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I fyou’relookingtoboosttheperformanceofyoursalesconsultants,youshouldthinkaboutgivinge-newsletter

marketingatry.E-newslettersareanexcitingnewe-marketingplatformthatenablesdirectsellingcompanieslikeyourstoreinforcethecorporatebrandwhileexposingtoyouthevaluabledemographicandbehavioralinformationinyoursubscriberdatabase.Byhelpingyoucommunicatemoreeffectivelyatmultipletiers—bothcorporate-to-consultantandconsultant-to-customer—e-newslettersbuildstrongerrelationshipsacrossyournetworkanddrivehighersalesperformances.

Thedirectsellingindustryreliesheavilyonbuildingandmaintainingstrongpersonalrelationships.Thee-communicationsrevolutionhasprovidedexcitingnewopportunities—likee-newslettermarketing—forfosteringtheserelationships.Keepinmind,however,thatalle-newsletterservicesarenotthesame.Infact,whilesomearedesignedspecificallyfordirectsellersfocusedonthepartyplansellingmodel,mostarenot.Ifyouknowwhattolookfor,youcanchoosethebeste-newsletterserviceforyourcompany.

Ane-newsletterserviceshouldenabledirectsellingcompaniestocommunicatewiththeirconsultantsonanongoingbasis,keepingthemuptodateregardingnewproducts,promotions,salesincentivesandsellingtechniques.Consultantswhoarebetterinformedabouttheproductsthey’resellingarebetterpreparedtorepresentyourcorporatebrandandaremoredriventomoveyourproduct.

Atthesametime,youre-newsletterserviceshouldalsokeepsalesconsultantsconnectedwiththeirnetworkeachmonth.Thebeste-newsletterserviceprovidersenableyoutosendeachcustomerapersonalizede-mailcommunication,onbehalfofyourconsultants,thatprovidesproducthighlightsandengaginglifestylecontentcreatedspecificallyforyourcompany’stargetmarket.

Unlikeuntargetedmasse-mails,personalizede-newslettersenjoyremarkablyhighopenrates—oftenexceeding40percent.Becausethemoresophisticatede-newslettersletyousupplementproductinformationwithinterestingandrelevantlifestylecontent,customerslookforwardtoreceiving

EmpowEr Your Sales Consultants through E-NEwslEttEr markEtiNg

by David Fish

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�� Direct Selling News | April 200�

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themeachmonth,andinmanycases,openandreadthemrightaway.Insteadofsimplybombardingrecipientswithpromotions,well-conceivede-newslettersbalanceproductarticleswithengagingcontent—recipes,fashionandbeautytips,entertainmentnews,parentingadvice,decoratingfeaturesorwhatevermayappealtothetargetmarket—tohookreadersandkeepthemcomingbackformore.

Beforesigningup,checktoseeifane-newsletterserviceprovidesreportingbasedoneachreader’sinteractionwiththee-newsletter.Thesereportshelpdirectsellingcompaniesunderstandwhicharticlesandproductfeaturesmostinterestyourrecipients,allowingyoutoplanfuturecontentaccordingly.Theyalsohelpyouidentifyreadershiptrendsrelatedtoe-newslettersendschedules.“Wehavelearnedtosende-newslettersclosetotheweekend,whenourcustomershavemoretimetoreadthem,”notedamanagerataleadingdirectsellingcompany.“That’swhentheywillopenthemalmostinstantly.Wealsoe-mailthemtowardtheendofthemonth,whenincentivesforcustomerstohosteventsaremosteffective.”

Ifane-newsletterservicesupportsthislevelofclosedloopfeedback,you’llbeabletoimplementimprovementstoyoure-communicationsmonthaftermonth.Asaresult,you’lllikelyincreaseyoure-newsletterreadershipwitheachsend.Infact,thebeste-newslettersexperienceextremelylowopt-outrates—ofteninthelowsingledigits.

Salesconsultantsreadilyembracee-newslettermarketingbecauseitmakestheirjobssomucheasier.Onbehalfofthedirectseller,thee-newsletterserviceproviderautomaticallysendsoutane-newslettertoeachsalesconsultant’scontactlisteachmonth.Somee-newsletterservicespersonalizeeache-mailwiththelocalsalesconsultant’sphotoandcontactinformation.Personalizationmakesthee-newsletterappearasifitweresentdirectlyfromthesalesconsultant,reinforcingtheperson-to-personrelationshipsthataresocriticaltosuccessfuldirectselling.

Whenitcomestoe-newsletters,however,whatsalesconsultantsvaluemostisthereporting.Thebeste-newsletterservicescaptureinformationabouthoweachrecipientinteractswiththee-newsletter.Theinformationiscompiled

intoareportthatisautomaticallysenttoeachconsultant.It’shelpfultosendconsultantsreportsatstaggeredintervals—perhaps24hours,threedays,andoneweekaftereache-newslettersend—sotheycanbeginimmediatefollow-up.Makesureyourconsultantscanreceivereportsthatshowwhoopenedandreadthee-newsletter,whoisinterestedinhostessspecials,whoisinterestedincareeropportunities,andwhatspecificcontentwasclickedbywhom.Thiskindofdetailwillhelpyourconsultantstostreamlinetheircalltargetingefforts.

