The Social Selling Sisterhood Podcast Episode 72- Power Hour to Explode Your Direct Sales Business

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Hi friend. Welcome to the social selling sisterhood podcast. I am Lindsay Dollinger and I have many titles. High school spanish teacher, dog mom, world traveler and direct seller. I empower women to run your direct sales business is the right way. So you can earn the money. You deserve to live the life of your dreams and travel the world. Now we got that out of the way. Let's get started. Hello! Hello. Welcome back to another episode of the social selling sisterhood podcast. This is your host, Lindsay Dellinger and I am coming at you live for um these are gonna be some short episodes that I'm matching right now, but it is super. Um these are super actionable tips and tricks and strategies that I do every day in my business and I share them with my team. I share these openly and the social selling sisterhood squad. If you were in my free community over on facebook and if you're not girl what you doing head on over. It is in the links are in the show notes. But you can also just search the social selling sisterhood squad and we should be the only one that pops up. Um, but anyway, so today I want to share with you about my power hour. So I am a full time high school spanish teacher. You may or may not know that about me. Hopefully you do. Um, but I'm a full time teacher and I do all the things. So in a normal year I am constantly planning traveling and traveling. Um, I am a leader in my direct sales company. I love getting out and meeting new people. I, well before I bought my peloton, I was buying classes and attending regularly Pilates and orange theory and doing all the things and I live in the country. So you know, it takes time for you to drive there and drive back. And actually that's why I ended up buying the politan instead of going to group fitness classes was just that it was taking too much travel time. It was like three hours to do a workout versus one by the time I drove there, do the workout and came home. But anyway, my point being that I'm a very busy person. I'm not a mom. I do not have um kids myself, I call my students, my kids, I am a dog mom though, and I definitely have to be home and take care of her and do those things. I know it's not quite the same. Um, but so we all have, we all have places that are time goes, right. So I get asked a lot How I fit things in. And truthfully, my saving grace, besides being very intentional with my small blocks of time when I have them. My saving grace has been working at power hour. So I learned this with the first company I joined in network marketing, which I joined in 2015 and they were super great about promoting a power hour. I found working power hours through my team space and through Youtube even, I'm sure they're still up there. I'm sure you can find find power hours on Youtube, but I loved being able to push play to be guided through exactly what I needed to do. Um and I found some that were specific for the company I was in as well. So it was just a really great way to hold me accountable, kind of like why I like going to group fitness classes, right? So if you commit to going and you show up, it's not like you're going to stand there when everyone else is in the room dancing, you're going to actually participate in the class. And that's what I was um fighting with. Power hours was I would push play and was someone actually telling me what to do and I knew I was able to block off that time to do it, that once I push play and it was seven o'clock at night, you know, I wasn't gonna get done with it until eight. So fast forward to know. My current company talks about the power our from time to time, but it's not nearly, I don't wanna say stressed but kind of stress as much as it was and the first company that I joined. So it was something that I knew as I was building my team as I was growing. Um and a lot of women in my team have never done direct sales, network marketing before, So I knew as I was building, that it was really up to me to step up as a leader and to really show my team the possibilities because you know, if you don't have that experience unless you're making stuff on your own, you don't really have any of that to pull in and bring to your team as you're making it. So I'm really proud of the not only the sisterhood that I've helped cultivate, but also all the systems and support that I have put in place for my team. So that's one thing and this is kind of a little off track. But one thing is you're growing a team even if you're a team of one right now, because you are bought, you are bought in, you recruited yourself, you are part of your company, are partnered with your company rather. And that's kind of the magical thing when you're starting out as you can create and craft and cultivate and love on Your team and create an environment from day one. And when you do that from day one, you're going to attract the right people to your team. So anyway, I knew I wanted to start with power hours with my team. So I, when I started doing them and I just lead them. I did a facebook live at first, not even a zoom call. Um, I just did a facebook live and I went live into the facebook group. Um, and then I closed, well, I like hit the tab. So I couldn't even see if people were on, I couldn't see people were asking questions because I didn't want to distract myself. Because that's the thing I find now as my team has grown, I have leaders that step up and lead these power hours and it can be really easy to get off task if you are leading one for a team because a lot of people, it's hard to set those boundaries because someone will have a question or someone will want to chat and you don't want to be rude or maybe you want to chat and you're chatty as well. So the one thing I would recommend, especially if you're leading this for a team and even for you is you need to minimize distractions. So whether I'm leading it for me or for my team, I am very intentional in that I don't respond to messages that are not a part of my goal for that hour I clear off my clutter, I know what I'm doing when I'm going into my power hour. I know what my goal is and with my team, what I recommend when you're leading one is you set those really clear boundaries. So say power hours from 8 to 9 p.m. I know if I'm chatty or if I frequently have people on who are chatty, maybe I start my power hour at 7:50, so we have those 10 minutes to chat. Um But one thing that I find myself doing is once we get started and everyone's on, I'm like okay guys were into our power, our everyone kind of knows what the routine is at this point, but at nine o'clock when we're off I'm going to stay on for an extra 10 minutes and