Looking back over nearly two decades of building my business online, I cringe when I think about the very first website I built (I designed that crazy logo in “paint” and coded the entire site in “notepad”), the very first show I ever did (one of the guests kept tapping her watch and staring at me, urging me to hurry up), and the early interviews I hosted (everything I said was scripted!). I certainly had a lot of learning to do over the years to improve my performance!

At the time, they weren’t bad, mind you. They were pretty good – especially for the technology of the era, and I certainly practiced my butt off to get them as good as possible in the time I had available.

But comparing that “old me” to the more experienced, confident, and knowledgeable me of today, I can honestly say it was the worst work I’ve ever done.

The same is probably true for you. 

In direct sales, we coach our new consultants to book in close, and get their first shows done before they’ve even been in the business for a month. One coach I know recommended her consultants get in nine shows in the first three weeks of business! The reason? Practice. Even if you have one or two “good” shows right out of the gate, a new consultant won’t have enough experience under her belt to handle some of the more unusual situations that can come up during the first few months of business.

Here are some tips to improve your performance fast:

1. Pick one thing and know it cold. Most direct sales companies have hundreds, if not thousands of products available for purchase. Pick one product, or one product collection, and become an expert on it. If you’re new, people will be impressed with what you know, and will understand that you couldn’t possibly have memorized everything in the catalog in your few short months in business.

2. Rehearse. If a show cancels or reschedules, use that time to practice your demonstration. Even if you’re practicing to an empty room, the more you rehears your demo, the better you’ll be when it’s time to present your wares in front of an audience. If you’re waiting in line at the bank or the grocery store, practice the one-liners that you say during your presentation to encourage bookings and recruiting. Even if you’re only saying them to yourself under your breath, it helps. Besides, if someone is brave enough to ask what you’re doing, you can tell them you’re rehearsing for a big presentation you’ve got coming up. That just may open a conversation that books a new party for you! If you think of your demonstration as a performance – with you as the lead actor – it just might fire you up for an Academy Award-winning performance!

3. Confess. You don’t have to know everything. No one but you expects you to know everything. Let your clients know that, while you don’t have all the answers, you’re committed to finding the answers for them. Then go out and find those answers!

4. Ask. Whether it’s the online training center, the book store, the library, your team leader, or a colleague, it’s smart to ask for help. No man is an island, and it’s foolish to pretend that you’re the sole author of your success. Ask for help when you need it (and show gratitude when you receive it), and you’ll be modeling the traits of a real leader to those you meet.

And what if your first few shows were really spectacular? Maybe it wasn’t beginner’s luck. Maybe you really are that good! If so, congratulations, and don’t rest on your laurels. It’s important to keep learning, keep growing, and keep practicing. New questions crop up every day, and it’s up to you, as a business owner, to be able to find the answers for your clients, hosts, and team members. Just think how much better you will be after twenty years of learning and growing!

Spring is here! YAY!

Which means my husband and I are spending a LOT of time in our HUGE vegetable garden – preparing the soil, planting, weeding, watering. We’ve even begun HARVESTING some things – like the lettuce we planted on our cold frames in March.

This, combined with a coaching call I recently had with one of my direct selling clients inspired this post.

You see, there is much to be learned from growing a garden that applies to growing a thriving direct selling business.

First, there’s the soil. The type and quality of the soil has a huge impact on how well a garden will grow. For example, if you want to grow carrots, you’re going to have a difficult time in soil that’s predominately clay. Carrots need sandier soil in which to thrive.

And so it is with your business. The “soil” in your business is YOU – your skills, talents, life experiences, the network of people you know, your sense of self-esteem and so much more. Sometimes when your business is not flourishing in the way you had hoped, you need to work on YOU – to “build up” yourself just like my husband and I “build up” the soil in our garden with compost and other organic fertilizer. While this takes time and work, the difference it can make to the growth in a garden and your business is amazing.

