Remember Watkins?

"Word of Mouth" Advertising

2011-07-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

"Word of Mouth" advertising is perhaps the most natural and effective type of advertising available today. It simply means that you become 100% prospect conscious and take every opportunity possible to talk positively about Watkins products and business opportunity.

You will be surprised how easy it is; in fact, if you've ever recommended a restaurant or a movie, you've used "Word of Mouth" advertising to support someone else's business! If you doubt the power of "Word of Mouth" advertising, ask yourself if you've ever bought a product or used a service based on the recommendation of a co-worker, friend, or family member. Or perhaps you tried a product or a service because you overheard someone else talking about how great it was? This type of advertising can easily help promote your business in a natural yet effective way.

Don't be afraid to share a good thing with your friends and family members, as well as the other people you come in contact with during the course of each and every day. Listen and make appropriate product recommendations, and speak positively about your own experiences with Watkins products to help increase your customer base. Share how the Watkins business opportunity has enhanced your life. Why do you enjoy being an Associate? You can even listen to others as they talk about their lives. Perhaps you'll hear what's missing from their lives that the Watkins opportunity might fill. Whatever the situation, don't be hesitant to share a good thing!

Tell everyone you meet about Watkins products and opportunity, and remember, enthusiasm is infectious. Here are just a few examples of "Word of Mouth" advertising:
If your hairdresser complains about sore, aching joints, start talking about Watkins Liniment. Share your own positive experiences with the product or those of other customers.

If your neighbor has just started a family, ask if she has thought about spending more time at home with her new baby; ask if she'd be interested in earning extra income while setting her own hours and working from home.

If your friend mentions that she would like to take a trip to Europe or that she is saving to buy a new car, ask if she would be willing to invest five hours per week to earn several hundred dollars of extra income per month to achieve her goal.

Note: When someone is excited about the product, remember to let him or her know that there's an earning opportunity associated with the products he or she loves.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Customer Service- changing your paradigm

2011-07-21T18:18:00.003-04:00

One of the biggest deterrents in providing good customer service is the big “P” word, PUSHY! Today, we hope to change your paradigm. It has been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. As we said in a previous email, providing great customer service involves listening, listening, listening to your customer and then providing service based on her needs, not yours!

What do we mean by that? Pushy is contacting a small group of customers too frequently just because you need to hit a personal goal. Customer service, on the other hand, is being aware of a customer’s needs, likes, and past purchases and following up as needed. Knowing your company’s mission, being passionate about what you have to offer, knowing your products and the benefits of your products sets the foundation of great customer service.

If this is your first year in the business, your goal is to develop 200-300 customers that you will service on a regular basis. By working a pool of customers this large, you will vary who you call and not end up contacting the same small group of customers over and over again.

Remember that business has a 30-90 day cycle, so give it time. Consider year one to be your “cultivation” year. Jim Rohn talks about business in terms of farming. You can’t have a “fall harvest” until you’ve done “spring planting” and you can have a spring anytime you’d like. So even if you are several years into the business and just feeling stale, you can start again, as if you are a new consultant in year one.

Your customers should hear from you every 3-6 months. The key is to vary how it is that you are in touch.

Personal contact and telephone are the most effective forms of contact. Additionally you may also try the following:

1) Email –

a) Customer newsletters

b) Specials
c) Open House invitations (follow up with a phone call!)

2) Snail Mail –

a) New catalogs or sale fliers as they are available (you determine to who and how many you send, but remember, if you put a stamp on it, you need to follow up with a phone call so don’t mail anything you don’t intend on following up on)

b) Customer newsletters

c) Articles of interest pertaining to your product (can be sent email as well)

Remember, your “core” of preferred customers need to hear your voice every 3-6 months, even if it’s just a message on an answering machine. And yes, TSF believes it is fine to leave a message on the voice mail. In this day and age of caller ID, people will know you called anyway. You might as well leave a message, but don’t feel offended when people do not return your call!

P.S. How is your thank you note challenge coming along? Remember, personalized notes to your customers are a wonderful form of customer service!!

Copyright 2011 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

It’s About Relationships

2010-11-23T08:00:00.001-05:00

November 17th, 2010 / Author: Ruth Fuersten

Not long ago I heard Mike Litman, my mentor, say, "The 20thcentury was about the sale. The 21st century is about the relationship." A sale is a one time event. A relationship with a customer is discovering what they need and filling it, over and over again. How do you develop a relationship? You talk to people, find their need, and fill it. Sometimes you have to be a little creative to do that. Sometimes you need to give first to get what you want.

One of the things I do to get my name and company "out there" is vendor events. The local mall runs one every couple of months and it’s usually affordable. I’ve done that a few times and met some folks who were interested in hosting. When you’re doing a vendor event don’t forget to talk with the other vendors. When it’s quiet go over to their booth, chat with them, talk about their business. Develop a relationship. In July I did a vendor event and met a Sally (not her real name) who was also a vendor. I went and talked with her and eventually Sally came over and talked with me and take a look at what I sell. During the week-end I noticed that every time she came over to my booth she picked up the same higher priced item. She’d look at it, smile and then set it down. She did this time and time again.

Eventually I commented to Sally about the item and suggested she book a party and get it free. Her comment back to me was, "Now’s not a good time." Turns out she has life threatening health issues. So my comment back to her was simply handing her a catalog, marking the page where the item she liked so much was, and saying, "When you’re ready – I’m ready. Take your time and just let me know."

The next time I walked over to her booth I picked up one of her fliers, making sure her name and phone number were on it. Then I called her. Did I call Sally to book her? Absolutely not! I called her to see how she was. I called her to develop a relationship with her. When fall came my company, like many companies, brought out the new catalog. When I received my new catalogs I checked to see if the item Sally liked was still in it. Then I called her to let her know the new catalog still had the item she liked so much and set a time to drop a catalog off for her. We sat and chatted for a while. I never mentioned booking. Instead we talked about her illness and our kids.

We met in early July. The new catalog came out in August. Sally called me to set a date for her party in early October and had the party in mid October. At that party one of her guests talked about a nonprofit program she was developing and how she was looking for ways to create funding for it. I really listened to her, and asked questions to find out more. When I took her order I asked her how I could be of service to her, not only in taking her order, but also with developing funds for her program. Because I had a little time between the subject coming up and had asked questions, I was ready with a suggestion.

She really didn’t have any ideas how I could help her - but I did! I suggested she book a party and we would use that party to get some funds for her. I suggested that she really talk to her friends about booking their own party and when those parties hold, I’d give her X amount of money for each booking. Her party is this coming week-end. When I talked to her last week she already had 5 people interested in booking parties.

When you develop relationships with the people you meet instead of just wanting to sell them something there are fringe benefits. The best one? You have more friends! The last time I saw the Sally she gave me a hug. How great is that? We call each other just to chat. When Sally received her free and discounted items she let me know she absolutely loves them and thanked me for her being able to get them. Do you think she’ll have another party when the next catalog comes out? She probably will.

There is a key point here that I have assumed you’re picking up on but haven’t mentioned. Be sincere. I am sincerely interested in my new friend’s health. I am sincerely interested in my next new friend’s nonprofit. Develop relationships, find out their needs and then find a way to help them. When your customers and hostesses get what they want – you’ll get what you want.

Feel free to share this post with others. When you do please keep the following with it: Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Booth/Vendor events – Part 3

2010-11-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

We continue on our list of the top Do’s and Don’t’s of working these events…

DO greet people with casual conversation. Start with a sincere non-sales comment like "your baby is darling, how old is he?" –or- "that is a great sweater!" –or- "you look like your having a fun day!". Make an observation, followed by a sincere comment as a conversation starter to break the ice and THEN ask if they are familiar with your company. That way, you are a person before you are a sales person…make sense?

DON’T hide behind your display with your nose in a book and say something lame like "if there’s anything you need help with, just ask!"

DO carry some cash and carry items if your company allows that, to sell and display it like a store. This is one way to help you cover the overhead involved in your booth costs. Also, people feel much more comfortable if they can purchase on the spot vs. ordering and awaiting delivery.

DON’T overload your table with too much inventory. Displaying at a variety of heights is great. Consider using an empty box upside down and covered with a clean tasteful cloth to add interest. Bookstands or simple shelving can also be an option. Usually the price point is $15 and under at these events. If you accept credit cards, be sure you have a sign displayed that indicates that.

DO stay in your booth!

DON’T wander around and leave your booth unmanned for customers to fend for themselves while you "network" with other vendors. If there are no customers it’s fine, but keep your booth in your line of vision.

DO consider bundling or some inexpensive (under $40) gift baskets if your product line lends itself to that. If you have a higher priced product, consider one of your products teemed with some inexpensive add-ons that you can pick up elsewhere. When pricing the basket, be sure to factor in your cost in materials (like the basket, filling and cellophane).

DO talk about getting your products free by hosting and DO have recruiting information prominently displayed!

DO observe your neighboring vendors. In downtimes pick their brains for what they find works and doesn’t work for them. You may also find they have information on other booths in the area that are coming up. BUT REMEMBER, your customer is the first priority, so only network when things are slow!

DO work these types of events! They provide GREAT practice in talking to people, selling your product and your company. Remember practice makes perfect!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Booth/Vendor events – Part 2

2010-11-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

DO bring catalogs, fliers, hostess and recruiting packets as well as your date book and EXPECT to date events and sign recruits!

DON’T just leave the catalogs and information sitting out at your booth. People will come to these events and pick up whatever paper is not nailed down. In their mind, they are doing you a favor by taking your brochure. Your materials cost money and while you don’t want to be stingy in handing things out.

NEVER give out a catalog without getting a name and phone number in exchange for following up!

Here’s a possible script to use:
Customer – "Can I have a catalog?"
YOU – "Sure, I’ve got them right under my table, do me a favor and fill out this information card while I get it…"
People will do as they are told…honest, they will…especially if you say this with confidence, the same way you tell your children to put on their coat and shoes because it’s time to leave.

DO have some kind of tablecloth or skirting for your display table if none is provided.

DON’T use a tablecloth that is wrinkled, stained or uneven at the bottom. This looks tacky and unprofessional.

DO wear comfortable shoes and clothes.

DON’T wear a tee shirt and jeans. The exception might be if you are wearing a clean nicely pressed logo apron. We recommend a polo shirt or blouse vs. a tee shirt. Dockers are definitely preferable to blue jeans. Remember, you want to look professional, but depending on the event, you don’t want to be overdressed (for example, a 3 piece suit at the local YMCA might be overkill). Use your best judgment.

DO have some type of information sheet for customers to fill out. The less information a customer needs to fill out the better. Your company probably already has something in print. Having these cards on a clipboard can be helpful.

DON’T stand in your booth holding your clipboard. People will run the other direction…you look like those survey people at the mall!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Booth/Vendor Events Part 1

2010-11-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

This time of year the opportunity to exhibit and sell your products at craft and vendor fairs as well as private fundraisers and shopping events for places of business and various organizations is everywhere.

These events can be a wonderful way to promote your business, find new hostesses and recruits as well as sell product.

For the next several days we will be covering the "how-to’s" of these events; a list of "do’s and don’t’s". Even if you’ve worked these events before, we would encourage you to read on. Based on what we’ve observed other vendors doing at these events, we think that you might find some things that you are doing that you might consider changing and/or fine-tuning.

Q: "How do I find these events?"

TSF: Check your local newspaper and also be on the look out as you drive daily. You will find these events in the classified sections of your newspapers and advertised on the announcement signs of local churches and schools. Have pencil and paper handy in your car so you can write down the pertinent information and investigate being a vendor.

Q: "How much will it cost me to be a vendor"

TSF: This can vary event by event. Some charge a simple table or booth fee, some ask for a percentage of your sales, some just a raffle item and some a combination of all three. It really depends on the organization.

Q: "What questions should I ask when investigating these events?"

TSF: Ask about what the charges are, if tables and chairs (and electricity if you need it) are provided, how are they advertising the event, what attendance do they expect and what has been the attendance in year’s past. IMPORTANT – check to be sure that there is not another representative of your party plan that is already a vendor and that they do not allow duplicate vendors.

Q: "How do I know if it will be worth my time?"

TSF: Unless you’ve already worked the event, this is usually an unknown. Our policy is, try anything once and then re-assess next year based on your results. Keep in mind that if the cost to do the event is under $50, book one party and you will probably have paid for your out-of-pocket expense from the commission earned!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

5 S's to Success

2010-11-19T21:09:00.002-05:00

Schedule:
Nothing starts until you schedule appointments. Become a "prospector" and get good at finding people. That doesn't happen unless you begin to schedule and fill your calendar with events. Consider parties, one-on-one's, sampling, public events, telephone calls, follow-up calls, opportunity meetings, etc.

Sell:
Share your product. Whether it's retailing or sharing your product testimonials and sampling with others, make sure you introduce Watkins products to people you know and meet. Leading with the product allows you to introduce them to buying at a discount, giving them the opportunity to change their lives by starting their own part-time/full-time Watkins home businesses. The bigger the venue you select, the more people you can present to, the better your success rate will be.

Sponsor:
Share your story. What do you love about your business in 30 seconds or less? Your genuine enthusiasm and passion for your business will attract others to want to do what you do. Let people know that you've found something anyone can do with their current job — something that alleviates many of the stresses we have to deal with today. Make sure that you approach those you know who can truly benefit from a Watkins home business and be genuine with them."I know how much you can benefit from this opportunity, and I don't want you to miss out. This opportunity isn't a perfect fit for everyone, but I'd like you to find out if it's the right fit for you. Do you have time to get together in the next week?"

Service:
Have a follow-up system in place to service your customers and prospects. The fortune is in the follow-up. You MUST invest the time and energy into following up with your customers and prospects. Your commitment to follow-up shows your professionalism and commitment to servicing their needs.

Stay Plugged In:
You learn as you grow with Watkins, but if you want to be successful, you need to get plugged in. You are in business for yourself, and you have to treat it like a business. Stay connected. Get plugged in for free coaching and business training opportunities with your upline and with Watkins Corporate. We offer an abundance of training and educational opportunities including an online audio series, business information webinars, a System for Success, downloadable and online training workshops, an annual Leadership Conference, a Grand Prize Getaway, and more.

Be Intentional, Have Vision, Be Grateful

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Would You??

2010-11-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

This tip came from one of our subscribers – Lisa S. I JUST LOVE this idea Lisa….and you said it best:

I just had a light bulb moment recently and wanted to share it with you. Another direct seller and I were talking about some challenges some of our team members were having. They call and call and call and never get parties. Why, we ask? Well, let's give our downline the assignment of calling THEMSELVES and leaving a message and either ask yourself to book a party OR ask to recruit yourself in the business. Later, have them pick up their message and let them ask themselves "Would I book a party from me?" or "Would I like to be in business with me?" This way, THEY are their own critic , not you.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Team Meetings-Do's and Don'ts

2010-10-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

Whether you are currently conducting team meetings or plan to in the future as your business grows – the following are some basic guidelines that will make your meetings something your team members will want to attend!

Team meeting ‘Do’s’

* DO have a timed agenda posted
* DO begin and end on time!
* DO ask someone to act as timekeeper
* DO involve other team members by asking them to prepare and present.
* DO display product
* DO have a meeting focus and train on a specific topic
* DO have fun!
* DO have a ‘parking lot’ – (a flip chart or dry erase board to post any topics that come up not on the agenda to be discussed later…this will keep the meeting running on time.
* DO encourage people to invite guests!
* DO have fun!
* DO end your meeting with a challenge and an inspirational quote or ‘heart-tug’.

Team meeting ‘Don’ts’

* Don’t forget to make a special point to help guests and newcomers feel comfortable
* Don’t do all the talking yourself – delegate meeting responsibilities to help groom future team leaders
* Don’t let the discussion go off on ‘rabbit trails’ – use the Parking Lot (see above)
* Don’t allow negativity – your meeting standard should be positive and upbeat – address business challenges that come up by training team members to be solution oriented.
* Don’t wait until the last minute to plan meetings – be prepared and organized so that people leave feeling as though it has been worth their time to attend.
* Don’t forget how important recognition is!

* Do review important dates and important deadlines – DON’T waste meeting time reading aloud from company newsletters

* Don’t forget this DO AHEAD recipe for a good meeting (the following ingredients need to be prepared and delegated in advance:
o Start with a meeting facilitator/planner
o Add the following:
+ 1-2 greeters
+ 1 Time keeper
+ Team members who are shining in areas such as sales, recruiting, product knowledge etc; to help with training

o Season with a mix of door prizes and raffles
o Blend in some upbeat music
o Fold in a helping of light refreshments
o Finish with clean up!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Priorities

2010-10-22T08:00:00.001-04:00

Let us consider for a moment how making those hard choices will make growing your business easier.

What would happen if you took just one year “off” from other obligations in your life (excluding family of course) and seriously treated your business like a job?

One of the things we tell prospective team members when talking about the business is how wonderful the flexibility is. The problem is that many times we think we can squeeze this business into an already busy schedule. This is not a problem if you a consultant who treats her business like a hobby. However, at the point when you decide to switch into high gear with your business, you may have to let some things go for a time.

If you worked your business CONSISTENTLY 20-30 hours a week, doing 2 -4 parties a week; you would still only be working part time. If you worked a retail job that paid $7.00 an hour 20 hours a week, you would have made a little over $7000 in a year before taxes.

If you worked your party plan business steadily for a year, let us just approximate where you would be (of course this is an estimate as all career plans are different).

Let us really “low ball” and say that you earn $50 for every party that you do. Doing three parties a week, you would be earning $7800 for the time you spent doing parties. Three parties take approximately 10-12 hours of your time (half the time you spent working to earn less in a retail environment). You would be meeting approximately 30 new customers each week. If you recruit one in every 10 people you talk to, you should, at a minimum be recruiting 1-2 new team members each week! That means at the end of a year, you personally would (very conservatively) have added 50-75 new recruits to your team. In addition, that does not take into consideration any of the recruits THOSE recruits would have added. Sit down with your career plan and do the math. How much MORE money will you earn with a team of 75-100 people?

When your team is more than 100 people, the business starts to run like a well-oiled machine. 100+ people on your team means that your “pool” of potential team leaders is large and you will have many people working into the ranks of management themselves. They will be team building and beginning to work with their own recruits. You then, will be able to concentrate on working with the team builders from your personal team and the leaders who will begin to emerge from your pool.

Building from 0-100 can be the most labor intensive time period in your business. Can you see why we would recommend that you take just a year and make your business the priority over all the other potential (as in things you have the option to say ‘no’ to…not family, spiritual or physical) time commitments in your life?

Once you hit the big 100, the exponential growth that your organization will take on will amaze you. And the best part of it is, THIS IS THE STAGE WHERE YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO BE DOING IT ALL YOURSELF!!!

As your organization is established, you can then begin to put back things that you chose to back burner for a short period of time. The choice is yours – to build slowly or quickly – but remember, it is all about choices and priorities.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Customer Service.... Practical Tips

2010-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here is a potpourri of specific ideas that you may want to consider using to offer excellent customer service to your client base. PLEASE, don’t try to use all these ideas at once…it could prove hazardous to your health!

1) Be sure your name and contact information appears 3-4 times in a variety of places in every catalog you put out. Remember, so many of our customers are young families….have you seen what happens when a toddler gets his/her hands on a catalog?

2) Don’t be stingy with catalogs at your parties. They are the cheapest form of advertising you can do.

3) At your parties, pass out manilla file folders to your customers containing their order form and catalog. Your contact information should appear on the tab. Ask them to file it with their important papers so they are always able to be in touch with you!

4) When doing a customer service call, be sure you ask your customer to list your name and phone number in her personal address book, so if they ever have any product issues, they can be in touch with you. Have them do this while you are on the phone!

5) Refrigerator magnets NEVER get lost. Consider handing out these as your business card. You can buy business card sized magnets at an office supply store.

6) At your parties:
a) Build good customer repoire by showing interest in customers personally (and making notes to yourself about that customer on their order form when you get home.
b) Be sure customers know they can catalog order from you anytime
c) If you have a personal website, be sure they know what your address is.
d) Be sure you are calling and personally thanking people who placed outside orders at a party. They need to know what services you offer and how to be in touch with you as well!

7) "Extras"
a) Offer to wrap and deliver your products
b) Don’t forget personal shopping appointments!
c) Depending on what products your company sells, consider "gift bundles" (specially priced) or gift baskets.
d) Once or twice a year, host a "hostess appreciation" brunch, evening wine and cheese or special luncheon. This will be a special thank you from you and give hostesses a "sneak peek" at the new product line.

SELL this as one of the advantages of being one of YOUR hostesses! Consider doing this alone or better still as a team activity!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

In All Matter of Opinion.........

2010-10-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

"In all matter of opinion, our adversaries are insane."
Oscar Wilde

How much weight do you give to the opinions of others when it comes to your dreams?
It never ceases to amaze me how many people buy into the negative opinions of their friends, family or colleagues when it comes to their dreams, and rather than backing their own judgement, allow those around them to steal their dreams away from them.

If someone hasn’t achieved what you’re aspiring to achieve, realize that as willingly as they’ll provide their opinion to you, they’re ultimately unqualified to provide an opinion on the matter and you should instead seek guidance from those at least have the runs on the board.

There will always be people, including those who love you who will try and steal your dreams; the thing that differentiates the winner from the loser though is whether you let them.
Ask yourself today, ‘Whose opinion do I place more weight in, my own or that of those who are completely unqualified based on their own success to provide one to me?’

Have an Outstanding Day!
Reprinted with permission of Alex Prez & Motivation in your Mailbox E-ZINE, for more information, visit www.motivationinyourmailbox.com

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Your Dream Begins Today....

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Your Dream Begins TodayBy: Les Brown

What will your life be like when you've achieved your most deeply held dreams? Let's take a look at how you can start living your dreams this very day.
Do you have a dream, a vision of the life you wish to live?
How specific is that dream?
How clear is that vision?
How do you intend to reach it?
What obstacles stand in your way?
Are your fears holding you back or are you using them tomove you forward?

Your fears can actually lead you to success. Fear is an intense emotion. But that doesn't mean it has to control you, or even stop you. Fear can prepare you and push you forward just as strongly as it can hold you back. Fear heightens your awareness and increases your physical strength. Fear brings your mind to sharp focus.

With all that going for you, does it make sense to just run and hide? Of course not. Fear gets you in shape to take action! Are you waiting for things to get better before moving ahead? If you're serious about success; you need to start taking action today. If you're waiting for things to be perfect, you'll wait forever and nothing will ever get done.

The way to achieve is to bloom where you're planted, to do what you can, where you are, with what you have. It's easy to think up excuses for not taking action.
"If only I had more hours in the day. If only I had a better job. If only I could meet the right person."But excuses won't bring you anything of value.

