Connecting the Dots Between Motivation and Independent Distributor Retention

Ignore your independent distributors and they’ll go away — it’s sad but true. Distributors who are out of sight and out of mind tend to look for greener pastures. Distributors who are actively engaged, stay engaged, loyal and productive. There’s a data proven tie between motivation and retention.

But, let’s face it. Business owners and managers are busy and can easily become distracted by a myriad of business responsibilities that divert their focus from distributor engagement.

What motivates independent distributors?

According to research from Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, we are most motivated when we feel useful and believe we are living up to our potential. In fact, this type of motivation, he says, is more powerful even than monetary reward. That’s good news for direct sales companies hoping to attract and retain the best independent distributors who deliver the greatest results.

As a company, you spend a lot of resources to keep your distributors engaged: time to onboard newcomers; money on training, conferences, team building activities and more. However, according to the industry data, the annual turnover in direct sales is still 56%.

Research shows that your distributors will be most motivated when:

• They have the tools, information, and resources they need to do their best job – and serve their customers well

• They receive regular feedback on their performance, both positive and constructive

• They see how they are making an important contribution to the company

• They feel they are a part of a greater community of other direct selling professionals within the company

For direct sales organizations, making independent distributors’ jobs as seamless as possible, and ensuring ongoing communication, support, and encouragement, will go a long way toward increasing retention, recruiting and sales.

Keeping your distributors motivated will boost your retention rates

Motivation Through Automation

When you have few independent distributors, it’s relatively easy to provide truly personalized assistance to each of them. Nevertheless, as a direct sales company grows, empowering each person individually becomes a very hard task. The solution to this challenge is аutomation.

Automating the process can help maintain the focus throughout distributors’ lifecycle –  from the very first moment of recruitment to onboarding, training, communication, coaching, and recognition.

With a remote and distributed workforce, like independent distributors, the ability to use technology to help them stay on task not only keeps them engaged but also keeps them productive. Providing actionable next steps at every moment of their interaction with a direct sales company through technology can help distributors grow their businesses. Ultimately, of course, their success equals your success.

Four Retention and Reward Pillars

In an article for Direct Selling News by Andrea Tortora, she points to four retention strategies that can increase engagement:

• Helping distributors get quick wins

• Providing the right training at the right time

• Conveying a unified message

• Showing independent distributors some love

Those are exactly the areas where best engagement technologies deliver in a seamless, accessible and always available resource. Engaging distributors and arming them with the information, tools, resources and support they need becomes an important asset that brings tremendous results in better retention, recruiting and productivity at your company.

There is a number of emerging technologies that provide solutions to increase distributor motivation and participation. Among them, Rallyware is a leader in the distributed workforce engagement. The company uses an extensive experience working with direct sales companies, best practices from behavioral economics and the latest technologies. Companies like Mary Kay use Rallyware to keep independent distributors engaged in ways that go beyond the mundane through reward strategies that support distributors’ tasks.

Reduce the 50% plus turnover that is often seen among independent distributors by providing them with the tools they need to stay motivated and engaged.

Click here for your demo and see how Rallyware helps enterprises with large sales forces cut expenses, drive revenue, and transform operations.