Direct Selling For Dummies

Get ready to sell like you’ve never sold before!

Ever wonder if your next job didn’t have to feel so much like a…well, job? Then you might be ready for direct selling, where you remove the middleman and sell products directly to consumers!

In Direct Selling For Dummies, you’ll tap into your entrepreneurial spirit and learn the basics of how to get started, pick the best selling model, and achieve success in this rapidly growing industry. You’ll also discover:

• Expanded info on online and social media selling, which has replaced in-home selling as the predominant sales method
• A guide to transforming your home office into a productivity dream
• Instructions on how to host online or Facebook-hosted direct-selling parties 

Perfect for anyone looking to join the 7.7 million direct sellers already working in North America, Direct Selling For Dummies can help you break into a fun, exciting, and lucrative new industry! Are you ready?

Belinda Ellsworth is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in direct selling. She now works as a speaker and trainer for those getting started in the industry. She founded the “Step Into Success” program in 1995 and guided more than 200 companies. She is the author of the previous edition of Direct Selling For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Foolish Assumptions 2

Icons Used in This Book 3

Beyond the Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Part 1: Exploring the Direct Sales Industry 5

Chapter 1: Examining the Direct Sales Industry 7

Understanding How Direct Sales Works 9

Recognizing the Three Different Direct Sales Models 10

Walking You through Your First Steps in Direct Sales 11

Waiting for your kit 12

Taking action after you get your kit 13

Recognizing Why Direct Sales Models Succeed 14

Selling unique products 15

Identifying types of products and services 15

Identifying Needed Personal Attributes and Skills 16

Belief in the product 17

Vision and goals 17

Superior communication skills 17

Patience 17

Interpersonal skills 18

Presentation skills 18

Ability to recognize buying cues 18

Customer care 19

Technological aptitude 19

Commitment to personal development 20

Working Your Business in Different Ways 20

Online and in-person events 21

Trade shows and vendor events 21

Collaborative events or pop-up events 22

Online marketing and online group communities 23

Fundraising 23

Reservicing 24

Personal shopping experience 24

Chapter 2: The Perfect Side Hustle — Spotting Which Model is Right For You 27

Focusing on Income Potential and Product — The Network Marketing Model 28

Recruiting in Network Marketing 29

Sharing the product and the opportunity 30

Recognizing who’s best suited 32

Knowing what you need to be successful 33

Sharing Products during Events — The Social Selling Model 34

Eyeing the ins and outs of Social Selling 34

Recruiting with Social Selling 35

Sharing the product and opportunity 35

Identifying who’s best suited 36

Succeeding in Social Selling 36

Tapping into Followers — The Influencer/Affiliate Model 37

Taking a closer look at this model 38

Defining the types of influencers 39

Recruiting as an Influencer/Affiliate 40

Sharing the product 40

Recognizing who’s best suited 41

Chapter 3: Choosing the Right Direct Sales Company 43

Recognizing the Allure to Direct Sales 44

Getting started easily 44

Working with an established brand 45

Having flexibility 45

Providing a community of like-minded individuals 45

Knowing What to Consider When Choosing a Company 46

Examining the Three Ps of Every Company 47

Products 47

Profitability 48

Programs 49

Contemplating Special Considerations for Start-ups 50

Advantages 51

Disadvantages 51

Debunking the Myth of Saturation 51

Part 2: Creating a Successful Business with the Right Mindset 53

Chapter 4: Focusing On Your Mindset Before Your Skill Set 55

Vision: Your Big Picture of Why 57

Your vision will change 57

The importance of having a vision before you set goals 59

Being a leader and helping others with their vision 60

Sharing Your Enthusiasm with Everyone 60

Being enthusiastic in all interactions 61

Being excited while out and about 62

Staying Successful: Attitude Is Everything 63

Discovering how to deal with no 64

Finding the silver lining in everything 65

Keeping a Positive Mindset: The How-To 66

Surround yourself with the right people 66

Stay positive: The three people you need 67

Be grateful and use a gratitude journal 68

Stay positive on social media 69

Be a strong role model for your team 69

Overcoming Self-Doubt 70

Recognizing the four cornerstones of belief 71