You've got to change your "if only" into an "I will." "I will make better use of my time. I will work on improving my career. I will create and nurture my relationships."Take a chance. Have faith in yourself. Your circumstances will improve when you make the effort to improve them. Start where you are right now. You have everything it takes to reach for whatever you desire. Stop wishing. Use your time, your energy, your thoughts and efforts to make it happen! You'll be glad you did!

Courtesy of: As a renowned professional speaker and author, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy message which tells people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness.
Visit http://www.LesBrown.com

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Show Up in Your Own Life.....

2010-10-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

I’m not sure where I heard it but I liked it: SHOW UP IN YOUR OWN LIFE. Wow! That’s powerful stuff. How does one "show up in your own life"?

I’m sure everyone reading that sentence will come up with a different idea of what showing up in your own life means. For some it may be a reminder to appreciate what you have. For some it may be the idea of spending more time with family and friends. For some it may be a different way of saying stop and smell the roses. There are all sorts of ways that we can show up in our own life!

For me it means – taking responsibility for my own actions.

I complained that my upline was not training me. But I didn’t show up for the meetings, didn’t call her, didn’t read the material from the company.

I complained that I couldn’t get any bookings. But I didn’t show up and get on the phone and call people.

I complained that I didn’t have any recruits. But I didn’t show up and never talked to a hostess or mentioned recruiting during my presentation.

So what do we do? We resort to complaining. We complain about our upline. We complain about our company. But what is complaining? Often, complaining is placing our own lack of motivation on someone else and blaming them for our lack of activity and, therefore, our success. If you want to be successful – show up in your own life! If you want to show up in your own life – get motivated. If you want to get motivated – take action!

You simply cannot be successful in direct sales until you do something!
If you don’t do something can you improve?
Do you attend trainings?
Do you read everything that comes from your upline or your company?
When your upline or your company offers an incentive do you at least try to earn it?
Do you take some time to analyze what you’re doing and see how you can improve?
Do you call and email your upline for help?
Are you actually doing something in your business or are you just thinking about what you could do in your business?
Are you working it or are you spending time getting organized and cleaning your office?
In other words – are you showing up in your business?
Are you motivated to be successful?

Your upline can’t motivate you – motivation comes from within. You have got to take action to get motivated. What real action are you going to take this week in your business? How are you going to show up in your business this week?

Feel free to share this post with others. Please keep the following with it: Reprinted with permission from Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Recruiting---- 20 Great Tips

2010-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

1) Whenever possible, give your product as a gift.

2) Ask every single customer if they would like to join you in your business.

3) Promote your business as a "family" business and give examples.

4) Remember your customer’s children and spouse’s names

5) Don’t be pushy; sincerely and honestly tell potential recruits why they would be good at this!

6) Leave your old catalogs in public places with "Help Wanted" stickers

7) If someone feels they are too busy because they are already employed outside the home, tell them they can be the "on-site" consultant for your company.

8) BE EXCITED about what you do!

9) Indirect method of asking "Do you know of anyone who might be interested…"

10) Follow up within 24-48 hours.

11) Keep information given simple and to the point.

12) "Take away" method of asking… "I don’t know if this would be right for you, but this has been the best thing for me and my family…"

13) Put business cards in all of your bills.

14) Have a recruiting message on your answering machine.

15) Laminate a kit flier to pass around at your parties.

16) Put recruiting information in every hostess packet

17) Send recruiting information out with every catalog

18) Give recruiting information to every guest with their catalog and order form.

19) Use your products

20) Ask guests at parties lots of questions about themselves to determine needs

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Systems for your Business

2010-09-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today’s email will focus on selling.

1) Have a list of what to bring to parties. As a seasoned consultant this may seem unnecessary, but in the "panic of the moment" it’s always good to have a checklist. This is also useful to give to team members as your organization grows.

Some suggestions are:
a) Customer folders
b) Order forms
c) Calendar or date cards
d) Hostess packets pre stuffed*
e) Recruiting packets pre stuffed** (see tomorrow’s email)
f) PRODUCT SAMPLES (don’t laugh, TSF knows of stories…)
g) Change (about $20-$30 cash)
h) Pens/Pencils for guests
i) Catalogs (again, obvious but…)
j) Possibly a small amount of inventory for customers with last minute gift needs
k) Directions to the hostess’ home
l) The hostess’ phone number
m) A cell phone (in the event of car trouble or direction trouble)
n) A CALCULATOR (unless YOU can do sales tax in your head)
o) Notes for your presentation (if you use them)
p) YOUR SMILE!!!

2) *Hostess packet suggestions
a) 3-5 extra catalogs for outside orders
b) Extra order forms
c) Instructions on calculating orders
d) Reminder post cards and/or hostess invitation mailing list
e) How to be a great hostess directions
f) RECRUITING FLIER!!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Coaching Questions that Work!

2010-09-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here are 7 great steps to effective coaching of your team members. Used in order, these will probably get better answers than just saying something like, "So, how’s it going?" and then having her launch into a discussion on family and kids.

1) What does she want from her business?

2) Based on her average, how many parties/recruits/orders will it take to get what she wants and what is a realistic time commitment?

3) What ideas does she have so far for getting parties/recruits/orders?

4) Brainstorm ideas together

5) Which ideas will she complete this week?

6) When will she complete the work?

7) Date for follow-up feedback call.

Remember, if your team is growing, use 3 way calling or freeconference.com to maximize the use of your time!
Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Things you DON"T Need to be a Sucess...

2010-09-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

There are many misconceptions and down right myths in this industry on what one NEEDS to become a success.I want to mention a few of those.

1. A proprietary product.
While it's nice to say that you have a special, secretive forumula product that no one else has, this alone will not make you a success if you don't do what you need to do "every day" to build your business. A product does NOT have to be special or unique. Six figure incomes have been and are being earned selling LIPSTICK and ALOE PRODUCTS! ( just two examples )

2. Get in first.
This one is probably the biggest myth we have in this industry.You do NOT need to get in FIRST in some new deal to become a wild success.Most new companies won't last past a year so any success you may have will be very SHORT LIVED. Then you find yourself starting all over again. Anyone can be FIRST in any company at any time they choose! People are joining companies that are five, ten years or older and having tremendous success. There is also less risk as they are established and they do not need to go through all the growing pains and bumps and hurdles of a START UP!

3. Join the top Guru!
Another utterly false statement! Most of the TOP DOGS are way too busy to help you on any personal level AND if they should quit or end up becoming a SCOUNDREL "where" do you have to turn to for help? The TOP DOGS are usually sponsered directly under the company.Sure any GOOD company will give you support BUT they are very busy doing company things and running the company. It is wise to be sponsered a few levels down from the company so you have more than one good sponser to go to for help, 3 ways etc...

4. Learn to become a internet GURU!
Pay per clicks, Google hits, SEO optimization, article writing etc... Internet marketing is not MLM marketing. There is a HUGE difference!!! Also, internet marketing is a HUGE learning curve and anyone who tells you it is not is a liar. Spend time showing your business presentation to prospects who have expressed an interest in what you have. Show the products and teach them how to do the same. Do this over and over and over again. It's duplicable for the masses!Keep it simple stupid and earn immediate profits!

5. Know it all.
You don't need to KNOW IT ALL to become a success. If you don't have the answers to certain questions that is ok as long as you know where to find the answers from the appropriate sources!Too many spend FOREVER "getting ready" and never even start. You don't need to be an "expert"Just get out there and do it. You will learn along the way! There are more things that you DON'T need to have success but these are the most common ones I find.

Contributed by
Deb
http://www.aloelife.ca

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

It's All About...... ME!

2010-09-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Subject: It’s all about…ME!

The other day I dialed in on a conference call. The speaker – a 10 year veteran with the company – was earning tons of money and promised to share the "words" that he used to introduce the business to people. I, like the rest of you, always am interested in the scripts that people use and so, despite the fact that it was a 10pm call (past MY bedtime), I sat poised and ready to take down his words of wisdom.

45 minutes into the call, I hung up the phone. The guy was still talking but I could listen no longer. As I stared at my blank piece of paper I was completely and utterly frustrated. The guy had spent the entire time "sharing" his success story – every single "up" and "down" of his direct sales career. Now I know that for some, hearing that everyone has good results and wipe-outs, can be an encouragement; I for one was disappointed at having spent all that time on the phone not getting what I’d been promised.

Jim Rohn says, "You can always get more money, but you can never get more time."
Be respectful of the time you spend talking to people about the business and during your presentations. We LOVE what we do, we LOVE our products and we could talk about them FOREVER.

However, most people have about a 30-45 minute attention span or less. Keep this in mind when doing your parties and your recruiting appointments. It can be tempting, especially when things are going well, to go on and on about our business. Be professional.

While it is good to share a bit about your success, don’t get carried away. Work within the parameters that you have set in advance. If you have promised a 30 minute party presentation, ask a guest to volunteer to give you a 5 minute warning before the 30 minutes are up.

If you have promised a 45 minute recruiting appointment, take an egg timer with you if you have to. I have a friend who carries a big alarm clock with her to all her trainings and sets it on the podium right in front of her when she is speaking. When she tells you she is talking for 15 minutes, that’s what she does, no more, no less. It is better to leave someone wanting more, than to drown her with too much information.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Party fundamentals for a fantastic fall…Part 4

2010-09-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Fundamental #4 – Recruiting at your parties
We sell three things at our parties – product, the opportunity to host a party and the business opportunity. The best way for a guest and potential team member to witness first hand exactly what it is that we do is to observe us at a party. Here are some tips to peak interest in the business.

Are we having fun yet? If you have fun doing what you do – then others will want to join you!
Money – it’s ok for them to know that you love what you do and that you actually do make great money for the time you spend doing it!

Like hosting – mention the business opportunity at least three times during your presentation. Don’t forget to talk about why NOW is the best time to get involved with your company.
Talk about the favorite products that you received when you ordered your sample kit.
Use visuals at your parties. A small poster board with information about your kit and the business at the front of the room or on a coffee table – even a simple ‘Help Wanted’ sign – will peak interest.

Watch and listen for green flags – the signs that someone is interested in doing what you do:

a) Who was a head nodder?
b) Who asked a lot of questions?
c) Who loved everything?
d) Who came early (or stayed late)?
e) Who volunteered to help you pack up your products?
f) Who asked: ‘How many nights a week do you do this?’, ‘How did you do tonight?’, ‘Is your husband supportive of your business?’, ‘Do you have another job besides this one?’ These questions and any questions about your business can be answered by you briefly and then followed up with ‘I’m curious, why do you ask?’… You’ll be surprised at the responses you get.

Carry recruiting information packets and consultant agreements with you to your parties. Don’t assume you won’t sign someone up on the spot – some people will decide quickly. However, at the very least, schedule a time within 24-48 hours to review the information with your potential recruit – preferably in person if you can. You want to talk with them while their enthusiasm is high.

Happy fall – don’t forget to have FUN while focusing on these fundamentals!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Party fundamentals for a fantastic fall…Part 3

2010-09-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Booking parties at your parties

Despite the variety of ways to ‘be in touch’ these days – sometimes we find ourselves playing phone tag with potential hostesses in order to secure a date. Another way to maximize your time spent at the party is to book parties there. Here are some tips for booking parties at parties:
Thank you hostess publicly by presenting her with a small gift (this can be as simple and inexpensive as a single carnation tied with a ribbon).

When demonstrating bigger ticket items – be sure that guests know how hostesses can earn a percentage off.

Mention the benefits of hosting a party at least three times during your presentation (in your introduction, your closing and at least once in the middle). If your company offers ‘hostess only’ products and exclusives – don’t forget to talk about these!

Play – ‘Stack the Hostess’ with your guests. Ask for two volunteers. Give one a calculator and let the other be the ‘hostess’. Your ‘hostess’ begins to choose items that she would like and you stack them on her lap while having the other volunteer add up their total on the calculator. Once she has reached a dollar amount in product that is typical to your company for hostess earnings – everyone will have a good visual of your hostess benefits. (Tweak this as need be depending on your company’s hostess plan).

INVITE EVERYONE to host a party as they place their order. If you feel shy about doing this – make an announcement during your introduction that you will be asking everyone to book a party and that if you forget – you will pay for the shipping on their order. That way you KNOW you won’t forget and they will be expecting it.

Don’t forget to carry hostess packets and your calendar or date cards with you so that you can date the party immediately.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Party Fundamentals for a Fantastic Fall... Part 2

2010-09-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Fundamental #2 – SELLING

This is, of course, the main purpose of a party – to sell product. Be sure your time is well spent by following these guidelines to maximize your results.

Show products that are higher ticket items. Less expensive products sell themselves.
Personalizing your products is huge. Remember, you are your own best customer – facts tell, stories sell!

Don’t forget to group products that are natural ‘go-togethers’.
Do not miss add-on sales as you check out your customers. Sometimes in an effort to get people’s orders added up and out the door – we miss paying attention to what they have ordered. This can result in missed income by ‘suggestive selling’ other items that might go well with what they’ve decided to purchase. Remember, if you don’t ask, the answer is automatically ‘no’!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Party Fundamentals for a Fantastic Fall... Part 1

2010-09-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Parties
– the heart and soul of our business. Parties are a paid prospecting appointment. While earning commissions for selling our product – we also book more parties, get leads on events and fundraisers and find prospective new team members. Focusing in on the fundamentals of your parties helps you to maximize this time spent.

Fundamental #1 – Good Hostess Coaching

Treating your hostess as a valued business partner is the key to successful party results. Good hostess coaching insures that your hostess will reach her goals and when she is successful, you are successful!

Help your hostess build a diverse guest list from a variety of areas in her life. If she draws from just one arena – for example, just her friends from church, then another conflicting event (such as a church meeting) may cause her to have to cancel or reschedule her party. Ask good questions to find out as much as you can about your hostess so that you can help her with her guest list. Say something like, “Tell me more about yourself – have you lived in this area long? Do you have relatives in town? Do you know other moms from your children’s school? What do you do for fun?”

Remind her to over invite. A good rule of thumb is double if not triple the number of guests you’d like to be in attendance.

Be sure your hostess is very familiar with two to three products in your line. That way, her enthusiasm will come through as she invites her guests to her party. You might consider letting her borrow a couple of your samples to try out before her party.

The magic tried and true formula for good party attendance is call/send/call. Depending strictly on response from a written or emailed invitation is the recipe for disaster. The personal touch of a verbal invitation from your hostess cannot be minimized. A final reminder call the day before the party (made by you or her) is crucial to her success.

Help your hostess fulfill a goal of gathering at least five outside orders prior to her party from people who could not attend in person. Depending on the average price of your product, this will usually net at least $100 in additional sales before the party even occurs. Be sure she understands the benefit to HER in hostess benefits when she works to collect these orders in advance.

Plant seeds about the business opportunity. Be sure your hostess packet includes information about becoming a consultant. Tell her to watch what you do the night of the party and ask her to picture herself doing the same thing!

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Calling Back.....

2010-09-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

When it has been agreed that you will call someone back, do your best to schedule a specific time. It sometimes helps if you have made an official “phone appointment”.

Secondly, if someone seriously would like to speak with you, ask if they wouldn’t mind sharing their cell phone number with you or if they work during the day, can you talk briefly to them at work.

Thirdly, I have yet to find the secret message that can be left on an answering machine that gets someone to call back (TSF would be a Fortune 500 company if it owned the rights to THAT one!)

I believe, however, that you should definitely leave some kind of message because so many people now have caller ID, they will be able to see that you have called even if you don’t leave a message.

I usually identify myself, say that I had promised to phone back to talk about (whatever), give the date and time and leave my phone number. Then I ask that the call me (knowing full well they won’t) but say that I will call them again in several days if I don’t hear from them.

Depending on the urgency of what we needed to discuss, I will phone back in several days or about every 7-10 days; varying my time and day of the week until I reach them. I always leave a message identifying myself. If it has gotten to be quite a few calls (like 4 or more) and I’ve still not connected, then I usually leave a message that says something to the effect that I’m really feeling like a pest and that’s the last thing in the world that I want.

Please, if you wouldn’t mind, will you just leave a message for me on my voice mail (less threatening than talking to me in person) and let me know one way or the other if you are still interested. Thanks for your help!

Try not to take the fact that NO ONE returns calls personally. If you really think about it, you probably do the same thing. I know I do, and often it is a return call to family members that I ignore. I really think that between email and cell phones, people are SO bombarded with being “in touch” all day that it can be difficult to get back on the phone at night or when they are spending time with family.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Customer Follow Up

2010-09-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Customer follow up is so valuable. It is important, not only to service your existing customers, but to generate a new customer base as well. It takes a ton more energy to find a new customer than it does to service an existing customer well, so continue to do your best to balance both.
In terms of a follow up system, there are many out there to choose from. The most important thing is to choose one that you will USE regularly and comfortably. There is no magic to the system, the magic happens when you work the system.

If you work well on the computer, there is a software system called ACT that really is good for follow up as you can schedule your calls and they pop into your computer daily. You can even get really high tech and have the data transferred into your Palm Pilot.
Franklin Planners also has software for your PC and Palm Pilot.

If you are more of a "hands on" paper person, you can work simply with a 79 cent spiral notebook. Just log your calls daily as you make them and if follow up is required, put the names and numbers into your calendar.

Another system you can use is a 3 ring binder and filler paper. Go to your local office supply store and get dividers – January through December and 1 through 31. Whatever month you are doing your calls should have the 1-31 tabs behind it. Each day, log your calls on filler paper – a piece of paper for each contact. After making any applicable notes, if follow up is needed, then place the piece of paper behind the month when you are to follow up with a note that indicates approximately what date that month you are to follow up. When you move to the next month, move the 1-31 dividers and sort your contacts by date behind the 1-31 date dividers. That way as you move into that month, you know each day who you will be calling and no one falls into the cracks.

You can use the same system above with a card file and index cards.
To balance new vs. old customers, consider designating days of the week for the type of calling you are doing. You might say that Monday is the day to phone team members, Tuesday is new customer prospecting, Wednesday, service existing customers, Thursday hostess coaching and recruiting appointments and Friday is a paperwork/catch up phone call day.

Hopefully, one of the above systems works for you. If anyone else writes in with other suggestions, we will be sure to post!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Why Sending Out a Mailing Doesn't Work

2010-08-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever received a mailing from a store that is a national chain? Stores send out thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS of fliers in one mailing. Do you know what that store considers a good return on it’s mailing? Do you think 50% ? Maybe they consider a 20% return to be pretty good? How about 10% ?

In reality, that chain is thrilled to death with a 2% return. If 2% of the people who receive that mailing, respond to that mailing by coming into the store, that is considered a hugely successful campaign. 2%!!!!! Most mailing campaigns have a return response more in the range of 1%.

What do we, in the direct sales profession, do? We send out a mailing to our list of hostesses and some of our good customers. So how many fliers or postcards are we sending out? 50? 100? 200? When you realize when stores send out a mailing and get a 1% response, is it any wonder that when we send out a mailing our phone doesn’t ring? I sent out a mailing to 100 people and had one person call me to book a party. I got a 1% return.

Let’s say you want to send out postcards to get more bookings and you send it to 100 people. Just the postage is costing you $28. If you make that mailing a letter, the postage is going to cost you $44. If you sit next to your phone or your computer just waiting for everyone who received your mailing to respond, you’re going to be profoundly disappointed when only 1 person responds to your great offer. So it has cost you $28 to $44 dollars, just for the postage, to get one booking – if you’re lucky.

So what’s a consultant to do? I’m not telling you not to do mailings. I’m telling you to make a mailing a two step process. The mailing I mentioned earlier, when one person responded and called me, was to get more bookings. By the end of my promotion I had 10 parties booked, which was a 10% return on my mailing.

How did I do that? I called them. I called each and every one of those 100 people and asked them if they received the mailing and if they were interested in taking advantage of the offer. Nine people responded, "I’m so glad you called because I was meaning to call you!" And yes, I had to hear no many, many times before I got to the nine who said yes. Some said, "Now’s not a good time but could you call me back in a month or 3 months or when the new catalog comes out?"

Was it worth my time and trouble to call all of them? Well, you be the judge. I had 10 additional bookings for the month my company was giving double points towards the trip I really wanted to earn. I wouldn’t have had those additional bookings if I had not done the mailing with the follow-up phone calls. Plus I was able to book additional parties with the people who told me to call them in the future. Those 10 parties brought in over $6000 in sales plus additional bookings – and – it gave me over 12,000 points towards the trip I was working for.

When you do a mailing (other then a monthly newsletter that you send out to every one of your customers) make sure you follow it up with a phone call!

Feel free to share this post with your upline, your downline and your sideline. Please keep the following with it: Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

How to Ask for bookings.....

2010-08-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

So many times consultants will ask me how to ask for the booking. What are the magic words to get them to book? Consultants tell me they have a fear of asking for the booking. That fear stems from not wanting to appear pushy or go into begging mode to get more bookings.
Being pushy or begging doesn’t work. When you come off pushy or begging – those often are the parties that cancel, the people who don’t answer their phones, and you end up doing a lot of work for nothing in return.

You need to be doing booking bids throughout your presentation. Comments on what a hostess receives with your hostess plan, better, a visual using the former hostess who is in the group, is a way to get them thinking about booking their own party. Show your highest priced item and telling them how they can get it under your hostess program. Thank the guest for taking time out of their busy schedule to be there. Comment how we just don’t seem to have the time to get together with friends anymore and isn’t it great that you could all be together today.

Use a door prize slip. My door prize slip has the words yes, no and maybe available for the guest to circle. When I am going over the door prize slip with them and get to the question about “book a party” I say: If you know you want to have a party go ahead and circle yes. If you have questions about doing a party go ahead and circle maybe and we’ll talk when I take your order.

After the drawing I look through the slips and put them to the side. As I’m taking people’s orders I say to them, “Sally, I don’t have your door prize slip right in front of me at the moment. Are you interested in having your own party or do you have questions about having a party?”
Now that’s all well and good in a perfect world, but the world isn’t always perfect. A lot of guests will just come up and set their slip down for you to figure out while they rejoin the party and visit with friends. If you have a lot of guests you may have a problem putting a slip of paper with a name on it to a face. In other words, you may need to call people after the party to get them to book.

When I have to do that I simply introduce myself, “Hi Sally this is Ruth. I’m the consultant from XYZ Company. We met at Mary’s party. Sally, I didn’t have time in the rush of orders to talk to you and I noticed you marked on your door prize slip you’re interested in having a party. Let’s find a date that works for both of us.”

If she circled maybe I say, “I noticed you circled maybe on your door prize slip about having a party. Do you have any questions I can answer for you about having a party?” If she doesn’t have any questions then say, “Is this something you would like to persue? We can set a date for your party right now if you’d like.”

