Create Urgency

Deadlines, finish dates, due dates, have you ever noticed that when something is due or about to end, there’s a mad rush for it?

Most people don’t take real action on something until they have to.

I know that I always leave things until the last day.

Are you sending notes with the kids to school? Last day.

Picking up that essential item while a sale is on—the last day.

I’m writing this blog post before Tuesday—the last day.

I see the same thing happening in my direct sales business. When a special offer is about to end, I get all those last-minute orders (and, of course, I can encourage that a little with some clever texting or emailing.

When there is a joining offer for people to join the business, the day with the most sign-ups is always the last!

So why does this happen? Several theories are related to a general tendency towards procrastination in us humans. But really, we don’t need to know why it happens to take advantage of this phenomenon.

Joining Offers for your direct sales biz

If a potential new team member has an unlimited period to make a decision, they’ll put it off and procrastinate. And the longer they put off making a decision, the less likely they are to join the business.

It’s easier to do nothing than to take action.

So having a joining offer will push people to make that decision by a specific date. That’s why I love joining offers; it puts gentle pressure on people to take the time now to consider the offer and make a decision on it one way or the other.

I’ll create my own when the company doesn’t have a joining offer. Having a joining offer gives people a little push to make a decision sooner and gives me a reason to follow up with them as the deadline approaches.

Just a casual call or message with a reminder of the deadline & the offer, and you can ask how they feel about it. Nothing pushy or complicated, just a chat because the deadline is running out.

I usually set my deadlines for about a week away to prevent procrastination and set a reminder in my diary to follow up.

There’s one more bonus to joining offers: it gives you a reason to talk about joining your biz on your social media. For example, you can do a Facebook Live to announce your offer, post beautiful images of the joining offer, or even organize an online event (more on that here).

So what do I offer? Sometimes I offer additional free products to build their kit; other times, I’ve offered company stationery or other company items to help them with their new business. I’ve even done a cash-back offer.

If you have a few people who have indicated they might be interested in joining but are sitting on the fence, get them off the fence with your joining offer.

And if you don’t have any leads now, think about your joining offer so that you’re ready when you find a possible new team member.

Key Takeaways

A deadline puts gentle pressure on people to take action
If your company doesn’t have a joining offer, you can create your own
Put your deadlines about seven days away to prevent procrastination
Always follow up just before the deadline expires
Use your joining offer to promote your biz on social media.

Do the 5

Number 5 is crucial when recruiting or sponsoring in your direct sales or party plan business.

Why? There are two reasons:

5 Sponsoring Messages

How many times do you mention the career opportunity at your parties?

Research into learning and human behavior has found that people need to hear something five times before it sinks in!

Do you know what that means? If you only mention the business opportunity once in your direct selling party, the same guests would have to attend 5 of your parties before your recruiting message truly sinks in. Think about that for a moment.

You want to aim for at least 5 mentions (in different ways, you don’t want to sound like a broken record) throughout a party. Read this article on how to do that.

There’s another reason why the number five is essential: there are five fundamentals that you need to have in place so you can become an effective recruiter or sponsor.

5 Sponsoring Fundamentals

If you’re worried about not getting enough party bookings, you’ll probably feel anxious about another consultant in your area. On the flip side, when you’re confident that you can always fill your diary with parties, you’ll be happy to sponsor a new team member!

I’ve got some tips on how to keep your party bookings ticking over here and here.

You’ll attract more people to your team if they see how much fun the parties are to attend and how much fun you’re having running them.

This means mixing it up with different themes and games to keep yourself and your guests entertained and wanting to try new things.

The more passionate you are about what you sell, the company values, and the difference you can make in people’s lives, the easier it will be to attract new team members.

Likewise, people might be interested in joining your team for other reasons than yours. So, discuss the various benefits of being a direct sales consultant. That way, you can appeal to a range of people.

The most common reasons people join a party plan or direct sales company are: to earn extra money, to make new friends, to learn new skills, to have fun, to qualify for discounted products, or to have the flexibility to work around family or other commitments.