Then there’s the importance of sun and water to a garden. You can have great soil but if the seeds you plant do not get sufficient water and light – you will not have a thriving garden. So – what’s the equivalent of sun and water in your business?

I think it’s the fundamental actions of your business, e.g., phone calls, booking, prospecting, recruiting, selling, hostess coaching, training, networking, and customer service. Without the “right amount” (quantity, frequency and consistency) of these actions, your business will not grow.

It also might include the people who add “brightness” to your business – by supporting, encouraging, inspiring, training and coaching you. They’re “sunlight” for your growth.

Then there’s another element of gardening that REALLY applies to your business. The WEEDS. You can have the best soil and take all the right actions and have a great support group, but you still won’t have a thriving business unless you weed it regularly.

The “weeds” that can “choke” the growth of your business include the conscious and subconscious beliefs you have, choices you make and behavioral habits you’ve developed that limit and block your prosperity. If you’ve ever “not enoughed” yourself, your actions and/or your results – then you have “scarcity weeds” you need to pull. Other “weeds” that choke the growth in your business might be those people in your life who “not enough” you and overtly or covertly discourage you, your actions and your goals and dreams.

And, finally, there’s a time in the cycle of every garden when things start to “bolt” and “go to seed”. No matter how much you water or weed your garden, you will not be able to harvest much (if anything) once a plant has “gone to seed”. For example, in the heat of the summer, most of the lettuce in our garden starts to bolt and go to seed. At this point, it doesn’t taste good – it’s quite bitter. And so rather than continuing to eat this bitter-tasting “old” lettuce, my husband and I know it’s time to plant a new crop.

This same dynamic can show up in your business with long-term customers and team members. Sometimes you need to let them go and plant new seeds – start a fresh crop. If you have customers or team members who never have or are no longer “doing” much, it may be time to let them go and start a new “crop”. That doesn’t mean you don’t like or care about those customers or team members nor does it mean you aren’t grateful for them. It just means that the time has come for you to plant some new seeds and turn your attention elsewhere.

This process of growing a garden is an ongoing one. We are regularly building up the soil, planting seeds, watering, weeding, pruning, harvesting. It’s not something we can do once and be done with it.

(Oh… how I WISH that was the case!)

And so it is with your business… you can never stop “building up” you, watering your business with your actions, giving it the “light” it needs, weeding it, harvesting from it and planting new seeds. That’s what will have the harvest of results in your business (both tangible and intangible) be one of abundance!

I’d love to hear your comments and/or questions about what I’ve shared. Perhaps it will support you to “build up” your soil or get a handle on the “weeds” in your business.

Just post your comment or question below.

Happy Gardening!

Teresa Romain is the President & Founder of www.AccessAbundance.com and has trained and coached thousands of individuals around the world access and experience greater freedom, fulfillment, well-being and abundance in their businesses and their lives. Unique in her approach and dynamic and passionate in her style, Teresa is known for making the transformational process of accessing abundance challenging, fun and powerful in its results.

Really. Here in the U.S., kids get an extended vacation from school, and many families take at least a portion of that time away from their work to travel, visit with family, or engage in any number of activities that would take them away from home for at least a few days.

At first blush, it can feel like “nobody’s home” all Summer long, making it difficult to book and hold one-on-one meetings or home parties, but that’s simply not true. With more people across the globe staying close to home (they even “staycation” in Scotland), it’s not hard to have a full Summer calendar – if you get started now. Here are three ideas to help prime the pump for a sensational Summer book of direct sales business:

1. Create a campaign for your A-List clients

One of the strategies I teach is about sorting your clients in to three lists and marketing to them according to which list they’re on. Today, just look at your A list clients. Don’t have an A-list yet? Create one today. Your “A-List” represents the cream of the crop, the top 20% of your clientele. These are the folks you most enjoy working with – and wish you could clone.  Then, create a special offer for each of them. If you’ve worked with them recently, reach out and ask for a referral to someone else as awesome as they are. If it’s been a while, invite her to host a show or place an order as a Summer treat for herself (or her friends) using a special offer that’s only available for one week. Begin your conversations by thanking them for being one of your very best clients. Remember, sincere flattery will get you everywhere.

