Song of My Heart Demonstrators

Welcome!

I hope you enjoy the free site I've created for the purpose of encouraging and motivating independent Stampin' Up demonstrators. I love Stampin' Up dearly, and am delighted to be able to give back in any small way to a company which has meant so much to me over the past seven years. I have been blessed with a growing business and downline, achieving bonuses and incentive trips along the way, as well as being named to the top 100 Demonstrators of the Year in 2011 and 2012. I have lots of fun, profitable and 'tried and true' business ideas to share with you!

This blog is for business motivational purposes only. For stamping, scrapbooking and sewing inspiration, you are very welcome to visit my project blog, at www.songofmyheartstampers.com

This blog is free and will stay that way. While I respect the opinion of those who are charging for their advice, I am committed to providing as much free assistance and encouragement to Stampin' Up demonstrators as is within my power to do. If you'd like to leave a comment and even just tell me I've given you food for thought, I consider that ample payment for my time.

Please Note: All content is copyright Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek and was written by me except where specifically noted. Nothing has been endorsed by Stampin' Up and they are not responsible for anything I present here. You use any of the advice contained here at your own risk, and you are encouraged to carefully consider your own business situation before deciding whether or not to implement it. Many of the ideas presented have been used in direct sales for a long time and the original author's name is no longer attached. Where clearly indicated, I have included credit.

I will be posting content to this blog entirely at my own pace. I never want to fall into the trap of throwing something out there to meet an arbitrary deadline. I will post only when I really have something to say. I suggest that you subscribe in a blog reader so that you can be notified when new content is posted, to save yourself visiting every day.

You may use anything on this site for your personal use or group meetings. If you print out an article to use as a handout, it must contain my full name and this web address. Please do not reproduce the entire articles online even in password-protected sites. You may use quotes from the articles in your own downline materials as long as they are properly credited.

When we are successful, Stampin' Up is successful. So let's be successful!

Direct Sales Consultants' Guide to Avoiding Common Scams

Sadly, there are a lot of unethical people out there in cyberspace who prey on direct sales consultants through a variety of online scams and fraudulent practices. Be a saavy business person and learn to identify a scam before you find out the hard way!

There are two main ways a direct sales rep can get scammed online. The first is via email. Robots search the internet without ceasing and harvest email addresses anywhere they can find them, sending thousands upon thousands of spam “feelers” out there in the hopes that one or two gullible souls will fall for it. It always amazes me that anyone does, but apparently enough do that it is worth it.

Fortunately, many email scams come from other countries and have dead giveaways in grammar! Here’s some signs the email can be deleted without another thought:

• Multiple misspellings, poor grammar, lack of capitalization
• Person claims to be deaf or have lost their cell phone to you can’t speak with them
• Mention of another country, a relative in another country, or of travel or traveler’s checks
• Ordering strange things, like four Crop A Diles or more than one Big Shot
• Ordering only big ticket items or wildly dissimilar items
• Asking to pay by personal check or money order, claiming not to have a credit card
• Saying their book-keeper or accountant made a mistake and wrote too large a check to you
• Asking you to order first and they’ll pay upon receipt of the items
• Dangling the carrot of a “very large” order to come
• Claiming to be a fellow demo (maybe even one you actually do know) who was mugged in a foreign country and can’t get home unless you send them money for a new passport

DO NOT respond to obvious scams. Then they know your email address is a live one and will continue to hit you up with spam and "feelers." Many a demonstrator has been taken in--be alert for escalation of scam-like behaviors throughout subsequent correspondence! If your initial reaction to the way something is worded is suspicion, it is probably accurate.

Unfortunately, a common way for scammers to contact you now is through your company-sponsored business website, so sometimes the scammers will initially appear as "leads." Once you respond, they will send you the more typical scam email with many of the characteristics in the list above.

You can just delete scam emails when they come in, or you can forward them to your company’s web violations department. Sometimes if there is a particularly prevalent scam,  the home office will release an announcement to warn your fellow consultants. And if you’re unsure and want another pair of eyes, forward it to your upline. They have probably seen that particular one before. Sadly, if those unethical email spammers put half as much time and thought into a legitimate business as they do into perpetrating their scams, they would probably be quite successful!

