TRAINING YOUR FIELD TO BE SOCIAL SELLERS VS SOCIAL ROBOTS By Samantha Hind, Co-Founder and Director, Auxano Marketing
P
ersonal branding, social selling, and influencing are all the buzzwords of 2022. Direct selling companies have already embraced the latest digital platforms and emerging technologies. But how much is too much for an industry that builds relationships with highly personalized service? What if we rely too much on technology? Have we crossed a bridge only to wonder where we’re going? Direct selling companies that enter the ever-evolving digital world will see ongoing innovation. Bots that allow distributors to communicate with their customers quickly, easily, and regularly to build that all-important relationship are old news. New, customized social selling platforms that will enable your distributors to schedule an array of content options in minutes are on trend. Affiliate-style sellers are using a fantastic new technology to set up a link-sharing system, passing commissions downline to benefit the original distributor and those customers who share the message. Like an influencer whisperer who pays it forward! With all the options out there, why are only 10 percent of social media users thriving, while many are left wondering why it doesn’t work for them? After all, they have every tool, the training, and all the support they need, right? How can we fail with all this technology at our fingertips? The answer is that it’s easier than ever. Cutting through the noise of social media is tough. The secret is not found in the best technology, skills, or most sassy dance moves on TikTok. The secret to social
64
Spring 2022
The biggest mistake we see is using social media inconsistently when it hasn’t been prioritized as a core business strategy.”
media success is unique content, relatability, and personality—the very things we lose when we make technology the priority and endgame. Social media content becomes stale with the systemizing of regular, attractive content that isn’t real or relatable. Personal branding is what makes this industry what it is. Our people. My partner Greg Hind and I have been teaching social selling and personal branding online to direct sellers exclusively for more than seven years. In just the past year, we worked with over 150,000 distributors globally from all walks of life. We see one common pattern emerging—everyone is being less and less themselves online. They are selling and telling rather than sharing and relating. A lack of results on social media and a whole lot of wasted time has taken a toll on their confidence. To address the problem, many companies will offer them more automated systems, turning our distributors into social robots who can’t get results. Sadly, many people give up, thinking, “I’m just not tech-savvy enough.”
