5 Ways to Maximize Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a fabulous opportunity for your party plan or direct sales business.

I’ve listed five ideas that you can swipe to maximize your February!

Shower your customers with love

Declare February “The Month Of Love.” This month, pamper your customers and show them how much you appreciate them. Perhaps you can offer a gift with every order, free shipping, or a discount.

The gift doesn’t have to be big or expensive. For example, I recently made an online purchase and received a small heart-shaped soap as a gift. How cute is that for February? Another option is adding chocolates to every order to make your customers feel special.

Declaring February as your “Month of Love” allows you to promote your special deal all month, not just for Valentine’s Day.

I’ve created some tiles you can use to promote your Month of Love on Social Media. Please scroll down to grab them.

Shower your leaders with love

If you have a party plan or direct sales team, you can use Valentine’s Day as the inspiration for a “Share the Love” recruiting incentive.

Encourage your team to focus on promoting the business opportunity during February by sharing their love for their business. For example, leaders can offer heart-shaped jewelry, luxury gift boxes of chocolates, or other Valentine’s Day-appropriate incentives to teamies who recruit.

Bonus tip: wait until after Valentine’s Day to buy your incentive prizes when they’re on sale!

The direct sales opportunity is a gift. Please share it with as many people as possible in February.

Make Buying Easy

Make buying gifts super easy for your customers by creating gift bundles.

Gather a few of your products that make an excellent set, and add a gift that complements your bundle. Think of gift items like a bottle of wine, a tea towel, a candle, etc.

The best way to promote this is to buy some nice boxes or baskets and create a few different bundles at various prices. Use gift wrap, cellophane, and ribbons to make your gift look stunningly attractive.

The benefit of pre-purchasing and preparing your gift bundles is that you can offer last-minute gifts (as you don’t have to wait for the stock to arrive) and have something physical and pretty to promote.

Start taking them to your in-home parties a few weeks before Valentine’s Day to promote your bundles. Also, take some photographs and share your bundles on social media focusing on the men in your customers’ lives.

Depending on your products, you could even take these gifts to workplaces and offer men these gift packs for their loved ones.

Add Valentine’s to your display.

A great way to promote Valentine’s Day and spark the gift-purchasing impulse at your in-home parties or vendor events is to add some Valentine’s Day-themed items to your display.

Just as a window display is designed to entice people to enter the shop, your display attracts people to purchase products or book an event.

In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, add some lovely heart-themed props to your display to promote gifts.

Don’t forget Self-Love.

I want to expand the meaning of Valentine’s Day to include self-love. At your events and on your social media, encourage your customers to treat themselves to something special.

Self-care is vital for our mental health, so let’s make sure that people treat themselves in February, so they feel fabulous!

I hope these ideas sparked your creativity to make the most of Valentine’s Day. And I’m curious to hear what you’re doing in February to maximize the special occasion!

4 Keys to becoming a leader this year

Have you decided to strive for leadership in your direct sales or party plan business this year?

Maybe you are a leader already and want to help others become leaders.

Excellent. I have 4 essential steps toward leadership for you.

1. Have a clear vision

Ensure you know exactly what recruitment and sales are required to achieve your goal. Put it on paper and keep it where you’ll see it often.

Set a review date for your goals to keep yourself accountable and motivated.

Also, have a clear vision of what it means to achieve that goal. How will your life be different?

2. Get good at the basics

Have you ever heard the saying, “The speed of the leader is the speed of the team“? As a leader, you’ll need to be a role model for your team.

You don’t have to be the top seller or recruiter on your team, but you must show consistency in all aspects of your business!

3. Don’t wait until you have the title

Leadership is very much about who you are and what you do. You don’t need to have the title to behave like a leader. The sooner you act like a leader, the faster you’ll get there.

Some key leadership tasks you can start immediately:

recognize effort and achievements in your team;
regularly touch base with your teamies and support them in achieving their own goals;
aim to be their number 1 cheerleader, and they’ll be proud to be on your team!

4. Ensure you have a balance

A great work/life balance is critical. Not just for your own mental and physical well-being, but for your business too!

