Category Archives: Business Tips

Top 3 Reasons People Fail in Direct Sales

The direct sales industry is terrific.

It can be life-changing—I’ve seen it happen many times in my organization and experienced it myself.

Yet, I also see far too many people fail. And I hate to see people fail for avoidable reasons.

So let’s have a look at the top 3 reasons why people fail in direct sales so you can avoid it and if you’re a leader, you can help your new team members to avoid failure!

Reason #3 Shiny Object Syndrome

I know many people who have left a fabulous business to go to a new ‘shiny’ opportunity again and again. They flit from direct sales company to direct sales company without persisting in one business and never staying long enough to make it a true success.

In other people ‘shiny object syndrome’ manifests as not not giving enough of their focus and attention to a direct sales business to get it properly off the ground. They then add on another direct sales business, scattering their focus even further.

People with ‘shiny object syndrome’ assume the grass is greener elsewhere but here’s the rub: the grass is greener where you water it!

If you feel that the direct sales business you’re with isn’t a good fit for some reason, I caution you to examine your motives so you don’t make the ‘shiny object syndrome’ mistake and leave a successful business just because you assume the grass is greener over there.

I’ve seen many a consultant being wooed by a new opportunity only to discover it wasn’t everything they hoped it would be. And in some cases the new company closed up shop and these consultants went back to their previous company, but now they had to start from scratch again.

I also know many direct sellers who represent four or five different brands without being successful in any of them as they can’t give so many businesses their full focus and attention. Pick one (or two, at the most) and focus your time and attention on there if you want to be truly successful.

Reason #2 Failure to Launch

Some consultants just never get their business off the ground properly in the first place. There are many factors that play into this, but this is what I see:

  • They ask one or two people to host a party for their launch but get “No’s”. They don’t a get a party after asking only a couple of people and they give up.
  • They put a post on their social media announcing their new business. But when nobody rushes to them to order products or book a party, they assume no one is interested and give up.

A failure to launch is a real shame because with a bit of persistence (and sometimes a bit of training by their upline) they could make a success of their biz.

If you want to know how to do a great (re-)launch, check this article.

Reason #1 Being Too ‘spammy’ and ‘salesy’ on social

The main reason I see people fail is that they are far too spammy and salesy. They signed up to be ‘social sellers‘ but no one told them that the most important bit of that is the ‘social’ part.

Top 3 Reasons why people fail in direct sales

Many direct sellers that only operate on social media (as opposed to also doing in-home parties or demonstrations) have been sold on the opportunity with promises that it’s easy, that it won’t cost you much time and that you could do it from your bed if you wanted.

However, you’re running a business and you should treat it as such. Yes, you can work in pockets of time and work around other commitments or family. But that only works if you know what to do with that time – doing things that further your business.

If you want to be a social seller, you must learn how to be great at attraction marketing. Don’t be product dumper and post picture after picture of your products and hope someone places an order. It won’t work. You want to be a magnet and attract people to you instead.

Don’t let your business or your new team members become a failure statistic. Do a proper launch, be consistent with your activities that actually work and don’t keep looking for new and shiny opportunities.

Persist and it will pay off.

Using the principles in this book, I built a global $20-million direct sales business.

In ‘Growing Your Direct Sales Team,’ I share my tried and tested methods from my 20 years in the industry.

My book comes with dozens of worksheets, checklists, and templates to get you on your road to success.

Order your copy here

Unlock the full potential of your sales strategy with GenieChat

The all-in-one CRM solution designed to make your life easier and your profits higher.

The cutting-edge platform simplifies customer relationship management with personal reminders, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to connect.

Did you know that 50% of sales happen after the fifth touch? GenieChat helps you effortlessly nurture those crucial relationships, maximizing your follow-up average to convert more leads into loyal customers.

Unleash the power of the Magic Message Generator, featuring integrated, unlimited AI-generated replies, answers, and invites that take the guesswork out of communication. But that’s not all—GenieChat’s unlimited duplication and team-sharing capabilities allow you to impart super-seller powers to your team. Share content, scripts, videos, and more with just a click. Say goodbye to missed opportunities and hello to seamless, effective selling with GenieChat.

