Direct Sales Business Profits, Belinda Fuchs

Your direct sales business profits depend on your ability to differentiate your profit from your expenses.  Belinda Fuchs, president of OwnYourMoney.com brought the Speakers In The Park callers 3 money tips that when incorporated into your business will bring you greater success.

Belinda’s 3 Big Money  Tips  For Direct Selling Success

• Track your income and expenses.  Not tracking or poor tracking of your income and expenses in your sales business make it very difficult to achieve success.

When you commingle your business and personal expenses it is difficult see any possible profits or losses.  All successful businesses track their income and expenses so that they can determine their profits. In addition it is difficult to justify your home office deductions. The IRS is looking for records and documentation of your expenses when they are doing an audit.

• Focus on your sales revenue and profit

Most direct sellers do not focus on profit.  Frequently we look at show averages, sales per month or number of shows.  We are in business to generate a profit.  Without a good understanding of profit which is what is left after the expenses, it is impossible to have a success focused business.

Quick Tips: Negotiate credit card rates. Minimize free product give-aways. Making good use of the home office deduction.

• Do not increase your lifestyle too fast when your income increases

Successful direct sellers have a tendency to spend more money disproportionately as their income increases.  When you make more money, don’t spend more money too quickly.   Frequently the additional income is immediately used to increase quality of life without any thought to paying off expenses or whether the long term income will be stable.

Direct Sales Marketing Training

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It is easier to make a lot of money than it is to make a little money

Think about it. When I worked as a cook I made ok money. I worked really hard for it. The chef made better money and he did not work as hard as I did. When I was a chef I made more money, and that was not as much as the general manager made and he didn’t work as hard as I did. As I continued to move up the corporate ladder it became easier and easier to make more money. When I made less money it was a lot harder work than it was to make a lot of money.It is easier to make a whole lot of money than it is to make a little money is true in network marketing too.

A principle is a law or a system that works no matter what it is applied to. The principle “it is easier to make a lot of money than it is to make a little bit of money” is true for everything it is applied to. Let’s look at your business. When you do one show per month, every time you do a show, it takes a lot of effort. Maybe it takes the whole afternoon to get the guest folders and host packets ready. You have to pack your kit, and load the car. Then at the show itself, when you only do one show per month, you feel off balance, you can’t remember what to say, forget to do the prize drawing and feel uncomfortable and your sales are only $400 or so and you do not schedule any shows for the future. Since you are not scheduling shows at your shows, you have to spend half of Saturday on the phone looking for your show for next month. You worked really hard for your small commission of about $100.

The same sales rep could do 10 shows per month. The bags are always packed. The host packs and guest folders are always in place and ready to go. It is easy to go in and out of every show. Your routine at the show is easier too. You say the right words, and become better at selling, scheduling, finding interested sales reps and sales are easy. The show average goes up to an easy $700 and now the same consultant is making $175 for the same amount of time invested per show. Possibly even less time is invested per show because of the routine and the principle that it is easier to make a lot of money than it is to make a little. You are a better scheduler so you do not have to work Saturday to fill your calendar because you always schedule more than one show per show!

Double Your Income

Did you know that home party consultants who do 6 shows per month make twice as much money than those who do 4 shows per month. It is true! Sales consultants who work consistently at the higher level become better schedulers and better presenters. They also share the opportunity more regularly. Therefore they make more money with less effort. The Create A Cash Flow Show program teaches direct sales professionals how to create a consistent year round income through the application of systems that work to generate cash flow with less effort. A show schedule of 6-8 shows per month takes effort to put in place and once your schedule is in place it is easier to keep it rolling. Incorporating systems into your business will make it easier to make more money than it is to make less money.

Principles Apply To Everything

Systems are principles that apply to businesses. Like the law of gravity, a business principle is applied equally to all businesses. There are no exceptions to the law of gravity and there are no exceptions to business principles. A system or principle that is applied to one business and achieves the desired results, will receive the same results when applied to equally to another business. When one consultant has a best-business-practice that works for one home party business, such as a system of host coaching, then when other sales reps use the same system, they will get the same results.

The principle that it is easier to make more money than it is to make less money applies to everyone. Use the experience of others and the systems or principles which they develop to leverage your business to higher levels. You too will find it easier to make more money than it is to make less money when you apply proven systems to your business. BUY CACFS

You Can Change Bad Habits

Your bad habits did not come about overnight and they will not go away overnight. There are three simple steps to changing a bad habit and creating a new habit. A habit, good or bad, is something you do automatically and without thinking. Basically a habit is a choice you make so many times that you no longer have to consciously choose because it becomes second nature. The habit of brushing your teeth is not a decision you consciously make each day, as in “Today I will brush my teeth.” It is something that you do automatically. Any choice, good or bad. can become just as automatic as brushing your teeth when you choose it often enough that it becomes second nature.

