Tag Archives: party plan

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.

 

Sell First

05/29/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

I may have mentioned that I’m an official direct seller these days, and actually doing the work I’ve been training others to do for all these years has sure shed some light on things. I was right about creating systems, putting relationships first, and working as hard for ourselves as we do for someone else, but I had no idea about the minutia of running a successful business. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to remember mileage for example, or that my first purchase as a business owner should have been a handy stamp with my name and contact info. (Thanks guys!)

Having been in the industry as long as I have, I couldn’t help but see the end of the business building process from the very beginning. I naturally think about recruiting and training hordes of downline team members first. Getting that very first party literally took weeks to cross my mind.

But the thing is, no matter how much I believe in the success of my venture, and no matter how great I may be at inspiring a huge team once I grow one, the two commandments of network marketing are…

1) sell product

and

2) duplicate*.

Plain and simple.

I’m new. What’s your excuse?

If your business is stagnant, or if you aren’t enjoying the commissions you hoped would be yours, stop and ask yourself two questions. Are you selling? Then once you start selling, are you recruiting other sellers to duplicate what you do?

It WILL work if we do!

* Make Your First Million in Network Marketing, Mary Christensen

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.

Booking Tip: Taking Names

05/15/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , 2 Comments

There’s an incredible Direct Sales trainer at the new company I’m doing marketing for, and she shared an awesome idea for encouraging hostesses to help with bookings I wanted to pass along. My new friend Ginny Lyke calls it the Cookie Jar Game, but I think it would work just as well with milk jugs, cake plates or a half a glass of Pinot.

Ginny recommends making this conversation a part of hostess coaching, or bringing it up during your 30 minutes of set-up before the party guests arrive. Simply ask the Hostess to write down the names of the 3 guests she thinks will be most likely to book their own show at her party, and then place the list, face down, under a cookie jar. Let her know that if all three of her picks actually book that evening she’ll be the recipient of a wonderful surprise. (Retired products, older display items, Starbucks gift cards and the like are good options for the surprise. $5 would be my max on this, but you can decide how much three new shows on the calendar is worth to you.) Knowing she stands to earn just a little extra is usually all it takes to motivate a hostess to encourage others to book. Make her party simple and successful and nothing but good things to share.

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 3

05/06/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

In week three of your communications strategy I recommend focusing on hostesses. They are the best friend your business can have and it’s important to show them gratitude for finding you new contacts and customers. Hostesses are THE MOST IMPORTANT people in your business. The golden rule of direct selling: treat hostesses better than you hope to be treated.

 

Week 3: Be Our Guest

Fight the temptation to post a quick reminder of your company’s hostess benefits or special monthly promotion and check this off your to-do list. You are looking for an emotional connection with those interested in your business, so rather than share what hostesses get for free, share what they are doing with the gifts they received.

• Choose a hostesses from the previous month to highlight. Reach out to her and tell her you’d like to share her story on Facebook or in a customer newsletter, then ask how’s she’s enjoying her free products. Take photos of the hostesses and her friends at your party or ask her to send shots of how the products are working in her life. She’ll love showcasing her new outfit, her kids enjoying the cookies she baked, or that candle on her kitchen counter. Your readers will appreciate seeing something real and more meaningful.

• Highlight how easy hosting is. If your company offers drop-shipping directly to customers share that, and if you collate customer items and deliver them yourself make sure potential hostesses know that’s a service you offer. Remind them that parties work just as well during lunch hours, on coffee breaks, or at the park than they do in living rooms. (“Laurie’s trunk show on Saturday was just what I needed. It’s finally warm enough to be outside! I declare May the month of parties in the park!)

• Consider opening your own home for hostesses’ parties and advertise open dates. I’d recommend offering this on a weekend so you can line up two or three events on the same day. Send the kids to the water park, swing by Costco for those tasty little brownie bites & you’re in business. Advertise openings at 10:00, 1:00 and 4:00. First come, first served!

• Leverage holidays and special occasions. Book a bridal shower, housewarming or special birthday party where the guest of honor acts as the host and earns free and half-off items on the gifts others are buying for her. Share that story in your marketing efforts to inspire outside-the-box thinking. Parties are fun. Highlight the good stuff.

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.

Booking Basic

04/17/2012 By in Work Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

It’s almost May. Is your calendar full?

For as long as I’ve been training, the number one question I get from salespeople is this one…“How do I get more bookings?” It’s a good question, but unfortunately getting bookings is painfully the same as losing weight. There is no magic pill or secret formula. You just gotta do the work.

A few years back I heard a booking presentation from an Uppercase Living top seller, the ever-charming Marcie Rumfeldt, (who was also one of the very first rock stars for 31 Gifts) and I think she said it best. She HATES being on the phone, so she chooses one day a month to work on bookings and literally doesn’t put the phone down until every open date on her calendar is full.

Here’s her approach:

1) Open a blank calendar page for the upcoming month and fill-in all the faith, family, and “other” responsibilities you already have planned.

2) Choose and highlight all the dates you’d like to have parties.

3) Call EVERY person who’s expressed an interest in hosting, offering them a choice of the first two available dates on your calendar. Remind them of the hostess benefits, any special promotions or incentives, and let them know that dates fill up fast. If they can’t make one of the open dates work, they may have to wait four or six weeks for an open slot. Oh no!

4) Don’t put the phone down between calls. Seriously. Don’t even think about it.

5) Write the names of those who are interested but didn’t commit on a post-it note & stick it on the blank calendar page for next month. You’ll call them back during your next booking blitz & won’t have to worry about chasing down their contact information.

And that’s it.

Try it and let me know how well it works for you.

 

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