Explore GenieChat here

Keep going until you get a yes

Far too many people are afraid of hearing the word “no”.

And I get it. I used to be afraid of rejection too. For the first 2 years in my business I hardly achieved anything. I was afraid to ask and by avoiding the ask I rejected myself in advance. I was saying “No” to myself before anyone else had a chance to.

In this article I share how I got over that fear and build a multimillion dollar direct sales business.

The art of asking

There’s an art…or maybe a science to asking and getting what you want. I found the book “The Aladdin Factor” by Marc Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield very helpful. They recommend asking as if you’re expecting to get a “yes”. You also want to assume that you can get a “yes” in general – don’t just hope. You also need to ask more than once.

I recommend you grab yourself a copy of this book to improve the way you ask!

Persistence does pay off

Persistence has been key to my success. You want to keep asking because they might say “yes” when they’re in a better mood, when their circumstances have changed, when you have a better offer that suits their needs, or when you’ve learned to ask better!

Early on in my business I was too afraid of hearing “no” to follow-up and ask. To help encourage myself to take action, I gamified the process.

I started by rewarding myself with $1 for every follow-up call, regardless of the outcome. My goal was to get myself moving and to overcome my fear of rejection. When I’d made enough calls, I treated myself and my husband to a night out at the movies. As I got better at making the follow-up calls, I moved on from $1 coins and made myself a star chart. I gave myself a gold star every time I made a call! 

The reward you choose doesn’t matter, the process of rewarding yourself for taking action gives you a boost of dopamine in the brain, which reinforces the action.

As you’re training your brain to love taking action you will notice it gets easier and easier to follow-up! And of course the more you do it, the better you’ll get at it and you’ll start hearing that ‘yes’ more and more!

Keep a Leads Book to Help your Follow-Up

The statistics that have most inspired me to keep going with follow-ups came from a marketing specialist at Notre Dame University. They found that 94% of all sales people quit after the 4th call. However 60% of all sales were made after the 4th call.

I didn’t want to keep missing out on 60% of potential business because I wasn’t following up enough!

So I started keeping all my follow-up information in a leads book (but you could also use a spreadsheet, I happen to be old school). I allocate 1 page per lead and I keep track of my follow-ups with dates and notes. I try to add personal information so contact from me feels personal and friendly. 

I also make sure I vary the method of follow-up. Sometimes it’s a phone call, then a text message, other times I send something in the mail. This keeps me in their thoughts but it doesn’t feel repetitive.

I have some leads that I’d been following up with for five years before they finally joined my direct sales team – persistence paid off eventually!

Don’t be a bulldozer

At this point I want to make sure you understand that I’m not a bulldozer when it comes to follow-up.

I not only vary the means of follow-up so I don’t hound them with phone calls or spam them with texts, but I also always offer them an “opt out”. I literally say something like: “if you’d like to stop hearing from me, just let me know” or something similar.

I don’t want to be pushy or spammy so I’m keeping it light and friendly and respect their boundaries!

How to think of follow-ups

How to keep going until you get a 'yes'

I was told by a mentor long ago to think of follow-up like offering everyone cake at your wedding.

Some people love wedding cake and eagerly say yes … others say no. Maybe they’re on a diet, maybe they’re allergic to gluten, or maybe they just don’t like cake!

The bride doesn’t take it personally, she just offers it to the next person. I like to think of everyone I follow up as wedding guests – I have something wonderful to offer them and it may or may not be for them.

Want to learn all my secrets to growing a direct sales team? This book has everything I have learned from the industry in the last 20 years. I’ve tried and tested many methods to arrive at my winning formula!

Order your copy here

Unlock the full potential of your sales strategy with GenieChat

The all-in-one CRM solution designed to make your life easier and your profits higher.

The cutting-edge platform simplifies customer relationship management with personal reminders, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to connect.

Did you know that 50% of sales happen after the fifth touch? GenieChat helps you effortlessly nurture those crucial relationships, maximizing your follow-up average to convert more leads into loyal customers.

