“How is your business going?”    Sooner or later, someone’s going to ask you this question.  It may be a curious friend or loyal customer.  Or, it may be a family member who’s waiting for you to give up on the business.    How do you respond?

• If things aren’t going well, you might be tempted to spill your frustration all over the person.  Being in business for yourself does have its challenges!    The first person who inquires about your business may get more of an earful than they’re really looking for.   (Did you know you have another choice?)

• If things are going well, you might be tempted to rattle on and on about your recent successes.  After all, you’re excited!  You’re proud!  Your instincts  – and maybe even your training – may have told you that talking about success can create interest and generate new business.  (Did you know you have another choice?)

A number of years ago, I attended a sales training workshop and discovered an answer to the “how’s your business going?” question that works every single time.  Every time!   At first, I was a skeptic – after all, I stand almost six feet tall, and have tried many  “one size fits all” products that turn out to be “EXCEPT me!”   But then, I tried it.

Let’s imagine that your business is going wonderfully:

Q:  How’s your business going?

A:  UNBELIEVABLE!

Let’s imagine that your business is not going as well as you’d like:

Q:  How’s your business going?

A:  UNBELIEVABLE!

Just one word, and you’re covered.  Either way!

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Sue Rusch is a professional speaker, author, and direct sales industry consultant who works with field professionals and corporate executives.

It’s been a few years since my son, Clint, brought his military career to a close.  Yet — I don’t think I will ever forget how it felt to see him off – or how it felt to welcome him back to the USA again after his tour in Iraq.   I know that every military mom doesn’t get to do that, and I’m grateful.  Today, I stand alongside many Americans as we feel proud of – and grateful to – the soldiers who have served, are serving, and their loved ones.  And – today my heart is heavy with the families who feel loss mixed with pride as they remember their fallen heroes.

Each of us knows what Veteran’s Day means to us as individuals.  You may wonder, though, what does it mean to a veteran?   How does a veteran feel looking back?  What goes through a veteran’s mind when they think ahead?   This afternoon, my son sent a link to this New York Times article.  The author, veteran Chris Hellie, offers quite a thought-provoking view.  I was moved by his confident and hopeful look at the future.  I’m grateful for his past service, and inspired to see him continue to stand tall as his mission continues.

To all who serve today – have served in the past – and their families – a heartfelt thank-you.

http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/a-veteran-will-march-with-thoughts-of-fellow-soldiers-and-country/

One of the things I love about the direct selling business approach is that it’s really about people.  The best direct sellers I know treat their customers as one-of-a-kind individuals, not alpha/ numeric user names.  When you personalize and humanize your interactions with others, you stand out from the crowd.

The other day, my mailbox looked like it does on most days:  overflowing with machine-addressed items.     As I quickly glanced through the stack, I  didn’t spot a single thing that made me feel “one-of-a-kind.”   That is, until a hand-addressed card tumbled out from between the catalogs.  The envelope stood out from the crowd.  I smiled when I noticed a friend’s name in the return address  – this card was from someone who is known for making others feel special.   This one-of-a-kind card wasn’t generated by a computer – each inked character reflected a bit of the sender’s personality.   And here’s the thing.  This card didn’t only say a lot about her – it said a lot about me, too.  I’m a fan of gardening – so she chose an address label filled with bright,  friendly flowers.  I love the beautiful sound of piano music, so she tucked in a copy of one of her favorite CDs.  She added a short hand-written note that spoke to some of the things she knows I’ve been thinking about lately.  And here’s the best part.  It wasn’t even my birthday!   I didn’t get the impression that she sent an envelope like this to anyone else, just me.  Her gesture stood out, and it reminded me that I’m one-of-a-kind.

How do you make your communications stand out from the crowd?  What do you do to remind the people you do business with of their individuality?  Consider:

• Send your next host a prompt and thoughtful hand-written thank-you card.  Celebrate something  you noticed as you worked together.  Boldly use a descriptive word in your note, so she’ll think about what makes her one-of-a-kind.
• Pay attention to what people like.  When you hear a product idea that you think will really connect with a particular person – pick up the phone and say,  “when I heard this idea, the first person I thought about  was YOU!”
• To team members who are working toward specific goals, mail notes and reminders.   If you see a picture in a magazine, a travel brochure, or even hear a song on a CD which makes you think of her journey forward, drop it in them mail with a hand-written note.  You’ll create an unexpected moment as you remind her that she’s one-of-a-kind.

 After a while, e-mails and text messages all start to look alike, don’t they?   You may not have time to write to every customer, host, or team member you come in contact with.   But you can make time to connect with one person in a personalized, one-of-a-kind way.    One of the things I love about the direct selling business approach is that it’s really about …  people!  

Is your list of things to do so long that you don’t know where to begin?  Or, are you like a lot of people — you’ve given up on even making lists?

What’s so great about a list?  It helps you to focus.  Lists serve as a parking lot for the things you want and need to do.  They’re a place to capture the names of people you want and need to contact.  Lists help you you clear your mind of “to-do” items that sometimes dance like sugarplums.  Whether you’re a paper-and-pencil list maker, or you prefer electronic tools, a good list will help you organize and prioritize.

You may be thinking “yes, but I am so busy, I don’t have time to write it all down.”   You are not alone.  When we have a lot to do, we often start doing without planning.  Think about this for just a moment:  Have you ever gone grocery shopping without a list?  Did you wander around aimlessly?  Did you spend more than you hoped to, because along the way, you tossed things into the cart that caught your eye?  Did you come home and think of things you wish you would have picked up instead?  Compare that shopping experience to one where you entered the store with a list.  Were you more efficient?  Focused?  Did you get your shopping done more quickly?  Did you spend what you expected to spend?   As you compare those two experiences, are you thinking differently about the power of planning?