The main point that I’m trying to make here is: forcing, bribing, or manipulating people to have a party doesn’t work. We feel like we are pressuring people to have a party. They are feeling pressured, and then the party doesn’t hold. When that person feels pressured into having a party she doesn’t want to have, what will happen the next time she gets an invitation to another party? She won’t go. You lost a potential hostess and you lost a buying guest.

When you treat people right, the way you want to be treated, you’ll end up with more bookings in the long run. When I see the same guest several times I’ll ask, “Lynn, when are you going to have your own party?” I have one guest who comes to every party she is invited to. Because my products are new to this area at the first party she bought a little. At the next party she bought significantly more. At the third party she bought a whole lot. So when I handed her slip back to her I say, “Lynn! When are you going to have your own party so you can get some of these items free?” She responded, “Can’t!”
“Can’t? How come?”
” Because I want written on my gravestone, ‘The only woman in America who never had a home selling party.”

I laughed! I found that really funny. She’ll come to the parties but she refuses to book a party. So I said, “Okay. Let’s do this. I think you should come and do this with me and then you can say you’re the only consultant in America who never, ever, had a home selling party yourself.” She laughed at that.

I continued my conversation with her by saying, “Lynn, make sure you bring a catalog home with you and if you aren’t invited to a party, but need something, all you have to do is give me a call.” She was delighted with that idea.

Booking a party is simply finding a need and filling it. Stop stressing on getting bookings. Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, said it best, “Get the dollar signs out of your eyes.” When you are desperate for bookings you come off being desperate. Do you want to do business with a desperate person?

Relax! Have fun at your parties. Find out how you can best serve the people who are at your party. When you find a need and fill it, people are much more willing to book. When you stop pressuring people to book – they will book.

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at
http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Help! I Don't Have a Warm Market

2010-08-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

I’ve heard from a number of you telling me you are new to your area, or you don’t know many people and you’re wondering how you can get bookings. The most obvious thing to do is vendor events. But doing vendor events can get costly. If you don’t have much money, doing a major vendor event by yourself is simply out of the question. But, could you team up with other people to do the vendor event, and each share in the cost? Could you look for smaller events, something that would fit into your budget?

Our local county fair is a big event and the cost of doing it, for one person, is staggering. But when I looked into the county fairs in the neighboring counties I discovered they were much more reasonable to do.

Are there community events in your area? Go to the local Chamber of Commerce or the Visitor and Convention Bureau and get a listing of the local events. Those listings usually have the names and phone numbers of the contact people for you to call to find out how much it costs to participate.

Piggy back onto other events. Consultants have told me they have been involved with fund raisers for individual people or families who have had catastrophic medical expenses. They go to these events, sell, or take orders, for their products and give a portion of their earnings to the family. If you add on to that, “Book a party today to be held (within a month? within 6 or 8 weeks of tonight’s event) and I will provide an additional ($25 or $50 or a certain percent of the sales) to the family.” you could get some additional bookings?

Look for groups that are having auctions and silent auctions and offer a gift certificate to that event. Suggest to the person who gets your gift certificate that they get more bang for their gift certificate buck by booking a party and using the gift certificate to help pay for their half price or discounted products according to your hostess program.

Look for groups who are fund raising and offer your products as a fund raiser to them. The school or PTA may not be interested in using your products for an all-school fund raiser but are there groups within the school that would be interested? The volleyball team or the eighth graders working for a class trip may be extremely interested in talking to you about your products. Again, you can offer something if there are bookings. Could you do a party for them or do they want to take orders?

What’s happening in your church? Does the choir need robes? Could you help them get new robes by having each member of the choir invite some friends in and do a fund raising party for the group?

Can you put out a box in a business to collect names of interested people? If you sell make-up or skin care products could you put a box out in a nail business? If you sell jewelry and your local bridal store doesn’t sell jewelry could you put a box in their? You want to look for businesses that correspond to yours but don’t compete with yours.

When you’re out and about running errands do you chat with the people you come into contact with? You may not feel comfortable asking someone you’ve just met to have a party but could you talk to her about something that she has that relates to your business? “What a cute pin you have on.” “Your eyes are really pretty.” The next time you’re in that business you want to make sure that person waits on you again. Make another comment about her jewelry or what an attractive lipstick she is wearing. Seeing them again? Do they recognize you? Comment again about them. Make them feel good about themselves. Out again? “You know, every time I see you, you have such attractive jewelry on. I don’t know if you’re aware of this or not, but I sell jewelry…….”

Who do you know who is also in a party plan business? Do you know several others? How about all of you having an open house together? Everyone sends out invitations to their list of clients, you can put an ad in the local papers, and you can put signs up to advertise. That’s a great way to get in contact with people who are already holding parties or are customers of other direct selling companies.

When you meet people and they ask you, “What do you do?” are you ready with your elevator pitch? Does your response to that question encourage them to ask you questions about your business?

Are you a product of your product? When I sold kitchen gizmo’s I couldn’t very easily pin a vegetable peeler to my jacket before I went out the door. But I could wear a shirt with the company logo on it. I did have people come up to me and tell me how much they just love the products. Chat with them. Find out if they have a consultant and if they don’t – you’d love to be their personal consultant.

What’s one of the very first words you learned to read? LOOK. Always LOOK for ways to introduce your products to people.

But a word of warning here. Don’t be rude. Don’t do what happened to a friend of mine. She was dealing with a sick child at home, hadn’t had much sleep and taking a shower that morning was out of the question. Her husband got home from work and she flew out the door to get to the post office to mail out a number of packages. While she was standing in line trying to balance her packages, and struggling at doing that, the woman behind her said, “Here. You need this.” and put a business card on top of my friend’s packages for a party plan make-up company.

Now the interesting part of it is – my friend was in the market for skin care. Do you think my friend called that woman? Not in her lifetime! That was just plain rude of that consultant. How much better if she had said, “Here, let me help you hold those packages” and then struck up a conversation with her. She might have found out that my friend was looking for her!

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at
http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Getting Bookings in This Economy....

2010-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

You may recall a while back when I told you about my coaching client, Alva, and how she recruited 14 people in one month. Now you may be asking, “Ruth! Your title is about booking and the economy and your first sentence is about recruiting — which is it Lady?” Well, just hold on and I’ll explain. Alva lives in the Detroit area which was certainly hit hard by the current economy. I recall Alva (who is a very wise woman) saying to me, “I’m not looking for the people who don’t have money to spend.” Isn’t that obvious? Stop looking for the people who don’t have money and start looking for the people who do! Another way of looking at this is – I’ve decided not to participate in the current economic issues.

When I was selling kitchen gizmos we were having a serious localized economic crisis. The area was very tourist dependent and we were in our second winter of no snow. That meant no one was coming to our area to ski, snowmobile or even to go ice fishing on our many, many lakes. For two years we had little to no snow and bitter cold. That second year we had 100% cancellations of reservations for every resort and motel in the entire county for the month of January. Local school districts were in serious discussion of consolidation. Public service announcements told the locals that if we had company coming to visit, and if they could afford it, to have them stay at a resort or hotel rather then in our homes. One of the restaurants in town had a sign up saying, “Stop in for lunch! Then we can both eat!!” To say it was bleak is an understatement!

What do we as women do? We “make do.” We don’t spend money on ourselves when our kids need shoes, school supplies or a visit to the dentist. We make do with what we have. So how do you get women to book when they are making do?

First off – why should they book a party? What can y0u offer people to entice them to book a party? Take out the wish lists you’ve collected and make people an offer. If they want Product A when it goes on special then make it a special. Call them and say, “I don’t know if you’d be interested but XYZ Company is offering Product A at (free or half price or whatever you can afford to offer that product for) just by having a party with 8 -10 guests. Of course you’ll also be able to take advantage of our generous hostess program to get the other things you want. Is that something you’d be interested in taking advantage of?” Notice I didn’t say, “I have a special.” As soon as you say that you might as easily say, “I’m totally out of bookings so I’m trying to bribe you into having a party for me.” The special is always from the company – and – aren’t you the company to your hostesses and customers?

Now at those bookings you are going to want to present your highest priced item first. The best thing to do is show them the highest priced item your company offers but, if you don’t have it, then show them the highest priced item you have. Show it first and mention the features but hit on the benefits. What are the benefits, to them, of having that product? For me, my highest priced item was a set of cookware that cost $200. Who do you get to buy $200 cookware in and economic crisis? Would you believe – lots of people!

When you show that item you want to include that you have good news and you have better news. The good news is they can purchase that item tonight for only $200 and the better news is you can book a party tonight and get the cookware at your party for 50% off.

What are items that go with your highest priced item? For me there were open stock pieces that went along with the cookware. They were things like the saute pan, a large frying pan and and other additional pieces. So along with my booking bid I also said, “You might be interested in getting some of the open stock items tonight and then book your party to get the set for 50% off, or you might want to reverse that and get the cookware tonight and then you can receive the open stock items for free and half price at your party.”

One of the reasons I was so wanting people to book to get the cookware was because the company was having a special for the consultants. If we sold X amount, and it was in the thousands of dollars, of the cookware we could get the set for free. I wanted that cookware! I had one lonely saucepan of the set and loved it, so I really wanted the rest of the set.

What I discovered was by showing the cookware first I was giving them the rest of the time there to decide if they were going to buy it or book to get it. When you show your highest priced item last they aren’t necessarily going to change their order to purchase your more expensive item and, when you realize they walked in promising themselves they weren’t going to book a party, you’re not giving them enough time to change their mind.

Have fun! Fun doesn’t necessarily mean playing games either (if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you know my opinion on games). Let the guests have fun. What can you do in your presentation to bring fun into it? What can you do in your presentation to bring information into it? The top two reasons people book a party is because they had fun or else they learned something. What happens when both fun and learning happens plus there is a product they want to get for free or at a reduced price? You’ll have more bookings then you’ll know what to do with!

Oh! By the way, I did earn the cookware and also just about every open stock piece, too!

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

It Seems Like the Same People Are Booking‏

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Cheryl asked: At my parties I do booking bids throughout the demo and ask everyone, individually, when they place their order, if they would like to book their own party. Despite having new people at these parties, it is always the same people booking. I seem to be going around in circles and can’t break out.

What is a girl to do??? I’ve been there, too, and it is frustrating. Until I realized I had people I could count on to have parties. I had a couple of groups of people who had a party with each new catalog. When you think about it that is really great. A quick phone call to one of them insured me a booking.

But how do you break out from that crowd and get new bookings? Obviously Cheryl is doing everything rght but not getting the results she wants. There are a couple of things you, and Cheryl, can do.

First, when you are doing hostess coaching you want to point out that you dearly love her and all her friends – but – for her to get more free stuff she needs to invite not only the old crowd but also new people. A lot of new people. She and her friends have so many of your products already that for her to have higher sales, and therefore be able to take full advantage of your hostess program, she needs to get some new blood at her party.

Encourage your hostess to get bookings before the party. Most companies provide incentives for the hostess if there are bookings at the party. What could you provide your hostess if it is someone new hosting a party?

Use the KISS method – Keep It Simple Silly. Remind your hostess of what she receives when she has bookings. Tell her that one way to prevent her guests from bookings is to have all kinds of things to munch on. When someone is considering booking and then sees a table groaning from the weight of food, what is she going to think? I don’t have the time or the money to make all this food. I won’t book a party after all.

Use a door prize slip or a wish list. One of the things I have on my door prize slip is, “I would like to know when my wish list items go on special!” When I get to that on my door prize slip I read it to them and then I say, “If you’d like me to call you when anything on your door prize slip goes on special make sure you circle yes and have your phone number on your wish list.” Pick something on their list that you can afford to give away and call them. “Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ company. We met when Mary had her party. I noticed on your wish list (or door prize list if you combine them) you had written down you’d be interested in this item if it even went on special. I don’t know if you’d be interested or not but just by having a party to be held in September with 10 buying guests or 10 orders, you can receive that item free. Is that something you’d like to take advantage of?”

Have some retired items as a special display at your party. Point them out to the guests and talk about how great they are. Then tell them you have good news and bad news about those items. The bad news is they are now retired and you can’t buy them anymore. The good news is – you can get the one of your choice absolutely free just by holding a party.

Do some vendor events. Have a gift certificate as your door prize. Some people won’t fill out your door prize slip because they don’t like the item you are offering. But when you offer a gift certificate (redeemable through you ONLY) they can get something of their choice. When you call the winner suggest she host a party to get more bang out of her gift certificate buck and use the gift certificate to pay for her half-price item or whatever else your company offers at a discounted price for hostesses.

The whole idea of doing a vendor event is to get new contacts. Although the perceived notion is that one lucky person will win the gift certificate that isn’t exactly what I do. If I have several people who have indicated that “maybe they would like to have a party,” when I call them – it’s to tell them they have won the door prize and now have this much money to spend – free – on anything they want in the catalog. I follow that quickly with, “Sally, I have an idea for you that might interest you. You indicated on your slip that you might be interested in having a party. What we could do is, save your gift certificate for your party and then you could use it to purchase a half-price item or a discounted hostess only item and that way you could get a lot more when you use that gift certificate. Do you have any questions about having a party?”

Develop a rapport with people. Recently, while doing a vendor event, a consultant from another company commented about her daughter needing exactly what I sell. So I gave her a catalog for her daughter. A little while later we talked about business and how it was going for each of us. A little while after that we chatted about our families. A little while later I suggested that she and her daughter have a party, invite her daughter’s friends and their moms, and the daughter could get what she needed for free. I suggested that as “something you might want to think about.” “What a good idea!” the other consultant said, and yes, I’m having a party with her. In other words, don’t pounce on people to have a party! Instead, find their need and fill it.
When you find their need, and fill it, you’ll have a calendar full of bookings.

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at
http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Free E-Associate Web Package if you join Watkins in August

2010-08-08T23:26:00.002-04:00

Join in the month of August and receive a FREE E-Associate Web Package.
Do you want to:
secure your retirement?
pay off your outstanding debt?
grow personally and professionally?
earn more income?
send your kids to private school?
get your kids involved in extra-curricular activities?
achieve your dreams and goals?
experience a cash Christmas?

Free E-Associate Web Package
All new Associates who join in August will have the opportunity to try Watkins E-Associate web package for three months at no charge. What a great way to get your business off to a great start. In today's business age, websites are essential in promoting and creating awareness for your business. If you want to be taken seriously and project a professional business image, then Watkins E-Associate Web Package is a must.

For the new Associates in August, Watkins will waive the $64.95 web set-up fee. Additionally, Watkins will pick up the monthly web-hosting fee for the first three months (value of $59.85), giving new Associates until the end of November to decide if the E-Associate package is right for them before having to pay a cent. That's a total value/savings of $124.80 if they begin their Watkins business in August.

New Associates who order the Watkinize Your Home Assortment will receive an additional 3 months free maintenance, giving them till the end of February with no cost to their E-Associate site.

Here's what the E-Associate Web Package provides:
A customizable, personal web site which stands as the entry point for your customers, prospects and downline to WatkinsOnline.com

A place to post public stories for your customers and prospects, plus private stories for your downline team.

All customers and prospects coming through your site have your Associate information pre-filled in all shopping and sign-up screens.

A fully-functional e-mail with a WatkinsOnline.com address and access to reports and account information including real-time volume queries.

August's new Associates can choose to try the E-Associate package when they join Watkins. Those that choose this option will enjoy the package for the remainder of August and all of September, October, and November.* This incentive represents a total savings of $124.80.

*Unless an Associate cancels before November, a monthly web host/maintenance fee of $19.95 will be charged beginning in November to the credit card used at the time of purchase.

For further information you can contact me at ddemell@watkinsonline.com
Or you can visit my website and check out our products and sign up there as well.

Remember the web site offer is only good for the month of August.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Great Advice from Jim Rohn

2010-08-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Notes, notes, notes…I have tons of them that I’ve taken over the years from conference calls, seminars, classes, and retreats. Several years ago, on some excellent advice from a friend – I attended a two day seminar that featured Jim Rohn. It was amazing. This particular spiral is well loved as I refer back to the notes frequently.

If you are serious about your business, do yourself a favor. Every year, set aside some of your income (at least a few hundred dollars) and go see a really good professional speaker. From personal experience I can recommend not only Jim Rohn, but John Maxwell, and Zig Ziglar. The following is an excerpt from notes taken from a Jim Rohn seminar. In 1996, the year of this particular seminar, he had been a public speaker for 34 years! His advice – priceless and timeless.

Jim Rohn’s Sales Formula:

Talk to lots of people every day.
If you do, you are bound to make sales because people buy for the strangest reasons. It doesn’t take much and if you do it a lot, you will get better.

Be really nice.
Be nice when the weather isn’t-people aren’t circumstances, don’t call for it.
It’s not so much what you say, but how you say it.

Give good service – call them before they call you.
Make a sale, make a living. Develop a testimonial, make a fortune. It’s not the sale, it’s the story.
One good customer, well taken care of is worth $10,000 in advertising.

Learn how to build a great organization.
People borrow money from people, not banks. We are all in the people business.

Learn how to organize.
Law of averages…10 kids = 1 call from the sheriff. Jesus recruited 12 and one was a traitor.

Learn how to communicate

Learn how to promote

Learn how to train

Learn how to teach
– people need life skills as well as job skills.

Learn how to inspire
– teach how to aspire.
Aspire
– look up a little higher and try to get there.

Challenge:
get our kids to aspire.

All of these multiple skills are an advantage. Get a good long list of skills and teach them to your children.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Dealing with Cancellations

2010-08-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Doesn’t it just frost your cookies? You need that party to meet your goal, to pay that bill, to earn the incentive – and she cancels on you.

Cancellations happen. That’s part of direct sales. People get sick, kids get sick, bosses inform them they need to work late, are just a couple of reasons why people cancel. I think there are as many reasons to cancel as there are hostesses. When life happens there isn’t a whole lot you can do to save that party. After all, if she’s sick – she’s sick!

But there are ways to prevent cancellations, and the easiest is to have solid bookings to begin with. What you are saying to your potential hostess and how she is responding back to you is what is going to determine whether or not she is going to hold her booking. I see so many consultants give away their power from the very beginning of the booking process.

A guest says, “I’d like to have a party.” What does the consultant say? “When would you like to have it?” You’ve just given away your calendar and your power. Who is in charge of when you work? The potential hostess!

First off, fill your calendar with activity. Appear to be busy. If there are days you don’t want to work then make those dates look like they are already booked. When my husband was alive we went fishing. That was our time together sharing an activity we both enjoyed. We fished just about every Saturday from the beginning of fishing season until it was too cold to go out. I never offered Saturday afternoons for parties. To make sure they didn’t try to book I took my calendar and filled every single Saturday with what looked like bookings.
What I did was take family member names and wrote them in, making them look like it was a booking. I knew it wasn’t a booking but to a potential hostess it looked like my Saturdays were filled for months.

Write every appointment you have in your business calendar to look like a booking. Parent-teacher conference? Write the teacher’s name in your calendar, the time and a phone number. Getting your teeth cleaned? Write your hygienists name with a number and time. Put an address in if you need to. However you indicate a booking in your calendar – have everything you do in your life in your business calendar and make it look like a booking.

Why? Because the busier you appear to be the fewer cancellations you’ll get. When a potential hostess sees that you have a blinding snowstorm on your calendar (a lot of white and not much of anything else) that is giving her a non-verbal communication that you’re not busy, and if she can’t hold her party there are plenty of other dates where she can change it to.

How serious are you about your business? Are you projecting that to your potential hostesses? I’ve told hostesses, “This may be a party to you but it is a business to me. If you can’t hold this date I need to know ____ days in advance so I can book someone else for that date. I want to make sure I am working that day so I can pay my bills.” That startles a number of people and takes me out of being the “consultant with a hobby” and takes me to a serious business woman.
What are you saying when you make booking bids during your presentation? Are you saying, “When you book your party your hostess will receive…..” or are you saying, “When you hold your party your hostess will receive….”

Do you send out the invitations or do you hand her some invitations and wish her luck? When you send out the invitations you know how many people she has actually invited! Yes, I know, it costs you more. But isn’t it worth the expense?

If she is hemming and hawing about a date, do you suggest that you could call her tomorrow when she has her calendar in front of her?

If you provide an incentive for her to book a party – never, NEVER, give it to her until the night of the party. If you give it to her when she books the odds are stacked against you. She has your product and you will probably never see her again.

Are you staying in contact with her either through email the phone or both? If she’s not taking your calls or not responding to your emails that’s a pretty good hint she is not going to hold. Then I would leave the message, “Sally, I haven’t heard back from you. I hope nothing is wrong. I do need to know if you are planning to hold your party. If I don’t hear back from you within 48 hours I’ll need to give that date to another person who wants to have a party on that date.”

Get your potential hostess excited. Find out why she is having the party. Just recently a potential hostess told my hostess, “This was really fun. I think my friends would enjoy it too.” So when I talked to her about booking I talked to her about the fun her friends would have and, if they took advantage of that month’s guest special, they would save money, too.

And, finally, don’t be a push-over. A hostess called as I was packing to do her party and told me her phone had been ringing off the hook with people telling her they wouldn’t be able to come after all. She was very upset that she would be having only four people instead of the ten she had told me. She was calling to tell me not to come. So I said, “You know what Sally? You set aside this time to have a party and those four people set aside the time, too. We’re going to do it anyway and we’ll have fun with the four people.” Her party ended up being a $700 party with two bookings. All from 4 people!!

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at
http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Getting Them to Book....

2010-07-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

When I sent out the email asking you for you biggest issues around your business, several of you expressed this : You have a customer who has expressed an interest in booking a party. How do you get them to follow through and actually book the party?

Have you ever been interested in seeing a movie but the movie came to your community and you didn’t see it? Have you ever been interested in buying an item but you didn’t buy it? Why? Because it was something you were interested in. It wasn’t something you absolutely need to do or buy. You simply have expressed an interest. So are your customers. They are expressing an interest in booking.

What would it take for you to see that movie or buy that item? For me it would take more information. Maybe talking to a friend who has seen the movie and loved it. Maybe for an item I’m interested in purchasing, the sales clerk telling me it’s going on sale next week. So the question is – what does the guest need to know to go from interest in booking to actually booking.

One of the things you can do is to explain your hostess program. Yes, I know, you explained it to them as part of your demonstration. The issue is – was she listening? Probably not. Unless she was already interested in booking when you explained it she may not have been listening to you. So when someone expresses an interest in booking but isn’t booking tell her, “Let me explain to you what you receive as a hostesses ….” She may have questions about booking a party. Ask her, “Do you have any questions about having a party?”

And there is the dreaded phone! The person who tells you to call her but when you do she doesn’t answer. You call her several times and she doesn’t respond to your calls. Always try to get a date and time for the call. If she doesn’t answer but you get her machine leave a message: Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ Company. We met at Mary’s last night and you asked me to call you today to set a date and time for your party. I hope I’m calling you at the right time and I sure hope nothing is wrong. Give me a call back at 333-1234 and I can answer any questions you may have about having an XYZ party.

