Vicki Pollack Interviews Colleen Nichols from @NoShameSalesGame

Hi everyone! Oh wow, what a turnout for Colleen Nichols! She's gonna be excited. I don't know if she's on yet, but before she gets on, let me plan.

Hold on.

Alright guys, this is how we're gonna start this call because I think we're all very excited for this. This is a word.

Hey Vic, we can't hear the music anymore.

Did I do it? Did I break it? I want you. Long, long time. You'll have a good time, baby, don't you worry. And if we're still playing around, boy, that's just fine. Let's get excited, we can stay high. I'm about to lose control, and I think I like it. I'm so excited, and I just can't hide. You yellows are such a sucker for a good tune. Type a 1 in the chat if you're really, really pumped to hear from Colleen tonight. Guys, this has been a call in the making for the past couple months, and it really excites me. And we're going to wait while she hops on. I just texted her. She'll be on in just a second. Yep, there she is. Colleen, I know you've joined us right now, and we all just sang our asses off to the song I'm So Excited by the Pointer Sisters, which I guess I didn't realize it's like a love song. So in a way, we just sang a love song to you. So it's fine. It's fine. Welcome, everybody. Welcome. Welcome. We are so pumped for tonight's call. For those of you who I don't know, my name is Vicki Pollack, and we are about to talk to Colleen Nichols, the founder and creator of the Instagram page No Shame Sales Game. So before I get started here, Colleen, where are you at? There's like 4,000 pages on here. Colleen, unmute yourself for me and talk to me. Oh wait, you might not be able to because I gave people— I took away that ability. Hold on, let me do it.

Okay, here I am.

I was like, oh no, I did.

Hi.

There's one thing I am is it's a stickler for people being muted.

I didn't even know you could do that.

Oh, it gets very— I get very serious about the muting. Call. Okay, it's very serious up in here. Type a 1 in the chat if you're a red and if you know what I'm talking about when people unmute their lines. See, we're—

this is— this is—

we're very serious in this. Oh my God, what is— um, so we just— we just sang to you. We're so excited by the Pointer Sisters. Everyone on here is quite literally obsessed with you. Please type a 2 in the chat if you're obsessed with all things Colleen Nichols.

No.

Type a 3 in the chat if her content has made some kind of an impact on your network marketing business and your belief in the industry. Like, that's why she's here tonight. So Colleen, first of all, thank you a million times over for being here for all of us.

Oh my gosh, thank you. Are you kidding? I'm so excited. There's not many people I'd stay up till 8:00 in the evening for.

I know. So when Colleen offered this call, she's like, I'll happily do a team call for you. I said, like, would you do it at 8:00 at night?

And she's like, sure.

Yeah, she, you know, she grunted, but it's fine. We were fine with it.

Yeah, totally.

So let me— I want to give Colleen a proper introduction, and then I'm going to tell you guys a little bit about how this call came to be. So actually, let me tell you that first. So I posted something when I was on the panel at UIA this past November, I think, and I posted some post that had her vibe in it. And I like— type 4 in the chat if you know what I mean. Like, she's got a vibe. She's got a way about her that communicates. It's direct. No, real blunt, to the point. And I tagged her in it. And in my heart of hearts, I was like, oh my God, I really hope this girl sees it because in my mind we're best friends. You know how many people thought they're best friends with Colleen Nichols because of how she posts? So she saw it. She wound up seeing it and reading it. And then that's how we connected. She reached out and said, oh my gosh, I love that vibe. Would you be open to training in my community? Her direct sales growth community page. About network marketing. And I said, I'd be happy to. And that is how this call came to be. And I feel like in a, in a really beautiful, larger picture way, the two of us have such a huge passion. We're an ambassador for the industry of network marketing. I don't care what company you're in, I don't care what team you're on. We're such ambassadors for this industry and we really go to work every single day, like every day to make sure we legitimize it and make it a profession. That seems really cool, fun, and attractive for people. Colleen, does that ring true?

That rings true. Yes, absolutely.

Amen. And preach. So with that, she told me not to read her bio. I shortened it a little bit. I'm still gonna do it. I'm just gonna read the bio. Thank you. Here's why. Here's why it's important. Here's why it's important. 'Cause to us, you created this incredible page with incredible content for us, but I want everybody to know your come from and not everybody does.

Mm-hmm.

So with that, Colleen Nichols, she is a former mental health counselor who has been in the direct sales industry for over 5 years. After growing frustrated with the negative reputation direct sales tends to have, type a 5 in the chat if you know what I mean by that. If you know what she means, she started a pro network marketing Instagram account called No Shame Sales Game in the summer of 2020. She's grown the account from zero to 130,000 followers in 2 years, completely organically. I need that to really sit with you guys. Completely organically. She hasn't paid for leads. She didn't pay for followers. She also founded Direct Sales Growth Community, a training and personal development membership community for women from all walks of the direct sales industry. It has just shy of 4,000 members from over 75 different network marketing companies around the world. DSGC believes in accessible premium training and personal development, creating a sense of community within our industry and upleveling the profession as a whole. That is Colleen Nichols come from. Yeah, that is who we're going to hear from tonight. So Colleen, oh my gosh, like, we're, we're excited. So I'm so excited.

