Episode 3 Transcript

Hey everyone, it’s me, Lisa, and I’m super excited that you’re back with us on the podcast today. I have a special guest, Becky Launder here with us today from the Modern Direct Seller.

Hey, Lisa, I am so excited for our episode together. Thanks for inviting me. Oh, you’re welcome, and thanks for coming on. I was super nervous. You were like on my chicken list, you know. Stop it, stop it! As direct sellers, we all know about the chicken list. You know, there’s a list of people who you just don’t want to ask because you just don’t know if they’re going to say yes. And I mean, I, I talked to Becky almost every day, but it was, she was still on my check-in list for the podcast. And I decided I’m like, I just have to do it before you told me you were going to have a podcast. So I’m here for all of it. Well, I’m so excited for you to be here and let’s jump in. I want you to share a little bit about the modern direct seller. Like where did that come from?

Yeah. All right. We’re going to have a little bit of story time here if you’re ready for it. Um, but back in the day, I was leading my own direct sales team. I was in the sales field and as many leaders listening know that sometimes people on your team ask you the same question over and over and over again and so at some point during my time in leadership, I realized, you know, if I’m going to answer a question again, I’m going to write a blog post about it or I’m going to make a video about it. So really Modern Direct Seller, which previously was known as my consultant training dot com, was really a place for me to train my team. And it all started as a website that was completely free and just loaded and packed full of training and information to make my life easier and to better serve my team. And then fast forward a little bit later, I realized not only was my team accessing that website, but it was being shared a bit more broadly. And I had others within our company accessing it. And then eventually I found people that were completely outside of the direct sales company that I was with was using the website and really learning from the information that we were sharing there. So that was the very early days of the website. And during that time, I was building a team. I was actively in the field. I was working my personal business and having a lot of fun with it. I eventually stepped away from my full-time job in marketing for, ironically, a leadership training organization. So I laughed that I grew up in training and here I am again, training people. And as the website grew and my business grew, I had a couple of friends that were really invested in online marketing and understanding digital marketing skills. And they kept saying, you know, you’re going to really monetize that website. You got to monetize it. Like, how do you have this website with just crazy amounts of high value information just out there for the world? And I was like, I don’t know. I mean, I’m building my email list the whole time. Like, you know, I have 100 people, a thousand people, a couple thousand people and I eventually said, you’re right. It’s time for me to monetize this website. So the first step that we took, which now I look back on, it feels a little backwards, is we created a course. And the first course we created was how to launch your website in a weekend. And it was all about how to create a WordPress website from scratch and create a blog and build your online presence. Which now I look back on with like way too many moving pieces and bells and whistles. And, you know, it’s pretty much over. You know, we tried to simplify it, but it was, it was a little bit of work. So people were like, that was not a weekend. That was months in the making, but we started with that course. And then we ended up creating a couple other courses that were more on direct sales basics. And what we found was that the average direct seller wasn’t looking to buy a course. They were looking for community, they were looking to learn, they were learning, they wanted to connect with others. And that is when we pivoted from courses into launching the modern direct seller Academy. So that it was a little bit of a journey even to get from, you know, having just a website for my team to courses to the membership program. But when we launched it, we immediately had just an incredible amount of support because as you can imagine, we were giving away high value content for free for years and years and years. And so the minute I said, hey, at the time, who wants to pay $17 a month to get access to this and a whole lot more? We just had a ton of people raise their hand. So from there, it’s grown exponentially and we’re so proud of the incredible community that we have and the way that we’re able to serve direct sellers across the world in different companies and just create this incredible community. So that was not the short version. A long story short Lisa, that’s how it came about.

