mary kay
How to do a Turkey Trot
Turkey Trots are one of the coolest things EVER during November, and you need to get a jump on the details NOW!
So if you’ve been around direct sales for awhile, chances are you know all about the Turkey Trot! The idea is that you get 6 people to collect $100 in orders. Then you submit as one big party and divide up the hostess benefits, right? Most of us are experts at this. But if you’re new, it can be very confusing. So to help out our newer consultants, and make sure they can be just as successful as the pros…I made this quick training video in order to show our newer consultants just how to run a Turkey Trot!
But I BET…I can show some old dogs some new tricks too…so don’t think you got this down old dogs!
Throughout the year, they will be named all different kinds of things according to the season or holiday, but the concept will always be the same!
- Snowman shuffle
- Reindeer romp
- Cupid shuffle
- Boo bags
- Summer 6 pack
- Firecracker frenzy
- The name may be different, but the concept is exactly the same!
Watch this QUICK VIDEO to explain how to do one:
And why on Earth would you want to do this?
Let me tell you a little turkey story…
Once there was this customer. She was too scared to commit to collecting an entire party by herself. She wasn’t confident her friends would support her. So she came across this crazy nut job of a consultant, who was offering prizes for collecting HALF of a party. So she decided to give it a try. Because even though her consultant is nuts, she’s kinda fun and it couldn’t be that bad to collect $100 in orders, right?
And BAM!
Just like that…you got her to book a party. You helped her overcome a fear of direct sales that she didn’t even know she had. And now you have a lifelong hostess and happy customer. Along with lots of new gobble gobble friends of hers that want to try next time 🙂
The End.
Melissa Fietsam
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Booking Idea: Host a RESTAURANT Party!
Have you ever done a RESTAURANT Party??
This is so much fun and so easy to do!
I recently went to one held by another direct sales company (at an Applebees Restaurant) and was SHOCKED at how well it was going for her!
I am a people-person, so I started conversations with the other guests there and they were talking about what a great idea this restaurant party was because there was no “sales pitch” and they could come and go as they pleased, and could eat dinner or get drinks if they wanted to! How awesome is that??
This consultant basically had 2 parties going on at the same time, with 2 different hostesses.
She didn’t even have it in a back room or anything, her party was at 4 tables near the back of the restaurant, but still in the dining room. One table in the middle had a simple product display. So what do the hostesses love about it? Well, you know me, I totally asked them! They said they loved being able to host it somewhere NOT at their home, where they didn’t have to clean or cook, or kick out the hubby and kids for the night! It more like a Girls Night Out where people stop by during a 2-3 hour time frame. This restaurant offered 1/2 price appetizers during a certain time period, so the hostesses each ordered a few for their individual tables. When the guests came in they sat down for a bit with their hostess, had some appetizers, maybe got themselves a drink, checked out the product display, grabbed a catalog, asked questions, placed product orders and left (or hung out)! Fast and simple! In fact, it turns out that most of them were actually on their way home from work, so they just stopped by on their way.
Top 5 reasons to host parties at a restaurant:
1. Free or cheap venue (especially if you hold it in the regular dining room)
2. Open house style, people come and go as they please!
3. Food — potential 1/2 price appetizers, drinks and hostess can buy or guests can buy themselves
4. Super easy for the hostess — no cooking, cleaning or kicking out family
5. Perfect “girls night” feel
This is a great out-of-the-box booking idea, something different.
What have you go to lose? Choose your favorite restaurant, I am thinking a local Mexican place margarita specials is gonna be my go-to place! Who wouldn’t want to come to that?? 😉 Why not start by just hosting your own party at the restaurant? In fact, maybe you book one every month during the first week of the month to share new products, specials, etc and invite your entire customer group and friend/acquaintance circle to your local Girls Night Out event.
Don’t forget to join DIRECTLY SOCIAL on Facebook for more tips and tricks!
Melissa Fietsam @DirectlySocial
Summer Vendor Events
Summers are just crawling with lots of awesome local vendor table opportunities.
