How happy mail can grow your direct sales biz

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given in business (and also in life really) is that people might not remember what you say but they’ll remember how you make them feel.

I’ve always kept this philosophy in mind as I’ve built my multi-million dollar direct sales empire.

One of the most powerful ways I’ve applied this philosophy to my biz is what I call ‘happy mail’. The intention is to make people feel happy, valued and recognized.

Originally all the happy mail I sent was via the post. It’s so rare to get anything but bills via the post these days so receiving something fun in the letterbox is a delightful surprise and can really lift someone’s day.

I used to love receiving handwritten postcards or letters in the mail when I was growing up and now it’s such a rarity that it’s become a powerful gesture.

Snail mail or messages?

However as my business grew and became global, that personal touch wasn’t as scalable as I’d have liked. I still send 30 to 50 bits of mail per month but now I’ve extended the concept to include virtual as well.

Remembering my philosophy that my most important job in my business is to make people feel good, I’ve decided that ‘happy mail’ can also be virtual. But I do make sure that the messages are personal, genuine and heartfelt. I send the messages via email, WhatsApp or Messenger every week. The messages are always unexpected and very feel-good in content.

They are well received and and a powerful way to help my direct sales business be successful.

These days the majority of my happy mail is to my team, but I still make sure I acknowledge and brighten the day of my loyal personal customers too. Because that’s how you build a loyal customer base in the first place!

To make the process easier on me and keep track of things, I created a tracker. I set a daily goal for post and messages to send and the tracker helps me to keep this as a business habit and helps me to reach a variety of people with my sparks of joy. I keep 2 trackers, one for my team and one for my customers. Download an example below.

I also keep a box of postcards stocked and ready to be use. If I notice that a customer or team member has a special event (often on social media), I am ready to acknowledge the occasion. I always have engagement, wedding, graduation, sympathy, new baby and congratulations cards available.

I have one particularly loyal customer who will never forget that I was one of only 3 people who sent her an engagement card. I also have a very appreciative team member who won’t forget that I was the only person who sent her a sympathy card when her beloved horse died.

Always keep in mind that we’re in the relationship business. Acknowledging big happenings in people’s lives is an important way to strengthen your connections. And it makes you feel good too!

When you’re thinking about happy mail for your team, keep in mind that it doesn’t always have to be about recognition of top achievers. Also look for people who’ve put in enormous effort or who have stepped out of their comfort zone. Perhaps acknowledge and thank people for contributing to your events or people who are positive and helpful on your team pages.

The opportunity to make a positive difference and have an impact on someone are plentiful when you approach your business with a grateful, happy heart.

Let me know in the comments what you send out as ‘happy mail’!

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Why parties are vital to direct sales success

Title: Why parties are vital for your direct sales success

Ok, so I know this is somewhat controversial, but I’m a true believer that events of some sort are vital to your success in direct sales.

Parties are by far the easiest and fastest way to grow your business.

I don’t think it matters if the event is in-person or online, the important part is gathering a group of people together to have an experience with you.

Why parties matter so much to direct sales success

At a party, you have more exposure to more people who can be encouraged to book a party, to join your business and join your customer group. (Read more on how to do that here) Parties are far more time-efficient than trying to sell to individuals one by one. It’s the best way to make more money faster.

By focusing on parties you avoid ‘buyer fatigue’. There’s only a certain amount you can sell to a customer group. Even with a large and highly engaged group you will hit a limit. Customers in a group are also more likely to wait for the next sale or other great offer, it’s hard to sell in between offers!

By filling your diary with parties and events, you are less reliant on social media algorithms that you cannot control. If you solely rely on Facebook groups (and I know many direct sellers do), you can never be sure from day to day that your business is safe. Remember that you don’t ‘own’ or control that piece of online real estate, you have no say in what happens to it!

You can increase the value of each customer to your business by offering parties or events with different themes. This helps to keep interest in booking with you high, which means you’ll get repeat bookings. You’ll find that you build lasting relationships with many of your hosts and customers. Read more on setting themes and get some ideas here.

