All Styles Of  Communication For Training & Coaching

Part of your job as a team leader in your direct sales business is to be able to develop a network and system that can be used to connect with your team.

The temptation is to rely on one method of communication that happens to be your personal favorite such as email or text.

The truth is that a comprehensive communication network is made up of several parts. Effective direct sales training relies on you being able to understand the limitations and requirements of each member of your team. Developing an effective communication network also requires a comprehensive understanding of your team and the way it operates.

Leaders Coach By Phone

You can not coach by text or email! A phone call is necessary to hear what the emotions are behind the statement.

A leader who coaches their team to success calls them by phone! Whether it is a cellular phone number or a land line, you need to have one phone number for each team member. Make sure that the phone number you get is one that the team member uses or can get messages from on a regular basis. Personal communication is essential in any team network.

Team Social Networking

The chances are very good that most of your team members are on one of the popular social networking platforms. You should gather them into a group and use that as a mode of communication. However, not every person that uses the Internet is comfortable with social networking.

To remedy that, you can create a personal message board or group just for your team that will be the place where you post messages and communicate with team members. If you make the board exclusive only to team members, then your associates will feel more comfortable signing up for the board and they will use it.

Direct Sales Business Training Meetings

In direct sales business training meetings, it can be difficult to get the entire team together on a regular basis.

However, when you are able to assemble a dedicated team of people you can rely on, you can then create a regular meeting schedule that will also act as a form of communication.

A meeting that is scheduled for monthly or every other week would be something that most people can fit into their schedule. You can use these meetings for direct sales training and as ways to interact with your team members.

Multiple Types Consultant Communication

Effective leaders use multiple forms of communication to reach out to their consultants. One of the mistakes that direct sales business owners make is assuming that everyone uses the same mode of communication.

When you use ALL the different forms of communication with your team, just like you do for your host, you have a better chance of connecting.

Do The Same Thing For Your Team As You Do For Your Hosts!

• Postcards
• Email
• Text
• Electronic Evites
• Phone Calls
• Phone Broadcasts
• Social Groups

You may find great sales associates that do not have email addresses or even cellular phones. As long as you set up a comprehensive communication network for your team using multiple methods of communication, then you will be able to maintain your team long term.

Business Leaders Leverage Time!

The Direct Sales Recruiting University leverages a business leader’s time.

Make the most out of your educational investments by teaching your team how to recruit and how to be leaders at the same time.

One of the biggest mistakes that direct sales team leaders make is trying to conduct, present and run the entire team meeting themselves!

Sales Team Personality

Everyone on your sales team has a different personality and therefore can bring something unique to the meeting.

The obvious ways to delegate are the basic functions that have to happen at every meeting such as:

• Greeter: Delegate this out to the social, outgoing, happy, enthusiastic person who just loves people and makes everyone feel good.
• Secretarial Duties or Note Taking: Obviously the person who is focused and meticulous should be the one for the job.
• Photographer: Someone with an eye for the fun, like the greeter this person is outgoing.
• The List Person: Someone who is persistent and determined should be making the list of who is going to bring what to the next meeting.

Delegate Sales Business Training Topics

In addition to the humdrum and routine duties, the direct sales training topics can also be delegated.

As a matter of fact it is essential that they get delegated. A leader who presents every topic at every meeting is doomed to poor meeting attendance!

Your team will just plain get tired of listening to you!

Divide your meeting up into 3-4 short (20 minute) workshops and have a different presenter for each one.  If  you would like more information on this, then read the series of meeting planning articles discussing this concept along with a team meeting template.

With a variety of speakers at your meeting, ranging from the newbie to the outside expert in short succinct topics, your team will be attentive and return meeting after meeting.

Direct Sales Recruiting Expert

You probably have a direct sales recruiting expert on your team. That person should be in charge of sharing your business opportunity with all the visitors.

Teach your team that the greeter should immediately introduce the visitors to the “delegated” recruiter. Then the recruiter does not push the opportunity on them but becomes their friends and works the magic that they do best!

Use Fair or Expo For Training New Team Members

For direct sellers there are always certain times of the year that may be considered the slowest time of the year. These may be times when people are busy with family activities, vacations and have less time for booking and attending parties whether it be the Summer or holidays.

Find Business & Train Team

However, down time is a great time to take your products and your team to a fair or an expo. Not only are these great places to find business they are also an ideal environment for home business team training.

When you incorporate vendor events into your team training routine your team will have a solid show schedule!

NOW Is The Time To Find Vendor Events!

Now is the time to find the vendor events that you would like to participate in this year. New team members will stand beside seasoned direct sales veterans, hear the word choices, practice connecting with people and fill their calendars!

6 Keys to Successful Home Business Fair or Expo

• Create a welcoming and noticeable display. Dress to impress, but in a casual manner, and have a large, creative sign with your company’s name and logo.
• Have plenty of catalogs and brochures to hand out. Other forms of advertising are good to have if they are in your budgets: pens, magnets, etc.
• Have a generous sampling of your product line on display. You want people to see everything you have to sell.
• Have fun. Don’t think of it as work. Think of it as a good time meeting lots of interesting and friendly people…who might purchase some of your products!
• Have a raffle. You can give away a prize and offer an upgrade to the winner if they book a future party with you.
• If you have a product that can be used in a demonstration…have mini demonstrations! Obviously, if you sell jewelry, demonstrations won’t work. But, if you have kitchen aids, demonstrations might work to enhance your product recognition and sales.

