Dear Archive Visitor, Happy Valentine's Day! If you've been reading my ezine, the Sales Refinery Insights, without the special formatting and pictures, my hat's off to you. But now you don't have to deal with that any longer. Nope. I have a little Valentine's gift for those of you who've been reading just a bunch of ugly old text. We've made it possible for you to click on a link as soon as you receive the Insights that takes you to a web page with all the formatting in place. I think you'll enjoy reading it much more, if you view it with the right formatting! Warning: This week's article is loaded but at first you may think it's not about you and your business. but hang in there and you'll have fun seeing what I'm showing you about the recruiting process.

Direct Sales Consultants Are Not the Only Ones Out There Recruiting By Tammy Stanley Two weeks ago one of my spinning instructors (remember Mr. Atlas from a my article two weeks ago? Yes, him) started handing out a flyer to all the class participants. When he first started talking about the flyer, I thought he was telling us how to sign up for the Ironman event in Arizona this April. Knowing I'm a lousy swimmer and that I have a foot injury and can't handle running right now, I basically stopped listening to him (A key point) - Prospects are not always listening. You can talk about your business opportunity or the hostesses opportunity and a prospect won't even bother paying attention to you. But that doesn't mean you cross her off your list!). Later when I read the flyer (Hold on a minute! Another key point - I read the flyer even though I wasn't interested. Interesting isn't it? You can have guests that attend a show, obviously aren't even paying attention to you when you talk about the hostess or business opportunity, and yet they still might end up reading the information you send home with them.), I realized then that he wasn't talking about entering the Ironman; he was talking about volunteering for it. Now that's something I could do, but I'll admit, I didn't want to, no matter what Mr. Atlas had to say about it (Yet another key point - prospects can make the decision that they are not interested and still be high probability prospects). The next time Mr. Atlas taught the spin class, he talked again about volunteering for the upcoming Ironman event ( Key point - don't assume that all prospects have heard what you've previously said). This time I knew what he was talking about so I actually listened. I heard about the station I'd get to be in if I did sign up - Runner's Aid Station #2 - the BEST Aid Station on the Course. I heard how to register and insure that I could be a part of Runner's Aid Station #2 - the BEST Aid station on the Course. About this time I actually felt my heart begin to open up. Quickly my mind gained control and said, "You're too busy. This is nuts. You hardly ever get a day to yourself. You're not volunteering for some Ironman event just because this guy is enthusiastic and it sounds like fun." Then, the unexpected happened. Mr Atlas dropped his entertaining spiel (I don't mean that in a condescending way, he really is entertaining) and said something straight from his heart. "It will really mean a lot to me if you sign up because for every 30 members that sign up, we get a community fund revenue of $500. I want to get at least 90 - 120 members signed up so we can raise $1,500 to $2,000 to give to the charity of our choice." Guess who made a decision that day to sign up as a volunteer for Ironman AZ 2008 on April 13? Well, at least I thought I made the decision that day. The truth is, however, when I went home I took another look at the flyer and decided to wait a little longer before signing up. Somehow from the time it took me to get through the spin class, clean up and drive home, I had started to find excuses not to jump on the band wagon just yet. Almost a week later, at a different spin class, our instructor announced that Mr. Atlas (okay, so his real name is Steve) was looking for volunteers for you know what. Then she said, "I know Ellen here (Ellen was directly in front of me) is going to be participating in that. It's her first Ironman, so let's all give her a hand right now." We all clapped. Wanting to recognize the cool Iron Woman in the room, I made a point to talk to Ellen after class. When I told her I was thinking of volunteering, she said, "OH, for Steve Elwell's Aid Station?" When I answered in the affirmative, she went on to tell me that she had volunteered the two years previously. She told me how incredibly fun it was, that she had to DRAG her teenagers away after seven hours of volunteering because they didn't want to leave. It was fun to hear about. Then the unexpected happened. She said, "It's the most inspirational thing I ever did for my kids. Now they look forward to volunteering in it every year. I'll have a bunch of family volunteering this year, so please join them, and get your kids to come too." That day I stayed for a short 30-minute core class, I cleaned up, I drove home, and I signed up as a volunteer for Ironman Arizona 2008. Yep. They recruited me. But remember how I dragged my feet, when it came to the actual registration commitment? Have you ever had a prospect tell she was going to join, but then she dragged her feet so long that she never did? Okay, now think about what pushed me off the fence of indecision - I heard from someone else besides Steve how it was so amazing to be a volunteer. This shows you the power of getting together with other consultants in your company. I always loved bringing guests to meetings because they would see people of different personality styles all having fun and experiencing success. It was almost inevitable that they would seek out someone like themselves to chat with. Oftentimes a prospect would make the commitment to join, once she heard that person give her testimonial. Even if she noticed a few people complaining, it seemed to only add to the believability that it was a legitimate business that had its set of challenges. Now, what if you don't have meetings in your area? No one's stopping you from having one in your own home. A couple months after I started my direct sales business, I met someone in the mall that was genuinely interested in learning more about my business. When I followed up with her, she agreed to meet with me for an interview. At the interview she became even more interested, but let's face it. She didn't know me. She'd just met me in a mall. She needed more proof. My sales manager's meeting was still another three weeks away, so guess what I did? I invited her to a small meeting in my home where she could meet a couple of other people from the company. She was delighted. When I got home from that meeting I called the only two recruits I had in the area and asked them to come. I also got on the phone and invited some other prospects. Within a few days, I held that meeting for two of my own recruits, my new prospect and one of my recruit's new prospects in my living room. Right after that meeting, my new prospect signed up and starting selling right away! What I'm telling you is that you can improvise, if everything isn't picture perfect in your area yet. Let me share with you one of my favorite sayings: "You don't have to get it perfect, you just have to get it going!" So let's review here: - The key is to understand it's only natural for prospects to need more than one little pep talk about how great it is to be a direct sales consultant in your company. - It's only natural for prospects to need more than a brochure to get them excited to hear more (but that can influence them to open their ears). - It's possible that a prospect can hear your same talk several times before she realizes that she wants to become a hostess or join you in the business. - And it's highly probable that a prospect will need more than just your perspective to convince her to sign on the dotted line. When you understand how natural it is for a prospect to need or want all of that, it will become natural for you to include all of that in your business. Ah! - Go forth and multiply! WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Author, Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker Tammy Stanley publishes the propelling 'Sales Refinery Insights' weekly ezine for direct sales professionals. If you're ready to jump-start your direct sales business, make more money, and create more value, get your FREE tips now at www.tammystanley.com/ezine/ezine_offer_ds.htm

Tammy Stanley, founded and directs The Sales Refinery, a sales training company that assists sales professionals to generate more business and build long-lasting sales teams through powerful marketing, selling and leadership strategies.

Tammy has been coaching and training since 1994 and has a deep understanding of the challenges and needs of the independent sales consultant. While raising four children, Tammy built a multi-million dollar direct sales organization, reaching her company's Circle of Excellence 7 consecutive years in a row. She earned numerous sales and leadership awards, world travel, and promoted 11 offspring managers.

The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery
Tempe, AZ 85283
Call Today: 480-775-4866
tammy@TammyStanley.com

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