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.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Give Me That Old Time Revival Feeling!
Not!
I had decided at that point to give Tupperware the old college try. My reason for failure so far, according to my sponsor, was that I had not attended training or a rally yet. And she was going to make sure that I was there to get my training so that I would be as big a success as she!
So, excitedly the night arrived and I was full of hope and anticipation. I was positive that this was what was lacking from my success and this one singular meeting (oops training) would be the missing piece to the puzzle of my success.
I knew the second I walked into that room that I was doomed.
The room was not full of professional business women. The room was not full of seasoned sales professionals. The room was not full of successful six figure income sales representatives. Instead it was full of..............................
CHEERLEADERS!
Yes, that's right. There were over 300 Tupperware Sales Representatives jumping up and down, clapping their hands, cheering for their unit, cheering for their sales and joined in song and chorus.
I thought that I had walked in on a Moonie convention or something. They all looked alike. They all sounded alike. They all dressed alike and they all had that same "six figure grin" slapped on their faces that my sponsor had.
It was the invasion of the pod people and I was the odd one out and these pod people were hungry to transform me into a Tupperware Sales Representative with that same six figure grin.
I sat through four hours of cheering, recognition, new product raffles and demonstrations and left there the very same person as I had arrived. And much to the disappointment of my sponsor.
Now, I must admit, I used caricature in describing the enthusiastic sales representatives I encountered that evening. Not as an avenue of making fun of them, but as an avenue of illustrating just how different I was from them. And I was so very, very different from them.
I didn't see it then and its taken 20 years of failure in my direct sales career to figure out what it took for me to be successful in direct sales. What I didn't realize then and what I wish I had realized a lot earlier on in my direct sales careers is the first thing I want to really impress upon you readers: Tupperware isn't always going to be the right direct sales company to be affiliated with.
You see, it wasn't I who failed Tupperware, it was Tupperware who failed me (though it took me four different tries at being a Tupperware Representative to discover this). I'm a great sales person, I really, really am. But I'm not Tupperware. I couldn't sell Tupperware if a Corvette came attached to every $100 purchase. I couldn't sell Tupperware if I were the only Tupperware Representative in the state and I really couldn't sell Tupperware even if I worked at Target where they sell Tupperware off the rack.
But that didn't mean that I wasn't cut out for a career in direct sales. It meant that I still had a long road ahead of me and the first stop was College. Direct Sales wasn't going to bring me that six figure income I dreamed about and it certainly wasn't going to bring me some education and since I was only 18, I went to school. I studied, I learned math, budgeting, psychology and how to present myself one on one and in front of a group. I learned how to write and how to communicate. I learned how to be organized and how to sell myself. And everything I learned has served me well in the success of my direct sales career.
Next Up: Those Who Sell Crystal Shouldn't Have Cats............
I had decided at that point to give Tupperware the old college try. My reason for failure so far, according to my sponsor, was that I had not attended training or a rally yet. And she was going to make sure that I was there to get my training so that I would be as big a success as she!
So, excitedly the night arrived and I was full of hope and anticipation. I was positive that this was what was lacking from my success and this one singular meeting (oops training) would be the missing piece to the puzzle of my success.
I knew the second I walked into that room that I was doomed.
The room was not full of professional business women. The room was not full of seasoned sales professionals. The room was not full of successful six figure income sales representatives. Instead it was full of..............................
CHEERLEADERS!
Yes, that's right. There were over 300 Tupperware Sales Representatives jumping up and down, clapping their hands, cheering for their unit, cheering for their sales and joined in song and chorus.
I thought that I had walked in on a Moonie convention or something. They all looked alike. They all sounded alike. They all dressed alike and they all had that same "six figure grin" slapped on their faces that my sponsor had.
It was the invasion of the pod people and I was the odd one out and these pod people were hungry to transform me into a Tupperware Sales Representative with that same six figure grin.
I sat through four hours of cheering, recognition, new product raffles and demonstrations and left there the very same person as I had arrived. And much to the disappointment of my sponsor.
Now, I must admit, I used caricature in describing the enthusiastic sales representatives I encountered that evening. Not as an avenue of making fun of them, but as an avenue of illustrating just how different I was from them. And I was so very, very different from them.