By saying, “I hope I’m calling you at at the right time” you’re saying you may have made a mistake. I’ve called people at the wrong time. Just yesterday I called a coaching client 30 minutes early. I had on my calendar 5:30 but in my mind I was thinking 5 o’clock. Everyone makes a mistake and you may have made one. Something may have come up and that is why she isn’t answering. Expressing concern to another person, reaching out to another person is never the wrong thing to do.

Several days go past and she doesn’t respond so now what do we do? Do we call her? Do we not call her? I’d give her the benefit of the doubt and call her again. Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ Company. Just wanted to touch bases with you and see where you are at for having your party. If you have decided not to have a party that’s okay. But would you just give me a quick call so I know and I can take you off my list of people I need to call? My number is 333-1234. Thanks!

We don’t know why she isn’t taking or returning our calls. She may have gotten home to find out her mother is ill and she had to leave town to be with her mother. Her husband may have said, “No – I don’t want you to have a selling party.” Her child may have come down with the flu. She may have decided not to have a party and she isn’t taking or returning the call because she doesn’t know how to tell you. That’s why I gave her the “out” on the second call by saying, “If you have decided not to have a party that’s okay.”

Now why would I do that? Why would I give her an out? Because is she has decided not to have a party and she feels forced into having a party will it be a good one? Will it be worth your time and effort? Probably not. It takes the pressure off of her and allows her to, as the Chinese say, “Save face.”

If she doesn’t call I would assume she has decided not to have the party. But for those of you who are determined to call her again I’d suggest you say: Hi Sally, Ruth calling again. I’m assuming you’re not wanting to have a party. If I’m wrong on that would you give me a call back at 333-1234? Thanks.

Always leave a pleasant message. You do that by having a nice tone in your voice. After all, if she has decided not to book you want to keep her as a customer. If she is invited to another party you want her to come and buy again don’t you?

Direct sales is a numbers game. You need to go through the numbers to get bookings and to get recruits. If she doesn’t book it’s not the end of the world. Just go on to the next person.

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Are YOU Stopping Them From Booking?

2010-07-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Continuing on our quest of getting bookings, let it be known that in over 13 years of party plan selling I never played a game. I really don’t like them! I hate passing things to the right and to the left. I hate digging in my purse for things. Every time I’m at a selling party and the consultant says, “Now we’re going to play another game” my thought is – get on with it lady!
As a consultant I’ve walked into hostesses home and have had them tell me, “My friends told me to tell you if you play a game they are going to leave.” I had guest come up to me and thank me for not playing those “stupid” (their word, not mine) games. Only once in 13 years did I ever have a guest ask me why I didn’t play any games.

Why all the negative around games? Because people have been in situations where they have felt pressured. Pressured to book a party or pressured to take recruiting information and all of it was done around a “game.” People don’t like to feel pressured.

The top two reasons people book a party from you is because they either had fun or else they learned something. Having fun does not necessarily mean they played games. Let me give you an example of a party I had where the consultant had at least a $1000 show and 3 bookings. She ended up with a $400 show and no bookings.

The product was clothing. I had 6 or 7 friends that came to the party and one had brought her teen-age daughter. We were trying on the clothing, modeling for each other, telling each other to try this or that on – we were having fun. There were howls of laughter as one of the guests came out of the bedroom wearing a crazy combination and said, “So tell me, is this ME?” Guests paraded around the kitchen table doing their best imitation of a model. Oh my gosh were we having fun! Guests had piles of things on “their” corner of the bed in various bedrooms they were seriously considering buying. Guests were saying things to me like, “Please tell me she takes credit cards!” “This is so much fun and they are all so cute I can’t decide what to get.” “I’m going to book a party so I can get everything I want.” “There’s 5 things I’m getting so far.”
Doing a quick count I knew two of my friends were going to book and I had already decided I was re-booking for the new catalog. I figured if everyone got at least half of what they were saying they wanted I had a $1000 to $1500 party going here, and I would be getting everything I wanted through the hostess program plus a lot more.
And then disaster struck!

The consultant called everyone back into the living room and said we were going to play the Egg Game. She held up a basket of about 50 plastic eggs and told us that in each egg there was a slip of paper. The slips said:

$5 off your purchase tonight
$10 off your purchase tonight
10% off your purchase tonight
20% off your purchase tonight
book a party

All we had to do was draw an egg to “win” but if it said Book a Party we had to do that. The consultant stood there with a big grin on her face and asked each guest if they would like to take an egg. Everyone said no. The consultant ended up with egg on her face. No one took an egg. She tried to coax people into taking an egg. Again they said no. She reminded people they could get 20% off their purchase. Everyone said no.

What did everyone do? They grabbed their sales slip and started filling it out. Once they had paid for their orders they left. Hardly anyone stayed for the dessert I had made. In other words – they bolted.

After everyone had left I looked through the slips. My guest who said she was getting 5 things bought 2. People who had a pile of things they were considering bought one. Sales were $400. Bookings? None. Nada. Zero. I didn’t re-book either.

Why?

The next day I called my friends and asked them. They had the exact same feeling I had and the exact same reason to not book. When the consultant broke up the party to play her egg game she had interrupted everyone having a lot of fun. The number one reason people book. Everyone felt pressured to take an egg. The comments I heard were, “I didn’t book a party because I don’t want my friends to feel pressured to have a party like I was.” “I couldn’t believe how she tried to pressure everyone into booking. I cute my order down too.” “I didn’t tell you, but I wanted to book a party but after that so-called game there was no way I was going to have one.” I ended up apologizing to my friends!

What happened?

Two things.

First, it was what the guests, and I, perceived to be going on. Every one of us thought the same thing. We knew the eggs were stacked against us. We knew, in that basket of 50 eggs, there was ONE slip that said $5 off, ONE slip saying $10 off, ONE slip saying 10% off and ONE slip saying 20% off. We all felt pressured to book a party. Was that reality? She may well have had an equal number of slips. But is was what the guests perceived to be going on that was the turn off to them booking – and buying.

Secondly, the consultant wasn’t in the kitchen were the action was. She was in the living room where she had set up her display. I’m not sure what she was doing in there. I guess she was helping people pick out what they were going to try next. Be where the action is! If she had been in the kitchen she would have realized how much fun everyone was having. She would have answered that yes, as a matter of fact, she does take credit cards. She may well have realized she had a couple of bookings already. She would have realized she had people who were considering buying a lot of her products and quietly said to them, “You may want to consider buying three or four things tonight and getting the rest of the things you want at your own party.”

Now do you understand why I tell you to analyze your party? Where do you “have” them and when did you “lose” them?

Something else you might want to do is say to your hostess, “On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate this party?” If they don’t say 10 then ask them, “What do you think I could do to make my presentation a 10?”

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

2010-07-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Many of you asked how to get bookings over the phone
What did we all do when we first started our business?
We got on the phone and called our friends and family members and asked them for bookings to help us get started. The issue now, because we have started our businesses is, how do I ask for a booking without sounding like I am begging people to book?

First off you have got to be collecting information from the guests at your parties. This is crucial. Why? Because the more you know about people the more business you can do with them. Use either a Wish List or a Door Prize slip, and have an area on the door prize list for them to write down products they would be interested in if they ever go on SPECIAL. Do not use the word SALE on your door prize slip or your wish list. Always use the word special.

Now to use that information to get bookings over the phone is not all that difficult. When your company offers a product for free as a booking bonus you can go through your wish lists or door prize slips and see who has written down that product as something they would like if it ever goes on special.

If your company doesn’t offer booking specials or hostess specials, then you can decide how much are you willing to give away to get a booking. If you’re willing to give away, say $15 cost to you to get a booking, then how much does that turn into for the the retail price of a product? If your take is 40% that means you can give away a $25 product and the cost to you will be $15. So starting there, go through your lists and find products people have written down that cost around $25, and start calling people offering them the product they want as a special for booking.

That call would go like this:
Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ Company. We met at Mary’s when she had her XYZ party. Sally, I noticed at Mary’s that you indicated on your door prize slip (wish list) that you wanted to know when Product A goes on special. Do you have a couple of minutes for me to tell you about the special we have on that product?

Sally I don’t know if you’d be interested or not, but I didn’t want this special to end and you not be aware of it. XYZ Company is offering that product for (month), absolutely free, just for booking a party. Of course you’ll also be able to take advantage of our generous hostess program. Sally is that something you would be interested in taking advantage of?

Did you notice how you are not saying, “I have a special.” You’re not saying I have a special because as soon as you do you sound like you’re out of bookings and your desperate. No matter if it is your special or a special from the company you are always presenting the special to people as being from the company. Are you lying? No! You’re not. YOU are XYZ Company to your customers. Therefore, the special is from XYZ Company.

Did you notice how you are not begging anyone to have a party for you? Basically what you are saying to the person is – you told me you wanted to know when this product goes on special. It’s on special. Are you interested in taking advantage of the special?

When you get to your closing line, “Are you interested in taking advantage of this special” you are going to get one of three responses. She might say – no – not interested. She may tell you she doesn’t like to have selling parties. Then ask her if she would like you to call her if that item ever goes on sale. If she answers yes to that, mark her slip sale person, doesn’t do parties. A second response is she may ask you questions about what she needs to do to have a party.
Simply answer her questions and again ask for the booking. Or she may say yes, she’d love to have a party.

The issue often is, how do we ask for the booking? We get all done with our offer but how do we ask for the booking? That’s why I like the question, “Is this something you’d like to take advantage of?” Ir is asking for the booking based on the information you provided, plus it’s getting to a yes, no or maybe quickly and easily. If I want to call a number of people I want to get through the no’s so I can get onto the yes’s as fast as I can. This is a quick and easy way for me to get bookings over the phone without feeling like I am begging family, friends and former hostesses to book again.

Reprinted with permission from Ruth Fuersten
at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Moving Your Party Plan Business Forward‏

2010-07-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

As a direct selling party plan business coach, I deal daily with people who are trying to get their business off the ground: getting more bookings, higher sales and more recruit leads. One of the most important things you can do for your business is simply to touch it daily. Do something, everyday, to move your business forward.

Many people don’t realize what business building work is. Cleaning your office or getting organized is not business building work. It’s housework. It’s getting ready to work. Cleaning your office is going to give you a nicer space to work in. Getting organized is going to free you from searching for the one piece of paper you need. But that is not work in the direct sales industry. Working in the direct sales industry means you are doing something to create bookings, increase your sales or developing recruit leads.

Some of the things you could do are:
To get more bookings:
using your list of former hostesses and guests that attended parties in the past, develop a special (either of your creation or one from your company) and call that list of potential hostesses. Make sure you have developed the wording you are going to use to encourage people to book to get your special.

To get higher sales:
think about the parties you’ve had this month and analyze the presentations you did. What worked? What didn’t work? When did you “have them” and when did you “lose them”? Develop ways you can show your highest priced items, and wording to encourage people to either buy them or book to get them at discount or for free.

To get more recruit leads:
go through your former hostesses and clients and look to see who has been a hostess more than one time, and guests who have purchased multiple times. Call them and talk to them about your company’s opportunity.
Creating a strong, growing direct sales business isn’t a matter of luck. It’s an issue of working your business. This is a business. Most people treat it like a hobby and then wonder why they don’t make any money.

The other issue is consistency. When you have a hobby you do it when you have time or when you feel like it. That’s okay when it’s a hobby. That’s not an option when you have a business. A business is a job. It needs to be attended daily. Do something daily, even if it’s just for fifteen minutes, to move your business forward.

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

THE ABCs of GOAL-SETTING FOR RESULTS

2010-07-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

THE ABCs of GOAL-SETTING FOR RESULTS
by Jacques Weisel, Master of Human Engineering

The following definitive study on Goals was conducted by Rhode Island University several years ago. They followed the careers of 60,000 graduates for 15 years.
Here are the results:

23%...goals gone after the 1st week
...45% eliminated their goals after 1 month
...after the first 6 months 60% were no longer goal-motivated
...finally, after 2 years into goal-seeking 19% were still on target.

Sounds a lot like the Pareto rule of 80/20 (over a century old) is still alive and well: i.e ... 19% will accomplish more than 81%.

Here's an unfailing formula for reaching goals, listed alphabetically.

A- Attitude, must be POSITIVE

B- Goals must be Believable

C- Must be Conceivable...BUT, s...t...r...e...t...c...h your mind

D- Desirable to YOU...most important...you must feel YOU DESERVE THEM!

E- YOU MUST BE Enthusiastic over your goals.

F- You must FORGIVE YOURSELF for your past misdeeds.

G- IF YOU TAKE God out of the G00D life, you're left with a big 0.

H- HELPING OTHERS is best for Personal Growth

I- BE INNER-DIRECTED...wisdom is a gift received at birth.

J- JOIN at least 3 networking groups

K- KNOWLEDGE of your vocation is worth between 12-15% of your business success. The rest comes from your Attitude & People Skills.

L- If you are not the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE...there is no Real love in your life.

M- Motivation...Praise/Punishment temporary...PURPOSE Permanent.

N- Neophobia...afraid of New Ideas...Do not go through life with a DO NOT DISTURB sign on your forehead.

O- Opportunity for goal-directed people never better (see Rhode Is. Study)

P- Pessimism also works...Be careful how you set your Goals, for you will reach them...be they Good or Bad.

Q- Qualify and Quantify your Goals.

R- Repetition Reinforces Recognition; make a habit of what works.

S- Self-Sabotage takes over as you HIT THE BRICK WALL/CEILING. Examine your Past for Clues to your current situation.

T- Tenacity...never quit: most goals are just around the corner. TURN IT!

U- U R Unique...and God don't make no junk!

V- Value added...give 100%, then add 10% as a bonus!

W- Work becomes Play when you love what you do!

X- EXtraordinary is what you become as you let go of the Past.

Y- Yearning is passive, while Learning is a living force, urging you on daily.TRAINING IS THE ANSWER...via Discs, Books & Seminars.

Z- When life is over, will you have been a ZERO, or a HERO.
The answer lies in your mind.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Hostess Coaching & Getting Bookings

2010-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Author: Ruth Fuersten

In the business of direct sales party plan selling, hostess coaching is a vital part of our business. Hostess coaching is done to insure a good turn-out for the demonstration of the products we’re selling, and to get additional sales from the people who aren’t able to attend. You can also increase your bookings through hostess coaching by just adding a little bit more to your coaching contacts.

Traditionally we provide our hostesses with catalogs and order forms and instruct them to get orders from the guests who will not be able to attend. We may suggest a price-point that she aims for: $100, $200 or more in "outside" orders before the party starts. This is an excellent way to increase our sales and, just as important, the amount of products our hostesses receive.
But is there a way for us to teach our hostesses to get additional bookings for us? Yes there is! It’s a simple and easy way for us to increase our bookings and generate more business.

We all know when we are talking to our new hostess we need to suggest to her that she show the catalog to the people who are not able to attend the party. What would happen to your business if you said, "Sally, as you are showing the catalog to people I want you to listen for some magic words. If your friend is commenting about how many things she likes in the catalog and having a tough time narrowing down what it is she would like to get, then suggest to her to book her own party so she can take advantage of our hostess program.

Words you want to be listening for are things like:
There are so many cute things in here!
I just can’t decide which one to get.
There’s several things I want but I can afford to get only one.
This is cute! Oh I like this one too.
I sure could use that but I don’t think I want to spend that much.

When you hear your friends saying things like that, suggest they get one or two items from your party and then book their own party to get the rest of the things they like for free and reduced prices. That way you can take advantage of what our hostesses receive when they get bookings. Then explain to her what’s in it for her when there are bookings at her party.

The night of her party how much easier is it to talk to her about recruiting? She’s already experienced selling and booking with your company. When you ask her if she has ever considered doing what you are doing, you can point out to her that she has already been a consultant with your company because she has gotten sales and also bookings. Tell her that when she becomes a consultant those bookings would be hers to help her get started.

Showing your hostess how to get "outside" bookings is a way to increase your business! You will either have additional bookings you otherwise would not have gotten, or else, you’ll have a new recruit!

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Don't Have an Hour?

2010-07-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Don't Have an Hour?
Author: Ruth Fuersten

Last week I suggested you have a Power Hour and spend an hour on the phone getting bookings, making some sales and connecting with people for recruiting interviews. That’s a great idea to increase your business! But reality for some people is – with kids going here and there, a full-time job, a husband, a house, a garden, a dog and everything else that is packed into our lives – carving out an hour is next to impossible. If that sounds like you, try this instead.

What would happen to your business if you spent 15 minutes a day, every day you don’t have a party booked, on the phone? Just about everyone can carve out 15 minutes to be on the phone.
What would happen to your business if today you went through your contact list and pulled out who you want to call for the rest of the week. Then spend 15 minutes every day calling those people. On Sunday pull the names of people you want to connect with for the following week. That would be just about 2 hours every week that you’re moving your business forward.

You could be calling people for:
hostess coaching calls
connecting with former hostesses to see if they would be interested in booking another party or talking with you about recruiting
connecting with guests to offer them a special, for something they want, to purchase or book to get
checking the cost of a vendor event

Where would your business be if you made the commitment to touch your business every day, for 30 days, for just 15 minutes a day? I’m going to make that a challenge! I challenge you – I even double dare you – to commit to spending 15 minutes every day for the next 30 days to move your business forward.

Do you really want to have a successful business? Then take my challenge and start calling people. In 30 days, August 6, email me and let me know what happened in your business.

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Keeping Myself and my Team on track!

2010-07-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Summertime – keeping myself and my TEAM on track!

Summer can be a challenging time for your home based business – especially if you are someone with children who are now home from school. Whether elementary, high school, or college aged having the kids around every day can present a real distraction. Fold in nice weather and the lure of fun outdoor activities and you have a potential recipe for major procrastination when working from home.

"Taking the summer off" is not always a good choice, especially if you consider that our business has a 30-90 day cycle. Look at your calendar and you will see that if you do nothing now, it will impact your fall (harvest time!) in a very negative way.

So, how do you stay motivated and help your team to do the same?
Sometimes all it takes is a new challenge, something that increases your excitement level and gets your juices flowing.

Set a short term goal for yourself, or for yourself and your team. An example might be recruiting or selling to a certain amount within a short period of time. Get creative. Think about having a fun focus, like recruiting people who are out of state or selling a particular number of a specific product; anything that will give your goal a new twist.

Break your goal into bite-sized (daily) increments. In other words, if your goal is to sell $1000 in the next 2 weeks (10 days), then your daily goal is to sell $100. Keep the goal in front of you and reward yourself for your accomplishments.

Working on a specific goal with your team can really makes things fun. Again, break it down. If you have a goal of selling $10,000 in the next 10 days with a team of 10 – each individual must sell $1000 in that period of time or $100 a day. Have them report daily to you and post the results in a daily email that goes out.

Don’t forget the rewards. It can be something as silly as candy (Smarties – you are so smart to have achieved today’s daily goal)or something bigger like a Starbucks or gasoline gift card.
Let people brag on their successes and post them to everyone via email. Then, when you achieve your goal be sure to celebrate as a team.

The whole idea is to use your imagination and creativity to build momentum and team work in your organization.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Just an Hour

2010-07-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Author: Ruth Fuersten
What would happen in your business if you did an hour of serious work each and every day? Belinda Ellsworth talks about having a Power Hour. I love her concept. It’s so simple, and at the same time, so focused.

So how do you do a Power Hour?
You spend one hour, 60 minutes, 3600 seconds moving your business forward either booking, selling or recruiting. The hour is spent on the phone, calling customers, former hostesses, and recruit leads to encourage them to book a party, talk with you about recruiting, or purchasing your "must have special."

Power Hours are not spent figuring out who you’re going to call, coming up with the wording you’e going to use, or even "getting organized." All those things need to be completed before you start your Power Hour.

Have everything you need at your finger tips:
catalogs, order forms, calendar, note cards/paper, who you’re going to call and their contact information.

When you’re doing your Power Hour you need to:
Know why you’re calling:

Are you offering a special if they book a party? Do you want to increase your sales? Are you looking to get a new recruit? What is the purpose of your call?

Know who you’re calling:

Now that you know why you’re calling – determine who you’re calling. Go through your contacts and separate out who you’re going to contact. Have all their information in front of you so you’re not wasting precious time of your Power Hour looking up what should be right in front of you.

Know what you’re going to say:

Have two scripts ready and memorized. One script to e used when you get the dreaded answering machine to encourage them to call you back. And, of course, know what you’re going to say when a real, live person answers the phone.

So! Get out your list, decide why your calling, who you’re calling and what you’re going to say – then start dialing!

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Why Rezist Plus?

2010-07-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

Rezist Plus can help to:

Boost immunity*
Maintain healthy intestinal flora*
Reduce symptoms of lactose intolerance*
Maintain healthy cholesterol levels*
Reduce frequency and severity of headaches*
Reduce allergic reactions*
Ease gastrointestinal discomfort*
Enhance absorption of calcium*
Produce B vitamins in the body*
Aid in digestion*

How does it work?

Your immune system is the body's first and most important line of defense against invasion by harmful bacteria, fungi, and viruses, as well as environmental pollutants and toxins. Watkins Rezist Plus enhances the body's ability to resist attack by these harmful invaders by stimulating the immune system to destroy the invaders, helping to relieve a variety of uncomfortable symptoms during the winter season, allergy season, and throughout the entire year.*

Why Watkins?

Watkins Rezist Plus uses ImmunEnhancer which contains arabinogalactan, a cuttingedge natural compound that is more than twice as effective as echinacea in stimulating the immune system. ImmunEnhancer has been shown in clinical studies to enhance the number of "seek and destroy" immune cells-the cells that attack and destroy foreign invaders, such as those that cause uncomfortable symptoms. ImmunEnhancer produces more of these "seek and destroy" cells compared to echinacea, and while echinacea loses its effectiveness over time, ImmunEnhancer continues its effectiveness, providing more long-term protection against illness.

Lactospore®, FOS and patented immune stimulating oligosaccharides are known as prebiotics and probiotics. One of the hottest topics in natural health today, probiotics help provide a proper balance of health promoting bacteria in the intestinal tract and manufacture natural antibiotics that kill harmful organisms. Prebiotics help to sustain the life of probiotics.
Elie Metchnikoff, the physician who discovered the benefits of probiotics, associated prolonged youth and health with continuous ingestion of probiotics. Based on his research, he suggested that many illnesses are the result of toxins produced in the intestinal tract which invade the body, and he claimed to have successfully treated many of his patients with the therapeutic use of probiotics. More recent research has confirmed that regular intake of probiotics can stimulate the immune system and overrun these toxic compounds, pushing them out of the body. By blocking harmful invaders and maintaining a healthy environment, prebiotics and probiotics have been shown to help prevent a wide range of symptoms, as well as reduce allergy reactions and headaches, maintain healthy cholesterol levels, enhance absorption of calcium, synthesize B vitamins, and relieve gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation.*

Herbal Immune Support Blend (astragalus,elderberry juice concentrate, olive leaf extract)Helps to boost and strengthen the immune system.*

Watkins Bio-ActivatorTM Blend (black pepper, ginger, cellulase plant enzyme)Aids in digestion and circulation, and may help to protect and maximize the potency of nutrients in the body.*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Hear from your peers on "Why Rezist Plus?"