That’s awesome because you know, back in 2020, when we all had to pivot, I mean, before that, my business was mainly in person. So I didn’t do a lot of deep diving on the internet looking for things. But when 2020 hit, I was like searching YouTube and Google and all that stuff. And I actually found your old, my consultant training. It was the old videos and it’s like, so I was binging them and binging them. And then I found, I guess a newer one popped up and that is where I found the Academy. And honestly, when I jumped over, I thought that because I had been taking another direct sales training before the Academy. And when I popped over and seen the pricing that you were offering, I’m like, this is like a no brainer. Like everybody needs to be able to jump into this because it was just so affordable for the everyday direct seller. And once I got in and seen the content that the Academy had, I’m like it was mind blowing because I was the type of person who was stuck on, no, I can only learn from my company. I can only learn from the top leaders of my company because they’re the only ones who know what to do. And then I finally realized it’s like direct sales is direct sales. It doesn’t matter what you do, like follow this and just adapt it to your company. So I absolutely love and appreciate you, Becky, with the modern direct seller. It’s just so amazing.

Now that I find that the modern direct seller is great for the everyday direct seller, like the, you know, people who are just looking to work their business, looking for ideas. Tell our listeners what you also have, because I know you have two memberships and I’m actually part of the VIP membership, but I’d love you to give them a little bit more info on Pro and VIP. Yeah, sure.

So yeah, as Lisa said, when we started out in the academy, everyone was just in the academy, like we had one level of membership and you had access to courses and networking and live events and all kinds of things that we offered. Um, and then as it continued to grow, we added more and more values. So today, the Academy is $29. So we’ve had some price increases over the years and added more value while we’ve been on that journey. But still we wanted to keep it affordable for that average everyday direct seller that once they want to learn their craving, kind of the new cutting edge way of doing things and learning from others, but not break the bank. I mean, there’s many programs out there that are thousands of dollars and well that’s fabulous. I really wanted the Academy to be accessible to anyone at any level of business, even those just getting started, as well as those that were really growing and building. So one thing that we did not include in the Academy was any one-on-one support. And over the years, I’ve had countless requests asking, hey, do you do one-on-one coaching? Hey, like, how can I just talk to you? These group sessions are amazing, but I want your eyes on my business so over the years, we’ve added two additional layers of membership. Our Academy Pro most recently launched this last year. And the Academy Pro level is actually really cool. So for those people that are really looking for some personalized feedback and strategy for their business, this is a great way to just layer in a little bit more to get that personal attention. So every month our Academy Pro members complete what we call a PROgress report, we play on words there. And then we send back a profit report to them. And so they fill out a form and basically share a little bit of accountability. Hey, last month I said I was gonna do this, this is where I ended up, this is what worked, this is what didn’t, this is where I need help. And then we’ll respond with some written feedback on different resources for them to explore, different strategies that they should try inside their business and then there’s some other perks of the pro level too. We have virtual retreats. We have some special monthly coaching sessions with them. So it’s a really great level for those that know they need a little extra and don’t wanna kind of go about things in a just self-paced manner. They want that accountability, they want that extra support, but aren’t quite ready for the VIP level, which Lisa, you’re at that level, so you know what that’s all about.

Inside Academy VIP, we have completely separate masterminds. We have a separate community group. And probably the biggest perk you could say is that you do get one-on-one access to work with me directly. So there’s a strategy kickoff call in the beginning. And then there’s an unlimited amount of check-in calls that you just grab in a calendar link. And you book a call with me, and we strategize together so at that level, most people that are in VIP are building a larger organization, whether they’re a leader or they just know that this is the long haul. Like they’re in to build a long-term sustainable direct sales business and they want that one-on-one mentorship.

Yeah, I absolutely love. And I remember when you just launched the VIP and I’m like, okay, I’m curious about this. And I reached out to Becky and she said to me, she goes, you know, I was thinking of you when I actually launched this and I’m like, well, give me some more information. And, you know, it was a fairly big commitment for me to make at that time, but I knew that it was something that I needed to jump into because I was at that level in my business where I wanted more and I just didn’t know how to get it and I know Becky always, uh, we always have the conversation and I jump on the calls and we hardly ever talk about my direct sales business. It’s always something else. We go lots of directions. It’s everywhere. I mean, but, and I will say this because of Becky, I mean, my direct sales is consistent. My business is consistent and I’m doing things in my business that allows it to run on the easy button, which I love. But then I also love that you have supported me in launching my own um, you know, training business called digitally direct, where I offer, training on apps and systems for the everyday direct seller to take away the overwhelm so that they can implement things into their business to help them work smarter, not harder. And then last but not least, I mean, you encouraged me to launch this podcast.

