How To ROCK Your Business During the Cold Winter Months

 

 

Predictions of snowy weather often have many cancelling their events and parties.  How are you prepared to keep your business going?

.Since I rely on my business to pay my bills, I am always working on a plan to keep things consistent while I (and my customers) are snuggled warm at home.  Last winter, I was able to hit my goal as was my team with some planning – I always have a plan B….

Here are some tips to help you keep your sales up during those cold winter months…

1.Flash Sale Fridays (or any day)

Pick a product or a bundle of products and offer them at a discount for a 24-hour period only.  Let your customers know by sharing the products LIVE on Facebook or via an email or even in a text message.  Encourage them to share the flash sale with friends – the more the merrier.  Thankfully, Thirty One offers us a chance to give our customers a discount without it effecting our pocketbook  – an AWESOME consultant perk.  If a 40% discount off, isn’t in your budget, utilize the specials offered by your company to create bundles for your customers.  By creating a sense of urgency (today only) you can encourage people to shop.

2. Facebook LIVE parties

Facebook LIVE is a great way to demonstrate products, do drawings, and have fun. By letting your customers see you LIVE, they establish a connection with you, and see your personality shine.  Encourage attendees to share the video with friends.  Ask simple questions like where do you live so everyone checks in.  Acknowledge those who check in with a greeting or comment.  The more interaction, the more people will see it on their Facebook newsfeed.  The end result is to take orders by sharing solutions to their every day problems with your products.  This is definitely on my TO DO list for the winter months.  Even if it isn’t a party, just going LIVE to share products and tips will help your sales.

3. Show on the Go parties

Pack up some samples of your products, catalogs and share them with 6 of your friends. Encourage each of them to collect $100 in orders.  Give it a fun name and split the hostess benefits between them.  Chances are they will collect more than $100 in sales.

4. If it’s just a flurry

Have a flurry sale offering, get rid of retiring prints and products or excess inventory – we in direct sales always have excess inventory.  Have a home party, offer a discount or special gift if the party holds and guests attend or order.

5. Hold a Mystery Host party

Text, email, phone or facebook message past/ current customers for orders.  Anyone who places an order will be entered in a drawing to win ALL of the hostess benefits.  The more orders, the more benefits.

Be sure to OVERBOOK your calendar in the winter months.  One date is the party date and the second date is a snow date, just in case the original date is postponed due to weather. If a home party is cancelled, switch it to a ZOOM or Facebook LIVE party. You were scheduled to work, so work your business.  ZOOM is a fun way to get everyone on at the same time.  You can see them and they can see you.  Then you can download and share it those who couldn’t attend.

Another fun idea to get people out to a wintery party is with a theme party – have them thinking warm with a summer or tropical theme. Encourage guests to dress based on the theme and have your hostess focus her snacks (simply and easy) on it as well.  It’s a fun way to bring hope the winter will soon be over and allows everyone to dream a little.

What is your best tip for keeping your business consistent during the winter?

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Everything Spooky….

YEAH!!  October has arrived and I am so excited.  Since Irma caused our cruise to cancel, I am headed to North Carolina this month to spend some time with my daughter for her birthday.  October also means football is in full swing.  Despite all of the negatives in the NFL, I do like football so I may have to switch to cheering for college football instead of the J-E-T-S!

At Thirty One – October means the kick off of some many things….

There is tailgating, football, Halloween, birthdays (in our family), anniversaries, Thanksgiving and yes, Christmas. Here are some of the EXCITING things happening at Thirty One!  Thirty One launches our Holiday Gift Guide as well as our Online Exclusives which make great gifts for the holidays…

       

#1 – Have you every thought about being a part of Thirty One?

Want to have debt-free holiday?  How about some girl time after playing mom taxi?  OR do you want to solve your holiday gift giving with awesome discounts on amazing products?  Thirty One is offering a Holiday Enrollment Kit!  For just $50 you can get some of the TOP gift giving products to share with your friends and family.  Check it out:

   

Don’t worry, you can also still pick from either of the  $99 kits if you want.  They are packed with some of this seasons top sellers – the Retro Metro Bag (my favorite) and the large utility tote which has been a company top seller since it was introduced!

