Unfortunately, this scenario plays out a lot when you own a direct sales business. So, what can you do to avoid those last minute cancellations?

Encourage
Obviously the first thing to do is encourage her to hold the show. Let her know you are on your way over and if no one shows up you can talk about what to do next once you arrive.

If she still insists on canceling, encourage her to book the show for the following week. Let her know you will help her invite friends and encourage sales. Ask her if she’s taken the catalogs to her friends, family and co-workers? If she has not, remind her that a lot of people will buy something, although they may not physically show up to her party. Outside sales are a great way to increase overall show sales. They are also a great way to find potential hostesses and customers.

Consider Outside Sales Only Shows
Another thing you can suggest is that your hostess holds what is known as a “book” party. If she is truly adamant and thinks no one will show up, encourage your hostess to get outside sales only. I’ve had several successful shows from “book” parties. Remind the hostess to get all the contact information from each person who purchases so you can follow up with them.

Plan Ahead & Keep in Contact
The best way to avoid those last minute cancellations is to do the work ahead of time. Keep in contact with your hostess from the time she booked the show up to the day before the show. Send out thank you notes, reminder cards and make phone calls to encourage her and help her to feel confident in her hosting abilities.

Supply the Tools for Success
Remember, most people who hold shows for you do not do this for a living. You’ll need to do a bit of detective work to find out what your hostess’ personality type. If you can figure out the type of person she is, you’ll be able to help her and her show be a huge success. Work with her and give her the tools necessary based on your findings.

For example, if your hostess is shy and reserved, help her by giving her “words” or scripts to use when calling her potential guests. Put the information in her hands to help keep her positive and thriving.
If your hostess is unorganized, but social (those two personality traits usually go hand in hand) help her get organized by giving her ‘save the date’ cards or magnets she can have in front of her at all times. Give her a plan or help her schedule time to make phone calls to friends and family. Give her plenty of brochures to hand out to co-workers and make sure she puts them in her briefcase or by her purse so they go with her to work the next day.

Sometimes in direct sales, we do have to “baby sit” some of our hostesses. In other words, you have to help them along, every step of the way. Not all hostesses are like this, but a lot more than you might realize are. For me personally, I would say at least half of my hostesses have needed a helping hand of some magnitude along the way.

You can never go wrong by investing a little time and effort in someone to help her flourish. After all, your success depends on her success. In direct sales you won’t be in business long if you are not willing to invest time, energy and some money into the lives of others. Being in a direct sales business should not be all about you and what you’re going to get out of it. You have to help others be a success if you’re going to be a success too!

Other Posts You May Like

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• 8 Ideas for Getting Your Direct Sales Bookings to Hold

If you find out the company you’re interested in is in fact well established and successful, have been in business a while and are growing strong the rest should be fairly simple. Once you’ve joined, your success still depends on you. Here are some areas you should concentrate on in order to create a thriving business you can be proud of.

Goal Setting & Hard Work
Setting goals and putting forth time, effort and yes, money are necessary to craft your direct sales business into a money maker. It is not going to happen by itself or overnight no matter how much the people at the top try to tell you the product or the company sells itself.

Time Management
Time management is a necessity for making a direct sales business successful. You are in business for yourself now, so you need to know how to make wise use of your time. Don’t spend time on tasks that are not money producers. Learn to schedule your business so that it coincides with your family, church and other activities. One of the greatest things about being in business for yourself is having the ability to make your own schedule. Learning how to do just that it is of utmost importance in making your business a success.

Organization
Getting and staying organized goes hand in hand with time management because once you accomplish these things, you actually save more time. If you are unorganized and everything is in disarray all the time, you will waste valuable hours looking for lost receipts, sales orders, catalogs or even product. Get yourself organized and your business is more likely to thrive. On the flip side of that is being so organized that you spend all your time organizing. Yes, I’ve seen that happen too. Creating balance is the key to true success.

Producing a direct sales business as a money maker is dependent upon you setting worthwhile goals, being organized and using good time management skills. If you need help in any of these areas, get it now. There are tons of books and websites out there on these subjects. There are people in your upline whose success depends on your success, so get your hands on whatever information you can to help you succeed from those team members who are succeeding already. If you are truly in business to succeed, you will do whatever it takes to improve yourself and therefore ultimately reach your goals, dreams and desires.

Other Posts You May Like

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Let me give you an example of what I’m talking about so that you can better understand. I am very active in my church. I love my church family and love to be involved. I am also very social. I sang in the praise band, worked in the nursery, helped with the youth ministry and participated in the Christmas and Easter plays. It is all very fun, rewarding and important and I love all of those things.