Start thinking about your life as one big magnet – an attraction marketing magnet. That way, current and new team members can see your awesome life and want that for themselves.

You need to balance work and income and have plenty of time for your family. That’s not just best for you but super attractive to others who want to strive for leadership.

If you want to learn more about ‘attraction marketing’ and how to draw people to you without being spammy, I’ve got just the thing for you: the Attraction Marketing Course for Direct Sellers. Check it out below!

3 Things That Stop a Team from Growing

How is your direct selling team doing? Is your team growing?

If you are working hard, but your team is not growing, and you feel like you’re not getting ahead, one of these three things might be holding you back.

1) Your team’s focus depends on your focus!

If your goal is to increase the size of your team, but you only mention sponsoring once at the start of the month, you’re not likely to inspire any growth.

To keep the team focused on sponsoring, you can offer regular training on sponsoring. Make sure you use a variety of training options such as Facebook Live, Zoom, webinars, or face-to-face sessions to cater to all your team members.

Another idea is to post regular tips in your team’s Facebook group to remind your team of the techniques that work and to keep them focused on sponsoring.

Also, create exciting recognition for team members that do recruit. You could feature them in a “My Story” section in a newsletter or on Facebook, you can create beautiful awards, can send postcards in the mail for a personal touch, can hold a Facebook Live, and shine a spotlight on all your high achievers.

What you recognize gets repeated, so you want to make a big deal of recruiting.

2) Discipline is a required trait for success!
This is not negotiable. If you’re inconsistent, your team will likely be inconsistent too.

For example, if you say you’re going to do a weekly recognition, but you only manage to do it once or twice a month, you won’t inspire your team.

Learn about 3 things that you might be doing that's slowing your direct sales team growth down.

Another example is canceling meetings. It’s understandable that you might want to cancel meetings or training sessions due to low numbers. But don’t do it! If your team expects meetings or training sessions to be canceled, why would they set aside the time to attend?

When I was establishing a team in a new area, I drove nearly 4 hours each way to run meetings and training sessions. I did this for two years. I regularly turned up to fewer than five people. But I ran my meetings and training sessions anyway and did the best I could for my small audience. Over time the numbers increased, and I built a strong team and fabulous leaders.

Whether you’re running face-to-face or online meetings, you might have to live with low attendance for a while. But if you persist and you are consistent, it will pay off.

3) Don’t just build a team. Build a community!
Is there a sense of community in your direct sales team? Grab the printable below to assess how your team is doing in terms of community.

If your team members feel connected and made welcome in your team, they’re more likely to stay and more likely to participate in challenges, training, meetings, etc. The more they participate and the happier they are with their direct sales tribe, the better they’ll perform.

Takeaway:

You will attract more team members if you are focused and consistent and build your team into a warm community!

Create an engaged and motivated direct sales team

Creating a team that’s engaged and motivated takes time and effort on the leader’s part. But it’s so worth it!

Your motivated leaders will, in turn, motivate their team members better. Your engaged team will want to strive for goals together to grow as a team and as individual businesses.

And it’s more fun and satisfying for you and your team too!

Below are a few things you can do to create an engaged and motivated direct sales team.

Challenges

When you set challenges, you’ll also need a reward. Think about what your team members would love and what is convenient for you to post (not too heavy) or get to them digitally (vouchers, gift cards, etc.).

When setting your challenges, you want to target something you want them to do more of in their direct sales business. For example, you might want to set a recruiting challenge, a Facebook party challenge, booking challenges, or sales challenges.

Besides the different aspects you can focus on, you also want to have challenges for all ‘levels’ in your team. For example, I have a challenge for people to keep their accounts open, but I currently also run a challenge for people striving for the next international trip. More about challenges here.

When I see that one of my team members is coasting and could do better, I might set them a personal challenge. Some of my teamies want to extend and appreciate setting a big goal. So I work with them individually and reward them when they meet the challenge.

Recognition

I recognize people who achieve a certain standard (for example, the different commission levels in my company) or recruit or have a certain number of parties. Some teams have a monthly Top 10 for recruiters or sellers, which can be very motivating!

