Fourth Quarter Success Strategies for Leaders and Future Leaders

As with traditional retailers, the fourth quarter of the year is the time when many of us make a large chunk of our sales and our income.

If you are a team leader or a future leader, the task of juggling your personal sales and recruiting with your leadership duties can be daunting at times.

For the next several days we will offer some tips to help you maximize your success and minimize your stress.

1. Major points to remember:

a. If you are working towards management then think and act like a team leader and soon, you will be one!

b. KISS your business! (Keep it simple sweetie!)

c. OVERBOOK yourself for both parties and recruiting appointments and NEVER walk alone (whenever you can - bring a new team member with you! GREAT on the job training!)
Whenever possible - DELEGATE!

MEETINGS! Plan them in advance.

Help out with planning of local meetings or start holding your own.

Use meetings to provide ongoing training

Emphasize to your team to BRING GUESTS to facilitate MAXIMUM team recruiting!

Begin the grooming process of new team leaders by asking enthusiastic team members to help with the planning.

Share monthly team goals and work with your team to strategize how to achieve those goals.
Make sure meetings are fun and upbeat!

Great Saturday Birthday Party

Today was really fun. I did a 9 year old birthday party in 1.5 hours (I was the hit performer) and sold 7 lotions (one for each girl) with my $50.00 bday entertainer fee and party total was $160 ish! Total profit to me is the 7 lotions at 40% or $40.60 and my $50.00 = almost $100 which is a normal party profit so the bday party thing is GOOD! Love it!

The girls adored it and the Moms that were there want to have an adult party and the girls all have my card and website to tell Mommy and Daddy that they want a colletion for Christmas! Could definitely be a good thing! The Mom's were really interested in the Home Scents as well so I'm excited to see everything that product will open up for us.

Just put in all the sod at the flip house so heading to a late dinner and maybe this crazy movie hubby wants to see. Hope you all have a great weekend! I have a party almost every weekend this month! Loving it!

Needing some inspiration today?

ABC news carried a story this week about Randy Pausch, a 44 year old professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University.

His speech really pulled at your heart strings because it was his farewell lecture. He is dying of cancer and has been given about six months to live.

What he had to say about life was truly inspirational - not only for his class and anyone else that happened to catch it- but for his three young children (pre-school aged and under) who will doubtless understand it several years down the road.

He talked about his childhood dreams and goals and reflected on those he'd achieved, how he had achieved them and what his `take-away' was on it all.

Here are some of his thoughts:

Brick walls are there for a reason, they let us prove how badly we want something.

Never lose the childlike wonder. It is too important - it is what drives us.

Be earnest - tell the truth (being `hip' is short-term).

Don't complain - just work harder.

Find the best in everyone. It might take a while but people will show you their good side.

Lead your lives the right way - the dreams will come to you.

If you are in need of some awesome inspiration today - I recommend you go to http://e8.octadyne.net/guest/index.cfm?fuseaction=guest.tc&cgLkID=11049&sID=9200491&finalURL=http://www.abcnews.com/ and enter Randy Pausch. You can see a portion of or his entire lecture - it is truly amazing.

Short and Sweet

Today's post is short and sweet. It's a quote from Bill Cosby:


"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone."

Bill Cosby


I've learned in this last year that it's impossible to do everything for everyone. I'm very excited to have a ton of activity and growth going on in the team and I'm learning that rewarding those that are working hard and spending time with them really pays off! I know that it can be really lonely at times being remote from your upline (I am too!) but continue to work, recruit, and book workshops and things will continue to grow for you.

I actually received an email today from someone that wanted to feature UB on their site and advertise for me free of charge. I cracked up as I've been paying for ads and doing a ton of legwork for a year and here they want me! It was a lovely change and of course I accepted graciously.

Here is my things to do list for this week:

1. Get out the party invites for Vera's party
2. Finish the Peridot Spa Samples and get those to the boutique
3. Prepare for Saturday's Urban Botanic Bday Party
4. Prepare the silent auction gift for Urban Fashion Network
5. Order the postcards for Seattle Spin Girl Event
6. Prepare a fragrance for Seattle Spin Girl
7. Get over my cold!

Hope you all have a great week as well!

