Since last year, those of us in direct sales have noticed that the industry and the strategies that come with it have shifted. But, do you know how to keep your business relevant in the midst of all of these emerging trends? This week on the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, we’re not only going to discuss a few of these developments and why they matter, but we’re also diving deep into the ways that you can refocus your business to help your sales stand out from the crowd!

Get access to direct sales training, invites to exclusive virtual events, real time support and coaching, and more by joining the Academy at ⁠⁠ModernDirectSellerAcademy.com⁠⁠!

Time based notes:

• 0:37 Introduction to emerging trends
• 1:35 Post publicly on social media
• 4:20 Engage in permission-based marketing
• 6:20 Support casual sellers
• 10:58 Explore digital marketing strategies
• 13:52 Invite in more collaboration

5 Direct Sales Strategies for 2024

Since last year, those of us in direct sales have noticed that the industry and the strategies that come with it have shifted. But, do you know how to keep your business relevant in the midst of all of these emerging trends? Recently on the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, we not only discussed a few of these developments and why they matter, but we also dove deep into the ways that you can refocus your business to help your sales stand out from the crowd. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

1. Public posting

Over the years, direct sellers have gravitated to sharing most of their social media content inside a private, closed, Facebook group. And, what we’re seeing now is the need for direct sellers to be a bit more public with posting. Even companies have crafted policies around groups and what can be shared privately versus what can be shared publicly, and in this day and age, I think we’re going to see a lot of movement more towards those public posts to get that organic visibility rather than only allowing a private group to see a post.

I would say that groups have been trending downward in terms of visibility for the last 3, 6, maybe even 9 months or so, but what’s picked up steam is the transition of a personal profile to a professional profile or a business Page. So, we’re really seeing people get out of their comfort zone, share more about their business, share more of their story, share more about the opportunity in order to attract not just those that shop with them all the time, but people that might be curious and want to learn more.

So, as you’re thinking about your social media strategy this year, I would definitely think about leaning into those public profiles over on Facebook, or making sure your Instagram profile is public. You want that discoverability. You want people to be able to find you, learn about you, follow you, and you want a healthy mix of posts. We don’t want to just post product, or just business, or just opportunity. We want to use engagement posts to draw people in, to connect, to share more about the personal brand that you’re building. So, don’t be shy about putting a bit more out there on social.

2. Permission-based marketing

This is one that makes me very happy and very proud. The days of the “Hey, girl” messages seem to be in the past. We’re seeing a lot more permission-based marketing, and a lot less word vomiting, and a lot more asking if someone would like more information before assuming that they do.

That’s playing out in our messages, where you’re saying, “Hey, have you seen the latest catalog?” Or, “Oh, we have this amazing new product that launched! Can I send you more information?” Or, “Hey, we have an event coming up on Tuesday. Can I send you an invite?” It’s engaging in more of a dialogue and a conversation with people versus just broadcasting and blasting information at them in a way that feels inauthentic and salesy and spammy, and we’re seeing some really great results by that.

If you’re out there thinking about how you can better serve your customers, flipping sentences into questions and being curious is a really great way to build that relationship on the front end and give people information when they raise their hand and say, “Yeah, send me more! I’d love an invite! Tell me more about what you have going on,” versus just dropping it straight into their DMs.

3. Casual selling

It seems like we’re seeing a trend of new team members saying, “Hey, I just want to share with my friends and family. I just want to earn a couple hundred dollars extra a month. I just, I just, I just…” There are definitely people out there that want to build a full-fledged business, but we’re also seeing a lot of people that are looking to build a personal brand and represent product lines that they love—which might not just be one product line. So, we’re seeing companies adjusting their messaging, and even adjust what they’re calling all of you, right? It’s not necessarily “consultant.” We’re seeing more “affiliates,” more “ambassadors,” some different verbiage to open up the possibilities of people still joining and still being part of the team, but having the opportunity to represent multiple brands and be a little bit more casual in their approach.

The good of this is that people are looking for extra income. The gig economy, it is alive and happening. People are still saying “yes” to the opportunity, and when they say “yes,” it’s easy to get hooked in. So, if you’re a leader listening to this, I want to encourage you to keep adding people to your team and keep the possibilities open for them. Even if they’re representing multiple brands. Even if they say, “Hey, I’m a casual seller. I’m a hobbyist. I’m just looking for a discount. I’m just going to hook up my friends and family.” Keep that door open for more, because you never know when someone’s situation will change or when someone will catch the bug, get excited about everything direct-sales-related, and decide to step into leadership.

