Stop Gifting Your Customers to Other Consultants

Whether you have been in your direct sales business for years or are brand new, one thing you have probably figured out by now is that you work hard to acquire and maintain customer relationships. Now, I'm not saying that there is a LACK of customers, by any means. In fact, at Successfully Social we do our best to continually encourage you to approach your business with a mindset of abundance. But come on people, you still need to make smart decisions! I am willing to bet that many of you are handing your hard earned customers to other consultants in your company without even realizing it. But that all stops now!

So wait, I know what you're thinking..."NO, not me, I am not doing that." Okay, fair enough. But are you sure? No, I don't think that you're actually taking your customer's phone number and texting it over to the competition. But did you realize that every time you share a product pin from another consultant, every time you share a YouTube product demonstration that another consultant has created, even every time you grab someone else's Facebook party posts that they've shared in a consultant group, you are running the risk of introducing your customers to that other consultant. And I'm quite sure THAT wasn't what you had in mind, right?

Let's take a look at Pinterest first. So often we are jumping on Pinterest quickly in the car line, waiting at the doctor's office, etc. We see something we like and we pin it, if for no other reason so that we can come back to it later and check it out. Sound familiar? But what you might not realize as you're pinning that super cute product usage is that the consultant who originally took the pic and put it up is likely leading people who click all the way through on it over to her blog or her Facebook page, where she then has the opportunity to sell to those folks that ended up there. So then when you re-pin it quick just from that little preview screen without following that link and seeing where it goes, you could be unwittingly advertising for her to all of those friends, customers and hostesses who follow YOU on Pinterest. Instead of going down that road, when you see a product use idea pic you like, take note of it, screenshot it if you like, and then make it a point to go back and use that picture as inspiration to take your very own pic of that item for use in your social media.

The other examples I have for you are pretty similar. Let's just say that someone from your company has created a stellar product demonstration video and put it publicly on YouTube to allow her fellow consultants to use it. Super sweet of her, right? Well, yes and no. While there are certainly many consultants who will share like this just for the sake of the sisterhood, the truly social savvy chicks know that not only will all these consultants sharing her video, liking it, commenting on it, etc. will up her YouTube visibility, but this smart cookie has probably also got that particular video leading into another video on a product, or even the opportunity. And when you're putting that video into a party or into your customer group, you're pointing your customers right at her and saying "check out how cool she is". Hmm...no good, right? So instead (y'all knew this was coming) make your own videos!! They don't need to be amazing production quality with professional sets, but they should be YOU. And a general rule of thumb is...if something has a long shelf life, make a video. If it's a one-off breaking news type event, just use Facebook LIVE.

Okay, finally, grabbing that whole Facebook party from a fellow consultant and calling it your own. Y'all, I get it, writing a Facebook party can be tedious. Particularly with changing monthly specials, new product announcements, etc. And okay, of these three examples, this one is the least risky, assuming you are paying attention to what you're doing. Most of the consultants who are sharing their Facebook party have obviously created it initially for themselves. Only makes sense, yes? So IF you're going to borrow some or all of the posts from a party please at least do yourself a favor and make sure that you've gone through it with a fine tooth comb and removed anything that references back to that consultant's team name, their website, their Facebook business page or albums on their business page, etc. You would think that this would be a no-brainer, but I can't even tell you how many times I have seen one consultant push another consultants info out inside a party. Talk about an oops. Please don't be that girl!!!

Alright, so in closing, as usual, I am advocating for you to create your own stuff for social media absolutely as much as you possibly can. And in particular, be wary in these specific areas.

Connecting With Others On The Go

Relationship marketing is at the core how we build a strong, sustainable business. Advertising has changed dramatically, companies are putting their dollars into digital marketing. Not surprising as people can be tied to their phones but they are also happy to connect and do business with others that they know, like and trust.

As you go about your day in your local community do you really connect with others. Do you smile, ask questions, use people's name? Your local community is a gold mine of customers, hostesses, team members, referrals, every person on average can connect you to 300 more. Learning the skills of relationship marketing is truly a must in this business. The classic book "How to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie is a good read and education on how to successfully connect with others.

