Stories in this section:
TOP DESK- Creating a Positive Image for Your Direct Selling Company
Shift Your Company's Part-Timers to Business Builders
Prioritization: Managing Your Time, Employee Hours and Company Expectations

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Top Desk - Creating a Positive Image for Your Direct Selling Company
by Shelli Gardner

Look around and we see an abundance of direct selling companies vying for the attention of an enthusiastic, dedicated sales force and customer base. However, while reputable direct selling companies are plentiful today, it wasn’t always so; in fact, we still struggle with a tarnished image created decades ago! Many people are still skeptical and suspicious of all network marketing companies because of the actions of a few, who have long since gone out of business. In order to succeed in our competitive environment, we must do all we can to create a positive image for our own direct selling company, which will naturally improve the image of all direct selling companies.

First, and probably most important, we must ensure our company operates honestly and ethically. It’s hard to pretend we’re doing something that we aren’t. If we’re permitting questionable operations or processes, people will recognize that. The results can be devastating for our own company and impact all direct sales organizations.

Several years ago, Stampin’ Up! identified what we call our Statement of the Heart. Essentially, it’s our mission statement: To love what we do and share what we love as we help others enjoy creativity and worthwhile accomplishment…in this we make a difference.

In addition to this overall objective, we also identified eight fundamental principles that guide us in our interaction and decisions both internally and externally. Those principles are integrity, relationships, balance, personal development, positive environment, growth, efficiency and change. We’ve defined how each one applies to our demonstrators and to us as we work together to build strong relationships and a successful company.

We make sure people—our demonstrators, customers, vendors and even the general public—know and have access to this information. Our Statement of the Heart and our Stampin’ Up! Principles are available on our Web site, and we talk of them frequently in our communications on the Web, in our publications and at our events. We focus on them in every aspect of our business, and they guide the decisions we make both internally and externally. These ideals keep us in line and focused on operating honestly and ethically.

Second, we must offer quality products or services. I’m sure we’ve all seen how quickly word travels among our independent contractors (at Stampin’ Up! we call them demonstrators) and customers. Nothing is more swift or sure than word of mouth—and unfortunately negative news travels much more quickly than positive news.

The concept that most of us consider a powerful recruiting tool (one person signs up two new recruits, and each of those signs up two new recruits, and so on) also applies in this situation. When one person tells two friends about our products or services, and they tell two friends, and so on, the effect is astronomical.

Our products or services must deliver on the promises we make. Establish effective quality control processes to quickly identify when something isn’t working the way you want it to. React swiftly when it doesn’t, and then make it right with your customers. Word spreads rapidly, and we want to ensure that whatever word is spreading out there, it is only positive.

Third, provide your representatives with a business model that allows them to work at their own level and pace. While this may seem to limit the growth of your company, you might be surprised at the number of individuals you retain when you don’t require people to recruit.

While I recognize this approach may not fit the philosophy of all direct selling companies, it’s worked well for Stampin’ Up! We retain a significantly high number of our demonstrators, and we believe this strong, loyal sales force is due, in large part, to our general philosophy of allowing our demonstrators the freedom to build the business they want to build. Of course, like many direct sales companies, we provide a mountain of training, tips, worksheets, and outlines, and we also educate our demonstrators about the financial benefits of building their businesses. However, we don’t require them to perform at any particular level on the business side; in fact, we don’t require our demonstrators to meet any other requirement to stay active, other than a quarterly $300 sales minimum.

Fourth, invest in marketing and advertising as you see fit and as you can afford. Although Stampin’ Up! products are sold through our individual demonstrators, we advertise on a regular basis in several of the stamping and scrapbooking industries’ top publications. These ads are carefully designed and produced so they reinforce the message that Stampin’ Up! is a professional, successful, fun company that offers some of the highest quality products and the best customer service in the industry.

We also cultivate strong relationships with the editorial teams on these and other publications. We request editorial calendars and submit on a regular basis queries and samples that tie into those calendars. These editorial placements don’t cost any money, yet they may reap more benefits than paid advertising because readers tend to trust editorial comment more than paid advertising.

Although it’s difficult to measure the exact return on this investment, we believe that we are building our brand awareness and helping the general buying public become familiar with our name and what we provide. We encourage our demonstrators to mention and even display these ads in their workshops to reinforce the concept that we are a successful, reputable company.

Finally, look for opportunities to become involved in your local communities and in the world community. I’ve seen direct selling companies sponsor youth, college, and professional sports events. I’ve attended concerts and benefits sponsored by direct selling companies. This involvement provides dramatic dividends to our efforts to create a positive image.

