JulieAnneJones.com

“Just Be Yourself”

Julie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:21:51 +0000

“Just be yourself!” Has anyone ever said that to you? I heard it all the time when I was a kid, followed by assurances from my mother that everyone would like me if I could (just be myself). And you know what? She was right! What I’m told over and over again in my travels as a trainer and as I interact through social media is that people love my authenticity. I “show up” as who I am, whether I’m on stage or off. I’m honest about my faults as often as I am about my strengths. And I’ve found that people feel like they know me and can communicate with me because of it.

The other thing I consciously do which I believe assures people of my authenticity is so simple it’s almost crazy. I ask questions and, more importantly, I listen. That’s it.

One of the keys to authenticity is realizing that, sometimes (believe it or not), it’s not about you. You see, as members of the human race, whether we admit it to ourselves or not, we think it’s all about us. Especially if you’re enthusiastic about your company and its products and all it has done for you, sharing that from your perspective is natural. The problem with that is, the person you’re talking to wants it to be about them!

As a direct seller, your most important job is building relationships. You do that through conversation and the best way to build a strong, positive relationship with another person is through supportive communication (which means they feel important and heard).

So why not make the conversation about them? Shift your focus to curiosity and away from asking for anything. If you’re curious, you’re bound to ask questions, which will lead the person with whom you’re talking to share.

And when you’re curious, when you make it all about them, your authenticity shines through. It’s impossible to be curious and listen to someone else if you’re not also being authentic. And believe me when I tell you, people can tell the difference between being truly listened to and talking to someone who’s just marking time waiting for their turn to talk. You know you can tell the difference.

When you shift your thinking to this perspective and you learn to authentically listen, you’ll find you magically begin to get everything you need. It’s a truly incredible phenomenon.

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Julie Anne Jones is a success language consultant, a direct sales coach and trainer, and the CEO of Julie Anne Jones, Inc. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read more blog posts, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.

Fail Your Way to Success

Julie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:41:34 +0000

"What other people think of you is none of your business." ~Wayne Dyer

Did you know there are some truly great failures in our history? Babe Ruth, one of the greatest baseball players ever to play the game, struck out 1330 times on his way to hitting 714 home runs. I've heard Jack Canfield tell the story about how he and Mark Victor Hansen shopped their first "Chicken Soup For the Soul" book to literally hundreds of publishers who turned them down flat before they finally found one person who "got" their idea and took them on as clients.

I'll bet you didn't walk the first time you tried. Hopefully, whoever taught you to swim didn't toss you in to the deep end the very first day. That's because every great success comes through a series of failures. Nothing worth having is going to fall into your lap without a lot of effort and a few failures on your part. That's just the truth.

In direct sales, you have to learn to get comfy with failure, to embrace it and actually invite it in for tea. I promise, you'll get more nos than yeses from day one. If you can't make yourself understand that those nos have nothing to do with you and move on from them, you won't last long in this profession. A few tips for doing that?

Remember that when someone tells you no, it usually means "Not now." Don't give up at the first no you hear.
Follow up is the key to failing your way to success. I once "struck out" for over nine months with someone who had asked me to follow up with them, leaving a message every month and feeling like an idiot every time I called (but calling anyhow). In the middle of the ninth month, she called ME back, thanking me for continuing to follow up. Turns out she had two children starting college and life had been insane for her (Who knew, and not about me!)
Your gremlin (that little voice in your head that tells you lies about the world) will always tell you it's about you or your fault. Don't ever believe your gremlin. It's a complete and total liar, all the time, no exceptions.

Be willing to fail, and be willing to let go of what you look like or what anyone thinks about what you're doing. As long as you're working toward your goal, how you look or how long it takes is not important. What's important is that you keep going, failure after failure, until you succeed.

So, what do you think? Does this make sense to you?

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Do You Assault People in the Grocery Store Line?

Julie — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 14:41:10 +0000

Last week, I received a question through the website regarding how to do a 30 second commercial for a grocery store line or when you are out and about. I'll tell you what I told her – I'll be honest with you, I'm not a huge proponent of those types of interactions with complete strangers unless someone has asked about what you do (because you're wearing clothing with your company name and logo or it has come up in casual conversation). I think the odds of getting someone to actually say "yes" in any other circumstance are very low, and the odds of both of you feeling very uncomfortable are very high.

