Direct Sales Industry News

Bonus

2009-09-04T10:26:00.003-05:00

Direct Sales Kit Only $20
Plus Bonus Ebook!

You read that right! For Five Days ONLY the highly sought after Direct Sales Success Kit is only $20! Plus we're throwing in a free - not yet released to the public - ebook!

How's that for a deal? We somehow managed to miss our Annual Back to School Sale soooo we thought we'd make it up to you by holding an awesome Labor Day Sale and throw in a nice bonus!

You probably already know all about our Direct Sales Success Kit and I know you're busy so I won't hold you up with all those details ...

... but just in case you don't, feel free to click here to read all about it!

Remember though - do NOT purchase it there!

So what's the bonus all about? I thought you'd never ask!

This bonus ebook has not yet been seen by public eyes!
You are the first!

Introducing for the first time ever ...

Online Advertising Secrets Exposed

Tired of wasting your advertising bucks? Yeah, so is every single other person who sells online! This ebook goes into detail on how to make the most of your advertising budget! (How about keeping it almost ALL to yourself!?!)

Here's a quick little (teeny tiny) peek ...

Online advertising can be a very cost-effective solution to promote your business or product. There are many different types and although many can give you good exposure for your money, some can lose you money very quickly if you do not know how to do it properly. Online advertising is not the same as offline advertising. It is in many ways a much more direct medium than TV or magazines.

Online advertising is really like any other type of advertising in that you have to know your market and what they want. You also need to know the right way to reach them.

Online advertising can help give you exposure to your business if it’s done properly. It can be very lucrative or you can lose some money. Do your research, advertise properly and you’ll be on the lucrative side with no problem at all.

But more importantly ... let's first learn how to KEEP that advertising budget all to yourself! Grab your copy of Online Advertising Secrets Exposed to learn how to do just that with some of the very most effective free advertising techniques even the greatest of great gurus use!

So don't delay! Grab your copy of the
Direct Sales Success Kit
... AND ...
Online Advertising Secrets Exposed
for Only $20 right now! Five days only!

This offer Ends on Tuesday, September 8th @ 11:59 PM EST

To your success,
Anita & Kara

P.S. Just a little heads up here ...
The Direct Sales Success Kit itself sells for $29.95. So there's a $9.95 discount right there. And the Online Advertising Secrets? Heck, it's not even priced yet it's so new! But I can tell you this ... it alone is worth well over $20! Trust us when we say You Won't Be Disappointed. Your business will thank you!

P.P.S. Be sure to click Return to Merchant after your purchase to immediately download the Direct Sales Success Kit. Online Advertising Secrets Exposed will be emailed to you privately.

P.P.P.S Yeah, just one more. For one of the first times we're opening this bonus deal up to the public. So, if you want to get on the good side of a fellow consultant - or even better - you want to help your downline team members succeed in their direct sales business ... feel free to share the following link with them.

Share the wealth!
http://direct-sales-news.blogspot.com/2009/09/bonus.html

.

How's Your Approach?

2008-08-04T19:39:00.001-05:00

We all know that you're supposed to tell everyone you know what you do for a living. We all know that we're supposed to promote, promote, promote ... but what about the initial approach?

Take this real life scenerio for example ...

It's a beautiful Saturday afternoon so you head to your local playground with your favorite little girl and a good book in tow ... ready for a relaxing afternoon of reading albeit the overly packed playground with giggling children in the background.

First of all you have to take care of more important business and head to the restrooms so your daughter can use the facilities. While you're waiting for her, you overhear a conversation of one woman and another mother chatting about a particular direct sales company. You see the mom flipping through a catalog and mentioning how much this company has changed over the years. She hands the catalog back to the women and thanks her for allowing her to take a look.

Next your child is happily settled in the sandbox building her dream castle so you head to the closest picinic tables so you're just within earshot and still have her in plain sight.

As you're sitting down, the women you seen earlier says hello with which you reply hello as well. You sit down and barely get your eyes on your page where you last left off when you're daughter is already calling for you to see how well she's done so far so you head on back to the sandbox and of course praise her on the beautiful pile of sand she has.

As you head back to the picinic table and before you even get to sit down, the woman begins to stand up, handing her catalog in your direction and begins to say:

Hello again, my name is {Insert Name} and I'm a representative with XYZ. Would you like to ...

Hold up and hit the pause button ...

Was this woman a little quick to the punch?
Did she excute this approach perfectly?

What are your thoughts on this approach? Please click Comments below and share your thoughts. As the representative ... how would you have handled this approach?

Explode Your Christmas Sales

2007-08-29T20:17:00.000-05:00

As a reader of Direct Sales Industry News, we know your business is important to you. This is why we must tell you about this brand new guide.

Christmas is right around the corner, and your promotion should be too. Haven't even started yet? Don't know what specials to run?

This is where the Holiday Promotion Guide comes in handy!

With this guide you'll be able to increase your Christmas sales, and keep moving clear into next year. This ebook doesn't just focus on Christmas, but EVERY holiday!

Christmas isn't far away.......grab the details of this guide at:
http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/holiday-guide.html

----------------------------------------
Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank, owners of DirectSalesHelpers.com strive
to help women succeed in direct sales. For additional help with your direct sales business, visit http://www.directsaleshelpers.com
----------------------------------------

Lessons In Paid Advertising

2007-05-02T19:06:00.000-05:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct Sales Helpers News
Tips you can use! May 2nd, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-------------------------------------------------
Editor's Notes
-------------------------------------------------

After searching for paid adversing the last few weeks, we've come up with some pretty interesting resources. This week's article will talk about how to get the most out of your advertising dollars using paid advertising outside of pay-per-click (PPC).

