Tag Archives: direct sales

To Do Today

06/08/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

A few months back I listened to a training message on organization from Party Plan Coach Lynsey Jones. She’s got a series of training materials on what she calls the Diva Success System and so far I’ve really liked what she has to say. Lynsey tackles managing her business by establishing a series of tasks—daily, weekly and monthly, that she focuses on to ensure she’s dedicating the right amount of time to the things that matter most.

If you are interested in growing a thriving home-based business, here are three of the things she recommends doing every day…

 

1. Get “dressed to hair spray.”

I accomplish this goal most days, but will admit that every couple of weeks I decide to stay in my sweats for a good thorough housecleaning. No need to get bleach on the one pair of jeans I can still get buttoned, right? Wrong. If we “work from home” we’ve got to be ready to do business any time the phone rings.

 

2. Talk to three new people.

Lynsey’s requirement for achieving this goal is that all three meetings with these shiny new people have to be face-to-face.  She says that if we aren’t booking enough shows it’s because we aren’t meting enough people. Sounds like good sense to me.

 

3. Mail a physical note of gratitude or recognition.

This one’s fantastic for building relationships and also plays on the age-old law of attraction. What we give, we receive. I’d sure love three people contacting me about my business (and/or my sheer & utter fabulosity) every day. It’s really not a secret that we get back what we put out there.

 

Introducing

05/23/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , 6 Comments

Dear blog, I have neglected you and I’m sorry. I have been totally distracted by a new business venture but I promise I’ll be back and soon.

In the meantime, I can’t wait to tell you guys about Simply Jane!

Last December I found myself in a bit of a mess. I had given my heart and soul to a company I loved, but did not own. It owned me. That’s the thing with working a traditional job. You love it, you build it, you matter and then suddenly, you don’t.

Oddly enough, I had several other incredibly competent, successful, hard-working friends who were in the very same boat around that time. We started having dinner to discuss our woes and soon decided that rather than complain about being held back by “the man” we’d come together and build a business for people like us—people who want to work hard and own their days, put family first, create their own opportunities and find success in helping others. And then and there, Simply Jane was born.

I do business training. Tiffany does product training. Amanda does marketing and communications and together, we’re one of the very first independent consultants for a brand-new, all-natural personal care company called Verefina. That’s right friends and neighbors, I’m one of those “home party people” now and the world should be very afraid!  I believe in this product and I’ve been in direct sales long enough to know that she who signs up first – WINS!

For those of you who are local, we’re having a launch party this Thursday and you’re all invited (kids welcome of course). We’ll have all of Verefina’s products on hand for sampling, a little food, and a whole lot of fun.

 

Simply Jane & Verefina Launch Party

Thursday, May 24, 2012

7:00 – 9:00 pm

Noah’s – 322 West 11000 South, West Jordan

 

And just so you know, I won’t be using The Brantry to support this business. Well, at least not exactly. I won’t be pushing products or the business opportunity here, but I may ask for help and advice every now and then. (I realized just today that I have no idea how to print labels on my home computer. No direct seller can do without making labels!) And I’m hopeful my real-world experience will make the business training I offer here even better than ever.

Yay for me. Yay for you. And yay for an industry that allows us to own and not be owned! I’m so proud to do m part.

PS – Uppercase Living folks, I LOVE YOU DEARLY, but we are not recruiting current or former UL Demonstrators. You have an awesome opportunity already and I would NEVER do anything to jeopardize the success of your teams. If you’re interested in purchasing pure and natural skin care however, I am totally your girl. You can reach me at brandi@simplyjanegroup.com.

Monthly Communications Strategy – Week 4

05/10/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s almost over! Our communications planning for the month is coming to a close and we’re saving the best for last. In week four, we’re sharing the business. In my core, I believe that owning a successful business is an INCREDIBLE opportunity for people to OWN THEIR OWN LIVES. What an awesome message to share with the world.

 

Week 4: Opportunity Focus

• Share your why. Open your heart and tell the story of why you got involved in your business. Share something you’ve learned. Celebrate a talent you’ve developed. Talk honestly about an obstacle being a business owner has helped you to overcome.

• Share your accomplishments. I saw a fun post on Facebook just last week where a business owner posted a photo of her new washer and dryer with the comment “Thanks Jewel Kade!” If you aren’t earning that kind of money have your husband snap a picture of you filling the car up with gas. Make the benefits of owning a business real and tangible for your readers.

• Show them the money. Most people join direct sales companies because they are looking for an additional $350 a month. Share your average party order for the prior month and what an entry-level salesperson could therefore earn.

• Share photos of team activities to highlight the incredible relationships that come from businesses like ours. Include photos from local hotspots and also from corporate events and incentive travel. Another big motivator for people is the opportunity to get out and about. If you want to grow your team, get out and about yourself. Have your team meetings at a fun new restaurant. Register for convention. Have coffee with a new recruit. Life is short. Make yours great!

