This week, our featured Shop Consultant is successful UnFranchise® Owner and social media superstar Le Luong! Last Thursday we asked our Facebook audience what questions they would like to ask her about building a successful business. Interested in seeing if she answered your question? Read on!
What is your best advice for a college student who is just starting their UnFranchise® Business?
It is very important that all new distributors attend their team corings, local seminars, and especially the World Conference in Miami and the International Convention in Greensboro. These training sessions will help you familiarize yourself with the UnFranchise® Business system, but also to bond with their fellow teammates.
When I first started, I listened to the audio recordings while driving to work and watched the videos on the Market America website so I could learn how to present the plan. Take advantage of the resources available and leverage your teammates!
How do you keep up with all of your social media accounts? Do you ever post material exclusively for one outlet? How do you schedule your posts?
There are many social media platforms that allow you to track their various accounts. I prefer to use Hootsuite because it’s FREE, user friendly, and it also tracks the click through rate of the links that I post. Hootsuite allows me to view and post on up to five different social media accounts without having to sign into each one, which saves me a lot of time.
Since everyone has a different purpose for using social media, it’s important to understand your audience. For example, my Facebook account is reserved exclusively for friends, Twitter for friends and strangers and LinkedIn for my professional network. The types of post will vary for each account.
Depending on the content posted, there are certain times of day the post will likely be read, retweeted, or favorited more frequently, so scheduling your posts can be very helpful. There are features that allow you to post for a future date and time. Check out the Help feature if needed to learn how to schedule future posts.
Do you think a flip chart to show the plan is effective, and if so, why, and how have you used it effectively?
Why use a flip chart when Market America provides you with the business presentation and marketing materials? This is the one of many things that I love about the business; all the marketing materials are provided to us! You can use a flip chart to further elaborate on concepts; however, I don’t recommend it. There’s already a lot of information in the business plan to absorb, so use the KIS rule – Keep It Simple!
Did you encounter any obstacles when you first started your business, and how did you overcome them?
Although I joined Market America last October, my schedule did not permit me to truly start until the end of January. I faced a lot of rejections from my best friends, and even my own family members! I learned that this business is not for everyone, and I should focus my energy on people who do want to do the business. It’s important not to let the rejections affect your morale because they are saying “no” to the business and not “you as a person.” I learned to separate business from friendships.
How do you use social media to recruit people and retail products?
Unintentionally I was able to recruit prospects through social media because they found me reliable, interesting, and that I inspired them one way or another through my posts. People will naturally gravitate towards strong role models, which is how I strive to present myself on social media.
Another example is when I sold two Lumière de Vie® products after I posted a before and after photo of my skin and how the products helped improve the texture. All I said in my post was how I was amazed by the results that I achieved after using the product for one week. In the days after I posted the photo, my friends sent me private messages to ask where they can purchase the products, too.
Do you have any tips for distributors who want to become more active on social media or maintain an active social media presence, but don’t know where to start?
The best advice for newbie social media users or people who want to be more active is to “JUST DO IT!” Get out there, connect with your network, listen to the conversations, and start posting. Remember not to over post about the business. People don’t want to be sold to; instead, listen to the conversations and try to provide them with a solution.
How influential have events like World Conference and International Convention been on you and your business?
After returning from World Conference in Miami this year, my business exploded! I was so inspired after the conference and plugged into the system and participated in the Fast Track Program. After seeing all those successful people coming on to the stage, I thought to myself “Why not me?” In March, I signed up three new partners, and reached the Executive Coordinator PIN level this May. I can’t wait to attend International Convention in Greensboro because I know it will help me elevate my business to a new PIN level!
What is the biggest mistake that UnFranchise® Owners make when using social media to build their business, and how can they avoid it?
The biggest mistake that UnFranchise® Owners can make is over posting about the business and products. I like to follow the 80/20 rule. Post 80% about the things you do, positive quotes, pictures, and then talk 20% of the time about products, the business or the Market America events you attend. People will naturally gravitate towards you if you are interesting, but if you over post about your business or the products you sell, your friends will see that you’re using social media for one and one thing only; to sell! They will likely unfriend or unfollow you. So always remember that moderation is the key to success!
What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started the business?
When I first started the business, I was so excited and spoke to some key people that would have benefited from the 2-3 year plan. Because I wasn’t knowledgeable about the business, the prospects were turned off when I spoke to them. I wish I leveraged my teammate’s knowledge of the UnFranchise Business so we could have worked together to recruit these prospects.
We would like to thank Le Luong for taking the time to speak with us and revealing some of her best social media business-building tips! To submit a question, keep a close eye on the Market America Facebook page. This Thursday at 12pm we’ll give you an opportunity to submit questions for next week’s Shop Consultant. Then, read the ma® Blog on Wednesday to see if your question has been answered!
Now it’s your turn: which one of Le’s tips do you think will be the most helpful to your UnFranchise® Business and why? Comment your answer below!
