Permission to Succeed - Karen Phelps

Are you getting everything you want from your Direct Selling business? If not, there's probably a very good reason you are not! You have not given yourself permission to succeed!
You see, once you give yourself permission to succeed you'll quit looking for excuses why you are not having success in your business and you'll begin to look for ways to attract more and more success.

I've heard the whining, complaining, blaming and all out excuses why you aren't succeeding. The truth is you are not doing what you need to do to succeed! It's that simple. For some reason you have decided it's too hard, too boring, too pushy or too whatever. GET OVER IT! Decide now you want to succeed and if you DO want to succeed than please continue reading. If you don't, nothing I say will change your mind so by all means don't waste any more of your precious time.
Problem #1 - You haven't defined what you want from the business. Your leader has asked you several times what your goals for the business are and you think she's pushy and overbearing and dig in your heels, refusing to supply her with how to motivate you! You think you can be successful in spite of having no goals or direction for your business.

Solution - Sit down now and write down what you want. Do you want to make $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 or more per month? Why? Do you want to be a leader? Why? Realize that you cannot be aimlessly working your business with no reason why. Your reason why will motivate you to get out from in front of the television and start making calls, holding parties and recruiting others into your company! If you don't know WHY, you won't care about the HOW!

Problem #2 - Refusing to be PUSHY! That's just a lame-brained excuse for not asking! So do you really think people are going to come to you begging you to sell to them? If you have a party with 8 guests in attendance and 7 people called the Hostess to tell her you were a great consultant and did a good job and one guest complained to the Hostess that you were pushy, which would you decide to focus on? I guarantee that at least 95% of the people would get their nose bent out of joint and go into "pity party mode" and quit doing the things they know they need to just because of "one negative guest."

Solution -"GET OVER IT!" No one likes pushy salespeople but there is a difference between being ASSERTIVE and AGGRESSIVE. You need to find that happy medium. Aggressive sales people hound prospects while assertive sales people are confident in themselves, their product and their opportunity and make sure the prospect is aware of all the benefits their products, service and opportunity can provide. You will never make a sale, book a party or get a recruit if you do not share the benefits and close the deal. You are not being PUSHY you are being GREAT in your business!

Problem #3 - Refusing to have contact with your leader and or up line. You feel your leader is nosy and continually calls you to see what you are doing and if you need help.

Solution - The wonderful thing about Direct Selling is the support system you have with your up line! In Direct Selling "no woman (or man) is an island." We become great by working together as a team. Most often your leader is calling to encourage and support you. You need contact with your sponsor and your up line. Keep the lines of communication open (If you are a leader and only call your team to harp on them STOP NOW. Encouragement and support will get someone a lot further than criticism will.)

Problem #4 - Not attending your leader's monthly meeting and company events. You have two shows booked for the month and one of them is on your monthly meeting date because it was the ONLY DAY the Hostess could have her party. Yeah, right!

Solution - Make a commitment to yourself that you will make attending meetings a priority for your success. If you live within driving distance the meetings you up line provide for should be the first thing to be entered into your monthly calendar. Here's what I used to tell all of my new recruits, "You have two hours per week to come and get motivated and learn how to grow your business. Then you get to face the real world for thirty days and come back to get pumped up again. You need the meetings and the meetings need you."
If someone asked me if they needed to attend meetings I would reply, "only if you want to be successful, DO YOU?" Here's the truth...if you want to be successful you will attend meetings. You will also be at your company's conventions and trainings. Why would you not want to be there????

Problem #5 - Thinking you know it all. It's unfortunate those who think they have nothing to learn don't really know as much as they think they do. Can you honestly tell me that you can attend a meeting and not learn anything new? Not even one tiny little tip that could make your business easier, better and more successful.

Solution - Never stop learning. The world is changing faster than we can keep up and it's up to us to keep informed and stay ahead of our competition. Make a conscious effort to take as many notes as you can at every meeting, EVEN IF YOU HAVE HEARD THE INFORMATION BEFORE! Chances are, even if you have heard the information you are not using it all the time or you will hear something in a little different way that will help you to act on the information.

Problem #6 - Avoiding making phone calls. Your house is clean, the laundry is washed, folded and put away but you still have not made any follow up phone calls. You have no bookings on your calendar, the girl you talked to last month about joining the business is still waiting for you to call her but you can't find any time to make phone calls!

Solution - Schedule Weekly Phone Time. If you begin to schedule in time each week to make phone calls you will be more likely to get it done. Phone calling is an important part of your business. Can you find two or three 15 - 30 minute time frames each week to make your call? If you can't you need to understand the importance of follow-up phone calls. More sales, booking and recruits are lost because of lack of action on the person who provided the prospect with information.

The most important reason for you to make phone call is because you have something fantastic to offer others. When you are offering your product, Hostess Program or Business Opportunity to someone you must believe your prospect needs what you are offering. If you believe you have what they need you will be excited about making your calls. If you have the It's a Party Out There program make sure you take time to play Part One and Part Two of the Sponsoring Game. You will be excited to make your business opportunity calls because you will know your prospects wants and needs for the income and your call will be customized with each prospect. So, get your list ready, get your scripts ready, stand up, smile in a mirror and make your calls right now.

Problem #7 - Lack of a system for your business. You have lots of things to do but you don't know when to do them and how to get it done. You have a party scheduled for tonight and you are not packed and ready to go. You have an interview scheduled with a hot prospect and you forgot to order the business materials you need for the interview.

Solution - Even if you like chaos, you need to have organized chaos in order to succeed in this business! You need systems for everything you do. Make sure you always have supplies on hand. The worst time to order business supplies is when you have already run out. Don't wait until you are ready to run out the door for your party to make sure your supply suitcase is packed and your kit ready to go. As soon as you empty your suitcase when you return home from a party repack it so it is ready to go for the next one. Make sure you have enough catalogs, pens, order forms and Hostess Packets every time you leave for a party. If you are well prepared your presentation will be much smoother.

The same goes for your Interview tools. Keep your briefcase packed and ready to run out the door for the interview that could lead you to your "next best consultant." There is never a better time than at an interview to set a good example. Don't forget to get a system in place for your party. Make sure you are adding seeds for recruits, bookings and sales during your presentation.

The great thing about Direct Selling is you have an opportunity to get better and better each day you are in the business. It's totally up to you. Are you willing to give yourself permission to succeed in your business? Are you ready to do what it takes? Are you going to go down without a fight?

I DIDN'T THINK SO! So go ahead and give yourself "permission to succeed" and Congratulations on taking the first step to your success! Yes you can be everything you want to be, do everything you want to do and have anything you want to have!