Thursday, January 18, 2007

Beating the January Blahs...




The Success Factory had some great tips today and I wanted to share those and also make some comments on them as well. Before I do I wanted to share my weekend plans and how I'm trying to make the most of them. I had 4 parties scheduled for January and they were going quite well. As it happens, 1 of them had to cancel and I'm not sure yet if she's a reschedule or not. It would've been an awesome party and of course it sort of bummed me out temporarily but I made myself keep going and concentrate on the other things I had going. Party tomorrow night had emailed me a bit ago with an RSVP count of 4. Not bad but of course I'm pretty tough on the 8 people at a party to really make it worth it. I asked her to call the rest and give me a count yesterday so I could get all the product and prizes together.




I received her email yesterday to the tune of 10!!!! I was shocked. I've been working hard and was really hoping for a great party but that was seriously shocking and I've recruited my Mom to go with me to help out since it could be a few more than that and she likes to go.




My party on Sunday is with a potential recruit. The numbers were looking a little low but she's working to earn her kit so she knows we need to get enough to finish off her "earning." The first party had 5 people including her but was still $220 in sales! I almost died when I received her email today and low and behold she titled the email "I'm so excited!!!" Apparently she has even more people coming this time to the tune of possibly 12! Are you kidding me! So I invited Kelsey who lives in the same city and is joining the Hive at the end of the month. This will be a great training party for her AND it will totally help me in dealing with the #'s. So it'll be like having 3 consultants there! Luckily I had ordered a bunch of product "just in case." So hopefully I have enough to get through the weekend. Worse case I'll have them making 'something' and get their recipe and make the rest of it and send it to them.




Anyway - back to the tips from Success Factory - See below for the tips and I'll comment at the bottom.




Subject: Life in the real world - January Blahs Part 1





Real conversation - “My team was SO motivated and excited this fall, January has hit and now they don't know how their business is going to fit into their lives; what can I do to get them going again? It's a real bummer because I know I'm also not doing what I need to do to grow my business, so how can I be a good role model to them?”





TSF - Let's look at these issues. Generally speaking GUILT is the cause, and ACTION is the solution. It's easy to be lazy this time of year. Short, gray days quickly slip into weeks and before you know it, the month is gone and you've not done much (if anything) with your business. All the while you are beating yourself up, thinking about your business, but doing nothing. The longer you are inactive, the harder it is to get up and running again. Trust us, this is happening for many of your team members as well. (In fact, they feel so guilty they might not want to talk to you!)





So…here are some practical ideas for you to try. Today's tips will be some suggestions as to what you can do yourself to give your business a “jumpstart”, and tomorrow we will talk about some ideas as to what you can do with your team. These ideas are simple and doable. Just try picking out one or two to try; doing too many at the same time may be hazardous to your health!





1) Pick up the phone. We've said it before, and we'll say it again. 5-10 connected calls might feel like a million right now. So, our challenge to you is to call and connect with just one person today. Ask them how the products they purchased from you are working out and see how you can be of service to them this year. Would they like to host a party at ANY time this year? If so, what month were they thinking about and get permission to call them the month before to set up a date. Has their situation changed, and is this the year they might consider joining you in the business (remember, the answer is automatically, NO, if you don't ask).
Calling and connecting with just one person will feel so good, you will want to do the same thing again tomorrow!





2) You never say “no” to yourself, so schedule 2 dates (in close proximity to one another) at your home. Ask customers WHICH date they will be able to attend (vs. IF they can come!) Here are some theme ideas to try:
a) Mystery Hostess (one lucky guest in attendance gets her name drawn from a hat and receives all the hostess gifts)
b) Guinea Pig party (“come be my guinea pig; I'm trying out a new presentation and I'd love for you to come and tell me what you think”)
c) Margarita party - Mom's night out fiesta…Margarita's and nachos!
d) Preferred customer “sneak preview” of new or sale products.
e) Product focus - a presentation that concentrates on just one area of your product line.





You get the idea. Having something new to chat with your customers about pumps you up and gives you a REASON to get on the phone (we all need an excuse, right?) The ACTION of getting on the phone will get rid of the GUILT over not working your business AND will result in sales which of course means income to pay those holiday bills that are rolling in about now.
Remember, incentive trips and annual company promotions are not missed in the 4th quarter of the year, they are missed by what wasn't done in the 1st quarter!
Do YOU have a “theme party” idea that is working for you? We would LOVE for you to share it with us at TSF. PLEASE! Send us your ideas!




Shawna's Comments:




Ok so I would love for some of you to be featured in the Success Factory emails so if you do have an idea for a theme party please send it to them and me so we can share it out!




I think the one call or contact a day is great and I still think the 5 pennies will be really helpful to you as well. Once you get 5 no's you're done for the day! Yes's don't count remember. :)




I love the Guinea Pig party idea! That is huge for those of you trying to have your first parties! Remember that this makes it "ok" to mess up or to not know exactly what you're doing at times! Don't ever worry that you're not experienced enough. You might need 2-3 guniea pig parties before you really feel confident!?




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