I didn't see it then and its taken 20 years of failure in my direct sales career to figure out what it took for me to be successful in direct sales. What I didn't realize then and what I wish I had realized a lot earlier on in my direct sales careers is the first thing I want to really impress upon you readers: Tupperware isn't always going to be the right direct sales company to be affiliated with.
You see, it wasn't I who failed Tupperware, it was Tupperware who failed me (though it took me four different tries at being a Tupperware Representative to discover this). I'm a great sales person, I really, really am. But I'm not Tupperware. I couldn't sell Tupperware if a Corvette came attached to every $100 purchase. I couldn't sell Tupperware if I were the only Tupperware Representative in the state and I really couldn't sell Tupperware even if I worked at Target where they sell Tupperware off the rack.
But that didn't mean that I wasn't cut out for a career in direct sales. It meant that I still had a long road ahead of me and the first stop was College. Direct Sales wasn't going to bring me that six figure income I dreamed about and it certainly wasn't going to bring me some education and since I was only 18, I went to school. I studied, I learned math, budgeting, psychology and how to present myself one on one and in front of a group. I learned how to write and how to communicate. I learned how to be organized and how to sell myself. And everything I learned has served me well in the success of my direct sales career.
Next Up: Those Who Sell Crystal Shouldn't Have Cats............
Monday, February 5, 2007
Long Live The Earls!
The Earls of Tupper and Sandwich of course!
You must admit, if there is only one Direct Sales Company that has changed our lives for the better, it is Tupperware and Tupperware has made it possible for the quintessential lunch favorite, the sandwich, to not only make it until lunchtime, but to last a few days as well.
I was about 10 when my mother went to her first Tupperware Party. Well, at least it was the first party that I was aware of that she attended. She came back with new recipes for salads that would last until the new millennium, an ice cream holder that would keep our ice cream as fresh as the day it was made throughout the summer and well into the winter months and a keeper for pickles that contains, to this day, forty years later, several of the very first pickles stored in that container.
Yes, Tupperware had been changing the lives of women for years and now it was going to change our life. My sister and I were the beneficiaries of the little prizes that my mother had won that day and at that exact moment, the consultant had added not just one new customer, but two young ones just waiting until they could attend their very own party and get their very own free stuff.
A few weeks later my mother's order arrived. We were guaranteed to have the freshest milk on the block (though at that time we didn't realize that it meant that we would be drinking non-fat dry milk instead of whole fresh milk) our sandwiches would stay fresh (though weenie sandwiches on white bread with ketchup would be soggy no matter how you stored them) we could keep four heads of cauliflower fresh and ready for use at all times (like the human body could stand the consumption of that much cauliflower in a short period of time) and as mentioned previously, our ice cream would stay fresh through the winter months ( though it is sad to admit 1/2 gallon never lasted past a meal) and our pickles would stay fresh for centuries (though a century old pickle is more pickled than others). And our lives would automatically become those of efficient, cost effective and frugal just as portrayed by the consultant.
Using non-fat dried milk lasted about as long as it took to spit out that very first sip. It was awful! And no amount of doctoring could make that concoction taste any better than poorly mixed concrete. Our very expensive, fresh keeper mixer and pitcher became regulated to holding a meal's worth of Kool-Aid. Eventually, as we out grew Kool-Aid, the pitcher graduated to the position of watering can and last I saw it, in a corner of the garage, it was used to help change oil and add anti-freeze.
We also got tired of those soggy, but very fresh weenie sandwiches, which stored in Tupperware could last up to 10 days before the mold would start to grow and our lunch lives gradually returned to normal with the bologna sandwich wrapped in wax paper and the occasional PB & J for a treat. The sandwich keeper eventually held buttons and whatnots in the sewing room until the lid was lost and then it was used for a while as a plate under a plant and it was lost at sea when we took it to the beach with us one summer to make sand castles.
The Ice Cream Keeper stood in the freezer as a reminder that while it was a good idea for some families, it wasn't appropriate for ours and it continued to take up space until that freezer died and someone forgot to transfer it from the old freezer to the new freezer.
And, that pickle keeper? Turns out our family didn't like pickles all that much except for on holidays so after the initial fill with garlic dill pickles, it didn't get much action, but it still fits in the refrigerator door just waiting for someone to get a hankerin' for 40 year old pickles.
You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson and had not fallen into the trap of a Tupperware Party. But alas, I do have a very thick skull and was invited to my very first Tupperware Party at the ripe, tender age of 18. I could not wait. I was so excited and so full of hope and dreams. And since payday was the day before, full of cash in the pocketbook.
