by Molly G.
Back over the
summer, I’d made a Facebook post about buying some products from a store that
sales products for your bath and your body. My friend (and sorority sister)
Katie commented on it asking if she could send me some samples. A little back
story for this is Katie is an Independent Consultant for a direct sales company
called Perfectly Posh. At this point I’d been invited to a few of the Facebook
parties she was the consultant for, but I hadn’t tried any products. I hadn’t
even really participated in the parties except say that “maybe” I was going
(aka I wasn’t planning on even paying attention to the posts, but I wanted to
be nice). When I saw her comment on my post, I said, “Sure, why not! I’ll
message you my address!” I then sent her a personal message with my mailing
address. Within a week, I had a sample pack via the mail at my house.
At this point in my
life, I was working about sixty hour weeks at the Clyde M. York 4-H Center in
Crossville. I needed something – at the time I didn’t know what – to help with
my nasty looking feet and that would also make the rest of me feel refreshed
and relaxed and clean after a day of wading in ponds and doing who knows what.
When I received Katie’s sample pack in the mail, I was at camp, but I picked it
up the weekend I was off and returned home for a couple days. I took it back to
camp with me unused for a couple days. I then finally opened it and saw what
all she had sent. The first product I pulled out was a body butter. I
immediately used it on my gross, cracked feet. When I did and put on some
socks, I immediately knew that I was needing to order me some of that. I then
tried the rest of the products and weeded out the ones I knew I wanted and then
finally looked at her website.
Upon looking at Katie’s website, I saw there was some other
products for nasty, gross feet, and I placed an order. I signed up for the
Perks program to start earning towards free products and immediately became
hooked. I proceeded to order more products over the course of two more months.
I had fell in love and was stocked up for a good long while. After I had placed
my first order, I decided it was the time to talk to Katie about hosting a
Facebook party – since I was at camp and didn’t want to arrange a home party. I
hosted the party and fell more in love with the products and had started
gaining knowledge. I eventually caught myself talking to people about it
outside of the event and even answering people’s questions about products
before Katie could. I was hooked. I was growing a passion for this company that
I hadn’t felt towards a company before.
Over the course of the two months following my party, Katie
and I talked more about Perfectly Posh and what it was like being a consultant.
We messaged each other about it, Snapchatted about it. We did an assortment of
things. We kept talking about it, and I kept saying I’d do it after graduation
in May if I still felt like I should do it. Little did I know when I said that,
the next day the starter kits were going to be on sale for half off.
The fears that I had about joining was that I was afraid I
wasn’t going to be good at it. I’m generally an antisocial person and extremely
introverted. I’m introverted to the point that when I know that I’m going to
have to deal with big crowds (more than about fifteen people) I have to
mentally prepare myself to try and not get mentally and emotionally exhausted.
I knew that going into the direct sales world I was going to have to become
more of a social butterfly. I was going to have to try and come out of that
shell, and it terrified me. I was going to have to be social in a way that I
was not used to being. I was terrified of that thought. I was terrified that I
would end up with this and only be selling to my five friends and my parents
and that I wouldn’t be successful. I had this vision of if I did this, I wanted
to become really good at it. I also felt like it would take up a lot of my
time, and I didn’t know if I could balance my time well with residency looming
in my view. I quickly had to face these fears because something occurred that I
hadn’t anticipated: the starter kits going on such a sale that I’d be silly to
pass up a business opportunity like that.
The day the starter kits went half off, I was talking to
Katie all day about it. I started talking to friends about it. I wanted to get
the insights of the people who knew me best to see if they thought I could do
it. My best friend Aleta told me that she thought I could really do it, because
of my knowledge of the products already and my honesty. She said that my
personality and care for others would really help with this. After talking to
her at an hour I’d rather be asleep, I finally decided to take the plunge. At
10PM that evening, I submitted my order for a starter kit and received my
replicated website. I didn’t know what I was really getting myself into in that
moment. I just thought I was going to be sharing my love and passion for this
company and products on Facebook and maybe having a party here and there. I
just thought this was an easy way to earn some extra spending money and to have
a hobby to help pay for the gas in my residency experience. Boy was I wrong.
