Direct Selling June 2008

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Karen Phelps, Direct Selling Expert teaches you to "raise the bar" for yourself and your team! To hire Karen for your next event e-mail: Karen@Karenphelps.com

Karen's Monthly Audio Message
 

Quote for the month: "When you keep your heart and your mind open, your life becomes a magnet for unlimited possibilities." ~ Karen Phelps

In this Issue:  - 3 Simple Steps to Building Customer and Hostess Loyalty -
Secrets to Summer Scheduling Teleseminar - Help Karen Name Her New Book - "Ask Karen Phelps Part 2" Teleseminar Replay - 5 simple Steps to Achieve Self-Confidence - Share this Newsletter

If you are looking for a great way to send E-newsletters to your team and or your Hostesses and Customers Check out Constant Contact. Build your database and begin sending monthly newsletters to Hostesses, customers, consultants and your down line. This program is easy to use!!! Click on the Constant Contact link to find out more.

3 Simple Steps to Build Customer and Hostess Loyalty

Have you ever wondered how loyal your Hostesses and Customers are to YOU? Most consultants in Direct Selling are "scared to death" of losing their customers and Hostesses to their competition. The truth is we are all in competition to attract and retain customers and Hostesses who will become loyal to our products, our company and ourselves.

Worrying will NOT help retain your customers and Hostesses? Your customers and Hostesses need to know WHY when it comes to purchasing your product or hosting a party for the products your company provides YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON they should do business with.

I want you to think about how your favorite stores market to you. Do you have a store that you frequently purchase from? Do they have a customer loyalty program? How do they contact you? How often do they contact you? What type of offers do they use to get you into the store? Do their offers have up sells?

Now I want you to think about what steps you have in place to keep your valuable clients! What???? You don't have anything in place! How do you expect your customers and Hostesses to return to you when you haven't maintained contact?

Here are a few simple steps I used over the years to build and maintain Customer and Hostess and how you can use today's technology to increase your loyalty.

1. Acquire the Information for ALL the Guests in Attendance. Yes, I mean everyone who attended your party not just those who purchased. How do you make sure you get the information for every guest in attendance? I used "pink index cards" to collect the information. I provided every customer with a folder that included a catalog, customer special information, Information about the Hostess program, an order form, a "pink index card" and a pen. I let them have this packet as soon as they arrived. I didn't worry about someone looking through the catalog before the presentation because even if they did see things before the party began I knew they were going to be "Wowed" by the products when I was done showing them.

At the beginning of the presentation I asked every guest to take out her "pink index card" and write down her name, address, daytime and evening phone number and the best time to call. Now you need to also ask for their email address. I would also ask them to write the Hostesses name in the upper right had corner (which helped me to identify who's party she attended). At the end of my presentation after I played part one of the "Sponsoring Game" (which is part of the It's a Party Out There program) I asked the guests to take the "pink index card" they had completed and answer the questions to Part 2 of the Sponsoring Game. After both parts of the Sponsoring Game were completed I then collected ALL the cards and drew one for a door prize gift. Now instead of having the information for only the purchasing guests I had the information for everyone in attendance.

With the new "anti-spam" laws in existence today I would let them know you love to provide special news and tips as well as special offers and discounts periodically and if they do not want to receive this information to write No on their card. Everyone who does not write NO can then be added into your customer data base.

2. Build a Customer Data Base. I am constantly amazed at how few consultants keep a list of contacts. I did, even in the early days when all I had was several boxes of file cards! At least I knew who I was going to mail things to! There are several program that now allow you to easily build one or more data bases. You can use Microsoft Outlook Business Contact Manager which is part of Microsoft Office Ultimate package or you can use a separate data base program (I use ACT.)

3. Consistently Send Informational Newsletters. What type of information can you provide your customers? Are there new tips, recipes, suggestions for use, ways to save time? Ask yourself, "what do my customers want to know?" Your customers want to know, "how to save time, how to save money, how to increase value, how to improve quality, how to do just about anything better! Become the "Expert" at "How to." With every newsletter you send include monthly customer specials, monthly Hostess Specials, coupons, etc., anything that will give your customer a "reason to act now."

Newsletters can easily be sent electronically. I use for my newsletters because of how "Easy it is!" It's easy to create several different databases for your customers, Hostesses, Team members if you are a leader, and I love the variety of templates they provide to help create announcements and newsletters. You can click on the link above to find out more about this awesome program.

Because not everyone opens their emails, you will want to periodically send a mailing to your contact list. This mailing should also include "How to information" along with special offers and/or coupons!

Your customers won't mind hearing from you often as long as you are providing them with information! Those people who are bothered by your marketing attempts

These are just a few of the things you can do to create loyalty and I will be teaching you lots more about keeping your customers, getting referrals, publicity and how to get it, marketing and how it works, and lots of other ways to build your Direct Selling business on our Membership websites. Watch for the launch of our "Inner Circle" and "Gold Plus Tele-Coaching" in the next few days!

"Secrets to Summer Scheduling Teleseminar"

Are you ready to blast into Summer with a calendar filled with bookings and guest lists back for Hostesses who can't wait to have you come and share your products and expertise with their friends and family?

When it comes to scheduling parties in the summer it's "all about the experience!" You need "true grit and determination" to keep you calendar full all summer long which will help you become unstoppable this fall! Great News for YOU!

