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Mary Kay Executives Make Black Enterprise’s 2019 Most Powerful Women List

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Mary Kay Inc. announced that executives Sheryl Adkins-Green and Julia Simon were named to BLACK ENTERPRISE’s 2019 Most Powerful Women in Corporate America List.

 

Adkins-Green joined Mary Kay Inc. in January 2009 and was named chief marketing officer in July 2011. She’s been instrumental in developing and implementing the product portfolio strategy that is generating a sustainable stream of innovative skin care, color and fragrance products that are strengthening Mary Kay’s competitive position globally. Adkins-Green has received numerous awards from BLACK ENTERPRISE in the past, including 2017’s Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America and 2016 Top Women in Advertising and Marketing.

“I am proud to be included in BLACK ENTERPRISE’s list of most powerful women in corporate America,” said Adkins-Green. “To be considered among the most transformative business leaders of color is an honor. Serving in a leadership role on the Mary Kay Inc. executive team provides me with opportunity to mentor and inspire women of all backgrounds to achieve their fullest potential.”


Simon joined the Mary Kay Legal Department in 2000. Her team protects the company’s reputation and operations in nearly 40 markets around the globe. In addition to her role as chief legal officer, she is also the corporate secretary and chief privacy officer.

“It’s a true honor to be listed among so many powerful, intelligent and accomplished women of color,” said Simon. “I strongly believe it’s the role of my team to clear the path so that millions of Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants around the globe have an opportunity to pursue success in their businesses. I want to thank all of my colleagues, both at Mary Kay and throughout the industry, who have supported, collaborated and guided me in my career.”

To identify the Most Powerful Women in Corporate America, BLACK ENTERPRISE’s editorial and research teams conducted in-depth research; scoured their Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America, Leading Women in Marketing and Advertising, 75 Most Powerful Women in Business, The B.E. Corporate Directors Registry, and be 100s listings; consulted associations; and reviewed a great number of bios and résumés. The Women of Power Summit is the nation’s largest executive leadership conference specifically for women of color.

YGYI to Launch CBD Coffee in May 2019

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Youngevity International (YGYI) announced the planned launch of coffee infused with CBD.

YGYI had been working on a CBD coffee with the launch of its HempFX™ line of full-spectrum CBD products with ambition of being able to provide specific dosing via a K-cup or single-serve delivery system. The company’s recent acquisition of Khrysos Industries, and the validation capabilities of its newly acquired INX Labs, helped significantly accelerate the process.

YGYI intends to launch two brands taking advantage of its broad distribution capabilities. The HempFX Brand of CBD-infused coffee is expected to begin pre-sales in early May through Youngevity International’s sales network, with full-scale distribution taking place later in the month. YGYI’s wholly-owned subsidiary, CLR Roasters, has already begun retail sales presentations of its Javalution brand of CBD-infused coffee and anticipates an end-of-May shipping timeframe to retail store shelves.

“We are enthusiastic that the capabilities of our team at Khrysos Industries is delivering dividends so quickly,” said Dave Briskie, president and CFO of YGYI. “We have been perplexed in delivering CBD to a cup of coffee at consistent doses, but now we have a solution that passes the scrutiny of laboratory testing and we are excited to bring these products to market. Our team at Khrysos has cracked the code on the production of water-soluble CBDs.”

Dr. Dwayne Dundore, President of Khrysos Industries, stated, “We believe this technology has broad application in a number of areas of product development and certainly reaches beyond coffee. Our water-soluble CBD technology is deliverable in both powders and liquids which creates a wide opportunity across the product development spectrum.”

According to the company, the initial line of coffees for both brands will be available in four profiles, including Donut Shop, Dark Roast, House Blend and French Vanilla.

Avon Products Inc. Launches stand4her

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Avon Products Inc. recently launched stand4her, a global plan to tackle some of the greatest barriers holding women back from achieving their full potential.

 

As part of the business strategy to “Open Up Avon,” stand4her aims to improve the lives of 100 million women a year by standing for: the freedom to work on your own terms and in your own way; the power of beauty; safe and healthy lives. It is being launched in response to new research, commissioned by Avon with input from Oxford Economics, which shows that despite the global increase in flexible working patterns, women still feel they are held back from running their own businesses. This underpins projections that women’s economic potential is being limited by as much as 50 percent, creating a potential loss to annual global GDP of $12-28 trillion per year.

stand4her

One of the first major initiatives in the 10+ year plan is the launch of the Avon Academy, which will train 500,000 entrepreneurs every month, enabling more women around the world to earn money, in their own way and on their own terms. The Academy will be one of the largest training programs in the world and will provide women with lifelong learning and flexible development opportunities, delivered through a combination of online videos, interactive learning modules and peer support.

“Stand4her is what we do, every day; it’s what we’ve been doing for over 130 years,” said Jan Zijderveld, Avon CEO. “We’re reigniting Avon’s strong sense of purpose and doubling down on our efforts to support women and provide more meaningful and rewarding opportunities for our beauty entrepreneurs. Today female economic participation in the workforce remains below that of men, but we can be an agent of change, challenges ingrained barriers and open up opportunities. With 100 million women who work with us and buy from us around the world, and millions more in the communities in which we operate, Avon has a critical role, alongside other partners, to make a real and lasting impact.”

