Consider: What does your Home Office offer hostesses? Do you receive special pricing on any products? What would you add to create a great booking incentive?
Action: Create an incentive plan for your Hostesses for an entire year. Start advertising this at your shows, on your business cards, etc. Get the word out!

• They said to keep from getting “sucked in” to the Social Media time stealer, only spend 30 minutes a day on building these relationships.
I couldn’t even click on 50 people that fast. Well, I guess I could, but somehow you have to “find” the people. Then, I wanted to read their posts and profiles. I mean I am trying to create a relationship, right? This caused me to be much slower – shortening my effectiveness.
• They said that social media etiquette was that if someone follows you, you should follow them back and vice versa.
I found out that 99% of direct sellers don’t know this.

• They said to use Tweetdeck to save time.
I found out that it is a great tool, but I don’t use it effectively.

• They said Twitter is the new Facebook and that people are moving towards it more and more everyday.
I found out that a lot of people are, but not as many direct sellers.

• They said the pareto principle applies to posts on Facebook and Twitter, meaning that you should only Tweet about your business 20% of the time.
I found out that most Direct Sellers – including MLMers either don’t know this or ignore it. About 98% of direct sellers on Twitter……ONLY talk about their business.

I found out that I still have a lot to learn about Social Media as it relates to Direct Sellers.
What are your thoughts and experiences with Social Media?

Consider: What areas of thinking can I change to make me more appreciative of my journey?
Action Steps: Pick 4 habits to implement into your business this year. Prioritize them and focus on one per quarter.
(In just 5 years, you will have created 20 great business habits!)

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Fear is a powerful emotion and most people don’t realize how fear controls their life. We let fear have power over us and tell us we can’t do it. Millions of reasons run through your mind confirming that you can’t do it. But, fear doesn’t truly exist – it is only living in your mind. Fear is a habit, and it is developed within you just as other habits are. The idea of fear is instilled in us at an early age and infects our perceptions throughout our lives. You see, your mind wants to protect you, so it creates fear, so you will NOT act. Your mind is protecting you against perceived dangers, such as failure, rejection and embarrassment by keeping your actions to a minimum.

Whenever you feel fear, your brain is over-analyzing the “possible” situation. For many of us, this leads to a negative, downward spiral of thoughts, which can validate your fear to the point where you become almost paralyzed.

The mind is like this overzealous soap opera writer deeply invested in churning out imagined melodramas. The point here is that they’re imagined. They’re not real. But the unfortunate reality is that we live our lives guided by these dramatic fear-based imaginings that hold us back from taking action and moving forward.

Fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real

Fear exists when part of you wants to act and part of you wants to hold back. So, part of you wants to pick up the phone to make those phone calls, but part of you is holding back. Fear is also increased by the anticipation of physical and mental pain. The key word is ‘anticipation’. Again, it’s imagined. It’s in the future. It only exists in your mind. The key is to tame the mental chatter that gives rise to fear.

Chances are the fear won’t go away entirely, but you can slow down and see the mental chatter for what it is: just your mind on overdrive trying to protect you. This helps to strip the chatter of its power to influence you. The key is to act in spite of fear.

Think about the last time you were scared to do something, but you did it anyway. After you took action, how did it feel to act in spite of the fear? Chances are you felt powerful and strong, both mentally and physically.

Every time we choose safety, we reinforce fear. ~ Cheri Huber

Finally, the next time you feel scared of doing something; first isolate what it is that you’re actually scared of. (Was it fear of failure? Was it fear of being judged?) Remind yourself that this is protective mind chatter. Just say to your mind “thanks for sharing.” Second, call on that feeling of strength you felt the last time you overcame your mind’s protective instinct and acted in spite of the fear. This feeling will help propel you towards action. The more you act in spite of fear, the easier it becomes.