People are out and about and you can really take advantage of the inexpensive, outdoor vendor tables at fairs, community festivals, art shows, wine festivals, carnivals and more!
I have been to more than my fair share of events over the last 10 years and I’m STUNNED at the vendor table set ups many times. It’s like people just decided that morning, “Hey! I think I will go set up a booth today!” They’re messy, overcrowded displays that honestly look like yard sale tables! Let’s talk about 3 important steps when it comes to planning for a booth event!
1. Design with Purpose:
When you are talking about your booth layout, you need to design with purpose.
How much space do you have?
What do you want to have happen in that space?
Do you want a U-shape where customer physically “enters” your booth space?
Or do you want to have one single table out front?
Chairs or no chairs?
How many people can be in/at your booth at one time?
Where will you take orders?
Where does the excess stock and the carrying tubs go?
You need to think this all through long before you are at the event. I have been so many vendor events before where I completely skip over a booth because how they have it set up does not work, it is not welcoming and it is just awkwardly set up. Draw it out in advance or better yet, set it up in advance in your basement or office so you can get a good look at it and what you are thinking, sometimes you just need to “try it on” and see if it fits, kinda like that outfit you thought was amazing until you actually tried it on in the dressing room. What you think looks good in your head doesn’t always look good once you try it, right? Take the time to make this right!
2. Decorate with Intention:
People are attracted to your vendor table by what they see when they first glance at the table. People will judge and decide whether they will approach your table in the first 3 seconds of seeing it. You need to really UP your decor game. Spend some time researching tablescapes because that is basically what you are building here.
Every inch of your tablescape (and your booth as a whole) needs to work together and be visually stimulating. Pick a theme for your table. For example, this summer you could do a Fun in the Sun theme and feature a large beach towel as your tablecloth, sand buckets to hold catalogs, etc. Think outside of the box, stroll down the summer aisle at the Dollar Store and get creative!
3. Dress for Success!
Anyone who knows me know that I am not a dress up girl! I like to be totally comfortable, you will never catch me at a vendor event in a dress or even in professional dress because it is not in my personality, but you will always find me dressed for success. I ALWAYS wear logowear like it is a uniform when I do my events. I want people to know what company I am with as soon as they see me, whether they are coming to my booth, or if they see me out and about at the event.
Just like people judge your table before they approach it, trust me, they are pre-judging you too. Fix your hair, put on a little make up and be ready to meet and greet everyone you see! And let’s be honest, it’s not just them judging us, we tend to pre-judge them to, we all do it!! Make sure you’re dressed for success and you’re approachable and smiling! It seems sad that I even have to write about this part, but like I said, I have been a part of many, many vendor events and I have seen more bedheads and just-slept-in-this outfits than I care to admit.
This blog post was inspired by a recent vendor event where the entire event felt very bland and boring, and I got the impression that the guests at the event felt the same way. People were just kinda wandering around, glancing at booths. I was the most popular booth at the event, which is great for me, but it made me sad to see so many guests just buzz by the other tables without really stopping.
BONUS TIP:
Have FOOD at your booth. Whether it’s a bowl of candy, cookies, popcorn, I don’t care. Have something that will attract people. And KIDS. How hard would it be to print out some coloring sheets and throw a box of crayons in a bowl for kiddos?
And don’t be boring. If you’re doing a theme (cause you should be), relate it to the theme. Do you want to be remembered for boring mints? Or do you want to be remembered for handing out Pop Rocks with a sticker that says “(insert business) ROCKS”. Your coloring sheets for the kids, relate it to your theme. Do something to stand out from the crowd. Crazy sells.
Next vendor event I have, I bringing a megaphone. And anyone who shouts “I love (insert business) gets $5 off their order that day. Why? Because it’s INSANE. And HILARIOUS. And the fun people will DO IT! And when they do, guess what? Everyone will turn around and LOOK at my booth to figure out what the fuss is all about. They’ll wonder why we’re over there having fun and laughing. And they’ll be next.
Have a great week everyone! What is YOUR favorite thing to do at a vendor event? Tell us below!
