A saleswoman- The Mary Kay company officially designated us beginners as "beauty consultants"-which glamorized the position just enough. But I was a saleswoman, with kits, catalogs and inventory to prove it. The sales persons made me a bit uncomfortable, and I had yet to sell one mascara or recruit a single person.
A part of that discomfort, I later realized, originated from a misunderstanding of what direct sales really was. I mistakenly thought of it entirely as a matter of persuasion. It could be coy or aggressive, but whatever the style, it was still one person with profit in mind persuading another person that he or she wanted what being was sold whether or not it was wanted. Would this be me?
The Mary Kay guidebooks (and her own autobiography) spoke of a company philosophy that was totally positive in tone. She stressed that we transact business by the golden rule-"Do unto others..." The book emphasized that success in sales wasn't achieved by pushing, but by drawing others out. I soon discovered that a number of other direct sales companies, too, agreed on a definition of sales that made perfect sense: Sales is simply finding out what people want, then helping them get it by providing a service or fulfilling a need. But I hadn't quite taken that definition to heart and made it a part of me.
And I shared some common opinions about the direct salesperson that might appear at the door. The image was less than admirable. A few words that came to mind were "aggressive," and "double-talker." I was also reminded of the character of Moses Pray, the charming hustler-of-a-salesman in the movie Paper Moon, who didn't think twice about deceiving poor widows and tricking them into buying Bibles. Bibles! So even though I fantasized about creating a dynamic career in sales, I began with a somewhat tarnished image of what a salesperson is commonly thought to be.
My first Mary Kay beauty show-or "skin care class"-was attended by my daughter Elizabeth and seven of her college friends-all of whom pretty much humored me for the occasion. Elizabeth was fairly unsure of what I was doing. It was my choosing sales that bothered her, not that I chose Mary Kay Cosmetics. To her, a sales career was a "rinky-dink" business not worthy of my time. She saw me as a talk show hostess, not someone toting a box of cosmetics, and driving a pink car. In her way she reflected what others were thinking-that my entry into Mary Kay bespoke of upcoming personal calamity and eventual besmirching of the family name. As I mentioned earlier, you've got a 70-80 percent chance that those you love may not understand what you are doing and think your career choice a joke. The end result is that you not only have to battle through your own doubts, but at the same time, forge through their convictions that you are going to humiliate yourself and them at the same time. All these emotional encounters may not be easy at first, but they certainly can be handled successfully.
I decided to be cheerful and do my best at the beauty show. Everyone seemed to have a good time-and everyone bought our five basic skin care items. After the class was over, Elizabeth-who years later began pursuing her own career with Mary Kay-was a bit more convinced that I'd do okay, but not entirely. This skin care class was my maiden voyage, and though I enjoyed it immensely, secretly I still fretted over the image of "salesperson."
Then I organized my second beauty show and ran into some trouble. At the end of the evening, I came up with zero-not one sale. Was this the business for me? I still loved the products, but now I doubted if enthusiasm for the products was enough. I made more phone calls and was rejected. I can remember more than one time I was even insulted, when a polite no would have made the point. Before joining the company I was great at recommending Mary Kay products to others, who subsequently went off and bought them from other beauty consultants, my sister-in-law for one. Ironically, she had just bought the whole Mary Kay line the day before I called her. She told me that it was because I'd been raving about the products for so long that decided it for her-and she didn't know I'd gone ahead and signed up with the company! She'd even agreed to invite friends in for a demonstration show in her home the following week. Another rejection and one I didn't expect came from a friend of mine who was the wife of one of the Minnesota Vikings, whose answer to our offer of a complimentary facial was "fuck!" Then I called our old friend who said. "You haven't called me in eight years why are you calling now?" I told her and she signed up! Finally the success. My career was growing very slowly, but I was learning about people and getting stronger at dealing with rejection. I decided to call the wives of the Vikings' coaches and this time, had a very successful show, which helped to eventually launch my career. Two weeks had passed.
Not one to give up. I set up a fourth class, then a fifth, and while driving to the sixth class. I had a revelation. My strong suits were energy and enthusiasm. My weak suit was worrying about what others thought about me. I suddenly realized that by giving in to this feeling. I was ignoring what sales really meant. I was letting these worries accompany me to beauty shows and influence me negatively more than I'd suspected. The fact was that I had nothing to be ashamed of! I represented a company that was founded on fine principles and that produced a superior product and offered excellent career opportunities.
I'd lost sight of my original goal: to succeed by being the best I could be. I was interested in phasing out my TV career after a seven-year run and now I wanted to turn my skills to business.
People often remark on my shift from glamorous TV hostess to Mary Kay representative, believing the sales career to be a downshift from the TV job. Hosting a show did have glamour but my earning potential at the station was very limited. A few other problems existed too. I wasn't allowed to make many decisions there the atmosphere on the show could be strained, and sometimes, sadly, management forgot to acknowledge our staff's contributions to high ratings.