From the moment I walked into the door I was hooked. I was blinded by the beautiful sight that beheld me of a wonderfully organized and efficient life and no sooner had the presentation begun than I had signed up to be a hostess, indicated my desire for a career in sales and had personally bought more Tupperware than most people see in a lifetime and all without leaving my chair (except to get up and taste the wonderful food that was ages old, but fresher than when it was made all thanks to Tupperware.
My mother was a little shocked to hear that I had scheduled a party, especially one in her home and was quite happy to go along with me until she discovered two days before the party that a) I had already purchased a significant portion of the catalog and there was no room for it in her house and b) that I was planning on purchasing the rest of the catalog because I was going to start my own business out of my mother's home that would be the basis of wealth and prosperity for myself and my family for the rest of my life.
My mother was shocked. My father thought it was the funniest thing on this planet. I was stunned. Weren't they listening? This was it! At the ripe age of 18, out of my very own home, I was going to have a six figure PLUS income along with my very own Tupperware Brand Car! Soon, I'd be able to move out, wear the finest in clothing, have a gorgeous home and all in just a few hours a week! My father was still laughing and my mother's jaw was dangerously close to the ground.
And, by the way, Mom. When can I schedule your party for? It was then that I discovered that my mother went to those parties, but having them was quite another thing.
That was okay by me. If she didn't want all the free stuff I was going to give her and if she didn't want the same opportunity for a six figure income that I was going to have, well, that was okay, too. After all, too many six figure incomes in one family would be too greedy.
And it was going to be easy. After all, everybody wanted Tupperware. Tupperware changes lives. Tupperware improves lives. Tupperware is an American Institution. LONG LIVE TUPPERWARE!
Okay, so it was going to be easy. And it was only going to take a few hours a week. That's what my sponsor said. And then there was the car, too. That would be even easier to earn. My sponsor said it was so. And then there was the trip to the exotic tropical destination, for sure I would at least earn that.
And that became my plan. Earn the exotic tropical vacation (hey, maybe if I told my mother I'd take her with me as my guest she'd book a party) then pick up that car (of which I didn't have one to begin with) and within the year be at a six figure income running my own business with just a high school diploma and a year of GE credit under my belt. I was going to have it all.
My father was still laughing.
And with every peal of laughter came a more dogged determination to show my parents how very wrong they were. And so I started on my quest to book my parties.
I called everyone I knew. Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, kids of acquaintances, even those I didn't know just by going through the phone book.
With a blister on my dialing finger (no touch tone in those days) I ended my first day of business with NO ORDERS, NO CUSTOMERS and NO PARTIES. I had spent six hours on the phone and hadn't made a dime. Not only had I not made any money, I didn't even have a party scheduled to make some money.
My father was still laughing.
And that made me mad and even more determined than ever before. Tomorrow would be different. My sales goal was $10,000 in sales and to book six parties.
Tomorrow came, I loaded up my sample bag (thank heavens Tupperware doesn't weigh anything) and off I went into the wild blue yonder with dollar signs in my eyes and a heart full of hope.
Six hours later I came back with blisters on my feet, the blister on my finger still pulsating and a mark on my shoulder from the carrying case strap. And NO Sales, No Customers and No Parties.
My father finally stopped laughing. I think pity was setting in.
16 hours of work and nothing to show for it. I was beginning to wonder where the easy part came in. And, as I lay in my bed, aching and in pain, my determination grew that I would make this a success.
The next day dawned bright and early and I hit every store I knew and planted catalogs in bathrooms, catalogs in break rooms, catalogs amongst the magazine racks and even a few on cars. Surely my name would get out as THE Tupperware Lady and I'd have a booked schedule within a week.
I returned home, gas tank empty, stomach growling and hope dwindling to a stack of messages. My faith was restored, I was on the road to success and my excitement was growing as I reached for the stack of messages. The first was from the local department store asking me to not place my catalogs in their bathrooms, the next was from an employee informing me that I was encroaching on her territory and to BACK OFF! The rest were more of the same.
I was defeated and I knew it. It all seemed so easy. I had such hope and such exciting plans only to find out that it wasn't that easy, that it took a lot of work, a lot of very, very hard work and that when you factored into everything you did that you were making less, far less than minimum wage of $0.75 per hour.
