Ten Things I Wish I'd Known As Leader in Direct Sales

***MAJOR DISCLAIMER***
This post is strictly related to my own personal experiences as a leader and does not in any way reflect anyone else's leadership style. My hope is not to make anyone feel bad, but only to help any who struggle in this area.


My crystal ball wish: The ten things I wish I'd known...

1. People are not always going to be motivated or inspired by the flaunting of our victories, trips, and successes. These things can, of course, be highly motivating, but there is a big difference between peppering with the occasional picture or post, and flooding people's newsfeeds. Done too often, this can be quite disheartening and unmotivating to people, especially during convention time. Take care to create an environment of sharing the benefits of the business, without alienating people who feel like they work just as hard as you and may not be where you're at yet. 

2. Don't expect incentives to fuel your team forever. People can only work for incentives for so long before it is evident the incentives don't do much to reflect their hard work. Incentives are definitely a good thing, but choose them wisely, and don't get into the bad habit of spending too much money and time on them, or begin to rely on them as your only means of inspiring your team. There are better ways to inspire people in the long term.

3. Don't bulk message your downline as your primary method of getting in touch with them. This can be an effective tool for getting information out to your team, but it is rarely motivating and can start to feel impersonal, and pressuring to some. I suggest having a group forum that you use for getting info out about meetings, events, company information, etc., and/ or inspirational posts; but as a tool for motivating and praising team members or using too often as a "check in," bulk messaging can backfire quickly.

4. Don't start treating your team members as people who work for you. They do not work for you, they work WITH you. Remember, though you rely on these people to keep your business thriving, they are also people who have jobs, families, obligations, bills to pay, and mouths to feed, just like you, and their time is just as valuable as yours. You took great care to present them with an opportunity you hoped would change their lives for the better, you did not make them interview for it, and they do not punch a time clock for you. There is truly no "I" in team.

5. If you want to keep the friends you had before direct sales, think it through before "recruiting" them to your team. I have seen friendships since high school end over direct sales. Remember to treat everyone like they are as important to you as your very best friend, but when it comes to asking your very best friend to join your team, be careful they don't ever feel like the business is more important to you than they are.

6. If you want to keep the friends you made during your time in direct sales, find other common ground besides direct sales. Trust me on this, once you leave a business, be prepared to leave all but a select few of your new friends behind too. It's nobody's fault, it's often just lack of common ground beyond direct sales.

7. If you invest very little of your time in your team, they will likely invest very little time in their business. This is a difficult line to teeter because you don't want to pressure your team, but you don't want to leave them to sink or swim either. I wish I had the perfect solution for this issue, but the best thing to do, if you're unsure, is to just ask each individual team member what motivates and inspires them. Do they respond better to incentives, recognition, phone calls, one on one meetings? Find out what it is and write down a little profile on each person if you have to, but learn it and apply it.

8. Don't expect to magically know how to lead overnight. The day you officially become a leader isn't the day you know how to lead. It's only the beginning of your long journey of learning through trial and error. Learn from others. What other leaders do isn't always going to be right for you, but it's great to have the experiences of others to help shape you in the what-to-do and what-not-to-do aspects of leadership.

9. Be sure you want to BE a leader and that you are 100% committed to it before you actually commit to it. There's nothing worse than getting neck deep into leadership and feeling like you just don't want it. And it's not fair to those you lead, if you cannot commit to leading them. More often than not, your team's flame will die out soon after yours does.

10. Don't ever tell anyone they didn't want it "badly enough" after a failed attempt at their business. Some people can follow the training and business model to a T, and it will not work the same for everyone. Telling someone they didn't want it badly enough, even if it is true, is in no way encouraging to them on any level. Only if you want to make someone feel horrible about their efforts, should you ever say something like that to them.

In conclusion, it is easier to mess up leadership than it is to be spectacular at it. That's not to say there aren't tons and tons of amazing leaders out there, of course there are. I know many! But the common mistakes leaders make, especially new leaders, can really stress a team out and turn people away from the business forever, and that's not what we want. We want to INSPIRE and change people's lives for the better. 

My best advice in avoiding the major pitfalls of direct sales leadership is to take some serious time in developing your own method of leadership. Get together with your leader, or a leader who aligns nicely with how you see yourself leading, and get some advice from them. Talk to your team members too, you'd be surprised how much insight you can get from people who aren't already in leadership positions. Make sure you are prepared for the ups and downs, because there will be plenty, and be sure to give yourself a break too. We're only human, we all make mistakes. Trust me, I've made plenty, and will continue to do so. 

Always lead with honesty, integrity, and an open heart, and you can't go wrong.

Getting Started: My Top 10 Health and Fitness Motivators

I've had sleep apnea for a while now because of my weight, and it was very embarrassing for me when I got that diagnosis and had to come home with a CPAP. It still is embarrassing for me at times, but it took me a long time to get this way, it will take a long time to reverse it. 

I would say that is the BIGGEST reason I am trying so hard right now. Obviously, just being healthy and fit in general is important to me, but relying on a CPAP machine to make sure I am breathing safely every night is not how I intend to spend the rest of my life. 

I'm in a few health and fitness groups on Facebook and I know a lot of people struggle with just getting started. So, I thought I would make a little list of the things that motivated me, and hope it helps anyone else trying to make positive changes.

The best advice I can give everyone (including myself) is don't be too hard on yourself! Yes, WORK HARD. But don't BE too hard on yourself, no matter what. Here are my top ten suggestions for starting out strong:

1.Every day, try to make healthy choices. Don't focus on the week, or the month, or the year, focus on TODAY. Like my husband says "lay a perfect brick today, and someday, you will have the perfect wall" (or something to that effect).

