Today on the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, we’re joined by Christina Maniscalco, head of sales and development at Crunchi! She’s seen the direct sales business from both sides, so she’s sharing not only how commitment and consistency can lead to success in your business, but also how finding products that align with your passion, focusing on your “Why,” and surrounding yourself with the right support system can help you show up and makes sales as your true, authentic self.

Connect with Christina on ⁠Instagram⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠, or ⁠LinkedIn⁠, and learn more about Crunchi—and their partnership with 4ocean—at ⁠www.Crunchi.com⁠!

Time based notes:

• 1:27 Christina Maniscalco intro
• 6:54 Crunchi’s products and mission
• 8:28 Social selling with Crunchi
• 14:42 Showing up authentically
• 19:33 Tips to see success
• 22:38 Christina’s favorite office supply

Staying Relevant and Successful as a Social Seller with Christina Maniscalco

Recently on the Modern Direct Seller Podcast, we were joined by Christina Maniscalco, head of sales and development at Crunchi. She’s seen the direct sales business from both sides and speaks about success in terms of finding products that align with your passion, focusing on your “Why,” and surrounding yourself with the right support system so you can show up and makes sales as your true, authentic self.

Christina, why don’t you just give a quick intro? Tell us a little bit about who you are, what you do, what you’re passionate about.

So, I grew up on Long Island, and I moved to Virginia about 20 years ago, where met my husband. So, I’ve been married almost 20 years. We have two Frenchies, and they are our life. We love them so much. And, something a lot of people don’t know about me was, I was actually born with a lung disease. So, that kind of intertwines with my whole journey and career in this space. I was diagnosed when I was very little, and the doctors didn’t think I was going to live past 30. And, here I am, out-living the doctors and what they shared with me. But, it’s been a wild ride.

I’ve been in this direct sales space for over 15 years. And, my passion is really simple. I just love helping people. I love serving in my community and my church, but that really relates to my profession, because I see potential in others. And, a lot of times, people don’t really see what they could do with this amazing opportunity. I see that in people, within just a few minutes of knowing them. And, helping them grow into what they’re meant to do and what they’re meant to be in life is one of my greatest joys, and the fact that I get to do that on the daily at my job is pretty incredible. So, I love this space, and what we get to do, and helping people is really my passion.

So, your background before you stepped into this role at Crunchi was in the direct sales space? Tell us how you got started, and how maybe your perspective has changed—or not changed—now that you’re more on the corporate side.

So, late 20s, I was working at a law firm, and someone asked me to come to a Pampered Chef party. And, I was like—

I’m laughing because it always starts with a party. Like, “I was invited to this party. And then…”

I don’t know what happened! I was invited to a party. I went. I wanted everything in the catalog. And then, literally, three weeks later, I went to another party, I wanted everything that was in the new catalog, and the woman was like, “Well, you should just do this with me. And, you’ll get a discount, and you can get everything in the catalog.” And, I was like, “Sure sign me up!”

So, I was working full-time, and then doing Pampered Chef on the side. And, my husband was actually laid off from his company about a year in, and it made me really evaluate what I could do to make more money and make up for that income.

Four years later, I wound up quitting my day job and doing this full-time. So, I was doing Pampered Chef for about 10 years and became top seller, top in recruiting, and I earned the trip every year. And, at the end of my Pampered Chef career, I was helping other leaders in the industry train their teams. I was traveling to their retreats and doing trainings. And then, one of my mentors at the time was like, “You know, you can actually, like, do this for a living.” I was like, “I am! I’m, like, living my dream. I love this!” But, she was like, “No, like, on a corporate level.” And, I’d never even thought about it.

Anyway, long story short, I got a job over at Stella & Dot. It was super bittersweet, but I came out of the field and started working as a field development manager at Stella & Dot. And then, two years later, COVID hit, and I got laid off. I thought my life was over. A couple of weeks later, I got a job at Beautycounter. I worked there for a few years. And then, lo and behold, here I am at Crunchi.

And, Crunchi is a newer brand, and I feel like it’s maybe even more relevant to today’s social seller than some of our traditional direct sales companies that have been around for, you know, 20, 30, 40 years and have been built on a more traditional selling model. I’d love to hear from your perspective, how are you partnering with influencers? How is your field working this business different? I think, because you’re newer, there is a relevance that really connects with people, because today’s social seller looks a little bit different than those 50 years ago.

You’re right, even five years ago, this space was way different. So, I think for us, it’s really about meeting people where they’re at. Some people are really good at in-person and connecting one-on-one, or out and about, or meeting people at events on the weekends. People always say, “Oh, Christina, you can talk to a wall.” I could! But, not everybody is like that. Some people like to be on their computer, and really just share and show up as their true, authentic self on social media.

So, yeah, we do partner with different influencers. We have people with larger followings. But, even the people with a thousand followers can be super successful at this business, because they’re showing up as they are.