Pin: Create an engaged and motivated direct sales team

But I also sometimes recognize an individual who’s put in a lot of effort or stepped out of their comfort zone. They may not have achieved the goal they’re aiming for just yet, but I want them to know I see the hard work they’re putting in and cheer them on.

When you do recognition, it’s essential to do it in many different ways. For example, you can do a team Facebook post, a fun Facebook Live, send certificates or trophies, postcards via the mail, or call someone personally to congratulate them.

I use all those methods!

Another fun thing to do is to start a ‘brag thread’ in your team group. And you allow them to brag about their achievements or step out of their comfort zone. It’s an excellent way for members to inspire and celebrate together – not just from you as a leader.

Loyalty

Loyalty is about recognizing what your team members do in their business and what’s happening in their lives.

I send cards and messages for significant moments like weddings, birth, graduating from studies, etc.

I want my team members to know how much I appreciate them and how each contributes to the team.

Goal Setting

Encourage your team to set their own goals. You can set up a Facebook poll to learn about their goals and keep track of them.

Rocket Ship Printable for Direct Sellers

You can follow up with a text or Facebook message to see how they’re going and how close they are to meeting their goal.

When they meet their goal, I congratulate them and recognize them for that!

I have created two printables for my team to use to track their own goals. It’s a ‘savings jar’ and a rocket ship that they can color in as they progress towards their goal. If you’re interested in providing these to your team, grab the printables below.

Spend your time wisely

You are probably just as busy as I am, so you want to spend your time wisely. The best way to do this with your team is to spend little time on your small players. Then invest more time in your ‘rising stars’ (people striving for the next level in the career plan) and your leaders.

It’s a bit of a tightrope: you want to create an engaged and motivated team, but you also need to guard your time.

Revitalize an inactive team

Sometimes teams lose their mojo. They grow stale and inactive. They’ve lost the spark.

Are you part of such a team? Or are you a leader with this problem?

Here’s the solution to kick-start a team into action: hold a mega party!

Mega parties will help an inactive team to get a lot of sales quickly, but more importantly, get bookings and potential new team members to get their business rolling again.

What’s a Mega Party?

Mega parties are large parties where multiple team members book tables that they are responsible for filling with guests. Sales and bookings are taken by the consultant who’s invited that guest.

Usually, one person (a team leader perhaps) runs the party while the team members at each table make sure they have relevant products, samples, and information available for the guests.

To make your mega party a success here are some tips:

Excite Your Team
A Mega Party will only work if your team is excited to make it a success. That means that if you’re the driver behind the party, you’ll need to be excited and put a little energy into getting your team behind the idea.

Lucky Door Prize
Who doesn’t like a Lucky Door Prize? Have each team member contribute a low-value product to create a Lucky Door Prize. Also, use some of the products as booking incentives or prizes for games during the party.

Fees
If you need to cover costs, you may need to charge a small fee. For example, you can use an online booking site such as Trybooking or Eventbee to let guests buy tickets. Or you can have your team members sell tickets for their tables.

You might think guests won’t want to pay to attend, but if you keep the fee low and the value of the party high, you won’t find it a problem. You can offer value in terms of discounts or complimentary products, but also consider make-overs, allowing guests to try out (new) products or informative demonstrations.

An advantage of charging a small fee is that guests that have booked are more likely to attend. You’ll find that cancellations and no-shows won’t be a big problem.

In the ticket price, I like to include a glass of champagne for each guest for that special party feeling.

Personal Sales
Mega Parties are a great use of your time as they not only reinvigorate your team, but you can make personal sales too. Make sure you keep a table for your guests so you can make some sales at the event too.

Other uses for Mega Parties

For new team members: New team members may lack the confidence or skills to secure bookings from their parties. They may not yet feel confident enough to discuss the business opportunity. Mega Parties are a fabulous tool to help them out. Not only will this help your new team members’ business, but they also get to watch you run a party and learn from you.
New catalog launches: A new catalog is a fabulous ‘excuse’ to hold a Mega Party. The attraction for guests is that they get to sample new products and have a look at the new catalog.
Fundraisers: Mega Parties are a great way to do a fundraising event. You could choose to donate a percentage of your profits or ticket sales. Just make it clear to your guests how you contribute to the charity.

