Culture & Direct Sales

Culture plays a critical role in the success of a direct sales company.

Too many people think if they just use:

• social media,
• have a good product,
• a great compensation plan,
• direct sales software,

that they can start a direct sales company. Yes, these things are important. But until you understand who you are and what kind of company you want to be, it is hard to achieve and maintain the growth you want in direct sales.

People will often say: “Ok, Ok I get the culture thing but I need a comp plan or I need to grow the company. How fast can we grow the company to a certain number of people and start making a profit?”

I know right then that they have their work cut out for them.

Yes profits are important and yes growing the rep base is critical.

But first you need to ask: What kind of a business are you going to be?

Are you a product company using direct sales as a marketing channel or are you a direct sales company selling a product?

The direct sales business is a people business first and a product business second.

With this said lets consider some areas where creating a culture or we could call it an environment where the company is closely aligned with the distributors and employees.

This is when the magic occurs.

Be passionate. Make it a Crusade

o   Too many people start direct sales companies because it appears to be a good place to make money. It is. But if you want to really get your distributors building then have a passionate crusade about the opportunity and product you are offering.

o   People want to be part of something important. They want to make a difference. If you can energize your distributors and arm them with passion for what they do then you will have created an unstoppable army.

o   People can smell a phony a mile away. If you don’t really believe in direct sales and what can happened with your distributors then they will sooner or later know you are just in for the money. You may not even see this happening. It will show up in slow growth and less productive distributors.

o   Find a product you believe in that is unique and makes a positive difference in peoples lives. Stand behind this product with impeccable service and confidence.

o   Now take this and match it up with a total belief in helping people build their businesses.

o   A passionate crusade for your product and the distributors is a great combination.

Build a company with a Soul

o   When you hear someone say “that person really has a good soul”. Or that a person doesn’t have any soul. It makes you think that a person is either a good or bad person inside. A business is no different. A company can have either a good soul or bad soul.

o   When we state build a company with a soul what we are saying is make your business more than about bottom line profits and spread sheets. Look at your employees and distributors as more than necessary cogs in the great wheel of business. Make sure that at the end of the day not only are you making money but you are making a difference in the lives of your distributors and in the world by what you provide.

o   We rarely remember people just because they made a lot of money. We remember them for what they added to society.  You have the opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of thousands or even millions of people if you build a business with a soul.

Stand for something beyond the product

o   To many people think if you have a great product then you will have a great company. Yes a great product is important to your success.  But just think about when you may have gone to a restaurant for dinner. You may have gone there before and thought the food was great but this time the service was horrible and you said I am never going back there again. Even though the food was good you still made the decision to not go back.

o   Business at its best is not about profits. Yes you have to make a profit and if you don’t even the distributors will not have a business. But if profit is your main concern then the decisions you make will only be about money and bottom line profits. This attitude can bleed through to your distributors, which will negatively affect your culture and growth.

o   Create a WOW experience for your customers and distributors that will keep them coming back for more.

It’s about doing the Right Thing

o   Integrity, fairness, authenticity and being value based are key drivers to a successful direct sales company

o   In the long run doing the right thing is the best practice. This is where service based leadership comes into play. The more we serve the distributors the more committed to the company they are.  We call this positive social capital. Social capital is very valuable when you have to make tough decisions even if it is the best thing for the distributors long-term. This social capital should only be used when there is no other option for the company and never just leveraged to make things easier for the company.

o   Every decision you make in the company should be measured against how will it affect the distributors either positively or negatively.

