Schedule your Superstar Strategy Session via Tungle.Me 

Has this ever happened to you?  You’ve scheduled a call with a prospect in another state, or blocked off time for a really important training call only to have…

1. Missed the call by an hour, or….
2. Called too early catching them unprepared?

Well this has happened to me a time or two (blushing!) as a result I came up with a handy tool so that I never have to say “oh I’m sorry, I miscalculated the time zone difference”.

Next to my phone and calendar I keep The Golden Rule Admin_Time Zone Chart it has all the time zones in columns with the time of day below it, so for example when someone say’s “let’s have a call next Tuesday at 10:00 AM Mountain” I can quickly find that time, go across to my time zone and say “sure that’s 12:00 PM my time/Eastern”.

This simple little card has served me well in scheduling my Superstar clients, who are in just about every time zone!  Since I know you Superstars are building your teams all over the country as well I thought I’d share this great little tool with you!

You can print it out on a 5×7 card and easily scan what time zone you are in, with the time zone of the person you are scheduling with, and shine like the Superstar you are!

Please feel free to share with your friends, and tell them where you got this handly little tool.  Shine On!

Many Direct Sales companies offer their new consultants an incentive to get their business established within the first 30-90 days of signing their agreement, generally called a Power Start.  This is an exciting time in your new consultant’s journey in growing their business, and can really set them up for quick success and long term achievements, and you can play an important role in that success, and it’s easy to do!

When your new consultant signs on, do the math to figure out when their power start date is due.  Put a reminder on your calendar for a week before the due date.  When that reminder comes up pick up the phone give them a call and show your support.  See if they need some help in the final push, or just cheer them on, but it’s important to remind them they are not alone in this process and having the support of their upline can make a big difference, especially if they are struggling.

So with a simple system in place to remind you of these events, you can put some POWER into your new consultant’s success.

Try It:

Go to your back office and get the most recent new consultants in your downline, figure our their power dates and put a reminder in your calender to call them the week before.  Just start with a few each month, and see what a difference it makes.

Success or Struggles:

