Usually we speak about these matters to those who are new to direct sales or are looking to possibly get in to direct sales, however, having spoken with quite a few different reps recently; we’ve found that even those who have been involved with direct sales for many years still don’t know the definitions of different terms used. This of course could be for a myriad of reasons such as maybe one particular term doesn’t affect your company, you never asked and your sponsor never mentioned, or you just never knew. Even if a particular term does not affect your company, you could very well be asked by a prospect and you’ll want to know so you can answer this question quickly and easily without a hitch. An even worse case scenario would be that you weren’t aware of a particular rule/regulation and you’ve been going against your company’s regulations all along. Not following a company’s regulations could easily be call for dismissal from your company. Remember, not knowing is not an excuse. The following is a list of frequently asked questions/terms and definitions to help you. If you find a question that you can’t answer … find out!

Distributor Kit – Also commonly referred to as a start up kit, rep kit, etc. these are usually a compilation of products, business supplies, brochures etc. These are sometimes offered for new consultants only but are also offered to any consultant. These are usually discounted through a bulk package rather than buying each item individually.

Tax Requirements – Make sure you know what your company’s tax requirements are. It’s also a good idea to do some research online about other states’ requirements also. If you do a lot of recruiting online, you’re very likely to have a downline of members all over the country. No one expects you to become a tax pro but, it never hurts to be able to share links with your potential recruits about their particular state so they can do the research themselves. This question is ranked high in the top questions asked.

Sales Quota – Some companies require their representatives to sell/buy a certain amount of merchandise in a certain amount of time. These usually range from monthly, quarterly or yearly. If a consultant does not meet the required quota, some companies will remove that consultant.

Customer Service - Be sure you know exactly how various order problems are handled. Who does the consultant contact and how in this unfortunate event?

Drop Ship – Dropshipping is when a consultant places an order with their company and the company automatically ships the product directly to the customer.

Commission Structure – This is another high-ranked question. Of course everyone wants to know what they’re going to make. Make sure that you clearly understand the commission structure so you can explain it to your potential recruit.

Territory Restrictions – Some companies have territory restrictions, meaning that you may only be able to sell in a certain area. Often this is set up according to towns, counties and sometimes even states.

Hostess Credits/Gifts – These are items or prizes that hostesses can earn/win for holding their parties. What are these prizes/gifts and who is responsible for paying for them?

Inactive Fees – These are fees that might be incurred if a consultant were to go inactive and decided to re-join.

Bonuses – Some companies like to offer added incentives/bonuses to their consultants for maybe when they reach a certain number in sales or reach a certain level with their downline.

Downline – These are the people that you “sponsor” or those who join the company “under you”. These are also known as team members.

Fundraising Opportunities – Many direct sales companies have a separate plan set up especially for organizations, teams etc. so they can earn money for their organization.

Buy Back Policy – Often companies will buy back any unused merchandise that consultants have not been able to sell. As required by the Direct Selling Association, most companies will buy back the unused merchandise at up to 90% of the cost.

Non-Compete Clause – Many direct sales companies have a non-compete clause in place meaning that consultants may not sell for a competing company while representing their own. There are even some that will not allow reps to sell for any other company – competing or not.

Return Policy – Make sure you’re well aware of your company’s return policy.

Advertising Regulations – Some companies will not allow their representatives to advertise online. Some will not allow consultants to mention the company’s name or even certain brand names in any advertising.

There are a lot of different rules/regulations that pertain to advertising. Make sure you’re following them.

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

Authors Bio: Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com for free weekly tips.

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you do not change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

By: Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank

Direct sales is hard, especially with all the competition. The best way to stand out from the crowd is to have your own website.

We’ve said this time and time again in many different articles, but it can’t be stressed enough. If you are serious about doing business online, you MUST have your own, unique website.

Many direct sales companies do not allow personal websites, or for you to place product info on a site. If this is the case with your business, there IS a way around it. More on this further in the article.

The first step in finding your niche is to take a good hard look at your business (or all your businesses if you have more than one). Ask yourself the following questions:

What are the best selling products?
Which are your favorites?
Who is your target customer?
Which do you know the most about?
How much could you say about specific lines?

The next step is figuring out which products to focus on based on the answers from the above questions. On our message boards, we posted this example on finding a niche for Mary Kay:

When I think Mary Kay, I think make-up. Period. When I visit the main site, I see more specific things like skin care, spa & bath, fragrances, and other things that I didn’t know about. Many items could easily be made a niche from.