And I did, I did. Well, and what I love I’ve said we have a lot of multi-passionate entrepreneurs in Academy VIP. So pretty much everyone has a direct sales business that they’re building. Some have it a little bit more on autopilot. Some have it a little bit more coasting. Some it’s their number one income source, but we have a good portion of our Academy VA peers that are also launching something else just for themselves. And so that’s been really fun to support too, because obviously I’ve had my own story through entrepreneurship and seeing what that looks like. And so it’s been really cool to see people like you, Lisa, just completely blossom and step out of your comfort zone and do things that maybe you would have never imagined doing and just been so, so successful. So that’s the, that, that’s what fills my cup. It’s the best.

And I, I totally appreciate you. And I, I, I love the calls because it’s. The support that you give is different support than I get from my, my upline. And it’s like, you have this view where like, you’re just, you’re looking out for my best interests, nothing to do with the company, nothing to do with this. And it’s like, follow your dreams, follow your goals, Lisa. If this is what you want to do. Then this is what you have to do. But I thank you so much for that.

Oh, well, I mean, I truly believe that it’s the community also. We have such incredible people. And it is really cool to hear, like, well, what is your company doing? Or how is that working within your organization? Or is there something that you’re doing really well that I can adapt and make work from my business? And it’s through those conversations that I think we all rise together and we all learn from each other. There’s just so much we can learn beyond just what we’re learning inside our companies. And we just have a little bit bigger picture view and hear from others. I just, yeah, incredible things happen.

Well, I was talking on the last podcast with Susan and we mentioned about our pods. And it was so funny because if it wasn’t for the academy, I would have never found, we call ourselves the core four and I would have never found them. And the core four consists of myself, it consists of Susan, Sami and Hillary. And we just do all things together. We have never met in person. I’m from Canada, they’re all from all over the US. It’s not even like they’re in one central location. And when we get together, it’s just like, we’ve been friends forever and we do things. And this is what the Academy has brought together. And the one thing that I keep on telling members of my team is that if you want your business to grow, you have to start building collaborations outside of the company. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And like you were saying, it’s like one of those things where you have these people and they’re sharing their stories and you could jump in and say, you know what, that’s not just with your company. That’s right across the board. I’m experiencing that too. So it’s okay.

1Yeah, well, and just the magic that happens when we collaborate is, you know, I’m obviously a huge fan of collaboration. And one of the coolest things from my perspective is when I see people inside the Academy collaborating outside the Academy. So every once in a while, I’ll be scrolling and I’ll see, Oh, look, who’s doing a group takeover in that group? Or Oh, look at they put together you know, some kind of event together. This is, I mean, it is really neat to see those collaborations, because the reality is every direct seller has their own unique audience, right? They have their followers, they have their audience. And when you’re able to share that audience with someone that you know, like trust, that you want to collaborate with, it really does allow you to kind of cross-pollinate those customers and it’s super successful. So that’s been a lot of fun. And back in the day, I was like, kind of freaked out like, why are people doing all these things outside the Academy and I don’t even know what they’re doing. Like, is this a threat to the Academy? And I’ve come to learn like, this is an incredible outcome from the Academy is that there are collaborations and partnerships taking place and they just yeah, it’s absolutely beautiful.

I love it. Now one thing that I did want to share with the the listeners, you have this super power quiz. I’d love you to share some information because I was absolutely in love with the quiz as I was taking it and the response was like spot on.