"My oldest son wanted to take Rezist Plus because he knew it would help fight colds and flu, but the spin-off is that he suffered from what I called "allergy to the morning." Certain times of the year he would wake up sneezing and coughing and would have a runny nose for a couple of hours every morning.
He found that when he was taking Rezist Plus he wasn't having that reaction when he woke up. It was only when he ran out of Rezist Plus and stopped taking it and all of those symptoms came back, that he realized that it was the Rezist Plus that was helping him to avoid those allergic reactions every morning. It's a wonderful product and I've told lots of people who have allergies to try Rezist Plus. It certainly has made a difference in my son's life."**
— Lee Baxevanidis, British Columbia, Independent Watkins Associate

"I take Watkins Rezist Plus everyday. When I have a reaction to something in the air or environment, I take another dose of Rezist Plus and within 30 minutes the reaction has subsided. It's wonderful to see others' expressions when they see the difference. "Thank you, Watkins, for making my allergies more manageable with Rezist Plus."**
— Debra Killam, New Brunswick, Independent Watkins Associate

"I just wanted to let you know that I have been taking Resist Plus for 2 years and 7 months and have not had a sinus infection or pneumonia in all that time! My allergies have also been minimal. Before Resist Plus I was taking antihistamines, decongestants, nasal inhalers and bronchial inhalers. Now I just take 1 or 2 Resist Plus a day with Superfood Multi and don't suffer from infection or allergies. Marvelous product!"**
— Rita Kislenger, Minnesota, Independent Watkins Associate

"Three months ago I started taking Rezist Plus because each winter I get colds that lead to bronchitis, plus I have allergies. My family is now on their second rounds of colds and I am symptom free. My breathing is better and I feel great."**
— Corinne Luckenbill, Pennsylvania, Independent Watkins Associate

**These are personal testimonials; individual results may vary. Consult your physician before taking any dietary supplements.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Feel the Difference....

2010-07-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

Healthy joints and connective tissues are vitally important to one's well-being. Unhealthy, malfunctioning joints and tissues result in sore and stiff joints, which can keep one from exercising or simply enjoying life.

Who needs Watkins LinimaxTM?

Anyone who suffers from sore or stiff joints*
Anyone who wants to prevent sore or stiff joints*
Anyone who wants to maintain strong, healthy joints throughout life*

What is glucosamine?

Glucosamine, the main ingredient in Watkins LinimaxTM, is a natural compound found in joint cartilage that stimulates the production of cartilage, inhibits its breakdown, and binds water in the cartilage, keeping joints strong and well-lubricated.*

Is glucosamine safe and effective for joint discomfort?

For over 20 years, distinguished physicians around the world have prescribed glucosamine for joint discomfort for one simple reason: People who take it get better. They have less discomfort, morning stiffness and swelling, and more mobility — with no side effects.

How does glucosamine work?

Osteoarthritis, which afflicts more than 20 million North Americans, begins with the breakdown of joint cartilage, the spongy material that acts as a cushion where bone meets joint. Without this cushion, bones rub together, causing pain and loss of movement. Eventually, the joint loses its alignment, and the ends of the bones thicken and form painful spurs. Scientists have recently discovered that the cause of osteoarthritis is insufficient cartilage production, which means that if cartilage production could be stimulated, arthritis could be prevented — or even reversed — in some patients. The glucosamine in Watkins LinimaxTM stimulates the production of cartilage and inhibits its breakdown, resulting in these benefits:

less joint discomfort and swelling*
greater movement and joint flexibility*
strong, healthy, well-lubricated joints for optimum function throughout life*

What is the difference between glucosamine hydrochloride and glucosamine sulfate?

Glucosamine hydrochloride, found in Watkins LinimaxTM, is 99 percent pure, whereas glucosamine sulfate, found in some other supplements, is only 74 percent pure because it must be stabilized by a salt. You would need 2608 mg of glucosamine sulfate to do the same work as 1500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride. With glucosamine hydrochloride, you get greater purity and benefits with less dosage.

Is LinimaxTM more effective than anti-inflammatory medication?

Unlike anti-inflammatory drugs, which simply dull the pain after it starts, LinimaxTM works on the root of the problem, helping to ease joint soreness and inhibit further progression of symptoms.* It may also help to reverse joint damage in some patients.* And with no risk of the gastrointestinal bleeding often caused by anti-inflammatory drugs, Watkins LinimaxTM is clearly a wise choice.

Why choose Watkins LinimaxTM?

Besides providing the purest form of glucosamine, Watkins LinimaxTM provides other natural soothing ingredients:

Boswellia Extract and Curcumin reduce the body's production of pain-causing leukotrienes, which are released in response to inflammation.*
Whole Grape Extract prevents the breakdown of collagen, the building block of cartilage.*
Watkins Ginger contains analgesic properties. Studies show that regular intake can reduce joint discomfort.*
Watkins Bio-ActivatorTM Blend (black pepper, ginger, cellulase plant enzyme)

Why doesn't Watkins LinimaxTM contain chondroitin?

Chondroitin is made up of very large molecules that are extremely difficult for the body to absorb. The absorption rate for chondroitin is between 0 and 8 percent, which means little or no chondroitin can be used by the body. In contrast, glucosamine has a 98 percent absorption rate (a higher absorption rate than most foods and supplements), which means nearly all of the healthful benefits are being utilized by the body. The difference between glucosamine and chondroitin is similar to the difference between crude ore (chondroitin and shark cartilage) and pure gold (glucosamine). While there is gold in crude ore, it is better to use the pure gold if you are trying to make jewelry. Similarly, if you are trying to restore cartilage and joint structures, it is best to use glucosamine, the "crown jewel," rather than chondroitin or shark cartilage. The effectiveness of glucosamine in supporting healthy joints is well documented. The addition of chondroitin is like adding metal to pure gold. It serves no purpose but to take up valuable space and reduce the quality. Rather than take up space with unusable chondroitin, Watkins chooses to include additional protective ingredients for real health benefits you can feel.

Watkins Super Multi works synergistically with Watkins LinimaxTM by providing ingredients that offer additional benefits.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. In Canada, this information is for educational purposes only. No claims are being made for this product.

"I had arthritis in my hands for years and was eventually diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, as well. I had to wear a brace for the carpal tunnel and was taking 10 ibuprofen every day just to manage the pain. I started taking Watkins LinimaxTM, and within two weeks I noticed a difference. With daily use of Linimax, I am now pain-free and no longer need to take any ibuprofen or pain relievers. Watkins has definitely changed my life!"**
— Barb Birch, Minnesota, Independent Watkins Executive

"I have fibromyalgia, and since using Watkins LinimaxTM, it has helped me function almost normally again. It has reduced my muscle pain, fatigue, and the flair ups don't come as often. I don't plan on ever living without LinimaxTM."**
— Rebecca Metcalf, Michigan, Independent Watkins Associate

**These are personal testimonials; individual results may vary. Consult your physician before taking any dietary supplements.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Liquid Dish Soaps

2010-07-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

Liquid Dish Soaps

Tips:
Just a few drops of J.R. Watkins Natural Liquid Dish Soaps will fill your sink with naturally scented suds. Available in four fragrances, J.R. Watkins Natural Liquid Dish Soaps are sure to appeal to your senses and make doing dishes a soothing experience.

The flip-top cap allows you to easily squirt soap into your dishwater without mess or drips. The built-in grease cutter will clean even the toughest casserole dish. This natural formula is sure to leave your plates, cups, pots and pans clean and spotless. Get sparkling dishes even with hard water. Rinse away soap residue, film and toxins with J.R. Watkins Natural Liquid Dish Soaps.

Other dishwashing liquids contain petroleum surfactants that break down slowly in the environment and remain long-term pollutants. Keep it natural with J.R. Watkins Natural Liquid Dish Soaps.

Use On:

Dishes
Pots and Pans
Plasticware
Silverware
Cookware
Cooking Utensils

Tips:

Start with a clean sink, and always use hot water.
Scrape excess food from dishes before adding them to your dishwater.
Soak dishes with tough, stuck-on foods prior to washing to help the food lift and rinse away easily. (Be careful of aluminum surfaces, though, as soaking can darken the finish.)
Use a lint free cloth, which is ideal for drying silverware.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Green Household Cleaning Products

2010-07-01T08:05:00.000-04:00

Living Naturally

A report from Packaged Facts says eco-friendly is where the opportunity is, with products offering ideological, practical and functional benefits.

The new study, "Green Household Cleaning Products in the U.S." on dish detergents, bathroom cleaners, general household cleaners, laundry care/detergents, and other products, says that of the $557 million consumers spent last year on green products, $339 million came from green household cleaning products, and $218 million from green laundry products.

While that $557 million is only 3 percent of the total amount that consumers spent last year on the category, Packaged Facts says sales of green cleaners grew 229 percent between 2005 and 2009, more than doubling their footprint in dollar terms and more than tripling their share of the total household cleaner market.

Don Montouri, publisher of Packaged Facts, says, "If the trend continues, sales of green products will reach $2 billion by 2014."

Why are natural home care products important?

Cleaning products are released into the environment inside your home and down the drain to the outdoors.

Thirty-seven percent of Americans suffer from chemical sensitivities, skin rashes and allergies — many of them provoked by chemicals in cleaning products.

Reactions can include eyes watering, breakouts, skin rashes, and coughing or sneezing uncontrollably.

Asthma is the leading cause of emergency room visits and absenteeism in schools.

Children breathe faster in proportion to their body weight than adults, making them more vulnerable to chemical exposure.

Warm baths and showers open pores so that what we have cleaned with is more readily absorbed.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

The Path to Freedom and Abundance

2010-06-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

The value of earning as little as $300 per month in your Watkins business:

The following example was shared by industry expert, Teresa Romain. Many of you may recall meeting her and learning from her at Watkins 2007 Leadership Conference.

The path to freedom and abundance (especially financial) is not necessarily a function of MORE. Rather, it's often a function of LESS. When you have FEWER expenses and LESS debt (or no debt), you will have MORE money, time and freedom.

Consider this example:
Jean is a Watkins Associate who is making $5,000 a month and has monthly mortgage, car and credit card payments totaling $3,000.
Beth is another Associate. She's making $3,000 each month and has no debt.
Jean is making more money — but who is experiencing the most freedom and abundance?

Now consider this:
If you have a 30-year mortgage of $150,000 and $23,500 in other debt, you could be completely debt-free (mortgage and all) in 8 – 9 years if you had a monthly profit of $300 – $400 in your business and used it in a focused manner to eliminate your debt.
As a result, you would save nearly $120,000 in interest.

Then, with that "hole" plugged, you could create investments valued at $1.2 million (or more) in an additional 15 years.

With as little as $300 of monthly profit from your business, you would become financially free!

Visit my website to find out how you can join my team today.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Summertime – keeping myself and my TEAM on track!

2010-06-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Summer can be a challenging time for your home based business – especially if you are someone with children who are now home from school. Whether elementary, high school, or college aged having the kids around every day can present a real distraction. Fold in nice weather and the lure of fun outdoor activities and you have a potential recipe for major procrastination when working from home.

"Taking the summer off" is not always a good choice, especially if you consider that our business has a 30-90 day cycle. Look at your calendar and you will see that if you do nothing now, it will impact your fall (harvest time!) in a very negative way.

So, how do you stay motivated and help your team to do the same?
Sometimes all it takes is a new challenge, something that increases your excitement level and gets your juices flowing.

Set a short term goal for yourself, or for yourself and your team. An example might be recruiting or selling to a certain amount within a short period of time. Get creative. Think about having a fun focus, like recruiting people who are out of state or selling a particular number of a specific product; anything that will give your goal a new twist.

Break your goal into bite-sized (daily) increments. In other words, if your goal is to sell $1000 in the next 2 weeks (10 days), then your daily goal is to sell $100. Keep the goal in front of you and reward yourself for your accomplishments.

Working on a specific goal with your team can really makes things fun. Again, break it down. If you have a goal of selling $10,000 in the next 10 days with a team of 10 – each individual must sell $1000 in that period of time or $100 a day. Have them report daily to you and post the results in a daily email that goes out.

Don’t forget the rewards. It can be something as silly as candy (Smarties – you are so smart to have achieved today’s daily goal)or something bigger like a Starbucks or gasoline gift card.
Let people brag on their successes and post them to everyone via email. Then, when you achieve your goal be sure to celebrate as a team.

The whole idea is to use your imagination and creativity to build momentum and team work in your organization.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Dealing Effectively with Objections to Hosting a Party

2010-06-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

If you've been in direct sales any length of time or have held at least one show, you have probably already heard at least two or three objections. Don't you just love the excuses reasons people come up with as to why they don't want to buy your product, host a party or join the company? I've probably heard them all and through the years I've learned some effective ways to overcome these objections. Why of course I'm going to share these little nuggets of gold with you. No sense in withholding the valuable pieces of information from you. Let's jump right in.

No Money
Here's a typical reason used for not purchasing any of your product, "I can't afford to buy anything right now." In these tough economical times, this may very well be true. The easiest, and best way to overcome this objection is...can you guess?

You guessed it, tell them about the amazing discount or free products they will receive for having a show of their own. If you've coached your hostess properly ahead of time, then she should be talking about the free product or gifts she's receiving just for having a few friends over. Free product and discounts is the number one reason most hostesses have a show.

If they don't want to have a show of their own, another thing you can offer to them is having them purchase one item at a time. Say they want an entire set and the set costs $150. It's typically cheaper to buy the set at once than it is to buy each piece separately, but if she can't shell out 150 bucks at once (and understandably so), suggest she buy each piece separately.
Or suggest the opposite. Show her how much she will save by purchasing the set all at once as opposed to purchasing them separately. The idea is to give your customer options. The more options she has, the easier it will be for her to say yes to one of them and make a purchase.

Another common objection we often hear is from someone you know would make an awesome hostess. She often says things like, "I've had parties before, and no one shows up." or "I never have good enough sales to get the hostess gift I really wanted." and "I don't have time to have a show for you." How do you overcome those objections? Let's take them one at a time.

Been There - Done That
"I've had parties before and no one shows up." - The best response to this objection is to let your potential hostess know you will help her with getting her friends and family to some to her show. Help her get the invitations in the mail, make phone calls, send emails, etc. Some people really do need hand holding and guidance. Remember, your success depends on her success. You will always be more successful when you help someone else be successful.

"I never have good enough sales to get the hostess gift I really want." - Again, encourage your hostesses to get those outside orders by placing enough brochures and order forms in her hands. Outside sales really boost the overall party sales. Place in her hands a list of people she might not normally think of to invite or give brochures too. Let her know you won't leave her to do everything on her own. Give her tips and instructions about what to do and say before, during and after the show. Coaching your hostesses is one of the best ways to increase sales.

Too Busy
"I don't have time to have a show for you." - Tell her you understand how busy she is and that's exactly why you chose her. It's proven that busy people are the ones that get things done. Have her get her calendar and show her how little time she will have to invest in order to get the products she wants for free. Always show why being a hostess is going to benefit her, not you. Let her know you are here for her, to help her succeed.

In direct sales there will always be objections, but if you are honest with your customers and hostesses about how and why you are successful, how much time you actually spend working your business and help them be organized and good managers of their time, they will trust you and help your business flourish.

Direct Sales Products & Services
http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/tools.html

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Ten Success Tips for Your Direct Sales Business

2010-06-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

Have goals and find a buddy for accountability to those goals.
Whether you want to make enough money for your child's college tuition, a car payment or a kitchen remodel; working towards something tangible is important. Break that goal into bite-sized chunks. What amount of work will it take in order for you to earn the amount of money you need to attain your goal? Share your goal with your spouse, your manager or a friend and ask them to hold you accountable for your weekly and daily activity.

Make lists.
Working in direct sales means that you are your own boss. That means there will be no one but YOU to tell you what to do each day. If you are reading the daily email tips from The Success Factory, that is a great start as we always endeavor to help you with ideas to help you grow your business. However, making a daily 'to do' list will keep you on task so that the distractions of working from home do not side-track you.

Stay positive and enthusiastic.
Make a decision to always look at the positives in every situation. When you experience difficulties, DECIDE to look at them as challenges that will help you to grow stronger. If you are having a hard day, always DUMP UP to your upline or recruiter. Staying positive for your team members is an important key to success as they will follow your lead. ALSO, do not complain to your spouse about your business as they may just encourage you to quit. Having the support of your spouse is another important key to success.

ASK don't TELL.
Sometimes we are so excited to talk about our product or our business opportunity that we can leave our prospect with 'hurricane hair'. Be sure that you are taking a breath and asking for the appointment or the sale.

A 'NO' is just one step closer to a 'YES'. Don't take a 'no' personally.
If someone says no to you they are saying no to what you are offering, they are not rejecting you as a person. We are in the business of sorting and not convincing. Statistically you will need to ask ten people to join your team to get one recruit and you will need to ask five people to book a party before one says yes. When you are first beginning your business and refining your technique, those stats might vary a bit. However, knowing that you will need to work through several 'no's' as you edge closer to a 'yes' will help to keep things in perspective.

Schedule office hours.
Some kind of structure is important; especially when working from home. Depending on your season of life (especially if you have young children) these office hours will change over the years. However setting and KEEPING office hours assures that you not only GO to work, but that you can also GO HOME from work each day.

Have a work area.
If you have a separate room that is your designated office that is always the ideal situation. However, your 'office' may just be a file box that goes with you where you work.

Attend everything.
Go to all area functions that are available to you and get on any conference calls that your company or manager offers. This will help you to stay positive, enthusiastic and less isolated.

Work towards company incentives.
Company incentives keep the job fun and are designed with your success in mind. Working towards incentive trips, free product and company rewards will provide goals and keep your enthusiasm and your income HIGH.

Treat your business like a business and not a hobby.
Hobbies cost money and businesses make money. If you want to take advantage of the tax benefits of owning your own home business the IRS wants to see that you are making money. That means it is important to track of your income and expenses and file your annual income taxes. Find an accountant who is well versed in the areas of filing taxes for small businesses; particularly those in direct sales.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Keeping it Real

2010-06-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here are a couple of quick thoughts to consider when doing your parties.

No matter what product line you represent, chances are good that you LOVE what you sell. Given that it would be easy for us to ramble on and on F-O-R-E-V-E-R about what products we love.

Did you know…most people would really like to sit and listen to you for just about 30 minutes and then you lose them? So….what happens when we ramble?

a) People get bored and fidgety and are LESS LIKELY to book a party with you if they are afraid they’d have to submit their friends to the same LONG presentation.
b) THE JOB LOOKS TOO HARD to someone considering the business…

Simple and duplicatible.
That’s the key to success in this business! The biggest fear most people have is standing in front of a group of people and talking. If you are talking too long, that’s even MORE for them to fear if they are considering the business. Here are some ideas for "keeping it real" and making your job look attractive to someone else.

a) Let your guests talk! If someone at the party already owns and loves some of your products, let her sell them to everyone else, friends will buy from friends more easily than a "salesperson"…(HELLO…recruit her later of course!)
b) Don’t be too slick! It’s OK to make mistakes. Don’t memorize the item numbers of all your products. It’s even OK to forget a product name or two. Can’t you just hear them thinking… "if SHE can do this than certainly I can do a better job!" YES THEY CAN…there’s method in our madness!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Your Dream Begins Today....

2010-06-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

Your Dream Begins TodayBy: Les Brown

What will your life be like when you've achieved your mostdeeply held dreams? Let's take a look at how you can startliving your dreams this very day.

Do you have a dream, a vision of the life you wish to live?

How specific is that dream?

How clear is that vision?

How do you intend to reach it?

What obstacles stand in your way?

Are your fears holding you back or are you using them tomove you forward?

Your fears can actually lead you to success. Fear is anintense emotion. But that doesn't mean it has to control you, or even stop you. Fear can prepare you and push you forward just as strongly as it can hold you back.

Fear heightens your awareness and increases your physical strength. Fear brings your mind to sharp focus. With all that going for you, does it make sense to just run and hide? Of course not. Fear gets you in shape to take action! Are you waiting for things to get better before moving ahead?

If you're serious about success; you need to start taking action today. If you're waiting for things to be perfect, you'll wait forever and nothing will ever get done. The way to achieve is to bloom where you're planted, to do what you can, where you are, with what you have. It's easy to think up excuses for not taking action.

"If only I had more hours in the day.

If only I had a better job.

If only Icould meet the right person.

"But excuses won't bring you anything of value. You've got to change your "if only" into an "I will."

"I will make better use of my time.

I will work on improving my career.

I will create and nurture my relationships."

Take a chance. Have faith in yourself. Your circumstances will improve when you make the effort to improve them. Start where you are right now. You have everything it takes to reach for whatever you desire. Stop wishing. Use your time, your energy, your thoughts and efforts to make it happen! You'll be glad you did!

Courtesy of: As a renowned professional speaker and author, Les Brown has risen to national prominence by delivering a high energy message which tells people how to shake off mediocrity and live up to their greatness. Visit http://www.LesBrown.com

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Are You Prepared?

2010-06-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Are you prepared?
Do you have your business card, a catalog and recruiting information with you at all times? Do you have your catalogs stamped with your name and phone number? When you do a party, do you have everything you need with you for a successful party? Do you double check and make sure everything you need is packed for your party?

One of the things I have done for years is stop at the door before I leave the house and say to myself, "Where am I going and what do I need to have with me?" I can’t tell you how many times I’ve remembered the library book I wanted to return, the mail that needed stamps, the grocery shopping list on the table – just because I stopped and asked myself that question.

For my direct selling business I’ve developed a check-off list that I use when I pack for a party. It’s a good business way of asking myself – where am I going and what do I need to have with me? I’ve talked to the hostess so I know how many people she is expecting, so I pack that number of catalogs and order forms and make sure I have a few more. I always bring 5 hostess packets and 5 recruiting packets. I make sure my products are show-room clean and I have my table. Datebook? Check. Hostess thank-you gift? Check! Door prize slips and gift? Check!

Be prepared! It’s been the model for the Boy Scouts for years! It’s a good business practice too!
Feel free to share this post with others.

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Wow! Its a Blue Light Special

2010-06-21T15:08:00.001-04:00

Please tell us you are old enough to remember the famous K-Mart "blue light specials"! You know the deal, the P.A. system announces… "Attention K-Mart shoppers, in just 30 seconds and for the next 5 minutes, there will be a blue light special featuring our special house dresses in aisle 3…" Suddenly, there is a stampede of women all running over one another with their shopping carts in an effort to get to the cart featuring those lovely flowered garments.
OK, where are we going with this…today’s topic, to discount or not to discount…that is the question.