At a party you can focus on different ranges of your product and you’ll be in a position to offer better education on them. This means that guests are more likely to buy and you’ll notice it increases loyalty and repeat orders from you.

If you want to see the benefits for yourself, set yourself a goal of booking 2 parties into your diary this month. Then aim to get more bookings from those parties and keep the momentum going!

Here are some more articles to help you make the most from your parties and events:

Using QR Codes in Your Direct Sales Biz

How to use QR codes in your direct sales biz

QR codes. I’m sure you’ve seen the weird pixelated squares around before.

Here in Australia we use them all the time to ‘check in’ when we go to a café or museum to help with Covid-19 contact tracing.

But QR Codes can be used in lots of different ways for different purposes. And as direct sellers we can also use them for our business.

What is a QR code?

A QR code in our brand colors. Scan it to see what it does.

QR stands for Quick Response. When your phone scans the code, it will ‘read’ the embedded data, which is often a website or contact details.

The QR code was invented way back in 1994 but usage has been steadily increasing with surge in usage fueled by the pandemic.

Why do you want a QR code?

There are few really good reasons to grab yourself a free QR code. And not the least important is that it starts conversations!

Another reason is that you make it super easy for people to take some action. It’s more fun and a lot easier than typing in a web address or searching for a specific Facebook group.

A QR code also makes you look professional and tech savvy.

Ideas on how to use QR Codes in your direct sales biz.

Take people directly to your customer group on Facebook (or wherever you host a customer group). Print the code on a flyer and show it at parties or demonstrations as part of your display. During checkout I like to offer people a chocolate if they scan the code and join my group. Many people will take that offer!

You can also post the digital copy in your online parties and stimulate action by using party points for people who join your customer group.

Link to your ordering page. You can use a QR code to take people directly to your ordering page. This is especially handy for markets or vendor events when you’re not allowed to sell products but still like to encourage people to buy from you.

If you have a blog or page with all your party themes, you can use a QR code to display all the information about the kind of parties you offer when talking to people about booking a party.

When you’re running a raffle or contest, you can collect entries via Google forms (for example). The QR code can be used to direct people straight to the entry form or a survey that you’ve created.

If you need to do a lot of user education about your products, you could use QR codes to take people directly to a video that shows more in-depth information. This works especially well when talking to people at events and you quickly want them to see the video.

If you have a newsletter, you can use the QR code to direct people straight to the sign-up page.

If you’re doing an online party and want to do a bit of treasure hunting, create a QR code linking to some recruiting information (for example). Then use an online jigsaw puzzle generator to scramble the QR code. Post the puzzle in your party. Guests would have to solve the puzzle, then scan the code and can then tell you where they landed for a prize.

How do I get a QR code?

You can grab a free QR code from a number of places on the internet. I like these generators:

Social Media QR Code with frame. Scan to see how it works.

QR Code Generator Pro – I like them because you can put all your social media in one QR code and add your ordering website or blog. They also have a lot of other options such as cute frames and color options. You need to create a free account to use this service.

QR Creator – This is a the quickest way to get a code. You don’t need to register and all you do is add your info and a code is generated immediately. Just hit download and you’re in business!

Where to use your QR code

Before you have anything printed and spend money, have a think about where you want to send people to when they scan the code. You can link the QR code to your customer group, to your ordering page or booking page, to your social media or even a survey.

And there’s nothing to stop you from having a few different QR codes for different purposes!

Here are some ideas for displaying your QR code:

Business Cards
If you use business cards for your direct sales business, pop a QR code on there! Next time you order a new batch, add the code as well.

Stickers
Get stickers made with your QR code. You can put the stickers on your business cards, your ordering forms, on your catalogs, on your delivery bags, etc. Stickers will give you a lot of options for displaying your code and are therefore quite cost effective.

How to use QR Codes in your direct sales business

Handouts & Posters
If you put up posters to advertise your direct sales biz, put your QR code on that. For example, I like to put up posters to advertise my business opportunity. I have a QR code on that poster that leads to my website with all the information and links to signing up!

