How’s Your Joy Quotient?

Sunday a day to relax, reflect and recharge.  This morning I will be enjoying Praise and Worship at National Conference.  It is the last day and then we will be headed home.  I amazing few days full of blessings where I got to fill my cup.  How appropriate today’s message is on “joy”.  Unfortunately, I found this and am not sure who to give thanks to but it was not written by me.

One of the overriding evidences someone has a genuine relationship with our living Savior is their consistent attitude of joy and outlook on life. A follower of Jesus should not be a person who always looks at life as if the glass is half empty. Instead, we should be the most positive people on earth. We should see opportunity in the midst of challenges.
The light resides in you should be like the beam of a lighthouse to a ship seeking direction. Our lives should have the fragrance of Christ. People should be attracted to our lives just as the bee is attracted to the nectar in the colorful flower.

The apostle Paul understood this when he said, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life” (2 Cor 2:14-16).

I must admit I’ve been with some believers whose attitude toward life is more like a porcupine. It’s painful to get too close to them because of their negative and poisonous view of life that criticizes the world around them.

No matter what circumstance you may find yourself in, the joy of the Lord must be your strength. Paul learned this truth even in the midst of his adversities. “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Phil 4:12-13).

How would others describe your joy quotient? On a scale of 1 to 10, where would they rank you? Today, make a commitment to greet every circumstance knowing the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

On the Road to National Conference

By the time you see this post, I will be on my way to National Conference.  A road trip with two girls from my team and my momma.

What is National Conference and why should YOU go to yours???

National Conference is the biggest party of the year and creates the most amazing energy and excitement.  It is an opportunity to not only meet other consultants, but it is also a chance to fill your cup.  Many of us spend all year filling the cups of others with little time for ourselves – this is your opportunity!

This year over 7,000 Thirty One consultant will converge on Columbus, Ohio to paint the town PINK!  The welcome in Columbus is AMAZING.  I am always surprised to hear there are actually people who have never heard of Thirty One Gifts.  REALLY??

You will want to bottle up the energy so you can take it home to pour on yourself and others when we lose momentum?  It won’t be long and we will be heading into the busiest selling season of the year, so you want to ride the National Conference Wave all the way into the fall.

Did you know????  These are the stats from last year’s Thirty One Conference.  Although the numbers may vary, the same rings try in all direct sales companies.  Individuals who attend conference, are overall more productive during the year.

Attendees, on average, submit more Personal Volume after attending Conference:

New Consultants – extra $2,753/year
Tenured Consultants – extra $1,948/year
Attendees, on average, have more parties after attending Conference:

New Consultants – extra 4.9/year
Tenured Consultants – extra 3.2/year
Attendees, on average, recruit more after attending conference:

New Consultants – extra 1/year
Tenured Consultants – extra 1/year

In addition:

95% of those who attended the Conference 2016 were still active as of October 2016 compared to 69% of those who did not attend  Those who attended Conference last year were 5.1 times more likely to promote. So to summarize, Consultants who attend Conference are overall more productive – more active – more engaged.

And don’t you want this for you and your team?

  So, what can you do to get ready?

Prepare in Advance

I know this sounds like a no-brainer, right? BEFORE you go to conference, you want to decide what you want to accomplish in the three months following the conference.  What will you need to make it happen?

If you are a leader? Take some time to help each of the people attending conference to prepare their plan, too. When you come home loaded with the tools to accomplish your personal goals, you will be catapulted into action.

Be Focused at Conference

Conference is filled with LOTS of information and it can be overwhelming.  If you have a plan for where you want to be in 3 months, it will help you to focus your attention on what YOU need to learn and grow in the areas to make your plan a reality. If your goal is to recruit, gather tips on recruiting. Introduce yourself to the top recruiters in the company and spend time with them. Prepare a few questions about recruiting in advance to ask the people you meet. When you narrow your focus, the information you receive will be less overwhelming.  If your focus is on more sales, look for those who are tops in sales or in hosting parties?  Get some fresh ideas.  Be willing to step out of your comfort zone to try some of the things you learn.

Follow Up

Here are some tips from successful leaders on how to help YOUR team move forward with the information they gathered at National Conference.

