Direct Sales
Recruiting: So You Want to Build Your Team Online!
Hooray for you! You've
started a direct sales or network marketing business and are ready
to build a team. Since you love the Internet, it makes sense to you
to build your team online. What does it take? What do you need to
do? Where do you find people who will join with you?
Meeting People Online
There are several ways you can meet people online so
let's look at a few of them.
Groups - Sometimes
referred to as email lists, these are groups of people
with common interests. Places to find groups include
Yahoogroups.com and
Topica.com.
When you go to these sites, you can search by topic to
find lists that will interest you. Choose several
including one or two business lists so develop
relationships.
Post to the list and enjoy
yourself. Do not blast the list with your ads, but
rather, give helpful advice, be yourself, have fun and
discreetly leave your website URL under your name. MOST
lists will allow this, but check to be sure.
Bulletin Boards
- Another fun place to meet people online is on
bulletin boards such as the ones on
www.internetbasedmoms.com. There are thousands
of bulletin boards online on every topic imaginable.
There a a lot of work-at-home mom bulletin boards
that may attract people who are interested in
working from home.
Again, it's important to
never blast your ad on any bulletin board unless
that board is specifically for advertising. A better
way is to get to know people and be helpful to
everyone so that people are attracted to you.
Online Communities
- Some bulletin boards are part of an online
community that offers more interaction than bulletin
board by themselves. Many have informative chats,
online parties or business mixers where you can go
to meet other people. When the chat is interactive,
take part in the discussion and have fun. If the
chat is a presentation, be respectful of the
presenter.
Never blast your ad in a chat room. While you can't leave
your web site in a chat room (unless asked), some sites
do have profiles that you can use. It is important for
you to use your name and keep it the same for groups,
bulletin boards and chats because you want people to
connect your presence wherever you are online. Don't use
"jamiesmom" as your email for a group, "dancingmamma" as
your log in on a bulletin board and "candlebiz" in a
chat room. You need to brand yourself so that people
will know you by your presence.
Article Submission
- Brand yourself even more by writing articles on topics
of general interest and submitting them. One place to
look is on
Yahoogroups.com. Do a search for "articles
announce". Join a few groups and submit away!
Making Contact
Now that people are getting to know you, you need a way for
them to contact you. The best way is with a web site
that has a form that people can fill out. When working
online it is very important to have personal contact
with people so your form should include their phone
number. A lot of companies now have nation-wide long
distance calling plans that are not very expensive so
get one and use it.
Do not just post your email address on web site bulletin
boards or on your own web site. This will cause you to
receive a lot of spam because spammers crawl the
internet looking for email addresses to add to their
lists.
If you are with a company that doesn't have forms
available for you or if you can't have a web site
presence, you should still be able to purchase a URL for
personal use and include a form for people to contact
you. Read your policies and procedures to see what
restrictions your company has on internet use. You can
get free form code on
www.bravenet.com. Also read relevant articles on
Internet Based Moms™ "How to Start an Internet
Business."
Coaching and Training
Okay! So you've found people, they've joined your team -
now what? When sponsoring long distance it's extremely
important to have a coaching/training system in place.
There are several tools that you can use that will help
your new team member learn what to do so they can start
earning money right away.
Web Site - If your company or upline
does not already have a training web site in place,
develop your own. Include articles on how to develop a
customer base, sponsoring information, product tips,
available online tools, complete instructions for the
marketing method/s your company uses. If your company is
a party plan business, have articles illustrating
different types of parties that work well with your
product line.
If your company
allows fairs & shows take pictures of booth set-ups
so that your team members can see what you (or
others you know) have done. If you focus only on
online building, have a section that gives exact
step by step instructions.
Group Email
- Put together a group email either through
yahoogroups.com, topica.com or even just a group on your
computer. Send information, contests, training, etc to
your team. Be sure it is interactive so that everyone
can participate. There is nothing like an interactive,
excited team to motivate everyone.
Bulletin Board
- Another option to the group email is to use a group
bulletin board. If you have your own web site, you can
install one and make it password protected so that just
your team can participate. Divide it into sub boards for
sponsoring information, sales tips, product information,
motivation, etc. To get it started, offer a contest to
the person/people who post the most helpful information.
TELEPHONE
- Your number one tool to reach your team members,
motivate and teach them is the telephone. When
sponsoring online, you develop relationships by talking
to people over and over. By setting up several
coaching/training sessions by phone, you not only can
help your team members, but you can also get to know
them. You'll begin to know who is really coachable and
ready to do the work. In addition, they will begin to
get to know you and that will keep them with you through
their good days and bad days.
Conference calls
- To get a group of people together, hold regular
conference calls on a specific topic. While there are
many companies that offer unrestricted conference
calling, you can use this one free if you have a
relatively small group
www.freeconference.com/
Instant Messengers
- As instant messaging technology advances there is so
much that you can do. You can do a voice video
conference through yahoo instant messenger if your team
members will download the software. Hook up a video
camera, add a microphone and you're all set to go. Use
this for special announcements and to generate
excitement. It also is good for your team members to put
a face with your email and voice.
EGreetings
- Egreeting cards are fun motivators and a way to keep in
touch. Recognize an accomplishment with a special card
and don't forget birthdays and anniversaries. Use a
contact management program to remind you of these
special days.
Snail Mail
- There is nothing like getting a CONGRATULATIONS!
card in the mail! With all the wonderful technologies
today, be sure to use this one too. You'll make your
team members feel great!
Building a team online can
stretch your boundaries, be very motivating to you and
you'll find you have friends all over the world. While
building a team online can have it's challenges, by
using the available tools you will be a success and so
will your team!
____________
Linda Sikut has been in the
direct sales business for over 10 years and has
worked exclusively from home for the last 8 of those
years. You can visit her online at
www.watkinsonline.com/lsikut or visit her recipe web
site at
www.bakingabusiness.com
©2004
This article was written exclusively for Internet Based
Moms™ and may not be
re-published or copied without permission from Internet
Based Moms™, except to print one copy for personal use.
Comments and general questions about the article's
content can be directed to the author.
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