How to Email Good Looking Order Summaries

I use a free software to create a pdf (portable document format) of the order summary.

www.cutepdf.com is where I downloaded the free software. I get no commission from CutePDF.

After downloading and installing the software, when you print the document, you select the CutePDF printer. Instead of your physical printer starting, a window will open up for you to name the file. Save your order summary in to a specific folder (perhaps one named: Order Summaries) and name it so that you can find it easily (I suggest the Hostess Name followed by the Month and Year).

You can now attach that pdf document to any email.

Have fun!

How to Save Time Writing Emails

After a party I write an email note to my hosts letting them know that the order has been submitted and thanking them for their business. I also attach a pdf version of the Order Summary.

Then I write an email to all the guests who gave me their email addresses. I blind carbon copy them so that their email addresses are hidden from each other. I thank them for their order and remind them about how to order more later.

I frequently email people with my banking information so they can pay me through direct deposit.

Often I write to people to explain our hostess benefits.

What I found was that I was retyping the same things over and over again. Or I was looking in my sent items to find a note I'd written before and then I was copying it into the new message.

I don't do that anymore.

In Outlook, I now use a variety of signatures to pre-write all of these standard emails. One is called Host Thank You, one is Guest Thank You, another is Banking Details, and a new one I just wrote is PartyLite Benefits. My contact details are at the bottom of all of these signatures. I simply select the signature I want to use and then customise the "form" to suit each recipient.

It's been an amazing timesaver and I was introduced to it by Karen from A Little Elf. She is brilliant.

Try it with one and see how you go.

1. Open Outlook
2. Tools > Options > Mail Format
3. Select Signatures
4. Select New and name your signature (e.g. Host Thank You)
5. Type in the words you want to use in most every email you send to hosts. Include contact details at the bottom
6. Save
7. Now Create a new message
8. Click on the Signature icon and select the one you want to use
9. Voila! No typing other than to personalise the email.
10. Relax and feel super smart. :) (Then create more....)

I hope this is a good a timesaver for you as it is for me. :) All for now.

Finding Your Stride

This morning I went for a short walk with my dog, Copper. I was pretty sore from working out on the weekend and thought that a walk would help stretch out the muscles and get them feeling a bit better.

I was right.

But if I workout more often, I bet it won't hurt as much....

So now I'm sitting at the computer about to enter a few orders that have come in from clients. One is a $420 order from a lady I met once at a 40th birthday party. Her friend is a customer of mine who showed her a catalogue last week. Another is a $160 order from a man I met once at a candle party. He has bought $160 worth of tealights every few months for the last 4 years. I've offered him a party every now and then, but he's happy to just order the tealights in bulk via email. Another three small orders came in as friends dropped by over the last week. I just had the fragrance samples out. If they start ordering, who am I to stop them?

I've exercised my business for the last six years and because I work at it a little bit each day, I'm not sore.

I've planted seeds and gained a reputation for being approachable, reliable, available, friendly, knowledgeable, and well-balanced... a professional candle lady.

No matter how big or small you want to build your business, you need to do the same.

P.S. I make mistakes. I forget things. When I do, I apologise, fix it, and move on.

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

So You Want to be a Leader?

Sunbeams and Moonbeams

I'd like to take a minute to congratulate Sandra on becoming a Unit Leader this month and creating the Sunbeams. I'd also like to congratulate Nicole on her ever-strengthening unit, the Moonbeams. Together we will one day form the Nirvana region and I'm super excited to help the next group of aspiring Rainbows to join us in leadership.

What does it take?

When you become a Unit Leader in PartyLite, you learn how to develop the business as a business. Your personal sales remains very important and should represent at least 75 percent of your time. It does for me. I enjoy doing shows, meeting people, and providing excellent customer service.

