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Can Anyone Successfully Work From Home?
I recently saw an article titled, “Anyone Can Be a Direct Seller”. I emphatically disagree. Anyone cannot be a direct seller. If anyone could, there would be many, many more that do.
Lest you think I am anti-direct sales; on the contrary, I have had a home based business since 1988 and currently lead a large successful organization. I love being in this industry, else I would not have stuck around for the past 23 years. I simply do not agree with the statement that anyone can be a direct seller.
According to the Direct Selling Association (DSA) the average direct seller in the United States earns $2,400 per year. Clearly with any statistics or averages, those numbers tell us what we want them to tell us. And an average means there are plenty who earn far less, as well as plenty who earn far more. Also, less than 9% of all direct sellers work their business thirty hours or more each week. Continue reading
Handing Out Business Samples to Trick or Treaters
Trick or treat, smell my feet; give me something good to eat.
Ah the time of year when all the little vampires and princesses make their way around the neighborhood to fill their pillowcases full of ooey gooey dentists-love-it goodness: Halloween, the candy lover’s holiday.
Yet each year, a number of direct sales consultants see this Snicker’s bar holiday as an opportunity for them to market their business to all the short people who approach their door. What do you think? Do you think it’s a good idea or a poor idea to suggest handing out samples of your candles, lotions, spices or coupons?
While you’re thinking about it, I’ll share with you my unsolicited opinion of this practice: FAIL.
I think it’s a terrible idea. Halloween is a children’s holiday. They are begging for something good to eat; not for anti-wrinkle cream and certainly not for an inedible discount coupon. Not only will the children be disappointed they didn’t get Skittles, they could possibly pop it in their mouth or the sample could contaminate their plastic pumpkin so that now their Tootsie Rolls and Milky Way bars all smell like the hunk of wax you plopped in with their stash. Continue reading
Liar Liar Pants on Fire
Wow, pretty harsh title, isn’t it? The truth may be ugly, but it’s still the truth.
Why do people lie when they don’t need to? I am mainly referring to excuses that are flung around when the actual truth would be perfectly acceptable. I know it happens in every circle around the world, but allow me to give you a few examples that are frequented within the direct sales industry, at least within my experience. Actually it’s not limited to just the direct selling industry; it happens in plenty of other industries too.
1. Invitations to home parties or team meetings. Some people love going to home parties; others … not so much. Rather than saying something simple such as, “I won’t be able to make it.” Period. No further elaboration needed, instead you get an excuse that is so transparent and it goes on and on and on with every little minute detail and it is so obscure that the fibber doesn’t even realize she is spewing such nonsense. It’s an insult to my intelligence when people toss me a load of crap and think I am buying it.
2. I’m going to sign up with you right now. I am a huge proponent in shopping for sponsors. I’ve said on a number of occasions that I don’t think you should necessarily go with the first person you talk with. Finding a good fit is important. Yet after you spend weeks and phone calls and emails and mailings with a person and they tell you how fabulous you are and how they can’t wait to join your team, then they sign with someone else, and then lie about it, it’s an insult to my intelligence.
Don’t misunderstand, the fact that they opted to join another team isn’t the issue, it truly isn’t. It’s that they lied about it, either lied with some cockamamie story about how they inadvertently signed with someone else, or they lied when they said they were going to go enroll with me as soon as they hung up – but then they flaunt on online forums how they just joined (with someone else). Continue reading
Booking Idea – 12 Days of December
Take what you like and discard the rest … it may help you with some December bookings. You would pay for the incentives, but the commissions you make by actually having bookings in this busy month would more than cover it. Just be certain to follow company guidelines for advertising personal specials.
TWELVE DAYS OF DECEMBER!
Book your show today on any one of the first twelve days of December and receive the item listed with the day you booked your ScentEvent! * All items will be added to your party order and will be received with the rest of the orders taken from your party!
On the first day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me….one room spray!
On the second day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…2 scent circles!
On the third day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…a 3-pack of candle bars for $10.00!
On the fourth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…4 room sprays for $10.00!
On the fifth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…5-pointed Rustic Star Warmer at 50% off!
On the sixth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…6-pack of candle bars for $20.00
On the seventh day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me… 7 Room Sprays at 50% off!
On the eighth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…8 scent circles
On the ninth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…9 ways to decorate with the Any Warmer for 50% off!
On the tenth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…10-pack of a variety of samples
On the eleventh day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…an 11 Scent Circles for 50% off!
On the twelfth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…12 Candle Bars for 50% off!
* All prizes and awards are subject to having a minimum of $200 in sales at your show. These offers are in addition to the regular Hostess Program.
Are Business Meetings and Team Meetings Synonymous?
In the direct sales industry it’s not uncommon to have team meetings on a monthly or quarterly basis. If you have the same organizer(s) or presenter(s) each time, team members can get a feel for what to expect. Then once realistic expectations are set, it will decrease the likelihood of consultants being disappointed because they were hoping to learn something different at the meeting.
It’s been my experience that there are basically three types of meetings in direct selling:
- Get together and share ideas
- Awards, announcements and maybe a presentation
- Classic business meeting, where it’s all about the training and information
In my opinion, the first two are more typical of what you see in direct sales and more indicative of team meetings. Many enjoy this and that’s why they attend meetings. I, on the other hand, am all about option 3 – the business meeting. My knowledge, skills, abilities, experience and education are all in business, so I tend to treat my business and my mentoring of team members more like a traditional business.
I am used to and prefer meetings that have an agenda that is floated around prior to the meeting and ones that start on time and end on time. We’re all busy people; tell us what we need to know, stay on track, and let us get on with the rest of our day. I pride myself that I RMBLAB (Run My Business Like a Business).
I’m all for team bonding, acknowledgement and celebration but my opinion is that it doesn’t belong in an event called a meeting. I would prefer to see it called a Team Celebration or something of that nature. If I went to something called a meeting and it wasn’t meaty with information, I’d be disappointed and frustrated as my time is at a premium.
So what’s my point? Where am I going with all this? Continue reading
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