Yes. Well, now that we’ve been doing this for a little while, we have a pretty good idea of how most direct sellers operate. And so we had this idea to develop a quiz to discover your direct sales superpower. So you can learn more about it. It’s over at modern direct seller dot come slash quiz, totally free. And when you take the quiz, it’s going to give you one of four direct sales personas. So I can go ahead and describe those Lisa for this good. Yeah, by all means I would love it. I don’t wanna spoil anyone’s quiz results, but just to give you an idea, right? We have our IRL rock star that were in real life rock star. And this is the person that loves doing events, loves networking, loves being belly to belly, face to face out there, seeing people in real life. Then we have our party powerhouses. And our party powerhouses are those that probably have spent a lot of time doing online parties, building their Facebook group, or building their community online. They love creating fun online experiences that their customers can’t get enough of. Then our third persona is our social selling sensation. So our social seller is the one that isn’t really doing parties, they’re probably not doing vendor events, but they love being on their phone, texting it up, sending DMs and really selling through a one-to-one conversation. So they’re also probably really great at creating compelling content online that are gonna attract their ideal client. And then our fourth persona, which I believe is Lisa, is our digital marketing champ. So our digital marketing person loves automation, loves systems, loves leaning into technology to support their customers and introduce themselves. So..They might be spending time on a website or a blog. They’ve probably launched an email marketing program. They also probably love text marketing and they’re using all of these systems to cultivate and build relationships with their customers. So it’s actually a really cool dynamic to see where everyone fits. There isn’t a good or a bad superpower. They are all incredible. And one thing that we’re seeing a lot of just this year is a shift from a lot of our IRL rock stars and our party powerhouses really stepping more into the social selling and digital marketing space. So a lot of the content that we’re sharing inside the Modern Direct Seller Academy is supporting that journey for those that maybe built their business face to face or through online parties and are realizing here in 2024 that they want to make a little bit of a shift more into that social selling and digital marketing side of direct sales. So that’s been really fun to see, and we can actually kind of plot their journey and give them the tools and resources needed at each step to help them build some of those skills and superpowers and other areas that might not be their natural go-to.

Yeah, and I absolutely love that you do have content within the Academy that fits all those different styles. And you know, there’s there is something in there for everyone. So, you know, if you guys want to take a look at the Academy, there’s going to be a link in the show notes, feel free to take a look.

