What Direct Sales Consultants Can Learn from Deadliest Catch

Have you ever seen the show, Deadliest Catch? (Or at least seen the commercials for it?) We haven't seen every episode ourselves, but we have tuned in a few times to see what the hub-bub was all about. Even if you haven't seen the show - or the commercial for that matter - you'll still get the basic idea of this post. ;) Essentially, viewers follow eight crab-fishing vessels as they go about their "normal" work day. But this is far from your typical rod & reel retreat; virtually every moment at sea is captured as the captains & crew endure struggles and weather conditions that make their jobs one of the deadliest - thus the name of the show. So what can Direct Sales/Party Plan consultants learn from Deadliest Catch?

Let's dive in (pun intended, so sorry) to the concept here. The crew uses gigantic 800-pound cages called crab pots to bait & capture their ideal Alaskan crabs. There's a strategy to placing these crab pots as well as making sure the floating markers don't catch on anything - or anyone - as they're being cast over the edge of the vessel. It's a great deal of work (by the looks of it anyhow, never tried it myself, but I digress) especially considering their ship is being tossed about by waves that literally envelope the deck. It's even more difficult in the midst of a storm, but the job needs to be done (and, quite frankly, the show must go on). So I'm sure by now you're thinking "yes, Ferf, we should be 'casting our nets' out there to find our host & recruit prospects, we already know that". Novel idea, yes, but that's not where I was going with this. ;) As these massive crab pots are cast into the sea, they don't stand around and wait. They move on to yet another area and "bah-loop", into the sea another pot goes. They're not hanging all their hopes on one pot. They also realize the task is far from over. Is it conceivable that one or more of those pots could come up empty, or with very few crabs? Absolutely. Harsh truth for a crew who just plummeted an 800-pound crab hotel into the sea. Do you think the crew pouts when this happens? Well, perhaps a few newbies, but the learned members of the crew know as well as the captain that there's more "business to be had", they just need to move on to another area. Do you think a captain would be a captain for long of he continuously griped "We can't seem to get anywhere with this business"? (Hello, leadership tip! Leaders understand there is great diversity in business and where business can be found! They also understand the term "speed of the leader, speed of the pack" - leaders with the "I can't" or "We can't" mindset will have a team who "can't".) So again, the crew would move on to another area if the pot came up empty. The next place may turn up with the same results. What really intrigued me about the few episodes I saw was this: the experienced captains KNEW the best areas, they could easily spy/seek/find/recognize the ultimate nesting ground, head the vessel in that direction and BOOM - loads of crab! (So glad there wasn't a typo on that... just sayin'.)

I noticed that as the crew hoisted these massive crab pots onto the ship, they wouldn't just hoard every crab for the taking and say "alright, good enough" nor were they satisfied with the great number of crabs they caught. We tend to do that in our direct sales business, don't we? Take every customer, hostess & recruit we can cuz there are prizes to be won, there's money to be made and there are records to break - we're just SO happy to have them no matter who they are or what they can really do for the business. Do you really want just anybody and everybody? Let's go back to the Deadliest Catch analogy; The crew has to sort through and keep only the crabs that regulation allows, or the ones that will - let's face it - return the most profit. They handle each one in a manner 1) not to get pinched and 2) not to damage the crabs - they make sure the crabs are in the environment they're most comfortable/used to - water. What happens later on is a completely different story, what I wanted to drive home is how they handle them NOW while they have the crabs. In your direct sales/party plan business, what are your regulations? I'm not talking about regulations that your company has in place, I mean what regulations to you have in place as a real catch (pun intended again) for customers, hostesses & recruits? Have you compiled a list of what your ideal customer, hostess and recruit is? If they don't meet your "regulation", do you think they'll really bring you the business you need or simply cause headaches, grief and cost you money? If they're not a perfect fit, then you're basically trying to jam a square peg into a circular hole. If you haven't made a list of your ideal prospects, your "pot" has been coming up empty or with very few I'm sure. Like the experienced captain, scope out the area - where do the best ones nest? Where are your ideal prospects going to be? Go there. How will you handle them? Give them great service, be on time, etc so you won't "get pinched". (An angry customer, hostess or recruit can have really nasty pinchers!) For hostesses, are you invading their environment by barging in with your product hoping there are people and sales? Or are you partnering up with your hostess and doing what you can to make HER guests feel as welcome and comfortable as possible? Remember, even though it's your product, and your business, it's HER house and HER friends that she's been gracious enough to introduce you to. Be thankful for that. Her guests are not there for you and your product - they're there because the hostess invited them to see you and your product in her home.

