I like this saying.  I REALLY like it.

We set goals all the time. Sometimes those goals result in less than satisfactory outcomes. Have you ever wondered why that is? One explanation is because the goals have been left open-ended. Not giving our objective a target to completion leads to unfulfilled aspirations and ambitions.

Here are five reasons that goals need deadlines.

1. Deadlines avoid procrastination. What is the first thing you think about when there is something to do? Do you try to find a way to put it off? Many people do exactly that all the time. The car is making a funny noise but it still runs so you put off getting it looked at by a mechanic. Then, one day it doesn’t run and the need is immediate. Without a deadline, the achievement of a goal can drag on forever.

2. Deadlines hold you accountable. Every goal needs a way that it can be tracked or measured. When there is a set time or due date for your goals, it’s easier to plan how you will actually achieve it. Setting several deadlines for small goals within a larger goal increases your chances of success. Also, others can help you stay on track when there is a deadline.

3. Deadlines help us visualize our goals. Everything that begins must have an ending. It may be close at hand or in the distant future. Either way, a conclusion is coming. The same is true with goals. Let’s say that you are running a race. In the middle, you get winded and your legs start to hurt. If the length of the race was unknown you might be tempted to quit. Knowing that the finish line will finally come into view, you push on to make it to the end.

4. Deadlines turn a dream into a reality. When the idea of a goal is formed in our head, it can easily be pushed away and forgotten. No one knew about it but us and that’s how it will remain. Now that we have assigned a deadline to our “dream” it has become a goal. To remember the deadline, our goal gets written down somewhere so we can see it every day.

5. Deadlines encourage us to focus on our goals. We’ve established that without deadlines it’s all too easy to procrastinate. Having a deadline encourages us to get it into gear and start working on our goal. When we know we must have something done by a certain time, it can be motivating, especially if someone else is also watching our progress.

Goals need deadlines. Without them, there is no way to tell if we are getting closer to achieving our goal. Goals will never reach their full potential of greatness if we don’t map out a plan to get there.

**Author unknown. I take no credit for this article, as it was borrowed from an outside source.**

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My Top 19 Customer Service Tips

by Laura A. Schmidt

1. Getting the products to the customers:

·    Have padded mailing envelopes ready at all times. The least expensive place to purchase these is on the Mary Kay Order Form – Section 2.

·    You can also get FREE Priority Mail boxes from the U.S. Post Office. They will give you a few, and then you can ask them for a form to order more. They are delivered to you FREE.

·    Save packing peanuts that you get in your product orders in gallon-sized ziplock bags. They’re easy to toss in a closet for storage, and a manageable size. You can use these to pack the Priority Mail boxes.

·    Create mailing labels with your name and address, and put them on standard-sized ‘security’ envelopes. Put them in your product orders that you mail or drop off. It’s a reminder for your customers to send a check.

·    Get the penny out of the eye to see the $. Yes, mailing it costs money. But, your time is valuable! Consider that your time is worth at least $50 per hour. One delivery that’s not-too-far-away costs so much more than mailing an expensive package. Only deliver if there is a chance to sell more products (up-sell), or layer for booking or recruiting. If she’s not going to be home, there is NO value in you being the one to drive there. Hire someone to do close deliveries, or mail it.

·    Use a spiral notebook to log the names of the people you mail products to, and the date they were mailed. That way, you’ll be able to go back and verify what was mailed, if someone doesn’t receive their order.

·    Have a ‘drop box’ in front of your house.

1.    Your family deserves the privacy

2.    Customers don’t always have the ‘chat’ time that stopping by would take

3.    You can’t afford to be interrupted when you’re on a booking or recruiting phone call.

2. Keeping up with the product part of the business:

·       After your first order or two, you should hire someone else to unpack your product orders from the company, put the reorder stickers on them, etc. (This can be a teenager…or a responsible pre-teen.)

·       Someone else can mail the products.

3. The formula for follow-up is 2+2+2. Follow up 2 days after the appointment, 2 week after the appointment, and 2 months after the appointment.

·       2 days after the appointment, call her to see how her skin care products are working.

·       2 weeks later, she’ll hopefully be having a follow-up skin care class or being a guest at your meeting.