TSF recently received an email from a consultant in a party plan business (to remain nameless), offering 25% off her products. We receive one of these emails from this same consultant about every other week…always offering some kind of discount on her products.

Now, while we are all independent consultants and therefore running our own businesses; for the most part it is our decision whether or not to discount (although some party plan companies strictly forbid this practice). If you are considering discounting your products, you may want to consider the following:

1) Discounting regularly "cheapens" your product.
2) Discounting regularly makes it sound like you believe your products are too expensive.
3) Discounting regularly makes your customers believe your products are too expensive.
4) Discounting regularly makes your customers NEVER want to purchase at full price.
5) Discounting and emailing your customers too frequently can make you a pest vs. a service.

The key phrase here is "discounting regularly". While we believe an occasional sale for preferred customers/hostesses is a wonderful "thank you"; we think the above thoughts are worth taking into account as well…would you agree?

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

When are you at your best?

2010-06-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

When are you at your best?

One of the beauties of a home based business is the flexibility that it gives us. There is also a dangerous component of that flexibility and that is that we have the potential of “flexing ourselves right OUT of the business.”
In order to be successful, we must work our businesses consistently. That is a given. However, look at when you are most effective and schedule your work time accordingly.

When is your energy level the highest? Are you an “early bird” or a “late night owl”? When you sit down to make your plan for the week, look at what your goal for the week is. What activities do you need to do in order to accomplish that goal? Knowing who you are in terms of your natural body rhythms is important in working your business with the best results possible.

For example, if you are a late night person, when you come home from an evening party; work off that natural “ post-party adrenaline rush” by making some notes on the order forms of the guests you just met to jog your memory about them in the future. If the party closed that night, go ahead and submit your order to Home Office. Evenings after dinner probably will your best time to do customer calls. Communicating this to your spouse and scheduling specific nights that he/she will deal with the kids will help you to capitalize on your body’s natural time clock.

For you early birds, the same can hold true but you will want to be working first thing in the morning. Do paperwork and make notes while the house is still quiet in the morning; and get creative getting daytime childcare help. Summer is a great time to hire a local Jr. High student as a mom’s helper to play with the kids while you work one or two days a week. You can also considering trading time for time with a neighbor or friend who has children with similar ages.
Knowing when you are at your best will also help you to choose when you are at your best for training your team as well.

Now, we know that in a perfect world all this is possible. We will always have times that we must work when we are not necessarily at the top of our energy level. Nonetheless, being cognizant of who we are can help us in our quest for balance between business, personal and family life.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Customer Service

2010-06-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

Customer Service

In yesterday’s mail, we got a flier and a business card from the realtor who sold us our house 14 years ago. She moved back to the area after living several years out of state and, due to the recent death of her husband, is re-establishing her real estate practice. It brought a smile to my face and the thought that she’d definitely get our contract if and when we sell our home.

In our town, as in most communities, there’s no scarcity of realtors. This time of year, the For Sale signs on homes and empty lots are as prevalent and varied as the spring flowers. Rarely a week goes by without a mailing from some local realtor. Why, after all these years, would we remain loyal to Maureen? There were several factors, all related to our current topic of SERVICE.

~ She asked good questions related to our needs in a home and showed us homes that fit the criteria we provided.

~ She stayed in touch, followed up and returned our calls promptly

~ She was polite and professional, always arriving on time and always prepared for our appointments.

~ She always answered our questions and when unable to do so, got the answers we needed in a timely fashion

~ She was always happy to see us

~ She didn’t give up, despite the fact that it took over 6 months to sell our old home and find a new home.

~ She took a personal interest in us, always asking after the kids by name as well as networking with our businesses. This behavior continued even AFTER our closing.

~ For the duration of time that she practiced in our area before moving away, she stayed in touch, even showing up at our door with a Christmas gift each year.

Wouldn’t you agree, that most, if not all of the above practices could be transferred to our party plan businesses? The most basic guideline you can follow is to treat other’s as you would most like to be treated and to remember that when you truly maintain a servant’s heart towards your customers, hostesses and team members, you will be richly rewarded.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Helping Team Members Recruit

2010-06-16T14:46:00.001-04:00

Helping team members recruit

Recently, we addressed the topic of team members who do not recruit because of fears of over saturation in an area. Part of our email stated the following:

Your job as a team leader is to help your team is to promote a culture of abundance vs. competitiveness amongst all consultants in the area; whether in your downline or not.
Stephanie Baker asked… so how do you do this??

TSF – Great question Stephanie…thanks for writing. Firstly, we would like to share a comment from subscriber Paula Colarusso… "I have heard that same reason, but from potential recruits... "Oh I would love to do this, but the market is too saturated..."
I just look at them, smile and say - "I couldn't possibly handle all the business out there- I am only one person."
Keep those ideas coming! I love your site!"

Paula’s words express where, first of all, your "head" must be with regards to the whole topic of over saturation. So, in reply to your question Stephanie, you must first do a check on your belief system. If you believe that there is plenty of business in the area for everyone then your actions and your words will reflect your belief system. Specifically, however, a few specific ideas as to how you can lead by example and promote a culture of abundance vs. competitiveness are as follows:

1) Don’t dwell on the negatives and insist the same from team members. Create a culture of airing challenges with the idea of being solution based vs. whining.

Examples:

A) At a team meeting, if someone is venting that they wanted to work a particular booth but someone from another team got the spot – encourage brain storming solutions amongst attendees. Limiting complaint time and asking questions like, "OK, so what’s a good solution here" or "what other things instead of this booth can Mary do to build her business" are good tactics. Encourage team members to be a part of the solution. Your job is to be facilitator – you don’t necessarily have to have all the answers!

B) On phone calls – when complaining occurs from your downline (no matter what the challenge), ask "do you want some suggestions or do you just need to vent?" Also, "what do you think a good solution might be?"

2) Promote friendliness and networking amongst ALL consultants in the area. It is much less difficult to look at someone as "competition" if there is a name to go with the face. Allow others to attend your meetings. Work with other leaders in your area to organize "area" cooperative events several times a year. Trainings and meetings held on an annual or semi annual basis can be much more effective because of collective genius.

3) As a leader, you must always have the attitude of sharing and abundance. Never allow yourself to be caught up in negative gossip about other consultants in the area.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Ways to Approach People....

2010-06-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Ways to approach people about your Watkins business...

Direct Approach:

"I just started my own home-based business with Watkins. Why don't you take a look? We have some fabulous products that might interest you."

Third Party Approach:

"I just started my own home-based business with Watkins. Part of my business involves helping others make money. I was wondering, who would you happen to know that could use some extra income or may be looking for a part-time business opportunity?"

Opinion Approach:

"I just started my own home-based business with Watkins. Could I leave you with some information on the Watkins business? I'd really like to know your thoughts because I really value your opinion."

Practice Approach:

"I just started my own home-based business with Watkins, and I need to practice my presentation. Would you take a few minutes and let me practice on you?"

Warmest "warm market" approach:

Sometimes closest family and friends may seem critical of your decision to become involved with a home-based business.
We suggest you have them try Watkins products. They will love what they try and may be interested in joining you in your Watkins business. At the very least, they will be a good source of referrals when you ask for them.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

You've Got Mail...

2010-06-11T13:54:00.001-04:00

One of my all time favorite – can’t watch it enough times movies is, You’ve Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

In our town, for years we have had a real life You’ve Got Mail scenario playing out. There is a small independent bookstore that has been in town forever and about seven years ago Barnes and Noble built one of there HUGE stores just around the corner. We all were pulling for the little guy – hoping against hope that it wouldn’t fall prey to “the big bad superstore” – but secretly thinking that it wouldn’t last.

So, here it is, seven years down the road and in our newspaper this week our little local bookstore was featured along with nine other independent bookstores in the area as one of the ten best! YAHOO for the little guys!

These stores were featured because they were deemed unique and attuned to the needs of the people in each of their particular locations. They also were lauded for great customer service and community involvement. In the case of the store in our area, they are involved in many area literacy programs, school fundraising sales and also sponsor many big name authors who come to our town on speaking engagements. In short, they do more than just unlock the doors every morning and wait for people to wander in.

Our tip for today is to encourage you to think creatively when it comes to your business. In the next few days we will talk about customer service (our decided edge in direct sales). However, are there other things that you can you with your business to get involved with your community?

Here are some ideas to get you started:

**Don logo wear, have some fun with your team while getting fit and participate in the next walk/run for charity,
**Does your local PBS station do a telethon? Put on tee shirts and volunteer some time to take pledge calls.
**Offer to speak at a local woman’s club, sorority alum club or MOPS group. **Depending on your product line, perhaps you can display product and business cards at the next house walk in your area.

You get the idea. The idea is to give back to the community and get some positive name recognition at the same time.

Have YOU done something creative to advertise your business within the community?

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Chatty Team Members......

2010-06-08T08:00:00.000-04:00

Chatty team members – a question from YOU

Charlotte writes…I have a question. I am a leader of a team of 23. What suggestions do you have to help with staying on task when you have a team member who just loves to chat? Honestly, I shy away from calling her because she takes up so much of my time, even when I do say, "Well, I need to go so that I can_______________" - it still takes forever to get off the darn phone! And if she does drop by – forget it -hard to get her out of the house and on her way. It IS good to touch base and get to know team members better and I want to support her, BUT my time is so limited as it is, I do avoid connecting with her because of this. HELP!

Dear Charlotte,
Your challenge is one that is common to those of us in direct sales. Many who are attracted to this type of work have that "cheerleader" personality type. Many join this business as a social outlet and the "business" part of it is a secondary component and so the result is the situation you are dealing with. We LOVE these team members, but it is important to establish boundaries early on so that as your team grows you are able to keep yourself organized and balanced.
So…because at TSF we have ‘been there and done that’ we have a few practical suggestions.

Schedule weekly phone appointments with her. Set parameters for the appointments:

· The appointment is 15 minutes in length
· She needs to come prepared with a list of questions and challenges she is having
· She needs to schedule at a time when distractions at her house are minimal
· She (and you) will keep a notebook as a log of your appointments.
· YOU keep a kitchen timer on your desk so that you can be true to your commitment of a 15 minute appointment.
The agenda for the phone call is as follows:
· Review how her previous business week went, what worked and what needs to be changed.
· Deal with the challenges she had and brainstorm solutions.
· Give her an assignment for the current week (example, book two more parties for April)
· Schedule a time for the call the following week.

Don’t be surprised if the first week’s appointment ends up with her chatting away and using up the time. That’s where the kitchen timer comes in. The timer will go off (and since it is by the phone), she will hear it. You MUST cut the conversation off – let her know that you have another appointment coming up right after hers and so next week we will have to make sure to get right down to business. (This will train her very quickly that she needs to ‘get down to business’ on your calls.)

Now, this doesn’t mean that you don’t take her calls at other times during the week – but only do so if you have time and ask that if she has questions that she uses email whenever possible.
Set and keep office hours and be sure your team knows what those are. For example, when my children were small, my office hours were from 1-3pm during nap time. Remember, office hours are only effective if you keep them!

Keeping control on "drop in visits" is most important, especially as your team grows. I have a pick up basket on my front porch. I use it for team members and customers alike. Whether they need to drop off a check, purchase business supplies, pick up a catalog or inventory – this basket is in constant use. It is a wonderful tool. When I get a call that someone needs something, I just let them know it will be out in the basket for them to pick up at their convenience so that we don’t have to coordinate our schedules. Even if I am home when they come by – I don’t go to the door. Problem solved.

Remember, a key to success in this business is operating your business from the start like the large organization that you are working towards it becoming. That means setting parameters and putting solid business practices in place early on so that you can effectively balance your family and your business life and obligations.

Hope that helps!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

5 Tips for Renewing Yourself as a Leader

2010-06-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

5 Tips for Renewing Yourself as a Leader

Take a time-out each day. Put a "Gone Thinking" sign on your door and don't let anyone disturb you.

Pursue hobbies and interests outside your business. They'll provide relaxation and may inspire creative ideas that you can feed back into the business.

Take a vacation or a sabbatical. (But first, make sure you leave the company in good hands!)

Spend time with your family. Kids provide a refreshing perspective.

Do something you've always wanted to do but never did-learn to build a house or take a course in acting.

Brought to you by SCORE, America's small business mentors, at www.score.org.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Contest to Enter

2010-06-04T14:23:00.000-04:00

These lunchboxes look very nice. Enter today to win yours.

Enter to win an Eco-Friendly Lunchbox System From @EasyLunchboxes & @TwoClassyChics

http://bit.ly/bHw9uH #giveaways

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Food for Thought

2010-06-04T14:10:00.000-04:00

Here’s food for thought…

I heard a great quote today and unfortunately, I didn’t have a pen and paper handy. However – the basic gist of the quote was that we should celebrate positive changes made instead of fretting over whether or not you are hitting your goal. The goal will come as a result of those changes.

Think about it for a moment. Maybe your goal is to promote into management. But in order to do this, you need to begin to build a team. You have yet to recruit even one person and you need five people to become a manager. This can make the goal of becoming a manager seem completely unattainable to you. But, you make the decision to learn everything you can about recruiting and so every time you get into your car, you play training CD’s that help you to understand better the whole process of recruiting.

Your focus begins to shift and soon you find that you are ‘wearing your recruiting glasses’ and looking for green flags from the guests in attendance at your parties. You actually have started to ask people if they have ever thought of doing what you do and handing out some information. GOOD FOR YOU!

Even if that first recruit still eludes you, celebrate the fact that you are now being more intentional about starting to grow a team and have begun to develop new habit. Recruiting is a numbers game. By continuing to ask, ask, ask – eventually you will experience the success of helping someone to join your company.

Little changes become positive habits and positive habits will result in big results! What little change can you to make today?

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

The Parking Lot

2010-06-02T12:54:00.001-04:00

Quick meeting tip – The Parking Lot

It is always awesome when new team members bring their expertise from the business world to the table. Years ago, we had a new gal join our team who introduced us to a meeting idea used during business meetings at the large firm she’d worked for in the past. The idea was called a Parking Lot.

Most of us, at some time, have been a part of a team meeting that has gone completely off the agenda because someone has taken off down a “rabbit trail”. You know what I mean – one minute you are training on the topic of how to coach a hostess and the next thing you know, a fellow team member asks unrelated questions about a product that has recently become unavailable.
From there, someone chimes in and talks about the nightmare of a party SHE had last week because that product was unavailable. Someone else adds a story about when the same thing happened to her and we’re off to the races…suddenly you have lost all control of the meeting and you are WAY off schedule.

Enter the Parking Lot.
The Parking Lot is simply a large piece of poster board or a flip chart at the front of the room. It is a concept that you, as leader introduce at the beginning of the meeting. The rules are that when someone has a question, unrelated to the topic at hand, it gets written on the Parking Lot. Those questions are addressed at the end of the meeting, time permitting or after the meeting is over to those who have time to stay and are interested.

We hope you will find this a useful tool for keeping your meetings on task, on time and IN CONTROL!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Recruiting Part 4 Final

2010-05-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Recruiting Appointment

Yesterday, we reminded you that recruiting someone requires the same skills as booking a party. That said, you need to become as comfortable doing a recruiting appointment as you are doing a party presentation. As with anything, practice makes perfect. You will probably have to have some “wipe outs” before you get good at it, but your first couple of parties probably had some hiccups in them, right? Don’t be afraid not to be perfect – just go for it!

One great format to use when doing a recruiting appointment comes from a great friend of TSF and longtime party salesperson, Barb Montgomery. Barb calls this the 7-step recruiting appointment. It is a great one to use because you can actually put a key word from each step on a 3x5 note card and carry it with you to the appointment to help to keep you on track. The whole appointment should be 30-45 minutes in length.

Here is how it goes:

Step 1 – Build rapport. This is easy – take a few minutes as you arrive to warm up to your prospect (just as you would in any social situation). Compliment her on her home, ask about her family, what has she enjoyed about past job experiences – whatever. (Write the letter “R” or Rapport on your note card)

“Sub-step” before going on to Question #2 – Let her know you will be talking about the benefits of the business, how we make money, where to find business, support and kit options. Ask her if she has any additional “burning questions”**

** (This is important because if you don’t give her this opportunity – she may have an unstated question that will weigh so heavily on her mind, she won’t be listening to the rest of your presentation)
(Write the word “QUESTIONS” on your note – card or the letter “Q” or “?”.)

Step 2 – Talk about the benefits of the business and find out which of these are the most appealing to her. Some examples are: Flexible scheduling, Be Your Own Boss, Unlimited Earning potential, Great Products, Friends, Recognition, etc; Then ask her which of these benefits appeal to her most? (Try to get her to identify two benefits).
(Write the word “BENEFITS” or “B” on your note card. You may also want to list the benefits on the back for your reference)

Sample transition statement to Step 3 – We all love what we do and the great thing is that it isn’t a volunteer job – we actually get paid to do what we love! Would you like to know how you make money in this business?

Step 3 – Explain how we make money, briefly and simply. Again, this will be unique to each company. Get help from your upline or recruiter if you feel unsure as to how to easily explain your company’s career plan.
(Write the word “MONEY” or “$” on your note card.) Make any additional notes on the back if you need them.

Sample transition statement to Step 4 – Let’s talk for a moment about where you will find business, OK?

Step 4 – Where to find business. Think about questions that you can ask her to help her discover for herself all the people she knows and the contacts she has. AGAIN – we are doing the SAME JOB – use your Hostess coaching skills here. Some sample questions might be – tell me about your life. Do you currently work outside the home? Do you have family in the area? Do you go to church or are your kids in activities? THEN please BE QUIET and wait for her to answer. By saying, see, you know lots of people – you will be reassuring her that she will not have problems building a business.

(Write-Where to find Business or WHERE on your note card)

Sample transition statement to Step 5 – The great thing about our company is all the training and support you will get, no matter where in the country you live!

Step 5 – Talk about the support she will receive from you and from your company. You might want to show her your company’s web page (if accessing a computer is convenient), a sample newsletter or a piece of training information. Let her know that she is not alone out there – there is lots of help available.

(Write- HELP on your note card)

Sample transition statement to Step 6 – Show her the kit options that your company offers.

Step 6 – Kit options
Some companies have only one kit and some have several. If your company has several options, be prepared to suggest a good choice for her. If you only have one type of kit, just show her what she will get and then move right into Step 7

(Write the word KIT on your note card)

Step 7 – CLOSE
This is the most important step of all. You can do it in a variety of ways
Discuss payment options (deposit vs. payment in full, check vs. charge)
Or simply say something like- So, what do you think? Or How does that sound?

(Write the word CLOSE or the letter C on your note card. DO NOT AVOID or DELETE this step. It is like doing a party and leaving without taking orders!)

FILL OUT THE PAPERWORK and help her begin listing names of potential customers, hostesses and recruits. Schedule her Grand Opening party!

SUMMARY – THE 7 STEP RECRUITING APPOINTMENT
Build rapport – get her questions
Talk about the benefits
Talk about how you make money
Talk about where to find business
Discuss support and training
Go over kit options
CLOSE and get her started!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Recruiting Part 3

2010-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we discussed how to avoid that PUSHY feeling and also had a brief mention of Green Flags. Today we discuss another reason some people do not recruit –

Reason # 2 – I am not ready!
~ What if someone expresses an interest in the business…NOW WHAT?
~ I have NO idea what to say
~ I have NO idea how to do a recruiting appointment
~ I have NO idea what paperwork to fill out
~ I have NO idea what I would do with someone who joined my team

Sound familiar?
Maybe these are not your personal fears but read this email with two sets of eyes please and think about the people on your team. Some of them have any or all of these questions with regards to recruiting.

What to say…The biggest mistake we all make, especially as new consultants, is that we say TOO MUCH! Especially if we have learned to identify Green Flags (see yesterday’s email). Someone asks us a question about our business and we LAUNCH, leaving our poor ‘victims’ with hurricane hair. Remember, we have one mouth and two ears! When someone asks a question about your business such as, “How many nights a week do you do this?”, feel free to answer BRIEFLY and then say… “I’m curious, why do you ask?” then please CLOSE YOUR MOUTH and wait for the answer. It will be hard, but do your best!

How to do a recruiting appointment-tomorrow’s email topic.
How do I fill out the paperwork – obviously this is unique for each company. Please check with your recruiter if you are unsure and then PRACTICE filling it out so that you are comfortable! Sounds silly, but it’s a smart idea!

What do I do with someone who joins my team? Again, training is unique to each company…your job is to educate yourself (via your recruiter or upline) as to what training resources are available through local meetings, the internet and conference calls. Also, (of course), get them subscribed to our FREE tips! www.TheSuccessFactory.com. As a new recruiter, you are the first resource to your new team member for any questions she may have. Don’t worry! If you don’t know all the answers, there is a good support system in place via your upline management and the company so use it!

Obviously, it is important also to have recruiting information and materials stocked as part of your business supplies. Carry this information with you wherever you go, just as you do your hostess information.

YOUR GOAL is to become as comfortable signing new team members as you are scheduling parties.

REMEMBER, we do the same job, same job, same job! If you can sell your product, you can book a party. If you can book a party, you can sign up a new recruit. These are all the same skills, you are just selling different products!

SUMMARY

Learn to be a listener!
Read tomorrow’s email for tips on recruiting appointments
If you don’t know already, learn about what paperwork you need to fill out to sign someone up.
Check out your company’s training information
Be a good buddy to your new team member, answer what questions you can, and get help with the questions you can’t answer!
Remember that we are ALWAYS doing the SAME JOB!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Recruiting Part 2

2010-05-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

Recruiting Part 2

We continue on our study of recruiting and discovering why it is that more people do not take advantage of the opportunity to truly build residual income in this business.

REASON #1… “I don’t want to be PUSHY.” Probably the most common fear associated with recruiting.

Where does that fear come from?
The consultant is thinking more about herself than the potential recruit. Her fear of what that person will think of her exceeds the need to offer the opportunity. Therefore she says nothing.
Perhaps she had a negative experience with an “overly enthusiastic” sales person. She would never want to be perceived in that way and therefore, she says nothing.

Negative reinforcement from people in her life who she respects (relatives, close friends). We’ve all been there…ah yes, here are some of the things I heard when I first began in the business…

~ (from my sister)… “You are doing WHAT? Do you need money? I’ll give you money!

~ (from my mother)… “Oh, certainly (that person I work with) is only buying from you as a favor to me!”

~ (from a good friend)… “Now that you are in the party plan business, are you going to be bugging all of us all the time to sign up?”

