The Big O – Organization in Your Direct Sales Business

Many of us have trouble with our abilities to organize our days/weeks/months/years. We may think that we’re good at it, but we can always get better. Even if you think that your organized, check out this post for some suggestions for how to organize your business and STAY organized (the big one for some of us).

 

The Big O - Organization in Your Direct Sales Business

Your Space

Where you work needs to be organized. It needs to be at least visually “clean” so that you don’t have visual distractions while you’re working. My office can get to be a mess – I will completely admit that. What I tend to do is work for a few months then throw everything in a box that isn’t necessary and get it out of my sight, then go through the box. Many of the things in the box, I find, aren’t necessary, or simply need to be filed.

Setting aside 5 minutes before you start working every day to organize your space can be a time (and sanity) saver. If possible, always start with a clean/organized work area. That way you know where to find everything and you’re not distracted.

Your Time

Your business is just that, a BUSINESS. You need to work, just as you do (or would) for another job. You cannot simply assume the sales will come “rolling in.” So scheduling time TO WORK is going to be important. Look at your schedule ( don’t have one? Look at the next suggestion) and figure out where you can work in 30 minutes (or more if you have it) per day and block it off. That is your WORK TIME. Let it be known in your home that you will be working during this time – let your spouse, roommates, parents, whomever know that it’s time for work. Let your kids know too (I use a visual sign – red light or green light sign on my office door). If you have kids, you may also want to have a pre-planned activity so that they can “work” as you do. Play-Doh time is a big favorite around here.

Once you schedule your time, stick to it. Put it in your calendar. You are BUSY. Don’t let other things (social media, email, phone calls) disturb you unless, of course, that’s part of your work. But if you’re “working” on Facebook, don’t scroll – do you work, message contacts etc., but get it done and move on. You only have 30 minutes. Make it work for you.

Set a timer when you start to work. Some people use a kitchen timer, but I just use the clock on my phone. 30 minutes ends, I finish up what I was doing, and then I review what still needs to be done and put it on the schedule for later in the day (if I have time) or tomorrow.

Schedule

This is a big one. Keep a damned calendar people. I don’t care if it’s paper, digital, on your phone, whatever. I personally use a paper planner to keep track of my team and their goals and my phone to keep track of appointments and touch base calls. I use Google Calendar so that my team can use YouCanBook.me to schedule appointments with me (Ninja Leaders – this is a great tool to allow your team members to schedule a call with you).

Plan

What will you do with your work time? What needs to be done? Make a list of everything that needs to be done (i.e., hostess coaching, setting up a party in your online office, emailing customers, calling customers, messaging team members, social media post scheduling [I use and enjoy PostCron], follow up, Daily 5, this list could go on). Make your list then prioritize it. Tops are things that NEED to be done today. Then move on, sequentially, from there. Once your work time starts, start on thing one, do it, and check it off. I find that putting a line through it is so gratifying. “Annnnnd you’re OUT! Next!” Work through the list until your timer goes off. Then keep the list for tomorrow, add to it, then reprioritize. If you can swing another 30 minutes, do it! Take a break, get a snack, get a drink, walk around a bit, then start over!

Review

What did you get done today? What still needs to be done? Add it to the list to be reprioritized tomorrow. What would you like to learn more about that you haven’t done today? List. You may realize this list can get pretty crazy. I actually have a small notebook with tabs and one section is for my daily lists, one is for to dos that aren’t daily (“read XYZ book” or “XYZ blog”), and one is for customers to follow up with on the go. While I work during my work time, I also use my down time (5 minutes between meetings during my day job, while waiting for the kids to get out of school) to knock a few follow ups off my list. Use your extra time, no matter how small, wisely, and then you can use the larger chunks for other things such as time with friends and family (or watching the 2^nd season of The Blacklist…wait that’s me).

So that’s our daily organization – but what about some other tips?

• Database – create a database of your customers and use it to follow up (more on this next week)
• Prospect database – keep a list of contacts who haven’t purchased, how to contact them, and what they may be interested in
• Leadership Database – create a database of your team, their sales, their trends, what skills/strategies they need help with, and when is the best time to contact them (and when was the last time you had a touch base call with them)
• Recruits – Again, a database of people who have expressed interest in your opportunity will be useful. Keep their name, contact info, last contact, and what they said last time you chatted about the opportunity handy so you can know when to follow up with them.

Keeping your databases up to date is definitely part of your work, so work it in every day. What else should you schedule every day? YOU TIME. Everyone needs it. 30 minutes (at the least) to read your current favorite book? To meditate? To do what interests you? To draw? To hang out with friends? To scroll around Facebook? To scan Pinterest? We all need down time. So make sure you get it. It rejuvenates you and makes you a better YOU.

What’s your favorite organization strategy? Share it with me below! I’d love to hear some of your ideas!

