How to Jump-start Your Network Marketing Business with Trello
Are you overwhelmed trying to juggle your social selling business, work, family, and your personal life? You have so many ideas, to-do’s, and plans that it is easy to lose track of what’s most important. Want to know the secret to keeping organized in your network marketing business? It’s Trello: a visual, user-friendly program that keeps everything in one place for you.
If you are ready to simplify your tasks, streamline your workflow, and allow your business to thrive—keep reading! I’m going to show you how to set up Trello and use it to do all these things for your growing business. By the end of this post you will see why this tool will save you time, give you focus, and help you stay on top of things!
What is Trello?
Trello is actually a project management used by many companies to manage large projects with lots of people. However, it is also well suited for individuals who want to organize pretty much anything, like you wanting to get your network marketing business plan on track. Trello is a free tool (though paid upgrades are available) that help you organize and prioritize your tasks, content, and customers visually.
Imagine a digital bulletin board where you can see everything at a glance. It’s searchable and easy to rearrange as tasks and conditions change. No more lost little sticky notes or searching through multiple notebooks or notes apps to find what you are looking for.
Why should you choose Trello? There are other options out there and I’ve tried some of them. However, Trello is a great balance of versatility, powerful tools, easy to use interface, and price (FREE!) that will work well for those starting out on their business journey. Plus, as one of the most commonly used project management systems, there are lots of templates and tutorials available.
How Trello is Structured
Trello consists of workspaces, boards, lists, and cards. A workspace is where everything is stored. When we were using the bulletin board analogy, think of a workspace as your wall. It holds everything else on it. You will only have 1 workspace.
Boards are like the individual bulletin boards. These hold the big picture for different areas. Maybe a board for a project, content, customers, and so on. Each board can contain lists. Lists are for categories within each board. For example a customer board may have lists for prospects, have ordered, been more than 6 months since order, and so on.
Finally, you find cards in each list. The cards can contain as much or as little information as you like. Each customer can have a card with their name but then included in that is all the details you need for that customer from address, phone numbers, or what they ordered. Or on a content board you may have a list for Instagram posts and each card has the graphics, caption, and date you posted it. There are so many possibilities!
Setting Up Your First Trello Board
Are you ready to get started? I’m excited for you so let’s go!
1. Sign up for a free account
Go to Trello’s website and create a free account. There is also a mobile app, but setting up your workspace for the first time is much easier on a computer.
2. Create your first board
Click “+ Create new board” and give it a name, like “Dashboard.” With Trello being a visual based program, one of my favorite things is the customizations available for the look of it. Choose a background for your board. You can either upload a photo or use UnSplash to find one. I like choosing a background that matches my brand for my network marketing business boards and pretty pictures that I like for personal boards.
3. Make some lists
Remember that lists are your categories. For a dashboard some great starter lists are:
- To-Do: Put all your tasks in this list whenever you think of one so they are all in one place.
- In Progress: A list for things you are currently working on.
- Completed: Move your finished tasks here once you have done them. It is satisfying to see what you got done!
- Events: Write out all your upcoming events to be able to keep track of details.
- Brain Dump: Store random ideas and thoughts here to categorize later.
- Content Ideas: Store your plans for upcoming content on any platform.
4. Create cards
In each list you can make cards to keep the details of tasks or ideas. For example:
- Under “To-Do,” create cards like “Schedule Instagram posts” or “Update customer emails.”
- Under “Content Ideas,” list topics such as “5 Benefits of Waterless Skincare” or “Behind-the-Scenes of My Daily Routine.”
- Under “Events,” make cards for each party, Facebook group class, or scrolling event you are conducting.
5. Make it yours
As you start using Trello every day you will find what system works for you and how you run your social selling business. You may want to keep the dashboard just for tasks in the to-do, in progress, and completed categories. Perhaps a separate board for customers and another for events will suit you. So feel free to adjust as you go. And with Trello, it is very easy to move cards and even whole lists to another board when needed.
How to Maximize Cards
Luckily cards aren’t just a sticky note on a digital bulletin board, they are so much more. Unlike a little square of paper, cards can hold a whole world of information. Some of the top features to help you get organized include:
- Due dates– you can add a start and due date to cards to keep yourself on track. You can also set up reminders to give you some notice that something is coming up due. This feature works well for adding a date to follow up with a customer, put a date on when you want to post a piece of content, or remind you of when an event item needs to happen.
