Direct Sales and Home Party Business Success is about being the spark and the inspiration.  In so doing you will attract guy #3 and the rest is history!

The following is an excerpt from the Seth Godin’s Blog on how tribes (followings and movements are created).

My favorite part happens just before the first minute mark. That’s when guy #3 joins the group. Before him, it was just a crazy dancing guy and then maybe one other crazy guy. But it’s guy #3 who made it a movement.

Initiators are rare indeed, but it’s scary to be the leader. Guy #3 is rare too, but it’s a lot less scary and just as important. Guy #49 is irrelevant. No bravery points for being part of the mob.

We need more guy #3s.

Party Plan Pat’s Thoughts:

The “1st Guy” was is much needed spark. Like a flint on a lighter. He is the inspiration. There’s always sparks/inspirations all around us, all the time.
The “2nd Guy” who recognizes the spark and seizes upon it and swoops in to feed it fuel so that it grows into a big fire that sweeps up everyone around.

I give 1st Guy 60% credit, then 2nd Guy gets 1% credit, then the crowd of people who joins along collectively shares the other 39% of the AWESOME PIE.

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

Following is an interview with The Traveling Saleswoman, home party success story, with one of the most hilarious blogs (Tales from the frontline of direct sales) on the home party front! Here are her words of wisdom one how to increase home party sales and becoming a home party business success story.

1. Tell us a little about your background. What got you involved in party plan and direct sales home party marketing?

I wanted to stay home with my kids but needed some mental stimulation in addition to parenthood!

1. How long have you been involved in direct sales? Tell us about 3 memorable experiences about home parties.

It’s been a few years – more than 1, less than 10! There was the one where the guest got drunk and swore at me; the one where I waited around for ages for the final guest’s order, which ended up being worthwhile. And the one with the puppy.

3. In a nutshell what is direct sales/party plan about?

Relationships, exemplary service and persistence!

4. What are the greatest pitfalls, stumbling blocks of success in the home party plans/direct sales business?

Not sticking with it long enough to see results. I think the statistic is something like 95% of people who sign up with a direct sales company stay for less than a year. Often it takes longer than that to see results. This is not a quick fix solution to money problems – it takes time to build up a clientele.

5. There is much that has been said about the recession and how it is hurting business. I am an avid reader of your blog. I know that this so called recession has no effect on you. Please share with us the 5 top things you have implemented to ensure continued success in your home party plan business.

a) Emphasize that people still need to buy gifts, even if they have cut back on purchasing for themselves.

b) Showcase how much stuff a hostess receives for free.

c) Recruit a widespread team so we are not all targeting the same geographic area.

d) Promote fundraisers.

e) Don’t pressure people to buy, and provide extraordinary customer service when they do so that they will become repeat customers.

6. Speaking of which, how is that you came by the name/title of The Traveling Saleswoman? When did you start your blog and what results have you seen from it?

I started the blog in April 2008. I don’t honestly recall how I cam up with the title- it just seemed to fit! The blog’s main purpose is to serve as a therapeutic outlet for me to vent about the interesting and annoying things I encounter in the direct sales field. However, a bonus effect is that it has helped and amused others and introduced me to lots of direct sales and sales professionals whom I might not have become friendly with otherwise.

7. One of the biggest obstacles that many direct sales reps. and home party consultants seem to come across on a consistent basis is the constraints that home party plan and direct sales companies place on marketing, promotion and advertising. What challenges have you faced with regards to this and how did you overcome?

I’m lucky that my company is more lenient than some others – no unauthorized use of the logo, and no selling on eBay, but otherwise not too many restrictions.

8. The Internet and its wunderkind Social media/social networking. Do they have a place in direct sales? If so where and how? How has social media impacted your party plan business?

Being active on Facebook has definitely allowed me to expand my network of people who know about my business. I made a decision to keep Facebook in my real name and link Twitter to my blogging identity.

9. As one involved in direct sales, is a home party consultant and/or a direct sales rep shooting themselves in the foot by disregarding the internet as a marketing and promotional avenue?

