I have talked to many consultants who have been at a party, met a friendly face at the store or have bumped into a neighborhood friend and have been beaming with excitement that they have found another person interested in the Sydney Andrews opportunity.  Why not, it’s a great product that basically sells itself, it’s a fun profession surrounded by people who love to go to a  party and the rewards are generous to both the hostess and consultant.  Why then is it not unusual for people to say they are ready to sign up and suddenly become a person who is MIA?

I believe there are many reasons why this individual does not follow through on signing up. It could be they changed their mind after talking to a loved one, a sick relative, they don’t think they can make the time commitment or just that people ARE flaky these days!  You’ll never know what the reason is if they don’t communicate it to you so it really isn’t anything personal.

The following are a few suggestions to try to get the communication flowing.  You need to understand the type of personality you are working with.  Hopefully you have had a few conversations and have gotten to understand their personality type.

Is she soft spoken and altruistic?  You may want to leave a message that you are sincerely concerned about her and just checking in to see if everything is O.K. Let her know that it is OK to say that this opportunity is not right for her- it may make her feel more comfortable to opening with you.

Is she normally to the point? You may want to leave a message that you will continue to try her until you hear back from her. This lets her know that you will continue to call and will encourage her to call you back with a definitive answer.

Is she organized and a planner?You may want to leave a friendly message that you haven’t spoken in a while and that you wanted to let her know that you are still in business and would like to share some of the new designs and marketing tools your company has to offer.

Have you gotten to know her a little bit on a personal level?  Sometimes knowing a small detail about her life- such as her daughter is a soccer player, you can reach her on a personal level by following up and asking her about her daughter’s team. You are not just trying to sell her the opportunity you are also reaching out as a friend.

By knowing your prospects “why” you can cater your approach to reaching her and get better results.  Please share your experiences of success on sharing your opportunity with us:)

I have been working out with the same teacher, “Aray” for nearly 7 years now. The exercise classes keep on changing but this devoted and amazing teacher remains the same! Aray is energetic, very funny and absolutely an  inspiration to me. Every class is different and I always appreciate her creatively and levity! I have taken everything from Barbell to Salsa dancing with her and “it’s all good!”

I’d like to outline many of Aray’s phrases and actions that demonstrate how these can be applied to you and your home party business.

1. Are you warmed up yet? At the start of class we always do a warm -up getting ourselves ready and prepared for class. Have you planned out your day and have a logical list to follow and stay organized?

2. Are you breathing?  Check to make sure your day is going at a pace that works for you. Many times I find myself going 100 miles and hour and glazing over the details- I stop, I breathe and get back into focus. My Dad always says “Cool heads prevail” and I think of that often.

3. Are you working on your core? Most movements come from the center of your body. Are you in touch with your spirituality? Do you know your “why” for being in this business?

4. Keep your head up- you will get many no’s before getting some yes’s. Keep your head up and look to those yes’s.  A positive attitude is always more contagious.

5. Have attitude- a good one of course! People will be drawn to you if you exude confidence and a positive outlook!

6. Shake it (Fake it) till you make it!  We all don’t know everything in this busines.  Many times I need to dive into something and learn it as I go along. 

7. Laugh- This one is so important and I look forward to when I am struggling with the 7.5 pound weights and Aray cracks a joke about herself.  It is wonderful to find humor in oneself and lighten up the mood.

8. Pat yourself on the back- We always end class with a last minute breadth and an applause that we made it through the class. Take time to acknowledge the hard work you have done and all of your accomplishments!

Please comment below and fill me in on your comparisons with exercise and your home based business! 

Social media is such a fantastic tool for your direct selling business.  However, it IS social, which means that there are LOTS of people there…not all of them good people.  Now some people decide that they’re not going to engage in social media at all because of this.  However I believe that this approach will cause more harm than good for your business.  After all, if you want to attract leaders to your team, studies in our industry show that most director-level people started the business in their 20′s.  This is Generation Y, and they’re more comfortable communicating through social media tools than talking on the telephone!  And because there are SO many people engaging online these days, chances are you’ll miss out on a LOT of potential orders and reorders if you choose not to engage.

