Find Leads At Direct Sales Fundraiser Events

I have often heard direct sales consultants say that they do not do fundraisers because the commission is not as high or they require more work or too many catalogs. Fundraisers are an awesome way to find leads for your business and keep your direct sales business tree solidly rooted.

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Fundraisers Keep Direct Sales Business Solid

Fundraiser events are often offered as another type of show by the direct sales company for their consultants to offer to the customer. Frequently these events pay the consultant a reduced commission due to the money being returned to the fundraising committee. If your company does not have a custom-created fundraiser opportunity for you to offer your clients, I suggest you create one yourself because they are a great way to keep your business solid.

Have A Solid Direct Sales Business

When you are constantly bringing strangers into your business you will have a solid business that continues to grow. The “stranger” root on your business tree is like your business tap root. Each new person who hosts a show or joins your team brings so many new people into your business that you never have to worry about where to find business.  These are just a few of the many reasons why all direct sales consultants should include fundraiser events in their repertoire:

• People who will not go to a live home party will go to a fundraiser.
• Most people at a fundraiser show are totally unrelated to your existing client base.
• Organizations can harness LOTS of order-takers to create massive sales.
• Booking bonuses enhance your scheduling capabilities at fundraiser events.

Don’t be stingy with the catalogs! Every March I provide fundraiser services to a high school marching band. I give them 65 catalogs. The show has ranged from $2000-4500 each year!

Get your organizers psyched up! Teach them how to upsell and give a bookings bonus and it will pay off!

Quarter Auctions…. Find Business & Have FUN!!!!

We had so many requests for more information after my last article on using Quarter Auctions to find business that I asked Rebecca Rodriguez from Thirty-One Gifts to share her experiences at Quarter Auctions.

What Is A Quarter Auction?

Basically what you do is you take 4 or 5 items depending on what the organization holding the Auction requests. My recommendation is to also make the items a lot of fun to look at. You will get more bids the more appealing your item looks, so add some things to what you are auctioning off. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to do this. You will use your product line then head to the Dollar Store or dollar section at a local store to dress things up a bit.

All of the Quarter Auctions that I have participated in donated some of the money to a charity. One of the items you give is usually a strict donation to the organization and the rest you get to keep the quarters that are bid on it. Guests bid on the items with their paddles that they have bought as an entrance fee. They raise their paddle and place their quarters in a container and then the auctioneer calls a number. If the number that is called did not place a bid that person says no bid and they call another number. If the number that is called had placed a bid then they win the item.

Find Direct Sales Business Leads

I would suggest everyone to look for a Quarter Auction to participate in. They are so much fun and you get a lot of leads for your direct sales business. Not only are you growing your business but you are also helping some great causes!!

Find Direct Selling Business At Quarter Action

A Quarter Auction is a vendor event that is sponsored by direct selling consultants who are working together in a collaborative effort. Usually about 10-12 direct sales distributors, each from a different company, organize a Quarter Auction.

Normally held on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, a Quarter Auction is an exciting event and develops a following of guests who come each month. The events are fast-paced and fun.

The Quarter Auction that I attended had a lot of money flowing. Every consultant that I have interviewed at a Quarter Auction says that they always find plenty of bookings, sign new consultants and also make some sales. At a minimum, the events generate bookings and a financial break-even. The events are successful for all direct sales consultants involved, as the collaboration of everyone’s efforts brings in big results.

Solid Direct Sales Business

In direct sales it is imperative to your business that you continually bring in new clients. A Quarter Auction is an excellent way to bring “strangers” into your client base and keep your business solid. Each direct sales consultant involved in the Quarter Auction invites their database, hosts and customers. This collaboration brings each consultant the opportunity to network and meet all of the other consultants’ clients and friends.

The event is kind of like bingo. Each guest pays to enter the Quarter Auction. For their admission fee they get a ping pong paddle that has a number painted on it. Some people buy more than one paddle so they can play more than one game. They use the same paddle all night to play.

Please NOTE that a Quarter Auction can be considered a game of chance in some states and may require licensing. The ones that I have participated with in PA all had a bingo license that (I was told) covered the rules necessary for games of chance. Do your own research in this area no matter what state you live in!!

Many Direct Selling Companies

Each consultant from each of the different companies involved donates a certain predetermined value of goods to the auction. With many different consultants from different companies, the auction items could include: Longaberger, Tastefully Simple, Pampered Chef, Wildtree, Avon, Mary Kay and any other direct selling company products you can think of. The ones I have attended lasted 4 hours and auctioned off 100′s of direct selling company products.

