Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Left Right Game

Hi. At Share and Succeed, Raena mentioned a game that she uses at her shows to get things started. It's called the Left Right Game. You seat the guests in a circle and give a gift bag to one of the guests. As you read the script, each time you say LEFT or RIGHT, the guests pass the parcel to the person next to them in that direction. Whoever ends up with the package at the end, gets the prize. What's the prize? Could be tealights, a votive, or a bar of chocolate. Whatever you want. Here 'tis!

I LEFT my house and was on the way to (Hostess), but I LEFT the directions at home RIGHT by the phone! I knew RIGHT away that I needed to have the RIGHT directions to (Hostess) house, so I turned LEFT and I turned RIGHT and made my way back to my house for the RIGHT directions. Sure enough, there they were, RIGHT where I LEFT them, RIGHT next to the phone. Finally I was on the RIGHT track, I arrived RIGHT on time and set up my display, RIGHT over here. You all arrived and sat RIGHT down and now I will get to work and tell you the three reasons why I am here today (tonight):

  1. To tell you all about our wonderful company and provide you with the RIGHT kind of customer service.

  2. To explain how (Hostess) and anyone of you have the RIGHT to take advantage of our very lucrative Hostess Plan.

  3. To share with every one of you that now is the RIGHT time to start with PartyLite as we are looking for the RIGHT kind of people who are looking for the RIGHT kind of opportunity with this very RIGHT kind of company.

In a moment I will be showing you our exquisite candles and products. If you LEFT home with the intention of shopping for gifts Today/ tonight from your seat and not your feet, remember PartyLite has just the RIGHT gift for everyone, ranging from $12.95 and up. Review your list; we wouldn’t want anyone to be LEFT out. We have just the RIGHT gifts for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, showers and Christmas. I almost LEFT out we do bridal showers & house warming parties where you can send your loved one on a shopping spree and they can select just the RIGHT thing for themselves.

When your merchandise arrives, please check it RIGHT away and if something has been LEFT out, please call me and I’ll be sure to take care of it RIGHT away. We don’t want you to be LEFT with something you are not 100% satisfied with, RIGHT? If you would like to be a Hostess and earn lots of free products or if this is the RIGHT time for you to explore joining PartyLite as a Consultant, please talk to me RIGHT after the Show. I am really enjoying being here with all of you this evening and I hope you are having fun too. I know you can’t wait to see what I have to offer each one of you. Without further delay I will get RIGHT to the point of this presentation, which is showing you what I give away. Therefore, there is nothing LEFT for me to do now except congratulate the winner, RIGHT?

Just a Touch of Paradise

Sawatdi ka. Hello.

Looking back on the last six days of my life, it’s hard to write a concise account. I have a feeling that the best way to tell you about my trip to Thailand will be in a stream of conscious fashion. That’s the way I would likely tell you about it if we were together in person. On a blog that might work. Let’s see….

The Beach

I’m not really a water person. At least not in my regular life. But for the last four mornings, I’ve gotten up early, put on my swimming togs, sunnies, and a sarong, and walked the 100 metres or so from my Thailand resort room to the sandy beach. There, I laid down a towel, did my own version of yoga (I call it “woga” – Wendy Yoga) and then slipped into the waves for a 15 minute swim. The water was cool/warm and invigorating. It was beautiful. I miss it already.

The Pool

After that start, you still must believe me that I’m a person who doesn’t like the water that much (I seriously haven’t been in a pool for years). Yet, the infinity pools at Pimalai (that’s the name of the resort) were more than attractive. They literally pulled us in. While some people in our party of about 70 (PartyLite people and our guests) didn’t make it into the surf, I don’t think anyone could resist the pools. An added bonus was that no one came running to stop us from drinking beautiful cocktails in the pool while we basked in the sun and floated around. Occasionally I would crawl my way from one side of the pool to the other – just to work off the calories of my Mai Tai… so I could have another.

The Sea

An unexpected highlight of this trip was the “Island Excursion.” What I thought would be a short boat trip to an island where we could walk around and play and eat and drink for a few hours actually turned out to be a 2+ hour luxurious sea tour to a remote island. We tied up the four boats to some buoys and put on the snorkel gear.

I jumped into the ocean, prepared my goggles for a fog free viewing, and looked down. There was nothing. I said to myself that I shouldn’t be disappointed, I’ve already snorkelled in the greatest coral reef in the world (sample of one, and I still think I’m right… it’s the Great Barrier Reef), so I decided to just play in the ocean for awhile.

Then Alan told me to look down. I did and I didn’t come back up again for at least 10 minutes. Once again, I was swimming with fish. They were all around me. In the shallower water, I had hit a rocky, reefy area where the beautiful, tropical, colourful fish swam around me in the hundreds, probably thousands.