Another idea is when you are at a vendor event or market and you use a flyer (with your party themes and booking info or with information on the business opportunity), have a QR code on the flyer too that links to a relevant website or social media.

Product Care / Product Use Instructions
Send people a thank you card or include a card in your delivery with a QR code that links to instructions on how to use your product or how to best care for the product. If you want to make this trick even more powerful, link to a video of you explaining the use or care of the product!

I’m sure there are many more creative ways to use QR codes in a direct sales business, but this article should give you a good start. We’d love to hear how you are using QR codes, so leave a comment below.

Fuel your goals with Positive Prime

It’s rare that I’m genuinely excited by an app and that my mind is (almost) literally blown. But this one app is the single best tool I’ve ever used to accelerate my success.

My direct sales business increased from $4 million to over $17 million over the last year, and it’s partly due to this app.

It’s called ‘Positive Prime‘ and it’s all about transforming your mind and subsequently your habits and routines that work towards your goals. It’s backed by the latest research in neuroscience and positive psychology and it works.

It actually works.

Move over vision boards – this app is so much more effective!

With Positive Prime you can fuel your business goals, personal or fitness goals, your mindset, uplift your mood and inspire creative or innovative thinking. With the app you prime your mind for change, for success and peak performance.

The app allows you to bypass your critical mind and let the messages sink into your subconscious, helping you to achieve faster change. Positive Prime offers different sessions to train your brain, and create powerful, self-fulfilling prophesies around your goals.

You can get started for free but I highly recommend you upgrade to a paid plan as soon as you can because you can then significantly amplify the effect of each session by personalizing it to you with images and personal statements for your specific goals.

When you personalize a session you include you own photos that are relevant, other images that resonate with that goal or make you feel good and inspire you. Adding that personalization increases your emotional response and engagement with the session.

Add fuel to your goals with Positive Prime

It’s like watching a movie and suddenly you’re given the starring role!

I’m wondering what direct sales goal you might want to achieve? Qualifying for a retreat or trip? Achieving the next career rank? Growing your team? Winning an award? Whatever your business goals are, Positive Prime can help you to stay motivated, to work smarter not harder, to be creative and innovative in how you go about achieving your goals, and to enjoy the journey as you go.

Added bonus: you can use it for personal goals too! Do you have fitness goals? Does the Pandemic have you down or feeling anxious? There are sessions for you to work with this too!

I’m currently using the app to help me focus on my fitness goals and to inspire peak performance before competing in Karate. I’m also using it to stay motivated in my business and inspire me to think outside of the box.

A quick snippet about my journey from stroke victim to champion & the role of Positive Prime in my life and my business

And I love each and every session, I always feel so uplifted and ready to get to it! I love it so much I’m literally jumping in my seat to share this with you.

So go check it out here.

Top 3 Reasons People Fail in Direct Sales

The direct sales industry is wonderful. It can be truly life-changing – I’ve seen it happen many times in my organization and I 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.

Podcast Recommendations for direct sellers

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know I love listening to podcasts. They’re a fabulous, free tool to help you grow in your business and life. They also help you to stay motivated and inspired.

Whenever I’m doing a ‘boring’ task like ironing or when I’m driving or running, I listen to a podcast to make the most of that time. That way I can fit professional development into pockets of my time throughout the week without having to make time for listening.

Here are three of my current favorites.

The Direct Sales Podcast

This is a great resource for your direct sales business. The host, Darius Chia (co-founder of Dough), has gathered an inspirational powerhouse of guests to interview. It’s an interesting collection of advice and training from the top leaders and coaches in the direct sales and party plan industry.

You’re bound to learn something new or get an interesting tip in every episode, even if you’ve been doing it for some time. Darius also gives you an insight into the person being interviewed at the end with a lightning round of questions.

The topics range from social media excellence to maintaining consistency and how to master the art of storytelling as part of your marketing.

You can listen to my interview here when Darius and I talked about ‘how to achieve your why‘.