Then, find the ways your business can add value to their life. For example, they might not want to build an empire but rather have a paying hobby. Or they might want to run their business differently than you do – and you need to recognize this.

Direct sales and party plan businesses are incredibly flexible and can be run in various ways. The important thing is that you can help them make it the best side hustle for them!

A tacky little catchphrase I kept in mind when I was working to make recruiting a habit in my business was: “Do the 5 to keep recruiting alive”. Feel free to steal it

If you want to dive deeper into recruiting or sponsoring, check out my free Recruiting Mini Course. Hit the button below to sign up (no credit card required).

FREE Recruiting Mini Course

Recruiting with Games

When I started my direct sales business, I didn’t play games at my parties.

At the beginning of my career, I thought that my guests would find games childish or just not fun.

I had been to party plan events with other companies, and I had been asked to walk like a chicken or sing a line from my favorite song – and I wouldn’t say I liked it. I was out of my comfort zone and didn’t want to do that with my guests.

So I avoided all games for quite some time.

But after playing some games that respected people’s comfort zones and focused on having fun, my results were excellent!

Guests were more relaxed, and I got more bookings and leads for potential new team members. So that’s why I am now encouraging you to try games.

Why do you want to use recruiting games in your direct sales biz?

Recruiting games benefit anyone who is not yet confident talking about the business opportunity more directly.

When you’re planning to play a recruiting game at your parties, this also ensures you don’t forget to bring up the business opportunity (which we’ve all done, I’m sure).

Games are a fun and relaxed way to introduce career options, without being “salesy” or pushy.

Guests are likely to be more receptive to the message when it’s shared in a fun way.

There are two essential things to remember when playing games at your direct selling event:

Have a little fun with it. That means you have to keep up a good pace, don’t slog through it slowly but don’t rush. Make some jokes and be a bit silly.

Make the game yours, so it fits your style, personality (and company and products).

Today I have 2 recruiting games for you that have worked well for me, so give them a try.

Game 1

To play this game, give each guest a piece of paper to keep track of their score as they listen to you recite the following poem. Anyone who adds the 25 points at the end should be followed up about the business opportunity.

You can also add small prizes (small incentives, chocolates, etc.) for high scores.

Game 2: Ask me about my job

This is a game that I play at the end of the party when people have well and truly ‘warmed up’.

I set a timer for 2 minutes to ensure it doesn’t drag on.

You encourage guests to ask you about your job as a party plan consultant. Then, you reward a question about being a consultant with a (chocolate) prize or a raffle ticket (with a raffle prize draw at the end).

Sometimes nobody wants to be first, and nobody asks you a question. The way to get the ball rolling is to act like an auctioneer and ask yourself a question like an opening bid. Make it funny, and guests will pretty quickly join in.

Keep your answers short and succinct, don’t overwhelm people with too much information at one time.

I usually throw (gently!) the chocolate prizes to the guests to keep the momentum going and add a bit of activity.

You can grab the free recruiting rhyme printable below.

Seal the Deal

When someone has shown interest in joining your direct sales team, and you’ve already overcome their objections, you’ll want to “seal the deal” and sign them up for the business.

How do you do that?

No Coffee & Chat

Many direct sellers invite people interested in joining for a ‘coffee and chat’ to do that.

I don’t.

Up to about 15 years ago, I used to invite prospects for a coffee and chat but it didn’t work very well for me. Here’s why:

At the beginning of my direct sales career, I would get so passionate about the business that I’d suddenly develop a massive case of ‘verbal diarrhea’ and scare people away with information overload.
I found it challenging to schedule time to meet in person for a coffee. At the time, I was working a full-time job, running my direct sales business, and studying for my master’s degree. Then when I stopped working a job and focused entirely on my business, I had young children. Finding time for a coffee (working around naps and babysitting) was a nightmare. Interestingly, when I met them for coffee and a chat (and I kept verbal diarrhea in check), I often had them sign up before the coffee arrived.
Sometimes scheduling was such a nightmare that by the time we finally managed to catch up, they’d lost interest and turned up out of politeness – if they turned up at all.
Although the perception of the ‘coffee and chat’ is a low-pressure and casual event, many prospects still feel pressured. You’ve bought them a coffee, and they know you have given up your time, especially to meet them….to talk to them about joining a business. I found that some people struggled with the situation and weren’t comfortable.

