Happy 4th of July! I hope you’re enjoying a great day as we celebrate our independence. Did you work your direct sales business today or did you take today off?
Every holiday when I suggest consultants work on getting sales during their holiday gatherings some look at me like I have three heads. I think some of think I’m suggesting that in the middle of Easter dinner or during fireworks you open up your rolly suitcase to have an impromptu product demonstration with your auntie and mother-in-law. Gosh no! That’s beyond tacky.
When you own your own business, “working” can take on many forms.
When I suggest working your business during holiday gatherings, I mean to do it very subtly then let them bring it up. If you shove it down their throats you’ll be in the NFL (No Friends/Family Left). It also means should an opportunity come up briefly, and I do mean briefly, to mention your business, take that opportunity. If the door is open, walk through.
Using Scentsy as an example, but you can substitute your own product line – you get the picture:
After coming out of the bathroom or helping to clean up dishes, use a little dab of your scented hand lotion.
Make sure your vehicle smells lovely by using a fresh a scent circle, travel tin, scent pak or room spray. If anyone is standing near when you get in or out of your car, they’ll smell it.
If you just returned from an incentive trip destination, you could mention a funny story about something that happened when you went to Hawaii. No need to embellish by saying that it was an all-expense paid trip that you earned, yada, yada yada. Chances are your family and friends already know you went on the trip and that it didn’t cost you a dime. You’re adding to the conversation with a quip, that just so happened to take place while you were on the trip. (Hey! That rhymes!)
If someone asks you how your business is going, answer “Great! We’re already getting ready for the busy holiday season with a new catalog coming out next month.” Then leave it alone. You answered. You planted a seed that they may want to do some shopping with you. You didn’t offend.
My personal secret weapon: Before entering a group of people I spray my long hair with room spray and apply fresh hand lotion of the same scent. Then when I shake hands or hug people, they invariably comment on how good I smell or that I smell like cookies or whatever I happened to be wearing that day! You can also spray your dollar bills for the same effect.
To be successful in direct sales and to last the long haul you need to always plant seeds. You don’t always need to be on high alert and scare people off so they’ll stop answering your calls or run the other way when they see you. You should always look for opportunities to work in your business. The key is that you need to look for opportunities to arise. Don’t try to force opportunities – they’ll see right through that and it’ll likely bite you in the behind. There are plenty of opportunities out there; you just need to look for them!
I hope you had a safe day and had a chance to see some beautiful fireworks!
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a Michigan work from home mom and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping men and women start and maintain a home based business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Germany, Ireland and the UK. To download a FREE Start Up Guide which provides more details about how to start a home business as well as to learn about our compensation plan go to http://www.thrivingcandlebusiness.com/how-to-start-a-candle-business/