To learn more about stand4her, click here.

Mary Kay Sponsors, Unveils Research at Scientific Skin Care Symposiums

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Mary Kay Inc. continued its ongoing support of the beauty and scientific communities by recently sponsoring the Skin of Color Society Symposium.

The company further showcased its decades-long commitment to conducting skin care research by presenting new findings on hyperpigmentation and facial erythema.

At the Skin of Color Society Symposium, Dr. Shoná Burkes-Henderson, associate principal scientist, Clinical Research, revealed new research on navy bean extract and its ability to regulate melanogenesis, leading to an improvement in uneven skin tone and facial hyperpigmentation. Through this clinical study, Mary Kay found that topical application of moisturizer containing navy bean extract significantly improved uneven skin tone and blotchy pigmentation over 12 weeks, and therefore may be used as a natural treatment to help uneven skin tone.

Dr. Burkes-Henderson also presented a new approach to help improve facial erythema, or redness, at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting. Four botanical extracts were identified to reduce the production of pro-inflammatory proteins and enzymes in the skin and a cosmetic formulation containing these extracts was shown to effectively reduce facial erythema after four weeks.

Mary Kay Research & Development continues to share the latest discoveries relating to the treatment of uneven skin tone and facial erythema to the scientific community at large. Its team of scientists is also dedicated to discovering the trends and technologies that enable the company to create irresistible products that deliver innovative beauty benefits to the consumer. Led by Dr. Lucy Gildea, the Research & Development team includes distinguished scientists from around the world, holding doctorates and other advanced degrees across multiple disciplines: skin biology, cell biology, chemistry, biochemistry and more.

“We know that we have fantastic technology in our products, because we consistently conduct clinical tests to confirm that our products deliver meaningful benefits to consumers,” said Gildea, chief scientific officer at Mary Kay. “However, our commitment to skin care science isn’t just about making new Mary Kay products. Our involvement and attendance of events like the Skin of Color Society Symposium allows us to exchange innovative ideas and findings with our colleagues and continue to further support advancements in skin health.”

Mary Kay holds more than 1,500 patents for products, technologies and packaging designs in its global portfolio. Recently, the company announced the opening of a more than $100 million state-of-the-art manufacturing and R&D facility in Lewisville, Texas.

Rodan + Fields to Showcase Teen Acne Treatment Research at AAD

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Rodan & Fields will present four scientific posters at this year’s American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The work highlighted in the posters, developed by Stanford-trained dermatologists and founders of Rodan + Fields, Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields, and a team of scientists led by Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Timothy Falla, showcases the research behind the company’s  teen acne solution, SPOTLESS, along with work on facial and body skin hydration, and the positive synergistic impact of calcium and retinal for multiple skin benefits.

“We are delighted to share our latest research at the Academy’s Annual Meeting,” said Dr. Falla. “We’ve seen extraordinary results in our clinical studies, and this further validates our scientific leadership and commitment to developing innovative products that provide meaningful results.”

The teen and young adult acne treatment research poster being presented at AAD details an eight-week clinical study on the efficacy and safety of a two-step acne regimen developed by Rodan + Fields utilizing a patent-pending delivery system designed for teenage subjects, leveraging benzoyl peroxide in an innovative liquid form.

The research highlights the work that went into the launch of Rodan + Fields new SPOTLESS regimen, which features a novel BPO2 technology to penetrate stubborn biofilms and balance the microbiome inside pores to effectively combat the entire acne cycle.

The eight-week clinical study of male and female teenagers with mild-to-moderate acne assessed the efficacy and safety of the regimen. With benefits beginning from first use, 97 percent of those in the study reported significant improvement in overall blemish appearance. In addition, this regimen provided faster onset of benefits and was less irritating than competitor products utilizing benzoyl peroxide.

The AAD Annual Meeting is the largest annual gathering of dermatologists in the world, with more than 18,000 attendees. This year’s meeting is being held March 1-5.

Sipology by Steeped Tea

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So much more than a tea party.

Steeped Tea
Founded: 2008
Headquarters: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada
Top Executive: Tonia Jahshan, Hatem Jahshan Founders
Products: Loose Leaf Teas and Tea Accessories

Tonia Jahshan

Hatem Jahshan

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHILE IT MAY SEEM AS THOUGH THE DIGITAL AGE PROVIDES ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES for people to connect with one another, in reality, face-to-face connection is no longer the norm. In a world where it’s faster to text than call and social media’s community is more convenient than meeting in real life, finding a true connection is getting more difficult. One entrepreneurial couple from Ontario thinks we can change that—one cup of tea at a time.

A Cup Of Connection

Steeped Tea was born from a moment of connection. Hoping to reconnect and reset following a personal loss in 2005, Tonia and Hatem Jahshan took a break from their hectic lives to enjoy a quick holiday in Nova Scotia. At breakfast one morning, they were served a looseleaf tea blend that would ultimately inspire a fresh start for the couple, both personally and professionally. The tea–a Cream of Earl Grey–was more than a morning cup. Something about the warmth, smell and taste of those simple leaves ignited conversation and renewed connection. And the flavor of the loose-leaf tea was far superior to the bagged teas they were used to. Tonia’s sales and marketing mind lit up. People needed this.