The second way direct sales business owner can be scammed is by being convinced into buying a program, book, service or coaching from a person who claims to be an expert. Even well-intentioned, ordinarily business-saavy people sometimes fall for scams like these in their honest desire to build their businesses. Some red flags that should spring up when you are contemplating a coach or service:

• Remember that everyone is selling something. All of their slick materials and websites will be designed to put the pressure on and make you feel like you are missing out on money falling from the heavens.
• Psychological tricks abound throughout these programs. Charismatic individuals will be able to convince anyone of just about anything. A “health and wealth” gospel is particularly damaging because it makes people feel like if they can just get their illnesses or even their weight under control, they will be successful and happy.
• It is in their best interest to use all their advertising knowledge on YOU, because YOU are their income. There’s an old saying that you don’t have to actually know how to sell to fifty people yourself—you just have to convince 50 people they can’t sell unless you teach them.
• Along with that, a big warning sign is when you are paid (either in products or services or cash) for getting friends to sign up for coaching as well, or getting a group discount. You are doing their work for them and they are throwing you a bone as a kickback. You are no longer an unbiased source of info on that marketer, if that is the case.
• Remember that there is no oversight committee investigating their claims and testimonials. Anyone can add “expert” to their title or claim they’ve been in the industry “for years.”
• Remember that pictures of fabulous stats can easily be photoshopped to alter graphs, inflate number of followers, etc. Testimonials can be altered to sound more enthusiastic—remember who is choosing the “sound byte” out of what may have been a very long letter.
• Take advantage of the free webinars and materials they offer if you want, but realize that these may be little more than teasers and extended commercials for their paid services. And you’ll be on their mailing lists forever!
• One common and underhanded tactic is to heavily discount their main product, book or e-course, for a limited time. This hurries you into making a decision before you have had time to investigate.
• The worst ones make you feel like the odds are stacked against you and you CANNOT succeed unless you have their expertise. Some even go so far as to tell you your company is purposefully misleading you or doing a bad job of training you. It is all carefully designed to manipulate you into dependence on them.
• Remember that ANYONE can publish an e-book these days. The ability to cheaply and easily build your own website or blog has brought a lot of small-time scammers to cyberspace and allowed them to have a much bigger reach.
• Realize that it is probably not a wise use of your limited resources to pay someone to “teach” you what can be easily found for free on the internet. Take advantage of all the training provided by your company and your uplines before hunting for more. If you were truly working on all the advice on the demonstrator website you would be too busy to even think about finding a coach to tell you MORE things you should be doing.

A great rule of thumb for demonstrators is “if it sounds too good to be true—it probably isn’t.” Beware of people who promise to teach you their fabulous secret that somehow no one else in the history of direct sales has ever managed to find out! There are no magic bullets in this industry or any other. Enthusiasm, determination, and an unwillingness to give up are ALL you need to succeed in direct sales.

It is sad that unethical people are out to take your precious, hard-earned profit using a little real business advice and pairing it with lots of fluff and slick marketing. Fortunately, fore-warned is fore-armed when it comes to scammers. Stick with your own intuition and business advice from reputable sources, and your efforts will pay off as your business grows in a healthy and sustainable way.

Dream BIG (and be safe!), friend!

Note:

You are welcome to use this information in your team meetings. Click here to download a PDF file with my two-page handout created for downline education: Download Guide to Avoiding Common Scams

Expecting business results from hobby effort

During my blogging presentation at Leadership 2013, I spoke about the factors that make a difference between having a hobby blog and having a business blog. I am pleased to say, based on feedback I received, that phrase seems to have struck a chord with many demonstrators. So let's chat about that today, and maybe you'll find some insight into your own motivation, too.

You cannot expect business results from hobby effort...in any area of your life.

Hobby effort will only get you so far. It will not carry you through the times when you are feeling lazy, or burned out, or unable to focus. It will not get you to the point where you are willing to part with money as an investment in your future business. Hobby effort will not win you awards or earn you incentive trips. Hobby-level effort will not make consistent blogging a priority. It will let customer service slide when it becomes inconvenient. It will push everything to the side when life gets busy and return only when things are slow.

Let's contrast that with business-minded effort. Business effort keeps going even when you are tired, reminds itself of the rewards while working through the burn-out, and forces itself to focus until the job is done. It is willing to invest time, money, and resources into a payoff that will be a long time coming. Business effort is what it takes to perform at levels where awards are won and trips are earned. It keeps plugging away at customer service, year after year after year.

