The Hunt for the Perfect Customer
Ahhhh, the elusive customer.
Sometimes it seems like we go through so much time, effort and money to find a new customer. If we sat down and figured out how much that customer cost us, it would be scary. It is especially scary if that customer only shops one time. So what is obvious is that the development of that customer is an important part to our advertising budget and to their shopping happiness.
So how can we find and create the perfect customer? And what can you do to keep that customer once they have found you?
- Don’t be stingy on your advertising dollars but make sure you are spending them properly.
- Use door to door advertising especially if you have things like mini mailers, flyers or postcards with samples.
- Let the advertising work. Don’t stop an ad or a method until you have tried it for at least 3-4 months or 3-4 touches
- Know that this is all about relationship building. So be friendly, kind and have the tools available to get key information like important dates, likes and dislikes on products, how often they would like to be contacted.
- Add to your mailing list and have 1-2 touches per month with tips and assorted information.
- Customer service calls after product delivery is critical. Check on use of the product to make sure they know how to use it.
- Have a sale once in a while on items you know your customer wants and needs
- Make returns easy. Nothing more to say on that.
- Make ordering easy. Don’t place restrictions on placing an order. If you are in a party plan business, have certain days in the month that you place an order for your refill customers or non party customers. Always invite sales anytime.
- Make wish list forms available. This can be for Christmas, Birthdays, Bridal Registery, Baby Registery, or whatever your business needs.
- Have automatic refill shipping available. If you client has used the same item over and over, estimate when they will be needing it again and automatically place that order before they run out.
- KISS or Keep It Simple Sweetie. Don’t confuse your customer with difficult shipping, fees, returns or too much information. We know that info overload can cause a customer to walk away. They want to be in control.
Returning customers are an important factor and by making sure you are accessible and letting your customer know that you are easy to do business with, you can develop a great relationship that is long lasting and profitable.
Home Business Owners Must Manage Email
Manage Your Inbox
Is your email out of control? Does it take you longer to sift through your inbox than you have time to spend in the office? Don’t be afraid to turn your computer on! I did a tele-seminar a few months back on time management. During the call we spoke very briefly on managing your email system for better productivity. Recently at a live seminar one of the attendees said that she incorporated my inbox management system into her office routine and has streamlined her daily email operations.
Check Your Email Daily
I get a ton of emails every time I turn my computer on. The first secret to this system is going to be a very simple technique. Make a habit of checking your email at least once a day, preferably twice. This alone will make a huge impact on the manageability factor in your inbox. I am always amazed at how many entrepreneurs go for weeks without ever checking their emails. Your email is a revenue generation system. It may not be easy to physically see the cash flow from checking your email, yet prompt attention to your inbox will increase your ability to produce income. Anyone in business needs to check the email and respond daily. Just yesterday, Thursday, I had an email from some one who wants me to speak to her company’s national conference in the Spring. She planned on making a decision on the following Monday in regard to whom she was going to hire. Had I not checked my email daily, I would have missed this opportunity to create income. Systematically checking your email reduces the enormity of it and generates income. If you are in business to make money then, check your email daily.
Delete-Delete-Delete
Delete all irrelevant messages before beginning the review process. When you first open your email on a daily basis, start at the top, and highlight the first on in the list that is to be deleted. Holding the control button down, go down the column and highlight each one to be deleted. When you hold the control button down, you can just go down the column and touch everyone that you want to delete. You should be able to tell by the subject bar which ones those are. Also highlight all of the ones that are forwarded. A little discretion can be used here although not much. It is pretty safe to say that it is a rare email that has been forwarded that is worth keeping or that needs your attention. Do not mess with forwarded email, spam, social games or any rubbish. This is a really quick process, just hold the control button down and touch each one to be highlighted. You will have a column of blue highlighted emails, then just push delete. And Wam! They are all gone! This morning when I hit delete, a huge column of emails went off the page, and zip………it went down to only 6 that needed my attention. The deleted ones probably numbered 30 or more. Later on in the afternoon when I checked back, I did the same thing and zip……only had 3 to attend too. You will be thrilled at how well this technique works.