Definitely. My team has grown rapidly through the use of online advertising, which has allowed me to build my team across state boundaries and time zones.

10 Trade fairs. You seem to attend a lot of those…how can we use trade fairs for better business?

Remember, it’s not all about what happens on the day. Sometimes you will make connections that take months to pay off, but boy will you be glad when they do. Of course, it’s nice when you sell enough to at least cover our booth fee. But I use trade fairs primarily to bring me a presence in a community or town where I would like to expand my business. Act professionally, offer a raffle, get people’s contact details and FOLLOW UP!

11. What are some big mistakes you think most direct sales people make?

I see a lot of people sitting around waiting for their phone to ring. That occasionally happens, and when it does it’s a nice bonus, but you have to be proactive in acquiring business. Get yourself out there, meet new people, talk to everyone you know, donate to fundraisers, have a booth at an event, leave catalogs and flyers in stores and on bulletin boards, and offer fundraisers to every non-profit you know. Don’t tell me you have no customers until you’ve tried all those things! Most direct sales people are too quick to give up when things don’t go their way. This business rewards those who are consistent and persistent.

12. I read again a blog post where you talked about attending your company training. At this training you met a woman who also happened to be a mother with 13 children! You are a mom, an entrepreneur, a wife, friend, mother. You have so many roles and functions to fulfill. What is the best advice you can give other moms out there who are either too afraid or use their situation as a reason not to move forward and pursue their dreams?

I read a blog post recently that was quite controversial (you have been warned!), but a paragraph of it really resonated with me.

“Not that there is anything wrong with being a Mother, mind you. I just don’t think women should be Mothers and nothing else. Motherhood should enrich your life; it shouldn’t be your life. No one on this planet should dedicate their entire life to another person…even if that other person is their child. After all, how do you share your wisdom and life experiences with your offspring if you’ve never done anything but raise them?”

I firmly believe that running my business gives me the external validation, creative outlet and adult contact that actually make me a BETTER mother.

13. What do you like to do for fun? What do say to women relative to having fun and making a point to do something for themselves?

Travel with my husband – my business income allows us to leave the kids and go on weekend breaks. I also enjoy crafts, particularly when I can get together with girlfriends and socialize while we work on projects. This recharges my batteries so that I return to my home duties ready to do battle once more!

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

I know you are all thrilled about the Summer and so am I!

I have yet to speak to a home party consultant or a direct sales who does not want to build a solid and consistent stream of referred leads for their home party direct sales business. To make this happen, you must provide a great product or service and a great experience, but that’s often not enough on its own. To get the referral tap flowing, you also need to create compelling ways to stay top of mind with your referral sources and convince them to sing your praises. Following are referral tactics that have been used by many with great results courtesy of Entrepreneur Magazine. They are sure to boost home party sales in more ways than one:

1. Expectation: This is by and large the easiest and simplest to implement.  It goes something like this: During your lead conversion process, mention that “we know you’re going to be so thrilled with our that in 60 days, we’ll check and make sure you’re thrilled, then ask you to suggest three others who you know would love this result. Is that a deal?” It’s so simple so much so that it is easy to overlook
2. Gift certificate giveaway: Send a quarterly mailing to your customers and referral sources, offering a gift certificate of real value for your products or services. Tell the recipients that they’re free to forward this to anyone they choose. Many customers want to refer you; this gives them something tangible to use in the process. I recommend using gift certificates at your home parties.
3. Nonprofit partner: Find a group you want to support, then propose several ways to create a deep partnership, such as a campaign that benefits your partner for every widget purchased this month. This kind of campaign is a win for all and can motivate your partner to introduce your promotion to his constituency
4. A 100-percent refund: This one works because it sounds so good. When customers buy a fixed-price product or service, offer them a 100 percent refund on their purchase. All they need to do is give away four special cards to friends. For each of these cards that results in a new customer for you, your referral source gets a refund of 25 percent up to 100 percent. This is really just paying a commission for referrals, but it turns into a game with a nice marketing ring to it. Don’t forget to take photos of all your 100-percent refund club members.
5. Secret price list: Another great way to earn referrals is to surprise your customers with a deal. Once they agree to a price, offer them a lower price if they provide referrals on the spot. I once worked with an electrical contractor who did this using postcard that the customer would fill out immediately, referring them to a friend.

