Direct Selling Leaders Experts

I’ve been in Pennsylvania this past week doing some live training. On Saturday, when the executive who hired me introduced me to her team, she told them that I’d been inviting her to book me for a live training for over two years and that she kept telling me she wasn’t ready. She said that the last time I’d called, the timing had been right and she’d hired me.  She was so grateful that I’d continued to follow up with her.

That got me thinking about how often we don’t follow up in our profession because we make assumptions and let our gremlin (that little voice in your head that tells you lies about yourself and the world) convince us that the reason the person isn’t responding or is responding with a no has something to do with us. 99% of the time, it’s got nothing to do with us and everything to do with the timing in their own lives. And furthermore, most people feel valued when you follow up with them. Honest! My philosophy has always been that I follow up with people until they tell me to stop. More than once, it’s paid off for me, just like it did this past weekend.

 So I want to challenge you to think about phone calls you haven’t made because you’re afraid of what the response will be, or people you called six months ago who may need to be followed up with again now (because, like the executive who just hired me, their life circumstances have changed) and make some committments to yourself and your business. Getting on the phone is not easy for even the most outgoing amoung us, and it can be the most gratifying activity you could undertake today!

Our “Coaching Your Host for Maximum Success” audio cd program contains a systematic, complete follow-up program in case you need a jump start. It also features some specific language to get you started making those calls. Click here to learn more and be sure to use the code BLOGREADER at checkout to receive free shipping.

Make it a great day!

Julie Weitz

Cold calling- yuck!  It is enough to make a strong man weak in the knees.  Until now.

My very good friend Wendy Weiss, the Queen of Cold Calling, is about to open up her super popular Cold Calling College - and you are invited!  AND she is going to do a super preview call so you can learn more about it and decide if it is right for you. (Just FYI - I am CRAZY about Wendy both personally and professionally!)

If you want to be the innovative direct seller who reaches the majority of your prospects by phone AND move the relationship forward, you want to hear Wendy’s free preview call and learn more about Cold Calling College.

Here is what Wendy told me about it:

Preview Call for Cold Calling College

What would happen to your business if you were able to double the number of qualified, prospects you are able to reach?

How would it affect your bottom line if you met with and/or had comprehensive telephone conversations with twice the number of qualified, decision-makers?

How would it feel to have qualified, decision-makers eager, willing and delighted to meet with you?

Join Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, as she discusses cold calling and how she helps entrepreneurs, business owners and sales professionals – just like you – prospect fearlessly and schedule more new business appointments in less time.

You can register for the free preview call here: http://www.profcs.com/app/?Clk=2253894.

Love & Success!

Sarah

I love to use sports analogies. I think it stems from being involved in sports year-round when I was in school. No matter what sport it was, each of my coaches kept advising me to…

 “Take the pressure off” and “Stay Loose”…

Like most athletes, whenever I put too much pressure on myself (to make a basket, to get a hit, to win the match, to run my fastest race), my muscles would tighten up and I’d get tense - then I’d miss an easy shot, throw a bad pass, strike out, make a careless mistake. The key to performing my best was to “stay loose”… to play the game in a relaxed, focused, clear-headed, energized manner - something that was impossible to do under pressure when I was “attached” to the results. (FYI - Being “attached” is the exact opposite of “staying loose”.)This same “stay loose” principle applies to building your business and accessing the lasting abundance you desire.If you look up “pressure” in the dictionary, you will find it is defined as: (1) the state of being pressed or compressed; (2) an oppressive condition of physical, mental, social or economic distress; and (3) to force [something].I’m sure you’ll agree - NONE of those definitions sound very abundant!

When was the last time someone truly listened to you? You know what I mean, right? That focused listening where they were truly interested in what you had to say, not just waiting for you to finish your thought so it was their turn to talk? We call that level 2 listening or heart-centered listening in coaching and if you can learn to listen in this way, it will change not only your business, but your life.

 Focused listening is about you being curious about the other person and really listening. I have an executive client who says she gets amnesia about her own life when she walks into a party because her goal is to learn as much as possible about the other person. Being curious means not sharing as much as asking. Make it part of your party experience to spend the first 20 minutes or so just connecting and learning about the guests there, before you start your presentation.