However, there came a time when I had to start saying “no” to some of them. I was being pulled in too many directions and wasn’t focused on any particular area. Because I was involved in so many important ministries within the church, I was missing what I was supposed to be doing – youth ministry. Yes, I was involved in the youth ministry, but I couldn’t be as involved as I was meant to be because I was doing too many other things.

Is this true for you in your direct sales business? What are you supposed to be doing with your time and energy? Is it focused on the right thing, in the right area of your business so that it can grow and prosper? What are some things you need to say “No” to so that you can focus on what you’re supposed to be doing?

Here are some things you may need to say “No” to in order to have your business growing in the right direction:

You may have to say no when asked to join another organization or social club, at least until your business is up and running smooth and prospering. Don’t get distracted by things that aren’t going to help your business grow. Of course family comes first so this doesn’t apply if it’s a situation that involves your family.

Sometimes you may have to say no to a friend who wants to visit so you can focus on your business for the day. Do you have a “time sucker” friend, one who is needy and perhaps more of a burden than a help? I’m not saying we shouldn’t help our friends when in need, but there are people out there who are “time suckers” and we need to limit the amount of time we allow them to suck out of us. This may sound harsh, but if you are serious about your business, then you will have to learn to say no to them. And honestly, it will actually probably help them to not be so needy.

Another way to make “No” your favorite word is by realizing that when someone tells you “No”, say to being a hostess, buying product or joining the company, a “yes” is right around the corner. Remember, you will hear “No” more in direct sales than you’ll hear “Yes” so go in knowing this and don’t let the “No’s” get you down. Remember, the next “Yes” is right around the corner and keep going until you get it.

By making “No” your favorite word in direct sales or in your personal lives you will be stronger and more successful in all you do. You will have learned to persevere and move on in the toughest of times. So make “No” your favorite word now!

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Below you’ll find a list of the five most important traits one needs to in order to become a great consultant. Some of these may already be a natural part of your personality or you may need to put forth some effort in order have these traits. The goal is to not just possess them, but to make them become second nature.

1. Honesty - First and foremost, a great consultant is honest. A successful consultant is honest in every area of her life. It’s obvious this person did not join the direct sales company just to make a buck. She is a consultant for a specific organization or company because she truly loves the product she is selling and honestly believes in it. The consultant’s integrity shines through in everything she does. Her customers never feel “snowed” by this type of consultant and they can rest assured she will always tell the truth in every situation.

2. In Depth Knowledge & Understanding of the Product – Extensive product knowledge is a must for every great consultant. She must be able to answer any questions that arise during shows or a consultation. If you don’t know your product, get to know it. Get sample sizes if possible and try everything out; feel it, touch it, smell it, taste it, read about it or whatever is appropriate in order for you to know your product inside and out. If you are asked a question about a new product that you don’t know the answer to yet, find out. Don’t waste any time in getting the answer to your customer either. If you hesitate too long, you risk losing the customer’s confidence in you, not to mention potential sales!

3. Organizational Skills – A great consultant is one who is organized. This is a trait that can be learned by those who were not born with the gift of organization in their genes. Organization is important no matter what type of business you are in because it helps you become more efficient. You don’t want to appear in disarray to your customers. They will lose confidence in you if you can’t find a sales order form or don’t have your catalogs organized and ready for a show. Getting organized does take time, but once you get there it actually saves you time!

If you find it difficult to get things in order, find someone who enjoys organizational tasks to help you get organized. This can be a friend, family member or even a professional organizer, whatever it takes to get things in order. This person can help you organize your business files, products, brochures, customer files and receipts.

Getting yourself organized is the hardest part of the battle. It’s much easier to keep yourself organized once you get that way first. Don’t be afraid to ask your helper to teach you how to STAY organized too. It won’t do you any good to become organized just to make a mess of everything again in a week or two.

4. Manage Your Time Wisely – Time management is a skill every great consultant must own. Again, if you are not good at time management take some courses or have someone you know teach you how to manage your time effectively. Time management is so important in direct sales because you need to be punctual to your shows, when interviewing potential new recruits and so on. If you are continually late to shows, or worse, cancel shows because you’ve double booked your clients will lose their confidence in you and in turn, you’ll lose business.

5. Enthusiasm & Motivation – And the final trait every great consultant will possess is excitement and motivation. Have you ever been to a show where the consultant was dull and boring? Did you want to buy anything?

Being excited about what you’re doing and selling is one of the greatest “sales tools” you can possess. Your excitement will bubble over into your show and to your guests and they will be more likely to buy from you if you appear happy and excited about what you’re doing.