Deal With It And Move It
Deal with each email as you have the time. After it is taken care of, responded too, printed out, etc. you can either file it or delete it. If it is an email that you want to save move it to a pre-set up folder on the side. You can have as many folders as you want under your inbox. For example, publicity, direct sales consultants, tech adviser, potential hosts, opportunity leads, etc. If you do not have time to take care of something, maybe it will take more time than you have at the moment, then just leave it in the inbox. Your inbox is only for incoming mail and mail not dealt with yet. What is in your inbox should all fit in one view pane at all times. Once it is taken care of either delete it or move it to a folder for future reference. If you send a reply back and you are waiting for a return reply, then keep it in the inbox so that you do not forget about it. The folders at the side are like filing cabinets for future reference. Deal with it, delete it, or move it to a file. Pretty simple, huh? This system really works and frees you up to generate income.
Email Tips For Business Owners
- Keep your email for business. If you are a social emailer, then have two identities. Don’t clutter up your office or your time with personal emails.
- Don’t forward junk. Don’t forward at all. If it is important, save it to a file and attach it to your own outgoing email.
- Keep you outgoing emails clean. If you are replying, then delete what is irrelevant, in the reply and change the subject bar to a new subject.
- Keep emails brief. If it fills a page or takes up more space than the window then maybe you should be talking in person.
- Be professional. You are conducting business and your business deserves to be represented professionally in print. Do not fall into the casual mode of no caps, and poor spelling or cute abbreviations.
- Beware of email addiction. When used correctly email is a tool that will compliment your other business tools. When used incorrectly it can become and obsession and an excuse not to provide real customer service.
- Did I say check your email every day?!
You will be amazed and impressed at how easy it is to keep your emails manageable with these simple strategies. And don’t forget to check your email every day! It only makes good business sense.
Success in Direct Sales – Part 5
In this final installment on our series of posts on finding success in Direct Sales by being persistent and working consistently, I wanted to talk briefly about something most women (and people in general) dread – some even more than public speaking.
And that thing is – picking up the phone to make business calls. Studies have shown that making phone calls ranks up on the fear scale with death for some people. Now that’s a pretty powerful statement.
First things first – the telephone cannot hurt you. Really it can’t. Short of picking the thing up and whacking yourself on the head with it to get a good sized bump there is very little damage that the phone can do. So befriend your telephone now if you want to be successful in direct sales.
One of the “selling points” about direct sales it that it involved face to face or at least voice to voice contact with your customers. Yes, a lot can be done via email and the internet but honestly, everyone is being bombarded with email, web pages and information that is typed. Set yourself apart as someone special by using the phone along with some fun handwritten notes to help build trust with your client base and have them loyal to you for life.
Want to make it easy? Combine a handwritten note with phone calling to take the pressure of the fear factor. How? Simply send a postcard or greeting card first and in your handwritten note telling your customer that you’ll be calling next week just to follow up and say hi! That commits you to it and lets her know ahead of time that you are not calling to pressure her. Keep it light – you are building trust – and if you work with your clientele this way consistently you’ll make the sales very naturally. Use the Sandy or 3×5 system along with phone calling and you’ve got a fabulous follow-up machine that will help you manage your business easily.
Need some ideas on what to say? Try this: “Hi Holly, it’s Jane. Do you have a quick minute? I just wanted to follow up on the postcard I sent last week about our specials. Did you get it? Great. Did you have any questions or can I help you with anything?”
Let the conversation flow naturally from there. If you’ve taken good notes on your customers you can ask about her family and other things too. Feel free to let her know about anything else business wise or something like “I know you mentioned you might be interested in having a party before the holidays. Should we try to set a date now or shall I call you next month when it’s a little closer?”
It’s not difficult, you are not hard selling and you are setting yourself apart from the average direct sales consultant who is just sending out a generic email to everyone on her list. Does it take a little extra time? You bet. Is it worth it? Absolutely!
Success in Direct Sales – Part 4
Success in Direct Sales – Part 4
As we continue on our series of posts on finding success in direct sales by being persistent and consistent I wanted to give you a quick overview on one of the easiest ways to work your business consistently. We talked about it briefly on the first post here, but because it’s easy and doable even if you hate the computer, I thought I’d elaborate.
All you need to make this system work for your business is a 3×5 card box, a set of 3×5 cards, some number (1-31), monthly (Jan-Dec) and Alpha (A-Z) tabs for the 3×5 box.
