BOOK SELL RECRUIT

Last time I told you I’d let you know about how to do a Mystery Hostess Party.  They can be a lot of fun and they can also provide you several bookings.  A Mystery Hostess Party is a way to get more bookings, whether you are just starting and don’t know many people, or you need bookings and don’t want to get on the phone to call people to get them.

You invite the guests and let them know that, even though you are hosting the party, those that attend will have their name put in a drawing and the name drawn will receive the hostess benefits.  They will also get their name in the drawing for each uninvited guest they bring with them.  If you don’t know many people in your area, you want to really encourage the people you do know to bring guests.

At the beginning of the party start by telling them one lucky woman will receive all the hostess benefits.  Hand out slips for them to put their name on and additional slips to those who brought guests.  During your presentation have reasons to put their name in the drawing again.  You could do things like:

• The first person who can come up with two different uses for a product gets to put her name in the drawing
• The first person who can find a specific product in the catalog gets her name in the drawing
• The first person who books a show with you gets to put her name in the drawing 3 times.  Everyone else who books a show gets her name in the drawing twice.
• A variation of the above, those that book for this month get their name in 3 times and those that book for next month get their name in twice
• Another variation is to give the first or the first two people who book a special item or else a certain amount of free items and those that book after that a little less – or “book today and receive this much in additional hostess benefits” for everyone who books
• Have a question and answer time about the benefits of booking a party.  If they ask a question they get their name in the drawing
• Have a question and answer time about the benefits of becoming a consultant.  If they ask a question they get their name in the drawing

Make it fun and find continuous reasons to put their name in the drawing.  When you are ready to take orders tell them those who purchase anything get their name in the drawing again, but with a $50  order they get their name in twice.

When it’s time to do the drawing have everyone do a drum roll and pull out a name.

I did this when I first started and I also did this as a “Hostess Only Party.”  A “Hostess Only Mystery Show” is when the guests have all been hostesses in the past.  This is a way to get those hostesses who didn’t rebook to do so.

Be creative.  Have fun.  And fill your calendar!

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

My husband, Mike,  was pretty worried about his job.  They had just had another round of lay-offs and he was pretty sure he would not survive a third round.  Sure enough, a few weeks later he was in the third wave of  layoffs from his agency. 

This was pretty frightening because I had also just lost my job due to cut backs in teachers.  Add to this my son had just graduated from high school and was planning to attend college in the fall.  We were in a situation of “No money Honey.”

Mike found a part-time job, and to help make ends meet, I decided to join a direct selling company.  I lined up my first bookings, practiced my presentation, and went out selling cooking gizmos.  I started because we needed the money.  I stayed because it was fun, I was making money, and building a team.

Then Mike found out from a friend about an opening at the agency she worked at.  He applied and got a full-time job in his field.  But!  That meant we would end up moving to the other side of the state.  Our friend was willing to help me out by having a party.  But one party is not the way to start your new business.  I needed to get more bookings!

So how did I go from one booking to having eight to twelve bookings a month?  I did vendor events.  I went to the local Chamber of Commerce and ask what was happening in the community where vendors would be welcomed.  That’s where I found out who the contact persons were for the county fair and the local home show.  I did both of those events and got some bookings.

I wore a shirt with my company’s name and logo every time I left my house.    Because I sold cooking gizmos I couldn’t very well pin a vegetable peeler onto my jacket!  But I could wear a shirt and that did lead to conversations with women when I went grocery shopping – which lead to bookings.

I started making friends and told them if they were ever invited to a selling party I’d love to go along as their friend, so they could get the free item the consultant gives away if you bring a friend.  At those parties I talked to that consultant about swapping parties.  I would do one for her if she was willing to do one for me.  I got a couple more bookings that way.

Can you tell I was extremely pro-active?  I lived by the ten little words, “If it is to be it is up to me.”  I also held a Mystery Hostess Show.  I’ll explain how to do one of those – next time!
Do you like what you read here and would like to share it with others?  Feel free to share any of Ruth’s posts but please include the following link:  Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

How do you get people to do what they need to do for their business?  How do you help them grow so your business can grow?  Motivating your team CAN be a challenge!  How do you do it?