At Stampin’ Up!, we encourage our demonstrators to become involved in our Making a Difference program, which is the overall term for our philanthropic efforts. Under this program we have become a national sponsor of the Ronald McDonald House Charities. We make an annual donation to the charity; we identify one stamp set every year as our Ronald McDonald House set, and a portion of the proceeds from the sales of that set are donated to the Ronald McDonald House; and we encourage our demonstrators to join teams that volunteer at local Houses.

In addition, we have become involved in various other worthy causes. We may make a corporate donation, as well as encourage our demonstrators and customers to participate in some type of promotion that raises money. In the past, we have joined with our demonstrators and customers to help cancer research and tsunami and Hurricane Katrina victims.

When we do business honestly and ethically; offer quality products and services; provide a flexible, friendly business opportunity; invest in effective advertising and marketing; and become involved in our communities, people experience positive interaction with our demonstrators individually and with the company as a whole. We are able to create and reinforce a positive image that allows our company to thrive, and benefits the industry as a whole.

Shelli Gardner is the founder, CEO and President of Stampin’ Up!, a leading manufacturer and distributor of rubber stamps and stamping accessories. The 17-year-old company has more than 50,000 demonstrators throughout the United States and Canada. Shelli has received numerous awards and recognition as one of the top businesswomen in Utah, and she appears regularly on craft and scrapbooking shows.

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Shift Your Company's Part-Timers to Business Builders
by Karen Phelps

It is easy to sponsor someone into a direct selling or party plan company when the focus is on having your own part-time business. Countless leaders and consultants recruit new people by explaining that they can earn “a little extra cash” in just a few hours a month. Therefore, most direct selling companies have an abundance of sales force members who are intent on “setting their own hours and being their own boss” and seldom turn in orders. A large percentage of these part-timers could become business builders with proper training and motivation. How can your company help its leaders shift the thinking of the part-timers?

A leader’s failure to help new consultants set goals for their business within the first 24 to 48 hours of signing their agreement can create a downward spiral. All too often, brand new consultants sign an agreement and are then left alone by the recruiter or leader for several days, even weeks. Why does this happen? Is it because they are afraid that if they call the new person he or she might quit? Is it true that “no news is good news”? Not usually! Immediate contact, goal setting and training will help shift the attitude from being a part-timer to becoming a business builder.

What’s In It for Me?
This question often goes unanswered when a new person joins. Why? Because in response to the new team member’s question, the recruiter begins bragging about all of his or her accomplishments and sharing their goals and aspirations with the newly sponsored person, who, trying to absorb it all, is left asking, “what about me?” John Maxwell states, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” When a leader sits down with new consultants and discovers what they would like to get from the business and, more importantly, what they are willing to give in return, they will immediately begin developing business builders.

Do your leaders wait until they see positive results to begin working closely with someone? Don’t laugh—I overheard one leader telling another that she wasn’t going to waste her time unless she knew for sure the new person was really interested. Do you see the problem with this thinking? Unless a new person is coached and trained every step of the way, how will he or she know if this business is right for them? Some people succeed in the business in spite of their leader, but most will just give up because of the lack of attention. Too many potentially good distributors have been lost because of neglect.

“Your recruits have the highest sales of anyone in the company!” I received this telephone call twice from the CEOs of two different companies. What a thrill it was for me to know how well my newly sponsored people were doing in comparison with others. To what do I contribute this success? I never left them alone. As soon as the agreement was signed my job began. My job was to help my team “manage their goals.” My job was to help the new recruit cross over from the “peak of enthusiasm” to the “peak of knowledge,” which happens within the first 30 days of a new recruit’s business.

The only way to accomplish this is to keep the new person busy! I would say to my new recruit, “Your first 30 days are going to be busy and exciting! You will not only be in training, you will be beginning your new business by holding parties. It’s really important for you to keep consistent and to work closely with me so I can help you reach the goals you have set. Based on what you have told me, you would like to work at least twice a week. I’m going to help you get a full booking lineup, consisting of two parties a week for your first four weeks. We’ll work together to get your first eight bookings!”

Your Leaders Shape the Future
Do your leaders sabotage their new people? Example: Your company has a criterion of six parties in the first 30 days of the new recruit’s business. During the goal-setting training the newly sponsored person states she would love to do three presentations a week. Should the leader work with her to get six or twelve bookings in 30 days? Very few leaders would work with her to get twelve. Why? Because the company only asks for six! They immediately overlook the new recruit’s goal of three presentations a week and instead focus on the company goal of six presentations in 30 days. This is a huge mistake. The new recruit begins the pattern of holding six presentations instead of 12 within the 30 days, all because the leader shifted the focus.

Do your leaders contact a new recruit after every presentation for the first six weeks in the business? Do they ask questions that will get results? When your leaders begin to have constant contact with a new recruit after every presentation and learn to ask the right questions each time, they will help build a pattern of success for the new person. Each personal consultation will focus on the results of the presentation by determining what worked and what didn’t. When good habits are established early in a new recruit’s career, their chance for success is far greater.

