Direct Sales Recruiting Training, Grace Keohohou, DSWA

Grace Keohohou, founder of the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance (DSWA), gave us an awesome call last night that was focused on direct selling recruiting and how to be more successful in building a sales team.   Please enjoy this video of her slide program with an excerpt of another awesome SpeakersInThePark call.

Why We Do Not Recruit

Grace opened with a Q & A with our audience on why we do not recruit. These are some of the answers that were suggested by our callers.

• Fear of being pushy
• Fear of rejection
• Time to do it
• Fear of success
• Fear of failure

Establish Rapport With Consultant Leads

Establish rapport with your future consultant and business leads with STAIR Steps

• Service: Tell me about you. Serve enough people to help them get what they want and you will get what you want.
• Trust: Under-promise and over-deliver. All relationships are based on trust.
• Authenticity: Be yourself. Be real. When you are you, it gives others permission to be them.
• Integrity: Live and act with utmost integrity.
• Respect: Be respectful of the goals of others, even if they do not match your goals. All relationships are founded on respecting others’ choices.

Recruiting Questions

Recruiting questions should be focused on making your lead the expert. As Grace says: ask “You Are The Expert” questions. Ask more questions that give you information about the consultant and then speak less. Talk 20% of the time and listen to the answers.  Ask curious, open-ended, non-judgmental questions that empower your lead. Ask the who, what when, where and why questions so that you really find out what they are seeking in your business opportunity.

• What sparked your interest in this business?
• If you could do what you love, what would you do?
• What is it that you love about your life now?

Listening Better To Recruit Your Direct Sales Lead

When you practice heart-centered listening when talking to your leads, you will be more successful in developing relationships and sign more direct sales consultants.

• Focus on the speaker
• Look for the real meaning behind the words
• Shift from a material why to an emotional why

Money will not keep them in the game.  Find the emotional tug.  If money is the main reason for joining, ask:

• What makes it important?
• What is it that makes me want to follow up with you?

Join our next SpeakersInThePark call!

Grace Keohohou, DSWA – Build It Big Book Grace Keohohou, co-founder of the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance (DSWA), has a vision and determination that is dedicated to the professionalism and advancement of the direct selling industry. The DSWA is dedicated to serving the needs of independent direct sellers worldwide.

The Direct Selling Women’s Alliance

The Direct Selling Women’s Alliance is an organization that unites all direct sellers with a mission of personal and financial success by serving as a place where direct selling corporations, consultants, speakers and vendors find the latest information, resources, networking and support that empower them in their direct selling business.

Build It Big Book Webinar Wednesday, Aug. 18th

Grace will be presenting a webinar on the Build It Big concept taken from the DSWA’s direct sales industry’s best-selling book Build It Big on the August 18th Speakers In The Park program. You must be on the Speakers In The Park newsletter list to get the dial-in information. Build It Big is a fabulous book that every direct selling professional should have on her or his reading list.

The Build It Big book is a collaborative event bringing together the experiences of top direct selling industry leaders. This book brings the reader the insights and practices of direct selling success stories from leaders around the world.

This SpeakersInThePark event will teach you how to incorporate new modern business practices so that you no longer rely on outdated systems that do not work in today’s changing world.

• You will discover the secrets strategies of leaders in the industry!
• You will become more confident!
• You will discover new ideas you can take action on right away!
• You will have the motivation to take action for greater success!

Direct Selling Training Webinar

The Speakers In The Park direct selling training webinar featuring Grace Keohohou will take place on August 18th @ 9:15 PM Eastern time. Get on the dial-in list by visiting: SpeakersInThePark.com

How To Start A Blog For Your Party Plan Business

Blogs have become one of the main ways of promoting any business over the internet. As a party plan or direct sales consultant you should use every marketing opportunity available and a blog is just that…. another marketing opportunity.

Blogs can come in the form of helpful tips and hints, small summaries of articles pertaining to a particular industry, or small articles about a specific topic. If you are in the home party plan business, you can use a blog as a very effective promotional tool. The information below will help you create a blog.

I frequently get asked, “What should I blog about?” You should blog about anything that can or would create desire in the market for your product, opportunity or services. Blogging is a way of serving the public. Your blog focus can be anything that is related to your product or niche. Some titles or ideas to get you thinking about good blogging topics might be:

Your Own Blogging  Topics

Your blogging topic should be specific to your business, not just your company but your own personal business. Think about: What is your business personality? What is your product line? What is your niche market? How can you bring value to your customers?

You are in a direct selling company selling cosmetics, fashions, or jewelry:

• Beauty Tips Blog
• Women On The Go
• Beautiful Women Working At Home
• The Modern Woman’s Fashion Consultant
• Moms Look Good Too
• Mom, Kids and Good Looks

Your home business company focuses on kitchen tools, food, or food mixes:

• Mom’s Fast Kitchen
• Fun, Fast And Healthy
• The Convenient Gourmet
• Cooking On The Run

You sell health items, vitamins, or outdoor active clothing:

• The Active Family Blog
• Healthy Living Tips
• Outdoor Living and Healthy Choices
• Growing Up Healthy

The blog topic can be general, which will leave you open to a wide variety of articles. If you sell jewelry and your topic or blog theme is jewelry, that is cool. If your topic is fashion and tips on how to look good on a budget, then it opens you up to many different types of articles which could include jewelry and more. Your new blog will have the feature to create groupings called “categories”. So, in the example of jewelry, you could have a jewelry category, an accessories category, a parenting category, a junior fashion category or any other subject you want.