To your success!

~Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank~
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lessons In Paid Advertising - A Must Read
by Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank

Paid advertising is getting a bad name online. The problem isn't with the advertisers though, it's with the target and tracking.

If it's not requests for free advertising, it's a request for low cost. No one wants to pay more than a few bucks to advertise their business these days. Mostly because of past experiences and advice from others have said "bad idea".

If you aren't marketing your business, you aren't going to get far. Many know one of our favorite forms of marketing is SEO, but that's still not enough. At some point you are going to need to step out of your box and put a little more money into your business.

We're not going to even touch on PPC ads, because it's been done to death. Although do keep in mind this is one way to get some very targeted visitors to your website. What the focus of this article is about though is website advertising.

When you see ads that cost $5 or less, it might be tempting to jump on them. Why not? It's so little to invest, right? Wrong. It's easy to get carried away with the cheap ads, thus pouring in hundreds of dollars without even realizing it.

Before you pay for another "cheap ad", take a step back and use this checklist first:

1. Is the site targeted?
If you are trying to sell candles on a recipe site, you aren't going to have much luck. You know your customers, so go to where they hang out. If you are selling make-up, search for beauty sites. Selling natural products? Check out natural living sites.

Also, it's rarely a good idea to attempt to sell consumer products on wahm sites. Instead you want to promote business related products, or your business opportunity.
Bottom line - make sure the site is TARGETED.

2. How much traffic?
If they don't know how many unique visitors and page views a day the site receives, then don't even think of handing them money. Tracking your stats is a basic in business, and they shouldn't be selling advertising if they don't know.

Even if you can't afford the ads on bigger sites, do a comparison check to see how much sites as a whole are selling based on their visitors. (Hint: Divide the cost by visitors per month to get a general idea of "cost per visitor" - this will make it easier to compare side by side).

3. Hits are not Visitors!
This is one of the biggest red flags out there. If the site is going on about how many "hits" they get in a day, RUN. Hits are NOT visitors...they aren't even page views!

A "hit" is calculated whenever a file or a graphic loads on a page. If the webmaster has 5 graphics per page and looks around at 10 different pages on their site, they just added 50 "hits" to their site. To turn around and brag they have 500 "hits" a day is VERY misleading for the advertiser. It's unlikely your ad will even be seen by 10-20 visitors a day, which is barely worth your money.

*Some Extra Math*

Some think PPCs cost to much, and it's just not worth 10 cents or more per click. You think flat rate ads on websites are more cost effective, but the truth is you may be paying more.

For example, let's say you are advertising on a site that gets only 500 unique visitors a month. You will most likely not see more than 25 visitors from this ad. If you paid $5 for the ad, that just cost you 20 cents per click.

Still think PPCs are expensive?

The good news is you CAN get cheaper ads from websites. It just takes a bit of math to figure what's worth it and what's not. Following the basic guidelines above, you can easily get more out of flat rate ads than PPCs.

If you need some help finding flat rate ads that are worth it, be sure to check out Adbrite. They give you the stats from these sites from their own server, so you know exactly how many visitor a day each site gets. No "hits" reports either - just page views and visitors. Join AdBrite for free.

LinkWorth is another option to find places to advertise. It gives the stats of the advertisers, along with other interesting information and background. Join LinkWorth here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct Sales Success Kit
Complete success kit showing you step by step how to make your
business a success!

Direct Sales Products & Services
Our goal is to help you succeed!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was this newsletter passed on to you?
Subscribe at:
Direct Sales Helpers News

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Published By:
Direct Sales Helpers
Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank
PO Box 104
Prairie City, IA 50228
515-994-9143

$7 Ad for Free

2007-04-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

This week is not like our normal articles. However, it's information that's going to shake up the direct sales world for some time. This marketing idea is brand new, but something that could boost your business to a whole new level.

To your success!
~Kara & Anita~

Lately there's been a lot of buzz about $7 Dollar Secrets. You may hear the gurus hyping it up, and going absolutely crazy over it. We aren't in the "guru" class, but this has got our attention as well.

If you haven't heard of this "system" yet, it wouldn't surprise us. It has to be something pretty worthy to hit the wahm world, and even then it takes a few months. Which is a good thing - you want only the BEST ways to make money online, right? Not the "latest and greatest" thing that's going to make you broke in a few months.

Now you are probably sitting there wondering what this $7 "thing" is all about. The basic idea behind it is to write a report and sell it for $7. You give 100% of the profits to those that sell it for you, in exchange for building your list and promoting links within the report. Those promoting get the money, but you don't haveto pay a dime. Seems simple right?

I know a lot of this "guru junk" only works for those selling business products. The great thing about this particular idea is this will work for ANY business. Let me give you an example of how this will work for a direct sales rep . . .

Let's say you are selling make up or beauty products. You have a serious passion for educating others on anti-aging products, and know you could easily write a whole report about it. This is a PERFECT example of a report to sell for $7, and a perfect place to plug your highly-targeted link.

Now think for a moment . . . if others are selling this report for the $7, how many new customers will you gain from the links within it? You've just educated these customers about all the types of products, and pointed them directly to what YOU sell.

Here's another example how this can apply to any market, and how ANYONE can do it . . .

While this is more "business related", it's still a niche those gurus don't even look twice at. Do you know what it is? The SINGLE work at home mom market. A small piece of the wahm world, but one that rarely gets any attention. And a $7 report was written about it from an expert (a single work at home mom, of course): http://www.single-wahm.com/

So do you have something in mind that relates to your product? You use your product on a daily basis, so I'm sure there is SOMETHING you could write about it. Now how do you go about writing it?

