Back to Work!

Welcome!  Please check in with our group below.  Let us know when you’ve made your 5 contacts today, what’s working and what’s not working.  Let us know if you need support!

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52 Comments

  1. Day 1 tip:
    Ask open-ended questions as opposed to those that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Instead of asking “Do you like what you do for work currently?”, try “How do you feel about your current job?”

    This style of communication opens up the discussion and allows for a deeper connection.

  2. I had a hard time getting into the swing of things today. Yesterday was my birthday so I took my day off today to get away and relax. I did manage to talk to many people while I was over in South Haven at Lake Michigan, although, I am having a hard time transitioning into talking about my business. I am okay with opening up conversation, just don’t bring up my business as what I do. Talking to people was a starting point for me, though! This tip you have left here has some great questions that I can hopefully try out tomorrow! Thanks

    1. Happy Birthday Jessica! You have taken the first step of starting the conversations, I dare you to take the next step of mentioning your business. Remember, you’re a real person, not a “slick salesperson”, and this is what you are doing with your time, be proud to talk about it! Do not think of the outcome as you are having the conversations, “will they book a party/show or be interested in joining me?”, just genuinely connect and share why you’re excited about your business and where it’s headed. Excitement can be contagious…

  3. I am excited about the possibilities resulting from making at least 5 business contacts per day. I love the line from the movie Soul Surfer…”I don’t need easy, I just need possible”. When you open your mind to possible anything can happen.

    1. Welcome Lesley! What a fantastic quote and it is so true that this is possible but not easy. The great news is that it will become easier the more we do it!

  4. Day 2 tip:
    Institute the POWER HOUR. Block out one hour each day that you will be more efficient than you ever thought possible. Organize your contact list and ready an area ahead of time, set the timer on your phone and as soon as you hit start – begin making your contacts. You can even use this strategy to connect in person. Similarly, once you arrive at your destination, look at your clock and begin making face to face connections for 60 minutes. You will be amazed what you can accomplish in one hour!

    The trick is to make sure this hour is solely dedicated to connecting not to preparation or emails or any sort of paperwork. That’s what makes it powerful and you will feel the energy once you complete it!

  5. Hi Kate and everyone, well I missed the call last night, was at the lake with also no computer, so I didn’t know we started 21 days already (last time we had a week to choose our habit). Anyway I did make 3 contacts did talk to them about the business, and have one to call tomorrow and one to pick a date for a party. AS FOR TODAY, I better get busy!!!

  6. My first day I had a migraine. So today I am doing Day 1 and working into Day 2 also. So for my Day 1 I have one party booked. It may have been my sister, but she said yes! It has been over a year since she held one for me. I had been reluctant to ask, but I went for it.

  7. I got started today, also busy during the holiday. Made 12 calls, talked to 3 people. all asked to be called back. One was in Minnesota, one was in Indiana and the other was in a meeting!!!! Better luck tomorrow!!!

    1. Great, you’re started! Sounds like you’re contacting busy people which is great! They tend to know a lot more people – future prospects!

  8. Day 3 tip: The art of leaving a great voice-mail
    You will be leaving a lot of voice-mails so it is essential to get good at it and you will.
    First, think of what messages get you to call someone back? Was it their tone, sincerity, did they mention a name of someone you know or maybe a combination of all three?

    I want you to experiment and notice what messages are getting the call back – the most important parameters are:
    Keep it simple/short
    Keep it warm – smile as you speak
    Use a hook if you have one, i.e. “I remember you loved ____ at Sarah’s party, I’ll help you get it for free.”

  9. Hi. I have been out-of-town so I am just able to start today (Day 3). I feel very apprehensive as I haven’t made any calls for a very loooong time. I will update you on how I to today. 🙂

  10. I have been out of town and missed the call on Sunday evening. I am just catching up on email. Starting today, I will make 5 daily contacts. Must admit, it’s tough to set aside the time – I work full time, and am taking a graduate level class. Any suggestions? I’d love a script or suggested lines for making these calls.