So, I called my sponsor. She was aghast that I hadn't made any money yet, much less earned the trip the car and my six figure income in the first week, after all, that's what she did (though I never saw any pictures of her in a tropical location or her car and her house was, well, lets just say it was beneath, WAY beneath that of someone with a six figure income). Her solution was simple, I must not be doing it right and what I needed was a training session to be held next week at the convention center. She was positive that after this training session not only would I change my mind, but I'd be able to replicate her success.
She was so encouraging, she was such a cheerleader for Tupperware and she made me believe that the solution was a simple one, so I took the rest of the week off, licked my wounds and made ready for the training session that would change my life.
Next up:
Tupperware U
You must admit, if there is only one Direct Sales Company that has changed our lives for the better, it is Tupperware and Tupperware has made it possible for the quintessential lunch favorite, the sandwich, to not only make it until lunchtime, but to last a few days as well.
I was about 10 when my mother went to her first Tupperware Party. Well, at least it was the first party that I was aware of that she attended. She came back with new recipes for salads that would last until the new millennium, an ice cream holder that would keep our ice cream as fresh as the day it was made throughout the summer and well into the winter months and a keeper for pickles that contains, to this day, forty years later, several of the very first pickles stored in that container.
Yes, Tupperware had been changing the lives of women for years and now it was going to change our life. My sister and I were the beneficiaries of the little prizes that my mother had won that day and at that exact moment, the consultant had added not just one new customer, but two young ones just waiting until they could attend their very own party and get their very own free stuff.
A few weeks later my mother's order arrived. We were guaranteed to have the freshest milk on the block (though at that time we didn't realize that it meant that we would be drinking non-fat dry milk instead of whole fresh milk) our sandwiches would stay fresh (though weenie sandwiches on white bread with ketchup would be soggy no matter how you stored them) we could keep four heads of cauliflower fresh and ready for use at all times (like the human body could stand the consumption of that much cauliflower in a short period of time) and as mentioned previously, our ice cream would stay fresh through the winter months ( though it is sad to admit 1/2 gallon never lasted past a meal) and our pickles would stay fresh for centuries (though a century old pickle is more pickled than others). And our lives would automatically become those of efficient, cost effective and frugal just as portrayed by the consultant.
Using non-fat dried milk lasted about as long as it took to spit out that very first sip. It was awful! And no amount of doctoring could make that concoction taste any better than poorly mixed concrete. Our very expensive, fresh keeper mixer and pitcher became regulated to holding a meal's worth of Kool-Aid. Eventually, as we out grew Kool-Aid, the pitcher graduated to the position of watering can and last I saw it, in a corner of the garage, it was used to help change oil and add anti-freeze.
We also got tired of those soggy, but very fresh weenie sandwiches, which stored in Tupperware could last up to 10 days before the mold would start to grow and our lunch lives gradually returned to normal with the bologna sandwich wrapped in wax paper and the occasional PB & J for a treat. The sandwich keeper eventually held buttons and whatnots in the sewing room until the lid was lost and then it was used for a while as a plate under a plant and it was lost at sea when we took it to the beach with us one summer to make sand castles.
The Ice Cream Keeper stood in the freezer as a reminder that while it was a good idea for some families, it wasn't appropriate for ours and it continued to take up space until that freezer died and someone forgot to transfer it from the old freezer to the new freezer.
And, that pickle keeper? Turns out our family didn't like pickles all that much except for on holidays so after the initial fill with garlic dill pickles, it didn't get much action, but it still fits in the refrigerator door just waiting for someone to get a hankerin' for 40 year old pickles.
You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson and had not fallen into the trap of a Tupperware Party. But alas, I do have a very thick skull and was invited to my very first Tupperware Party at the ripe, tender age of 18. I could not wait. I was so excited and so full of hope and dreams. And since payday was the day before, full of cash in the pocketbook.
From the moment I walked into the door I was hooked. I was blinded by the beautiful sight that beheld me of a wonderfully organized and efficient life and no sooner had the presentation begun than I had signed up to be a hostess, indicated my desire for a career in sales and had personally bought more Tupperware than most people see in a lifetime and all without leaving my chair (except to get up and taste the wonderful food that was ages old, but fresher than when it was made all thanks to Tupperware.
