6 Direct Sales Obstacles
We’ve all been there. After a few months into your direct sales adventure, you begin to look around and wonder, what changed? Your Facebook group is quiet, bookings may be down, and your enthusiasm has waned a bit. The evolution of a direct sales business is much like the Sierra Mountains, there are so many hills and valleys.
So what do you do when you are deep down into that valley? I’ve personally experienced these six direct sales obstacles and I’m here to help you overcome them!
Number 1 – Low or No Sales
About 3 months into my direct sales adventure, I found my family, friends, and immediate acquaintances had their jewelry collection quite stocked. The sales slowed down and the bookings slowed as well. This happens to everyone. I found two ways to counteract this slowdown and get those sales flowing again!
Hosting your own party or creating your own vendor event! Use the skills that you have learned to throw a great party or spend a Saturday at a craft fair and just have fun! New relationships will be formed, old ones will be nurtured, and you will find sales will begin to pick up!
Number 2 – Your Facebook Group Has Stopped Growing
Having a Facebook group is a great way to build your own community online. You may find, however, your numbers of fresh eyes in your Facebook group has dipped. The key here is to figure out new ways to draw people into your Facebook group. I use 3 different ways to funnel fresh eyes over into my Facebook groups. Read about them here and you will be sure to organically grow your group slowly over time.
Number 3 – Your Facebook Group Is Dead
To piggyback on direct sales obstacle number 2, you may have a great number of customers in your Facebook group, but getting them to engage on your posts is another obstacle you find yourself up against. Just HOW do you get your Facebook group members buzzing again? Bring out the lurkers, provide purposeful content, and do a little research on what gets your group members talking. To explore these ideas in detail, check out this post I wrote on how to revive a DOA Facebook VIP Group.
Number 4 – No Support
Having a great mentor is one of the keys to direct sales success. Without a supportive person above you, it begins to feel like you are a lone fish swimming out in a wide ocean. If you are not able to change your mentor, or you just simply do not have one, it’s time to step up and become the leader you were always meant to be! Family and friends are great support networks as well but, at times they are not as understanding about the world of direct sales.
Reach out virtually to others who understand the roadblocks we find in our direct sales journey. My go to network is The Socialite Suite. I have met many wonderful women in this group and with the great leadership from Brenda Ster and her social media training and coaching calls, I have continued to see direct sales success even without an active mentor of my own!
Number 5 – NoTime
Everybody struggles with this. We are all rushing from one thing to the next, family, work, friends, unexpected life events. It gets tiring and somewhere in there, we all need to practice some self-care and get some sleep! When it comes to your direct sales business, you are the boss and you decide just how much time you want to devote to it.
Evaluate what goals you would like to accomplish and work backward to figure out how many hours a week will get you there. Plan your week around what you would like to accomplish, schedule social media posts, and stick to the plan. Easier said than done but, you will thank yourself for it when your direct sales business begins to flourish!
Number 6 – No Motivation
After some time in your direct sales company, you may find your enthusiasm begin to wane. Maybe the products are not exciting you as much as they did in the beginning. Or maybe the other obstacles I mentioned above are feeding into your lack of motivation mindset. No fear, I’ve been there too and it takes a lot of personal strength to lift yourself out of the slump.
Do what you can to make things exciting again, read motivational books
For me, every time I invest in myself and learn a new platform like Instagram, Pinterest, or Micro-Blogging,
I find these challenges propel my direct sales business in a new direction and open up more opportunities to grow. Once I have mastered one channel, I move onto the next. Each builds upon itself making my business more and more successful over time.
Just like any job, direct sales takes work, dedication, lots of support. If I had not faced any of these direct sales obstacles I would never have been in a position to write a blog post about it for you!
If you have ever faced any of these direct sales obstacles I’d love to hear about how you overcame them. What helped lift you over that roadblock? Leave me a comment and connect with me here.
Kristy E
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[…] motivated in direct sales is hard at times! It is one of the obstacles that pops up and once you break through, you’ll move onwards and upwards to direct sales […]