~ (from another good friend)… “Oh, we won’t even talk to you about the business. We had SUCH a bad experience with…”

~ (from a variety of people) … “Oh you are doing THAT? Isn’t that one of those ‘pyramid schemes?’”

- Working through the fear, how do we filter out negative comments from important people in our lives in order to be able to hear green flags signs that someone is interested in the business? Sometimes those negative comments are replaying in our heads so loudly, that we can’t hear when people say to us things like…

~ “How’s that going for you?”

~ “Did you have to buy all your samples?”

~ “Did you have a good night tonight (translation, how much money did you make?)”

~ “How many nights a week do you do this?”

~ “How did you get started doing this?”

~ “You look like you really enjoy what you do!”

There truly is a very big psychological component to sales. And no matter how you hedge it, we are in the business of SALES! There it is, we’ve said it aloud. It boils down to your belief system.

Do you believe in what you are selling (your product, the hostess and the business opportunity?) If you don’t, then you need to get your head on straight. To our knowledge, none of the TSF subscribers are selling something illegal. All of us are selling something that will benefit someone. The key is remembering that.

Adopt an unshakeable faith in your company and your product and stick with it. Do your best to develop a thick skin and not take things personally (and yes, this can be difficult with those people you care about in your life).

We sort, we don’t convince. Our job is to ask good questions in order to see if our product or service is a good fit for our potential customer. Once you learn to focus on what they need and not on yourself, you will find things go a lot smoother. SWSWSW NEXT is your daily mantra. SOME WILL, SOME WON’T, SOMEONE’S WAITING…NEXT!

If you are fearful that you will be perceived as being pushy, say what you fear most. You might be surprised at the response that you get. Many years ago, a very good friend joined my team. This was someone I had grown up with and our families were as close as blood relatives. She became a leader in my downline and was with me for many years and grew a very organization of her own. Here’s the interesting part of the story –

it took me SEVEN YEARS to recruit her. Now, you would suppose that she would have written me off as a friend over that period of time or that I would have given up, right? But, to this day, long after our business relationship has come and gone we are still very close friends – neither of us would have it any other way. I worked all that time to recruit her because her need was crystal clear – she needed an extra income but is a mom of 4 active children. In my heart of heart, I knew it was a good fit for her and also that she would be great because she was a wonderful people person and a very hard worker (which I always told her).

From time to time (maybe 3-4 times a year), I would contact her about joining my team. I would ALWAYS preface every phone call by saying – “Janet, I am really feeling like a pest here and you know our relationship is much more important than my business. Do I have your permission to tell you about what’s happening right now with my company?” Her answer was always yes, and then for seven years there was always some reason or another why she couldn’t join right then. I would always close our conversation with, “May I stay in touch, and can I count on you to tell me to buzz off when you are sick of hearing about the business?”

So you see, I always had her permission to check in and I always gave her permission to let me know when she was no longer interested. Eventually timing for her family was right and she enjoyed many years with our company.

Summary
1) FAYC (Forget About Yourself Completely)

2) Have an unshakeable faith in your product, and your company

3) ALWAYS think about and STATE to your prospect
a) How they would benefit from your product or services
b) Why they would be a good fit for your company

4) Say what you fear most – by being honest and forthright, your prospect will respect you and listen to what you have to say (in most instances)

5) Remember, we are in the SORTING not the CONVINCING business – it’s important to develop THICK SKIN!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

The "R" Word,,,,,

2010-05-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

The "R" word – I think you know what I’m talking about – Recruiting ( also called sponsoring, signing someone up, getting someone happily involved in the business, etc;)

However you describe it, we are talking about building a team and it is something that some consultants avoid when they first join the business themselves. In fact, some consultants never do begin to build a team. More often than not, those consultants do not last long in the business.
We sell three products in party plan. We sell our products – the items featured in our catalogs and on our company website, we sell hosting – the opportunity to get products for free or at a discount by having a party and finally we sell the business – the opportunity to earn money by selling the products as a consultant.

In our business we are unique in that we can give ourselves a raise anytime we want. We can sell more products either by increasing the average customer order or increasing the number of guests at parties. We can also find others who would also like to join us in the business – the R word – RECRUIT.

One of my uplines once said that we should all walk around with a penny in one pocket and a quarter in the other. The penny represents the money we make selling product and the quarter represents what we make when we build a team.

So, if ultimately more money, residual income, is to be made by team building, why is "Recruiting" a dirty word to some people in this business?

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Making Sales Forever

2010-05-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Importance of Customer Service

Establishing a customer base has two important benefits:
It creates immediate income — "now money."
It creates a pipeline for you to meet more people — more customers and business prospects.

Once you have customers, you must treat them well to retain their business. And that's where customer service comes into play. Today's customer is more knowledgeable than ever before. And now more than ever, customers are looking for excellent quality of service. Saving time, providing value and a great quality product is key, and it's up to you to provide them all. Here are some tips to ensure you provide "knock your socks off service" that keep your customers loyal to your brand and service.

Know your product so that you can present and answer questions with confidence. Make sure your home is Watkinized so you can speak from experience. Be your own best customer! You can find Product Profile Pages online that are helpful with features and benefits of each product. They also provide you with useful tips and demonstrations.

Word of mouth referrals from satisfied customers are the best form of advertising. Best way to impress your customer is to always keep your promise and over deliver. Perhaps an extra gift or $2.00 gift certificate towards their next order will show them how much you appreciate their business.

Use Customer Care Cards at your Events and make sure you identify when and how your customer would like to be serviced. Once they indicate, make sure you follow-through. These are the #1 tool for leads and follow-up. Having problems having them completed? Then enter all those that are completed into a draw for a free gift.

Listen to and identify your customers' needs. Solicit feedback from your customers and never argue with them. They are right! If they want organic, give them organic. Great customer service is about giving them what they need, not what you believe they need.

Offer specials. Make sure you promote Watkins monthly specials. Feel free to create your own. They're a great way to stay in touch. Bundling or grouping products, i. e., buy 5 products and get free shipping, or buy 5 spices and get the 6th spice free, or when making deliveries or sales calls, try carrying a cash and carry selection of products available at a 10% discount.

Exceed your customers' expectations. Let your customers know they are important. Send them a birthday card each year, or a special gift around the holiday season. Spoil them rotten and make every effort to always be improving your level of service. No better way to WOW your customers and let them know just how much you appreciate them.

"If you make a sale, you can earn a commission. If you make a friend, you can earn a fortune." — Jeffrey Gitomer

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

The Lost Art of Listening.....

2010-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

We have all probably experienced the home party that makes you want to stop your presentation and scream "Hello…do mind? I’m trying to talk up here and you three ladies in the corner are so busy talking to each other that you aren’t listening to what I have to say."

But when you think about it, isn’t that what we do sometimes when we are expressing our enthusiasm for the business opportunity? We are, in fact, so busy making sure that our prospect hears what it is that WE have to say that we forget to listen to them.

The hardest part of listening is remembering to shut up long enough to give the other person the opportunity to talk. However, once mastered – learning to be an effective listener – including making good eye contact - will reap many rewards when done well.

1) You are flattering the person you are talking to by listening to them and so right from the start you build good rapport. Think about your last home party presentation. Didn’t you relate better to the person who was listening and nodding than the three women having their own ‘gab session’ in the back of the room?

2) By listening carefully you will pick up personal information. Nothing builds rapport better with a woman than remembering her child’s name, where she lives or what her interests are.

3) By listening and asking good questions, you may uncover needs that require filling (sometimes referred to as a customer’s ‘hot button’). For example, she may mention that she has recently decided to stay home with her children but money is tight, or that she is currently working outside the home but is unhappy with her daycare situation, or that her family will be moving soon and she is looking for ways to make new friends.

4) Finally, one of the best ways to get referrals is by developing good listening skills. You may be surprised at what you hear when you listen in on conversations before during and after your party presentation. Who is a teacher looking for summer work or extra income? Who is active in her church (and can perhaps help you with a name to contact for a fundraiser?). Who has a broad base of friends or relatives in the area? You get the idea.

Think about taking in more information than you give out the next time you are in any kind of a social situation and you may be surprised at what you HEAR!

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

You Just Never Know

2010-05-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

You just never know who is going to say yes when you ask them to join your team. We tend to pre-judge people, don’t we? We think to ourselves, “I won’t ask that person because she is so busy.” We think, “She’s making soooo much money she wouldn’t be interested.” Or we might even think, “She’ll never make it in this business. I don’t want to ask her.”

That’s pre-judging. That’s deciding for the person whether or not they want to have the same opportunity you have – to own their own business and have an unlimited income potential.

My hostess was a full-time student, had 3 kids, a huge vegetable garden, a husband and a part-time job. Obviously she was too busy to even consider doing what I was doing. So I didn’t ask. I was totally embarrassed when she asked me if she could be a consultant. Turns out they were moving and she was looking for a job she could start before the move and continue when they got to their new community. She was also my most consistent consultant and top seller.

At DSWA convention last month there was a woman who had a corporate job earning a huge income. She left her corporate job and joined a direct selling company. Why? Because she was routinely working 80 hours a week and was sick of other people raising her children. When she joined, she immediately treated her business like a business, worked 30 hours a week at it and replaced her corporate income. Today she is a top person in her company.

At another convention I had the opportunity to hear one of the top national directors speak. She told how she was divorced, trying to raise two kids, and didn’t have much of an income. She was so broke she couldn’t afford the dentist she desperately needed. She didn’t have a car either. But she saw the opportunity of her company, borrowed money from her brother-in-law to buy herself a beater of a car and went on to make a 6 figure income.

In the book, Direct Selling POWER, Shari Hudspeth, in her chapter “Change How You Think About Recruiting” says, “Our job is to offer. Their job is to accept or decline. If we don’t offer, we’ve ultimately made the decision for them.”

Are you making the decision for them? Are you deciding whether or not your hostess or the guests at your parties are interested in recruiting? Are you deciding whether or not they will “make it” in this business? Are you looking at people and thinking they are to old, to young, to thin, to fat, to rich, to poor, to anything to do what you are doing? Then you are pre-judging people.

Stop pre-judging people and start letting them make the choice. Like Tammy says, ”Our job is to offer. Their job is to accept or decline.”

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Direct Sales... The Best and the Worst

2010-05-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Several years ago I asked my readers to send me their best and worst stories from their direct sales experiences. I’d like to do that again, and have you send me your experiences. To help you get started here’s one I received from Missy. I really enjoyed her story and hope you do, too.

The best moment I ever had in my direct sales career was the day I told my boss in Corporate America that I was quitting my dreary day job. For some reason he was completely shocked and completely oblivious to the fact that I felt like something was sucking my soul out of my body on a daily basis.

You know it’s time leave when yo go home in tears every other day. He couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that someone wasn’t happy going nowhere, being treated like they were a bottom feeder and the pay was the equivalent of those orange candy circus peanuts. Being female at that company didn’t help either, and I spent far too much time with my face pressed against the glass ceiling.

I always told my coworkers that I was going to do my direct sales business full time, and so many people said it was a "phase," a "fad" and one called it a "PYRAMID SCHEME!" I knew in my heart I’d prove them wrong. I also promised them that on my last day, I would do a cartwheel out the door …. literally!

Well, the day arrived and it was time to pay the piper – I did a cartwheel out the door and I believe the only reason I was able to do it is because I was full of exhilarating adrenaline because I knew my life was just beginning. I’ve been running my business for nearly six years — just a phase, huh?

My worst direct sales moment – it didn’t have to do with customers, products, the company or any of the "usual suspects."

The whole debacle started off as a slump (sales, flaky hostesses, etc.) but I really let it eat away at me and I just about destroyed myself because I lost sight of my WHY. My goals were no longer MY GOALS, they were someone else’s, or what I perceived should be my goals.

A person’s "WHY STORY" should be the heartbeat of their business. I realized that my compromising my WHY was to blame for my slump. As soon as I reacquainted myself with my purpose in the business, everything turned around, and I am proud to report I am one of the Top 10 distributors in the company.

Thank you Missy for sharing and allowing me to share your Best and Worst with others. There is real wisdom in what you have shared!

Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at
http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

I Can't Book Any Parties

2010-05-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

I can’t book any parties…

This is a familiar tale of woe that we at the TSF hear fairly frequently.
The truth of the matter is, if you aren’t booking enough parties, you aren’t asking enough people. That is usually the easy answer and the bottom line. Perhaps you are thinking about asking people to host a party, but if you would actually log your activity you would see that you just aren’t asking enough – plain and simple.

Booking parties, just like recruiting team members, is a numbers game. You have to ask approximately five people to host to book one party. So, in theory, that means that at an average party of 8-10 people you should book 1-2 parties – right?

Perhaps you are afraid that if you ask every person at the party to book a party, you will appear pushy. Let’s do a paradigm shift on your thinking for a moment here, shall we? What if, as a guest at a party, you were the only one that the consultant DIDN’T ask to book a show? How would that make you feel?

Remember, we are in the sorting NOT convincing business. Ask everyone! If it helps – announce at the beginning of your presentation that you WILL be asking everyone to join you in the business and/or book a party and if you neglect to do so, you will pay for the shipping on their order. THIS will make you accountable because you can bet that your guests are going to be waiting for you to forget!

Having difficulty booking parties over the phone?
It is time to do an attitude check. Do you have trepidations or are you confident when you invite people to host a party? Ask a friend or your upline to listen in the next time you do phone calls – or really stretch your comfort zone and record your side of the conversation. You may be surprised at what you hear.

If YOU wouldn’t book a party with YOU, then it’s time to revamp your attitude. If you don’t feel confident then try to figure out why and ask your upline for some coaching in this area. Fake it till you make it is the golden rule. With practice, you will get better and confidence will come. Yes, you will make mistakes but that is how we learn best, wouldn’t you agree?

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Market Oversaturation...

2010-05-03T12:20:00.001-04:00

Market oversaturation…

Today’s tip comes from an article written by Business and Life Coach Phil Humbert….
How many times, when recruiting someone, do they ask you "how many other reps (for your company) are in the area?

Phil’s comments really brought to mind that we need to focus not on the business that isn’t there, but the business that IS there!…The fact is that almost no one needs the goods or services you provide.

As a coach, I understand that less than 1% of the population are ever going to hire me. Most people don't know what a coach is, or they've never heard of me. They can't afford coaching, or don't think they need a coach.

The reasons for not hiring a coach are endless! The key to success is letting that tiny sliver of people who DO need me know that I exist, and making it easy for them to hire me. The same is true for your business.

How do you reach out to your community?
How do you let your customers know you exist, that you can serve their needs, that they can trust you?
How do you help them contact you?

In the Bible there is a story that warns us not to hide our light under a basket, and it applies in business as much as anywhere else. Turn the lights on! Let the world know who you are, what you can do for them, and how to contact you.

In business, that is an every-single-day activity.

P.S. Truth be told, most of us in party plan can only truly have a "base" of about 150-200 "preferred customers" that we can service very well in a year’s time. So, given the fact that for the majority of us we don’t have "territories" per-se, this certainly means that NONE of us can say that our market is anywhere close to being saturated, wouldn’t you agree?

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Go the Extra Mile for Your Customers

2010-04-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

What Alva and Joyce shared

Last week I asked what you do to go the extra mile for your customers.
Alva said, “Besides sending the usual birthday, anniversary, and other personal cards, I sent the ‘no special day-card.’ For example, in March I may send a ‘You Are Appreciated’ card to regular customers and hostesses. These are hand written. I also give gift cards and gift certificates.There are some customers that I know when I see them, it will be a visit – coffee, tea, cookies, etc. So I visit.

If a referral from a customer becomes a customer, I give her a gift card or product. If the referral becomes a consultant, the customer gets a 30% discount for 3 months.”

Joyce asked, “I occasionally offer free shipping but wonder if this is a mistake since I must pay it and some begin to expect it.”I don’t think it’s a mistake to offer free shipping, but when you give something follow what direct selling companies do. Our companies give us all kinds of things; free products, jewelry, vacations, even cars. But they expect us to do something first before we get the goodies.

We give the hostess a thank-you gift the night of the party. She earned that gift by inviting people into her home for us. We give a door prize, but before the guests can be in the door prize drawing they have to give us their contact information and tell us if they are interested in having a party or want information about our business.

So if you are going to give free shipping then I would give it to the guests who order a certain amount of product. As an example, if they order $100 worth of product then I would pick up their shipping as an extra thank you to them. Do you have to do this? No, it’s simply a nice gesture of appreciation for their order.

If you would like to share this post with others feel free to do so.
Please keep the following link attached:
Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Once I Get Organized Part 3

2010-04-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today, we finish our mini-series that has been designed to get you past the feeling of overwhelm and free up your time to be more productive. These tips are in no one particular category but we hope you find them useful. As with all our tips, we hope that you are reading with two sets of eyes – one set for your own use and the other as a team leader to help problem solve as you bring new consultants into your organization.

1) For those of you who are fans of Flylady, you know she always preaches that having a regular nighttime routine will bring you peace in your life. These are things that you establish the habit of doing every night so you can begin your day in a less stressful manner. At our house this means the kitchen is cleaned, lunches are made, coffee pot is set to go (we have one with a timer) and my to-do list for the next day has been made and reviewed. My dishwasher has also been run and (usually) emptied. By getting these small tasks done the night before, my morning is free for exercise and personal quiet time – both key to keeping my stress low for the whole day. Establish a simple night time routine for yourself and stick to it. You will be surprised what a difference it makes!

2) Office hours – set them and keep them. For those of you with small children, these will vary depending on your children’s schedule as they grow. However, office hours are the key to organization as well family/business balance.

3) Let your kids be a part of household duties. Even preschoolers can help with sock sorting and toy pickup. Children as young as 7 or 8 can begin to learn to do their own laundry (there is nothing sadder than a freshman in college who is just THEN learning to do laundry!)

4) Speaking of laundry – doing one load a day will change your life.

5) Once again, we refer to Flylady.net for some great tips on getting your life and household duties in balance.

Obviously the past three emails have only skimmed the surface of organization. Certainly you can find volumes and volumes written on this topic. Hopefully this quick overview will help you to dig out of the clutter and move you forward in your home business.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Once I Get Organized Part 2

2010-04-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today, we will give you some quick tips to help you organize your workspace so you can get moving on the work that will make you money (because generally speaking, shuffling papers is not considered a revenue generating activity)!

1) Avoid writing phone numbers on the back of an envelope or a scrap of paper that gets lost; be sure you have phone message pads by each phone in your house. The ones on NCR paper are the best.

2) If you, like me, can’t kick the scrap of paper habit, then get yourself one of those “pointy things” for your desk to stick the pieces of paper on… (I’ve got one that is constantly in use on my desk but, sorry to say, I have NO idea of the official name of this thing).

3) Something else that works well is a calendar desk blotter. When you buy them mid-year, they are really cheap. I use them to write down…whatever… in lieu of a scrap of paper that will get lost. When it gets filled, I tear off the top sheet, cut out the important phone numbers or messages and put them on my pointy thing on my desk.

4) Organize your customer’s names and phone numbers in one place, using one system. It matters not what the system you use is (database, spiral notebook, index cards – whatever) – the important thing is to choose a system you will use. Be sure you have an organized way to follow up by month or date.

5) Save trips to the post office by purchasing stamps online or via the mail and get yourself a decent postage scale.

6) Organize your phone time –
a) Make a list of who to call the night before
b) Consider designating different days during the week for specified calling (example – Mondays team touch day, Tuesday, hostess calls, Wednesday, recruiting, etc;)
c) Program team members’ phone numbers into your cell phone. Do quick calls to team members while waiting in the carpool line, etc;

7) Systems are a huge time saver.
a) Compose a standard welcome letter that goes to all new team members when they join.
b) Put together a standard welcome packet of new consultant information for new team members
c) Be sure to have a schedule of trainings that are available for new team members (either trainings that you do, or trainings that your upline or company conducts)
d) Keep a team party calendar to track parties that your consultants are doing so you can follow up with them and help as needed.
e) Maintain a notebook to track of team goals and their progress towards those goals
f) Use one 3 ring binder (or a zipper trapper keeper like the kids use for school) to store company information such as newsletters, promotions, etc; that way, it is always at your finger tips.

8) Keep your finances organized
a) Use a separate checking account and credit or debit card that is exclusive for your business – this will make tracking your spending easier
b) Set up a file folder system based on expenses that can be deducted on your Schedule C tax return – sample categories include:
(1) Travel
(2) Meals and entertainment
(3) Postage and shipping
(4) Printing
(5) Dues and subscriptions
(6) Telephone/telecommunications
(7) Auto
(8) Office Supplies
c) Consider purchasing Quicken, Quick books or another small business accounting software to track your business income and expenses.

9) Deposit checks from customers at least weekly. This reduces the possibility of bounced checks.

10) Combine personal and business errands. For example, drop your kids off at pre-school on the way to do business at the post office or the bank. By doing this, your personal errand is included as part of your business mileage.

11) Keep a small notebook in your car to track mileage

12) Clear email just twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Avoid getting “lost in cyberspace!”

13) Daily – make a “to do” list – use some of the great tips in the book EAT THAT FROG for pointers.

14) Weekly (if not daily), find the top of your desk. File folders are a great way to keep from getting buried under paperwork. Consider the following categories:
a) To Read*
b) Open parties/pending orders
c) Bills to pay
d) Action needed
* Carry your TO READ file with you for those pockets of time (Dr. office waiting rooms, carpool lines, etc;)

15) If you need a suggestion for organizing your parties (once the orders have been placed), consider monthly file folders (January – December). Staple customer order forms for each party together with the Master Order placed to your home office on top.

**Each company is a little different so I realize you might have a system that works better for your personal situation. The above suggestion is for those of you who are at a loss as to how to best organize your paperwork.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Once I Get Organized

2010-04-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

OH my gosh…if I had a dollar for every time a team member told me that once she got organized, she’d get on the phone and do the prospecting that she should be doing, I could retire right now!

It is true that without a certain level of organization we end up wasting a great deal of time wading through paper and clutter to find the information we need. For our next mini-series we will give you some organizational quick tips to help free you up for more productive revenue generating activities.

Organize yourself and your family for party nights
1) If possible, keep your product samples stored in your car

2) If #1 is not possible, on party nights, be sure your products are packed first thing in the morning (or the night before if you work during the day). This avoids the last minute panic

3) Dig out that crock pot and use it…this is especially important on party nights. At the very least be sure you know what is going to be served for dinner by 9am and pre-prepare as much as possible

4) Cook double and freeze.

5) Pre-stuff hostess and recruit packets so they are ready to put in your briefcase on party nights.

6) Have two or three party "uniforms" – standard outfits that you wear on party nights only. This avoids last minute angst over what (or what not) to wear.

7) If you have small children, consider hiring a neighborhood mom’s helper to keep the kids occupied during the "baboon hour" (4-6pm). This also can give dad a minute to get in the door and take off his shoes before having a fussy toddler shoved into his arms as you rush out the door.