So very early in my career, I decided that if I were going to be successful, I would have to find a way to ‘seal the deal’ without ‘coffees and chats’ with each potential team member.

I decided to sign people up at a party/event or over the phone. And that’s what I still do.

I’ve used many strategies to do this, and I’ll talk you through the ones that have worked well for me.

Strategies to Seal the Deal

Don’t be attached to the outcome
Be relaxed about the outcome of your talk with them. If potential new team members don’t feel pressured to join your party plan business, they’re more likely to give it a try. In other words: Don’t be needy!

Use a structured approach
I use the C.O.D.D approach at every party and event. C.O.D.D. stands for Compliment, Objective, Disclaimer, Date. This is a way to structure your talk to someone who has shown interest. To learn how to use the C.O.D.D. approach, read this.

To seal the deal after using C.O.D.D I’ll say something like: “Shall we go ahead and order your starter kit?” or “Let’s work out a date for your starter party – give it a go, you’ve got nothing to lose!”

Find out how ready they are

Ask the potential new team member: On a scale from 1 to 10, where are you now? With 1 being “I’m ready to run away screaming” (this usually gets a chuckle) and 10 being “Yes! Sign me up. I can’t wait to get started!

Few people are actually at a 10, but it’s an excellent way to find out what is stopping them from signing up. So, for example, if they say they’re a 7, you can ask them: “What’s stopping you from being a 10? I might be able to help with that.“

And people who are at a 6 or lower will probably not join your team. That’s fine (remember that you’re not attached to the outcome). You can keep these interested people as VIP customers or hosts.

Pillow test
If potential recruits don’t commit while talking to them, use the ‘Pillow Test’ technique. I say something like: “Let’s give it the pillow test – if you find yourself thinking about the business tonight when you go to sleep, you know it’s definitely for you. Then you should definitely jump in and give it a try!“

The next morning, follow up with a call to ask if they did think about it.

One of the reasons this technique works is because you’ve suggested to them that they will think about it tonight as they sleep. Not to mention, that’s what many of us do anyway. We think about our day as we’re drifting off.

And now you’ve suggested that this means something, namely that this opportunity is excellent for them.

As a bonus, it gives you a great opening for your follow-up phone call the next day.

These are the things that work for me. I’m really curious about what works for you in your business. Please leave a comment below and tell us what you do to ‘seal the deal’.

If you’re interested in learning more about the recruiting process before this final ‘seal the deal’ step, check out my free Recruiting Mini Course. Hit the button below to sign-up – no credit card required.

FREE Recruiting Mini-Course

Your direct sales business is a gift

The thing I love most about the direct sales industry is that we get to make a difference in people’s lives.

I’ve been in direct sales for over 17 years. My business has offered me freedom from a job I didn’t love, the freedom to work around my 3 children (and be present for every important day and milestone), and the finances to enjoy a lifestyle we love.

That’s a lot to be excited about!

When I truly understood the gift of direct sales

And even though knew I loved this business and I knew I wanted to offer it to everybody, it didn’t hit me how awesome a direct sales business really is until my daughter was diagnosed with acute leukemia at 6 years old. (*)

It was then that I understood just how much of a gift this business really is.

Because I was able to work from her hospital room and continue bringing in a good income for our family. In the kids’ cancer ward I didn’t meet any other mother who was able to continue their career….

These families had massive financial stress on top of the worries about their child.

Meanwhile, my business was a positive distraction and my team and my customers provided me (knowingly and unknowingly) with support. What precious gifts!

Offer the gift to as many people as you can

I think it’s our duty to offer the gift of our direct sales business opportunity to as many people as possible. And you don’t need to know what the gift might become for them – everybody enjoys different gifts.

Offer the gift of your business opportunity to everyone. Use this direct sales recruiting trick...

