In the world of direct selling, everyone is always trying to build a better mousetrap. A faster way to recruit, an even better compensation plan, hot-fast-best-uber leads, and on we go. In reality, the core values and principles of direct selling have not changed in 100 years. The technology and business processes continue to evolve in order to better support these core values.
There are many people hurting in the world and they want to belong to something that is good. Belong to something that recognizes them for their effort. To praise them when they do well and to pick them up and encourage them when they are down. And yes, to pay them for their efforts.
This has been, and continues to be, at the core for all successful direct selling companies.
What has changed?
Technology and business processes continue to change in order to make it easier to provide a high level of service to your people. This should be the only role of technology for a company. Make it easier to do business.
How do you make sure you are providing the best service?
Build trust with your sales people, especially your leaders, and listen to them. The people working the business will usually give you the best ideas. If the biggest problem is late deliveries, fix that problem first. Don’t give them another exciting toy that IT or marketing came up with when they are saying the biggest challenge is your shipping process.
Be careful on what you wish for
When you engage your sales people and ask them what can we do to help, often times the response will be “Get this tool”, “Work like this company”, “Have these bonuses”, etc. It is important to work through these replies to get a better understanding of what the real problems are. Otherwise, you run the risk of causing more damage by offering the wrong solutions.
Here are some examples:
I love the party plan business model because it blends social activity with the purchase of products and opportunities for additional parties. The beginning consultant is faced with numerous challenges when they have their first parties including:
Problem
Hostess only wanting to invite a small number of people because she is concerned that there will be too many people at her house.
Result
2 out of the 5-7 people that were invited show up and the party does not produce hostess rewards or compensate the consultant for the time she spent. One or two of these and the consultant will most likely quit the business before she had a chance for success.
Potential Solution
- Have a simple training program (process) that explains the problem and how to coach the hostess for success.
- Have a simple application (technology) that allows the hostess to quickly add people to a list and have the consultant follow-up to make sure she has enough materials for the party.
Problem
Administration time needed to enter and submit orders from a party.
Result
The consultants hourly earnings is reduced because of the time it takes to enter a party order. This causes a level of disappointment and time away from their personal life (this was one of the benefits of being your consultant , right?)
Potential Solutions
Have a simple order entry process that allows her to enter the information quickly. Emphasis here is simple and not a solution designed by technology people just because they want to use the latest and greatest widgets.
Maybe they value speed of entry over look and feel. The real solution is most likely in the middle somewhere. The key is listening to them. If you are trying to establish a $25/hour opportunity for the new consultant then saving them time on the administration part of the business is much less expensive then changing your compensation structure.
In Summary
These are pretty straight forward potential solutions to common problems that you may have. The reality is life isn’t usually as simple, but hey, this is just a blog right?
The key is to understand the core values of the direct selling industry and make sure your company is aligned with them as well. Once this is done, then start to build trust with your field by starting with your leaders. Ask questions and listen to understand, not to confirm what you think you know. Make sure the new consultants are factored into your solution and then prioritize the issues and knock them out.
admin Direct Selling