"Hi Karen, You Rock! I just wanted to say that I listened to your conference last night on summer scheduling and woke up this morning so pumped I can't stand it. I love your ideas and think you are a brilliant woman. You are so motivational I can't stand it! Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!"~ Beth Lassen

We will be holding "Secrets to Summer Scheduling" Teleseminar on Tuesday, May 20'th at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, 8:00 p.m. Central, 7:00 p.m. Mountain, 6:00 p.m. Pacific!

We want you to be on this call and if you are a leader you can't afford not to invite every member of your team to join us for this information-packed jam session that will help you and your consultants have the best summer sales of their career!

The number to call is (616) 883-8400 pin 481899594# Make sure you call in early as lines are limited!

"Never Run Out of Bookings"

How many times have you sat at home watching the television when you were supposed to be out holding a party. Well that is if you had one! Were you watching the stars of "American Idol" pursue their dreams instead of working on reaching your dream?

Karen has helped more people take control of their calendar. She not only helps you to schedule parties when YOU want to work, she'll give you so many ideas on how to get the bookings that if you implemented them all you would have to sponsor new people into the business because you could not do all the parties by yourself! She also is a master at showing you how to have more people in attendance at your parties.
You will learn how to book more parties, keep them in close and have more people in attendance! Boost your summer sales with this bundle.
Included in this Bundle are:
1. It's a Party Out There Workbook
2. It's a Party Out There DVD
3. It's a Party Out There 2-CD set
4. Build Your Bookings CD
5. Increase Your Party Attendance CD

Full Retail $160  Click here to learn more about this package
Special Package Price $117

Click Here to Order the
Never Run Out of Bookings Package

Help Karen Name Her New Book

I need your help! I'm busy writing an information packed book for Direct Sellers and I need help coming up with a title! If you'll take a few minutes to take a survey you could be chosen as one of the 20 lucky winners who will receive a Free Copy of my new book once it's released!

Also, if you have been using some of my systems to grow your business and would be interested in giving an endorsement for the book please email support@Karenphelps.com to let us know and we will contact you at the appropriate time.

Thanks for your help and we look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Click Here to Take Survey

Ask Karen Phelps Part 2 Teleseminar Replay

5 Simple Steps to Achieve Self-Confidence

Have you ever met someone and thought to yourself, “Wow, what incredible self-confidence this person has? How's your self-confidence? Do you often find yourself second-guessing your decisions?

Some people just seem to have a very self-confident personality, while others struggle with low self-esteem. Chances are you have accomplished a lot more than you have given yourself credit for. You probably have had to muster up some "courage" every now and then and didn't think much about it. It's not hard to gain self-confidence developing self-esteem is something you will need to work at every day! Here are five simple techniques to improve your level of self-esteem.

1. Take inventory. Go back as far as you can and make a list of everything you have accomplished in your life. As you are listing your past achievements you’ll notice your mood will life and you’ll begin to have a feeling of pride. Keep the list visible and add to it as often as you can!
2. Give yourself a “Check-up from the neck-up”. If you have low self-esteem, chances are your mental attitude isn’t great either. Keep track of your thoughts about yourself each day. If you find yourself thinking negatively about something, stop and immediately change it to a positive. For instance: when you find yourself wondering how you’ll get the project done on time; stop and immediately change your thoughts to, “I’m fully capable of turning this project in on time!” Stress is a great inhibitor and often the more worried we are, the less we accomplish.
3. Don’t let others dump garbage in your head. Is there someone at your office who never has anything good to say about anyone or anything? In the past I have had to limit the amount of time I spend with certain individuals. For me it’s hard to be around negative, pessimistic people that only feel good when they are bringing others down. We acquire our mannerisms and attitudes by observing those around us. Surround yourself with optimistic confident individuals and what the change in you! It's been said, "garbage in, garbage out" but Nido Quebin says, "garbage in, garbage stays and multiplies and grows."
4. Be a Kid Again. Children laugh an average of 400 times a day. As an adult, we laugh approximately 15 times a day. It’s sad to think that as we grow older we lose 385 laughs a day. Lighten up! Look for humor in every situation and you’ll be surprised how great you’ll feel.
5. Live with Passion and Purpose. Self-confident people not only have goals, they have a zest for life. Set personal and career goals for yourself and follow up with a written plan. Don’t dwell on the past but look forward to the future and all that life has to offer.

“Passion is a key ingredient to the study and practice of life! It is with passion, courage of conviction and a strong sense of self that we take our next steps into the world. Remembering, that first impressions are not always correct. Remembering that first you must always have faith in people, and most importantly, you must always have faith in yourself.” From Legally Blonde

Follow these five simple steps and within a few months not only will you notice the change in yourself so will the others around you. They’ll be whispering about you and envying the remarkable “self-esteem” you display!
 

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This newsletter is copyrighted © May 2008 by Karen Phelps & Phelps Positive Performance  Inc. , www.Karenphelps.com Do you want to use this article on your website? You can as long as you use this COMPLETE CREDIT with it. Author and Direct Selling Success Expert, Karen Phelps publishes a "Direct Selling Success E-Zine" that provides simple tips and solutions for success! If you are ready to get faster results and bigger paydays click here to register for your personal free subscription!