For some the gift will be friendships, for others is guilt-free shopping or a family holiday. I’ve seen women use their business to leave abusive relationships. I’ve seen women discover their strengths as they progressed on the career path.

It’s so rewarding to offer the gift to someone and watch them grow and thrive in their business.

So next time you’re tempted to skip talking about the business opportunity, remember that all you’re doing is offering them a gift. Keep that image of the gift in mind – it’s amazing how mentally freeing it is to think of recruiting that way!

Party trick

At your next party or event, place a beautifully wrapped gift in the center of your display. When someone asks “What’s in the box“, you have the perfect opportunity to talk about the gift of the business and how it’s different for everyone.

Tell them that for some the gift is a new car, for some an entirely new career, for others a bit more room in the budget…it’s like a magic present!

Offer the gift of your business opportunity to as many people as possible, perhaps you can even think of yourself as Santa for the 18+

(*) My daughter is okay now. She beat the leukemia and is a picture of health!

Dive further into the recruiting process with my FREE Recruiting Mini Course. You’ll get tips, tricks and printables. Join today by clicking the button below.

FREE Recruiting Mini Course

Improve your follow-up strategy with this 1 trick

Title: Improve you follow-up strategy with this 1 trick #directsales

I have a confession to make… I used to be dreadful at follow-up.

I’d forget to call people back or I’d forget when people wanted me to check-in again with them. Because I had bits of paper with people’s details scattered around my office in no particular order. And I’d regularly lose the information altogether.

I was disorganized and inconsistent when it came to follow-up.

That is, until I started using a “leads book”. And you might need one too:

If you’re like me back then – disorganized and using bits of paper of record phone numbers
If you struggle to remember what you talked about the last time you spoke to them
If you’re not sure when you last spoke to them and you worry about calling them too often…

…you need a leads book!

What is a leads book?

A leads book is simply a notebook for your booking and recruit leads. Sounds simple, but it works!

You use the leads book to keep track of all the people you have spoken to about either hosting a party or joining the business.

Or if you prefer you can split this into 2 books – that’s what I do these days.

Using your leads book effectively

Allocate 1 page to each person you speak to about recruiting or hosting a party. Every time you speak to them you can add brief notes to that page.

Remember to add the date for every contact you have – that way you know exactly when you talked to them last and what you discussed.

Also include personal information you know about them such as names and ages of children, life events such as holidays or getting married, and other important information. That way you can quickly call them to mind before you make a call or send a message.

You leave their name in your book until they let you know that they are definitely not interested in joining your team or hosting a party.

Improve your follow-up strategy with this one trick: a leads book for all your recruiting or host leads. #directsales #directselling

When they do say “No“, remember to ask them if that’s a no for now or forever. Ask them if it’s okay to keep them informed about any new offers that come up (or invite them to your VIP customer group) and if it’s okay to touch base from time to time. If they say “yes” to that, you leave their page in your leads book.

Don’t worry if you have some people staying in your leads book for a long time. It happens, sometimes it’s just a matter of timing. I have members in my team that I was following up with from my leads book for 3 years before they joined!

But by having their details in my trusty leads book, I didn’t have to rely on bits of paper or my memory. I had all the details together and always knew when I’d last spoken to them.

Bonus Tip: Ask people for their birthday and add that information to your leads book. Then on their birthday send them a discount voucher. That’s a great way to stay in touch with leads and it encourages them to contact you again to redeem their voucher.

Do you want to dive into the recruiting process from start to finish? Join my FREE Recruiting Mini Course. Click the button below to sign up today – no credit card required.

FREE Recruiting Mini Course

How to fast-track recruiting

Did you know there is a secret science behind the ability to effortlessly sponsor wonderful team members?

I am asked almost weekly, “What’s the secret to recruiting?” So let’s have a look at the science so you can understand the ‘law of attraction’ and use it to build your business with intention.

Research at Stanford University by physicians and quantum physicists demonstrated that by using deliberate intention, humans can raise or lower the PH of water and even shorten the time of fly larva to develop. (I’m not sure why you’d want to help flies develop faster so they can buzz around and annoy you….but it’s cool that we can!)

