The Christmas Gift With “Strings”
Starting January 1, PartyOn! Will no longer be a free e-zine. Get on the list while it’s still free. Today’s video explains the “strings” on my Christmas Gift and what it means for you.
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read moreLove Yourself
This is 2-minute reminder to look after and love yourself this holiday season. I am grateful for you. Please love yourself, too!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone here in the States. And may the rest of you enjoy the week ahead!
read moreWhere’s The Money At In Your Direct Sales Business?
The other day, I shared the news about a new project I’ve been working on for some time now. I’ve recently launched an entirely new division of my business, focused on helping entrepreneurs discover their hero potential and become the hero of their own business. As part of that project launch, I filmed a video to help entrepreneurs understand where the money’s at in their business.
Then, the emails and tweets came out of the woodwork about how I was able to do “all the stuff” I do. Mom, wife, biz owner, coach & mentor, writer, performer, etc. Amid the encouragement and positive vibes people were sending about the new project, there was this underlying question:
“How do you make it all happen?”
read moreDirect Sales Success: Expectations Set the Tone
When I work with clients on their target marketing, one of the biggest areas of contention is the realization that ultimately, everyone is not their target market.
No, everyone that fogs up a mirror is not your prospect. Neither is everyone who showers (if you’re in skincare), everyone who eats (if you sell kitchen gadgets or food), or everyone with kids (if you sell toys or educational goodies).
You’ve got to be a little more specific.
For example, if you choose to service a local, offline, market, then people more than 100 miles from your home would not be part of your target market. This limits the number of people you can serve.
And that word, “limits”, seems to put a stranglehold on a consultant faster than a rope ‘n ride at the rodeo.
They want to serve everyone. Because if they don’t serve everyone, how will they get enough clients for their business.
Then I try to remind them of this episode of I Love Lucy:
You can’t possibly serve everyone and do a good job.
Really. You can’t.
So, why not change your expectations? establish a market that you CAN serve, and that you WANT to serve.
And expectations go both ways. Be sure to let your target market know what they can expect from you, how you expect to serve them, and how they can expect to hear from you. here are some suggestions to help set the tone with new clients in your target market:
1. Lay out the ground rules from the get-go.
Tell them your guest lists typically have 40-50 names on them, and that you usually get them back within 3 days. If they have problems with that, you’ll be more than happy to help them in person, or to direct them to another consultant that would be glad to work with them.
2. Express your excitement about helping your host have a successful show. Your best shows are going to have a certain number of guests (get this info from your statistics from last year). Let your hosts and guests know what they can expect if the evening is a success for everyone.
3. Decide in advance what kind of show you want to have. Leave nothing to chance. I have had success inviting my “go only” guests to other people’s parties. If a guest says “I only go to parties, I don’t host them” I put them on a list so that when I have a host that’s struggling to get RSVP’s, I can call them up and invite them to the party. The host thinks I’m her hero, and the guest appreciates being remembered and treated respectfully.
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide how you’re going to make the most of your business, policies and procedures. your home office lays the foundation, but the framework is built by you. Your expectations set the tone for the outcome of your parties AND your business as a whole.
Expect more to get more.
read moreNever juggle alone
So I actually did a little research for this post:
I watched a handful of juggling videos on YouTube. As a kid, I had to learn how to juggle for science class. We started with one ball, which was incredibly boring, but we had to demonstrate mastery before we could move on to juggling two balls… and then three.
Fortunately, three was our limit. We just had to be able to prove we could keep three balls in motion for a preiod of time. And for as great of a multi-tasker I’ve become, it was not easy to keep three balls in the air in 7th grade.
So imagine my surprise when I found 5 ball forced juggling, 4, 6 and 8 object jugglers!
And it got me to thinking about how many responsibilities we, as business owners have in our daily routines.
And along comes online marketing, and “you want me to add ANOTHER ball to my juggling routine?”
I hear you.
I selected this video for two reasons – and I hope you watch it to the end. If you watch, for the most part, no one is ever responsible for more than 3 or 4 objects at one time – there are lots of items in the air, but each team member really only has to focus on their piece of the pie.
The other reason is that if you watch to the end you see where they actually DROP something. Now this was planned for effect, and if you watch, it’s all done “on the beat” to the music and set up so that it times out perfectly with the end. Even there, you’ll note that more than one person is throwing things at the catcher – no ONE person is responsible for everything.
In small business – particularly in direct sales, we feel like we’ve got to go it alone in and do it ourselves. That’s the surest way to stay small in your industry.
That doesn’t mean hire a bunch of elves to handle your tasks. It DOES mean seek out competent, qualified help – even if it’s only on a project basis, to help free up your time to focus on the essential activities that MUST be done by you and only you.
Maybe you need a VA or one of your kids to help with loading/packing, shipping or customer follow up.
Run your business like a real business would and find excellent people to support you.
It’s worth it in no uncertain terms.
With the right support team in place, you can have many many objects in the air, making it look incredibly difficult, and knowing all the while, that it’s really simple if you stay focused on the part that’s your responsibility.
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