Getting on the Soap Box

I rarely get on my soap box (ok at least I feel like I rarely do LOL) but when we have a team call as great as the one we had Sunday and announce a whole new method to grow your business out of infancy and only 4 team members show up AND no team members that missed have called in yet (yes I actually get a report from the phone company) I really get miffed!



I want you all to succeed so much and make UB the last stop of job searching or opportunity searching in your lifetime! So please please please pacify your Manager and LISTEN to the call back:

Conference Play Back Playback Number: (641) 985-5009 Access Code: 805628#

I really want your opinion and feedback on this new system and how you think it will work for you. Try it and see!

Thanks for keeping me sane and let me know what you think of the call.

Best,

Shawna

A reason to call…

Isn't it great when your company runs a special sale or promotion? It certainly can make it easier to pick up the phone and call customers.

However, there are lots of reasons to be in touch with customers - even if there isn't a current special from your home office.

A la David Letterman - here's a top ten list of reasons to call your customers:

Reason #10 - It's FALL! We have new products - why not get your friends together for a fun girl's night out?

Reason #9 - Happy Anniversary to me! I'm celebrating _________ years/months in the business and offering my customers a ________ % discount this week only.

Reason #8 - Now is THE BEST time to join me in this business. The fall is a time that people love to get together and PARTY!

Reason #7 - Now is THE BEST time to join me in this business. It's a great way to earn some extra CASH for the holidays!

Reason #6 - Won't you come to my house for a party? I'm having a drawing for a mystery hostess from amongst all those who attend.

Reason #5 - I know that last fall you ordered ________________. This fall, we have _______________ (another complementing product).

Reason #4 - How is the __________________ that you ordered last month working out?

Reason #3 - Who do you know who might like a FREE catalog mailed to them?

Reason #2 - You were such a great hostess last fall - when can we get together again this fall?

Reason #1 to call your customers and hostesses - just to say - THANK YOU for your past business - how can I best service you between now and the holidays?

Chances are, your customers won't call YOU!

We had a great Hive Talkin call last night and I emailed all of you the call play back information so hopefully you'll utilize that to learn about our new UB Crafty approach with parties!

Here is a partial list of vendors who ran specials last month that I honestly intended to purchase from but did not because I never got around to it:

Harry and David

Current

Coldwater Creek

Home and Hearth

Lillian Vernon

Office Depot

Two different friends in other direct sales organizations

Home Shopping Network

These specials came in the form of catalog mailings, fliers, emails and (in the case of HSN) television.

If someone from these companies had picked up the phone and called me, I PROMISE, there were definitely products I would have ordered.

Who says follow up phone calls aren't important?

Also I have another book recommendation that you've got to check out. You can buy it direct from The Success Factory for just $14.95 if you go here.

Hive Talkin Conference Call Tonight!

Hey everyone! I'm now sick with a cold thanks to my climate change and probably being around 2600 passengers but no worries I'm still kicking! I'm really looking forward to our team call tonight and re-igniting the passion that we all have with this company and the wonderful new things that have occurred in the past few months!

Call info is 712-775-7000 and the code is 805628#
Times as follows:

5pm PST, 6pm MST, 7pm CST, and 8pm EST

I wanted to share some great words from The Success Factory -

Subject: Networking 101: What separates top producers from average performers?

Follow up is key - it should be done quickly and consistently.

Having an effective system for following up - whatever you will use (software such as ACT or Microsoft Outlook).

Offer a newsletter that adds value to your clients. When someone is ready if your name is still in front of them - then the odds of you getting the business will be more in your favor. An offline newsletter is a great idea if you can afford it - Monthly or quarterly; whatever you can afford to do.

Consider having consultants in your downline take turns interviewing one person a month who can share pertinent information about your products to share with your customers.

When meeting new people ask, “May I add you to my online newsletter list? This is where I constantly add value to my customers.”

If you do an online newsletter - add video to dramatically enhance what it is that you do.
Leave an uplifting quick message on people's voice mail when you know they won't be there to let them know you were thinking about them.

I'm Back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh reality is a bitch isn't it! LOL As we stepped off the Golden Princess this morning I realized that my week of eating like an insane piggy, sleeping for 3-4 hour naps a day and living in the casino til 2am was officially OVER! This cruise was probably the most relaxing vacation I've ever taken and it was WONDERFUL! I almost cried when I came home to the messy house I had left and though I missed my rambunxious 8 year old he's already upstairs playing Dance Dance Revolution and has moved on to "regular" life, I will truly miss being waited on and not having to "deal" with all the moving targets I call life.