The other 25 percent of my work time is spent doing leadership things. It is my job to help the team succeed. Here are three key areas I focus on:

• New Consultants - Training new consultants is critical to their success. We have between 3 and 10 new consultants in the Rainbows every month and I really enjoy meeting each one of them and getting their business started. I consider it a 100 day commitment for them and me to get them off to a great start. (Here are my articles on New Consultant Training.)
• Aspiring Leaders - giving aspiring leaders individual coaching and group training is something I've prioritised this year and will continue to do. (Here are a few articles I've written on Leadership.)
• Corporate Training - PartyLite and my upline offer great support and training for all leaders. I take advantage of all training and planning meetings because all of them help me grow my business. It's not a big time commitment and it takes the pressure off me to do it all myself.

You DO Have Time

Meeting regularly with the leaders in our Region helps all of us balance our workloads. There's no need for us to do it all ourselves. Our smaller group of Angela, me, Nicole, Ana, Holly, and now Sandra, is a dynamic leadership team with heaps of ideas and experience. With Eliana and Janelle helping us upskill we also have heaps of corporate support.

Even as leaders, we are still in business for ourselves, but not by ourselves.

Non-Rainbows

Your leader has the same goals and objectives that I do. Talk to your upline about your goals and work with her or him to make it happen. Our business is entering its 10th year in Australia and we need to work together to get the word out! Let's make PartyLite a common brand name with uncommon, platinum-level attributes. We are all leaders, actually, because we have the best products and service levels in the world. All we have to do is make it so.

Creating Candle People All Over Australia!

A great thing about our business is that so much of it is really done over the phone. Meetings, training, coaching, client calls, hostess coaching, and making sponsoring appointments are all easily done over the good old phone.

Another great thing about our business is that we don’t have any territorial boundaries other than the edges of the country.

Another great thing about our business is that we get together at Regional Meetings, Conferences, Summits, and Incentive Trips with Candle Ladies from all over the country. Our network is vast.

So if you know someone, meet someone, or are introduced to someone who is perfect for this business, but who doesn’t live in your area... that’s perfectly okay.

Sponsor them.

I picture this as two phone calls. The first one to call and offer information. If they want information, post them the 10 Reasons brochure and schedule a follow-up call to discuss it. The second call is the “Latte” appointment. Ask the person questions about their interest. Their motivation. Their fears. Their goals. Their objections. Use the 10 Reasons brochure to address everything they come up with. It’s all in there. Assess their interest and if they want to proceed, book the starter show.

To travel or not to travel... that is the question.

There are pros and cons to travelling to conduct a starter show.

Pros of travelling

• You get to meet face to face
• You get to develop a relationship
• You get to do the kit issue with her in person
• You get to do her new consultant training in person
• You get to show your new recruit how YOU do a show
• You get to travel somewhere new or somewhere you want to travel
• You get to meet her friends and get them excited about her new business

Cons of travelling

• You have to pay for the travel expenses (petrol and/or airfare, accommodation, food)
• You have to find the time to travel
• You have to organise everything at home while you are away
• You can’t do parties while your'e away

I contend that you might be better off organising for someone else to do the starter show for you.

Pros of hiring someone else to do the party

• You develop a strong phone relationship (which you’ll need anyway)
• You get to do the kit issue with her over the phone
• You get to do her new consultant training over the phone
• You don’t have to pay for travel
• You don’t have to leave your home
• You can book more parties
• She gets to see someone else do a party – variety is the spice of PartyLite – hopefully she’ll observe several different shows
• She gets to meet a consultant who lives near her – a buddy

Cons of hiring someone else to do the party for you

• You don’t get to meet face to face (of course, there’s always Skype)
• You don’t get to show your new recruit how YOU do a show
• You don’t get to travel somewhere new or somewhere you want to travel
• You don’t get to meet her friends and get them excited about her new business
• She might "steal" your new consultant from you (I don't believe this will ever be an issue if you (1) hire the right person, (2) clearly articulate what you are asking her to do, and (3) pay her to do the show.)

