By Guest Blogger Caroline Lockhart

Have your ever thought of growing your direct sales business on Facebook? Most innovative companies are seeing the value and increased profits of growing a customer base with their Facebook Fan Pages. If you are a success-minded "Build it BIG" consultant, then learning the key strategies to succeed online is essential for your business. It's time to "Rock Facebook and build a BIGGER business!" Ready to join me?

Perhaps you have already jumped in. You have a fan page and you are posting like a mad woman to promote every product your company has to offer. You are probably getting some leads for home shows, and mailing out catalogs and requests for information about your business. You are also on a mission to increase the number of fans you have, so you're inviting everyone you know, even consultants from your own company. Perhaps you are close to reaching a magic number of fans, so you are spending your time offering special incentives & giveaways to join your page.

As long as you are increasing your fans, you will be selling a ton of product. Right? Well, in theory this all sounds great! You are sharing your "booking, selling & recruiting commercial" just like you were trained by your direct sales company. The problem is, most direct sales companies are still operating from the dark ages.

If you are a heart-centered leader, then you know your decisions to go on Facebook will effect your team business. You need to be strategic in how you position yourself on Facebook so you don't take sales or recruits away from other consultants.

So, who do you market on Facebook? You or your direct sales company. And how do you "show up" on social media to create a win/win for you, your team, your company, and the direct sales industry?

This has been my challenge, and why I ended up hiring a social media coach to help me learn how to build a direct sales business with an entrepreneurial mindset. What started out as a Facebook Training, turned into something much bigger. My coach walked me through a metamorphosis in how to market me as the brand first; not my products and services. Personal branding is key to being successful in your marketing today because social media is relationship marketing, building the "know-like-trust factor" in this virtual world called Facebook. It was here that I had a personal breakthrough, because even though I had achieved so much with my direct sales business, I had no idea how to market me as a brand, or help my team do the same. This is true for most direct sellers today.

After completing the Facebook training, and going through this powerful personal transformational, my 30-second commercial is no longer about the business, it's about a movement to inspire, awaken and empower women to discover their feminine brilliance through a fun transformational journey. This is what I will be teaching success-minded women who wants to reach higher in their businesses.

So what does all this have to do with taking direct sales out of the dark and into the light?

• When you focus on growing YOU, you will Grow your income and live a balanced lifestyle.
   
• You will discover what inspires you to build bigger.
  
• You will discover YOUR mission statement for your life.
  
• You will move beyond the limited thoughts that have been holding you back. (Your Shadow Statement)
  
• You will learn to show up on Facebook with confidence.
  
• You will learn the tools to develop your unique brand, and the power to attract the right customer.
  
• You will stop "selling your 30 second commercial" and start sharing YOU and what you have to offer.

When you stop focusing on selling to your customers, they will feel a deeper connection with you. Think of your fan page as your living room. Would you pounce on someone as soon as they walked through the door and say, "buy this"? No, you connect with them and ask them how they are, and have a conversation.

Facebook is a powerful world to connect to people who are important to you. If you don't know how to use the tools or how to show up on Facebook with a personal brand that reflects your authentic essence, then you are missing out on this energetic force that will attract the right customer to you.

Meet Guest Blogger Caroline Lockhart - A Leader for Cookie Lee Jewelry for 8 years. Caroline has always had a passion to inspire women to live their best lives. She believes success is taking the time to create a powerful vision for our life, and then committing to the personal growth it takes to move beyond your fears. It's the choices we make when we are not getting the results we want that determine how high we climb. The choice is really quite simple. Grow or Struggle. Most success-minded women choose to grow themselves, and this is why Caroline loves the direct sales business. Caroline has a team of 50+ years of direct sales experience. Her new passion is using Social Media to position direct sellers with the tools they need to build a new, stronger team on Facebook. You can learn more about her and her message on her Facebook Fan Page at www.facebook.com/caroline.lockhart1.