My mother was a little shocked to hear that I had scheduled a party, especially one in her home and was quite happy to go along with me until she discovered two days before the party that a) I had already purchased a significant portion of the catalog and there was no room for it in her house and b) that I was planning on purchasing the rest of the catalog because I was going to start my own business out of my mother's home that would be the basis of wealth and prosperity for myself and my family for the rest of my life.
My mother was shocked. My father thought it was the funniest thing on this planet. I was stunned. Weren't they listening? This was it! At the ripe age of 18, out of my very own home, I was going to have a six figure PLUS income along with my very own Tupperware Brand Car! Soon, I'd be able to move out, wear the finest in clothing, have a gorgeous home and all in just a few hours a week! My father was still laughing and my mother's jaw was dangerously close to the ground.
And, by the way, Mom. When can I schedule your party for? It was then that I discovered that my mother went to those parties, but having them was quite another thing.
That was okay by me. If she didn't want all the free stuff I was going to give her and if she didn't want the same opportunity for a six figure income that I was going to have, well, that was okay, too. After all, too many six figure incomes in one family would be too greedy.
And it was going to be easy. After all, everybody wanted Tupperware. Tupperware changes lives. Tupperware improves lives. Tupperware is an American Institution. LONG LIVE TUPPERWARE!
Okay, so it was going to be easy. And it was only going to take a few hours a week. That's what my sponsor said. And then there was the car, too. That would be even easier to earn. My sponsor said it was so. And then there was the trip to the exotic tropical destination, for sure I would at least earn that.
And that became my plan. Earn the exotic tropical vacation (hey, maybe if I told my mother I'd take her with me as my guest she'd book a party) then pick up that car (of which I didn't have one to begin with) and within the year be at a six figure income running my own business with just a high school diploma and a year of GE credit under my belt. I was going to have it all.
My father was still laughing.
And with every peal of laughter came a more dogged determination to show my parents how very wrong they were. And so I started on my quest to book my parties.
I called everyone I knew. Friends, Relatives, Acquaintances, kids of acquaintances, even those I didn't know just by going through the phone book.
With a blister on my dialing finger (no touch tone in those days) I ended my first day of business with NO ORDERS, NO CUSTOMERS and NO PARTIES. I had spent six hours on the phone and hadn't made a dime. Not only had I not made any money, I didn't even have a party scheduled to make some money.
My father was still laughing.
And that made me mad and even more determined than ever before. Tomorrow would be different. My sales goal was $10,000 in sales and to book six parties.
Tomorrow came, I loaded up my sample bag (thank heavens Tupperware doesn't weigh anything) and off I went into the wild blue yonder with dollar signs in my eyes and a heart full of hope.
Six hours later I came back with blisters on my feet, the blister on my finger still pulsating and a mark on my shoulder from the carrying case strap. And NO Sales, No Customers and No Parties.
My father finally stopped laughing. I think pity was setting in.
16 hours of work and nothing to show for it. I was beginning to wonder where the easy part came in. And, as I lay in my bed, aching and in pain, my determination grew that I would make this a success.
The next day dawned bright and early and I hit every store I knew and planted catalogs in bathrooms, catalogs in break rooms, catalogs amongst the magazine racks and even a few on cars. Surely my name would get out as THE Tupperware Lady and I'd have a booked schedule within a week.
I returned home, gas tank empty, stomach growling and hope dwindling to a stack of messages. My faith was restored, I was on the road to success and my excitement was growing as I reached for the stack of messages. The first was from the local department store asking me to not place my catalogs in their bathrooms, the next was from an employee informing me that I was encroaching on her territory and to BACK OFF! The rest were more of the same.
I was defeated and I knew it. It all seemed so easy. I had such hope and such exciting plans only to find out that it wasn't that easy, that it took a lot of work, a lot of very, very hard work and that when you factored into everything you did that you were making less, far less than minimum wage of $0.75 per hour.
So, I called my sponsor. She was aghast that I hadn't made any money yet, much less earned the trip the car and my six figure income in the first week, after all, that's what she did (though I never saw any pictures of her in a tropical location or her car and her house was, well, lets just say it was beneath, WAY beneath that of someone with a six figure income). Her solution was simple, I must not be doing it right and what I needed was a training session to be held next week at the convention center. She was positive that after this training session not only would I change my mind, but I'd be able to replicate her success.
She was so encouraging, she was such a cheerleader for Tupperware and she made me believe that the solution was a simple one, so I took the rest of the week off, licked my wounds and made ready for the training session that would change my life.