To get started, call your inactive team members today to get them excited. Then get organizing!

Stop Your Coaching Chats from Rambling

Have you started coaching a team member? Are you finding that your coaching sessions are rambling on for too long? They are fun, but you can’t remember what you agreed? Do your coaching sessions end without an action plan?

Yes? You need to GROW!

GROW is an acronym for Goal, Reality, Options (and Obstacles), and Way forward. It’s a simple model that will help you structure your coaching conversations to prevent them from becoming long rambling chats that don’t result in anything. And as much as you might enjoy catching up with the person, you’re coaching, that’s a separate activity.

You must guard your time as your most valuable resource as a business person. And the best way to do this is to use a defined structure. As a bonus, you’ll find that the person you’re coaching will also get more value from a coaching call when using GROW.

Goal

Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound. To ensure it’s a SMART goal, ask questions like: “How will we know that the goal is achieved?” “When will we know the goal is achieved?” “How does this goal fit with overall career objectives?” By answering these questions, you automatically make it a SMART goal.

Reality

Questions like “What steps have you already taken towards this goal?”, “What was the result of this?” or “What is happening now (with whom? When? Where? How often?).” During this phase, obstacles and sometimes solutions present themselves. This then naturally leads to the next step.

Options (and Obstacles)

Once you have a goal and a picture of the current reality, you need to look at the options to achieve the goal. Help your team member to brainstorm but don’t do it for them. Asking questions like “What else could you do?”, “What if this obstacle was removed? What could you do then?” or “What do you need to stop doing to achieve this goal?”, “What are the advantages and disadvantages of that option?” or “What obstacles stand in your way?” will be helpful to get them started.

Way forward

From the previous brainstorm, some viable options or first steps should emerge. Now you help them to establish how they will achieve the goal. Use questions such as: “What will you do (and when?)”, “How will you keep yourself motivated?” or “When will you review your progress?” In this step, you also decide when to get in touch again to review the progress.

Groundhog Day

I have used the GROW model in my coaching conversations for nearly a decade. In the beginning, I used to tear my hair out as coaching sessions felt like the movie Groundhog Day. The goal was the same as last month, and so was the reality. And another month had gone by without any progress.

Now that I’ve learned how to use the model properly my time management and the results are so much better!

So although GROW is a great model to structure coaching conversations, there are three things to keep in mind to get the most out of it:

It’s super easy to slip into “expert mode” and tell them what you think they should do. However, if you do that, the person you’re coaching has no ownership over the process or the goals. This means they are not motivated to achieve the goals and do the work. So to ensure they own their goals and plans, you must let them come up with ideas. This also relieves you from being the expert with the magic answers.

Nurture them along the way. It’s important to frequently get in touch to keep people on track between coaching sessions. You could, for example, schedule a quick “power call” (3 to 4 minutes) to encourage them and see how they’re tracking. You can also use text messages or Facebook to check in with them. If you ask people to “keep you posted” and put the ball in their court, you won’t speak to them until the next session. However, if you take the initiative and check in with them, they feel valued and encouraged, and you keep them accountable. I found this makes a massive difference.
Coaching multiple people makes it even more important to improve your efficiency. Group people with similar goals and realities and do a group coaching session. Group calls save you time, and they also improve accountability and motivation. Bonus!

Once you learn how to use the GROW model, your coaching sessions will no longer ramble on forever without any results. You will find that the reality will keep changing as they grow and work towards their goals. Coaching sessions will not feel like Groundhog Day but become exciting as you can celebrate wins and set new goals, whether small and modest or big and hairy.

How to Motivate Everybody in Your Team

Motivating a team is an ongoing challenge but it’s also vital to your success.

So how do you keep your team inspired and engaged?

To cater to the different personalities in your team, it’s helpful to divide people into three categories: Action, Feeling or Fun.