Melissa Fietsam @DirectlySocial
10 Ideas to ROCK Your JULY!
I am soooo ready for July! Breakout the corn on the cob, potato salad and S’MORES!!
I live for cookouts and grillin’ and all things red, white and blue! And since hubby does most of the grillin’ at our house, I am off dinner duty most nights! WOO HOO! “Honey, make me some CHICKEN!”
July is an extremely important month when it comes to preparing your success for the fall months.
It is much easier to MAINTAIN a business through the summer than to completely restart a business from square one in the fall. Trust me on this, been there, done that! NEVER AGAIN!
So here are 10 Ideas to ROCK your JULY:
#1 National Postal Workers Day Day (7/1)
Show some LOVE to your mailman or mailwoman on this day! Those are some of the hardest working people I have ever met. They are out there walking and working, so matter the weather. On days when I wouldn’t dream of leaving my house, I still get mail, isn’t that crazy? Those people never stop working and since I order A LOT online, I need to show my mail carrier some EXTRA LOVE. And how will I show him some extra love on July 1st? I will be sure to give him a free product (with a mini catalog inside) filled with snack and water bottles and a gift card to a local fast food restaurant!
And make sure you use appropriate hashtags and post a picture of it on your social media platforms. This is a great way to show off your product and pay it forward at the same time.
#2 – “Fast 4 on the 4th” (7/4)
This is a fun idea for a special promotion you can run on the 4th of July only. When someone orders 4 items from you, they get a free gift! You can have your graphic say something like “Purchase 4 items from me on the 4th of July and get a FREE gift!”, then be sure to put a couple product ideas on the graphic too!
#3 “4 for $40” Sale (7/4)
This is a 24 hour sale on the 4th of July only. Showcase some of your lower priced products and how they can get an awesome 4 for $40 deal, you can make a special flyer or image with the 4 for $40 products on it. This would also be a super easy Hostess-on-the-Go party where she just sells from the flyer!
#4 Support the Troops Fundraiser/Product Raiser
July is an awesome month to do something special for the troops. You could create a fundraiser and donate your profits to an organization that supports the troops, or you can use specific products from your company to donate to the troops. The customers buy products and donate them to the troops through you! You can use your commission to purchase care items to go in those too!
#5 – Run Your Own “Christmas in July” Sale
Choose 8-12 products to put on “sale” and create a cool flyer! People are naturally drawn to the word SALE (aren’t we all!!) and who doesn’t love a good Christmas in July sale!
#6 Change your FB Customer Group cover photo to something more “July” themed
This is an easy way to update your group and get a post into your group member’s news feeds. Make sure you are using that prime real estate of the cover photo space as best you can. Make sure you are not always just featuring product, be sure to include your smiling face sometimes! And use the group photo size 1920×1080 for optimal visualization of your awesome banner and details! For our American friends, think flags, red/white/blue, fireworks!
#7 Update your Facebook Business Page cover photo to something more July-like and add a FB Frame!
Make sure you are updating your Facebook Business Page with the season, you definitely don’t want a cover photo featuring Christmas items up when it is July, unless you are doing a Christmas in July sale. Your cover photo is like your storefront window for your business, make sure it is attractive and in-tune with the season. Use a filter and add a summer frame, jazz it up! I saw lots of great frames on Facebook! Have you ever added a frame to your profile picture before? Just Click on your profile picture (update profile picture), then click on Add Frame at the top, then search for “4th of July” or whatever else you want and add a frame! Easy peasy!
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#8 Post engaging content the whole month of July!
Your followers and customers LOVE great content that makes them want to engage. I love to do trivia with my group, they’re all over it. Find yourself some fun July trivia and ask a new question every couple days and see what people say! They just can’t help themselves, they all want to prove they know the answer too, so they comment even when the trivia question is already answered! LOL!