Put the alpha tabs in the back of the box, the monthly tabs in front of that and the 1-31 tabs in front of that. Sort your monthly tabs starting with the month after this current month. So, for instance, this is October. My monthly tabs start with November, December and then start over again in January. The same for the 1-31 tabs. I start with tomorrow’s date and put all the other ones for the rest of this month behind it. Starting with 1 on up to today’s date, I put those into next month’s tab. Pictures speak louder than words here so I’ll let the picture show you what I mean.
So let’s say today is October 20th. I have cards behind my 20 daily tab with things I need to do today. There are two ways I work this. For my hostesses, I make up a card with their information for their particular party and then write out date reminders of when I need to do things. After I’ve done the item listed for that particular date, I file that card into the next date I have listed.
I also have a generic follow up card where I write down the names of people I’ve promised to follow up with on a certain date.
Their information cards are filed in the Alpha file so I can pull those out as I’m getting ready to call – they have all the information that I need on them so I can interact with them in a friendly way.
When I’ve worked through my cards for the day, I move todays number tab to next month and I’m ready for tomorrow. I close the box and go play with my kids! Easy breezy!
Success in Direct Sales – Part 3
Success in Direct Sales – Part 3
In our previous discussion I mentioned a little free online service called I Want Sandy.com. I’m still not quite sure how I discovered this little gem but I will tell you, it’s a direct sellers dream come true.
First, it’s free – that’s enough reason to give it a try. Second, it’s easy and if you know anything about me, if I can figure out how to use it, and use it well, then anyone can (in other words, my brain doesn’t work like it used to so easy is good). Third, it’s practical. Most direct sales moms are multi tasking maniacs and need something that will work in a practical way for their business. This does.
So let’s talk about how it works. Sandy is like a virtual reminder gal who will remind you of your appointments and notes through email and/or your cell phone. You set up your free account and then can add in any appointments you need either via email or through the iwantsandy.com site itself. When it comes time for that appointment, Sandy sends you an email reminder 15 minutes before (or a text message to your cell phone or both). It’s fabulous!
So, let’s talk about a few real life ways to Sandy it in your direct sales business.
1. Phone appointment reminders – This is by far what I used Sandy the most for. When I’m talking to a hostess about an upcoming party and I say to her, “I’ll call you the day before your party just to confirm everything is still a go and get a final head count” immediately I shoot off a reminder email to Sandy that says, “Remind me to call Holly Hostess at 2pm on November 3” with Holly’s phone number and any other info I need. Because I’m set up for email and text message reminders I get an email/text at exactly 1:45pm on November 3rd with the reminder notification. I can then reply with “Sleep for 14 minutes” if I want Sandy to remind me again right before I’m supposed to call.
2. To Do Lists – Although I love the TodoodList.com system, sometimes I need a little additional backup. Sandy provides that for me. I can send an email with a little tag @todo to her and she’ll add it to my virtual to do list. I use it specifically when I’m running and think of a clever article title I want to remember to write, etc. No more post it notes for me!
3. Contacts – Sandy also maintains a virtual address book with your contacts if you want. I like this idea for any web based contacts that I need but would caution you about using it for personal information only because you will need to be connected to the internet to gain access to the information.
This is just a really small overview of how you can use the IWantSandy.com service to help you find success in your direct sales business. Sign up for your free account and play around with it – you’ll love it!
Success in Direct Sales – Part 2
In our last article we talked about two important characteristics of a successful direct sales representative. Successful direct sellers must be both consistent and persistent.
When we talk about consistency in our business it really just means having a plan to work your direct sales business and then working that plan. It doesn’t have to be complicated or involved. It can be as simple as 15 minutes a day, 4 days a week doing a simple system like the one I’ll explain now.
First, buy a spiral bound notebook that has 4 “subject” dividers in it. Alternately you can get a 3 ring binder and use tabs to divide out the 4 sections or even 4 labeled file folders. Next, comes a dependable timer or alarm clock that will mark off your 15 minutes. Finally, get a 3×5 card box with number and month tabs.
Now, label each divided subject for one area of your direct sales business that needs to be worked on in order for you to make money. The four most common areas of money making in direct sales are the following: customers, hostesses, potential recruits and current downline. So these are the four categories that you’re going to “touch” during your 15 minute work sessions.