Monthly Communications Strategy – Week 2

05/01/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Okay friends and neighbors, let’s talk about products.

In our first week of a systemized attack on managing communications we covered all the things we’re excited about for the month. In week two we’ll share our passion for our products, and in so doing, we’ll ALWAYS focus on how what we sell can make life better for the people who buy it. (I personally don’t believe there’s much success to be had in selling folks stuff they don’t need.)

 

Week 2: Connecting Products to Needs

Hopping on Facebook and sharing a fact about your product is tempting. It’s easy and the information is usually readily available. (Our brand new super-duper product X comes in 14 colors, for example.)  If that’s all you can come up with or have time for, better to post a fact than nothing at all, but whenever possible skip the obvious and share something meaningful. Social networks are for making connections. Catalogs are for providing features.

• Highlight customer stories. There’s no better way to showcase the difference your products can make for people than sharing a real-life story of how it happened. If you don’t have your customer’s permission to share her story refer to her in the third person (one of my favorite customers has three children under the age of five…). ALWAYS paint your customer in the best possible light and make the post or article an opportunity to honor her as well as share product benefits.

• Reference issues in the media. (I read an awesome article in Real Simple last night about getting organized. Products A,B,and C have really helped me… or Did you guys see Jennifer Aniston’s interview on ABC last night? Her necklace reminded me of our new product Q. I always feel like a superstar when I wear it!)

• Share top sellers. Amazon does not tell you that “customers who bought this item also bought…” for nothing. Let’s take a lesson. People buy what other people buy. Share your top five sellers for the month of April and start your list with something people-focused like here’s what my customers were loving last month.

• As you are choosing customer stories, media topics or personal testimonials to share, give some thought to which products you’re highlighting. It takes just as long to take a photo or write a statement about a ten-dollar product as a fifty-dollar one. At the same time, you never want to give the impression that all your company offers is high-end items. Create a balance.

And speaking of balance, posting an update on Facebook about your business more than once a day will get you unfriended, hidden and unsubscribed from faster than Bobby Brown got ousted from Whitney’s funeral. Bless all their hearts.

Next up, week 3: hostess happiness.

Monthly Communications Strategy – Week 1

04/27/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , , 3 Comments

Life can get complicated. Most days I have the best of intentions…be nice, work hard, write three blog posts, send a thank you note, wash the car, etc., etc. But more often than not, those awesome plans wind up run over by flat tires, traffic and deadlines at the office. Somehow, I wind up grumpy and bitter in line at Little Caesars. Again.

One of the things that helps me combat the chaos the most is creating systems for tackling the things I have to do over and over again. Over the next few posts, I’m going to share a simple strategy for managing communications & marketing on social networks. You can implement parts & pieces of what I’m sharing on Facebook, Pinterest, You Tube & Twitter, and combine your favorites to create a monthly customer newsletter.

Week 1: Customer Incentives & Promotions

This is the week when you share your excitement about everything going on in your business this month.

• Post a photo of the customer incentive for the month. If your incentive is always the same, post a reminder & share an idea of how a customer might use the discount or special offer…”with our 20% off offer you can get your hands on one of our most popular sellers for less than $40!”

• Remind followers of your incredible hostess benefits. Rather than say something generic like “Hostesses earn tons of free stuff,” figure out your average party total and share the actual dollar amount most hostesses earn. Now you can say, “for sharing a few fun hours with your friends and family, my hostesses typically earn $80 for their own personal shopping spree.” On Facebook, the more comments you can get your followers to make, the wider your exposure, so end the post with a question. “How would you spend that $80?” (Make notes of any comments your customers make so you can reach out to them when their favorite product goes on sale.)

• Share your excitement over any company-sponsored incentives going on this month. If your company if offering a free item to customers, buy it, use it & take photos of the product in use. Showcase the item on your kitchen counter, around your wrist, or with your kids. Rather than highlight the product’s price and function, share how the promotion will make life better for everyone who takes advantage of it.

• Remind customers of any special events they may need to shop for this month & make specific recommendations of what would make a great gift for…teachers, graduates, brides, mothers-to-be. Most importantly, make your comments personal. “I received THREE wedding invitations in the mail last week. It’s official, love is in the air! If you are looking for a fun gift for a wedding or bridal shower this month, our XXX is always a favorite.”

• If your company isn’t in a special promotion period, create your own. It may be too late to order gifts for Mother’s Day, but you can always offer mothers a 10% discount on any order they place on Mother’s Day, or the week of Mother’s Day, or the whole month. If you have kids in school, share how much you appreciate their teachers & offer $5 off any one item a teacher purchases through the end of the school year.  Be creative but not overly complicated. If your company is offering an incentive, don’t add another one. If you choose to honor mothers, stay true to that message and save teachers for next month.