This makes it easier to ensure that you cater to all three types of people in your team.

So let’s have a look at these categories:

Action People

Action people are often your high achievers. They plan, commit and succeed. However, if you don’t cater to them in your communications and recognition, they will quickly lose interest.

Feeling People

These are the people who need time to reflect. They are considerate of others and often make the most nurturing and welcoming team members.

Fun People

Your Fun People really show their enthusiasm. They’re often very creative and can provide the social ‘glue’ in a team.

How to cater to your Action, Feeling and Fun people

Suggestions for Action People

They thrive on recognition. The more public you can make it, the better
They love compliments
They often thrive on challenges with a deadline
Delegate tasks to your Action People, they like being thought of as valuable and important
Many Action People like to present to a group, so you could let them help you run a meeting or training

Suggestions for Feeling People

Ask them how they feel about doing a task or setting a goal. They typically don’t like to be pushed out of their comfort zone
When coaching them, keep in mind they need time to reflect
Recognize small things they might think you haven’t noticed
Emphasize their value in welcoming and developing new team members
Recognize their efforts, not just achievements. For example, acknowledge when you know they’ve stepped out of their comfort zone

Suggestions for Fun People

Your Fun People make fabulous ‘social directors’. Make use of this when organizing special events
Fun people are often very creative with their displays, the team will appreciate their ideas
Seek help from Fun People to organize food or music at meetings
These teamies respond well to a positivity award
When working with Fun People, focus on the fun they’ll have as a result of achieving a goal or moving up the career ladder

With a bit of thought and attention, you’ll be able to cater to all the different types in your team

In addition, it will help you to create an upbeat, positive and inclusive culture in your team where everybody feels valued for who they are. This, in turn, will help to keep them engaged and motivated in their direct sales biz.

Want to become an interactive and entertaining recruiter?

How happy mail can grow your direct sales biz

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given in business (and life) is that people might not remember what you say, but they’ll remember how you make them feel.

I’ve always kept this philosophy in mind as I’ve built my multi-million dollar direct sales empire.

One of the most powerful ways I’ve applied this philosophy to my biz is what I call ‘happy mail’. The intention is to make people feel happy, valued, and recognized.

Originally all the happy mail I sent was via the post. It’s so rare to get anything but bills via the post these days, so receiving something fun in the letterbox is a delightful surprise and can lift someone’s day.

I used to love receiving handwritten postcards or letters in the mail growing up, and now it’s a rarity that it’s become a powerful gesture.

Snail mail or messages?

However, as my business grew and became global, that personal touch wasn’t as scalable as I’d have liked. I still send 30 to 50 bits of mail per month, but now I’ve extended the concept to include virtual.

Remembering my philosophy that the most important job in my business is to make people feel good, I’ve decided that ‘happy mail’ can also be virtual. But I ensure the messages are personal, genuine, and heartfelt. I send messages via email, WhatsApp or Messenger every week. The messages are always unexpected and very feel-good in content.

They are well-received and a powerful way to help my direct sales business be successful.

These days, most of my happy mail is to my team, but I still make sure I acknowledge and brighten the day of my loyal personal customers. Because that’s how you build a loyal customer base in the first place!

To make the process easier for me and to keep track of things, I created a tracker. I set a daily goal for posts and messages to send, and the tracker helps me to keep this as a business habit and helps me to reach a variety of people with my sparks of joy. I keep 2 trackers, one for my team and one for my customers. Download an example below.

I also keep a box of postcards stocked and ready to be used. If I notice that a customer or team member has a special event (often on social media), I am ready to acknowledge the occasion. I always have engagement, wedding, graduation, sympathy, new baby, and congratulations cards available.

I have one particularly loyal customer who will never forget that I was one of only 3 who sent her an engagement card. I also have a very appreciative team member who won’t forget I was the only person who sent her a sympathy card when her beloved horse died.

Always keep in mind that we’re in the relationship business. Acknowledging big happenings in people’s lives is important to strengthen your connections. And it makes you feel good too!

