I have been fortunate, actually blessed, over my career to see the world up close and personal. My career has taken me to 40+ countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America, 4+ million flight miles, and lots of learning the hard way! It all started in 1996 immediately after graduating from Northwestern, Kellogg School of Management. My executive sponsor at The Coca-Cola Company called and said it was time to repay the Company for that pricey MBA! Then he said we were moving to Hong … [Read more...]
Simple SEO Steps to Protect Your Online Reputation in 2023
Over the last few years, there’s been a lot of talk around owned media, earned media and paid media. Paid media is associated with all types of advertising. Earned media is exposure to your company and its products through word-of-mouth methods, like reviews, shares, reposts, recommendations and other references in third-party content. Owned media is the content you directly have control over, like websites, social media profiles, public relations, podcasts and other forms of content produced … [Read more...]
Turning Customer Acquisition Into Customer Repetition
Breaking Down the Fundamentals of a Customer Rewards Program Without a doubt, what I have been asked to help companies with the most over the last three years is in helping them create and launch a Customer Rewards Program. These programs are called all kinds of different things (e.g. Loyalty Programs, Referral Programs, Preferred Customer Programs, Points Programs, etc.), but the core interest is in finding ways for the corporate team to engage Customers more in a way that leads to more orders … [Read more...]
It’s Time to Do a New Thing
I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to write about this month. Not that I didn’t have ideas. I have lots of ideas. Tons of ‘em. Too many, in fact. I mean, when you mix the “resolution-centric, hope-springs-eternal, goal-setting” spirit of the New Year with the “What-the-$#@&-is-going-on-around-here?!!” mindset of most direct selling execs these days, the stakes for picking the right article topic seem high. I struggled with going uber-specific and tactical vs. staying philosophical and … [Read more...]
How To Start Thinking Differently About Compensation Plans
There’s something that’s becoming quite evident in direct selling right now: Yesterday’s compensation plan design best practices don’t pack the punch that they used to. And no wonder: It’s a completely different world now. And yet, so many direct selling companies are choosing to “tweak” their plans, adding some flashy trends on top of an otherwise outdated foundation. I get the hesitancy. Changing compensation plans is not for the faint of heart (or the weak of mind). It’s scary to move into … [Read more...]
15 Principles for Developing Your Independent Salesforce
I was recently asked to share tips and training to new and young direct selling companies on how to build up and develop your salesforce. And the training was to be no more than 20 minutes long! I’m all for a good challenge, but to cover what seems to be the lifeblood of success in our channel in a mere 20 minutes, when probably 20 days still wouldn’t quite do it justice, seemed a tad daunting. In fairness, the point of the program was to provide quick input on the basics of all areas of direct … [Read more...]
Embracing a Next-Steps Mentality
I go to a church that is built on a simple but profound principle: help people take their next step in their spiritual journey. When you hear it explained, it’s a pretty powerful concept. The idea is that everyone, no matter where on their journey they are, has a next step to take. Everyone can progress. Everyone can still become more. In many ways, I feel like this is the underlying promise that every direct sales company offers. As an industry that celebrates personal development, what we … [Read more...]
3 Stats Direct Selling Companies Must Pay More Attention to in 2023
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...]
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