- Checklists– create a checklist (or several!) for each task. Create a checklist called “Follow Up” on a customer card with tasks like “send thank-you,” “add to email drip campaign,” and “check back in 2 weeks.” For a content card you may want to include “film video,” “edit video,” “choose audio,” “write caption,” and “post.” Additionally, You can copy checklists from one card to another, saving you from repeatedly typing the same thing.
- Templates– speaking of copying, you can create a card template. This allows you to have some things already filled in like a set of checklists, labels, or text.
- Labels– color code your board with labels. Use them for prioritizing tasks (urgent, not-urgent, do later), categorizing customers (has ordered, multiple orders, hostess), or seeing what needs done today (different color for each day of the week). Use them how it makes sense to you and how you structure your network marketing business.
- Attachments– go ahead and attach all your favorite file types or links. For content cards, attach the images you will be using. Link Google drive files directly. Have a PDF freebie you have been working on? Go ahead and attach it to the card as well!
Another way to use cards to their fullest extent is to take advantage of Trello’s built in automations. You can make simple rules to help keep you organized such as every Saturday night clearing your “Completed” list so it’s clear for the next week. Add an “ordered” tag to a customer to automatically move them from the “Prospect” list to the “Current Customer” list. The sky’s the limit!
Real Life Examples
Here is how I use Trello as part of my social selling business plan:
Dashboard
My dashboard keeps track of to-dos, what’s in progress, and completed tasks. I also have some lists for brain dumps to capture ideas as they come to me so I can organize them later.
Tagging the cards on my dashboard with days of the week easily allows me to see what I need to work on each day. This way when I sit down to work I can easily pull those things from the “To-Do” list into “In Progress” and just focus on that list. Keeping distractions at bay and working on what I’ve prioritized for the day helps me stay on top of my business in my limited time.
Before and Afters
If your network marketing business includes any type of transformation, you definitely need a before and afters board! It helps keep you organized so that when you want to share a particular transformation, the info is at your fingertips. With the mobile app, you can easily share the photo from within Trello.
You can utilize lists in this board to make it easy to organize your transformations. For example, if you sell health supplements, you might have a list for before and afters resulting from different products, a list for clients 50+, one for men, and one for overall improvement.
Then each card contains the photos and in the details you can put all the information about the transformation. You could add tags as well to help further refine your organization.
Contacts
This is by far one of my favorite ways to utilize Trello. When you are just starting your network marketing business, Trello can be your answer to a customer relationship management system. You don’t have the money to pay for a fancy CRM, but keeping track of prospects and customers is one of the most important parts of your business.
I have lists for prospects, those who have taken an assessment/consultation, new orders, existing customers, those who haven’t ordered for over 6 months, and those who aren’t interested at this time.
Each card has the customer name, details about them like email, phone, order details and date of last order. I can assign due dates for when to follow up with them.
Bonus Tips
Power Ups- These are extras that add extra functionality to Trello. You can use them to connect to Google Drive, show cards in a calendar view, or card repeater to have certain cards repeat. Explore at the free options and find what might help your workflow!
Templates- There are thousands of templates available so you get a board that is already set up with lists and card templates. There are templates for things from content calendars to customer management. You can even create your own templates to use in onboarding new team members.
Email to Board- Forward new order emails to your customer board so that you have all the order info right there to tie to the customer card.
Why Trello is Perfect for Your Network Marketing Business
Trello isn’t just about getting your business organized- though that is a huge benefit! When everything is in one place and easy to see it will:
- Reduce Stress: You know exactly what needs done and when.
- Stay Focused: Avoid distractions by working from a clear, actionable plan.
- Boost Productivity: Get more done in less time by streamlining your workflow.
As moms, we’re often balancing countless responsibilities. Trello helps cut through the chaos and bring order to your social selling business, leaving you more time for what truly matters—your family.
Ready to Get Started?
Trello is easy to get started with and is perfect for beginners yet can grow with your business. It will help keep your business organized and you feeling professional. If you’re ready to dive in, I’ve created a free Trello template to help you get started. Sign up for my newsletter below, and I’ll send it straight to your inbox!
Let’s simplify, succeed, and shine together. Happy organizing!
