical vs. staying philosophical and strategic.

Should I stick with sure-thing topics, like recruiting, technology or compensation plans? Or dip into more futuristic discussions around AI, data and ecommerce?

Some thoughts that got lost on the cutting room floor include…

• What happened with recruiting?!?
• How is AI-generated content going to change EVERYTHING?
• What are the real opportunities for software development in direct selling now?
• What’s still valid (and what’s not) about a party plan model?
• My predictions for direct selling in 2023.

I’m sure we’ll get around to most of these topics at some point this year.

And, of course, I looked back on what I’ve done in January’s past. In most cases, you could copy and paste a lot of these thoughts into 2023, because they still apply:

1. 3 Stats Direct Selling Companies Must Pay More Attention to in 2022
2. Your 5-Step Annual Checkup for 2021
3. The 10 Marketing Challenges Direct Sales Companies are Taking On in 2020
4. 9 Resolutions for Direct Selling Companies in 2019
5. My 11 Resolutions for Direct Selling Companies in 2017

Nothing about any of these topics or approaches seemed wrong, but they just didn’t seem right. Fortunately, divine intervention, well… intervened.

The right topic for right now came from the sermon at my church just yesterday. This is in no way a spiritual article; it’s rather practical. Regardless of your own faith and beliefs, I’m hoping you can benefit from the principle of the message, as I’m intending here.

The gist of the message was this: There’s always a new thing in the works.

And one of the main passages comes from the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Is. 43:18-19)

Now, it would be a stretch to think that Isaiah was prophesying about the direct selling channel thousands of years ago ;-). Suffice it to say there were larger things at play here.

At the same time, I think the principle of this message works in pretty much all walks of life, today as much as it did those thousands of years ago. Once I took a little while to process its meaning for my life, I couldn’t help but also feel that it’s a message the resonates for all of us in direct selling today.

And THAT’s what I want my article to be about today.

Forget the Former Things; Do Not Dwell on the Past

Disruption… Evolution… Paradigm Shift… Adaptation… Transformation…

We’ve been using lots of words over the past several years to capture the real crux of what’s happening: “Change.” I’ve personally talked, written and pontificated about the changes in direct selling quite a bit. Every conference is filled with like-minded speakers, too.

We’re all convinced that things are changing. We’re sold on doing things differently. We recognize that things will never be the same again. We chant “What got you here won’t get you there!”

But guess what we aren’t doing? We’re refusing to actually forget the former things.

We struggle forgetting the former things, because most of us really enjoyed the former things (me included!). The stuff we all grew up on in this industry. The things that motivated us, worked well for us were tried and true. Surely, if something was tried and true 10 years ago, it must still be tried and true today, right?

Tell that to the fax machine…

I work with a lot of companies of all shapes and sizes. I’ve worked with several established (10+ years old) companies recently, and they all seem to be going through the same pain and challenges. They want to change, but they’re still trying to make the changes on their terms. They’re still trying to protect the main way they’ve done business, and apply some changes around that. Or, they’re trying to get the “disruption” to change how it’s disrupting, so it suits the way they want to do business.

It’s hard to transform something that’s so big and tenured.

They do things like…

• Squeeze in an affiliate program without updating their core compensation plan.
• Add customer acquisition as a qualification without requiring it of their top leaders.
• Talking about the importance of customer acquisition while all the effort continues to go toward Distributor acquisition.
• “Fixing” their host rewards program without addressing the fundamental issues with traditional host reward programs.
• Updating the online experience without prioritizing the customer experience above all else.

I could keep going. The spirit behind all of this work is almost exactly what it should be. We are all fascinated with doing something new; we just don’t actually do anything new. Instead we apply new tweaks to the same ol’ thing.

Which isn’t doing anything new at all, right? Would a better fax machine actually be better?

And then we wonder why it doesn’t work out.

In defense of established companies, I’m not sure I could do it, either. When you have a multimillion-dollar business that continues to roll along (albeit a little bit less than last year, which was a little bit less than the year before…), it takes a ton of courage to slam the brakes on a dwindling sure thing to fully evolve into the possible new thing. And even if you have the courage, you probably don’t have the board approval!

We also cannot dwell on the past. The marketplace has most definitely moved on. To be a relevant and valuable business to that marketplace, don’t we also have to move along with it?

Do a New Thing!