Why did they join?  Why did they become recruits in the first place?  Was it to make some extra money?  Was it to be able to quit their full-time j-o-b?  Was it to stay home and raise their children?  Why did they recruit to begin with?

When conducting a recruiting interview, one of the questions you need to be asking the potential recruit is, “I’m curious, why are you interested in joining XYZ Company?  What do you hope to get out of this?”

I suggest you ask this for two reasons.  First, you’ll find out why they took your recruiting information and you’ll be able to address their needs.  We can go on and on about the trip we just earned because that is our current hot button.  The person sitting in front of you may well be terrified of flying and you earning a trip does absolutely nothing for her.  When you ask her, “I’m curious, why are you interested in XYZ Company?” you are getting at her hot button.  Now you know how to direct your answers to her questions.  Your results will be more recruits – and that’s a good thing!

But realize she is also telling you what is motivating her.  If she is responding, she needs an additional stream of income, she is telling you – she needs money.  Your job is to help her get the bookings she needs to be able to make that money.

If she tells you she is interested in replacing her j-o-b with being a consultant she is in need of, not only bookings, but recruits.  You’re job is to help her get both.

In other words, you use WHY they joined to motivate them to do what they need to do to get where they want to be.  You spend time with them teaching them how to do what they need to do.  When you conduct meetings you teach your consultants how to get more bookings, higher sales and how to create interest so people take their recruiting information.

At least once a year – better twice a year – find out what your consultants goals are for the next 6 to 12 months.  What do they want to achieve in the next six months in their business?  You can do this at a meeting and then have a brain-storming activity to help people come up with an action plan to achieve their goals.

In other words, until you know what motivates them, anything you are doing is a shot in the dark.  You’re guessing.  So if you want to know what motivates your team the easiest thing to do is to ask them!  It’s really that simple.  Ask them what it is they want out of their business.  Ask them what you could provide for them that they would be interested in working towards.

Why do we work towards the trip, the car, the jewelry our company offers?  Because we want it!  What would your team work to get?  Ask them.  Give them some suggestions and have them pick what they would like to earn if they reach a specific goal.  Some ideas would be:

• A gift certificate to a restaurant
• A spa experience
• Maid service for a day
• A piece of jewelry
• Business supplies

Do you need your team to get more bookings and hold more parties?  First you need to have a training on getting more bookings.  Then you need to offer them something they want to get them to participate, get out of their comfort zone, and motivate them to do it.

Sometimes you have team members at a distance.  If you have a local group and a group at distance from you hold two meetings.  One for the local consultants and one for the others.  When you are holding the meeting for the people at a distance from you do it as a conference call.  There are places on-line you can go to and set up group calls.  Google “free conference calls” and you’ll come up with a huge list of companies you can use.  Make sure there is not a charge to you to use their services.  It works just like a tele-seminar.  Everyone calls in to the same number. 

Motivating your team is simply taking the information you know about the people on your team and using it to help them achieve what they want.  When you help them achieve their goals – you reach your goals.

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

Wow!  So far you’ve received 9 different tips to get your name “out there” and get more bookings.  Here’s a few more.

Tip # 10:  One of the things I did every year was an open house with several other consultants, and all of the consultants were from different companies.  We had cooking gizmo’s, candles, clothing, decorating items, cosmetics and food.  We first met and came up with a date to hold the event, an invitation to be sent out to our individual customer base, signs to be placed to guide people to the house, and an ad to be placed in the local paper.

With six different companies being represented we had a lot of people we were sending invitations to.  If each of us had only 200 contacts that was over a thousand invitations going out.  Do you think if you have over a thousand invitations going out that you will have a significantly higher turn-out then you would if you have an open house, by yourself, and have only your 200 contacts to invite?  Each of us always had our own door prize to collect information on the people who came.