Unleash the power of the Magic Message Generator, featuring integrated, unlimited AI-generated replies, answers, and invites that take the guesswork out of communication. But that’s not all—GenieChat’s unlimited duplication and team-sharing capabilities allow you to impart super-seller powers to your team. Share content, scripts, videos, and more with just a click. Say goodbye to missed opportunities and hello to seamless, effective selling with GenieChat.

Explore GenieChat here

Dare to Dream in 2023

Happy New Year everybody!

Are you ready to make this a ridiculously awesome year for your direct sales business?

Let’s get started with this free planning document that will help you to get started right now!

Download the worksheet for free below by filling in the form.

 

How to use survey boxes to grow your direct sales biz

As a direct seller, it’s essential to have a constant flow of new leads.

One way to generate leads in new circles is to create a “survey box.”

Use a pretty box and a pretty prize.

I like to make the boxes where I collect completed surveys look pretty. I’ve found that the prettier and more eye-catching they are, the better they work!

I leave the survey box in a business for one week. I have a sign explaining when the parcel will be collected and that anyone who completes a survey will go in a lucky draw for a prize.

It works best if you can display the prize with the survey box.

The prize doesn’t have to be very expensive – if you’ve got a spare product, you could add some chocolates, wrap it all up in clear cellophane with a bow or ribbons, and it suddenly looks beautiful.

What do you ask in the survey?

How to use surveys to grow your direct sales business!

You’ll need to ask a few relevant questions about your business or field on the form. Don’t make it too long and difficult to fill in; it should not just be a raffle ticket.

The answers on the survey forms will give you a good starting point for a conversation when you follow up with people.

I’ve provided 2 example surveys you can grab by filling in the form below. One example is for a health or wellness product, and the other is for a beauty company.

You can swipe the examples for your business or use them as a starting point to create your own forms.

Where to put your survey boxes

Use a survey box to get new leads for your direct sales business.

I’ve found that gyms, restaurants, waiting rooms, local real estate agencies, and libraries are great places to leave survey boxes. The key to making it work is to offer a small ‘bribe’ to someone at the premises to keep an eye on it for you.

Perhaps you can ask friends or family to take a survey box to their work for a week? Create a few pretty survey boxes, post a photo on social media, and ask if anybody local is prepared to “host” a box for a week.

The survey box strategy is a numbers game. Many entrants won’t be interested in your business but want a prize. That’s fine. You’ll likely find that some locations yield nothing, but others will be a gold mine for new contacts. So get lots of boxes out there!

And then, of course, you follow up with everybody who’s filled in a survey! So check this article on how to make your follow-up strategy sing!

Bonus tip: post a photo of the winner with their prize on social media to increase your credibility and build social proof.

Want to learn all my secrets to growing a direct sales team? This book has everything I have learned from the industry in the last 20 years. I’ve tried and tested many methods to arrive at my winning formula!

Order your copy here

Do you give up too easily on your follow-ups?

Far too many people in direct sales or party plan businesses are afraid of rejection. They’re afraid of hearing the word “no“.

And I get it. I used to be afraid of rejection too.

In the first 2 years of my business, I did not sponsor anybody. At all!

I was afraid to ask, and by avoiding the ask, I rejected myself in advance.

I was saying “no” to myself before anybody else had a chance to.

So how do you change this?

You need to change your outlook on asking and following up. Because there’s nothing to lose by asking.

Thought exercise

Imagine you ask a friend to host a party for your or join your team. Imagine she says, “no,”. There it is, the dreaded no…

But what actually happened? In reality, nothing happened because before you asked, she wasn’t on your team, and she wasn’t hosting a party.

And after asking, that’s still the situation.

And you’ve spent your whole life without her on your team, so you know how to deal with that!

How to ask for what you want

There’s an art (or science) to asking and getting what you want. I found some great tips in the book The Alladin Factor by Marc Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield.

  • Ask your sales lead to join as if you expect them to. Ask with a positive expectation, as if you expect to get a “yes.”
  • Assume that you are able to get new team members (or bookings). Assume you can get a “yes.”
  • Ask repeatedly. One of the most important traits of success is persistence. So don’t give up.

Are you persistent?