8) Stamp catalogs and order forms during "dead times" (late at night while watching T.V.) or better still, ask your babysitter to do this for you once the kids are in bed.

9) Know in advance when you want to do parties based on your personal and family’s schedule. Have those available nights circled in your calendar or use date cards.

10) Be prepared with directions from your hostess, Map quest or Google maps. Don’t forget to have your hostess’ phone number with you in case you get lost.

11) Know if there are products that are not currently available and carry that information with you to your party.

12) Consider carrying an extra calculator, catalogs, and customer order forms in your car with you in the event that you forget your briefcase.

13) Coach your hostess that you start your parties on time!

14) Don’t forget to bring–
a) Change
b) Extra pencils/pens for guests
c) Calendar
d) Calculator
e) Recruiting information including consultant applications and kit information
f) Product information handbook (if your company has one)
g) Customer order forms
h) Catalogs
i) Samples
j) Hostess gift (if you give them)
k) Road map

15) Use your time at your parties wisely by doing as much of your "work" there as possible, thereby cutting down on extra phone time. Date parties, give hostess packets and do some basic hostess coaching, be prepared to recruit new team members or at the very least book recruiting appointments.

16) Once back at home, often we are still wide awake from the adrenaline of the party. Assuming you closed the party that night, take an extra half an hour and write up the party order or submit it via computer. Get your bank deposit ready for the next morning.

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Keeping Track

2010-04-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

When you are new to this business, it can be simple to keep names of who you’ve talked to about hosting a party or joining your company or just buying products in your head. However, after about your first month, you will find that your memory will fail you.

Whether you are new to the business, or a seasoned consultant, good record keeping and follow up are key to your success. Get a system in place that will work for YOU. It might be a spiral notebook, 3 ring binders or a data base computer program such as ACT. The system that you use is really inconsequential. The important thing is that you choose a system that you will use and keep up with.

Important information includes the basics:
name, address, phone number and email.
However additionally, if you pick up the names of a prospect’s spouse and/or children this can be a valuable repoire building tool. You might also want to make note of where and when you met the prospect as well as any other information about them that they mention in the course of your conversations. Date and make notes from each contact and also have some type of follow-up system (using your planner, PDA or computer) in place.

Considering some recruit prospects take years to decide (TSF’s record was 7 years of follow up with the same person before she joined and eventually became a team leader!), we think you’ll agree that an effective record keeping system is imperative and NOT optional!

Copyright 2009 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Start a Healthy, Vibrant Appearance

2010-04-14T08:05:00.000-04:00

Start a healthy, vibrant appearance from within with Watkins SHN* Formula!

Healthy skin, hair and nails contribute much to a person's appearance and total well-being, and proper nutrition is essential to your good health. This supplement contains vitamins and minerals that enhance the body's production and maintenance of proteins and natural oils critical to the structure, strength and flexibility of tissues. 30 caplets; one per day

Each caplet contains:

Vitamin C
Biotin
Pantothenic Acid
Zinc
Copper
Silicon
Choline
Inositol
Evening Primrose Oil
Marine Lipid Concentrate
Gluocosamine Hydrochloride
Red Grape Anthocyanosides
Green Tea Leaf Standardized Extract
Watkins Bio-ActivatorTM Blend (Black Pepper & Ginger)

For more information on this product and other products, please refer to the view more product detail information available under each product when ordering or refer to the Product Profile Pages.

"Since using Watkins Skin, Hair & Nails, I finally have beautiful nails! Friends have asked me what I've been doing to get my nails to grow because they know I've tried a multitude of products over the years. Thanks, Watkins!"**
— Barbara Reese, California, Independent Watkins Associate

**These are personal testimonials; individual results may vary. Consult your physician before taking any dietary supplements.

Save $2.00 — Offer ends May 5th! March/April Catalog Promotion 32120 Watkins SHN Formula (30-day supply)Regularly $18.99 CADSpecial $16.99!
Save $1.00-- Offer ends May 5th March/April Catalog Promotion 02270 Watkins Skin, Hair & Nails (30 day supply) Regularly $15.99 US Special $14.99
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Natural Tips and Tricks

2010-04-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

J.R. Watkins Lemon Furniture Polish

Cleaning your hardwood floors doesn't have to be a chore, simply wrap a micro fiber cloth around the bottom of your dry mop and spray J.R. Watkins Lemon Furniture Polish on your wood floor. Start mopping working about three feet in front of you, spray more polish as needed. How simple!

J.R. Watkins Natural All Purpose Cleaners

Clean your stainless steel kitchen sink by spraying J.R. Watkins All Purpose Cleaner directly on the sink and faucet, let sit for two minutes and wipe clean. Bye, bye water spots. You will be amazed at how clean and sparkling your sink is!

Hot Spot Testimonial*

"Love the Furniture Polish!! My husband who is an avid ‘Pledge’ user watched me as I cleaned our very dusty hard to keep clean furniture with Watkins Lemon Furniture Polish. We liked how it looked and the aroma was very pleasing. But the real kick to this story is two weeks later when my husband commented on how nice the furniture looked and how ‘dustless.’ He thanked me for keeping on top of it and I said ‘Honey, I have not dusted in 2 weeks!’ He was amazed! The Watkins Lemon Furniture Polish kept the dust down so we don't have to do it as much. ‘Pledge’ is now a memory. Thank you Watkins for making a product that works and is environmentally friendly."
— Joy Riccardo, Independent Watkins Silver Consultant

*These are personal testimonials; individual results may vary.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

The Power of Green!

2010-04-13T08:05:00.000-04:00

The Power of Green!

Sorting through the confusion of green cleaning products.

Many companies are re-evaluating their product lines to better fit "green" standards.
Watkins didn't know it at the time, but the products that we have been committed to developing and bringing to your family for over 140 years are getting a lot of attention and actively sought after by consumers. Today we have many choices for natural and environmentally friendly cleaning products. How do we weed out the truly natural products from impostors? Lets find out!

What makes a green cleaning product "green?"

At Watkins we have defined green cleaning products as items that use renewable, non-toxic, phosphate-free and biodegradable ingredients. Products that work, but don't create fumes or leave behind residue that may affect the health of your family or impact the environment.

How do "green" cleaners work?

Green cleaners break down dirt and grease using surfactants from natural renewable resources. For example, instead of using petroleum-based ingredients, Watkins uses natural plant extracts. These plant-based ingredients act like magnets pulling dirt up and away from the surface.

What should we be looking for when we are looking for "green" cleaning products?

Watkins of course! Your first indication that a cleaning product isn't as natural as it could be is the use of colorants or dyes. A neon pink or purple cleaner should send up a red flag. Unless the ingredient listing states natural plant-based colorant, stay away. Pay close attention to ingredient decks. Many companies claim natural, but do not show their ingredients, most likely are not natural.

How do we know a "green" cleaner is truly not going to harm our environment?

The Clean Water Fund, a non-profit organization, estimates that the average American uses forty pounds of environmentally harmful household cleaners each year. Multiply that number by 245 million Americans and the effects are significant! The important claims to look for with regard to environment are biodegradable and phosphate free. Also steer clear of aerosol cleaners that can deplete the ozone.

What ingredients should we steer clear of?

Watkins has established a freedom code for our Natural Home Care line complete with all the ingredients we steer clear of:

Ammonia Free
Animal Ingredient Free
Benzene Free
Biodegradable
Bleach Free
Boron Free
Butyl/Ethyl Cellosolve Free
Diethylene Ether Free
Dye Free
Formaldehyde Free
Isopropanol Free
Kerosene Free
Mineral Spirit Free
Never Tested on Animals
Non-toxic
Paraben Free
Petrochemical Free
Phosphate Free
Phosphoric Acid Free
Phthalate Free
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate Free
Sulfuric Acid Free

Environmentally friendly cleaning tips:

Cut down on skin irritations by using natural cleaning products on surfaces that will come in direct contact with your skin, upholstery, carpets, and kitchen countertops.

Invest in a quality set of microfiber cloths. Use these instead of paper towels when cleaning to lessen your impact on the environment. Every little effort helps!

Dispose of old, toxic cleaners properly. Contact your local recycling center.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Customer Care and Benefits

2010-04-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Customer Care Calls

Add customer care calls into your daily contacts. Making 5 customer follow-up calls a day will ensure you stay on top of servicing your customers in very little time dedicated each day. A quick 5 minute call is all it takes to see if your customer has any needs and for you to let her know her favorite product is on special.

Benefits of Selling Your Product

Provides immediate financial reward; pay yourself!
Keeps you positive.
Keeps you in touch with the market.
Keeps you prospecting to Associates, hosts, referrals, new customers.

Customer Service Action Plan*

Consider the possibilities of making 5 customer calls a day, 30 - 45 minutes a day, every day of the week. That equates to less than 3 hours a week.
5 calls/day Monday - Friday
= 25 customers
25 customers x avg. order of $40
= $1,000 in sales/week
$1,000 in sales/week x 4 weeks
= $4,000 in sales/month

Potential income
= $1,000 plus (approx $400 bonus)

Consider if only 25% of those customers placed an order:
25% x $4000

= $1,000 in sales for the month

Potential income

= $250 plus (approx $300 bonus)

*The examples set forth in this document are hypothetical examples that are intended to explain the components of the Watkins International Compensation Plan. These examples are not representative of the income, if any, that an Independent Watkins Associate can or will earn through his or her participation in the Watkins International Compensation Plan.
These figures should not be considered as guarantees or projections of your actual earnings or profits. Any representation or guarantee of earnings, whether made by Watkins or an Independent Watkins Associate, would be misleading.

Success with Watkins results only from successful sales efforts, which requires hard work, diligence and leadership. Your success will depend on how effectively you exercise these qualities. The typical participant is a consultant who earns less than $50 per month.

Is providing exceptional customer service worth the effort?

For an extra 3, maximum 5 hours a week, based on the examples above, your potential to earn is $30+ per hour for the time you invest in developing relationships and servicing your customers.

Develop a service level that your customers will know they can rely on. It's time well spent and your customers will not only thank you, but be loyal to you.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

The Agony of De Feet

2010-04-10T08:05:00.002-04:00

If you're itching to kick off your boots and tiptoe through the tulips, you'd better do some "sole" searching first. If there's one part of our body that we tend to neglect, it's our feet. With proper care, you'll feel good about baring your soles, and you may even avoid having to foot the bill for a doctor visit.

If your feet are looking a little rough around the edges, try Watkins Peppermint Foot Scrub with pure peppermint oil and pumice-it will rid your feet of dry, dead skin and smooth out the rough spots. For a surge of energy that will absolutely knock your socks off, massage your feet everyday with Watkins Peppermint Foot Cream. The pure peppermint oil will energize your entire body and help to relieve pain and itching. If you work out, apply Peppermint Foot Cream before exercise.

Research shows the aroma of peppermint can help you work harder and faster, resulting in more calories burned during exercise. Both are available at Watkins Museum and Store, just a pumice stone's throw from downtown.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Bone Up and Burn Fat

2010-04-10T08:00:00.001-04:00

Did you know that calcium, the mineral that gives you strong bones and healthy teeth, can also help you lose weight! In recent studies, those who consumed 1,200 mg of calcium per day weighed an average of 22 lbs less than those who did not consume calcium regularly. The more calcium that was consumed, the lower the weight and body fat.

A high intake of calcium seems to stimulate the body to burn fat, while a low intake encourages the body to store fat. While calcium supplements are effective, the greatest results have come from calcium obtained from dairy products. Watkins SoyNilla beverage mix, which can be added to water, juice or milk, containes 300 mg of calcium per serving.

Just two servings of SoyNilla added to milk will provide 1,200 mg of calcium in a smooth, delicious drink, and Osteogen, a calcium-based supplement for healthy bones, provides another 600 mg. "Bone appetit!

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Here's the Skin-ny on Tea

2010-04-08T08:05:00.000-04:00

If you read last week's Health Tip of the Week, you know about the benefits of drinking green tea, such as reducing allergy symptoms and boosting metabolism. Even if you're not a tea drinker, you can still get the anti-aging benefits of green tea.

Recent studies show that applying green tea directly onto the skin may help to reduce the effects of aging due to sun damage. In addition, skin treated with extracts of green tea showed less UV damage, less sunburn and greater protection from skin cancer, compared to skin not treated with green tea.

Watkins offers a complete line of green tea products for your skin, including Aloe & Green Tea Hand & Body Lotion, Body Wash, Body Bar, aluminum-free Deodorant and Antibacterial Liquid Hand Soap.

For optimal sun protection, try Watkins Aloe Vera Sun Block SPF-30 and Aloe Botanical Lip Balm SPF-23. If you happen to get too much sun, Watkins Aloe Vera Burn Cream provides soothing relief.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Thanks, I Kneeded That

2010-04-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

Can you predict cold, rainy weather more accurately than your local meteorologist simply by the level of joint pain you experience? If so, your forecast just got brighter. A study just published in the British Medical Journal found that nearly 90% of patients taking glucosamine supplements for 12 weeks found significant relief from chronic knee pain.

Doctors believe that breakdown of cartilage is a major cause of knee pain. Glucosamine, a substance found naturally in the body, appears to stimulate the production of cartilage, which scientists believe may be responsible for the reduction in joint pain and stiffness.

Watkins Linimax™, a source of glucosamine,* is available at Watkins Museum & Store, along with time-tested Liniments and Salves, which provide temporary relief from arthritic aches and pains.

*As with all dietary supplements, ask your healthcare provider if glucosamine is right for you. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Grape News for Your Skin!

2010-04-07T08:05:00.000-04:00

The newest anti-aging beauty treatment doesn't require surgery, acid peels or injections. A few dabs of grapeseed oil onto your skin and around the eye area can help diminish fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin's appearance, and make it feel as smooth as silk.

In the days of Cleopatra, women applied the leftovers from winemaking directly onto their skin, and those who stomped grapes at Italian wineries noted the smoothness of their skin. It wasn't until recently, however, that the anti-aging and skin beautifying properties were attributed to the oil inside the grapeseeds.

You'll find traces of grapeseed oil in some high-end cosmetics, but you'll get the greatest benefits by applying grapeseed oil directly onto the skin. Extremely light and absorbent, Watkins All-Natural Oils contain pure, all-natural grapeseed oil in a unique blend of natural plant oils and vitamin E for smooth, vibrant, younger-looking skin.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Time For an Oil Change

2010-04-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

From lowering cholesterol to reducing fine lines and wrinkles, it turns out that the oil inside those tiny seeds in grapes has a whole "bunch" of benefits! Top chefs are now cooking with grapeseed oil because of its amazing effect on enhancing the natural flavors of food.

The late Master Chef, Jean Louis Palladin, noticed that his customers always felt good after a meal cooked in grapeseed oil. It's one of the few foods known that not only reduces LDL (the bad cholesterol), but raises HDL (the good cholesterol). This helps to keep arteries clear, which may contribute to another benefit of grapeseed oil—its potential to guard against impotence.

Watkins Grapeseed Oil is available in three gourmet flavors—Original, Garlic & Parsley and Citrus & Cilantro—and you'll also find it in our Garlic and Chipotle Liquid Spices.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Love Potion Goes Straight to the Heart

2010-04-06T08:05:00.002-04:00

Give chocolate to someone special this holiday, and you'll not only satisfy their sweet tooth, you'll put them in a sweet mood, and maybe help them live longer, too! Chocolate contains a natural substance known as the "love chemical"—it's what makes you feel "giddy" when you fall in love, and produces feelings of excitement and euphoria.

But dark chocolate, and especially cocoa, contain natural compounds that, in addition to producing that loving feeling, are good for your heart, helping to keep cholesterol levels in check and lowering the risk of heart disease. Make an irresistible "love potion" for someone special with Watkins All-Natural Baking Cocoa (the recipe is right on the can) or Watkins French Vanilla Cocoa.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Something's Fishy…

2010-04-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

Have you caught the latest news on fish? Those who consume fish regularly have lower risk of lung and prostate cancer, fewer strokes, and less risk of sudden death from heart attack. Fish eaters are also less likely to experience depressive symptoms as well as macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in older adults.

While two to three servings per week are recommended, new studies show that even two to three servings per month provide great health benefits. If you're fishing for the perfect Father's Day gift for the fisherman in the house, don't get lured into giving the same thing year after year. This time, don't miss the boat-give him something he can "reel"ly sink his teeth into while possibly adding a few years to his life.
Watkins Fish & Seafood Seasoning will get the whole family hooked on fish, and will give him plenty of reasons to brag about his latest catch.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Hot News!

2010-04-05T08:05:00.001-04:00

If you want to cool off and burn some extra calories this summer, here's a hot tip:
A meal that includes hot peppers can boost your metabolism for several hours, helping to burn extra calories. Ironically, hot peppers can also help you stay cool by stimulating the cooling center of the brain. They can also help to lower blood cholesterol and reduce blood clots, cutting the risk of heart attack and stroke.

As if that weren't enough, they might even make you feel better by stimulating the release of endorphins, substances in the brain that act as natural painkillers and mood enhancers. Watkins offers a variety of hot sauces, salsas and hot spices, including Jalapeno Hot Pepper Sauce & Salsa Seasoning, found in our recipe for black bean and citrus salsa. You'll find this recipe and many others at www.watkinsonline.com. or at my recipe blog.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Catch the Latest Buzz… (Canada Products)

2010-04-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

June marks the official start of summer activities—fishing, camping, boating and mosquito slapping. With disease-carrying mosquitoes just itching to grab a bite to eat, they're no longer just a pest; they're a real threat. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the most effective repellents for protection against West Nile Virus and encephalitis-carrying mosquitoes are those that contain DEET.

In a test conducted by The New England Journal of Medicine, non-DEET products offered little or no protection, while DEET-containing products provided full protection for several hours. DEET has a remarkable safety record after 40 years of use and remains the gold standard for protection from disease-carrying insects—it also protects from Lyme-disease carrying ticks and other pests.

Watkins Insect Repellent Spray contains 23.75% DEET—the amount that provided the most protection in this study—and the lotion contains 28.5% DEET, meeting Canada's health protection standards by containing no more than a 30% concentration of DEET—just enough to keep insects from being a pain in the neck.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Happy Easter everyone.

2010-04-04T22:43:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter everyone. I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday with your family and friends. I hope the Easter Bunny brought you lots of goodies and chocolate.

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Catch the Latest Buzz… (US Products)

2010-04-01T08:05:00.000-04:00

June marks the official start of summer activities—fishing, camping, boating and mosquito slapping. With disease-carrying mosquitoes just itching to grab a bite to eat, they're no longer just a pest; they're a real threat.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the most effective repellents for protection against West Nile Virus and encephalitis-carrying mosquitoes are those that contain DEET. In a test conducted by The New England Journal of Medicine, non-DEET products offered little or no protection, while DEET-containing products provided full protection for several hours.

DEET has a remarkable safety record after 40 years of use and remains the gold standard for protection from disease-carrying insects—it also protects from Lyme-disease carrying ticks, as well as chiggers, biting flies, gnats and fleas.

Watkins Insect Repellent contains 23.75% DEET—the amount that provided the most protection in this study—and just enough to keep insects from being a pain in the neck.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Need to get out of a mess?

2010-04-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

If the thought of spring cleaning isn't exactly sweeping you off your feet, here's something that might help you clean up your act: Accumulation of dust, dust mites and mold can harbor irritants and allergens that may cause sinus problems, allergies, headaches and fatigue. Frequent cleaning can help reduce these symptoms, but overuse of household chemical cleaners themselves can cause respiratory and other problems-even heart disease and cancer.

They can also harm plants, animals and our water supply. Overuse of chemicals is a serious threat to our well-being, and it won't go away by trying to sweep it under the rug. Watkins complete line of natural-based, earth-friendly, biodegradable cleaning products are good for your health and the health of your environment. You'll be amazed at how much better you can feel simply by cleaning up your act!

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Happy April Fool's Day

2010-04-01T07:55:00.000-04:00

Happy April Fool's Day everyone. If you are playing tricks on anyone, please make sure they are all in fun. Have a great day. :)

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Use Your Bean

2010-03-31T08:05:00.000-04:00

During these uncertain times, more of us are turning to an old favorite for comfort-the vanilla bean. The warm, luxurious aroma of vanilla is often used to ease tension and anxiety and seems to promote feelings of safety and security.

Many hospitals use the scent of vanilla during medical procedures and have seen a 63% reduction in patient anxiety. Some hospitals diffuse the aroma of vanilla into waiting rooms to help patients feel calmer and more relaxed, facilitating the healing process.

Students take note: Inhalation of vanilla has even been found to improve test scores, perhaps by reducing anxiety in test-takers.

Watkins is recognized as the trusted name in vanilla, and is often associated with fond memories. Watkins has taken their world famous Vanilla beyond the kitchen with a complete line of Vanilla personal care products and home fragrances that will make a thoughtful gift for Mother's Day and will take her back to an easier time.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

A Perfect 10

2010-03-31T08:00:00.001-04:00

If you're tired or have gained weight, you could be missing your "Q." Coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10 for short, is found naturally in the body, and is the spark of energy for the entire body. After age 40, we don't produce as much CoQ10, which means everything slows down--our heart and brain are not as efficient and even our skin doesn't produce new cells as rapidly, making skin look older. Low levels can also lead to fatigue and weight gain.

Recently, CoQ10 was shown to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease and may hold promise for other brain disorders. CoQ10 supplements are recommended for everyone over the age of 40 to strengthen the heart, protect the brain, and energize the entire body. Score a perfect 10 with Watkins E + CoQ10.

It combines CoQ10 with all-natural vitamin E, selenium and hawthorn in a softgel that provides 273% greater absorption than a dry tablet, for exceptional benefits. As with all dietary supplements, consult your healthcare provider to make sure this supplement is right for you.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell

Rake in the benefits!

2010-03-30T08:05:00.001-04:00

If you're a gardener, you know it's a great way to connect with nature, but are you aware of the health benefits you're raking in? Gardening is similar to working out in a gym and can help to peel off the pounds. Raking and planting burn 324 calories per hour, pushing a motorized lawn mower, trimming shrubs and weeding burn 364 calories per hour, and digging, spading and tilling burn a whopping 404 calories per hour. It's no wonder gardeners are a healthier bunch.

They tend to have lower blood pressure, more strength and endurance, stronger bones and muscles, healthier hearts, and lower body fat. Gardening is also good for the mind; it's both calming and stimulating, and helps to relieve tension. You'll rake in even more benefits when the fruits of your labor are consumed.

To protect your green thumb and the rest of your hands, use Watkins all-natural Lavender & Chamomile Salve after gardening. With natural plant oils and vitamin E, it will soothe and protect your hands, and keep you feeling more like a gladiola and less like a pansy.

Brenda Koth, MS, RD

http://www.watkinsonline.com/ddemell