Direct Selling Leaders Experts

I’m sure your fall selling season is in full swing. I know that many of you are committed to building your team over the next three months as well. If recruiting is your focus right now, today I learned about a program that is about to be launched that I think you will want to check out. It’s being conducted by my good friend Jane Deuber. She has had more than 20 years of experience in the direct selling profession and has created many of the most respected training programs in recent years. I quote Jane during my live trainings and have learned much about sponsoring from her over the years.

This Wednesday she will launch a brand new 4-week tele-course called The Inner Game of Sponsoring. She has packed all of her best training into this four week experience as well as added some innovative, new material that has everyone talking. One piece in particular is her “Success Accelerator“ a model for helping anyone break through their barriers to success. You will love it! 

Here is the link to learn more and sign up: http://www.yourprofitpartners.com/idevaffiliate/idevaffiliate.php?id=113_2_3_1

Make it a great day!
Julie Anne Jones

My friend and colleague Leesa Barnes (she is the THE social media guru in my world and a speaker at Profit, Purpose & Beyond 2008) along with most of my very net savvy friends have been raving about how much fun Twitter is.  I’ve been resisting.  Strongly resisting.  Sounds hard.  Sounds time consuming.  What can I say in 120 characters anyway?

Well, this morning, I took the plunge.  I am still nervous.  Still uncertain.  But wow - all my friends really are there and I can post my one liners instead of just thinking them to myself. 

Want to follow me on Twitter and see what we can do on this hot little social media tool?  You can do that here: https://twitter.com/SarahRobinson.  This will be fun!

Love,
Sarah

Are you a member of Facebook? I have to admit, I thought this was just a waste of time for teenagers until about three months ago when I learned about how entrepreneurs are using Facebook to connect and grow their businesses. That prompted me to start my own group called “Direct Sales Success Made Easy.”

 Joining is free (and so is joining Facebook) and you’ll be receiving a ton of valuable training and resources to increase your results in all areas of your business (bookings, sponsoring, sales, and life and business organization and balance) which won’t be available to the general public (only to those who are a part of this group).

Interested? Use this link to learn more: http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26452102397&ref=share.

Make it a great day!
Julie Anne Jones

Today I was reading an article in Money Magazine that made me angry, it is titled:  WHY YOU CAN’T TEACH MONEY. 

A law professor , who specializes in financial products regulation (mortgages, securities, insurance, etc.) argues that trying to teach people how to manage money is a waste of time and money…she even implies that it’s “dangerous.”  She said, “Financial literacy classes give people the illusion that they can successfully manage their finances.” 

 Excuse me?  Did I read that correctly?  Thought you’d like to hear my steamy letter to the editor…  (I just couldn’t help myself.) 

Dear Money Magazine– I’m a financial planner and I own the company www.spendonpurpose.com an online budgeting resource for families and small businesses.  As an advocate and financial author, I can guarantee you that associate professor Lauren Willis is grossly misguided in her “research”.  In a couple days, I’m going on a 10 city speaking tour around the USA  doing exactly what she says may be “dangerous.”  Teaching people how to manage money.   I will have the privilege to speak  to audiences of hundreds of business owners who want to know how to, turn a profit in business by the careful mastery of income and expenses.  Unlike Lauren Willis (who probably hasn’t taught THOUSANDS of people how to budget, how to decimate debt, how to be financially enlightened) I have seen first hand what happens when someone begins to understand the potential within themselves to master finances.  I have watched people overcome fear around finances (money does not equal math).  As a Financial Planner,  I’ve seen average, hard working American’s turn their dreams into reality by diligently spending a little less than they  make and investing the difference. To Lauren Willis, I adamantly assert the following:   Educating people on how to master money (beyond the 4 day personal-finance-segment in social studies) is consistent with everything American.  It is an insult to a capitalistic, free society to imply that government regulation is going to “fix” the financial problems we have today.  To imply that teaching people how to handle finances, embrace the concepts of investing, risk protection, and budgeting is a “waste” is at best misguided.  Why improve ourselves at all?  Financially educating people does NOT mean that “we” are trying to turn everyone into a financial planner; and it’s not the same as sex ed…not even a little bit.  People are hungry to learn more about finances.  (check the subscriber rate to Money Magazine for a pulse on that one)  Oh, and  guess what? There are a lot of financial planners out there who DO have their best interests at heart.  I am just one of the many. 

 Sometimes, it may be better for the world if I were not a redhead.  But on a positive note, the magazine responded and asked if they could publish my comments…

We had a sudden death in our family this week.  My family - aunts, uncles, cousins are very close.  I am friends with my cousins - I’ve even shared apartments with them.  We’ve been in each other’s weddings.

So, when my aunt died this week, it was hard.  Though she was old, it was unexpected - and complicated.  My head has been cloudy all week because of it really.

The nice thing for me is that I’ve been available this week.  I’ve made food for my mom.  I’ve made food for my cousins.  I’ve shown my son how to be thoughtful when someone is sad and grieving. 

As I thought about today’s blog post, I decided that this is what I wanted to share with you more than anything: know what is important.  So many times I work with client who are so overwhelmed with their business that “life” serves more as an irritation than an opportunity. 

My guess is that you started your business so you could do more “living”.  Remember that when your children need you or you mom needs you or a friend needs you.  You have a business that allows you to be there.

If you are trying to figure out how to make that possible with all that has to be done to make your business successful, I invite you to join us for Profit, Purpose an Beyond.  This is the annual, f’ree virtual event that brings together world-class speakers and trainers. 

