Direct Sales Moms - Step Away From the WAHM Community
By Audrey Okaneko
I belong to a few "work at home mom" communities, WAHM for
short. What I see is a lot of competition for the consumer dollar. I
also see many distributors from many companies all trying to recruit
the one person who comes along saying, "I might be looking into
direct sales." In fact, I've had those very people tell me that
after they posted a request for information, they ended up with 30-50
private messages and emails. That's a lot of competition.
I'm a strong supporter of online communities as a means of
networking. I also believe you need to step away from the WAHM
community for some of your networking efforts.
I have a few hobbies. I love to crochet. I belong to a couple of
craft communities that offer a section on crocheting. I also love to
scrapbook. There are many scrapbook communities out there. If the
community allows a signature, I put my website into my signature. If
the community does not allow a signature, I put my web address into my
profile. I also use my profile to let people know everything I can
about me.
When I step outside of the WAHM community I'm able to connect with
other women who are not already involved in direct sales and I'm able
to talk about a variety of topics, not just business and direct sales.
Invest some of your time seeking out communities that are outside
the WAHM community. If you can't find a message board, take a look at
yahoo groups and see if you can find some interactive groups there
that are on a topic you enjoy. I've found both crochet groups and
scrapbooking groups through yahoo.
Once you find these communities, consider paid advertising on the
sites. For example, if you sell cosmetics, find some women's groups or
some fashion groups and then consider taking out a paid button ad.
Also, if the community does not allow signatures with links,
consider a slogan as your signature. For example, if you sell kitchen
items, sign your posts "the kitchen lady" or "the
kitchen expert." Leave the URL out but put the slogan in.
Step away from the WAHM communities and watch your business grow!
