Is Your Husband Supportive Of Your Home Party Plan Business?

If your husband or wife is not supportive of your home party plan business, it is not good!

A new CashFlowShow raving fan just sent me an email asking “How does one deal with an unsupportive spouse?”

As I typed out my reply to her I decided that this is a great topic for a blog post!

Profitable Business = Supportive Spouse

Chances are if you are making money your spouse will be supportive.

Having said that though, I realize that it really is not that simple! If your spouse is unsupportive, chances are you may not stick with it long enough to make a profit.

 Home Party Business Communication

Since your party business takes place in the home it will impact everyone who lives there, so communication is key to success.

Chances are you have already tried that and did not get very far or it did not go well! Here are some tips to improve spousal support:

1. Ask what she/he is really concerned about.
2. Practice the 10 second rule.
3. Share how you feel, not what you think.
4. Think about how can you alleviate the real concern of your spouse.
5. Negotiate a solution to the real concern.

Legitimate Concern About Spouse In Business

We could guess what your spouse’s real concern is and then throw out a bunch of solutions but chances are that would not be dealing with the real problem.

What is his/her REAL concerns? My guess is that they will be legitimate and most likely will not the first thing that she/he tells you when you ask.

Listen to the answer and then share for only 10 seconds and ask another question…. repeat over and over again –  forever! That is the only way you will get to the real concern.

Plan your conversation by thinking about how you really feel….

Are you lonely, scared, feeling unsupported, fearful, nervous, unhappy….. Then tell them and end it in a question like this:

• I am really excited about MyFantasticCompany business and the potential it has for us and am feeling scared that I do not have your support.
  What is it that concerns you about me and MyFantasticCompany business?

Do not put any responsibility on them. No one can argue with your feelings.  Try to refer to the business and the results of the business as a family or joint endeavor (our business, when we earn the trip, our profit will…)

Why Does Spouse Not Support Home Party Plan Business?

When you practice that scenario over and over again you will be able to find out the real reason why your spouse does not support your home party plan business.  When you get to the real concern you can address it and work out a solution.

Without your spouse’s support you will always feel like you are being knocked down on your path to success!

The Key To Support In Home Business

The key to your spouse’s support of your home business will come with patience and acceptance.

• Give your partner time, be patient, practice the 10 second rule and make a profit!

Please Share Your Tips For Getting Support From A Spouse Or Partner In The Comments Below!!

Do you want to be a leader in the direct sales business (or any business)?

Well, act like one before you are one.

You can do all the obvious and correct things – find the right product line, begin a marketing campaign, promote yourself, network, and start making money.

However, to accelerate your success in the direct sales business and achieve a respected position of leadership and respect in your field, you need to act like a leader.

Training For Leadership

Training for direct sales business leadership roles start the day you sign up to be a consultant. Even if you are starting out in the business and have no experience, it is essential to act like a leader in order to become a leader.

6 Ways To Act Like Business Leader

1. Act with integrity. A true leader practices the principle they preach, tells the truth, deals with business matters in an honest way, and treats people with respect and dignity. At all times!
2. Communicate clearly. Leaders are precise and exact with their communication. To get subordinates, co-workers, business associates, team members, and partners to carry out a plan, promotion, or a business deal, clear communication is a vital key to success.
3. Be approachable. Leaders often have an aura about them, but that aura cannot be an impenetrable wall that prevents others from initiating contact. You may be viewed as a competent business person, but if you are not approachable, others will not view you as a leader.
4. Be a “mover and shaker.” Leaders move through relationships of every type in a comfortable manner and shake their share of hands. Being a “mover and shaker” means you are comfortable with people and adaptable to many different situations.
5. Have confidence but stay humble. Having supreme confidence in your ability to promote and sell yourself and your products is essential to your business success. However, this confidence must not be cockiness or arrogance. Mixing your confidence with a humble attitude is an important quality of most successful leaders.
6. Stress cooperation instead of coercion. As a leader, you are often placed into positions of power, but power should not lead to abuse. A true leader learns to practice cooperation and negotiation, instead of coercion and being pushy.

Direct Sales Leadership Attitude = Professional

Good direct sales leaders act like a professional long  before they are a leader. Good recruiters often get to the leadership levels before they are ready!

Leadership can be thrust upon you suddenly, but that does not make you a leader. In the direct sales business, leadership is often a result of experience and expertise in the industry.

However, to achieve respect as a leader, you must act like a leader. Remember, acting like a leader before becoming a leader is the only way to truly be a leader.

Look Out For The Home Party Lady!

When you see the home party plan lady coming, you want to hide. You just know if you make eye contact she’s going to ask you to book a party or try to recruit you. You have told her time and time again you are not interested but she is relentless.

You even overheard her once give her spiel standing in line at your Uncle Henry’s viewing.

The home party consultant’s name?

