Going forward

Welcome back to Direct Sales Done Better! Have you rested well? :)

In May, we focused on rest. And the whole point of that 'restore' portion is to get back to why we started and then find out, what do we need to add in or visit?

Because in business, we can’t be running all the time. So in restoration, we ask ourselves, What do I need right now?

And the beauty of network marketing is you get to decide what works for you or how you run your business.

So part of moving forward in business is being intentional in creating your goals, and what you do to reach them. And to get the support that you need in your business, reach out to us! DBSB is a space for you to help you move forward with your business!

Check out what’s happening this month

 

Summer Slump

Many of my members and clients are bummed with the usual low sales in May. And that’s why we used that month for restoration. But now we’re setting up for a solid summer. What are we going to do differently this time to make sure that we’re moving forward?

Are you showing up to your business? Making use of the available resources in our group? Reaching out to your team? (Make sure you talk to your team!)

And if you are not a leader, assess your goals and what you are doing for the summer months!

Thus I’m so excited to announce that on June 25, we are doing the first Direct Sales Done Better Meet Ups. If you are in anywhere of these cities, I would love for you to come join us:

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Columbus, Ohio

Renton, Washington

Richmond, Virginia

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Schaumburg, Illinois

Berthoud, Colorado

Baltimore, Maryland

 

There’s going to be freebies, lots of training opportunities, space to network, DBSB members meet ups, livestream sessions, and more!

The whole purpose of this is I want you to have a really great kick start your coming months. It’s going to be an amazing opportunity to connect with other people in your area who are also passionate in doing direct sales business.

Doors are open now! Get your slots as early as you can because seats are limited:

 

 

Wait! There’s more...

Starting on June 13th, in DBSB, we are doing a free two-week workshop. We are going to help you build up challenges in your group and how you can maximize them to grow your business!

Registration opens on June 10

Join our community for updates

Get your journal here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B18BT43N 

Get your journal here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B18BT43N 

The focus of this month is rest and restore and last week we have talked about how it is unsustainable to always be hustling, and how we can cultivate rest using some practical and easy ways.

So now we’re going to talk about another mode of rest and how we can incorporate it into our lives!

 

Celebrate!

One of the most underrated forms of rest is celebration. Not only does it motivate (thus, restore) you, but it also gives you the needed assurance when you feel you’re not doing enough or you feel guilty for taking a break.

Practicing celebrations is also a way to grow your business. So be consistent with celebrating your wins!

 

Practicing celebrations

Celebrating wins is like building a staircase. Look at the small wins you have on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis, and start noticing them. Here are some practical steps you can do to cultivate this habit:

Remind yourself of your wins. You could do this by printing out the compliments/accolades/wins you receive and put them somewhere visible to you. Or you could have a ‘win calendar’ where you can mark when there’s something that progressed in your business or personal life.

Now this may seem tedious, but it’s worth it. Because months would pass and you would feel that nothing is improving, but when you look at your win calendar, you would see the progress that you are making.

Celebrate the wins of others. When you are a network marketer, the successes of each of your team member is your success too. Because that means you’re making an impact. But if you struggle with negative comparison, try to see the wins of others as an inspiration. If they can do it, then you can too!

It’s also important to build up that circle that would celebrate with you and would encourage you to keep going. When you are authentic and true to yourself, the right people will come to you. And you can celebrate this too.

Join our community

Train your brain to celebrate the hard things that you do and that you’re not doing them because you “should.”

Celebrate the small wins. Celebrating doesn’t have to be a huge moment. It can be as small as appreciating your environments, making your bed in the morning, bonding with your family with no phones, creating new friends, etc. As long as you…

Figure out your own version of success. In this way, you will be able to appreciate your wins more and actually feel fulfilled in them. What does success looks like to you?

 

If it feels like there's nothing to celebrate about... 

and nothing seems to be going in your favor, take a pause and point out what is going well now. What is something you can control now? Is it sending a few messages to your group members? Is it doing a few household chores? You can take on those small tasks during rock bottom times and celebrate that. But better if you just take a rest!