“We want Sipology to exist within Steeped Tea– we’ve got twelve years of history and don’t want to lose that.” —HATEM JAHSHAN , Steeped Tea Founder and CEO

Full-Brewed Dreams

Now on a mission to share loose-leaf teas with the world, Tonia began hosting tea parties–but not your grandmother’s doily-covered-pinkiein- the-air tea parties. She wanted to show her guests that the act of making and sharing a great cup of tea, one of the oldest traditions in the world, was the perfect antidote for today’s hurried, disconnected human condition. Weekly tea parties grew to 15+ tea parties per month, which led to Tonia to transition her growing business to the direct sales model and recruit consultants to host their own events. Fast forward to 2012.

With a growing field team of over 500 consultants, 1.3 million in sales and lofty expansion goals, Tonia and Hatem approached the investors of Canada’s hit TV series The Dragons’ Den. They walked away with $250,000 of funding and two new business partners–Jim Treliving and David Chilton. This new partnership and funding allowed Tonia and Hatem to grow Steeped Tea significantly over the next six years, moving their business to larger and larger facilities, expanding their product line and growing in efficiency. Steeped Tea was now poised to enter the 35-billion-dollar direct sales market in the United States. Following a tentative U.S. launch in 2015, the company celebrated its official U.S. launch in early 2018.

Today’s Cup Of Tea

Today, Tonia and Hatem’s enterprise is known as Sipology by Steeped Tea and has become home to over 6,000 North American consultants and 52 corporate team members.

“Sipology launched a year ago and the whole purpose was to expand lines beyond tea to other beverages, including medicinal and herbal drinks,” Hatem shares. “We want Sipology to exist within Steeped Tea–we’ve got twelve years of history and don’t want to lose that.”

Sipology features a range of products including loose-leaf teas, tea accessories, tea powders, baking mixes and spice blends. All Sipology products are free of artificial colors and flavors, irradiated ingredients, preservatives and fillers. This spring, the line is expanding to include new matcha powders, kombucha, color-changing teas and a new medicinal line called HEAL-THY SELF.

“We’ve expanded our matcha line to include ten unsweetened options and six sweetened options,” Hatem says. “We’ve found that hot matcha still isn’t very popular in North America, so we’ve
developed the line to be served cold. It still retains all of the matcha’s health benefits and our sweetened options are minimally sweetened–nowhere near what you’d find in Starbucks.” This
high-grade matcha is available in a range of flavors that can easily be added to smoothies or enjoyed on its own.

The spring and summer selling season also brings the introduction of colorchanging tea to the Sipology catalog. These fruit teas begin as a blue hue but with the addition of citrus turn to pink. “Our color-changing teas are a great talking point at parties and a way we’re catering to younger customers with teas like ‘Unicorn Kisses,’ ‘Peachy Keen’ and ‘Pineapple Potion,’ Hatem shares.

Sipology introduced a line of kombucha products last fall, but will now be offering scoby starters as well. Kombucha is a popular fermented tea that is made with black tea, sugar and a culture of bacteria and yeast called a “scoby” that activates the fermentation process. Traditionally, kombucha brewers obtain a scoby through other kombucha-brewing friends, but the company went through the process of growing their own lab-tested, labcertified and microbiologically safe scoby that customers can order.

Perhaps the catalog addition the Jahshan’s are most excited about is the HEAL-THY SELF line of medicinal teas and essential oils. “Every country you go to has an herb their grandparents used to heal various ailments,” Tonia explains. “We ask in every country we visit, and every place has a traditional healing experience.” Equipped with that cultural knowledge and approval
by Health Canada (the Canadian equivalent of the FDA), Sipology offers teas coupled with matching essential oils to address various health concerns, including digestion, sleep, cold/cough, constipation and inflammation. “We want this line to inspire wellness from the inside out,” Tonia says.

The Sipology name extends to consultants as well. “We no longer have consultants, we have ‘Sipologists,’ Hatem shares. “This new title speaks to the science of sipping, similar to
a mixologist. With these expanded product lines, our Sipologists now have the opportunity to diversify the types of events they put on. They can plan tea bars, kombucha workshops, wellness
events; they’re not just limited to one kind of party.”

“We ask in every country we visit and every place has a traditional healing experience.” —TONIA JAHSHAN , Steeped Tea Founder and President

The Opportuni-Tea

With Sipologists sharing the product line and business opportunity from one end of North America to the other, the Jahshans are confident that the field team will continue to grow organically across the U.S. and Canada. Since Tonia was the first official member of the field team, she serves as an inspiration to the rest of the Sipologists in the field. Her online training videos as well as her in-person presence at events across the country keep the field engaged and growing. “Tonia travels to events set up by leaders and every month she does one or two online events,” Hatem says.
“Though her bigger focus is teaching our Sipologists to host opportunity events in their own cities.” Leader Development Specialists in the U.S. and Canada provide on the ground support for Sipologists moving through the company’s career plan.

