Come join us on the Radio….Monday morning at 9:30 AM Pacific standard time.

We will be joined by

Life Coach Susan Liddy, MA, PCC, CPCC, is on a mission to let every woman know that she can live a confident and fulfilling life. Since 2004 she has helped women around the globe achieve goals and dreams such as heal relationships, write books, change careers, start businesses and create overall life balance. She is the Founder and CEO of AspireLifeCoaching.org, creator of the Passage to Empowerment™ coaching program, and author of The Secrets to Ultimate Living: What You Wish You Knew When You Were Twenty. Learn more about Susan Liddy by visiting her website: www.AspireLifeCoaching.org or blog: www.SecretsToUltimateLiving.com

where we will be talking about “Our 3 Tips on How to Catapult Your Business forward”

You will not want to miss this!  C U THERE!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/homepartyplan

Jody & Charlotte

Often times when people join a business they feel overwhelmed. Many people feel that there is so much they need to know before they approach anyone. So…WHAT is it that you should know before you approach people?

All you need to know is your why. That’s it!

When you join a business, usually you have become familiar with the products already. Most of the people that sign up for a home party business opportunity have used the products or purchased the products and sign up as a distributor to either get the discount or to earn some income. You already know you love the products and you already know why.

Think about what it is that prompted you to sign up for the opportunity, how did that person present the product and the opportunity to you?

I hear of so many people that never have their first party because they fear that they don’t know enough about the products. The reality is that it’s OK that you don’t know everything, in fact, you can present with very little at your first couple of parties, even if your upline is not there to guide you.

If someone asks you a question and you don’t know the answer there is a magic response…  “I don’t know, but let me find out and I will let you know. When is best to get in touch with you and how can I contact you?”….That’s it.

People are very forgiving and they would rather get a response like that than something made up. It’s also a great way to follow up with people and build rapport so .. sometimes not knowing everything is an opportunity to contact that person in the future. No one expects you to know everything so it’s not a big deal to say “I don’t know”.

I had signed up for a business as a distributor to get a discount a couple of years ago, I’ll call that Company A. My upline coached me to see if this was a business I wanted to build since I had signed up a couple of other team members. I tried it but it just wasn’t me at the time, I had another business I was working on and it didn’t fit in with the schedule I desired.

Last summer I switched  to a product line that I felt better suited me and my beliefs, I’ll call that Company B. (I rarely switch products in this area so this tells you how I feel about the products.). While I liked some of the products of Company A, I didn’t want to order from 2 different companies so again, I signed up as a distributor for Company B and again I have team members.

Last week the upline for Company A called to tell me about some specials. WOW I thought she forgot all about me. I hadn’t heard from her in about 9 months. I also had not been ordering. I called her back to let her know that I wasn’t ordering from Company A anymore and I mentioned that I hadn’t heard from her in a while and asked how she was doing. (This upline is very likable but not very personal or relational).  She said “Oh well I never know how often people like me to contact them.”

Whoah! WHAT? It is always important to keep in touch with clients and team members. She’s a great person but what is she thinking? To me it seemed like she had been distracted from the business for a while then decided she wanted to amp it up!

That’s a real ball dropper.. not to stay in touch with the people in your business. I hadn’t gotten e-mails from her, calls, texts .. nothing at all.

What she should be doing is creating a formula for contacting people. Clients and team members want to be contacted regularly (unless they state otherwise) and should be contacted. Depending on the sort of business you have and how well you know your team members and clients… team members should be contacted every week or so. One of my good friends contacts her team each week by conducting a weekly call. She uses that time as an opportunity for her team members to ask questions which will help other team members learn.Customers should be contacted monthly or how ever often the new specials come out. That is always a good reason to contact clients. As you get to know your clients, you will be able to determine if they like more or less frequency.

If my upline wasn’t sure when she should contact me or how often there was something simple she could have done.. SHE COULD HAVE ASKED ME.

It’s these simple little things that make all the differences. It’s not the big challenges that keep us from moving to the next level but the collection of little things, habits that challenge us.

WHAT are YOUR challenges with your Home Party Business? What can we answer for you? What can we give you to help you move forward?

Charlotte Salafia

www.designedfordivinedestinations.com

“Where it’s not just about the destination, but the journey to get there.”

I was looking through some photos on a friends Facebook page and she was showing pictures of her trip in Arizona (which happens to be the state I now live in). If you use Facebook, you will know that people can add comments to peoples status updates and their photos and photo albums. Some of these strings of conversation get pretty long.