New Consultant Orientation At Fairs

Once you have ensured that you will set up at a fair or expo following these six keys, you are ready to take a few team members with you. Fairs and expos are perfect places to train team members.

Leaders who take their new consultants to fairs or expos as part of their new consultant orientation will insure that they learn from top leaders and fill their calendars. Learn proven techniques to maximize your return on marketing your direct sales business at fairs and expos by qualifying leads at the event.

Why are Expos and Fairs the Perfect For Home Business Training?

Because there are people everywhere!

Fairs and expos draw huge numbers of people, providing your team members with plenty of opportunities to practice their demonstration and sales techniques.

The new consultant stands next to seasoned consultants and hear what to say and then immediately get to practice it.

They can learn how to present products, how to answer questions, how to alleviate concerns, and how to close the sale. There will be thousands of opportunities to practice a sale and interact with potential customers, and learn how to handle rejection. In sheer numbers, there is no better place for home business training than a fair or an expo.

Next time you book a booth at a fair or expo, take the team with you!

Wildtree Leader, Direct Sales Radio

Tammy Kerr is a Wildtree leader with over 9 years of direct sales experience. With an expertise in recruiting and team building, she was the first Wildtree distributor in Pennsylvania.

Since starting with the company just 5 years ago she has built a sales organization that spans the United States.

Team Business Building With Tammy Kerr

Tammy is our guest for the leadership interview this Wednesday (11/23/11) on the CashFlowShow – Direct Sales Radio as part of the show’s ongoing series of interviews with successful direct sales leaders in successful direct sales companies.

On this show, Tammy will discuss the importance of team retention. Being an awesome recruiter is one thing and yet if you cannot keep them, it is difficult to grow your team. The show will discuss:

• Techniques to grow your team
• Building levels within your team
• Finding consultants who stick with it

Wildtree Chemical Free Direct Sales Company

Tammy joined Wildtree in 2006 and has been enjoying the chemical free products ever since. Living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, direct sales and Wildtree have allowed her to be a stay at home Mom and create income at the same time she provides her son (who has a food dye allergy) with a chemical free diet.

Wildtree and Tammy are a direct sales success story. The product line is totally natural, containing no additives, preservatives, MSG or food dyes and continues to grow even in a bad economy.

Tammy’s motto is “Eating Right when money is tight!”. She is dedicated to changing lives for her team and their families.

What did one side of the brain say to the other side?

Nothing, they don’t communicate.

Ok, it’s a bad joke, but it demonstrates the fact that our brain has two hemispheres that work in different ways.

The most effective direct sales training should take into account both sides of the brain by stimulating both “right-brained” and “left-brained” people to think with their opposite side.

The CashFlowShow Direct Sales Game

That is what we have done with the CashFlowShow Direct Sales Game. We have taken the game mentality and applied it to your business. Direct sales businesses are rarely associated with game mentality which is why The Game makes learning so effective.

The left side of the brain is:

• Logical
• Sequential
• Analytical
• Rational
• Concerned with the parts of the whole

The right side of the brain is:

• Subjective
• Random
• Intuitive
• Creative
• Concerned with the whole

Effective sales team training should utilize exercises and games that stimulate, challenge, and exercise both sides of the brain. Your team’s growth and profitability will be accelerated by using a variety of different exercises.

The Direct Sales Game & Left Side Thinkers

For members of your sales team who are left-brained, it is important to train with exercises and games that avoid using logic only. The exercises should also use images and visualization techniques that stimulate creativity. Getting team members to listen to music or draw will stimulate their right-side thinking and encourage them to be more creative.

Training Right Side Thinkers

Right side thinkers usually detest details; training exercises should attempt to get team members to think about the small details of a situation or a problem. Get them to look at the components of something instead of just looking at the big picture. Other exercises should teach how to make schedules, set goals, record the progress toward these goals, and take a sequential approach to problem solving. Working with numbers will also help to stimulate the left brain.

Successful Consultant Training

Using both sides of your brain in training will create a more successful direct sales consultant. To be the most successful that you can be, it is essential that the two sides of your brain work together. The right side of your brain wants to push limits and boundaries, while the left side wants to put everything in a box, count it, and categorize it. By working together, the right side of your brain will design a creative promotional campaign while the left side of your brain will take what has been created, break it into sequential components, quantify it, and count the money it makes.

The Game Leverages Leadership Efforts

The CashFlowShow Game is a leadership training tool used to develop creativity in left-brain thinkers and to encourage right-brain thinkers to work successfully with details.

Give your sales team the tools they need to succeed by training with exercises and simulated situations that work both sides of the brain.

Though the two hemispheres of the brain sometimes act like opposing forces, it is possible to have them working together. When the two sides communicate, your team sales will go up.

What did one side of the brain say to the other side? “Hey, let’s work together and we can make more money!”

JOIN the CashFlowShow Direct Sales Game!