Starting with self-talk 71

Building confidence and self-esteem 72

Getting Out of Your Own Way 72

Settling for less 73

Avoiding resignation 73

Managing perfectionism and procrastination 73

Staying away from denial and blame 74

Taking risks: Getting past the fear 75

Comparing yourself to others 76

Chapter 5: Setting Goals and Boosting Your Productivity 77

Goals: Milestones to Success 78

Destigmatizing goals 79

Setting intentional goals: The five Ds 80

Being Prepared Leads to More Productivity 82

Identifying ways you can get prepared 82

Relying on a good planner: More than just a calendar 83

Understanding Productivity and the Power Hour 85

Focusing on how the Power Hour works 85

Your 15 minutes on host coaching 86

Your 15 minutes on booking 87

Your 15 minutes on recruiting 88

Your 15 minutes on customer service 88

Developing Important Skills 89

The power of focus 89

The power of commitment 91

The power of consistency 91

The power of organization, or lack thereof 93

Being Rewarded: Strive for Company Incentive Programs 94

Chapter 6: The Art of Being Self-Employed 95

Shifting Your Thinking about Being an Entrepreneur 96

Remember that you’re in the people business 96

Keep it simple from the start 97

Understand that you aren’t alone 97

Take care of yourself because you’re your actual commodity 98

Committing to Being Self-Employed and Staying Positive 98

Being the Boss You’d Want to Have 100

Recognizing the Systems You Need to be Successful 101

Your physical workspace 101

Your time-management system 102

Your filing system 105

Your follow-up system 106

System for having a video-conferencing presence 108

Part 3: Launching Your Direct Selling Business 113

Chapter 7: Launching Your New Direct Sales Business 115

Getting Ready — A Launch Prepares You 116

Recognizing the Four Types of Launches 116

Understanding Why Your Launch Party/Event Is So Important 119

Preparing for Your Launch 120

Inviting As Easy As 1-2-3 122

Having a Back-Up Launch 122

After the Launch: Introducing My Two-Booking Method 123

Your second two events 124

Your third two events 124

Chapter 8: Navigating Your First 100 Days of Business 127

Finding Your Way through the First 100 Days 128

Days 1 to 40 — Starting strong 128

Days 41 to 70 — Continuing forward 129

Days 71 to 100 — Keeping the momentum going 129

Bringing a Friend 130

Creating Your Lead List of 100 130

Keeping Control of Your Calendar 131

Setting a schedule 132

Booking for sooner, not later 132

Setting goals for your calendar 132

Studying your calendar 133

Weave dating your calendar 133

Always Being Ready for Business — Seven Tips to Help 133

Preparing to share your contact info 135

Keeping catalogs with you 136

Having host and opportunity packets handy 137

Planning your show-on-the-go 139

Creating your positioning statement 141

Dressing for success 143

Knowing your next available dates 145

Part 4: Executing Your Social Media and Online Strategy 147

Chapter 9: Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms 149

Selecting the Right Social Media Platform in Four Easy Steps 150

Step 1: Set goals for your social media 150

Step 2: Find out more about each platform 151

Step 3: Create a plan for how and where you’ll show up consistently 151

Step 4: Evaluate your results 151

Understanding the Purpose of Each Platform 152

Facebook 152

Instagram 153

Pinterest 153

Twitter 154

TikTok 154

YouTube 155

Using Social Media to Be Social 156

Recognizing the 7 Cs of Social Media 156

Being Aware of the Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media 159

Chapter 10: Using Facebook for Your Business 161

Discussing Facebook’s Strengths 162

Authenticity: Knowing your audience 162

Finding your audience 162

Building a fan base 162

Staying connected to weak-tie relationships 163

Creating content 163

Going viral 163

Being insightful 163

Watching your competition 164

Enhancing customer service 164

Experiencing service recovery paradox 164

Advertising 164

Using Groups and Events 165

Increasing your search engine optimization 165

Saving money 165

Making Facebook the Face of Your Business 165

Setting up a Facebook Business Page 166

Using your Facebook Business Page: The how-to 168

Utilizing Facebook Stories 168

Giving Your Customers a Group to Gather in 169

Setting up your Facebook Customer Group 169

Utilizing your Facebook Customer Group: The how-to 170

Hosting Facebook Events 171

Remembering the four-core funnel 176

Chapter 11: Utilizing Instagram and Other Social Media Platforms 179

Using Instagram’s Impact and Influence 180

