Strategic Choice Partners is thrilled to add Brooke Hawkins as a new associate where she will bring marketing and graphic design expertise to the team. Brooke is the owner of Hawkins Design Co, a boutique design agency that specializes in marketing and graphic design, catered to direct sales companies. Brooke has worked with numerous companies using omnichannel marketing to help businesses develop a consistent and memorable brand across all platforms from social media to web design to print … [Read more...]
How to Create a Marketing Roadmap That Gets Results
Marketing and communications have never been more important within the direct sales industry than they are right now. While good marketing always has been a common thread among successful companies, it’s often been overlooked as a recognized driver, playing second fiddle to compensation plan design, product development, field training and the like. Today’s direct sales marketing leader has a lot on his or her plate. In a new way, the industry is recognizing the need to deliberately … [Read more...]
5 Must-Have Traits for Today’s Successful Direct Selling Executive
Perhaps the most common question I get asked by young, ambitious direct selling company executives is this: What do I have to do to build or lead a great direct selling company?” That question may be the most difficult there is to answer, at least for me, and I do not think I have ever answered it the same way twice. The problem is that “leadership,” no matter what the environment, is very hard to define. What is Leadership? Thousands of words, hundreds of books and dozens of … [Read more...]
The Right Way to Handle Distributor Advisory Councils
Anyone who has worked at a direct selling company for any period of time has experienced a Distributor Advisory Council meeting: Those meetings with select field leaders and home office members to help gain insights and input from the field. On the surface, these meetings seem productive and helpful in nature, and they can and should be. Getting feedback from your top salespeople and customers should always be highly valued. How Most of These Meetings Go However, you’ve probably … [Read more...]
The Elephants in Direct Selling’s Room
No one likes having difficult conversations. But there comes a time when you can no longer ignore the proverbial “elephant in the room.” Well, guess what? That time has come for the direct selling industry. We need to face our most recent “elephant,” better known as “the gig economy.” So let’s take a moment to address this problem pachyderm. What is the Gig Economy? The gig economy is the general term that describes the ever-widening variety of non-employee income opportunities … [Read more...]
Without Trust You Can Kiss Success Goodbye!
Direct selling companies spend tens of thousands of dollars on equipment, marketing materials, product development and social media branding programs, but often squander or even neglect their most precious asset: the sales force's trust and belief. Over the years, working for, leading and advising more than 100 companies as a consultant, I came to learn that successful direct selling companies that excel for decades are very careful to maintain the field’s trust. Too often I have observed … [Read more...]
Rick Loy Joins Strategic Choice Partners!
With over 20 years as a Senior Executive for one of the nation’s leading direct selling companies, Rick Loy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Strategic Choice Partners. Rick Loy brings more than two decades of Field Development and Training Leadership to Direct Selling's Top Consulting Firm. From 1998 through 2019, Rick led the sales, training and field development efforts at AdvoCare, establishing what has long been revered as one of the most comprehensive Distributor … [Read more...]
What about the “Why” for your events?
Direct sellers love to talk about their “whys,” basically, the reason(s) they chose direct selling in general and their individual companies in particular. Recruiting and promoting are almost always framed in the context of understanding one’s “why.” And it’s a valid consideration. Basically, the “why” answers the question, “What’s my motivation for doing this?” Do your events deserve a "Why"? But what about your events? Don’t they deserve a “why” as well? The answer is, “Why yes, … [Read more...]
2019: The Year Direct Selling As We Know It Changed Forever
I know. It has quite an ominous sound. And then, it also seems a tad presumptuous and oddly grandiose. Of course, it could also just be another click-baity, news-jacky headline whipped up by a consultant trying to drum up business ;-). I guess all of the above is possible. But none of it can dismiss the point that 2019 may indeed be the year we look back and realize it all changed. Direct selling as we’ve known it will never be the same. And I think I’m OK with that. There’s a quote … [Read more...]
Common Pitfalls that Prevent Profitability in Direct Selling Start Ups
I would like to share a number of common pitfalls that prevent profitability in direct selling start ups. This comes from years of experience working with companies that have contacted me many times after making mistakes like these and then asking me to help them correct these issues. 1. Lack of Direct Selling Expertise Many founders have started their ventures with only cursory experience in the industry. They have seen or heard of successes in this industry of companies … [Read more...]
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