“You cannot chase more than one rabbit at a time and catch either one of them.” Mary Kay Ash, cosmetics mogul
This is a busy week for those in the Thirty One pink bubble as well as other direct sales companies that are launching a new catalog on August 1st. It is the end of the month and the end of the season. It is a week of transition between old and new catalogs. It is making sure that your customers don’t miss out on their favorite retiring products. It is getting your hostess packets and marketing materials ready to ensure that you have a full calendar for the next few months. WOW! I am tired just thinking about it. Actually my list is getting longer by the minute of things to get done. What about you?
One of my biggest mistakes and maybe yours too, is that I try this idea, that idea, that website, and this coach. We want to try all of these things at the same time and see what works. We are running around trying what everyone else is doing instead of looking at our own business and evaluating what worked and what didn’t work for us.
Change can be good, sometimes. Just imagine a potential recruit. Maybe she has been to a few of your parties. You think she would be great on your team. As you talk to her, you hear “I couldn’t do that”, “you are so (fill in the blank) and that isn’t me” or “I don’t have time to change things up all of the time”. The truth is change can be good if it is for the right reasons but just for the sake of changing could hurt more than help. You may have just made your job look so hard that no one wants to do it.
Been there, done that and lost the recruit. I have tried every party idea that came along because it sounded fun or because it increased XX business, so it will help mine. The truth is our circle of customers can be very different.
I am kicking off the new catalog by going old school. What does that mean? I am SERVING my customers and hostesses. I had some of my best parties when I wasn’t “trying” too hard. When I focused my hostess coaching to boost her excitement. When I asked what kinds of things her guest would like – not just products but the party experience. It wasn’t my agenda but it fit into what they wanted to do for the night. My basic script was always the same. Some may say boring, others would say it was a good thing.
You know what is happening? My hostess coaching is getting better. I am building better relationships with my hostesses which will lead to a better relationship with her guests. I am focused on the best products to present instead of what game to play or what I am going to say, KISS – Keep It Simple Sister!
What have I learned over the last year? Sales were down slightly. Parties were down. Why? I could blame it on the economy. I could blame it on the “s” word. But when I get gut honest, it is the way that I ran my business. I was so busy trying the latest party idea that I missed out on building a good relationship with my customers, hostesses and team. I looked unsure, and possibly even insincere because it wasn’t me! Love this statement by Carrie Wilkerson
You don’t want your baby delivered by the Dentist. You want a specialist. I could not have chased all those rabbits and done as well as I did.
Trust me – focus on one model that works for you. I am not saying that you can’t change it up once in a while BUT keep the basic format the same. I love the simplicity of Thirty One’s WOW format – Welcome, Offer Solutions, Wrap Up. We want our job to look as easy as it is. We want people to climb on board as hostesses and team.
Do you get distracted in your business when you see LOTS of ideas flying around?
Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!
Hope Wissel 