The day after the starter kits were on sale, I realized that
I had been added to three different Facebook groups. I had been added to Posh
Talk – the group only for consultants company-wide to talk about topics that
are posted each day. I then noticed I had been added to a group that was for
Erica’s downline (everyone below you in your team). Erica at the time was a Premier
leader in the company, and she was the one who I was to go to for advice and to
ask questions about things I was unsure of. I then noticed I had been added to
Sarah’s group. Sarah was pushing for Premier that month. I wasn’t the only one
added to those groups, though. There was so much growth in that short time
frame for all of the groups. I then realized that a lot of people signed up to
get the starter kit with all the products and not to actually sell, unlike me.
Over the course of the next couple of days, I started
posting about it on Facebook and started interacting in the groups. I talked to
some friends about it, but nobody seemed all that interested in purchasing. I
made some sample packs and did a lot of things to try and build my business. I made
a VIP Facebook group and even ordered business cards. Nothing seemed to be
working. I was getting discouraged, but then my team leader Sarah sent me a
message saying she was glad I joined her team. I at the time brushed it off,
because I thought she was just being nice. I was wrong. Sarah meant it. She
offered me so much encouragement my first few weeks in that I will never be
able to repay to her. I learned what the core value of doing direct sales was
you’re not on your own. You always have a team. I realized that my upline would
be my support system through and through. They are the rocks that I needed to
start building my business upon. They were the foundation of all the knowledge
I have gained so far and are helpful in trying to find my own answers to
situations I have encountered in my business.
I started changing my attitude about it my business due to
not feeling I was being successful like I had wanted to be. I started Poshing
everyone with samples. I kept on posting about it, but I was realizing that I
wasn’t using my own voice. I was trying to sound like the company. At this
point, I discovered the Prep Academy videos which is business training. I
started watching those and completing what I needed for that. I devoured them.
I watched a whole ninety days’ worth in a week or two. I was devouring all that
I could to be able to make my business better. I was so focused on sales that I
wasn’t focusing on the theme of the company – people deserve to pamper
themselves. People deserve to take time out of their busy day for themselves. I
was becoming self-centered. I wasn’t doing what the core values were. I had to
take a step back.
When I was taking my step back, one evening I got on my
virtual office after school to see that one of my mom’s co-workers and family
friend had placed an order. I immediately sent her a text message and thanked
her so much. She was my first sale. She was the first person to make me realize
that sales can come from anyone. I fixed her a thank you note and sent it with
my mother to school the next day along with a sample pack thanking her so much.
For you see, she was my only order my first month in. I sent her a product at
the end of the month that I thought she would enjoy as a thank you and to show
her how much I love and appreciate her, both in my business and out.
The next month started becoming a little better. Sarah was
still pushing for Premier, and Erica was about to be ready to give birth to who
she calls #Boy4. At this point, I had donated some items in a pack for a silent
auction. A friend won the bid on them and told me how much she loved them. A
mutual friend of ours in almost the same breath booked a party with me. I was
beginning to gain momentum. I was also a nervous wreck. I had only ever
attended Facebook parties. I had no idea what I was doing. I went to my team
leaders for support and guidance. After many comments and messages later, I
realized that I really just needed to be myself. At the time, I was excited
about that, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that was a
joke. I, of all people, who is not super girly, is ridiculous thinking I can
sell pampering products, but I did it. I hosted that party with everyone
present placing orders. I was super excited. I was almost to my goal that the
company had pre-set out for me in sales for a time frame. I sent them all thank
you cards and updated my upline on how everything went.
The next couple of weeks or so after that was a little slow,
I was starting to become discouraged, but I kept working my business. I had
even made an Instagram account to maybe reach folks that way. I wanted to help
out my upline by making sales and helping them reach their promotions. I was
still very much caught up in sales and posting graphics instead of making this
business mine. I was trying so hard to hide behind a façade of a person that I
wasn’t business wise. I slowly started coming out of that. I started watching
training that was posted in the groups. I started to get to actually know my
team members. I started realizing that what I was doing was bigger than sales.
Over the course of the next few weeks following that, my
uplines didn’t reach their promotions, and I didn’t have any sales. My mom kept
telling me it was just a slow time. I had a hard time believing her. Then the
next thing I know, the company decided to start doing Podcasts. I started
listening to those weekly and my fire came back. I started to get passionate
about it again. I started contacting people and doing followups and seeing if
anyone needed anything. I started having conversations with people I hadn’t
talked to in ages. I started posting more in my VIP group content that wasn’t
Posh related. I started posting engagement posts to get folks pumped up. Then,
it happened. It was the end of November. I kept feeling it in my toes that
something was going to happen, and boy it did.
