Sunday, February 4, 2007

Winning is Easy! 7 Simple Strategies to Win Any Contest or Sales Promotion


I thought this article was perfect training for those of us working to become Team UB Scentsational!

Year after year in Direct Selling I earned trips to glamorous destinations, beautiful jewels and household and office equipment that anyone would envy! I also earned Free Samples and Cash Bonuses. If our company offered it as a contest or promotion I earned it! Some promotions were a little more challenging than others but none were impossible to accomplish. Some promotions were a monthly contest while others required a year long effort. Did you ever wonder why some people in your company win time after time while others never could get it all together to win? You will often hear people moan over how hard a contest is while others are reveling in how easy this will be to win.


What's the secret to winning every time? I discovered 7 fool proof strategies that helped me attain all my goals through the years. Here they are:


1. Have the Vision. This may sound like a very simple step but it's not as easy as you think. It's almost impossible to do something that you cannot envision yourself doing! Example: Your company is offering a travel trip to Hawaii and there are set sales and sponsoring requirements. Do you want to play on the beach in Hawaii? If your answer is "YES", as it should be, then make sure you visualize yourself on the beach. Close your eyes and listen to the waves as they crash to the shore. Taste the salt water on your tongue as you play in the surf. Feel the heat of the sun on your body. In your mind are you there yet? You've got to take time to see and feel what your final destination will be like.


2. Know the Rules. Don't miss out on something because of a simple technicality. Make sure you read through the entire promotional piece completely. Highlight or underline every step of the promotion. Make sure you understand what you need in each area. Example: If your contest is a 6 month contest based on a combination of personal sales and qualified recruits, make sure you know the sales volume needed you need, how many recruits and what each recruit has to do to be considered qualified. Don't forget to ask if there is something in the contest that you are not sure about. It is better to ask questions in the beginning of the contest than it is to ask for "an exception" when the contest is finished.


3. Write it Down. I learned very early in my Direct Selling career that if I really wanted to win something I HAD TO WRITE IT DOWN! It didn't matter if I just said I was going to win. I cemented my goal when I took the time to write it down. I had a monthly goal card and on it were 4 to 6 things that I wanted to accomplish for the month or year. I made 3 copies of the goal card and put one on my bathroom mirror, one on the dashboard of my car and one on the window right in front of my desk. The goals I had written down for myself were in front of me every day! I never FORGOT what I was working on. I can remember the very first trip I won was to Hawaii. Once our company had announced the trip I went to a local travel agency and asked them if they had any Hawaii posters I could have. They ordered several for me and I taped 3 posters on different doors in my house. The pictures of the beautiful sandy beach and blue ocean were a constant reminder of where I could be if I continually focused on the goal. As corny as this may sound I promise you it will work! So make sure your WRITE IT DOWN!


4. Plan Your Strategy and Make Your Map. If you were going to take one month to travel across the United States would you just hop in the car and take off or would you take time to plan your route and what you wanted to see at each stop? It's the same thing when you have a contest or promotion or even a move up the leadership ladder. Decide where you want to go and what you are going to do each step of the way. Make yourself a detailed plan of everything you need to do on a weekly or monthly basis. If you need $12,000 in personal sales in 3 months divide $12,000 by 3 and you will have $4,000 each month. Divide $4,000 by 4 weeks in the month and you will have $1,000 per week. If you have a party average of $500 you will have to hold 2 parties each week to have $1,000 in sales. If you have a party average of $350 you will need to hold 3 parties each week to have $1,000 in sales. After you have determined what you need to do draw up a chart for each week of the contest so that you can keep track of your results. (more about this is step 5).


5. Keep Track. 3 imaginary people I didn't want to keep meeting were Shoulda, Woulda and Coulda. The company Shoulda made it easier for us! I Woulda won the contest if the rules has been clear! I Coulda been on the trip but it wasn't important to me! Imagine how wonderful your life would be if you really did see the opportunity in every given situation and never had to use hindsight to learn all your lessons! The secret is to use foresight to look ahead and a tracking system to keep you on target. In step 4 your broke down your goal and know that you need $1,000 per week for 12 weeks to reach the $12,000 level. You have a chart made up for twelve weeks. Column one is weekly sales, column two is cumulative sales, column three is remaining sales and column four is weekly sales needed. At the top of column three you write $12,000. At the end of each week total your sales for the week and enter in column one. Add that amount to the previous sum in column two and enter into column two. subtract the total in column two from $12,000 for your remaining sales balance and enter into column three. Divide the remaining sales needed by the remaining number of weeks to get the weekly sales needed amount. Every week just by looking at the chart you know what you have done already and what is left to do!


6. Re-evaluate and Re-adjust. Using your chart each week you will need to continually re-evaluate what you need to do and re-adjust the amount and effort if you find you are falling a little behind. Example, week one of the contest your actual sales in column one are $500 and column two are $500. You subtract that from $12,000 and you have a remaining sales balance of $11,500 and 11 weeks remaining. Now your weekly sales needed is $1,046.00 per week. During week two you have $2,000 in column one weekly sales. You add that to the $500 in column two and your cumulative sales are $2,500. Your balance left in column three is $9,500 and you have 10 contest weeks remaining so your weekly sales needed in column four is $950 per week. I found that by using a weekly chart like this I often earned the contest with several weeks or months remaining instead of cramming everything into the last week or month of the contest. Just remember that every time you write down your sales that you take time to re-evaluate and re-adjust your amounts and the work that needs to be done!


7. Celebrate your Success. As a "life time Weight Watchers member" I learned the importance of celebrating little successes along the way to your ultimate goal. When you take time to celebrate your success and give yourself a small reward along the way you are reinforcing the importance of the goal you have set for yourself. Let's use the example of the trip to Hawaii again. Let's say you are one third of the way into the contest and you are on target. You might want to go out and buy yourself a beach bag and some beach essentials that you will use on the trip. When you are two thirds of the way into the contest and you are on target you take time to go shopping for a bathing suit and cover-up to use on the trip. When the contest is over and you are a WINNER you go shopping for a few new outfits for your trip!

Decide in your "Planning stage" when and how you are going to reward yourself and make sure you follow through. That way you will have fun along the way and not just when you reach your final destination!


Winning is easy when you know how! I hope these seven simple strategies help you prove to yourself that you really are the winner we all know you can be!

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