A better solution is to make smart decisions that protect you and your private information.  That way you can enjoy the benefits of social media, while avoiding the nasties.  Here are some tips:

Never list your real birth date, especially the year of birth. (This is open season for identity thieves)
Never enter your user name and password (for anything) into a site you did not purposely navigate to yourself.  I even avoid sharing my Twitter password on sites that need it in order to work.
Never give the exact time or address of where you’ll be. (The only exception might be an event where there will be a lot of people in a public place.)
Never share your home address (and possibly your home phone number) on any social media sites.
When sharing pictures of your children, you may wish to avoid sharing their names, where they go to school, their exact ages, etc.
If someone friends/follows you that makes you feel uncomfortable, unfollow/block them immediately.
If meeting an online contact in person for the first time, go with someone else, and meet in a public place.
If you’re sent a link to something, even by someone you know, double-check that the person sent it and their account wasn’t hacked.  (And if there are tons of misspellings in the words around the link, you can almost be guaranteed it’s spam…well unless your friend’s just a bad speller )
By making some smart decisions, you can meet a lot of wonderful people who will help your business grow.  You’ll also spread the word about your amazing company, helping even more people experience the benefits that you enjoy.  Just be wise, and social media will help you shine!

Jennifer Fong helps direct sales companies, direct sales professionals, and other home-based business owners leverage the power of social media to grow their businesses. A former direct sales company CEO, Jennifer is passionate about teaching direct sellers how to use social media tools to enhance their businesses in a strategic way. Visit Jennifer’s blog at http://www.facebook.com/l/d7813;jenfongspeaks.com and follow her on Twitter at http://www.facebook.com/l/d7813;twitter.com/jenfongspeaks.

1. I don’t have enough money to get started.

Solution: I will be happy to show you how you can pay yourself back by holding a couple of parties in the next 30 days. Let’s put in perspective how little it takes to start a home-based business versus a franchise or brick and mortar style business.

2. I don’t have time to add a new business into my busy life.

Solution: How much time do you think it takes? If you can utilize drive time to make calls and watch TV or operate a computer an hour a two less each day, you can have a very successful Sydney Andrews business.  Busy people make the best Consultants because they are typically very organized and have a built in support system. They also know a lot of people and come in contact with propspective customers on a regular basis.

3. I don’t have any sale experience

Solution: Great, because none is required.  If you can follow some simple training tips and love to make people look and feel good about themselves you will be very successful with the jewelry at Sydney Andrews. We offer fashion trends and style suggestions rather than selling merchandise that is commonly sold in chain stores.  It’s a cliche, but true in this case, the jewelry sells itself.

4. I don’t know enough people

Solution: One of the many benefits to having a Sydney Andrews business is the fact that you will meet and make a lot of friends and acquaintances as you build your business.  You simply start with your warm circle of family and friends and they will lead you to people they know and you don’t. And so on and so on.  You usually know more people than you think.

5. I’m very shy and don’t think I can talk in front of people.

Solution: If that is something you would like to become more comfortable with, having a Sydney Andrews business can help. One of the most beneficial parts of having a business like this one, is the personal growth you will experience in all areas of your life.

What obstacles do you face when discussing this business and what suggestions would you make to encourage people to join our team?

When you are learning how to promote your direct selling and hostess opportunities with a prospect via telephone you will find that there are actually two reasons to encourage the other person to share their feelings, hopes and dreams with you. One is for the reason stated above. The second, is that a prospect doesn’t usually end a conversation…while THEY are talking about something important to them!

Bring that thought into any direct selling process, whether on the telephone or in person. Make it a goal that, whether you are simply establishing a realtionship with a prospect, or actually giving a party presentation that will hopefully result in a sale, that you talk only 25 percent of the time and listen 75 percent of the time. And, the way to accomplish this is to ask questions. Ask questions that the prospect wants to answer, allowing her to engage in the conversation and and this will help her toward the decision of joining in your Sydney Andrews business, or selecting the perfect piece of jewelry to enhance her wardrobe.

Remember what the great sales master, J. Douglas Edwards used to say “Questions are the answer”. How are you doing, percentage-wise in terms of listening versus talking?