Business effort groans at the thought of turning the computer back on because you haven't blogged yet today... but it turns it back on and blogs.

Now, I'm assuming if you are reading a "demonstrator motivation and inspiration blog" you are somewhat business-minded and will understand the spirit of what I am trying to express. There's nothing wrong with being a demonstrator as a hobby at all. If that is what you want or are able to do, right now, then that's perfectly acceptable. Our wonderfully flexible company allows demonstrators to participate on an enormous variety of levels, from purely making the minimums by yourself, all the way to selling a couple hundred grand a year, and everything in between.

The problem comes when those only willing to put in hobby-level efforts want or expect results that only come from the hard work and sacrificial making business a priority.

I'm known as such a business-minded demonstrator that sometimes on web forums I am unjustly accused of being anti-hobby demo. It's simply not true. I started as a minimums-only demonstrator myself, nearing eight years ago, with no expectations of building a business. My team is probably half or more dear, dear ladies who are in it totally for the fun and will quit when it ceases to be so for them. Enjoyng the benefits of being a demonstrator at any level the company allows is your right.

What I see happening, though, especially at the mid-level range of demonstrators who have enjoyed some successes and caught the vision of what is possible to acheive, is an unconscious, lingering expectation of business results from hobby effort. Many of us in the mid-range are still sporadically going about our tasks as if our business was a hobby--whimsical and random--and yet wondering why we don't acheive business success from these efforts.

What I'd like to leave you with as a challenge today is to look at ONE area of your business--say recruiting, or blogging, or bookings--and determine whether or not you are putting hobby-level effort into that area, or business-level effort. Only look at one area at a time, or it may prove overwhelming.

If you can honestly say you have put forth consistent, enthusiastic, sacrifical effort into achieving success in that area, then move on to look at another one. Chances are good that you'll find at least one aspect of your business where you have gone about things in a random, haphazard or half-hearted manner.

And once you've spotted an area where you are subconsciously expecting business-level results from hobby-level effort, you can work on fixing it. Knowing is half the battle--but the other half of the battle is hard work. Are you up for it? The results can be incredibly rewarding.

I hope you've gained a little motivational insight from this article or perhaps one of the others on this free motivational blog. I welcome comments, and as always, if you would like to suggest a topic for a future post, I would be happy to consider it. I cannot stress enough how much I want for the demonstrators of Stampin' Up to be super successful, personally fulfilled, wildly happy and creatively fabulous. You have the creatively fabulous part down pat. Let's work on the others!

Dream BIG!

So you think you can blog?

If you're reading this, chances are, you've been tossing around the idea of starting your own blog. It seems to be the thing to do. Many big-name demonstrators have fancy ones, and seem to be making money hand over fist. You love the idea of sharing your work with the world and getting lots of lovely comments. You've even thought of a name for it. But it's still freaking you out.

Wanna take a wild guess as to how many blogs there are out there in cyberspace? Apparently there isn't a good way to figure that out for certain, but those who keep track of these things estimate there are between 180-200 million blogs at the time of this writing. Blows the mind, no? Let's break it down a little bit. Some estimates say as high as 90% of those blogs have been or will be abandoned within a year of starting, many within three months. And a recent tracking of one company's blogs showed that over 75% of the blogs had not been updated in the last 120 days.

So what can we take from this? While the blogosphere is indeed saturated, there is no reason to think there is not a place in it for your papercrafting blog. A well-done blog with regular, interesting content does not have to be lost in a million voices. The proliferation of blogging, and the ease with which "anyone" can start one, is not a good reason not to start your own.

We must also conclude from those stats, worse than even the restaurant industry's start-up chances, that blogging must be much harder than it looks. It's very easy to begin, and much harder to proceed. It's often free (more on that in another article) and it's simple to start posting right away.

What is the problem, then? Time? No, most of us truly DO have time to blog. If we are honest with ourselves, we can skim some time off Pinterest or Facebook or Splitcoast and put together a short post with a photo of whatever we've been working on, in about ten to twenty minutes. We could ditch several deadbeats on our blog roll and spend that time working on our own blog. We could manage to find the time to do it.

I believe the problem is consistency. Whenever anyone asks me for my number one blog tip, I tell them what they do not want to hear. That if you do not provide content consistently, your blog is actually worse than useless. It's one of those 90% of blogs cluttering up cyberspace and making it harder to find the blogs of people who are actually doing the work and doing it well.

