My Three Most Important Things

I’ve been thinking a lot about the ending to my post about awkward sales pitches. In the last paragraph of that post, I said:

“I want the women I approach to see passion, hope, and joy in my eyes. I want them to see a woman who, even if she’s running errands with her  two year old, is composed, confident, and approachable.”

Followed shortly by:

“It is an experience that has given me confidence and has helped me to grow as a wife and mom. I’ve gained friendships and been pushed out of my comfort zones. I’ve learned to think positively about life, and to laugh off some of the stressful days (OK, so I’m not always laughing in the midst of the stress, but usually a day or two later, I can look back and laugh about how stressed I was over something so minor). Because of those things, I don’t want to be a walking sales pitch. I want to share the joy I’ve found with other women!”

I’ve realized that I said these things about my Mary Kay business, but am I able to say the same things about my relationship with Christ? You see, even before Mary Kay became a part of my life, Jesus came into my life. And my relationship with Him should be so much more important to me than anything else. In fact, I’m even encouraged to run my business with the mindset of God first, Family second, and Career third. The strong Christian values are one of the things that drew me to Mary Kay when I began looking for a small work-from-home business. However, as I sit here typing this today, reflecting on my life and priorities, I have to wonder…am I really living out God first, Family second, Career third? I’ll be honest, I think I tend to put my Family first, and then let God and Career flip-flop for second and third position.

So, today, I’m making a commitment. I am going to spend time every. single. day reading Scripture, praying, and listening to what God has for me. Even if it’s just 15 minutes, that’s more than I’m doing every day right now. Then, I’ll keep my Family in second place, and focus on my Career last.

Question: How do you keep your priorities in the proper order?

The Most Awkward Sales Pitch Ever

Photo by DS Williams (Creative Commons)

A few weeks ago, I was cooking dinner when our doorbell rang. I answered the door, and found a young (late teens-early twenties) girl, dressed sloppily, with a bag full of bottles of what appeared to be cleaning solution. She did not introduce herself, but instead immediately jumped into a sales pitch by asking “What is the hardest part of cleaning your home…windows? bathrooms? carpet?” When I answered that it was “trying to maintain a semblance of clean with a toddler running around”, she said “Oh, do you have any carpet stains you’d like me to get out for you?” I told her “No, thank you” and was ready to close the door when she continued her pitch.

She talked about all the perks of her cleaning solution, how it was made, on what surfaces it was safe for use, and more. Then, right as my toddler walked over, she opened one of the spray bottles and put the plastic tube in her mouth to LICK OFF THE CLEANER! This was her way of showing me that this product was non-toxic and therefore safe if my toddler happened to get into it. Ummm…really???  YIKES and EWWWWWW!

This has to have been one of the most awkward sales pitches I’ve ever witnessed. Did I buy her product? NO WAY! Honestly, I almost called the police when she left my house. There is, in fact, a No Soliciting sign at the entrance to our neighborhood.

As a sales consultant for one of the most well-known and respected Direct Marketing companies (Mary Kay Cosmetics), I often worry about being too sales-y when talking with new people or doing facials and skin care parties. I don’t ever want to come off as pushy or overly selling my product. Instead, I want people to see that I have a great product about which I’m passionate. I want them to try the product for themselves, and to feel confident in their decision to purchase (or not) the items from me. I think that’s why I often stop myself before I approach a potential new client when I’m out and about. I don’t want to seem fake. I want to have a genuine conversation with women and for them to feel like I was truly interested in what they had to say. I want to be respectful of their time…yet I also want to be able to offer a sample or my business card without being pushy or awkward about it.

In contrast to the desperation I saw in the girl trying to sell cleaning products, I want the women I approach to see passion, hope, and joy in my eyes. I want them to see a woman who, even if she’s running errands with her  two year old, is composed, confident, and approachable. You see, being a Mary Kay consultant isn’t just about making money to me. It is an experience that has given me confidence and has helped me to grow as a wife and mom. I’ve gained friendships and been pushed out of my comfort zones. I’ve learned to think positively about life, and to laugh off some of the stressful days (OK, so I’m not always laughing in the midst of the stress, but usually a day or two later, I can look back and laugh about how stressed I was over something so minor). Because of those things, I don’t want to be a walking sales pitch. I want to share the joy I’ve found with other women!

Tell me: What are the BEST and WORST sales pitches ever thrown your way?

You Can Do It!

I had an AMAZING weekend! It was full of encouragement, friends, business ideas, and so much more. Friday night and Saturday, I went to my first ever Mary Kay Career Conference in Knoxville.  I am SO glad that I decided to go!

The theme of the weekend was “You Can Do It”, which is exactly what I need to be my focus. As I’ve shared in my posts on Doubt, I so often allow the fears in my heart (fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of saying the wrong thing) to stop me in my business. What I heard this weekend was that these fears are common, almost everyone has them, or has dealt with them! Sales Directors and National Sales Directors (the top women in Mary Kay) talked about how they dealt with these fears, and what they did to overcome them. One of them even talked about many of the mistakes she had made in her career, and followed each one with “you, too, can be a National Sales Director.”

Here are some of the main points that I brought home this weekend:

• Get out of your own way – STOP making excuses! Excuses are lies only you believe.
• Do something TODAY that will move you forward
• Step out of your comfort zone, do what others are unwilling to do
• You’ll never get anywhere if you wait for all the lights to turn green before you leave.
• I have everything to gain and nothing to lose by taking the next step
• Make the choice that your dream is bigger than your challenges
• You don’t have the right to give up on the dream that God has put in your heart
• Never give up on your dream
• Enjoy the journey you are on
• Do the work!

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, those points aren’t just great for a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, but they apply to anyone and everyone who has a dream. We are each designed with specific strengths and weaknesses, and God has given each of us a dream. Does that mean that our dream will always be easy? No way! Achieving a dream or goal takes work…and sometimes that work is hard! Sometimes it requires doing things we’re not comfortable doing because we’re not very good at them. Sometimes we have to do things that are scary. However, if we keep making excuses, we’ll never get anywhere! We’ll never reach our goals when we aren’t willing to take the first step toward our goals.

What is a goal or dream you have in your life? Are you allowing fear or doubt to stop you from achieving that goal? Do any of the points above resonate with you? Which one? What are you going to do about it? (OK, I know, that’s a lot of questions. Feel free to answer the first two or three to yourself and the last two in the comments.)