“Our field team is a great supportive community,” Tonia shares. “We’ve retained many consultants from the very beginning. Building community has always been important to us–they all love the line so much and connect with each other over the lifestyle.”

EGYPTIAN CAMOMILE

New Sipologists can launch their businesses before their kit even arrives. Upon sign-up, they receive access to the Sipology Virtual Office and follow the simple steps included in the “New Sips Start Here” training program. “They’re already plugged in before their kits arrive and ready to host their own events,” Hatem says. “We really focus on the concept of “stations” and encourage Sipologists to present the product lines as stations-–a kombucha station, a color-changing tea station, a HEALTHYSELF station and so on. They have the option to purchase station add-ons when they sign up for their kits, so they’re ready to go once the products arrive.”

This Isn’t Your Granny’s Tea

From the beginning, Tonia set out to show the marketplace that tea parties could be modern. As the business grew, she and Hatem saw how perfectly both their product line and business opportunity aligned with a millennial audience. “We attract a lot of millennials,” Tonia shares. “They’re driving the tea market these days. We’re seeing a lot of young, vibrant customers and Sipologists, which lines up with our original mission–this isn’t your Granny’s tea.”

NETTLE GREEK MOUNTAIN

Sipologists are sharing the product line through in-person parties and workshops, as well as in online Facebook parties. “We’re seeing this shift towards online events and it’s really growing,” Hatem says. “The Facebook party is now mainstream with more than half of our field conducting parties online. Our goal is to give them what they need to present the story–since you can’t smell or taste tea in an online event.”

New and veteran Sipologists have everything they need to grow their businesses through the training and resources the Sipology corporate team provides. Sipology Academy is available for initial and ongoing training. Training calls and videos are hosted weekly. Tonia considers Tea University to be an internal “tea sommelier” course that educates the field on the world of tea with quizzes after each segment. As the field grows and changes, so does the technology to keep up with their needs. “We’re jazzing up our front facing software to make it even easier to use,” Hatem explains. “We’ve had a big push to make everything mobile friendly, so that’s what we’ve done.”

Entrepreneurs To The Core

With Tonia’s strength in sales and marketing and Hatem overseeing the company’s operations, the couple is ready for what’s next–a focus on internal improvement and organic growth. “Our corporate team is very entrepreneurial,” Hatem says proudly. “Everyone is solution-oriented, wearing multiple hats. We’re always pushing the boundaries on new things to test and try—we’re willing to do it, and the team really

NETTLE GREEK MOUNTAIN

follows.”

While they’ve explored introducing Sipology to new international markets, the Jahshans are focused on their new presence in the U.S. and the organic growth that it brings. “The U.S. is such a huge market,” Hatem notes. “We’ve decided to keep our eye on the ball, and that’s the ball.”

With new product lines, a bustling headquarters and a growing field organization, the couple’s goal of modernizing the timehonored tradition of sharing a cup of tea has been achieved. “We took a step back and looked at the industry,” Hatem says. “We have an opportunity that sells itself and gives back to the community in that people are connecting over a cup of tea or sharing the basics of a healthy lifestyle together.”

Rewarding the Right Behaviors

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THROUGHOUT THE history of direct selling, companies have differed in their approach to how is the best way to reward their distributors, trying their best to incent the behaviors that will both reward distributors fairly, while keeping in line with profitability.

In this month’s cover story written by Courtney Roush, we talk with some of the titans in the industry who have helped many companies with their compensation plans, and they agree that companies need to examine how they are rewarding instead of how much. Next, writer Brittany Glenn dives into the key to protecting your company from legal harm: your arbitration clause. Stream CEO Mark “Bouncer” Schiro shares some valuable lessons they have learned about the U.S. court system that will be of interest. See page 58 for the full story.

Pick up the printed issue in which this article is found.

Writer Sarah Paulk shares how the business presentation has evolved over the years. Today, the opportunity pitch is often so sleek that potential clients don’t even realize it’s happening. Read the whole story starting on page 28.

I also had the privilege to interview speaker and author Kindra Hall, whose expertise is helping people use story to develop deeper connections. She also gives her take on our industry and what we do well and what we need to improve on. See our Q&A on page 34.

Our company spotlight this month is Ontario-based Steeped Tea, founded by Tonia and Hatem Jahshan, who are on a mission to share loose-leaf teas with the world. Today, their enterprise is known as Sipology by Steeped Tea and has become home to over 6,000 North American consultants and 52 corporate team members. See their story on page 50.

10TH ANNUAL GLOBAL 100 CELEBRATION—SUBMISSIONS DUE MARCH 22

Amazing how time flies. This year we celebrate 10 years of providing the Global 100 list of the world’s largest revenue-generating direct selling companies. Our research team is winding down the effort to collect the data for the 2019 list, so be sure that your company has completed its nomination. You’ll find both the nomination and certification forms easily accessible from our home page. The deadline for submissions is March 22. Looking forward to seeing you there!

Finally, on behalf of everyone at DSN, we are grateful for the opportunity to serve this great channel. The impact you and your companies are having on so many lives is something to behold. Please drop me an email and let us know how we are doing and how we can better serve you.

