The Anatomy of a Promotion for your Direct Sales Business

“PROMO!”

“SALE!”

“BOGO!”

We think that these words will bring prospects and customers out of the woodwork right? I mean, who doesn’t love FREE or SALE or DISCOUNT? Hello???

How should you work a promo your company is offering? Should you offer your own promos? Let’s chat. Grab a cup of coffee (or wine, or water, or whatever).

Working Company Promos

         Our companies typically offer promotions to promote new products or to balance out months that may not be as good with sales. There are also typical promotions such as holidays, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the like. How should you promote these if you know about them ahead of time?

• Prep your network – let them know what is coming, what they can earn, and how it can benefit them. 
• Let your VIPs or those who shop with you often know early if you can.
• Make sure that all of your promotion materials have the dates and times that the promotion begins and ends on them – make sure that your customers know when to shop.
• Send out a customer newsletter announcing the promotion before it starts.
• In your social media posts, give the customer a reason to shop NOW to avoid missing the promotion.
• Contact customers or prospects that you think might be interested in this promotion and let them know exactly what you think they might benefit from (could they get something they have wanted for free with a certain purchase amount?).
• Post daily on social media about your promotion and make sure there is always a story and a call to action – “This necklace is my favorite from the new collection because it is so versatile – I have to make myself NOT wear it every day! Until Monday, when you get your necklace you can choose matching earrings for free with our spend $100 and get a free gift promotion. Shop now so you don’t miss the promotion!”
• Always remember, selfies sell.
• Contact customers the day before the promo ends reminding them about the promo and its end date and time.
• Follow up with all interested customers/prospects up until the promo ends.

Creating Your Own Promotions

A lot of direct sellers offer their own promotions where the promotional fees (i.e., free shipping, free X) come out of their own pockets. While these may create “buzz” on your social media, you should do them sparingly. Do not utilize promotions too often – if you do, people will begin only buying when there is a promotion (because one is bound to come up, since you do them all the time, right?).

A couple of ideas for promotions:

• A monthly “never before purchased” (or product virgin) promotion. I offer a set of birthday studs to a person who has a birthday in that month who has never purchased my jewelry. This gives them a free piece to try, and also may serve as a “gateway product” to get them to purchase more. Also, people who receive free items may feel compelled to purchase because they feel indebted to you for the freebie.
• Free gift with purchase – I typically offer a free beauty bag of surprise swag to any customers who purchase in the last few days of the month.
• Free gift with referral – I sometimes offer a free beauty bag to current customers who refer a friend who purchases (usually during the end of month as well).
• Free shipping – can you offer a “bulk order” where customers pay you for their product via PayPal or Square and you place a large order and hand deliver the items? This can save on shipping costs and make ordering easier for your customers (which will help customers make a purchase).

Use the same strategies for promoting these as you would a company-provided promotion. Send emails, post on social media, and most importantly, for any promotion…

MAKE IT PERSONAL. 

Personally contact your VIPs and close friends who purchase from you. Don’t make it generic. Make it about them. “I saw this piece and thought of you – it would look amazing with that dress you want to wear to so-and-so’s wedding! And, how cool is this, if you buy this weekend, we can get you the matching earrings for free.”

What has been your most successful strategy for using company-sponsored promotions? Share it with us below in the comments!

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