Using Instagram — The how-to 180

Setting up an Instagram account 182

Embracing TikTok 183

Using TikTok — The how-to 183

Setting up your TikTok account 184

Creating Searchable Content with YouTube 184

Using YouTube — The how-to 185

Setting up your YouTube account 185

Gaining Interest on Pinterest 186

Using Pinterest — The how-to 186

Setting up your Pinterest account 187

Relying on Twitter 187

Using Twitter — The how-to 187

Setting up your Twitter account 188

Chapter 12: Creating Content: Blogging, Images, and Videos 189

Building Your Personal Brand + Positioning Yourself as the Expert 190

Batching Your Content Is the Key to Success 191

Establishing the Goals of Your Content 192

The process for creating content 193

Creating content — The how-to 193

Writing captions 196

Using hashtags 196

Blogging 196

Emailing 197

Part 5: Putting Sales Strategies into Practice 199

Chapter 13: Building Your Business on Bookings 201

Understanding the Importance of Bookings 202

Scheduling Appointments and Bookings 203

Jump-starting your bookings 203

Practice, practice, practice 204

Building momentum for your future business 205

Building your booking lead notebook 205

Securing Bookings or Appointments 208

Stay casual when sharing the opportunity 208

See the people and show your product 209

Enlist your friends 211

Host your own event 212

Understanding Why People Book — Or Don’t 213

Examining why people say yes to book 213

Considering why people don’t book 214

Identifying Three Power Questions to Get the Reluctant to Say Yes 215

Planting Booking Seeds 216

Focusing On the Booking Talk 217

Securing More Bookings 218

Overcoming Common Objections 219

“Let me check with my friends first” 219

“My friends are partied out” 220

“My house isn’t big enough” 220

“I don’t have any time — I’m too busy” 221

Finding New Business 221

Using your social network for referrals 221

Getting leads from leads 222

Going where your customers are 222

Chapter 14: Coaching Your Host 225

Understanding the Host’s Motivation — Keep Everything Simple 226

Coaching on Attendance 227

Keeping Your Host Excited, Engaged, and Informed 228

Keeping your host excited 228

Keeping your host engaged 229

Keeping your host informed 230

Coaching Hosts Online 234

Inviting with intention 234

Being personal in your invitations 234

Chapter 15: Hosting Successful In-Person and Online Events 235

Understanding the Appeal of In-Person and Online Events 236

Focusing on What You Want from Events 237

Creating Desire with the Meet and Greet 239

Making a strong impression in person 240

Engaging when an online event starts 241

Giving Your Opening Talk 241

Developing a powerful opening talk 242

Knowing what not to do 243

Example opening talk for an in-person event 243

Example opening talk for an online event 244

Making Your Presentation 245

Creating a winning presentation 245

Building more desire for the product 246

Giving Your Booking Talk 247

Choosing what to say 247

Building desire for hosting 248

Concentrating On the Recruiting Talk 249

Finishing a Successful Event 250

Make yourself available for your guests 251

Start full-service checkout 251

Provide additional products with upselling 252

Have guests check out online 252

Chapter 16: The Power of One-on-One Selling 253

Selling with One-on-One Appointments 255

Getting One-on-One Appointments 256

Discover the client’s priorities 256

Provide a solution 256

Seal the deal 257

Perfecting the Details: What to Do and Say 257

Holding a one-on-one: The how-to 258

Building a relationship 258

Selling While Out and About 259

Marketing your business 260

Starting conversations 260

Distributing promo cards 261

Using wear-to-share and other promotables 261

Having product handy 262

Utilizing Your Online Customer Community Group 263

Identifying the target audience 263

Finding the right service to introduce your product 264

Chapter 17: Sustaining Growth: The Fortune Is in the Follow-Up 267

Differentiating between Warm and Cold Markets 269

Being likable and trusted 269

Getting referrals 270

Being systematic about customer service 270

Following Up with Booking Leads 271

Creating a plan 272

Following up: The how-to 272

Handling objections 273

Following Up with Hosts 273

Following Up with Customers 274

Checking In with Recruit Leads 275

Hot and warm recruit leads 275

Brrr! Cold recruit leads 278

Removing the Guesswork: Using the 2+2+2 Method of Follow-Up 279

Two-day follow-up 279

Two weeks later 281

Two months later 282

Reservicing: Customer Care Is Key 283

Part 6: Building a Team or Organization: The How-To 285