I like, I really appreciate it. And I think it's, um, I'm first so excited to be here. I can't believe anyone actually knows who I am. My mom will always say like, who wants to listen to you? And I'm like, I don't know, probably nobody. So thanks for that. But like Vicki was saying, yes, I come from a network marketing background. I've been here for, you know, 5 years and I love it. Network marketing changed my life. And I know that so many of you here feel the same way. And the thing is, you don't need to be like a multimillionaire to have that feeling, right? Because I did not make $1,000,000 in network marketing, but it was kind of like how Vicki was reading my bio, which I was like, don't read the bio. Every time somebody asked me for a bio, I'm like, please just, just tell them why you asked me to come here, because that's much more comfortable for everyone involved. But she said, fuck you, and read it anyways. So in the summer of 2020, I will give you how this all came to be. I was with a company called Rodan Fields. And we had our first collaboration with a brand. And it was a big deal. And it was like, you know, a female-owned billion-dollar brand is collaborating with another female-owned billion-dollar brand.

Girl power.

This is awesome. And we were like, so hyped. And you know how things go on the back end, you like buy the bundles or whatever, so you can talk about it and show it Wonderful. Great. It was then announced on social media and within minutes people were in. It was with— I don't know even how to pronounce it— Anastasia Beverly Hills, the eyebrow, whatever. Within minutes of them posting about it, people were in the comments. I'm never buying from you again. These are predatory women. These women like are awful. They're hey, huns. You and everyone's like, never buying from you again. Within hours, this billion-dollar brand pulls out of a collaboration with another billion-dollar brand because of what people on Instagram were saying. And I was like, so while all of my colleagues, um, were— and friends were like elbow deep in the comments section, like punching trolls in the face virtually, I was sitting back like, holy Halayshah, that it was like I saw the C part before me and I was like, this is an opportunity because the only way that network marketing is represented online is either people like us who have like drank the Kool-Aid and we're like, my team's awesome, my company's the best. Or the louder part is like, oh, these are all people from, you know, high school who are trying to get you in their pyramid scheme to buy their snake oils. So I was like, what if I just started talking about the industry like a normal human and not, you know, I was kind of jokingly called agnostic, like no company, not tied to anyone. So I, 2020, in March of 2020, had my third kid. Not much was going on. We were at home a lot. So I was on Instagram and I started No Shame Sales Game. It was completely anonymous. None of my friends knew that it was me. None of my teammates knew it was me. My husband knew it was me. And I started posting and then I got a couple hundred followers and then I got a couple thousand followers and then 5,000 followers, 10,000 followers, 20,000 followers. Nobody knew who was behind this account. And it was at the point, probably like 3 or 4 months in, that my real life friends and teammates were sending me No Shame Sales Game posts being like, oh my God, did you see this? And I was like, LOL.

Ha!

Yeah. And so I was like, well, and then I think I said the word douchebag in a caption and one of my friends was like, nobody else says that. It's you. And I'm like, goddammit. So I decided to say, hi, I'm a nobody that nobody knows. Thanks for following along. And I was convinced I had so much panic about it because I knew that once I once the gig was up and they knew that it was a nobody behind this account, it would just crash and burn and nobody would be interested. So I said, hey, you know, it's me, thanks, whatever. And I just expected it to die, but it continued to keep growing and keep growing. And like Vicki was saying, I started a membership community and people started joining. And I had— I've built something in the past 2 years, 2 years in December that is now a multimillion-dollar business helping thousands of network marketers all over the world to not be weird because this industry, what we're doing is so freaking normal. But a couple bad apples out there had to go and make it weird and had to go be a little, you know, rogue. And then everyone decided that's how we all are. So my whole goal is to change the perception of network marketing from the inside out. I don't, I don't want to convince anybody like what this is, what this isn't. That's not, that's not my, my mission. My mission here is to say, okay, we're all doing this. Let's make sure we're showing up as professionals as confident salespeople who actually know what we're doing, who understand social media, who understand how to public speak, and, and know how to sell in a way that we all do every day. So that is, I guess, why I'm here and what I've been doing for the past 2 years. And Vicki and I were talking, I think we're gonna kind of talk about a couple of posts and kind of just dive in a little deeper to each one to kind of be like, this is what I'm talking about type deal.

Yeah, Colleen, you're so humble. It's pretty incredible to even witness. Um, even when you reach out to me to do your call, you're like, oh my God, really? You'll do the call? Uh, yeah. Oh, hold on, let me check my calendar. Like, yes, of course I'll do it. Like, right? I just feel like you're such a staple in the industry. Um, and, and your, your humility about it is really— it's so inspiring. So That is, yeah, I think that was a really good sum up about what we're gonna dive into today. And we're actually, when she was like, I have some stuff prepared, like, do you want me to go over specific topics? I'm like, why don't we just delve into a list of some of the word tiles that you make and elaborate on each of them? 'Cause type a 2 in the chat if you have been, if her word tiles, like that content in the word tiles she makes is something that sticks with you throughout your day. Like sometimes I'll just think of them and be like, oh my God, yes, that's so true. So I say let's just start with the first one, Colleen. So I'm just gonna read them and then you just spew out your expertise. Okay. Number 1, don't forget that you started your business because someone was brave enough to show up and talk to you about it first.