    1. Hi Karen, the good news is that busy people like you tend to do better at fitting one more thing in. The key is not to dread making your contacts but to prepare and look forward to connecting with people and building relationships. Like any other important appointments in your life, you HAVE to book this time and stick to it. Start by blocking 20 minutes today of real on the phone time and see how many contacts that allows you to make.

  11. Hi everyone, Day 2 I talked to two NO’S, one friend whos brother-in-law has two weeks to live, A waitress I am calling back tomorrow, and ran into a cousin I haven’t seen for 10 years, am dropping off a catalogue today. Have lots of contacts to make today!! No parties yet. Good luck all!! Vicki

  12. Hi everyone. The day didn’t turned out as I planned. I work full-time and it is now almost 8 p.m. (as I worked late) and don’t have the energy to phone anyone. Feeling frustrated! Any suggestions on how to make contacts in the day? I find I am at my highest energy level in the morning but I am at my job. Would love to make these contacts early in the day before the “day takes over”

    1. Hi Cindy, I can relate to your dilemma as I work in an office setting too during the day. For me, I have to set aside two short blocks of time during the day where I grab my list of contacts, literally get in my car, drive to a quiet spot where I can make 15 -25 minutes of calls. In that time I am able to either reach a number of people or leave quite a few messages.

      How do you feel about adding a contact block like that to your day?

      Occasionally my day is too filled with JOB responsibilities and in those cases, I institute a power hour when I get home. But I make sure to have all of my contacts ready to go when I get there so I can just dial. I make sure my husband is on board, so he can help out with other responsibilities while I commit just one hour.

      1. Thank you for the suggestion. I am going to give it a try! I brought my contact list with me today and it is the car.

  13. Hi, Everyone! CindyW I can relate. I was told by my “day” job to move my hours back. After, I left work I had an appointment and then a business women’s meeting. I brought phone numbers to make contact calls. My “day” job called me between both appointments, taking up my “free” time for calls. I was thinking I didn’t make any contacts about my business. As I was waking this morning, I realized I actually made 3 social contacts after the meeting. Two I will make phone calls for possible sales. At my other appointment I had another opportunity, but didn’t seize the moment.

    1. Patti, I love that you are reviewing your days and accessing opportunities. You are so right on that there are possible connections available everywhere we go. There are opportunities everywhere from networking events to the dry cleaner. Just imagine saying to the desk attendant, “wow, you have great energy – you would be great at what I do…Oh, you’ve never heard of _______, you should have a party/show and see how fun and easy it is plus the average party is $______ which helps too!”

  14. Where does the time go? The last couple of days have been so busy I hardly seem to have time to do anything (and I am retired)!! I made one call on Monday to someone who had not heard of the product before and have now dropped off a catalogue for her. I am very optimistic about this and will follow up with her next week. I also spoke to a friend who has (after 3 years of hearing me talk about it) decided to join the business so I will soon have a new recruit – yipee! I have also made contact with a few of my downline who had been incognito for awhile so I was pleased to learn that they are back on board. So, although I have not made 5 contacts a day since I started I am celebrating the progress that I have made and am determined not to feel guilty about what I haven’t done. Today I have a window of opportunity this afternoon and I am making my list of who I will be calling. I will let you know how it goes.

  15. Hello all. Well on Day 3 I left three catalogues at my hairdressers and suggested that she and the salon have a wine and cheese for their clients and introduce Silpada..she said she would talk to her partner. Talked to a girl I know in Arbonne and we plan to hold parties for each other and possibly do a joint open house. Talked to my cousin and she’s picking a date for November for a party. My friend Joanne booked for October, and I was stood up by a potential recruit. What would you do in that case?? I haven’t called her yet.

    1. Hi Vicki!! Anytime I’m stood up I am always very gracious with the first time. I check in with the person just to make sure they are alright and to reschedule. Generally the guilt that you are not mad and care about them helps to successfully reschedule. If they stand you up twice – move on!