Tip #11:  Something else you want to consider is the different types of presentations you can do.  But as you come up with ideas for different types of shows you can be doing you need to realize you need to be telling the guests you do other things.  I remember a consultant saying to me she wished she did bridal showers.  She commented how many bridal showers I do, and she wanted a piece of that action.  But when I questioned her about it, it turned out she never mentioned the other types of shows  she could do.  Well, if they don’t know you do different types of parties they are never going to  book the other types of parties you can do.

Tip #12:  Offer your products or gift certificates for door prizes or for auctions for various charities.  If your local private school has an auction every year offer them a gift certificate and your catalog as something they could auction off.  Usually the items that are going to be auctioned off are displayed before the auction.  That gives people a chance to look through your catalog and see what kind of products you have to offer.  It’s another way of getting your name out there.

Tip # 13:    Does your company have fund raisers?  If they do, there are numerous groups within schools that do fund raising.  Go in and talk to the secretary and find out who does fund raising, and provide those teachers and coaches a flier about what you can offer.  Now a lot of people go into school offices and give their pitch for fund raisers.  Make yours stand out for the secretary by giving her a gift of one of your products.

Because my class always took a class trip we were constantly doing fund raisers.  It seems the secretary never mentioned a new fund raiser to me unless they bribed her with a gift.  Give the secretary one of your candles.  Get the idea?

So!  There we have it.  Thirteen ways, a baker’s dozen, of different things you can do to get more bookings.  And by the way, FYI, my dad, two brothers, and a nephew all had their own bakeries.

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

We’ve had tips 1 through 8.  Today you’ll receive tip number 9 which is all about vendor events.

Something you can do to get your name “out there” and get more interest in your business is to do vendor events.  A vendor event is simply when a number of people, with products to sell, get together at one event.  It might be the county fair or the local home show.  So find out when there are going to be vendor events in your area that your products would fit in with. 

A way to find out about vendor events,  if you live in a more rural area, is to go to your local chamber of commerce and ask them when the local festivals and events are being held and who the contact people are.  If you live in an urban area then go to your local convention and visitors center.  Now be aware that vendor events do charge you to set up a table so you need to decide how much money you’re willing to spend.   Some may charge as little as $50 and some may charge several hundred dollars.

Vendor events are going to get you away from family and friends.  Believe me when I say, no one ever makes a killing in direct sales by having their sister have three friends in for you to do your spiel to.  As well intentioned as your sister ( and mine) is, she has probably told all her friends to just show up – you really don’t have to buy anything.

So do a vendor event to get leads and bookings.  Bring with you:  catalogs, door prize slips, a door prize, your products, order forms, your calendar, signs, and a container for the door prize slips. 

On your signs you want to have something about recruiting.  You might want to say, “XYZ company is a ground floor opportunity and is looking for consultants in this area.  See me for details.”  Or you could simply have it say, “We’re Hiring.”  You want to have a sign about booking that has a vendor event special.  You can use the hostess special for the month if your company offers those, or else create your own.  I always had graduated specials.  I’d say something like. “Book a party today and have $500 in sales and receive this.  Have $750 in sales and receive this and that.  Have $1000 in sales and receive this, that, plus this too.”

You want to have an attractive display of your products and in a separate area a product as a door prize.  Better yet, have a gift certificate as a door prize.  Then, when you draw the winner you can ask her if she’d like to get more bang for her “gift certificate buck” by having a party and use the gift certificate to help pay for the items she’ll want at half-price or at discounted prices.

At the vendor event you want to be in front of your display.  Not every vendor event allows this – but if at all possible set up your display so you are in front of it.  This is vital because you want to be in contact with people.  If you can’t be in front of your display, then please, do not sit behind it.  That’s death to everything you want to accomplish.  Always be standing when there are people around.

Come up with something that will draw people into your booth.  I watched a consultant who sold skin care items ask people if they would like to try their hand cream.  As the people were rubbing the hand cream in, she talked to them about having a facial.  I watched a consultant play with a puppet which brought people to a stop to watch.  I gave away cookies.  What can you do to get people to stop and take a look and not just walk past?

