The Reality of Direct Sales

Ok, so I am about to tell you the real deal about direct sales (or Multi-level marketing – whatever you want to call it). If you are looking for someone to tell you that it is easy and that it requires little to no effort, you may as well close this window now. Direct sales is not easy. Simple? Yes. Easy – no. Understanding this fact is critical if you want to achieve real success with direct sales. How do I know? Because this is what I do. If you are considering going into direct sales, you should definitely keep reading. It will give you the chance to start your business with the right mindset. If you are new to direct sales or have been in it for a while and have not seen the results that you want – here’s your chance to maybe see what you can do to turn that around.

Ok, so the first thing I want to say is this: Success in direct sales requires 5 things.

1.    Hard Work. Yes, you will have to work hard to achieve results. They are not just going to fall into your lap. People are not going to chase you down to get your products and services. At least not at first. That comes after you have put in the time and energy to build your business and your reputation. You will have to hustle to make direct sales work for you. But, you know what, if it came easy to you, you wouldn’t appreciate it as much. Knowing that you EARNED your success makes all the difference in the world. That sense of accomplishment can actually motivate you to push harder and reach higher.

2.    Dedication- If you want to be successful in direct sales, you have to be dedicated to what you are doing. You have to have a passion for it. This is something that you should consider when deciding on which company you will choose to align yourself with. Choose a company that you would actually enjoy working for. A company that offers products and services that you have an interest in (because if you don’t, tell me -- how you are going to sell them?). A company whose mission statement you believe in. Don’t join a company just because it’s the “in” thing to do or because your best friend since forever is doing it. Choose a company that, at the end of the day, you are devoted to and can be proud to represent.

3.    Commitment. Ok, so I know you are probably thinking “This child is a little slow. Dedication and commitment are the same thing”. Ok, so maybe TECHNICALLY they are synonymous with each other. However, think of it this way: you can be in a relationship with someone that you love dearly. They could be an awesome person and you love being with them and enjoy your relationship. You are a DEDICATED boyfriend or girlfriend. However, you may not be ready to make the COMMITMENT of marriage. It’s the same thing with direct sales. You have to be committed to your business. You have to always be willing to take it to the next level. That means committing to constant growth. Never settling – always striving to reach just a little bit further. To be a little bit better. Giving it your all. If you don’t give it your all, you won’t reap all of the benefits. Period.

4.    Perseverance. I’ll be honest…direct sales can serve you a mighty bitch slap sometimes. The highs are great and the lows make you want to crawl off somewhere, wrap your arms around your knees and just sob until you can’t anymore. There will be times when your business will become stagnant. When it hits the wall – hard. You will feel like giving up. But that’s when you should work your hardest. You can’t give up every time things get tough. Because, trust me, everyone goes through those tough times. Even the best of the best. But, you know, they wouldn’t have become the best if they had given up when things became difficult. As I said before, sticking with it during the hard times makes the good times even better.

Now, while we are talking about perserverance, I HAVE to talk about the concept of rejection. YOU WILL BE TOLD NO. A lot. Accept that. Not everyone is going to be interested in your company or what you have to offer. Some people may even be outright against it. Clients and recruits are not going to fall into your lap. You have to seek them out and cultivate them.

It may seem crude, but you have to view people like weeds and flowers. The weeds are the people who are not interested in what you are offering. The weeds are the people who express interest initially and then decide not to pursue it. The weeds are even the people who join your team for a season and then die out. What you have to be on the lookout for are the flowers.  The people who take the seeds that you plant and grow. The people who eventually help to spread those seeds and grow your business. The people who are as serious about the business opportunity or products/services as you are. The thing is, sometimes you can’t tell the difference between the weeds and the flowers. The flowers have to be cultivated properly or they will never bloom. So you have to persevere through all of the no’s until you get the maybe’s. And then keep working until those maybe’s become yes’s. If you give up because you hear “no” a lot, you will never get to the yes’s.

5.    Time. You HAVE to put in time to see results. Direct sales is not something you can get into for 3 months and expect for everything to magically be super awesome and you be able to retire at 35. It takes time to build your business. Time to learn about the business and the products. To learn the ropes and perfect your technique. To build and maintain your client base. To build and maintain your team. Generally speaking, it takes six months before your business will really start to pick up. So if you are going to get into a direct sales business, be willing to commit at least 9 months- 1 year to working it before you decide it is not for you. And if you choose a business that you are passionate about, then that should not be an issue, right?

