Last week I posted a couple of articles about virtual parties, outlining best practices for this type of an event. Read them here and here. Now it’s important to note that everyone having success with this type of an event is finding that it’s a SUPPLEMENT to an in-home party strategy, and not a replacement. Typically your sales will not be as high, and sales events don’t typically produce recruits. However, virtual parties can be an excellent way to fill your calendar with in-home parties, because people who get a taste of your products virtually will often then decide to commit to the longer, in-home experience (and get the hostess rewards).

But one of the questions I got from several people last week was, “Where do I do the party?” People have tried it in various locations: Skype, Google Hangouts, Custom Software Platforms, Facebook Events, uStream, and so on. But what’s the BEST venue for a virtual party?

Right now, based on what’s available, I believe the answer is Facebook Events.

The live, 30-minute party happens directly within the Facebook Event. There are a few reasons why this seems to work best:

1. Everyone is already on Facebook, and doesn’t have to leave and go elsewhere to participate.
2. Facebook notifications help you keep guests in the loop and engaged.
3. You can do lead-up to the virtual event in the same location as the actual party.
4. There is no learning curve…people already know how to use Facebook.
5. You can upload your videos and images directly into Facebook, creating a seamless experience for your guests.

The only thing that is challenging about the Facebook environment is the actual ordering. Yet we are finding that sending people to the consultant’s replicated website is overwhelming and often people don’t come back. So there are still kinks to be worked out, and different consultants have used different systems (from personal contact after the event, to custom Facebook photo albums of products, to comments within the event itself) with varying levels of success.

But overall, if you’re going to use a tool for a virtual event, right now it seems that your best option is Facebook Events.

Do you do virtual events? Where do you host them? How do you handle ordering? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

From Jen: I’ve spent a lot of time lately researching Virtual Parties, working to identify the techniques that bring the best results consistently to those in direct sales party plan companies. And since many direct sellers are running Facebook Parties, this is one area I’ve spent a lot of time. That’s how I came upon The Tag Team. Another direct seller, seeing my research, asked if I’d heard of them. I had not, but took some time to review their materials. I thought they had a lot of great techniques (and even more personality!) Since they’ve spent a lot of time refining techniques for Facebook Parties that have helped them double the sales in their jewelry businesses, they’ve certainly figured a few things out. I invited them to share some of their best practices here with you, and I’m delighted they accepted!

Wrestling With Online Virtual Parties?
Guest Post by The Tag Team

Online virtual parties are becoming more and more prominent in the direct sales industry.  Much of this can be attributed to the busyness of life, the convenience of online shopping and the ability to make connections like never before.  When conducting these virtual online parties, it is important to consider the following factors.

Social media has created a platform for direct sellers to connect with their hostesses and customers like never before.  As a result, the traditional catalog party pales in comparison to virtual partying because often there is a lack of connections made between the consultant and customers.  It is so much more enjoyable for customers and hostesses alike to experience the one-on-one interaction and service provided through the virtual party.

The most common social media platform for virtual parties is Facebook.  We suggest setting Facebook party events to “invite only.”  By making it a private event, the direct seller is creating a more personal shopping experience in a virtual setting.  Many consultants set their events to “public” thinking they will get more exposure and in turn increase their sales. However, the complete opposite may occur.  Events set to public create spam and as a result, people end up “un-friended” or “hidden,” a result that is almost irreversible.

We are seeing many direct sellers hosting extended online virtual parties with little success.  These lengthy parties often consist just of instructions on how to place orders from the company’s online catalog.  This is not a party because there’s little interaction, no fun factor, and often times very low sales.  The solution is to set a day and time and then invite the hostess and her guests to an event that will last 30 minutes with live interaction and service.

We do not recommend linking your company’s online catalog to the virtual party.  Clicking on the link to the online catalog takes customers away from the event page and they often don’t come back.  Another problem with online catalogs is that they can be overwhelming.  Remember, these events should only last 30 minutes so it’s important to have a smaller, more manageable album of products for customers to look through.  Another key factor with the custom albums is to make the price point $40 or less because guests are more likely to make purchases when the prices are under $40.

There’s a fine line between pushing your product and sharing it. People want to discover the product on their own and receive amazing, personal service. When relationships and connections are made, and good service is received, sales will increase.  It is so important to remember this when creating your virtual party atmosphere.  If a guest sees the representative hard selling the product, they are less likely to attend the event than if they are learning about the product through a series of fun posts prior to the party.

It’s through trial and error that we’ve found these practices to be successful. Although virtual parties should never replace home parties, they do provide a supplement to the traditional catalog party plan.