Next up:
Tupperware U
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
So When Did You Lose Your Virginity?
Your direct sales virginity that is?
For me, it was early childhood. My mother depended upon brushes from the Fuller Brush man for taming my bushy locks, makeup and fragrance from the AVON lady, and spices and household cleaners from the Watkins man.
At least for a while that is. Then they started coming almost every day and I quickly learned that my mother kept the blinds drawn and the house quiet to avoid yet another direct salesperson from darkening our doorstep. My mother had a sixth sense about these sales people. If she even had the slightest precognition that a salesperson was in the 'hood, in we came from play and the house was locked down tighter than most maximum security prisons.
It wasn't so much that she didn't like buying from these salesmen and women, she didn't like being pushed. My mother likes to take her time to mull over a purchase before she buys something and she doesn't want anything rammed down her throat that she neither needs or can use. And unfortunately, after that first purchase of a Fuller Brush and the second purchase of a lipstick from AVON and the final purchase of cleaning supplies from Watson, the word got out and our home was labeled "EASY MONEY" by the direct sales industry.
Today, that vision of a persistant and very pushy salesperson exists in the minds of most consumers. And we have to face facts, in this society of ours we don't have the time to sit down and listen to a sales presentation for a product that is overpriced and not needed, much less want to wait for it to arrive in several weeks time. We want instant gratification as well as annonimity. So, when we see a salesperson in the 'hood, we pull the drapes down, and run and hide in a remote part of the house until the danger has passed.
Oh, how misunderstood the direct sales industry is!
Now, when you really, really sit down and think about it, the Direct Sales Industry is really as old, if not older than, well, the oldest profession of all. Thousands of years ago there was no such ICON of industry and wanton spending like Wal-Mart. No A & P to purchase your daily provisions at and no CVS with a drive through to pick up your latest health remedy.
Oh, no, the economy was driven by those stout hearted salesmen who travelled from home to home, city to city and state to state to bring direct to you the latest supplies you needed. Perhaps you were lucky enough to live in a city large enough to have its very own marketplace where many different vendors (many of them traveling) could share their wares with you, or perhaps your community was fortunate enough to have a general store where you could buy most of your immediate needs and place orders (again from traveling salesmen) for those big ticket items like furniture, heaters, farming equipment or even the latest in fashion.
Traveling salesmen were the industry and force that supplied most of the world with exactly what they needed and when they needed it. You could not have existed without making purchases from these people who gave up their lives to bring life to your lives. Nobody ran and hid from these gentlemen, in fact, the whole town would swarm the train station first when the salesman arrived and then again, in great anticipation of the arrival of the order.
But as time progressed, the need for the traveling sales man declined and as their ranks diminished and the department stores flourished, the competition for the sales became even more stiff and ushered in the era of pushy and even pushier sales people.
And, as time progressed even more, our personal time became more valuable and we began to enjoy and covet being able to shop at our leisure without the interruption of a pushy salesperson. Yes, there were still traveling salesmen out there and still they schlepped from home to home carrying large cases of product only to find out that fewer and fewer people were answering the door.
Yes, its true, a traveling salesman was nothing more than a direct sales representative. And today, society treats direct sales representatives with much of the same disdain as they once held for the traveling salesman.
Its sad and its unfair that such a wonderful industry has a stigmata attached to it that makes it one of the most demanding professions there is.
And direct sales is a profession. For the most part, Direct Sales Representatives are professional people. They run their business with as much seriousness as the store owner on the corner. They put in as much effort as the owner of any business. They expend as much money as any owner of any business and they feel the psychological and financial hurt of rejection, just like any other business owner. Yet, they are treated with contempt, people run from them, people have no problem with scheduling and then cancelling. Or writing a bad check for product or services received.
But what you don't realize is that Direct Sales Professionals are very necessary. First, they provide a service that you cannot get at your local store. A DSP (Direct Sales Professional) has intimate knowledge of their products. Can you remember the last time you went to the Piggly Wiggly and a cashier couldn't answer a question about a product? You really can't blame that cashier, she has thousands and thousands of products in her store and it would be pretty near impossible for that cashier to have intimate knowledge about each product in her store. But sit down with a Tupperware DSP and she can transform your kitchen cupboards from the black whole of spoiling food to an organized treasure trove of easy to find and very fresh food. Or spend time talking with an AVON DSP and you will not only get to know your skin type, but how to best take care of it as well as enjoy a no hassle return policy that you don't have to wait in line for over an hour to take advantage of. Be honest now. How many items of cosmetics or skin care items have you bought at Wal-Mart only to get home and find out that the product isn't right for you? And be honest, you'd rather just toss that $7.95 product than stand in line for 45 minutes only to be told the product is used and not returnable. And how many home decor stores will send out one of their sales persons to help you decide how a $50.00 purchase of candles and accessories will fit in with your existing decor? That's right, you get knowledge and service from a DSP that you would never find in any store at any time and for FREE!