Three Steps To Change A Habit

Here are the three simple steps to changing a bad habit to a good one:
Become aware of the bad habit
Become willing to change and make a decision to do so
Make a good choice one day at a time-one choice at a time for 51 days

Recognizing a habit is the first step to change. Do you have a habit that you perceive as bad? What bad habit would make you a more effective business person when you overcome it? Create a list of several of your bad habits. A few habits that may be affecting your work are:

Chronically late
Not returning phone calls
Talking too much and not listening
Eating fast food every day
Not keeping promises
Procrastination
Negative self talk
Not paying bills on time
Allowing the mail to pile up

The list could go on for ever! Make your own list of bad habits, and then highlight the top three that you would like to change. Over the next few days, become more aware of how these habits affect your life and business. Start a list for each bad habit and jot down the consequences of each habit. If your bad habit is chronically late, the consequences may include:  embarrassing the kids, missing appointments, clients perceive you as not being professional, etc. Then take it a step further and list the long-term effects of continuing to live with this bad habit. People who are chronically late waste money on cancellation fees. You may be developing the same habit in your children, possibly long term you will lose business because of your habit of showing up late for shows. Take a couple of days to become acutely aware of the 3 habits you have decided to focus on and the consequences they bring to your life.

Make A Decision

Before you can change you have to make a decision to change. Once you decide which of your bad habits that is giving you the most grief, then make a decision. One of those three you picked will become the most obvious candidate to focus your efforts on changing. Decide which habit you are going to change and make a list of choices you can make instead of the bad choices or habit. For example, the chronically late person may decide to begin preparation to leave for an appointment a good hour before the appointed departure time. A chronically late person may set an alarm so that they become aware that the departure time is approaching. Or maybe wearing a watch would be a new choice. Make a list of changes or choices you can make in your life that will result in a new habit. Decide to make those choices! Making a decision is the most important step here. It can be easy to see what you want to change and without a decision, nothing will change. Make a decision to create a new habit. I have decided to be on time to all my appointments one day at a time-one appointment at a time. The decision coupled with the list of better choices will put you on track for changing your bad habit and creating a good habit.

Follow Up

The final step is to do it. The follow up is key. Life is a continuous string of choices. You can choose to perpetuate your bad habit or you can choose to create your new habit. Take each choice one choice at a time, one day at a time and do it. You did not decide to do it for the rest of your life. That would be pretty overwhelming. Today you can do it. Then tomorrow you can decide again to do it. Just keep the follow-through. Keep making a choice that will grow a new habit. You can make a good choice each time you have a choice to make.

Simple-Not Easy

I said it was simple to create a good habit. I did not say it was easy.It is definitely a simple process to become aware of your choices and make the best choice you can one choice at a time and create a new habit. If it was easy, then we would have no bad habits. Everyone is not willing to change, because change is uncomfortable and requires effort. You did not develop your bad habits overnight, so do not expect to create new habits overnight. It will take 6-8 days of good choices to even feel a little bit comfortable with the new you. At 16 days you will begin to get a routine going. When you have performed your new habit for 51 days you can congratulate yourself on creating a new habit. Now the new habit will be second nature, just like brushing your teeth.

Choose another habit and continue on the path to more successes!

Is Your Office In Need Of A Makeover?

This visual system of organization can put your business into organized binders in a day. That’s right, we can organize your office in a day. This system is the one I use for my multi-faceted business. I like to complement the computer with a visual system. Even if you are a computer-oriented person, having files at your finger tips can create a more organized work flow. If your office is a wreck, and you have been planning is to get it organized, then today is the day we will start and finish the project. That’s right, do it in one day. The problem with getting organized over a period of time is that you never get done because the parts that do not get organized in the first phase disorganize the process and it never gets completed. So today, we are going to organize your whole office into files and business binders. If you don’t have the time now to give to this project, then schedule a full day to make it happen.

This System Will Work In Any Office

It doesn’t matter what business you are in, you can use this simple organizational system to organize your office. The business binders in my office fall into entirely different categories than I am going to discuss here. Modify the files to be specific to your business office. We are using binders as filing cabinets along with your regular filing cabinets. Each binder filing cabinet will hold easily accessible files that you can get your hands on quickly. Think of each category as a filing cabinet. The categories that you use often will be in binders and those that are used rarely will actually be in the drawers. Put the file title on the binder end, so it is easily distinguishable from the others. A binder system does not replace your filing cabinets in your office, it compliments it. The system keeps the often used “files” at your finger tips. So as we move forward, remember that any office, not just direct sales, can use this system of organization.