And, I think with Crunchi, we found a really great way to meet everyone where they’re at. We bring in different perspectives and offer training on different things. When we’re in-person at conference every year, we have different topics and breakout sessions to help people along with what is new in the industry, what is going on, and then also learning from their peers. That’s huge. Growing up in this business, you always want to have a person that’s in your corner, your accountability person, that you’re learning from and growing with along the way. So, we’ve really developed that community here at Crunchi so people feel like they belong. We get each other. We’re in this clean space, where we take ingredients and this toxin-free living lifestyle to a whole new level, and people can just be a part of that and learn and grow as they need to.

Well, and I think what I heard you say is that you’re meeting people where they’re at, no matter if they are a huge influencer with millions of followers, or if they have more of a niche market and they’re kind of the go-to girl in their community.

And, I love that, because there are a lot of ways to be successful in this industry. Back in the day, it was, “Here’s the checklist. You go living room to living room, and you duplicate, and then you do it again, and you duplicate, and you do it again,” and I think those cookie-cutter approaches are long gone. There isn’t just the one and only way to do things.

So, there’s a saying, “Iron sharpens iron.” People have gone before you, so learn from them, ask questions, be curious, and then create your own way to do it. Because, the way that one person is being super successful may not work for you, and your personality, and your community, but you can still learn from how they’ve paved the way.

And then, I think the magic is really just showing up as your authentic self. We always talk about looking at other journeys and other stories, and it can look perfect, like someone else is doing it seamlessly, and they have billions of followers. But, their path might not work for you. Like, take some bits of it and see, but you’re on your own path and your own journey for a reason. So, own that.

I love that advice. But, I feel like that confidence to show up as your true, authentic self can feel really challenging at times. So, as you’re coaching those that are new to Crunchi, or those that might be seasoned leaders in the field that might be reinventing themselves or entering a new chapter, how do you go about helping people really show up as their true self?

I love that question. Because, it is true. People can start something like this—like I did. I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, right? But, I surrounded myself with people that I wanted to be more like, and then, like I said, I grabbed a few things and then made it my own. There’s no wrong way to do it. If you are showing up, and you’re talking about your favorite new cup, or this new recipe you tried, that is going to lead to conversation. And, those conversations lead to more conversations, and then all of a sudden, your sphere of influence is just getting bigger and bigger. And, it’s just sharing what you’re passionate about. There is no magic bullet to be successful. It’s all about trial and error.

And, maybe you’re a leader, and you’ve been doing this for a while, and you’re in this rut. My biggest coaching advice to those people is to look back at times that you were super happy, really successful, and moving the needle. What were you doing then that you’re not doing right now? And, I’m not saying you were in a living room five nights a week doing a party. Yes, that landscape looks way different now. But, like, what filled your cup when you were happy back then? What were you doing? Who were you surrounding yourself with? Who were you talking to? What were your goals? What were your dreams? What did your personal life look like? Because, I bet something has changed. I bet something is missing that maybe you were doing then that you’re not doing now.

And, sometimes we have to also reinvent ourselves. And, that’s where learning and growing and podcasts come in handy, because you can learn from people in this industry and see what kind of trials and tribulations they’ve gone through and how they’ve come out on the other side.

I love that you said to think back to when things were really thriving, and you were really engaged and really passionate and having a lot of fun with your business. What were those things that you were doing? Where could you maybe make a slight tweak here and there and get back to something you were doing in the past, or do it a new and better way? Because, you’re right, there’s no magic potion we could sell to everyone, and be like, “Take this, and you’re going to be a fabulous direct seller!”

No, it really is just hard work and consistency.

So, for those that may be in the field listening that you’d be coaching, we have “consistency” and “hard work.” Any other things that you find yourself repeating 10 times a week on various calls? What can we be doing more of to see more success?

You know, I’d have to go back to finding your passion and figuring out why you’re here. I know we talk a lot in this business about, “What’s your why? Why are you doing this?” But, that is literally going to bring you back to your purpose. And, your “Why” changes over time. When I first started in this industry 15 years ago, I just wanted a discount, and then it turned into more money, and then it turned into my full-time career, and then it turned into helping even more people.

But, I think success is defined differently to everyone. You need to first understand what success means to you, because whether you’re leading 2 people or 2,000 people, success to you is totally different than success to the next person. So, figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing. What are you passionate about? And, why does this drive you? And then, figure out, “How is that success measured? Do I want to earn $200 a month? Do I want to earn $200,000 a month?” And then, surround yourself with people that you want to learn from and grow with.

And, be okay with that outcome. We can always strive to do more and be more, but if we know at the end of the day, “Okay, this is why I’m doing it and what I want to get out of it,” that is okay. Own that. Don’t look at the shiny object on the next path, because it doesn’t matter. That is somebody doing something else for whatever reason they’re doing it. You’re on your own path for a reason.

Show sponsored by CinchShare: The #1 social media scheduler for direct sellers and online creators, and they’re offering our listeners a free 30-day trial with code GAMECHANGER! Get started through the app or by visiting ⁠CinchShare.com⁠.