Ouch, eh? Well, they DID ask...

In blogging, consistency is everything. As in real estate, where the mantra is "Location, location, location," the banner cry of the blogger must be "Consistency, consistency, consistency."

The number one thing I look for on a blog is the date of the second post down.  I don't care if the first post was today and it was fabulous, if the second post was weeks or months ago, you lost me. I know you do not place a priority on posting fresh content and your blog is not worth my time. The single most annoying thing I can possibly discover upon visiting a blog is to find that every post begins with apologies for not posting more often. 

Honestly, I want to whip out my best Yoda impersonation: "Blog or do not blog. There is no try." It doesn't matter if you have a "good reason" for it or not. You cannot expect your readership to take a hiatus along with you. I promise you they have already moved on to a blog that has fresh content.

Consistency is the foundation upon which everything else you do with your blog must rest. If you do not post consistently, you can never hope to gain loyal followers. This was my biggest fear when I was considering getting into blogging four years ago. One of my worst faults is that I am primarily a "starter," not a "finisher." My enthusiasm tends to be high at the outset, and then settles as we continue on and may be non-existent by the time the project is over. So I was very concerned about the possibility of taking on one more thing and not following through with it.

Obviously, time has proven that I do have what it takes to blog consistently over a long period of time. I know it might seem odd to you right now, but trust me, there will be many days when blogging is not fun. Days when you have to scramble for content. Days when you just turned the computer off and the last thing you want to do is turn it back on. Many, many days when the technology issues will make poking pencils in your eye seem like a reasonable thing to do.

When the initial "honeymoon" period is past, and the reality of slowly building readership kicks in, are you still going to keep on? During the long dry spell before your blog begins to pay for itself, then to actually make a profit, will you be able to retain your enthusiasm? What about in the weeks where there is not a single comment? What about during the holidays when everyone is busy and readership drops to new lows?

You will never know unless you try. And that's why, in spite of all the potentially discouraging things I shared in this post, I DO hope you begin your blog. I hope you love it, like I do, and find yourself dying to blog so you can tell a thousand of your closest friends the coolest technique you just discovered. Blogging can be rewarding on so many levels beyond mere business.

But go into it considering it a commitment.

Because it is one--to the readers you have yet to gain.

Dream BIG, friend!

Color Name Guessing Game

After years as a direct sales consultant, it can get harder and harder to come up with new and fun games to play at events. Here is a fun guessing game I made up for a recent all-day scrapbooking event. I have changed the names of 32 of our current colors into their synonyms. Some are quite difficult and others you will guess right away.

For instance, "Wee Hours Inspiration" translates to "Midnight Muse."

TIP: You can make it harder or easier depending on whether or not you let them use their Idea Book & Catalog to look at the real names!

Note: I am attaching a generic PDF file of my game and the answers below, which you may print and use your convenience. If you are viewing this months or years from now, be aware the colors will probably have changes and you will want to make up your own handout from scratch. If you do so, feel free to use the synonyms I came up with--and I'd love to hear any clever ones you invent yourself!

Download Color Name Guessing Game (2 game sheets per page)

Download Color Name Guessing Game with Answers  (1 game sheet and 1 answer sheet)

 

Embellishment Bingo

Games are a good way to break up longer events, break the ice with groups where the individuals may not know each other well, and provide opportunities to give new product away as prizes. Here is a simple game I put together for a scrapbooking event using the Bingo digital stamp brush in My Digital Studio.

Each square contains the name of a common--or not-so-common--scrapbooking embellishment. As your scrappers work throughout the day or weekend, they mark off a square if they use that embellishment on a layout (only one square filled in per page). First one to get five in a row wins! At the end of a longer, multi-day event, you could also give a prize to the total most squares filled in.

You may print off and use the game below at your convenience. Please note that as embellishments come and go out of the catalogs, the printout may no longer be accurate and you will want to come up with your own handout.

Downline Variation: you could also do this game substituting beginner stamping techniques for the embellishments, and hand them out at your new recruit training nights. Everyone who brings it back with bingo filled in gets a prize!

(1 game per sheet) Download Embellishment Bingo

How not to blog

Recently I posed a question on my Song of My Heart Stampers Facebook page: "Have you stopped following any blogs lately, and why?" The ensuing comments were full of wonderful "what not to do's" and I thought that many bloggers could benefit from hearing what their former (or potentially former) followers had to say. I'll share some of those with you today, along with other comments I have heard during my blogging research.