No cell phone or email was honestly easier to get used to than I imagined. Hubby actually spent some time in the internet cafe but I knew that I'd NEVER get through enough email at 75 cents a minute to even make a dent. I was right! 350 emails from the Urban Botanic account and I haven't even opened Microsoft email for fear that I'll have a heart attack. That's the one thing I hate about vacation is coming home to 5x the work you left.

My Mother was probably the happiest to see me as she had full time Dallon duty and babysits my nephew quite a bit but she didn't look to worse for wear. We're getting ready to head down to the flip house and check on progress.

I'll share out pics and experiences later on in the week. Right now I'm still getting my land legs back. I'm excited to hear about everyone's progress and I've already heard some exciting things that we'll be sharing on the call tomorrow night!

A week without me...

In about 3 hours I will be aboard the Golden Princess heading towards Alaska for an inredible 7 day excursion with ports of Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Victoria B.C.

I will miss everyone dearly but this is a MUCH needed vacation and my last childless vacation for awhile so I'll be enjoying it immensely!

For those with questions while I'm out, please email Kelsey@urbanbotanic.com for The Hive or DesignerServices@urbanbotanic.com with product questions.

See you soon!

An argument you will always lose… (TSF)

I've written on this topic before - but conversation over lunch with my husband today brought it to mind again and as we have been blessed with many new subscribers - I decided to revisit.
My husband has recently joined my gym. He mentioned today that for the past four days, he's been `going' to get there to work out. He was amazed at how quickly time had flown and he had yet to act on his good intentions.



My advice to him was simple - “Don't have the argument.”
This simple statement was made to me years ago by another consultant in my company. This woman remains the most consistent sales person that I know - she is a wizard on the phone. Her words are, (to quote comedian Mike Myers) “like butter”.

When I asked her the secret of her consistency with her phone work - she said, “Don't have the argument. You will always lose.”
The argument is negative self-talk that goes on in your head when you have something to do that you don't necessarily want to do. It never fails - the voice of procrastination will always win out. Does this sound familiar?

“I need to hit the phones today. I told that gal I gave company information to that I would follow up with her.”

What time is it anyway?…Wow, I haven't had my cup of coffee yet.

“OK, I'm all set with my cup of coffee - I'm really going to get on the phone and call her.”
You know, I'd better check my email first - she might have sent me a message and wouldn't I feel stupid if I called her before I read what she had to say.

THREE HOURS LATER
“Now I REALLY need to get on the phone.”
SHOOT - I forgot to get that stew in the crockpot for dinner - if I don't do it now we'll never eat!

THIRTY MINUTES LATER
“I AM going to get on the phone - right now - here I go…where is her phone number? Oops - it is three o'clock - the kids will be getting off the bus anytime now and I don't want to be on the phone when they come home. I'll call her tomorrow.”

No, TSF does NOT have super secret equipment set up to spy on you in your home. It is a simple case of “been there, done that.”

DON'T HAVE THE ARGUMENT!
Post this reminder next to your phone, your refrigerator, your stationery bike, and any other place in your home or office that is a continual source of procrastination.

Focus on You - Your Energy Makeover

Great Advice from Working Mother Magazine!!

Dragging under the drain and strain of all that you do? Life-revving advice that'll have you jumping (and running and skipping) for joy.


How would you like to have twice the physical and mental energy you have now? Or triple? Or maybe you'd settle for not collapsing into an exhausted heap every night, worried about the Filofax full of must-do's you didn't get done.

If you're like most working moms, you've developed habits that are depleting your energy and stressing you out. We know you started the day wanting to exercise and eat better. But then it rained, there was that looming project deadline, and you couldn't find your gym pass (that's right—blame the lost gym pass).

Here's the latest: You can shake those tiring tendencies and put the spring back in your step with a few easy changes. We've culled the latest research on stress management and healthy living and consulted top experts in women's health, nutrition, exercise and psychology. Read on to find out the most common energy-sapping mistakes working mothers make and the renewal strategies that will put the oomph—and passion—back in your life. Your complete energy makeover starts here.

We recommend…

Awesome book and I'm going to order! LOVE IT!