How do you hire someone to do a starter show for you?

Talk to someone in your upline who has strong relationships with consultants and leaders all across Australia. Ask them who they recommend in the area where your new recruit is located. Have that person contact that person and explain the situation to her.

• You don’t need her to do the latte appointment – you’ve done it.
• You don’t need her to train your new person – you’ve either done it or scheduled it.
• You don’t need her to do the kit issue – you’ll do it yourself.
• You don’t need her to hostess coach – you’ll not only hostess coach the new consultant, but you’ll help train her on hostess coaching for her first six shows.
• You don’t need her to process the order – you just need her to provide the new consultant with all of the order forms and payments so that your new starter can fill in the Show Order Forms (with your assistance).

You just need her to book the party into her diary, talk to the new consultant to plan the party, present the party professionally, and take orders and payments.

The consultant who does this show for you is a very important person. She will show your new consultant how to set up a display, how to greet guests when they arrive, how to gather people to start the show, how to demonstrate the products, specials, hostess benefits and consultant opportunities. How to engage the guests and make the party fun. How to get the door prize form filled out. How to take orders. It’s a fantastic demonstration, because she has a strong business of her own. She is probably a leader herself or some with leadership aspirations.

How do you get someone that good to do a show for you?

You pay her.

Personally, I pay anyone who does a starter show for me the same amount they would have gotten paid if they would have done a show themselves. If she is a leader, I pay her 33% of total sales. If she is a consultant, I pay her 28% of sales. Let’s face it, she isn’t going to get any credit for her work from PartyLite. The sales will not count toward her bonusing that month. The sales won’t count toward her sales achievements that year. The sales won’t be added to her total unit sales. She doesn’t get leads, she doesn’t get bookings. And she could have (and probably would have) booked a show of her own at the same time. I could give her gift certificates, but with our 40% discount, they aren’t worth as much to a consultant as they are to a client. So to make it a professional relationship, and to make sure my new consultant gets to see a great demonstration, I pay professional rates. No discounts.

As our entire team grows, this issue will come up more and more. Travelling is fine, but the leaders around the country know that they can find excellent support in every corner of the country. The culture and values of PartyLite support helping each other out. “Wanting for and not from each other.” Doing what’s right.

So let's use our strong network and sponsor our faraway friends!

What do you think?

Celebrating Our Success

Dear Rainbows,

Saturday night at our annual conference, I was surprised, honoured, humbled (not a normal thing for me), and proud. We - not me - WE were inducted into PartyLite's Circle of Excellence for our cumulative sales achievements as a unit in 2010/2011. Congratulations to us all. Be proud and share this achievement with your family, your clients, your hosts, and your friends. You are a part of a GREAT team.

This unexpected honour was an absolute joy to receive. As most of you know, the accolades we receive as a unit mean more to me than my own. Much more. In fact, the recognition received by individual Rainbows over the course of this conference made me burst with pride.

The highlight of the conference for me, was watching your faces and listening to your conversations as you discovered for yourselves the possibility of what you can achieve through your PartyLite business.

Goals are dreams with deadlines.
         ~Diana Scharf Hunt

My dreams are to have a beautiful home, to travel with my friends and family, to have a relaxed and healthy life, and to give other people the opportunity to do the same.

My goal in 2011/2012 is for each and every one of us to set and achieve our individual goals. To achieve this, my focus will be on goalsetting for us all, my personal business, leadership development, new consultant training, and providing inspiring unit meetings.

If you were not at conference, come to our Unit Meeting this Wednesday to catch our excitement. If you were at conference, come to share your highlights and goals. Together, we will continue to rise to the top.

The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers.

But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.

          ~Sarah Ban Breathnach, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, 1996

All the best! WLC.

Candles and Candle Holders in the Cold

Okay... in most of Australia it's not as cold as it is in the picture here... BUT it is winter.

I thought I should address candle care.

