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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

• 2 Tips for Your Launch
• The 1 Mistake You Don’t Want to Make on Social Media
• 3 Tips to Increase Attendance at Your Direct Sales Parties

This book comes with dozens of free worksheets, checklists, and templates to get you started on your direct sales journey today!

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?

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?