I found this site below and will be making some engaging content of my own inspired by these trivia questions: http://www.imom.com/printable/fourth-of-july-trivia-game/#.WycsVadKhPY
#9 Create a JULY Ideas Pinterest Board and share it
Head over to Pinterest and create a theme board specifically for July and pin what you love for July (tips, recipes, crafts, DIY, outdoor cleaning, etc). Once you have a minimum of 10-15 pins (I am sure you will find far more that you love), share the link to your Pinterest board in your customer group, your FB business page, your personal timeline, your customer newsletter, etc. Think all things summer and share those cute tips and ideas to get people sharing your content. Share a tip a day or at least a few a week! Share it everywhere! Invite them to follow you while they are over on Pinterest!
#10 Host a Fireworks Frenzy!
Are you familiar with the Turkey Trots and Reindeer Romps? The Fireworks Frenzy works the exact same way! You get 6 people to collect $100 in orders, they start collecting on July 1st through 15th. You put all the orders in as one single party and split the hostess benefits/gifts. You can run special promotions like they get an extra gifts for being the first to turn in their order, for have $200+ in orders, etc. You can run one group the 1st-15th and another group on the 16th-31st!
What fun July ideas do you have?
Melissa Fietsam @DirectlySocial
10 Ideas to ROCK Your June
Hellooooooo summmer!!! I am so excited summer is finally here and I can spend some quality time with my kiddos, making memories & making messes!
We have a whole summer bucket list that I cannot wait to get started, including a Donut Trail here in Cincinnati where you visit 12 different donut shops, they stamp your passport and you get a free t-shirt at the end! We are gonna be in donut heaven! (Local friends – check it out here: https://www.gettothebc.com/donut-trail)
Who else is excited to get their summer on? Summer is an amazing season of the year, but you need to keep in mind that it is just a season, and if you don’t work it right, your business could totally wilt or die this summer if you don’t continue to water, nurture and plant new seeds. You will have no fall business if you don’t keep your summer business moving!
So here are 10 Ideas to ROCK your June:
#1 National Donut Day (6/1) – Idea #1
Hello?? This might just be the best day of the year, right? Be sure to be one of the first announce National Donut Day to your followers so they hear it from you first. Schedule your post using CinchShare to hit your FB business page at 6:00am, then turn around and SHARE that post from your public business page to your Customer VIP group and your personal timeline on Facebook so you will be the first in their timeline to tell them what day it is, and they will share your post with all their friends!
#2 – National Donut Day (6/1) – Idea #2
You can even take it one step further and do a little research about who has free donuts on that day, I know that Krispie Kreme and Dunkin’ Donuts both do something that day! Be a resource and your followers will definitely share your posts!
#3 National Donut Day (6/1) – Idea #3
Do a “Donut Drop” at a local business or office! This is something you will need to start working on this week. You make a post to your FB Business Page, your Customer Group and your timeline asking if anyone works in an office that would like to host a Donut Drop party with you. You will bring a dozen or so donuts, catalogs and order forms to her office and she can do a catalog party with donut bribery for her co-workers! You can do with with cookies on another day (Cookies and Catalogs), but just imagine if you lined up 2-3 Donut Drop parties on June 1st! It is a Friday (payday!) and you can close the parties a couple days later. You could have a couple thousand dollars in sales the first week of June just from the Donut Drops! Take lots of pictures and share them on social!
#4 National Donut Day (6/1) – Idea #4
“Do-nut” miss the opportunity to really play up this day in your social media posts. You can share products and specials that your followers “donut” want to miss out on, or “you donut know how excited I am about this new product”. Or letting them know that they are the “icing on your donut”, “I donut know what I would do without you”, “I like you a HOLE lot”, “hope your day is sprinkled with fun”. You can have so much fun with this day and your followers will have a blast because it is fun and different! Run a contest and give away a gift card for donuts!
#5 Change your FB Customer Group cover photo to something more “June” themed
This is an easy way to update your group and get a post into your group member’s news feeds. Make sure you are using that prime real estate of the cover photo space as best you can. Make sure you are not always just featuring product, be sure to include your smiling face sometimes! And use the group photo size 1920×1080 for optimal visualization of your awesome banner and details!
#5 Update your Facebook Business Page cover photo to something more June-like
Make sure you are updating your Facebook Business Page with the season, you definitely don’t want a cover photo featuring Christmas items up when it is June But I cannot tell you how many times I see this on some of your business pages. Your cover photo is like your storefront window for your business, make sure it is attractive and in-tune with the season. Use a filter and add a summer frame, jazz it up!
