This question is the one that is asked with the most passion and worry, since the success path turns entirely on getting the first 500 to 1000 distributors or consultants. The cornerstones of growth and momentum in direct selling are recruiting & selling, field training, and retaining. Building a sales force is both art and science, combining proven fundamentals with communication and fast-paced technology. Distilling the wisdom of volumes and experience that could take you decades to digest, we approach recruiting & selling, field training and retention in a straightforward manner, giving you the proven methods and tools.
Recruiting & Selling
For seasoned MLM distributors, party plan consultants and newcomers alike, recruiting and selling turn the business wheels. The three crucial considerations for any company in its early years are listed below:
- “Priming the Pump” – attracting and building sales leaders to start building your company’s foundation
- “Pumping the Pump” – creating your system for ongoing recruiting
- Creating a culture that fosters long-term recruiting success
Priming the Pump
If you’re like most MLM start up companies, you are faced with the $10 million question: where do we find our first group of field leaders to help us recruit and sell? The party plan startups wonder the same thing. Building an initial sales force relies on six principles and a host of best practices gleaned from the front lines of the recruiting battle.
Principle # 1 – There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Each individual has his / her own “why” for choosing your company. Understand and embrace their “why.”
Principle # 2 – People will die for a cause. Frame your company’s story to concisely and powerfully address the deep meaning behind your products, your compensation, and your company culture.
Principle # 3 – Somebody has to sell the soap. Early efforts to seed the company’s growth most often fall on the shoulders of the company founders and leaders. A well-defined “success cycle” will then engender and fuel subsequent growth. Remember that the Space Shuttle burns 85% of its fuel in the first 8 minutes of its mission.
Principle # 4 – Seek to understand your target market(s). Realize that early course adjustments are more often required as you discover who is really taking an interest in your company compared with your perception and expectations when you designed your products and compensation system.
Principle # 5 – You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Have enough of your operating, marketing, sales and training systems in place to capture and hold the attention and confidence of early customers and recruits.
Principle # 6 – There is no magic bullet. As you fold back the blanket of any success story, you will discover that vision, passion, and diligence have always been demanded as a price of success. Building an effective initial sales force may require a sustained, multi-faceted approach for a minimum of 3 to 6 months or more.
Pumping the Pump
Many decades of direct selling have yielded profound understanding in how to build a company that thrives on recruiting. If your goal is to design a business-building system that assures immediate and enduring results for your builders, you must focus on creating a success cycle that conforms to your unique products, compensation system and culture. The elements common to all successful MLM recruiting systems consist of a well-defined cycle, foundational steps that initiate the cycle, and skills and activities that fuel the cycle. Party Plan companies know that bookings and hostess incentives are the lifeblood. Think of these processes as a recruiting “machine” with inputs and outputs.
Creating a Culture that Fosters Long-term Recruiting Success
Whether you are a seasoned builder or new to the world of direct selling, the principle-centered sponsoring system offers a proven method for developing highly successful organizations. Based on the break-through system called “Principle-Centered Sponsoring” developed by the DSWA, this acclaimed system is exclusively tailored for LaunchSmart™ clients.
Learning and using the principles and methods of Principle-Centered Sponsoring, you develop a culture of builders and leaders who do much more than merely recruit, recruit, recruit. Instead, they help their customers and distributors obtain clarity on their own visions-why they are becoming involved, what they want to have happen, and how the products and earnings systems can help them achieve their ideals, whatever they are.
Recruiting & Selling Checklist & Key Considerations
- Have we considered which recruiting methods are best suited for our company?
- Which channels do we expect to be the most fruitful for generating leads?
- What is our lead generation strategy?
- Will we use a Founder’s Group, and if so, have we set guidelines and expectations?
- Will we use a field advisory council, and if so, do we have the charter and ground rules for going forward?
- Do we have our communications plan put together (public relations, conference calls, newsletters, website) and ready for deploying field leader recruitment?
- Have we established a core leadership group to drive foundational enrollments? If not, have we explored the options for “seeding” growth?
- Are our recruiting and development philosophies reflected in our guides and training systems?
- Do we embrace the principles and practices of Principle-Centered Sponsoring?
- Are we on solid footing with the recruiting practices that create momentum and long-term viability?
- Do we understand the 6 principles and 11 practices for launching our field leader recruitment strategy?