Here’s to happy, more profitable you,

Party Plan Pat

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

This relationship between how engaged the direct sales/home party consultant and customer experience as described very clearly in The Service-Profit Chain, which was published in the Harvard Business Review in 1994:

“Profit and growth are stimulated primarily by customer loyalty. Loyalty is a direct result of customer satisfaction. Satisfaction is largely influenced by the value of services provided to customers. Value is created by satisfied, loyal, and productive employees.”

Just like the three laws that govern all of physics, there are a set of fundamental truths about how customer experience operates. And here they are:

The 6 laws of customer experience (CxP)

Courtesy of Brian Temkin:

1) Every interaction creates a personal reaction.
2) People are instinctively self-centered.
3) Customer familiarity breeds alignment.
4) Unengaged employees don’t create engaged customers.
5) Employees do what is measured, incented, and celebrated.
6) You can’t fake it.

To your success,

Party Plan Pat

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

Julia Ward Howe proposed the idea of Mother’s Day for Peace over a century ago. Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870 was a call for disarmament and for women to come together to seek diplomatic ways to settle disagreements amongst nations.

Today, Physicians for Social Responsibility carries on this work by seeking an end to the use and spread of nuclear weapons, working to end global warming, and stopping the toxic degradation of the environment. We encourage you to share the story of Mother’s Day with your mother and other family members and friends.

You can help us reconnect with Mother’s Day’s original purpose and celebrate modern-day mothers who are carrying on Howe’s vision by working every day to build a safer, healthier, more peaceful world for our children and future generations.

Mother’s Day Proclamation 1870
By Julia Ward Howe

Arise then…women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace…
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress,
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

1. This is a one-time pledge that can be fulfilled any time. Courtesy of Women’s Rights

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

It is of great concern to me that the meaning of customer satisfaction is lost on many.

Did You Know:

• Acquiring new customers can cost five times more than satisfying and retaining current customers
• A 2% increase in customer retention has the same effect on profits as cutting costs by 10%
• The average company/business loses 10% of its customers each year
• A 5% reduction in customer defection rate/attrition can increase profits by 25-125%, depending on the industry
• The customer profitability rate tends to increase over the life of a retained customer

According to Dun and Bradstreet  (The #1 trusted source of information on business and the leader in Small Business Solutions) and numerous customer satisfaction surveys they conducted:

“The single, most important reason for the failure of businesses in America is lack of sales. And, of course, this refers to resales as well as initial sales. So your roles as home party consultant, your job is to create and keep a customer!”

The American customer satisfaction index is falling at an alarming rate. Remember, no matter what your official title is, you are a salesperson for yourself and your company…

business |ˈbiznis| ( bus.)
noun
2 the practice of making one’s living by engaging in commerce : the world of business | whom do you do business with in Manila? | [as adj. ] the business community | [with adj. ] the jewelry business.
• trade considered in terms of its volume or profitability : how’s business?

The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business successfully creates and keeps customers in a cost-effective way, it will make a profit while continuing to survive and thrive. If, for any reason, a business fails to attract or sustain a sufficient number of customers, it will experience losses. Too many losses will lead to the demise of the enterprise.

“The ultimate objective of a business is profit. The primary purpose of a business is to create customers. Profitability without customers is an impossibility.” Mark Sanborn

In  today’s competitive business world and challenging economy, retaining your customer base is critical to your success. If you don’t give your customers some good reasons to stay, your competitors will give them a reason to leave. Customer retention and  satisfaction drive profits.  It’s far less expensive to cultivate your existing customer base and sell more services to them than it is to seek new, single-transaction customers.  Most surveys across industries show that keeping one existing customer is five to seven times more profitable than attracting one new one.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction: Getting Loyal Customers

Customer loyalty is the ultimate measure of customer satisfaction. Delighted and loyal customers will return for follow-on business without considering alternatives of comparing the competition.