Remember, these were followers at one time. People who discovered a blog and liked it enough at first perusal to bookmark it or subscribe. In some cases, they were subscribed for months or years before calling it quits. If it were my blog, I'd want to know why people were bailing out. No, you won't be able to please everyone, but are you unintentionally alienating some of your readership?

Here's what former followers have to say about the reasons they left:

• I quit because they stopped using mostly Stampin' Up products
• I quit because their site was full of blinkies and it was hard to see actual content
• I quit because the person seemed negative and angry much of the time
• I quit because it was more about their pets than about stamping
• I quit because they didn't post regularly
• I quit because her projects were quite sloppy and messy
• I quit because they never responded to questions/comments
• I quit because she started doing all/mostly all MDS
• I quit because the person was so preachy with their life choices
• I quit because they only posted CASE'd cards
• I quit because she only does videos and I can't see those easily
• I quit because they began to post only/mostly tutorials for sale/product shares
• I quit because they only posted specials/news and never their personal work
• I quit because her style was one-note and she never ventured outside it
• I quit because she had music that would blare out and scare me half to death/wake up my kids
• I quit because it seemed she made everything but cards

Because building readership and engaging with your audience is so crucial to a business blog, I'd encourage you to look at the behaviors mentioned above and try to objectively look at your own blog and see if any of these criticisms could be valid. It might be helpful to ask a friend you trust to take a look and give your her honest opinion.

Did you see something all of these reasons have in common when you read through the list?

They are ALL under your control.

Every single one of the above complaints is within your ability to change, if it is a behavior that you recognize could be true of your blog. Sometimes people complain about something that we can't or don't know how to change on our blog, due to technology limitations, time, or personal resources. But these common alienating factors listed by former followers are ALL within the realm of what is possible to change. Focusing on what we can change is always a better tactic than fussing over what we cannot.

Why should I change? you might be thinking about now. Don't I have the right to blog how and when and why I see fit?

Yes, you certainly do have that right. But your followers also have the right  to be turned off by unprofessional behavior or content that is unoriginal or doesn't fit their needs. Your willingness to adapt your blogging behaviors to better suit your audience is what, bottom line, separates the hobby blog from the business-generating blog. Which do you want?

I have lots more material on the topic of business blogging, so stay tuned for upcoming articles on that subject as well as practical tips on starting, decorating and maintaining a blog. Feel free to comment below and as always, if you have suggestions for future topics of discussion, I welcome them!

Dream BIG and blog hard!

 

one size fits all... NOT

You may have heard of the three-legged stool illustration when people are talking about having a balanced direct sales business--Sales, Recruiting, and Promotions. If you only have two of these "legs," your "stool" is very likely to fall over. Only one leg, and it's virtually impossible to sustain a seated, stable position for long.

I would like to commandeer that example and apply it to our approach to recruiting. Many times, demonstrators make the mistake of only selling the opportunity to new recruits in one way. They have a one-legged approach to recruiting. Their focus is on one or possibly two reasons that people sign up, and they ignore, don't know/haven't thought about, or rarely emphasize the many other aspects of purchasing that Starter Kit.

The most successful recruiters recognize that what motivates them may not motivate their potential recruit. I realized this after I was extolling the virtues of Stampin' Up's fabulous incentive trips at a workshop some time back, and a person at the table piped up, "But that just doesn't do it for me. I hate flying." The thought of the trips (which honestly, most demonstrators will never earn) did not motivate her one bit, no matter how much it did me. I realized that while it was endlessly fascinating to me, and customers really did enjoy hearing a bit about the trips they have helped make possible for my family, I needed to do more than just gush about my world travels in order to attract new team members. It was enormously motivating to me, but it wasn't why I signed up when I started, for sure--and it wasn't even on their radar at all. 

I would have been better off to think about what needs Stampin' Up could fulfill in my customers' lives, and make sure they knew about that potential answer to their "problem." Consider your past attempts at recruiting statements. What did you emphasize (assuming you mentioned the opportunity at all, which I hope you did?) Was it the money-making aspect? The chance for recognition? What about the camaraderie of the team? Or the techniques you learn at the monthly meetings? The exponential growth of your personal stampin' stash? The chance to be the first to know all the news and try the latest products? The bargain of the Starter Kit itself? The ladies' night out away from the pressures of little kids?