2. Offer a Summer incentive booking bonus

Put together a basket of special items – they could be discontinued or clearance merchandise, overstocks from product you have on hand – or they could be totally unrelated to your company product line. When you invite people to book a show, let them know that every Summer host will go into a drawing for the gift basket and only hosts are eligible to win. Hosts that have a $1000+ show get an extra ticket for the drawing. One client of mine is offering up a Kindle fire for every six hosts that book and hold a party for her this Summer. Remember to do what is financially feasible for your business. Don’t go broke giving away prizes.

3. Summer Camp Fundraisers

Got kids going off to summer sports or arts camps? Most non-profit organizations are glad to benefit from your fundraisers. Why not invite the parents to party with you and donate a portion of the proceeds to the camp program? You could also offer up a portion of sales from any bookings you get from the parents. Sports teams are always in need of equipment or uniforms. Why reserve your fundraising for schools? These kinds of activities usually start registering now, so it’s a great time to approach the sponsoring committees to discuss fundraising options.

These are just three ways to get outside the “nobody’s home” box this Summer. What ideas are you thinking about? Share your ideas in the comments below!

[Editor's note: Kelly is our new tech guru in the classroom! Kelly has a wealth of valuable info about online marketing and using technology in your direct sales business. We're excited to share her first post today. If you've been looking for ways to spruce up your facebook page, read on!]

You’ve worked hard to get your fans to your business page, are you doing enough to keep them interested in coming back?  Can you think of a few facebook fan pages off the top of your head that irritate you with their postings or don’t give you any reason to interact?  Don’t be the owner of that page!

Picture this: your fan page is a place that people seek out, they jump in to participate when you ask questions.  Your content gets shared and you have new fans ‘liking’ the page daily.  Your wall has various requests for party bookings, as well as requests for more information about joining your team, and you notice that your website is getting orders while you sleep!

The only problem is that many small businesses, including direct sellers and party planners, simply do not know what to do to engage their followers.

Here are five ways to NOT be boring on your Facebook fan pages:

1. Enough about you, it has to be about them

Your constant marketing messages (book a party now, buy this amazing product for 25% off, join my award winning team) get old very quickly.  On Facebook (and everywhere, really) consumers don’t want to be marketed to, they want to seek out the products and services they want.  Hence, the popularity of DVR and satellite radio, we want to CONTROL the marketing messages we receive.  Your fan page is no different!

Your page should have a 10 to 1 ratio: ten posts related to the interests of your fans to one post marketing your business.

Yes, I’m serious.

Think outside of the box, what other interests or hobbies do your fans have?  Are there seasonal posts that you can share that might interest your market?  For example, if your fans are largely women with small children, perhaps you share a post with craft ideas for children under 5 years old or an article on potty training. Yes, this has nothing to do with your business, but that is the point.  Make your posts more about them and they will remember you when the time comes that they need/want your product or services.

2. A picture is worth a thousand words

It is also highly engaging to use images with your posts.  People see a page of words and they click away…too much reading!  Images draw attention, give a clue to what all the words are about, and allow the reader to rest their eyes.

Give them some eye catching images to look at and intrigue them to scroll further down your page.  Images can be used along with posts, in your milestones or they can stand all on their own.

3. Ask questions

Questions are a great way to hook your reader.  Headlines and intros often use questions for this very reason.  The trick is to using questions in social media is asking the right kind of questions.  Don’t expect to ask an open ended question and get numerous responses right off the bat.  Many direct sellers get very frustrated and discouraged when they ask a question and get crickets in response.  Start slow with “like this post if…” posts.  For example, “Like this post if you are ready for Spring.”  Simple, no?  It is not asking for a lot of commitment or even thought from your fans.  Next you’ll want to work up to one word response type questions such as, “What is your favorite movie of all time?”