  16. So I had just had “Honesty calling” me and this is what I camed to realize:
    So I have been hiding in the bushes since the course started. I have been in my business for a little over 2 years and during my first year I had people calling me to book parties and place orders – I had never made a call to get a booking. I asked people at parties and out and about, but never did pick up the dreaded phone! Now time has come that I have to pick up the phone and that scares me. I have people that I would like to talk to but I don’t have their number, but I do have them on facebook so I have sent out some personalized messages to these people. Is this just me taking the easier way out? How would you go about getting these phone numbers? Suggestions would be great!

    1. Thank you for your brave realization! It is a hard transition from easy street to daily contacts, but I KNOW you can do it!!
      Facebook is a fantastic tool. Think about how much more connected we are then ever before.
      Imagine an acquaintance contacting you on Facebook, how would you feel if they wrote, “Hi Lesley, I would love to catch up with you, we should chat sometime soon, what’s the best number to reach you?” Make it your own language – but just ask to connect – remember, we are just building relationships – we are not always just going for the close.

  17. Although I did not make as many calls as I had originally planned, I did end up making several business contacts today. One was a delivery of a piece of jewellery and the customer is now booking a party. Another was a visit to the Chiropractor and he bought several pieces of jewellery based on things that I had worn to appointments. I made 3 phone calls and left 3 messages. One customer did call me back and told me how she had appreciated the fact that I had continued to call her and that she would definitely like to book a party and would call me this weekend to do so. All in all I am pleased with the overall results.

    1. Thanks Lesley! Just imagine having a day like this every day – a booking, a sale, and relationship starting to form – now that’s what I call getting back to work!

  18. Day 5 tip:
    Helpful language when sharing your opportunity:
    * Have you ever considered doing what I do?
    * What would you do with an extra 1,000 a month?
    * I heard you mention…..?
    * Could you see yourself partying like this a time or two a week?
    * YOU WOULD BE SO GREAT AT THIS!

    Helpful language when speaking with Friends and Family:
    * I know you care about my success and I could use some practice. May
    I practice on you?
    * It would be so fun to do this with you…
    * I just realized I have never shared the business with you.…

  19. Hi everyone! I made some phone calls and although I didn’t reach any I left voice messages and I will followup. I did give my card to one person 🙂

  20. Given that my weekend is very busy I decided that I would make calls on Saturday morning in between tasks/events. In total I have made 10 calls. I spoke with 4 people and left messages with the others. Of the four I have spoken to I have booked 2 parties (tentative dates but we will confirm later), arranged for an exchange of a product with one other, and will be sending a new catalogue to the fourth person who is also going to consider hosting a party. I am VERY pleased with that outcome. It seemed quite easy to fit it in and of course, the outcome made it very reinforcing!!
    As Sunday is also a busy day, I will schedule booking calls in the morning as well.

  21. I had a party Friday night. One lady said she would think about a party. I am doing a Fall Festival in the county where I live. It’s 2 days. Saturday I made around 20 contacts. Two possible parties. I will need to follow up with them. I made two sales with a very likely future sale. I have one person requesting consultant information. And my name was asked for a fundraiser next year! I feel I had a good day. 🙂

  22. A change in our plans made it impossible for me to make any calls on Sunday. I did not fret about it as I was still on a high from the previous day’s results. Today I decided I would do some other work related to my business in the morning, deliver a hostess package in the afternoon and make my booking calls in the evening. I was pleased with my progress in the morning and even more pleased when I received a call “out of the blue” from a young woman who had attended a previous party at which I was the rep and whose circumstances have changed such that she now feels that she would like to consider the business opportunity. We had a lengthy discussion and I followed up by sending her an information package. Another high!! This evening I have made 10 calls and left 10 messages. I am, however, not discouraged. I will make a few more before I stop for the evening.

    1. So exciting, you are building relationships and it is paying off – they are calling you – that is the sign that you really made a connection.