Create an emotional connection & trust with your people

o   In direct sales the great business owners understand that their success is closely tied to the success of the distributors.

o   Without them you don’t have a direct sales company.

o   This author was in a DSA meeting where Doris Christopher the founder of Pampered Chef when she was asked “what was one of the most important things she could share with the other owners of directs sales companies in the room”. She said; “At Pampered Chef we work for our consultants”.

o   If you base your business on supporting and providing service to your distributors it will pay dividends.

o   When owners start looking at their distributors as just a way to sell a product then this is the beginning of the end. 

o   You want to make every decision with the thought of “how does this affect the distributors. Is this good for them? Sure you have to maintain good sound business practices but if you end up making all of your decisions on the basis of what is good for the company you might find out one day that you don’t have any distributors.

o   It has been said that distributors may love the owners but not trust them. How can this be? Distributors are a funny group. They can feel good about what you have offered them and even respect all that you do. But they may not trust that you will make the right decisions for them.  This can happen early in the life cycle of the business or many times it happens when a company matures and owners tend to be less connected to the distributors.

o   When you first get started with your company don’t be an armchair leader. Get out there and see the distributors. Do conference calls. Learn about their families. Recognize them for even little accomplishments. This is an incredible investment to building your company.

o   Write handwritten notes to your distributors to recognize them for accomplishments.

o   Recognize the spouse even if she/he is just supportive.

Create a sense of community

o   People have a built-in desire to belong to something. A direct sales company can be one of the avenues that provides this to them. People may join a direct sales company to make money but many times they stay for other reasons. One of these reasons is to be part of something special. Create an environment where you are providing personal development and a social gathering place either virtually or in person. This occurs on conference calls, company forums, leadership councils, events, conventions, incentive trips, the company website and any other place where you and others can build personal relationships

o   Many companies have provided service opportunities for their distributors for local and national causes. Some companies have even added a service project in third world countries when they go on  incentive trips. This is a way to give back for all the opportunities they have been given in the business. I have spoken to some distributors that said that the service projects were the highlight of the incentive trips.

o   A sense of community is created by the personal attention that is given to the distributors from the owners and staff. When your distributors feel the company is like family then you know you have created a good community.

o   How do you do this? Be authentic in every thing you do. Just be a real person and always have the needs of your distributors come first.

o   Don’t elevate yourself above your distributors.

o   Too many companies when they are small try to make themselves look bigger than they are.  Use this unique time as a new startup to build off of being new and small. You will build loyalty, enthusiasm and a sense of team work if you do

Get people to love your company

o   It is one thing to have a great product or service or even the best compensation plan on the planet. But if your distributors, customers and employees love your company then this is a great gauge for knowing if you are creating the right community. 

o   You want prospects to say: “What a great company. I want to be part of it”

o   Remember it is the emotional connection that people have with the company and its owners that is so important to grow with

“We are a people business not a product company”

o   Never forget a direct sales company is always about the people. “Build the people and they will build your company”

 

So in the end culture is an environment that you develop from the early design of your company. It comes before compensation, software and all of the other top tier elements of a direct sales company. Get the culture wrong and the best compensation plan and product will not pull you through.

 

Your culture is your brand. Brand just lags behind your culture.

 

In a nut shell culture is really a feeling woven through business practices that create community between the company and distributors where they feel a bond of trust and integrity between each other. It is about building a company with a soul.

Is The World Better Because of You?

While building your direct sales business, selling, recruiting and making money ask yourself “Is the world better because of what you are doing?”

I love the direct sales business. It has provided me good friends, the freedom to work for myself and the opportunity to share with others.

The challenge I have with some direct sales executives, consultants and distributors is that the money aspect, the personal recognition and power become all consuming.

Let’s try to stay balanced in our building efforts. Keep a focus on what you can do for others. Help them achieve their goals and you will find that you will achieve yours too.

I have watched to many people get financial success but loose the personal success of friends and trusted associates. On your climb to financial freedom stay grounded in character, honor and faith in God (if you believe in God). Try to make the world a better place because you gave back to others.

A friend of mine once said that “Your Ego Will Kill You”. That is so true. When we think that our business is great because we are great then it is time to reevaluate our own worth.

When building an organization try to remember it is really about the other person and not us. So when you get to the top look around to see how many people helped you get there. And if you are really lucky many of those will be on top with you.