About The Tag Team

Amanda Holland and Rachel Perry, both current direct sellers, were frustrated with the lack of communication and personal touch that traditional catalog parties yielded.  So, they took catalog parties to Facebook.  After months of trial and error, they finally figured out the formula to successful virtual online parties.  The Tag Team currently trains representatives from over 50 direct sales companies.  Their dynamic personalities bring a sense of freshness and excitement to the direct sales industry.  You can check them out on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tagteampartypeeps.

Last week I moderated an online Virtual Party roundtable that included executives from 8 different direct sales party plan companies. (I’m a big believer in the idea that we learn better collectively rather than in silos, so I try to host roundtables periodically about current challenges facing the industry.) We came together to share learnings and best practices we’ve discovered about the current experimentation going on with virtual parties. I have to tell you, it was a fabulous conversation. I came away with a lot of ah-ha! moments, and I know that a lot of the participants did too.

If virtual parties is something that your company is currently contemplating, then here are some of the best practices we discussed that you may find helpful as well:

• Don’t try to recreate the in-home party. Your in-home party is too long to work online, and you need to adapt the format to take into account the ways people use technology in order to achieve your objective. You must treat the virtual event as a brand new thing.
• Have one objective for your online event. At an in-home party we have 3 objectives: sell product, get more party bookings, and find new recruits for the business. However the most successful virtual events typically just focus on one objective. One participant in the roundtable shared how their consultants are having great success with virtual sponsoring parties. Everyone who attends comes knowing that the event is for learning about the opportunity, and they come open to that mindset. Another participant shared that the virtual introduction they provide to their products leads to more in-home bookings.
• And that leads to one of the most important learnings from the roundtable: treat your virtual parties as “feeder” events for your in-home parties. We are finding that if people are enticed enough by what they experience in the virtual experience, they’re a lot more likely to commit to booking an in-home party.
• Companies need to create virtual event marketing materials to ensure brand consistency. Companies have created a lot of print collateral for in-home parties…sponsoring brochures, catalogs, etc. But the virtual party is a different thing, and it needs its own set of marketing materials. This includes product demonstration videos, hostess coaching videos, images, and more. It’s important for companies to begin to consider what the salesforce will need to stay on-brand while creating virtual experiences.
• Some companies are hosting corporate virtual events that individual consultants invite their hosts to. There are prizes and other fun incentives to participate.  And this leads to sales and bookings for the consultants that participate and invite people.
• Keep it quick. Online events should be no longer than 30 minutes, and they must be fast-paced and multi-media. There must be images and videos as well as interactions with the consultant. The tools are all in Facebook to do this, but consultants must be trained on how to do it properly to keep up the pace and maintain interest among participants.
• Hostess coaching still matters. Consultants must be taught how to hostess coach for virtual events, including using text messages that can be forwarded, to increase attendance.

More and more consultants are expressing interest in online events, and today’s busy consumer is often more inclined to attend a 30 minute online event before committing to a longer, in-home experience. We have an opportunity as an industry to create a format that is duplicatable, trainable, and on-brand for our consultants.

For more on this topic, you may be interested in this article from our client the Direct Selling Education Foundation: http://www.dsef.org/2013/05/09/12-tips-for-successful-online-virtual-events/

Do you do online events? What best practices would you add to this list? Would love to read your ideas in the comments below.

The direct selling industry is going through an unprecedented transformation, thanks to the evolution of technology and communication. I share my thoughts on where the industry is going and what direct sales companies need to do to remain competitive in my guest post today on The World of Direct Selling blog: Reinventing the Direct Sales Industry

One of the challenges we face right now is the vast range of technology interest and capability in the salesforce. The younger generations that we must attract to grow the business are attracted to our businesses through the strategies I describe today in my The World of Direct Selling article. However we must not neglect our older existing salesforce who prefers to do the business in traditional ways.

Thus, direct sales companies need to straddle both worlds. We must provide a full menu of communication and training options, and let people self-select the methods that work best for them. Over time, some of our more traditional methods will likely phase themselves out. But in the meantime, direct selling companies have their work cut out for them if they want to provide an opportunity that is universally attractive.

Along with my colleagues at Luce, Murphy, Fong and Associates, we are helping companies throughout the industry create the strategies that lead to sustainable, long-term businesses that will be attractive for years to come.

How does your company appeal to both younger generations and traditionalists? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you use Pinterest? If so, you probably know that sometimes when you go to pin an image, you get a funky thing in the default description field (typically the file name of the image) that you need to change. On rare occasions you’ll get the name of the article.