That's easy . . . the person that came up with this idea, also came up with "Write that Report!". We read over both this one, and the original $7 Secrets....we're impressed to say the least. This guy has some AWESOME ideas on how to make some good money. Plus he's actually tested these theories personally. The guy is still making money off his releases even several weeks later.

Pick up this highly recommended report at: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/write-report.html

Be sure to let us know when your report is finished, because we'll be the first to showcase it on Direct Sales Helpers! You can also brainstorm your ideas at: http://mommyshelpercommunity.com/phpBB2/about6120.html

Sales Horror Stories - March's Magnificent Mistakes

2007-03-08T18:44:00.000-05:00

Using a Kid to Close
Kevin’s Magic Trick – The Vanishing Prospects

I’d been struggling to sell as much as my colleagues and someone in the office suggested that I attend the Million Dollar Round Table Conference.

There I would absorb techniques from the best insurance salespeople of all time. these men and women had been through the fire and knew every nuance of dealing with prospects. They knew every objection and could - with creativity and wit - disarm trouble as it ticked away. They would show me the path to selling success.

So I scrounged up $1,000 (I couldn’t afford) to pay for a flight, hotel and conference that I couldn’t afford to miss.

The speakers were brilliant and often quite funny. And I heard some great ideas that appeared to work magically with poor prospects. I just had to adapt them immediately, to improve my performance. You can imagine how powerful it would be to apply responses to tough objections - objections that had completely baffled me as the new guy on the job.

One of these was so outrageous, it just had to work.

An old-timer in the business said that when he was pitching at someone’s home and they just stone-walled him on buying insurance, the rep would walk over to the baby, lift it out of its seat and hold it in front of the couple.

“If you don’t buy insurance,” he began, shaking his head sadly, “you’re not refusing me. You’re refusing him, and his future.”

Wow! That was bold, but bold is just what I needed to try - after being jerked around badly by prospects for six months.

So first time I’m presenting a young couple with their kid in his chair, I get a no or a stall or something that meant no sale.

I pause dramatically, raise my hand and stride over to the child.

Up I scoop him into my arms, place his little cheek next to mine and fire off my line. “You might think you don’t need insurance. But I want to tell you that you are not refusing me, but refusing him, and his future.”

The husband turned purple with rage.

“How dare you!” screams the wife. And the little guy starts wailing.

She snatches him from me and dad barks, “Get out of our house.”

And then I do something really dumb. Baby screaming, wife sobbing, husband angry, I try to recover a lost sale that is truly and absolutely gone. I stutter an apology and begin to explain that this is so important, and begin to defend my company or product or me... I just don’t remember exactly what I said, because all I do remember is the man reaching atop the refrigerator and suddenly there’s a handgun in his hand.

I left fairly fast and though it was a warm summer’s evening, I didn’t stop shaking for about an hour.

Now I sell by using my personality, rather than someone else’s. My responses are laid back and calm, rather than dramatic and attacking.

POSTMORTEM: Kevin realized, and I trust you now do as well, that great sales pros don’t have to change personalities to sell well. You can be yourself, responding to objections as you would in conversation with friends and family. Go to conferences, learn more, but adapt knew knowledge to yourself, rather than mimicking others.

Does Your Downline Need Help?

2007-03-06T10:38:00.000-05:00

Your downline can be your biggest asset ...

It can also be your biggest headache.

So maybe it's not so nice to say, but let's think about it.
You spend months building your team.
You get a hoard of people to join.
Some take off and start making sales by themselves.
Some ask you a million questions and drive you absolutely crazy.
Then there's those that just sit there, doing absolutely nothing.

You want a motivated, well trained team ... without spending all your precious time. You want to spend less time answering questions and attempting to get them to do what they are there to do.

The answer?

Articles from Direct Sales Helpers!

By using articles straight from the experts, your will be more successful with less involvement from you. Who doesn't need more time to spend on making those personal sales?

For details, visit:
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com/team-articles.html

To your success!

~Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank~

How Cool is this?

2007-02-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

It's not every day you hear something like this so forgive us as we toot our horn a little here and share with you. Here's a note from one of our subscribers ...

A little bit of my Success ...

I read every newsletter and make changes to my business and I just had to write you and tell you what a terrific weekend we just had.

My oldest girls (Kambria and Faythe) are girlie girls to the bone as most of you know!!! They love anything pink and ask on a daily basis to go to Disney World. Well, since I have been doing so well with Do-Re-Me & You! We thought why not use the extra money and take them to do something REALLY nice this year!!! So I bought tickets to Disney on Ice; 100 Years of Magic.

We have NEVER done anything like this cause with me at home we just have never had the extra money laying around and with the tickets, drinks, parking, and a sitter for the younger ones we would have needed a loan to ever pull that off. But OH MY IT WAS AMAZING!!!! I am working on earning this cruise so I am making more money than ever. So not only was I able to get the tickets but I was able to get them custom made Disney Dresses, and barrettes, buy them new tights and shoes, and then the tickets, parking, popcorn, nachos, and pizza (yes I even let them eat in the dresses HEHEHE) then after an breathtaking performance James and I took the girls to Olive Garden for dinner.

The whole day was a surprise for them they were given clues every day for a week to keep them guessing (You will be going to Washington DC, You will be able to get dressed up, Take pictures, ect) and while we were having fun with the big girls the little ones were at home with a sitter (special treats for them also) and the whole day was paid for by my money from Do-Re-Me & You!

Don't get me wrong the Bonus checks are great to get, but seeing my little princesses sitting on the edge of their chairs the whole time watching all their Favorite characters from the movies they have seen a thousand times was worth more than any award I could ever get.

Thank you all so much for making my girls dreams come true!!! What an unbelievable company I work for!!! Not only to we help children with the products but also able to help the mothers.