Chapter 18: Attracting New Team Members: Recruiting and Sponsoring 287

Focusing On the Rewards of Recruiting 288

Giving to others 289

Solving other people’s challenges 289

Identifying the Rules of Recruiting 292

Always invite 292

Don’t prejudge 293

Always do the recruiting talk no matter what 295

Look for leads instead of recruits 296

Figuring Out the “Why” of Recruiting: What’s in It for Them 297

Financial freedom or income 297

Flexibility of time 298

Friendships 300

Recognition 301

Personal growth and helping others 301

Getting People Interested 302

Discovering what people think 303

Sharing your “you” story 303

Addressing your “I” story 304

Avoiding Losing Leads 306

The decisive, confident ones 306

The fish — The late biters 307

The nonbiters — Those who lack confidence 308

Using Follow-Up 310

Recruiting on Social Media 310

Facebook 310

Instagram 311

LinkedIn 311

YouTube 311

Chapter 19: Conducting Interviews 313

Setting the Stage: Creating Interest 313

Asking for an Interview 315

Knowing how to ask 315

Identifying who to ask 316

Interviewing a Potential Recruit: Phase 1 316

Conducting the interview in three steps 316

Handling indecision 317

Understanding what “no” really means 317

Interviewing Your New Team Member: Phase 2 318

Leading the meeting: What to say 319

Starting training 320

Chapter 20: Sponsoring New People and Leading Teams 323

Understanding Why Your Role as a Leader Is So Important 324

Encouraging your new team members 324

Being realistic 325

Getting a New Team Member Off to a Great Start 325

Focusing on having a launch event 325

Helping with a launch event: The how-to 326

Being a Leader — What It Means 328

Setting goals and building vision in others 329

Becoming a trainer 330

Coaching team members 331

Mentoring team members 333

Communicating and Working With Different Personalities 335

Electronic/digital communication 335

Phone calls and video-conference calls 336

Happy mail (previously known as snail mail) 336

Face-to-face meetings 336

Using Team Facebook Groups 337

Challenging Your New Recruits 338

Challenge: Announce your business to the world 338

Challenge: Explore your virtual office 339

Challenge: Get organized 339

Challenge: Make a graphic 340

Challenge: Your why story 341

Challenge: Invite some friends 341

Challenge: Fortune is in the follow-up 342

Chapter 21: Group Recruiting: Holding Opportunity Events 343

Looking At the Best Types of Opportunity Events 344

Recruiting at Representative Events 346

Explaining the business model 346

Emphasizing the five needs direct sales fulfills 348

Sharing the three Ps: Products, programs, and profits 349

Encouraging them to make a decision 351

Planning and Staging Events 351

Part 7: Operating and Managing a Successful Business 355

Chapter 22: Meeting and Communicating 357

Attending Your Company’s Conference 358

Planning and Attending Successful Meetings 359

Motivation 360

Recognition 360

Information 362

Education 362

Socializing 363

Showcasing new products 363

Creating a culture of opportunity 363

Communicating with Your Leader and Your Team 364

Communicating with your leader 364

Communicating with your team 366

Chapter 23: Knowing Your Numbers and Managing Your Money Wisely 367

Capturing a Realistic View of Your Numbers 368

Using your numbers as motivation 369

Tracking all numbers, including social media 371

Keeping Track of Your Money 371

Getting Buy-In from Those Closest to You 372

Tracking Finances and Paying Yourself 373

Keeping your accounts separate 373

Giving yourself a payday 374

Watch Out for Overnight Success 375

Opening Your Eyes to Taxes 376

Withholding, refunds, and loaning the IRS money 377

Recognizing tax benefits of a home-based business 377

Part 8: The Parts of Ten 381

Chapter 24: Ten Benefits of Direct Sales 383

Increase Your Income 383

Have a Flexible Schedule 384

Be Your Own Boss and Work from Home 385

Foster Friendships and Relationships 385

Receive Incentives and Recognition 385

Develop Business Skills 386

Experience Personal Growth 387

Find Mentorship 387

Get a Discount on Products 387

Take Advantage of Tax Benefits 388

Chapter 25: Ten Mistakes to Avoid 389

Failing to Launch 389

Having Fear of Rejection 390

Failing to Set Goals 390

Lacking Commitment and Persistence 391

Prejudging Customers and Prospects 391

Not Treating Your Business like a Business 392

Lacking Focus 392

Skipping Training and Development 393

Neglecting Business Relationships 393

Depending on Friends and Family for Too Long 394

Index 395

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