You want to keep asking your leads (without annoying them!) because they might say YES…

  • on a different day
  • when she’s in a different mood
  • when her circumstances have changed
  • when your company has a different offer
  • when you’ve learned to ask better

The statistics that have most inspired me to be persistent came from research by a marketing specialist at Notre Dame University:

94% of all salespeople quit after the 4th call. However, 60% of all sales are made after the 4th call!

I didn’t want to keep missing out on 60% of my bookings or recruits because I wasn’t asking and following up enough.

You need to get used to the idea that there’s going to be a lot of rejection along the way to your goals. Don’t take the rejection personally – they are not rejecting you as a person.

Don’t give up. Develop tenacity and persistence. When someone says “no”, you ask someone else. It’s that simple.

Using the principles in this book, I built a global $20-million direct sales business.

In ‘Growing Your Direct Sales Team,’ I share my tried and tested methods from my 20 years in the industry.

My book comes with dozens of worksheets, checklists, and templates to get you on your road to success.

Order your copy here

Anything worth doing, is worth doing badly

If you find it hard to complete things because they are “not good enough” yet, then you’re letting ‘perfect’ be the enemy of ‘good.’

I mean that sometimes we have this idea of what something should be like, the perfect, and we strive to reach it.

But you never will because perfection is impossible.

Right now, I want you to permit yourself not to be perfect. None of us are perfect, and none of us ever achieve perfection. And that’s okay.

And this idea of perfection and reaching perfection is holding people back, it’s incredibly paralyzing, but if something isn’t perfect, then that automatically means you’ll have failed.

You are Good enough

You need to adopt an attitude of “good enough” or even “bad but finished.” That way, there’s so much more scope to be successful, and there’ll be less fear of failure.

If your business Facebook page isn’t perfect, that’s fine, as long as it’s good enough.

If your emails aren’t perfect, that’s okay if they’re good enough and you get your message out.

Your exercise routine probably isn’t perfect, but that doesn’t matter. As long as you get yourself moving regularly, it’s good enough.

Buying a new car is fraught with decisions and, for many people, causes anxiety. But you don’t need to find the perfect vehicle! Instead, you need to find one good enough for your purposes.

Pareto Principle

Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? It’s also known as the 80-20 rule, which usually takes 20 percent of the time to complete 80 percent of a task. However, completing the last 20 percent of the task takes 80 percent of the effort.

So at 80 percent completion, can you perhaps declare it “good enough”? What else do you need to do to finish right now? Knowing that the last 20 percent takes 80 percent of the effort and that perfection is impossible, it makes no sense to continue working away at something already good enough.

Experience the freedom of doing it badly.

Perfection is especially detrimental to creativity. Let me give you a quick experience of this. Grab a piece of paper and a pen. I want you to come up with five great ideas for booking games. They must be new ideas, creative, innovative, and perfect. You have 5 minutes….start now!

Do you have any ideas yet?

Okay. Grab a new piece of paper and write down five bad ideas for sponsoring people in your organization. These are just five terrible recruiting ideas. You have 5 minutes again….go now!

Do you have ideas now?

What happened? If you’re like most people, you had many more ideas in the second activity because you permitted yourself to come up with any ideas. Most people find it easier and more fun than the first activity, where you were looking for great ideas. Trying to be great or perfect stifles creativity. It paralyzes you.

What would happen if you put on a timer for ten minutes and wrote down every terrible idea for sponsoring games, recruiting seeds, conversation starters, etc., that you could think of? Then, of course, you would write down plenty of bad ideas and some good enough ideas that could work.

Letting go of perfection is freeing.

Stop perfectionism from holding you back from direct sales success.

Permitting yourself to do it “badly” lets you get on with the job and get things done. And by getting things done, you keep the momentum going.

So how do you ensure that what you do is good enough? By focusing on the process. Try to improve the process, and don’t focus too much on the result. For example, you will increase sales, bookings, and recruiting leads by making your parties and events more enjoyable for you, the host, and the guests.

By doing the process well, the result will be better. So that’s where you want to focus your improvements, not on the outcome.

Because focusing too much on the result makes you needy, locks you up, takes the joy out of the process, and leads to perfectionism.

And perfection is the enemy of good and the enemy of done.