answer any questions, troubleshoot anything we can chat then and I have found that to be super effective. Um Now there are nights when obviously that doesn't work out, but I try to build that in. Um also when I noticed that there are a lot of people who are maybe who are new or maybe who are having a lot of questions or maybe there's a big launch or something coming up or were pushing for a big team goal, then I will purposely say I'm going to be on the zoom from 7 38 for half an hour before our power our feel free to hop on, we can troubleshoot chat, all the things and then for me tonight will be working and I have found that to be really effective too. So I like to work at power hour um as I've been learning more about time management and how the brain works and attention and focus and things like that work. When I very first started with the power hours, I had this giant checklist and I do have a checklist inside my planner and tracker. I'm obsessed with my planner. Tracker. I'm also obsessed with my checklist. So if you do not yet have a copy of that, make sure you grab one. Um, it is also linked in the show notes, but it's W W W dot Lindsay Dollinger dot com. And if you just scroll down a little bit on the home page there, you will be able to go and buy the planner and tracker system. It's super affordable guys because it is a pdf. Um, it's also fill a bill, but you can print it as many times as you want, fill in as many times as you want. It is a monthly system and I have a nice little training that goes along with it. So anyway, when I very first started my power hours when I was leading them with a team, um, it was like the first five minutes, add three new facebook friends, three new instagram followers, the next five minutes to this next five minutes. And what I've learned and what I've also heard is that it takes the human brain a while to change between two tasks. So the bigger the chunks of your activities can be the better. So maybe instead of doing five minutes of finding New connections, maybe it is a 10, 10 or 15 or 20 minute thing and you do that on Mondays instead of doing it five minutes each day of the week. Um, and so that's going to look a little bit different for everyone, depending on what your business schools are and what you are doing now, if you break this up throughout the day, which I definitely do this. Um, So I like to add people in the morning when I very first get up before school and so then it's like a five or 10 minute chunk. But then that's not actually a power hour is that makes sense. So you can see the list of all my D. M. O. S. I also have a free demo checklist. You can grab that if you're not quite ready for the planner tracker that's on my website as well. So As I'm leading my power our currently what my power our looks like as I split it into 320 minute chunks And my 1st 20 minutes is a connection chunk. This depending on my goals for the week and for the day can be sending messages to people. This can be adding new connections. This could be um making a good piece of content may be posting it right before the power hour and then using that time to respond to people who comment on it and engage with people. Um this can also look like getting intentionally into some of my interest facebook groups that I'm in my instant pot facebook group, my dog mom facebook group and making connections with new people in there, sharing things. Um, so again, this can look a little bit different depending on what I'm doing, but connections and relationships and I know I stress this all the time, but it is the foundation of your business. So we've been talking about this in my foundations of social selling course with the women who are going through the first round right now and so many times, you know the answers to the questions or when I'm teaching how to invite and following up and all of that, it comes down to relationship building. So this is one of the pieces that we don't want to skip. However, we don't want to just be doing this because you are running a business and when it comes down to it, um, Just because you have 18 million friends and they all love you does not mean that you are making a profit. That you are making any sorts of sales, right? There's other pieces to it. So 20 minutes of connection. The next 20 minutes I call invite time. So this again, can look like all sorts of things. This can be inviting people to try your product, inviting people to an event coming up. So if you are being strategic and you are planning events for your customers, for your team, for prospective teammates, this would be the time to be promoting that either through private messages. Maybe this is your time where you are crafting your email that you're going to send out to invite your entire list. Um Even creating some stellar content that the purpose is inviting. But this 20 minutes is inviting. This is another very key step. And this is one that I think a lot of people tend to skip over because it can make people really uncomfortable that I'm telling you if you are doing the connection and relationship portion and you're creating some stellar content, you don't need to be afraid of the inviting. Yes. It might take you a while to figure out exactly the way you want to say things that feels really authentic and right with you. But that invites are part. You just cannot skip. Because here's the thing, If you're not inviting someone else is just that's 100% what it is. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen on my facebook wall, especially when I was first starting my business, where I saw a friend of mine joined my company but she didn't join with me and I'm like what the heck. But then I remember I never actually talked to that person about my company or about joining and I never invited her to learn more about what it would look like to join me in my company, so why am I offended? Right. So if you don't have the nerve to invite someone else is going to be doing that, if you're not reaching out and connecting and letting people know about this product that they could try, that you're obsessed with or else you wouldn't be selling it right? Um then someone else's. So just keep that in mind, maybe that'll be a little proof that you need. And in the last 20 minutes I call follow up slash admin tasks. So this can be scheduling posts. If you haven't scheduled posts, if you're a party planning company, maybe this is communicating with your hostesses or scheduling party interacting with a party. Um but then also follow ups. So I definitely like to do this at least once a week, follow up on the previous week's orders and if you are doing this weekly and keeping up with your orders it is going to make your life so much easier, I promise. So this is another and here's the