Once you create a culture of participation on your page you can move to more open ended questions.  ”Where is your favorite vacation destination?”  Throw in an occasional question relating to your products or service, “What is your favorite product from the Spring collection? Post it in the comments below.”  ”If stranded on a desert island, which of our products would you want with you?”  Be creative, be fun.  Don’t be afraid to be controversial or to use current events in your questions.

Use the ‘questions’ feature to make a poll for your followers, it is another easy way to get engagement as well as MORE exposure since the poll question shows up on the wall and in the news feed of the person answering it.

 4. Teach something or provide solutions to common problems

Organization is a great topic and something many people struggle with.  Do a search online and find a great blog post, website or fan page that you can “share” content from.  The more sharing you do from other fan pages the more exposure you get as well as the good karma of giving credit where credit is due online.   Keep in mind that “likes”, “comments”, and “shares” are the social currency of the web, give them freely and feel the reciprocation.

5. Have fun/be funny/be inspiring/be motivating

Most importantly, be YOU! Allow your personality and some of your personal life to shine through.  Remember, people need to know, like and trust you before they do business with you!

Happy non-boring posting!  Your Facebook fans will thank you by becoming more engaged and involved in your page.

Post your questions in the comments below or share with us the tactics you use to keep your fans coming back for more!

Kelly Paull is the Honey Badger of Niche Marketing at Directly Successful.com  She’s a techie geek with 8 years of direct sales experience and a passion for helping women navigate the technology necessary to run a smooth operation.

Now that I’m older and a bit wiser (I hope), I can speak from experience as both a direct sales leader and a coach. One of the things I like to tell potential recruits is that “anyone can do this business, but not everyone will, nor should they.”

Being in business for yourself requires fortitude, stamina, and a willingness to take a few risks – among other things. In any entrepreneurial endeavor, there comes a point when you need to decide if you’re going to press on or move on to other things.  I’ve worked with many clients who’ve faced this dilemma. Some chose to press on successfully, while others knew it was time to bow out and pursue other options for their life and/or business. If you’re feeling the itch and can’t make up your mind, here are eight signs it may be time for you to get out of direct sales:

1. It’s all about the money (and/or there’s not enough of it). If you’re waking up every morning and logging in to your account to see how much money you have (or don’t have), you are in it for the wrong reasons. Direct sales requires a commitment to the products and people you’re serving in your business. If it’s all about the Benjamins for you, chances are good you’ll start feeling burned out sooner rather than later. If you’re feeling this way, look at your business plan and discover what, if anything, you’re still passionate about. If you’re having difficulty finding the passion in your business, it may be time to cut the apron strings.

2. The return on investment isn’t there for you. This isn’t just about money. In recent years, I’ve seen many more leaders complain about how much more difficult it is for them to keep their teams engaged, and that their bonus checks are dwindling. Any industry is cyclical in nature, and direct sales is no different. There are incredibly easy times and challenging times for any entrepreneur. If you find yourself in one of these slumping cycles, ask yourself if you’re willing to be a little more creative and persevere through this until the upcycle returns. If the answer is no to either item, it may be time to consider something else.

3. You never really wanted a career in direct sales. First, a caveat: I don’t know anyone that ever said “When I grow up, I want to be a direct seller!” Many consultants come in to the industry wanting just a part-time gig to provide for some “extras” in their life, and the next thing they know, they’ve got a team as big as Kansas. Others come into the industry as a testing ground with no plans to stay in the first place. Direct sales is an awesome place to test your entrepreneurial wings, learn about marketing and sales, and have a net of people to fall back on. This is how I first came to the industry. I was looking for a place to practice being an entrepreneur and learn the “how to’s” of business without crippling myself financially. Over time, when you learn the skills, it can be time to finally spread your wings and fly on your own. If that’s you, there’s no shame in that. Follow you dream, for crying out loud!