• Create a plan to put the ideas you gathered to work before you get home and get caught back up in life.
• Schedule time to make follow up calls to your conference attendees the first week back. Help them get started right away so they don’t’ lose their momentum.
• Have a meeting or team conference/Zoom call scheduled a few days after the conference. Ask each person who attended to share their three best ideas. This will recognize those who attended the conference, help them focus what they learned and the rest of the team will catch the conference wave, too.

National Conference is a big investment for you and your company. Make it make a difference in your life (business and personal) by planning and following up!

Who is going to their National Conference and where is it being held?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

 

What’s the Buzz in Your Business?

Happy Friday!  I am getting ready for my last party/fundraiser before I start packing for Thirty One’s National Conference in Columbus next week.  We have already seen the Fall catalog BUT I know there will be some more surprises when we get to conference.  I have been thinking about the many uses of our products and how best to showcase them as we get ready for the Fall.  If you are in direct sales, you know the many features and benefits of your products but do you really just want to run down a list for your potential customers.  UGH!  Boring!  I know with a new catalog season, people will be talking anyway but we don’t want them to get bored or only thing a product has one use, right?

Here are some ideas on how to make your product seem more desirable:

Get people talking.  My customers are actually the ones who give me incredible ideas on different ways to use our products.  Then I just start posting them through social media.  I share videos from our Home Office to create a buzz.  Fun pictures or memes in my VIP Facebook group create interest and get my customers talking.  

Skip the long features list.  BORING!  Listen to what your potential customer is telling you about her life and then highlight the products and features of interest to her. Sharing information that is relevant to your potential customer is the key.

       

The same product with 2 different features – organizing your car or your bathroom.

Highlight ease of use.  The easier and more practical a product is to use, the more valuable it will be in the eyes of the customer.  For example, they like our large utility tote, let’s see the options that show its versatility:

Here are just 3 ways to use our large utility tote.

Offer a test drive.  Potential customers love to try it before they buy it.  I find this especially true if a customer is looking for a product to do a specific task.  I offer a PRODUCT EXPERIENCE.  This is NOT a party but a one-on-one with the customer to try out their vision.  How many times have you bought something because you envisioned it doing XYZ in a closet, on a wall,etc. only to find out that it doesn’t fit or it isn’t what you envisioned?  Why go through all of that trouble?  Do a test drive… if it doesn’t work, there is nothing lost but about an hour of your time.  It is does, GREAT!

What are your best tips for making your products desirable to your customers?  Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

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What Matter’s Most

You hear all of the hype and negativity about direct sales.  You hear about the “scams”.  You hear about businesses closing.  What you seldom hear about is the AMAZING hearts of direct sellers especially those in leadership.

I’m not talking about the BIG fundraisers but about the way many leaders love on their team.  It is the heart of a leader which leads people to a team or a business.  Heart is actually a big reason people are attracted to direct selling and why they stay.  Heart builds relationships and brings joy.  Who doesn’t want more joy in their life?

What matter’s most?

The topic of last year’s Thirty One National Conference and it is a question I ask myself a lot.  When we know what’s in the heart of our teams – we are able to create a strong bond and build a relationship with them.  As a leader, it is up to us to help them identify what matters, it is where their why resides.  I will be the first to admit, I struggle to get to my why some days mainly because of health (memory issues).

As we start a new Thirty One year, I am reaching out to my team (and those potential recruits) to see if I can help them uncover their why.  When everyone has a clear picture of what matters most to them personally, connects it to their business – they will be on fire!

I know, we have all been asked – what is your why?  For most of us, it is about financial freedom, or staying home with the kids.  But is the basic why enough to get you out of bed on a bad day?  Is it is enough to keep you moving forward when there are no parties, or no sales?

It is about digging deeper – uncovering what matters most to them (and you).  How can you tell you have reached their true why?  The emotions will shift and you will hear it.  When I hit my true why, It usually brings tears

I have told the story often of a coaching call many years ago which helped me to work towards and achieve my goal (at the time) of being Director.  Hope Shortt spent an hour on the phone with me asking me questions and helping me to uncover my why.  It was the most emotional coaching call I can ever remember – it brings tears to my eyes even now remembering it like it was yesterday.  What mattered most to me?  My family being proud of me. I wanted to hear their words of affirmation (one of my love languages).  For some, this may seem shallow BUT for someone who struggles with confidence – it was HUGE.