#6 Beach Bucks
Remember Cupid Cash from February and the Bunny Bucks in April? You can totally summer-ize it up by allowing your customers to “earn” $1 in Beach Bucks for every $10 they spend with you in June. The Beach Bucks are only redeemable with you and only redeemable in the following month, in this case July. So this idea gets you sales this month and potentially next month too. If you want to move some cash and carry products, you could easily change the coupon to where they can only redeem the Beach Bucks toward something you have cash and carry and then payout the difference. For example, if they have $10 in Beach Bucks and the item is $31, they give you the $10 in Beach Bucks and pay the $21 difference. That’s a sale for June AND a sale for July!
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#7 Happy Mail – Send crazy fun goodies in the mail to upcoming Hostesses and team members
Imagine what the response will be when you a flip flop or beach ball to a Hostess in the mail (no box or envelope) letting her know she will FLIP over the Hostess special this month, or you cannot wait to have a BALL with her at her party! Walk around your local dollar store, pick things up, ask yourself “Can I mail this?” and figure out a fun pun or play or words that you can feature with your happy mail! If this mailing stuff without a box or envelope freaks you out, go and and box it up, but I will tell you it is far more fun to get sill random stuff in the mail without the envelope. They REMEMBER this and they remember you (and they talk about you and share on social media)!
#8 Share summer recipes, crafts and tips with your followers
One of the best things you can do to have your followers engage with you is to curate good seasonal content that your followers will love and share! Think all things summer and share those cute tips and ideas to get people sharing your content. Share a tip a day or at least a few a week!
#9 Create a June Ideas Pinterest Board and share it
Head over to Pinterest and create a theme board specifically for June and pin what you love for June (tips, recipes, crafts, DIY, outdoor cleaning, etc). Once you have a minimum of 10-15 pins (I am sure you will find far more that you love), share the link to your Pinterest board in your customer group, your FB business page, your personal timeline, your customer newsletter, etc. Share it everywhere! Invite them to follow you while they are over on Pinterest!
#10 Summer-ize Your Vendor Booth
Summers are a great time to do vendor booths at fairs and festivals. People completely pre-judge your vendor booth in about 3 seconds. Think about ways you can completely “summer-ize” your table and display to make it attractive to those scanning the room or just passing by. Be sure to use colors that go well together, maybe just 2-3 colors. Keep things simple and clean! I have seen amazing vendor tables in the summer, using beach towels as tablecloths, pool noodles as jewelry bumps for bracelets and watches, sand buckets to hold Hostess Packets and goodies! You can really have a lot of fun and catch a lot of attention with a seasonal table.
What fun June ideas do you have?
Melissa Fietsam @DirectlySocial
You’re FIRED!
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Think what you want to about Donald Trump, but I will tell you, I used to LOVE his show The Apprentice and his infamous “You’re Fired!” at the end of each episode.
I loved the urgency and intensity of the show and loved to see how people perform under pressure and rise to the occasion! People can do amazing things under pressure and when they feel the urgency to get things done. For me, it gives me sheer adrenaline to work on risky projects and try things I have never done before in my business. I never want to get to a place of complacency or apathy in my business, where I just don’t care to work for it anymore…where I’m content to sit on my butt and watch the world around me. That is not me, that is not in my nature, and it shouldn’t be in yours either!
I get it, some weeks and months are harder than others and sometimes you just don’t have anymore gas in the tank. But let’s get real! Most of the time you’re honestly just being the worst boss ever in your own business! You’re not getting things done, you’re making excuses, you’re piddling around doing things that bring no real value or $$$ into your business. You’re “playing business” and not actually working a business.
Businesses MAKE money, hobbies COST money!