Now here’s where the fun beings. Monday morning comes and you’ve set aside 15 minutes of your kids morning nap time to “work”. Pull out your notebook and flip to your “Customer” tab. If you have existing customers use the 15 minutes to follow up with them. Take notes in your notebook. Make sure you date your entries. If you talk to a customer and need to follow up later with her, fill out a 3×5 card for her and put it on the date you promised to call her. Or send your “Sandy” a reminder email so she’ll remind you to call that customer on the expected date. Keep calling customers until the timer goes off. Close your notebook until your next work session.
Tuesday comes and you’ve only got time when junior is sitting in the high chair. Great! Set your timer and pull out your notebook and flip to the hostess tab. Hostesses are the lifeblood of your direct sales party plan business so you better start and keep a system to stay in touch with past, current and future hostesses. Your notebook, file box and/or “Sandy” can help you do that. Use your 15 minutes to do follow up calls with upcoming hostesses or thank you calls to your hostesses from the past week. Call at least one potential new hostess today too before the timer goes off again. Close your book. You’re done for today.
You get the idea, right? Over simplified? Maybe. But it works and can work really well once you tweak the system and work it well and consistently. Remember, you have to persist through those days where you are phone calling and no one is home, or they hang up in your face; because those days will come.
In the next article of this series we’ll talk in more detail about the 3×5 card system and how this one step alone can help to create order and balance in your direct sales business.
Success in Direct Sales-Part 1
I’m a big believer in working a direct sales or network marketing business as a real business. Unfortunately too many times moms, in particular, jump into direct sales without any real plan of how to really make it work as a business and so they end up either doing nothing, becoming a wholesale buyer and ending up with way too much product around their house or a statistic in the “direct sales isn’t for me” sorority.
Although I am convinced that not everyone has the time, energy or desire to be in the top money category for their particular direct sales company, I do think that anyone who invests in a starter kit with a company they believe in CAN make it a business and make some money. They must, however, invest time and energy to do so and they must must must work it consistently and be persistent.
First they must work it consistently. That just means they have to have a plan to work their business somewhat either every day or every other day, or even a few times a week. There absolutely must be a commitment to work it, consistently and methodically. In the other parts of this article series we’ll talk about a simple plan for the average direct sales mom to do that that really works.
Second, they must be persistent. Now relax. I don’t mean persistent in that you need to just keep hounding your friends and family even if they’re running at break neck speed in the other direction when they see you coming. Nope, I don’t believe in that strategy at all. What I do believe is you must be persistent in this business and be willing to ride over some rough waters that will come with every (and I do mean every) direct sales business out there. What that means is simple. When things don’t seem to be going the way you want them to, change course a bit but keep going! If your company home office makes some changes that you don’t agree with, don’t quit. Make adjustments and keep working the business. If your upline isn’t providing the support you think you need, find another mentor in the company and ask for support from them or contact your home office directly. Just keep working.
What happens in our industry is this roller coaster ride of emotions. It’s inevitable given the nature of our business plan. We’re the owners of our own business but we still have accountability, policies and procedures to follow from a parent company. We call the shots, but only to a certain degree. Because we’re not fully in control, there will be conflict. Persist through it. Keep riding the roller coaster and it will start to climb again.
Is it worth it? You bet it is! Because with each down dip there will be an upward peak. If you’re consistently working your business and persistent through the tough times, you’ll reap some great rewards. Plus you’ll have a whole lot more fun!
Bookings, Bookings, Bookings The Most Popular Topic Of All Time!
Party Plan Training-Bookings
Deb Bixler teaches sale professionals in home party plan businesses how to create a consistent income from home.
Did you ever wonder why some people have more bookings than they can handle and why others can not keep a show on their calendar? There are more bookings out there for you if you want them, so if
you do not have enough bookings, you really should look at your attitude. Our recent Power Hour was on having a TERRIFIC JANUARY. Having a terrific January is all about attitude. Having a terrific Summer is all about attitude! Having a terrific December is all about attitude.
Your attitude will make or break your business. You can have a terrific consistent year round business when you have the right attitude.
That is what this website Show Mom The Money and my website Create A Cash Flow Show are all about. These sites were designed for you to be able to create a consistent cash flow show schedule.