The last week of the month I had the most sales ever along
with the biggest order ever placed. I encouraged my fellow consultants in my
upline and team. I started encouraging them by telling them that they were
rocking it. I started telling them how awesome they were. I started telling
them that I wished I could be like them because of their level of fabulous. The
thing is – I meant every word. I’d been encouraging these awesome ladies the
whole month, but I felt this new energy and drive to really do it. I had this
fire in me that was wanting to spread the encouragement to the people being
business-wise productive and were feeling downtrodden. It was the least I could
do when I couldn’t find any more sales to make. I started encouraging and being
pumped up for everyone. I had this new desire. What was funny, was that I had
been receiving this from everyone, but I had only been kind of giving it back.
I hadn’t fully committed yet. But, at this point, I had. I had finally
committed to rocking the encouragement train for everyone. I wanted everyone to
feel like they were the best consultant there was.
Little did I know that that encouragement would be what
pushed Sarah to Premier. It also pushed Erica to Gold Premier (for she had
reached Silver the month before). I realized that being a cheerleader and
encouraging folks made them believe in themselves more and work even harder. I
realized that maybe that’s my role at that point. Maybe I was just everyone’s
cheerleader, who knows. I was satisfied with that. The universe had other
plans. Since all my sales were at the end of the month, I had qualified for
some giveaways from Erica and Sarah. From Erica, I won the drawing for a
laptop. Yes, you read that right – a laptop. I had won a laptop. From Sarah, I
knew I was going to be getting a pink, fluffy headband, but I didn’t realize
that I was also going to be getting a keychain, as well. This keychain is a
pink turtle to symbolize Sarah’s business. The thing is, is that I felt like I
didn’t deserve any of this. I hadn’t been working my business like I should. I
was just an encourager.
Over the course of November, I realized the ways in which I
was going to need to fix my business. I started becoming more client centered.
I started including personal reviews and stories about products. I started
going LIVE to tell folks about the products I loved and the exciting things
that were happening. I started caring more about the people and how my face and
personality fit into my business. I started realizing that there was so much
more to this company than simply selling products.
During the course of the encouragement I had given to my
fellow team members at the end of the month, I was on the way to finding my
voice again. I was finding out who I actually was in this company. I was
finding out what I wanted my business to sound like. I started finding out how
I wanted to sound on social media. I started figuring out the person I wanted
to be to my clients. I was finding the voice I needed to encourage people to
trust me when I recommended products. I started finding the voice I realized I
had squashed down at the beginning because I was embarrassed to be myself. I
quickly realized that being embarrassed about myself was not going to get me
anywhere. I acquired a way in which I can be myself and show that even if I’m
not the girliest person, that I love being clean and taking care of myself. I
found a way that I can go about explaining this difference to people.
Three nights ago, I finally decided on my personal brand.
Something that is uniquely mine. I decided on Prima Posh with Molly. The prima
comes from my love of dance. I’ve danced my whole life, and I’m glad to be
implementing that into a part of my life that is more public. Being a prima
means that I am at the top of my game. I’m one of the number one ballerinas in
the studio. It means that I am showing my customers that I am doing the best I
can to give them the service they deserve. I’m excited to be beginning this
journey of having a brand. I’m excited that I have found my fire again. This
last weekend, I made ELEVEN sample packs. I started working on my second launch
party. I started figuring out when I can schedule in my business around my busy
life. I’m glad that I started finding myself again and that I can finally
breathe. I’m glad that I’m finding a place in which that I can show my
interests and influence others. I’m glad that I’m finding a way to have control
of my own life and am making the decisions I need – business and personal life
alike. Who knows, maybe in the next three months something exciting will happen
in my Posh life. We’ll see. Until then, this is my journey so far, and I’m glad
that I’m on that experience. I regret nothing, and I want to keep looking
forward.
Plus, right now I’m having the opportunity to win a trip to
Greece. I might win it; we’ll just have to wait and see. We’ll see where the
New Year takes me and my new found courage in myself.