The law of attraction states that everything, including human thought, is energy. And it’s always vibrating, like radio waves. Furthermore, like attracts like, so whatever you attract matches what you are vibrating or broadcasting!

Be careful with your thoughts and feelings

The tricky part with the law of attraction is that it’s not just about your words but also how you feel about them.

For example: Let’s say a party plan consultant really wants to recruit new team members because she needs to make money or because she wants to qualify for an incentive trip. Her feelings around recruiting are a bit ‘needy’ so she’ll attract people in her life who perceive her as someone who needs them for something.

This consultant’s thoughts and feelings around recruiting are all about her and why she needs to expand her team. She’s unlikely to attract many new team members this way.

Do these 3 things to use the law of attraction well

This simple three-step process uses the law of attraction to help you recruit new people into your direct sales business. And the best way to build this new habit is to commit to it for three weeks, by the end of the three weeks it’ll be part of your routine!

Write down each day what you want (related to recruiting), why you want it and how you’ll feel when you’ve achieved it. Think of a reason why that’s about serving others or part of your larger purpose.
Before you make any recruiting calls or follow-up calls, write down your intended results. For example: With these calls I will attract perfect new team members with ease. I will have fun, I will be happy and relaxed.
Write down one experience you believe possible today. For example, before your next party you could write down: I will find someone I easily connect with because we have something in common.

Note: It’s important that you feel good about your efforts regardless of the results.

Mind hack for direct sellers to achieve your goals faster!

I know that seems like a bit of a contradiction because on one hand you’re trying to expand your team and grow your business but on the other hand I’m asking you to feel good even when people say “No”. But you need a bit of Buddhist detachment so you don’t become needy.

Also trust that the law of attraction sometimes works in unexpected ways and you’ll find a lovely new team member when you least expect it. But that’s because you’re ‘broadcasting’ all the right vibes!

I have personally experienced some amazing results as a result of using the law of attraction in my business. Have you?

Share your law of attraction stories in the comments below.

If you want to dive into the recruiting process with tips and printables – for FREE, join my Recruiting Mini Course. Hit the button below to sign up – no credit card required.

FREE Recruiting Mini Course

How to overcome: I don’t want to be salesy

This is part 2 in the “How to Overcome” series that delves into how to deal with objections when you’re sponsoring or recruiting into your direct sales team.

People considering becoming a direct seller often worry about annoying their friends with their new business.

They don’t want to be pushy or too ‘salesy’ and they don’t know how you can be successful without annoying everybody.

Let me tell you right now: you can be wildly successful without annoying your family or friends. You can have a growing business without being pushy or salesy!

Check this video interview I did a while back with the fabulous Rochelle Nicole. You can see why she’s so successful can’t you?

She’s so passionate she just lights up when she talks about the products of her company. That’s a fantastic example of what you can tell your potential new team member (or even show her the video…)

(And if you liked this video, also check the interview with Rochelle on attraction marketing. That interview explains very nicely how to do social media marketing without being spammy .)

You can also explain to your worried potential team member that:

Although they will start their journey with a handful or friends and family, the training and support are focused on helping to quickly move into new networks and people they don’t yet know.
A direct seller at a party creates a happy atmosphere so the guests have a great time.
A direct seller is also more like a product demonstrator than a salesperson; great products sell themselves.
You’re not looking for sales people to join your team, you’re looking for people who love the products and love to share them.
Their enthusiasm and passion for the products are more important than sales skills. Ask if they are willing to share the products with people in an authentic way. If they are honestly passionate about the products and the company, that passion will shine through when they’re talking about them. And that will sell products.
If they approach each conversation with a potential customer as a “fact finding mission” with a genuine desire to help them solve a problem, they will have happy customers that are excited to buy their products.

There really is no need to be the classic cliche of a salesy, pushy sleazebag salesperson. That is a myth and there are ways to sell authentically that are joyful, honest, and successful.

So go for your dreams!

