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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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Why Over 175,000 People Per Week Are Starting A Direct Selling Business!Fortune magazine, billionaire investor Warren Buffet, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Dr. Stephen Covey and others weigh in on the $100 billion direct selling industry. Prospects discover that only 1% of this industry’s potential has been tapped, and why direct selling has been called a “recession-proof” business opportunity.
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�8 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 [email protected] or visit www.imnpartypulse.com.
800.891.8601
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