Effective Leadership of a team that isn’t local to you can be difficult but something that attracted me to this business was that these days we have this amazing thing called the internet. We are able to share our business with anyone, not only in our neighborhood but all across the world.
Building a Scentsy team that is in Maine, California, Washington and every where in between while you sit in Florida can really change your business. However having a non local team can cause several issues and problems as well. Being an effective direct sales leader and supporting people that aren’t near you can be very difficult if you don’t have a very strong set of systems in place and know exactly what you are doing.
In every direct sales business I have ever been in, all of my sponsors or mentors have been in another state. Most of the time I didn’t know them and I pretty much had no idea what I was doing. That being said, I am the type of person who likes to jump in full force in order for me to learn. I don’t like hand holding or someone calling me every day so having a mentor far away and only available when I needed them was perfect for me. Having this type of mind set can be favorable or can really hurt you. It is important to remember, that although you learn a certain way and only wanted help when you asked for it, not all new consultants will be like that. That was a hard lesson for me to learn. As I have grown and mentored with countless successful direct sales leaders, I have had to learn to put a strong set of steps in place for my new consultants. They could choose to use the system or they could choose to leave it be, but either way it needed to be in place just in case. That probably is my biggest tip, so you get 6 in this article but here are some others that will help you manage you non local direct sales team.
Effective Leadership Tips
1. Keep records of your communication and keep the engagement flowing. I keep a notebook full of all my new team members. The notebook is separated by month. When a new consultant joins my team, I add their name to this notebook. You can also do this using an excel spreadsheet but I find a notebook works better for me so I can keep it with me in my purse and when I have down time in my car or in a waiting room, I can follow up. Under their name here is what I add:
Address, Phone Number, Birthday Date and their Join Date. Then I list the following and write the date next to them as I complete them. Welcome Email, Facebook message, Welcome Card/Gift (This usually consists of a handwritten note on a postcard, a magnet,or some cute item from the Target) Add to Facebook Groups, Are they Interested in Building a team? Welcome Phone Call, Text or Marco Polo.
Then I list my communications which say Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 and Week 4. Once I connect with my new Scentsy Consultant, I note it on each week to keep track for them and also myself.
After that, I note in my book every single time I come in contact with my new direct sales team member. Whether it be a Facebook message, a phone call, a text, snail mail. Anything, I note the date in the notebook. This allows me to quickly turn the pages and see what dates I am on and who I need to immediately follow up with. I catch up with so many new team members using this method. There is a lot of down time while waiting for doctors or in traffic, so you might as well make some phone calls to your new direct sales team members. Keep the engagement and communication flowing. Let them know you are always there for them and you will continue to check on them each week in case they need one on one coaching. You have to be more available to those team members who are not near you. They don’t have the joy of being able to walk to your house if they need help. Use all of our social platforms like skype or google to give them extra love and attention especially in the first 90 days.
2. Be sure your new direct sales team member knows where to find things and how to use the work station. Schedule a call or a Facebook chat to walk your new team member through the work station. Make sure she knows where to go and how to find all the resources available to her. A few minutes after taking this step, I will ensure that there are less questions during her launch party and down the road when she brings her first team member aboard.
3. It’s OK to use Facebook messenger. Make sure your new consultant is ready before her first home or launch party. Effective leadership is crucial when it comes to getting your new peep ready. This is a huge point if you have a lot of non-local team members. If newbies do not feel confident before their launch, they will go into hiding. Because you are not close to them, they don’t have that security blanket of you coming to their party to help them. Some won’t even be able to see a party before they have to calm down their nerves and be in front of a group of people.
Set up a Facebook chat schedule or even a ZOOM meeting and especially a few phone calls so she can hear your voice. You will be able to give her confidence and make her feel at ease. Let her know that all she has to do is have fun and make herself one of the girls at the party. Tell her she doesn’t have to sell but to simply share her passion for the company and our products. All of the sudden fear melts away when she realizes that she doesn’t have to do a two hour presentation. There is no right or wrong when doing a party except that FUN Is required.
4. Try to record everything you do. Make video a vital part of your communication and training. If you can, have someone record your party. You can post it on you tube privately and send her the link. This will be so beneficial to her because she will have something to go by. The video doesn’t have to be perfect. In fact you could do a mock one and pretend people are in the room. Just give her some idea of what to say and how to carry her self since this will be her first time. The idea is to give her the feeling that she is with you when you are doing things without actually having to be with you.
5. Don’t just rely on Live Team Meetings and Facebook. Even if you do live meetings and always recognize people, you must accept the fact that not even an 1/8th of your team will be on your webinars. For this reason, you can’t make excuses and you must go above and beyond.
- Post what you talk about in your Facebook group even if the call is recorded.
- Send out an email to your entire team listing who you have recognized as a follow up to the live calls.
- Mail awards in the mail ASAP. Don’t wait. This is really important. They shouldn’t be waiting a month for gifts that you have for things they have accomplished.
- Keep them up to date on any pertinent information you cover during your team calls.
Change your thinking about your direct sales team and non local mentoring
Remember, it isn’t OK to have one way of thinking and have that be “Oh I do live calls so that is enough”. I have been guilty of that in the past but have changed my business mentality and it really has made a positive affect on my business. If you establish a strong mentoring relationship and one that has open communication with your non local team members from the beginning, you will see a direct sales team that not only grows nationally but even internationally and rapid speeds.