Oh my gosh. Okay, listen, and this is how we're just gonna talk to each other. We're just gonna, there's no, I'm not Willy Wonka. I don't sugarcoat things. Like we're just, if you want something lovey, go to your grandma or something. So, Why is it that I see— and I'm sure it's none of you, I'm sure not, but for the sake of this conversation, there are so many women in this industry that I talk to on a daily basis that are like, I'm afraid to talk about what I do. I mean, I don't know what number we're on. Type a 3 in the chat. Like, if you don't feel 100% confident talking about your business on social media because you're worried somebody's gonna judge you, you're worried you're gonna sound dumb, you're worried you don't know enough, you're worried I'm not eloquent enough. I don't have enough followers. And like, shut up about it, right? Because all of us are here because somebody else was scared and did it anyway. None of us here were birthed into network marketing. It was because we saw somebody else talking about it. So the only way that like other people can know or other people can join you is if you talk about it. So when I see people get like, oh, it's weird to talk about, and I'm like, okay, like the person that you joined, why did— why did you join them? Well, I saw them talking about it. I heard them say this. Mm. Okay. So you're telling me they weren't like sitting in their room alone and you just like telepathically decided that's the one for me? Oh, they actually put their face on social media and actually talk to you about it. Huh. Go figure. So like, we have to now do this for other people. So next time you feel like, I'm scared or I'm— people are going to judge me or it's weird or whatever, somebody— you, you, for whenever you joined this, 3 months ago, 3 days ago, 3 years ago. You are sitting somewhere waiting for like present you to like say, this is who this is for. This is why this works. Because there are so many people who are looking for this for so many different reasons. And it's going to take you being brave enough to get over yourself so you can show up for them. And tell me at any time that I'm talking, um, if none of this makes sense and you're like, you're speaking gibberish to me, um, because I want this to be collaborative, and I don't just want to be like, what the fuck are you talking about?

Um, everybody knows you're speaking straight up English. We're good.

Yeah, you're sitting— yeah, you're sitting here. There's so many people like sitting on their phones worried about their finances, um, bored, uh, looking for a creative outlet. That have a 9-to-5 job but also have an entrepreneurial spirit and want something outside of that in addition to what they're doing. And you get to be the liaison, the bridge into that opportunity. So that's that.

Yeah. And you know what, Colleen, too, I feel like it's a really important thing to drive home. If you just remember that one sentence, don't forget that you started your business because someone else who was brave enough to talk about it. If everyone really internalized that single sentence, it would get all of us through those moments of fear and panic of judgment. That one sentence, like, if you really got that, that's the only thing you need to get because that'll get you through that moment of, of hesitation.

Yeah. And a lot of times it's— there is a vulnerability aspect to it. I remember the, the girl that I ended up joining, ended up talking about how, like, she was able to buy the Christmas presents for her daughters, like, not on a credit card. And at that point in my life, I was sitting at home with two young children, stressed financially, and I was like, oh shit, like, that connected with me. It's not always the, oh, I'm a multimillionaire, I'm driving my Hummer with gold rims, I'm on a yacht in the Caribbean on a free trip. It's I was able to like buy some gifts for my kids without having to go into debt. That's the stuff that actually connects with people and gets them thinking like, oh, I could apply that to my own life.

Yeah. Really, really important. Okay. Love that.

Okay. Sorry.

Okay. We're gonna go to number 2. So you don't, okay. This is, I know Jessica Rignor is gonna love this one too. Jessica Rignor, please comment on this. You don't need to be more motivated to reach your goals. You need to be more disciplined. Oh my gosh.