I am going to share with you a little tidbit that I heard many years ago in my direct sales career, so long ago that I can’t actually remember who originally said it, “You many need to fire yourself from the business. Yep, that’s what I said, sometimes you might just need to give yourself the old heave-ho!”. Think about this scenario; if you worked at a company and you had an employee performing the way you are performing in your business right now, would you keep them on the payroll? If yes, awesome! But I would venture to guess that most of you would say NO WAY! You would fire you in a heartbeat — so do it now! Yes, I am giving you permission to completely fire yourself from your own business!
Even for me, there are some months where I just royally screw up my business. I get comfortable in my day to day, I do the mundane business tasks with no sense of urgency and basically just “exist” in the business and perform like a lifeless robot. I need fired, I deserve to be fired! So every now and then… I DO fire myself completely from the business. I fire myself on a Friday for being ineffective and not doing what I know needs to be done for my job to grow my business. Then I will spend the weekend thinking about what I know needs to be done and coming up with a plan to make that happen. Then I rehire myself on Monday morning to get things done right.
How are things going in your business? Do you need to go all “Donald Trump” on your own butt and give yourself a pink slip? If you’re not working your business with urgency & intensity, if you are not leaping out of bed each morning because you are so excited about what you are doing and who you’re helping, you should be fired!
My favorite plan of action to REBOOT:
2 days: Make a list of all the things you need to get done in the next two days. These are #1 priority. And this list needs refreshed often.
2 weeks: Make a list of all the things that need done in the next two weeks. And refresh this list every couple of weeks.
2 months: Make a list of all the things that need done in the next two months. This is where your quarterly planning comes in; upcoming holidays, incentives, sales, etc.
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Complacency & apathy will be the death of your business, do not allow it to come to that.
Deep down, regardless of what you portray to others or make yourself look like on social media, you know if you’ve been slacking in your business. If you’re doing enough to just get by and hoping the “boss” doesn’t notice…you need to get a grip! Since you’re the boss…you’re just cheating yourself and your family out of success. So take a page out of Donald Trump’s show, maybe it’s time to say “YOU’RE FIRED“! Wipe the slate clean, get your thoughts and plans together and then rehire yourself to rock your biz!
Melissa Fietsam @DirectlySocial
My Daily “Power of 3”
Here’s the truth… ya’ll are just making this business too hard!
Get out of your own way, stop “thinking” about working your business and actually get out there and work it! Many of you spend more time thinking about working than actually doing anything constructive for your business and it needs to STOP!
I am going to give you my super simple “Power of 3” routine that you can use every day, with actionables that can actually move your business in a positive and profitable direction.
My daily “Power of 3” routine:
– Make 3 new connections daily (meet 3 new people)
– Invite 3 people to look at my product/biz opportunity/booking options/ fundraisers, etc
– Follow up with 3 people
– Do 3 random acts of kindness or appreciation
– Do 30 minutes of personal development (video, book, audios, podcasts)
– Do 30 minutes of “me” time (exercise, quiet time,etc)
Now let’s break down what each of these looks like:
Make 3 new connections daily – in order to grow your business you have to meet new people, you can’t do this business without people! Right? So how are you meeting new people every day?
Invite 3 people to look at my product/biz opportunity/booking options/ fundraisers, etc – how are you getting yourself in front of people and when you do get in front of them, what are you doing that will grow the business? Are you prepared when you do get an opportunity for people to look at what you have to offer? Do you have catalog, host packets, recruiting packets, video links, etc prepped and ready to go at a moment’s notice?
Follow up with 3 people – this should go without saying but are you actively following up on the leads you are collecting? Or maybe we should actually start with are you actively collecting leads for your business? What tools do you need to be able to do effective follow up. If you are not doing your follow up communications/calls, you are leaving serious cash on the table.
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Do 3 random acts of kindness or appreciation – let me say this as kindly as possible, this business is not about you! And the sooner you come to realize that, the sooner you will start to see tremendous success. This business is about growing people and empowering them to be who they were created to be. It is not about you, it is about them. If you do not like people, you are in the wrong business, my friend. We are a people business and we need to learn to care more about our fellow people. We need to be kind at all times, I think sometimes we forget the sharpness of our keyboard swords. Speak to people like the humans they are, appreciate people for good work or things you recognize in them. I promise if you take the spotlight off of you and consciously start focusing on others, you will see rewards.