Secondly, DSPs provide you with a cost effective way of obtaining products that you might not be able to afford through a hosting plan or through first order discounts. I've been to a department store with a girlfriend on a shopping spree. And no, they won't give me anything free or at a discount because my girlfriend is with me or agrees to buy something. And no, they won't give me a discount because its my first time there. But a DSP will.
And finally, they keep you informed. I know that Albertsons will not call me to check to see if I need any toilet paper right now. Its too bad when I run out. But my favorite Candle Lady checks in on a regular, though not frequent basis, to ask if I need anything. And my favorite Country Bunny DSP always lets me know when my favorite scent is on special or a new product comes out.
So, when it comes to push and shove, we need our DSPs more than ever. We don't have time to shop anymore, we need information and we need it when its convenient to us. We need the service, we need the follow through and we need the knowledge that only a DSP can provide.
Next time you see a DSP in your 'hood, don't run and hide, reach out and embrace them, you need them more than you think.
For me, it was early childhood. My mother depended upon brushes from the Fuller Brush man for taming my bushy locks, makeup and fragrance from the AVON lady, and spices and household cleaners from the Watkins man.
At least for a while that is. Then they started coming almost every day and I quickly learned that my mother kept the blinds drawn and the house quiet to avoid yet another direct salesperson from darkening our doorstep. My mother had a sixth sense about these sales people. If she even had the slightest precognition that a salesperson was in the 'hood, in we came from play and the house was locked down tighter than most maximum security prisons.
It wasn't so much that she didn't like buying from these salesmen and women, she didn't like being pushed. My mother likes to take her time to mull over a purchase before she buys something and she doesn't want anything rammed down her throat that she neither needs or can use. And unfortunately, after that first purchase of a Fuller Brush and the second purchase of a lipstick from AVON and the final purchase of cleaning supplies from Watson, the word got out and our home was labeled "EASY MONEY" by the direct sales industry.
Today, that vision of a persistant and very pushy salesperson exists in the minds of most consumers. And we have to face facts, in this society of ours we don't have the time to sit down and listen to a sales presentation for a product that is overpriced and not needed, much less want to wait for it to arrive in several weeks time. We want instant gratification as well as annonimity. So, when we see a salesperson in the 'hood, we pull the drapes down, and run and hide in a remote part of the house until the danger has passed.
Oh, how misunderstood the direct sales industry is!
Now, when you really, really sit down and think about it, the Direct Sales Industry is really as old, if not older than, well, the oldest profession of all. Thousands of years ago there was no such ICON of industry and wanton spending like Wal-Mart. No A & P to purchase your daily provisions at and no CVS with a drive through to pick up your latest health remedy.
Oh, no, the economy was driven by those stout hearted salesmen who travelled from home to home, city to city and state to state to bring direct to you the latest supplies you needed. Perhaps you were lucky enough to live in a city large enough to have its very own marketplace where many different vendors (many of them traveling) could share their wares with you, or perhaps your community was fortunate enough to have a general store where you could buy most of your immediate needs and place orders (again from traveling salesmen) for those big ticket items like furniture, heaters, farming equipment or even the latest in fashion.
Traveling salesmen were the industry and force that supplied most of the world with exactly what they needed and when they needed it. You could not have existed without making purchases from these people who gave up their lives to bring life to your lives. Nobody ran and hid from these gentlemen, in fact, the whole town would swarm the train station first when the salesman arrived and then again, in great anticipation of the arrival of the order.
But as time progressed, the need for the traveling sales man declined and as their ranks diminished and the department stores flourished, the competition for the sales became even more stiff and ushered in the era of pushy and even pushier sales people.
And, as time progressed even more, our personal time became more valuable and we began to enjoy and covet being able to shop at our leisure without the interruption of a pushy salesperson. Yes, there were still traveling salesmen out there and still they schlepped from home to home carrying large cases of product only to find out that fewer and fewer people were answering the door.