Keep in mind that a blog should be updated on a regular basis. Some people even choose to do this every day. Basically, any time you have something to report or an event to pass along, you will want to update your blog. The more you update your blog, the more “real estate” you put out to the search engines. Every page becomes search engine “bait”, so the more the better.

Free WordPress Blogs

I recommend WordPress because it is a very search engine-friendly blogging platform and easy to use. Free blogs are available. You can start a free WordPress blog if you are not sure that you will stick with it, but if you are serious, then you should really go all the way and have a real WordPress blog that you actually own. WordPress is easy to master after it is set up. For your first blog, it would be advisable to have someone else set it up for you. It is not uncommon for people to have more than one blog. After you blog for a while, most likely you will be able to set up the second blog yourself. Deb provides affordable WordPress installation service for home business owners. Be careful on the web, because it is easy to spend too much money on a blog set up service!!

You can also create a blog through various social media websites such as Squiddo or Nings. This will enable you to reach your friends who are already on those sites to expand your customer base. I recommend that you create your blog, then “feed” it or stream it across your social sites. That way you get the benefit of having a search engine-friendly blog as well as the social site connections.

You can place a blog on just about any website with the exception of a direct sales company affiliate site. If you already have an official website for yourself or your business it is easy to add a blog to it.

Party Plan Company Rules & Blogging

Please note that it is really important to check with your party plan company’s online policy before you start blogging.  All companies have rules to protect the brand and it is your responsibility to know what your company allows and follow their guidelines.

Once you establish the blog itself, it’s time to begin writing in it. Create a consistent schedule and make it a routine. You might even consider setting a blogging schedule. You don’t have to write in each blog every day, but the more you do, the more publicity you get. Do a little bit of studying on how to make your blog article more search engine-friendly so that you get the most bang for your bucks.

Remember: The most important thing to remember about blogging is to provide VALUE!

Just because you have a blog does not mean everyone is going to show up. The blog is the first step. Publicity is another topic!

Games For Direct Selling Party Plan Shows

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The most popular topics that I ever get questions or requests about are BOOKINGS and GAMES. It seems like every direct selling – home party plan consultant wants more bookings and party game ideas! Read the full article to learn how to get your FREE electronic “talking” book of “Powerful Party Plan Games“!

Games Make Shows Fun

Have you ever put together a home party show presentation and wondered how you would create an interactive atmosphere? Getting people to interact at your shows is important to generate the fun factor. Home party plan games provide the perfect opportunity to get everyone involved. They are fun, interesting and can help to sell a product very quickly. If everyone is having fun at your party, chances are they won’t be so concerned with time which will give you the chance to recruit business consultants as well.

Icebreaker games are a great way for everyone to get to know one another. They can also provide valuable information in a light-hearted manner. You will host some parties where most of your guests will already be acquainted with one another. Other parties, however, will be full of people who have never met. There are a series of games that can be used to fit either occasion, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that everyone at the party isn’t related to or friends with one another.

Icebreaker Games For Home Party

One great icebreaker game is called “Name and Number”. Upon arriving at the party, each guest is given an index card containing his or her name on one side and a number on the other. Guests are then required to wear the card with the name side showing. This will introduce everyone to one another. Guests are encouraged to make these introductions personally so that everyone will become acquainted with the various names. After a while, you can then request that your guests turn their cards over thus showing only the number. Everyone will then receive a piece of paper containing all the numbers. The object of the game is to fill in as many names as can be remembered beside the corresponding number.

Another fun home show game is called “I Hate”. Here, guests write down the chore they hate the most and accompany it with two reasons. Everyone is then required to read their statements, but there is a twist. The chore is to be replaced verbally by a word that is completely out of context. For example, the statement could actually read “I hate cooking. It takes too long and I always burn something in the process”. When read aloud, the word “cooking” could then be replaced with another to make the entire statement humorous. This is a fun game that will be enjoyed by the guests and will be certain to break the ice.

You can also choose to utilize party games to showcase what you are selling. Here, “Pass the Parcel” or a treasure hunt can be a lot of fun. The winner gets to keep the product which even adds to the fun. One word of caution, don’t let this type of game run on too long. You’ll know when it’s time to declare a winner and can then move on to something else.

Direct Sales Games E-Book

There are many direct sales party games that can be used to liven up a party. Come up with some of your own and incorporate them into future presentations. You never know when they may just work for you and help your sales increase. This may also result in an increased number of party attendees as well which certainly will bode well for you and your business.

When you comment on this post below and briefly outline a game you have played at your home party, I will send you the full version of the $7.00 talking E-Book “Powerful Party Games”. This is a talking ebook because it has an hour long recording embedded in the PDF file for you to listen to as often as you like or to pass on to your team. What direct sales games do you play? Tell us below and get YOUR FREE electronic book.

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

	The Speakers In The Park and the Power Hour direct sales marketing training calls take place every even dated Wednesday year-round. If you can not make the calls, then join the club! The Elite Club members get the MP3 downloads of ever training within 36 hours of every call. The calls are FREE and the MP3’s are affordable.