It's time for you to perform, make something happen in your business. Don't just sit around hoping that the bait you cast out on one rod & reel trip is going to generate the exponential business growth you desire/deserve. Yes, cast the net, but cast several different nets to suit the different areas and people you're seeking. The Deadliest Catch crew doesn't use just any bait for their Alaskan crabs, they use what they know will work for exactly what they are seeking. You can too.

(photo courtesy http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/about/about.html )

© 2008 Jennifer Stoll The Stand Up Coach All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?
Please do, as long as the following blurb is included in its entirety: Entrepreneur Jennifer Stoll, The Stand Up Coach, is Founder and Editor of “Info Buffet” a free ezine for professionals in the Direct Sales/Party Plan industry. An author, speaker, and success coach, Jennifer provides principle based resources in a fun & humorous way. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, make more money and have more fun in your business then visit Jennifer at http://www.thestandupcoach.com/.

*If planning to use photo as well, please give credit where credit is due.*

"If Not Now, When"

On this final day of 2008 I want to not only extend my wishes to you for Success & Blessings in the New Year, but I also feel compelled to share this great thought as the world reflects on the past year & sets out to move forward in 2009.

Now more than any time throughout a given year, people from all over are setting goals - or at least have thought about preparing to set goals (tee hee!) - for the new year. Now is the time that commitments are being made to finally step up to the plate and make things happen, be it losing weight, business growth, etc. So why lose momentum halfway through February? Not enough pepper on that launch? Within each of us is the incredible ability to accomplish anything we set our minds to! Isn't your business worth great success?




In your party plan business - in your life - do you realize you're not the only one out there setting the goal to be #1, to be successful, to be extraordinary? January 1st offers a clean slate for everyone. Even the top leaders in your company have $0 in sales at some point on the first of the month. If you don't step up to the plate and jump on in there, somebody else will. If you don't stay committed to your goals - even halfway through February - somebody else will. If you don't get those bookings, somebody else will. If you don't get those prospects, sales, opportunities, events, recruits... somebody else will. If you don't get those things NOW, when? Why hurry up and wait? Worry and fear have never served anyone anything but bondage. (What a delightful picture, bondage on a silver platter.) When mid-February rolls around, will you remain on target? Ask yourself each and every day "If Not Now, When"? Your gain will be a direct result of your efforts; how great will your gain be? That is entirely up to you. Abundance is yours! You CAN be unstoppable - there are no limits. Make your life extraordinary - begin with today!

Wishing you a New Happy Year! Yes, a "New Happy Year" - because this and every year is a happy one if you make it so.

Success and Blessings to you in the New Year!

© 2008 Jennifer Stoll The Stand Up Coach All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?
Please do, as long as the following blurb is included in its entirety: Entrepreneur Jennifer Stoll, The Stand Up Coach, is Founder and Editor of “Info Buffet” a free ezine for professionals in the Direct Sales/Party Plan industry. An author, speaker, and success coach, Jennifer provides principle based resources in a fun & humorous way. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, make more money and have more fun in your business then visit Jennifer at http://www.thestandupcoach.com/.

Customer Service - Delight or Disaster

I must say, customer service has increasingly become a thing of the past. Are you finding the same thing? It is becoming so obsolete we are almost accustomed to NOT having genuine service when we are out and about. From calling the phone company and getting their automated system ("press 1 to hear me say the words 'press 1' again, press 2 to hear other options NOT including the ability to speak to a live human being...") to cold attitudes at department stores; customer service as we know it is indeed a lost art.

Maybe it's just me - let's see if this scenario rings true for you.

Upon approaching the 'gates' of WalMart you're greeted with a grizzly "Welcome to WalMart" (interpretation: get your stuff and get outta here, I'm only saying 'welcome' cuz I have to). As the greeter is clearly glued to the official greeter stool/bench, you almost feel compelled to say "Hey, you know what, I'll get a cart for myself - thanks - don't get up" but you want to be polite so you bite your tongue. It doesn't take you long to realize they've completely rearranged the store from last week so everything as you know it is now flipped around and in completely different aisles. (It's actually a marketing strategy to keep customers in the store longer. Their hopes are that you'll come across something you didn't realize you needed until now, thus buying more.)