True loyalty is based on your company’s continuous delivery of superior value. Customer loyalty is a major contributor to sustainable profit growth - and to win customer loyalty, the business must first satisfy the customer repeatedly.

“The best way to hold your customers is to constantly figure how to give more for less.” –  Jack Welch

Here is to customer service!

Party Plan Pat

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

If only Eve hadn’t bit into that apple.  Indeed if only.  Well she did!  Now that we have put that behind us what does the Christian business entrepreneur stand to gain from the bible and its many lessons about building a successful business?

With current economic worries, and as what little consumer confidence wanes and whittles, the message is as clear today as is it was during similar difficult times for the Jews under Roman occupation and rule.

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  Let us not forget that as the words preached about anxiety and it’s poor results.  It is asked of us  “And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?”

Furthermore we are advised in the poignant Sermon on the Mount,  “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”   One of the best songs is titled Consider The Lilies of The Field by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, when times are tough you can mosie on over to YouTube.

That the Bible is filled with lessons in common knowledge.  Now having laid the foundation let us then look at what the Christian entrepreneur can do to thrive in these blessed times.

1. Be still and know that I am God :  Contrary to popular thought and opinion we are not being asked to become inactive, to sit on your rear and do nothing.  Instead we are to learn that Spiritual serenity, the psalmist admits; ought to be cultivated in spite of the shaking mountains and agitated waters and financial upheaval. In other words come hell or high water. This spiritual calm, that God commands, does not come from a lack of troubles; it derives from a steady, deep assurance that  God has always intervened in history on behalf of his people.

There is another meaning to being still.  When you are agitated, expectant, stressed and /or anxious it is difficult to hear “the still small voice” . This is the voice of the Holy Spirit, “the comforter”  sent to speak peace, calm and inspiration to your heart and mind.  Remember  “for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.   Allow Him the space.  Let Him speak!

2.    Too many people expect success and yet fail to make the necessary preparations.  It has been said that luck is when opportunity meets preparation.  Think back to the story of the 10 Virgins. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  We all know how that story came to an end,  The five that were prepared reaped what they had sown for good and they that were unprepared  reaped for bad.
3.    To be prepared is to know who you are and what you are capable of doing.  You are a child of God.  And how will know your abilities and your limitless bounds if you do not cultivate the talents that have been gifted to you?  If you do nothing else with article may I challenge you to read Matthew Chapter 25.  This is the Holy Grail of Success!  The story of the talents lays the foundation for success.   The one that had 5 talents, multiplied them to 10.  The one that had 2, even 4. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.  But it gets better, his rationale?  I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.  And the master says unto him, “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.”   Indeed, the rich keep getting richer, while the poor keep getting poorer.  As it has been demonstrated, this is the Lord’s law of prosperity.  Use it Or Loose It!
4.    The fear that leads us to be inactive as the slothful servant in the parable of the talents is directly linked to these telling words “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…”  To succeed in business you have to be in the know.  Are you still using 8 track methods to build your business in an iPod world?  If so be advised.  Bill Gates, former richest man in the world, in an interview with Larry King Live in 2000, when asked the secret to his success Bill Gates willingly shared his secrets to success, he said:

i). Recognize the future of an industry
ii). Take immediate massive action
iii). Be at the right place at the right time!

In early 2008 As Bill Gates prepared to step down as CEO of Microsoft, he said in a BBC interview when asked again his secret to success, “Most of our competitors were very poorly run,” he told Fiona Bruce, for The Money Programme.

“They did not understand how to bring in people with business experience and people with engineering experience and put them together. They did not understand how to go around the world.”

He said something that cannot be ignored any longer:

iv).  If your business is not on the internet, then your business,
will be out of business!