The Direct Sales Podcast with Darius Chia

Making the Leap

If you’ve been in the direct sales industry for a while, you might be familiar with Rachel Perry as part of the ‘The Tag Team’. She’s now on her own and still providing education for direct sellers and party plan consultants and is the host of the Making the Leap podcast.

In her podcast, Rachel shares her expertise, does live coaching and sometimes interviews other experts. Beginners as well as leaders in their business will find this podcast helpful and interesting.

Making the Leap with Rachel Perry

Pin: 3 Podcast recommendations for direct sellers

She Means Business

She Means Business isn’t a direct sales-specific podcast but it’s very inspirational. The host, Carrie Green, interviews successful entrepreneurs (mostly women) from a range of industries. The stories are varied, interesting and often inspirational.

In some episodes Carries shares her own business expertise. I often find that the advice is relevant to my business in some way, even if the industry is completely different.

I was honored to be interviewed by Carrie myself, you can listen to that episode here.

She Means Business with Carrie Green

So, over to you: what are your favorite business podcasts?

Jump into January

It’s important to prepare for your direct sales business restart January, in December (or even November) of the previous year.

“What? Why?” I hear you ask…

The reason you want to prepare for restarting your business is because it way too easy for the weeks to fly by while you’re caught up in the daily stuff.

And before you know it’s Easter before you even restart your business. You don’t want to fall into the trap of taking a break over Christmas and then fizzling out for several months before even thinking about your business.

Instead, by preparing for your restart you’ll enjoy the jump back into your direct sales biz and you’ll be up and running again right at the start of the year.

If you’re reading this and it’s already January don’t worry: Still download the worksheets and plan your year – it’s super important to set goals and get yourself moving. It’s not too late!

Visionboard

Take some time to reflect on what it is that you want to achieve in your direct sales business. What is your vision for your business? Where do you want to be in a year’s time?

Set your intentions for the next year.

However, it’s important that you not just think through your vision but the possible obstacles that you might encounter too, so you can prepare for that.

In the Create Your Ultimate Vision Board article I have more information and a printable for you to use to make that easy.

If you want to something more advanced and interactive than a vision board, check out the article Fuel Your Goals With Positive Prime – that’ll boost your motivation and focus in just 3 minutes per day!

Set Your Business Goals for The Year

Now that you are clear on your vision, it’s time to set your goals. I have a Goal Planner that will help with that.

Don’t skip this step!

Setting tangible goals for the year and then drilling down to January and even the next 3 days, will help you to take actions to actually achieve your vision!

Grab the goal planner for 2022 below to use for your direct sales biz.

Capitalize on your December parties

During December (or even November), you can start filling up your January diary by inviting the party host to book a party in January now.

Talk to the host at her party (or afterwards if it’s an online party). You explain to her:

That it would be nice to host another party in January because there were probably people that couldn’t make this party that she might want to invite to the January party.
There will be new products to play with! Most companies will have new products or product ranges in January.
Offer a very different party theme, especially if your company doesn’t have new products in January.
If she books that January party now, she’ll get this wonderful incentive you’ve prepared.

Your booking incentive could be a good quality product, a basket you’ve created with a few smaller products and dressed up with ribbons, or a bottle of bubbly.

Don’t give this incentive at the December party, keep it until January – you don’t want her cancelling on you with you losing your incentive.

Bonus Tip for November and December parties

When someone says in November or December that they’ll call you in January for a booking – pencil in a date immediately instead of waiting for that call. I usually say something like: “January is such a busy time of year for me with so many people wanting a casual catch-up with friends after the busy season. So let’s pencil something in now and you can let your friends know about it if you see them over the festive season. If the date doesn’t end up suiting, we can try to find a better time in January.”

I then follow-up with a postcard to thank them for their booking and I include all the details of their party (such as the date & time and party theme).

Reading this in January?

If you didn’t do this in November or December and it’s now January: don’t worry not all is lost. I would grab the January coupons from this article and contact the hosts that partied with you between October and December. You thank them for hosting a party last year, explain that you have some very different themes or products to try and offer the January coupon as an incentive.

