Positivity – It’s Not Just a Pretty Word

Being involved with three direct sales companies, I follow a lot of Facebook groups and direct sellers.

I love seeing how ladies (typically in my industries) push each other, cheer each other on, and help each other to succeed. I love seeing that. It makes me so happy to see a positive post in the communities I follow.

And then…

You know where I’m going.

• Our quality sucks.
• Our shipping is slow.
• I can’t make any sales, how is everyone else making so many sales?
• Why won’t anyone buy from me?
• Why can’t I get customer service on the phone RIGHT NOW?

I could go on and on. But I won’t because that’s anti the point of this post.

You’ve heard it before – you get back what you put out into the world. As a leader in one of my companies, I see these “I can’t make any sales and the company sucks” posts and think, “Well…hm. I wonder if this same attitude is the one that you throw out there to your customers.” Because, well, that would make sense.

If we are positive in our lives, if we are optimistic and positive in what we put out into the world, then we will see the positive results.

The direct sellers who are the most successful aren’t the ones with the most friends (although I’ll talk about that in a second). They are the ones that are optimistic about their business even when it isn’t going as well as they want and are persistent. By persistent I don’t mean they call the same customers until they buy – by persistent I mean that these ladies (and gentlemen) continue to push even when they are not reaching the goals that they want.

As a leader, the hardest thing I hear is, “I’ve been with the company for 2 weeks and I haven’t made a sale. This isn’t for me.”

What?! If you’re job searching for 2 weeks and don’t get hired, do you give up? If you’re dating someone for 2 weeks and you haven’t discussed marriage, do you move on? One of the leaders I worked with early in my career told me, “Direct sales isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon” and this is what I remind all of my team members. You’re not going to “get rich quick.” You’re going to build and build and build to reach the goals you want (which includes a sustainable business). Period. And I will tell you, a lot of the people who start off “with a bang” (making $10k in their first 60 days, for example) end up “burning out.” Their network dries up, they don’t expand, and by the 3^rd month it’s hard to make a sale because they have exhausted their network.

So why do some direct sellers have a lot of friends, what I alluded to before? Because they are a beacon. Because people are drawn to them like a bug to a light. They are bastions of positivity. And I’m not talking “kittens and rainbows” positivity where “EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!” all the time. Successful direct sellers are the people we want to emulate, personality-wise and behavior-wise. And who wants to be a negative crank ass? Very few people in the world would check that box on purpose.

Successful people are optimistic (but not unrealistically so) and despite adversity, they keep going. The way to get customers to you is to be the person they want to be. Listen more than you talk. Remember things about people that are important to them. Ask people to talk about themselves; notice what interests them and pursue that conversation.

Does this mean that you should walk around pretending to be happy about everything and pasting a fake smile on your face? No. It means that you need to take a good hard look at what you’re putting out into the world (and what you’re posting on social media). If I see one more “My life sucks” post followed by a “Shop my boutique” post, I swear, I’m going to send the link to this post to EVERYONE who posts like that. Selling and negativity JUST DON’T WORK. People associate you with what you do, say, post, etc.

So, any ideas why you can’t make a sale? Do you need to focus more on long-term positive outcomes (optimism)? Do you need to bring more positivity to the world (and your sales)? Do you float your dirty laundry to the world on social media then expect people to buy from you?

Just sayin…

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