Your leaders help shape the future of the new recruit by personal contact and by helping him or her to reach their short-term goals. When your leaders begin coaching new recruits immediately they will change more part-timers to business builders!

Karen Phelps is a direct selling expert with more than 22 years of direct sales experience. She specializes in keynotes that inspire and motivate, and training programs that teach simple & fun direct selling and leadership skills. She can be reached at (248 ) 673 -34 65, or visit www.karenphelps.com.

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Prioritization: Managing Your Time, Employee Hours and Company Expectations
by Teresa Day and Curt Craighead

For the third and final installment of our series on prioritization, we’ve developed an easy, chart-formatted means of deciding what to do first. As we’ve all experienced, often what’s best for the company is superseded by what’s best for an ego, for a division or for a personal emotional investment. To help take the emotion and subjectivity out of the prioritization of business initiatives, we’ve developed a quick go-by to help outline priorities. While not a fail-safe, the following quick check will help balance your workload, and maintain your sanity.

1. White-board the “umbrella” tasks you have. For example, if you have a single marketing initiative aimed at fourth-quarter product sales, you’ll simply list “marketing initiative” without everything that rolls up under it.

2. Next, list the elements within the task. This is where you document the details of the initiative, which might include direct mail, eBlasts, press releases, video production, etc.

3. Then arrange them by “need” date instead of “want” date. Need date is determined first by date of launch, whether it’s a catalog or a new piece of machinery, but within each larger initiative, the dates of the components will be important too. For example, if you’ve bought banner space from an ISP, they will have a submission date for the creative. Prior to that, you will have an internal submission date for the creative, giving all involved an opportunity to review. Finally, assign a number to each of them, “1” being the earliest and the highest number being the latest.

4. Then arrange everything in the list by business impact. Assign “1” to the item with the greatest business impact, 1. 2. 3. 4. and go up from there accordingly. The highest number will be assigned to the item with the least impact.

This ranking cannot be a question of personal desire. When a colleague was asked why his (privately held) company decided to open shop in another country, and what analysis was done insofar as choosing that country, the answer was this: “The owner just liked it, and liked the people.” Decisions are made this way all the time, and while it sometimes seems to work out, it is by no means a way to operate professionally. Short-sighted and preferential decisions can spell disaster and give you a lifetime of earned embarrassment. Ranking business impact simply cannot be a personal prediction, hope or insistence for two primary reasons:

A. It re-injects subjectivity into the equation, which is what we are removing by this exercise,

B. It brings along with it personal history, personal baggage, ego and competition that has nothing to do with the business

If there is any ambiguity as to which projects will make the most business impact, enlist the help of your analysts for an ROI analysis and projections. If you don’t have an analyst, rely upon industry data, company history and trends, but never enter the “what’s best” conversation armed with nothing more than your opinion. Anytime an opinion can’t be backed up experientially or with data, leave it out of the conversation unless the conversation is one of brainstorming. If your only interest is in promoting your opinion or in enforcing an “I say so” mentality, then stop reading now. You have or will create misery in all those around you, and are gambling with the company funds and future, even if they are your own.

5. Next, arrange the initiatives or tasks by cost, “1” being the least expensive and the highest number being the most expensive.

6. Finally, list them by turnaround time (how long would each take if that is the only thing you had to do), “1” being the fastest and the highest number requiring the most time. NOTE: In this list, you must consider the different elements in the “turnaround time” column. See below.

Add them up, and there will be very little to argue against the ranking. Armed with that, you can go see your manager, your peers or the stockholders, explain your reasoning, and ask for their input in ranking. Hopefully, they’ll go with your priority list because it makes sense, but if not, it was still a positive action for this reason: they’ll have to commit to defying what makes sense in order to service whatever emotional investment they have in the project. We find when people and entities are left with making decisions devoid of emotion, they’ll almost always be wise. Wisdom is often sabotaged by emotional investment, among other things, so removing this from the equation benefits the company and all involved.

Lastly, you may occasionally have a tie. In this case, always and without question choose the project that will have the greatest customer reach. If, for example, your priority list is tied between an office renovation vs. redundant servers to ensure greater customer service, choose the servers. If you find yourself at a crossroads and simply cannot determine which priority to approach first, because they truly are both important and truly do have great potential, ask the person or people you report to, but only after narrowing the list to two. Management and business does contain a certain degree of finesse, and it is a skill executive management should have. It’s your job to decide, and you should have the experience and wisdom to know.

Teresa Day and Curt Craighead write and speak about business issues and the economic value of clear communications. They can be reached at info@bestlightcommunications.com.

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