No matter whether you are in direct sales/party plan for the first time or are a seasoned veteran - we at TSF can not recommend highly enough Dare to Dream, Work to Win by Dr. Tom Barrett. Dr. Barrett has specialized in working on Capitol Hill for twenty years with members of Congress and with corporate leaders. He holds two masters degrees and a Ph.D. in psychology.

In his book, Dare to Dream, you will read about the psychology of personal success, discover how to think and live as an entrepreneur, how to effectively lead a downline, how to set realistic financial expectations and much more.
This quick read and easy to understand book will help you to truly understand the ups and downs of the business.

“Anytime I had a new consultant in their first 6 months who was frustrated and thinking about quitting I would give them this book and ask them to read it before they made their decision. Nine out of ten times they came back to me after reading it and said `I get it now!'” - Teresa Garrison, The Success Factory

The key to success in direct sales is truly understanding the difference between having a boss and being your own boss and helping your team members do the same.

“This book is an absolute must-read for the newest entrepreneur and for the veteran of network marketing. It is full of new, inspiring insights that will condition you, and all who read it, for success. I wish I had this book when I began my business.” - Rosetta Little, Top 1% MLM income earner

The 3 C's…

Shawna's Note: I really enjoyed this today as I've been up to my eyeballs with hubby in figuring out how the HECK we're going to pay for going over budget on our flip house and how to continue to pay if it doesn't sell right away. We have a plan and we're working towards a gorgeous house that will be competitive but our big $s have changed to medium sized $s and that can get frustrating and depressing. You have to step back and look at the worse case scenario. If we only made $25k on this house (and believe me this is a TON of work after our regular jobs hours) instead of $50 or $70k we honestly couldn't do that anywhere else in 3 months at a part time job (eventually with UB but again it's a growing business not an overnight get rich scheme). So we have to take everything into consideration and realize that every experience is a learning experience and we get closer and closer to our goals when we learn what TO do and what NOT to do.


Once again - Phil Humbert is a gemstone of wit and wisdom - couldn't resist sharing this week:

===========================================
The 3-C's of Superior Achievement

One of the essential habits for achieving superior results is the "constant and never-ending" search for methods, systems, and tools to get the most from life.

Many people think that if they could find "the answer" their lives would miraculously improve. They act as if life has a mysterious secret "system" and if they found it, everything would work out. I don't think it works quite that way.

My sense is that there are dozens, perhaps thousands of wonderful quotes, tools, techniques and systems around us, and the more "tools" we have in our "toolbox," the more likely we'll have the right tool at the right time to get the results we need. I used to think that if I could just read the right book, or attend the "best" seminar, I'd "get it" and life would be good. I finally realized that I need to read as much as I can and talk to all the experts I can find, because they all have tools that I'll need sooner or later.

In that spirit, I want to share one of my most powerful "systems" for success. For a few of you, it may be the one essential missing piece. For most, however, it will be another tool, another step in the process of moving from where you are to where you want to be in life.

I've observed that the most successful people I coach use "The 3-C's" to climb the ladder of success and achieve their most important goals.

1. Unusual Clarity. My friend, Michael Angier, does a presentation entitled, "Clarity is Power," because knowing exactly what we want is absolutely critical to getting it. Most people are vague about their goals and aspirations. They want "more," but hesitate to identify exactly what they want "more" of! Tony Robbins tells a story about someone who came up to him and said he wanted "more money." Tony says, "So I gave him a dollar and told him to go away!" What do you want? When? How much of it? How will you measure it?

High achievers are extremely clear about where they are going and how they'll get there. Define your dreams. Write them down. Describe your goals to a friend (or your coach) and ask them to challenge you about specifics. Get clear.

2. Unusual Commitment. Even when people get clear, too often they hang back, hesitate, or keep "something in reserve." High achievers don't do that! They go "all in." They go "all the way." Winners commit.

I love the story of the ancient Greek General who, after landing his troops on an enemy shore, made them watch as he burned their ships. For them, there was no going back, no alternative but to succeed or die. High achievers bet their very lives on the outcome, with no looking back. There's a famous line from World War II, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" Winners are smart and sometimes even cautious about choosing a well-designed strategy, but once they have a plan, they go full speed ahead.