Another thing (the most important thing): you have to treat it like a job. If you treat it like a hobby, you will make “hobby” money. Treat it like a job and you can experience the full potential of direct sales. And that means putting in time. If you are only working your business a few hours a week, your income probably reflects that. If you can go several days without doing anything in your business, I bet your business isn’t where you want it to be. You should be putting in time EVERY SINGLE DAY working your business. Marketing. Talking to people. Reaching out to clients. Training. Your business should be a priority in your life. Only when you make it a priority will you experience the success that makes direct sales such a great source of income and freedom for so many people.

So there you have it, the truth behind direct sales. You can make tremendous amounts of money in this field. You can experience financial and personal freedom. You can watch your dreams come true one by one. But you have to work for it. If you are looking for a way to make direct sales work for you, feel free to message me for suggestions and support. I’m always eager to help other people to pursue their dreams and make them a reality. :D

Until next time,

Tiffany Hathorn --- Single Mommy Warrior

Planning Ahead

So...one thing about me is that I have HORRIBLE time management skills. I manage to get things done, but am usually more than a little bit rushed when it comes to meeting deadlines. You can imagine how difficult it must be, then, to manage everything that I have to do during the day/week. In case you haven't read my other posts I:

1. Am a single mom to a 20 month old son. He is VERY active, inquisitive and (let's face it) a mama's boy. I'm not quite sure HOW  he came to be so spoiled, but there ya have it. He demands my attention all the time. All. The. Time. Yeah.

2. Am a "fulltime" grad student. Meaning I take at least one class each quarter towards my M.S. in Counseling psychology. I began the program at the end of 2009. I started off taking two classes, but switched to one when I started my 3rd trimester. Then I took a semester off when I had Christian. So, almost 3 years later, here I am slowly plugging away at these classes. Technically I only need one more class and my final project as far as coursework. However, I also have to fit in two residencies before I can graduate. But it's kind of hard to get childcare for Christian for 2 weeks (not to mention airfare and lodging costs) soooooo....here we are. Still in school. But, to be honest, my focus is on being a mom and at this point finishing grad school is more about actually accomplishing that goal than it is about actually finishing it for a purpose. I don't plan on giving up my SAHM (stay at home mom for those of you not in the know) status for a while. If, however, I can acquire a teaching position at an online school, I would take it.

3. Run a couple of businesses that allow me to pay the bills and stay at home. I am a Pure Romance consultant (this has traditionally provided the larger chunk of income, although now that summer has arrived, it has been lagging tremendously), a Beachbody coach, and a freeance writer (I ghostwrite for a website). I am also working on a couple of other passive/residual streams of income.

4. Am a budding homeschooling mom. Although most of my curriculum focuses on learning through play, I am actively working on several themes with Christian (letters, numbers, colors, shapes, foreign language, and body parts).

It's a lot to juggle. And sometimes I drop a ball. Or two. Or three. It's not easy. By any means. So...this is me trying to hold myself accountable. Starting tomorrow, the following will be our schedule:

7am: Wake up, pray, mentally prepare self for onslaught of the day, hope that Christian stay asleep for a bit longer. Exercise for at least 30 minutes.

8am: shower and have breakfast (usually Shakeology), hope that Christian stays asleep for a bit more while scarf down breakfast. Cook Christian's breakfast (or pour directly from box into bowl, depending on how feeling). Check Facebook and email.

8:30/8:45- wake Christian and feed him breakfast

9am: Throw Christian into first thing hands touch (maybe have to change it after stepping outside. On second thought, try to check the weather night before and set out clothes ahead of time)

9:08 (in case he fights/runs/poops diaper directly after I change him, shoes mysteriously disappear, etc.)- playtime. Activity depends largely on Christian's mood. Potential activities: banging on keyboard; building with blocks; throwing blocks; reading books; listening to Christian try to tell me what is happening a book -- backwards; keeping Christian from destroying books; arts and crafts, keeping Christian from creating art on doors, walls, my pants leg; trying to identify body parts, alphabet, numbers, animals, colors, etc.; spend 5 minutes pointing around the room calling everything the word of the day; dancing around the house with mad abandon to random music; screaming at the top of our lungs; crying for no apparent reason; going to library/park, etc

11am: Go through the cabinets/fridge to figure out what to make for lunch. Decide on the easiest thing. Hope that Christian eats it and doesn't yell out No! and pitch it across the room with a skill that makes me sure that if he can get over the clumsy genes he apparently inherited from me he will make a great pitcher or quarterback. Feel triumphant when he gives his stamp of approval with a prolonged "mmmmmm".