·       2 months later, she’ll be running out of product.

4. Concerning booking/recruiting:

·       Meet the customers where they are. Not everyone is going to book a class. Classes are still the best way to work full-circle, but don’t get discouraged if not everyone books. Thinking about their personality type, offer them several choices in order of your preference (1. class with friends, 2. come to meeting as a model, 3. individual facial, 4. on-the-go, 5. send her samples in the mail, 6. send her a catalog, etc.). My rule…if they’ll do the ‘next step’ concerning selling in the next week or so…I go for that. If they say they will do that (ex: hold a class) more than 2 weeks out, and if they’re a prospect…I go straight for the interview. If they don’t want to do any more product-related things…I go straight for the interview (if they’re a qualified prospect).

·       Make it worth your hostess’ time to have a class! (Think about all the free stuff you get when you order $400/$600 wholesale).

·       Decide your hostess ‘options’.

1.    Guaranteed Credit (If they get friends together, they’ll get $25 in FREE products for sure. If the class goes well, they’ll get more.)

2.    Company Hostess Credit (10% of class sales in FREE products, or 15%/1 booking, or 20%/2 bookings)

3.    75/25 (not for 1st booking from a class)

5. Offering Sales – my philosophy

·       I offer a ‘sale’ about 2x per year. Since it’s ‘special’…they’re not use to a discount…they really stock up. Yes, my profit for that ‘sale’ is not as high as it would have been if they paid full-price, but I’m selling more volume than I would have…so my overall income is higher than it would have been without the ‘sale’. Also…they buy things they wouldn’t have tried for full price. So, they’ll re-order those products in the future. Also…I consider it a ‘gift’ to them.

6. Preferred Customer Program – and the gift-with-purchase

·       I could never keep up with 250 Preferred Customers (500 + total) without it.

·       Enhancements coming in the future too.

7. Calling your customers

·       I don’t call to say “what do you need”. I call for the booking reasons. Customers will call you when they need something, if you’re easy to reach.

8. Using technology to provide excellent customer service

·       You must have voicemail (Callnotes, etc.). A busy signal is unacceptable. That’s what happens when you only have an answering machine. Call-waiting is NOT the solution. It’s rude to call a customer, and then put them on hold. I choose to have call-waiting caller-id, but if I don’t answer it, it goes to Callnotes. That way, I’m not nervous to have a lengthy call with someone (like another director, a consultant, etc.) if I’m hoping a hot prospect will call…which is every day! I do NOT answer the call if I’m talking with anyone but a very close aquaintance who I have an understanding with…and only in an emergency. (This might apply to you if you only have one line, and your children might need you also.)

·       Email – people are busy. They sometimes can only think of things like makeup at midnight. I love to order books online…I never have the time during the day. If I thought I had to talk to a live person every time I wanted to buy a new book, I wouldn’t like that as well. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to just order online. Also…if they think when they call you, they’re going to have to leave a message with one of your children, and they can’t leave a lot of detail…that might discourage them from going thru you. Also…if you’re too chatty…they won’t think they have the time to call you. They’ll just get some Clinique at the mall.

·       Having a MK Web Page – why wouldn’t you?

9. Where to hold your appointments:

·       Have a room or area in your home that is set-up to do facials/classes. It will motivate you to schedule them.

·       When you’re booking, lean towards what’s easiest for you. If you’d rather do the appointments in your home…offer that first. If you’d rather do your appointments in their home or at your weekly meeting, offer those options first.

10. Get software to run your customer files.

·       It stores the customer profile information

·       You can print invoices

·       When you create an invoice, it takes the product out of your inventory counts

·       When it’s time to do a product order, you just create an order in the program, and tell it to ‘bring the inventory up to par’.

·       You can enter your expenses in the program

·       You can enter all the notes from your conversations with the person.

·       You can schedule ‘callbacks’ for you to make…like a tickler file.

·       You can create mailing labels for your customers/prospects for sales, guest events, etc.

·       Look-up of what shades, etc. the customer uses is easy.

·       You can tell who your best customers are, etc.

11. Getting really fancy

·       Get a palm pilot…it’s your friend away from home.