However, what I am talking about today is how to connect digitally with the people you meet. And it is so easy! Business cards are still a great tool for connection but having a digital connection is powerful as well. Connecting through Messenger as often as you can is an ideal way to be able to keep in touch with the people you meet. It's as easy as scanning their Messenger Code. Here's how:

From Home, tap your profile picture in the top left corner. Tap your picture at the top of the page. Tap My Code to let someone scan your code, or tap Scan Code to scan someone else's.

Once connected, you can continue the conversation. Think of messenger as digital conversations, not digital sales. Remember the lessons in Dale Carnegie's book!

You can also connect people directly to your public online events. You can create a QR code for these events and people can scan the code and join the event. Here are the steps:

If you're the host of a public event, you can create a QR code to promote your event.

To create a QR code:

Go to your event and click the three dots in the top right

Select Create QR Code

Click Download

These tools are a great way to connect through conversations in your community. Practice them today so you are ready to use these tools next time you leave the house.

Three Ways to Stand Out at Your Holiday Vendor Events

I spent some time the other day thinking about the upcoming holidays and how I can maximize this month and share idea's with others to help them maximize the month while bringing enormous value to our customers. This month's cheque is our holiday cheque and typically the highest cheque of the year. So what's a direct seller to do? Do the things that other's don't, so you can have a business that other's won't.

IDEA 1: Bring a tree to decorate with your products, use your products as gifts under the tree and stuff some stockings with our products INSTEAD of setting up a table display. Ensure the decorations, gifts and stockings are ready for sale. Don't follow the crowd, bring the fun factor and enjoy the festive season!

IDEA 2: Use your table as a gift wrapping station! Bring gift wrap, bows, tags, ribbon, confetti, and stickers, and let people wrap their purchases at your table, play some Christmas music, serve some cocoa and cookies. Put a jar on the table for donations to your favorite charity and ensure your finger is ready to help them tie the perfect bow! Providing a service invites people to your booth and gives you a chance to start some conversations; we are in the relationship marketing business after all! Have a sheet for them to fill out their contact information so you can send a thank you card and forward to the charity for tax donation receipts.

IDEA 3: Expand your Social Media following by sharing the fun of your booth with your audience. You are going to be announcing on your social media channels the amount raised for your charity, so ask them to follow you (it's easy they have their phone with them, after all). Create a contest around the day by offering a special drawing for those that share a selfie (with their fabulously wrapped gift) on your business page, and let them know they will get a second chance of winning by liking your page! Remember to follow through, comment on their pictures, and ensure that you have a strong content plan for after the event.

Now go out and ROCK your vendor events and remember to take some time to brainstorm some ideas of your own.

Are You a (Facebook) Jailbird?

You've heard of it, you've seen friends complain about it, maybe you've even got locked up yourself. Facebook Jail...a term that didn't even exist five years ago but that's now as common as peanut butter and banana sandwiches. (yep, that is gross, btw)

Urban Dictionary defines Facebook Jail as "Facebook itself blocking you due to something you've either posted, words you've used or for harassment of another user." Let's dig a little deeper...

Ending up in Facebook Jail doesn't necessarily mean that you're unable to use Facebook altogether. Generally you will be blocked from just specific features of Facebook, usually the ones on which whatever offense occurred that landed you in jail in the first place. So, for example, if you sent messages through Facebook Messenger that people reported to Facebook, you might be blocked from using Messenger for a period of time. If you posted something in a closed group that someone reported, you might lose the option to post to groups. If you friend requested too many people that denied you and marked you as a spammer, you might be unable to friend request any more people for a set amount of time. Facebook will limit your functionality, or jail you, for anywhere from 24 hours (think first offense, or just one complaint against you) to 30 days (serious repeat offenders get that 30 day sentence.) If, after a 30 day sentence, you've still not learned your lesson, you can probably expect to have Facebook shut down your account altogether.

So, you're thinking...but WAIT, I'm no spammer!! Hey, we get it. We believe you when you tell us you have nothing but the best of intentions. But here's the deal: sometimes you end up in Facebook Jail anyway. Call it wrongfully accused, appeal the conviction (which rarely works) but it happens. So let's look at the best ways to avoid the Facebook Slammer completely, shall we?