If you're a good demonstrator, you hit on one of these common reasons people want to sign up when you are interacting with your potential recruit. If you're a great demonstrator, you hit on two reasons.

And if you are a fabulous recruiter, chances are you did two very clever things: first, you hit on several different possible motivations during your interactions, over time. Secondly, you were paying enough attention to be clued in to the moment when you hit upon the main reason she wants to sign up. That moment when she became engaged, her eyes lit up, her body language became more open, the excitement crept into her voice, and she set down the smart phone and started listening. You managed to hit upon a need she has that your company can fill, and now she's envisioning her problem solved and a happier, more fulfilled life. Bingo!

Sometimes, the potential team member will clue you in right away as to what her needs are. But a saavy recruiter will realize that for every person who verbalizes what they are really thinking, there are many more who won't put it into words. It's those that we have to be watching and listening for, or we'll miss the clues and then wind up wondering why she didn't go for it, "and after all the work I put into her."

A thoughtful demonstrator, one who approaches their business with intentional mindfulness, will consider all the reasons someone might be interested in signing up, and look for ways to appeal to the many individual motivations of potential team members. Her recruiting "stool" will not be teetering on one leg--yes, a one-legged stool can be sat upon, but it's not very comfortable, and ultimately you'll probably wind up on your backside.

I challenge you this month to think about the reasons your last three recruits made the decision to join. I bet you almost anything there were at least two different main motivations, if not three. Realize your team, and your future team, is as varied and colorful as the coolers in a florist's shop, and while they do have some common motivations, what truly drives them to go for it is going to be uniquely individual to them. A "one size fits all" approach is not going to be very successful.

Then think about your usual recruiting statements and how you could change those up, add another one in, or re-write some of your materials to cover more of those reasons. In your general interactions with groups, try to hit on at least three reasons to sign up. In your personal interactions with interested potential recruits, pay attention to the clues about her motivations, so that you can focus your time together on helping her see how Stampin' Up can meet her individual needs. Because really, that's where it all comes down to--Stampin' Up met a need in your life, and it can meet a need in theirs, too.

Decide today to overhaul your approach to recruiting and growing your team this year. Like gloves, or slippers (or anything but scarves, really,) "one size" does NOT fit all. Sometimes it's the very subtlest of tweaks that's needed, and not a big fancy new recruting promotion or handout or system. There aren't really any shortcuts in recruiting. Every recruit is an individual person who must make the decision for themselves, and will need varying amounts of assistance defining their motivations and your personal touch as they work through the process of making that choice. I wish you the very best of success. Dream BIG, friend!

Throwing good money after bad

You've probably heard the story about the frog that jumped into a shallow pan of cold water. The pan is on the fire, but the frog isn't alarmed enough to jump out of the pan because the water warms so gradually. Eventually, despite being able to easily jump out of the pan and escape at any time, the frog gets boiled, because it never realizes that the water is no longer cold like it was when he got in.

 "Throwing good money after bad" is the phrase used to describe a situation where despite obvious failure, resources continue to be thrown at the problem because a lesson hasn't been learned. Sounds dumb, right? And yet many of us do this in all practicality, with our lineup of events.

Over the past two years, I became aware that the traditional club format was no longer working for the majority of my customer base. Groups that had been going strong for years began to lose members here and there, and they were not replaced. The reasons behind the bleed were very legitimate, especially given the state of the economy and the political uncertainty in my state. I'm not exaggerating when I say it felt like every person in the state of Wisconsin became commitment-phobic last year. I was gaining new customers, just not new clubbers.

Eventually, despite my best efforts, three of the clubs were no longer viable (fell below the numbers required for hostess benefit level and stayed there for six months or more). At this point, I had three options.

1. close down the club and accept that I'd "failed"
2. continue meeting, losing money on supplies and taking a night away from my family every month, in the endless hope I'd eventually be able to replace the members
3. radically alter the club format in an attempt to meet my customers' new lifestyles and needs and see what happened.

Number one (accepting failure) is not in my personal vocabulary. Number two (continue as before while losing money indefinitely) should not be an option for a saavy businessperson. So that left option three. I would change what I was doing. I would be brave enough to say out loud, "this isn't working anymore." I would be creative enough to find a different way to draw those customers and new ones to events on a regular basis. I would be flexible enough to chuck my expectations and revamp my pricing. And I would be patient enough to give the new format a chance to succeed.

