Throughout my 10+ years in the direct sales and network marketing fields, one thing stand out as the KEY to longevity and a successful business. That is … your LIST!
What does this mean? You need to create, maintain, add to, and market to your list throughout your career. It is one of the most important vehicles you have to create success, and it also needs to be taken care of. Think of it as a child. You have to take care of your child, feed it, nourish it, spend time with it, and help it to grow. In the end, you reap the rewards of having raised a solid, grounded child. The same is true of your list. Also, if you neglect it or mistreat it, you will find that it withers and dies.
So, how do we start creating a list? One of the easiest ways is to simply ask to add people to an email newsletter of some sort. Throughout my career, I have sent a monthly newsletter via email that captures the highlights of the month for my clients and customers – what is on sale, quick tips, and valuable information they will want to read. It’s important that the information you provide is of VALUE. Otherwise, they will not even open your email. But, when you deliver value, your emails will get opened and READ every time.
So, if you are in direct sales doing a home show, simply ask everyone if you can add them to your monthly email newsletter as they check out with you. Show by show you will build a list. You can also do the same if you are in network marketing, or outside of a show setting, by offering your email newsletter to everyone you come in contact with. Email is a powerful tool when used properly.
Each month when I send out my newsletter, I receive orders, bookings, recruit leads, and much more, all from an email list that has been built over time. I control this list, it is not on a company server. That way, I have the ability to offer these customers anything over time. If something happened to my company, I would still have my list. If I decided to leave my company and move to another, I would still have my list.
Your own list of prospects, clients, customers, hosts, recruits, teammates, leaders, etc. is one of your most powerful possessions. Treat it well, and it will give you rewards month after month.
Learn more about creating and maintaining a list in my FREE CD: 7 Simple Secrets to Creating a Wildly Successful Direct Sales Business!
Tags: Direct Sales Success, Home Business Success, Network Marketing Success, Success Tips, Your List
I’ve actually heard people say that every person on your list is worth on average, $1 per month….
I remember what a guy in my upline said about this; “you can always tell how successful someone will be by the size of their Rolodex”. Although this guy doesn’t believe in online marketing, he does continually add to his list and maintains contact with as many people as he can. He has over 43,000 distributors in his team and earns well in excess of $1,000 000 per year from mlm commissions alone…guess there is something in it.
Great tips by the way. I have an acupuncture clinic and on the ‘New Patient Form’ I have a box for people to tick for adding them to my newsletter. I think every business should be doing this.
Cheers,
Steve
Either way I think the principles are the same, build relationships and succeed faster.
Steve,
Great advice from a great leader. Your list and relationships are everything in business and life!
To your success,
Dr. Laura
[...] as I was writing the Master To Do List, that another list of mine needed updating. This is my prospect list. So, today’s goal is to update my prospect list. In the process of [...]