Not sure how to reach your WHY or help your team reach theirs?  Listen and then listen some more.  It is important to have an action plan BUT it is also important to engage the power of their motivation.  A plan won’t work on the tough days if they can’t connect to their motivation for working the action plan.

Here are some questions to help them (or you) connect to WHAT’S important with WHY it’s important.

• What makes this important to you?
• Who do you impact when you achieve this?
• What difference will this make to you and your family?
• What will it look like when you accomplish this?
• How will you feel when you accomplish this?

The key to each of these questions it acknowledging what you hear and then repeating it back to make sure you understood their answers.  When you see their emotions shift, you will know they have found their “true” why.  It is then, you can spend time exploring the ripple effect of what it will be like when their why is their reality.

When you connect to the hearts of your team, not only will your business grown but you will also build lifelong relationships. Once they have connected with their why, keep it in front of them.  The motivation of their why will create action, and actions produce results.

Share your why with us… Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

 

 

How to Command an Audience

Happy Monday and it is time to conquer the world!

Believe it or not, I’m an introvert, content to be on my own working behind the scenes.  I work every day to overcome this in my business.  I mean, let’s be honest, being in direct sales you need to be out sharing and talking to people, right?

I never thought I would or could command an audience.  When I think of an audience, I think of standing in front of a large group of people speaking – YIKES!  The knees start to shake, I get nervous and totally forget what I am trying to say.  Without even knowing it, we command an audience…

• Are you a mom or dad? Your family is an audience.
• Have a job? Your co-workers are an audience.
• Own a business? Your employees and customers are audiences.

When I put things in this perspective, it is a little bit easier to swallow.  The list goes on because an audience can be just one person you are talking to.  I love Andy Andrews! When I first saw him a Thirty One’s National Conference, I wanted to soak up everything he said.  The memory may not be great BUT I do read everything he puts out.  Some things stick with me while others I need to re-read lots of time.

He has an actual formula for commanding an audience no matter the size of the audience.

1. You want the audience to view you as a friend.

Do you feel like you need to have an answer for everything?  Are you a “know it all”?  Did you know the way your audience see you can determine how successful you are?   When your audience identifies with you or see you as a friend, they are more likely to be nice and engage in conversation.  Think about the people you enjoy being around. Then consider each situation from your audience’s point of view and make an effort to be friends with them, you will win their hearts.

2. You always want to actively engage your audience.

Do you get distracted talking to people (a group or event one person)?  You must ACTIVELY keep your audience engaged the whole time you are talking with them.  It can be stressful, right?  I tend to lose focus now with the MS and as a result, I tend to lose my audience.  So, I am working on way to acknowledge the distraction or “squirrel moment” so I can get back on track (for me and for them).

When I am talking to a small group (like at a home party), I used to stand in the front of the room – almost frozen in place, afraid to move.  Now, I walk around and talk to people while sharing the products.  If someone responds to something I said, I may walk over and share the product with them or try to engage them further in conversation.

The truth is despite my best efforts, I will become distracted or my audience will so I have to be ready to deal with it before it happens.

3. Communicate “what’s in it for them.”

When it comes to reading, watching, or listening, we only pay attention to things of interest, or those which affect us, or benefit us.  I mean, you aren’t interested in something, how long are you going to continue to listen or are you going to zone out?

Let your audience know what they will get from you (or the conversation).  If you simply tell them—they will show interest. Sounds easy, right? The key is to take the focus off of you and share what THEY want.  I have been doing this at my Thirty One parties but talking with the hostess before hand to get her favorites or the things she thinks might be of interest to her guests.  It has made a BIG difference in the interactions during a party.

The key is to Always keep “what’s in it for them” in the top of your mind. Tell the the value of your information upfront and it will not only keep their attention but it will also help you to focus your message on the key points.

If you want to make an impact, you must learn to engage and interest your audience.

What are your best tips for keeping your audience engaged or interested? Share them with us.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!