The future of our channel belongs to the companies who are willing to do a truly new thing.

Not a new promotion.

Not a new compensation plan.

Not a new enrollment pack.

Not a new product.

Not a new online tool.

A. Completely. New. Thing.

Anything less than that will simply wither away. Because that’s what happens. While completely new things pop up all around us, less and less of the marketplace is willing to tolerate the poster children of what once was. So, they gradually move on while we die on the vine.

Much of the transformation our channel will need to see will come from brand new companies. They will have the freedom to be founded on the new thing. They won’t have the baggage of maintaining the status quo (at least not yet).

If you’re an existing company, doing a truly new thing isn’t impossible. It’s just highly unlikely. The odds are stacked against you. More specifically, the odds are stacked against human nature. So you have to make an overly conscious effort to forego protecting what you have to pursue what is to be. The short-term risk of doing so could quite likely mean a dip in sales. The long-term risk of not doing so could mean a permanent reduction in sales.

My favorite book on leading through a time of transformation is “Canoeing the Mountains” by Tod Bolsinger. I’ve never highlighted a book as much as I highlighted this one. It’s the most practical guide on leading in the midst of true transformational times that I’ve ever come across. One of the main points of the book for transformational leaders is summed up in this quote: “We keep on course with the same goal, but change absolutely everything required to make it through this uncharted territory.”

“Uncharted territory.” That’s exactly where we are as direct sellers today. The future is truly unknown. And what will define success or failure for the amazing companies in our amazing channel will come down to their ability (or lack of) to truly adapt, to accept the challenge to change anything and everything outside of the core mission. In some cases, even that may need to change.

Now It Springs Up; Do You Not Perceive It?

I think we all sense what I’m talking about. In fact, we’ve probably all talked about it ad nauseum for the past five years.

But can you actually perceive that it’s springing up right now? Is there a sense of urgency, a spirit of adventure, a commitment to pioneering in your organization? Or have you tweaked the same ol’ thing so many times that it feels like you’re all tweaked out?

Stop tweaking. Revolutionize. If it feels comfortable, or familiar, you’re doing it wrong.

Our future demands a bold spirit of adventure. Heaven forbid we look back and think, “Yep, it sprung up, and I didn’t fully perceive it.” Put another way, “I saw it happening, but I didn’t do enough about it.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

The post It’s Time to Do a New Thing appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.

This week’s article is a compilation of 2022’s significant direct selling industry news from all over the world. It was most certainly a difficult year for all players. Yet we know there were positives alongside all the negatives. Also included, you will find selected articles we published last year that stood out according to readers’ responses.

> CEO Ryan Napierski Shares Nu Skin’s 2022 Strategy
> Mary Kay Celebrates 2021 Year-End Highlights
> How Albania Became a Pyramid Scheme
> IDShield Named Among Best Identity Theft Protection Services of 2022
> Kannaway Opens Office and Warehouse in Poland
> COVID-19 Behaviors and the Impact on Beauty
> Sunrider International Celebrates 40 Years
> Betterware to Acquire JAFRA’s Operations in Mexico and the U.S.
> 2021: Another Record Year for PM-International
> Beautycounter Appoints Marc Ray as New CEO

Most-Read Article in January on The World of Direct Selling:
The Case for an LMS – McKinley Oswald

> Amway Co-Chair Doug DeVos Building Up His Own Family Office
> Nu Skin Reports $2.7 Billion Sales in 2021
> FTC Takes Action to Combat Bogus Money-Making Claims in the U.S.
> Primerica Reports Fourth Quarter 2021 Results
> Regal Ware Expands Leadership Team With Three Executive Hires
> Herbalife’s Net Sales $5.8 Billion in 2021
> Mary Kay Names Nathan Moore President, Global Sales and Marketing
> Tupperware Announces $1.6 Billion Sales in 2021
> Oriflame’s 2021 Revenue Down 12%
> Medifast Reports $1.5 Billion Revenue in 2021, an Increase of 63%

Most-Read Article in February on The World of Direct Selling:
6 Common Reasons Behind Direct Sales Start-Up Failures – Hakki Ozmorali

