(Finding Time to Work Your Business) When You Already Feel Overworked

[esavvymom]

I got this article today in Tammy's e-zine newsletter. I had to share it, since I know it fits ALOT of us- me included!!! (as I sit here facing a mound of school-books/papers to put away; Cub Scout to-do list as long as my arm, and of course, my PC cust. call list and SUYB homework. I just want to curl up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and watch TV!!!)

When You Already Feel Overworked
-Tammy Stanley

A very common challenge that many direct sellers face is finding the time to work their business when their schedule is already more than busy. Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this topic is the way in which people ask for guidance around it - they do not stand up in front of a group and yell, "Hey Tammy, riddle me this: How can I psyche myself up to make calls at night when I'm tired, I've been working all day, and the last thing I want to do is get on the phone and talk to people?"

I am almost always asked that question when the direct seller feels certain that no one else is listening! Hopefully that got your wheels turning! Before even answering the question of where to find time to work this business, we have to understand why these direct sellers feel it necessary to ask this question when they are alone with me.

Here is what I think is going on. The people in this industry love saying that they only work their business part-time. Even top leaders brag how they only work the hours they want to work and that they love earning full-time pay for part-time work, and I think people hear these reports and they assume that this business is easy for all those people who only work it part-time. Therefore, they cannot understand what is wrong with them - why can they not achieve the extraordinary in just a few hours a week like the top super stars?

AH! Can you see that you might feel embarrassed to admit that you are struggling to want to spend any more time working, even if it is just part-time, when those around you appear to be doing so well by working part-time?

If you are already feeling overworked, certainly this industry can easily appeal to you because you hear how some people are earning a sizable income from working part-time, and you see this as a way out of a job that monopolizes your time and your energy. However, I am willing to bet that you are trying to figure out a way to motivate yourself to work your direct sales business after you get home from work.

Plenty of direct sellers tell me: "I'm really finding it difficult to make the calls I need to make at night because I work so hard during the day. I'm hoping that what you said today will finally motivate me to just get on that phone from now on."

Surely you have heard the ol' saying, "insanity is doing the same things over and over but expecting different results." Well, expecting that you are going to come home from work tomorrow and suddenly feel motivated to call your customers is doing the same thing but expecting different results.

It is not motivation that you need. Obviously you are already motivated. My goodness - you are overworked yet you started a part-time business! It is time to recognize the fact that you are already highly motivated.

The problem is that you keep doing the same thing and expecting different results!

After you have worked all day it is only natural for you to walk into your home and want to relax. Indeed that voice inside your head will even tell you, "You need a break. You've worked all day. Besides your customers are coming home from work too and they don't want to be bothered by a salesperson!"

Of course just in case you did not realize it, that is the exact same voice that will practically give you a lashing when you head off to bed, "Well, well. Another night without you making a single call to any customer! Is this how you propose to pay off your fall kit? You know, if you weren't so lazy you could probably achieve something in this business. The first thing you HAVE to do when you get home from work tomorrow is to call your customers!"

The key here is to outsmart that little voice before you get home from work tomorrow because it is only going to convince you to take a break and to call your customers later. How do you outsmart that little voice inside your head? I thought you would never ask!

Take a list of 3-5 customer names and phone numbers with you to work. At lunchtime make 1-3 calls. Immediately after work make 2 more calls in your office before leaving or in your car before getting on the road. Then on your drive home you get to congratulate yourself for doing something to move your business ahead today.

When you cross the threshold of your home, you get to relax without a single ounce of guilt. Oh, and remember that little voice? For the first time in years it's silent. AH! Peace and quiet like you have never known - it is awesome!

Now I have to warn you... this may cause your business to move ahead rather dramatically. One direct seller began following this suggestion and 6 months later she had 9 people on her team. Another direct seller who implemented this simple technique recruited 7 people in 6 months.

The results can be rather impressive when you start doing something completely different than what you have always done before. Make 3-5 calls every day but make them before you come home! When you do this, you force that nagging little voice to "take a hike" and you allow something else to take its place. And that something else is pure, unadulterated desire.

When you are lead by pure desire, you discover new energy and creativity, and you just might find yourself arriving home and choosing to make a few more phone calls to your customers just because you want to!

-Author, Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker Tammy Stanley publishes the propelling 'Sales Refinery Insights' weekly ezine for direct sales professionals. If you're ready to jump-start your direct sales business, make more money, and create more value, get your FREE tips now at www.tammystanley.com/ezine/ezine_offer_ds.htm

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

This is the best thing I've seen in a while!

And in addition ... it gives me permission to make calls during the day and since I work a lot of 2nd shift I can do these calls BEFORE work!

My batter bowl full of fair contacts is getting called tomorrow and when i go back to work next week it is living in my car!

 

[katem51]

Thanks for posting this; really enjoyed it. And I'm definitely going to try it.