The snippets of conversation turned into how dry Arizona is and how dry her skin is getting. All of a sudden there are women throwing out the names of these products they love and what has worked for them, myself included! Some were even posting links to the product for her to see.

Here are all these women… selling someone elses product for them and getting no commission. HUH?

Yeah, they love whatever product it is so much that they tell other people about it.. for free, with no commission. They tell their friend that this face cream or that lotion is the BEST! I believe most everyone does that or has done that at some point… haven’t you done that?

So why is it that you can’t sell your own products to people in your life?

You may have thought,”well telling them about someone elses stuff is easy because my friends know I”m not making a profit from it.” ..you might have a fear about talking about your own stuff with them but you will gladly direct them to your favorite chiropractor or your favorite restaurant but when it comes to your own product, you shy away from that conversation. Maybe you don’t want to sound all sales-ey or maybe you don’t want to turn off your friends fearing that if you tell them about your products, they won’t want to hang out anymore.

Why is it so easy to sell other peoples products or services and not your own? It could be that you are afraid of being attached.

When you refer people to your awesome chiropractor or tell them about your favorite lotion… you don’t care. You don’t care if they go there or use it or buy that or whatever. You tell them about the thing then don’t have any further expectation. THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE.

When you have a product that you sell, which you love yourself because you are selling it, INTRODUCE it to your friends and family. You can’t be attached to the outcome. I have even said to friends, when I introduce a product, “Hey, I’ll show you this but whether or not you decide to buy it… we are still friends, the decision is yours.”

Your friends don’t buy everything you recommend to them and they may or may not purchase your service or product and that’s ok. You will not be considered a nag if you are telling people about products you love and then let them make the decision. If they say something like.. “oh, I’m happy with my brand” or “I’m not interested in this” then let it go. No matter how great what you have is, not everyone is interested. If they say “that looks interesting, I’d like to know more about it” that’s a great lead in. Follow up with them, don’t expect them to come to you. If they say they are intersted and say they don’t have time right now then just ask them, “When is a good time? When should I contact you about this.. I want to do this on your schedule”. That way it takes all the guessing out of it. There’s no perfect time to “catch” someone so ask them when you should contact them about it again.

Making your friends and family more important than your product is critical. When you follow that rule, you will not run off friends and family and you will introduce some of them to some wonderful products that you have to offer.

Charlotte Salafia

www.designedfordivinedestinations.com

“Where is not just about the destination, but the journey to get there.”

We’ve been asked once or Twice: “What is the best way to get Party Bookings”

Well, there is no short answer to that; however, I’d like to give you a quick tip that can get you Out THERE more!

Go out and get to a Networking Meeting. Find out if there is a “ladies luncheon” this week, perhaps through your local chamber of commerce. Get yourself a ticket and make the “intention” of meeting someone who YOU connect with!

Charlotte and I both love doing this!  We love to meet new people!  We both make it a point that if we Connect with someone, we go out for lunch….meet for coffee.  Develop a Friendship with someone NEW!

The point here is not to “Bug them about your business”; in fact, I recommend that you don’t even bring up your business…..”they will ASK YOU!” At that point, tell them what you do….what YOU Love.

Again, and this is important…..do NOT tell them about your business! Just enjoy your lunch or coffee!!!

Trust me, I’ve had more business over the years just getting to know people in this way.  Your new friend may or may not have a show with you, however they will feel more comfortable knowing that you are truly trying to make a personal connection and not a sales pitch!

What will happen is this:

• The next time you have an open house…your new friend will be more than happy to show up.
• When someone in your “new friends” circle of influence has a need…your new friend will “highly recommend” YOU as the great and wonderful person you are!

I’ve made so many wonderful connections and friendships (and yup extra money too) just by connecting at least once a week with someone new!

Good luck!

& Let us know how this works for YOU!

Jody

www.DesignedforDivineDestinations.com

“Where it’s not just about the Destination, it’s the Journey to get There!”

Hey Everyone,

We will be on the radio now every Monday morning at 8:30 AM pacific standard time!!!!

You can check out our first Show here at BlogTalkRadio and if you can’t make it you can listen to the recording.

We plan on covering lots of topics each week; plus, you can ask us any questions, either before the show or during!

• Tips for getting more bookings
• Guests who are amazing!
• Home office Tips

The list goes on and on!

See you There!

Jody & Charlotte

Larry Platt is a genius! He wrote  a song that only has 3 basic lines yet it speaks volumes. This simple song with these 3 lines put a complete picture in every one’s head in America.