> Kendra Scott Launches Direct-Selling Platform For Women Entrepreneurs
> doTERRA and University of Mississippi Partner to Advance Essential Oil Research
> Melaleuca Announces New President
> SeneGence Taps Anita Krpata as New Chief Commercial Officer
> Natura &Co Q4 2021: Income More Than Triples, Despite Sales Dip
> Young Living Names Ben Riley as New Acting President
> DSSRC Recommends Mary Kay Discontinue Certain Earnings Claims
> India to Be Herbalife Nutrition’s Largest Market Globally: CEO
> Young Living Appoints Lyndi Smith as Chief Marketing Officer
> Natura &Co Opens Joint Offices in Chile for Its Natura, Avon and The Body Shop Brands

Most-Read Article in March on The World of Direct Selling:
2021 Results: Brakes on Growth in the Fourth Quarter – Hakki Ozmorali

> Arbonne Appoints Jorden Bell as new Chief Marketing Officer
> Betterware Completes Acquisition of JAFRA’s Operations in Mexico and the U.S.
> Fitch Downgrades Oriflame to ‘B’; Outlook Negative
> Nature’s Sunshine Celebrates 50^th Anniversary
> Fitch Affirms Natura &Co’s Rating at ‘BB’; Outlook Remains Positive
> IDLife Announces Josh Paine as New CEO
> Amway’s Global Sales Reach $8.9 Billion in 2021, Up 4%  
> Nu Skin’s Ryan Napierski on Taking the Company Into the Digital Age
> LR Group Sales in 2021 Increased by 4.0% to EUR 296.2 Million
> Amway: “We Stand Behind Our Business in India”

Most-Read Article in April on The World of Direct Selling:
How To Start Thinking Differently About Compensation Plans in 2022 – Brett Duncan

> FTC Sends $149 Million in Refunds to People Harmed in Alleged AdvoCare Scheme
> Herbalife Nutrition Announces First Quarter 2022 Results
> Natura Resumes Growth in Brazil and Further Improvement in Avon Fundamentals in Q1
> Tupperware Reports First Quarter 2022 Financial Results
> Medifast Announces Q1 2022 Financial Results
> Kyäni Makes Announcements About Leadership
> Tupperware’s Party of One: Direct Selling Brand Seeking Turnaround
> Vorwerk Group Reports Record Sales of 3.4 Billion Euros in 2021
> Management Today Awards CEO Angela Cretu Trailblazer of the Year
> New doTERRA Product Center to Serve Thousands in Hawaii

Most-Read Article in May on The World of Direct Selling:
Power Skills for Powerful Onboarding – Lauren Mason Carris

> US Direct Selling Association Releases 2021 Industry Statistics
> Tupperware Enters into Definitive Agreement to Sell its Nutrimetics Business
> NewAge Announces Review of Strategic Alternatives
> Hinode Seeks to Increase Global Footprint and to Sell in 30 Countries by 2030
> Brazil’s Natura Announces Restructuring Plan and New CEO
> Melaleuca Promotes Frank VanderSloot to Executive Chairman, Jerry Felton to CEO
> WFDSA Shares 2021 Global Industry Statistics
> doTERRA Commences Operations in Chile
> Direct Seller Nu Skin Pivoting to ‘Social Commerce’
> Beautycounter CEO: “Even in a Recession, We Have a Lot of Growth Opportunities”

Most-Read Article in June on The World of Direct Selling:
Increase Sales by Improving Your Company’s Google Results – Don Sorensen

> Direct Selling in Europe: 2021 Industry Statistics
> New Image Acquires Nutrimetics From Tupperware Brands
> doTERRA Continues Growth with Expansion into India
> Avon CMO: “You Need a Unique Value Proposition to Transform as a Brand”
> Ryan Napierski of Nu Skin on The Future of Retail Over the Next Few Years
> Nature’s Sunshine’s US Manufacturing Facility Now Using 100% Renewable Energy
> The Beauty Metaverse: We Are at the Beginning of Something That Is Huge
> AVEDISCO (Italy DSA) Releases Sales Force Statistics by Regions
> Canada DSA Announces 2022 Award Winners
> In Its 108th Year, Kirby Rolls Out Direct Selling to Consumer on Its Website

Most-Read Article in July on The World of Direct Selling:
15 Principles for Developing Your Independent Salesforce – Brett Duncan