Ms.Downright Toopushy.

Ok so maybe this is a little farfetched but you know exactly who I’m talking about. You have this woman in mind and you probably know her or her close cousin Miss Nevershutsup.

We have all come in contact with these two on occasion and our biggest fear is we do not want to be them. If you are worried you are going to be like them you’re already ahead of the game. No need to worry.
Many years ago when I younger I happened to live on Ms. Downright Toopushy’s street. Whenever I saw her outside with her five kids, I really wanted to run the other way.

Home Business Recruit

Ms. Downright Toopushy tried to recruit me every single time I saw her.  I didn’t have a sliver of interest in her home business opportunity and I have to be honest, she gave direct sales a bad name, at least in my opinion at the time.

Now fast forward a few years and here I am, a young mother of two, with my third on the way, looking to build a new direct sales business.

“Oh dear, I do not want to be like her” I thought. I don’t want to bother people … I don’t want to be “pushy”. Believe it or not, I did not start building my team for over one year because of this fear.

Recruiting For Business Opportunity

Sponsoring people into my business opportunity was something that in the beginning I had struggled with because I looked at it as ‘recruiting’.

Recruiting to me was a dirty word and it just didn’t feel right. It’s not like I was signing these people up to fight a war, I actually had a gift to give them but I couldn’t shake that idea of ‘recruiting’ someone. In my mind I changed the word recruiting to mentoring or sponsoring. I started using those words much more often and once I did, I found that sponsoring someone was extremely fulfilling.

Direct Sales IS An Opportunity

As I was going along I realized what my direct sales opportunity did for myself and my family.

Yes, the money was good but not only that, it got me out of the house, I had the opportunity to have grown up conversations, I met new people and I received a lot of recognition by my company. If you take the money away, everything else that it gave me was still very fulfilling. It hit me one day. Why would I want all of this to myself? I realized I had a fantastic gift to give.

I didn’t go out there and attack everyone and shove it down their throat like Ms. Downright Toopushy. I started listening to cues and looked for people who may be struggling with something. I would listen to their problems and I would get to the heart of the matter and explore with them their Why. Believe it or not, not everyone comes to direct sales for the money or wants to do it full time and that is perfectly ok; we have to respect that. We may not understand it, but we must respect it. Everyone is unique and has different things that drive them.

Recently, I had a team member tell me she was afraid to talk to people about her business because she was afraid they would think all she wanted was their money.

I asked her, “Is that true?”

The answer was no, and she quickly realized that she needed to talk to people in order to get the word out.

Sharing Is Caring

Sharing is Caring. This is one of my favorite phrases .When you share with your friends and add value to people you care about, everyone wins. Sponsoring is not about you, it’s never about you. It’s true, when you invest in the success of others you will in return have success yourself, but always put others’ interests first. When you do, you will be richly rewarded and never deemed pushy.

Heather Calma is one of the CashFlowShow – direct sales experts.

Balance Thirty-One With Family Life

Gretchen Manmiller will be the guest on the CashFlowShow – Direct Sales Radio this week. (Wed. March 28, 2012)

The CashFlowShow Radio airs LIVE on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday with replays every day in between so don’t miss any of the shows! Go to www.CashFlowShowRadio.com to listen, get the SmartPhone app and see the schedule.

We will be talking about the challenges and progress Gretchen has made balancing her Thirty-One business’s  leadership roles and her personal family life.

Gretchen Manmiller Shares On Business Balance

Balance

That simple and small word can give your life peace and serenity or cause you to feel like you are overwhelmed and chaotic. One small shift or life change and within minutes the stability that you had could be gone.

Definition Of Balance

Merriam & Webster defines balance in the verb form as “to bring into harmony and proportion.” (2012)

The definition makes balance sound so peaceful and easy, but as many of us know it is not easy to obtain nor to hold.

Balance Direct Sales Leadership Roles With Family

Balancing your direct sales leadership roles and your family life is not always simple.

Often when I am coaching a leader on the team, I hear “I am so overwhelmed. I can’t figure out how to excel at my personal business and still spend time with my family. To be honest, I joined to spend time with my family and I hardly see them now.”

My answer to this statement is always “Which are you willing to give up – family or personal business? How long are you willing to give it up?”

In everything we do, no matter what, there will always be some sort of sacrifice. Taking a day off  work to stay home with a sick child, buying a new car, or having money in savings.

There are sacrifices in everything we do. Are you willing to sacrifice some short-term family time for a year or two to have the possibility of the long term goals of financial freedom or retirement which will give you that family time later?  Short-term sacrifices equal long-term rewards: a theory that is plain and simple but emotionally difficult at times.

Balance in your life really depends on your goals. Are your goals defined? What are the action plans you need to achieve those goals? Once you realize your action plan – are you okay with the sacrifices you may need to make to achieve the action plan? If the answer is no, then you may need to change the goals. If the answer is yes, then your balance is achieved.

