Direct Sales: Do You Have What It Takes?
You just had an awesome party for your favorite skin care product or home décor and your consultant knows you’d be perfect at being a consultant too. After all you just had the best show she’s had in 6 months! That must mean you’re cut out to do direct sales, right? Well maybe. Take a look at why you are considering a career in direct sales.
Before you go diving into joining a direct sales company, there are a few things you need to ask yourself to see if you are ready to start a career in direct. Before you begin investing your time and money you want to make sure that this is the right step for you to take.
Sit down with a pen and paper. Write down each of the following questions. Then, think about the honest answer for each one; the answers should be true for where you are right now in life, and your current situation. Make sure to ask your spouse or any loved ones that might be affected by this decision, too.
These steps will help you see the areas you may need to work on while building your career and help you avoid a serious, financially costly mistake. Okay, so what are the questions; what should you ask yourself before making the jump into direct sales?
Do I have the time, right now, in my schedule that is needed to work and build my business?
Too many times a recruiter will tell you they only work a couple of hours a week and make hundreds of dollars. While their actual shows or parties may only take a couple of hours a week, you must consider the set up time, the bookkeeping time, driving time, organization time, meeting time, etc. When you account for all of those things that are necessary to make a direct sales business successful, do you, right now, have the time for that? Do you work another job full time or part time? Do you have a family that obviously requires nurturing and caring for? Do you attend church regularly or belong to other organizations that take up some of your time? Okay, that’s more than one question, but you need to consider all of these things when accounting for what free time you have available.
Do I absolutely LOVE the products I will be selling?
Are you 100% sold out? Do you already tell your friends and family about it and essentially “sell” them on it? Make sure you love the product. If you don’t you will have a hard time convincing anyone else to love it let alone buy it. You can’t sell something you don’t love. You might not LOVE every single product a company sells but you should really believe in the main product line and the majority of the rest of the company’s line. AND you should use the products yourself.
Am I driven and motivated?
Do you have the desire deep in your heart to really work your business? Are you a goal setter and strive to always reach your goals when you set them? To become successful at anything, you must have a long term goal and then short term goals that will help get you to your long term goal. Is the nice car your long term goal? Then what do you have to do to earn it; how many recruits and dollars in sales? What are you going to do to get your first recruit, your second and so on? How are you going to motivate your down line to success? How many shows do you have to hold a week to reach the ultimate dollar amount in sales to earn the car? Are you ready and motivated to do this? Is it your desire to be able to quit your job and work from home full time in direct sales? Then you’re going to have to work twice as hard; work your full time job and work your direct sales business in the evenings or on weekends.
Can I speak to a group of people?
Do you have the ability to talk in front of a group of people? If you are shy and timid, certainly you can overcome shyness, but if you have trouble standing in front a group and speaking, how are you going to hold shows, parties and presentations? You might want to work on overcoming your shyness before diving into a direct sales business. You can practice by holding shows for your close friends and family, which is where you usually start anyway. Another way to help you overcome shyness is by reading books on building your confidence or on public speaking.
Once you sit down with and ask yourself these questions and answer them honestly (don’t forget to talk to your spouse, too), you will know whether you have what it takes to be a success in direct sales.
As you answer the questions, you may find you are qualified in some of the areas, but not all. If that is the case, then maybe you do have what it takes to be successful in starting out a direct sales business, while working on one or two of the other areas to give your business the kick it really needs to be a success.
Be honest with yourself, determine which characteristics you already possess and determine which ones you need to work on and go from there. Don’t let a recruiter convince you otherwise. Sit down with your hubby or best friend and ask them how they would answer these questions about you.
You don’t have to make a decision on the spot and a good recruiter will give you the time you need to really consider these things. The recruiter,your potential up line leader, will want you to succeed because it will help them be more successful as well!
photo credit: mlinksva
Creating Your 2009 Home Business Plan
Home Party Businesses Need Business Plan
I replaced my full time job with my home party business in about 9 months. I am often asked “what is your secret?” referring to my successes in my
home party plan business. The secret is that I treat it like a business or a profession. There are certain business practices that all successful businesses follow. They are called best-business-practices. One best-business-practice that all successful businesses follow is to write and rewrite annually a business plan. Home party businesses would benefit by a business plan as well.
A business plan has three purposes:
1. Provides clarity and purpose
2. Gives you IRS compliance when taking home office deduction
3. Gives you a road map for success over the next year
Not only does a good business plan spell out your goals, mission and purpose but it also provides you with actions to take. When you have a plan in place you will have a better understanding on where to invest your time and money.
Here is an example of what a plan may include:
Mission Statement:
The mission of Snuggy Bunny Baskets is to:
1. Have a customer base of at least 10 annual “repeat” customers
2. Service my customers in the best way I can
3. Sponsor active Independent Representatives
4. Support and train my recruits in the best way I can
5. Be an active part of the business community
6. Attend monthly & yearly business meetings
Marketing & Sales:
Snuggy Bunny Baskets will use the following marketing methods to promote the mission statement: (other methods will be incorporated as necessary)
Retail Sales:
1. Home Shows
2. Catalog (Book) Shows
3. Flyers
4. Pass out business cards
5. Give gifts & promotions (of company products) to family, friends & potential customers
6. Attend (or join) local professional organizations
7. Fund Raisers/Basket Bingos
8. Business meetings over a meal
A IRS direct sales specific business plan template makes it easy to plug in your own details. Listen to the tele-seminar audio recording on Creating A Business Plan.
Your business plan is a perpetual work in progress. It will change from time to time and year to year and without one your goals will most likely elude you. I encourage you to complete your business plan as soon as you can. It is amazing what it will do for your business.