Use the brainstorm printable that will help you kickstart the year

Print the ‘Kickstart 2022’ brainstorm printable (grab it below) and take some time to work through it.

This is another activity that you don’t want to skip. Intentionally sitting down and working through all the prompts on the printable will yield more than you think, most people surprise themselves with how much more they can come up with on the worksheet.

This printable will help you to remember and write down contacts, people who said maybe, and work out ways outside of parties to get new bookings.

Once you’ve completed the activity, you’ll have a wonderful checklist for new actions that will help you to kickstart the year!

Host your own party to showcase the new products

If your company has released new products and a new catalog, it’s time to host your own party.

Make it a fun event with some lucky door prizes and invite all your good customers and hosts.

You can run this as a ‘mystery host’ party. This is where you give out tickets or points for every $10 spent (or some other amount that works in your business). At the end of the party you then draw a winner who is the ‘mystery host’ and gets the host rewards for that party (providing a host reward level was achieved).

And of course, from this party you want to get some new bookings.

The best way to get bookings is to have some new themes (perhaps related to the new products) available. Set up a display where you advertise these new themes to entice your guests.

To top it off, set a booking incentive and display it at the party.

Set your own booking incentive

There are different ways you can offer an incentive for bookings.

How to restart your direct sales biz in January.

You can create a bundle of products that you received for free or at a discount, you can offer a high-end product that’s desirable, you can make your own basket with a wine and some chocolates. Just make it look really pretty and enticing!

Here are a few ways in which you can offer the incentive. You can offer the incentive for each person who books in January (don’t book too far ahead, you’ll see more cancellations that way).

However if you need to control your diary, you can offer the incentive for certain dates. I usually print off a calendar and put stars on the dates that I want them to book on. If someone books on a ‘star date’ they earn the incentive.

By setting your intentions and goals for next year, followed by actions to get party bookings, sales and recruits, you’ll set yourself up for a great direct sales year!

What to look for in a direct sales business

Are you looking for (another) direct sales company to join, but you have no idea what you should be looking for?

Let me help.

I am passionate about the direct sales industry and the difference it can make for families.

I have been in the direct sales industry since 2002 and was the Direct Sales Association of Australia distributor of the year in 2019. I simply adore the direct sales (or party plan) industry.

But it’s not the same for everyone. I have seen companies come and go. I have seen great people make poor choices and get burned. I’ve seen people heart-broken in their direct sales business.

My own experience, however, has been amazing. I happened to have made a good choice when I joined my company and I’ve had lots of success.

My mission here at Direct Sales Inspiration is to help you build the business of your dreams and have an amazing experience too. But to make that happen, it starts all by picking a good direct sales company.

My tips for choosing a direct sales company

Love the products
I consider this to be the most important aspect of your decision. If you genuinely love the products it will be easier to sell them because you’ll feel as through your are sharing, teaching and helping.

Align with your passions
Try to match your passions and enthusiasms to your biz. For example if you love cooking find a company that sells cooking-related products. If you’re excited about home décor and styling, then find a company that ties in with your enthusiasm and skills. You’ll go so much further if you love the products, love the company and enjoy learning about it, talking about it, and selling it!

Find out about the company’s reputation
You’ll be representing the brand, are you proud to do that? Is the company ethical? Do they give back to the community or a charity in some way? What can you find out about their values and community spirit?

A lot of reputable brands are members of a direct sales association in the country they operate in. A quick Google search should help you to find your direct sales association and their members.

What kind of training and support is available from the company?
Direct sales companies with solid training and an upline who offers support and coaching will make a big difference in how quickly you can be successful in your biz.

Once you’ve decided which company to join, spend time researching who you want to partner with in the company. Not just for support and coaching, but you also want your personalities to fit!

Be careful when comparing commission structures
Compensation plans are detailed documents that can be tricky to interpret. A common mistake I’ve seen people make is to choose a company because of the high commission offered on personal sales. However, they fail to take into account how difficult it would be to sell that particular product.