thing. Also how do you feel when you buy something from someone and then you never hear from them? Are you likely to buy from them again? Probably not unless you're just so obsessed with the product and you can only get it from them. Um You know and along with that, I was thinking about this last night because I'm hosting a party right now with a girl from another company and I have other friends who sell the same product, So I'm thinking to myself, okay, why did I choose to have a party with this girl versus other people? And the answer simply came down to the fact that I know this girl serious about her business, She is showing up consistently on, not only on social media and in her stories, so she was so visible that when I thought about hosting a party for this brand, because I needed a new product anyway, and I was thinking okay who can I support with this? Um you know, I immediately thought of her not other people who I may be no better and maybe a better friends with, but I thought of her because she is showing up consistently, I know she's taking her business seriously, I know she's acting like the business owner that she wants to be. So I know it's important to her. Um And the other girls that I know well who sell it post maybe once a month about their product. Um Maybe a little bit more. The one the one post a little bit more when there's a sale or something like that. But you know, I just don't have, I haven't talked to them in a while. I just don't I don't I didn't think of them first. I guess we'll just say I didn't think of them first. So think about that with your business. Are people gonna think about you when they need your product? Are people going to associate you with being a business owner or with running that business at all? And if not, what can you do to be more visible to really step that up And I'm gonna have a really great episode coming up soon. I'm doing a challenge me, my teammates and I might I might do a little mini one in the social selling sisterhood squad. So head over there. Um but I think being visible is a huge, huge portion of this, so make sure that if it's not a part of your power, our um that you're just making sure to be visible throughout the day, you can plan this ahead of time, you can do this on the spot, whatever feels good for you. Um And content creation is like a whole another whole another uh lesson podcasts, all the things together, but okay, so I'm getting away off topic right now, but power hour. So I make sure, and especially in moments of, you know, not even that I'm trying to hit a goal that month, but like if I'm looking down the road and I'm like, okay, my next big goal, I would love to hit by september, I'm going to come back a few months, right? Because what you do now, you're going to see the results in your business 30 60 90 days from now, if you're being consistent. So if I want to hit a goal three months from now, I know this is my month that I better start buckling down so I'm not going to do just one power hour a day. Um I might do or one a week. Gosh, if you're only doing one a week guys and that's the only time you're working your business. Like what, here's the thing, if you treat your business like a hobby, you're gonna get paid like a hobby. If you treat your business like a business, it will pay you like a business, so really keep that in mind. Um So scheduled in you know what you need to do and here's the thing you know if you have the time and I think we can fit the time in if it's really a priority to you. If you're really committed to it schedule that time in and just see, just play around with it and see so say I do you know one power hour a day, sunday through thursday plus my normal you know five minutes here and there my toilet time as I like to call it and I'm really interacting with people. Maybe I'm holding two more parties this month that I normally hold but to that consistently for 30 60 90 days don't just do it a week and be like oh I didn't see any results and give up but really hold yourself to doing that, grab an accountability partner, grab an accountability group. Um It's more fun when you have someone else doing it with you right and see what can happen with your business. You know this intentional time without distractions. So like in the middle of my power hour when I send all those invites out and if I get messages back, I don't I don't respond to them during that hour that our is my focus time of connections, invites and follow ups and then I can respond to people the next day, the next morning because I like to do my power hours in the evening um right before I go to bed whenever you have that time. Um But make your our a dedicated our to getting the tasks done that are going to ultimately give you income, those income producing activities and then save your fun, graphic making you know whatever for when you are mindlessly listening to netflix. But make this this power our, put on your pump up music, if that's your thing. Um I it depends on the mood I'm in. Sometimes I listen to music sometimes it's like silent. Um and I'm like so zoned in, but whatever you have to do to get in that zone to get in that good energy and work, get it done, take a five minute break halfway through. If you need to. Um some people do the 25 minutes on five minutes off whatever works for you, you'll figure out what works for you. But I would really encourage you to try this undivided attention. Power our multiple times a week and see what it does with your business. Okay, let me know, let me know if you grab my planner and tracker system. I really hope it is helpful for you to do this, grab my free gmo checklist again. That's on my website www dot Lindsay Dollinger dot com. It's linked in the show notes and friend. If you have not yet, we please leave me a five star rating and review wherever you are listening to this, preferably on Apple podcast. If you have an iphone, um, and then screenshot that you're listening to this episode shared in your instagram or facebook stories. Tag me and I'll give you a re share and tell more people about this podcast. Because here's the thing when we make our profession full of serious business, men and women who are doing things the right way, who are not doing them mickey and people are going to actually start seeing us as a business. We're creating credibility and we are up leveling the industry as a whole. So the only way to do that is through education and through action. Um, you know, knowledge is power. So make sure you are sharing this with your teams with your friends and family who are in direct sales, network marketing so that they can get on board with us doing things the right way over here. So I'll see you over in the social selling sisterhood squad on facebook and have a fabulous day.