If you are not a naturally outgoing person, you can learn to overcome shyness by practicing being enthusiastic. You read right; you can learn to be enthusiastic about what you do. Think about what you do, what you sell. What really motivates you about the product, what do you love about it? Think about those things when you are showing the product and the enthusiasm will naturally come out. As I said in number two, knowing your product is important and goes hand in hand with being excited about it.

You can be a great consultant by learning these traits and putting them into practice in every area of your life. By doing so, they will become natural to you and your clients will trust and love you. This in turn will lead them to you over and over again when they need something. Not only that they will also recommend friends and family to you, helping grow your business.

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WAHM?

Just what do these letters stand for? WAHM stands for Work At Home Mom. Over the past 20 years, more and more women have come out of the workplace and gone back into the home.

The decision hasn’t been an easy one. It became apparent a long time ago that men were the only ones being allowed to “have their cake and eat it too.” They could pursue a corporate career and still come home in the evenings to the family.

Women with careers had a different path to follow. Besides working longer hours to achieve the same pay and credibility as their male counterparts, they also had to contend with the housework and the kids. After a long day at the office and doing the household chores, the kids sadly got what was left over which was usually a very worn out mother.

That has since changed. WAHMs are proving everyday that women can contribute to the family financial situation and nurture their families. Both online and off, a network of support has been created for any woman who wants to consider an option that will help them meet their needs.

How to get started?

When you talk to your family about the possibility you want to have an idea of the direction you will take. Check out sites like justaddsweat.com, internetbasedmoms.com and wahmtalknetwork.com. They offer helpful hints to moms getting started with a work at home enterprise and also a network of opportunities for connecting with other WAHMs.

If your income has been a big part of the monthly family finances, then switching to a work at home enterprise will cause your finances to take a hit. Be sure there is enough financial cushion in your bank account to weather the first six months of your new career. It will take time to establish your business.

Opportunities

First, figure out your interests and skills. WAHMs can find business opportunities to work for someone else doing everything from audio transcription to writing articles to accounting. Be aware that there are scams about and that legitimate companies looking for professionals won’t ask for money upfront from you.

Some WAHMs carve out their own niche and begin an online business. If you are skilled with crafting, you can create a website to promote your crafts and sell products. A blog is also another idea. Blog about your area of expertise and develop a following. Combine that with affiliate or search engine marketing to generate revenue.

Making it work

With new career comes the issue of balance between home and work. Just because you are home doesn’t mean you won’t need help around the house or time away from the kids in order to work. Consider these tips for creating a balance:

• Develop a set schedule for work and play on a weekly basis
• Discuss dividing up household chores between you, your spouse, and older kids
• Do pre-work such as fixing lunches, prepping breakfast, choosing clothing the night before
• Hire a babysitter once or twice a week
• Separate home office space inside the house

There are advantages to being a WAHM. Plan carefully and be patient. Support from your family makes all the difference.

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Yes, you do have many more hours at home than the person who holds down an out of the home job. But, because you are at home, there are so many more things and people demanding your attention. As a result, your time is stretched in too many directions. Groceries, volunteering, cleaning, meal preparation, child care, the list is endless.

In some ways, those with jobs can be envied. They know that work fills up a certain number of hours daily, so for those hours their only concern is their job. That’s not the case with the work at home mom. There are no clearly defined lines that designate specific tasks, so everything seems to run together, often with little sense of accomplishment.

Maybe we need to treat our home businesses as if they were jobs. Now it would be unrealistic to think that we would be able to spend a solid eight hours everyday, working on our ventures. Nevertheless, there might be a way to find a few hours to devote to our businesses, on a regular basis.

How about designating an hour or two in the morning or afternoon each day? Perhaps devoting a couple of hours each evening instead of watching TV or surfing the Internet is also possible. When you’re a work at home mother, weekends are not quite as hectic. With some cooperation from your spouse, you can probably get in a few quiet hours at the computer and still have quality family time.

Becoming a master at multi-tasking is another way to create some extra time for business pursuits. If your business involves a computer, in order to multi-task, a laptop is almost a necessity. That way you aren’t tied to one area of the house. You can keep your children company while they watch a favorite show or play a video game. Stir supper while keeping up with your eBay auction. Can you perhaps get a voice activated word processing program so that you can dictate email replies or other correspondence? Folding laundry, while reading a report or checking email, is definitely a bonus. The possibilities to multi-task are abundant if you just take the time to think about them and get creative.

Consider trading babysitting time a day or two a week with a friend. Use that solid block of time to work on tasks that require lots of thought and concentration. Save the routine tasks for other times.

It is possible to successfully run a business from home. It just takes some creative solutions. But hey, since you’re working at home and raising a family, creativity is probably your middle name.

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