Moms Needed ASAP: Join the brand new
Ipsos i-Say Mom’s Panel. Simply give us your opinion and you could win
$5000, plus a chance to win cool prizes for you and your family. US
Moms Needed
Marketing your business
is what will make or break you. While you may have all the "tools"
and knowledge of what you need to know in finding leads, recruiting
and selling.....unless you learn how to effectively market your
business, you will eventually get to a standstill. Basically,
unless you "get busy" and promote yourself and your business, you
can and WILL only go so far. Too many consultants give up too soon
or expect too much from only a little bit of effort. Some literally
expect business to fall into their laps. If you think this way, you
are setting yourself up for failure.
While "some" business
may find it's way to you without much effort on your part, to be
successfull and have a long term career in direct sales, you need to
keep marketing your business as a top priority and be proactive in
this area.
When you market and
advertise your business you should include all forms of marketing:
word of mouth (yours, OR someone elses) online (search engines,
directories, contests, message boards and newsletters), print
(newspapers, magazines, flyers, direct mailings and coupons) , in
person, non-verbal (the way
you look, act and dress helps to market
your business) AND special events and promotional opportunities
(craft fairs, expos, sponsorship opportunities and community
outreach).
Make a note that
while there ARE many ways to receive free advertising and marketing
for your business, to be most effective, the old saying "it takes
money to make money" really does ring true. When you are trying to
build your business you need to market/advertise consistently and
repetively. The "big guys" didn't get to be big by getting the word
out just once or twice about their product. And, once they
became well known, they haven't
stopped. That is why you will always see commericals and ads for
McDonalds, Nike, Fischer Price etc. (click
here to read a very IMPORTANT article titled "Now You See Me,
Now You Don't.... ) Whether it is purchasing materials to create
flyers, brochures and business cards, or actually purchasing "real"
advertising, you do need to have a budget set aside for marketing
your business.
Being involved in a direct sales company makes it a bit trickier for
you. You may be a consultant with a very well known company such as
Mary Kay, Tupperware or Discovery Toys, and what you need to have as
your goal is that YOU are the name people think of when they see
your direct sales company name. For example, I know of MANY reps
for one company in particular, but there is only ONE rep that I know
by name and who I think of when it comes to that company. This is
because I am seeing her name over and over again. She has ads in
both of the local parenting publications, she has gotten involved in
some community service projects where her name is listed, she does
online advertising AND she keeps people updated through direct
mailings and phone calls. When people hear the name of "your
company", you need to be the person that is first thought of as
being associated with that company. This CAN be done and there are
many simple ways to market your business on an everyday basis.
