Direct Selling 2.0: Three recommendations for enhancing your efficiency

The direct selling industry is a large contributor to economic growth in the US. According to numbers published by the Direct Selling Association, more than 50% of US adults say they have having purchased goods or services from a direct sales representative. Additionally, one in five American adults reports having been or currently working as a direct seller.

Many of these individuals are attracted by the flexibility of work hours and the ability to develop personal business connections. Yet, relatively few direct sellers ever secure truly substantial earnings. This is partly due to the time commitment that is required and the challenges in selling productively.

But a group of new productivity tools ranging from web-based communication management systems, to sharing your desktop apps and free conference call services are definitely making life easier for direct sellers. This summary touches on three key areas where direct sellers can work more productively.

Tip 1: Use an e-mail management application

For most direct sellers, online communication is a critical component of maintaining existing relationships and prospecting new ones. We have moved well beyond the era of mere Outlook mail merge! New offerings by companies such as Constant Contact, EmailLabs, and MyNewsletterBuilder allow direct sellers to create templates where preconfigured content can be easily inserted.

This content might feature announcements of new product availability, incentives for higher performance, updates on shipping arrival schedules, etc. The main point is that these tools enable direct sellers to create professional appearing content using a fraction of the time that older methods required.

The more advanced offerings provide tracking capabilities. These tracking capabilities can provide a range of data from the open rates on e-mails to the click-throughs on links. These services also typically manage the unsubscribe function in order to facilitate compliance with spam laws.

Tip 2: Use a free conference calling system

In the last few years, there have been literally dozens of companies launching free teleconferencing services. All of them work on the same central principle: they provide you a personal access number and a toll number to dial. If all participants dial the same number and enter the same code, they are put into the call together. Active direct sellers can save hundreds of dollars a month by using such systems.

The newer services offer extra features applicable to direct sellers. Examples include call recording, listen-only dial in codes for training and education conference calls, and agenda archival. One such provider is Rondee.com, a conference call service which enables online scheduling.

Tip 3: Use a desktop sharing system

Desktop sharing can be of vital importance for the direct selling entrepreneur. Whether it's sharing a PowerPoint document illustrating the benefits and features of a new product or a spreadsheet showing the performance of various down-line members, desktop sharing can be quite useful.

One could just e-mail out the presentation or attachment to all the participants. But a desktop sharing application enables the organizer to control the presentation and pace of everything. And more sophisticated applications including those offered by WebEx or Yugma allow the presenter to turn control over to other users.

Some users choose a best-of-breed approach and use different services for desktop sharing and conferencing. Increasingly, however, conference providers are moving to bundle desktop sharing functionality into their core product. Either way, direct sellers are benefiting.

Bob Letterman has extensively published opinion pieces on how telecommunications technology can increase productivity. He assisted the design of Rondee.com's free conference call service.