1.    Syncs with the Consultant’s Assistant (Check with the company that makes the software you have or you purchase if it’s a different one to make sure it syncs with a Palm)

2.    So…you have all the phone numbers, directions, product history, notes, etc.

3.    You can even create invoices on the palm, and print them later, if necessary.

4.    When you come home, you ‘sync’ it with the computer, so the data is updated in the computer.

12. Rule # 1 – The customer is always right.

·       Rule #2 – If in doubt, give the customer the benefit of the doubt

·       Rule #3 – Refer to rule #1

13. If someone has not paid you…how to handle it. Call or email and say “could you check your records, I may not be totally caught-up on my paperwork, but I don’t show that I’ve received a payment from you for your (date) order. As I said, it could be my mistake, but could you check, and let me know? Thanks so much! (I have made mistakes on this before).

14. Keep credit card numbers on file. They buy more if they use a credit card. It’s one less thing for them to remember to do. You get your money quicker than if it takes them a week to sit down to write their checks.

15. If you totally trust them, and they want to get something, but they don’t have the money yet, tell them that it’s ok if they pay you in a week (or whatever you’re comfortable with). Sometimes it’s a time management issue…it’s easier to send 2 things now, than 1 now and 1 in a week.

16. Write “Thanks, (Name),” and then sign it (your name) in your handwriting with a smiley face on every invoice.

17. In your correspondence with them, email, notes, voicemail, etc. use the phrase “thanks so much for your business” a lot!

18. How we want our customers to feel when they think about us:  KEY…work to NOT make them feel uneasy. Life is uneasy…their dealings with us should not be. We want to have healthy, fun, empowering dealings with our customers.

19. The ‘benefits’ of investing in good customer service…

·       50% profit is good money

·       You’ll have customers for a lifetime

·       Court of Sales each year on reorders (which you can delegate a good part of…I don’t delegate the ‘talking’ with the customers that want to talk…they’re still potential recruits or sources of recruits)

·       As a director, your 13% check includes your own orders…which increases your income…and the bonus level you’re at, because it’s based on your total unit production, which includes your own.

·       Your customers see you as a professional because of the way you treat your business, and them. They’ll refer others to you.

·       Your customers deserve ‘Nordstrom’ service.

·       You’ll feel good about yourself! ☺

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Praise God!!

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“…No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him”
(1 Corinthians 2:9, NLT)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria Osteen, Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas

What are the dreams and desires that you have for your future? Maybe you had some big dreams in the past, but things didn’t go the way you planned. So you put them aside and settled for status quo. We’ve all had disappointments and setbacks, but today is a new day, and we serve a God who makes all things new!

Let me challenge you to dig deep and dare to have a big dream for your life. I always say, when one dream dies, dream another dream. Don’t just settle for mediocrity, we serve a God who is above and beyond anything we can think of, and He wants to manifest His greatness through you. Remember, there’s nothing you can dream that God can’t do. Why don’t you ask Him to bring you the right people, the right opportunities, and the right resources? Trust that He is working behind the scenes on your behalf. Dare to believe and dare to dream another dream because He desires to do big things in and through you in this New Year!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for a new day to praise Your name. I dedicate myself to You fresh and anew. Lead me in the ways of my heart; help me to find that new dream, and let everything I do bring glory to You. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

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YOUR DESTINY

Go ahead and imagine the most wonderful, fulfilling life that you can. Jump in your mind past the current obstacles and limitations to the fulfillment of every form of richness that you know life can hold.

Dare to visualize a world in which your most treasured dreams have become true. Let your mind see every detail of your own special version of the very best that life can be.

If you could make the world exactly to your liking, consider very specifically just how that world would be. If you could spend your time doing precisely what you wish, how would the moments of your life be lived?

The more closely you get in touch with your dreams, the more able you are to make them real. The more vividly you consider how you want your world to be, the more real and effective tools you will have for making it so.

Your destiny is to fulfill those things upon which you focus most intently. So choose to keep your focus on that which is truly magnificent, beautiful, uplifting and joyful.

Your life is always moving toward something. Make it something that’s absolutely great.

– Ralph Marston

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.

– Albert Einstein

Thank goodness for my Mary Kay tax accountant!

Blessings in abundance to ALL pink ladies today!

