This week, we’re sharing one of our monthly done-for-you trainings from the Modern Direct Seller Academy: “Make Your Summer Sizzle.” We know you deserve some time off to enjoy long days and summer sunshine, but you also need to make sure you’re staying consistent in your business and are setting yourself up for a successful fall selling season—because it’s going to be here before we realize it. Luckily, with the right schedule and a few simple tips, you’ll be prepped to slow down and enjoy some time away!

Now, I don’t know about you, but I love the longer days of summer. I love lazy days. I love not having to rush off in the morning to get my kids to school. I love that it’s light outside; we can enjoy the sunshine all the way into the evening. And, I love me some good summer vacation. So, if you and I are alike, you are likely looking forward to the next couple of months as we roll into the summer, but the first thing that we all need to do is take a look at our summer calendars. What occasions do you have planned? What weeks off are you taking? What kind of events or maybe travel is happening in your life over the summer months? Grab your calendar and block off those dates. We want to work our business around our lifestyle, so let’s prioritize those things that are most important to us when we have decided we are not working. From there, that’s going to leave the dates that are available to actually work our business.

So then, as we’re working our business, we want to think about the remaining time in our summer schedule and allocate the hours in the day that we need to be successful. That might look really different for one of you versus somebody else. For some of you, it might be working while kids are taking naps. Some of you might be working while kids are at summer camp. Some of you might be working full-time outside the home and continuing to work in the evenings on your business. So, think about what your summer schedule looks like, both as a monthly calendar and also when it comes to the day-to-day of your life, because we still want to be intentional about touching our business, being consistent, showing up for our followers, building relationships with our customers, and supporting our team.

The next thing that you can do in preparation for summer is to get a little bit ahead, especially when you’re thinking about social media. Whether it’s through something like Facebook scheduler or a third-party platform like CinchShare, map out your summer social calendar. Of course, you’re going to want to leave some room in that calendar for just-in-time updates, behind-the-scenes posts about your business, and what’s happening in real time, as well as any new products or promotions that your company releases during the summer months. But, making sure that you have a baseline of social media content throughout the summer months is going to take a huge weight off your shoulders.

Apart from social, there are other things that you can also prep right now in advance for this summer. Maybe that’s putting together host packets or samples that are ready to be sent out. If you’re sending prizes for your party guests, or members of your VIP Group, or followers on Instagram, having all of those bundled up and ready to pop in the mail when you need them makes a huge difference.

Or, if you’re traveling this summer, think about whether you can leave products with one of your local customers for them to play around with. This is a great way to do a party on the go. I like to call this a “drop and shop,” where you’re dropping off a bunch of items and letting your customers enjoy them, rather than letting them just sit in your house while you’re off on vacation.

Speaking of being away: If you have vacations planned this summer, you might want to consider doing a Group takeover swap with another direct seller. This is a really fun way for your customers to hear from somebody else, plus you can enjoy your vacation! Consider your upline, your downline, your sideline, or that biz bestie that might want to take over your Group and your social channels for a few days, and then offer to do the same for them when they’re headed out on their own summer vacation.

Of course, if you’re traveling this summer, also make sure you’re that packing samples, catalogs, business cards—all those business-building tools with you. You never know who you’re going to meet poolside, or on a plane going somewhere, and having those things with you is a great way to make new connections and still build your network, even while you’re on the road.

And, definitely share your adventures with your followers! People want to hear what’s happening in your life beyond your business, so don’t be shy about posting your travels, or talking about how you’re working your business around your life. In fact, people that might be on the fence or thinking about joining your team are going to love to hear about how you’re working your business while you’re still having a lot of fun this summer, because that flexibility is something that you can’t get in many other jobs, so it’s a great opportunity to really hype that up and share it with your followers.

Next up, let’s think about marketing in the summer. What does it look like when you’re marketing your business, showing up for your business, during the summer months? For example, everyone loves a good theme. So, take a look at your group. See if you need to update your cover photo. If you’re over on Instagram, maybe you have those top three pictures pinned across your Instagram grid; you might want to update those and add a little bit of a summer flair.

You likely know what products coming out are a little bit more seasonal and might be geared for summer, so talk about their benefits and how you’re using them during the summer months. If you have products that are related to travel, or summer foods that you’re eating, or summer clothing that people wear, those are great to promote during the summer to keep things exciting and relevant for your customers. You might have a summer stash sale. You might use the theme of “Chilling out with us,” or “Fun in the sun,” or “Sweet summer soiree.” We could come up with lots and lots of different ways that you can bring a summer theme to everything you’re doing in your business.

The last thing that I want you to think about when it comes to summer is that summer is typically a quieter of a time in direct sales, especially through June and July. So, let’s really think about any kind of systems that you want to set up in your business during the summer. That might be getting ahead on social media. That might be setting up text marketing or email marketing. That might be a website, a landing page, a blog, a CRM tool that you’re using in your business, or maybe a productivity tool like Boards. Summer is a great time to test new systems and get those in place before the fall selling season.

Things get super, super busy during the summer, but I am so excited for you to have a season of sales! Let’s keep our businesses rolling, build up momentum going into fall, and have some fun this summer. Enjoy yourself! You do what you do in part because you get to live it up and adjust your schedule and your business as needed. So, I can’t wait to hear about your summer plans and see what’s next in your businesses!

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