Let me state an example. I had a team member call me a few months ago; she was upset that she was not making the money she thought she should be making.

When I asked her what she was currently doing with her business (we are a party plan business), she stated she was doing two to three parties a month. I then asked her how much money she was hoping she would make. When we calculated it out using her average party figure, we figured she would need to do nine to ten parties a month.

There was then a silence. A realization of sorts and the comment I knew was coming: “I can’t do that many; I have family obligations.”

Work Smarter Not Harder = Brings Balance!

She realized at that moment that her goals were outside of what she was willing to sacrifice. We brainstormed for a while, came up with a number of parties that would work for her schedule and family obligations and what she needed to do to get her party average higher so that she could work smarter, not harder.

She did not need to sacrifice all of her family obligations – that would have left her unbalanced, but she was willing to sacrifice some time with her family and felt better knowing what the outcome and goals would be if she did. She is now in balance with her business and her family.

Balance is a constant and ever-changing ideal. It will depend on your goals, your action plan and what you need to sacrifice to achieve it.

There may be times that your personal obligations outweigh your business and vice versa but if you are okay with the outcomes that will be achieved by that shift in balance – then balance comes naturally allowing you the peace and serenity that we all want to have in our lives.

Gretchen Manmiller – Balances Thirty-One Business & Personal Life

Gretchen Manmiller is currently a Senior Executive Director for Thirty-One.  Prior to Thirty-One Gretchen was a Computer Teacher for grades Kindergarten through Eighth Grade as well as a Reading Teacher for Sixth Grade.

In June of 2009 she was able to quit her full-time job and 10 months later was promoted to the highest paid position (Senior Executive Director) of Thirty-One in March of 2010.

She has been a facilitator for the past three National Conferences. Her best accomplishment with Thirty-One is watching the amazing women on her team achieve their dreams. Gretchen’s motto is “It is not about YOU, it is about THEM!”

Even though Gretchen is busy with Thirty-One, she never forgets it is the community that got her to her success. She helps with the Relay for Life and she donates to her local school for the Education of Arts, as well as the Joyce B. Murtha Breast Cancer Center in Jonestown, PA.

Gretchen and her husband Kevin reside in Blandon, PA with their eight-year old daughter Victoria.

Rina Valan, CashFlowShow – Direct Sales Radio

Our guest this week (01/18/12 @ 8:00 PM EST) on the CashFlowShow – Direct Sales Radio will be Fantasia Home Parties founder, Rina Valan.

With the advent of the internet and social media connections it is more and more important not to stalk your prey.

Rina will be sharing the importance of using new techniques and methods of finding and keeping customers. She calls it an ‘evolution’ and will be talking about how making a real connection before, during and then after your sale can ensure you keep that customer for life.

Home Party Plan Tips From Rina Valan

Goodbye Hunter, Hello Winner…

A funny thing happened on the way back from a slot machine recently.

It was the usual disappointing experience, you put coins in, pull the handle and hope you get a hit. It is a well known fact that most of the time you do not get a hit, and the coins you put in there will never be seen again. You either win or lose, and most of the time, you lose.

But what if you had a slot machine where you put coins in, and keep pulling the handle until you do get a hit and you always win? Wouldn’t that be just marvelous?

Well, guess what? You have that slot machine!

That slot machine is the power of connection.

Your coins?

The investments in time you take to grow the connections you make through your parties, demos, Facebook, fan page, referrals, family and friends. You put your coins in (time) and you keep pulling the handle (consistent engagement) and it always pays off!

Years ago in our party plan and direct selling world, we did not have the amazing tools at our fingertips that we do now. To establish good personal connections and relationships we either had to do it in person, on the telephone, or write letters. If you did not ‘hit’ right away, your chances of that prospect growing into anything was very slim. More often then not, it would feel like a chase, and that was a feeling that no one liked!

Today? Every person you meet at a party, through online comments and conversations with social media, through family, friends, expos, walking and talking, ANYWHERE can be the seed for a whole new circle of prospects. The beauty of this availability of social tools for us is that we can focus and pay attention to the immediate conversations, thoughts, feelings, and needs. And when the focus comes off the immediate ‘win it or lose it’ …everybody wins.

The home business challenge?

Changing your mindset from win or lose and making connection efforts a common everyday practice! That means fully understanding that each person you meet is essentially a seed, and with the proper care and feeding can sprout into a direct customer, hostess, recruit or be the tether to another prospective seed that can turn into a direct customer, hostess or recruit.

Rina Valan, Fantasia Home Parties

Rina Valan is the Founder and President of Fantasia Home Parties, a pioneer in the romance party industry since 1984. She shares her 32 years of direct sales experience and invites you to follow the real life personal stories through her blog, “The Daily Juice.”