 

[pattybrady]

My favorite part was this:
"The people in this industry love saying that they only work their business part-time. Even top leaders brag how they only work the hours they want to work and that they love earning full-time pay for part-time work, and I think people hear these reports and they assume that this business is easy for all those people who only work it part-time. Therefore, they cannot understand what is wrong with them - why can they not achieve the extraordinary in just a few hours a week like the top super stars?"

I do think it is a little misleading to tell people that you earn full-time pay for part-time work...yes, I understand what they mean when they say that...but: 1) I bet they put in full time hours when you add up all the "behind the scenes"/non-show activities that go in to maintaining a successful PC business and 2) it sets unrealistic expectations for those of us who truly do only have 5-10 hours a week to devote to our business. In my case, I work a FT day job with an hour each way commute; have two young children who participate in a variety of activities and playdates (scouts, sports, etc). I'm happy with what I can achieve by investing that amount of time in my PC, but it is certainly not a full time income. When I was expecting that, I was disappointed every month and wondered what was wrong with *me*, since *they* all said they were earning FT income with PT hours.....

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

My favorite part was this:
I do think it is a little misleading to tell people that you earn full-time pay for part-time work...yes, I understand what they mean when they say that...but: 1) I bet they put in full time hours when you add up all the "behind the scenes"/non-show activities that go in to maintaining a successful PC business and 2) it sets unrealistic expectations for those of us who truly do only have 5-10 hours a week to devote to our business. In my case, I work a FT day job with an hour each way commute; have two young children who participate in a variety of activities and playdates (scouts, sports, etc). I'm happy with what I can achieve by investing that amount of time in my PC, but it is certainly not a full time income. When I was expecting that, I was disappointed every month and wondered what was wrong with *me*, since *they* all said they were earning FT income with PT hours.....

Not to stir the pot, but to kind of clarify. A PT job is generally 15-30 hours a week for about $400 every 2 weeks before taxes. If you have 2 shows a week and spend 2 solid hours on calls working your biz...you are roughly spending 10 hours a week for that same $400. Those 2 hours do not mean time surfing or organizing...just making the actual host coaching and follow up calls. If you are holding your 2 shows a week and spending bare minimum hours on phone, you'll be making about $800-$1000 a month....add catalog shows and your pay is higher. Introduce others to this fun opportunity....your check doubles. As a leader, you'll be probably looking at 20-25 hours a week. Still PT hours.

You get to decide when you clock in and you decide if you want to work your biz for that FT pay.

I think many of us believe we're working our biz and we are doing a lot of busy work. However, most of them are not income producing activities nor are there processes to streamline our work. Many of us enjoy the fun aspects of the biz...and so spend more time and include it as part of the "hours logged in".

 

[NooraK]

You get to decide when you clock in and you decide if you want to work your biz for that FT pay.

I try to make this point when I talk about the business. If someone asks me about how many hours I work my business a week, I'll be honest and tell them that it can take 10-15 hours if I want a thriving business, but the benefit is that I get to choose when I work those hours.

I think many of us believe we're working our biz and we are doing a lot of busy work. However, most of them are not income producing activities nor are there processes to streamline our work. Many of us enjoy the fun aspects of the biz...and so spend more time and include it as part of the "hours logged in".

I knwo I do a lot of busy work, and that's an opportunity for me to improve.

 

[Jolie_Paradoxe]

We all do Noora. I have found that if I track my calls and live ctcs each day, divided by new biz and old biz...I can see what I have truly done that day. Plus it shows me a ratio...as in 20 calls, 15 voicemails, 5 actual conversations, 1 show, 1 rec interview. Then I know I need to speak with 5 people to get 1 show and 1 recruit lead. I also know that I'll have to leave lots of voicemails to get to those 5 people. Voicemails are future biz for me and so I feel like I accomplished something that day.

I have been forcing myself to get the calls and follow up done before allowing myself to surf the net.

While I'm leaving my vm, I am sending email follow ups and stamping my catalogs. Multi-tasking whittles your time on the biz. If I make a mistake, not a big deal.

 

[raebates]

As was mentioned in one of my workshops at NC, work with PC is flexible, not optional.

That said, I love Tammy Stanley's stuff. She's practical.

 

[chefa]

Thanks for sharing! Practical advice to those of us who are sick to death of the phone after working the j.o.b.

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

At the J.O.B. I'm on the phone so much leaving messages for people that when I do PC calls, I find myself starting to leave my work number on people's machines!

Even when I was on 30 hours a week, I NEVER needed or wanted to do 2 shows a week. 4 shows a month is really the most I, my body and my schedule can handle, and more often 2 a month is my max. If I ever go back to school, which I threaten to do whenever I feel insecure about job security, I know that something would have to give, and it would be this business.