Visualize yourself making the phone call. Visualize the response you want to receive. Remember, the mind cannot distinguish between what is real and what is imagined. Fear’s main tactic is to make illusion seem real. So, as Nike says, “Just Do It!” Don’t take rejection personally. Have you ever said no to something? Was it because you disliked the person or because you just didn’t want the product or item? And…….what if you do bumble up what you are trying to say? Who cares? You’ll get it right next time! See what you can learn from it and improve next time. See the experience simply as feedback and success will come.

Successful people have fears, too – they’ve just learned to tame the chatter. They have an abundance mentality, assuming part of the “success pie” is for them and they are here to collect. If you change your way of thinking you can change your behavior, habits and your life.

• Tasks you should have had someone else do for you
Learning to delegate will not only build your team’s moral, but also reduce your own workload.
The general rule is this; if someone can do it 80% as well as you can, then delegate it.

• Procrastination/Indecision
The biggest thief of time is not decision-making but decision avoidance. By reducing the amount of procrastinating you do, you can substantially increase the amount of active time available to you.

• Unclear objectives, priorities and communication
This is probably the biggest and most important time waster. It affects all we do both professionally and personally. Those who accomplish the most in a day know exactly what they want to accomplish beforehand, just ask Donald Trump. Unfortunately, too many of us view our goals as yearly and don’t incorporate them as daily considerations. This causes you to ‘major’ in the ‘minor’ things!

• Attempting too much/Lack of planning
Many people today feel that they have to accomplish everything yesterday and don’t give themselves enough time to do things properly. This leads only to half finished projects and no feeling of achievement as all things are done in a hurry and appear rushed to others.
• Inability to say “No”
Work: Generally, if people can dump their work or problems on to your shoulders they’ll do it.
Personal: Membership in community clubs can also become a burden of too many, and too many meetings. PTA, Junior League, Boy Scouts, etc And you don’t always have to be in a leadership position. Pick what is in line with your values and drop the others.
Most people fear saying ‘no’ because of what others will think of them. Refer back to your values and goals. If the request is in alignment – Great! If not, say ‘no’ and don’t feel guilty. (You can let them know that you don’t have time to give it the attention that it needs. Better for you to say No now, than commit and let them down.)

These time stealers can cause stress, anxiety, fatigue, worry, frustration, irritability, headaches and forgetfulness. Before you overload, take some time to determine your true values. Then, define your goals and incorporate time into each day to take steps towards your goals.
Choose 1 or 2 Time Stealers that you can eliminate today!

In Direct Selling, you may hear folks say that you need to duplicate yourself.  We are reminded to keep our systems simple, so it is easy for others to follow.  As we grow our teams and become leaders, we try to teach our systems in booking, sales and recruiting. 

But have you ever thought about what else you are teaching your team?  To me, this is where we truly cut the Divas from the herd.  Like it or not, you are replicating everything!  Your team will adopt your behaviors, habits, and—if you have a strong personality— even your mannerisms.

This has powerful implications for leadership. Unconsciously, your people will mimic you. This means:

• If you are late to meetings, your people will be late to meetings.
• If you don’t take notes in meetings, your people won’t take notes in meetings.
• If you are angry and defensive when you get negative feedback, your people will be angry and defensive when they get negative feedback.
• If you make excuses, are lazy, blame others and procrastinate – they will too!

These behaviors don’t increase paychecks.

Conversely:

• If you are humble and grateful, your people will be humble and grateful.
• If you are warm and engaging, your people will be warm and engaging.
• If you are even-tempered and unflinching under fire, your people will be even-tempered and unflinching under fire.

Ghandi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I would add, “Be the change you want to see in your organization.” If you don’t like the culture of your downline, team or company, start by changing yourself. Set a new standard.  This is the most powerful thing you can do to change your world.

The bottom line is that you are the prototype for your followers. Your actions speak louder than words. You must pay careful attention to your own behavior. You are a living example of what it takes to go to the next level. You will replicate yourself.

Consider:  If your people imitated you in everything you do, would you be happy with their performance? What needs to change in your own behavior, so that you ensure that their behavior is congruent with your deepest values?

Action:  Create a list of the behaviors you want your team to duplicate.  Make sure you are walking the walk and not just talking the talk.