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Successful Merchandisers...Are You One? Can You Be?

What’s the Difference between a Successful Merchandiser and an Unsuccessful one?

In December a whole bunch of people make these resolutions to make positive change to themselves for the coming new year. They buy gym memberships, sneakers, and exercise clothing, they buy new cookbooks full of healthier foods to cook. January 1, a new year begins and everyone sees an opportunity to “create themselves again,” to start over, and have a clean slate. They strap on those sneakers, they head to the gym, and they have trouble finding a parking spot because, man, that gym is PACKED. But by February 1? The gym is not packed. The cookbooks are gathering dust. And you? You feel as if you failed your New Year’s Resolutions.

How do gym resolutions relate to your business? Well, you signed up to be a merchandiser for Chloe + Isabel. You paid for a box of jewelry to be delivered to your door. You paid for an opportunity. If you listen to the National Calls every week (which I highly suggest), you see a list of ladies who are successful in their businesses in the Top 20. And you may be wondering, “What is she doing that I’m not doing?”

Being a successful merchandiser isn’t a resolution. It’s not something you think you want to do and you just do it. It’s not about buying sneakers, exercise clothes, and a gym membership, the accoutrements of a weight loss goal. I mean, you could equate that to buying your kit, buying business cards, and getting jewelry forms for a pop up, right? That’s not going to make you successful. That’s not going to get you to the Top 20 every week or bring in that amazing commission on the 5^th of the month.

Success isn't a resolution. It's a lifestyle change.

So what is? What are these ladies (and guys!) doing differently? Think about this – when a friend has a weight loss goal, how well does it work out for them? It starts out amazing but slowly, over time, it gets pushed to the back because they’re “too busy,” “too tired to work out,” or some other reason. What do people who are successful with their weight loss journey do? Instead of making a goal, they make a lifestyle change. Serious change takes, well, serious change.

This is not going to be pretty, and it’s not going to make me popular, but I’m going to say it. If you are not making a lifestyle change for your business, you will not be successful. Period. If you’re not changing your mindset to think of yourself as a business person, if you’re not focusing your efforts on growing and selling alongside your life, if c+i has not become part of your lifestyle, you’re not going to make the Top 20 (and if you do, you won’t stay in it for long). If your business isn’t a regular part of your day, your life, your identity, it will be a fluke…and your parking lot will be empty in a month, just like the gym.

So how do you make this lifestyle change? You commit to it, you make a plan, you implement the plan, and you make weekly and monthly assessments to how your plan is working. When I began as a merchandiser, I did so as a “hobbyist,” someone who thought, “Oh that looks like fun!” I had some extra cash so I applied and signed up. My goal for my first month was to make $60 in sales. Seriously, that was my goal, because I didn’t expect myself to do well. Then I got a sale. And it was like a drug, I wanted more. I wanted to see how much I could push myself (and my network). I ended my first month with $600 in sales. That may not seem like a lot to some, but that was amazing to me. After that my goal was to reach incentives every month and I started being a $1k per month merchandiser. Not in the Top 20, but consistent. And consistency is amazingly key in our business. I wore my jewelry everywhere (even to the gas station at 10 p.m.). And people started associating me with my brand.

How did I do it? I started by sitting down and deciding how much I wanted to make per month. My husband had recently bought a truck and I didn’t want to “see” that truck payment, so my goal was to make $504 a month to cover that payment. I did the math and realized that was $1680+ in sales per month. So that was my goal. I committed to it because I wanted to make that payment without financial stress on our regular budget. I broke it down and decided that if a typically in-home party averaged $500 in orders and an online party averaged $200-$300 in orders, then I needed to do 3 in-home parties and at least one online (or some combination) to get me there.

As I worked that first month, I recognized that my current network in my city wasn’t immediately interested in in-home parties, so I looked back at my plan and made some changes. I decided to focus on social media to engage my network, to expand my network through online parties and networking events, and to build my brand through marketing to professional women/family women/moms. My focus wasn’t fashionistas, but I did bring in some fashion and beauty to my branding because I knew that female professionals may be interested in that but not have the time to focus on it (similarly to me). But after 3 months of consistently wearing my jewelry, talking about my business, posting to social media, and “being the brand,” my network expanded and people came to ME to book parties.

 

So long blog post short – are you committed? Do you WANT to be successful in your business? Because if so, it’s time to make some changes – positive changes for you and your business. How can you do that?

1)    Set aside time to work your business. You are a business person, a business professional – if you don’t work your business, it won’t work for you. Period. Set aside an hour a day (and an hour on Tuesday for the National Call, or at least an hour on Wednesday to listen to the recording). Work it like it is a job. Every day.