From the example above, I see Mary Kay offers skin care products. Diving deeper into that I see “anti-aging skin care”. Perfect niche! Instead of selling “Mary Kay products” or having a general site, what about a site focused on just the anti-aging products? There’s an entire line so it shouldn’t be hard.

While Mary Kay does not permit the use of their trademark on a website, here’s what you CAN do. Create a content website based on anti-aging tips, using products, proper diet, and exercise. Borderline health site, but with a focus on the anti-aging. Lead into your Mary Kay site with “For more information on products, visit…”.

This is just an example, and the same idea can be applied to ANY business. Other examples include websites dedicated to specific layout ideas for those selling scrapbooking supplies, specific scented items for those selling bath and body, specific information sites for health product (focusing on one issue the health product you sell takes care of, such as diabetes or other health issues).

The possibilities are absolutely endless. There is a lot of room for reps of the same business to all have completely different websites. To gather suggestions, I suggest using a keyword tool which will show you exactly what people are searching for. There is an excellent one here: www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion

Choose a topic that is small, yet has enough searches and can be expanded on.

Good luck in finding your niche!

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Authors: Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/ for free weekly tips.

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you do not change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

By: Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso

Recently I wanted to contact a representative whose business card I had. The business card had an email address however, when I emailed her, it bounced. I checked the business card for a website address which had none. I had to find the company’s corporate site and hunt her down through her name. I had no personal website link and no representative number. A word of caution … an average customer won’t go through all the trouble.

Here are 5 tips to make sure you are making it as easy as possible for customers to contact you:

1. Contact Information on Promotional Materials
Make sure your contact information is on all materials you hand out (ie: brochures, catalogs, business cards). Your materials should have at least your name, company name, consultant number, email address and website URL.

2. Business Cards
Have at least business cards on you at all times. If you have smaller brochures, pamphlets or something of that nature you can pop in your purse, bring those too.

3. Signature Lines
Utilize signature lines. I don’t know how many emails we’ve gotten from folks who don’t use signatures. It’s a super-easy method that can be used with little to no effort. Check out your email program to find out how to set one up.

All you really need is a catchy little tag-line and add your website URL. I’ve also seen signatures that look like a business card. It includes their name, business name, consultant number, email address and URL. I do not however, recommend the business card graphics in your email. Don’t forget that there are some who don’t allow html in their email and they take up way too much space. They’re almost as bad as using fancy stationery on your email. Almost all message boards allow you to have a signature line also. Use them!

4. Reordering Information
Include a business card, pamphlet, catalog or something of this nature in every order you send out. You already have the customer … now make it easy for them to reorder.

5. Return Labels
The next time you buy return address labels, include your website address.

For example:
MyWebsite.com
123 Any Street
Any Town, Any State 12345

Use these labels whether you’re sending out your next order or paying your electric bill.

The above are only a few ideas that can be done with little to no effort and inexpensively. Use your creativity – it can be your best friend. Think about the things that you’re already doing and alter them just a bit to your businesses benefit.

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Authors: Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com for free weekly tips.

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

By: Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso

One of the hot questions when it comes to direct sales and offline shows is this:

“Do I need a large inventory, or can I just take orders?”

Honestly, this is no easy answer and it’s going to mostly depend on what products you are selling. Some items (such as custom products) are near impossible to have on stock and must be ordered. Other items (such as candles), the shopper wants to have in hand before they leave. Candles are one of those items which are NOT unique (no matter if you have a great product), and a shopper knows they can easily pick it up at just about any store.

For the most part, you are going to want a large display of products to sell right off the table. When shoppers are roaming around craft shows, they are looking to shop. If they wanted to have items shipped to them, they would probably be shopping online. I’m sure they do, but only because they have no other option when shopping online or at a home party. People LOVE to walk out with something in hand.

I know one of the benefits of a direct sales company is not to have large amounts of stock on hand. However, if you plan to have tables at offline events, stock is a must. Even when taking orders, you must have some type of display. This way the customer can see and touch, knowing exactly what they will be getting should they order.

Be warned though, even with large amount of stock on the table, it’s like pulling teeth to get orders. For example, occasionally we’ll have a 12oz Jelly Jar in a scent they really like but no 8oz Jelly Jar. We’ll suggest they put in an order and have it delivered (no shipping for local orders since we deliver). Almost always they’ll go with a different candle or none at all.