Learn more!

Work smarter not harder in your direct sales biz

Everyone is busy.

Most direct sellers do it as a side hustle, and they are either working their biz around other work or family commitments. Or both.

Direct sales or party plan business is absolutely ideal as a side hustle because it’s so flexible. It’s one of the reasons I love it so much!

But, because it’s not your main hustle, you don’t have time to waste! So you must ensure you’re investing your time wisely, not just spinning your wheels but moving forward.

This means that how you spend your business time is vital. Have you ever heard of the Pareto Principle? This principle states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. This means that 80% of your efforts are not doing much for you!

When I first learned about this, I was excited to work out which 20% of my tasks were producing the results because it would mean I could reduce the amount of time I spent on my business while at the same time growing it!

Things to stop doing in your direct sales biz

  • I stopped investing massive amounts of time studying the products. I decided that if a guest or customer wanted to know more than I could tell them, I learned how to find out. I always got back to them, which became another opportunity to continue that relationship with the customer.
  • I also stopped investing lots of time in team members who were less active or less engaged. Instead, I used my team to focus on my eager ‘rising stars‘ and get new team members off to a great start.
  • I focused my activities on getting parties (online or in-home) rather than chasing individual orders. It’s much more time efficient to see a group of people at once and gather a bunch of orders in one go. I used to feel like I was constantly chasing orders.

    If you need some ideas on how to get bookings, check this article so you can get off the individual order treadmill too.
  • I focused more of my time on finding new team members and supporting them in getting their own businesses started. I realized that team growth would significantly impact my long-term income and that the faster I recruited, the faster my business would grow.
  • I started scheduling my social media posts in advance. I would sit down monthly to plan and schedule content for my business page, customer group, and team group. I found those monthly sessions were super productive, and my content became more thought out and better planned. 
    This change stopped me running around through the week madly, trying to think of something to post on Facebook. I love using Cinchshare for my scheduling, but you can use Facebook too.

I found that once I cut out ‘busy work’ – the tasks I used to do that didn’t add to my bottom line – I could do more to grow my business. For example, I spent hours preparing folders with product information or color-coding my customer files. So now, I focus my time on the 20% of tasks that build my business.

Another key to working smarter, not harder, is consistency. Your business won’t progress if you only work on it randomly. Of course, you don’t have to dedicate much time (I hope that much is clear now), but it does help to be consistent for people to trust you with their business.

Learn more!

5 Tips for Direct Sales Leaders

Let these tips guide you toward leadership and growing your direct sales team.

I want you to understand a misconception a lot of people have:

Leadership is not a skill with which we’re born. Leadership is a skill you develop. You learn. You grow.

Direct sales is a business where you can step up to leadership, bringing new challenges and opportunities.

If you’re new to leadership, below are five tips to help you grow into the type of leader that a team likes to follow.

Keep in mind that the number 1 complaint from consultants about their leaders is that they only hear from them when the leader wants to know how many sales they have!

I see that behavior all the time, making the team feel used – as if they’re only a number to help the leader get paid. It leads to resentment and negative team culture.

You don’t want to be that kind of leader. So check these tips to help you become a fabulous leader of a fantastic team.

Help your team members to feel successful

When teamies feel they are successful, it will help them build on their success and keep striving for more. Think about recognition. What are you celebrating in your team, and how are you celebrating it?

What you focus on with recognition will increase.

Do you create certificates? Do you hand out trophies? Do you post a brag in your team group on Facebook? Do you call them or go Live to congratulate them with a personal message? The more you do, the better!

If your team members are excited about their achievements, they are more likely to repeat it and strive for more. It will also inspire others in your team to strive for recognition.

Encourage effort

Not everyone in your team will achieve the standard required for public recognition. But a good leader will make everyone on the team feel valued.

Try to find a reason to congratulate as many team members as possible each week for something. A quick text message can make a big difference in helping someone feel acknowledged and valued.

Always be on the lookout for team members who’ve stepped out of their comfort zone to take action. When they do, consider going the extra mile and posting them a personal card in the mail to let them know how proud of them you are.

Even if their actions don’t lead to results this time, they might next time. And in the meantime, you have a loyal team member who feels valued.