3. Unusual Courage. Let's face it, life is a risky business. Things happen. We may be embarrassed. We may lose. We may end up looking foolish, or worse. And the more we stretch for success, the more we risk, so success requires courage. There will always be doubters and critics. There will always be competitors, and occasionally people will disappoint us. Accidents happen, and sometimes we miscalculate or fall short.

Courage in the face of life's uncertainties is a requirement for unusual success. The ability to face the unknown, to act despite our fears, is the mark of a high achiever. There is no alternative.

If you desire a higher level of success, clarify exactly what you want, commit to achieving it, and act with courage.

SNAP OUT OF IT! (TSF)

My youngest child, a senior in high school, is deep in the process of choosing and applying to colleges. You can cut the stress level in our house with a knife.

Twenty five plus years ago, the process was vastly different than it is now. Today, there are many more kids going to college. The applications are pages long, require well thought out essays and a `resume' overflowing with things accomplished so far in the student's life. To say that tuition costs have had a sharp increase is an understatement thereby magnifying the competition for admission and for scholarship money. My daughter seems to be doing nothing but looking over her shoulder at everyone in her high school who has better grades or a more impressive list of extra curricular activities. Despite the fact that she maintains high honor roll status while working 25 hours a week and participating in many volunteer activities - she is convinced no college or university will admit her.

We regularly and lovingly remind her to “SNAP OUT OF IT!” But I must share, part of me identifies 100% to what she is going through.

Having traveled the country to attend nearly every National Convention for years with my company - I often felt deflated after recognition time during General Session. Regardless of the fact that many times I was walking across stage in recognition of great sales, recruiting or advancement in rank - there was always someone who'd done a better job than me. Why couldn't I be more like her? Why hadn't I done what she'd done? Sometimes the feeling of overwhelm threatened to freeze me to a state of total procrastination and inactivity. And then - because I had wise and caring peers and uplines in my life who would scream “SNAP OUT OF IT!”, reminding me of all that I HAD accomplished in the past year.

Over the years, I have come to realize the importance of putting on blinders. Focusing on two things - helping my team with their goals and working towards my own - this is the key to success. Zig Ziglar says, “Help enough people get what they want, and you will get what you want.” Goals are personal and specific to the people who set them. Your goals and your team member's goals are theirs - no one else's. Looking from side-to-side at what someone else is accomplishing can be a futile activity producing nothing but stress and aggravation. Go ahead; celebrate the accomplishments of your peers. However, learn to use them as a healthy motivational force and keep them in perspective.

The right place at the right time!

In doing some research tonight, I ran across this great article on WAHM.com and it just goes to show that UB is the right company in the right place at the right time!

Announcing or Inviting?

I haven't had a chance to comment on the new Home Fragrance Line yet but didn't want to waste anymore time in letting you know how EXCITED I am with all the possibilities this line opens up for us and JUST IN TIME for the huge holiday selling season! I hope that all of you are working hard to book more parties and find ways to make your $50.00 sale turn into a $100.00 sale when they need to buy the 3 oils home fragrance kit and their party special! I see doubling sales where we never thought it possible! I wantd to share this great information from The Success Factory because it's so true about how you approach your customers!



SUBJECT: Getting results!


Often it may feel as though we are doing all the right things and yet we are not getting the results from our business that we want (booking parties and signing new team members).

Today, TSF would like you to step outside of yourself for a moment and observe how you talk about your business to others. Are you “Announcing” or “Inviting”?

Language is powerful; and as new consultants we are excited about our businesses. When we are told to “talk to everyone” and “be excited”; this is not usually a difficult task. However, if you are talking too much and not getting any commitment, then perhaps you are not talking in a way that is effective.

Here are some examples of Announcing vs. Inviting at a party:

Announcement: I'm booking now for the fall, so let me know if you'd like to schedule a date and earn lots of our products for free!

Invitation: I'd sure love to do a party for you this fall, would September or October be a better month for you to have some friends over for a fun ladies night out?


Announcement: I'll be right over there at the dining room table if you'd like to place an order.


Invitation: You seemed very excited when I demonstrated (fill in the blank), did you decide not to get it, or may I add that to your order?


Announcement: We are currently looking for consultants in this area to join our company. Please let me know if I can give you more information.