After an hour or so in the water, and a beautiful lunch on the boat, the rain decided to drop in on our party. But since we were wet already, we didn’t really mind all that much. We considered calling it a day, but (thanks so much Jason) we took a vote and decided that we would hit our next stop, the Emerald Cave. It was an experience I’ll cherish the rest of my life. I think I’ll save a full description here; the Emerald Cave deserves a posting of its own. (But I've put a picture up above - found it on the net. Just to give you a look inside.)

The Scene

Pimalai is simply a spectacular looking resort. The layout of the buildings provides privacy and texture. The architecture is beautiful, functional, exotic, and lavish. The gardens are simply stunning (and the maintenance to keep them that way is never ending). The entire environment is tranquil, secluded, tropical, rich, and tantalizing.

Away from the resort, Thailand, specifically the island of Koh Lanta, was also beautiful. From the coast, islands dotted the horizon. On the roads, people smiled as they drove their scooters from place to place, sometimes with four people squeezed onto one scooter. Tropical green trees, palms, vines, and flowers of all colours carpeted the view. Hills and volcanic formations gave the island character.

The People

One thing I didn’t ask was what most people on the island do for a living. I assume they all work to make people like me happy. There didn’t seem to be a rush hour. No one looked like they were in a hurry to get anywhere. The element of stress didn’t seem to exist. Genuine smiles came from generous people. Not just at Pimalai, but at the markets, in the neighbouring resorts, at the local beauty salon, and at the airport. Though I will say that the care, attention, friendliness, and respect from the people at Pimalai itself touched me deeply. I’ve never before cried when I left a hotel. I shed a tear when we left as 60+ staff from the resort surprised us by waving good-bye. They will miss us. I will miss them.

The Animals

We rode elephants, worked hard not the hit monkeys as they tried to cross the road, took photos of scorpions that seemed to pose for the camera, and watched geckos defy gravity and crawl over the resort. We listened to the orchestra of birds and insects as they sang and buzzed and chirped their day away. We saw fireflies. We saw fish. We loved it.

The End

For now, I think I’ll stop. The story isn’t complete. I always say that I am proud to be a PartyLite Consultant. But I can honestly say that I am more proud now than when I left. I had no idea what to expect. It seemed like it was going to be fabulous. Instead it was so much more.

Sawatdi. Goodbye. WLC.

Photo Credits: (1) Pimalai Resort Publicity Shot, (2) Unknown, (3) Pimalai Resort, (4) Our Elephant Guide.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Ultimate Customer Service

An Excerpt from our Share and Succeed Training

This training was written by Eliana and presented by me. I'd like to encourage every one of you to develop some sort of system for making customer calls. You'll see one example in this article. Just do it... I KNOW your business will flourish.

The Cream of the Busienss: Customer Service!

We spend a lot of our time booking and doing Shows, which is a great way to meet customers and also reacquaint with old Customer. But our business could be in a stronger position purely by continuing to build the relationship with our Customers and servicing them. Remember direct selling is about selling Direct to the Customer not selling Direct to the Customer at your show alone.

Let me share a story with you. We have a Unit Leader who was going to be in bed for at least one month of her business due to illness. Understandably, she was concerned about her Personal Sales and her business. She challenged herself to do some Customer Care calls whilst she was in bed. By just simply ringing a couple of customers a day, she did over $1500 worth of sales from her bedside.

Who would like at least $1000 worth of outside orders come in each and every month?

The first thing we need to ask ourselves is, "Would your Customers appreciate Ultimate Customer Service?" I think most of us here today do appreciate in our busy lives some old fashion service.

What we need is simple systems that will help us have time to connect with our Customers.

Develop Your Follow Up Folder

  1. Get yourself a simple folder with Jan – Dec tabs in it. The set up will cost you about $4.00.

  2. How many customers do you currently have? Some of you have hundreds of Customers – let's concentrate on your customers that have purchased from you this year.

  3. Most of our Customers' wax products would probably last them about 2 months before they need to purchase others. So, let's build our folder around a 2-month time frame.

  4. We are currently in the month of May. So the May tab will be the first tab. What I would like you to do just after you process your show is photocopy each customers order form. This will allow you to keep your show orders together as a Show.

  5. Customer orders that you have in May will need to receive a call from you in July. So take each of those Customer orders and attach a blank piece of paper to them for notes and pop these under the July tab. Do this throughout the month.

  6. Then go back to the April Customers and place their copied order under the June tab.

  7. Put your March, February, and January customers under the May tab. (DON’T be too adventurous first up. Let's get this years customers and VIPs Customers serviced first.)

  8. Then what you do each and every month is open the current monthly tab, and they are the Customer service calls for the month. EASY.

  9. As your are speaking with your Customers each month you deal with your follow-ups straight away. For example if I was speaking with Tanya in May and she was fine at the moment with all her products I would say to her “Would you like me to give you another call in July?" If she says yes, I would take her order and pop it under the July tab straight away.

  10. Don’t forget to write any notes that you may need to on her order form or on the paper attached to her order form.

Simple up to date and accurate information at your finger tips.

This is a continuous system so in November you will start your new folder for 2009 starting with the January tab.