5.    Live the Platinum Rule: The Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you is definitely one you ought to live. The Platinum Rule will propel you to heights beyond your imagination.  “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete, withal it shall be measured to you again.”   This particular scripture is a commandment and a promise of blessing. God does not want us empty, barren or in poverty. Whatever is dear to us, if we give it unto the Lord he in turn will fill the void. We must give all if we are to completely be blessed by him.  What does giving accomplish?  It is like being a pack-rat you are cluttered and have no more room to receive nor to enjoy that which you have received.  Giving creates the vacuum for more blessing to be poured upon you.
6.    Give it your all.  Don’t hold back: “If you are going to do it, do it well or not at all,” my other would always say to me. Thrust in your sickle with all your might.  You will not only sleep well, but as we are told “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”
7.    The Law of Tithe: A tenth of your earnings belong to the Lord. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground…And all nations shall call you blessed…”  What more can I add?
8.    Neither Shall Ye Rob Uncle Sam : The Pharisees, seeking to catch Jesus in a trap asked of Him, “Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.  Pay your taxes.  It is good business practice.  All that which is done in the dark shall one day come to light.  Need I remind you of Enron and their creative accounting?  What about the recent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sub-prime loans that have led us to current economic situations?
9.    You Got to Have Faith : Remember the golden oldie by wonder boy and every body’s teen crush George Michael?  It is true what is sang. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”  And my personal favorite, Therefore I say unto you, What things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”  Have you asked for guidance? Have you asked in faith?  Have you prepared yourself?  Have you cultivated your talents?  Have you sought knowledge?  Have you got into action? If you can honestly answer yes to these questions, you my friend are very, very successful indeed!
10.     Stand aside and see the Glory Of God:  For “They that be with us are more than they that be with them”   “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper…!”

About The Author: Patricia Kagwiria Makhulo is an author, speaker, consultant specializing in branding and creating online and offline presence.  She works with women, with a specific emphasis on women of color who are struggling to establish their presence in the business world & struggling to attract more customers in order to build successful business both online and offline!

Website: http://www.partyplanpat.com
Blog: http://www.homepartyplansuccesstips.com

Scripture References:

John 14:27
Luke 12 :25
Matt 6:28 - 32
Psalm 46:10
1 Kings 19:11-12
John 16:7-15
Philippians 2:13
Matt. 25: 3-4
Matt 25: 18
Matt 25: 25

Matt. 25: 28-29
Hosea 4:6
Luke 6:38
2 Corinthians 9:6
Malachi 3:8-12
Mark 9:23
Mark 11:24
2 Kings. 6:16
Isaiah 54:17

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

I am in lancaster, PA as I write this.  I will be giving the keynote speech tomorrow at Millersville Edu on Social Media, Social Networking And The Latina and African-American Female Entrepreneur.

It is so interesting to see all the learning opportunities this world has to offer.

Do you feel that you are not getting the respect you deserve in your determination to reach direct sales and home party plans world domination?

That the Internet is evolving and we are finding more value and powerful results with ON-LINE networking.

Social Networking & Social Media is moving at light speed and as a successful “women in direct selling business,” we owe it to ourselves to gain a competitive edge with online networking and creating an internet identity!

Remember that the purpose of marketing is not to coerce, compel, manipulate or trick people into buying your home party products.  Marketing is about building a relationship!

Focusing on the most effective social networking sites and while getting training and gathering TIPS and TRICKS to HELP BUILD YOUR ON-LINE NETWORK.

Watch & Learn!

Plan with Purpose,

Party Plan Pat

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

Are You DRIVING Your Business, Or, Are you simply the passenger riding the “WAVE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING” hoping like AIG this nightmare will go away and you can go back to your fancy lifestyle?

TopRank recently ran a survey of the top digital marketing tactics marketers plan to implement this year.  They also published some great insights on the fact that social media marketing tops digital marketing tactics for 2009.

