Dear Holly:

Find them right in front of your nose! Who is your target audience? Looks like people who are expecting, or people who expect to be expecting! Am sure you have a database of your customers -- put a nice note together and mail it to them, see if there's interest in them working with you. How fun to have a pregnant woman walk around showing others how they can enjoy your cards! I work with a lot of moms, and women who want to work from home. Most don't want "jobs", they want something to do that brings them an income, but still allows them to be with their children. Were it me, I'd create a new promotion of some type -- the "Make Mommy Friends" marketing campaign (or something like that).

Plan it out, from what you will offer for compensation, to how the product will be ordered (giving the rep credit) and how the product will be shipped. Plan your marketing materials in the same way, step by step. Talk to women who have ordered and love your product, and see what it would take for them (if they were interested) to work with you. I have found that the most important thing women want, when working from home, is the trust that they are completely supported by the company they work with. You must plan to "be there" if they need help with orders, motivation to get sales, etc.

The biggest disappointment to most home-based salespeople is that their sales dry up when the excitement wears off -- so, getting leads to them is another issue, as well as showing them how to sell, where to sell, what it takes to be successful, etc. You really become a "mom" to your representatives! Also, be sure you plan promotions, a sliding commission scale, etc. That is a huge factor to getting and keeping motivated representatives -- and territories, oh, yes, that's a big one! You don't want two of the same diner's on the same block, and the same goes for folks working from home.

Take some time to look at how other companies set up their businesses. Although, one may be inclined to just "hire a rep", there is so much preparation that must be done to make sure the offer is worth taking -- on both sides! Go visit http://www.HBWM.com  , look at the advertisements, and see how folks recruit and set up their businesses. Though you'll see a lot of MLMs, you won't have to set yours up in the same way -- but you can certainly see what looks the "best" to you and what is right for your business.

Wishing you the best!

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