Becausesalesconsultantsoftenhavelimitedtimeforphoneoutreach,theycanusee-newsletterreportstofocuscallsonthosecontactswhodemonstratedinterestinhostingapartyorbecomingaconsultant.Reportsthatincludecustomerphonenumbersande-mailaddressesalongwiththedetailsoftheire-newsletterinteractionsmakeiteasyforthesalesconsultanttofollowupwithacallorane-mail.Whilecold

callingcanbedifficultforsomeconsultants,thesereportsmakeitmucheasierforthemtospringintoaction.Mentioningthee-newsletterhelpstobreaktheiceandprovidesagracefullead-in.It’smuchmorenatural—andlessintimidating—tobegin

afollow-upconversationwith,“Ellen,didyoureceivethismonth’se-newsletter?”thanitis

tojumprightinwitharequesttohostaparty.

Similarly,knowledgeofspecificclick-throughactivityprovidescontextfor

guidingtheconversation.IfEllenclickedonthismonth’shostess

specialslink,theconsultantcouldcontinue,“WhenIsaw

thehostessspecialsthismonth,Ithoughtofyou.”

Thisapproachcreatesapersonalconnectionwiththecustomer,whilegentlyintroducing

theideaofhostingaparty.Armedwithvaluableinsightinto

customerinterests,consultantsfindsalescallstobelessofahurdle,andcanoftensecuremorebookingsand

sponsorsoverthephone.“Coldcallsaretoughformanyconsultants,butinsight

gainedfrome-newsletterdatacanmakecallingmorenatural,”saidamanagementteammemberatonedirectsellingcompany.“Forinstance,ifaconsultantknowsthatacustomerhasreadanarticleonguestspecials,theconsultantmightleveragethatknowledgetopersuadethecustomertobookashowandencouragehergueststocometotakeadvantageoftheguestspecial.”

What’smore,ifthee-newsletterispersonalizedwiththeconsultant’sphonenumberande-mailaddress,itoftendrivesproductordersaswellasofferstohostaparty…withnofollow-upwhatsoeverrequired.

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Effectivee-newsletterspayforthemselvesmanytimesover.Somedirectsellingcompaniespayforthee-newsletterserviceatthecorporatelevel.Becausee-newslettersprovideexcellentrecruitingtoolsandcalltargetingreportsthatmakeconsultantsmoreeffective,thecompaniesinevitablyrecoupassociatedexpensesthroughincreasedsales.Othercompaniespassthemonthlyfeealongtoconsultants,mostofwhomaremorethanwillingtoassumethecost—especiallywhentheyseehowe-newsletterscanhelpthembookparties,recruitsponsorsandmoveproduct.

Thebeste-newslettersnotonlyhelpconsultantsbuildtheirbusiness,theyalsogivedirectsellingcompaniesmorecontrolovertheirbrandandmessaging.Witheachindividualconsultantcreatinghisorherowne-mailcommunicationstocustomers,it’svirtuallyimpossibletoenforcemessageconsistencyorprotectbrandintegrity.Byusingaserviceproviderforsendingoutpersonalizede-newslettersthatareprofessionallywrittenanddesigned,directsellingcompaniescancontrolcommunicationsacrosstheentirenetwork.Allcontactsreceivethesameinformation,inaformatthatreinforcesthecorporatebrand.Inaddition,themostreputablee-newsletterserviceproviderscontrolthee-mailsystemandprocessestoensurethatconsultantsdonotviolateCAN-SPAMpolicies,childprotectionlawsorprivacylawsundertheauspicesofthedirectsellingcompany’sbrand.

Throughe-newsletteranalytics,directsellingcompaniescanmonitorcustomerresponsestolearnwhichproductsattractthemostinterest.Whenevaluatingane-newsletterservice,checkwhetheritallowsyoutoconductcomparativeanalysisbothover

timeandacrossoffersassociatedwithe-newslettercontent.Theseanalysesenablecompaniestodetermine,forexample,whichproductspullbestinthesummermonthsorwhichpromotionsweremosteffectiveduringaholidayseason.Companiescanthenusethisinformationtoplanfuturepromotions,drivedevelopmentofnewproducts,andenhanceforecastingtominimizebackorderedorsold-outsituations.

Intheworldofdirectselling,relationshipsareeverything,andforbuildingstrongerrelationshipsacrossyourentirenetwork—company,consultantsandcustomers—nothingbeatse-newslettermarketing.However,youhavetochoosetherighte-newsletterserviceplatformtoreapallthebenefitsthismarketingmediumhastooffer.Withtherightserviceinplace,e-newslettermarketingcanyielddramaticresultsforyourbusiness.

Amanageratonedirectsellingcompanysummedupthevalueofe-newslettersthisway:“Thankstooure-newsletter,wenowhaveahighlypersonalizedrelationshipwitheverycustomerandprospect,leadingtogreaterbrandawarenessandloyalty.”Withthatkindofendorsementfromearlyadopters,e-newslettersarepositionedtobecomethenextbigthingine-marketingfortoday’sleadingdirectsellingcompanies.

David Fish is CEO of IMN, Waltham, Mass., a leading e-communications service provider. IMN offers IMN Party Pulse™, an e-newsletter and e-mail service for direct selling and network marketing companies and their sales consultants. Please

contact David at dfish@imninc.com or visit www.imnpartypulse.com.

800.891.8601

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