4. Your company closed (again). In the span of three years, I personally experienced the shut down of three companies. The first time was heartbreaking enough, but then you rebuild a team, only to watch that company close. Got me once, shame on you. Got me twice? Oy. It came to a point where I was tired of the building process and didn’t want to have to re-build again  regardless of the incentive. I didn’t want to have to reassure anyone that this time would be different. And yes, I know now that I should never have made that reassurance to anyone, because I can’t guarantee anything – another reason I finally had to call it quits in the industry. Which brings me to…

5. You want more say in how your pay is computed. It’s true that you can pretty much write your own paycheck in direct sales  - meaning that your efforts will be reflected in your pay. At the same time, 20-25% of someone else’s revenues vs. 100% of my own revenues started to seem like a no-brainer to me – especially when it seemed like companies were closing left and right around me at the time. If you’re a person who likes more certainty about where and when you’re money’s coming in, it might be time to look at creating your own business. On the other hand…

6. You want more consistency in your pay. Maybe you just need to get a job. Being an entrepreneur comes with risks, and lacks many of the fringe benefits that people look for in an employer/employee relationship. Stepping back into a traditional work role comes with different expectations. You have a set number of hours to give for a set amount of pay and things like health insurance. Consistency in direct sales comes from working your business like a job for a couple of years and growing your leader income to the point where you don’t need to do as many parties or one-on-ones yourself anymore. Consistency isn’t immediate, and if you want immediacy, it may be time to quit your direct sales business.

7. Every fiber of your being says “quit”. You have to be careful on this one. Sometimes things just get hard and we’re feeling ambivalent about doing the hard work to get the rewards. If that’s what you’re feeling, buck up and do the work. On the other hand, if you find yourself with a company/product/service/team/client base that makes your skin crawl and you just can’t bring yourself to do this kind of work anymore, then quit! Honor your emotional responses. They are very real signals coming from within you that tell you it’s time to move on.

8. You’re staying because you’re afraid of what someone else will think/say if you quit (again). I disagree with Albert Einstein. Living your life based on what someone else thinks you “should” be doing is my defnition of insanity. Yep, they might have their wise cracks about you quitting your thirteenth direct sales company in as many years, but you can always tell “them” that you were doing research. At least that’s what I did. The older I get, the more I realize that life is too short to live according to someone else’s design. If God wants me to be a direct seller, or a coach, or a musician, or a speaker, then so be it. I’ll take God’s advice on the matter. Sure, my spouse and family gets some input, but the ultimate decision about my life belongs to me. Even God doesn’t take that away from me, why should I let anyone else?

Obviously, this is a very condensed list, but it’s one I have never heard spoken in public before. It’s as if everyone in direct sales is supposed to be Pollyanna and happy about everything that goes on in the industry, and no one is ever supposed to leave. The industry commentary that’s quoted all the time is “a third are coming, a third are going, and a third are staying.” Doesn’t it make sense to know where you stand in that mix? I’d much rather have a team of three people committed to growing the business, than a team of three hundred that are hemming and hawing about whether or not they should even be in the industry.

9. BONUS: Something better came along. Seriously. This isn’t about company hopping. For me, I recognized the greater value in serving entrepreneurs from all walks, not just the direct sellers on my team, or even direct sellers in general. When it came time to face the truth about my work, I recognized that I loved direct sales, I loved coaching, and I really wanted to reach more entrepreneurs. That’s when I had to get honest about what I was doing and why. Quitting wasn’t about cutting my losses. It was about expanding my world.

When we give ourselves permission to get clarity, we end up with a stronger business overall.

What about you? What are the signs that you see that tell you when it’s time to move on? It’s not always about cutting your losses, but sometimes it is. Share your thoughts below!