Some tactics are clearly hot, while others are not.  I thought it would be worthwhile to go through 5 tactics that are hot and 5 that are not and provide my views on why certain tactics are resonating while others are not used and/or ineffective:

Hot:  Blogging (34%)

Why it’s hot: done properly, blogging builds deep interactions, its use is only limited by your creativity, allows you to forge deep relationships, has cumulative results over time, is a strong traffic generator, simple to implement, huge lead generator, has the ability to help accomplish/supplement many other internet marketing tactics, lets you build permission and create strong relationships (see more reasons your business should blog).

Not: Advergames (1%)

Why it’s not: shallow interaction generated, media buys necessary to drive traffic (baring some extremely rare exception, advergames don’t spread very far in social media), high cost to develop, low or un-trackable ROI, viewed as trite/obnoxious by real gamers, no compelling reason for consumers to play when casual gaming market has exploded (pro game creators such as Nintendo are highly targeted casual gamers, leaving little reason to play an after-run corporate advergame).

Hot: Search engine optimization (28%)

Why it’s hot: findability for your business, consistent, reliable traffic generator, cumulative ROI over time, strong lead generator, tangible results, directly measurable - results are shown as raw data, perhaps even more necessary in a recession.

Not: RSS advertising (1%)

Why it’s not: RSS is a fast-moving enviornment made up of early adopters who have long-ago learned to tune out web ads either mentally or by using products like AdBlock plus.  Pull marketing is a far more efficient srategy to reach the early adopters than push.

Hot:  Social network participation (Facebook, LinkedIn) (26%)

Why it’s hot: fishing where the fish are is always a good move, and with 150+ million users, Facebook is a hot place to fish.  Using these networks as part of your outpost strategy to draw visitors back to a web property for your desired conversions is a smart move.  Also the low or no cost of using these networks gives them a big nod (although there is of course the time commitment factor).

Not:  Virtual worlds (Second Life) (1%)

Why it’s not: I’m still not sure why some marketers ever ventured into setting up shop in Second Life or other virtual worlds, I personally never saw much (if any value) here.  In my mind, it runs counter to what a “virtual world” is - an escape from the real world.  You can’t get away from the fact that the basic motivation of someone with enough free time to join a virtual world has an escapist mentality and thus doesn’t want reality creeping into the experience.  Many brands that entered Second Life received a minor PR bump in the media, but otherwise the shops they set up in the virtual worlds were nothing more than virtual ghost towns.

Hot:  Pay per click (14%)

Why it’s hot: PPC is potentially huge, if and only if you take the time to analyze data, work hard within the system and refine refine refine.  Those who track and maximize conversions and work relentlessly to develop strong campaigns can reap huge benefits here.  Don’t think for a second that just because you are paying for clicks it is going to be easy - just the opposite - it is a huge challenge but one that can produce big results if you know the path to follow.

Not:  paid reviews (0%)

Why it’s not: this is an inauthentic tactic and one which if done in a manipulative fashion and then later discovered can prove disastrous.  Additionally, paid reviews with transparency are simply not trusted.  If you have to pay someone to review your product or company - you probably should rethink your product/company.

Hot:  Online/digital public relations (7%)

Why it’s hot: as print and traditional media undergo major restructurings, digital media is growing like wildfire.  The web is a more influential medium than print, and the PR industry as a whole is moving right along with it.

Not:  No holds barred spam (0%)

Why it’s not: spam upsets users, is illegal and can harm your reputation on the web to irreparable degrees depending on what is done.  A dangerous and irresponsible tactic, spam is not something smart marketers use.

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009

Hi,

“If You’re One Of The Few Network Marketers Left Who’s Still Making Names Lists And Cold Calling Dead-Beat Opportunity Leads… How Do You Plan To Keep Up With Those Who Have Learned How To Get Hundreds - Even Thousands - Of Pre-Sold Prospects To Come To Them (Without Having To Spend Hours On The Phone Or Attend Even A Single Hotel Meeting)?”

Listen To Ann Sieg Live!

Here is to your success,

Party Plan Pat

Follow Me On Twitter

Post from: Proven Home Party Plans & Direct Selling Business Success Tips | Party Plan Pat Copyright 2008-2009