If a consistent business alludes you, then most likely your attitude is holding you back and you are not taking advantage of all the resources available to you. There are over 200 articles on CACFS and many tools and resources that teach you how to do exactly that. Have you read them all?
Excerpt From Sensational SummerPost # 195
You can have a sensational Summer in your sales business when you believe that you can do it! It is mostly about attitude. Listen to this hour recording on how to set your self up for success and have a terrific Summer….LINK To Article
Excerpt From Fill Your Calendar Post # 217
Everyone in home party plan sales wants more bookings. In my
opinion, one reason that this is such an issue for most sales
consultants is the actual term, bookings. What
exactly is a booking, anyway?
- An invitation to someone’s home.
- A scheduled show.
- A home party.
- A fun gathering.
- A good time.
- A get-together
Don’t they sound nice? Booking is a technical term. It is not friendly, nor is it encouraging to the guest,the consultant or the future host. LINK To Article
Excerpt From Unlimited Free Leads Post # 103
Public speaking will bring you FREE leads and more business than you can handle. One of the reasons I was able to replace my full time job with my direct sales business in only 9 months, was because of my willingness to offer myself as a public speaker. Area clubs, churches and social organizations are always looking for FREE speakers.
LINK To Article
Excerpt from What is the cash flow Funnel ? Post # 96
I was at a seminar today that was boring as hell. Many of the attendees got up and left. Actually, I had expected it to be the best one of the entire day because the speaker was a professional that I had heard of previously. I didn’t walk out because I have learned in the past that you never know when you are going to hear something that will change your life. That did not happen to me today, although I did get the inspiration for this post.
Link To Article
The Biggest Network Marketing Event In The World
I am surprised at how many sales consultants in home party plan businesses are reluctant to take advantage of the world wide web. WWW is the largest network marketing opportunity in the world yet direct sales party plan reps usually fail to take full advantage of it. Successful business owners take full advantage of every network marketing opportunity available. This provides a varied clientele and a solid business. Almost all sales consultants have an web site affiliated with their home office corporate site. That is a good thing, and it is really not enough. A site must attract new visitors and the way to do that is to become search engine friendly, or search-able so that your site comes to the top of the pile. I know that some direct sales companies do allow linking and other practices that create search engine results but there are ways to over come that.
Create A Blog: On a regular basis post articles on your blog on your specialized field or topic. If you sell food storage containers, your blog focus may be on organizing your kitchen, on food, or any/or all other related topics. If you sell cosmetics, the focus of your blog is to develop a credible online presence as an expert who is there to answer any makeup question that is ever Googled. These articles need to be put up consistently, but not a lot at once. Like maybe one or two a week forever. After you have a good archive, you can cut back a bit. It is easy to create a blog and does not have to cost anything. Check out:
* Word Press Blog Service FREE : http://wordpress.com/
Link: Link your blog to your affiliate site. If your company allows you to create incoming links to your corporate affiliate site, you can link back to the affiliate site from your blog. It is easier to create traffic to a blog because you can create multiple pages that, down the road, will be indexed for more relevant topics. This will bring in more clients and then you funnel them into your affiliate site. If your company does not allow you to have incoming links to the affiliate site, then your blog can capture the emails through a subscription service and you can market to them in a newsletter that will then direct them to the corporate site.
Forward To Your Blog: The free blog address will be something weird like “www.wordpress.com/myplasticcontainers” . Take your blog one step further and forward a cool name so that it is easy to tell someone about it. It costs less than $10 to buy a domain name for a year, so your website will be “www.AlicesPlasticContainers.com” or what ever you decide to pick. Show Mom The Money has many tools to assist you in web site design. https://www.showmomthemoney.com/startasite.asp
Don’t let lack of knowledge hold you back. When I first stared my business 8 years ago I did not even have a web site and now I have 7 and can build pretty complicated sites on my own. I started with word press fee sites. The Word Press program is easy and anyone who has absolutely no knowledge on building a web site can be up an running in an afternoon. A balanced business depends on every form of marketing available. By not taking advantage of the millions of searches done every day for your product or service, is a business mistake because the internet or the world wide web is the largest network marketing opportunity in the world. Get it? world wide web = NET
Deb Bixler teaches systems to create cash flow in home party plan businesses. A system will work the same for every one who applies it. For more business systems go to www.CreateACashFlowShow.com