But did you know that you can control what appears by default in the description box of content from your blog on Pinterest? When someone pins an article from your blog, it can automatically include the name of your post and even include a link. Here’s how (in WordPress):

1. After you’ve chosen the image for your post, look at the panel to the right. You’ll see a field labeled “Title.”
   
   
2. In the Title field, type the name of your post, and your blog URL. For example, “How to Title Your Blog Images for Pinterest from http://jenfongspeaks.com” Be sure to include the http:// because when you do, the URL shows up in Pinterest as a clickable link.
3. Make any other adjustments in this panel (alignment, etc.) and then click Insert into Post.
4. Finish and publish your post as usual.

That’s it! Now when someone goes to Pin your post, they will see the title of your post as the default Description, which many people leave alone.

Once someone click the Pin It button, your link is clickable in the description too. This gives your blog greater exposure.

Do you post your blog articles to Pinterest? Do you title your images appropriately?

Happy pinning!

Measuring the outcomes of social media campaigns should be as important to your direct sales company as measuring the outcomes of sales promotions. Did that campaign positively impact sales or recruiting? Unfortunately, far too many companies fail to measure these outcomes, because the data doesn’t get into the right hands.

The social media manager can tell you how many click-throughs a campaign generated. He or she can tell you how many forms were filled out, how many likes the Facebook Page received, etc. But the social media manager is often not given data beyond this (such as the number of qualified leads that came in who actually joined), and is therefore unable to use the data to craft better campaigns moving forward.

In order to improve your company’s social media program, it’s essential that the social media manager work with the sales team to identify the data that will be measured to ultimately determine the campaign’s success. And it’s also important that the social media manager help the sales team build the steps into the sales or recruiting process that help correlate campaigns to conversions. So for example, when someone on the sales team calls to follow up on a lead that has come in on the corporate website, one of the questions should be where the person heard of the company. If the lead can be correlated to the campaign, that lead should be flagged in such a way that the company can track that lead’s qualification, conversion, and ultimate success.

When this data is shared daily, the social media manager can often make adjustments mid-campaign to increase the effectiveness of that campaign. And through the lessons learned as a result of the campaign, over time the company can create online campaigns that are tightly aligned with the company’s overall growth goals. A “menu,” if you will, of campaigns can be created that correlate to specific company objectives.

The better the data you have access to, the better you can track and refine your campaigns. Now this is sometimes challenged by the technical setup of the company’s website and analytics. Some companies aren’t able to track a lead that comes in on a corporate site through to the point of sale on the replicated site. I have a dream that one day all of our systems will work seamlessly together to provide the kind of analytics we need to measure true social media success. But just because you may not be able to track everything with Google Analytics today, it doesn’t mean you can’t track some data, and share that with the people who need it. I think it would serve every company well to ask their social media manager what data they would LOVE to have, to help them measure the success of their campaigns. The data they’re looking for may surprise you.

What data do you track to determine the success of your social media campaigns? What information would you love to have access to? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

We hear all the time that mobile is important for the future. This article by Shelly Kramer talks about teen usage of mobile, and why that matters to you even if your target market isn’t the teen market. So yes, your company needs a mobile website, a mobile app, etc, but what does that really mean? As you think about your direct sales company’s mobile strategy, here are some things to consider:

• Just because your website comes up in a mobile browser does not mean you have a mobile website. A mobile website is one that has been optimized for smartphone browsers. If what you see when you pull up your website on a mobile browser is just your regular website, you don’t have a mobile website.

  Why it matters: If your website isn’t easy to see and navigate, people will go somewhere else. Your salesforce is very likely telling someone about your website right now while they’re out and about. If that person tries to pull up your website while they’re hearing from your salesperson, and the website isn’t easy, you are making the job of your salesperson more difficult.

• A mobile app without a strategy is pointless. Plenty of companies have or are getting a mobile app. But what’s the business purpose behind it? I feel like we’re treating apps the way we did Facebook Pages a few years ago. People are getting apps just because everyone else has one. But a well-designed app should bring measurable ROI to your organization. Will access to consultant tools enable your consultants to demonstrate higher productively levels? Will your mobile recruiting app with videos make it easier for your salesforce to present the opportunity and more likely that people will join? Will your mobile catalog make it easier to order, and thus increase sales?

  Why it matters: Mobile apps are too expensive to have just because other companies have them. Not only do you have to pay for the initial development, but a good app needs updates as technology evolves. You must be sure you can measure ROI so you can justify the investment.