When you’re thinking about happy mail for your team, remember that it doesn’t always have to be about recognizing top achievers. Also, look for people who’ve put in an enormous effort or stepped out of their comfort zone. Perhaps acknowledge and thank people for contributing to your events or people who are positive and helpful on your team pages.

The opportunity to make a positive difference and have an impact on someone is plentiful when you approach your business with a grateful, happy heart.

Let me know what you send out in the comments as ‘happy mail’!

How to plan an incentive challenge for your direct sales team

As a direct sales leader with a team, it’s a good idea to offer your own incentives and challenges for your team. If used well they can be hugely beneficial for your business and your teams’ businesses.

Unfortunately, if you don’t use incentives well, it’s a waste of time, effort and money!

So let’s talk about how to plan and run a great incentive challenge for your direct sales team.

How to plan an incentive challenge for your direct sales team

Make the most of company incentives

If your party plan or direct sales company is already offering an incentive, there is no need to add additional rewards for reaching the same goal. Instead put effort into driving the company offer. Focus on recognition for those who have achieved the company’s incentive and encourage those who are close to reaching it.

Ideas:

Do a Facebook Live as soon as the incentive starts to spread enthusiasm and tips
Post tips in your team group and refer to earlier training or posts that are relevant now
Help your team out by creating some social media images for them to share in their customer groups and on their pages
Shout-outs to people who’ve reached the incentive (posts / Lives)
Posts which tag people who are really close to encourage them to get over the line (and hopefully the rest of your team will join in the encouragement and act as cheerleaders)
Ask people who achieve a company incentive to post in your team group. This adds excitement and motivation for your whole team – it’s social proof that the incentive is exciting and something to work for. You can even offer some small prizes to everybody who’s posted about their achievement (a small easy to post prize or credit on online store, for example).

What behaviors are your targeting with your incentive?

Think about what you want to achieve with your incentive, which direct sales behaviors do you want to drive? You might be looking for more recruiting, more sales, more active team members, etc.

Ideas:

An incentive for
- booking X amount of parties (above the average in your company or team)
- attending markets, vendor events, fetes and fairs
- recruiting X number of new people in a month
- selling X amount during a period
- booking X number of Zoom or Facebook parties (especially in lockdowns)

Run an incentive for a combination of business behaviors that will help (new) consultants by creating a bingo card. When someone gets a bingo they get a prize. You can include behaviors such as:
- contacting X people in a week
- doing a Facebook live on a product
- scheduling entertaining and informative content for their social for the next month
- listening to a direct sales podcast for inspiration and motivation
- finding a business buddy in the team to keep each other motivated and accountable
- refresh party themes and announce in a Live

Who in your direct sales team are you targeting?

Think about who in your team you are targeting with your incentive. If you offer a prize for the top seller over a certain period and everybody in your team already knows who is most likely to win that prize, that’s a turn off.

Knowing that a certain top seller is probably going to win that sales challenge will not motivate anybody – not even that particular person!

A top seller, top recruiter or top party booker incentive only works if you have a few people at a similar level that will work hard to get the prize and recognition. If you have a few people like that, an incentive only for the number 1 will stimulate a surge of activity.

Ideas:

Offer prizes for the top 3 instead of just the number 1.
Offer one or more prizes for people who reached a certain level. For example everybody who reaches $400 in sales will go in the draw for a prize.
Combine the above two ideas to have an incentive that drives all levels in your team.
Offer a prize for the winner of the challenge and the next 9 will go in the draw for another prize to encourage people to strive to be in the top 10.

You don’t have to run an incentive for your whole team

Targeting specific segments in your team might be more productive than running a challenge for your whole team.

For example, if your goal is to get inactive team members going again, select a smaller group within your team for a special challenge. Make sure they know you’ve only chosen 5 or 10 team members (or however many you’ve chosen) for this exclusive incentive. Then set a prize for everyone who achieves it.

This works well because if they haven’t been active in a while, they now have a real chance to win a prize while the other incentives mentioned in this article won’t motivate them. When direct sellers have been inactive for a while, they assume they won’t achieve whatever challenge you’ve set and that other team members will get it instead. It’s easier to do nothing than to get into action!