Mark significant occasions

I keep a box of cards handy, so I’m ready to send a personal postcard when something noteworthy happens in a team member’s life.

Think of life events such as a new baby, engagement or wedding, passing of a loved one or pet, illness, etc.

It’s essential to show team members that they matter to you and that what happens in their life matters to you.

Talk less and listen more

As a leader, we have to stop trying to fix everything. Realize that your team members often already have the answer! Our job is to coach them and help them find it. (Check this article on coaching.)

It can be hard to stop ourselves from telling our team members what to do. Remember that if you let them choose their action steps, they’re far more likely to take that action!

Be a cheerleader

Be the best cheerleader you can be! When I think of cheerleaders, I think of someone happy, positive, energetic, and smiling. That’s your job!

Always be positive. Acknowledging concerns is okay, but you must continually re-focus on the positives and the next step.

Sometimes you’ll have to remind a team member of their exceptional qualities or how far they’ve come already. Sometimes you’ll need to remind them of how excellent your company is.

Focus on gratitude, focus on what’s in your control, and enjoy the process.

Want to learn all my secrets to growing a direct sales team? This book has everything I have learned from the industry in the last 20 years. I’ve tried and tested many methods to arrive at my winning formula!

Order your copy here

Social Capital is Key to Boost Your Biz

Do you want to know the secret to amplifying the success of your direct sales business?

One of the critical pillars I’ve used to build a $20 million global direct sales business and boost my happiness is positive reach-outs.

Positive reach-outs use kindness to foster stronger relationships and build social capital.

Building your social capital means developing meaningful relationships with your customers, hosts, and teamies, and it doesn’t just help your business. It makes you happier in the process.

How cool is that?

Professor Christopher Peterson was one of the giants in positive psychology, and his pioneering work showed that happiness comes from social relationships and kindness to others. 

Michelle Gielan, the best-selling author of Broadcasting Happiness, says that social capital is your greatest asset. Social capital is the value you receive from having relationships with other people. The great thing about social capital is that it doesn’t lose weight through use. It grows instead.

In my positive reach-outs, I use a lot of praise. Positive Psychologist Shawn Achor reminds us that praise is a virtuous cycle and a renewable resource: “…the more you give, the more you enhance your supply. When done right, praise primes the brain for higher performance, which means that the more we praise, the more success we create. And the more successes there are, the more there is to praise.”

How I reach out to my team and customers in a positive way

There are many ways to reach out and build your social capital. I do various things, from sending emails and private messages to phone calls and in-person catch-ups. I also always have a supply of unique occasion cards for birthdays, births, engagements, etc., ready to go, so it’s easy to put one in the post to someone.

I started doing this 15 years ago and never stopped because I realized the powerful positive impact of sending an engagement card to a customer who called to thank me. She told me she only received three cards – one from her mother, one from her future mother-in-law, and one from me – which meant so much to her. She is still a loyal customer and has referred many people to me.

“The more you help others and spread positivity, the brighter you will all shine.”

On another occasion, I visited a team member’s house and saw an encouraging letter I had sent her framed and placed where she would see it every day. As a result, she is now one of the top performers in my entire organization!

Another lovely way to build social capital is to buy random gifts, which could be as simple as taking muffins into a meeting or training session for no particular reason.
The more you connect with people in your network and your direct sales team, the stronger your relationships will become. The more you help others and spread positivity, the brighter you will all shine.

Are you ready to build social capital in your direct sales business?

A fabulous way to start these reach-outs is with a power lead, another concept coined by Michelle Gielan. A power lead is a cheerful, optimistic, or inspiring start to communications. Gielan found that how you choose to start a conversation influences the behavior of others.

Start with a ‘power lead’

Starting with positivity sets a tone. It primes you and others for positivity and pushes everyone into the high-performance zone. It could be as simple as starting the conversation. “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?” or when someone asks you,” How are you this morning?”

Instead of talking about how you didn’t get enough sleep, you could say that you had a lovely breakfast (if, indeed, you did have a lovely breakfast).

It’s not about making things up to say something positive. Instead, it focuses on authenticity to set that positive tone.

