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Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful
committed citizens can change the world:
indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.
-- Margaret Mead
Well, you may have decided that you think the
idea sounds great, the products are wonderful and the opportunity is
incredible...BUT...you're not much of a sales person. Then read on...
Interview with Ilene Meckley
by Patti Stephen
This past fall, I attended a
seminar by Ilene Meckley, a national speaker who teaches personal
recruiting and marketing one's business. She has been with Discovery Toys
for 13 years and has personally been responsible for signing up over 650
during that time (that's an average of 50 a year)! She also teaches her
seminars to consultants of other direct sales companies. I have to admit
that I was a bit apprehensive, even skeptical about going because I
thought it would be a high-pressure-sale-pitch kind of thing, ala Anthony
Robbins-type, "you can do it!" sort of pep talk. I have nothing against
Anthony Robbins, by the way, but it was just that misperception factor on
my part. What I found instead was a soft spoken, yet very powerful,
compassionate woman who showed all of us there, that we indeed can do it
using some very basic tools.
The main thing I found to be
thought provoking and challenging is how she saw this business as an
opportunity to build specific character qualities into her children's
lives as she role modeled before them what she has learned through having
such a business. She has five children, three of whom are grown. They have
all learned from her in various ways—how to plan, how to make goals,
decisions, how to be enterprising and how to take the initiative. They
have watched her life and heard her words over and over again so that the
skills they have learned have become instinctive and automatic.
So now—let me introduce you to
this wonderful woman, and I hope those of you in direct sales will be
encouraged and challenged as I have been! And for those of you who have
never considered direct sales as a viable home business option, maybe
you'll be challenged to do something in that area "alongside your family.
. . ."
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Ilene,
please tell us a bit about yourself, your family and how you got started
in direct selling. Describe what it was that led you to consider direct
sales.
(Ilene):
I have five children and used to work full time outside the home. I felt
I was really missing out and wanted to be home with them. I made a
pretty sudden decision to quit work and stay home, but I needed
something to do to earn extra income. I looked into direct sales. I also
wanted to have something where I could role model for my children. That
is why I really decided to work at my business. I wanted to help them
grow into happy confident adults, and I knew I had to be happy and
confident to role model that before them. My business helped me to
accomplish that goal.
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For those who may
not be familiar with these terms, can you please define direct sales and
network marketing (in layman's words). How is this different from the
standard "pyramid" type stuff that some people are rightfully concerned
about?
(Ilene):
Network marketing really means that we are out there sharing with lots
of people information about our products and business opportunity. Since
we do not have stores we are the ones that need to bring the product and
business opportunity to everyone. I love the structure of our industry.
We are paid to share our passion with others. I love how we also get
paid to help others grow a business too. This is really all about being
in a helping profession.
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What kind of a
person were you back then when you first started? Did you see yourself
as a sales person? And how did that phrase "doing something alongside
your family" find its way into your way of thinking, especially as you
desired to help others be successful?
(Ilene)
I was so shy and really uncomfortable talking to people I didn't know. I
really thought people in sales were so pushy and only interested in
making a sale. Now I feel so differently. I feel successful sales people
help people make choices that people can feel really good about. A
successful sales person always asks questions and really has to care a
lot about the customer's interests even before they know if there will
be a sale. We have referred our family and friends to successful sales
people because they have made us feel cared about.
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What was the biggest
hurdle(s) that kept you from becoming the person you are today? How did
you overcome them? How did you overcome your fear of sharing with
strangers--people in the line at the grocery store, the bank and
doctor's offices?
(Ilene):
Fear used to stand in my way. Worrying about what others would think
about me was also a big problem. Then I decided to become a role model
for my kids, and I knew I had to show them how to overcome fears and
also not to worry about what others think of you. I wanted them to learn
when they feel good about what they do—that is the important thing. So I
decided to do that myself, especially with respect to how I ran my
business. I even had a terrible fear of flying! I had gotten this book
called "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway" by Susan Jeffers while getting
ready to fly to a meeting in Canada. Reading that book enabled me to
start controlling my fears and to begin dealing with them in a positive,
pro-active way. I learned to implement the concept of "positive self
talk" -- whereas I see a glass as half full, someone else may see it as
half empty. No one ever achieved anything with an "I can't do it!"
attitude. The "I can do it" thoughts lead to actions and actions lead to
more success and satisfaction for you.
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I realize there has
been a negative connotation associated with the idea of recruiting—where
people feel infringed upon or pressured to have to "bug" people into
signing up with their company. How have you effectively diminished that
negative misperception into the "sharing and caring" concept that you
teach in your seminars?
(Ilene):
I feel that we cannot and should never try to persuade anyone to do
anything they don't want to do. I also know I cannot tell how people
feel about things without asking. I never want to make a decision for
anyone else. I feel when we don't share we are making a conscious
decision to leave people out and also have made a decision for them. I
also really feel it is important to let people know they don't just have
to spend money, but that they can also earn money too if they share the
passion for the products. Asking people about joining is never pushy.
Perhaps telling them they need to join or should join could be. That is
why I work at not using those words in my sharing and caring language.
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How does a person
(or a mom in this case) balance their life when doing a home business?
For example, if you are actively pursuing or maintaining management with
a direct sales company, you are selling, recruiting, training--all at
the same time it seems. How does one balance that with cleaning house,
cooking meals, and caring for their children and husband? It seems like
it can get overwhelming at times. I know it can be for me at times to
try and find that balance in all these areas.