Do you have a system in place to touch base with new consultants?  Are you struggling with it or have you found something that works for you?  Please share your success or struggles…

~~~~~~~~~

Shine On:

Need some help getting systems into place?  Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of going to your back office and starting another project?   Contact me today to schedule a strategy session and let’s discover a way to create the systems you need to Shine On!

A client of mine recently added a second company to her direct sales business.  Since it’s completely different from her first product, we needed to focus on building interest within a new target market.  You may have not added a second company, but this process is useful any time you start looking for new ways to connect with your potential customers. Here are the steps we took to start branding her new product and meeting new people to serve…

1. Google it:  If you were going to do a Google search for your product, service or opportunity what key words would you use to find it?  Jewelry, Organizing, Age-Fighting, Scrapbooking, Fashion, Pictures, Handbags?  Searching these words and seeing what shows up will help you uncover clues that could lead you to find people who are interested in what you have to offer.
2. Branding:  It’s always a good idea to use your name when branding your business. That way, if you are “Mary the purse consultant” you can easily become “Mary the purse & candle consultant.”  Positioning yourself as YOU (and not just your product) opens the doors for more people to follow YOU — regardless of what you are selling.
3. Social Media:  Once you are clear on your branding (hint: your brand is always YOU) set up a Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account.  Even if you’re still “twitchy about twitter” creating that account and letting posts from your Fan Page “feed it” allows you a gentle start on building that following.
4. Twitter: is also a great way to find people interested in your product.  Do a Twitter search (just the way you did on Google) by adding a hash tag (this thing #) to search words in THAT search box.  You’ll find out who’s tweeting about buying, selling or using your product.
5. The Secret Sauce: take the information you “Googled “and start posting it on your fan page, e.g. don’t just share your product, share information that is RELATED to YOU, your product AND especially your audience.  That’s the secret sauce!  If, for example, your primary product is handbags, then you may want to include posts about fashion.  If you have a bag that could be a diaper bag you could share posts about motherhood, parenting, or new baby care.  Remember, it’s not about you. Talk to your audience about their interests.  Become a friend and a resource…don’t just “sell” them

When starting out with a new company or relighting the fire in your current business, take time to do some research and applying it to your Social Media plan.  Make it easy for your customers to beat a path to your door, no matter what you sell!

Recently, I did a survey with 78 of you and I’m really so very grateful for those of you who answered and you have revealed:

• 61.5% of you are concerned that things are “falling through the cracks” in your business.
• 45.3% were stressed about not “keeping in touch” with your customers, team and prospects.
• 36% were equally concerned about “finding the time to get it all done” and managing your time/calendar.
• 50% said your team would grow when asked what would happen if these stress and barriers were removed
• 48.5% revealed your sales (team and personal) would grow.

In reviewing these results, and thinking about the types of services I offer my clients as a Virtual Assistant I discovered that I can provide even more support to help eliminate these concerns in your business.

Looking at my expertise, training, experience and focus on administrative functions I realized what you needed more of were the tools and guidance of a collaborative partner to work with you and help set up and refine administrative functions and systems in a way that supports you, your team and your Direct Sales business.

The Golden Rule VA is now offering services as an Administrative Consultant; an administrative support professional who is retained on a monthly basis in an ongoing, collaborative partnership with her client.

What does this mean for you?  By working with me as your Administrative Consultant you’ll have someone who:

• can locate the “cracks” in your business and develop strategies and systems so that nothing can fall through them again
• will work with you to design a personalized follow-up system that is best suited for you, your team and your needs as a leader
• as a collaborative partner is able to look at the big picture and consult on how to create better time management, organization, and help you keep your focus on IPAs, team building and support.
• Knows, understands and loves your business!

So many of you are feeling overwhelmed in trying to manage your business while growing your team, and you need more than just getting “tasks” done.  As you step into a bigger role in your business, I’m stepping into a bigger one in mine.  To help you learn more about how having an Administrative Consultant can change your business, for a limited-time I’m offering a complimentary one-hour Superstar Strategy Session. 

During this session we will uncover your unique strengths, needs and challenges, then we’ll develop and implement strategies to meet your goals and objectives.  Not only does this approach build a foundation for our strategy, it fuels our partnership and our business relationship.  Together we shine on towards your success!

So, if you’re thinking you’d like a chance to work with me, pick my brain, or have questions about how to get the real support you need in your Direct Sales business so you can focus on being a leader, then all you need to do is secure a spot through the link below:

Schedule your Superstar Strategy Session  

I absolutely love meeting you Superstars!  It’s such a pleasure to help you see how to take the “weight off” your shoulders and find a better way to get it all done, without you having to be the one who does it all!

Schedule your Superstar Strategy Session

]]> http://thegoldenruleva.com/2012/04/18/superstar-direct-sales-leaders-have-revealed/feed/ 0 http://thegoldenruleva.com/2012/04/04/together-everyone-accomplishes-more/ http://thegoldenruleva.com/2012/04/04/together-everyone-accomplishes-more/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 04:04:20 +0000 mhdery http://thegoldenruleva.com/?p=1797

Part of my “Delegation Expert” Guest Blog Posts on Lisa Robbin Young’s Direct Sales Classroom

As a leader in your direct sales company you probably host regular team meetings.  This is a great way to share new product information, sales ideas, recognize leaders in bookings and sales.  It’s also a great place to delegate!  That’s right, I said DELEGATE!

When working to grow your own team, one of the key strategies is to show how easy it is to run your business.  But, if you’re running around “trying to do it ALL” while hosting your team meeting, it doesn’t really matter what you SAY about how easy it is.  One look at your stress level and any of the consultants you’d like to have as leaders are going to turn tail and run!

Team meetings with room to be involved allow your group a chance to shine, and not just for reaching sales goals.  Whether you pass out a sign-up sheet and let them choose the job that suits them best, or save those roles as another way to let your high-achievers step into the limelight, here are some roles you could share:

Greeter:  Have a consultant meet each of the guests, show them to the meeting room and welcome them to the meeting.

Guest Book:  1 or 2 consultants can be responsible for collecting any meeting dues and/or having consultants and guests sign in.  Also, provide name tags to guests and help with any raffles.

Photographer:  Always have a camera at your meeting so someone can take candid shots that can be used on your Facebook fan page, website, and newsletter or even for dream posters.