Coming soon…

Week 2: Product Focus

Rebuke the Wind

04/23/2012 By in Believe, Work Tags: , , , , , , , 8 Comments

I’m blurring the lines between post topics tonight and I blame it all on a bunch of preschoolers.

I volunteer in what the good folks at K2 call Adventure Canyon every other week, and the story we shared with the three and four-year-olds in there today was from Matthew 14, where Jesus walked on the water.

…Jesus made the disciples get into [a] boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Matthew 14:22-33, NIV

No doubt, there’s a TON to be said about Jesus walking on water. What struck me today though, was what happened to Peter. Peter put his faith to the test, stepped out on that lake, and for a minute, like the very Son of God he too walked where there was no land. But the Bible says that after a few steps or perhaps even a few minutes of WALKING ON WATER Peter took his eyes off Jesus, started focusing on the wind, and sank.

How often do we allow the wind to take our focus off the things that matter most?

In life, and in business, there will always be a storm. Things will change. People will move on. There will be a typo in a very important announcement and the company just might discontinue your very favorite product. So what? All those things that seem so important and so scary for a minute are keeping us from walking on water for a lifetime.

The next time you are tempted to take your eyes off the prize (read SUCCESS, peace of mind, self-respect, sleep, even sanity) take another cue from Jesus and rebuke the wind. Log off Facebook. Hang up the phone. Have dinner with your family then go out and sell something. You’ll feel better. I promise.

Your Recruit Interview

04/12/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , 5 Comments

Several weeks ago I listened to a training message for Direct Sellers from long-time industry expert Belinda Ellsworth.  Belinda was sharing her ideas on recruiting, and the need to actually interview new team members (in person, one-on-one whenever humanly possible), to determine their goals and intentions for their business. Since we’re looking at who we are and what we want from our ventures, I thought it might be beneficial to interview ourselves, and to check in on how our intentions align with our actions.

Here’s question one. (Are you writing this down?)

Tell me what drew you to this business?

I’ve been in this industry a long time and I’ve never met a demonstrator/consultant/distributor/stylist who didn’t say they started their business because they were drawn to a product they loved and had fun sharing. Are you still having fun sharing your products? If not, change something you are doing TODAY.

Number two.

What do you hope to gain from this experience?

According to Belinda, 82% of the people who address this question honestly say they hope to gain additional income. 100% of the women I know could care less about “gaining income.” Women aren’t interested in money. We want the things that money can buy.

Don’t sell yourself short when you answer this question though, and write down I want money to buy new floor mats for the mini van or for scout camp this summer. There’s nothing wrong with floor mats, but accessories for our grocery getters aren’t going to cut it when a new recruit has her first workshop the same night as the Downton Abbey season premiere.

How much money would you need to make in order to take your business seriously?

How much would you need to make in order to start working as hard for yourself as you do at your nine-to-five?

Number three.

How many days a week are you willing to work?

People with hobbies spend time on them at least once a week. Let’s not even go there.

If you are willing to work your business, your very own business that YOU are the President and C.E.O. of part-time, you should plan on having two or three shows a month. Full-time business owners have six or eight.

If your answer to question number two was $1,000 or higher, but you are only willing to work hobbyist hours, I imagine you are experiencing some frustration. You don’t need me to you why.

Onward and upward ladies. Ya Ya!

Extra Credit

04/09/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , 6 Comments

My husband is from Ghana, West Africa and in his culture once a woman has a baby her name changes. I was born Brandi Renae Rainey (Mould would be my married name if I had changed it, but Rainey-Mould? I think not.) and although I had lived 32 long years before she was born, the day my daughter Zoe entered the world, in Ghana I became Zoe Maame. Zoe’s Mom.

I love being Zoe’s mom, don’t get me wrong, but I was somebody before her. I’m somebody now. When she’s the mother of her own little brood I’ll still be somebody then.

Our nature as women is to love and to nurture; to give of ourselves until there’s little left. And all so often we only identify as the giver or receiver of love…

I’m Bonnie’s daughter. Lucy’s granddaughter. Amanda’s friend. Jeff’s employee. Edward’s wife. Zoe’s mom.

How many of us, really, ever identify as anything outside of the relationships we’ve created? Who says, at a dinner party when they meet a friend of a friend, “I’m Brandi. I’m a writer and aspiring photographer. I own my own business.”?

I bring this up because I believe our perceptions of ourselves are key to being successful. In Direct Sales, and in life in general, we can’t be good at being anybody but us. We can’t reach goals others set for us. We won’t be successful until we know what we want and I think the first step to wanting is knowing who we truly are.

I thought a good place to start my business “training” here at The Brantry would be around the concept of building a “why” but I was wrong. First, we’ve got to discover “who”.