Here’s an example:

You: “So, Sue, how do you know the host?”
Sue: “Our kids go to school together.”
You: “Really! How many kids do you have?”
Sue: “Two boys.”
Now you have to make a decision. Let’s say you have two boys, too. You can either answer with your first instinct, which is to say, “Really, I have two boys too! Let me tell you abou them!” Or you can step into heart centered listening and get curious. “Really! Tell me about them. What do they like to do?” Get the difference?

The second question is all about her. She’ll be pleasantly surprised that you’re interested (it’s rare, isn’t it?) and begin to open up. It’s from that more open space that you learn things about her like why she needs to book a party with yo (”I’m so busy” etc.) or why she would be a perfect candidate for your business.

Remember, being listened to is so close to being loved, most people can’t tell the difference!

Learn more about coaching skills like level two listening on our “Enlightened Leadership” audio cd. Click here to check it out, and be sure to use the coupon code BLOGREADER at checkout to receive free shipping on any order from our store.

 Make it a great day!

Julie Weitz

Hooray… your business earned some green stuff!  Now what? 

This might sound elementary, but you need to take that money (cash, checks, etc.) to the bank where you opened that  ”exclusive-to-my-business-account” and do an old fahioned deposit.  I’m always astonished how many of my clients struggle with this!   I believe their struggle has a lot to do with the fact that they see the income of the business as their income.  (if you need a pep talk on business income, check out last week’s blog)  Let me say it again, the money your business earns as a result of your income producing activities belongs to the business, not you.  That doesn’t mean you don’t get to financially benefit from your business, but first things first.    

Any accountant worth their salt will evangelize to you that documentation is King when it comes to anything financial in your business.  So when you do a bank deposit into that exclusive account, make a practice of writing exactly where that money came from on the receipt the teller gives you.  

Examples: 

·         Deposit from sales

·         Reimbursement from vendor 

·         Commission income 

·         Unearned Income 

·         Venture Capital Income 

·         Deposit from Line of Credit

It’s important to write this on the receipt the second they hand it to you – because I promise you that   one week from now, you will not remember  what that deposit was for.   Let me share a story from my own business on this very matter.   One week I did a deposit from a speaking engagement where I sold hundreds of my training CDs—and as luck would have it, I did the deposit in a drive thru and forgot to write on the receipt.  It just so happened that the amount I sold at the event, was identical to a deposit that my credit card processing company  posted to my online terminal on the same day.   About a month later my bookkeeper was doing an internal audit on income from online sales—and she found two deposits for the same amount,  on the same day.   We dug out our envelope of receipts for the month and were scratching our heads because I had a counter receipt, but we couldn’t tell what it was for!  We were concerned that the income had been entered into our books twice…. I ended up wasting precious hours and  paid my bookkeeper to do data mining with the bank just to discover that we did indeed have two deposits that day for the same exact amount.  What a disaster!

Bottom line, you never know what’s going to happen!  The rule of thumb I am comfortable with is…cleaner is better! 

Income  affects what you pay Uncle Sam!   (Suppose your dad gave you $10,000 top start a business, would you like to pay tax on that gift?  Of course not!)   Document your deposit receipt in case you experience an audit, and mostly to save your sanity when you do your books.

Next week, we’ll talk about what to do with that business income once it’s in your account and you’ve written on the deposit slip… all of this is leading to one word:   PROFITABILITY!

The enthusiastic support of your significant other can greatly contribute to your fulfillment from your business.

Many women who desire more support are surprised to learn that they may be contributing to the lack of it.

While working on a support project with a coach friend, she shared how she had realized that she had caused some of the tension in her marriage.

This woman is one of the most brilliant, gifted coaches I know and an extraordinary communicator – how could she have issues with the support of her other half?

One of the main things was expectations. She was very focused on her business and frequently had engagements come up at the last minute.

Her expectation was that her husband would be okay with her erratic schedule and would be okay with whatever she needed.

For the most part, he was okay with being there for her. He didn’t appreciate the short notice and the expectation that he would just drop what he was doing or change his plans because she had a need.

The second thing was assumptions. She frequently made decisions that worked well for her and her business that impacted her husband – without discussing with him before hand.

Chances are that he would have agreed with her and been more than wiling to cooperate with her.

Although he did go along with her wishes, all was not well. He was becoming increasingly unhappy and the tension was mounting between them.

When they were finally able to discuss their concerns freely and openly, she was shocked to learn that he felt that way and she quickly realized how a slight shift in her actions could have yielded a more preferable outcome.

If your supporter doesn’t seem enthused about your business, look inwards first. How are you presenting your requests to him? How does he feel about his role in your business? And, what’s in it for him?