Personal Development vs Technique

The longer I am in direct sales and work with consultants and distributors it becomes more and more clear that success in building a direct sales business has more to do with personal development than sales techniques.

Sales techniques are skills you use to make sales, recruit people and prospect with. Those are valuable tools to have. There are many websites, books and people to teach technique. But what I have found is that until you are ready to learn and use the techniques that the skills alone are not enough to bring success or drive you to action.

All of us come into direct sales with different life experiences. Some bring with them the talents to build from day one. But most who join a direct sales business need to grow in a number of areas. That is one of the great things about direct sales, if it be a party plan business or a network marketing business. MLM is more about interacting with others and that is where personal development comes in.

We need to first work on us. We need to grow inside before we can really grow outside. Yes some people who have not developed inside sometimes make a lot of money in network marketing. But what I have seen is it is sometimes short-lived because of missing qualities in their personal lives.

It has been said many times that sales is first and foremost a people business. That it is. While you are building your business invest in yourself. Ready books, listen to audio’s, go to seminars on how to improve yourself. It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. You just need to have a great desire to improve as a person.

Live your life as an honorable person. Try to overcome traits in your life that hold you back. Give up an addiction. If you are shy do more with people. If you are angry with people learn to love people more. If you are not a good reader then read more. If speaking in public scares you to death then speak on subjects that you are interested in. Face your fears. You can become better. When you do you will start to see your business grow.

I had a strong leader in direct sales tell me once to focus on the things that were hard to do. He said this is when your business will start to grow. He was right. Most people only do the easy things. But it really is the things we don’t want to do that will help us the most.

So as important as sales and recruiting techniques are it is even more important to learn to develop ourselves so we can conquer our fears and move beyond them.

Focus on improving you.

Be Careful of Who and What You Follow

This is a word of caution and direction. I have seen too often that consultants and distributors get caught up in the “greatness” of the owners of the direct sales companies they are part of. As important as the owners are to the opportunity, and respect should be given to them, for the creation of the business, leadership, product development, operations, etc., you are the ultimate leader of your business.

There is a tendency for representatives of direct sales companies to put the owners on a very high celebrity type pedestal. It is natural to do this since the owners are the people who created the opportunity and are out in front. But this is a dangerous thing to do because we really don’t know the true character of people, especially in a direct sales company that is growing quickly.

We should not put any person on such a high platform since they are still just people who have weaknesses and character flaws just like you and me. It is the nature of people when they gain power, wealth and praise that they sometimes exercise increased unrighteous pride. Pride in this since is not like you remember in high school at the football game but this pride is a self-promoting and inward focused pride. It says that the company is great because I am great. Which is not good for them or the representatives of the companies.

When we promote the owners more than the opportunity we can potentially set ourselves and our downline up for failure when the owners retire, sell the company, pass away or just pull back from the personal contact that they once had when the company was smaller.

This cycle has been played out in many of the direct sales companies in the industry.

To protect you and your business you need to balance what and whom you promote.

This creates another issue in that companies change over time. The culture that was in the company when you joined can change and sadly probably will change. The friendly family feeling you experienced can become a distant corporate culture as the company grows. This is a challenge for all direct sales companies as they get bigger. There are a few great companies that have been able to maintain the close relationships with the representatives. I was lucky to be part of a company like that for over 10 years.

With all due respect for the owners of direct sales companies you need to remember that you have your own business and at the end of the day your existing parent company supplies you with products, commissions, shipping, marketing material and incentives. You should always support your company in a positive manner. But be careful not to get caught up in what I call “worshiping the company and owners”

You need build your business and create the kind of culture you want in it. And then be careful not to but yourself on a pedestal. If you do this you can weather any storm that the company might go through.

Just ask yourself these questions:

• If the owners sold the company how would it affect my downline?
• Do I have a strong enough connection with my downline to keep the team together if the owners were not in the company anymore?
• Is the culture of the company today as good as it was when you joined?
• Have you built the kind of culture in your team that is positive and supportive?
• Is your personal business strong enough culturally to survive a negative cultural change in the company?

