I had a sales and marketing coach tell me one time that asking someone to buy from you the first time you meet them is like going on a blind date and asking the person to marry you! Her words really hit home; it was something I knew but putting it in this context made the lesson memorable. How many times have you met someone and immediately tried to sell them on your products or opportunity? If this is a practice of yours, what type of results are you seeing?

If you think about sales (in any form) as building long-term relationships through trust, it takes away the “need” to make an immediate sale. So how do you build trust? Just as someone on a blind date would go through several stages (dates) before making a commitment, so goes the effective sales process.

Here's one example of stages to build trust in direct selling:

1. Initial contact –ask person if they would be willing to sample product

2. Second contact - ask for feedback on the product; thank them for their input and ask if you can put them on your email list for product specials

3. Third contact – send email a few days later with special offer

4. Fourth contact – call and ask for the order

5. Fifth contact – follow-up in a week to see how they are enjoying the products

6. Sixth contact – check back in two weeks, ask for reorder and suggest client purchase additional products

7. Seventh contact – when it's time for a reorder, call and show client ways to purchase product at a discount

8. Eight contact – the following month show client how to get product for free by selling to family and friends

As you can see, this process can take several months to move someone from a stranger to a team member. Think about any business or personal relationships that you've formed. How long did it take for you to build trust to the point of being willing to open up your heart or your wallet ?

Not everyone will move from being a client to joining your team. That's okay - because personal sales are the basis of the business. All top salespeople create long-term relationships with their clients and sell to them repeatedly. And long-term clients are great referral resources!

You're in this business for the long-term, right? What stages or steps do you need to establish to build trust and create relationships that last!

Copyright March 2007 / Vicki Miller CUCG, PCC