Note Keeper:  This is a very important role.  They do not have to keep minutes of the entire meeting, but if you promised to send someone an article, or need to follow-up with an answer to someone after the meeting it’s the note keeper who jots down the reminder for you.

Trainer:  This job can also be a powerful reward.  A consultant could present a 5-minute training topic of her choice during the meeting, or you can have her lead a presentation to prospects in another area of the meeting room.  This would be a good job for a senior consultant or someone “on the move” up the ladder of success.

What other jobs can you think of to help make your meeting a success? 

Be sure to share them with us… 

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Feeling overwhelmed in your direct sales business?  Suffering from having to do it ALL by yourself?  Worried things are falling through the cracks?

Schedule your free consultation to see how collaborating with an Administrative Consultant can help fill the gaps, cracks and overwhelm so you can achieve your dreams and goals!

“As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others.”

~Marianne Williamson

PS:   As I’ve said before, I negotiated a >50% off discount for you with Andrea. She agreed, but only on one condition – that she be allowed to share some of the profits with me so I could plow them back into my business. You see, Andrea – superstar that she is – has a policy of giving back. And remember – I’ve taken the course and personally recommend it, so my reputation is at stake here (and there’s NO amount of money that could make me damage that!)

And also like I said before, I’m not sure how long this discount will last, so do it now!

Alright, enough reading already, check out the details on this special webpage.

My superstar clients constantly amaze and inspire me. A shining example of this is Andrea Patten’s latest course From Inner Critic to Inner Ally.

When you work alone from home like we do, it’s easy to give more weight to the insidious little voice in your head, whispering things like:

• “you’ll never succeed at this”
• ”’you’re not good enough”
• “no one will pay you what you’re worth”
• “who are you kidding – you don’t have what it takes to do this”
• “you have to do everything yourself and because that’s impossible, you’re going to fail”

Andrea has put together a course which is deceptively simple and pays dividends immediately. I think this testimonial from an email Andrea just sent me gives you a glimpse of how powerful the course is:

“Although I was skeptical at first, because most self-help books and courses let me down, I have to say, I was more than pleasantly surprised by From Inner Critic to Inner Ally. It beats the pants off of anything else I’ve ever done. One technique in particular I adopted allows me to instantly call upon my new Inner Ally. And that little guy has already earned his keep. Before taking the course, I was approached by a client about a piece of business. I knew they had $2,500 they could spare for it. At that fee, I’d be taking a big loss on the business. I didn’t want to jeopardize our long term relationship nor did I want to feel bad about accepting a too low fee. So the other day, armed with my new inner ally, I sent a proposal to the client with a $6,000 fee for that piece of business. They agreed the price is reasonable and are looking for the money in their budget. My Inner Ally got me $3,500 I wouldn’t have had otherwise. He’s turning out to be quite the little business partner!“ 

~ Annie Bartlett, Consultant, USA

Pretty cool, right? And it gets better….

As I was working on the course with Andrea, I naturally got to see the materials. And I learned some cool stuff, so I felt I benefited from the course. I also thought that my life was pretty darned good. Until one day it wasn’t.  And I mean it wasn’t in a big way.  Andrea urged me to ACTUALLY TAKE the course, and I did. I have just one thing to say….

O…M…G!

I was able to identify my inner critic (one I didn’t know I had), put her on mute, and teach her how to play nice! The joy and freedom I’ve experienced as a result is simply indescribable.

I have another confession. Where most people read novels, I read personal development books. I’ve pretty much read everything out there.  Honestly, I’ve never lacked for creating a vision and dreams, and setting goals.  I was thinking that was enough, but boy did I find out differently! The difference between everything else I’ve read and this is that From Inner Critic to Inner Ally gets to the ROOT of the problem. Everything else just shows you how to cover it up. But covering it up, didn’t really CHANGE anything for me.

By the time I’d finished the course, it was like a key falling in place in a lock. Things just clicked. Not only was I way calmer, but I have the energy that comes from releasing a big energy drainer in my life. Wah-hooooo!

I’m so excited about this I wanted all of my friends, clients and everyone I know to have access to this course. I asked Andrea if she’d let me offer you the course.  She said “Yes!” but only on one condition – that she be allowed to share some of the profits with me so I could plough them back into my business.  You see, Andrea – superstar that she is – has a policy of giving back. And remember – I’ve taken the course and personally recommend it, so my reputation is at stake here (and there’s NO amount of money that could make me damage that!)

To make the offer even sweeter, Andrea and I agreed to a price that’s more than 50% off.

Now, you know me -  I’m not one to promote others’ products like this, and I wouldn’t promote this one except that I know many of you solopreneurs have a trash-talking inner  critic. And since the little beggar won’t be ignored, it’s wise to learn how to deal with him.

So if you’d like to learn how to finally really deal with that downer of an inner critic that’s keeping you trapped, then click on over to From Inner Critic to Inner Ally NOW!

P.S. I should mention that I don’t really know how long I can ask Andrea to hold the >50% off price for you. So do yourself a BIG favor and click on over to From Inner Critic to Inner Ally before you get sidetracked!

“Maybe this time. This time. This time. This time! This time!

This…That is diabolical.”

~ Barry B. Bensen

Thinking about the New Year and the inevitable talk about resolutions has this little scene playing over and over in my mind from Bee Movie.  It’s the very last clip in the video below when a honeybee named Barry B. Bensen tries, unsuccessfully,  to fly out of a closed window, he keeps trying and trying and trying only to bounce off the closed window.  Sounds like most resolutions and goals to me.

We try with good intention to set amazing goals to move ourselves forward to the promise of a New Year, that “this time” we’ll make it happen, “this time” the New Year’s “magic” will work and we’ll achieve all our goals.  Then February comes and we are back to our old ways.  But maybe, just maybe “this time” it really will be different.  How??

Well maybe because you are here, considering how a Virtual Assistant (VA) can help your business…what will be different this year from any other year?  Maybe you’ve made a decision to take your business to that next level, and you realize that to be truly successful you cannot, should not, and don’t need to do all things yourself.  Maybe “this time” you’ll free yourself up to focus on the tasks that you do best, and delegate that which you really don’t need to manage, freeing yourself up for more parties, recruiting events, prospect coffees, team meetings and more.

Imagine what your business will look like when team newsletters get sent out on a regular basis, hostess thank you’s are mailed promptly, your follow-up reminders are scheduled into your calendar, reminders for team meetings are sent, it’s done…you don’t’ have to worry about it.  That’s what a VA can do for your business, and much more.

Think about how “this time” you’ll open the window and fly out of the cycle of hitting your head against the goal or resolution you set to move to that next level…”this time” you’ll make it happen, with a little help from a bee!