Direct Sellers: Key Tips To Become More Effective

The direct selling industry is a major engine of business growth in our country. According to statistics publicized by the Direct Selling Association, more than 50% of US adults say they have bought something from a direct selling representative. Also, one in five people in our country say they have been or currently are working in the direct selling industry.

Quite a few direct sellers find the ease of choosing their own hours to be appealing. However, scant few direct sellers ever achieve major earnings. This is due, to some extent, to the time commitment involved and the productivity challenges.

However, a group of new productivity tools ranging from web-based communication management applications, to sharing your desktop apps and telecom solutions are making selling easier for direct sellers. This article looks at three major areas likely to be of help to direct sellers.

Tip 1: Launch a newsletter using web-based template software

Online communication is a major factor in marketing for most businesses. Direct selling is no different. The world has gone far beyond the days of Outlook merge. New services by companies such as Constant Contact help direct sellers create templates where preconfigured content can be added.

Your newsletter might detail announcements about new promotions or products, updates on shipping schedules and the like. This content allows the user to create professional looking material with a small portion of the time that older methods used to take.

Tracking is a feature offered by the more advanced software services. These tracking capabilities can show various types of data from the open rates on e-mails to click-through rates. These services also host the ability for recipients to unsubscribe from your newsletter in order to make sure you are not running afoul of spam regulations.

Tip 2: Use a free conference calling service

Recent years have witnessed a number of companies launching free conference calling services. These services provide you with free conferencing numbers and PIN codes which are either temporary or permanent. Direct selling representative can save hundreds of dollars ever month by using such systems to arrange conference calls, tele-seminars, workshops and similar offerings.

Some services offer extra conferencing features applicable to direct sellers. Examples of critical features listen only PIN codes, audio recording of the calls, and storing call agenda information.

Tip 3: Use an application to allow desktop sharing

Desktop sharing can be very useful for direct selling professionals. For example, sharing a PowerPoint document can ally you to demonstrate the benefits and features of a new product. Another example might be a spreadsheet illustrating the sales of your down-line members.

Of course, you could just e-mail out the presentation to every participant by way of an e-mail attachment. However, a desktop sharing application enables the organizer to control how the presentation is viewed by the attendees. This can be quite helpful for educational purposes. The more advanced and sophisticated services allow the organizer to change control over to other users.

Some direct sellers select a differentiated approach and use different services for conferencing and desktop sharing. Increasingly, however, conference calling services are moving to bundle desktop sharing functionality into their regular offering. Either way, this is another area where direct sellers can enhance their productivity.