Are you looking for a great new way to have fun while making some extra money? For many people, becoming a direct sales consultant is the answer! However, it’s important to realize that you need to put in the work if you want to succeed at direct sales. Practically anybody can sign up to sell jewelry, but it’s up to you whether or not you actually end up making money.
Do you enjoy talking to your friends and family about fashion and accessories? Do you have a gregarious, outgoing personality? Is your social circle large? Although it’s not required to have any or all of these attributes, they’re definitely going to make a huge difference in the number of sales you make. But what about taking your sales even further? Here’s a list of proven direct sales tips that can help you make the leap from a few sales to a successful career!
How to Succeed as a Consultant
Before we begin, ask yourself one crucial question: What do you want to get out of your jewelry business? Everyone’s answer is different, so there’s no wrong answer. However, if you just want to make a little extra spending cash each month, that’s definitely going to have a different impact on your overall sales approach than if you want to make being a consultant your full-time career. Once you know what you truly want, you can utilize and tweak these tips as needed.
1. Set Goals Based on Your Needs
Everyone’s first goal is to recoup their initial investment. After which, you can look more closely at how you define success.
When it comes to setting goals, always remember to break them up into small, achievable and measurable pieces. In other words, let’s say your overall goal is to make $10,000 this year. By breaking this up into 10 smaller goals of $1,000, or even 20 goals of $500, you’ll be able to bask in success much more quickly! From a psychological standpoint, this will make the experience more fun, and it will also help keep you moving if you have a bad sales week.
2. Always Be Closing
Sales people refer to the ABCs of sales as “always be closing.” This is a simple concept that can definitely help you succeed at direct sales. In a nutshell, you should take every opportunity to show people what you’re selling. But you can’t stop there; you also have to let them know why they should buy it.
For example, let’s say you’re at the grocery store. You’re wearing your jewelry because that’s one of the best ways to advertise your brand. But you shouldn’t stop there. Be sure to have business cards on hand, along with a prepared, friendly sales pitch that you can easily segue into if someone compliments your bling.
3. Make a Schedule and Put in the Work
It’s not always easy to work on any business. That’s because daily distractions get in the way, and sometimes we’re quite simply too tired to focus on the finer details. Despite these impediments, you need to make a schedule and stick to it.
Putting in the work doesn’t entail just the fun stuff like trying on new jewelry and showing them to your friends. You’ll also have to do paperwork, look through the latest options and market yourself online. If you stick to it, even when you want to do something else instead, you could become the next massive direct sales success story!
4. Always Look for Opportunities to Host Parties
What do your coworkers do during their lunch break? The odds are high that at least some of them would be interested in shopping for jewelry without having to leave the office. This same principle applies in many areas of life. By seeking out every opportunity to host a party, you’ll greatly boost your odds of exceeding your monthly goal.
Don’t forget that a big part of how to succeed as a consultant involves getting others to sign up as a hostess. Be sure to let them know what’s in it for them and help them succeed by offering tips throughout the process. For instance, it’s vital to create a Facebook Event for each party, and they’ll also get a lot more interest if they tag their family and friends on the day of the event. Always remember that their success is your success!
5. A Strong Organization System Must be One of Your Top Priorities
Selling a high volume of jewelry requires time, dedication, patience, sales acumen, and strong organizational skills. If you only have the first four of these five qualities, your business isn’t going to flourish as much as it could. Invest in organizational tools for yourself, including spreadsheet software and a nice clothing rack. Don’t forget that looking disorganized will turn off potential buyers. Impress them instead!
6. Always Follow Up
Has someone expressed an interest in hosting a party? Or perhaps one of your coworkers has asked to see some jewelry? Following up is the best way to close the deal. Most people aren’t going to track you down, but if you take the time to reach out to them to answer a question, provide some necessary information or simply remind them about the perks of hosting a party, they’re going to be much more likely to buy something.
7. Network with Other Consultants
It’s wise to consider networking with other consultants in your industry. Whether that’s through attending conferences or becoming friends with other local sales reps, you will all benefit from working together instead of becoming overly territorial. There are plenty of sales to be made from multi-consultant pop-up shops. You can also help each other by discussing any questions or issues that may arise.
8. Place an Emphasis on Customer Service
Even if you sell primarily to friends, relatives and coworkers, you still need to make sure you always provide top-notch customer service. Failure to do so will ultimately hurt your sales.
Keep in mind that part of the customer service equation includes having a solid social media presence where people can easily connect with you. Always respond to any questions that are asked by current or potential customers. Treat everyone kindly, even if they’re being rude to you. Responding rudely in a public forum will hurt your reputation a lot more than it will harm the customer’s reputation.
Putting these direct sales tips to work will make it much easier to exceed your sales goals. Now get out there and have fun becoming a success!