Our focus for this event is to give you the tools and strategies for designing a business - and a life - that works for you, supports who you want to be in the world so that you can be available for what is important.

I so hope you will reflect on what is important to you today.  And, if you need some ideas and encouragement, that you will join us for Profit, Purpose and Beyond.

Love and Success-
Sarah

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I advocate theme parties to increase excitement and attendance at your parties. This fall, why not try one of the following. Your hosts will love it!

Wine and Cheese Tasting Party Everyone loves wine tasting, and this party is a fun way to get your guests involved. Have each guest bring their favorite bottle of wine ina plain brown paper sack with only the type of wine written on the front (Merlot, Chardonay, etc) with a marker. Let all the guests vote on their favorite and give the guest who brought it a prize. The host provides cheese and crackers and a non-alcoholic beverage. 

I’m with you, it’s emotionally frustrating to pay $65 to fill up my car.    But here again, look at the perspective…

·         15 gallons of gas @ $2.50 = $37.50 | Fill up 1x a week for 52 weeks = $1,950/year

·         15 gallons of gas @ $4.25 = $63.75 | Fill up 1x a week for 52 weeks = $3,315/year

The “spread” between them is about $1300

·         Most families got a stimulus check from the government for about $1200

·         Thankfully, the increase of gas prices will only “cost” most families about $100 more , or $8.33 more a month when you account for the infusion of money into the average American pocket book.    Perspective is everything.

 The hysteria you see splashed across your T.V. screen is news; the news is a lot like the Jerry Springer Show—they’re selling hysteria.  

Even though gas prices have come down a bit since July (sorry about the long absence on the blog, btw) $3.65 a gallon is still up from last September @ $2.80.  What is the cost to you when you consider the negativity that begins to raise it’s ugly, pervasive head in your business?  How is it affecting you when your conscious (and subconscious) mind takes in the hysteria you see on tv?  

My friend Teresa Romain is famous for saying, “Internals create the externals.”   My forte is NOT in psychology and human behavior around money, however I propose to you that you should be guarding you heart when you watch the news.

  Internals create externals.

Internal: “I’m afraid no one will buy because of the economy.” 

External:  I’m not going to get out there and promote myself/sell like I used to.

Bottom line:   Income decreases, expenses stay the same…no profit.

Internal:  “The economy is so bad that I people can’t afford to start a business with me.”

External:  I’m not going to offer my business opportunity to anyone.

Bottom line:   Income decreases, expenses stay the same…no profit.

I could keep going on and on, but I think you get the idea.  What you think about your circumstances will affect what you do.    Lack of income producing activities creates a lack of income; a lack of income  creates a lack of profit.

Stay focused.  My advice is ignore the news and the buzz you hear about the economy, and focus on the fundamentals of business.   Booking, selling, recruiting, generating income; then manage your money diligently.   

Have you signed up for Prosperity yet? 

Try it free for 30 days  http://www.directsellingleaders.com/store.html

Join 10 business authors, experts, coaches and luminaries for a FREE event exclusively for leaders in the direct selling, network marketing and multi-level marketing professions It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen! You know I don’t promote a lot of events… but I had to tell you about this one because the speakers are so extraordinary, including:

·       Margie Aliprandi, President of My Mind Makeover ·       Jane Deuber, Leadership Expert and co-founder of the DSWA ·       Leesa Barnes, President of Marketing Fit ·       Michael Oliver President and Founder of Natural Selling Sales Training  ·       Sandy Grason, best-selling author of Journalution ·       Scott Stratten, President of Un-Marketing ·       Jillian Middleton, founder of Savvy Sponsoring Strategies·       Michael Port and Elizabeth Marshall, co-authors of The Contrarian Effect·       Keith Ferrazzi, best-selling author of Never Eat Alone ·       Sarah Robinson, Direct Selling Business Strategist and Founder of Profit, Purpose and Beyond

Profit, Purpose and Beyond will take place October 13 through October 24, 2008 (excluding the weekend). One speaker will take center stage each day at 1pm EST.

Click here to grab your seat now before they’re all gone!

Make it a great day!
Julie Anne Jones

Do you have a partner who occasionally is in a space that is an opposite of yours?
You know that success is a habit and a daily expression of who you are. The more you evolve in that role, the more you trust the process and the more centered you become.
Unless your significant other is on the path with you and is in a similar space, their may be times when their energy is less than optimal.

People are people and different things affect folks different ways. Some people knee-jerk react while others choose their response.

When you are reacting, you are essentially doing an automatic response to the situation and are acting without any  thought. Frequently, this form of response is counter-productive and can take away from the overall objective.

When you respond to an event or situation, you are stepping back, processing the information at hand, and choosing the optimal recourse.

Big difference.
 

Choosing your response is obviously the better space to be in as you will not do or say something that you may regret later on.
 

If your significant other is more prone to react than to respond, it can make life interesting for you.

If you choose to stay in your center and choose to respond logically to a situation, while your partner is bouncing off the walls and reacting, it becomes difficult for you both to have a rational conversation about what happened and the optimal response to it.
 

Stay in your space, follow what you feel is the optimal recourse for the event and trust your process. 
 

In summary: Remember always that you do not have to buy into someone else’s knee-jerk reaction. If something does not feel right for you, don’t do it. You will regret if after the fact. If your partner is in react mode, wait until they have returned  to a more logical frame of mind before you attempt to discuss the situation with them and agree on an optimal strategy. For more insights on staying true to your path and success together, click here to sign up for my ezine.
 

Be successful – together
Mark Semple CCC
Successful Together Coaching Website