• Your barriers to entry will derail your mobile strategy. We are so good at barriers to entry in this industry. In our effort to assure the field that we are not competing with them, and that all orders will ultimately be credited (and paid) to a consultant, we are shooting ourselves in the virtual foot. Today’s web consumer does not have time for your extra clicks, and will not wait to be contacted by the consultant you assign. You just don’t matter that much to them. They’d rather go to your competitor or Amazon.com to find something comparable. And when it comes to mobile, it’s already a bit more challenging because things are smaller and a bit harder to navigate. Throw up a barrier to entry (such as a catalog I can’t order from or a form I have to fill out to be able to order) and you may as well not have even bothered.

  Why it matters: Consumers expect mobile to make things easier, faster and more convenient. They want to accomplish things on the go. If your company sticks with the old way of thinking in this industry, your mobile experience will simply drive away consumers and create a negative impression of your company.

As the direct sales industry evolves, a mobile strategy is an essential component to growth. We are helping our clients develop mobile sites and apps with solid strategy behind them that justify the expense, and lead to measurable growth.

How is your company embracing the mobile market? Where do you see opportunities for growth? Would love to read your comments below.

The direct selling industry is changing again.

When social media first came on the scene, we didn’t realize right away how it would completely transform the industry. But it’s not done yet.

New forms of communication and the expectations of a generation (and those that follow) have changed the game. As a business that relies so heavily on social communication, this completely changes the game for our industry.

Here’s what we’re seeing (how about you?):

• People want to do “parties” on Facebook and other online venues without actually having to do them in person
• Training has to be short and mobile-accessible
• People hate talking on the phone, so they’re not showing up for your conference calls or making the calls that used to bring new business
• Online shopping has to be seamless and often mobile (people don’t have patience for your antiquated systems and barriers to entry…if you’re not as easy as Amazon they’ll go elsewhere)
• Your incentives just aren’t as motivating as they used to be
• Way more people are working other jobs in addition to their direct sales businesses than they used to, which means they have less time to do the business (so it’s harder to advance leaders in traditional compensation plan design)
• Consultants are spending a lot more time playing games like Farmville, Bejeweled Blitz and Words with Friends when they’re online, instead of working the business.

And that’s just scratching the surface.

So does this mean that our business model is becoming irrelevant? No, in my opinion. But it does mean that some serious adaptation is in store for all of us if we wish to continue to grow as an entrepreneurial option for millions.

The clients that are coming to me and my colleagues at Luce, Murphy, Fong and Associates are realizing that this shift is upon us, and we’re helping them begin to develop the systems that are essential to become the next generation of direct sales company. It may not look the same for either party plan or network marketing companies. But the core of empowering entrepreneurs with the skills they need to succeed is as strong as ever. My partners and I are excited about what we’re seeing. There is some truly amazing stuff coming.

Are you ready for the shift?

One of the aspects of gamification that I find most intriguing is how powerful social elements are to the overall success of a game. Particularly in the casual gaming space (think Farmville, Bejeweled Blitz, etc.), players are motivated most by challenges they can complete with their friends. This is why you see those posts asking for cows and such on Facebook. You can’t “win” if you don’t involve your friends.

Now obviously this is important to game makers, because the more people who play the game, the more potential there is to monetize. But the impact on behavior is also powerful. People like these games BECAUSE they can participate with their friends. In fact, one of my friends recently said to me that the only interaction she has with certain friends is through Words with Friends. They are her “game friends” and she’s happy to have that outlet in which to interact with them.

Now what if we took our understanding of the social element in encouraging behaviors, and applied it to the salesforce experience? In some ways we already do…team meetings, booking blitzes, convention, etc. But what if we could do it with technology too? What if many of the daily tasks a consultant needs to do in order to succeed were turned into social opportunities? Wouldn’t that encourage the salesforce to complete these tasks more often, and therefore be more successful?

Consider:

• Nike Plus has an app for running. When a member of the community starts a run, the run is posted on Facebook. Every time one of the runner’s friends “likes” the run post, the runner hears cheering WHILE they’re running. Now imagine if, when a consultant begins (for example) making calls, they can post this task where their consultant friends can see it. Every time one of their friends likes the task post, they get some sort of encouragement that their friends are cheering them on. Don’t you think this would encourage them to stick with it when they get the inevitable “no’s”?
• The company has a team meeting competition. Every member of a team can “check in” to a team meeting when they attend. The team with the most check ins earns a certain status for the month (maybe a pizza party, a special recognition at convention, etc.)
• Consultants within a team are paired up. Each of the pairs is competing to meet the most new people and share the business in a given time period, and enter that data into the system. New contacts from both individuals in the pair count towards the pair’s total. The team with the most new contacts in a given time period get special recognition (as well as a lot more business.) This could be an ongoing incentive with either the same or new pairs throughout the year.