And, those go-getters that join your team? They’re going to do this naturally. They’re going to see the success. They’re going to see the possibilities. And, that’s when they’re going to double-down and really dive into your business on a deeper level. So, if you’re feeling like your team is less than engaged, or you’re feeling like you haven’t had a business-builder join your team for a while, know that that’s a trend we’re seeing across the industry, but we still want to welcome them with open arms, because we never know when their casual selling is going to turn into a bigger opportunity for them.  

4. Digital marketing

Many of our Modern Direct Seller community members are looking for an opportunity to really flex their muscle and build more skills in the realm of digital marketing. They know that’s the future of their direct sales business, and they’re excited about learning more about digital marketing and how that’s going to apply to their particular brand that they’re building. So, we launched a live Digital Marketing Champ course, and we covered everything from personal brand, to target audience, to text marketing, to email marketing, to leveraging websites and landing pages; it truly was a very, very comprehensive course, rounding it all out with content strategy and social selling so that you can see how these systems can really work for your business in the background and you can focus on building the relationships on the front end.

I loved this big-picture view of the business and the way it makes you think about how to tap into more of these digital marketing skills, to better serve your customers, to streamline your business, and to get some things working for you, so not only do you have a successful, profitable business, but you can also go out and enjoy life and not worry about the next thing that you have to do in your business, because you have these systems working for you on the back end. And, it’s been so fun seeing the progress our students have made. We might even have to have a standalone episode of the Modern Direct Seller Podcast just talking about those big strides that many have made in really stepping into the digital marketing space.

5. Collaboration across the industry

I have built so much of my business on collaboration and relationships, and I really feel like that’s the core of what direct sales is about. So, it’s been really fun to see how collaboration is becoming a bigger part of the direct sales space. For a long time, we talked a lot about parties and having a host, and really, that’s a collaboration, right? You’re partnering up with somebody else; that person is sharing more about your business and your products with their friends, family, followers. But, we’re also seeing a little bit of a trend away from parties. That’s not to say people are not doing parties, but we’re having to put a bit of a new spin on it. We’re calling it a “workshop,” or we’re calling it an “event,” or we have some kind of theme to go along with it. Some people are sticking with online. Some are taking it back old-school and doing more in-person events, because they know they’re going to have some great sales and great connections built at those in-person events.

So, as we’re thinking about collaboration, my challenge to you is to think about who is in your network that you would love to collaborate with. And, when you’re thinking about a successful collaboration, you want to think about people that share a similar audience as you, and you want to make it a win-win, where you’re going to get in front of their audience and share more about what you’re doing, and then they’re going to get in front of your audience and share more about what they have to offer. This works really well in an Instagram Live. Maybe it’s making a Reel together and having that collab feature turned on, where it shows up on both of your profiles. Maybe it’s a group takeover. Maybe somebody is headed out on an incentive trip, or headed to a leadership conference, and you take over in their group for a couple of days, then they return the favor for you a couple of days later, when you’re on your way somewhere. We’ve definitely seen lots and lots of multi-vendor events happening online—that’s in the collaboration space.

Again, it’s not that parties are going away, but that we’re seeing a trend more towards something that looks a little bit different. I think collaborations are a great way to experiment and still work to build your audience, because the bottom line is, if you’re not doing parties, you have to have another way to go find new customers. And, for many, that’s been an awakening here in 2024. “Hey, I’m having a really hard time filling my calendar.” Okay, that’s fine. What else are you leaning into? Is it social selling? Is it digital marketing strategies? Is it collaborations? Is it a referral program? So, there are a million different ways to build a successful business without doing parties. But, for those of you that might feel new, that might feel different. So, collaboration is a great way to dip your toe into a different approach to get in front of new audiences. It’s going to help you get your elevator speech down, get a pitch down, understand how you can offer the most value, and how you can take it down to those individual conversations to really serve people better in the DMs.

Get access to direct sales training, invites to exclusive virtual events, real time support and coaching, and more by joining the Academy at ⁠⁠ModernDirectSellerAcademy.com⁠⁠!