Direct Sales Success: Multiple Companies Is Like Chasing Two Rabbits

Visit the Direct Sales Classroom Store to take advantage of the special offer on Direct Sales JUMP Start. The sale ends October 31, and after that, the product will never be available again in any format.

If you’re curious to see what I’m up to that’s causing all these changes, take a look at the Business Action Hero blog for more details on the 90 day Webadventure challenge.

Choosing To Lead

Leadership is not about the number of people in your organization. Leadership is not about the size of your paycheck, or even the fancy “stuff” you possess. Leadership is an in-born quality that we all possess – if we choose to put it into effect.

Leadership means making right choices – even when no one is looking. It means being courageous in the face of your fears. It means choosing to be a leader – and trusting that followers will show up.

Dave Ursillo‘s fascinating book, Lead Without Followers, describes this very thing (you can read my review and win an autographed copy of his book here). Lead Without Followers is an examination of everything wrong with our perception and definition of leadership in today’s world. Using Washington D.C. as a backdrop, Dave illustrates how we as a society have taken to wealth and “power” as what defines a leader, instead of the intrinsic qualities that we all aspire to: trustworthiness, honor, respect, and the ability to do the right thing.

As I was reading the book, I got to thinking about the number of direct sellers I know that are true leaders in their field – not because they have an organization with thousands of people (some of them do, but some do not), but because of how they conduct themselves and their business.

These leaders may only be leading a small army (or an army of one), yet, they are exemplary, compassionate people. They care for their teams, their customers, and their hosts with a servant’s heart. They’re focused on quality, not quantity, and while earning the company incentive trip is a nice feather in their cap, their focus is on helping those they meet make better choices for their lives.

By Dave’s definition, being a leader doesn’t mean you need millions of dollars or millions of followers. Being a leader is a choice – in fact choosing to be a leader must happen before you can ever have followers.

Whether or not you decided to step up into leadership in your company, and nurture a team of consultants, you are still very much a leader. It’s how you conduct yourself and your business. It’s how you treat the people around you. It’s how you build your life and business with integrity.

Leadership is not about the stuff you have, it’s about the stuff you’re made of.

Retiring From Your Direct Sales Business

Once again, I find myself at a crossroads.

The direct selling company I’ve worked with for the past few years has closed their doors for good.

This is not the first time I’ve experienced this. Some of you may recall when The Body Shop at Home decided to cease operations in America about 3 years ago. I was with them for about 5 years.

I was able to quickly bounce back, set up shop with a new organization and keep things rolling because I had set up my online marketing to change over, essentially at the flip of a switch, as soon as I established where my next company would be.

And I’m set to do that again, but I don’t think I want to.

For lots of reasons I won’t go into here (but you can read about some of them on my other blog), being a consultant and leader in a direct sales company has been slowing down the growth of my coaching practice.

There was a time when I thought I’d never give up direct sales – especially since I had created a nice, mostly passive revenue stream for myself with my soon-to-be-former company. And I could do it again in a matter of minutes.

But I feel like God is telling me it’s time to retire. Close this chapter of my business, and focus on expanding my coaching/training, and time with my family.

Essentially begin a new chapter.

So rather than blather on about what I’m going to do (I’m taking time to really pray about this new development), I want to share with you my retirement game plan. That way, when you’re ready to hang up your cleats as a leader (or your company decides to close their doors), you’ll have a roadmap to help you as well.