4 Ways To Impact Your Organization

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Tools. Listening. Cascading and High Leverage Activities.

IN OUR PREVIOUS JANUARY COLUMN, we launched the concept of thinking strategically about everything in order to get the best results, which is what I do every day in working with top executives. In that article, we talked about gaining strategic clarity on the things that matter the most. As leaders in the direct-selling industry, you obviously have strategic clarity (or should) about the desired outcome of helping your distributors get more distributors. I want to share here about raising your level of thinking in four areas that could help you have a powerful impact on that outcome for your organization: tools, listening, cascading, and High Leverage Activities (HLAs).

Tools

Think about the tools you currently have. Are they outdated? Are they the best tools you can create? Are your distributors excited to use them? Are they easy to access (or just the opposite)?

In our experience, many people at the top don’t think at the strategic level about how they could make their tools easier to maximize efficiency and effectiveness. In all the work I’ve done with direct sales company executives, one of the biggest struggles I hear about is that their distributors in the field struggle to understand how to best use their tools and that they are not user friendly.

You may need to strategically think about your tool effectiveness. (How many do you have? What needs to be updated or tossed out? Is there too much clutter or distraction in your tool messaging?

Listening

Are you thinking strategically about training your distributors to listen? That’s right. It’s frequently overlooked. We often think about what we’re going to push out—this product benefit, or this success story—and yet a big piece of the puzzle in the world of building relationships is being strategic about listening.

Here’s what that could look like in direct sales—you’re teaching your distributors that when they’re working to attract someone, they’re listening intently and even taking a few notes as they’re talking to the prospect so they can better communicate to the person:

  • First that they’ve been heard (people want to feel heard, and the better the notes, the better the impact).
  • That your product or services apply to them (people want to know they apply to their world and their vision of success).
  • That joining their team will benefit them (people want what they want; they want to know why—the benefits that are related to their values, their goals and their priorities).

So, teach them to listen!

“A big piece of the puzzle in the world of building relationships is being strategic about listening.”

Cascading

When you as corporate leaders are planning for an event, you usually think strategically about things like budgeting, hiring the right talent, creating a great lineup, using the best AV equipment, and all the other bells and whistles that make an event spectacular (including humor, if you’re smart). Sometimes, however, follow up is more of an afterthought. If the message from the event is to roll out a new campaign, a new direction, or a new offering that’s going to attract more distributors, then you need to be spot on about how to cascade (pass information down to other levels, either corporately or to the field) that information so you can maintain your momentum.

Ideally, you’ve already thought ahead about follow up. I had a group in yesterday, and one of the specific things we talked about was how to prepare now, before the event, what the follow-up items are going to be. That makes it easier to get the emails, the links, and any other followup tools out immediately, within twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the event ends. When you’ve strategically thought through the follow up so it’s not sloppily done at the last minute, you get a much higher level of impact.

High Leverage Activities

Pick up the printed issue in which this article is found.

Even though we talked in the January issue, about High Leverage Activities, I wanted to hit it again here, because helping your distributors assess the best use of their time is one of the top ways you can help them be their best. No doubt you already know and employ that concept, and yet maybe you haven’t strategically thought about how to communicate to your distributors the whole model of High Leverage Activities (HLAs).

In addition to including your current philosophy in your onboarding kits, maybe you could shift to a little higher level of communication and incorporate training to help your current distributors think about the best use of their time or their HLAs. Let me give you an example of how that can work in attracting people for their business.

I happen to be friends with and personally coach one of the top distributors for one particular company. He is often referred to as “the Attractor.” He’s made attracting people to his team his top HLA, so he creates every day what he calls his “Hot 20 List”—a list of the twenty people he wants to invest time in to attract them to his business. He rewrites his list often and carries it either on his phone or in his pocket, and he looks at it several times a day to make sure he stays on track.

Since no single skill or habit has a more powerful impact on results than the ability to eliminate distractions (Low Leverage Activities) and focus on your High Leverage Activities, passing on that concept to your distributors could have a huge effect on your entire organization.

In future issues, we’re going to continue talking about cool concepts along the “strategy” line—like Strategic Gifting, which is a new book we just launched that will share information about how to strategically show gratitude and love to your people, as well as Strategic Networking, Strategic Health, and Strategic Acceleration. So be looking forward to several powerful communications in our column in the future that can help you be more strategic as an executive.

Article VIPS

  1. Think strategically about the tools you create to ensure they are up to date, easily accessible to your distributors, and of course really easy to use. (Do they pass the Steve Jobs test of being intuitive—so intuitive they need little or no instruction?)
  2. Teaching your distributors to listen strategically and communicate accordingly is a big piece of the puzzle in building relationships and attracting people to their business.
  3. Before each big event, think strategically about how to cascade the information immediately afterward so you can take advantage of your momentum.
  4. Since no single skill or habit has a more powerful impact on results than the ability to eliminate distractions (Low Leverage Activities) and focus on your High Leverage Activities, passing on that concept to your distributors could have a huge effect on your entire organization.

Tony Jeary—The Results Guy™—Is a prolific author and a strategist. His organization, TJI, facilities powerful meetings, keynote events and coaches high performers to accelerate their results.