Thank you all so much for helping me grow my team and learn so much!!!

Michelle with Do-Re-Me & You!

---------------------

First of all, congratulations on making enough money to afford something like this. Secondly, thank so much for sharing your story with us. There's nothing more satisfying for us than to read a success story from one of our subscribers! Keep up the great work! Here's to many, many more family trips paid soley by your business.!

Sales Horror Stories - February's Failed Sales

2007-02-07T20:29:00.000-05:00

PUNCH DRUNK PROSPECT VS. RIPPED REP
Bar Code Labeling Pro Labels his Prospect

Bar codes have changed over the years and our company is one of the biggest players in the market. You might have noticed that most bar codes on mailing packages like UPS are now round rather than linear. If someone tears it or marks over the round code, enough information is embedded in this new shape that the scanner can still read it and help your package arrive on time.

Each year we run a big sales conference with our team as well as vendors and potential vendors attending. We use this big event to court new distributors who can sell our bar code imaging equipment for all kinds of customized uses.

The last night of the meeting we have a spectacular party: Funny speaker, wild games and LOTS of liquor. Did I mention there was plenty to drink?

I’m a big beer man (drinking volume, not size-wise), but my buddies convinced me to taste the hard stuff this evening. And if that decision wasn’t difficult enough, I had chosen to hit on this cute gal who was working at our company.

So I’m nuzzling up to her and chatting her up, but competing with another rep. Ah, competition – good salespeople thrive on it. However, this other rep is a potential vendor whose company needs a product just like ours, and this conference is our chance to close him.

Suddenly I’ve had enough – enough to drink, enough of the loud music and more than enough of the competition for my woman.

So I step up to this guy and tag him. Not with a bar-coding device, but with a right jab to the jaw.

Down goes the competition!

But I don’t win.

I don’t win the girl, who is not impressed by my slick conversation or quick hands.

And I don’t win the sale for my firm as my friends drag me out of the ballroom.

My ex-potential vendor woke up to a headache which he associated with my company. So simply avoiding a situation where he encounters us in the future (translate that “BUYS from us”) was a simple choice.

I learned that holding my prospects dearly was just as important as holding my liquor.

POSTMORTEM: Okay, I speak at 3 or 4 events like this a month, year round. Last weekend I took a rocket-speed Nerf football to the chest during an international sales conference party in Los Angeles and was grateful there weren’t baseballs being passed around instead. I recovered in time to close the event the next morning. These events (or any public events you attend – networking, fundraising, etc.) are really about Image Management. How well do you project the person you want others’ to believe in? Are you coming across as the classy sales pro or a
class-less dummy? Manage your image with your clothes, language and actions and you’ll portray the person that others will want to hang out with and buy from.

SALES HORROR STORIES
A Funny and Unique, Yet Useful Ezine
TO SUBSCRIBE just head over to the http://www.salesautopsy.com site for additional laughs - and signup there.

Free Mini Courses

2007-02-04T11:51:00.000-05:00

Money Saving Mini Series
Money Saving: Tips to Saving Money in Your Direct Sales Business - Two week mini course sent directly to your email inbox. Seven issues packed full of tips to help YOU save money in your direct sales business.
Click here to sign up

Reinvesting Into Your Business Mini Series
Reinvesting: Tips to what you should AND shouldn't be reinvesting into your direct sales business. - Two week mini course sent directly to your email inbox. Seven issues packed full of tips to help YOU decide what's best for you to reinvest into your direct sales business.
Click here to sign up

Is AdSense for you?

2007-02-02T07:56:00.000-05:00

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct Sales Helpers News
Tips you can use!
January 31st, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-------------------------------------------------
Editor's Notes
-------------------------------------------------

If you missed the announcement yesterday, the Direct Sales Success Kit is being offered for an unbeatable price JUST for subscribers! This sale is set to only be available to the first 20 direct sales reps. The response has been so good that there are only 5 kits left at this price!

Be one of the last 5, and grab your kit at: http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/limited-subscriber-sale.html

To your success!

~Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank~
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is AdSense for you?
by Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso

It sounds so easy to get paid by simply running a few ads. But could you be destroying your reputation and missing hundreds of sales just for a few pennies?

If you own a website (which you should, even if your company provides it!), AdSense can be a great source of revenue. You put up a few ads, and then you start seeing the clicks coming in. First a few pennies, then a few dimes.......before you know it, you are seeing several dollars a day. Awesome!

However, if you are trying to sell a product, you could be losing out on HUNDREDS of dollars. What's worse, you could be destroying your reputation in the process.

When a potential customer hits your site, they have a specific idea of what they want in mind. You only have a few seconds to sell them your spectacular product. What happens when the first thing they see is an ad for a similar product?

Those advertising on Google are smart cookies. They know how to write some killer headlines that really pull in results. Now think - even if your product is exactly what they want, if the other ad SOUNDS better, how fast do you think your visitor is going to go running off? You just got maybe 10 cents when you could have made several dollars. How many times a day could that be happening?

What's worse - what if someone in your company is advertising, and you just handed the sale to another rep? Direct sales is competitive enough, you don't need to be giving away sales!

Get out of the "side income" reasoning right now. It's absolutely NOT worth the lost "main income".

If you are looking for another way to pull in a "side income", consider affiliate programs. Not only will you get paid better, but you have full control over what you offer. It doesn't have to be competition, but rather something that compliments your main products.

