Do you want to manage feeling overwhelmed and find that zone of peaceful productivity?

Unfortunately “too much to do, not enough time” sums up modern life for most folks these days and, if you are building a business on top of all your other responsibilities, overwhelm and stress can creep in if you are not careful.

Believe me, I am no stranger to this and, over the years, I have had to learn how to manage feeling overwhelmed so I can thrive in my business and enjoy my life along the way. There have been plenty of times when I have felt buried by a mountain of things to do and had no idea where I would find the time.

Sometimes we look at other people and think, “Well they can do it because…

They don’t have as much to do as I do…
He doesn’t have a family to take care of…
She’s rich so she must have more time…
Fill in the blank here…

The truth is, until you have walked in someone else’s shoes you don’t really know what they’ve got going on and what they need to adjust in their own life to manage feeling overwhelmed. Nobody is immune to the pressures of life, and we all have the same 24 hours in a day. The secret to getting rich and achieving business success in your network marketing company is knowing how to manage feeling overwhelmed by making daily decisions on where to put your focus.

Here are three strategies that will help you manage feeling overwhelmed:

#1 Strategy to Manage Feeling Overwhelmed – Shift Your Perspective

One of my favorite stories to tell is how the network marketing industry changed my life in every way, including love. Yes, I met a man at an industry event, fell head over heels, and married him!

Based on what we have going on in our lives (business, kids, etc) we are currently traveling back and forth between our two homes – his is in Canada, mine is in the United States. Truth be told, sometimes I need to manage feeling overwhelmed by continuous uprooting and traveling, maintaining two households, and expanding my home life from just me to include a husband and three kids.

To manage feeling overwhelmed, instead of stress over it, I choose to shift my perspective by asking, “What’s good about this? Let me count the ways.”

Well, for starters, I’m madly in love with a gorgeous Canadian man. I have three amazing children in my life that love me as much as I love them! Keeping my home in San Francisco means I get to be close to my aging mom, spend quality time with family and friends, and get focused work done when the kids are back at our other home in Canada.

Action tip to manage feeling overwhelmed: Look at your own situation and ponder, what’s good about this? This alone will change your emotional state and move you to a place of gratitude. There is almost always something good about this – whatever this is…

#2 Strategy to Manage Feeling Overwhelmed – Focus on Your Successes

I am a total list-maker and, in fact, sometimes I have a dozen lists going! Okay, so it’s not a perfect system, but it works for me and it’s how I keep track of all my commitments which helps me manage feeling overwhelmed.

Confession: Sometimes at the end of the day, I look at my list(s) and I see all the items on there that I didn’t get to check off. I used to feel dragged down by what was not getting done, yet one shift that I attribute to my success is that I now choose instead to focus on what I DID get done and celebrate my accomplishments. When I am getting ready for bed at the end of the day, I look back and feel good about what I did get done instead of stressing about what I didn’t get done!

Because the truth is, it never ALL gets done. Most of us give ourselves a week’s worth of to do’s and one day to do them. Be kind to yourself and acknowledge your successes each day. This will most certainly help you manage feeling overwhelmed by all those little things that fight for your time.

Action tip to manage feeling overwhelmed: Look back at your day and honor yourself for everything you did get done.

#3 Strategy to Manage Feeling Overwhelmed – Do What’s Most Important

The number one reason why ANYONE is successful is because they prioritize, set goals, and do what is most important.

My friend Molly is a classical pianist and practices piano for hours a day. She is also teaching piano lessons and meditation classes, is happily married and raising three kids, and building her network marketing business. Her plate is quite full, yet the reason she is so successful in her business is that she does a great job of focusing on the most important (i.e. income generating) activities that will move her toward her goals.

This is important. At the end of the day, are the choices you make taking you in the direction you want to be five years from now? When you work on your business, are you picking up the phone and calling your prospects? Or are you avoiding the important actions by organizing your supply of product samples… again?

Oftentimes, to manage feeling overwhelmed, simply tackling the biggest, scariest (and probably the most lucrative) task first can have a domino effect and ease your stress immediately. My goal is to spend two hours of focused time on the highest priority income generating activities every day. I keep a journal to track this time because I know that what I can measure and track, I can improve.

Action tip to manage feeling overwhelmed: Do the biggest, most intimidating item on your list first.

BONUS Strategy to Manage Feeling Overwhelmed – Learn to Say No

This simple two-letter word will truly help you manage feeling overwhelmed. If you’re building a new business, there are things you have to say “no” to. Perhaps it is not the year to volunteer for the annual fashion show at your school. Maybe you decide to give up watching Downton Abbey primetime and catch up on Netflix when the kids are in bed Saturday night.

Hmmm, shall I admit I’m no stranger to late night Downton Abbey marathons?
Oh wait, did I say that aloud?

Action tip to manage feeling overwhelmed: Say no to something this week. Today would be even better!

What do you do to manage feeling overwhelmed? Comment below!

How to approach prospects, you ask?

You are excited about your company’s products and opportunity, and you want everyone to see what you see. Yet, whether you are new to network marketing or are an MLM veteran, how to approach prospects remains one of the biggest learning curves.

