The High Cost of Being Persistant

I can't lay claim to the following atrocity, however, it is an evil demon in the world of direct sales and a friends post today jogged my memory. So, you are the unwitting victims in my need to immortalize these thoughts before the Old Timer's Fairy takes them away.

Now we all know that a HUGE part of the success in direct sales in directly proportionate to the quality of customer service that you provide your customers. That requires that you not only sell with a smile, but that you get the order right, call and follow up and then follow through by letting your customers know of specials, new products and then keeping them in stock of their favorite products.

But how do you walk that fine line between excellent customer service, being persistent and just plain harassing people?

Well, for one dear acquaintance of mine, she got caught with a harassing sales person.

Now, since I don't know this salesperson personally, at first, I would probably say that she is doing her best to provide excellent customer service. But after hearing the full story, I'd have to say she was bordering on psycho. I'll let you decide for yourself and then give you some tips on how you can provide excellent customer service without being pushy or harassing.

To start with, I want to explain my theory of direct sales support. This business is tough enough without other direct sales people being snobs. Your DS business isn't the only one out there and you aren't the only one putting your heart on the line and your hard work towards making it in this business. So, when someone who is in direct sales patronizes your business, then you should do the same. Its only fair.

So, here my dear friend has agreed to have a party for another direct sales professional. She was a great hostess, doing everything she knew to make sure that this person had a great party. She over invited, she followed up and followed through with the invited guests and the end result was a party with over $1000 in sales. Now, that was quite a nice "gift" that the hostess, who was also a direct sales professional, gave the other direct sales professional.

First of all, she had to give up a party night where she could have made money. Then, she also invited all her friends who no doubt have supported her in her business to support another professional in hers.

Second of all, she knew how to be the perfect hostess and exactly what that entailed. It certainly took a lot of pressure off the direct sales professional for that evening and reduced her workload making her income from that evening even higher than it would be from a traditional show.

The party went well until the demonstrator became insistent that she return in two weeks to see how they were using their products and to make sure they knew how to apply their makeup properly. She was insistent to the point that she was scheduling another party with this group in two short weeks time. The hostess thanked the demonstrator and made it clear that she couldn't do another party in two weeks and that they would call her if they had any questions.

But the demonstrator didn't stop there. She began calling each and every guest, several times a week, to set up a follow up party in the hostesses home.

This not only angered the hostess because she had made her wishes clear, but it also angered the guests because they also didn't want a follow up party and they also didn't want to be repeatedly disturbed.

The guests called the hostess and were quite angry with her, so the hostess called the demonstrator and told her that neither she nor her guests wanted any follow up nor had any intention of purchasing more products until they were good and ready. That should have been the end of the story, but it wasn't.

Low and behold, that demonstrator continued to call both the guests and the hostess on a repetitive basis.

Now what can we learn from this scenario?

First, follow up is important. It is important to touch base with your hostess and her guests to make sure that they got everything okay and that they know how to use it. But this is a one time call and usually happens about two weeks after a scheduled delivery. This singular call lets your hostess and her guests know that you care enough about them to make sure that everything is satisfactory. AT NO TIME IN THIS CALL SHOULD YOU EVER MENTION HAVING A PARTY.

Your call should go something like this:

"Hi, Suzie, this is Mary, your direct sales professional. We met at JoAnne's party in April. Is this a good time to have a quick talk? Great. I am just calling to make sure that you got everything that you ordered and it is in good working order. That's wonderful. Do you have any questions about using the product? No? Fantastic. I know that you are probably enjoying using your product as much as I enjoy using mine. I really enjoyed meeting you at JoAnne's party. I had a lot of fun and it was a blast that JoAnne got a $250 free shopping spree thanks to the support of her friends. You have my card, so please don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything or have any questions. Thank you for your time. Goodnight."

This was a very short call and it should be. You must be respectful of the valuable time of your guests. And, while it didn't ask about having a party, it did plant the seed about the benefits of having a party. It also thanked the guest for supporting her friend, the hostess and let her know how valuable her support was. It also checked to make sure the order was correct and that there weren't any issues that needed resolution.

This is the perfect follow up call.

Next, you need to follow through. Following through does not mean harassing your guests or their hostess as the direct sales professional in this story did. Following through is as simple as providing excellent customer service.

Following through may entail calling to let the guest know about special sales. Or about a product on their wish list which is a hostess special and letting them know its a special for hostesses only. Following through means a maximum of three phone calls in a year's time. And following through means learning to take "No, thank you, don't call me anymore" graciously and with respect.

It is direct sales professionals like the one in this story who make our job even harder than it should be. Nobody wants to be harassed. Respect your customers and your guests, follow up and follow through and your business will be a success.

Best wishes.