Winter is finally over! Spring is here, buds are on the trees and the tulips are blooming. I think Mother Nature is finally through with her snow storms and ice storms and like the rest of us, ready for the “rebirth of nature”.In the Direct Selling industry Spring leads to increased sales. The frustration over cancelled or postponed parties because of “bad weather” are a thing of the past. It’s now time to refocus yourself and if you’ve gotten off track with your goals to re-evaluate and begin again.

Did you take time at the beginning of the year to set your goals? Do you know how much personal sales volume you want for the year? Do you know how many parties you are willing to hold each week to reach that volume? Do you know how many people you are willing to interview each week? Do you know how many people you want to sponsor each month? Do you know how much you want to increase your group sales volume each month?

Do you know how much money you need to make to break even in your business? Do you know what you want to do with your “extra money” each month? Do you know how much money you need to make each month to become “debt free”?

It’s so important to know where you are going in your life. If you don’t know where you are going you’ll probably end up some place else! Over the years I found simple steps that helped me “stay on track”. Here are a few of the ideas that worked for me!

• Know what you want! - If you didn’t specify a “specific goal” at the beginning of the year…do it now! Write down a “specific goal” for each aspect of your business, personal sales, personal sponsoring, group sales, group sponsoring, number of new leaders you are going to develop, contests you are going to win, and anything else that pertains to your business.
• Write it down! - How often have you heard the saying, “it’s not a goal until you write it down”? So write them down, already. I loved to use “pink index cards” for my goals. I would write 4 or 5 goals on “pink index cards” and put one on my bathroom mirror, one on the refrigerator, one on the window overlooking my desk and one taped to the dashboard of my car. Everywhere I went my goals were in front of me. I knew where I was going!
• Do the Math! – Question … “How do you eat an elephant?” Answer…”One bite at a time!” Question…”How do you reach your goals?” Answer…”One step at a time!” If you set a personal sales goal for yourself of $36,000 personal sales for the year here’s how you break it down. $36,000 a year is $3,000 a month for 12 months. $3,000 a month is $750 a week for 4 weeks.  $750 a week is 2 ($375 parties a week). A $375 party is approximately 7 guests purchasing $55 each. 
• Re-evaluate and Re-adjust! - Based on the above goal of $36,000 for a year at the end of April you would need $12,000 in personal sales to be on target to reach your goal. What do you do if you are only at $9,000? You do two things. First you re-evaluate and decide whether or not you are still willing to keep the same amount for your goal. Second, you re-adjust the amounts based on where you are now. If you are $3,000 short at the end of the first quarter and your goal is going to remain the same, you need to add the $3,000 you are short to the $24,000 you still have left to do which will give you $27,000 left towards your goal. There are 8 months left in the year so you now need to do $3,375.00 per month. Based on the same $375 party average you only need to do one extra party a month to stay on target! Is that measly amount enough to make you give up? I hope not!

I used the above method for over 20 years to help me reach the goals I set in my Direct Selling business. Year after year I increased my goals from the year before, did the math and kept re-evaluating and re-adjusting. It’s not hard to reach your goals BUT you do have to know where you’re going!

If you need help reaching your goals order Karen’s “Goal Getting” Audio CD for only $27!
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How often have you heard the expression, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression”? How often have you judged a person based on your first impression of him or her? 

It’s human nature to make our decisions about others based on how they look, speak, and act the first time we meet. At the first meeting your mind is busy creating a “mental picture” of that person. Oh, by the way, once we form an opinion about another person in our mind, it’s almost impossible to get our mind to switch over because we keep going back to the mental picture of the first meeting.

So, how do you make sure that you put your “best foot forward” in every situation? Here’s three simple steps that will help you create a “super lasting impression”.

1. Dress for Success. It’s easy with the casual lifestyle we live to attempt to dress down for every occasion. I’m going to suggest you do the opposite. When you are getting dresses for any occasion ask yourself this question. “How will I feel if I am the only person dressed like this?” 

Example: If you show up in jeans and everyone else is wearing business casual, how comfortable will you be? If you are dressed casually and everyone else is in an “after five dress” will you be at your best? I have found over the years that when I am “underdressed” I feel uncomfortable, but if I’m overdressed I don’t! Why do I feel like that? Probably because I’m thinking about “what they think about me”. Let’s face it, most of us really do care about what others think, whether we admit it or not. If you were attending the Oscar’s would you rather be on Mr. Blackwell’s “Best Dressed” or “Worst Dressed List”? Ask yourself that question before you walk out the door. 

When I did my parties I always wanted the guests to know WHO was putting on the presentation. I wanted to feel comfortable with the guests and that meant not being “uncomfortable” myself. In 22 years I never wore jeans to a presentation. I wore dress slacks and a blazer or in some cases a suit. Why? Because I knew that it was a possibility that a guest would be coming from work in a suit, and I would feel awkward if I was underdressed. I preferred to dress to avoid uncomfortable situations.

2. Smile. The best accessory you will ever add will cost you nothing! It’s your smile! When you smile at someone more often than not, he or she will smile back at you. Smiling is contagious! Smiling is comforting! Smiling is friendly! People are drawn to “smilers”. People respond favorably to you.

3. Be Sincerely Interested. Ask people about themselves. Become interested in the people you meet, sincerely interested. Ask questions that are personal, but not too personal. Keep your questions simple so as not to draw out long stories. Example: “How long have you lived in this area?” , “How long have you been with XYZ Company?” “What do you like best about your job?” 

So remember the next time you know you’ll be meeting someone new; to “dress for success”, “smile” and “be sincerely interested” and you’ll make a great first impression everywhere you go!