I started my direct sales journey over two years ago with LuLaRoe and have since moved to Paisley Raye and Java Momma. What I have learned in all three businesses is that having robust, cost effective tools that increase productivity are key. No business wants to spend money or time they don't need t0o. These 5, or really 6, tools are the key tools for running my business effectively.
In direct sales, graphics are key. Creating your own graphics and branding are a great way to stand out in the crowd. One of the best pieces of graphic design software for direct sellers is PicMonkey PicMonkey has a complete set of design tools on the website but also had a mobile app for creating images on the go. From Instagram images to Facebook shout outs with PicMonkey you can create compelling, interesting and most of all unique images that set your business apart. It is easy to incorporate your logo and branding into your images on both the desktop site and mobile app.
Tailwind is a autoscheduler for both Instagram and Pinterest. I am not the greatest about posting to either my Instagram or Pinterest and Tailwind is a cost effective way for me not to forget. The Tailwind Pinterest tool is nothing short of amazing. It is extremely customizable and also easy to use. Using Tailwind and following the methods taught in the Sassy Suite Pinterest Course I went from about 700 to 42k monthly viewers in about 7 weeks. I used the autoscheduler function and also pinned my content to the tailwind "tribes". They are somewhat similar to group boards where bloggers and direct sellers share and re-share content. (Don't worry if that doesn't make sense Tailwind has great tutorials). While not free you get a lot of bang, and exposure for your buck with Tailwind. You can grab a free trial (100 pins and/or 30 Instagram Posts) by clicking here.
If you have a direct sales business that allows an online website (for selling) outside your replicated website then Shopify is a great option. I'm not particularly techie and it was easy to figure out with the help of a few DIY articles and tutorials (mostly made by Shopify). The SEO is easy to optimize and my site quickly started ranking in google searches.
If you are looking for inventory management software without the selling features Swiftorder is my favorite option. Compared to the competitors the speed of loading and ease of use is far superior.
Sassy Suite and Socialite Suite (the free community!) are online marketing coaching webinars, courses and groups created by Brenda Ster. While not a tool in the traditional sense, Sassy Suite is a tool chest full of tools to help grow your business. My blog was created with the Sassy Suite Blogging Bootcamp and my online presence and branding were honed in the Elite Suite!. Your can find a complete list of my favorites here.
Those are my favorite tools for direct sellers. Please let me know if you have any questions. I've also got some of my other favorite direct sales courses here and if you are a clothing seller looking for Income Producing Activities I've got some ideas for you in this blog and I'd love to have you join my newsletter for all the latest!
The first step it to set your sales goal for the month. How much do you want to make? Take that number and multiply it by two and that is roughly what you will need to sell (your gross sales). From there you will want to take the total gross sales and divide them by your average price per piece to see how many pieces you will need to sell. I always use $35 for the average price per piece. Hopefully your average price is higher but $35 per piece is my worse case scenario so I use that. Let take an example: you want to take home $1500 dollars for the month. Multiply that by two and you get $3000. That is your monthly sales goal. Divide $3000 by $35 and you get about 85. 85 is your piece goal for your month in our example.
You now have your goal monthly gross and goal piece count. Write this number everywhere! I put it in a little "Goals" note in my phone and I also write it on my monthly planner page and in my iphone. I divide both numbers by four to get my weekly sales and piece goal and put it on each page in my planner as well. Having your goal visible everywhere will help keep you on track.
So now you know how many pieces you need to sell but how do YOU want to sell them? There are lots of options including in-home parties, online VIP groups, vendor events and personal shopping. Decide your goal for how many of each type of selling event you want to do. I highly recommend you start out doing a mix of types of events to start with.
When I started out in apparel direct sales I wanted to do lots of in-home pop-ups. But, it was the middle of winter in Chicagoland and everyone wanted to book online pop-ups. On top of that in-home pop-ups and open houses were not working for my family. My oldest son is autistic and the changes to the schedule were making him anxious. So I switched to mostly working online where it wouldn't disrupt his schedule. The moral of the story is to make sure you stay flexible on the types of events you book.
Now that you've decided on what type of events you want to do it's time to get promoting. Promote to your friends and family, at the coffee shop and online. Remember to meet your client where they already are. For most of us that is social media. Even in-person pop-ups can be marketed well online and I highly recommend Brenda Ster's Socialite Suite and Suite SassyPants Premium Coaching group for guidance on building your social media presence.
My strategy is always changing. I evaluate where I am in relationship to my monthly goals every week. Pop-ups bomb and launches boom. You will need to evaluate where you are as you go along and add more selling activities as necessary. I then repeat the goal setting exercise every month. You will be able to refine your process as you have more information on exactly how much your various selling activities are grossing.
Good luck on your Paisley Raye Consultant journey! Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you'd like more info on joining my team. I'd love to get you started on your Paisely Raye journey!