The thing I love most about the direct sales industry is that we get to make a difference in people’s lives.

I’ve been in direct sales for over 16 years. My business has offered me freedom from a job I didn’t love, the freedom to work around my 3 children (and be present for every important day and milestone), and the finances to enjoy a lifestyle we love.

That’s a lot to be excited about!

When I truly understood the gift of direct sales

And even though knew I loved this business and I knew I wanted to offer it to everybody, it didn’t hit me how awesome a direct sales business really is until my daughter was diagnosed with acute leukemia at 6. (*)

It was then that I understood just how much of a gift this business really is.

Because I was able to work from her hospital room and continue bringing in a good income for our family. In the kids’ cancer ward I didn’t meet any other mother who was able to continue their career….

These families had massive financial stress on top of the worries about their child.

Meanwhile, my business was a positive distraction and my team and my customers provided me (knowingly and unknowingly) with support. What precious gifts!

Offer the gift to as many people as you can

I think it’s our duty to offer the gift of our direct sales business opportunity to as many people as possible. And you don’t need to know what the gift might become for them – everybody enjoys different gifts.

For some the gift will be friendships, for others is guilt-free shopping or a family holiday. I’ve seen women use their business to leave abusive relationships. I’ve seen women discover their strengths as they progressed on the career path.

It’s so rewarding to offer the gift to someone and watch them grow and thrive in their business.

So next time you’re tempted to skip talking about the business opportunity, remember that all you’re doing is offering them a gift. Keep that image of the gift in mind – it’s amazing how mentally freeing it is to think of recruiting that way!

Party trick

At your next party or event, place a beautifully wrapped gift in the center of your display. When someone asks ‘what’s in the box’, you have the perfect opportunity to talk about the gift of the business and how it’s different for everyone.

Tell them that for some the gift is a new car, for some an entirely new career, for others a bit more room in the budget…it’s like a magic present!

Offer the gift of your business opportunity to as many people as possible, perhaps you can even think of yourself as Santa for the 18+

(*) My daughter is okay now. She beat the leukemia and is a picture of health!

Do the 5 to keep recruiting alive

The number 5 is very important when it comes to recruiting or sponsoring in you direct sales or party plan business. Why? There are 2 reasons:

5 Sponsoring Messages

How many times do you mention the career opportunity at your parties? Research into learning and human behavior has found that people need to hear something 5 times before it sinks in! Do you know what that means? If you only mention the business opportunity once in your direct selling party, the same guests would have to attend 5 of your parties before your recruiting message truly sinks in. Think about that for a moment…. You want to aim for at least 5 mentions (in different ways, you don’t want to sound like a broken record) throughout a party. There’s another reason why the number 5 is important: there are 5 fundamentals that you need to have in place so you can become an effective recruiter or sponsor.

5 Sponsoring Fundamentals

1. • Fill your diary with party bookings. If you’re worried about not getting enough party bookings, you’ll probably feel anxious about another consultant in your area. On the flip side, when you’re confident that you can always fill your diary with parties, you’ll be happy to sponsor a new team member! I’ve got some tips on how to keep your party bookings ticking over here and here.
   • Think about how you can make sure your parties are always fun. You’ll attract more  people to your team if they see how much fun the parties are and how much fun you’re having.
   • What do you love about your company? The more passionate you are about what you sell,  the company values and the difference you can make in people’s lives, the easier it ill be to attract new team members.
   • Always keep in mind that people come to this industry for different reasons. People might be interested in joining your team for a completely different reason than yours. Make sure you talk about a variety of benefits of being a direct sales consultant. That way you can appeal to a range of people. The most common reasons people join a party plan or direct sales company are: to earn extra money, to make new friends, to learn new skills, to have fun, to qualify for discounted products, or flexibility to work around family or other commitments.
   • When talking to a potential new team member, always keep in mind how the business would work for them. Find the ways your business can add value to their life.

A tacky little catchphrase that I kept in mind when I was working to make recruiting a habit in my business was: “Do the 5 to keep recruiting alive”.  Feel free to steal it

Have you ever heard of C.O.D.D? It’s a technique to use in your direct sales or party plan business to fish for potential new team members.

And luckily it doesn’t actually involve any cod fish.

I feel I should start with a confession: In my first two years as a direct salesperson I did not recruit a single new team member.

Not a single one.

Things changed after my first convention and learning about C.O.D.D. Learning to use  this technique helped me to grow into an international record holder within my company for sponsoring the most people in a single month.

C.O.D.D. stands for Compliment, Objective, Disclaimer, Date.

You can use this structure to casually arrange for a coffee catch-up with potential new team members or to sign someone up on the spot.

So let me walk you through it.

How to use the C.O.D.D structure in your direct sales biz

Compliment

You start the conversation with a compliment. It’s important that the compliment is genuine because people can smell a fake from a mile away. Also, you need to make the compliment fit the person. You can’t say the same tired line to everybody because people will talk to each other or may overhear your conversation where you say the same thing to everybody. Learn to see the good in people and compliment them on it.

At parties or direct sales events, I look for people who would make great team members and I tell them why. I say something like: “You’d make a fabulous consultant because…

• You were so passionate about our products. Everyone listened when you told them about your favorites!
• You are so warm and friendly. I think you managed to catch up with everybody at this party! You’re obviously a fabulous people person.
• You are the life of the party!

Objective

After your genuine compliment, you move straight to the objective before they even have a chance to respond to your compliment. Your objective could be to get them to take a recruitment information pack home or encouraging them to buy the business kit on the spot. I usually say something like: “I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it before, but…

• I’d love you to take home this information and have a read of it.
• The business kit is such amazing value so you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Disclaimer

The disclaimer is meant to put them at ease. You keep it casual and ensure they won’t feel like you’re putting the “hard sell” on them. Which you are not. I usually say something like

“Don’t worry, if it’s not for you I promise I won’t stalk you, but there’s no harm in finding out about it. If it’s not for you, you might actually know someone that it would be perfect for.”

Quick note: if your objective is to sign them up on the spot, you skip the disclaimer and go straight to the sign-up phase. You can say something like “Let’s go ahead and order you the kit. It’ll feel like Christmas when it arrives!” Then you move to set a date.

Date

In this phase you’re trying to set a date to meet them again. You can ask: “When is best for you to catch up for a chat about it and I can answer any questions you might have?” or something similar. When you’re trying to sign someone up on the spot you can ask something like “What’s best for you to have a gathering to let your friends and family know. A weekend or weeknight?”. Have your diary ready and try to get a firm appointment.

Let the passion for your direct sales biz shine through

The key to this process is to realize it’s a structure for effective conversations, not a script.

To make it work, you have to make it fit your personality and style. You have to find something real to compliment someone on, and you have to have real passion for your business. Authenticity and passion will always shine through and by using techniques like C.O.D.D. you can become more effective.

Authenticity and passion will always shine through….

To become fluent in using C.O.D.D., it helps to role-play it a few times. Perhaps you can practice with a friend, business buddy or family member before your next party or event so the conversation is smooth and natural. Once you’re confident you’ll see that your sponsoring chats become a lot more effective.

Now, go fish!

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Recruiting or sponsoring is a skill that you can learn, it’s not something you are born with. If you want to improve your recruiting skills to build your business, check out the Recruiting Masterclass. It’s jam-packed with ideas, strategies and tips to help you become a superstar recruiter in your own direct sales biz.