1. Refer my consultants to effective leaders, my leaders to effective companies. I don’t hold my downline captive as I make the decision to move to a new company (or not). I am fortunate to have a laundry list of amazing clients that I would happily refer my team to, if they decided to go to another company. My leaders and team members have mouths to feed, just like I do, and it may cut into my own paycheck to do things this way, but leaving people hanging is doing them a disservice. It’s already a pain in the butt for everyone that the company is closing, and you can bet that if you don’t move quickly to keep your team together, they’ll be looking elsewhere anyway. Instead of worrying about “my income”, I created a list of my best clients in terms of leadership, personalities, and quality of training they provide their organiztion. I forwarded that “recommended” list to everyone in my organization and told them to go interview those folks if their product line sounded interesting. In my opinion, they wouldn’t find better leaders in the industry than folks I’ve already trained and know well. While you may not have that kind of list, if you’re building a solid business, you have met plenty of leaders in other companies that you could refer your team to when your retirement is imminent. If not, get started now.
2. Notify my customers (if the home office doesn’t do it). Let clients know that change is coming. Refer them to other trusted consultants on your team if your company is staying open. If your company is closing, connect with someone selling a comparable product so that your clients don’t have to panic about finding a new source. Yes, this takes a bit of effort that won’t likely return much revenue for you, but it shows genuine concern for your clients. Give your clients the option to choose how they want to do business – and with whom.
3. Save your pennies. If you’re retiring, keep an eye on your expenses for at least the 6-9 months prior to your retirement. If your company closes, review your last 6-9 months of expenses, and make saving money a priority. Even if you can switch your whole team over to a new company, it may still be at least a month before you’ll see a residual check (sometimes 3-4 months), so you’ll want to be prepared for the cut in income. Going forward, strive to save at least 3-6 months of living expenses to tide you over through future lean months. Now’s not the time to be investing in huge starter kits if you can avoid it. Liquidate as much of your current product as possible so that your shelves are empty and ready for whatever’s coming next.
4. Keep your online marketing presence active. Regardless of what you’re planning to do, maintaining your online presence lets people know what you’re up to. That way, if you ever decide to re-enter the direct sales arena – or any other business arena – you’re not starting from scratch.

Delegating 101 with The Golden Rule VA: WHO?

by Melissa Dery, The Golden Rule VA

Delegate:  To entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person

If you’ve ever wondered, “What, to whom, how or when do I delegate?” or  “How do I know what to “entrust” someone else to do?” you’re in the right place.  Delegation does not need to be a complicated or overwhelming process, but in order to grow and succeed in your business it does need to happen. 

Each month I will share with you another step in the process of getting comfortable with delegation.  You will find simple yet powerful ways to gain more control of your time in the day-to-day operation of your business.  So let’s get started!

Who to delegate to?

Last month we discussed “WHAT” to delegate, worked through a simple exercise and helped you create a list of tasks you might start to delegate.  So, grab your list and let’s take a look!

Review your list and think about the level of complexity and technical skill required to complete each task.  An example that comes to mind, and is most likely on your list, are both “mailing catalogs” and “entering product orders on the company website.”  To complete these tasks requires different skill levels.  See the difference?

Online Marketing When Your Direct Sales Company Says “No”

Talking with one of my VIP coaching clients this week, she shared her frustration that her company has put the kibosh on consultants using Facebook Pages to promote their business. Along with a slew of other fuzzy guidelines, her company is essentially pulling in the reins on all forms of online marketing using the company name, logo, or likeness. She expressed that not only were the consultants upset with the change, but also many of teh leaders, who had been using Facebook as their personal online sales magnet for months now.

I told her that this was an opportunity to get excited instead of getting bummed. Because now, the playing field truly was level, and everyone could market themselves rather than the company they represented.

Direct Sales Success: Delegating 101

[Editor's Note: Melissa Dery is joining us as an expert on delegation, outsourcing, and leveraging our time by not doing all the work ourselves! I'm grateful to have Melissa's genius guiding this recurring series for Direct Sales Classroom. Welcome Melissa!]

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Delegate: To entrust (a task or responsibility) to another person

If you’ve ever wondered, “What, to whom, how or when do I delegate?” or “How do I know what to “entrust” someone else to do?” you’re in the right place. Delegation does not need to be a complicated or overwhelming process, but in order to grow and succeed in your business it does need to happen.

Each month I will share with you another step in the process of getting comfortable with delegation. You will find simple yet powerful ways to gain more control of your time in the day-to-day operation of your business. So let’s get started!

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Delegate Successfully: What to Delegate

What do you delegate? When you look at your to-do list, if you have one, do you dream of handing the entire list over to the first person that walks by your paper-filled desk? Step back and let’s look at that list a little more carefully, or, if you’re beating yourself up for not having one, let’s create a to-do list.