So there’s one more thing that I wanted to touch on because like Becky said, I’m a digital champ and I absolutely love that side of the business, But I wanted you to share a little bit about the Oh My Hi offering that you guys have. I absolutely love this, so. Well, this is, Jeremy and I work together. My husband and I are in business and married. All the things, I always laugh that Oh My Hi is his baby. The Academy of My Baby, Oh My Hi is his baby, but really, so like I said at the very beginning, right? The first course we created was this launcher website in the weekend and we were like, oh my gosh, we built out this course and it was over the top. Like it just had a lot to it. And for the average person that’s not like super duper techy, it was just a lot for them to figure out. So as our business has grown, we’ve also seen the need evolve to provide a website option. When I had my direct sales business, I had a website and I brought leads in all the time through my website and consistently people asked, Hey, how did you do that? How did you set up that website? Or can you teach me how to do that? So we birthed Oh My Hi, which is essentially a really simple plug and play website and blog. So the cool thing about this is that you can have it on your own domain. So like beckylaunder.com, right?There’s a way for you to capture leads. You can integrate it with an email marketing program, but it’s also a place to really build your brand online outside of social media. So as we’re seeing social media change and evolve, we’re always playing on somebody else’s turf. And so what I love about Oh My Hi is that it can truly be your content hub. You’re creating this content anyway to post on social. You might as well put it directly onto a website where you can build that visibility over time. When you’re thinking about social media content, it has a shelf life of like 24, 48 hours and then it’s old news. And the beauty of a website is that content continues to increase with visibility over time. So the longer that content is out there, the more interactions, the more web views that it gets, the higher it’s gonna rank in search results, which makes it more likely that a random customer is going to find you and be interested in your brand, your story and purchase your products. So Oh My Hi is truly fill in the blank like you. We have all the images sized. Lisa is incredible and supports our Oh My Hi community with co-working sessions to make it really easy. I find that the hardest part for people is figuring out what they want to say and what images they wanna put on the homepage. But once the homepage is up and they can get past that hurdle then it really is like you have a blog there for you. You can create landing pages. You can do scroll parties. You can do forms. I mean, the list goes on and on and it’s such a powerful tool for you to build your business and have a central place to send your customers to where they can learn more about you. And then of course, you’re gonna link out to your replicated website where they can go and place an order and shop. But this allows you to get that contact information for them to really see who you are before just landing on your corporate site and kind of getting lost in the shuffle of all the products and all of the things that are there on their site. I absolutely love building the brand. And yes, I love doing the live support for the Oh My Hi. It’s just like a highlight of the month where you go on and people are like so excited when they can accomplish things. And it really is truly a like drag and drop template where anybody can do this. Once you get over the hurdle, like you said of gathering the pictures and you know, writing up a little about me story, but it’s, it’s an amazing thing, um, to look into and again, um, I’ll make sure that the links for you to check it out are in the show notes, but I know I also want to focus on this part of the oh my hi because we have things like Facebook that are changing overnight and things aren’t the way they used to be and I would really like for you to tell the listeners a little bit more about the scroll party options on Oh My Hi. Yeah, absolutely. So scroll parties, or we’re calling them kind of a scroll and shop, if we’re avoiding the word party. Scroll and shop is essentially a one page of your website where you’re sharing images, videos, captions, and content related to your product a traditional Facebook party and the content that you would dump into that Facebook party and just put it on one single webpage. So as you’re scrolling down, you’re learning more about the products, you’re learning more about you, you’re learning more about the business opportunity, you’re learning more about hosting, you have a subscription box or anything special, new releases, all of that content is totally customizable. So as you’re scrolling, you’re also shopping. There’s a button for them to shop and they can head right over to your website. This is a great alternative if you have a host that is not on social media, this is a great alternative if you’re sick of social media and you really wanna build the relationship outside of social. The one thing that I will say with the scrolling shop is the most successful scrolling shops include two components. One is an RSVP form. So when you’re inviting people or your host is inviting people to check out your scrolling shop, they’re signing up, they’re filling out their contact information, they’re putting it into the form, they’re RSVPing. When they click RSVP, it can take them straight into the actual event. They can start scrolling and shopping right then on their own time. And then the other thing that works really well with a scroll and shop is some kind of sideline communication. And most people are preferring text to communicate with their guests that are attending those events. So they can talk to them and support them and provide personal recommendations and really continue to build that relationship with them directly without, again, being reliant on social media. Because probably the biggest drawback of a scroll and shop is that it’s not super interactive, right? Like they’re gonna see the content, they’re literally gonna scroll, and then they’re going to shop. So you don’t have that same kind of buzz that you have when you’re creating an online event where people are commenting or engaging or dropping a GIF or emoji. This is really a self-guided experience for them to shop. Yeah, and I was just gonna mention, I absolutely love the RVSP component because that is where you build that relationship, the know, like and trust, and it is a must with the scroll and shop parties. But if you really, if you are thinking about a way to get your business off of social, it is really something that every direct seller should take a look at. And the Oh My Hi site itself is so affordable for, um, the everyday direct seller that it’s definitely a way to build your brand. Like build you, you are not. And I love that, you know, you keep telling this over and over again. It’s like, you’re not your company. You are you. And you need to share that because that’s why people shop with you because they know, like, and trust you.

Absolutely. And I feel like on a website, it’s constantly evolving. And that’s kind of the beauty of that also, right? Like you can change and you can grow. And like I said, our website started just for my team and it was called my consultant training. And we had this like big cursory font all over everything. And as we’ve grown and our brand has evolved and the way that we show up and serve our customers, we’ve been able to make those edits and changes. So, if anyone is jumping into Oh My Hi and feeling a little hung up on like, how do I want to show up here? What is my story or what picture should I use? The beauty of it is everything is a hundred percent editable. The biggest thing is just to launch it and put yourself out there. And then you can update it and change it as your business continues to grow. Yeah. And one thing that I do want to mention, it’s like for leaders who are listening, there are many of the VIP Academy members who have a component of the Oh My Hi site that is just built specifically for their teams. And it’s a password protected place. So to get their teams again off of Facebook and onto a branded platform where they can control who sees that content.

