Enjoy these articles written by Annette and other direct sales leaders from around the world! We hope they help you!
I'm a Pooh, How About You?
by Annette Yen
I'm a Pooh - how 'bout you?
When my girls were growing up we absolutely loved reading the Winnie the Pooh books together. In fact, now that they are 16 and 17, we actually still enjoy the original series (not the Disney remake books) and often will just pick them up for fun and read a chapter or two.
There is benefit, however, to reading Pooh as a direct seller too. Hang with me here, I'm very serious. Pooh and his friends from the hundred acre wood provide a metaphor for the people in our lives in general and more specifically to our direct sales teams.
So let's have some fun and explore a bit more about Winnie the Pooh and his friends and see if you have someone on your team or a potential recruit that looks like:
Pooh himself: Pooh is pretty much the eternal optimist. He looks at every opportunity of life as a chance to get more honey and won't be shy about asking for honey when he sees it nearby and if his tummy is a little rumbly. He cares about his friends, sings while he's walking and basically is fun to be around. Though not always the brightest bulb in the lamp, what Pooh lacks in street smarts he makes up in caring and optimism.
The Tax Advantages of having a home based business
The best advantages of owning a home-based business are you can turn non-deductible expenses into tax deductions. The deductions you create for your Schedule C have a more significant impact on the total taxes you pay than do deductions on Schedule A. Schedule C deductions not only reduce federal income tax, they also reduce self-employment tax, Medicare tax, and state and local taxes. Some favorite tax deductions for home-based businesses include the following: ·Meals and Entertainment can be 50% deductible when you are with prospective or existing clients, vendors, etc. If you are in a service business or sell products, most everyone is a potential client. It is important to follow the simple documentation guidelines issued by the IRS and to understand there are limitations. An example of a deduction you cannot take is dining out with your spouse. Even if you are business partners, the IRS says no to this. If together, you take a potential client to lunch then the meeting expense is deductible. ·Trips must be mostly business-related to be deductible. If a small element of fun is involved, you will most likely have a completely deductible trip. The deductions will not apply to a spouse who tags along, unless it is also a working trip for the spouse. Compliance with IRS regulations can be tricky, so it is best to check with your tax advisor before assuming your trip to Hawaii will be deductible. ·Utilities and other expenses for the portion of your home or apartment you use exclusively for business are powerful deductions. Without a home-based business, the most one can deduct is interest and property taxes (on Schedule A). In relation to a home-based business, a portion of utilities, maintenance, cleaning, lawn service, pest control, etc. can be deducted on a Schedule C. ·Income Shifting. Let us say you have three kids who are ages 10, 12, and 14. You can pay them to work in your business. (Children must be eight years old to be paid for working in a family-based business.) Each child can earn up to $4,700 in 2002 without paying income tax. You also have the advantage of not paying Social Security or Medicare taxes on your dependent children who work in your business. In this example, you have shifted $14,100 tax-free dollars to your kids. This is clearly better than allowance! There are rules, however. The kids have to actually work and be paid fair (not excessive) wages for their services These are just a few of the many tax advantages available to owners of home-based businesses. It is strongly recommended you enlist a qualified tax advisor to help you learn how to document your expenses and how to legally take every deduction to which you are entitled. |
||
 |
||
| Vicki Collins is the Prosperity Center Director for the DSWA, a CPA/CCPS and a Certified Public Accountant. She specializes in helping direct sellers keep more of what they earn by managing their money properly and maximizing home-business deductions. | ||
Article provided by the DWSA | ||
Overcoming Fear of following up with your company leads
Imagine this scenario and picture yourself in it...
You are a fairly new direct sales representative with your company and you are more than just a little bit excited. This is a new business. It’s a chance for some good income. Plus what a great way to meet new people. The potential with this is fabulous on all fronts. You received your start up kit and you have attended your initial training sessions with your company and your upline leader. You probably even had your first party, vendor fair or open house. You are raring to go and make your dreams come true.
Oh look, it’s an email that just came in from your home office manager. She has a lead who called in and is looking to host a party in your area. “Could you please follow up”, they ask? Um, sure, yeah ... uh... gulp. Now you are paralyzed.