Just remember - AdSense doesn't belong on websites selling products!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct Sales Success Kit
Complete success kit showing you step by step how to make your
business a success!
Details at:
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com/kit.html

Direct Sales Products & Services
Our goal is to help you succeed!
Details at:
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com/tools.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was this newsletter passed on to you?
Subscribe at:
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com/newsletter.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Direct Sales Helpers News Published By:
Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank
PO Box 104
Prairie City, IA 50228
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com

We've Revamped Our Affiliate Program (And then some)

2007-01-24T10:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a little of what we've done so far ...

More products!
Now you have the opportunity to make even more money with Direct Sales Helpers! We've added 4 products to our affiliate program. You can view and sign up to each one at http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/affiliate.html

New Affiliate Center!
We've added an Affiliate Center so you can easily find everything you need to promote. You can view this at http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/affiliate-center.html

New Creatives!
We've added so many more ads (signatures, ezine solo ads, ezine sponsor ads etc. etc.). We've added more articles and more graphics.

Plus, you'll want to make sure you check out the brand new mini courses we've created. With these mini courses, all of your affiliate links will be promoted automatically over a two week period. Set it up once - and the rest is done automatically for you over and over again! The mini courses are located in the files section of our DSH-Affiliates Yahoo Group

There is one mini course in there right now and another will be added in just a couple of days. After that, we will try to add more on a regular basis. This really is a great way to promote your affiliate links!

But remember, all those links above don't do you any good if you don't grab yourself an affiliate link! So, be sure to stop by our Affiliate Page sign up and grab a link.

Look at it this way ... train your team AND earn money at the same time!

3 Ways to Automate Your Business Fast

2007-01-16T21:00:00.000-05:00

The use of autoresponders is a great way to automate your business fast, freeing up precious time you could be using to do other important aspects in your direct sales business. Set up properly, they’ll make your business more automated without losing that personal touch. The following are just a few ideas for you.

Business Opportunity Information
You could set up your autoresponder to send out information on your business opportunity. For example, you would take a list of frequently asked questions about your business and put them into your autoresponder. Put a form on your website for potential recruits to request more information and then it’s all done automatically for you. This also saves you from having to answer the same questions over and over again. Don’t forget to set up a follow up message to ask if they had any more questions or needed more information!

Catalog Requests
Set up an autoresponder for potential customers to request catalogs. An example on how to do this would be like this: Set up a form on your website for customers to enter their mailing and email address. Set up your autoresponder to send them a message letting them know that you’ve received their request and you’ll be sending out the catalog. Then have it set to send out another message in about a week – just to confirm that they’ve received your catalog and making sure they didn’t have any questions. Next you might want to set it to send out another message in 3 – 4 days maybe offering a special discount “just for them”. Then for your final message, you could let them know about a newsletter you offer with instructions on how to join.

New Recruit Training
Autoresponders are a great way to train your new team members! Here you could take a list of important information about the company, product etc and put them into the autoresponder to be automatically delivered over time. Another idea is to set it up to send out business tips about online parties, home parties, or just running their business in general. With this, the possibilities are endless.

The above is just a touch of what you can do because, as mentioned, there are so many things you can do with an autoresponder. With a little bit of creativity, you’re sure to come up with something that will help your business stand above the rest and with a little research you’re sure to find a program that will work for you. For a jumpstart on your research, feel free to take a look at the autoresponder we recommend at http://www.mommyshelperonline.com/autoresponder.html

Direct sales move from a moonlighting gig to main income

2007-01-05T20:10:00.000-05:00

Direct sales move from a moonlighting gig to main income for many El Pasoans
By Dan Huff

"Direct sales” – the person-to-person approach to selling outside the confines of a store is currently generating more than $30.4 billion and involves an estimated 14 million Americans – many of them women – according to the national Direct Sales Association.

Here in El Paso, the business of direct selling accommodates many different styles and approaches.

Lee Ann Peacock, for example, takes a laid-back approach to selling Mary Kay Cosmetics. Her Mary Kay work doesn’t interfere with her full-time job, which is selling the services of PDX Printing of El Paso.

Peacock sees her sales for Mary Kay not so much as a business, but as a way to stay in touch with friends and acquaintances.

“I’ve made friends through Mary Kay that I would have otherwise never crossed paths with in life,” she says. “One of my very best friends that I’ve ever had in my entire life was somebody I met at a Mary Kay training event.”

A natural saleswoman, Peacock says she love to make people happy. “And that’s why I really enjoy sales – it doesn’t matter what the sale is.”

Occasionally, she adds, her full-time sales job co-mingles with her Mary Kay sales.

“I have a couple of customers here at work,” Peacock says. “They can say they need this and this, and I can drag it in the next morning, I pretty much have it all, because I keep a good inventory.”

While she once sold the cosmetics full-time and made a good living at it, Peacock adds that even though her professional life has moved in another direction Mary Kay customers have come to count on her, and she doesn’t like to let them down.

In order to do direct sales as a full-time job, she observes, “You really have to be focused, and organization helps – and organized is something people can learn to be. They can also learn to be focused.”

One El Pasoan in direct sales who seems highly focused is Carol Stripling, well known as a private piano instructor and as a music teacher for babies to kindergartners for 19 years at First Presbyterian Christian Preschool. She had been working with Kindermusik International, a music publisher, since 1989, and when the company branched into direct sales two and a half years ago. Stripling followed along.

Because she had always admired the quality of the products, she said she found herself calling all of her Kindermusik friends to “get them going” in the new direct-sales business.

“I never realized what direct sales was about,” she said. “I just assumed it was ‘pushy’ time,” just pushing products. But that’s not what it is at all – it’s really a service industry. It’s people helping people.”

Today, as one of the company’s “advanced unit leaders,” Stripling oversees a nationwide cadre of 170 to 180 women selling more than 100 different products, a job she says would be impossible without today’s Internet connections.

She’s also a vendor of Kindermusik products for five school districts in the El Paso region.

