July 31st 2008
Some 56 percent of U.S. households bought kitchenware and housewares in 2003, about even with the 58 percent that did the same in 2001.
A category that is often perceived as a household necessity, consumers are encouraged to buy when retailers and marketers give them a reason to replace existing kitchen accessories with the latest models that give new functionality or ease of use. Continue Reading »
June 21st 2008
One of the most powerful ways to teach and communicate is through stories. And one of the best ways to engage your customers is to think of your communications as a narrative. Even the blandest material can be spiced up by giving it an engaging rhythm and making it familiar and involving. At the same time, even the most exciting information can be made boring by presenting it as a list of facts, without any personality or tension. Like a good storyteller, you have to consider how your story will engage your audience. Now I’m not proposing that you try to disguise your marketing and sales messages as gripping drama. Customers are too savvy for that and they’ll call your bluff. But you can still include a narrative thread to draw people in. An online health products retailer could, for example, includes a storyline in its email communication that features real people and the impact that health products have had on their lives. By following the lives of a cast of characters over an extended time period, readers become engaged in the story and follow it. The important thing to remember is that people like stories, remember them, and enjoy telling them to others. Continue Reading »
May 26th 2008
Manufacturers, wholesalers, business-to-business service providers, and job shops can all benefit from the use of outside sales representatives. Some companies who deal with the public have the same opportunity, such as travel agents, mortgage lenders, and apartment owners.
What is an independent sales rep?
1. The term “independent representative” sounds exactly like what it is. This person works for himself. He or his company, generally referred to as a rep firm, will not be on your payroll, but will earn their money from three sources of services they may provide: Continue Reading »
March 11th 2008
Network marketing benefits the networker by continuously rewarding past efforts and not just current efforts; a form of deferred compensation.
In network marketing, the benefit you get from your efforts is continuous, not a one-off. When you build a network, you are rewarded not only for the sales you make but for the sales your networkers make. This benefit remains with you as long as those members stay in your downline. Every time they sell, you make money.
Unlike conventional business, where the benefit ends with the conclusion of the sale, in network marketing the introduction of any new distributor into the system benefits you for as long as that person remains in the network and purchases and sells. Continue Reading »
March 11th 2008
The first use of network marketing is generally credited to Nutrilite, a direct sales company in the United States selling food supplementation products which, in 1943, instituted a marketing and compensation programme that encouraged each of its sales people to build up an independent team which sold and distributed products.
In terms of this programme, the original sales person not only earned a commission on every product she sold, but Nutrilite also gave the sales person a two per cent bonus commission on the sales of every new distributor (sales person) she had introduced. Therefore, the more distributors the sales person introduced, the more money she made.
From this early beginning, the growth of network marketing (sometimes called multi-level marketing or MLM) has been explosive. In 1959 two sales people in the Nutrilite stable, Richard de Vos and Jay van Andel, split with their parent company to form Amway, now the largest network marketing company in the world. They focused on household cleaning products. Another exNutrilite distributor, Dr Forrest C. Shaklee, formed Shaklee which was also a tremendous success in the food supplementation business. Continue Reading »
March 10th 2008
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 »
March 6th 2008
As a result of the presentation, most prospects, if they are interested, will have many questions. Some of these are listed at the beginning of the book but here are some other typical questions. Because most of these questions are answered fully in the text, only brief answers are given here, but you will get an idea of the type of questions that will be asked:
‘No. This is a perfectly legitimate business. We use accepted marketing practices only and are fully accredited members of the Direct Selling Association.’
March 6th 2008
Week three
1 Tell yourself it’s going to be a great week! A positive attitude is essential in the networking business — in any business, as a matter of fact. Decide what you want to do and achieve this week.
2 Check whether you have company products in your home Have a look around the house and double-check that when your old product runs out you replace it with the company product. There’s nothing wrong with doing a bit of comparative shopping. Even if some of your products are more expensive, look for reasons why they are more expensive, such as the quality, durability or more features. Learn to love your products. Continue Reading »
March 5th 2008
As with the birth of a child, the first few months are extremely important to a new business. To ensure your business is a thundering success, you need to work at it in a disciplined way. And you need results early on to keep you motivated.
A number of different ’starter’ programmes of various lengths are suggested by network marketing companies. The programme below covers the first four weeks only. In each week we suggest that you do 10 things. Of course you can do more, but don’t do less!
What follows is just a guide to the sort of things you should map out for yourself. The key ingredients have already been mentioned but are so important that they are repeated here. They are:
March 5th 2008
A cardinal rule of building your business is to keep prospecting. This may sound obvious, and it is obvious, but very often new-business entrepreneurs get derailed. They start the business and it takes off. They prospect, recruit, hold meetings, attend rallies and sell by phone — all the right things. And the business grows. But with growth comes increased administration, more paper work, more records and more time spent on stock control and reordering.
These administrative duties are vital for the well-being of any business. And they must be done. But there is one major drawback: they eat into your selling time. So what happens? Often someone who starts out networking and doing all the right things ends up at home sitting at a computer, inputting records, making up orders and selling from home. Continue Reading »