I want to encourage you to spend at least 15 minutes a day focusing on positive reach-outs with your customers, team, or hosts. You will find that it will boost your happiness and positivity while at the same time building your social capital and strengthening relationships – and this will move your direct sales business forward in the long run.

Want to keep track of your positive reach-outs?

Unlock the full potential of your sales strategy with GenieChat

The all-in-one CRM solution designed to make your life easier and your profits higher.

The cutting-edge platform simplifies customer relationship management with personal reminders, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to connect.

Did you know that 50% of sales happen after the fifth touch? GenieChat helps you effortlessly nurture those crucial relationships, maximizing your follow-up average to convert more leads into loyal customers.

Unleash the power of the Magic Message Generator, featuring integrated, unlimited AI-generated replies, answers, and invites that take the guesswork out of communication. But that’s not all—GenieChat’s unlimited duplication and team-sharing capabilities allow you to impart super-seller powers to your team. Share content, scripts, videos, and more with just a click. Say goodbye to missed opportunities and hello to seamless, effective selling with GenieChat.

Explore GenieChat here

Tapping into Strength During Adversity

Title: Tapping into Strength during adversity - tips for direct sellers

Knowing that you can stay strong no matter what’s happening in your life inspires a kind of confidence and a feeling of security that’s hard to find any other way.

In this article, I want to share how I’ve stayed strong and the road I took to arrive at that place.

The 3 biggest challenges I faced in my life

When I was 19, my friend from high school was murdered. As you can imagine, that was a massive shock to me with so many emotions and thoughts to process. Fortunately, her murderer was caught and brought to justice, but I had still lost my friend.

The next major challenge happened when my daughter Sophie was 6. One day, out of the blue, she was diagnosed with Leukemia. It’s common for a diagnosis in children to occur at 50 to 500 Leukemia cells per millilitre of blood, but she had 12,000 and a huge fight ahead. Fortunately, she’s in remission now and doing well. She’s a Karate champion raising money for other kids like her.

Then three years ago, I had a series of strokes and pseudoaneurysms on the brain. I had difficulty doing basic things like communicating and walking, and I was told I would never run or play sports again.

“I refused to accept that fate and stayed strong and worked hard. I can now talk your ear off, I’m running a 20 million dollar global business, and I’m the current Australian National Champion in my division for Karate.”

I don’t want to dwell on the challenges I faced. Instead, I want to share how I stayed strong to get through them. I want to share the strategies you can use to learn from my lessons!

Create a vision for the future

During the most challenging times, I always created a vision for the future. When my friend was murdered, I pictured her getting justice. Later, when Sophie was sick and couldn’t walk, we talked about the day she could walk 10 kilometres, and we created this lovely vision of it. And we ticked off that goal in 2021!

The day I was told I’d never play sports again due to the strokes, I decided I would get my black belt in Karate to show them it was possible. I’m not at black yet, but I’m getting very close!

With firm goals and visions in place, I then lived one day at a time, focusing on small, incremental improvements towards that goal. And I celebrated each small achievement along the way to the larger goal.

Find the Glitter

When Sophie was ill, we kept a ‘glitter journal’. It was a notebook with a glittery cover, and each day we would write in there what the one good thing was in that day. We would each find one bit of glitter for that day to keep us going.

I now keep a gratitude journal. I’ve since learned to be grateful for minor things and look for the good every day. I also add quotes and images in my gratitude journal that inspire me to stay positive.

Ask for help

Asking for help is one of those things that we humans find extremely difficult. Yet, through my challenges, I learned that asking for help is essential when we need it.

Not only did I find that a little bit of help from others made my load that much lighter, but I also noticed that asking people for help was like giving them a gift. So many of my friends wanted to help but didn’t know how. Once I asked, my friends happily cooked dinners, picked up our children from school, visited in hospital and did so many other little things that made a big difference at the time!

Don’t think you’ll be a burden, instead put yourself in their shoes. If one of your friends is going through a tough time, wouldn’t you love to help out?

I hope you’re not experiencing major upheaval in your life right now. But if you are, I hope that these activities help you as much as they helped me. My wish is that they help make your path forward faster and easier!

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