Organized Entrepreneurs Throw Away Unused Items.

Bring a big trash can into your office and don’t be afraid to use it. As we move through your office, keep in mind that you must throw away things you do not use anymore. Prepare yourself to be willing mentally to throw away unused items. Organized entrepreneurs always do not designate valuable real estate to things they do not use to generate cash flow. If you see something you haven’t used in 6 months (or don’t ever remember using it) throw it away! Papers that are not used such as files or receipts that are in your computer do not need to be saved. Use your computer as the data storage system it was designed for.

Create A List Of Your Files

Your files can be as many categories as you want. I am sure I have more than a dozen binders as well as the actual filing drawers. The binders are your fingertip files. In direct sales your list of fingertip files could include any part of your business that you want to keep your fingers on on a daily basis. The list of files will be unique to your business. A list of files for the average direct sales company may include all or some of the following:

Scheduling
Potentials
New Consultants
Sales Team
Incentives/specials
Newsletters and Flyers
Customer Care
Contacts

Each File Will Be Subdivided Into Categories

The tabs that you subdivide your filing binders will vary depending on you, your goal and each category. You can buy blank or colored tabs at any office supply store and subdivide each file into individual categories. I would recommend that you allow the categories to take on a life of their own. As you go around your office cleaning and organizing one area at a time, the subcategories to divide into will become apparent. It will be a bit of trial and error, because as you proceed, the categories may need further subdivisions or you may even find that a specific category is so large it actually needs its own business binder.

A Binder Example

An example of a binder subdivided into categories may be your scheduling binder. Maybe you divide it into months. The subdivide categories are January through December. When you come home from a show and someone said they want to host a show in October, you would staple their slip onto a looseleaf paper, and put it into the category of August. At the beginning of each month you get out the book and call each page of the category. This system will work the same for all of the binders in the business binder system. you come home from a show and someone said they want to host a show in October, you would staple their slip onto a looseleaf paper, and put it into the category of August. At the beginning of each month you get out the book and call each page of the category. This system will work the same for all of the binders in the business binder system. You could even take it a step further and have other categories within each category. An example using your scheduling binder might be: first the months then the weeks behind that.

Filing Will Streamline Your Office

The binder system, combined with a real filing cabinet and the trash can, will keep your office streamlined. Take a day to systematically work around your office from one side to the other and “file” everything. As you handle each item, make a decision. Which file does this go in? How should I file this to streamline my office? Do I use it daily, or more than once a week, or monthly, or never? Should I put it at my fingertips, in a drawer file or in the trash file? Understanding your filing system and utilizing it on an ongoing basis will streamline your ability to generate cash flow.

Learn More Organizational Tips

The Power UP program is all about attitude and lead generation. The Create A Cash Flow Show is home party-specific. Both programs are chock-full of more organizational tips for you to learn.

BUY POWER-UP BUY CASFS

How can you turn your network marketing or direct sales leads into cash sales? How do you manage your leads? How do you keep leads from getting cold? These are all questions I get on a regular basis. Before we start answering I though it might be good to define what a lead is.

Webster’s dictionary says that a lead is:

• Act as a guide
• To go as a a guide
• To play as the 1st card
• A direction of guidance
• The condition of being first
• A clue
• The opening words of a story

I found that to be interesting. Do you notice that all of the various definitions refer to the fact that a lead is only the beginning? One thing that I have always noticed is that many sales reps look at a lead as either a potential host or show or a potential consultant. Which one they see the potential being varies with the person standing in front of them at any given moment. I often find myself saying that when you look at a lead as the end result, you are limiting yourself. A lead is only the beginning of a relationship. This philosophy allows you to see more than what you may specifically be looking for at that given moment in your business. You may think that a lead would be a good business builder, when in fact they may be someone who can refer you to a business builder. Or maybe you are focused on increasing your calendar. A lead that you are attempting to date a show with could in fact be a bride to be who is looking for someone to set up a gift registry with, or maybe this person is just a product user. My point here is look at leads as the beginning, a clue, or the opening words of a story. Practice the 10-second rule which is to share for 10 seconds or less, then ask a question. This will enable you to figure out which one of your services each lead will fit. Check out the post on the 10-second rule by clicking here. When you look for shows that is all you will find. When you look for leads you will find far more.