PLUS, during your first 4 months of being a consultant you get to earn MORE!  In addition to your 25% commission, when you reach $500 in sales every 30 days, you will receive a 25% credit in your back office to help you grow your business.  Have more than $500 in sales, there is no limit to the credit!  How cool is that!  Here is what it looks like:

Oh, there is one more thing…. join in October and submit a $1000 in sales and YOU will get a FREE Cindy Tote in the Black Dotty Pebble which is an exclusive available online during this holiday season.

#2 – Be a Hostess with the Mostess!

Not interested in joining our pink bubble – how about hosting your own party?  Did you know for just $200 in orders, YOU can have a qualified party.  You will get $25 in FREE product, 1 half price item and 1 hostess exclusive.  Did you know it is only takes 6 orders of $35 to have a qualified party? I offer home, catalog/online, on the go and Facebook parties. Fundraising opportunities are also available!  Which one will fit into YOUR busy schedule?

#3 – Don’t want to join, and not interested in being a hostess…..

How about getting a jump on your holiday shopping with a choice of these three products:

FIRST, you can shop this month’s customer special which is the either the Retro Metro Weekender, the Foldover Weekender or the All Packed Duffle for $31 each with a $35 purchase .  You can pick your choice of one for each multiple of $35 you spend!

TWO, you can send me your holiday wish list and we can put you on the budget/layaway plan for 3 months with everything being delivered to you in plenty of time for your gift giving events. Join my Holiday Gift Club. For more details, fill out the form below:

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Which one will you pick??

Want a chance to earn FREE stuff, get special deals and more….

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Is Vacation Veronica Your Summer Persona?

Summer and the living is easy, at least here at the Jersey shore unless you are fighting traffic from all of the “shoobies”.  Pools, picnics, gardening, homemade ice cream, life at the beach, on the lake, and the lazy days of summer are what we want our lives to be full of, right?

Most adults have to work a JOB, so all of the fun summer things are squeezed into weekends or when you are on vacation.  For those who have their own business, there are BIG choices to make. Sometimes, it is hard to remember our “business is flexible, not optional”, especially if you want to get paid!

I know it is the end of July but for some, there are still 4 more weeks of summer vacation.  What are you going to do with your business?

Have you put your business on hold this month?  Are you going to do it again in August?Sure you can BUT how is it going to effect your customers, your team, and maybe even your company.

Are you in Vacation Veronica  mode, taking the entire sumer off?  We often talk about “vacations” during the holiday months, right?  I can’t be the only one who finds it hard to work between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  We tend to take a “holimonth instead of a holiday”. Not good for your business then and certainly not good during the summer.

In a conversation last week with a friend, we were talking about the excuses everyone has about not working their business during the year:

• July/August – Summer time is vacation time, fun time. Who wants to work when everyone else is enjoying summer fun
• September/October – Back to School and sports
• November/December – holiday times.
• January – No one has any money because they spent it all on gifts
• April  – Easter or Spring Break
• June – Graduations, weddings, end of school year parties, etc.

Do you see the pattern?  So, if you don’t have a plan, you can end up working your business maybe two months out of the year.  I don’t know about you but I definitely would have to work 24/7 to make sure I made enough money to pay the bills all year long.  No one says you can’t enjoy lots of down/vacation time when you have your own business, you just need to have a plan.

Here are the 5W’s of Direct Sales which helped me keep “Vacation Veronica” away:

1. WHO will I share this with? Who will have my next show?
2. WHAT do I want my business to provide for me? What is my vision? What difference do I want to make in this world?
3. WHEN will I make time for my work and for my family?
4. WHERE will I be in one year? Where is my time best spent right now?
5. WHY am I really doing this? WHY does this bring me joy?

There are a lot more questions in each of the sections but these are MY personal favorites. When I keep these things in front of me, Vacation Veronica doesn’t have a chance to get me sidetracked. I am not saying we don’t all need a break but let’s put it in perspective. If you owned your own store-front and took a month off, don’t you think it would be hard to get back into the swing of things. What if you work a full-time job and took a month off? Would you want to go back to work and when you did, wouldn’t you still have vacation brain?