Your goals are to empty the tab before the end of the month, give your Customers Ultimate Customer Service, earn more income, and have happier Customers.

Very simple! Just set yourself a daily agenda to phone 3-5 Customers each and every day. Of course, when you first start there may be a little catch up happening. Don't stress about it, just get on the phone.

The most exciting thing is that this system works, it’s cheap and you are able to share this system with every new Consultant to help him or her build his or her business. The other thing that will happen when you are regularly speaking with your Customers is that you will also be booking more Shows and more sponsoring appointments. BONUS.

Let's challenge ourselves to start a follow up folder immediately. Keep a track on your sales that are purely from Customer Service calls. Let me know how you go, because I know that there will be a lot of Wow stories from this wonderful service.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Scents of Ambience

From the CBC:

We have been advised that the Scents of Ambience decorative diffuser will definitely not be available in its current design, for the life of our current Everyday '08 Catalogue. The R & D Department in partnership with the suppliers are working on a new design that meets the PartyLite global quality criteria. We are sorry for any inconvenience that this product's withdrawal may have caused but our primary objective has always been to provide platinum quality products at all times.

What Every Good Marketer Knows

By one of my favourite marketers and bloggers, Seth Godin. I'd love to meet him and have dinner. Bet I'd learn heaps!
  • Anticipated, personal and relevant advertising always does better than unsolicited junk.

  • Making promises and keeping them is a great way to build a brand.

  • Your best customers are worth far more than your average customers.

  • Share of wallet is easier, more profitable and ultimately more effective a measure than share of market.

  • Marketing begins before the product is created.

  • Advertising is just a symptom, a tactic. Marketing is about far more than that.

  • Low price is a great way to sell a commodity. That’s not marketing, though, that’s efficiency.

  • Conversations among the members of your marketplace happen whether you like it or not. Good marketing encourages the right sort of conversations.

  • Products that are remarkable get talked about.

  • Marketing is the way your people answer the phone, the typesetting on your bills and your returns policy.

  • You can’t fool all the people, not even most of the time. And people, once unfooled, talk about the experience.

  • If you are marketing from a fairly static annual budget, you’re viewing marketing as an expense. Good marketers realize that it is an investment.

  • People don’t buy what they need. They buy what they want.

  • You’re not in charge. And your prospects don’t care about you.

  • What people want is the extra, the emotional bonus they get when they buy something they love.

  • Business to business marketing is just marketing to consumers who happen to have a corporation to pay for what they buy.

  • Traditional ways of interrupting consumers (TV ads, trade show booths, junk mail) are losing their cost-effectiveness. At the same time, new ways of spreading ideas (blogs, permission-based RSS information, consumer fan clubs) are quickly proving how well they work.

  • People all over the world, and of every income level, respond to marketing that promises and delivers basic human wants.

  • Good marketers tell a story.

  • People are selfish, lazy, uninformed and impatient. Start with that and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

  • Marketing that works is marketing that people choose to notice.

  • Effective stories match the worldview of the people you are telling the story to.

  • Choose your customers. Fire the ones that hurt your ability to deliver the right story to the others.

  • A product for everyone rarely reaches much of anyone.

  • Living and breathing an authentic story is the best way to survive in an conversation-rich world.

  • Marketers are responsible for the side effects their products cause.

  • Reminding the consumer of a story they know and trust is a powerful shortcut.

  • Good marketers measure.

  • Marketing is not an emergency. It’s a planned, thoughtful exercise that started a long time ago and doesn’t end until you’re done.

  • One disappointed customer is worth ten delighted ones.

  • In the googleworld, the best in the world wins more often, and wins more.

  • Most marketers create good enough and then quit. Greatest beats good enough every time.

  • There are more rich people than ever before, and they demand to be treated differently.

  • Organizations that manage to deal directly with their end users have an asset for the future.

  • You can game the social media in the short run, but not for long.

  • You market when you hire and when you fire. You market when you call tech support and you market every time you send a memo.

  • Blogging makes you a better marketer because it teaches you humility in your writing.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

May Day!

Well, here it is. May 2008. PartyLite Australia has been around for six whole years. The specials are fabulous. We all get spoiled: guests (with cheap votives), hosts (with a nice gift), and active consultants (with an extra 6 percent commission). How awesome is that?!?

What are your goals in May? Will you be active (min $900 in sales) and get the extra 6%? Will you bonus? Will you make enough money to buy a new outfit? To pay for a new heater? To go on a mini-holiday? To save up for Christmas? Will you sponsor a new Consultant this month? Will you offer the opportunity to more people?

Here are my goals:
  • Double Bonus (Sell $5,600)
  • 2 Starter Shows
  • 100 Customer Calls
  • 12 Visits to Curves
  • 12 Hours of Guitar Practice (geez, I'll be good)
  • Complete My 2006/2007 Taxes (oops!)
  • Save for Our New Kitchen (to be installed in June/July)
  • Lose 5 Kilos
What are your goals? Write them down. Make them happen.

Supporting you! WLC.