In spring 2020, the German subsidiary of an American direct sales company with a small team of dedicated employees had reached the limit of what was achievable given the many projects with high sales and growth targets. As a result, the company decided to introduce a new commission system and implement a new merchandise management system. In addition, internal and external corporate communications were to be converted to the new corporate design and sales were to be restructured and digitalized. The time frame was also tight: the projects had to be implemented in just three months.
Restructuring traditional direct sales with social selling methods
The interim manager with many years of expertise in marketing and sales met a team that was in a good mood and committed despite an acute work overload. The initial task was to restructure traditional direct sales using modern social selling methods. Based on successful models from the USA, this involves customer acquisition, sales and recruitment via social media channels such as Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube and others. One challenge was that the sales team consisted of just a few managers and several thousand external freelance consultants.
The coronavirus pandemic broke out in the middle of the campaign preparations
The interim manager worked with the project team to develop a concept and prepare the first campaigns. After a preliminary phase with a test group and an analysis and optimization phase, the national rollout was due to start in July 2020. However, the coronavirus pandemic broke out in the middle of the preparations. The company had to completely stop its traditional direct sales channels and the personal sale of its products.
Social selling becomes the only source of revenue for several thousand external consultants
Luckily, the foundations for the switch to sales via social media channels were already in place thanks to the preparations for the test group. The interim manager was therefore able to start the direct rollout in a task force with the entire sales and marketing team. Training courses were offered at lightning speed, marketing materials and templates were created, regular Zoom calls for internal and external Q&A sessions were implemented and new ordering processes, rewards and incentive systems were set up.
Active contribution to securing the livelihoods and sales of many people during the coronavirus crisis
The big concern was how the "old hands" in direct sales would react and how much sales would slump. But something quite unexpected happened: the external consultants were open and appreciative of the quick support from the direct sales headquarters. It became a joint effort to get the new digital sales channel up and running and to support each other in the process. Since then, everyone involved - including the interim manager - has shared the unforgettable feeling of having actively contributed to securing the livelihoods and sales of many people during this difficult time and crisis.
