Found this article today through Twitter, and think that every Direct Seller should take a look: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/01/27/10-things-all-businesses-should-do-to-market-more-effectively-on-facebook/

Learning is an Art, my company, has a fan page, and we have set up virtual apps, among other things, to market our business on Facebook.  As I mentioned in a previous post, our visits to our website from Facebook average 5-8 minutes, well above our site average.

As a consultant for a direct sales company, you obviously must find out first what your company will allow.  But there are so many ways to market on Facebook, many of them free.  It’s a great way to leverage the power of social networking, and begin to build a social media marketing strategy.

I am greatly enjoying the comments and feedback I’m receiving from those who are reading my blog.  Keep ‘em coming.  I think the direct sales industry needs the debate in order to move into the future.

I was talking to my new Twitter BFF @DonnaSpeaks (check out her great website at http://www.donnaljohnson.com/) and she shared with me that she thinks that people need a  basic introduction to social networking, and a definition, if they’re going to use it effectively.  Mark Bosworth’s comment to my post the other day also got me thinking: if direct sellers simply think that social marketing is a way to a quick buck, they’re missing the point.

Think about it…what do we encourage our successful in-person consultants to do?  Have you ever watched the best of them?  Go to a DSWA (Direct Selling Women’s Alliance) meeting sometime and see what they do.  Network, connect with people, build relationships.  Relationships are not just about selling your widget.  Relationships are about building meaningful connections with people, so when they have a need for your widget, they’ll think of you.

I went to Damon Gaylor’s website (thanks for the comments Damon, http://www.truestarservices.com) and I found it quite relevant that this is what he lists as the benefits of direct selling:

Benefits of Direct Selling

Research shows some of the most popular reasons people choose direct selling are:

• Direct selling is a good way to meet and socialize with people.
• Direct selling offers flexible work schedules.
• Direct selling is a good way to earn extra income.
• Direct selling is a good way to own a business.
• Earnings are in proportion to efforts.

How interesting that one of the very first reasons people choose direct selling is because they can meet and socialize with people.  This brings be back to my point from a couple days ago: 11% of all web visits are to social networking sites.  You can meet and socialize with people there, not to mention learn a tremendous amount.

Let me put it in terms of ROI for companies.  Let’s say that companies have direct sellers join digitally (running the business exclusively online) and they pay a website subscription of around $10/month.  Well they’re most likely going to want to sell enough to at least meet their subscription fee.  If your base commission is 25%, they’re going to probably sell at least $50/month.  I believe that’s in line with your experiences Mark.  So the company benefits from the profit on that regular sale (and my experience is that many in-person consultants, without a monthly cost, aren’t that consistent), as well as the website subscription fee.  So maybe the company is making $20/month as a result of the efforts of that one digital consultant, if they do just the minimum.  If you’re just talking about 1 consultant, that may be small potatoes, but multiply that across 10,000 consultants and you see the impact. And if the company trains that person to do online parties and market online in other ways, you’re going to see them with higher sales and greater recruiting.

The other thing we’ve found in this economy is that $100+ for a traditional consultant kit is more than a lot of people have.  But a low entry fee with a monthly charge (that they can earn) attached is a lot more palatable.  This gives you the  option of recruiting more people than a solely traditional model allows.  And it can be a good springboard for them to earn the more expensive kit once they’ve started making money with you.

So this takes me back to Social Media Marketing and what it is (and isn’t).  Social Media Marketing is a way to network with people, build relationships, and ultimately make the connections that can result in a thriving business.  No, it doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t with any kind of networking exercise.  But it does happen.  And the consultant is richer for the networking experience, both in terms of cash as well as friendships and information.