Q&A with Kindra Hall

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It’s the Stories that Matter Most. Recognizing the power of story through person to person connections.

SOMETIMES YOU FIND A JOB, and sometimes a career finds you. This was the case with noted speaker and author Kindra Hall. Her expertise is in strategic storytelling—helping people in using story to captivate their audience, influence behavior, and, most importantly, develop deeper connections with others.

For whatever reason businesses often discount stories, Kindra says. Instead, they focus on features and benefits, data and pie charts—all in an effort to move their products and retain new customers. When really, it’s the stories that matter most. I recently connected with Kindra to get her thoughts on the power of the storytelling process, as well as what our industry does well and where we need to improve.

So how does story cut through the clutter?

Stories are a way that we make sense of the world around us as well as ourselves, so by nature, stories cut through the noise because they are something we as humans want to hear. Knowing this, companies can cut through the clutter by telling stories that show their empathy for what their customers are experiencing. Your tone and message should be: we can relate to what you are going through as a stay at home mom with three kids. You want to tell stories that are relatable to your customers’ journey, experience and circumstance. By doing this, prospective customers can immediately connect with your message and say to themselves, that sounds like my situation, and I want that same journey for myself. That’s where the power of story really resides.

“ Our capacity to understand skyrockets if lessons are tied to a story.”

You have attended many events as a keynote speaker for direct selling companies, so give us your perspective or general thoughts on our industry in general.

I love all of my audiences and enjoy speaking for a variety of industries, but there is something really incredible about talking to a room or arena full of people in the direct selling industry. The reason being, the direct selling industry is already winning at recognizing the power of stories in person to person connections. They are very adept at taking what I teach and putting it into action right away.

In your experience what can we do better or what do you see that we need to work on?

There are a lot of companies doing a really good job of letting their leaders grow by allowing them to have their own voice through the stories they tell (within the rules and regulations of income and product claims of course). I would advise more companies to seek that balance and encourage/support their salesforce to share and shape their personal stories. Then the company can leverage those stories through this unique distribution channel. Part of personal growth is being able to tell story of your growth. So that’s number one.

Number two, I’ve learned through my experience in the industry that there is an inherent challenge that comes with working with a volunteer army. My advice to executives is to listen to the stories that are being told within your field, whether positive or negative. Don’t be afraid of them!

Instead, approach them with genuine curiosity. A lot can be learned and improved when we have the courage to listen to the stories that are uncomfortable to hear.

And lastly, don’t feel like the only stories the leadership team can tell are the ones that are all rainbows and unicorns. Don’t be afraid to tell stories of when things didn’t exactly go the way you wanted them to, even the initiatives that failed miserably. There’s so much power in being authentic in owning up to one’s failures. People today really connect with companies and leaders who can express the fact that they make mistakes and learn from their lessons.

What are some tips you can give to our audience about how to motivate and inspire both their employees and independent salesforce?

Pick up the printed issue in which this article is found.

First and foremost, and for both employees and the salesforce, love them through it. This is a business of growth and while growth is exciting, it also comes with growing pains. In these moments of growth, your job is much more about deploying inspiration and encouragement to influence their behavior than it is about edicts and orders. By doing your best to show them that you care, understand and appreciate them speaks volumes and will pay dividends down the road.

With that end in mind, share stories that illustrate the behavior you want. The better you are at telling those stories, the better they will understand what you are needing from them. Our capacity to understand skyrockets if lessons are tied to a story. Think about the key messages you want or need to deliver to your field. If there are stories you can tell that can help paint a picture of the messages you want to convey the greater the impact will be. And the same storytelling strategy is true internally. Stories are a powerful way to keep teams motivated and inspired.

“You need to amplify whenever possible, at your events, in conference calls with field leaders, that success in direct selling takes hard work, and it’s not for everyone.”

Where do you think direct selling industry needs to improve?

There’s a fine line to walk between the beauty (the rewards that can come with success) and the reality that comes with entrepreneurship (the hard work, the hustle that is needed, the sacrifice that is involved, as well as the need to push through when times are tough).

Striking this balance is where the industry needs to improve upon. You need to amplify whenever possible, at your events, in conference calls with field leaders, that success in direct selling takes hard work, and it’s not for everyone. The more you do this, the more you will weed out those who aren’t serious about putting in the time.

There’s power in sharing stories that show the reality of what it is to be an entrepreneur and how hard it is. I love the quote that says If you want something that no one else has, you have to do what no one else will. And if there is one piece of advice I could give this industry is you don’t have to sugarcoat things to get more business builders through the door. There is also power in saying, this is who we are…we do the hard work because it is worth it.

Tell us about your book that will be coming out in September.

The title of the book is Stories that Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences and Transform Your Business. It not only addresses key factors that make stories such an
effective strategy in business, but it identifies some of the most important stories that any business needs to tell. I’m really excited about getting it into the hands of the direct selling industry!

Must Reads

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THE POWER OF MOMENTS: WHY CERTAIN EXPERIENCES HAVE EXTRAORDINARY IMPACT
Author: Chip and Dan Heath (Simon & Schuster 2017)

New York Times bestselling authors Chip and Dan Heath explore why certain brief experiences can jolt us and elevate us and change us—and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our life and work. The Power of Moments delves into some fascinating mysteries of experience: Why we tend to remember the best or worst moment of an experience, as well as the last moment, and forget the rest.

