Using MLM Data to Drive Better Behavior from Your Distributors and Customers
Everyone is talking about big data. Direct selling firms especially have it on their radar.
So, what’s the verdict? Is this just more hype, or do you actually need to care?
MLM data, in and of itself, is meaningless—unless it actually helps you change the behavior of your distributors and customers which in turn drives you to improve your processes.
So, how do you do that?
A data driven system can help you use the information you already have to create a personalized experience for your distributors and customers. It enables you to interact with each individual based on their experience level and interest in your organization and the products you sell.
A data driven system enables you to find the most important insights in your data. It also empowers you to put exactly the right data at the right time in the right place – literally at the fingertips of the people who come in contact with your business. An MLM data driven approach is much better than running one-size-fits-all promotions, or offering incentives that many of your distributors may not be able to achieve.
Communicate Effectively
Sales reps aren’t all the same. Some are real go-getters who want to make six figures per year by selling your products. Others may just want to generate a little spending money for their summer vacation. Many are somewhere in between—they would love to make as much money as possible but don’t have the time to devote to it, so they’re going one step at a time. Whether a team member is full time, part time or some time – custom designed communication tied to personalized programs will produce the best performance from each resource.
The same goes for your customers. Some are avid users with a monthly autoship program, while others may have purchased once but then only returned to your site every few months to browse around.
Using the historical performance data in a data driven MLM software system, you can easily segment your audience based on where everyone is in their distributor or customer lifecycle. You can communicate in ways that drive appropriate behavior within each of those segments. If your system can’t do that, then it’s time to think about how to make that happen within your organization.
Maybe you want to create a competition with a cruise as the prize for your top distributors – but your first-year sales reps will need you to have an attainable goal as well. Once you’ve segmented your audience, you can offer different rewards and communicate different motivational messages to your team members based on their experience and performance level.
Messages that are more targeted to the needs of a particular group of distributors or customers will have a much higher response rate and will help create the outcomes you are looking for. If you continue to break down your audience into more specific groups, you can further tailor your messages and offerings so they have maximum impact.
Deliver the Right Tools
Your different levels of sales reps don’t just need different kinds of motivation—they also need specialized tools to do their jobs well.
If you roll out the same dashboard to every sales rep, you’ll probably just make everyone unhappy. The lower-level sales reps will get overwhelmed by all the functionality. The star distributors will get frustrated that they can’t immediately see what’s most important to them.
Your MLM platform should let you control what your sales reps can see at their specific level. With the best content and functionality being offered directly to those that need it, you can deploy tools that help top performers succeed while hiding these tools from more inexperienced reps to prevent them from being overwhelmed. On the other end of the spectrum, you can deploy specialized web training modules to the home pages of your newer sales reps without worrying about cluttering up everyone else’s workspace.
Your MLM system must be highly customizable, so that your distributors at every level can make themselves at home in their workspaces and do their best work. It’s a great way to make everyone feel like they’re in control of their own experience with your company.
Do This – Get That
If you’re going to drive the right behaviors among your customers and distributors, you’ll need a wide range of software capabilities that can help you leverage MLM data to your advantage. Look for technology with the following capabilities:
Configurable alerts that keep the upline informed when sales reps complete a specific achievement such as training completed, first sale, or rank advancement.
The ability to tie automated actions and events that keep you in constant communication with your sales reps reinforcing the behaviors you want.
Workflows that walk your sales reps through the best practices for their current performance level.
A content management system that allows your distributors to design their own websites based on the products they’re selling and the audience they’re pursuing.
If your current direct selling software isn’t capable of the data driven approaches outlined in this article, we’d encourage you to take a closer look at Thatcher’s Prowess software. Let us know if you’d like to learn more…