> Herbalife Exceeds Q2 2022 Expectations and Reaffirms Full Year 2022 Guidance
> Nu Skin Reports Second Quarter Financial Results
> Tupperware’s Q2 Revenue Decreases 18%
> Oriflame Reports 14% Sales Decline in the Second Quarter
> Herbalife to Invest $400 Million in Key Digital Transformation Growth Initiative
> Natura &Co’s Sales Stabilized in Q2, Profitability Is Impacted by Cost Pressure
> Young Living Launches Strategic Restructuring, Suspends Operations in Brazil
> Juice Plus+ Announces Biggest Rebrand Since It Was Launched in 1993
> Direct Selling and the Big Impact It Has on the Utah Economy
> NewAge Files for Bankruptcy

Most-Read Article in August on The World of Direct Selling:
Direct Selling in Q2: Confronted With Challenges – Hakki Ozmorali

> Market America Co-Founder J.R. Ridinger Dead at 63
> Natura Not Considering a Spin-off of Aesop or the Sale of The Body Shop
> Saladmaster Announces European Expansion, Opens Warehouse in Netherlands
> Avon Survey: Cost-of-Living Crisis Leads 80% of Women to Seek Side Hustle
> Amare Global Announces Acquisition of Kyäni, Inc.
> Is Livestream Commerce About to Break Through?
> Redefining Anti-Aging Skincare: Interview with Lori Bush, Founder of Solvasa
> Tupperware Announces Settlement of SEC Investigation for House of Fuller Business
> Shaklee Enters New Category with Launch of Anti-Aging Body Care Line
> 10 Top Retail Trends to Watch

Most-Read Article in September on The World of Direct Selling:
3 Ways Integrated Data Fuels Direct Selling Success – Daryl Wurzbacher

> Tupperware, the 76-Year-Old Staple of Door-to-Door Sales Is Now Selling at Target
> Plexus Worldwide Announces the Appointment of Gene Tipps as Chief Executive Officer
> Natura & Co. Considers IPO for Aesop, Its Beauty & Wellness Brand
> Thirty-One Gifts Founder Cindy Monroe Releases Her First Book, “More Than a Bag”
> The Body Shop CEO: “They Say Retail Is Dead. But We’re Social Creatures”
> Modere Named to Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces for 2022
> 15,000 Participants Attend QNET’s Annual Convention
> Metaverse, a Year After the Hype: To Jump in or to Wait and See
> Herbalife Nutrition Announces Leadership Change
> TikTok Set to Launch Live Shopping in the U.S.

Most-Read Article in October on The World of Direct Selling:
The Pillars of Success in Direct Selling – Hakki Ozmorali

> Third Generation to Lead Mary Kay as Ryan Rogers Named Next CEO
> Karalee Mora Appointed as JAFRA USA’s New CEO
> Avon to Build New Research & Development Operations in Brazil and Poland
> Medifast Named to the 2022 FORTUNE 100 Fastest-Growing Companies List
> Natura &Co Results Show The Body Shop Challenges Remain
> Tupperware Reports 20% Decline in Sales in Q3
> WFDSA Launches Website for 2023 World Congress in Dubai
> Monat Expands Into Color Cosmetics
> US Direct Selling Association Announces DSA Digital Marketing Awards
> Oriflame Launches Operations in Germany

Most-Read Article in November on The World of Direct Selling:
The Table Stakes for Success as a Direct Selling Company – Jeff Dahl

> Amway Launches Singapore Business Innovation Hub
> Natura &Co Could Sell Stake in Aesop to CVC Capital, L’Occitane or Shiseido
> Infinitus Celebrates 30^th Anniversary, Launches New Brand ‘Oriherb’
> DSA Canada’s 2022 Year in Review
> Avon Hit With $52.1M Verdict for Asbestos-Contaminated Talc
> Utah Companies Are Trying to Pull Out of China
> US DSA: Proposed Rulemaking Creates Confusing Standards for Millions of Direct Sellers
> Amway Announces Peter Strydom as New Chief Marketing Officer
> Herbalife CEO Michael O. Johnson Agrees to “$1” Salary and Removing “Interim” Title
> Mary Kay Announces Awards, Milestones, and Accomplishments From Full-Year 2022

Most-Read Article in December on The World of Direct Selling:
Canada Remains Steady in a Sea of Uncertainty – Peter Maddox

SHARE THIS:

The post Industry News Roundup: 2022 appeared first on The World of Direct Selling.