List-building doesn’t get the job done.  It helps you to get the job done.  You may be a person who loves making list more than you love doing the things on the list.  For example — you may write down fifteen people you need to call, then, instead of getting started on the list, you call someone you feel like chatting with.  After you finish the chat,  you write your friend’s  name on your list so you have something to check off.  (I’ve done that, too.)  Successful people, though,  plan the work, and then, they work the plan.  They know that making the list is a first step, and an effective tool to get the right things done.

If you are someone who has given up on making lists, it could be that you are tired of the disappointment of finishing a day with too many “undone” items.  It may help to manage your expectations.  On an ongoing basis, maintain a rolling list of everything you want and need to do.  If you work at home, it might help to have two columns, one for work, and one for business.  And if you’re a leader, it may help to sort your work into personal business items and team business items.   The key is in having reasonable expectations of yourself each day.  Review your list as you make daily choices.  It’s less overwhelming that way.

Here’s a tip that works for a lot of people:  Choose three top-priority items to focus on each day.  Not ten, not twenty, three.  If you have a large project to do, break it into bite-sized pieces — choosing to take on one piece at a time.  Or, if you have a lot of calls to make, decide on the three you will absolutely (positively!) make that day.  Focus your mind.  Focus your efforts.  Avoid the distraction of checking for new posts or emails that might pull you in other directions.  Stay on what’s most important first, and let the power of momentum keep you going.

Give yourself a gift today.  End the day feeling good about moving three steps closer to your goals.  Which three items will you choose to make happen today?

Sue Rusch is a professional speaker, author, and consultant who works with direct selling executives and field professionals.

Visit www.SueRusch.com to learn more about Sue, her services, and tools for direct sellers.

It was a cool, early fall day.  Waiting in line at the grocery store,  I couldn’t help but notice that I was dressed differently than the people around me.  Everywhere I looked, I saw bulky sweatshirts, cozy sweaters, even corduory pants and clunky  leather hiking boots.  Not me –  I was comfortably dressed in flip-flops and my favorite summer attire.   Fall in Minnesota is a beautiful thing, but I know that cooler temperatures signal bigger changes on the horizon.  I like to hold on to what’s comfortable.  I may be among the last people in the state to put away my flip-flops.  Even when everything around me says that it’s time to transition from summer to fall and winter attire, I resist it.  Like a lot of people, I find I am usually drawn to what’s most comfortable.

We’ve all seen the incredible rise of social media, bringing a variety of new, more contemporary ways to communicate.   By and large,  I have remained an outsider looking in at things like blogging, Facebook, and other contemporary forms of communicating.  I’ve observed.  I’ve listened.  Clients tell me how these new tools make it harder than ever to connect with people by phone, and they’re looking for ways to use today’s tools to make real connections.   Leaders have described how team members are often distracted by constant electronic communication and access to information — so distracted that, at times, they run out of time to build their businesses.  I have also heard numerous stories about how new,  contemporary ways of communicating are bringing people together like never before.  I’m not yet sure what to think.  How can I fully understand the impact of social media on business when I’ve comfortably remained an outsider looking in?

I have decided that it is time to move from comfortable to contemporary.  So (drum roll please)today marks the day that my website goes “live” to reflect its refreshed, more contemporary look.  My blog goes live.  I’ve launched a Facebook Fan page.   Truth be told — I don’t quite know what to expect from all of this.   But I  know, for sure, that making the transition to more contemporary ways of communicating will deliver new insights and learnings.

There’s a cool breeze in the air today.  It’s time to get in sync with the season.  I think it’s finally time to put away my flip-flops.

I’m still thinking about the word “busy.” Often I feel like I’m doing too much.  Do you?  Striking a balance takes work and intentional planning. Last week, between a day of appointments and an evening meeting, my husband and I stopped to grab a quick bite at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  When I opened my fortune cookie, I saw this message:  “he who is afraid of doing too much always does too little.”  This left me wondering:  What IS too much?  What is too little?  And, how do we strike a balance?

What is too much?  I feel  like it is too much when I feel myself going into auto-pilot-mode — no longer really paying attention to what I am doing.  It’s too much when I run from task to task, and stop enjoying anything that I’m doing.  It’s too mcuh when my mind thinks so far into the future that it doesn’t pay attention to what is right in front of me.  I know it’s too much when I hear a voice inside screaming “enough.”  At times like these, it helps to get off life’s treadmill and take stock.  To make new choices.  To make new plans.

What is too little?  It’s that place where inaction becomes a habit — and it’s hard to get in motion again.  Have you noticed when there’s too little on the calendar, it’s easy to turn a small and insignificant project into a day-long event?  Parkinson’s Law says:  “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”  When you recognize yourself in that too little place, it helps to open a week-at-a-glance calendar and start scheduling things you really want to do.  If you fear you’ll become that person who is doing too much, remember that busy people have a way of getting things done.

How do we strike a baolnce?  While there are many situations in life when we don’t have control, there are plenty of times where life is filled with choices.  We can plan our schedules to allow enough downtime to renew and recharge.  And enough uptime to create the happiness we want in our lives.  Balance comes when we celebrate the choices we have.

I remember a morning – years ago — when I was running late and came flying into a church meeting.  I was noticeably out of breath.  As I plopped myself down in a chair, the kind, elderly woman next to me noticed my frenzied expression and asked if I was OK.  I remember telling her, “I’m so BUSY and I just have SO much I have got to get DONE!”  (Can you picture it?)  She smiled.  She gently placed her well-worn hand on my forearm, and said “Honey, that’s what life is all about. You’re not DONE until you’re dead.  You don’t want that, now, do you?”

I’d rather choose to live each day fully, doing what I really want to do, than  live in fear of doing too much.  Now, I’ve got plans for my day, and it’s time to get started!