People often ask me where I get my ideas from for my designs. Every 6 months I come up with a Spring and a Fall line. Being the CEO of Sydney Andrews, I have several responsibilities but wherever I go I constantly have my mind on designing. When I am at the mall, on vacation or even at The Great Indoors store my mind is on what my next piece of jewelry will look like.

Color is a very important component of my work. I love being surrounded by color and why not bring it to your everyday wardrobe. Accessorize with colors that make you feel good. My customers seem to really like my multi color designs for their versatility. I look to a lot of Israeli designers for their color combinations.

I also pay a lot of attention to shapes in my pieces. Inverted shapes and creating symmetry can really add excitement to a peice. Assymetry can also add a lot of interest to a design. In my Tini Martini design- I use inverted circles with alternating sizes and colors. I got the idea for this design with scrapbooking paper. I actualy tore up the paper and placed it on my sketch and shot it in photoshop.

I get a lot of feedback from my reps and my customers that help me improve my designs. In fact, some of my best suggestions have come from them! My brand new Tri and True Belt came from an idea from one of my reps- Amy M. We were looking at a tri-color bracelet and she thought about how great it would be if a similiar design was intergrated into a belt.

It’s funny, I never in a milliion years would have thought I would be a jewelry designer. I was an art major but fashion was never top on the list for me. It started as a hobby and I got tons of encouragement from my friends and family to pursue this as a career. Being a jewelry designer has been such an important part of my life. It has given me the opportunity to contribute to my family financially and to add another dimension of myself and be known as the “jewelry lady.” I am very passionate about offering other women the opportunity to provide income for their families with flexible hours and to allow them to add dimensions to their life they didn’t know was possible!

Anyone who tried out for a team of any kind is familiar with the process. At the end of try-outs, they tape a list of who made the cut on the wall for all to see. If you find your name on the list, you celebrate! If not, you make the long walk home holding back the tears…

But the story didn’t end that way for one teenager after Laney High School basketball try-outs in the late ‘70s. Instead of believing that basketball wasn’t ‘his thing,’ the dejected player went home, had a good cry with his mother, and made a decision that changed history—to commit himself to improve.

“I started working on my game the day after I was cut,” he says. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it. And that usually got me going again.”

For the next year, he worked out day after day, month after month. While his 5-foot-11-inch body gained four more inches, he practiced shot after shot and dribble after dribble, showing up early to school and using the hoop in his driveway to prepare for next year’s try-outs and the season that would follow.

The dejected teenager made his Laney High School Varsity team the next year and eventually led them to a state championship.

Thus began the legend of Michael Jordan.

Long before his sixth NBA Championship season, his fifth MVP award or any of his postseason scoring records, Michael Jordan learned that “some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” Great athletes and great business builders can, almost without exception, point to moments in their lives when they realized that simply being interested or doing the average won’t make a difference. They had to make the choice to commit!

Some become discouraged and shy away from the challenge of making the choice and seeing it through. Others seize the situation, make a commitment and take control of the steering wheels in their lives. For Michael Jordan, that moment came when he saw a blank space where his name belonged. Have you had YOUR moment yet?

If so, and you choose to commit it is because you have understood one very important principle: successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Therefore, you decided to do what it takes to become successful.

Are you willing to pay the price of success? True commitments are followed by sacrifice—dedicating more time and effort to achieving the goal. That can also mean taking time away from other things—sometimes even good things—to fulfill your commitment.
Sometimes ‘making the decision’ involves working smarter as well as working harder.

What is your message? In consumer-direct marketing, you are the message you’re sharing with potential customers. Before customer buy your product or service, they must buy YOU. Successful people know their weaknesses and strengths, and they are committed to resolving those weaknesses. Why? It’s because they know they will then deliver a better message because they took the time for personal development.

Michael Jordan’s long-time coach, Phil Jackson, says of Jordan’s work ethic: “The thing about Michael is he takes nothing for granted. When he first came into the league in 1984, he was primarily a penetrator. His outside shooting wasn’t up to professional standards. So he put in his gym time in the off-season, shooting hundreds of shots each day. Eventually, he became a deadly three-point shooter.”