Invitation: You seemed to enjoy many of our products and you were so fun tonight; I'd love to work with you. If I gave you some information about our company, would you read it? (if yes, then)…I'd like to follow up with you tomorrow; is daytime or evening a better time to call? -or- (better still) Can we get together for a quick cup of coffee tomorrow or the next day so that I can answer any questions you might have?


So…what do you think? Are you announcing or are you inviting? If you did more inviting, do you think you might get more of the results you want? Remember, an invitation involves a one-on-one “eyeball” contact with a customer. This may be a bit of a stretch outside your comfort zone at first. TSF encourages you to try inviting more at several of your next parties and then we would LOVE to hear about your results!

Football, Big Screen T.V.'s and multi-tasking...

Ahhhhhh - FALL. Time for my favorite (not) sport season; you guessed it - football. And (according to my husband) the only thing better than multiple football games available on multiple days of the week shown on multiple television channels is being able to watch it on a BIG SCREEN T.V. with a split screen feature. For those of you unfamiliar with this - split screen means you can, literally, watch two football games at the same time (but hear the soundtrack from just one game). Wow - who knew…this takes multi-tasking to a whole new level.

When you watch football this way, you can keep track of the score, time left in the quarter, which team has the ball and downs for two games simultaneously. However, it is pretty tough to really focus very seriously on both games. Your attention tends to be drawn to the game that you can hear. All in all, it makes for some very mediocre football viewing.

So, where's the business application in all of this?

While multi-tasking is certainly a useful time saving strategy - be careful when and where you use it. One example is team coaching calls. It can be difficult to be a good coach if you are clearing email, doing dishes or playing a game with your child while attempting to conduct a coaching call. Your team member won't get the benefit of your full attention and she probably can tell that you are distracted.

Proactively set good ground rules (15 minutes/no distractions/take notes/be solution oriented/set goals and schedule a follow up “results” call); ultimately you will save more time than when attempting to multi-task.

Obviously in some circumstances, multi-tasking is appropriate and necessary. Only you can be the best judge as to when and where it will work best for you and your business. By the way, if you are thinking of watching two football games and doing your phoning all at the same time - I wouldn't recommend it.

Back in the swing of things...

Well I think most of us that had first day of schoolers today survived! I saw a lot of emails that the kids did better than the parents! As I picked up Dallon my 9/29 bday party came up to me with her daughter and they were very excited to have 6-8 girls at the party so it should be a blast and I'm looking forward to it!

I'm looking forward to a very exciting fall and wanted to remind all of you with a team of the Building the Bees Nest call tonite. The call in # is 712-775-7000 and the code is 805628#. This call is for anyone in The Hive that has a team (meaning at least 1 person in your downline). I hope to work with some of my newer Team Leaders and help you all to grow and prosper!

I wanted to end by having you all visit Angie's blog update and find out about the things she is doing in her new town to get UB rolling! http://scentsability.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-town-new-scene.html

Keeping Your Focus on Recruiting

As we jump into September and the Fall/Christmas season which is our best season in direct sales... I wanted to keep everyone focused on what's most important for your long term success and that is growing a team. It may seem so daunting at times but I think you'll find with these few ideas below, that if you keep it as "a focus" in your workshops and discussions, team members will join you much more quickly than you'd ever imagined!

Quick Tip #1 Never prejudge! – Ask everyone to join. You never know why someone may be interested in the business. It is not your job to decide FOR them - it is your job to share the opportunity with them and let THEM decide!

Quick Tip #2 Ask questions to reveal a potential recruits "hot button" or "need". Think about why she would benefit from working with your company and what qualities she has that would make her a good consultant.

Quick Tip #3 Your hostess is your best prospect! She has experienced first-hand what a fun and easy job you have. Parties that you book at her party can be her parties to do! Be sure you are offering the opportunity to your hostess from your first coaching call by planting seeds like "Watch what I do the night of your party, if you think you can see yourself doing the same thing, we need to talk!"

Quick Tip #4 An objection is often a request for more information. For example, when a prospect says, "I don't have enough time", she may really be unaware of how much time a job like this takes. A great response is, "How much time do you think this takes?" This gives you the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions she may have about the business.

Quick Tip #5 Don't forget to close or ask for the sale. It's so simple, just remember to ask, "So, what do you think?" Then, BE QUIET and wait for her response.

