Sorry, have been getting a ton of Porn links posted to comments section of this Blog. Kind of like Spam is to email. There were only a few at first but grew to over 30 per day. None showed up on Blog site as it is moderated (I view before they show up here) but it was getting to be a real pain hunting through them to make sure none were real comments before deleting the batch.

So you have to be Logged In (use Login on Forum) in order to post comments for now. I have a large enough “To Do” list already without adding “Porn Filter Person” to my job list.

Technorati Tags: Direct Sales, MBA

I have been working on a new FAX feature for MBA reports. It will work similar to PDF file creation with a button on the Report Previewer window. So any report will now be Faxable in addition to printing and saving as PDF.

Windows 2000 and Windows XP (both Home and Pro) have a built in Fax program so MBA will use that to Fax with. The new Windows Vista has faxing as well but only in the top three versions. Home “Basic” and Home “Premium” do not come with the Faxing software that was available in the prior versions.

I have been out “window” shopping for a new Notebook and have noticed many come with Home “Basic” or Home “Premium” so it looks like I am going to have to inquire about upgrading Windows Vista (to Business version) at the same time. If your thinking of upgrading to Vista you should look into the various configurations of the 5 Vista versions to be sure your getting what you need.

Vista, Fax, Direct Sales

Technorati Tags: Vista, Fax, Direct Sales

I had an idea that has turned into a theory. Over the past 5 weeks I have been asking friends and acquaintances one question. I was fairly sure of the response that I would get but you just don’t know for sure until you ask.

I think all Sales Reps should try this but it will be of particular interest to those building Teams/Downlines. The question I asked was this. “Have you ever dreamt of owning and running your own small business?” Before letting them reply I went on to qualify the question. I was not asking if they have ever dreamt of becoming a millionaire. Just a small business that they could make a regular living at like a small Cafe, Store or maybe something related to a hobby. The second qualifier was “Have you had this thought multiple times (it wasn’t a one time idea)? You won’t be surprised to hear every one said yes they had even with both qualifiers.

Seems almost everyone has this dream. Not to be rich, but just have a little business they could call their own and make a living at. Something they could built and call their own, something more than just a job, something more than just a pay check.

Direct Sales, Dreams

Technorati Tags: Direct Sales, Dreams

Last Blog post I mentioned that Wal-Mart probably out sold the top ten Direct Sales companies combined. Turns out my guess was correct, Wal-Mart outsells the entire Direct Sales industry in North America, ten times more. This may look bad on the surface but it really is great news.

Most Direct Sales Reps offer more product knowledge and better service than most employees of big box stores. When I go to big box electronic stores I constantly find I know more than the employee serving me, and I am coming to them for advice. A few weeks back I went to 4 big box stores looking to upgrade my version of OS X on my iMac. Not one Salesperson in any of these stores was able to help me. I don’t have a small Mac store in my neighborhood but I do have 4 big box stores that sell Macs but not one could help me. Oh they could sell me stuff off the shelf or order product in for me they just could not answer any really basic questions. In one store the guy in the computer department didn’t even know what OS X was! Seems it was only his third week in the computer department, he use to work in the TV department. I ended up looking around on the Internet for information and prices.

If the Sales Associates in big box stores selling Makeup/Personal grooming/Fashion are even twice as prepared and knowledgeable as the big box electronics store’s associates you have absolutely nothing to fear from them as competitors.

From where I stand its a great time to be in Direct Sales. I can’t help but think the only thing that many big box stores have to offer is a slightly lower price. If the customer was like me and looking for value not just price they have to go somewhere else. Very likely to someone like you.

Direct Sales, Avon, Big Box Stores

Technorati Tags: Direct Sales, Avon, Big Box Stores

Having worked on MBA for Avon and now working on a version for Watkins I realized how little I know of Direct Sales business. I have been spending a few minutes here and there just poking around the web looking at Websites and Blogs about all types of Direct Sales, Network Marketing and MLM.