2)    Be consistent. Daily 5 (which you hear me preach time and again). Reach out to five customers or potential customers per day. But don’t just text them “Hey, I need a sale, can you help me?” Our business is about building relationships. Find out what your customer needs or wants and help them get it. Do they tell you they have an upcoming event? Offer to let them borrow a piece for it (and I bet they will order it). Offer to help them style their dress/outfit.

3)    Post happy. In all seriousness, when I see people who have linked themselves with c+i on social media and I see them post negativity, I shake my head. You don’t need to pretend to be happy all the time, but you don’t need to be spewing negativity all over the place and then posting a pic of jewelry and telling people to shop your boutique. It doesn’t work. People associate you with your brand – be our brand. Creative. Confident. Encouraging.

4)    Post a story. When you’re posting about your business, don’t just put up a picture with your link. Post about what the jewelry has done for you, how it makes you feel, or what makes you love it. Always post verbiage with your pictures. Give customers a call to action, something to do.

5)    Put yourself out there. Your comfort zone, what you feel comfortable doing, is not going to be where sales are. Going to networking events, calling photographers and offering to style their clients, these things do not feel comfortable to me. I hate the phone. But I do it. Because I am a business person and I own my business. If I don’t work it, it won’t work.

6)    Be creative. It’s not just part of our tagline – if your current plan isn’t working, change it up and think differently than you have been. Talk to others about what they do and adapt it for your network/area if you can. Read books or blogs about direct sales and work in some new strategies. Google “direct sales follow up strategies” to learn more about how to follow up with potential customers. Get into your business by learning more about what others have tried and what could work for you.

 

So what were your takeaways from this post? Comment below and let me know – I’d love to hear about what has worked (and not worked) for your business!

XOXO,

Liz

 

It’s your friendly neighborhood Chloe + Isabel MM with some business tips! Have questions, want to set up a chat with me, or want me to talk about certain things in these weekly emails? Let me know! Send me a text or call me at 210-465-1894, Facebook message me, or email me! I want to hear from you and help you be successful in your business!

Daily Five for Busy Merchies

I’ve heard from a lot of ladies who started school this week (go college students!) and are feeling overwhelmed with school, their C+I business, their jobs, their families…ah!!! It can get crazy! The key to maintaining your business during any overwhelmed time is to get organized.

 

Some tips:

Stay organized with your time – use a schedule book and schedule everything you need to do (school, work), then schedule in study/reading time for school.

Once you find your “spaces” in your schedule, work in your Daily 5. This is going to be your way to stay connected with your business even during busy times.

When possible, set aside one day where you can pop up each month. Box that off on your calendar and then get out there to find a hostess!

 

Daily 5?

          What is the Daily 5? It is your opportunity to reach out to your customers/potential customers. This is your daily reach out to five (or more) people who may be interested in buying or hostessing. It’s a good idea to do this at the same time every day so that it becomes habit. Here’s a possible list of small things to do for you busy ladies:

1)    Right before you walk out the door, decked out in your bling, SELFIE girl! Post it to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and anywhere else you may post pics. Post it to your FB page, your personal page, wherever people will see it. Lots of people view FB in the early hours (before work hours) so you’ll get some great exposure. Hashtag #chloeandisabel, #jewelry, and anything else that fits. And this includes the most obvious suggestion: WEAR YOUR JEWELRY EVERYWHERE. Anyone is a potential customer.

2)    When you have a chance during the day, monitor the responses to your pics. Message people who liked your selfie and chat with them about the piece. “That’s such a great necklace isn’t it? I wear it all the time, it matches so much. What would you wear it with?”

3)    Use Pinterest to post your favorite pieces. Include the price for the piece so that viewers know how much it is without going back to your link. But don’t just Pin jewelry – Pin a lifestyle that goes along with the jewelry. Pin at least one thing per day to maintain a presence.

4)    Text/call/message/chat up at least one person per day to ask about hostessing. Remind them that they don’t have to have a big in-home pop up – you can do an online pop up, a 1 hour pop up at a coffee shop with look books, or you can even come to a party they already are having (Superbowl, baby showers) and bring jewelry.

5)    Find a piece that you think a particular person might like, download the picture, and text/message the photo to someone you think will be interested in it. You can say things like, “I saw this and thought of you – what do you think of it?” This will give you some feedback about your customer base and what they like. Holidays are great to do this – for example, Valentine’s Day is a great time to message guy friends and suggest pieces for their significant other/daughter/Mom.

 

Now tell me some other quick suggestions – what else can you do even when you’re busy to make connections and sell?

 

XOXO,

Liz

 

It’s your friendly neighborhood Chloe + Isabel MM with some business tips! Have questions, want to set up a chat with me, or want me to talk about certain things in these weekly emails? Let me know! Send me a text or call me at 210-465-1894, Facebook message me, or email me! I want to hear from you and help you be successful in your business!