So I absolutely love that. Becky, I mean, I appreciate your time that you’ve taken. Absolutely and coming to talk to us. But before we go, there’s one thing that, well, two more things. One thing that I wanted to ask you, and I want to ask like all the guests who are on the podcast, is there a specific quote or one specific tip that just stuck in your head? I would say to think about doing things today that are going to give you more time tomorrow. And I might have borrowed that from Roy Baden. I’m pretty sure he has that in one of his books, Procrastinate on Purpose or Take the Stairs, but really thinking about your business over the long haul. Because if we can make money come fly out of thin air and land in your lap today, I would promise to give you all of my secrets to make that happen. But the reality is direct sales is a long-term business and it’s not likely going to happen overnight for you. So when you’re thinking about building your business with intentionality, It’s really creating those things, those systems, those tools, that infrastructure to build your business today to free up more time tomorrow. And what I mean by that is maybe it’s an email sequence and you know that that email sequence, once you write it one time, is gonna continue to serve you every time a new person subscribes to your email list or creating this podcast episode today. We know this took 45 minutes for Lisa and I to record, but the reality is this episode is gonna get listened to over and over and over again, right? So creating assets and resources and leaning into systems in your business to create more time and income for you in the near future is well worth it. So I just wanna encourage anyone listening that, you know, there isn’t a secret magic bullet answer to make your business grow exponentially overnight. But when you focus on the right things, and you build that infrastructure, that success is going to continue to grow over time. I love that.

I love it, Becky. All right. And now I know, for those of you who are listening, and don’t follow Becky yet, I know that you’re going to want to follow her. So where can they find you? Yeah, of course. So our website is modern direct seller.com. That is our hub for all things you can learn about my podcast, you can learn about the academy, you can learn about my book, you can learn blog posts, there’s a lot of incredible free resources over on our website. And then we’re also sharing content across social media on the regular as well. So you can find me over on Instagram at Modern Direct Seller. And if you’re listening to this episode, I would love to hear one takeaway from you. So send me a DM, let me know what you learned and what you’re loving about Lisa’s new podcast. And then of course I’m on Facebook too. So we have a free group that you’re welcome to join. You can get there directly by going to modern direct seller dot com slash FB as in Facebook and that will take you to our modern direct seller tribe, your spot to grow your direct sales bids on Facebook. That’s awesome. And I know you’re going to have a ton more followers. Let’s hope I, I’m just being optimistic, you know, because the podcast is going to get a ton of listeners. Yes, it is. Go share this podcast with your friend, your biz bestie. Lisa is putting out incredible content. This is your friendly reminder to repost this episode on social, tag Lisa, tag a couple of friends that you think would love to listen in. I know that you’re just getting started, Lisa, but you have a great lineup of guests and content and it’s just a good vibe. So you gotta bring your friends.

I love it. Yes. And thank you so much, Becky, for being a guest on the podcast. I’m sure that everybody enjoyed listening to what you have to say. I consumed you so much on YouTube and stuff before I jumped into the Academy. It’s almost like I knew you before I knew you. But I love that. And that’s the beauty of building a brand online, right? Yes. People are like, I know you and you’re like, do you know me? Okay, we know each other. Well, right back at you, Lisa. I know you’ve been on my podcast a couple times and we’ve done lots and lots of Zoom calls together. We didn’t met each other in real life last year. We did. So now we’re officially like real friends now.

All right, everyone. Well, I’m going to let you go for now. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, if you’re listening to the podcast, please take a few minutes to rate and review. I know we do have some rate reviews coming in so far and I’m absolutely loving them. Loving reading what people are saying. But again, thank you, Becky, for joining us. And we’re going to sign off for now. And we’ll see you guys on our next episode. Take care, everyone. Thanks, Lisa