You need to become the leader of your business and be careful not to be just pulled along with the excitement and fanfare of the company.

As a final note, this is not to say that all companies owners become egotistical leaders and only focused on profits for themselves or the company. It is just that companies and people change. Be careful how much you promote owners and companies instead of the opportunity.

Be the kind of leader you would want to follow. Always look for ways to build your people. When we think of others first, at the end of the day you will be rewarded both financially and personally.

Money makes bad people worse and good people better.

Let’s always be a good person.

Do It or Don’t Do It

I have been in direct sales in one capacity or another for over 30 years. First I can’t believe it has been that long.

But the other day I was thinking about so many of the distributors or consultants that I know who have been or are trying to build a direct sales business. Some are doing very good and some are frustrated.

Here is the common thread I have observed with the ones that are frustrated. Now the frustrated area I am talking about is in growing the number of recruits and getting the volume of sales from them.

People who are big in this business have “focused on recruiting” I mean they are zeroed in on it and personally recruit and understand that they need large numbers of personal recruits to get a few leaders that will do the same.

The people that are frustrated are the one that recruit once in a while. Sometimes by accident and then think that the few recruits they have are going to somehow grow their business.

The truth is that very few people get lucky and recruit a superstar. Most people have to recruit their brains out to find those few people that will take off.

You just have to make the decision to stop playing with the business and stop kidding yourself and setup a plan to personally recruit 50-100 people in a short time period of a few months. Even 6 months to a year. But if you stretch this over 5-10 years you will not have the impact you need.

If you just want to have fun with your business and make a little extra income then don’t worry about what I am say and please don’t get offended.

But if you want to build an income of $50,000 to $100,000 per year then you are going to have to stop just having fun with your hobby and setup a plan to personally recruit large numbers of people in a short period of time.

Just know that most of those people will not be builders. But you will find some and when you do they will do it with or without you. And that is the time when the business is really fun and productive.

So my comment of “Do it or Don’t Do It” means if you keep saying you are going to build a large income business then you need to treat it like a business and go recruit an army.

Just remember you don’t have to recruit like a crazy person forever. Once you get the plane off the ground you can pull back on the gas a little. But if you don’t put the pedal to the metal at the beginning you are never going to get that plane off the ground. And that is frustrating.

So make and plan and start recruiting

New Entrepreneurs

According to a recent study by the Kauffman Foundation, new startup businesses have hit their highest level in 14 years. Despite the recession and probably because of it people are turning to owning their own businesses as an alternative to finding a full-time job.

People are more than ever learning that jobs and careers don’t last for extended periods of time.

When asked why they are starting their own business, one thing people say is that “they are having fun” with their new business and that they can get a job later.

What does that tell us about direct sales? This has always been an entrepreneurial industry. Remember that you don’t just sell products. You offer people a chance to be in business for themselves. There is no better time to offer someone a chance to start their own business.

Where else can you start a business for let’s say $100 (a starter kit) and then start making money the first day in business. There is no license to get, no inventory to buy and even better yet you can recruit and expand your business day one.

Yes you need to be excited and convinced your product is good but don’t forget that the most valuable thing you can offer is the business opportunity. Millions of people are out of work in this country. It is time for you to lead the crusade and touch the lives of these great Americans.

Millions of people have immigrated to America for just a chance to start over and have a taste of the American Dream.

You have the American Dream right now.

Go out and share it with people.

Silpada Jewelry merges with Avon

Silpada Jewelry is one of the really good party plan companies in the direct sales industry.

First see this link:http://silpadanews.com/

They have announced a merger with Avon. I don’t know any of the details yet but it will be interesting to see what happens. Normally I am very cautious of big corporations taking over entrepreneurial direct sales companies. It worked with Pampered Chef so let’s see if it works here. I have great respect for both Silpada and Avon.