We’ve reached Episode 100 of the Modern Direct Seller podcast! To celebrate, join Jeremy and Becky as they pull back the curtain and share how this podcast got started, what’s made it successful, their favorite moments—and a sneak peek at what’s coming next. Plus, they’re answering questions from listeners like you! You won’t want to miss this behind-the-scenes peek.

Time based notes:

1:30 Podcast launch background
3:34 Podcast roadblocks
4:59 Podcasting behind the scenes
7:14 Favorite podcast episodes
9:51 Content creation process
13:25 Finding party hosts
16:38 Keeping contact during the holidays
18:44 The podcast community
20:17 Bucket list podcast guests
22:43 What’s coming next
24:45 Thank you

The Modern Direct Seller Podcast Hits 100 Episodes!

When we first launched the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, I couldn’t have imagined this little passion project would take off the way that it did. And now we’ve reached an amazing milestone: 100 episodes! The time has flown by!

To celebrate, we hosted a special Q&A episode, and we want to bring the answers to you. Read on for a behind-the-scenes peek at how the podcast got started, our favorite moments from the show, our listeners’ burning questions—and a peek at what’s coming next!

Can you give us a little bit of a background? Why did you decide to launch the podcast in the first place?

Back in 2020, when we first decided to make this idea a reality, more than anything, I was looking for some adult conversation. We were pretty deep into the pandemic; we had a house full of kids that were doing distance learning. And the idea of having an outlet where I could not only share my story, but chat with awesome people about their own, was huge. I’d always rather talk than write, I’m drawn to networking and making connections, and what better way to combine those than a podcast where I could sit, have a cup of coffee, and ask some good questions, right? So, I kind of just got started. With the help of my podcast coach, I batch-recorded about six episodes that fall, and before I knew it, everything was falling into place.

Now, 100 episodes later, I’m sure you’ve learned a little bit. Has it been easy-peasy the whole time, or have there been any roadblocks along the way?

There are always roadblocks. Those first six episodes I recorded? My mic wasn’t on. Episodes have gone out into the world without being entirely edited, or audio has been a little bit off. But we have an incredible team behind the scenes. It’s my job to just show up and have great conversations with our guests, and nothing could be easier!

So, can you tell us a little bit more about the behind the scenes? What’s that process like, to get an episode out?

No entrepreneurial venture would be complete without a few systems keeping us on the right track, right? For the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, that’s ClickUp, which we use to connect with our team and manage all of the projects that we have underway. Once we identify the guests that we’d love to have on the podcast, we use Calendly to schedule the date they’ll be joining us. And then, we block off an hour to record on Zoom and have that amazing conversation.

Guests are always asking, “Do I need to do my hair and makeup? Are people going to see me? Is this recorded live?” So, I try to make them feel a little at ease by sending them the questions and a little bit about the process, so they know what to expect. And honestly, the questions that I put together ahead of time are a little bit more for my reference than for theirs. I know some people really like to prepare and have their answers ready to go, but for me, it really helps me stay on track.

Finally, once the audio is recorded, I take that file and pass it off to our team. So, our team does the editing, and writes up the show notes and the blog post, and they get that out there for the world to see—whether that’s on social media or in the next email we have going out.

You’ve talked to a lot of different people over 100 episodes. What are some of your favorite episodes that you’ve done so far?

This is the hardest question. If you’ve been featured on the podcast, huge shout out to you! I’ve enjoyed so many of these conversations, and we’ve had some amazing guests. From my husband and business partner, Jeremy, to industry leaders like Julie Godshall, from team members of CinchShare and Project Broadcast to other podcast hosts like Roxanne Wilson and Tiffany Spies, the podcast wouldn’t be what it is without them.

Some of my absolute favorite episodes have been talking to founders and CEOs of direct sales companies and hearing their stories, especially hearing about that moment where they felt like they really made it in their business. I loved Julie with Opulenza, Heidi with Lemongrass, Teri with Cotton Chicks, Monica at Close to My Heart, the Crunchi founders, Better Way, Jordan Essentials, PixieLane, Hugh & Grace… I can’t even name all of them. I love all of the actual direct sales leaders that are out there doing the work, day in and day out, and are so generous to pop on to the podcast and really share what’s working inside their business. And we have even more of those kinds of conversations lined up!