 

So as you finish this blog, I want you to make a list. List 15 things in this moment that you are celebrating for yourself. Get specific. And then list another 15 things that you want to celebrate by the end of this month. Set an intention and follow through.

Write down your wins and share it with me!

 

Connect with Shea

Shea is a mother of two, and has been in the business of network marketing for almost 8 years now. She is in the top percentage of her leadership and is passionate about leading other leaders.

Website: thesheasmith.com  IG: @thesheasmith:  https://www.instagram.com/thesheasmith/ Free webinar: How to Build a Consistent Business in an Inconsistent World: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/621e701ce4da3a4464c2fb29

If we’re not careful, it’s easy to get caught up to the hustle and bustle of everything that we “have” to do. Especially when you are a network marketer, you are always running and chasing goals!

And if you’ve been following me, you would know that I hate the hustle culture. Marathon athletes don’t run everyday— they also take days for rest, yoga, and other stuff. Yet they’re still good at what they do.

And we need to treat our businesses the same way. I want us to look back into our lives and see that we’re able to take care of ourselves. When we rest, we will be able to do things better. 

In addition, as women, we sometimes lose our identity when we step into motherhood. So one of the things I regularly ask my clients is,

“What are you doing for you?”

“What are the things you enjoy that isn’t tied to your business or title as a mom?”

Answer that so you can start to figure out what “rest” looks like for you.

 

Practical steps to achieve rest

Naps definitely are a part of rest. But for me, it’s more than that. Rest is something that gives you comfort, sigh, security, stillness. That sense of “everything’s okay.” And that is what we need to cultivate.

Check out the journal for network marketers to walk you through your rests.

 

The grounding practice

While drinking your water or juggling a few things, take a pause and ask yourself these:

Where am I?

What’s around me?

How do I feel?

What emotions am I feeling?

What do I physically feel around me?

What are my feet touching?

Is it hot or cold?

Is it soft or squishy?

Is there a sun on my face?

What am I thankful for in this moment?

What do I need to do in this moment?

Is it still something I need to do?

Then drink your water, and move on. When you are able to cultivate a pause in that moment, you can wash away the overwhelm. Take a pause and figure out, what’s important for you in this moment?

And it’s okay if you have to skip a few stuff like going on social media or meeting some friends. You don’t have to always be in the run!

So now that we have defined rest as to be intentionally be present, we will talk about restore in the next episodes!

Join our community

So we have talked about several tips on how we can create content and challenges in our groups without looking too sales-y. You can easily navigate that now with appropriate knowledge and stable connections with your members. But how about if you are a new group? Or if you are new to the network marketing business? This is what Tiffany and I have discussed in our coffee chat call.

(You have a question of your own? Reach out to me!) 

Building the foundation

After you have found your people, it's time for growth. If you do it right, you should be able have an engaging, active group in the first six months. Here are tips on how you can start with your challenges:

You don’t have to make paid challenges yet, especially if you are just starting your relationship with your members.

You could use resources that you have as lead magnet from your challenges. This is a great lead magnet to your group. For example, after they have taken the challenge, you could say, “Hey! you could now get access to this resource in my group for free!”

Have conversations with people that let them know what to expect. If you are going live, you could go to your previous posts and comment back to your members, “Hey I’m going live” so they could receive the notifications

Remember to stay authentic even if you’re just starting out. In this way, you attract and keep the right people who went there for YOU (check out how to build a personal brand.) You’ll be able to keep them years down the line even if you switch companies or make several changes in your group.

Understand that achieving growth doesn’t mean everything should be perfect. It’s okay if your daughter smack you with a product during your live. A lot of moms in this business go through that. And people connect better to an authentic person who they can relate to.

When hosting a party or have something planned for your members, have simple graphics that talk about who it’s for, why they want to join, where to get more information. And you can post that in your group as an event to create some excitement!

Join our community

 

For more tips and if you need help with your business, join our mastermind group!