When candles and candle holders are cold, it takes longer for them to liquefy. The ColourLites votive holders are very thick glass and they hold the cold. When the votives melt to the sides, they harden up again because the holder is cold. So in the winter there will be more wax left over than in the summer. This is normal. (This is why we say that candles last between 8-10 hours. It’s all dependent on the environment. Temperature and draft are important components.) Pillar, 3 and 5 wick candles also are affected by the cold. They simply take longer to liquefy to the edge. I burnt my 5-wick for about 12 hours yesterday. It’s burning really well, but it needs to burn for a long time.

Note: in the summer it is the opposite. A warm candle will need to be extinguished when the wax melts too close to the edge. That sometimes is faster than 2-3 hours for 7 cm pillars.
The best thing to do is prepare your clients for these things by explaining them during the show. It’s part of the PartyLite service to let people know these little tidbits about candles.

Happy burning! (And stay warm....) WLC.

How to Organise Yourself at Home

Do you have a few PartyLite shipping boxes in your living room right now? Do you store your kit in your bedroom? Have you got empty boxes filled with airbags filling up your garage so much that you can't fit the car in? You're letting your business creep into every room of the house. It's time to get organised.
Whether you have just received your starter kit or if you've been a consultant for a while and have collected even more than those original three boxes, you need to THINK about where to store your business supplies. Here are some suggestions:

Literature
If you have a home office or desk, this is the most obvious place to make room for your literature. Notice I said "make room." You need to carve out a place specifically for your PartyLite literature and work. If you don't have that space, you might need to create it. A simple solution might be to buy a shelf, install it, and then use boxes or other small storage items on top. Make it easy for you to check levels so that when you need to restock, you can check it all at once and save on shipping for your Consultant Orders.

Your kit 
I keep my kit in 2 bags, one for literature (over the shoulder) and one for product (a rolling shopping bag). The kit isn't very big and I can roll it inside after a show and put it into my office. It is black and doesn't look silly, so if I didn't have an office, I could probably find a closet or a corner in the living room where it could find a home. Look around your house and decide where you will put your kit each time you come home. Make sure it is a place where it won't get too hot so your wax products don't warp or melt.

Candles (literally anything wax)
Think about how much product you really need. I need a lot because I burn a lot myself, I do a lot of shows each week, and I give away a lot of tealights. So a few years ago, I bought a dresser and I store my votives in one drawer, tealights in another, pillars and jar candles in another, and so on. You might not need a dresser to store yours... perhaps another shelf with small storage boxes will do. Make sure you store the candles in a room that will not get too hot. And always store the candles in places that you want to smell MARVELOUS. If you find that the fragrances are too strong, store the candles in plastic tubs with lids.

Full boxes/Empty boxes (non-wax = won't melt)
Over time, you will collect lots of product. As a consultant you will be able to earn free products and as a consultant you will find the host specials are sometimes in the "too awesome not to buy" category. So... over time you collect stuff. Those are the full boxes.

My kit doesn't have boxes in it, but I keep my boxes so that I can store my products safely and eventually raffle, donate, or sell them when the time is right. These are the empty boxes.

It is important to keep your home as a showcase for the beautiful products not for the beautiful boxes. :) You need to develop a storage solution. All of these non-wax items can be stored in your garage, at the top of closets, in sunrooms, etc.

When you find that you have too much inventory, it's simple, clear it out. Products (especially retired products) can be used as booking incentives, gifts, raffle prizes, or donations to charities. You really don't need to keep it all. Of course, it you like it, use it. Put it out and make your house look beautiful. You earned it!

Clean, De-Clutter and Decorate
Part of the PartyLite motto is to Decorate Your Home, so use your business as an excuse to have a clean, decluttered, and well-styled home, filled with beautiful fragrances, and the soft glow of candlelight. Get rid of the clutter. Find a place for everything. Do one room (or even one corner) at a time and let PartyLite inspire you to have that beautiful home. You'll find that your family will appreciate the space and the ambiance (and the separation of your business from the rest of the house). You will also be able to invite your FRANK list over with confidence that you walk the talk.