 

 

 

 

MEASURE WHAT MATTERS: HOW GOOGLE, BONO, AND THE GATES FOUNDATION ROCK THE WORLD WITH OKRS Author: John Doerr (Portfolio 2018)

Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr reveals how the goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has helped tech giants from Intel to Google
achieve explosive growth—and how it can help any organization thrive. BUILDING A STORYBRAND WITH DONALD MILLER Available on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM If you are fans of Building a Storybrand book, then you will love the podcast too. Donald Miller brings you practical advice about clarifying your message. Don and the StoryBrand team will help you harness the 2,000-year-old proven power of story formulas to get people talking about your brand. Past guests: Seth Godin, Patrick Lencioni, Rachel Hollis, Ken Blanchard, Mel Robbins and Dave Ramsey. DSN In this goal-setting system, objectives define what we seek to achieve; key results are how those top-priority goals will be attained with specific, measurable actions within a set time frame. Everyone’s goals, from entry-level to CEO, are transparent to the entire organization.

 

 

BUILDING A STORYBRAND WITH DONALD MILLER Available on iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM

If you are fans of Building a Storybrand book, then you will love the podcast too. Donald Miller brings you practical advice about clarifying your message. Don and the StoryBrand team will help you harness the 2,000-year-old proven power of story formulas to get people talking about your brand. Past guests: Seth Godin, Patrick Lencioni, Rachel Hollis, Ken Blanchard, Mel Robbins and Dave Ramsey.

Have You Checked Your Arbitration Clause Lately?

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IT HOLDS THE KEY TO PROTECTING your company from legal and reputational harm.

IN RECENT years, a growing number of class action lawsuits have been filed against some of the direct selling industry’s leading companies. The fact is, no one is immune when class action lawyers get you in their crosshairs.

The best way to prepare for the worst-case scenario is to check your arbitration clause. Is it up to snuff? Does it include the specific language it requires to protect your company from harm?

Class-Action Clashes

In today’s hyper-litigious reality, the unfortunate truth is that direct sellers can make easy targets for class-action lawsuits. “One of the big things we have to worry about in direct selling is a class action,” says Spencer Reese, J.D., Partner with Reese Poyfair and Richards, a law firm that specializes in serving the direct sales industry.

Pick up the printed issue in which this article is found.

Because of the size of these classaction cases and the legal notices that have to go out to all members of the class, they can be very damaging to a company’s business. Most allegations, Reese says, are brought by “disgruntled former distributors, but the real driving force is law firms are trolling for classaction  business.”

In these types of cases, Reese says, direct selling companies are often accused of running a pyramid scheme. “These cases can result in very substantial judgments, verdicts or settlements against a company,” he adds.

When distributors band together as a class and bring a case against a direct selling company, the results can be extremely devastating financially. “While Stream has never undergone an arbitration, we’ve learned valuable lessons in the past few years about the U.S. court system,” says Mark “Bouncer” Schiro, CEO of Stream. “I’ve found that during litigation, we spend the vast majority of our dollars on discovery. The exchange of information, which might not even be relevant, is expensive and time-consuming.”

Arbitration In Lieu Of Court Case

However, according to Schiro, discovery burdens can be dramatically reduced if both parties agree to participate in arbitration in lieu of a court case. “The worst-case scenario is a big, ugly public trial with a runaway jury,” Schiro says. “Arbitrations are generally quick, efficient, and private. This is a huge difference from a jury trial, where you usually get people who know nothing about the direct selling industry, and just want to get back to their normal lives.”

“Distributors generally prefer to fight their fights on the internet in the court of public opinion. —SPENCER REESE , J.D, Partner, Reese Poyfair & Richards

This is one of many reasons it’s so important for direct selling companies to have well-worded and carefully considered arbitration clauses in their independent contractor agreements.

“The arbitration clause should be included in your Independent Distributor contract,” Schiro says. “Prospects should sign the arbitration agreement when they enroll, and the arbitration clause should be front and center. We encourage our prospects to think and ask questions before they sign on the dotted line.”

Reese advises direct sellers to include a class action waiver in their independent contractor agreements. That waiver requires distributors to agree that if they ever have a dispute with your company, they’ll resolve it individually instead of through class action. “I’m in favor of class action waivers, certainly for larger companies who are targets for class actions because they have deep pockets,” Reese adds.

In The Court Of Public Opinion

The costs of a class-action suit brought on your company can often be even greater than those that occur as a direct result of the proceedings in a courtroom. This is because once a lawsuit is filed in court, it’s a matter of public record. Disgruntled distributors or even settlement-seeking plaintiffs’ attorneys may decide to publish all or part of the court documents on the internet.

“Distributors generally prefer to fight their fights on the internet in the court of public opinion,” Reese says. “I know one plaintiff’s lawyer who, when he files a case against a direct selling company and if they’re not in confidential arbitration, will create a Facebook page and dedicate it just to that lawsuit. He’ll put it up there and spin the facts and post every pleading that is favorable to him and his case.”

