One of the things I love about my job as a consultant to direct selling companies is that I get to work with a variety of companies at a variety of stages. And while I see little nuances and differences among them all, I can promise you that all direct selling companies have much more in common than they think. So, when I start to see some work that I’m doing with several clients resonate at a really high level, it makes me think, “That would make for a great article!” And today’s article is … [Read more...]
The Rise of Fractional Executives in Direct Selling
“Everything rises and falls on leadership.” John Maxwell wrote these words to begin one of the most important works on the topic of leadership, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. It’s a phrase many of us hear often from our field leaders, and it’s one that proves itself over and over again, not just among our salesforce, but at the corporate office, too. I tend to agree with Maxwell. But if you really dwell on his statement, you begin to feel the weight of it. Is leadership really … [Read more...]
The Table Stakes for Success as a Direct Selling Company
Business Model Fundamentals for the Direct Selling Industry We all have witnessed the rapidly changing business environment. Specifically, the rise of the Gig Economy which brings with it competition for participation. The rise of Social Media Influencers and traditional businesses launching Affiliate Marketing models also creates consumer competition. Most of us are also scrambling to keep up with changing consumer shopping preferences, online marketplaces, social and community platforms, and … [Read more...]
What Norms Aren’t Worth Rushing Back to?
As we all do everything we can to rush back to normal, stop and consider what “normals” actually aren’t worth rushing back to. I heard this statement on a podcast recently. It’s not a podcast specific to direct sales, but it’s a statement that has haunted me over the last 10 days or so. As we navigate our way past the initial shock and awe of the pandemic, and now settle into figuring out what to do now, I think every strategic discussion should incorporate this question as its starting … [Read more...]
Coffee with Creators: Clark Diemer
Coffee with Creators is a web series from our partners at Left Hook Videos where you get to know their creators over incredible cups of coffee. In this episode, Clark Diemer shares his journey of moving away from broad marketing into exclusively creating video content. Where Clark Began Clark began his career in corporate America in a marketing department, but not long after, he learned this environment wasn't for him. So he set out to create his own marketing agency that covered … [Read more...]
Lessons from the Lockdown
The two most commonly asked questions I get from clients these days are first: “How do we cope with the shelter-in-place situation?” and second, “How is this social isolation experience going to change direct selling going forward?” The “lockdown-shelter-in-place-social distancing” experience, regardless of what you call it, has radically altered nearly every aspect of our work, family, neighborhood, social, community and civic life and brought the economy to its knees in 6 weeks or less. … [Read more...]
How to Develop Your Personal Leadership Philosophy
This is the second article of an ongoing series by Rick Loy, titled “Your Personal Leadership Philosophy Anchors You and Your Team.” In the first article in this series, we talked about what a personal leadership philosophy is and the importance of having one. In this second article, we will dig into how to develop your own personal leadership philosophy. This is far more than an intellectual exercise. The fact is, in many respects, you’re stating who you are, what you believe … [Read more...]
What is a Personal Leadership Philosophy?
This is the first article of an ongoing series by Rick Loy, titled “Your Personal Leadership Philosophy Anchors You and Your Team.” Ever found yourself looking for a new, different, exciting idea to re-ignite your team’s best creative energy and efforts? Virtually everyone in leadership has been right there; you’re in good company! Nothing wrong with it at all; maximizing all the ideas you can create and all you can “borrow” is part of the role, it definitely has its place. Yet, … [Read more...]
Why Reputation Management Must Be in Your 2020 Budget
Direct selling companies by their very nature are all about marketing. Beyond the internal marketing department, there are thousands of associates each trying to market the business in their own unique way. And each one of these efforts builds “the reputation” of the business. But there are a number of factors that can easily erode a company’s good reputation. Here are issues to watch out for this year and what you should be doing to insure your company retains its good name. FTC … [Read more...]
3 Fundamental Transitions for Direct Selling
Being driven by what people can sell versus what people will buy may sound similar, but they’re actually very different concepts. Direct selling is changing. We’re in the middle of a shift from point A to point B. We may not be exactly clear on what point B is, but we definitely know that point A is in the rearview mirror. The three transitions below encompass the most important areas for a direct selling company to address as quickly as possible. These aren’t meant to be new concepts, but … [Read more...]
UPS and FedEx 2022-2023 Peak Season Shipping Costs
It’s peak shipping season. That means shipping with UPS and FedEx is even more expensive than usual. And that’s saying a lot! Both carriers implement seasonal surcharges and bigger fees annually between September and January. You need to know what to expect when shipping during peak season. So, we’ll break down this year’s peak surcharges for both UPS and FedEx and provide you with a list of key dates for guaranteed delivery by Christmas. As if super expensive seasonal shipping wasn’t enough, … [Read more...]
Communication: The Overlooked Key to an Event’s Success
Communication is always the key to success for any event. I’ve always told my teams, “If I’m calling you, I need to tell you something important!" It’s when communication is limited that the disaster will happen. Texting is Not the Same And let’s be clear—by “communication,” I mean either face-to-face or voice-to-voice contact. Texting is okay if there’s no urgency to the message, or maybe as a follow-up. But when you’re in the middle of a live event, getting timely information to … [Read more...]
It’s 2020 … Who’s in Your Office?
No matter which way we turn, “disruption is in play” … including in the traditional “gold watch” business workplace. Human resources knows it. Bosses stress over it, and employees feel it! Early in direct selling history, the new direct selling company (armed with its product/service) opportunity opened its doors with a handful of passionate people supplying all of the internal “labor” and support—the founder(s), maybe a family member or two plus an outside influencer, also known as the … [Read more...]
Are You Doing the Math for Your Distributors?
Today’s direct seller has more access to data and numbers than any generation of direct seller ever had before. Backoffices are packed with beautiful reports, dashboards are dotted with wonderful widgets and notifications, and promotions and programs are launched every day to accelerate sales and income. And yet, my experience tells me that Distributors don’t always appreciate all this stuff like I think they should. Some of the obvious perks of a new promotion often get overlooked. The … [Read more...]
4 Fundamentals of Reversing a Sales Decline in Direct Sales
Here’s a familiar story: Your business has entered a period of decline in sales and recruiting. After a period of years of solid growth in sales and sales force numbers, the momentum has not only stopped but appears to be working in reverse. The management team pulls out all the stops using various promotions and incentives that have worked in the past to stimulate sales and/or recruiting. These tried and true “get back to basics” promotional techniques mean that the company is spending more … [Read more...]
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