1. Stop taking other people's content! When you take those great company pics that everyone else is using and throw them out on your customer page, business page, etc. there's a really good chance that those images have a spammer label attached to them already, simply due to their widespread usage, and you putting it out there throws your name in the spammer pile. Instead, create your own images using Canva, PicMonkey, etc. 
2. Don't post in random local groups asking for bookings, sales, recruits, etc. Let's say you're in 6 local groups (you know, yard sale groups, local mom's groups, business women's networking groups, etc.) If you write a post talking about the amazing sale you're currently having or how you are looking for "just two more women who want to make money from home", and then you copy/paste that post into all those groups, there's a really good chance Facebook is going to jail you. First off, THAT is spammy and gross, and just don't be that girl. And secondly, if you're using the exact same content back to back in rapid fire procession across all these places, that's a red flag to Facebook regardless of the actual content of your post. Which brings me to our next point...
3. If you're running multiple Facebook parties over the same span of days, and using a fabulous scheduling service like Cinch Share, do NOT schedule all those posts to go into all those events at the exact same time. For the same reason as above - it's a red flag that you might just be a robot. Stagger your post times from event to event so that you're not gushing about your customer special in all 7 Facebook parties at the exact same millisecond. 
4. While we are on events, if you're doing a single night live party event, make sure that you're staggering the posts for that. Every three minutes is a good rule of thumb right now. If you're posting more frequently than that, Facebook might snatch you up and not let you post at all, which is WAY worse than your guests having to wait and extra minute for your next pearls of wisdom in the party.

Hopefully those tips will help keep you from racking up a Facebook criminal record. If you've been jailed for something else, leave us a comment, we promise not to laugh at you!!

If Facebook Were a Country....

So you may have heard, right at the end of June, Facebook reached the 2 billion user mark. Meaning if Facebook were a country, it would be the most populous in the world. After launching only 13 years ago, Facebook now serves 2 billion of the 7.5 billion people on the planet. And there is no end in sight on that growth.

Check out this chart, which can be found in an article from TechCrunch.com

So what does that mean to you, as a business person trying to do business in the land of Facebook? Well, frankly, first and foremost, if you're NOT doing business already on Facebook, you better start. Your competitors are there. Your customers are there. Heck, your customer's mama is there. Everyone is there. If you're not, you are missing the boat. BUT, as we always will tell you at Successfully Social, you better not go in there thinking you can be all business all the time and find that success you're looking for...

Above all else, Facebook is still SOCIAL. It is the perfect place to grow relationships...plant the seeds through your Facebook parties or networking in common interest groups, cultivate those relationships through Facebook Messenger or in your closed customer groups, and ultimately watch those relationships bloom as those customers come back to you, book their own parties, and even become (gasp) FRIENDS of yours outside of the business relationship. That's what this whole crazy Facebook thing is all about.

Look for a future post where we dive deeper into the different areas of Facebook...your personal wall, your business fan page, your closed group...and talk about what is appropriate for each of those different locales.

So what IS Successfully Social?

Hi blog world! Welcome to our brand new Successfully Social blog.

Successfully Social officially launched AS Successfully Social in January of 2017, but we've been around creating content prior to that...that's just when we became "us". So who is us, you ask? Let me delve a little deeper...

Successfully Social is Beth Reed and Kelly Van Balkom. We've been in direct sales for a combined insane amount of years, and in 2016 teamed up with Lifeline Coaching & Education to make the realm of social media more accessible to the average direct seller. Social media has changed the face of direct selling, and we are ultra passionate about helping other direct sellers see that they not only need to DO social, but that they need to do it RIGHT.

We've all seen those direct sellers all over Facebook who are doing it wrong...being in your face obnoxious, selling on their personal walls, sending unsolicited messages about joining their team, tagging you in posts about their oh-so-exciting sales, etc. Please, DON'T BE THAT GIRL!

Let's put the SOCIAL back in social media...put the relationship before the sale. Be someone that people WANT to do business with. I promise it's not difficult, and we'll be here for you every step of the way.

Look for more blog posts coming soon, more courses coming soon, and in the meantime you can join us over on Facebook by following the links on the right. See you on social!