It takes a bit of thought and it might take a little investment in some storage solutions to make it all work, but it's worth it.

Do you have any tips or tricks to manage your business supplies? Add them as a comment here.

Happy burning!

A Small Change... A Big Difference....

I'm pretty good at follow-up after shows, but I've just gotten better.

Old Process

Print out order summary. Put it, door prize slips and order forms into a sheet protector sleeve. Put sheet protector sleeve into binder. Look through binder in future to follow-up with hosts and clients.

New Process

Print out order summary. Put it, door prize slips and order forms into a sheet protector sleeve. Put sheet protector sleeve into active show follow-up folder. Follow-up with host on the delivery. Call all clients once the order has been received. Then put sheet protector into binder for record keeping.

NOTE: Never throw away order forms unless you have shredded them. Especially when they have credit card information on them.

Meetings, Training, and Recognition

Hi. I realise some of the newer consultants (especially those new to party plan) might not be aware of what our different meetings actually are. Here is a little overview.

New Consultant Training (NCT) - a 10 step process the way I recommend it....

1. 2 hour orientation with Wendy (in person, phone, or via Skype)
2. Show observation #1
3. Show observation #2
4. Reading the catalogue and the consultant guide
5. Show #1 and debrief
6. Show #2 and debrief
7. Show #3 and debrief
8. Show #4 and debrief
9. Show #5 and debrief
10. Show #6 and debrief

Rainbows Unit Meetings - All consultants in my unit are invited to attend (and to invite guests to attend) a monthly two hour meeting at my house. Usually I hold 10 per year. (I do occasional Skype and teleconference alternatives for remote Rainbows.) Unit meetings are a great way to stay motivated, keep up with training and promotions, and to get ideas from other Consultants.

1. January Kick Off
2. February
3. March
4. May
5. June
6. July Post Conference
7. August
8. September
9. November
10. December Holiday Party

Believe Region Meetings - These are meetings where a group of Units in a Region get together to celebrate, train, and motivate each other. All of the Unit Leaders work with the Regional Leader to organise, promote, and present at a Regional. The friendly competition, inspired networking, and cross-pollinating of ideas makes a Regional exciting and effective.

1. January
2. April
3. July (combined with conference)
4. October

Conference - the big annual event where all Consultants, Unite, Regions, and guests get an amazing, in-depth view of PartyLite. Conference has such an impact that it can literally change your life. This should be a high priority for all Consultants to attend.

At the orientation session, I always let new Consultants know that I'd rather have them say no to a show than to miss a meeting. I truly believe this. A meeting will benefit you in the long run. Put your personal priorities into your calendar first and then put your meetings in. Fit your shows around those two things and you'll be set up for success.

Need More Bookings?

Hi. At our Believe Regional Meeting this week, I was asked to train on how to get more bookings.

I decided to focus on the basics: 10-3-2. There are more advanced ways to get more bookings, but I think most of us want to know what we can do better, not what else we can do.

How Long Does It Take You To Do a Show?

Most people would answer this with about 3 hours.

I don't.

It takes me 5 hours to complete a show. That's because I consider all of these steps to be a part of completing a show.

1. Showing up, setting up, doing my "presentation," offering a show to each guest, taking orders and payments, spoiling my host, packing up, leaving. Approximatelyely 3 hours.
2. Putting the order into the online ordering system. Approximately 30 minutes (less for repeat clients).
3. Calling 2 leads to offer to give them more information about the business. Schedule appointments if yes. Approximately 15 minutes (less if they say no).
4. Contacting the host (by phone, email, and/or post) about her order status. (3 contacts: it's been ordered, it's been shipped, and did you receive everything and was it all good). Approximately 15 minutes.
5. Sending out 1,2, or 3 host packs, thanking new hosts for booking, following up to make sure they have everything they need, and hostess coaching for their shows. Approximately 30 minutes (that's for everything and ALL follow-up calls).
6. Calling all 10 clients to make sure they are happy with their orders and to see if they need anything else from me. (I remind them that they don't need to have a show to order, but that if they do, they can get all the host rewards. I also say something like, "if your friends comment about your new candles or how great your house smells, don't forget to tell them about Wendy the Candle Lady.") Approximately 30 minutes.