When you imagine the rest of your summer, think about what you want, and create an intentional plan.

Here’s to hoping Vacation Veronica doesn’t linger long at my house or yours.  Take a break and enjoy your family and friends but don’t neglect your business.  If you had a store front, you wouldn’t close for 2 weeks would you?  So why should you close your direct sales business for 2 weeks unless you are fully booked for the next 2 months – even then, I am not sure I would stop working my business.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

Saturday Spotlight: Paparazzi Jewelry

Where are my fashionistas? Are you a jewelry addict?  Do you like to coordinate your earrings, necklace and bracelets when putting an outfit together?  I will admit, I don’t wear a lot of jewelry and I tend to wear the same thing over and over again.  WHY?  Because it can be expensive.  What if I told you, there is an alternative to spending BIG BUCKS on jewelry but you can still look stylish?

Let me introduce you to my friend, Kathy Stine.  Here is her direct sales story:

I’ve represented many direct sales companies in the past – Tupperware, Undercoverware, Partylite, Park Lane, and Avon and a couple of them more then once.

Recently I had a storefront (Bible Book Store of Imlay City) which I closed in November 2016, after 3 years. As a store owner you look for things to carry people might like. When I opened the store, I had a local person bring in her handmade jewelry to sell. Since I wasn’t selling much of her stuff she decided to scale back her display and eventually she removed everything. When she scaled back, I knew I either needed to try making my own or find another source for jewelry, but something a little more affordable.

At the same time, I noticed someone posted about a $5 jewelry company but didn’t think much about it. It wasn’t until a friend started talking about possibly joining the company to sell it, I mentioned I was interested in the products. I didn’t act on things until my jewelry lady pulled her stuff, then I checked back with my friend to see if she joined yet and where she stood.

I reached out to a consultant from the jewelry company, expressing an interest in the products.  I explained I was thinking of carrying the product in my store and maybe even join so I could sell, however I was very skeptical of the jewelry and its quality, after all the stuff was only $5 each. I asked if she could bring stuff to the store so I could get the “bird’s eye view” and see it for myself. So she came in and brought lots for me to see. I was impressed. The pieces were truly amazing and nothing like I expected. They were not small either, some of the necklaces were huge (lots of beads, long in length,etc). I knew right then I wanted to try to sell the jewelry but I didn’t have the start-up money.

Our town’s big event was the next month and I wanted to have stuff by then. She asked if she could set up a display while I gathered the needed funds to join myself and of course I said she could. A couple days later she brought in a huge display. My customers admired the jewelry and couldn’t believe the pieces were only $5 each. I got many nice comments on it. I sold quite a few pieces from her stuff and finally had enough funds together to purchase my own kit. Of course I asked a lot of questions before joining. The main question of course is how much do you earn selling the jewelry – I mean after all the customer is only charged $5.00. She proceeded to tell me we make a 45% commission! I couldn’t believe it as no company gives so much away. However she showed me proof. Plus not only do they give you a large commission, they also give you free products with your orders as long as they are a certain amount.

About the only draw back from this company is they do not print catalogs. Reason being as most items sell out really fast and they’d have to produce a new catalog almost monthly and it would be costly. They do give us a free shopping web site for our customers to shop from. Most consultants carry a lot of stock and do cash and carry. Home parties can be done as well as online parties.

The company I am referring to is paparazzi. To check out what is currently available go to my website . If you are on Facebook feel free to join my VIP group. In this group I list everything I have currently have on hand. If you want the item just let me know and once I receive payment I will ship the item(s) to you. I am really glad I joined paparazzi and wish I knew about it a lot sooner. I have met some awesome people as well. I am always looking for events and places to get into with my jewelry. Its really nice stuff.