11:30-  Begin our daily fight: naptime and fervently hope that Christian does not win; Scarf down my own lunch.

12pm: Attend to business and school. Probably in that order. Make phone calls. Send out emails. Update blogs. Check and reply to emails. Compose and post classroom discussions. Compose articles for ghostwriting gig. Listen to business development cds/webinars/teleconferences. Be distracted by Facebook several times -- stopping to respond to any pertinent newsfeed happenings. Be productive! Be Be productive!

3pm: Resume play with Christian; Probably put on a dvd at some point (Meet the Robinsons; Your Baby Can Read; Language Development, etc) so that may finish up anything that was not finished during naptime.

5pm: Prepare simplest dinner possible (except on occasions when am feeling particularly Betty Crockerish)

6pm: Family chill time- usually movie and dessert. Sometimes another visit to game room but do not want to get Christian riled up so try to avoid that.

8:30pm: Begin bedtime routine (bath, story, fight until he passes out)

9pm: If Christian is actually asleep, check Facebook and email one last time. Do any work that was not finished earlier. Catch up on fave shows on Netflix.

11pm: Bedtime!

Of course, I get all the way to the end before I realize that I have not factored in any household chores. Oh well, I'll save that CHAOS for another day.

Well, apparently Christian has something to say before we head to bed. Take it away kiddo!

         plolplplplplplplplplplplplplplplplpno                p
loln

Alright. Good night all!

Get Money!

Need extra income? Maybe one of the following business ventures could help you. Seriously, check them out.

1. Ghostwriting -- With this work from home job, you write articles for a company or website. You don't get a byline credit, but you DO get paid. And you get experience. My advice, if you have a favorite website/blog, write to the person in charge of it, ask if they are in need of a ghostwriter, submit a writing sample (yeah, that's a skill that you must have, so if you don't have strong writing skills, it's probably not for you) and hope for the best!

2. Affiliate -- Again, this is all about websites or blogs that you love and frequent. If you find yourself constantly constantly talking about and referring people to the website, did you know you could be getting paid for it? Usually you get paid for each person that clicks on the referral link you provide. If the website sells things, you could be getting a cut of the profit. Hell yeah! Passive income!


3. Blogging/Vlogging -- Feel like you have something interesting to say to the world? Have a sense of humor? Good at drawing? Love making videos? Consider yourself an expert on something (social media, parenting, video games, sports, cooking. whatever)? Why not create a blog or vlog (video blog)? And if you know what you are doing, you can get paid for it. It's quite simple with applications like Adsense that you permit to post ads to your blog and then pay you per (legitimate) click.

4. Pure Romance -- for women who enjoy meeting new people all the time, feel comfortable talking in front of crowds (even if you do get nervous sometimes),and who are interested in making a couple hundred dollars in a few hours. Or who just love the products and want a good discount, lol. Huge opportunities for steady income, including passive and residual income if you build a team. Getting into this industry was the best business decision I have ever made.
www.tiffanyhathorn.pureromance.com

5. Beachbody -- I know you have seen the commercials for the products. Insanity. P90X, Hip Hop Abs. Turbo Fire. Awesome workouts to help you shed pounds and get your sexy back. but did you know that you could be the one getting PAID to lose weight instead of paying them to lose weight? As a coach, you have the opportunity to not only lose weight and get healthy, but to generate passive and residual income while you're doing it?
www.beachbodycoach.com/tiffanyhathorn

If you have interest in either of these business ventures, feel free to message me with any questions. I have experience with every one of them (except video blogging -- yet). I honestly feel like the best way to make money in this age is to be your own boss. For some of us, we have to start off slow, by having a side job. One of these could be the PERFECT one for you. Don't let fear of failure hold you back. There are so many legitimate and viable ways to make money. ON YOUR TERMS. You just have to know where to look.