Yes, its true, a traveling salesman was nothing more than a direct sales representative. And today, society treats direct sales representatives with much of the same disdain as they once held for the traveling salesman.
Its sad and its unfair that such a wonderful industry has a stigmata attached to it that makes it one of the most demanding professions there is.
And direct sales is a profession. For the most part, Direct Sales Representatives are professional people. They run their business with as much seriousness as the store owner on the corner. They put in as much effort as the owner of any business. They expend as much money as any owner of any business and they feel the psychological and financial hurt of rejection, just like any other business owner. Yet, they are treated with contempt, people run from them, people have no problem with scheduling and then cancelling. Or writing a bad check for product or services received.
But what you don't realize is that Direct Sales Professionals are very necessary. First, they provide a service that you cannot get at your local store. A DSP (Direct Sales Professional) has intimate knowledge of their products. Can you remember the last time you went to the Piggly Wiggly and a cashier couldn't answer a question about a product? You really can't blame that cashier, she has thousands and thousands of products in her store and it would be pretty near impossible for that cashier to have intimate knowledge about each product in her store. But sit down with a Tupperware DSP and she can transform your kitchen cupboards from the black whole of spoiling food to an organized treasure trove of easy to find and very fresh food. Or spend time talking with an AVON DSP and you will not only get to know your skin type, but how to best take care of it as well as enjoy a no hassle return policy that you don't have to wait in line for over an hour to take advantage of. Be honest now. How many items of cosmetics or skin care items have you bought at Wal-Mart only to get home and find out that the product isn't right for you? And be honest, you'd rather just toss that $7.95 product than stand in line for 45 minutes only to be told the product is used and not returnable. And how many home decor stores will send out one of their sales persons to help you decide how a $50.00 purchase of candles and accessories will fit in with your existing decor? That's right, you get knowledge and service from a DSP that you would never find in any store at any time and for FREE!
Secondly, DSPs provide you with a cost effective way of obtaining products that you might not be able to afford through a hosting plan or through first order discounts. I've been to a department store with a girlfriend on a shopping spree. And no, they won't give me anything free or at a discount because my girlfriend is with me or agrees to buy something. And no, they won't give me a discount because its my first time there. But a DSP will.
And finally, they keep you informed. I know that Albertsons will not call me to check to see if I need any toilet paper right now. Its too bad when I run out. But my favorite Candle Lady checks in on a regular, though not frequent basis, to ask if I need anything. And my favorite Country Bunny DSP always lets me know when my favorite scent is on special or a new product comes out.
So, when it comes to push and shove, we need our DSPs more than ever. We don't have time to shop anymore, we need information and we need it when its convenient to us. We need the service, we need the follow through and we need the knowledge that only a DSP can provide.
Next time you see a DSP in your 'hood, don't run and hide, reach out and embrace them, you need them more than you think.
Welcome!
Truth be told, I'm procrastinating. I've got a thousand and one things to do on my list today and here I am starting up a blog. I certainly don't need anything else on my plate, I've got enough cookies there to feed an army, but hey, if you make me an M & M Chocolate Chip Cookie, I'll be happy to add just one more.
But, there is a need for this blog, a serious need. Direct sales is being maligned. Nobody understands it (who isn't already in it), those who try it, get frustrated and fail and public misconception makes our jobs much harder than they should be.
So, this BLOG is the truth about Direct Sales; The Good, The Bad and The Real Ugly. And this BLOG is for everybody: its for the consumer, its for the potential direct sales representative and its for those seasoned pros who just want to have fun reading about my adventures and mis-adventures and ups and downs and all arounds in the best career ever, DIRECT SALES!
Stay tuned, there's more to come, a lot more!
But, there is a need for this blog, a serious need. Direct sales is being maligned. Nobody understands it (who isn't already in it), those who try it, get frustrated and fail and public misconception makes our jobs much harder than they should be.
So, this BLOG is the truth about Direct Sales; The Good, The Bad and The Real Ugly. And this BLOG is for everybody: its for the consumer, its for the potential direct sales representative and its for those seasoned pros who just want to have fun reading about my adventures and mis-adventures and ups and downs and all arounds in the best career ever, DIRECT SALES!
Stay tuned, there's more to come, a lot more!
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