All of her direct sales duties take 15-20 hours a week, Stripling estimates, including the time it takes to arrange for product shows in her “consultant’s” homes. Consultants average $100 a night, and the commission for the 1,000 managers at Stripling’s level is 25 percent on all sales, she noted, adding direct sales offers a deeper satisfaction than the money.

“Sales is communicating,” Stripling says. ”Sales is one on one. As a soloist, when I sing for my churches, I’m really selling the message of hope and joy. So really everybody does sales. We’re all born into this world crying, we’re asking for help right away. People always have needs, people always have wants, and what I love about this direct sales industry is that you can sit down with people and you can have time, you can hear what their goals are, what their visions are. And what I love about the industry is the sky is the limit. I had no idea. If you had asked me four years ago if I was ever going to be doing parties, I would have laughed in your face.”

Another Lee Ann – Lee Ann Gevertz, who oversees a Pampered Chef sales force of about 60 in the El Paso region – says there’s often an additional incentive in direct sales.

“Usually every month there’s some type of incentive behind the scenes for us,” Gevertz said. “It could be free products, or extra trip points. And we always have a big incentive trip over a year-long earning period, and those trips are fabulous. For example, we went on a seven-day Caribbean cruise, and all we paid for was our parking at the airport and anything that we bought on the island. We had a $500 shipboard credit. You can’t beat that.”

Nor, she added, can you beat the fact that direct sales is great for women. Gevertz has been doing it for a dozen years now.

“One of the things that appealed to me was that I was able to schedule the shows when I could do them and still be able to go to the kids’ events and time off and vacations,” she said, adding it’s a line of work that allows her to be a lot more flexible in the use of her time than her previous job as a computer analyst for the gas company.

She left the gas company in 1992 and never looked back.

“I’ve learned that we are the cause for our success and our failure,” Gevertz says. “Direct sales is not something that I dreamed of doing when I was a little girl, or even a big girl in college. I think most people think they should work for other people and have a “real job.” But, you know, my house is pretty real, my car is pretty real and my business is pretty nice.”

Media Source

Christmas Is Over - Did You Profit? (Part 1)

2006-12-20T09:17:00.000-05:00

If you are looking at the calendar making sure you really didn't miss the biggest holiday of the year, don't worry you aren't going crazy. Christmas is still a few days away, but the biggest shopping rush has been over for a few weeks now.

As the last few orders roll in (and don't expect TOO many, the last few weeks are usually only deliveries and a few last minute purchases from what's left over), it's time to sit back and look at the sales you've done over the past few months. The new year is approaching, so it's best to figure out what can be changed right now instead of only half way planning when the new year hits.

Ask yourself some of the following questions:

Take a look at your sales vs costs. Did you make a profit? If not, it's alright if you are just starting out. If you've been in business awhile, it's not so good to be showing a loss at your best time of year. If you sent out promotional materials to current customers, how many responded and was it worth the cost?

How many events did you attend? Were they worth the cost? Pay close attention to your profit (the amount you made from the sale), time spent at the event, travel cost, reorder rate, and cost of the table. Will you be doing each event again next year, or passing on a few?

When did you see the biggest increase in sales? Was it December, November, or maybe even October? The earlier your rush started, the earlier you'll need to get your promotion out to customers.

Next week we'll talk more about what you can do with the results you picked up, and how you can make 2007 even better!

Direct Sales Company Directory - Grand Re-Opening

2006-12-06T07:07:00.000-05:00

I'm very happy to say after many different versions and a whole lot of time, our New Direct Sales Company Directory is up and running! We're hoping that this will give a lot more to our advertisers. As a matter of fact, during our testing and uploading we accidently put up a brand new advertiser's listing and she recieved a lead the very next day! If that was only a glimpse in the future, we're in for a fantastic ride!

Update: The new directory was only uploaded late last evening and we've already had another lead form filled out!

The new directory features a lead generating form on each page. Each listing has their very own full page (better for the search engines). These listings are exclusive (meaning, one rep per company).

We have special pricing at a very low price available for our Grand Re-Opening (with the option to be able to get 2 months free). But hurry, I don't know how long this price will last AND the introductory pricing will be good for as long as you keep your spot.

Click here to visit our Brand New Directory

3 Steps To Planning Your Own Event

2006-12-05T18:52:00.000-05:00

If you have a hard time locating events in your area which are reasonably priced, it may be time for you to start planning your own event.

Planning your own event isn't as hard as you may think. While it is time consuming and requires a lot of organization skills, it could bring you a whole lot of local business.

Step 1 - Finding Vendors

The first thing you need to do is make sure you know enough vendors to host your event. If you know other local home business owners, get in contact with them and see if they can give you names. We've been contacted several times because our name was passed on by someone else who we met at a craft show.

Step 2 - Plan Your Costs

You'll need to rent a local community center or other space for your event. Many are low cost, while others may cost you several hundred. Go by your list above to figure out how much space you may need. Remember not all those you have contact information for may contact you, so it's best to over book than under book.

Be sure you also keep the cost of advertising in mind. Call your local radio stations and newspapers to find out how much it will be to run ads. You may want to kindly ask your vendors to let their customers know they'll be attending your show. Don't make it a requirement, but do ask. Many will do so automatically just because it's easier for their customers to meet them at an event.

Step 3 - Set Your Date

Check for events around the area in the larger cities as well as smaller towns to make sure you aren't holding your event on the same day as another. We've had to turn down many offers because we were attending another show. Not only will you be missing many vendors, but attendance will be lower as well. NEVER book your event on the same day as another craft show or similar event. Booking around other events in town which compliment your event is fine though.

