Like many others, YOU are looking to find success in direct sales. Let me let you in on a little secret – selling more isn’t the solution. WHAT?! Yes, it’s true. Today I want to share one of the main ingredients to my success and how you can model it in your direct sales business. 

So what’s the secret?! Building relationships is a no brainer when it comes to building a successful direct sales business. I mean, we are in the relationship business! 

BUT, how we build these relationships makes all the difference. And as I reflect on my experience in direct sales, building relationships INTENTIONALLY and with AUTHENTICITY was huge in my success. 

So what does that mean? Well, let’s start at the top!

Make A List

You most likely have heard that in direct sales you want to build a list… a list of everyone that you could possibly think of that might be interested in your biz. More on that here. 

But tell me, honestly, when’s the last time you’ve looked at your list? Maybe (most likely) it’s been a while. And if it’s been a while since you pulled out your list, you’ve probably met a lot of people since you first wrote it. 

And let me tell you… This list is GOLD. These are people who know, like, and trust you! It is SOOO much easier to introduce your products and business to people that already know and love you. RIGHT?! Also, your business will grow faster! If you skip this step, not only do you need to build a relationship with your new friend, but also share your business – that takes much longer when it’s basically a first date.

Get your list out of your head and in writing!

When you’re ready to up your game, make sure you have a system to track your customers, too. Write it in your notebook if you’re a paper girl (check out my awesome FREE printable here!) Or if you’re a digital gal, I have a Trello tutorial for tracking customers list too. 

BOTTOM LINE: You need to be building your list as time goes on. Set a recurring reminder on your calendar weekly, or monthly to make sure you’re keeping your GOLDEN list as strong as it can be! 

Updating Your List

Here’s a few ideas to help you get going on updating your list! 

• Vendor Events–anyone you connected with or signed up for prizes that gave you their info! 
• Parties–everyone who attended one of a party that you ran should be added to your list too. 
• Networking–you know people you’ve met at mixers and business events–and those to your list! But take it a step further and think about the people you network on a daily basis… school, grocery shopping, girl scouts, book club, etc. 

Now the good stuff… let’s build those relationships–be intentional and authentic. 

When you send out emails and post on social media to the masses, it’s important, but it’s not intentional to that ONE person. Think about how you can be intentional to connect with each person on your list 1:1 Like an individual message or written note. Being intentional is how we build TRUE relationship.  

Intentional = 1:1 communication.

And the other ingredient to successful relationship building is to be authentic. 

Yes, we are in business to make sales. BUT caring about our customers is why they will choose to shop with you over another. 

Sending a note on their birthday, sending a message asking how they’re feeling after hearing they’ve been sick. Seeing a post about their baby’s first birthday, and reaching out to say it looks  great and “I can’t believe your baby is already 1!”. 

What makes you feel special? Treat your customers, potential customers, team members, and potential team members that way! 

Authentic = Truly Caring

Now one thing to note when building relationships, because I’ve got your back and don’t want you to be THAT girl… Don’t be a vulture and jump to a sale. I get it! You love your product and want sales. But wait for the right time. It will come and it will be so much better in the long run.

Now let’s finish this out with a math problem. A really awesome one! 

3 + 3 + 3 = 3000

Wait what?! Yes, wait for it. 

Every day I want you to connect with 3 current customers, 3 future customers. 3 people you’d love on your team. EVERY day. 

If you do this, that comes to over 3,000 people every year! WOAH! See the math problem works! 

Seriously take a minute to think about what that will do for your business It will open soooo many doors for your business. And take your business to the next level!

And there’s no better time to start connecting that the present! We have a lot of Q4 left to connect and build some serious momentum! If you start TODAY connecting with 3+3+3 people every day you’ll have talked to nearly 700 people as we close out 2019. 

And if you’re thinking… “no way, I don’t know that many people”, remember we are going to be adding to our LIST regularly with all the new people we’re meeting at events, parties and networking!

You can do this. You can have a kick butt Q4 and build some serious momentum for 2020!

Looking for a great way to grow your network and make meaningful connections? Try my 300 Club Quarterly Challenge.