How did he do that?“Pants On The Ground” consists of these 3 lines: Pants on the ground, gold tooth in yo mouth, hat turned sideways.(Lookin like a fool with yo pants on the ground) see it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj-IaaKGViM

He used 3 lines to describe a kid we have all seen (by kid I mean type of kid). We have all seen these kids at the mall or at Wendy’s when you stop for a burger or driving by your local high school. This kid has his/her baseball hat turned to the side and droopy big pants with their boxer shorts showing… ya know…this kid who you just wanna go up to and pull his pants up and tighten the belt. (really, why do they even bother with the belt). …or if you are my husband, you want to staple the pants up.

He took 3 lines and put a picture in your head yet it has more layers. It speaks out about the gangster world. He is describing the prison life.. gangster guy and the kids who emulate this type of criminal. He is speaking out against the culture who is wanting to emulate the criminal world because they think it’s cool.

You see, Larry Platt is part of the Civil Rights movement (he marched with Dr. King) and this criminal culture is counter to the Civil Rights movement.

The other day I was having coffee with a friend and I saw a blond lady talking to another lady. I figured out that the blond lady was trying to sell something. This blond lady talked for most of the conversation. She was telling her all about this product and telling  this other lady what that lady wanted instead of asking her what she wanted. The blond didn’t ask her any questions about what she wanted. The blond talked as the other lady glazed over.

I can’t imagine this blond lady gets many sales, she does all the talking. What if this lady could find 3 sentences to describe what she is selling? What if she could simplify it enough for a picture for the other person to get it in an instant? Wouldn’t she be doing less talking and more listening?

What are your 3 lines? What is the picture you are creating for your potential client? How do you talk about your stuff? Are you throwing your picture out there and then listening to the response.. answering questions about the picture?

Or… are you standing there looking like a fool with your pants on the ground?

Charlotte Salafia

www.DesignedForDivineDestinations.com

“Where it’s not just about the destination, but the journey to get there.”

WOW what a long title! I prefer things be short and sweet but some things require more words.

Attraction Marketing has always been practiced through out the centuries, it’s not a new idea it just has a newer name. I’m not sure if anyone assigned a name to the practice before. Most people in sales have heard of attraction marketing and some even know what it is.

How does attraction marketing work?

Some may think that sales is about the widget that is being sold. If you asked someone in sales what they do, they might say “I sell tractors”… but are they really selling tractors? Not at all. Of course there is something to that tractor element, there are people who need tractors and they wish to purchase them. There are a number of companies who sell them, as well as a number of sales people who sell them. The sales person isn’t really selling the tractor, they are selling themselves.

That’s exactly what attraction marketing is about. Attraction marketing is all about selling yourself. There is an element to what you sell, you have to believe in what you are selling and that it’s worth the value you are selling it for but other than that you are selling you.

People like to purchase stuff from people who are attractive. it doesn’t mean you have to be model gorgeous and have perfect hair and clothes. It also doesn’t mean that they have to have the perfect speech or line. There are elements to that but what people ultimately want is someone they like. If someone does not like you, they will not buy from you… end of story.

Attraction marketing is about building a relationship with people. Being an expert is a great way to gain trust. When you give people free information that is valuable to them, they will trust you. When people know you are sincere and not just trying to make a sale… they are attracted to you. When you express interest in them and are formulating  a relationship with them and you can show them that the return on their investment is greater than the investment, that is when you will attract people into your organization.

In a nutshell, be yourself, be an expert and care.

We have all met the sales person who bombards us with information and we might be interested in the product but the person drives us away. It has happened to many sales people, they introduce their widget to a friend and the friend doesn’t purchase. Then months later they purchase that same widget from someone else. What happened? That sales person didn’t give them the information they needed.

You can’t just expect to get excited about your product and tell others then expect them to come lining up at your door. Telling people that this thing exists and then telling them how great it is IS NOT attraction marketing.

Telling your friends and anyone you meet about your product and trying to fit it into their lives for them is not attraction marketing, it’s sitting on your ass waiting for them to come to you.

There are very few people that will come to you and ask you about your stuff, you have to go to them and you have to follow through. You also have to LISTEN! People in attraction marketing know that they need to listen. I have had lots of sales people tell me what I want and never once ask me what I want. Learning to listen was a key element for me.

Ask the right questions and people will tell you exactly what they want and how to sell it to them, they will also tell you if they are likely to buy what you sell.