And these are just a few ideas. Yet within all of them it’s not just about the individual. It’s the social element that provides a powerful encouragement to keep at it. And a bonus is that the social behaviors we encourage can lead to greater salesforce retention as well, as our sellers build stronger bonds with one another.

How could you create social experiences that encourage the consultants on your team to work their businesses more consistently? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

This morning I watched the millionth version of the Harlem Shake (this time done by a group of passengers on a Frontier Airlines flight…something that has the FAA up in arms) and I got to thinking about memes and our participation as an industry in them. If you’re not familiar with the term “meme,” at least as it applies to the internet, it essentially means “A concept (usually an image or video) spread from one person to another via the internet.” (Thank you Wikipedia.)

Over the years, I’ve seen some companies in our industry do a great job participating in memes, and participation usually makes the company feel youthful, hip and in-touch. For example this one from Southwestern Advantage:

Can’t see this? Click here: http://youtu.be/W-FadUXBlZY (Thanks for sharing with me Trey!)

Or how about these?

Shared by Scentsy on their Facebook Page.

Shared by Creative Memories leading up to Showcase, their National Conference.

Or this one:

(h/t Justin Cofield)

When well-timed and part of the larger conversation, memes can be a fun way for direct sales companies to have their brand passed around in a light-hearted manner. They can also just be a fun thing to engage distributors, such as this Harlem Shake regional face-off from Vector Marketing: http://vectormarketing.com/vector-blog/vector-marketing-offices-and-the-harlem-shake/

So if you’re a direct selling company’s social media manager, you may be saying to yourself, “Well, gosh! Let’s go make a meme right now.”

But wait.

If you want to pull off a meme effectively, there are some things to keep in mind.

• Timing: A meme is very much an “of the moment” kind of thing. If the things you put together and post typically need to go through 3 levels of review, chances are the craze will be over before you finally post (and then you’ll look lame.) Social media departments that effectively post memes must be nimble, and able to create and post content quickly.
• Humor: Typically memes make you smile, and that has to work with your brand image. If your brand image is more serious, a meme may not work for you. And if you’re not used to posting funny things, make sure you get an outside perspective to make sure what you’re posting is funny, and consider whether or not the meme will be well-received by your field.
• Emotion: Memes are relatable, and typically cause a strong emotional reaction, which is why people share them. They also help people to feel like they’re “in the know” by understanding that this is part of something larger than what they’re looking at, and it helps them to feel part of the community. Be sure that any meme your company decides to be a part of is something that will resonate with your salesforce, so that they want to share.
• Sharing: Wherever you decide to put your meme, be sure it’s easy to share. What makes memes so much fun is that they can be spread around the internet easily. Make sure that wherever your contribution to the meme appears, there’s a “Share” button right below it. On Facebook or Pinterest, that button may appear automatically. But if you’re sharing on your website or blog, be sure that social sharing buttons are included.

So if you decide that a meme is right for your company, the next step is to decide which one to use. Know Your Meme is a good site to check out. According to the site, “Know Your Meme is a website dedicated to documenting Internet phenomena: viral videos, image macros, catchphrases, web celebs and more.” A review of this site will help you realize there’s a world of memes beyond what you typically see on Facebook. It’s a place you can waste hours!

For a direct selling company, however, you most likely want to stick with memes your salesforce will be familiar with. And this means spending time on Pinterest and Facebook, seeing what memes are commonly shared there. The meme examples I shared above are all memes that were shared often when they were popular on these social networks.

When you’re ready to create a meme, the internet has your back there, too. There are sites that help you create memes in seconds!

Now, don’t go trying to make your own Harlem Shake video (please!) That ship has sailed. But stay on top of the trends by observing what is being shared by people in your news feed. You may just find something fun to share on your company’s social media presence.

Does your company use memes? How do you decide which ones to use? Would love to read your thoughts in the comments below.

p.s. The Direct Selling Education Foundation is having a really fun contest this week in honor of National Consumer Protection Week. You can win an Initials, Inc. bag FULL of products from direct selling companies like The Pampered Chef, Dove Chocolate Discoveries, Beachbody, Arbonne, JAFRA, and a whole bunch more. A bag is being given away each day, so be sure you enter each day to win! They’ll post each day where you can enter on their Facebook Page: http://facebook.com/TheDSEF