This week, our featured Shop Consultant is successful Motives® Trainer Laura Laire! Last Thursday we asked our Facebook audience what questions they would like to ask her about building a successful business with Motives®. Interested in seeing if she answered your question? Read on!
Do you have any tips for speaking with other makeup artists and beauty-industry professionals to help them understand what Motives® is all about?
Everyone needs multiple streams of income – especially consumable income. Instead of trading time for money and only doing hair or only providing makeup application services, it’s just smart to have another stream of income where you don’t have to show up for work to get paid. Motives® gives beauty professionals the ability to do just that with a professional line of custom cosmetics. Not only that, but it is easier to sell more products to an existing customer than to go out and find new customers. If you aren’t selling beauty products to your clients, your clients are buying them somewhere else.
Do you have any advice for someone who just started their UnFranchise® Business and is specializing in Motives and wants to get things moving?
First, you can’t sell something you’ve never tried or seen. Step 1 is to have product to try, to show and to use. You can’t show the line and share the opportunity if you don’t have any supplies. Whether you are male or female, you need to take the classes for Motives® and buy the best sellers at a minimum to start showing to clients. Tell everyone around you about your business! Whether they’re looking for the perfect color or an extra stream of income, make sure that they know you can help.
What are your recommendations for cleaning Motives® brushes so as to maintain the integrity of the brushes?
Use a conditioning shampoo like Royal Spa® or Snap® Natural Concentrate to clean your brushes, and then apply a conditioner just like you do your hair. In between clients I sometimes use alcohol to sanitize and quick clean since it dries immediately, so it’s important to condition them regularly so they won’t dry out.
Do you think it is a good idea to recruit students from cosmetology schools?
If you’re going to try to recruit students from cosmetology schools, go right ahead! When you’re building your business, you must be willing to try many different types of approaches and put yourself in new situations. However I wouldn’t rely strictly on any single approach, like recruiting people at salons for instance. I like finding people who are looking to get into the beauty business and want to be an entrepreneur as well. It doesn’t really matter where I find them. The only thing I will say about beauty schools is sometimes students are more concerned about setting up their new service business that getting them to show the plan is next to impossible. You really need to spend a majority of your time with people who are interested in building a Motives® business.
I have a Motives® station set up in my salon and always try to have my best sellers on stock, but it would be easier if my clients ordered more from my website. They always ask me to order for them, even when I tell them that ordering on my website can get them Cashback and flat rate shipping. Any suggestions?
Have an iPad at your station and order the product right there with your customer and show them how easy it is. You can also order through our SHOP.COM app on your smartphone. Once they see how easy it is and all the Cashback they can get, they may start to order online more regularly. However, some people just like the service of someone else doing it for them.
What is your favorite SHOP.COM feature and why?
Cashback! I love ordering from Alice.com and paying for half my order with Cashback! No better way to keep my money in my household and build my Shopping Annuity!
Which Motives® product is your best seller and why?
That’s a hard question because there are so many. I couldn’t live without my 10 Years Younger Makeup Setting Spray or Shape n’ Sculpt Duo. I always tell my customers the most important part of your makeup routine is the beginning and the end. Starting with a great primer, then foundation and/or powder and finish with a setting spray so your entire face looks flawless and even toned.
What is your strategy for recruiting new business partners?
Make tons of friends everywhere and people will eventually ask you what you do. Have an active life and a positive attitude. People will want your company and a piece of the action. Be consistent and persistent while patient enough to let your business develop over time. Anything worth doing takes time, especially when it comes to building relationships. I let everyone know what I do when they, ask but I don’t push my business on them if they don’t question me further.
While your focus is on Motives, how do you relate retailing Motives products to our other product lines?
Motives® is not my focus; building my UnFranchise® Business is my focus. I try to get as much information about our other product lines so I can bring on any distributor and effectively support them. I sell as many nutrition and skincare products as I do makeup. I always try to have my customers try as many different product lines as possible.
How do you use social media to build your business?
I believe social media is for developing relationships, getting to know people and talking about things you love, but not to sell. I’m on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and I also have a blog, mostly for business reasons rather than personal. I like to share my favorite products with my friends and followers, and get to know my customer base, prospects and fans through social media. No one wants to be sold, but they like getting to know you, and that’s what I use social media for.
How often do you organize Motives parties or other similar business-building events?
I always try to do some type of event outside my home for my group or myself at least once a week. Thursday is a very popular day for selling cosmetics, though I will meet with people in person and online all the time to show them the business as well as sell products.
How do you add a personal touch to your business?
I sell for the relationship and try to get to know my customers and make friends with them. I have a tight relationship with my clients and genuinely appreciate the connections I’ve developed with them. They know I care because I spend time with them and always respond to their questions the same day (right away if possible), and I always do my best to go out of my way to take care of customers.
Do you have any tips for Motives® Beauty Advisors who want to become more active on social media or maintain an active social media presence?
See what other successful business owners are doing and follow their lead. Don’t over do it and don’t sell, sell, sell. Keep it positive, and don’t discuss religion, politics, or other hot button issues. Your goal is to be professional and create curiosity. If you are using your social media accounts to help you build your business, remember that everyone is watching you and deciding whether or not they want to do business with you based on what you share, post, and talk about. Don’t give them a reason to not like you or your business.
How influential have events like World Conference and International Convention been on your continued success?
The only event I have missed in 14 years was when I had a baby the same month as one of the events! You will never learn everything on your own, and with such a dynamic company you have to go to the events in order to stay on top of what is going on. I go to events for two reasons: one is because I love how energized I feel after an event, and the second is because I know I have to lead by example. If I didn’t go, no one on my team would go. The events aren’t just about me; they’re about building my team’s knowledge, belief, and positively influencing their success.
We would like to thank Laura Laire for taking the time to speak with us and revealing some of her best business-building tips! To submit a question, keep a close eye on the Market America Facebook page. This Friday, July 5th, we’ll be doing a special Freebie Friday post where you can ask Shop Consultant questions and be entered to win products! Then, read the ma® Blog on Wednesday to see if your question has been answered!
Now it’s your turn: which one of Laura’s tips do you think will be the most helpful to your UnFranchise® Business and why? Comment your answer below!