Encourage people to fill out a door prize slip and tell them in order for it to qualify for the drawing they need to fill it out completely.  Now at the end of the vendor event you are going to need to go through all of those door prize slips.  If they have said no to booking and no to recruiting and have no products written in — toss the slip.  Then make sure you cross reference the slips to the people who have already booked.  It would be pretty embarrassing if you called someone and they had already booked a party with you at the vendor event!

Once you’ve eliminated the ones who said no and the ones you’ve already booked start calling the rest of the people.  You want to call them in this order:

• Anyone who said yes to recruiting
• Anyone who said yes to booking
• Anyone who said maybe to recruiting
• Anyone who said maybe to booking

When you call them simply say, “Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ company.  We met at the Home and Garden Expo this past week-end.  I noticed on the door prize slip that you indicated you’re interested in having a party.  (Remind her of your booking special) and then go into what works better for you the beginning of the week or the end of the week….

For people who said maybe on their slip say, “Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ company.  We met at the Home and Garden Expo this past week-end.  I noticed on the door prize slip you might be interested in having an XYZ party.  Do you have any questions about having a party that I could help you with?  Remind her of your special and go into what works better for you….

Be aware, very often people will mark they want a party or are interested in more information because they think that will make their slip stand out, and they’ll have a better chance at getting your door prize.  Assume the booking anyway.  If they don’t really want to have a party they’ll let you know.

One of the important aspects of doing a vendor event is to have the time in the next couple of days after the event to be on the phone talking to people.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been coaching people who have said to me, “Well, I did a vendor event a couple of months ago and I suppose I could try calling those people to see if they want to book.”  Are you familiar with the expression ” A day late and a dollar short?”  If you don’t follow up with people you meet at vendor events within a week of that event you are way too late and hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars short.

Would you like to share this post with others?  Feel free to do so but please keep the following link with the post.  Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com

Here we go with two more party plan selling booking tips!  Here’s a suggestion for wording to use when you are getting on the phone to call people to book a party in your direct selling business.

Tip #7:  Sometimes we have to get on the phone and call people to get some bookings.  Numerous consultants have told me they hate getting on the phone to get bookings.  The reason they hate it so much is because they don’t know what to say to people on the phone to get them to book.  Sometimes you may feel like you are begging people to have a party for you, or, you don’t know who to call.  But you know what?  You really don’t have to call your family and friends and beg them to have another party for you.

So let’s look at who to call and what to say.

First off, you have got to use door prize slips.  I always considered the door prize slip to be my secret weapon.  Besides having the question about “Do you want to host an XYZ party” you should also have a question asking, “Are there any products you would be interested in if they ever go on special.”  Make sure you have the word special and not sale.

Now let’s say your company decides to make Product A a hostess special.  What we usually do is let everyone know at this month’s parties that next month there is a great special on Product A, if they just book a party.  But you have all kinds of people who have told you  on door prize slips they are interested in Product A if it ever goes on special.  So get on the phone and start calling those people.  That call would sound like this:

Hi Mary, this is Ruth from XYZ company, we met at Sally’s when she had her XYZ party.  Do you have a couple of minutes for me to tell you about a special XYZ is having on Product A?  I noticed the night of Sally’s party you had written on your door prize slip you would be interested in that product if it ever went on special.  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.  Just by having your own party you can receive Product A  (Then tell her about the special).  Then add:  plus you can take advantage of our hostess program to get all the other things you’re interested in.  Mary, is this something you would be interested in taking advantage of?

She might say, “No, I don’t do parties.”  And that’s okay.  Just write on her door prize slip that she is a sale person not a special person.  But —- she might say yes!

Tip #8:  You can also use the door prize slip to offer people a booking special of your own creation.  If you need bookings, go through your door prize slips and match what you are willing to give someone for booking, to what they have written down.  When you are offering your own special the wording is the same.  You don’t say things like:  “I’m having a special” or “”I’d like to offer you this item if you book a party with me.”  That’s what makes you look like you are out of bookings and are desperate.  That’s when getting on the phone gets uncomfortable.  So when you have your own special just use the wording in tip #7.