Do 30 minutes of personal development (video, book, audios, podcasts) – this is an area that so many of you are literally STARVING your businesses in. How are you filling up and learning new things? How are you getting educated? You need a constant flow of good business building information coming into you, whether it be from reading or one of my personal faves is podcasts. Find a good one that feeds you and listen to it every day for 30 minutes. Throw a load of laundry in and hide in the laundry room with it so you can get your personal development thing ON!
Do 30 minutes of “me” time (exercise, quiet time,etc) – again, you cannot pour from an empty cup, you need to get refilled and sometimes that refill comes from making yourself a priority verses an afterthought. Take 30 minutes a day and you just do you. I personally like a quiet time where I can just silence the world around me for a little and not be while and not be constantly rushing to the next thing. There will always be a next thing, but there is only one of you and you need to take care of you.
Like I always say, keep it simple and do the actionable. Thinking about working and actually working are not the same thing. Get out there and DO SOMETHING with your business every * single * day!
Free Training on WHY Facebook Parties are Better in Groups (not Events)
With all the Facebook changes, learn why I have been LOVING doing my Facebook parties in groups instead of events.
I am going to walk you through 8 reasons why Facebook parties are better in groups during this training.
You’re also going to learn how to properly use them, so they’re not spammy and you can get the most out of them.
People are scared of doing parties in groups, I get it. You know why? Because I swore a year ago I would NEVER do my parties in groups. But things change. And I’ve been doing this for 2 months and seen the best results I’ve EVER had in TEN YEARS with my Facebook parties.
So join us on this FREE TRAINING TONIGHT!
STEP 1: Join our group Directly Social:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/directlysocial/
STEP 2: Join FREE TRAINING:
https://www.facebook.com/events/527089734351761/
Melissa Fietsam @DirectlySocial
How to Create an Animoto Video for your Business
Animoto is my favorite new video site.
Check out how easy it is to create a beautiful video for your Direct Sales business. When you’re done drooling…you can catch some IDEAS on what videos to make below!
Wasn’t that EASY?!
So what kind of videos can you do to promote your business and where can you post them?
Video Types:
One product that is used in many different ways:
Let’s say you have a catch all bin; show all the different ways you can use that one product
Collections:
Take a group of products and show how they all work together. For example; home organization, products for on the go, solution sets, thermal line, gift giving ideas, men’s products…the list goes on and on.
Enrollment Information:
Take all that boring enrollment information and make a FUN video!
Customer Specials:
Here’s a new way to share the customer special for the month. Do one for all the uses for the customer special, and one showing off the patterns/products available in the customer special.
The point is….HAVE FUN and your customers will too. Say goodbye to the boring normalcy you’re used to and kick it up a notch! Your customers will thank you!
Now where do you SHARE the videos?
EVERYWHERE!
- Facebook business page
- Customer Group
- YouTube
- Facebook Parties
Go get to work!
Love,
Melissa Fietsam at Directly Social
10 Ideas to Rock Your APRIL Direct Sales Business
Hey friends!
Happy Spring!! Do you have spring fever?? I definitely do!
April is such a beautiful month! It makes me think of rain washing away the winter yuckies, new beginnings, the weather getting warmer here in Ohio, umbrellas, rain boots and Spring Break! If you walk around the Dollar Tree (my fave store), you see lots of bright colors, flowers, kites, seeds,etc – things that make you want to crawl out of your winter cave and do something! Are you ready to do something?
You have to look for ways to set yourself apart from the masses and stand out. Here are some fun April Marketing Ideas to get you excited about Spring too! Easter is April 1st, so that throws a little wrench into Spring marketing, but no worries, we got this!
#1 April Fools Day (4/1)
In social media, what makes people laugh makes people share! Using your business, how can you trick your followers into a giggle or two. If you sell kitchen products, maybe you share an awesome free recipe that goes all wonky at the end. People like to do business with people they like! Show off your fun and silly side!