Listener Question #1: Jenn with Stampin’ Up

I’d love to hear more about your content creation process. Do you sit down and plot out the content arc for your month all at once, so that everything coordinates and is cohesive? And, how do you approach that to mix in the fun, engaging stuff along with the meatier informational stuff?

Content creation comes in a lot of different ways for me, but there are two pieces of anchor content in our business:

The Podcast. Every Tuesday, that brand-new podcast episode brings fresh content that we get to share.
Weekly Emails. Every Wednesday, we send an email to our audience where we share sales or promotions we’re doing, training, or seasonal themes that are relevant to what’s happening right here and now.

We build our social media content around those anchors. But, I also have a Google sheet that I literally call “My Master Plan,” where I list all of the content happening across platforms each month. It helps us navigate when we have launches for the Academy or promotions for the business happening. And, as with the weekly email, we fill in the rest with whatever we feel people are really looking for and need that given month.

Listener Question #2: Tiffany with Lemongrass Spa

I have a question for you that my team and I have from time to time: What do you do when you don’t have hosts for your parties, but you need to get some parties on the calendar?

There are a couple of things here that I recommend:

If you haven’t hosted a party yourself for a while, do that, and focus on booking parties from that party. Getting those parties booked is a powerful tool for you and your business!
Another tip is very obvious, but I’m gonna say it anyway: You have to ask. If you haven’t been asking for hostesses, or invited repeat hostesses to host again, this is a great time to reach out. But, you can also really be strategic about this. Maybe you’ve never done a party on Zoom or on Sqweee, or you’ve never done a party in a post. You can invite hostesses to test out those types of party platforms with you!
Finally, an incentive might help. If you have anything that can sweeten the deal (without breaking the bank), this is the time to do that. As soon as you get a couple of parties on your calendar, then you can be really intentional about connecting with those guests to reengage and rebuild that momentum that you need.

Listener Question #3: Debbie with Tastefully Simple

What are your best tips for staying in contact with your team and your clients during the busy holiday season? Say, between December 10 and January 10?

I love this question, because it tells me that you’re being intentional about your time, and you’re thinking a couple of months out, to make sure that you’re staying in front of your customers.

You know that I’m a big fan of batch-scheduling your social media content, so you have good content coming to your followers, and you can take a little bit of a breather to catch up on your own family time. Having that working for you in the background is huge.

The other thing is, during the holiday season, people are looking to connect with real people. We know that getting a holiday card in the mail can feel really special, but getting a little voice memo from your favorite consultant saying, “Thank you for your business this year,” is so much more personal. Even if you just picked a couple of people a day during that time frame to send some sweet messages to, it’s going to fill their cup, and I guarantee it’s going to also fill yours.

Listener Question #4: Jenna with Usborne Books & More

Who is on your bucket list of guests for the podcast?

I mean… I know Jeremy’s answer: Randall White. We’ve got so many Usborne listeners, he thinks it only makes sense. We’re really going to have to work on that one.

But, I would say the same. I love listening to the CEOs and founders of direct sales companies as they’re sharing their story. I think it’s incredible to hear what they’ve built, and to offer a different perspective on them and their work. Sometimes it’s fun to hear a little behind the scenes, especially if it’s somebody from your own company, where you’re like, “Oh, my gosh, I had no idea that our founders did this or that!”

I have a list of tools that direct sellers are often using in their business, too, and we’re working on getting guests coming in from some of those tools, like Boards or Sqweee or ConvertKit. I know we have some authors coming up, as well as some CEOs. We have a pretty good list of podcast guests that are scheduled into next year already.

So, what do you have coming up for the next 100 episodes?

Well, believe it or not, I’ve already recorded almost all of the guest episodes through the end of January 2023. So, I can actually tell you about some of our upcoming guests!

We have Kristine Widtfeldt, the CEO of Chalk Couture, coming in. We have Rachel sharing more about her coaching business. We have Karin Davis coming in, who teaches on creativity. I just recorded an episode with James Cooper, who’s sharing about how to leverage video through storytelling.

And, we’ll have more top leaders, we’ll have CEOs, we’ll have some solo episodes with a little bit of training just from me. And Jeremy will be joining me for our 2022 wrap-up!

Our podcast could have never gotten to 100 episodes without our listeners tuning in every week, and this incredible community wouldn’t be the same without the Modern Direct Seller Podcast. So, I just want to thank everyone that has been a part of it. Whether you’re a guest or a listener, I appreciate you oh so much! We have more good stuff coming for you, and I can’t wait to keep it going!

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