  23. Helpful language for getting a booking date. Let’s move past “promises” to actual dates.
    * Let’s compare calendars and see what would work for both of us.
    * I know we’re both busy women and telephone tag is no fun. Why don’t we pencil in something now so we have a starting point?
    * Here are the dates I’m available (Open Date Sheet). Why not take a look and pencil something in. – If the person isn’t willing to pencil something in, they will tell you why and you can decide how to address the concern.
    * I only work on ________ and ___________. Which would be better for you? (Pause for response.) Great, I have _________ available….shall we pencil you in?
    * I have September 29th and 20th available. Which would work better for you. (People tend to take the second date you say, so say the closer date second!)

  24. Swallowed my frog again yesterday and made about 10 calls. Once again I left a lot of messages and did not receive many call-backs. In each case I did tell them that if I didn’t hear from them I would call them back next week. I did get a couple of call-backs from the weekend. One lady told me that she had decided against hosting a party, another asked me to call her at the end of October.
    I have scheduled in an hour for booking calls this afternoon. I am trying to call all of my past hostesses first as well as anyone who has expressed an interest.
    I leave for holidays tomorrow morning for five days so will not be making any calls while away. I will, however, look for opportunities to make connections while I am gone (airport, poolside etc).

    1. Hi Lesley, Great that you’re getting calls back, that means that you are leaving great messages. Let us know how your vacation connections go, often great results happen when we’re relaxed! Enjoy!

  25. Hi, everyone! I am finding out I am making more social contacts than I thought. I have a possible booking from one yesterday after I dropped off a drawing prize for a Tri Kappa event. The same group has my name for the event next year! Going to a local chamber meeting this morning. Thanks for all the info Kate.

  26. I am back home after a holiday in Vegas. Ready to get back to work. Have a power hour scheduled in for this afternoon. Looking forward to it!!

  27. Hi everyone, well I booked a party for Oct. 14th last night, and had a long visit with a lady I met in a restaurant, gave her the catalogue and she said she’d look it over, wasn’t sure about a party, but said I had good vibes and she liked me. We exchanged info so I’ll call her and see if she wants to book or be my friend. I plan to make many phone calls tonight and I may never catch up but am starting all over again and happy to have the opportunity to do so (what other job do you get more kicks at the cat if you don’t ace it on the first try??)

  28. Participating in this Back to Work session has really motivated me to do just that…get back to work. Although I do not make 5 contacts a day every day, I certainly am trying to make contacts more regularly and consistently than I did before I participated. And I am definitely starting to see the results that I want. I feel a greater determination and am more able to overcome my doubts and hesitations than I was before. Thank you Kate for your help with this. I think the thing that I still find most frustrating is the number of phone messages that I leave for people. Occasionally I get a call-back but more often than not I do not. However, I just keep trying.

    1. Dear Lesley, I am so happy you are a part of this course! You are a great example of action with no excuses.
      Leaving messages is our new business reality, everyone screens! I consistently work on leaving messages that will get a call back. I note which messages actually get the call back and what I did well when I left that message.
      My returned messages often happen when I have left a warm, confident, short message. I always ask for the call back definitively, for example – “Hi Abby, this is Kate – I met you the other night at Rebecca’s party. I noticed that you love the Carrington Collection and I have an update on how you can get a piece for free. Please give me a call this week to discuss, I look forward to connecting! My number is….”
      And you’re right on with continuing to try – often people need a second or even third message before returning a call.

      1. Thank you for your reply. While I always leave a very upbeat message and I usually indicate that if I don’t hear back from them I will call them again later, I have not tracked my messages to see which get the call backs. I will try that suggestion.
        I relate a story to my reps which to me illlustrates the importance of not giving up on a client/customer/future hostess. One summer I received a call from a theatre company offering me season’s tickets (I had purchased them in the past but had been undecided about renewing my subscription). The caller (rep) did an excellent job of regularly calling me until I finally made a decision and purchased the tickets. She must have called me at least 8 times. I never said “No, I was not interested” but when she called I just wasn’t ready to make the decision or didn’t have the time to discuss it right then or I screened the call and didn’t even bother to answer the phone. But she never gave up. She persevered and eventually ended up getting a sale.
        I look forward to talking to you tonight.

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