Having a well-motivated sales team can be the cornerstone of a successful direct sales career. Building a strong sales team has the potential for great financial benefits for you as an up line. So now that you are on your way to building a good sized sales team how do you keep them motivated so that they will have fun with what they are doing and be able to build a successful direct selling business for themselves?

Team Newsletter or Ezine
One thing that you can do to keep up the motivation of your team is start a team newsletter. This can be done through the mail or by email whichever you think would work better for your group. You can include words of encouragement to get your team members excited about their business, offer tips like theme party ideas and maybe even let your team send in ideas that have worked for them.

Sending Cards
Another thing you can do to let your team members know that they are special to you is start sending cards on special occasions. Remembering things like wedding anniversaries, birthdays or even a consultant that has had an exceptional sales month will let your team members know that they are special to you and not simply a number that you recruited for your own personal gain.

Training and Incentives
Offer team training and incentives to your down line for motivation. Whether your new recruits are direct sales pros or delving into their first experience, training is always a good thing. You could hold conference calls; monthly or even weekly team meetings. Offer incentives for your team to help them reach their sales goals. Offer things like sales aides (order forms, catalogs, etc…) or products from your company if they meet goals like booking so many parties in a month, making so many sales phone calls, or meeting a certain amount of sales.

Support
The best thing that you can do is make yourself available to your team and let them know that they matter to you. Nothing is more motivating than knowing you have someone who is behind you and supports you all the way with your business.

Keep these tips in mind and you will have a sales team that really loves what they do, which means success for everyone.

Here is another great article on recruiting I thought you would like,

Provided By: www.TheWAHMConnection.com ©

Twelve Recruiting Tips

1. One of the first mistakes everyone makes in Recruiting was trying to find that one “perfect” Recruit, that you overlook the other nine who would also been “good” in this business.

2. Different people have different qualities. We constantly try to look or listen for those qualities which make a good designer. Don’t look for someone who is “Miss Perfect”. Nobody is perfect, but everyone can develop the qualities they need to succeed. Encourage the fine qualities the person does have.

3. Talk recruiting to everyone, but don’t try to recruit everyone. There is a difference. Try to look for women who are outgoing, ambitious, fun-loving, and who have a sense of creativity. Women who are like this are easier to Recruit and they are more likely to stay with it.

4. Never recruit with the idea of “what’s in it for me”. Always be willing to help people with the great opportunity. After all someone offered it to you.

5. Don’t wait for someone to approach you. Nine times out of ten, they won’t.

6. Don’t think of recruiting only on parties, Recruits are everywhere you go. Just Listen!

7. Listen to their needs and show how our company can fill them. For instance, if someone needs extra income and wants a job, don’t tell her about the cruises or other prizes. Chances are she won’t believe you simply because she can’t relate to it. Respond with the information she needs to know.

8. Anytime you find the qualities we look for in a recruit, tell her about them and how they would benefit her with your company. She may not even be aware of them.

9. Look for an attractive person but don’t let looks deceive you. Look for someone who smiles and can get along with people, one who loves the products and believed that your company is best for her.

10. Always let them se this job as the business it is, as the career they can develop. Whether they want to work full-time or part-time, it is still a job to be done to the best of their ability. If you see your business as a job, so will they.

11. Take her with you an your job, let her actually see how it all works and show her your profit. If you made it look hard, it is over but if it looks easy, she will want to be a part of it.

12. Listen to the woman who loves everything, can’t afford much, is looking for a job, bored, and/or wanting something to do because their children are grown or they want to stay home with their children. Please don’t bypass people who have careers now- for these are the people who want to work and make something of their lives.TheWAHMConnection.com. Thanks!

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Thought this might be something people would be interested in, Ruth has some great ideas on how to recruit, read on. 

Party Plan Selling - Taking Care of Business
By Ruth Fuersten

There is an old adage in sales: Take care of your customers and your customers will take care of you. You need to realize there is next to nothing being sold at in-home direct sales parties that something similar can’t be purchased by going to the local mall. The after-the-sale-service is what makes the difference between having a sale and having a customer, and keep them buying from you instead of the going to the mall. Making customer care calls is a way consultant can change a sale into a customer that keeps coming back to you.