I have come across a lot of informative sites (probably will add a few to the websites links section in near future). One thing I have found that was disturbing was the number of sites/blogs/forums where Reps from one company take shots (bad mouth) other Companies and their Reps/products. This looks bad (because it is bad), unprofressional (because it is unprofessional). As an outsider (I am not a Rep) this makes the industry and these Reps look so unprofessional that I can’t even find the words to describe it.

I say all this because I think Direct Sales Reps have a gigantic advantage over regular retailers. I think that most Reps don’t behave this way but the ones that do drag the whole industry down a little with them. I don’t know how it can be stopped but it would be good for everyone if it happened a lots less.

From my little time working in this industry I think other Reps and other companies are NOT your real competion (ok maybe a teeny tiny bit). Bricks and mortar stores are your real competion. Not to slag on Wal-Mart (but everybody does), in beauty/personal care/fashion they outsell the 10 top Direct Sales companies combined by a HUGH margin. Lets not forget that although Wal-Mart is the largest retailer (therefore everyone like me uses them for an example), they are only a very very small percentage of retail through bricks and mortar type stores (hey they don’t even have a single store in Manhattan!).

I suggest Reps think more about how they can take customers away from stores rather than fighting with Reps from other companies. If not for looking professional then because there is 100 - 200 times more money to be made from it (and thats a LOT of money). Big subject, run out of time but will post more on this later in week. If you have any thoughts on this please post a comment, would love to hear what others think about this (hey, I can’t be the only one to notice this stuff).

Direct Sales, Network Marketing, MLM

Technorati Tags: Direct Sales, Network Marketing, MLM

I have been thinking about the Backups and how to make them easier for Reps. I had a two Reps email me with the suggestion to automatically do a Backup each time a Rep exited MBA. This would work for making sure Backups got done. The problem is that many have the problem of a dead drive, so the Backup file would also die with the drive.

My idea for now is to add the ability to email your Backup. Yahoo and Google both offer free email with very large capacity for storage. If it works out maybe give the Rep the option of creating and emailing a Backup each time they exit (probably on good for those on high speed internet). The cool thing about this is the backup file is off your PC (in fact right out of your house). In addition to dead hard drives you would be protected from theft, fire, natural disasters and more simply because your backup is off site.

Now I just have to find the time to write the Code.

Avon, Backups

Technorati Tags: Avon, Backups

Every week several Reps email me for help due to a crashed (dead) hard drive. Almost all of them have no backup copy of their MBA data. This in spite of the fact that MBA for Avon has a built in Backup feature for data. A feature that can back up an average users data in well under two minutes (even under one minute for many), all with just a few mouse clicks.

I just checked Amazon.com and 512 MB USB Flash Drives (brand name) are less than $8.00 (plus shipping). You can buy CD-RW disks (that hold 600 MB) for less than $1.50 each. You can get a Google or Yahoo email account (with up to 2 Gig of storage) for free to email backup files to. Free is a good price.

So it doesn’t take much time or much effort and it does not cost very much money yet lots of Reps still don’t Backup their data. The Reps that do loose their data and have to re-enter it all again quickly learn how important to them their data is and many start Backing up on a regular basis. That is sure a lot of pain to learn this lesson. This after having read about Backups in the MBA Help, the manual, all my posts about Backups on the MBA Forum.

I will have to spend some time thinking this problem through. MBA has what I thought was a great Backup system. I make sure its easy for a Rep to find out about Backing up (any more and it would be nagging). Everyone knows hard drives will fail, its not “if” it is “when”. Or just as bad, a Virus eats all the data even before the Hard drive has a chance to fail.

The challenge is to come up with a better/easier Backup so that it will get used more. I know some Reps will never Backup but I have had as many as 7 emails about this in one week. That is one a day, there has to be a way to get that number down.

MBA, Avon, Backup

Technorati Tags: MBA, Avon, Backup