Be successful - together.

If you want to be successful in business - you need to know what you want to accomplish and prioritize it.

Prioritize everything! Rather than listing the top three items to be done, list everything and assign a number (from 1 to infinity… and for most entrepreneurs, the list seems that long!).

Then, get to work. Start at one and begin working down. Periodically you’ll have to re-prioritize as changes occur in your business. Task management programs such as Microsoft Outlook can help with prioritization. Even just a Microsoft Word document with an auto-numbering feature is better than nothing.

If you start working on the first one and keep going until you cannot work any more on it, then move to the next point on your list, you’ll see two things happen:

First, your productivity will increase dramatically because you’ll have started to hone in on doing what needs to be done.

And, second, you will work far more efficiently because you know the most important thing to do and you’re doing it first, before everything else.

Have a Productive Day!

Have you read The 4 Hour Workweek?  If not, run, don’t walk to your closest bookstore and snap it up.  Tim Ferriss changed my life (as you know if you heard him at Profit, Purpose and Beyond!).

Today’s innovation tip is my version of his email autoresponder.  I think you will enjoy it!

 WARNING:  If you have trained people to believe that you will respond to any email immediately, be prepared for some pushback when you start using this.  Remember, your job is to provide reasonable and prompt responses and customer service.  Your job is also to get your work done with clarity and focus.  Model this for your people and they will adopt it, too! Auto-responder Copy: Hi There! I am making a huge effort to break my email habit (you know - checking email every 5 minutes?!).  So, I will be checking my email twice a day, M-F, at 11 am and at 4 pm. Please give me at least 24 hours to respond. If you need me more urgently than that, please feel free to call me. Oh - and if your email doesn’t contain a specific question for me, I may not reply.  Just trying to cut down on the addiction! Thanks for your help and your understanding! Love & Success!Sarah

With the beginning of the New Year, chances are you’re feeling excited (even eager) to grow your business and achieve the goals you have set for yourself.And that’s great! I feel the same excitement and eagerness - and commitment.I also know that, in a nanosecond, my excitement and eagerness and sense of commitment can suddenly feel like pressure.And, contrary to popular belief, pressure - especially the scarcity-based, “not enough” kind - actually KILLS growth - your own and that of your business!

As a coach I know that being curious and truly listening to my clients is the key to supporting them in moving forward in our sessions. When you ask powerful questions instead of assuming, you empower those on your team to make their own breakthroughs and come up with their own answers. That’s key in our industry, because it’s typical for us as direct sales leaders to want to “fix” all the problems of those in our down-line. I’m sure this conversation sounds familiar to you:

 Representative: “I’m not getting bookings.”
Leader: “O.K., here’s what I want you to do. Get on the phone this week and get some bookings.”

How often does that representative actually follow through and follow that advice? Rarely. Want to know why? Because they aren’t committed to the action because it’s not their action - it’s yours as the leader! Advice seldom works because people generally defend their weakness when given advice and inform you about why “that might work for you but will never work for me.”

 Next time you’re working someone through a problem, consider asking them instead of telling them, like this:

Representative: “I can’t get bookings.”
Leader: “What might you do to get bookings?”
Representative: “I don’t know.” (Note: this is an automatic, knee jerk response from most people when asked to solve a problem on their own. If you have children, you especially know what I’m talking about. The best response I’ve found is…)
Leader: “Just suppose you DID know? What might the answer be?”
Representative: “Well, I guess I could get on the phone and make a few phone calls.”
Leader: “Great idea! Who might you call, what might you say?” (etc.)

You get the idea. The difference with this conversation is the “solution” is the representative’s idea so they’re much more likely to follow through, especially if you help them pinpoint who to call and what to say! Don’t give up if they don’t come up with an idea right away. Keep asking “Just suppose you did know” and be patient. Eventually, they’ll come up with an answer on their own. And I’ll let you in on a little secret…nine times out of ten, the answer they come up with is what you would have told them to do in the first place. The difference is, it’s their idea so they’re much more committed to it!

 Give this tool a go the next time you’re faced with someone else’s problem. Resist the urge to solve and get curious!

Want to learn how to really coach and mentor your team instead of cheer-leading and dragging them? Click here to check out our popular “Enlightened Leadership” audio program. Remember, if you use the code BLOGREADER at checkout you’ll receive free shipping!

Make it a great day!
Julie Weitz