Why should a customer come to you instead of going to the mall? Service! If you sell skin care, food items, wine or any other of the multitude of consumable products that are out there - do you call your customers to see if they need more? Do you let them know when the products they like are on sale?

If you sell clothing, decorations for the home or jewelry - do you help your customers coordinate what they have and “spruce it up” with what they buy? Do you bring your products into their homes and help them make better choices? Do you help them hang things on their walls? Do you find a number of ways to wear the same outfit by changing a scarf or a piece of jewelry?

These are services we should be offering and providing our customers. Their liking something is why they buy. Our providing a service is why they come back and buy more. Taking care of our customers using customer care calls is one of the most vital aspects of our business, yet, it’s one area most consultants fail miserably in.

Why don’t we call our customers? Why is it that when we know customer care calls will cement a customer to us, we don’t make the calls? Fear! We’re afraid they’ll ask us a question we can’t answer. We’re afraid they changed their minds and want a refund. We’re afraid they’re not happy with what they bought.

So what happens if you can’t answer a question? What would you want if you asked a question and the person doesn’t know the answer? Don’t you want them to find the answer and get back to you? So does your customer. By simply saying, “I don’t know the answer but I do know where to find the answer and I’ll get back to you” resolves the problem. You’ll find the answer to most questions in your product manual. Your upline is a wealth of information, and your company’s service center is there to help you with answers. Look up the information or make a call and get back to the customer with the answer.

Refunds. Isn’t that part of being in business? Haven’t you purchased something, gotten it home and decided you didn’t like it or it doesn’t go with what you have? Doesn’t your company provide a way to refund and return products? Tell them how to return their products, or better, do it for them.

They don’t like it. There are many reasons why someone doesn’t like what they purchased. There might be a flaw in the one they received and they want to exchange it. They may not remember how to use the product they bought and need to be reminded. They may even want more of what they purchased but they don’t remember your name and have no way of contacting you.

Customer care calls are made to insure you have happy customers. The upside of making the calls is you’ll receive reorders and even bookings. You’ll have customers pleased with how you handled their problem. There are no downsides to customer care calls. So — make the calls!

Ruth Fuersten is the author of HOW TO BOOK, SELL, AND RECRUIT YOUR WAY TO SUCCESS, a step-by-step recipe for success in direct sales. Ruth has 12+ years in direct sales. She earned many incentives including international vacations and thousands of dollars of free products. Ruth’s top show was $5,956 and she moved into management in 3 months. Purchase her book or have Ruth speak at your next event by going now to http://www.booksellrecruit.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ruth_Fuersten
http://EzineArticles.com/?Party-Plan-Selling—Taking-Care-of-Business&id=1121254

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Booking to Build You Business
Every Mary Kay Consultant know that you have to have bookings or you are dead. Do you want to build a bigger customer base? Would you like to offer the career opportunity to more women? Do you want to build your personal team or increase sales? If you do, then booking classes is your answer! Here is  a great booking idea to build customer base and sales.
What woman doesn’t love to try lipstick? Independent Senior National Sales, Director Pat Fortenberry uses lipstick samplers as a booking tool. Here’s what Pat suggests:
Head out the door with a pocket full of business cards with lipstick samplers attached. Be sure the sampler can be opened without removing it from the card.  When you see a woman who obviously takes care of herself you could say, “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help noticing how nice you look. I’m an Independent Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. Would you try this lipstick sampler and let me call you tomorrow to see how you like it?” If she says yes, thank her, get her name and phone number, and ask her the best time to call.  When you follow up, you might say, “Hi, this is _______________ , an Independent Mary Kay Beauty Consultant. Remember, we met yesterday? Do you have a minute for me to ask you some questions?”
Then ask the following:
1. Did you try the lipstick?
2. Did you like the color?
3. Was it moisturizing?
4. How long did the color last?
5. Would you give me your honest opinion of Mary Kay® products if I treated you to a makeover?
If she says yes, book the class! If she says no, politely thank her for her time and remind her that she has your card if she changes her mind.