Written by Brett Duncan. Brett specializes in helping direct selling companies evolve into modern social selling models while still maintaining the culture and essence of who they are and what makes them different. He is co-founder and managing partner of Strategic Choice Partners, a business development firm that helps direct selling companies take their next steps. From marketing services to compensation plan design to operations and distribution support, Strategic Choice Partners is a frequently sought-out partner within 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: