Delegating 101 with The Golden Rule VA: HOW?

Guest post by Melissa Dery

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!

How to delegate?

Whenever I tell someone I’m a Virtual Assistant they generally want to know these three things:

• Ÿ  How does it work?
• Ÿ  How do you get the work?
• Ÿ  How do we work together….virtually??

Technology has made it easier than ever to provide this type of service.  Here are my top picks for HOW to delegate virtually:

1. Email – Nothing too high tech about email, it’s a fast, easy, uncomplicated way to communicate.  I tell my clients “email is always open” and my policy  is to respond to your  email within 24 hours.  You can email a task whenever you need to, even if it’s the middle of the night, knowing it won’t be an intrusion and, more important, won’t be forgotten.
2. Dropbox – This online tool is fast becoming one of my favorites!  Dropbox allows clients to share documents without having to email them, which is especially helpful when dealing with large files.  Once installed on your computer you save files to it as you would any other folder on your computer, and like “magic” they appear in the matching folder on my computer as well.  This allows for much easier editing and sharing of information.
3. LogMeIn – Sometimes there are programs that exist only on your computer, but the fact that some of the work is not online does not have to stop you from delegating.  LogMeIn allows me to remotely access your computer (with your permission) and work on your computer as if I was there in person.
4. Mail – Traditional USPS mail.  Yes, with flat rate envelopes you can affordably send your hardcopy documents to me to work on for you, and have mailed back to you when completed.
5. Scanner/FAX – If you prefer to hold on to your original documents, you always scan and put them in an email attachment, into Dropbox or fax them to me.

There are many, many other tools available to work virtually, these are just a few favorites.  As you can see, delegating to a Virtual Assistant can be either high-tech, low-tech or somewhere in between.    Where there’s a will there’s a way, and a VA has many tools available to help make the process as smooth as possible.  Don’t let the “virtual” part scare or intimidate you.

Put all the pieces together, WHAT, WHO and HOW and you have the first steps of plan to stop the overwhelming feeling  you get when  your tasks get away from you.  Get back to what you do best and delegate the rest!

Melissa H. Dery is The Golden Rule Virtual Assistant (VA) providing Virtual Business Management to Direct Sales leaders.  A former direct sales consultant, Melissa also grew up in a direct selling family.  She knows firsthand about the “behind the scenes” work required to help your business grow and prosper.

When Melissa combined more than 20 years of experience as an administrative professional with her desire support those in direct sales and The Golden Rule VA was born.  Her mission and her “rule” are the same: to treat your business as if it were her very own, with respect, creativity and professionalism.

Melissa is married to her best friend and lives in New Hampshire with her two boys.  She has a Bachelor Degree in Business Management and a “Ducktoratte” Degree from Disney University.  She loves coffee, running and, most of all, camping with her family.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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Direct Sales Leadership: Dovetailing Tips For Success

In the direct sales industry, the act of “dovetailing” a show is commonplace and problematic. Leaders, with an abundance of shows, often “dovetail” a show to one of their team members to help them launch (or re-launch) their business.

The trouble comes when expectations aren’t set (or met), and what should be a seamless transfer of clients becomes an attitude war. Here are just a few problems I’ve come across in my coaching career (and in my own direct sales experience):

• Leaders pass off clients they don’t want to an inexperienced consultant that can’t “handle” them.
• Consultants develop an entitlement mentality, expecting their leaders to just “give” them shows when they need it.
• Clear expectations aren’t set when the show is dovetailed, and the consultant resents sharing the income from the show with their leader.
• Clients get confused about which consultant is “their” consultant.
• Consultants don’t follow-up, and lose the new clients, forcing the Leader to step in, which creates friction in the organization.

Let’s have a look at where the word “dovetail” comes from:

My grandpa was a carpenter, and explained to me long ago that dovetail joints are the strongest way to join two pieces of wood together. They’re also a bit complicated and time consuming to create, but worth the effort if done well.

If you examine the picture, you’ll see two boards coming together. Where the notch (called a mortise) receives the tab (called a tenon), you create a dovetail joint. When properly constructed, it is incredibly strong, resists coming apart, and is often used in high-quality construction of cabinet drawers.

Simply put, a dovetail is designed to last for ages. I have cabinets that have lost their bottoms, their knobs, and even other parts, but those dovetail joints are solid. Even without glue, a well-crafted dovetail will have a tight-fitting hold.

So it should also be in your direct sales business.

The leader is the tenon, extending their clients to a consultant, acting as the mortise (the notch that receives the dovetail).

There needs to be a tight fit. Leaders can’t just “pass off” their shows to a consultant and expect them to be successful. This is a gift that you extend as a courtesy for their demonstrated efforts at building their own business. Dovetailing is NOT a handout. Leaders need to set clear expectations with their consultants before, during and after the dovetailing of a show. These are my top suggestions for helping your consultants make the most of the “gift” you’ve given them:

1. Pre-screen your consultants. Let them know that they have demonstrated a level of responsibility in building their business, and you’d like to reward them from your abundance by sharing a show or two with them. Make it clear that this is your investment in them, and you want it to be a “good fit” for your clients as well as the consultant. You’re not just “giving them a show”, you’re making an investment, and you expect a positive return on thst investment.
2. Set clear expectations. Make it plain to your consultant how you will be compensated for dovetailing the show. In exchange for giving them your clients, at the minimum, you need to set an expectation that there will be some form of compensation. It doesn’t need to be money, but half of the profits from the show is typical. I often encourage my consultants to have better shows by telling them they’ll earn 90% (instead of 50%) if they hold a $1000+ show.
3. Work with your consultant. Unless this is an established consultant, and you are sharing a show because of a scheduling conflict, it is incumbent upon you, as the leader, to make sure your consultant knows how to appreciate and fully utilize the gift they’ve been given. If they are weak at getting bookings in the first place, “giving them shows” will create a dependency, and possibly an entitlement mentality. Offer the dovetail in exchange for some one-on-one practice with their booking talk, or whatever area of their business needs improvement. I have heard a number of horror stories from leaders that dovetailed a party with 20 guests and the consultant doing the show got zero bookings.
4. Prep your hosts. Let your hosts know about the dovetail. Make it clear that they always have a choice in who they want to work with. Also inform them that the consultant will be “theirs” unless and until the customer decides otherwise. Explain the nature of dovetailing, and give your clients the option to choose. There’s nothing worse for a new consultant than to do a show and watch all the bookings go back to her leader.

What about you? What other tips have you shared when dovetailing shows? Leave a comment below and share your ideas with the community.

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Video: The Four P’s of Financial Success In Your Direct Sales Business

While booking, selling and recruiting are key to building a solid direct sales business, so are “the four P’s”:

• Power
• Prosperity
• Plan
• Profits

These four building blocks combine to create a solid financial foundation for your direct sales success. The video explains more.

Learn More about P⁴ with Lisa and Teresa

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