The easiest way to compare is to find out what the average party total is for the company. This will give you a better indication of what your income would be. A company with a high personal sales commission usually structures it that way because average party sales are low!

Is the product consumable?
While this isn’t absolutely necessary to be successful, it can be helpful for your personal sales if the product is something that people will re-order from you. Getting brand new customers is generally harder than getting people to re-order from you.

That said, I do know plenty of consultants who sell non-consumable products and are very successful!

Check minimum requirements
Make sure you find out what the requirements are to keep your business open. Many companies have some sort of minimum you need to achieve to keep your account with them open. Is that amount reasonable? Can you see yourself achieving that under normal circumstances?

But what happens in an emergency? I know it’s not fun to think about worst case scenarios but they do happen. It happened to me: in 2016 my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia and I myself landed in hospital in 2018 with a series of strokes and a brain aneurysm. These things happened unexpectedly but I was able to keep my business running through both these crises – make sure you can too should anything happen.

What to look for when choosing a direct sales company by Christine Tylee.

Does the company offer incentives and rewards?
The opportunity to strive for additional products or incentive trips or other major rewards are an important part of the direct sales experience. Investigate what the company that you’re considering offers. Do these rewards and incentives excite you enough to push yourself further?

Having these ‘carrots’ along the way really helps direct sellers to strive harder and achieve bigger things. They certainly work to motivate me!

There are many wonderful companies and great products out there so it can be hard to choose, but with this tips you should be able to narrow it down.

I wish you all the very best with your new adventure and I hope it’s everything you dreamed of!

If your personal passion is for skincare and make-up and you want to partner with an ethical brand, you might like to join me in my Australian or North American teams. Click here to get some more info.

Can you make money in direct sales?

Can you make money in direct sales?

I used to get asked this question all the time, but now that direct sales is my career I only hear this question now and then.

The short answer is absolutely, emphatically, 100% yes.

The question that people should be asking is “How do you make money in direct sales?”

Assumptions about starting a direct sales business

The mistake most people make is assuming that because it’s so easy to start a direct sales business in the direct sales or party plan industry, it’s easy to make money too.

And that’s not necessarily true.

Running a successful direct sales business requires commitment and a willingness to step out of your comfort zone. And not everybody is prepared to do that.

Why people join a direct sale company

People join a direct sales company to make money for all kinds of reasons. I’ve had team members join to earn extra money to go and backpack around Europe. I have team members who support their family by paying a fair amount of the household bills with their business income.

I also have literally thousands of people in my organization who earn a couple of hundred dollars per month. Their direct sales business is a fun side hustle to be able to afford a few extra luxuries for their family they couldn’t otherwise afford. They are making extra cash and enjoying the process.

Some people join with a very specific goal in mind. For example to be able to replace their old fridge or buy a new car. A few of these team members even stop after reaching their financial target.

And that’s still a success in my book – they’ve reached their goal after all.

But you can’t make ‘real’ money in direct sales, right?

The most irritating thing to me is when people tell me that direct selling is indeed a great side hustle but there’s no way to make any real money with it.

It’s an annoying statement because I quit a full time job in teaching to run my direct sales business. I now make a very significant income for my family from my business. In fact, my income is now 5 times higher than what I was making as a full time primary school teacher!

I will concede that I’m not an average direct seller. Only a few percent make it to this kind of income level, in the same way that not everyone becomes a CEO in the corporate world.

I have dozens and dozens of people in my organization who are able to rely on their business for their full time occupation.

Many of them don’t have a degree, some aren’t even fluent in English, some need to stay home to care for children with special needs. I have a deaf team member and I have disabled team members, I have team members with all kinds of challenges in their life.

But their direct sales business has provided them all with a life-changing opportunity. They are earning significant incomes and making their business and family life work for them.

And that’s what I love about this industry.

We have a bad name….

Unfortunately the direct sales industry has a bit of a reputation problem.

Part of this stems from confusing a party plan or direct sales company with a pyramid scheme. And some of it stems from unethical people who over-sell the opportunity and undersell the amount of work needed.