Um, yeah, so I have like a love-hate relationship with motivation. Everyone's looking for motivation. They're like, I'm just gonna watch one more training, I'm gonna read one more personal development book, I'm going to journal and manifest just a little bit more, but they don't do the work. Do you think— I mean, thinking back to building my network marketing business, thinking back to building this Instagram, the DSGC. Do you think I want to work all the time? Do you think I wake up every morning and I'm like, yes, today I want to have my face on Instagram. Yep, today I want to reach out to people. Hell no. I am not motivated most of the time. Um, but I'm disciplined, and I know that I can't, you know, watch TV or relax or go on my walk or even put my head on the pillow until I've done what I need to do to move the pillow— move the needle. Like, so many of us are like, oh, I, I read my personal development today. Well, that's, that's lovely. I love that journey for you, but it's not moving the needle. You have to be disciplined to show up in your business every day. And the thing about being your own boss is that there's a really fine line between giving yourself grace and making an excuse. Ooh, how many times now, tell me, and this is no judgment cuz it's happened to so many of us, but I will see somebody, it's like the beginning of the month. And like the first of the month, and like their cat swallows a rock and then has explosive diarrhea all over their house and they have to go to the vet and they're late for work. And because they're late for work, they had to stay late, so they had to get somebody else to pick up their kids. And then dinner was this and this and this and this and that. Your cat swallowing a rock and having diarrhea snowballs into 17 days of the month, and you look up and you're like, I haven't done anything for my business yet. That's all right. I'll try. I'll, I'll, I'll get back to it next month. Like, there you can have bad days. You can have times where it's just not gonna happen. But like, really, can you not follow up with somebody? Can you really not send a reach out? Can you really not check in with people? Because even if your cat swallowed a rock and is having diarrhea, you're sitting in the waiting room. For the vet and you're on your phone so you can do what you need to do. So it's true. And we're, we're all on our phones. We're all the time. And there's no reason that we can't do what we need to do. And I tell people all the time, like, I want you on social media, on your stories. I want your face on stories every day. And this makes people mad at me. And they're like, I'm so busy. And first of all, I'm like, do you think I am, Shannon? Like, what do you think I'm doing? Like, sitting here eating bonbons? Like, just talking on my Instagram stories? No, it's strategic and it's disciplined. You have to show up every day. And so when people say I'm so busy, I'm like, I'm not telling you need to be on stories all day. You need to be on stories for a minute. You need to make a comment. You need to ask a question. You need to share a story. You need to just be there so people can hear your voice, hear your tone of voice, understand your sense of humor, and get to know you. Because if we're only posting— sorry, I'm like, if we're only posting like static images, Sure, and captions, yes, people will get to know us, but showing up consistently expedites the know, like, trust process factor, and people feel like they're friends with you. They feel like they know you. They feel like they're in the fold. So you're busy, you're this, you're that, all these things are happening. You can work for a couple minutes a day, I guarantee it. I guarantee it. I can't. Please see income disclosure statements. I can't guarantee anything.

But, well, that is the new record for the amount of times the word diarrhea has been sent on a call. And I love that we just broke it right here. You guys have all—

you don't follow my personal page. My personal account, I do something called Question Box Sunday, and I ask really wild questions. And the amount of time that poop comes up and like, just, it's, that's all we talk about on Sunday, apparently.

What else is there? You know what I mean? What else is there?

Oh, sorry. I love it.

Nope. Love it. Obsessed with that answer. And honestly, the answer is you don't, you actually can't wait to do this when you're motivated. You may never be motivated to do it, right? You, but discipline will get you every time. Every time. Um, this is another one of my favorites. I actually compiled a list of my favorites for you. Okay. Number 3. That super successful person in your company is selling the exact same thing that you are. Yeah.

I mean, so often we think that like we compare ourselves to like company famous people, like, oh, she's a triple unicorn diamondback sprinkle. Like, she's like, she has something that I don't and she doesn't. Like, she's literally selling the same shit. This. She has the same product offering. She has the same comp plan. She has the same everything. She's just deciding that she's going to be confident and go do it and she's going to do it consistently. Any time that we think, oh, she's lucky or she gets— she— there's something different about her. It's not even like she's competition. Like you have your own standalone, like, businesses. You are literally selling the same. It's like one Starbucks saying, oh, well, that's Starbucks. Has it better. What? It's the same. It's all the same. Uh, so maybe this one had put a drive-through in. That's smart. Put a drive-through in. Like, be smart, be consistent, make sure you're showing up to serve your audience and your customers. But there— everyone here is selling the same thing, so there's no reason that, like, you can't be as successful as the top person, uh, in your company. Easy.

It's a really important one too, because the comparison game inside of network marketing is hardcore. It's hardcore. Uh, yeah.

Okay.

Yeah, for sure.

Okay.

The next one is two actually combined into one, because they both have to do with overthinking. Like, type a 4 in the chat if you've ever over-thunked yourself into $0. In network work, right? That, okay. Uh, number 4, overthinking is costing you a lot of money. That was number 1. And number 2 was, well, it's like 4A, someone else is making a sale while you're overthinking it.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. I, I really wish that I jokingly say that like my next business is gonna be like a mental moving company. I can just like move people out of their heads because the amount of overthink that goes on in— I'm sure everywhere, but I'm immersed in this industry. Like, it is crazy to me how people— and tell me, like, I'm overthinking the caption, I'm overthinking how I look, overthinking how I sound, I am overthinking, you know, the amount to which people can overthink. People are like, I've been working on this caption for 2 days. I'm like, 2 days? 2 days? You should have 4 posts out by now. You're working on a caption that most people aren't going to read unless the hook is fucking killer. What are you doing? So I'm like, oh, I was going to get on stories, but I thought that maybe like if I did— and another one about overthink that I like to talk about in regards to that is like, there are children unboxing toys on YouTube, making millions of dollars. Like, you can get on and like talk about something, right? Like Ryan's World or whatever the hell his name is. My kids are like, he unboxes. I'm like, his parents are geniuses. But yeah, like, we, we just overthink. And I, I always, when I talk, I hosted, I hosted an event in June an in-person event. I have never done that before. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no idea if anyone would show up. And when I was there talking to 60 women in this beautiful hotel with all this beautiful stuff, I said, you have to act first and think later. For the most part, you have to act so fast that by the time your brain catches up and can overthink, you're already so far into it that you can't back out. Because as we were leading up to the event, I was panicked. I was not sleeping. I was not eating. I was literally saying to my husband, can we cancel this? He was like, people have plane tickets, like you can't. And I'm like, could we think of a way? If I had thought about all of the steps for an event and all the things that would need to take place, that overthink would've caught up to me. But I had the idea. I was like, this is good, this is a hit. I called an event planner who I knew and I said, let's go. We were signing contracts in a couple days. We were making plans. And so by the time the overthink that happens to all of us catches up, it was too late. And so that's what I want you to do. I want you to get out and talk to people. I want you to put your face on camera. I want you to send the reach out because your brain is always brain is always going to try to keep you safe. And if it is just even outside the little perimeter of like your safety net, your brain's gonna be like, yo, yo, yo, sister, if you send that reach out, you could die. And like, that's what we think. We equate like the literal end of the world by a post, by a reach out, a follow-up. And yeah, do it scared. I can't tell you If I wasn't scared, I would be scared. I'm always scared. I never— I'm always nervous and always unsure, and always just taking the next step. What's that? Does anyone have young kids? Like Frozen, that the next right thing, or whatever that song is. It all— just do the next right thing, and the next steps will come, I promise you. But if you sit there overthinking, they'll get washed away, and somebody else has already taken the steps, and your ideas worthless.