Be sure to check out her website and I would love to hear what our favorite pieces are…

Need something to carry all of your new jewelry in?  Check out ThirtyOne’s Shine On Jewelry Case.  Great for travel and practical enough to store everyday jewelry or other small necessities. Features one PVC zipper compartment with two organza bags, one zipper pocket, two jewelry snap tabs and a tie closure. It’s available in new Spring prints and can be personalized for an added touch. Size: Approx 6.25″H x 9″L

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!

The Party Host Challenge

The 25th of the month and for some in direct sales (me included) we are working on closing out a strong February while casually glancing at next month’s calendar.  It is the fine line we walk as we approach the end of the month to be sure we “don’t leave money on the table this month” while ensuring we have bookings next month.

One of the most challenging aspects of direct sales is finding people to host parties especially home parties.  We all know home parties are the best way to share our products.  By touching and feeling the products, guest are more likely to purchase them.  Or are you one of those consultants who get people to say yes to hosting? The struggle is getting them to team up with you so their living room is full of friends and family.  Or they cancel at the last minute because the excitement has worn off or no one is responding to their invitation. Sometimes, there isn’t much you can do but chalk it off as a bad experience. Or is there?

What if you could spark a fire in your party hosts they simply couldn’t refuse to follow through on?

Think about how you met your potential hosts – at a party, a referral from a customer, a vendor event or maybe they just clicked on your link.  The truth is most hosts fail due to a lack of trust in their consultant.   Crazy, right?

The fact a potential party host may not trust you has NOTHING to do with you.  It is usually based on a past bad experience with another direct seller.  They “assume” (you know what they say about ass-u-me?) you’re just like her.  You can be the  nicest person in the world, have the best referrals but those bad memories linger. So, how do we change it?

#1 – Educate them.  Don’t panic! I don’t mean a full length course – who has time?  Just some simple tips to help your host have a successful party. I use a cover letter like this in my hostess packet:

No matter what system you use, make sure you walk with them through every step you expect them to take. The point is to make it as easy as possible for your hosts so they feel like they can’t fail.  Remember you are a team working toward a common goal – her success! Her success = money in your pocket!

#2 – Compel Them With an Incentive.  This comes with mix emotions.  You know your potential host has an interest in your products.  So why not turn the interest into a desire in them to succeed.  Some would say the “hostess rewards” are enough, for some it will be.  We know incentives work, right?  The free and discounted hostess rewards is probably what prompted her to take the leap of faith and say yes to hosting her own party.  But why not offer her something more if she meets your expectations.  Here is one way:

Or offer an incentive for completing tasks such as: getting their guest list back to you within a week; having at least five guests at their party or for getting outside orders or bookings.  I know, you are in this to make money not spend it, right?  But the small cost will be outweighed by having a solid successful party.  The incentive can be free shipping or a less expensive item from your product line or a customer special or a favorite retired product you have in stock.  REMEMBER, your host doesn’t get the incentive until you show up for their ACTUAL party. Be sure to make it clear when you outline the incentives for them.

#3 – The Value Of Your Business Opportunity.  I will admit, I struggle with this some months. You know the ones I mean when  your calendar is empty and you need/want to book some parties?  Some advocate flipping your host before the party while I believe the party is her training ground to see how easy it is to be a consultant.  Your host is having a party for FREE and discounted product. She doesn’t see the bigger picture of what joining your company could mean for her or her family.  Plant seeds along the way.  Your guidance and a successful party may be just the encouragement they need to give what you do a try.  Offer to turn their party into a kickoff party and give them all the bookings you get if they say yes to starting their business.

#4 – Offer Assistance.  This one should be a no-brainer.  You want to make it super easy for your potential host to do her job.  You can help her by offering to call her guests to ensure attendance, send out the invitations for her, and offer to arrive early to help her set up which will also help to calm her nerves and build a relationship with them.  Make sure you stay in touch often before her party to give her support, answer questions, and remind her of what her next step is.

Will these tips guarantee success 100% of the time?  No, but it will definitely help to establish the trust factor.  The combination of trust and a growing relationship will decrease your cancellations and lead to more successful parties.

Are there things you do for your hosts to help them succeed? Share them with us in the comments below.

Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!