In over a year, we’ve taken in a total of 3 orders. The reason for each order was as follows:

Order #1: Previous customer who had purchased a candle at another show. She smelled a candle she liked and bought it, but wanted 2 more in a larger size. So she not only already knew the candles, but wanted more than what we had on the table.

Order #2: A customer wanted 4 of the same candle while we only had 2 in stock. Because it was a gift for a special occasion, she decided to order.

Order #3: Another previous customer. This one had smelled each scent on the table and wanted different colored votives all in the same scent. Again, she knew what the product was like and wanted more than what was on the table.

In conclusion, while you can get away with taking orders only, it’s better to sell outright. Shoppers are ready to impulse buy, and you don’t want to miss out on it!

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Authors: Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.directsaleshelpers.com for free weekly tips.

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!

By: Stephanie Davies

An online party is also known as a vendor fair or online expo. Online parties can be very beneficial to your business whether you have a business of your own, or if you are in direct sales (selling for another company, such as Avon, Watkins, etc.). Online parties are most popular in the WAHM (Work At Home Mom) circles of the internet, however there are other places to find online parties to sell your products as well.

At an online party, you pay for a time slot (usually either a half hour or a full hour) to advertise to the other party visitors. You get the full time slot to say whatever you would like to about your business, your products, and anything else you would like to tell them. Online parties are held in chat rooms, usually either php-based (which means any browser can use it), or Java based (which means you need to have the ability to run Java applets on your computer). During the party, which usually lasts all day, other vendors who have signed up for spots, as well as people they have invited will generally be in the chat room as well.

It is important that if you do sign up for an online party, that you promote your time slot to customers, and other people on Yahoo Groups, message boards, and newsletters. The more people you can get to come to your party, the better!

Once you have signed up, and paid for your time slot, you simply need to show up at that particular time and give a presentation on your company that you signed up to represent. Start by introducing yourself to whoever else is in the chat room, give a little information about your company, and be sure to include a link to the website address of your company. Then go into a little further detail. Let the others know about specials, discounts, coupons, or products you especially like. Tell them why they would enjoy your products and what makes your products special. Remember that this is an interactive chat room, so you may be asked questions about your company or your products. In fact, you should encourage people to ask questions if they have them, as the more people are involved, the more likely they are to buy from you!

At some online parties, you may be expected to play an online game to give away a prize. Each online party is different, so you will need to ask or read about the requirements for any games before you sign up. If you are expected to run an online game, it is very easy to do, and will help people to get more involved. There are many different types of “games” you can play, but I will go over a couple of the most common used to give you an idea of how they are done. One of the most common types of online party games is the word scramble. You will need a piece of paper and pen to keep track of scores. Make a list of 10 words that have to do with your business, then scramble up the letters of each word. Announce to the chat room what the game is, how it is played, the rules, and of course, the prize. Give out each scrambled word (one at a time), and the first person to enter the correct unscrambled answer gets a point. The person with the most points after you give the entire ten words wins the prize! You can also do a trivia game, and ask people trivia questions about your products after giving them the URL to your website, such as: “How much is a single votive candle?” The first person to answer correctly would then get a point, and the person with the most points at the end of the game would win.

Prizes given away at online parties are usually only small prizes, around $5 or $10 value. Again, be sure to confirm what is expected at the party before signing up.

At the end of the party, about 5 minutes before your time slot is up, you will want to ask again if anyone has any questions, then thank everyone for listening and being at your presentation, and let them know how to contact you if they decide to place an order later.

All in all, online parties are easy to do, relatively cheap to sign up for, and a good way to show off your business to others. Some online party groups are better than others though, so do your research before committing to purchasing a time slot. The best way to see what a particular party site is like is to visit the presentations of others on that site. Simply enter the chat room, and watch how others do it! You can generally get a good feel for the results you would get by watching that chat room and seeing how many people show up, what the participation is like, and what the general “feel” is like.

Article Source: http://www.homebusinessresourcedirectory.com

About the Author: Stephanie Davies is a 27 year old Missourian with a loving husband and an 8 year old son. She currently owns and operates her own business, Mystickal Incense & More, which sells handmade candles, incense, bath & body products and other handcrafted products at http://www.mystickalincense.com

NOTE: You may use this article for reprint ONLY if you DO NOT change the article in ANY way, AND you keep the source and bio IN TACT with ALL links ACTIVE!