This is much easier said than done, of course. We (women especially) like to hang onto things for sentimental reasons. And because we're so often people-pleasers, we don't like to disappoint those for whom the old schedule still worked. Or maybe it's ourselves that prefer the old way of doing things, because it was easier and comfortable. So we dither and dandy and put off making a decision. We begin a long, slow fall in business. Inertia sets in. Like the story where the frog boils to death without realizing that the water temperature has changed--drastically.

There are other options--but only for those who are willing to bend with the wind of change. Stampin' Up's well-developed theme of "My Way" for this year has given us lots of new ideas for out-of-the-box events and ways of doing business. A little online research will give you insight into what other demonstrators have found works for them. There are demos out there being successful with really unique ways of approaching the problem. Like you, they were probably initially unsure about changing things up. But the difference between their outlook and the "frog" approach is that they were self-aware enough to realize things weren't going well, and then energetic enough to make the change. They may not have gotten it right the first time around, but they are resilient enough to try again.

Beating our heads against the wall is foolish, when a door has opened wide right next to us. But it takes a willingness to take a couple steps to the side of where we have been, and then the courage to walk through the door. Do you have that in you? Decide today that you will be the type of business person who will evaluate regularly, act decisively when change is indicated, and move forward without regrets.

Dream BIG, friend! I'm rootin' for you.

Banishing the "if only's"

 Do any of these sound familar?

• If only my husband were more supportive. Then I could really get going with this business.
• If only I had a bigger house. Then I could have more classes and clubs.
• If only I didn't have that bill to pay. Then I could really invest some money into this.
• If only my kids weren't involved in so many sports. Then I'd have the time to hold shows.
• If only I'd taken some business courses at college. Then I could be successful at sales.
• If only I lived in a bigger town/a town with fewer demos. Then I'd have a chance at this.

As human beings, it is tempting to lay the blame for our own business faults and failures at someone else's feet. There are endless "if only's" waiting in the wings for those who choose to use them for an excuse as to why they cannot grow their businesses.

The problem is, while the circumstances of some of these "if only's" could indeed be true (for instance, business classes improving your sales tactics) they effectively place the ultimate success or failure of our businesses in other hands. You have given away your power over your own business when you give away your responsibility for it.

A person who is refusing to aknowledge personal responsibility for their business will look at circumstances or at others and ALWAYS find a reason for failure. I challenge you to be a person who refuses to make anyone or anything a scapegoat. Be a person who rises above their circumstances and maximizes their strengths rather than focusing on their weaknesses.

This is one instance where the difference between success and failure is completely in your head--and therefore in your hands. Will you choose your own attitude, or let it be chosen for you? That is the decision that you consciously or unconsciously make every single day.

I am often called upon to offer encouragement to those who have been 'doing everything right' and haven't tasted much success yet. Since I've been there myself, I'm able to tell them the truth. Their hard work, enthusiasm and effort WILL pay off eventually. Those who have not had success come easily to them treasure every victory all the more. You'll be a better demonstrator and a better salesperson because of your "lean" years, not inspite of them.

Next time you realize that the mental dialogue in your head just popped out an "if only," call a halt to the conversation. It is an unproductive way of thinking that is not going to help you succeed or allow you to be happy in the journey. "If only" is a trigger phrase that should alert you to be aware that you are attempting to divest yourself of responsibility for your business.

Can I tell you a secret?

I know why you lost your club members. I know why your customers fade away. I know why your attendence is down, why your clubs aren't full, why your advertisements garner no response.

This is a touchy topic. Nobody likes losing a customer for any reason, but it's even worse when you find out they've changed to another demonstrator. And it stings all the more if you find out it's someone in your group. I will undoubtedly step on a few toes here with my conclusions.

Let me just insert here that this article has been a long, long time in the making, so if you're local to me, please don't think I'm talking about ANY one specific situation.

Contrary to what many demonstrators conclude when this happens to them, it's not "my" fault. It's not because I am so much more talented, or have more resources to spend, or lavish more time on what I do. I'm not prettier or funnier or more socially connected than you. I don't undercut your prices, steal your mailing list, or badmouth you behind your back.

I don't agressively OR passively go after your people.

It has nothing to do with me personally, at all.