Want to share this with others?  Feel free to do so but please keep the following link with it.  Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

Tip #5:  Use a door prize slip at your presentation to gather information about the guests.  When you use a door prize slip do it with them.  In other words, read it out loud to the guests.  The first question is usually, “Would you like to host your own XYZ party?”  Ideally that should be followed with the words:  yes, no, and maybe.  Once you read it to them say, “If you are interested in having your own XYZ party go ahead and mark yes.  If you have questions about having an XYZ party mark “maybe” and we’ll talk later.”

Very often people are interested in having a party but they aren’t sure of something.  They may have never had a selling party before and don’t know what is expected of them.  They may be embarrassed to ask a question in front of the group.  So by providing them a safe environment to ask their question you’ll receive more bookings.  They might ask you questions like, “I live in a different town.   Are you willing to travel that far to do one of these?”  “Do I have to have the party right away?  I’m redoing my kitchen right now and I wouldn’t want to have it until the kitchen is finished.”  “Can I have the party with my sister?”  Aren’t these all questions you can easily change from a maybe to a yes?

Tip #6:  Always ask your current hostess – the person whose show you are  closing at this moment – if she would like to have another party with the new catalog or a year from now.  How fun is it to book a show and then open your calendar a year from now to discover half the hostesses you had last year want another party?  When you call them the phone call is going to sound llike this:

Hi Sally, this is Ruth from XYZ company.  Do you believe it’s been a year since your party?  At the end of your party you booked to have another one at this time.  I can’t wait to show you and your friends all the new things XYZ has come out with.  You are just going to fall in love with them like I did.  Sally, what works better for you the beginning of the week or the end of the week?  Then get a date on your calendar.

Did you notice how I assumed the booking?  Did you notice how I assumed she is a woman of her word?  Always assume the booking.  Don’t ask them if they still want to have the party.  That gives them the opportunity to back out on you.   They might back out on you anyway, but why open the door for them to do that?

Here’s a way for you to take control of your calendar.  What happens when they tell us they want a party?  We get all kinds of excited and say, “When do you want your party?”  What we have done is given the potential hostess control of our calendar.  Now what I’m about to tell you works whether you are booking in person or over the phone.  To do this you need to know in advance what days you want to work.  So let’s say you want to work on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Someone tells you they want a party so say to them, “What works better for you, the beginning of the week or the end of the week?”  So let’s say she says the beginning of the week.  Then you say, “What works better for you, a Monday or a Tuesday?”  She responds, “Tuesday.”  Now when do you want her to have her party?  The closest Tuesday to tonight’s party right?  So let’s say you have Tuesday February 2nd open and also Tuesday February 23rd open.

Use the right kindof calendar.  You don’t want to have your business calendar be a calendar like the kind that hangs in your kitchen.  You want a calendar with pages in it like a book.  Start flipping through your calendar and say, “Tuesday, Tuesday.  I must have a Tuesday open.”  Do a lot of hemming and hawing.  Do a lot of page flipping.  Then say, without giving her eye contact, “Ummmmmm, I could squeeze you in, yeah, I could squeeze you in on Tuesday February 23rd.”  Keep flipping pages.  Then get to February 2nd and giving her your brightest smile say, “Oh!  This is perfect.  I have Tuesday February 2nd open.  How does that work for you?”

Which date do you think she is going to take?  She doesn’t want to be squeezed in.  She wants the date that is perfect.  Part of the psychology of booking is the guest, the potential hostess, wants to feel in control of when she is having her party.  And you, the consultant, want to be in control of when you work.  By doing the wording I suggest you are in control of when you work but you are working off of her responses – so she feels like she is in control.  It’s a win-win.

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

You received tips one and two yesterday.  Today I’m sharing tips three and four with you.

Tip #3:  What are you doing during your presentation to increase bookings?  Many consultants play a game called Stack the Hostess.  Very often you’ll take tonight’s hostess or someone you hope will book, and you stack them with various products they could get free IF they have a party.  Instead of doing that – what would happen if you found out from your hostess if your former hostess, the person whose show she booked off of,  is going to be there. 