Tiffany is partnered with Mary and Martha. She is a momma in Virginia who loves her girls, her goats, and a good Bible study! Tiffany has been a DSDB member since day one and I am honored that she spent time with me on this call today. 

You can join her group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theupliftedheartandhomewithtiffany 

Having a business bestie is so much more than having someone you can bounce business ideas around with. She becomes your partner in so many areas! 

 

Stephanie and I met through a local entreprenuer group and the relationship has continued to grow over the last two years. 

She joined my team, collaborated on projects, helped me potty train my kids...it's been amazing! 

Meet Stephanie and how we work so well together through this episode. 

And get a sneak peek into a future episode too! 

 

Here's more on Stephanie: 

Stephanie Chapman lives in Northern Colorado with her husband, five children, and four dogs. She specializes in coaching and mentoring entrepreneur moms on how to be empowered, determined, organized, and passionate in their lives and business. Stephanie is the owner of Mom Strong. She is a certified Mindset and Life Coach, NLP Practitioner, and Behavior Change Specialist. As a mindset mentor and life coach, she helps moms through life's transformations. She is passionate about the empowerment of moms and loves helping them reach their highest potential while still showing up for their families. She shows them how to embrace the chaos while mastering their mindset which shows through in the successes in their life and business.

 

Links:

Website – www.momstrongmindset.com

Group – www.facebook.com/groups/momstrongmindset

Women’s Workflow - https://www.momstrongmindset.com/f/women-s-workflow-guide

Make sure you jump into Direct Sales Done Better if you aren't yet for everything coming later this month with the VIP Refresh! 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/directsalesdonebetter

Stephanie is also hosting a self care summit the first week of May - I (along with four of my clients) will be speaking and I would be honored to have you there for that! (https://www.facebook.com/groups/momstrongselfcaresummit) 

Thanks for listening! 

In today’s coffee chat call with Tania, we will be discussing about how to make planning our content easier. If you have other questions or want a consultation call with me, go ahead and reach out!

Keeping up with content

It’s common for us to slack, lose motivation, and get stuck in creating content for our businesses. Sometimes it feels like you're running out of creative juices or you're not sure what’s working anymore. Especially when you notice that you lack engagement and sales.

Now let’s get into the basics. We want sales but we don’t want our content to look so sales-y, right? So how do we do this right?

The best way to plan is to have an outline and a guide. One of the best things you can do to boost engagement in your group is to have ate least three lives a week: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening on different days. In that way you’re catching different people.

 

And here’s the guides in planning for those lives:

One is a coffee chat talking about your day/week. No selling agenda, it’s just a connection piece.

 

Then one is a product live where you pick one product and say something educational surrounding it.

Tip: Mention reasons for buying the product, highlight the functionality, and attach scenarios/stories where your audience could relate to. 

In your lives, provide solutions to every one's problems.

 

Then lastly, there should be one live about your passion and purpose. Highlight your community value! It’s the kind of discussion where you are educating, inspiring, empowering. It’s a good conversation starter, because you can build up engagement without sounding too “hey come buy my stuff.”

You could also have posts that ask your audience’s preferences. For example, when your company releases new outfit patterns, you could have stories/posts that ask your audience, this or that? Yay or nay? and so on.

 See also: The Hot Air Balloon Method in goal setting

Create the plan

So for the month, plan ahead on what your posts, lives, and theme will be. As long as you have those core pieces in mind (coffee chat, product, community value) it will be easier for you to plan. And having new content prepared is a way to release excitement into your group!

Join our community 

Become a podcast member! https://glow.fm/directsalesdonebetter/ 

We have another coaching session that I would like to share with you! Brianne and I discussed about increasing engagement in our direct sales businesses.

Have you been struggling with low engagement, unresponsive hosts, no interactions, in your group? It’s frustrating, I know. But this doesn’t have to be your fate forever. There’s a few things you could do to improve your group.

