By Dana Phillips.
When I joined direct selling, I had no prior experience or skills to give me confidence that I could create a direct sales business. I told my recruiter that I doubted that I could sell anything, but I’d try it. I tried to use Neil as an excuse for not joining, and she saw through that. I wasn’t confident that I could even book a party, much less recruit someone.
In the beginning, I had a lot of fears. I was afraid to ask for a party or offer my opportunity because I might come across as too pushy. I procrastinated when it came time to make phone calls to book parties or invite someone to join my business. I was afraid they would say, “No.” I often told my leader that I would make phone calls at a particular time, and then I never did it. I let everything else get in the way of building my business. The fear of rejection was holding me back.
I’m so grateful that I had a mentor and trainer who didn’t give up on me. She introduced me to motivational tapes, and I began to listen to them consistently. (In today’s world, it’s like listening to podcasts). I learned many lessons by listening to successful people. The biggest lesson I learned was that nothing I was doing, selling products, booking parties, or recruiting consultants, was about me. It was about what I had to offer that could help others have a better life.
Once I took the “me” out of the picture, I wasn’t afraid to talk about the benefits of my opportunity and what it could do for others. After all, I didn’t have to convince anyone or be pushy about anything. When I took the time to find out what someone needed or wanted, I could help them get it, whether it was a product, being a host and earning host awards, adding income to the family budget, or planning and paying for a family vacation! This was very rewarding and became my passion. There is nothing better to me than making a difference in someone’s life.
As Zig Ziglar said many times, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” That was the lesson I had to learn.
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