When you are doing introductions and you get to the former hostess, make a fuss over her.  Let everyone know she is a special person to you.  I would say, “Lisa is a very special person to me because Lisa is one of my beautiful hostesses.”  Then I would say, “Lisa, do you remember what you received just by having an XYZ party?”

Now when you do this you need to come prepared with what she received when she was a hostess.  Very often they will respond, “Oh I got lots of stuff.”  Or they might start listing some of the things they received.  As she is telling everyone what she received you want to have those items there and start stacking her or making a display of the things that she received.  After the former hostess and you have shown the group everything that she received then give the statistics of her show. 

You do that by saying, “Lisa had 10 guests with two bookings.  Because of that Lisa received two hundred and eighty-five dollars worth of products and she paid only $79.68.”   Elongate the first number – that makes it sound bigger.  Give the second number, how much she actually paid, as quickly as you can say 79 — 68.  That makes that number seem smaller. 

Then give Lisa your best smile and say, “Lisa, was it worth your time and effort to have an XYZ party?”  All eyes are on her and what is she going to say?  She’s going to say, “Oh it was really fun!”  And what is everyone else thinking?  “Wow!  You really do get a lot of stuff when you have one of these parties.”  You’re still doing introductions and you’ve already given a major reason for them to start thinking about booking their own show.  What you have done is taken Staking the Hostess out of the hypothetical – this is what you MIGHT GET if you have a party and put it into reality – this is what someone you know DID RECEIVE just by having a party.

Tip #4:  Start your presentation with your highest priced item.  So often we don’t show our highest priced item because we think people won’t spend that much money at a selling party.  But our companies make those higher priced items available to use as a booking tool.

By showing it first, and then letting them know how they can get it under your hostess program for free or for a significantly reduced price, you’re encouraging them to book to get that expensive item.  When you show that item first it gives them the rest of the time they are there to decide if they are going to just buy it outright or if they are going to book a party to get it.

When you show your highest priced item last, what happens is they look at it, they might like it – they might even like it a lot – but they aren’t going to change their order to purchase it.  They also seldom decide, at the last minute, to book to get it.  Even though you have told them several times how they can book to get items they like at reduced prices or for free, they really don’t connect the dots to what they want and getting it free!

When I started doing stack the hostess during introductions and followed that by showing my highest priced item first I was getting three, four, and even five bookings at each and every party.  If you seriously want to increase your bookings try combining these two tips!

You are welcomed to share this post with your upline, your downline and your friends who are also in direct sales.  Please include the following:  Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com

 I was doing a show and at the end of it one of the guests, Nikki, came up to me and said, “I’m so excited to be here tonight.  I moved up here about a year ago, and I was afraid I wouldn’t have a way to get my favorite products.  Could I book a party?”  The night of Nikki’s party, just as I was about to leave my house, the phone rang.  It was a consultant in the same company that I was in but she was not a part of my team.  The consultant wanted to know if I would mind if she attended Nikki’s party so she could observe my presentation.  Being curious, I asked her how she knew I was doing a show for Nikki.  The consultant responded, with an embarrassed giggle, “Well, I’ve been baby-sitting Nikki’s kids since she moved up here and she wasn’t aware I sell these products, so she invited me to her party tonight.”

Now think about that.  Nikki had been looking for a consultant who sold these particular products, and she was bringing her children, five days a week, to a woman who sold the exact products she was looking for!  What’s wrong with this picture?

TIP # 1:  Let everyone you come in contact with know what you sell.   Have your products out in your home.  The same with your catalog.  Wear your products and if you have products you can’t wear, than wear a shirt with the company name and logo on it.  I’ve gotten bookings at the grocery store simply because I was wearing a t-shirt with the company logo on it.  Decorate your home with your products.  Bring your products to the potluck you’re going to, or your dish to pass inside of the products you sell.  Be creative – and get your products in front of people.