So, whoa, whoa, sister, back it up. You're gonna die. You're gonna die. That was my favorite. Um, love it. Okay, next one. You can be in network marketing and excel outside of it at the same time. Yes.

I, I— why do people feel like— and this is more, I think, people on the outside like they think if you're in network marketing, then you're just like a network marketing robot or you're in a cult. And like, this is all— this is your life now. This is my identity. There's a— I have a really— I'm upset with a certain company at the moment because they made a pivot and now their hashtag is like, I am whatever the new name is. And I'm like, you're not though. You are none of us here. Are the company that we are partnered with. There's so much more to us than that. And I think it makes us and this industry much more dynamic to be like, you can be a really successful teacher, you can be a real estate agent, you can be a doctor, a lawyer, whatever, the president of the PTA. Like, the fact that you do network marketing is honestly the least interesting thing about you. And you need— like, it's okay to excel outside of it. People feel like this is it, this is all I have, this is all I can do. And it's so false. Um, you know, when I started No Shame Sales Game and then DSGC, a lot of people said, you can't do both, you can't go outside of what we're doing, you can only be here. And I was like, actually No. And so I want you to know that like you can do other things, you can build other ways, you can, you can be your whole best self and be successful here.

That's so great. It's such a really important lesson. Yeah. Um, number 6, your business is never gonna be a 10 if your mindset is a 2.

Friends. Friends, why do we talk shit to ourselves all the time? Like, has anyone here done that recently? Like, I don't know, but I mean, they're like, people say, I want— it's so easy to say what you want, right? I want to be a triple unicorn diamondback sprinkle. I want to be top sales. I want whatever. Okay, that's great. But then we get into our heads and like 99% of our business happens between like what, these 6 inches between our ears. So like your mindset has to be rock solid. And something that I know some of you know about me, but so like with Rhodianon Fields, successful, whatever. Rhodianon Fields is my third network marketing company. I failed twice before being successful. And goddamn it, when I came in to Rodan Fields, I had— I just— I had failed. And I thought, oh my God, everyone's only seen me fail. This is going to be embarrassing. And my mindset was easily like, you're just gonna suck again. Sucking is the only proof that you have, right? Um, but then I decided, well, they're going to watch either way, so why not give them a good show? Let's just try it, right? So I got on there like the first day or whatever, and I got on Facebook Live because Facebook was my channel of choice in 2017, and I was like I just made the best decision ever, and I got on and I said, okay, this is going to be good. In that first month, I had not earned a paycheck, I had not earned the car, I had not earned the trips, I had not done anything other than sucked and failed. But I had 4 people join my business, and I sold, I think, like over $5,000 in product in 3 weeks because the mindset shifted. I didn't succeed because I joined a special company. I succeeded because the mindset changed. It's all the same. You're the common denominator. So you're never going to have the successful business if you're talking shit to yourself all day long and telling yourself, I'm not good at this, I'm icky, people are judging me, like, I can't do it. Well, the universe loves to make you right. Whatever you are saying to yourself, the universe, God, whatever you want to call it, is like, okay, yeah, yeah, you suck. Yeah, yeah, nobody likes you. You don't make sales. Okay, sure, I'll make that happen. And then it delivers, and you're right. But if you're like, I'm a recruiting rock star, I can do this, I believe in the not yet seen. I'm capable. The universe is like, you're right, you are a recruiting rock star. Look at all these people. Here you go. Your mindset is everything in this business, and you cannot— you can't outread, outtrain, outdo any of that if the mindset's not there. All of that, you're just wasting your time.