No shortcuts

William Danforth, who became the owner of the huge Ralston Purina Company, learned a lesson about success when he was a young man. He said, “When I was sixteen, I came to St. Louis to attend the Manual Training School.

It was a mile from my boarding house to the school. A teacher, who lived nearby, and I would start for school at the same time every morning. But he always beat me there. Even back then I didn't want to be beaten, and so I tried all the shortcuts. Day after day, however, he arrived ahead of me. Then I discovered how he did it. When he came to each street crossing, he would run to the other curb. The thing that put him ahead of me was just `that little extra'”.

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.

-Beverly Sills

Laboring on Labor Day

Instead of relaxing holiday I spent the day painting G2 (lovingly known as our 2nd Ghetto flip house). After hours of slathering on the lovely shade of Camel which my husband bought off of some paint guy on Craig's list that has no flair for MATCHING SHADES... we finally figured out how to mix the gallons so that we have one shade for the house and managed to getter done with the help of my parents.

I'm so tired and ate like a horse at Black Angus but was so excited to come home and see that Avis had blogged and had some great ideas I wanted to share. I saw her Evite invite and loved it!

Awesome job Avis - you're working to make it tough competition for Designer of the Month again! Read her comments here.

Back to school… (The Success Factory)

Don't forget our new member orientation call tonight at 5pm PST, 6pm MST, 7pm CST and 8pm EST! Call in #712-775-7000 Access Code: 805628#


Why is it that for those of us with school aged children - back to school time feels like a fresh start? Time to get our routines back in order, time to re-establish office hours, reanalyze our goals and priorities - TIME!
There is a part of me that feels like I wish I were going back to school as well - don't you just love the smell of a new box of crayons?
Well, there's no better time than the beginning of school - to feed your mind.

It is the perfect time to get back on track - especially if you were a little less than disciplined with your business this summer. Getting back on track means getting back to the basics and part of that is remembering that your car is your rolling classroom. To refocus and re-energize be sure you are listening to our Back to Basics CD training set. If you don't already own this set, FRIDAY (today) is the last day to take advantage of our biggest sale yet - 50% off! At this price, we know you will want to stock up for team incentive gifts or even some early holiday shopping.
We have been bombarded by testimonials and thank you's from people who have ordered and listened to the set and love them. They tell us that the tips are simple and duplicatible - very easy great and easy to implement into your business to help you begin building right away.

For more info visit TheSuccessFactory.com

Discounting…yes or no? (TSF)

Tonight's dinner table discussion was an interesting one. Two of my children work at the same neighborhood coffee shop. The coffee shop had a recent change of owners at the beginning of the year. The new and current owner - we'll call him Sam - is in a bit of a dilemma. After owning the shop for nearly eight months now - he is hard pressed to realize a profit. Of course there is the normal three to five year `curve' that applies to any new business, except, that this business has been open - with a very established customer base - for over six years.


So…what's the problem, you may ask.
As in most businesses, there are a variety of contributing factors - including too many Starbuck's within close proximity. However, a HUGE issue is the practice of discounting for `favorite' customers, established by the previous owner. Sam is now trying to do damage control in order to begin to realize some profit without offending the regular customers. It is a tricky situation to be sure.


I share this story today as food for thought for you and your business. Certainly there may be times when you run special sales for your customers. I would caution the practice of discounting too regularly.
Getting into the habit of discounting does several things:
Your customers will begin to balk when you charge full price and only want to buy when they receive a discount.


It devalues your product line.
As in the case of Sam - it is difficult to reverse once started.
MOST IMPORTANTLY - your business is far less profitable when you discount.


As women, sometimes we have difficulty being paid what we are worth. Some of us feel guilty for taking money and therefore “giving a deal” seems like the right thing to do. Men don't do this. Somehow, they are wired differently - I'm convinced of this. Men don't apologize for things they didn't do (ever notice how often women say I'm sorry for something that they had no part in?). Men don't feel bad about or make excuses for money they are paid for a job done; whether in the form of commissions for sales or fees charged if they are a doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc;. The `why's' behind this phenomenon is the stuff self-help books are written about and not the subject of today's tip.


Just remember - you are in business to make money. If you are not in business to make money - then you probably will find yourself with an expensive hobby. Hobbies cost money - businesses make money…period.