So what makes your customers wind up contributing to my annual sales instead of yours? Because they are. You may or may not be aware of it, but I gain your customers every month. They're curious, you see. They want to know if all demonstrators are alike. If they all run their clubs the same way. If anyone else out there is providing fresh and up to date inspiration.

The answer is so simple. It's customer service.

Which, I am finding out, a larger majority of demonstrators do not make a priority in their businesses. Consider these quotes from actual customers new to me in the past couple years:

"I am switching to you... thought if you were the one answering my questions, you should be the one getting my orders."

"I need to order downloads and print products, but my demo doesn't have a web store and is not willing to get one so I will be ordering from you from now on."

"I have gone to stamp club for three years and I can't believe I didn't know how to use this... I learned more in one night from you than I did in a whole year from her."

"We've asked and asked her to take the projects up a notch, but every month we do exactly the same thing. We want cards we couldn't think up on our own."

"I'm so bored of such-and-such stamp set. My former demo used it every single month and we were all so sick of it. She never ordered anything new."

"Wow, your catalogs are free? Awesome. What is a mini catalog? I've never heard of them. There is a sale this month? My demo never shared any of this with me!"

I provide GOOD customer service. I make no apologies for this. Customer service is king. Like most things in my life, I go after it 110%, because that's just who I am. For me, that means three things:

1. constantly looking for ways to better my systems,
2. keep them thrilled with the products and feeling personally cared about,
3. giving them no reason not to be loyal.

Customer service is so much more than just making sure you place and deliver their orders on time. It's also about making sure you offer events that appeal to a wide variety of people. It's about staying abreast of announcements and informing customers about promotions in a timely fashion. It's about educating yourself on the products we carry so you can answer people's questions. Having an online presence. Communicating through different forms knowing that one size doesn't fit all. Looking for new and adorable things to share instead of the same old, same old.

The easy way out here is for you to blame the demonstrator that your customers have migrated to. To close your ears to even the barest whisper of a thought that it might have been in any way your fault that your club was bored and repeatedly asked for more challenging projects. To shut your eyes to the fact that you no longer stay on top of announcements and news, that you don't buy anything unless it's in your personal style, that you haven't actively looked for new ideas/techniques/products to share in months, or maybe even years.

Or to tell yourself that "some things you just can't control." Yes, that is true. People move, get sick, change jobs or simply quit hobbies. But don't let the possibility of that blind you to the fact that there are MANY things you CAN control about your customers bleeding away, which brings the potential responsibility right back to your doorstep.

It's easy to say those things to yourself, yes. That's because it hurts. Even worse than it hurts to think that someone else has "stolen" your customers, it hurts to think you may have fallen down on your job. Let yourself go. Stopped being "hungry."

A business built on anything less than integrity will not stand. So my challenge to you today is to be honest with yourself when you look at this topic. Simply face this truth:

If you have lost some customers, it could be your fault. Please note that I'm not saying it IS, for sure, entirely your fault, but just admit to yourself in the honesty and privacy of your own heart, that it could be your customer service levels have slipped. That there could be things that you could change to reverse this trend. That there could be some steps you could take to make sure you don't find your ranks thinning again. That a renewed committment to customer service could be in order.

I believe that a word to the wise is all it takes. Once you've opened up your mind to the possibility that you could be at least partially responsible for poor customer retension, then you've also freed up your fabulously creative brain for the task of figuring out what to do to halt that process.

I've used this anonymous quote before: "The good news is, you're responsible for the success or failure of your own business. The bad news is, your're responsible for the success or failure of your own business." And I'll tell you what. If your customer service stinks, you're going to be responsible for the failure of your own business, whether you blame someone else, or not.

Customer service is a huge topic, and there have been and will be other and better articles on this subject. But I hope you've taken today's post in the spirit in which it was intended. Bottom line? I don't want your customers. I'll take them if they come to me, because people deserve good customer service and more lovely stampy inspiration than any ten people can use in a year. If they don't find it from me, they'll find it from someone else. So I'll show them how a professional representative of Stampin' Up treats the people who make her job possible, and they'll reward me by turning to me for their papercrafting needs.

Decide today to do what is in your power to retain customers. Don't allow yourself to place blame or make excuses. I can't imagine less healthy behaviors for your business. Don't be discouraged if you're back at square one again. You built this and you can keep it going, and embracing this tough eye-opener moment in your business could be a game-changer if you let it.

Dream BIG, friend!