Yeah. Oh wow. Yeah. And you know what else too? Network marketing is this crazy balance of mastering that exactly what you did and making all of this not too big of a deal so that people aren't freaked out by your approach. Do you know what I'm saying? It's like this beautiful dichotomy. It really is.

Like you kind, you kind of have to like, I'm all about like letting the freak flag fly. Like I'm woo woo as hell. Like I am charging crystals in the moonlight and talking to like the universe and that is great. But like also rein it in. Because everyone is like, she's a freak now because she's in network marketing. So you have to be a little bit cooler than you really are because people are like, oh, she's one of them now.

I love this. Okay, number 7. If you quit network marketing after not getting instant results— wait, let me restart that. I stuttered. If you quit network marketing after not getting instant results, it's not the business model that didn't work. It's you.

The trolls loved me for that one. The amount of like hateful, disgusting, awful messages I get every day is staggering. But they— that, whoo, that pushed people over the edge because they're— but truly, I read an article. I'm like a nerd that reads like the direct selling magazine or whatever. And I was just reading through it and I read a statistic. They did a study across the industry, so not like a company industry-wide, 50% of consultants quit within if they don't make a sale within their first 14 days. So 14 days, people are coming in and they're like, oh, I'm not a millionaire yet. Oh, haven't made a sale yet. This isn't for me. And so they quit. And I think that people— and it's all— it's also we have a part in this. When I say we, I mean network marketing. We sell it as oftentimes, well, it's not really work, you're just sharing, it's so easy, I do it in my sleep. And that's, that's not true either. This is work. This is a job. It does take discipline and dedication. So if you're telling somebody it's so easy and then in 14 days they haven't made a sale, they're like, oh, this isn't for me, because it's not easy. They quit. So they didn't work hard enough, um, and time. Yeah, so, and again, that's kind of what I was saying, um, with the previous two companies. I— it didn't work fast enough, and I thought, this is too embarrassing to put myself out there to not have any results, so I'm out. Like, because you— the thing with network marketing is everyone has to start at zero. You can't like come in as a higher up. Everyone has to start at the same level and you have to put yourself out there. You have to say, this is what I'm doing, this is what I'm starting. And if— and some people, the, the thought of doing that and not being able to have something to show for it in a matter of days is, is too much. And they quit.

Yeah, you said in the beginning that you're— the trolls hated you for this one. Um, some people are asking, how do you deal with haters, like, in general?

Um, in the beginning they would get to me for sure. Um, I mean, because people are awful, like, they are awful. Um, and the things that they say aren't even like, network marketing sucks. It's like, you should die type deal. And so to deal with them, I really— I like to use humor. So I really envision those people like covered in Cheeto crumbs in their mom's basement. Like, who are you, Stephen? Like, get out of here. But, you know, Block and bless, bless and release. I don't engage. So a lot of times when I have, you know, members in DSGC or somebody say, I got my first hater, what do I do? And I'm like, don't engage because that's what they want. So when somebody comes in and they say something or they're trying to argue with me or they want me to say, no, it's this, they want the reaction. And so I just don't give it to them. And I learned that the hard way. Um, you know, somebody in the beginning said something, and I was— they were saying something nasty to me, and I was like, I really think that you misunderstand. And I was trying to have a conversation. She was pretty much like, eat shit and die, you're a cult leader, and I hope somebody runs you over with a truck. And I was like, wow, that escalated quickly. So, um, I just don't— I don't engage, and that helps me. Yeah. Save my sanity. Yeah, do not engage.

Oh my God, I've got— I can't, I cannot with this. This is great. Yeah, and I— haters, people get real mean behind that computer screen, man. They get real brave on that keyboard of theirs. So I, I get it, and the New Yorker in me wants to roll my sleeves up and be like, hold my hoops, I'll be right back.

It's so— you so want to do it. I know, I know. Um, and it's just, it's not worth it. It's never been worth it. Yeah, just don't do it.

Love it. Okay, next one. Reality check. Are you scrolling for inspiration or are you actually working?

Oh, who's done it? Like, who's done it? You're like, I'm just gonna, just gonna look. And then you're not— you're again, it's like with the reading, the personal development, you're not doing anything. I'm just gonna watch reels to see if I can find a trending audio. I'm just gonna like look at every, you know, company, famous person and see what they're doing. When in reality, all that's doing is wasting your time and it flirts way too closely with falling into the comparison trap. And oftentimes that's where we end up because then we feel like shit. We're comparing ourselves to somebody else. Even if they're like, it's apples and oranges. We're like, oh, she has better hair than I do. And then you feel like shit. And when you feel like shit, you can't create, you can't show up and engage with people, because it's all energy, right? So we have to be really— we have to protect our energy. So I do. I try really hard. I think of Instagram as my office. And I get on there and I have— I know what I'm doing. I know who I'm there to talk to. I know the missions that I'm there to accomplish. And then I leave. If I ever find myself scrolling, I essentially have to like slap myself and put my phone in the other room because I'm guilty of it. And I just— I can— I've become more aware of it now because it's just that it's a— it's like a wave of just comes over me when I just feel gross, and I feel bad about myself, and I feel behind, and I feel like I'm never gonna succeed, and I feel like I'm never gonna be as good as so-and-so. And when you start hearing and feeling those things, it's, it's not you, it's the content that you're creating, and you're not working. You're really just trying to find yourself into the comparison trap. So if you, if again, if you're looking for a trending audio, if you're looking for something, my advice to you is to set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes, get on there, scroll your heart away, and when that timer goes off, you're off, you're done, you're unplugged and you're going somewhere else. But just scrolling again, it's not work. You're not getting inspired. And then what, what if you see something that inspires you? Are you just gonna copy that person? What are you gonna do? I can't tell you how many times I see quotes that I'm like, man, they changed a word of mine and that's my quote. Like, what? So you're not getting inspired and you're not tapping into yourself. You have all the content and all of the knowledge and all of the, the stuff. It's all here. So instead of scrolling for inspiration, I encourage you to go out for a walk, to like meditate for 10 minutes, to just sit and like start writing, talk to yourself on VoiceNote if you need to. But you can inspire yourself way more than social media can.

