Direct Sales & Social Media

Oh, where do I begin?? People in direct sales and social media…they make me want to cringe! Not all of them, but a handful of them!

Now, before you start hating on me for hating on DS…I am IN direct sales. I sell for two different companies!!  I’ve sold for Jamberry Nails for almost 3 years now and Norwex for almost a year and let me tell you, I LOVE both companies that I sell for.  I love the way their treat their consultants, I love the financial bonus it provides for me and my family, and most importantly, I love the products that I sell…if I didn’t feel this way about either company, I’d drop it like a ton of bricks, but…people can trust me because I’m not selling 100% of the time!

Direct Sales is a balancing act.  You have to balance selling and not selling as to not push your family and friends away.  I also know how hard someone in direct sales has to work to make a profit!  Today, it seems like everyone is a consultant for something and there are a million and a half companies out there!  It is because of that that I have to be even more conscious to be careful not to push my friends and family away with my sales!  So, here are a few simple tips to remember.

1. Separate work & business.  Yup, I went there!  Nothing irks me more than having a Facebook friend or follow someone on Instagram and see more about their business than I do their family, work, etc.  Does that mean you can’t post anything business on your personal social media platforms?  Not in my opinion…it means make sure that the balance is more like 85%/15%…85% personal, 15% business…at a max!!  I even tend to push more to 90/10!  I’m not friends with you because you sell a wrap that’s supposed to make me skinny!  I’m friends with you because I’ve known you a long time and you have cute kids…I want to see more of that, not someone else’s belly!!
2. Using a Business Page or a Group – Obviously as someone who is in the DS business, I know how important social media is to our ventures!  Traditionally, we are busy moms, wives, and are trying to work “extra” to help provide for our family in one way or the other.  Thankfully, Facebook offers 2 great tools to do so without bombarding our family & friends with our business. By using a Facebook business page or a group, it allows those who want to follow your business and be kept “in the loop” to do so without Grandma thinking she has to buy another tote from you and then stash it right next to the necklace she bought from your cousins business.  Each of these features has positives and negatives, which will be left for another post, but using one of these can be a great tool for your business and to help you succeed!
3. Friends & Family Are Your Business – We all know that our friends and family are our best business audience right?  That’s why you’re posting that food container sale on your personal Facebook page several times a day, right?  So they see the sale and buy your products and thus making you money, right?  Well, what happens when those friends and family get tired of seeing your “selling posts” and decide to unfriend or unfollow you…or simply stop supporting your business?  It happens…I’ve done it!  I’ve unfriended friends because their personal Facebook page or Instagram feed had turned into their main selling ground.  So, if you don’t have the friends and family, you don’t have a business!!
4. Post One Time a Month – Yup, I’m going to go out on a limb and say keep your business posts on you personal page to one a month!  Don’t flood your timeline with sales and testimonies, flood it when pictures of those cute kids of yours and that cat!  That’s what people really want to see.  And when you find that balance, people will be more willing to buy from you!  They will see why (the kids in the picture) you work so hard to sell and they will want to support it!

Good luck!  Change up the way your doing sales and you just might see an increase!

Want one on one coaching to make social media even more effective for your direct sales business?  Contact me!

And if you’re interested, you can find my sales opportunities here:  Norwex & Jamberry!