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Direct Sales 2.0: Three techniques for increasing your productivity

Expert Author: Bob Letterman | Submitted: 2008-03-08 | Word Count: 541 words | Views: 40 view(s) [View Summary]
Bob Letterman
The direct selling industry is a huge contributor to economic growth in the United States. According to data published by the Direct Selling Association, over 50% of US adults report having purchased goods or services from a direct sales representative. Additionally, one in five American adults say they have been or currently are working as a direct seller.

Many of these individuals are attracted by the flexible work hours and the ability to develop personal business connections. Yet, relatively few direct sellers ever achieve truly substantial earnings. This is partly due to the time commitment that is required and the challenges in selling productively.

However, a number of new productivity capabilities ranging from web-based communication systems, to desktop sharing applications and free conference call solutions are most definitely making selling easier for direct sellers. This commentary look at three key areas in which direct sellers can boost their efficiency.

Tip 1: Use a newsletter customization application

For most direct sellers, e-mail is a key ingredient in maintaining relationships and prospecting new ones. We have moved well beyond the days of mere Outlook merge! New offerings by companies such as Constant Contact, MyNewsletterBuilder, and EmailLabs enable direct sellers to generate templates in which preconfigured content can be easily inserted.

This content could detail announcements of new product specifications, incentives for higher performance, updates on shipping schedules, etc. The main point is that these systems enable direct sellers to generate professional looking content using a fraction of the time that earlier methods required.

The more sophisticated offerings provide tracking capabilities. These tracking capabilities can show a range of data from the open rates for e-mails to the click-throughs on links. These services also typically manage the unsubscribe feature in order to facilitate compliance with spam regulations.

Tip 2: Use a free teleconference service

In the last five years, there have been literally dozens of companies launching free conference calling services. All of them work on the same basic principle: they provide you a PIN and a toll number to dial. If all participants dial the same number and enter the same PIN code, they are put into the call together. Active direct sellers can potentially save hundreds of dollars monthly by using such systems.

The newer services offer additional features relevant to direct sellers. Examples include call recording, listen-only dial in codes for training and education conference calls, and agenda archival. One example is Rondee.com, a conference call offering which enables web scheduling.

Tip 3: Use a desktop sharing application

Desktop sharing can be vitally important for the direct selling entrepreneur. Whether it's sharing a PowerPoint presentation illustrating the features and benefits of a new product or a spreadsheet showing the performance of various down-line members, desktop sharing can be very useful.

One could simply e-mail out the attachment or presentation to all participants. But a desktop sharing application enables the presenter to control the pace and presentation of everything. And more sophisticated applications such as those offered by WebEx or Yugma allow the presenter to switch control over to other members of the meeting.

Some direct sellers choose a best-of-breed strategy and use different systems for desktop sharing and conferencing. Increasingly, however, teleconferencing providers are moving to bundle desktop sharing functionality into their core product. Either way, direct sellers can benefit.

About the Author

Bob Letterman has frequently published commentaries on how online technology increases productivity. He contributed to the architecture of Rondee's free conference call service.

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