Urgency Counts! When you have the urgency to really pursue your goals, you’re quick to make changes to improve your business and yourself. You know that some prospective customers will only give you one chance to share, and you know that you need to make that one chance count. Successful people are willing to “look in the mirror,” to change elements of themselves in order to become better business owners and in turn, foster growth of their business.

Team Up for Success. Do you have a strong team? Are you the leader that others want to follow? If not, what can you do to improve? Reach out to others who have walked in your shoes and watch them closely because success always leaves clues!

Whatever you do, don’t back down from your business. Imagine how things would’ve been different if Michael Jordan had decided to quit basketball after he was cut from his high school team—surely most NBA fans and citizens of Chicago alike would agree that would have been a tragedy. Now imagine the tragedy of your business left untapped. Don’t back down; make a commitment for the long haul and then be prepared to reap the benefits.

Sources:
1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
2 http://www.quotes-famous.com/person/Michael-Jordan-quotes.html

Eleven years ago, I was laid off from one of my favorite jobs when I was on maternity leave. Being a first time mom, I wasn’t exactly sure if I was going to go back to work or stay home, but the decision was already made for me. I felt like I needed something just for me–to have adult conversations and a little pocket money. It was hard 11 years ago to find a job with flexible hours working from home but I was determined to find it. I started my own wholesale business and it was the perfect combination of work and family for me. I really feel passionate about giving other women the same opportunity.

What gave you the inspiration to turn your passion into a business?

At a moms networking group more than 10 years ago, I met a new friend who made me a bracelet as a gesture of our friendship. I loved it so much that I insisted she teach me how to make jewelry. At this point our friendship and business began. We were encouraged by our friends to start having parties and sell the jewelry with our unique style. Since I have a degree in Fine Art and the ability to sit still, I was inspired to combine both my artistic background and my interest in starting a business together and fit it into my family life.

What makes your jewelry unique?

Each piece is designed by me, as we do not resell pieces already designed and manufactured. My jewelry is known for it’s whimsical colors and that it lends itself to both dressy and casual wear.

How did your boutique business help prepare you for being the CEO of a direct sales company?

Growing my other business helped me learn how to build an organization. I learned how to wear many hats including designing, buying, marketing, sales and accounting. I learned what type of styles to sell and what price points work–especially within this economy.

Why the direct sales business model?

I had a successful wholesale business for nearly 10 years. In addition to selling to small stores and boutiques, I began holding annual Open Houses for friends and family. Each year, the party became larger and larger. I have seen how successful these parties can be and wanted to provide this opportunity for others to enhance their earning potential. This business felt like a natural next step.

How does Sydney Andrews stand apart from other jewelry companies in the direct sales industry?

We keep it simple. We have designed a very approachable program that is straight forward based on generous consultant commissions and affordable, unique products. We cater to both people who want to work and structure their own part-time business and people who want to build an organization.

What advice would you give someone who’s been burned by another opportunity who is afraid to try again?

One of my favorite sayings is, “When one door closes, another one opens.” While Sydney Andrews is a new addition to the company, the proven success of the product is not new. To counter the relative “newness”, we offer enhanced commissions, generous hostess gifts and the opportunity to build a team of consultants. Since we are starting out small and planning to grow this business over time, we are available by phone. We are open to suggestions from our consultants, as we want to grow this company together.

What type of support do you have from your family?

I have great support from my family. My husband, Vic, is my partner and he handles a great deal of the marketing and sales. He encouraged me to more forward with this business. My children, Andrew and Sydney, are my PR department! They love to tell people about my business and how it is named after them. They also enjoy helping out at the shows, when I was doing them myself.

As a busy mother yourself, how do you balance it all?

Since I work from home, and with modern technology, I am able to work around the schedule of my family. I work during school hours and after the children go back to bed. As my business has grown, I’ve also had to hire people to assist me so that I can continue to allocate time to my family.

Last question…name 5 things that most people wouldn’t know about you?

I’m a chocoholic.
I love to dance hip-hop and salsa.
I am originally from New Jersey.
I am not known for my cooking.
I am a dog lover!

As you can see, Jill is quite a woman. I can tell how much she cares about her consultants and helping them achieve success. It was great to get to know her better and I see great things in store for you all at Sydney Andrews.