(Ilene):
I really feel when you make a plan you can get so much done. I have
always felt that I had plenty of time to get all the things accomplished
I wanted to. My business fit in and around everything we did. I plan
time for just my husband and me to do something as well as just family
time and outings for all of us. We have always made a plan so that we
can get everything done. Without a plan we would have not ever been able
to keep up with all the activities of a very busy active family of
seven. I believe the overwhelming feelings often come from not knowing
how to assess what the most important things are, or how to get them
done and even how to prioritize them. I learned early on to be sure the
important things got done first as well as fitting in the other things
that I wanted to do too. Remember our children have to go to school,
study, get good grades, have lots of activities and friends to play with
as well as other family responsibilities. We want them to get it all
done and we need to role model how it can be done. They watch everything
we do.
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What is your
suggestion in handling small children when you are on the phone or
working at the computer?
(Ilene):
Phone Time is Fun Time is a great tool. When I knew I had to be on the
phone for a while making calls with prospects or customers, I tried to
find some kind of activity for my children to entertain them and keep
them busy. They were trained to do the puzzle or play a game or read a
book while I was on the phone. Sometimes it would mean bringing out a
special toy that is not available to them all the time. Then I would
spend some time with them after I finished my calls, either playing with
the games they started or something else fun. It usually worked
especially if I was consistent in doing something they wanted to do
afterwards. This is part of the character building skills I was talking
about--helping children learn to be patient and to wait until mommy is
through.
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You mention in your
book about the three "P"'s. Could you elaborate on that and how they
help you in running your business effectively?
(Ilene):
Your Purpose, your Passion and your Plan.
The first "P" is your purpose.
What is the purpose for your home business? What would you like to see
it do for you and your family? How much money do you want to earn? What
kind of impact do you see your business having on your family?
The second "P" is your passion.
What excites you? A lot of us chose to do what we do because we are
passionate about our product or we love helping other people. And in a
business we share not only our products but the business opportunity as
well. Whether or not you really have considered recruiting as something
you'd want to do, people will want to do this because they see how much
fun it is, how easy it is (or flexible), how successful you've been,
what you've been able to accomplish, how you've been able to "fit this
into your busy lifestyle". The list goes on. If you have a real
service-oriented attitude towards your customers and hostesses, they
will see your heart and passion for what you do. Here are some good
"passion" questions. Why did you choose the particular product line and
company you represent as a vehicle to achieve your goals (purpose)? What
is it about your business that excites you every day? What do you hope
to make better for others through your business? How do you communicate
the fact that you love your work? Why would people want to join your
sales team—what benefits do they gain from working with you and your
company? These are some very enlightening questions. If you love what
you do, then so will others because they will be attracted to your
passion and zeal for your "job".
The last P is your plan. You are
your own boss. If you want to be even relatively successful, you have to
develop some kind of plan for doing your business. How much time do you
want to devote to it? How will you go about it? How will you make the
time for all those "leads" calls unless you schedule them into your day?
Even as a busy mom with toddlers, you can make two to three phone calls
an hour, if you plan for it. Remember this is a business that you chose
to do alongside your family.
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One thing that made
an indelible impression on me was when I heard you speak on how your
business has impacted your children's lives in incredible ways. I'm
thinking of the example you used of your son who applied for the private
school and the response he got from the college. Can you tell us briefly
about that incident and how your personal example influenced his life?
(Ilene):
My son, David, wanted to go to a private college and we knew it would
cost more than what we could afford at the time. We told him he would
have to apply for scholarships, grants, loans, etc. He took the
initiative and filled out all the necessary paper work. He did receive a
partial scholarship offer but it still wasn't even close to what a state
school would cost.
When he received the letter, he
was so disappointed and decided to call and see if they would offer him
more. He knew that to not ask means an automatic "no". I had taught him
over the years that when you feel you deserve something, the sense of
confidence about asking is just about as important as the answer itself.
I also taught each of my children that they always needed to do
everything possible to make their dreams come true. He had always heard
me preach about not being afraid to ask questions or to make requests
because you never know what kind of response you'll get. David then
decided to call the school to request another scholarship—one that would
cover everything. A few days later, I got a phone call from someone in
admissions at the college and I explained that my son wasn't home. The
person told me that they were going to give him a full tuition
scholarship. She said that my son's admissions essay had included a lot
about me and how I had been a positive influence on his life—how I was
always challenging him to take risks, to set goals, have perseverance,
have patience, persistence and diligence. "And frankly, ma'am", the
woman said, "We granted his request because we didn't want him to ever
think his mother was wrong."
(Patti): That last
story was really an incredible inspiration! I've told that story to
several different people since I first heard you tell it last fall at
one of your seminars because I want to see those kinds of qualities in
my children—and I do believe that my home business can help accomplish
that in their lives. I really do appreciate the role model you are for
all of us in direct sales. I thank you for your time with me, Ilene, and
being so willing to answer these questions.
For
those of you who are interested in finding out more about Ilene Meckley's
speaking schedule or perhaps obtaining a copy of her book "Sharing and
Caring" or training cassette tapes, please visit her web site at
http://www.ilenemeckley.com,
Ilene Meckley's Web Page. I highly recommend attending one of her
seminars, if one is scheduled in your area. It is definitely worth it!!
She also has a free weekly email newsletter (request via e-mail to
ilene@ilenemeckley.com) where
she shares tips and ideas on how to build your business. I'll be seeing
her again this month where she'll be speaking at a location near me in the
Atlanta area, and she will be a guest at the national convention of the
company which I am affiliated. I personally find recruiting and marketing
to be one of my most favorite aspects of direct sales, and I am so glad to
find a kindred spirit in Ilene. The idea
IS great, the products ARE wonderful and the opportunity IS incredible. So
please consider becoming a part of the team that has a passion and desire to
"Challenge the World to Change!"
Additional inspirational and training resources will be provided --
Join TODAY!
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