Follow up with people. Even when people like what you have, they still want you to call on them. I sold  a product because people trusted my knowledge in that area, I had already become an expert by reading up on the subject on my own and they knew I had a passion for it.  They initially asked me about it, so much so that I had to have a party where they could see these products. Then when they purchased them and liked them, I followed up, “hey how did you like that widget?” “i loved it, I want MORE!”. Did I wait for them to call me up and say “hey, I want some more of that, will you sell me some?”?? Noooo, when they expressed an interest in buying more I said “great, do you already know what you want or would you like to meet up and I can bring a catalog or some demos?”.

When I know I have a great product and have peoples trust, my job is not over, I have to listen. No doesn’t always mean NO. No sometimes means, not now, or I don’t understand or tell me more.

People tell you all the time how to sell them something. Ask them about a past sales experience they have had that they enjoyed… they will tell you everything they liked about the sales person. They also want you to sell it to them. I will always go with the person who I trust and who follows up. The person who follows up is the one who will give me great service and after all, isn’t that what everyone is selling …. service?

If anyone says “I am not a sales person?” they are wrong. Each person sells them self. Think about the last person you formulated a relationship with… a friend, a lover, a partner… you sold yourself to that person. That is exactly what you are doing when you are selling  anything.

So, get off your ass and go attract some people. Make some money!

So it’s January of a new year and some of you in Home Party Businesses may be thinking “It’s the beginning of the year.. everyone has already spent all their money on the holidays and no one wants to have a party” or “People are all partied out and just want to rest”.

Uh oh! Sounds like someone is just making excuses. Delete that thought and replace it with a new one! Here are some suggested thoughts to replace those ones with…..“People got Christmas money they are itching to spend”, “People are wanting to have parties and spend time with people that they are not required to (family… work associates).”, “People are still using (insert product type here… make up, cooking accessories, candles, lingerie) and need some more because they used it up or haven’t seen the latest”. or “People have set new goals and are looking for ways to earn income.”.

Changing that voice in your head is the first thing you need to do in this situation and then you need to decide what are good ways to take some action and get your bookings.

Now is a great time to call some of those who recently signed up as distributors or consultants and have them start setting up parties themselves. Set up your new year with staying in touch with your team.Teach them that their thoughts should be on booking and earning and having fun.

When you have decided that people do want to book some parties, start contacting some of the people who have expressed an interest in having a party, perhaps some of the women you met at your last few parties. Holidays are a busy time and they don’t like to book until after so follow up with them. Call some of the people who have ordered from you and ask them how they liked the products they ordered and what did they like best. You can subtly talk about the things that go with that “item x” to enhance their experience with that. Let the party be their idea. Talk about another hostess who got “such and such product” and plant the idea to have a party.

Have your own party. If you are really pressed then just have your own party. Invite friends, let them know they are not obliged to purchase anything and let them know you want them to see this new (insert product name here) and get their opinion on it. There are all sorts of creative ways to get your friends assembled. Your friends love you and want to see you have success. They will be interested in your latest…. as long as you are not pushy and pitch it.

If you do not start your year out with a party or so, you will find it difficult to gain momentum as the year progresses. Start your year out with a great attitude and determination to do some professional and personal development.

This year we are introducing a new product that will assist you in your business. This product will give you the tools you need to have a successful home party business. These techniques and tools are proven ways to have a successful home party business by someone who has made thousands in the business.

We look forward to unwrapping this new product in the near future and you will NOT believe how affordable this is. We are confident that this product will change your business when you act of the knowledge we will be sharing with you.

Charlotte Salafia

www.designedfordivinedestinations.com

“Where it’s not just about the destination, but the journey to get there.”

Right now, most of you are getting ready for Christmas and shopping.

I encourage you to take a break from your business…have fun with friends and family.

When this is going on keep a pad and pen handy beside you though…I have always found that when I am at my most ‘relaxed and happy’…that is when my best “Business Ideas” come through.

So, if you don’t jot them down quick…some of your best ideas can slip right by you.

By making a quick note of your ideas…you can then look at them more closely come the New Year.

This helps you in two ways:

1) You are allowing your ideas to flow freely when you are “Relaxed” and in a “Fun” state….and those ideas are usually geared to this too by the way.

and

2) When you re-start your business in January you are doing so “Refreshed” and “Looking forward” instead of ….drained…desperate and scared.

See the difference???

So go ahead….Be Merry….have FUN!!! and Jot Down your Great Idea’s!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Jody In Beautiful BC

Jody Maley is Motivational Speaker & Trainer, mom of six,retired entrepeneur, ToastMaster, Queen of the Home Party Plan Biz!

http://www.DesignedforDivineDestinations.com

“Where its not just about the Destination, it’s the Journey to Get there!”