Once the date is set, you can now start collecting money from your vendors and booking spaces. Keep your cost as low as possible, but do as much advertising as you can as well. Low cost options such as signs in town work wonders and help you stretch your advertising budget. Depending on the size of the town, you won't want to charge more than $10-20 per space. The more you do your event though, the more you will be able to charge since locals will begin to expect the show every year.

While organizing shows can be a lot of work, it can be a wonderful way for you to build a bigger customer base within your own town.

Have fun!

Websites & Domain Names For Sale - CHEAP

2006-11-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

Kara and I are cleaning house a bit around here and we've decided to let some websites and domain names go. Since there are a couple of domain names in there for direct sales reps, we figured we'd post them here too ;-)

You can see them at Websites & Domain Names For Sale - CHEAP

Enjoy!

Next Wave Charts Course for Smooth Selling

2006-11-16T19:34:00.000-05:00

BY SANDRA GUY Sun-Times Columnist

Sales parties in women's homes are no longer old-fashioned social teas or trunk shows. The saleswomen, who wield samples from jewelry to cookware, advertise on their own Web sites and use sophisticated software and automated e-mail to stay organized. A Naperville company, Next Wave Logistics, is playing a key role in equipping these direct sales forces with the latest technology.

The strategy takes advantage of today's booming direct sales industry, which has shaken its image as a cult or a pyramid scheme.

Parties in a hostess' home provide a more personal experience than shopping in a store and offer an atmosphere where people enjoy each other's company and get a great deal of attention, said Amy Robinson, spokeswoman for the Direct Selling Association, based in Washington, D.C. The direct-selling model also provides entrepreneurs and small companies with consumer recognition for their merchandise more quickly than trying to sell it to a big retailer.

Next Wave Logistics got its start when co-founders David Proctor and Harold Zimmerman worked together at a consulting firm in Oak Brook and realized that the fast-growing direct-sales industry needed tools to increase its business efficiency and professional image.

Zimmerman, 36, the CEO, left a six-figure-salaried job seven years ago -- two days after his daughter was born -- to start the business.

Each man invested $10,000 to buy a computer server, which they put in Zimmerman's basement. They decided to take no bank loans or venture-capital money.

Proctor, 41, the executive vice president, stayed at the consulting firm, and paid Zimmerman's bills -- mortgage, groceries, car payment, utilities and other living expenses -- until they were able to support themselves through the business.

Next Wave Logistics won its first client in the first few weeks of its existence, and Proctor joined full-time in the summer of 2000. The 52-employee company posted fiscal 2006 sales of $10 million.

Next Wave supports its services with its own data center serving more than 300,000 users a day. It prides itself on providing white-glove service that focuses on customizing software to a company's needs. It sends in SWAT teams of three or four developers to set up the service in two to four months at a typical cost of $200,000 to $300,000. Next Wave also charges a subscription fee per user per month to cover intellectual property licensing, hardware and support.

Next Wave creates Web sites and sales tools that adhere to a company's strict logo rules and marketing standards, but part-time salespeople might personalize the sites to gain attention.

"If I'm in business part-time, whether it's selling for PartyLite or Pampered Chef, I want people to visit my Web site. I don't want to pay a developer $3,000 to create it. Yet the parent company wants a consistent brand message," Proctor said, explaining the business case for the service.

Next Wave Logistics also provides software that preps the salespeople in developing their sales pitches, helps them organize party dates, gather guest lists, and send out invitations and thank-you notes online.

The software gives the salesperson a calendar that automatically gets filled in with the dates of parties and steps to take beforehand, such as reminding participants of the date, getting RSVPs via e-mail, and following up on sales leads.

"We are getting much more response on the Web than we ever did when we sent catalogs to people who could not attend the party," Proctor said. "And it saves mailing and printing costs."

Among Next Wave Logistics' clients are Creative Memories, a St. Cloud, Minn.-based scrapbooking company, and Lia Sophia, a Bensenville-based jewelry seller.

Rick Schwartz, executive vice president at Lia Sophia, said Next Wave Logistics' software has enabled Lia Sophia's 15,000 independent salespeople nationwide to book orders and shows, and recruit other salespeople online.

"It has taken away the admin- istrative paperwork in a big way," Schwartz said. "Next Wave is constantly working to stay ahead of the curve."

The next wave?

In about a year, Lia Sophia salespeople might be carrying Blackberries.

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Media Source

Following the Rules?

2006-11-15T06:32:00.000-05:00

A good friend of ours coordinates offline events on a regular basis. As a matter of fact, I have personally been to one of her events and she does a tremendous job. She really does go above and beyond the call of duty - now if all the vendors would just appreciate that.

Anyway ... this post isn't necessarily about her. This is more about vendors who participate in such events such as hers. I just finished reading a blog post entitled Attack of the Satin Hands and I was literally appalled at the actions of a mother - daughter team vendor.

Make sure you ALWAYS follow the rules of the coordinator and remember the golden rule ... treat your customers as you'd want to be treated yourself!

Being Your Own Boss Drives Many to Direct Sales

2006-11-13T06:13:00.000-05:00

The mall and the web are still the way most people do their holiday shopping. But the hottest new place to buy clothing, jewelry, make-up and food is at home.

The direct sales industry raked in a whopping $30 billion in sales last year! So it's no surprise that more people are leaving the office behind to earn money by throwing home parties.

More than a dozen of Megan Rego's family and friends have gathered on a recent Wednesday night to eat, drink and be merry.

"It's good to get out of the house and enjoy the company of friends, in someone's home. You just have a great time," Megan explains.

Laurie Muniak is the Market Day Gourmet representative serving up delicious food in the comfort of Megan's own home.