#2 – Easter (4/1)
Easter is the perfect time to share a little of the “behind the scenes” of your life in your customer group on Facebook, something more personal, not just business. Why not share a pic of your kiddos egg hunting, family dinner or family photo in your pretty Easter clothes at church. Let people see the other side of you, the personal size, which is great for creating engagement and building relationships. Ask people to show their favorite Easter Egg Hunt photo of the day, later on in the evening!
#3 Change your FB Customer Group cover photo to something more “April-y” themed
This is an easy way to update your group and get a post into your group member’s news feeds. Make sure you are using that prime real estate of the cover photo space as best you can. Make sure you are not always just featuring product, be sure to include your smiling face sometimes!
#4 Update your Facebook Business Page cover photo to something more Spring-like
Make sure you are updating your Facebook Business Page with the season, you definitely don’t want a cover photo featuring Christmas items up when it is April. But I cannot tell you how many times I see this on some of your business pages. Your cover photo is like your storefront window for your business, make sure it is attractive and in-tune with the season.
#5 Bunny Bucks
Remember Cupid Cash from February? How about some Bunny Bucks for April? Your customers “earn” $1 in Bunny Bucks for every $10 they spend with you in April. The Bunny Bucks is only redeemable with you and only redeemable in April, so it gets you sales this month and potentially next month too. If you want to move some cash and carry products, you could easily change the coupon to where they can only redeem the Bunny Bucks toward something you have cash and carry and then payout the difference. For example, if they have $10 in Bunny Bucks and the item is $31, they give you the $10 in Bunny Bucks and pay the $21 difference. That’s a sale for April AND a sale for May!
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#5 Spring Cleaning Sale
April is the perfect time to do a “spring cleaning” sale with your business and all of you excess products. If you have products sitting around in your office that you are not using, and even old demonstration items that are still in good shape, let’s get them cleaned out! Depending on the rules of your company, you could sell them off auction style in a Facebook event or group. Or maybe just have a photo album in your group with all of your spring cleaning sale items in there and people bid & buy.
#6 Share cute spring recipes, crafts and tips with your followers
I just saw the cutest recipe where you can cut apples and use peanut butter to basically make an adorable spring snail snack. People love that kind of thing and cute tips and ideas like that get shared!! This is called “curating content”, go find something cool on a blog and share it!
#7 Create an April Ideas Pinterest Board and share it
Head over to Pinterest and create a theme board for April and pin what you love for April (tips, recipes, crafts, DIY, cleaning, etc). Once you have a minimum of 10-15 pins (I am sure you will find far more that you love), share the link to your Pinterest board in your customer group, your FB business page, your personal timeline, your customer newsletter, etc. Share it everywhere! Invite them to follow you while they are over on Pinterest!
#8 Spring-ify Your Vendor Booth
We are heading into vendor booth season again! People completely pre-judge your vendor booth in about 3 seconds. Think about ways you can completely “spring-ify” your table and display to make it attractive to those scanning the room or just passing by. Be sure to use colors that go well together, maybe just 2-3 colors. Keep things simple and clean!
#9 Host a Spring Fling event
Did your company come out with new products recently? Host a Spring Fling theme event, either in person or online. Even if they didn’t come out with anything new lately, it doesn’t matter! Spring-ify the current offerings and get people excited! When Spring hits, people are more likely to get out and do something (aka spring fever), use that to your advantage and host a super fun spring fling event. This would be an awesome place to cash and carry that spring cleaning product you were looking to sell off!
#10 Spring Break Staycations
Not everyone gets to getaway for spring break anymore! Why not share a month of staycation ideas that they can do from home and incorporate your product into the ideas! Moms are desperate for ideas and they will appreciate refuge you can give them when their kiddos have spring fever! Show your products in action and how they can enhance their lives and provide solutions for their problems.
#11 BONUS ROUND
You need to be thinking about marketing Mother’s Day! It’s right around the corner and you want to make sure people have enough time to order and get their product. So get a list together of some products you can high light as great Mother’s Day gifts. Make some bundles. Dress up some baskets to give them ideas. Don’t waste time on this, get started now!
What fun April ideas do you have?
Melissa Fietsam
@DirectlySocial