Discovering that locating just one particular item from your list will now be more like a scavenger hunt, you try to find an associate to help you. Lucky to have found someone after about a 10-minute search, you hear "Oh, that's not my department so I don't know" and they walk off. You feel compelled to say "That's ok, you could use that big ol' intercom system to find the appropriate associate (hey that rhymes) but, you know, I've been looking for that item for an hour and a half, I'm sure I'll find it eventually" and you decide you don't need that item today. (Hello - lost sale.)

Now it's check-out time. Well, sort of. Only 2 out of 22 possible check-out lines are open. (I ask you, why did they build 22 check-out lines when they were only planning on opening up a few at a time? Even around the holidays only half of them are open. We wouldn't want to interrupt the important discussion between the 4 or 5 teenage checkers hanging out around the courtesy desk by asking them to - I don't know - do their job? Ok, I digress.) Exhausted, paying customers are now pooling at the front of the store, making it nearly impossible for those who are still shopping to make their way through.

Woo Hoo - now it's your turn to check out! You're thinking you can brighten her day with a smile, after all you're the chipper one of the bunch and you're a professional. Too bad she's not making eye contact, right? You're lucky to even get a 'hello' from her, let alone a smile. Instead you receive a glare of inconvenience because she's not able to engage in the teen conversation at the courtesy desk, thanks to you. The glare returns if you're not taking your bags full of twice-beeped items off that spinning carousel of doom. (I kid you not - I once had a checker who stopped scanning my items and stared at me because I didn't take my bags right away to make room on her carousel for her. After saying "Ugh!" she stomped from behind her cash register and threw my bags into my cart. Nice.) You receive a complimentary, yet swift, kick in the behind when the checker hands you your receipt. The grand finale is: NOW the greeter is kind as you're leaving and says "Thanks for shopping at WalMart." Now in all fairness, not every WalMart I have ever been to has been like this, just our local store.

Where has all the service gone? It must be where lost socks go in the laundry. I mean really, don't they understand they're in the service industry? Let's look into that a bit. Herein lies the difference: Those who lack service are working there solely to pay their bills. That's it. They're not in it to improve their skills, reach a higher goal or fulfill a lifelong dream - it's just a J-O-B to them. It's all about their perspective. So why should it make any difference to them whether or not the customer is satisfied?!? This is truly their perspective, otherwise they would behave differently on the job. You can tell the ones who are truly thankful for their jobs. We as direct sellers have a GREAT opportunity to give unbelievable customer service. It's very easy for us because there is such a lack of service everywhere we turn; so even the tiniest snippet of customer service will go a LONG way! We are in our businesses to help people (and, oh ya, the paychecks are mighty nice too). That's where we can come from a place of service and really serve our customers! What a privilege! What an honor! It's about more than making money, we're helping people and making them feel good (which, in turn, makes us feel good)! We're making a difference, leaving a legacy and building on something that will outlive us! Doesn't it make sense that our business will flourish when we come from a place of service? I can hear it now: "Hello, Customer Delight Department, my name is Jennifer. How can I serve you today? Billing discrepancy? No problem, Mark in accounting will take good care of you as that's his specialty - my pleasure to connect you!" Aaahhhh... breath of fresh air! Next time you experience a lack in customer service, and it's almost a guarantee that you will, be thankful that you can enjoy what you do. Remember, others can tell whether you're thankful for your 'job'. Makes you think about sharing the business opportunity with that 'spinning-carousel-of-doom' checker, doesn't it? Hmmmm...

© 2008 Jennifer Stoll The Stand Up Coach All Rights Reserved

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?
Please do, as long as the following blurb is included in its entirety: Entrepreneur Jennifer Stoll, The Stand Up Coach, is Founder and Editor of “Info Buffet” a free ezine for professionals in the Direct Sales/Party Plan industry. An author, speaker, and success coach, Jennifer provides principle based resources in a fun & humorous way. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level, make more money and have more fun in your business then visit Jennifer at http://www.thestandupcoach.com.