8 Direct Sales Questions Answered
Welcome to this episode of “Chic Tells All” (c’mon, where are our Bachelor franchise fans?!) In all seriousness, you have submitted your top direct sales questions and we have chosen 8 of them to answer today. As two individuals who have built our own direct sales businesses from the ground up, we have been in your shoes and we know what it takes to build through the thick of it. We have seen the messy middle up close and personal and we get it. This knowledge is the driving force behind Chic Influencer because we want to be your information hub and support circle while you push through to the success you desire.
With that being said, here are our raw, unfiltered answers to your burning questions!
“What is one thing that you know now that you wish you would have known when you started?”
Hindsight is 20/20 and what we know now is this: it’s going to work… but only if you do. You can’t move into the direct sales space and be half in and half out. Expecting success with only a half-hearted work ethic is not going to bring you long-term success. However, disciplined focus and consistent effort will. Put 100% of your focus into building the foundation to your business. Make the small sacrifices now so that you benefit from long-term gains later.
“I don’t have a lot of followers on social. Is it possible to still grow my direct sales business?”
YES! When we started our direct sales businesses, we had little to no social media presence. We utilized social mainly for highlighting life milestones and baby pictures! If this is you, too — cool! The focus now is on consistent growth. Focus on posting every day, starting new conversations, making new friends and adding value. Intentional activity like this grows your “like, know and trust factor,” and your business grows along with it. We suggest using an Income Producing Activity Tracker like the one that we share in our Direct Sales Done Right Mentorship. Tracking your conversations, invitations and content helps you to visually see your effort right in front of you!
“I keep doing what I see others who are top leaders in my industry doing, but I’m not getting the same results. What would you recommend?”
Here’s how we see it: there’s a fine line between inspiration and comparison. If you’re following the top leaders in your direct sales business, but the “inspiration” that you’re gaining from their content isn’t inspiring actual action on your part, you may want to consider hitting that “mute” or “unfollow” button. If you find yourself thinking, “I’ll never be as far along as she is,” or “People just like her better,” or “She’s just has more __________ (followers, creativity, free time, money, etc.) then you’re actually being held back by watching this leader. There’s nothing malicious or unkind about unfollowing. Protecting your mental health and business outlook are much more important. Honestly, you’re going to find that your creativity actually grows when you’re not consuming the content of other leaders!
If you’re still looking for some structure or help when it comes to building your business, we have tons of free resources that you can check out to get you started!
“I’m scared to invest in my business because I haven’t made much money yet. When is the right time to invest?”
The way we have always looked at business investments is like this: you have to pay to play! In order to make money, you have to spend money. You don’t know what you don’t know, so you can spend months or a year spinning your wheels, OR you can invest up front and let the knowledge that you gain from a business mentor pay you tenfold on the backend of your investment.
While direct sales is for anybody, there is a particular skillset that will get you farther, faster. Investing in group or private coaching, a mentorship program or even a virtual assistant to take some of your mundane tasks off of your hands will serve you well in the long run. We offer many mentorship opportunities that can help you grow your direct sales business, and they range in cost to benefit both individuals with smaller budgets to those with more funds for business development. Here’s another one of our “hindsight is 20/20” confessions: we wish we would have invested in business mentors sooner.
“What are some of your favorite tools and resources that you used when you started in direct sales?”
Honestly friend, if you’re starting your direct sales business right now — what a time to be alive! There are endless resources at the tips of your fingers if you’re willing to go out and find the right ones for you. When we started our direct sales businesses over ten years ago, there wasn’t a whole lot available. In fact, it’s this very experience that drove us to start Chic Influencer. We want to give people the tools and resources that we didn’t have when we started!
Some tools that we can’t live without now: Our Make Chic Happen Planner and our Make Chic Happen Time Blocker, a cell phone with a great camera, a laptop and some extra cloud storage for all of that content that we create!
“My team has fallen apart and I am starting at ground zero. What advice can you give me?”
Let us first say – you’re not alone. This happens a lot because direct sales is cyclical. People come in and either have some quick success, climb the leadership ranks and move on, or they come in expecting quick success and quit when they don’t get it. People get bored, they quit, they find new businesses, or life just happens. It doesn’t mean that you’re not a good leader or that you could have “made them stay.” Try to say, “it’s not me,” and separate yourself from the fact that the person is not a part of your business anymore.
With that being said, the way to combat this inevitable cycle is to always stay in Phase One. That means you’re always recruiting, you’re always growing emerging leaders and you’re always leading from the front. You’re keeping your foundation solid by rinsing and repeating the activities that keep your business growing and keeps you recruiting excited soon-to-be leaders. You have to put as much (or more) into building and maintaining a healthy pipeline as you do into mentoring your current team.
“What are some of your favorite personal development books for direct sales?”
We are so glad you asked! At Chic, we believe that your business can only grow as far as your mindset. We also believe that when you start to see a correlation between your personal habits and your business habits, you can begin to change and grow into the leader that you desire to be.
Here are a few of our favorites. You can find a more extensive list here: The Chic Influencer Personal Development Book Checklist.
- The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
- The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
- Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer
- Made to Crave by Lisa TerKeurst
- Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
- Personality Plus by Florence Littauer
- Go Pro by Eric Worre
- You are a Badass by Jen Sincero
“Direct sales gets such a bad rap in my family. What did you do back in the day when you heard negative things from your family about your choice to run a direct sales business?”
In our experience, direct sales usually gets a bad rap for two reasons:
1. People don’t understand what direct sales actually IS.
2. They had their own direct sales experience that was less than positive.
In either case, our natural response is to try to defend our business or the business model to try to get people to see our point of view. From our experience, this rarely works. In the end, you have to have enough fortitude to carry on despite the naysayers and you have to stay true to what you believe in. You have to prove through your actions that you represent a legitimate business with legitimate products. Over time, as people see you achieve success, they go from rolling their eyes and thinking that you’re annoying to thinking, “Wow. She’s doing the dang thing.” All of the sudden, you become an inspiration.
We hope that the answers to these eight questions helped you feel seen, heard and valued. You are not alone when it comes to the questions that you have regarding direct sales, business growth or the personal hurdles that come with being an entrepreneur! At Chic, we are always here to support you! If you have any questions that you would love to hear our answer to, you can submit them to support@chicinfluencer.com. We are always rooting for your success!