The consultant that begins to embrace social media marketing needs to know that you can’t start with “Hi my name is X…buy my widget.”  People will “unfollow” you faster than you can say “BOO.”  There was just a conversation about this yesterday on Twitter, and it’s true.  Direct sales is getting a bit of a bad name on Twitter because too many consultants are missing the point.  Consultants, listen up: It is not all about you and your widget.  If you’re looking for a quick buck, do a home party (although online parties are gaining traction too…but I digress.)  Some people are very good at them.  But if you’re interested in growing relationships, learning from others, getting better at what you do, and enjoying the experience along the way, then consider investing your time into social media marketing.

By building relationships first, people will be more interested in what you have to offer.  And you will walk away richer too, from all you’ve learned.

I am greatly enjoying the comments and feedback I’m receiving from those who are reading my blog.  Keep ‘em coming.  I think the direct sales industry needs the debate in order to move into the future.

I was talking to my new Twitter BFF @DonnaSpeaks (check out her great website at http://www.donnaljohnson.com/) and she shared with me that she thinks that people need a  basic introduction to social networking, and a definition, if they’re going to use it effectively.  Mark Bosworth’s comment to my post the other day also got me thinking: if direct sellers simply think that social marketing is a way to a quick buck, they’re missing the point.

Think about it…what do we encourage our successful in-person consultants to do?  Have you ever watched the best of them?  Go to a DSWA (Direct Selling Women’s Alliance) meeting sometime and see what they do.  Network, connect with people, build relationships.  Relationships are not just about selling your widget.  Relationships are about building meaningful connections with people, so when they have a need for your widget, they’ll think of you.

I went to Damon Gaylor’s website (thanks for the comments Damon, http://www.truestarservices.com) and I found it quite relevant that this is what he lists as the benefits of direct selling:

Benefits of Direct Selling

Research shows some of the most popular reasons people choose direct selling are:

• Direct selling is a good way to meet and socialize with people.
• Direct selling offers flexible work schedules.
• Direct selling is a good way to earn extra income.
• Direct selling is a good way to own a business.
• Earnings are in proportion to efforts.

How interesting that one of the very first reasons people choose direct selling is because they can meet and socialize with people.  This brings be back to my point from a couple days ago: 11% of all web visits are to social networking sites.  You can meet and socialize with people there, not to mention learn a tremendous amount.

Let me put it in terms of ROI for companies.  Let’s say that companies have direct sellers join digitally (running the business exclusively online) and they pay a website subscription of around $10/month.  Well they’re most likely going to want to sell enough to at least meet their subscription fee.  If your base commission is 25%, they’re going to probably sell at least $50/month.  I believe that’s in line with your experiences Mark.  So the company benefits from the profit on that regular sale (and my experience is that many in-person consultants, without a monthly cost, aren’t that consistent), as well as the website subscription fee.  So maybe the company is making $20/month as a result of the efforts of that one digital consultant, if they do just the minimum.  If you’re just talking about 1 consultant, that may be small potatoes, but multiply that across 10,000 consultants and you see the impact. And if the company trains that person to do online parties and market online in other ways, you’re going to see them with higher sales and greater recruiting.

The other thing we’ve found in this economy is that $100+ for a traditional consultant kit is more than a lot of people have.  But a low entry fee with a monthly charge (that they can earn) attached is a lot more palatable.  This gives you the  option of recruiting more people than a solely traditional model allows.  And it can be a good springboard for them to earn the more expensive kit once they’ve started making money with you.

So this takes me back to Social Media Marketing and what it is (and isn’t).  Social Media Marketing is a way to network with people, build relationships, and ultimately make the connections that can result in a thriving business.  No, it doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t with any kind of networking exercise.  But it does happen.  And the consultant is richer for the networking experience, both in terms of cash as well as friendships and information.

The consultant that begins to embrace social media marketing needs to know that you can’t start with “Hi my name is X…buy my widget.”  People will “unfollow” you faster than you can say “BOO.”  There was just a conversation about this yesterday on Twitter, and it’s true.  Direct sales is getting a bit of a bad name on Twitter because too many consultants are missing the point.  Consultants, listen up: It is not all about you and your widget.  If you’re looking for a quick buck, do a home party (although online parties are gaining traction too…but I digress.)  Some people are very good at them.  But if you’re interested in growing relationships, learning from others, getting better at what you do, and enjoying the experience along the way, then consider investing your time into social media marketing.

