I learned about the concept of direct sharing vs. direct selling from the legendary Jeff Roberti. This guy has earned more than $70 million in the network marketing industry so he definitely knows what he is talking about.
I’ve spent several days thinking about this concept, analyzing what he said and determining what it means to me. My objective in this post is simply to educate you about direct sharing vs. direct selling, if nothing else to open your mind and make you think about how you build your business.
First and foremost, direct selling is when you persuade, pressure, or influence someone to buy what you are selling by sending them through your sales process. This normally includes a formal presentation. As a direct seller, you think of yourself as a salesperson and your job is to meet people, show them what you are selling and close the sale (using good salesmanship skills). In most cases, you have a good product, but you are also really good at selling. You know what to say and how to say it.
On the other hand, direct sharing is when you are passionate about a product or service or opportunity and you simply share your enthusiasm with others. You share your personal story of how the product helped you and what you like about the product. You share your personal testimonial. You don’t pressure or try to convince people to buy what you have. You’re just passionate about what you have and you want the world to know.
I personally believe that direct sharing is much better than direct selling.
The major problem with direct selling is that MOST people do not like to sell, nor do they know how to sell. Yes, a small portion of the population (and your team) might have great salesmanship skills, but most people are not good salespeople nor do they want to be salespeople. And I can’t blame them.
If you are a good salesman, you might be able to convince someone to try the product, but they probably won’t reorder again, especially if they felt pressured. And if you are a good salesman, you might be able to convince someone to join your business, but we both know that they won’t stick around very long! Sometimes they’ll sign up just to make you go away. And then they will go into the Witness Protection Program and disappear.
You don’t need to be a sales person to succeed in our industry. In fact, most sales people don’t do very well in our industry at all!
Instead of focusing on selling and closing people, learn how to share your story with others.
Use the products. Develop your own personal story. And then go out and share that story with the rest of the world. When you do that, you will find plenty of people who will want to become a customer or distributor because your story and passion is contagious.
Remember, when it comes to network marketing amateurs sell and professionals share.
What are your thoughts about direct sharing vs. direct selling. Please leave a comment below to tell me what you think about the concept. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Direct sharing is really a non-pressure way to casually share information about your product with others. I find myself direct sharing often when waiting in grocery store lines or just casually chatting with people. Sometimes it just makes for a nice conversation and other times it generates an interest that leads to a person wanting more information.
I love the idea of sharing vs. selling.
You are so right here Chuck. By taking that “selling” pressure off, you not only help the consumer feel more relaxed, you will also be more relaxed. Developing a story of how the product/s have helped you and you just wanting to share what you have gained will draw many more sales than strong-arming someone into buying.
Exactly. I hate pressure and I know that most other people to do. You want to treat people well. One of my mentors once said “act like a lamb to sell like a lion!” It’s so true.
This is an excellent strategy, or way to view your own business! I only rarely consider myself a decent salesperson. However, I am wonderful at sharing my opinion about products, and even the products themselves. I think that it is natural to have a conversation with a friend or acquaintance about something that I like. Viewing the whole sales process this way makes it a whole lot easier to share my products and my opportunity with others.
We’re all good at sharing things we are passionate about! That’s what makes it so powerful.