Join our community

Breathing more life into your business

Making people interact with your posts is difficult when everyone’s busy, and when there are people who just want to go straight into shopping. So how do you get them on board to YOUR brand and community? Here are a few tips:

 

Show up to your business as YOU. People follow your page for you, so integrate your personal and business profile as much as you can. Remember that people connect easily to a person and not a product. (See also: how to show up authentically on social media.)

Look at your group as your coffee shop. That’s your space where you get to sit down and get to know the people in your community. Build relationships by asking these questions:

•  Why do people get into your coffee shop?
•  Why are they staying in your coffee shop?
•  Why are they telling their friends to come to your coffee shop?
•  And why are they coming back?

Asking those questions is a good way to find out if you are showing up, or if they know you. Are you sharing your personal pillars and community value?

Less product posts, and more interact-with-me posts. Remember, people could see products anywhere. There must be a distinct reason why they are going to your group. What makes your coffee shop different? The answer is simple: YOU.

What are you passionate about? Personal pillars? Community value? How can people relate and connect with you?

If you’re hosting parties, do a message-me-posts. For example, if you have giveaways, tell them to message you a secret word to get a chance to have those giveaways. Then avoid being pushy when you invite them to your products. Say something like, “hey, you must be enjoying the party, thank you for interacting. have you had the chance to hop on to the website yet? If you have questions, let me know.”

Avoid frequently posting your links (being spammy.) Instead, put the links in one or few “announcement” posts and direct your members to those posts (i.e., by tagging them in the comments.) 

Be aware of your group’s availability. If majority of your group have different time zones than yours, find their peak online times and utilize the schedule feature of social media. When you’re going live, find a schedule when you and majority of your members could meet.

 

For more tips on engagement such as the 555 method, hop on to the training!

Brianne Dent was an amazing guest! Here's a bit more about her:

"I am a wife, a boy mom, a former marine biologist and I just started back to school to become a teacher! I love cooking, gardening and being outdoors. I am partnered with ZYIA Active as an independent retailer and love the way their clothing makes me feel confident and comfortable in my own skin. I want to help others feel the same way and love sharing this brand with them! I love helping people find things they love, helping them to be inspired and to embrace who they are in life!"

You can connect with her here:

Here is a link to my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/232812078208189/ And Instagram: @briannesbutiqueforeverybody @briannedent 

Subscribe to the podcast for exclusive content and bonuses: https://glow.fm/directsalesdonebetter/ 

I'm excited to share with you this fun coffee chat call with Tammy. A coffee chat call with me is when I help you with one specific problem, or stuff you want to dig deep in. And today we are highlighting how to create content and all about teas!

Join our community

What’s the tea?

When you are creating content or challenges for your community, you don’t always have to make it about ‘buying your product.’ That’s actually a counterintuitive way to build your community. Instead, educate and engage your audience with topics that revolve around the product. There’s a ton of ways to do so!

 

For example, you sell tea. Your content could have something like,

“The types of teas”

“What you should look for in a tea when buying from your local store”

“What tea is best for your health concerns”

“Good tea alternatives for you”

“The top 10 best tea shops in town”

 

Don’t be afraid to recommend other businesses related to your products too. Brand yourself as the go-to person of people when it comes to tea. Your business growth will surely follow!

 

You could create challenges for your audience too:

“The next time you buy from the store, I want you to find the best tea brand for you and post it here.”

 

In that way, you did not only engage your audience, but you also gather information about their preference.

 

Tea party

Depending on your pillar, you can help your audiences make better choices by informing them about teas, and by making them check the content of their drinks. 

And towards the end of that, you could invite them to your ‘tea’ parties. Isn’t it amazing that you did not tell them to come buy your stuff, but you instead gave them reasons 'why.' (Check out: selling with integrity)

So go ahead and plan your next content to create better connections! Remember that as a business owner, you get to own your business, so you get to choose how you build your community!

 

If you need advice on how you can grow your business, chat with me!

 

Connect with Tammy here: 

https://www.facebook.com/tammy.lambertnolette

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tammystrendyteas/ 

 

 

The importance of selling with integrity

The relationship piece is vitally important to growing and sustaining a business. And you build more meaningful relationships when you sell with integrity because more people will support you when they know they could trust you. 