That being said, if it comes up, here are some things that what worked for me:

Make sure you always have a business card
Make sure you always have a catalog with your information on the back with you and let them walk away with that as well as your card
Let them know that you do a monthly drawing and would love to enter them into that
Visit with them about booking a party

Not only did I give them a business card and a catalog, but I got their information as well (writing it on the back of one of my cards if I had to) and made sure they were okay with having me follow up with them in a few days. That way, since they're probably not equipped to book a party right there on the spot and you both may be in a hurry, you can comfortably follow up.

While these types of interactions probably won't be frequent for you, if you're prepared they can lead to some great business opportunities. What do you think? Do you agree or have you had a different perspective?

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What you Can Learn from McDonalds

Julie — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 14:04:40 +0000

Have you ever ordered a value meal at McDonalds? Sure you have! Let me share with you what I know about myself and those meals:

   – When I actually did the math on how much I saved with a "value" meal, I was shocked! It's less than thirty cents, on average!
   – I don't generally eat most of the fries (I certainly DON'T need them!)
   – I honestly get confused by all the choices on the regular menu.
   – I order the value meal because it's easy. That's the bottom line.

So, what does this have to do with your direct sales business? Well, if you're not offering your guests your own version of a value meal (I called them party packages), you're leaving money and orders on the table.

Think about it. Your catalog is an awesome tool but it can be a little overwhelming. How do I, as a guest at your party, decide what to buy? There are so many choices! People love things that are easy (you know, the no-brainer. Like when you were a kid at the ice cream truck and the driver would say "just touch the picture" instead of reading the complicated name of the ice cream treat you wanted. Yea, like that). When you offer "packages" of your products to your customers, you make it easier for them to order.

Many direct sales companies provide packages for you and those are featured in your catalog. Generally, these are offered at a discount (making them even easier to sell). Become very familiar with them, find a way to display them outside of the catalog, and start promoting them! I recently placed an outside order for a party I couldn't attend and the host offered me the customer special package as an option for ordering. It was such an easy way for me to order that I ended up spending more than if I'd picked out an item just to be polite and place an order.

If your company doesn't do this, you can create your own packages. The only difference is, I wouldn't offer a discount (you don't want to lose money). Just put together a few packages of products and make sure they're easy to order. Keep these things in mind as you're doing this:

"Name" your packages to make them compelling and easy to understand ("The Valentine's Day Package," "The Welcome New Neighbor Package," "The Father's Day Package," etc.)
Create at least three different "levels" of pricing and packages; one that's inexpensive, one that's in the medium-average order range, and one that's more extravagant (I called this my "Just-couldn't-help-myself-had-to-have-it-all" package ).
Talk about your packages at the end of your parties when sharing details about how to order, payment, etc. Point out that the easiest way to order is by simply choosing the package they like best.

This was, without a doubt, the best tool I used to increase my party sales and I had party package orders at every single party I did.

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Had Enough of the Snow Yet?

Julie — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:11:03 +0000

I'm lucky. I live "out west" in Washington State and, although we usually have quite a bit of snow here in Eastern Washington in the winter, this year has been mild and we've had virtually none. If you've watched any of the Olympics this past week, you know that they're having to fly in snow by helicopter and the cherry blossoms are blooming in Vancouver (I swear. I saw it on the news last night).

That being said, my Managing Director of Business Development Nancy Golya and our Director of Information Technology and Customer Support Julie McElroy live in Bel Air, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. Needless to say, they've been a little snowed in this past week, with over 80 inches of snow. Because of that, their kids haven't had school for 7 days (they went back yesterday). Since they, like you, work from home, I thought it would be a great idea to interview them to find out how they've managed to do their jobs, run my company, and still keep their kids happy and themselves sane over the past week. You can listen to our conversation (it takes about 12 1/2 minutes to listen to but it goes fast, I promise, and you'll get some great ideas) below.

Since a few of you might be in the same boat, you might be interested in their survival techniques. Plus, I'd really love it if you would share your own below. Come on, take a moment and let us know how you've kept from killing your kids this past week. Lets get a bunch of comments and learn from each other!