Some sources of leads are:

• At your show
• Out and about (bulletin boards, kids’ friends and parents, people you meet, etc.)
• Public speaking events
• Fairs and expos
• Customer care calls
• Prize drawing slips
• Product user
• Past hosts, customers

The best system I have found to manage leads is not to manage them. That sounds silly, I know. I recommend that you do your best to date shows, close deals, and follow up on every lead within 24-48 hours of your initial contact. In this way you will keep the clutter down in your office, you will minimize your future work and you will be contacting/talking with leads who remember you and remember why they were actually interested in one of your services. Leads become cold when they no longer remember why on earth they said that they were interested in whatever it is you are offering.

When you meet leads at the show, I would recommend dating your appointments for new consultant interviews at the show. Date shows at the show. When you keep yourself focused on the fact that you are a successful business owner and are not in NEED of their business, than it will be easy to date shows at the show. In the Power Up For Professional Results CD set there are 3 CDs on word choices, and posturing yourself as a professional. This post is not long enough to go into all of the topics. Create A Cash Flow Show also has several segments on dating your appointments or shows at the show. Just like the dentist who schedules your next cleaning before you leave the office, you too can manage your calendar professionally at the show and then not allow leads to get cold. If, after a nice conversation, the potential customer, host, or sales rep says no they would rather not pick a date, but instead says “Would you call me in 3 weeks?” (or 6 months or whatever they say). A good answer might be: “You know, that is OK, it sounds like this really isn’t for you…. If you change your mind, why don’t you give me a call…” You are professional and not getting strung along from someone who just cannot say no.

There will be occasions to make calls from home whether you met the people at a show, fair, expo, public speaking engagement or at the mall. Make those calls within 24 hours of the meeting, while they are still connected to you. Practice the rule of 10 seconds (share for 10 seconds and ask a question) and take the lead through to completion. Then when you have leads that you have to track for the future, make sure that your system brings the leads to the top of the pile effortlessly when it is the appointed time.

Some examples of contact systems that work are:

• Rolling contact list
• Outlook Express
• Hand held data systems
• Your company’s software program
• And my favorite: a file box for index cards with a tab for each month and a tab numbered after each month 1-4. Talk to someone today, make a note, and drop the card behind the week number for the appropriate month for the call back.

Another system of eliminating cold leads is to ask the client if they want to be considered a lead. Say now, “Would you like for me to keep you on my call back list?” “Would you like me to put you on my newsletter list?” Which brings us to a very valuable tool for creating sales out of network marketing leads…. The monthly newsletter.

The monthly newsletter is without a doubt the most valuable of all continuous contact systems. If you have not done so yet, start your database for the newsletter ASAP. Just start with a couple contacts and start your monthly newsletter. Get a name and start sending out a newsletter that brings value to your customers. When you take the email of every guest at your shows, every product user, every contact, and just continuously add them into your address group, it will be a short time until you have hundreds if not thousands of LEADS in your data base. Send out your newsletter consistently with customer service related information and some marketing as well. You will generate sales from every newsletter you send out and you will also provide a service to your customers. Some will call you with issues with products, and others will think of you next time they have a need. When you put a system in place to keep the newsletter in front of your clients monthly it will turn your leads into sales, shows, and new consultants.

When your database starts to grow, you will not be able to manage it in your computer. At that point you will want an online data system. If you need more information on managing your address book, give me a call 717.751.2793 or go to Resources. Web Marketing Magic is a system of managing your data base using auto-responders.

One more important way to turn those leads into sales is through customer care calls. Customer care calls can be to every past customer you ever had. When you do customer care calls you will have an unlimited supply of leads. A customer care call is to provide customer care. Many sales reps don’t like customer care calls because they think they are pushy. Well, they are when you are focused on what you want. When you focus on the customer, practice the 10-second rule and use a good script that focuses on them and not your needs, then you will find the opportunities naturally that lead to warranty issues, product questions, shows, the business, sales or referrals. Those areas cannot be your only focus, because when you are focused on your needs you come across as needy and pushy. Customer care calls are for the customer. Here is a script that I find very effective with customer care calls. Script For Customer Service When you develop a system of 2-5 customer care calls per day (for the rest of your life) I can guarantee that you will never be hurting for business.

It’s a Philosophy

Make it your philosophy that everyone you come in contact with everyday is a lead. It is your job to figure out which of your many services they deserve or who they know who deserves your services. Create consistent systems that follow up on your leads in at timely manner and it will pay off in sales.