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Dream big dreams and make workable plans that will get you there. Then put those plans into action and do what you will do.

Allow the beauty and richness of your dreams to expand your concept of what you are willing to do. This is your life and you deserve to give yourself the very best.

Intensely feel the accomplishment in your imagination. Let that incomparable feeling of satisfaction push you forward.

Focus on what you will do and you’ll discover that it is more than enough. You have within you the capacity, the ability and the drive to reach whatever dreams are meaningful to you.

Every day is an opportunity for richness and fulfillment. Feel what you will do, and why, and make today the best one yet.

– Ralph Marston

HAPPY NEW YEAR WISH

My Happy New Year wish for you

Is for your best year yet,

A year where life is peaceful,

And what you want you get.

A year in which you cherish

The past year’s memories

And live your life each new day,

Full of bright expectancies.

I wish for you a holiday

With happiness galore;

And when it’s done, I wish you

Happy New Year and many more.

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NOTE:

Picture from File It! Pro  www.fileit-pro.com

Poem from Chelle Hill, Pink Consultants Moderator

Happy New Year to everyone!

a Merry Christmas this year …

My way of saying that I am celebrating

the birth Of Jesus Christ.

So, I am asking my online buddies,

if you agree with me,

to please do the same.

And if you’ll pass this on to

your online buddies (link here), and so on…

maybe we can prevent one more

American tradition from being lost in the sea of

“Political Correctness”.

To One and All ! ! ! ! !

Let’s all strive to be politically incorrect

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No concern about it being the New Year or not.  Any day is the perfect day to get going with setting the right goals in your business!

“Did You Set the Right Goals?” – by Ann Vertel, Unit Coach

Welcome to the New Year. Your year. Lots of people have made resolutions and set goals. Ugh!!!! It can seem like such a chore and often feels depressing or pointless because somewhere around the end of February you can’t remember what they were and have no idea how you’re doing. Let’s make it simple.

First, let’s look at a few examples of what a goal is not:

make more money
sell more product
recruit more people
work smarter
really watch what I eat
You may be very resolute (thus the term resolution) about doing those things but don’t fool yourself into thinking they are goals. Being resolute has to do with desire – you want to achieve the goal. But if you can’t measure how you’re doing, you’ll never know if you did it!

Now see if you can identify the common thread in the following examples that are goals:

put product on 30 faces by noon on the last day of this month
present the marketing plan to 10 people by midnight on the 25th of this month
speak to all my customers by close of business on the 15th of next month
get contact information for 20 new people by 3 p.m. this Friday
qualify for my car by midnight on June 30th
Unless your goal specifies “how much” and “by when” it is not a goal, it is a wish.

To achieve a goal, it must be quantifiable – it can be measured. You either achieve it or you don’t, there’s no gray area.

Set all your goals – daily, weekly, monthly, yearly – based on the mantra, “How Much, By When?” and you’ll be able to determine, without any ambiguity, if you met your goal or not.

In the past, you may have chosen not to set measurable goals because it made you feel “locked in” to something and forced you to look at your business with logic and facts instead of wishful thinking.

But you’re serious about being successful now, aren’t you?

Without goals that you answer the question “how much, by when?” it’s much too easy to let yourself off the hook or to think you’re on track when you’re not. This year, set real goals and watch your dreams become reality.

Wishing you the most successful, powerful, and profitable New Year yet!

No go have a POWERFUL day!

www.unitcoach.com

Give Yourself a Goal

Do yourself a favor and give yourself a goal. Make it meaningful, make it exciting, make it challenging and then make it happen.

Set your goal a little bit beyond what you already know you can do. Then when you reach it you’ll not only have the achievement, you’ll also have an increased level of confidence.

As long as you’re making the effort to live this day, give it a purpose. Give yourself a goal, and transform fleeting time into lasting accomplishment.

From where you are, you can go anywhere. One by one, the goals you set will get you there.

Working steadily and persistently toward a goal will energize all aspects of your life and bring the awesome power of focus to your efforts. There’s truly no feeling quite like it.

Challenge yourself forward with a great and meaningful goal. Give yourself a goal, and make yourself some real treasure.

– Ralph Marston