2. Get a fitness partner. This is what usually gets me to the gym when I am first starting out.

3. Get something to track your food, steps, weigh-ins, etc. Apps, devices, a notebook, whatever works.

4. Find a fitness program YOU think is fun, make the time to go, and force yourself to go if you must. If you can't get motivated, hire a personal trainer. If you can't afford a trainer, or a gym, buy some fitness DVDs and have some "you" time at home! Change the way you look at it.

5. Watch your portions, cut out some bad things, and eat less of the things you know are not helping you achieve your goals.

6. Get with your doctor and find out what your possible food allergies/ sensitivities might be. Then cut those things out completely. It's amazing how those things can affect your progress.

7. Join a fitness group or forum! Talk about your struggles, and your successes. Share your favorite recipes, workouts, gadgets, methods, etc! We all need that extra support from people!

8. Go back to the basics. What has worked for you in the past?

9. Is that not working? TRY NEW THINGS! Your body changes with age, childbirth, health conditions, stress, you name it. Maybe those things that worked before, won't work now. Find something that WILL.

10. SET your goals, LOG your goals, and CELEBRATE your accomplishments! Don't just brush off that 1/2 a pound it took you a whole week to drop, CELEBRATE it! Nothing is small when it comes to making yourself healthier!

One more thing:

If you have a bad eating day, if you skip breakfast, if you miss a workout, if you miss a week of workouts, don't BEAT yourself up, PICK yourself up! This is about you getting healthy, not you being PERFECT! Get that idea out of your head right now! All we can do is our best from day to day. You are worth it, your family is worth it. Find your WHY and make it your great motivator!

The Plain, the Mundane, and the Downright Insane

So, recently, Haley Ragsdale and I decided to collaborate on a little project together. She told me a few hilarious tidbits about her life, I almost spit out my coffee, and then I jumped on my laptop to see what would happen if I wrote up a little something. Well…. Here’s what happened….

Most of you may not know this, but Haley has been told she sounds like a Valley Girl a time or two in her life. Okay, a time or two million, whatever. I mean, like, gag me with a spoon! She totally stopped talking that way a few years back! Anyway, the point is, she may have been born in California, but she was raised an Alaska girl. When you ask her, she’s not exactly sure how the Valley girl thing stuck, but she and I both know what it’s like to grow up in a place that can seem ages behind the times. Some might say it’s boring, but really, it just makes us have to try a little harder to keep up.

That being said; a few days ago, Haley told me she was getting ready for her day, applying her blue eyeshadow and hot pink lipstick, her hair large and in charge; and when she looked at herself in the mirror, she was flashed back to 1987 in an instant. She could practically hear “Head to Toe” playing through the proverbial boom box in her mind. It was all Lisa Lisa up in her bathroom that morning, and she found herself transported back to a simpler time.

A time of innocence. A time of teetering on the edge of breakthrough technology. A time of sleepovers, bad music, and experimenting with makeup- accidentally lighting her hair on fire, trying to melt her eyeliner. Oh yes, that happened. Would we expect anything less from the Fearless Haley Ragsdale? Of course not. A bit too much Aquanet? Perhaps. But her story left me feeling alive with inspiration.

So, what did all this crazy make-upping, big-hair burning, and so-bad-it’s-good ‘80s music result in? Well, most people would have looked at that hot mess in the mirror and reached for the nearest wash cloth, but not Haley, she OWNED it! But more importantly, she was inspired. And her story inspired me! I realized more than ever, that we, as a society, are desperately seeking INSPIRATION. It got me thinking about tapping into what inspires us. What inspires others? And how we can take the day-to-day mundane and turn it into a lifetime of extraordinary.

I believe it starts with the little things. The bad ‘80s hair day, (even the good ‘80s hair day), the smile on a stranger’s face when you take that extra second to really hold the door open for them. The warm thank you from the barista you overtipped, even though you were stressed out. That first cup of perfect coffee in the morning, that last kiss from your loved one at night.

From the greatest of things, the awards and recognitions, new babies, weddings, and jumping out of airplanes with your best friend; to the smallest of accomplishments: the workout, the casserole, squeezing into those jeans, mastering that perfect smoky eye, getting out of bed 15 minutes early, shoot, just getting out of bed at all.

From the everyday things, to the once in a lifetime. Allowing them all to be equal on the scale of amazingness, all treasures in the eye of the beholder. YOURS. Tapping into the things of the past, the hope for the future, and the reality of today, and using them all to create something truly inspiring.

And so, our challenge is this: Find these little things in your life, the plain, the mundane, and the downright insane, and make them your EXTRAORDINARY life! Take a risk, tell a joke, be a mentor, write a poem, sing a song, spend some time, take that nap, talk to someone, and yes, be silent too.

Just do it all. Because life really is going by quickly. The lady Haley sees in the mirror is still that same crazy kid, she’s just got a few more battle scars. But one day, she’ll be older still. And when she looks in the mirror then, I know she’ll be just the same. Same crazy hair, blue eyeshadow, and hot pink lipstick. With a few more laugh lines, a few more battle scars, and a lot more wisdom. But man, will there be one heck of a smile on her face. Because she will have made an extraordinary life. “Totally, for sure!”

So, what are you waiting for? Go make yours!

To find out more about Haley's Adventures in all things Direct Sales and Make-upping, visit her website: HaleyRagsdale.com