Yeah, yep, love. Okay, and guys, as you're— as we're listening to Colleen talk, if a question comes up for you, please type it in the chat because after these We're going to open this up to a quick 5-minute Q&A with her too. Okay, next one. And then we only have 2 more after this. So doing network marketing and not wanting to talk to people about your business is like joining a track team and not wanting to run.

I like that one. What I'm going to— I'm going to repost that one tomorrow. Yeah, like people come in and they're like, oh, I just, I'm just gonna post and like post and pray, post and dash or whatever. If you're coming in here and you're thinking that you're going to do this and not talk to people, you're delusional. Like you, you must talk to people. Um, so it just, it boggles my mind when people come in here and they're like What? No, I don't, I don't want to do that. Okay, we signed up for the wrong class. Like, this isn't, this isn't gonna work. Yeah.

Um, and then what this— the, the pattern that they get stuck in is they, they don't do it day in and day out, and then it doesn't work, and then they scratch their head as to why it's not working. And then you're not talking to human beings, right?

Yeah, totally.

It's mind-blowing. Okay, number 10. I don't know who needs to hear this. But if it sounds more like a graveyard than a VIP group, it's time to let it go.

Hmm.

This could apply for a lot of things, but I'm curious to see where you take it.

Okay, so I don't— I don't do Facebook, and a lot of people in network marketing do. And a lot of conversations that I have with people are My VIP group is dead. Nobody engages in my VIP group. Then stop being in your VIP group. Like, we white-knuckle things that like maybe worked 2 years ago or however long ago. And then when it's not working, we like keep banging our head against the wall. Like, I need—

I—

and again, it's also tricking yourself into thinking you're working. Like if I go and yell into a void, like, because I— nobody's there. But I talked about my business today into a canyon, like where nobody was there. That's not work. But we trick ourselves and think, well, I posted in my VIP group today, fingers crossed, nobody's there. So I really would encourage people. I don't know. I don't even remember the exact— you said it, but I don't remember. If it just let it go if it's dead. I'm not into that.

Yeah. And I feel like that also goes for so many things inside your business. If what's happening, just tweak. This is a business of course correcting. The best, the most successful people here are masterful course correctors. I think it goes for that too. Last one and then I'm going to grab a few things that people said in the chat. Being able to— I feel really passionately about this one, first of all. Being able to work while on vacation isn't a network marketing flex. And this goes against like the Bible of network marketing.

Sure does. And I'm— I've been guilty of that in the past, being like, I'm on vacation selling skincare by the seashore. Gag me with a spoon. Like, that is disgusting. That's not a flex. Like, that's no— but no. Same person wants to go on vacation and work. Like, I get what we're saying. We're like, I can work from anywhere. Great. But the person on the outside who's not in our circle is like, why the hell are you doing that? That makes no sense. And if you have to work on vacation, that probably means I would have to work on vacation and I have no interest in doing that. So it's not relatable. We think it's a flex. And we think it's us like bragging because we're on our phones when we could be looking at the ocean or something like that. And it, it, it just looks so bad. It's not a vacation. So yeah, I love—

you know why I love that one so much? Because I think it really— the more successful you become, I think you'll start to hear things like that, like nails on a chalkboard when it comes to network marketing. Because at the end of the day, we have to be able to bridge the gap between what we see, right? And then what they see, because— and that just doesn't land. It doesn't make sense. That's why it's one of my favorites.

Yeah. And think about just moving forward, anytime you make content, you're not talking to somebody who's already here. You're talking to somebody out there who doesn't get it, who doesn't speak the same language. Um, so you have to like make it seem way more normal. And you know what I mean? Like, you don't have to make it grandiose and like, this is flowery and perfect and pretty and awesome over here. Like, I just want to make $500 a month. And I remember saying in the beginning, like, I want to make $500 a month, and the only people that don't want to make $500 a month are trust fund babies and drug dealers, and I don't know either. So I know you want to make $500 a month. So come talk to me about it and let's just do it. And then I had people coming out of the woodwork to be like, yes, I need a couple hundred, 100, 300, 200 extra dollars a month. Is that possible? Hell yeah, that's possible. Let's go do it. Um, so stop talking to people out there like they're already in here.