Take 20 minutes to sit with yourself today and write down who you are. (I’m serious about the writing it down part. In fact, get a notebook. I write because it forces me to clarify how I feel and what I think. If you follow my training you’ll write a lot too.) Start by writing stream-of-conscious-style, where you never put the pen down and scribble every thought that comes into your head, and end by asking yourself these three questions:

-          What am I good at?

-          What am I great at?

-          What am I known for?

This isn’t a test, so if you can’t answer the questions or you aren’t sure, walk with them for a few days and make notes of what you see. How you feel.

Extra Credit Question:

This is your life. Are you who you want to be?

Self Portrait

04/05/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , 7 Comments

I’ve been working in the Direct Sales industry for twelve years now, training for the last four, and here’s the most important thing I think you can do to have a successful business…

Know why you got in to business in the first place.

Your “why” is the thing that will propel you to ask a total stranger if they’ve ever thought of owning their own business. It’s the reason you’ll drive two hours to a show. It’s why you’ll leave your kids and miss The Real Housewives and hold a conference call for three people when three hundred said they’d tune in. Again.

Sharing a product you love IS easy when you have a true passion for it and your aim is to help – really help – the people at your parties, but owning a business is hard work.

My husband, at age 45, decided to go to pharmacy school. He started last fall and ever since, I find him asleep in strange places. Asleep on the sofa under a pile of photocopies.  Asleep at the kitchen table, chin nestled in a dollop of ketchup.  Asleep at the movies.  Asleep in church. He fell asleep in the kitchen a month or so ago and burned a Costco rotisserie chicken beyond the point of recognition. I worry for our lives and therefore ask him (in my sweetest, kindest, most caring nagging wife voice), “WHY WON’T YOU GO TO BED LIKE A NORMAL PERSON? THIS SLEEPING ON THE TOILET IS DRIVING ME INSANE!”

Why not? Becoming a pharmacist is more important to him than sleep. Plain and simple.

But here’s the thing. If you started reading this and thought, “I know why I’m in the business. I need money for shoes,” or money for the mortgage or to get out of the house, or whatever basic thing that first came to mind,  I think you’re missing the mark.  Marianne Williamson said, “your playing small does not serve the world” and I think that in our industry, direct selling women fail – fail in general, and fail to REALLY make their mark – because we sell ourselves too short. We say we want shoes when what we really want is to TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND OUR MONEY and OWN WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO WITH OUR DAYS.

But that’s just me. I could be wrong.

Take 20 minutes to have a come to the river with yourself today and figure out where you are wishing small when you ought to wish big. Forget your carpool duties and bosses’ most recent assignment. Forget about the debts you owe and the vacation you promised. Close your eyes and imagine you as your most powerful self. Then, the next time a hostess calls to cancel an hour before the show and you wonder “why in the world am I wasting my time on this?” think of her.

Everything I Know About Business

04/03/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , , 8 Comments

I learned at a home party.

For the most part.

My favorite aunt first introduced me to direct sales. She was a distributor for a cosmetics company, and maintained a wonderland of product displays and samples in the basement of their brand new starter home. She would allow me to help stock shelves and arrange the pretty bottles in her display cases on weekends when I wandered over to play. And occasionally, she would take me to product demonstrations, using me to illustrate the lengthening capabilities of her new mascara or the subtle shimmer of her “truly blue” eye shadows. I loved it. I loved the attention and all the free makeovers, but more than that, I loved seeing her in action. She was a capable and confident businesswoman, who understood that helping people look pretty was one thing, but helping them gain their freedom and financial independence was something altogether different. She made a difference in the lives of all the women her business touched, and I knew then that she was on to something special.

Direct sales found me again just before I graduated from college. The first “real job” I ever had was as a junior copywriter for a network marketing company in the town where I went to school. I started out writing flyers and contributing to the catalog, but was eventually promoted to writing feature articles about top distributors in the company. As I interviewed each of them, discovering the details of their various successes, I imagined them behind the counter of my aunt’s basement store; smiling, confident, secure.

Since then I’ve held a few new positions at various different companies, learning what works best in terms of positioning, communications and strategy. I’ve been involved in multi-million dollar product launches and training events. I’ve been on casting calls, photo shoots & proofed catalog copy into the wee hours of the night. I’ve been in a car, for weeks at the time, driving from home to home training ladies to do the only thing I really know. And that’s this…

To make a direct sales business (or any business for that matter) WORK, we’ve got to be the very best people we can be. We’ve got to find our strengths and find our passions and work when we don’t really feel like it. We’ve got to recognize that our contributions ARE NECESSARY in the world and we’ve got to create strategies for getting them out there. We’ve got to love ourselves and serve others and get on the phone. And that’s it. The first step to being successful is believing we are a SUCCESS already. That’s the hard part. Master it, and the rest will be easy.

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