Also check out:

Part 1 for How to Overcome “I can’t afford to join”
Part 3 for How to Overcome “I don’t have time”
Part 4 for How to Overcome “I’m afraid to stand up and speak in front of people”

Recruiting or sponsoring can be scary… What do you say? How do you bring it up at a party? When someone shows an interest, how do you follow up without being pushy?

In over 8 Modules, the Recruiting Masterclass will teach what to say, what to display, what to play, how to find potential team members outside of parties, online recruiting events, how to overcome objections, how to warm up your leads, and how to follow up!

Recruiting is a skill that you can learn, even if you think you don’t have it in you!

C.O.D.D……Let’s go fishing

Title: A Structure for your recruiting chats that actually works

Have you ever heard of C.O.D.D? It’s a technique to use in your direct sales or party plan business to fish for potential new team members.

And luckily it doesn’t actually involve any cod fish.

I feel I should start with a confession: In my first two years as a direct salesperson I did not recruit a single new team member.

Not a single one.

Things changed after my first convention and learning about C.O.D.D. Learning to use this technique helped me to grow into an international record holder within my company for sponsoring the most people in a single month.

C.O.D.D. stands for Compliment, Objective, Disclaimer, Date.

You can use this structure to casually arrange for a coffee catch-up with potential new team members or to sign someone up on the spot.

So let me walk you through it.

How to use the C.O.D.D structure in your direct sales biz

Compliment

You start the conversation with a compliment. It’s important that the compliment is genuine because people can smell a fake from a mile away. Also, you need to make the compliment fit the person. You can’t say the same tired line to everybody because people will talk to each other or may overhear your conversation where you say the same thing to everybody. Learn to see the good in people and compliment them on it.

At parties or direct sales events, I look for people who would make great team members and I tell them why. I say something like: “You’d make a fabulous consultant because…

You were so passionate about our products. Everyone listened when you told them about your favorites!
You are so warm and friendly. I think you managed to catch up with everybody at this party! You’re obviously a fabulous people person.
You are the life of the party!

Objective

After your genuine compliment, you move straight to the objective before they even have a chance to respond to your compliment. Your objective could be to get them to take a recruitment information pack home or encouraging them to buy the business kit on the spot. I usually say something like: “I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it before, but…

I’d love you to take home this information and have a read of it.
The business kit is such amazing value so you’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Disclaimer

Use this easy structure to make those recruiting chats easy and fun.

The disclaimer is meant to put them at ease. You keep it casual and ensure they won’t feel like you’re putting the “hard sell” on them. Which you are not. I usually say something like

“Don’t worry, if it’s not for you I promise I won’t stalk you, but there’s no harm in finding out about it. If it’s not for you, you might actually know someone that it would be perfect for.”

Quick note: if your objective is to sign them up on the spot, you skip the disclaimer and go straight to the sign-up phase. You can say something like “Let’s go ahead and order you the kit. It’ll feel like Christmas when it arrives!” Then you move to set a date.

Date

In this phase you’re trying to set a date to meet them again. You can ask: “When is best for you to catch up for a chat about it and I can answer any questions you might have?” or something similar. When you’re trying to sign someone up on the spot you can ask something like “What’s best for you to have a gathering to let your friends and family know. A weekend or weeknight?”. Have your diary ready and try to get a firm appointment.

Let the passion for your direct sales biz shine through

The key to this process is to realize it’s a structure for effective conversations, not a script.

To make it work, you have to make it fit your personality and style. You have to find something real to compliment someone on, and you have to have real passion for your business. Authenticity and passion will always shine through and by using techniques like C.O.D.D. you can become more effective.

Authenticity and passion will always shine through….

To become fluent in using C.O.D.D., it helps to role-play it a few times. Perhaps you can practice with a friend, business buddy or family member before your next party or event so the conversation is smooth and natural. Once you’re confident you’ll see that your sponsoring chats become a lot more effective.

Now, go fish!

Recruiting or sponsoring is a skill that you can learn, it’s not something you are born with. If you want to improve your recruiting skills to build your business, check out the Recruiting Masterclass. It’s jam-packed with ideas, strategies and tips to help you become a superstar recruiter in your own direct sales biz.