There is always something you can be doing in your business.  Are you more of a paper-pusher or a people person?   Would you rather be on the phone connecting with prospects or booking your next show or recruiting someone new or filling, reworking documents, ordering new address labels, sorting inventory, etc.?

I tend to fall into the 2nd category.  I love to do the work behind the scenes and the thought of getting on the phone will convince me to do even the most disgusting of household chores to merely avoid calling.  This has been a downfall of my business and one that has hindered my progress long enough.  I am seizing the day and determined to get on that phone.

A saying that has helped me lately has been “I call because I care”.  I care enough about people to follow up and follow through.  While it may not be eays, I WILL succeed with this.

So, my advise to you…examine your To-done list.  What things are you completing regularly in your business and what are you putting off.  Are the things you are putting off costing you?  What can you change to get those items completed that you are avoiding?

Get those ToDo’s in order and then get ‘um done.

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt.com

Would you like to shed some extra inches and/or pounds? Do you feel like there is a happier, healthier you hidden behind some extra weight? SlenderMargo is here to help!  While this blog is still really new, I have known Margo herself for years and years and I am amazed and truly impressed with her journey.  She has been trying for years and years with many other diet plans with little or short lived success.  But now, she has found Take Shape For Life.

As and independent representative, she has lost an impressive amount of weight for her son’s wedding last year and continues to do wonderfully as she is shrinking almost daily.   At one point, I went to visit and didn’t even recognize her because she had lost so much!

On her blog, SlenderMargo she will be talking about her weight loss journey.  It will be a place where you can find support and encouragement as well as a solution to any extra pounds that you may have in a safe and effective way.

Go visit now and see what you think!

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt.com

Here are a few tips I’ve learned over the years on how to may your Direct Sales Party a Success:

1. Don’t lecture. People came to PARTY so play games, award prizes, be silly. If they wanted a lecture they could have stayed home and listened to talk radio or the news. They want fun, so make it fun.
2. Details don’t matter - at least at first. If you give a detailed description of each product, you will loose the group. highlight 3-4 of your favorites or ask which products they are DYING to see. Later on in the evening they can ask you any questions they have about the specifics of the product.
3. Have commercials. During my home shows, I announce that I am doing a commercial. 30 seconds to talk about joining my team or having their own party. I do 3 commercials per party to keep it light and fun.
4. Have a cheerleader. I choose a super-fun gal to cheer-lead for me. When I say commercial time, her job is to say “yeah!!” If a guest participates, she cheers for them. This keeps the excitement level up and fun time rolling.
5. Have the guests tell about the products- this is a fun way to involve the guests and keep you from talking the whole time. I simply hand out catalogs and let guests choose a product from my display. They then become the expert on their product and take turns telling the group about it. It is neat to see who is really trying to sell it. At the end you can even vote on who did the best job and award a prize. (this also works great because they are grabbing their favorite product that they see, so you can get an idea of what they want to buy)
6. Publicly thank your host/hostess.  Give them praise and sincere thanks for inviting you into their home and introducing you to their guests.  You can even give her a small thank you gift.
7. Keep it short.  People are busy and don’t have time to sit and listen to you for 3 hours.  Keep your formal party time to 30-45 minutes.  Then they can visit, eat and leave when they need to and you are being respectful of their time
8. Close the party quickly.  You want to respect those who ordered the night of the party.  If you keep it open for 2 or 3 weeks, the odds of other orders coming in is very low and the people that DID order want their stuff.  I usually allow 2-3 days after the party to close it, but have also closed it the same night the party was help.  Either way, close it quickly to honor those who did order.
9. Offer value - more than usual.  This is a fancy way of saying go the extra mile.  Add something of yourself to what they are buying.  You can do this by  teaching them how to “coordinate outfits more effectively”, “how to get your house smelling like a 1,000,000 bucks” or “picking the jewelry to accent your face shape”.  Find a way to add value to what they are buying.  Plus, this is a great way to get guests to the party in the first place.
10. Take a deep breath and have fun.  Don’t be afraid to be a little silly.  A lot of times we get hung up on looking so professional that we loose the fun factor.  So what if they think you are strange.  Studies show that if the guests have a good time, they will spend more money.  AND if they have fun, they are more likely to host their own party or join you in your business.   So relax and enjoy yourself.

Follow these simple tips to have more enjoyable and profitable parties and you will truly find Direct Sales Success!

Awnya Boam

Time4Felt

A thought came to me today. - Have you ever watched Snow White? The wicked queen is so determined to be the “fairest in the land” that she plots to kill Snow White. She becomes so focused on the fact that Snow White is also very pretty that she looses sight of everything else. She becomes SO focused that she even ends up transforming herself into an ugly old woman to destroy another, which then defeats the entire purpose of getting rid of Snow White.

Lesson learned: Sometimes we become SO focused on one tiny goal that we loose sight of the big picture. If the queen would have just left Snow White alone, then she would have married the prince and moved far away. Then, mission accomplished. Fairest in the land (because Snow White would live at the Prince’s kingdom).

Keep focused on the BIG picture. On your BIG goals. This way, we won’t end up undermining yourself in the end.

Here is an article on Twitter Tips to Boost Small Business Marketing. I love how the walk you right through everything you need to do to be a success on Twitter. Beginner friendly ;o)
Read, enjoy, and then Tweet about this blog and that great article.

Here is a neat article about Blogging for Business. There are some great points in it, and even some I need to take a little more seriously.
Enjoy!

Here is a neat article about 10 Tips for Launching your Business Blog. I wish I would have read this article BEFORE starting a blog a few years ago because there are some great tips.

Here is a short and to the point article about “3 Success Tips that will Benefit an Online Home Business Above All Others”. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

You may have noticed, but we have changed things up a little bit.  I have been posting a lot more regularly AND I’ve been linking to a lot of other sites.  My reasons for this are simple.  You don’t come to listen to the “Awnya Show” all the time, but to find some good, quality tips that you can use for your business.  I know that there are SO many people out there that know a lot more than I do, so I’ve started linking to some of the articles and or blogs that I find interesting and useful.

If you like what I’m doing, give a shout out.  I love to hear from my readers.  If not, KINDLY comment too.  (no mean comments please!) OR if you have a great article or blog that you want to share, let me know and I may feature it here too! 

Talk to you soon!

Here is a great article on how to best use Twitter for your business.  I know that Twitter is a little intimidating to some people, but these tips make it simple to get to tweeting. 

<a href=”http://ezinearticles.com/?Ten-Twitter-Tips-For-Work-At-Home-Moms&id=4330106″>Ten Twitter Tips for Work at Home Moms</a> 

Be sure to comment with your Twitter name so we can follow you there.  To find me, look for @time4felt