By creating a special incentive for them that’s achievable, they are more likely get motivated and energized to get back into their direct sales business.

Tips:

Look at your team members who have been inactive for a while in your company’s portal or business hub. Select them based on a metric (haven’t made sales in the last 2 months, for example)
Or, select people in your team that you know that need a push
Find some attractive prizes they actually want to strive for, not just products
Set a challenge that’s achievable perhaps a sales amount that’s 1 average party
Ask for a few goals to reach the incentive, such as a sales amount plus at least 2 party bookings. This will help them move forward beyond the incentive
Provide some training for them, perhaps a Zoom coaching call to get them started again

Offer career plan-based incentives

Sometimes you want to push people in your team to move up the career ladder. An extra incentive for people to step up might help them to push a little harder. This incentive works best at the lower levels of the career plan.

Ideas:

Link your incentive to the name of the career title. For example if your company has a silver and a gold level, it’s the perfect opportunity to offer gold or silver prizes (gold sparkly pens, silver drink bottles personalized with their name, gold or silver jewelry, etc.)
Offer training/coaching (Zoom meeting) for people who want to achieve the incentive
Ask other leaders in your team to participate by contacting the people in their mini teams that would be in the running for the incentive
Every time someone achieves the incentive, do massive recognition not just for the new career plan title but also that they’ve won a prize
Tag people in a post encouraging those who are close to achieving the challenge

Growing your team or encouraging kit-napping?

When offering recruiting or sponsoring incentives, you’ll have to consider whether you offer the incentive for joining or activation of a new team member.

I recommend offering the incentive to people who have new people that activate according to the rules of your direct sales company.

How to plan an incentive challenge for your direct sales team

This not just avoids people encouraging others to join just for the kit (kit-nappers) but also neglect of newbies. You don’t want to encourage your team to just recruit for the incentive without any plans to help the new team members get started in their new direct sales biz.

Tips:

Keep the ‘clauses’ to a minimum, so use your company’s definition of activation to keep things simple
Run some training for your team on how to get their new team members started

Beware of the incentive pitfall

Although incentives and challenges are excellent tools to motivate your team, there’s one pitfall to beware of: if you over-invest in incentives and prizes, that can turn people off leadership.

Team members thinking about leadership might worry that it looks overwhelming or too expensive. That would demotivate them from striving for leadership.

It’s a fine line to walk, but I’m sure that by putting some thought and planning into your challenges and incentives you can achieve fabulous results in your team!

Grow your team with an elevation pipeline

An ‘elevation pipeline’ is essential if you’re a direct sales leader and you want to grow your organization.

The ‘elevation pipeline’ is the path your team members are on in their journey to leadership.

You want people at all different levels in your team so you want to ‘fill’ that elevation pipeline.

Far too often I see leaders get into trouble when one strong team member elevates to leadership themselves. Then their sales no longer count in the leader’s central team anymore which leaves a sudden gap.

If you have only one strong leg in your team, it puts you at risk of this happening to you. To prevent this you want to work on a healthy elevation pipeline.

How to build an elevation pipeline for your direct sales biz

I recommend dedicating time each day to coaching people with an aim to moving them up to the next career level.

I use a roster and allocate the same day every week to the different levels to keep it all manageable for myself. A coaching roster could look something like this:

Monday – New consultant coaching
Tuesday – People who want to start recruiting and grow their biz
Wednesday – People who already have a couple to team members but now want to find more
Thursday – People who are close to elevating to leadership
Friday – Existing leaders in your downline

You might only have one or two people at some of the levels and no one at some others. But your aim is to work towards having people at all these levels – this is your ‘elevation pipeline’ and it ensures you continue to have a strong and thriving business.

Grow your direct sales organization with an 'elevation pipeline'.

Don’t make the mistake many leaders make of concentrating all your energy on only one or two of these levels in your business.

You need to keep pushing people up from the bottom – from brand new party plan consultants to consultants building a team, and finally encouraging them to leadership.

Elevated leaders come out of your ‘pipeline’ at the top, and you keep working with them to strengthen their business and your organization.