Once I knew for sure that I'd be leaving TV. I took advantage of the hours outside the few each day I spent on the set and used the extra time to build my career with Mary Kay. I 'overlapped" both careers for two-and-a-half years, and was able to make a stunning comparison between them. Unlike my experience in my TV job, I was praised from my very first success in sales, and I continued to get praise from Mary Kay Ash-by phone, by letter, and in person-on my way to the top. This kind of personal acknowledgment was and always will be most important to me. Praise was surely missing for me in TV but it was in abundance in direct sales.
When I left the station at last to work full-time in sales. I reminded myself over and over again of the following:
- Sales was my career and I was going to show up for it-prepared and enthusiastic.
- Sales was my career now and I wouldn't let others decide my fate, as I had had to with a salaried job.
- Sales was my career and I was going to give it everything I had. Make it work, and be proud of it!
When I started out I did a few "wrongs." For example, I appeared at a skin care class only to discover that I'd forgotten to bring along some essentials, like demonstration trays, flip charts. (Believe me, they're necessary!) It could have been easy to concentrate on the goof-up, get all shook up about forgetting something, and overdo on apologies, but where would such a negative attitude have gotten me? Nowhere and no one would have felt comfortable with the selling situation if I had brought my error to their attention.
Instead, I improvised when I needed to (substituting paper plates, for example, for demonstration trays), focused to the point of the evening, and eased right into doing the best could under the circumstances. Letter-perfect presentation don't necessarily win the sale or guarantee a successful career unless you go in there with heart, a sense of humor, and little grace under pressure. I'm one example of someone who is resourceful and positive when I've gotten some of the details wrong.
I suppose all of us in sales would describe what we get out of sales in different terms, but everyone would agree: Yo can do everything wrong with the right attitude and succeed and do everything right with the wrong attitude and fail!
So to backtrack a minute: Personality does count, but it is not enough. One woman can zealously sell herself and incidentally sell the product and service. She's one type of sale person who foils her career in spite of herself. Another self-defeating type may focus on the product, and barrage to retail or wholesale customer with statistics, testimonials and sources for further information. Yet a third may decide the most important sales point is to sell the career and recruit anyone by emphasizing claims for income earned within short period of time.
The route to success in this business is then beginning with a good attitude, then simply finding the balance between:
- selling yourself (enthusiastic, honest, well groomed)
- selling the product (superior or unusual in some way; guaranteed)
- selling your service (convenience, personal touch of buying direct)
- selling the company (reputable, well run)
- selling the career (offers opportunity and growth)
You needn't have the company presentation memorized to the last suggested inflection to be a top salesperson. You needn't know everything about the industry or carry hand-written testimonials from satisfied customers. Success in direct sales depends on understanding people, their behavior and their motives for buying. It's about approach and positive reinforcement, all the while remembering this important definition of sales: Find out what people want, then help them get it by providing a service or filling a need.
"If you feel you're performing a service." said Beverly Worthing, a Fuller Brush representative in Chandler Arizona." sales will work differently for you than if you think you must only concentrate on the numbers."
Beverly manages a psychiatrist's office by day and to fill some extra time since her husband works nights, Beverly became a direct salesperson. That was three years ago. She's had some high and low points, but feels very optimistic. "I like the idea of selling-the more I sell, the more I increase my confidence. I love the products, the people I meet, and the opportunities it can bring."
This concept-discovering the need and providing the service-begins any selling process. It's the perfect guide to steer you to your goal.
Since most direct sales transactions start with contact by phone. Let’s open there. We'll imagine you at home, with pen and pad and the phone numbers of potential customers or recruits.
First Contact: Making Calls and Appointments- The Phone Is Your Friend
The novice salesperson may think of contact calls and blind dates with an equal amount of emotional upheaval. First she worries about getting the names of people to call. Then after calling, she wants to give up in despair when one or two don't work out. Too many and too high expectations are classic impediments to making the third, fourth . . . hundredth call. So shrug off the disappointments. They happen to everyone who is in business and uses the phone as a selling tool. Art Nielsen (whose company is the A. C. Nielsen television rating service) once told me the story of working with his father when they began their business. Everyone told them, as they made their calls, that a television rating service "won't work," then, as they approached the end of an unsuccessful afternoon. Art, Jr. wanted to give up and quit for the day. His father still said excitedly. "But Artie, we have time for one more call." That was the fateful call that launched the enormously successful and now legendary "Nielsen Ratings."
Everyone knows at least thirty people-relatives, friends of relatives, shopkeepers, teachers, and so on. Call them and ask for referrals. Keep at it! Make that call no matter how weighty the phone feels in your hand. You're in the direct sales business. You need to sell person-to-person, and to sell you must make appointments. Learn to use the phone to your advantage, and you'll see it's not as tough as you may think.
