Do Business Well

Obtain stock

At first you will not need to carry large stocks. Most network companies send products to their large distributors per courier. When your turnover increases, you are likely to place orders directly from the factory, but initially you will obtain stocks from your sponsor for onward delivery to your customers.

Just as a reminder of how the system works — your sponsor will sell you the products you want at exactly the price she paid for it. You make your normal retail profit on those products you sell directly to customers. The balance you sell at no profit to your distributors, but at the end of the month you receive a rebate on the total turnover of goods purchased by your downline. Your sponsor, in turn, gets an overriding rebate (commission) depending on the value of goods sold by her downline.

As your business grows you will want to hold a small stock, perhaps in your office or a spare room, to save you numerous trips to collect stock from your sponsor. Continue Reading »

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Prospecting

All businesses need customers. Prospecting is the process of looking for suitable candidates to whom you could talk about your product and service. Without prospects your business is like a stream that dries up. Selling is about numbers. The more people you contact, the more sales you will make. Your network’s growth and the money you earn is determined by the amount of time you spend recruiting and training, and the quality of your distributors.

A question that is often asked is: how many prospects must I contact to grow my network? This is hard to answer. As a rule of thumb, it takes about three calls to get an interview. Of those who grant you an interview, about one in four will become a distributor. Out of every four distributors, one will be developing a network. And of those who become active distributors, about one in five will become high-level producers and earners. Continue Reading »

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There are dozens of methods of contacting prospects. The following are the most popular methods:

Over the phone

The quickest and most cost-effective way to get around is by phone. Although this has a down-side — you can’t see the customer, his face or his expressions — the phone should be used to obtain interviews where you can sell the opportunity.

Just bear in mind that a telephone call can be unwelcome. You are intruding on the prospect’s time. So make what you have to say short, relevant and of interest to the prospect. Your phone call must, within seconds, convey a benefit which will be of interest to that prospect.

Do not try to explain networking over the telephone. This rarely works. You want a face-to-face interview lasting just 10 minutes with the prospect to drop off material. If you can obtain that, and the prospect is interested, you can be sure that your appointment will last considerably longer. Continue Reading »

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House meetings (or group meetings) can work extremely well, not only to gain distributors but to generate enthusiasm and excitement about network marketing. Make these meetings a lot of fun. There are many pluses about properly run group meetings. You will find that the group dynamics and the spirit and enthusiasm of your team rubs off on the new distributor. If, say, your personality and that of a new prospect clash (she likes talking about her five children, the garden and her home and your interests are largely centred around business growth, travelling and seizing new opportunities) you could find, no matter how hard you try, that the conversation does not flow smoothly. But if you have a large group with varied personalities, the chances are that she will find someone to whom your prospect can relate easily. Continue Reading »

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Suggestion selling

Many products sold by network marketing companies make excellent gifts, so be on the lookout for opportunities to suggest the item, such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Secretary’s Day, birthdays or Christmas. Every additional item sold increases your take-home pay!

Distribute a newsletter

As your downline grows, it may become increasingly difficult for you to stay in touch with your distributors. For this reason it becomes important to write a monthly newsletter which advises of new developments, new products, reminds your team of forthcoming events and gives recognition to those who have done well. Above all, it enables you to put across your own enthusiasm for network marketing. Keep the newsletter’s copy crisp, punchy and dynamic. Avoid lengthy, chatty newsletters. Continue Reading »

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Hold weekend seminars

Once in a while do something really different. Have a weekend seminar for your top distributors. At the weekend — which should be fun as well as work — discuss strategies to find business, ways of improving your network, sort out any problems and propose recommendations to your supplying company for new products.

Show people you run a successful business

Everyone wants to be part of a success story. If you have a distributor who is doing well in your downline, publicise that fact. Introduce new recruits to him or her. If a new distributor meets a successful distributor he or she can say: ‘Wow! Look at Joe. He has 300 distributors in his down- line.’ The new recruit realises that success is possible. Continue Reading »

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Do you plan to hire a sales force? Or use sales representatives? Or telemarketing? Or direct mail? Or retail outlets?

The answers may seem self-evident, based on your past experience or your knowledge of your industry. Celestial Seasonings sells its tea through supermarkets and other food retailers. Pizza Hut sells its pizza through freestanding fast-food restaurants. And People Express (now part of Continental Airlines) sells its tickets primarily via travel agencies, airport ticket counter locations, and over the phone.

Increasingly, though, creative entrepreneurs are looking for alternative sales approaches. Thus, a Boston-area maker of stereo products decided to avoid the traditional retail outlets and sell a new compact stereo system door to door with its own sales force. The firm avoided the crowded retail shelves and kept margins higher than discount-minded retailers will allow. A number of distributors of women’s clothing have been extremely successful selling via direct-mail catalogs rather than through traditional retail boutiques. And Home Shopping Network became very successful selling traditional department store goods through a nonstop television show. Continue Reading »

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