Besides, selling with integrity will make your customers come back to you again and again and again. The lifetime value of your customers will skyrocket and your network will grow!

 

Ok now how do you sell with integrity?

Here are a few ways you could practice integrity in managing your business. Hop on to the episode for more tips, real-life examples, and more!

 

You sell the right product to the right customer. Understand that not every customer, is your customer. You may recommend a product that fit the customer’s budget, but do they actually need it? In network marketing, you want to make sure you understand the personal need of your customer.

So the instead of forcing your product to a customer you know isn’t a fit, tell them instead, “I’m not the right person for this, but I have a network that I know is the right fit.” Not only did you get the trust of the person, but you also strengthen your referral!

 

You own and know your business well. You have to know who needs your products and how will it help those people.

In addition, build your business around yourself, not what you sell. This is so you could truly apply your core values to your business. Now the customer’s trust is on you, not the company. And when you switch companies, you don’t lose your customers. *wink*

 

You don’t blow up your budget to a newly-released product from your company that you’re not sure if you yourself are going to use. But if you want to try it out first, you can approach your team member or network who have bought those products.

 

You get out of the scarcity mindset. Don’t worry that you will ran out of customers if you recommend them to another. There’s more than enough customers in the world and it’s much more valuable if you find the right ones for you.

 

You don’t try to chase sales markers. As a business coach, I don’t recommend this. Because first, you will easily lose your integrity when you try to chase customers for a quota. Again, are they the right fit to your product?

 Second, if you don’t reach that selling milestone, you might get discouraged. Remember that when you don’t hit those markers, it doesn’t mean that you’re not setting yourself up for success!

 

 

Lastly, you show up differently. Selling with integrity means not being afraid to stand out from other reps of the same product. What do you want your business to look like? What do you want your customers to feel about you? What can you teach your community that you are passionate about?

 

Integrity in your business is one of the keys to success. Because the impact of showing up authentically and selling with integrity goes beyond the people in your pond. It’s far reaching!

 

If you want to get more sources and trainings to build your business, reach out to me!

Join our community

 

Connect with Jessica

Jessica is a business coach that has been in the network marketing space for 12 years and she witnessed its evolution. She’s now teaching female entrepreneurs how to be more authentic, show up with integrity, and build better relationships in their businesses.

Book a call: jesslaverde.com

Hey DBSB community! Yes, it’s been a while. And I’ll tell you why was I on a short break, what’s going on, and what to expect in the near future. Hop on with me in this quick episode!

Recap

In January, we discussed focused planning and ran a 5-day workshop on how to create challenges to increase community value and team building. So if you want to improve that area in your business, I highly recommend to go over the Guides in our DBSB group. There’s a lot of amazing resources here.

 

In February, we focused on being present. Wherever you are, be all there. And we’re not just being present in the moment, but being present in going forward. Because if we’re being present, we’re being intentional and purposeful not just today, but in our future.

 

“What am I doing right now, and how is that impacting the goals I want to achieve?”

 

So this month we’re highlighting focus and boundaries, how to implement them, and how to stand strong in them. And as always, how to build your business in a way that is authentic to you.

 

Be sure to watch out for the exciting stuff that I have for you! 

• Party Like a Pro. We will be having this masterclass (my favorite) in Feb 24. if you’re company is about party business, handling events, and something similar, hop on to this 90-minute masterclass! Register here —>
• Better Booking Blitz. Beginning on 25th, we will have a 3-week long training on how are we going to book parties without mass messaging and looking spammy.
• Thriving Thirty. Since I just turned 30 last weekend, I’m offering a lot of a bundle of thirties! For $30, you'll get:  30 graphics, 30 affirmations, 30 quotes, 30 engagement post ideas, 30 live ideas, and 30 story prompts. I want you to have a bank of resources to grow your business. And this is just a starting point.

 

Don’t know where to start? Connect with me so I could make recommendations on your first steps towards growing your business!