Oh my God. Oh my God, that was such a great way to end that content. Oh my God, that was so So freaking perfect. So we have some questions and I think for you, you're like a, you're a two for one here cuz you're not only successful network marketer, but you're also successful entrepreneur, built something from the ground up, right? So, and you made a reel the other day that spoke about how the fact that you never took business courses, you didn't like pay tens of thousands of dollars for business coaches. So I think it'll be valuable for people to know this. How did you, go from I see a need in a market to where you are today. And, and I want— when you're answering this, I want everyone's ears to be listening to it as a network marketer who wants to take that leap in your own business and hear the things that she's saying that you can then apply to your network marketing business.

You have to understand that everything is network marketing. Everything is network marketing. What I do with No Shame Sales Game is network marketing because it's just sharing. I've never paid for an ad. I've never boosted a post. I've never paid for an expensive mastermind. I don't have video editors. Obviously, if you see any of my content, I don't have any of that stuff because you don't need it. Yes, of course, bells and whistles are wonderful and they're appropriate at certain times. But I got from there to here by being a network marketer and not like because of anything, because again, it was anonymous. But like, you have to engage with people, you have to be consistent, you have to understand, like, people want to talk about themselves and you have to— like, it's all about connection. It's all about creating content that makes somebody either laugh or say, oh shit, or share it or tag somebody in it. It's just applying everything that is network marketing to this minus like a comp plan and a team. All the basics and the skills are the same. So when I see like coaches and gurus and saying like, you need this million-dollar class or you need this ClickFunnels or you need this, and I'm like, I call bullshit. You don't. You need to know where— you need to have the vision of what you're doing. You need to, like— and when I say that you need to have the vision, when I started DSGC, I— my goal was to make $30,000 a year. I make a lot more than that. Um, and so you don't have to know how big it's going to get or have all the the details. You just need to know, I need to have a product, I need to get out there and talk to people, and I need to do it in a way that it makes other people talk about it too. So it's not just, hey, click my link to get my freebie so I can get your email address. It's, how can you— what can you do for free that people then share with other people and they come back to you naturally?

Yeah, it's just, it's this— you master the skill of building a web. And like casting a wide net and, and creating yourself as the go-to for something, right? That's what all of our jobs are. That's our— we have to be the go-to when people think of wanting to make money, wanting to get help, whatever it is. Mm-hmm.

Yep. In your network and not the whole world, right? People are like, oh, I'm not the expert in healthy living. You don't, you don't have to be. You just have to be the one that your network, when they think of collagen or getting healthy or whatever it is, they think of you and that's who they come to. You're the expert within your sphere of influence.

I have one last final question for you.

Okay.

And then after Colleen has actually, she's gonna drop in the chat. You can do it now, Colleen too. Yeah. Do it. She's gonna drop in the chat a discount code for everyone if you guys do wanna sign up for her Direct Sales Growth Community. Paige, it's really cool. It's a, it's a bunch of network marketers who are just trying to— yeah, it's really, it's a wonderful community. Last question, I promise. Mm-hmm. Did you ever want to quit building the Direct Sales Growth Community? And if you did, what got you through those moments?

I want to burn it down at least once a month. I mean, I want to quit all the time. All the time. I want to quit and just stop because it's normally the week before my period. I think like, we— like, I get a little bit crazy. I think I could dominate the world if I didn't get my period because I'm like solid for 3 weeks and then the universe is like, actually sit your ass down. And I think everything sucks and I want to burn it all down. So I want to quit every month. I want to burn it down every month. I think I suck all the time. I'm never— I never am impressed with anything that I'm doing. And the reason that I keep doing it, even though I don't want to sometimes, is because think about the alternative. And it was the same thing with network marketing. If I don't show up today, I don't get paid. If I don't show up today, then what happens? It doesn't continue to grow. The needle doesn't continue to move. So it's an option. It's always an option to not show up. It's always an option to not do the work that you need to do. But I know in my heart of hearts, and I know that you know in your heart of hearts, that it's worth it. So it's worth doing it even when you don't feel like it, because when the spiral is over and you're like calibrated back to reality, you're like, oh, thank God, thank God I didn't burn that down, because wow, that would have sucked. So I think it's just more than anything of how I do it. I think it's just normalizing the fact that as a probably what you would consider successful, I I hate it all the time, and I'm not— I'm not motivated all the time. Uh, I doubt myself all the time, and like I said, I'm never impressed with anything. So I feel so inadequate always. The imposter syndrome is real, um, all the time. But knowing that the alternative is what, to stay that way or to actually become that? That's terrifying to me. So I'll, I'll show up even when I don't want to because I'm terrified of, of being mediocre.

So it's everyone. I don't care if you have 200 followers or 130,000. Colleen, consider yourself like mouth kissed by everybody on this call. We are all obsessed with you even more so. Hugs from us. Thank you so much for sharing. I hope it was helpful.

I appreciate—

thank you. Thanks everyone. See you soon. Bye everyone.