Marketing 101: Strategies and Business Growth Ideas for New Independent Scentsy Consultants

by HelloScent.com Marketing Director Rob Russo

So you decided to start your own business and become an Independent Scentsy Consultant. Or maybe you are just thinking about it. Well there has never been a better time! Scentsy is an innovative industry leader not ready to rest. They keep re-inventing themselves. This year will see the introduction of new product lines including Layers by Scentsy, a revolution in personal and laundry care, and Sincerely Scent, an easy way to send scented greeting cards.

Plus, Jes and I just returned from Scentsy Spring Spring consultant training where we saw sneak peeks of new Scentsy warmers with the promise that Scentsy is dedicated to the flagship brand and warmers and will keep on innovating and creating these original products even as they continue to introduce new lines (and even new brands such as a delicious-sounding one set to launch May 1, 2012).

Sure, there are some compliance policies and standard rules to follow from Scentsy Corporate, but trust me: You are going to love the Scentsy opportunity!

Scentsy is a wonderful company that lets you run your own business as you see fit. You can share Scentsy at home shows wearing flip-flops and a t-shirt or you can skip home shows altogether. You might focus on fundraisers or trade shows. Many top Independent Scentsy Consultants run a successful business (or the majority of it) all online. It’s up to you!

Even if you decide NOT to focus on a heavy online business, I would suggest some efforts be placed there. You definitely do not want to skip marketing online altogether. Here are a few basic online business tips and marketing strategies that will help in your own Scentsy business.

Create a Personalized Business Name

We chose HelloScent.com. Jes could have just been Independent Scentsy Consultant Jes Russo at scentsy.com/jesrusso but I suggest thinking bigger, branding beyond your name. Unless you are an overnight success or a Hollywood celebrity, your name will not be the talk of the town or on the tip of the tongue of many. Marketing an easy-to-remember name and catchy domain name, however, may get you farther with name recognition and in business.

Note to new Scentsy consultants: Like we did with HelloScent.com, I would suggest playing up the scent or fragrance aspect of Scentsy products as corporate has done themselves. The name “Scentsy” tells you you’ll be using your nose. You may not know what they are talking about at first, but you could bet something is going to smell good. Many consultants have been successful with a “wickless” or “no wick” or “quit the wick” name since Scentsy got its start selling signature wickless candles. I’m not suggesting they are wrong or their names are bad, I’m suggesting that you think broader. With scented greeting cards plus lotions, creams and other personal care products introduced this year, you can see how the “wickless” name will become less applicable when product lines continue to expand and new items are introduced that have nothing to do with a “wickless candle” but everything to do with those signature Scentsy scents.

Nice Niche: Define Your Target Market

Before doing anything – maybe even before you decide on a business name as mentioned above – you must decide on your niche. What target market do you want to reach? What do you have to offer that is unique compared to the other Scentsy consultants? Something unique to military spouse? Stay-at-home moms? Teachers? Pet lovers?

While I believe MOST everyone will love Scentsy, you will have a more successful business in the long run if you lay some ground rules in the beginning. As tempting as it will be to go after any and every possible customer that shows the least bit interest, you will become more efficient and more effective (thus more profitable) if you laser focus in on one or a few niche markets. Once you know the target, your aim will be dead accurate. From flyers you hand out to the types of fundraisers you are comfortable with to anything you put marketing time and money efforts into, you will find one strong voice that resonates better, cuts through the clutter and gets directly to the customers you desire.

You will be more confident and your customers will look to you as an expert they can trust. HelloScent.com, for example, is focused on helping stay-at-home moms that need an extra income and couples that enjoy – or would like to be – working together. And on a broader scale, we use this blog at HelloScent.com to help all consultants in building a successful Scentsy business with thoughts on marketing and other Scentsy business tips. Jes is a stay-at-home mom, we both enjoy working together in all aspects of our life and can see working together with Scentsy for years to come. And while the marketing tips on this blog are somewhat universal, we put the laser focus on the Scentsy Opportunity and provide relative examples applicable to Independent Scentsy Consultants.

Complete Your Scentsy Personal Website (PWS)

Be sure to customize your Scentsy Personal Website, or PWS, as best as you can. Fill out the “about” sections and put something unique on the one page you have complete control of – the “My Page” tab. This would be a great place to link to all other places on the web you share your Scentsy business. Try links to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, for example…

Remember, you don’t have to enroll to receive your PWS, but at only $10/month (plus the first 3 months are free!) it is a no-brainer business necessity. If you factor in the time and money it would take you to build out a similar site, provide hosting and include an e-commerce platform to securely accept credit card payments, you wouldn’t even bat an eye at that monthly $10.

Register Your Own Domain Name

While we’ve created our own external website here at HelloScent.com, you don’t have to do that. But what you should do is register your own domain. We registered HelloScent.com as soon as we decided on the business name. Then, even before we build out the external site, we could start sharing the name and begin the process of building our brand. We could have it link wherever we would like so when a customer types “HelloScent.com” in their browser, we could send them directly to our HelloScent.com Facebook Business Page or to our HelloScent.com Scentsy PWS. You choose what will be more effective for your business.

Participate in Social Media

Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. Pinterest. LinkedIn. Google+. With more social media sites popping up every day (or so it seems) it can be overwhelming to say the very least. This doesn’t mean you have to be everywhere all at once. But you do need to pick at least two or three. Instead of spreading yourself too thin, be really active on a handful. And the social media sites you choose to participate on are up to you, depending on your target market. Once you decide on your niche, go where they are and start connecting with them!

Build Your Team

Recruit! Recruit! Recruit! Now this doesn’t mean you can forget or neglect your own customers. But DO put the majority of your focus on building your team. You need this to be a top goal because you are only one person with only so much time on your hands. When you build a decent downline, you start earning bonuses off of their hard work and your earnings can start to multiply or even skyrocket!

This is just a start. What other Scentsy marketing questions do you have? What business tips could you share? Please leave us a comment below and share this with your friends.