When I first got started seven years ago, I could not understand why my friend Susan didn’t see what I saw in this business model. Looking back, though, I was making classic mistakes. I was talking too much and wasn’t paying attention to her cues. She was interested in the product, yet I kept telling her about the business.

My hope is that by reading this article, you will have a better sense of how to share your products and opportunity with people, thereby helping you to achieve success more quickly and enjoy the journey more! Here are three game-changing strategies for how to approach prospects that will get your message across effectively, expand your reach, and have people begging, “Tell me more!”

1) How to Approach Prospects – Keep it Quick & Simple

One of the biggest mistakes I have seen people make when learning how to approach prospects, is talking too much, for too long. Are you overselling? I can remember a few times where I thought, “Oh my gosh, I just spent an hour trying to convince this person.” Now I just focus on people who are interested in what I have, and I don’t worry about those that aren’t.

Bottom line, your enthusiasm is a great attraction, yet talking for hours is not how to approach prospects if you want to succeed. Sharing all your knowledge about your products and opportunity may come across as over-the-top and, even though your intentions are good, you turn your prospect off. The more you talk, the deeper you dig your hole. Your prospects are trying on the opportunity for themselves and thinking, “Wow, I am going to have to learn all this? I am going to have to spend hours and hours talking about this with people? I don’t have time!”

A brilliant way for how to approach prospects and get around this hurdle is to have a quick and simple business tool do the talking for you. For example, my team uses a sizzle call, which I recorded to share the product and opportunity in about 5 minutes. I have been very successful in my seven years in the network marketing industry and have made millions of dollars. Since that is the case, even if you are brand new, your prospects get to hear the message from a veteran.

And sometimes, they just need to hear the message from someone other than you. Isn’t it “fascinating” that it’s so often the case with our family and our close friends? When I first started out, I sat with my friend Donna for a couple of hours trying to convince her of the business model and she just couldn’t get it. As soon as she heard the message from someone else, though, it clicked. Sometimes how to approach prospects is to get them in front of someone else.

With a sizzle call, how to approach prospects becomes as simple as, “I’d love for you to check this out. Can we get on this short call together right now?” If that doesn’t work then say, “Listen to this quick call on your drive home, and I’ll follow up with you to get your thoughts.” Ahhh, can’t you breathe easier just thinking about it?

How to Approach Prospects Action Step: See if your company or team has a similar tool that you can plug into. Here’s our sizzle call if you want an example of how to approach prospects this way: 888-319-2225

2) How to Approach Prospects – Show, Don’t Tell

In my business with Jeunesse we have a groundbreaking anti-aging technology. The other day, a dear friend and team member posted a photo of hands before and after using our Luminesce serum and, within minutes, she had four people private message her asking how to get some product.

You know the saying, “A picture is worth 1000 words.” This concept of “show and tell” is what makes infomercials so successful. Seeing OxiClean turn a wine-drenched shirt stark white is quite compelling, isn’t it? The same goes for how to approach prospects with your networking opportunity.

Since we focus on anti-aging products, one of our most powerful tools for how to approach prospects is sharing real before & after pictures. Our products get results like nothing else on the market, and the before & after pictures get the message across so strongly that you never again need to wonder how to approach prospects.

Downloading the pictures from our team website and laminating them creates an easy on-the-go sharing tool for how to approach prospects. Whether you’re at a BBQ or a networking function, when people ask you what you do and you show them the results your product provides, you will start hearing a lot more, “Wow, tell me more!” Do you have a show and tell type of document or picture that you can share with your prospects? I promise, it will make your job easier.

How to Approach Prospects Action Step: Find a way to “demo” your products.

3) How to Approach Prospects – Make it Duplicable

The beauty of the two strategies I just shared is that they are part of a repeatable process. Perhaps the biggest key in how to approach prospects effectively is to have a duplicable system that you can repeat over and over again and, more importantly, everyone on your team can repeat over and over again.

If you constantly change how you share your products and opportunity, you won’t have the tracks you need to run on, and your team won’t have a path to follow either. Your team will do what you do, so if you are constantly re-inventing the wheel, your team will lose focus, get frustrated, and eventually burn out.

One of my friends is a coach in the industry. Although he has over twenty years experience in the industry, he sticks with the sizzle call introduction because he knows his new team members will follow suit and he wants to be sure he is modeling a duplicable process. And, it works brilliantly! Just last week he sponsored five new people using our sizzle call to introduce Jeunesse.

I always ask my team, “Do you want to build quickly, or do you want to build slowly?” By using tools such as a sizzle call or an on demand webinar, not only do you leverage off the success of your leaders but you will also learn how to approach prospects properly.

How to Approach Prospects Action Step: Plug into your team’s duplicable business-building system.

Did You Learn Something about How to Approach Prospects?

Follow the three steps outlined here and you will see a difference in your business. By the way, I am always available to my followers for a short 10-minute free coaching session. If you are interested, contact me today.

All the best on your journey,
Kathleen

P.S. Share your comments below and, if you want to give your team a leg up on how to approach prospects, pass this article along!

Manage Feeling Overwhelmed & Create Freedom in Your Business