Earlier in October, I spent a few days in Las Vegas for the Rodan + Fields annual convention, aka. “Convention.” It was my first time there; I’d only been an R+F Consultant for less than a year, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Consider my mind blown.
I first signed up as a Consultant because The Wife used the products, and he’s a walking billboard! As a Consultant, the biggest business kit offered the biggest discount at 50% off retail – sold! Then off I went – pinging my network, posting on social media and hosting meetups to share the products.
In the beginning, I was kind of embarrassed to share that I was a Consultant. But once people knew, some friends chimed in and told me they had been interested in the products and would buy from me. How kind!! 11 months in… F*ck this embarrassment crap. First, the products f-ing work. When I see my friends’ faces brighten up because they’re taking care of their skin concerns, why should I feel embarrassed about selling premium skincare products on the side? Being meek and ashamed is no way to build any business. I am power posing all up and down my block, lemme tell ya. I am proud to be an R+F Consultant. Judgey people, step to the left.
This is my WHY.
The annual convention was held at the MGM Hotel & Casino Convention Center and MGM Grand Arena. It was the slickest multi-day event/conference I’d ever been to. Convention took over almost every piece of non-gambling real estate at the MGM. Banners, signage, social activations – this all peppered the hotel walls and ceilings.
Getting touched up
Convention was filled with sessions about how to get started and strategize. After all, this is your business now. You need tools to succeed, in addition to your enthusiasm. A lot of the sessions reminded me of work conferences because… it’s work: sessions geared towards entrepreneurs.
Pre-conference day
We learned about the newest product launch, Lash Boost, which, btw, I am so excited for. Have you seen my lashes? Exactly.
Lash Boost launches 11/2/16!
We also learned a little about a secret hydration product that will debut next year – squee! At the end of the weekend, we were treated to a gala hosted by Andy Cohen and Mario Lopez and a full set by Meghan Trainor! Holy crap, right?!
Among all this networking, team bonding and learning, I noticed that the lessons being presented were things we could all use. Direct sales (or network marketing) is still a business, and any working professional (or blogger!) can use a refresher and a rah rah!
Takeaways from the Rodan + Fields Convention
Anyone can work this business. Lucky for us, we don’t have to pile on a ton of cash for inventory and drive around delivering product. Everything is ordered and shipped via our ecommerce website. About the people… My team is full of medical doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, … science nerds who can chime in their unofficial opinion about the ingredients. My team is also full of teachers, SAHMs, accountants, hair stylists, makeup artists, and other professionals like me. This business levels the playing field. Everyone starts at Level 0. Then you just run with it. (Or you go as fast as you can. If it’s a walk, so be it.)
Take up space. You are worth the space you take up in a room. Keynote Amy Cuddy’s speech was powerful. She talked about power poses and physically taking up space. Yes, yes, yes. As women, I think we try to be efficient in all things we do – and that includes standing in a room. Cuddy’s talk “gave us permission” to take up space. She had a second part of her keynote on girls and how we project a lot of ish on girls – including posture. She showed a photo of a traditional ballerina and a photo of Misty Copeland and the differences between the type of daughter she wanted to bring up – not a weak “swan” but a strong and capable person. I can’t find the R+F keynote but this is the older TED Talk by Amy Cuddy.
Don’t compare your journey with another’s journey. So true in all life situations, right? You hear this a lot in fitspo. (Fitness inspiration.) You cannot compare your Day 1 to someone’s Day 100. That’s not fair to you or the other person. I have to check myself sometimes because my team is made up of a lot of teammates who are medical doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners. Yah. Medical doctors! Of course, it’s not fair to compare myself to them – but I do it, and I have to stop. My network is different from theirs. My journey is unique.
Every interaction builds or lessens trust. Kind of a no-brainer, right? Yet… With my daytime job, it’s so natural to say, yep. Clients and colleagues trust my judgement and experience to hire me as their go-to marketer. I need to transfer the same belief with this business.
Hitting each task one at a time is more efficient than multitasking. So true. I know there are 9-5ers who will disagree, but even when I was in an office setting, I was so much more efficient hitting my to-do list one thing at a time. I flew through my tasks because I could list them out and check them off. I could also gauge time needed on a project through writing things down. Yes, I still write my to-dos in a notebook.
See how these takeaways are very much takeaways that anyone can use in any environment? You can bring these back to the office, school, home…
One last note about the convention and the people I ran into. I was extremely happy to see people of color in this business. There was a team of Consultants who wore “R+F Magic” t-shirts, a twist to #blackgirlmagic. I LOVED those t-shirts! My own team is filled with women of color, and I’m so proud to part of a team that embraces and understands people of color. Thankfully, the corporate team also sees color and has created more marketing assets for us to use… with people of color.
If you have any questions about Rodan + Fields, the products, the business side or what else I’ve learned, please drop it in the comments or ping me directly. I’m an open book about this. It’s my name and reputation on the line and behind this business, too. Thanks for reading.