Muniak started selling market day gourmet about a year ago. Her kids were in school and she wanted to make some money but on her own terms.

"You are in control of what you want to make, your own hours, you are your own boss," she explains. "If you want to take two weeks off, if you have a family vacation, no one is going to tell you no. I like that."

While Muniak uses direct selling to earn some extra money, the Gmitter's of Austintown are using it to help build their new 22,000 square foot house.

"When I started in Avon, I was only trying to earn a little extra money," explains Lisa Gmitter.

She didn't want to juggle work with family. So she started selling Avon, when her two older children headed to school.

As she climbed the ranks within the company, husband Mike started working with Lisa in the business.

"We believe that we are building a company that we can pass on to our children, something they could have truly to themselves," Mike says.

The Direct Selling Trade Association claims that there are now more direct sales representatives in America than traditional retail employees. There are an estimated 14 million sales consultants across the country employed by more than 1,500 U.S.-based direct selling companies.

It's an appealing idea to many, but certainly not for everyone.

"You have to have a positive attitude, you have to believe in what you are selling. You have to be secure in who you are," says Cheryll Rose, a Lia Sophia jewelry representative.

Rose uses direct selling as a way to bring in money when she isn't working at her seasonal job in Port Clinton.

For Rose, the key to success isn't how you sell, but what you sell.

"If you believe in the product, it will sell itself," she says.

Media Source - WKYC-TV

Reinvesting into Your Business - Leads

2006-10-24T05:00:00.000-05:00

True story:
We were once mailed an entire package stuffed full with candle scent samples, a business opportunity CD, plus many other reading materials about the products and the business opportunity. Now, where our address was picked up for something like this was beyond us. But, the worst part of it was the fact that Kara makes and sells her own candles and of course I am one of her customers. That was quite a pricey mistake to make.

That example is the perfect reason why you should not hand out these types of materials to just anyone. Make sure you research your leads.

Reinvesting into Your Business Mini Series
Tips to what you should AND shouldn't be reinvesting into your business.

Reinvesting into Your Business - Education

2006-10-17T05:30:00.000-05:00

Education - With the risk of sounding like an old cliche' ... You CAN teach an old dog new tricks.

You're never too old to learn. Be sure to read magazines, books, CDs and other resources on a regular basis. Keep up to date with new selling tips, recruiting tips, online and home party game ideas. Attend online classes, teleseminars, conventions and workshops. More importantly, don't just listen an read ... APPLY what you learn.

DO invest in your education.

Reinvesting into Your Business Mini Series
Tips to what you should AND shouldn't be reinvesting into your business.

Joining a Direct Sales Company - What Should You Be Looking Into?

2006-10-10T18:49:00.000-05:00

Due to the recent misfortune of literally thousands of consultants affected by the demise of a yet to be determined scam, we decided to interrupt this week’s issue of our mini series. We will return with our ongoing mini series next week. In the meantime, our thoughts go out to consultants who were affected by this unfortunate event.

Joining a Direct Sales Company - What should you be looking into?

First of all, it can’t go unsaid that we’re recommending that you never join a new company. If that happened then there would never be any new companies started. There’s always room for more. Don’t forget - even the most established company can go under for whatever reason. What we are saying is if the company is brand new - proceed with extreme precaution.

Free is NOT always good! One of the main reasons companies charge a start up fee or more commonly require new consultants to purchase a start up kit is to make you actually put some thought into what you’re about to do. These companies want consultants who are truly interested in selling - not just looking for another freebie. Remember, quality wins over quantity ALWAYS.

The common statement I love is the ... "But it’s free, what do I have to loose?" This statement is only semi-good if you have absolutely no intentions of doing any recruiting until you’ve fully tested the product, pricing and shipping yourself. How would you feel if you’ve recruited a bunch of prospects into a company only for it to turn out to be no good? Your reputation is one of the most expensive things to loose - that no amount of money is going to buy back. Your reputation - that’s what you have to loose.

A growing company is wonderful! To watch a company grow day after day is a beautiful thing. But, growing too fast is a horrible thing. No matter whom the owner of this company is ... this person is still human. To grow by the thousands in a few weeks is next to impossible to keep up with.

There are a few points to look for when considering joining a new direct sales company.

1. Has the company been around before the consultant program?
If it's brand new and opening with the consultant plan in place, beware! While this isn't always the case, do think twice about a company that hasn't been able to sell the product on their own.

2. How well was the business planned out?
Don't be afraid to ask personal questions! You have a right to know if they have planned their costs out for several years. Regardless of the business, a business owner must understand there is a slim chance of any profit being made in the first year. If they haven't planned to be in debt for at least a year or more, then chances are they will cut their losses before the year is even up. Should they not reveal their business plan, you might want to just move on.

3. What type of shopping cart do they use?
While there's nothing wrong with PayPal, if this is the only type of payment offered by the company you may want to think twice. A professional shopping cart set up doesn't cost that much, and if that cost has been skipped they may not be planning well.

4. Are catalogs and samples available?
If you get a "coming soon" when requesting a catalog, think twice about joining. Catalogs are a very basic part of business, and to not have those ready shows the owner "rushed" to get the business open.

5. How is customer service?
Put in a test order and see how fast things work in the business. If you can't order products yet, but reps are being signed up already, you'll want to wait until they are fully open before actually signing up yourself. Not being able to test out products ahead of time isn't a good sign.

No matter what business you choose, you will always be taking a risk. However, following the basic guidelines above you should be able to minimize your risk and join a company which will be around for a long time. ;-)

What do you look for?

2006-10-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

A member on our message boards is conducting a bit of research on the Direct Sales Industry ... we'd love to hear more feedback on this one.

What do you look for when you consider a business opportunity?