By building relationships first, people will be more interested in what you have to offer.  And you will walk away richer too, from all you’ve learned.

Tonight I’m leading a training for our consultants on direct sales online parties.

Since the whole concept of online parties is relatively new to me as well, I decided to do some research.  The website momchats.com provides a great, free online chat room for parties, so this seemed like a good place to start.  I looked at the schedule and logged in at the appointed time.  When I logged in, there was only 1 other person there, and she was looking for a parenting chat.  It was only after she started talking to me that the consultant finally showed up (a good 30 minutes after the party was scheduled to start).  Then the consultant gave me her website link and that was pretty much it.  No games, no discussion.  I asked a few questions about products, and I had to ask 2-3 times, and wait forever for an answer.  Very disappointing experience.  And the consultant told me she holds 6-8 online parties a month!

Here are some conclusions I have drawn from my first foray into the online party experience:

1. Get RSVPs. It is so easy to use a free service like evites.com to find out if people are coming to your party.  And if you’re not getting RSVPs, that tells you that you need to do more advertising/inviting for your party.
2. Make sure everyone understands how to use the tool. This goes back to my experience as an instructional designer when virtual classroom technology first came out.  You can almost always assume that there is someone at your party that’s never been in a chatroom before, especially if they’re attending from your warm lead list.  Take a couple of minutes at the beginning of the party to point out the features of the chat room so people don’t waste time trying to figure out how to communicate.  Because if they’re trying to figure out the tool, they’re not listening to you.  When I was in the chat room I kept getting private messages from the mom who wanted the parenting chat, and I didn’t know how to turn it off.  Very distracting.
3. Encourage your guests to keep the sound ON in the chat room. That way, when you’ve sent them to your website to play a game, they will know when you want them to come back, because they’ll hear it when you post something in the room.
4. Especially if you are a slow typist, have your script typed up so you can copy and paste the main content. If people have to wait a century for you to answer their questions, they’ll be gone.  You’ll also want to have a list of links you’ll send people to during the party, so you can cut and paste them as well.
5. Offer specials if people order by a certain time. You really want to encourage sales while people are in the moment, because they probably won’t order if they have to come back later.  So encourage people to order by midnight or something like that to take advantage of your specials.
6. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by offering to send samples/catalogs/other info before asking people to order NOW. One of the parties I attended, the consultant offered to send samples before I even had a chance to look at her site.  She basically assumed I wouldn’t buy now, and guess what?  I didn’t. Even though I had fully intended to.
7. Games are essential. Don’t just send people to your site without an activity.  You want them to interact with your website in a meaningful way, and then have a reason to come back to the chat room.  Offer prizes to get people involved (it can be as simple as a discount on a purchase that night) and give them something fun to do.  I think one of the mistakes we make as consultants is that we forget our basics in an online chat room.  Just like a live party, if people aren’t having fun, they’ll buy less and they CERTAINLY won’t book a party with you.  A thriving business depends on a fun party, so if your parties aren’t fun, go back to the drawing board.

I’m sure I’ll have plenty more conclusions as I continue to explore this topic (and I’ll write about them here).  Online parties can be such a great tool to use to build your business and get sales.  One of the best things about them is that typical online parties are held weeknights, whereas live parties often do better on weeekends.  So if you have a multi-pronged approach to your business, you have double the chances to earn income.

But it does take planning if you want to do it right.

If you’d like to learn more about online parties, you are invited to attend my training tonight (FREE) at 9pm Eastern.  Simply click here http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1191894950&ref=profile#/event.php?eid=54319631966&ref=mf to RSVP for the event tonight, include your email, and I’ll send you the info.  You can also email me at jennifer at learningisanart.com and I’ll send you the info.