Chances are you, like most people in any type of sales job (and make no mistake about it, direct sales of any kind is sales. Don’t believe it if someone told you it isn’t) are paralyzed with fear. Fear of rejection, fear of embarrassment, fear of that monster commonly known as ... the telephone. Some of the above or probably, like everyone else, all of the above.
Remembering the "Service" in Customer Service
Remembering the “Service” in Customer Service
As direct sales representatives it’s important to remember that our customers are who we are serving, not the other way around. Without them we wouldn’t have a business and so, we are their servants - working for them to keep them happy with our products, our service, our company.
The key to developing a good relationship with your customers starts with communication. Once a direct sales consultant has established a customer/rep relationship with someone it’s important for her to communicate clearly what service the customer can expect. When appropriate, even a written formal agreement can be used to insure that both parties are clear on what will be provided. Communication can come in many forms:
1. Follow up calls - Communicate clearly several times regarding your customer’s orders and/or upcoming party that she’s hosting. Make calls to confirm the booking, to let her know you’re excited about the upcoming party, to secure a guest count, to talk through any last minute details and to answer any questions she might have.
6 Lessons from a Snow Shovel
As I was shoveling after a huge snowstorm one day, I found myself thinking about my direct sales business and how much the same frustrations, etc that I felt while shoveling could be applied to my business. Here are my quick thoughts. But you can read the more detailed version HERE.
Lessons from a show snovel:
1. Sometimes you have to put up with some rocky road before you hit easy street.
2. Most of the time you’ll have to clean up after the snow plow.
3. Break the job up into smaller pieces and it will appear to go much faster.
4. Stop once in a while and take a look at your accomplishments rather than at everything you still have left to do. But don’t look too long or you might stop.
5. The job goes much faster with help.
6. Even though you do a great job you probably will still get dumped on again - just remember that you will make it through.
And for a bonus:
7. You can’t write off a health club membership or a snow shovel on your business expenses - the snow shovel is much cheaper and you don’t have the option NOT to do it.
6 Lessons from a Snow Shovel - continued
1. Sometimes you have to put up with some rocky road before you hit easy street.
2. Most of the time you’ll have to clean up after the snow plow.
As much as I appreciate the snow plow and the job it does, it makes a nice big mess for me to shovel at the base of my driveway. In my direct sales business sometimes I have to work through changes that the home office brings – or another way to apply this lesson is if I hire someone else to do some of the work for me, I still probably have to do some “clean up” afterward to make it work the way I want it to.
3. Break the job up into smaller pieces and it will appear to go much faster.
This one is huge both for my driveway as well as my business. If I write up my weekly to do list, it can get overwhelming, but when I break it down into daily or even hourly tasks, I can get through things pretty quickly.
4.Stop once in a while and take a look at your accomplishments rather than at everything you still have left to do. But don’t look too long or you might stop.
This one is definitely important for my shoveling since our driveway is really long and if I only look down at what I have left to do, it’s incredibly discouraging. But if I take a second to stop and look back at what I’ve already shoveled I realize how much I accomplish with each push or lift and I can push on to finish the job. Same with direct sales. Take time to pat yourself on the back – and then get back to work!
4. The job goes much faster with help.
This morning I started out shoveling with my husband who needed to stop at about the half way point because he couldn’t be late for a meeting. It’s amazing how much faster it goes when the two of us are working together (and even more so when the kids join in the fun). The same is true for direct sales. You can apply this lesson to confirm the benefit of recruiting a team as well as the benefit of outsourcing some of your daily tasks.
5.Even though you do a great job you probably will still get dumped on again – just remember that you will make it through.
I always talk about persistence in business. Especially in direct sales you’re going to ride a roller coaster or to continue the snow analogy, you’re going to have good weather and bad weather … and then good weather and then… more bad weather. Just keep shoveling – it’ll be spring again soon!
And finally:
7.You can’t write off a health club membership or a snow shovel on your business expenses – the snow shovel is much cheaper and you don’t have the option NOT to do it.
Well this one doesn’t apply much but I guess it just means that you should be wise in your finances? Or something like that!