TIP# 2:  Have your elevator pitch memorized and be ready to give it.  An elevator pitch is simply a 20 to 30 second comment that answers the question, “What do you do?”  Do you respond by taking the easy way out and saying, “I’m a teacher.”  “I’m a secretary.”  “I’m a social worker.”  “I’m a waitress.”  Or are you ready with your elevator pitch?  “I show people how to decorate their home in unique and stylish ways.”  “I show people how to take their family photos and create treasured memory books.”  “I enable people to solve their weight and health issues.”

I SHOW PEOPLE

I HELP PEOPLE

I ENABLE PEOPLE

are all ways you can start your elevator pitch, and they encourage people to ask you questions.  If you would respond, “I’m a teacher” aren’t people going to ask you, “What do you teach?”  If you respond, “I show people how to decorate their home in a unique and stylish way” aren’t they going to ask you questions around that, too?  So come up with a couple of sentences that tell what you  do and create interest in the listener to ask you for more information.

Feel free to share this post with friends, upline, or downline.  Please keep the following link attached:  Reprinted with permission of Ruth Fuersten http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq

We’ve talked about recruiting your hostess and developing interest among the guests.  But are there other ways to find recruits?

Yes there are!

My mentor, Mike Litman, made the comment that the 20th century was about selling but the 21st century is all about developing rapport first and selling second.

So what does that mean for you?

Frequently companies will encourage you to look for potential recruits while you’re out and about.  So often we are told to give the waitress our card and ask her if she would be interested in an additional steam of income.  Ditto for the cashier at the gas station or grocery store.

But when you think about it – what would your reaction be if you were checking groceries at the local market and every direct sales consultant who comes through your line gives you their business card and tells you they know how you can make more money?  Wouldn’t you start getting a little frustrated?

How about developing a rapport with that person instead?  Make yourself memorable to her.  Could you comment on her work or how you appreciate the little extras she does for you?  Could you tell her she is your favorite checker at the grocery and you always try to get into her line?

In other words, develop a relationship with her before you start talking about your company.  Everyone else has given her a business card and tried to pry her phone number out of her.  You, on the other hand, have taken an interest in her, first, and in your business second.   Which approach would you respond to?  Which one do you think she will respond to?

Who do you know that knows a lot of people?  In order to achieve what I wanted to achieve I needed one more recruit.  Very honestly I was out of ideas.  But then I ran into Mary.  I think Mary knew everyone in town.  She was active in several community organizations and she was also a popular insurance agent.  So when I ran into her that day I asked her who she knew that would enjoy doing what I do.  Mary responded, “Let me think about that.”  The very next day Mary called and said, “My friend Jane is very interested in hearing what you have to say.  Here’s her phone number, she’s waiting for your call.”  And yes, Jane did recruit.

Do vendor events.  Vendor events are great for getting your name and your company “out there.”  They are also fabulous for getting more bookings and more recruits.  But when you do a vendor event make sure you are standing in front of your display.  Don’t sit on a chair behind your table.  That’s not very welcoming!  Use a door prize drawing slip and encourage people to fill it out completely to qualify for the drawing. 

On that door prize slip you want to have: 

• Are you interested in hosting an XYZ party? 
• Are you interested in more information about the XYZ opportunity?      

Do you know someone who has recently lost their job or their spouse has lost their job?  Have you talked to them?  When you talk to her, make sure your interest is on her and what her needs are.  Not on yourself and what a new recruit will mean for you.

We feel uncomfortable recruiting when we try to get someone to do what we want them to do.  Instead, focus on the needs of the person you are talking to, and your comfort level in recruiting will significantly increase.

And realize what you are offering when you talk to someone about recruiting.  Aren’t you giving them the opportunity to own their own business?  Aren’t you offering them the chance to make an unlimited income?  Don’t you owe it to people to give them the opportunity to join your team?

Want to share this post with your team or other direct sellers?  Feel free to do so but please include the following:  Reprinted with permission of  Ruth Fuersten at http://www.booksellrecruit.com/sq