It is run like a regular auction. The guests bid on each item by putting their quarter into a basket and holding up their paddle. Each item has a minimum bid. It could be 1-4 quarters. With a room full of bidders (the one I was at had at least 100 people) an item that sells for retail of $40 may get more than 100 quarters in the bid baskets.  As each item is “closed” for bidding, a number is picked from a big bowl of ping pong balls and whoever owns that number on their paddle wins the prize.  If you do not bid and your number is pulled, then you do not win. The money collected at the door and in the baskets goes to the room rental and is divided among the vendors.

Each consultant has a vendor table around the room and take turns with duties and staffing their tables. At the tables the distributors are booking shows, signing up consultants and selling products. Some are playing the auctioneer and others are collecting money, rotating the auction items into place, emptying the bid baskets and other duties. Other opportunities for “selling” may include beverages, etc.

Direct Sales – Selling With Emotions

The Quarter Auction success depends upon the commitment of the consultants involved. It takes a willingness to share your customer base, as well as the commitment to time involved in creating a successful series of events. A Quarter Auction with 100 – 150 guests might not necessarily happen the first time. Everyone that I have every discussed Quarter Auctions with has said they are an awesome way to find business!

Finding Direct Sales Leads

If you do not have enough direct sales business then you are probably not taking advantage of all the resources available to you to generate leads. I am not talking about buying lead lists here.

Best Leads Are Free Leads

The best lead generation programs take advantage of the UNLIMITED supply of FREE leads. Are you willing to go to any lengths to succeed in business? If so, then you just need to be willing to use every marketing opportunity available to you. Friends, family, school, work, church and other organizations in our life are all acquaintances. What are you doing to find and bring strangers into your business?

You must have a steady flow of people/leads into your business who are not related to your existing client base. That means you must continually and consistently add strangers to your client list. Strangers are totally unrelated to your existing customer base. If your friends, family and neighbors are avoiding you, then maybe it is time to look somewhere else for business.

Qualified Lead Generation Programs

Paying for a lead generation program is not necessary when you learn how to create desire for your services, opportunity or products and put a massive number of leads into your sales funnel. Qualified leads are those who seek you out and have desire for your product, opportunity or services.

You can always make up in numbers what you lack in skills. The numbers are what gives you the skills. Check out the bookings – finding business category for more creative ideas on how to find business to fill your sales funnel with an unlimited supply of leads.

Find Leads With Sales Funnel For Direct Selling Success

Direct selling success always comes down to finding enough business leads. The sales funnel is an old-fashioned concept for making sure your direct selling business always has enough leads.

Making the best use of the sales funnel requires an understanding of the two principles of why it works.

Do you like this graphic? Share it with your friends or sales organization. Link to this page or print out the sales funnel and use it in your sales team training. Print The Sales Funnel

Finding Sales Leads In Direct Selling

One part of the concept is the fact that the funnel is wider at the top, allowing for more leads into the sales funnel. All direct selling businesses must have a wide variety of lead generation systems in place. It is important to be sure to use every resource available to you to find direct selling leads and new customers for your business.

You can not depend ONLY on acquaintances. Friends, family neighbors, etc. are only one lead generation system. All successful systems depend on multiple sources of business.

Direct Selling Customer Loyalty

The other principle of the sales funnel is that customers may voluntarily come into your funnel with minimal commitment.  The widest part is actually no commitment or minimal obligation.

Showing up at your direct selling party is an example of a customer who does not have much commitment to your business and voluntarily steps into your sale funnel.  As the customer falls deeper into the funnel, their commitment level increases and they begin to have a level of customer loyalty to you.

Here are two examples of the increase in commitment a lead may make from two different lead sources:

A Home Party Lead

• Come to a home party show
• Buy a product
• Schedule their own home show

A Lead From A Vendor Event

• Stop and talk
• Fill out a prize drawing
• Answer the phone when you call
• Schedule a show
• Sign up to be a consultant

Direct Sellers Use The Marketing Funnel

Filling your marketing funnel with a massive amount of sales leads from a wide variety of sources and having a graduated system of developing faithful customers is how you create a consistent cash flow in your home business.  Eventually, the lead turns into a customer, who then schedule a show, and possibly becomes a direct selling distributor.  As you develop more loyal customers a steady stream of cash will flow out the bottom of the funnel.

Tips For Success

A couple of quick tips about the funnel will help you to achieve greater success in your direct sales business.

• Don’t cram people in your sales funnel from the bottom.
• Do not open with the close.
• Allow people to voluntarily come into your sales funnel by creating value in their lives.
• Success hinges on have many lead generation systems.