Naturally, a company will want to respond and tell their side of the story. The problem is that by responding it makes the page more visible because the interaction increases its search engine ranking. Thus, it calls more unwanted attention to the subject, causing reputational harm to the direct selling company.

This is not just a PR or search-engine marketing problem, warns Reese. “When a prospect goes to an opportunity meeting the first thing they do afterward is Google the company. And the higher the page ranking, the quicker that page comes up. Whether the claims are true or not doesn’t matter—the mere existence of the case scares these prospects away. It hurts the company’s business, but they can’t quantify it.”

“Prospects should sign the arbitration agreement when they enroll, and the arbitration clause should be front and center.” —MARK “BOUNCER” SCHIRO, CEO of Stream

Add A Confidentiality Provision

To prevent such a nightmare from becoming a reality, your company should look again at your arbitration clause. If it’s properly drafted, Reese says, it will include a confidentiality provision, so the parties aren’t allowed to disclose details.

“Before the internet, people didn’t have an opportunity to publish, or to voice their positions,” Reese says. “Once the internet came along—and particularly social media—everybody’s now a publisher. So, it’s very easy to make a case public or make a dispute public. This can be very damaging to a company. And if you don’t have a confidential arbitration provision, you open yourself wide up to that.”

The way to prevent such reputational harm from happening in the first place is to focus on your arbitration clause. If you haven’t reviewed it in a while, now is a good time to revisit it with the help of a good attorney, preferably one who knows the direct selling industry’s unique challenges. It’s worth the attorney fees to develop the right arbitration clause.

Every company is different, and you need to talk to a lawyer who knows your unique situation, Schiro says. “Like anything in life, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well,” Schiro adds.

Well-drafted arbitration clauses can greatly improve the process and help save money while poorly drafted ones can complicate the process and cost your company extra money. However, by thinking ahead about the likely disputes your company could encounter and be required to arbitrate, you can help to shape a more favorable outcome.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about fairness,” Schiro says. “Prospects should be viewed and respected as potential business partners that deserve openness and honesty. If we’re asking people to join the Stream opportunity, they need to know what they’re entering into.”

Arbitration Clause Options

WHEN DRAFTING an arbitration provision, there are a number of clause options you might want to include in your language. According to the American Arbitration Association, companies can provide for any or all of the following options in their arbitration clauses:
• Number of arbitrators
• Arbitrators’ Qualifications
• Locale Provisions
• Governing Law
• Discovery
• Documents-Only Hearing
• Duration of Arbitration Proceedings
• Remedies
• Assessment of Forum Fees and Attorneys’ Fees
• Opinion Accompanying the Award
• Confidentiality
• Non-Payment of Arbitration Expenses
• Appeal
Source: https://www.adr.org/Clauses

Study Reveals 6 Key Ingredients to Building Brand Reputation

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A recent study on reputation building by The Reputation Institute revealed six key things successful companies do consistently. The common thread? They take control of their brand and shape their message.

Here are the six key factors the study revealed:

1. Proactively Telling Their Story and Defining Their Own Corporate Narrative.

The word “culture” is thrown around a lot in the direct selling industry. One of the best ways companies create a strong culture is to tell their own story. They don’t wait for outside factors to shape that narrative. They do it by being authentic, transparent and unique. A compelling story also shapes the brand and permeates through communication and marketing strategies.

2. Having A Purpose-Driven Narrative.

Industry legend Mary Kay Ash is known for saying “People will support that which they help to create.” That’s why having a purpose-driven story is so crucial. People rally behind a clear purpose and want to feel that they are building something bigger than themselves. EvolvHealth’s HOPE Movement to feed malnourished children around the world is a good example. It’s driven by the company’s Buy 1, Nourish 2 giving initiative that feeds two children each time a Reboot Kit is purchased.

3. Understanding Their Audience and Potential Audience.

It’s easy to go too broad when identifying and understanding your audience. Communicating with and marketing to potential customers means getting specific and understanding your audience’s problems, questions and needs. A great way to do this is to create content that serves and brings value, thereby building trust. The JuicePlus+ “Healthy Start for Families” campaign attracts moms of young families with real stories about how everyday moms create healthy habits for their families.

4. Leveraging Data To Focus Communication.

Targeting your communication to attract your specific target audience means trusting research numbers. This can include surveys, online analytics reports, email engagement rates, media exposure and more. Successful companies allow the numbers to point the way.

5. Being Prepared For A Crisis.

Pick up the printed issue in which this article is found.

A crisis can run the gamut of a small bump to an all-hands-on-deck nightmare. Of course, being prepared can make it a lot less painful. This might involve hiring an outside PR agency, but have a specific response plan in place. Make sure everyone understands their role in a crisis.

6. Building “Goodwill In The Bank Of Public Trust” When Times Are Good.

This means not resting on your laurels. Leveraging the good times to bring value to the community and build trust not only helps craft a corporate brand but also can foster a sense of unity among employees and throughout the sales field. Just prior to Thanksgiving, Mannatech employees worked with Mission 5 Million (M5M) and Kids Around the World to pack 55,000 meals for malnourished children around the world.