I’ve seen plenty of people claim that it’s easy to make a 6-figure income overnight. Has it been done? Yes. Is it common? Nope!

When people join with the expectation that they’ll be an overnight success with a massive income with very little work, they’ll be very disappointed with the reality of things.

Sometimes the problem is that newbies don’t get a lot of guidance and make all kinds of mistakes. They end up selling very little, recruiting nobody and their business quickly fizzles out before it even got started properly.

This is part of the reason I started Direct Sales Inspiration: I want everybody to be able to make the most of the opportunities that really do exist out there.

If you’ve just joined a direct sales business and you need a little help, start here:

If you’re in Australia or America and want to find out more about joining my team, click here.

How to get out of a rut in your direct sales business

All of us have periods in our lives where we feel like we’re stuck in a rut. And that rut might just be in one area of your life – for example your direct sales business.

Perhaps you feel like you’re just going through the motions in your biz, just treading water and not going anywhere. Or maybe you haven’t done a party for a few months and barely made a sale…

If that’s you, let me help you get unstuck and move your direct sales business forward again!

Below I’ve got a free printable for you with a big list of ideas to get your business rolling again. But first we need to get you mentally out of that rut!

How to get unstuck in your direct sales biz

Step 1: What’s stopping you?

As not all ruts are the same, you’ll want to have a think about why you’re stuck at the moment. Is there something stopping you such as needing childcare, needing a car, or losing a phone? How can you resolve this?

Sometimes people get in a rut after a holiday because they just don’t get started again. This can also happen after an illness or injury. Sometimes people lose motivation and then getting started again feels impossible. But in all of those cases there’s nothing actually stopping them now to re-start and move on to step 2.

Step 2: Self-care

Self-care and compassion are vital to get going again. You could beat yourself up for being lazy or feeling unmotivated. You could blame yourself for being in a rut. But that’s not helpful, not necessarily true, or important.

The important thing is that today you are moving forward again. Do a quick self-assessment to see if you’re getting enough sleep, are you getting enough exercise? Are you eating well? Are you getting some socializing in your week? Are you treating yourself with kindness?

Taking care of yourself ensures you have the energy to stay focused and excited about your life and your business.

Step 3: Small actions and rewards

Now that nothing is stopping you from moving forward and you’re treating yourself like the queen that you are, it’s time for step 3. In this step you’re going to decide on some small actions that you feel are achievable and then reward yourself.

The positive reinforcement of a reward is helpful when you’re struggling to get motivated. Set yourself a small reward for even starting that small action. Then continue to reward yourself each step of towards a larger goal. After a while you want to pull back on the rewards but still set a larger reward once you have reached your goal.

Where to start?

How to get out of a rut in your direct sales biz

First, start by ‘positively priming’ your brain. An amazing new technology, based on the latest research in neuroscience and positive psychology, is the best tool I’ve ever found to rapidly make changes. It’s like Netflix meets vision board sprinkled with steroids!

In just 3 minutes a day Positive Prime can increase your positivity and help you achieve your goals. This tool will seriously help you to leave that rut far behind! Read more here or check out the app here.

Next, download the Business Booster Worksheet below.

This free printable has a list of ideas and tips to help you get your business in motion again. Start by identifying 3 small actions that you find easy, things that won’t stop you, now that you’ve committed yourself to getting out of that rut. Actually schedule these 3 actions in for the coming week – like you’re making an appointment with yourself. Don’t put it off but do it now.

Once you’ve done the 3 easy things and you’ve rewarded yourself, go back to the list and find 3 more things. These can be actions that you may find a little harder but are still very doable for you. Do these things, reward yourself and go back to the list. Rinse and repeat!

By taking small positive actions and rewarding yourself you’ll find that you’ll be pulling yourself out of that rut and you’ll quickly see the results in your party plan or direct selling business.

What are you waiting for?

Grab the Business Booster Worksheet to get out of a rut and move forward in your biz. You'll also get my weekly email with tips, so you'll never miss an article or freebie again!

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