And that's when a show is complete.

Do you see how that process would generate bookings? Do you do all of those steps? Do you want to try it out and let me know what your results are? You can see my results in Reflections. :) It works.

To get bookings, I certainly could have talked about many more things. Things like:

• Have pretty host packs as part of your display.
• Hand out bonus hostess vouchers to every guest.
• Hand out bonus hostess vouchers to people you meet outside of shows.
• Host home shows (well... I did touch on this a bit - I'll write more).
• Make your show fun, relaxed, interactive, and informative.

There are lots of ways to get bookings, but the most important thing is to keep offering. Offer for everyone to host a show. Be proud of your products, your presentation, and your host rewards.

Be proud to be a candle lady (or a candle man). I am.

Now get out there!

Little Things Mean A Lot

Did you know that the Signature Reed Diffuser oil refills DO NOT fit in the Tropical Reed Diffuser? The bottle is shaped differently. My customer solved that by using an empty oil bottle from another fragrance.

Thinking of you!

March Madness

Hello. Did you know that I use my Wendy's Candle Website Facebook page to communicate short and sweet ideas, hints, and tips? If you like that idea, then 'like' that page. :)

"March Madness" is a US term for an annual college basketball tournament which reaches its frenzied conclusion during March. The whole country seems to go basketball crazy during that time. Football (grid-iron) season is over, baseball hasn't started, and pro-basketball and hockey are only mid season. So College basketball gets an exciting spotlight for a month.

I thought it would be a good description for my business: March Madness in Wendy's candle land means that my business is accelerating, growing, and changing to meet my aggressive goals for the year. I certainly intend for that to be the case.

Here are a few hints and tips I've gained since January.

1. Keep learning. I've been listening to the free tele-seminar series at The Mind Aware. I listen to these one hour interviews and learn from every one of them. It's not too late to get involved. And it's free. You just have to prioritise your time. FYI, this is their vision:

At The Mind Aware, we have a vision. Transforming network marketers' lives. Every moment. Every single day.

2. Keep listening. The best way to find other people who would benefit from their own candle business is to listen carefully to what people say. Finding 2 leads at every show means listening to every guest and finding out what is important to them. Ask questions. Then ask more.

3. Keep learning. Every training opportunity and every meeting available to you will help your business grow. (I prioritised, prepared for, and paid to attend our annual Leader Summit in Maroochydore in January. I prioritised, prepared for, and paid to attend our Quarterly Regional Recognition and Training Event. I prioritised, prepared for, and paid to attend Terry Hawkins LEAD seminar in February.)

4. Keep listening. Stop thinking about what you are going to say to other people at networking events, and start actively listening to what they are saying. Be generous with your knowledge, contacts, and attitude and it will come back in spades.

5. Keep learning. I have three business mentors: Angela, Eliana, and Janelle. They give me great advice, super coaching, and training when I need it. In case you don't know, they are my upline. And it's free for me to engage with them. Just like it's free for the Rainbows to engage with me (and Angela, and Eliana, and Janelle). Uplines are GOLD. Use yours.

I invest in education. I buy books and audio recordings, I go to networking events, and I read blogs. You are investing in your business by reading this blog. Keep it up. And then add more....

How have you been learning and listening lately? Why not comment and let us all know.

P.S. Don't forget to find Wendy's Candle Website Facebook and click the 'like' button. If you like me, that is.