MLM Software Solution: Go for “Great,” Not Just “Good”
Your direct sales business is growing. Can your MLM Software Solution keep up?
Most companies start out with a complex array of spreadsheets. When the spreadsheets start to break—or when decision-makers simply get tired of not having a single version of the truth—they explore their options for a MLM Software Solution.
The typical solution will provide you with several basic features, such as:
- Commission management and payment processing.
- Distributor management.
- Inventory, order, and shipping management.
- Prospecting tools.
- Lead management.
- Sales reporting.
Direct sales businesses can’t live without features like these. But don’t think of them as the gold standard. Nearly every MLM platform offers this kind of functionality today.
If you really want to outpace your competition, you’ll hold out for advanced functionality that solves the biggest problems direct selling companies face. Here are just a few ideas about what to look for.
The Must-Have Features for Your MLM Software Solution
Support for flexible pricing. Does your MLM Software Solution let you assign both wholesale and retail prices for all of your products? That’s really important—but again, that capability has become standard in MLM software. It’s only a starting point for the kind of functionality you’ll really need.
For example, what if you want to change your prices on the fly to support a promotion? Or to encourage a new customer to make that crucial second purchase? Or to convince a lapsed customer to make their first purchase in a year? Your software needs to make these things easier, not harder.
Support for precise product valuations. As we all know, in direct sales, a $30 bottle of vitamins isn’t really a $30 bottle of vitamins. Sure, the typical customer may pay $30 for it, but your sales reps may only get $25 in commissionable value for it. Oh, and it may only represent $20 in qualifying value for earning distributor points. And the shippable value of that bottle may be….well, you get the point.
Product valuation in direct sales is more complex than industry outsiders could ever imagine. Your MLM Software Solution shouldn’t act like an industry outsider. It should give you total flexiblity not only for product pricing, but also product valuation.
The ability to influence behavior. Direct sales is cool because it lets you break free from the whole boss-employee model. Your sales reps can earn a living without having a supervisor breathing down their necks. And your company can rest assured that if a sales rep isn’t diligent about making sales, you don’t owe them a salary.
But that’s a double-edged sword. In the typical boss-employee relationship, there’s a built-in motivation for the employee to do well: poor-performing employees don’t get to keep their jobs, at least not for long.
Your direct selling company doesn’t have this built-in motivation, so you have to inspire the right behaviors in other ways. The best way, of course, is with financial incentives.
To inspire your customers, you can offer discounts or free shipping. To inspire your sales reps, you can launch incentive programs that bestow cash bonuses, merchandise, or free trips on those who excel.
Running promotions that influence behavior isn’t something that most run-of-the-mill MLM software solution platforms are equipped to support. It involves synchronizing information across your pricing, compensation plans, incentives, and warehouse. It takes a really powerful software platform to not only make this possible, but also make it easy for your staff.
Your Guide to Choosing your next MLM Software Solution
There’s a lot more we can tell you about selecting your next MLM Software Solution. We’ve compiled our best advice in a new white paper, and we’d like to you have a free copy. Get “7 Must-Have Capabilities for Your Next MLM Solution” now.