CBC Outage Next Week

On Wednesday May 6, 2009 there will be an outage lasting from 7 am until 5 pm.

Have a good last weekend in April. What a month! Remember: to get the 3-5-7 Wax promotion you need to have your $550 April shows in by midnight on the 30th of April.

That's all I've got. :)

Need Some Bookings?

You can probably tell from my results in Reflections that I consistently have 8-12 shows in my monthly diary. Getting bookings with that sort of a show schedule is pretty easy. But what if you don't have as many shows as you need and you want to get some more? Well, here are my top booking hints:

1. Always, always have your diary with you. Even if you simply carry around one page with this month and next month filled in, it is really important to be able to show your potential hosts your schedule. Have a pencil with you! No one should be scared to pencil in an appointment. It's much easier to reschedule a penciled in appointment than to book a show later.

2. Always, always have your booking voucher book with you. My personal goal is to give away one entire book every month. I give them away at shows, I include them in hostess packs, I give them to nice people I meet. I mail them to people who booked last year and who didn't end up having the party.

3. Answer the question, “What do you do?” with a happy compilation of what you do. If you don't mention that you're a candle lady, how will they know? If you come across as negative about it, how interested will they be? If you are happy, up-beat, and proud of it, your good vibes will be felt! Here are some examples. Do you say something different and have you found it to be effective? Please share your answer with us here as a comment.

• I’m a full time mom and I sell candles at home shows twice a week.
• I’m a nurse by day and a PartyLite Consultant by night.
• I sell the best candles in the world.
• I give away candles.

4. Give interesting people a tealight and tell them you want to know what they think. Get their number so you can call them to ask. This takes practice. You simply have to follow up to get it to pay off. Be confident about the quality that you are representing and be genuine in your desire to hear what they think.

5. Book your own show and invite people to it. If they can’t make it, give them a $50 voucher to host their own. I do this all the time. At least 6 times per year. Last Thursday, I got 2 bookings and I sold over $400 worth of candles while catching up with people I truly like. What a great way to spend an evening.

6. Definitely register for Candle Connection. Make it a priority to get your client email addresses so they can see what our specials are each month. If you didn’t get the email address at the show, what a great reason to give them a call.

7. Get on the phone and make customer service calls. This is the number one way to keep up with your clients. Emails don't do it. SMSs don't do it. Wishing they'd call you is a pipe dream. Just pick up the phone and call. There is no bad time. Always ask them if it's a good time to talk. Actually, I don't ask that - I ask if it's a bad time. If they say no, I keep my pitch short and sweet and get straight to the point. (Great. I'm calling you because...) If they say it is a bad time, I ask what time I should call them back. There are heaps of reasons to call your clients. Confirm their email address, point out the hostess specials, tell them about some guest specials, tell them you are putting in an order and thought they might need a top up by now, invite them to a Unit Meeting so they can learn more about the business, follow-up because they were interested in booking a show. Don't be afraid to ask for referrals on these calls.

8. Simplify your shows. Make them fun for you to do, easy for hosts to host, and fun for guests to attend. If it all looks to hard, then it probably is.

9. Don’t get stressed when people say no. In fact, give them an opportunity to say no. Don't make them feel guilted into having a show. Make them feel comfortable. If they say no, thank them. Here's a cold, hard fact: You should feel absolutely fantastic if you get 2 YES responses out of 10 calls. And once more, you should feel absolutely great about the 8 NO answers because they represent you giving great customer service. If you are only getting 1 YES out of 10 calls, then you just need to practice more. If you are getting 3 YES out of 10 calls, you need to train us all on how you get those results!

10. Follow up bookings you do get with great hostess coaching. Hostess coaching is so important. You are the pep team for your hostess. You need her to feel motivated and happy even as she gets rejections from her group of friends. Make sure everyone feels like this is a social event with a great product and that it will be fun. Remind your host of that. Keep her interested in you and your business. Make sure she knows you care about the outcome as much as she does.

One last suggestion... unless it is really a burden (e.g. heaps of kilometres away), don't cancel a show because of a small turnout. The host might call to say that she thinks she should cancel because she only has 3-4 people coming. I have found this to be a great opportunity and usually results in a short show with great sales and great relationships.

OK - I'd better get to the phone now.... Happy burning!

Ten Things You Need to Know About Starter Shows

There are really only three criteria for a show to be turned into a starter show. The first one is $550 in sales (though there are alternatives if a starter show does not reach that amount). The second is six (6) initial bookings. The third is a signed New Consultant Agreement.

Once the new consultant has achieved these three criteria, she is ready to go. If she hasn't already done it, she should sign up for New Consultant Training ASAP (within 10 days of her Starter Show).

Here are ten things you need to know about/do for Starter Shows.

1. You need to send in the Starter Show forms via mail or fax. Starter Shows cannot be done online.
2. You need to use a Show Order Form and tick the Starter Show box.
3. The hostess credit is calculated differently. Take the compensatable sales and subtract $550. The amount remaining is the earned product credit. Then add the $50 bonus voucher. (Basically this means that for a starter show, she will get 50% off all purchases. Starter Shows should generally not use the 30% off option because that won't get her the best bang for her buck.)
4. The hostess is eligible to purchase the Hostess Specials.
5. You need to send in credit card information. You can either fax in the Guest Order Forms OR you can rewrite/retype the credit card information out and mail/fax it in on one page. I retype them to improve legibility.
6. You need to keep an eye out on the Show Order Status to make sure the mail/fax is received. You also need to make sure that the order is being processed. PartyLite will not process the show if any of the credit cards doesn't work. They will call you if there is a problem. Call them back right away to deal with it quickly.
7. If it hasn't already been issued (sometimes your Unit Leader can arrange a Starter Kit to be pre-issued), the Starter Kit will be sent out to the new Consultant right away - usually within 24 hours of processing the paperwork. If it has been issued, please note that on your fax cover page.
8. Any Starter bonus products will generally be sent out with the guest orders.
9. You need to provide your new Consultant with a list of guest orders. For a Starter Show, I usually leave one copy of the guest order forms with the host.
10. You will not be paid the 22% profit on any Starter Show. The Compensatable Sales will count toward your total sales for the month. If you achieve bonus, you will be paid the 6% bonus on the Starter Show Compensatable sales.

Why aren't you paid for Starter Shows? Starter Shows are an investment in your business. By bringing new Consultants into the business PartyLite and you are growing your potential revenue base, so PartyLite and you both contribute to the cost of bringing on the new Consultant.

All of these details are in your Consultant Guide. I just wanted to point them out since we have so many people sponsoring these days. Good on you! Happy burning! WLC.

Why Do I Have All the Answers?

Hi. First of all, I want to laugh at the audacity of that thought: that I have all the answers. I'm learning. Everyday. Just like you.

But seriously, many of you have commented that I'm so smart or so quick with an answer or that I know what to say.

Thank you for saying that. It's completely due to two things I've learned along the way.

Look it up

When I would do my homework when I was little, I used to ask my mom how to spell words. Her response was always the same, "Look it up." I remember asking her how I could possibly look it up if I didn't know how it was spelled, but she would just smile and say, "Look it up."

She was teaching me to be independent. As a result, I'm pretty self-sufficient. I don't often need to ask people how to do things, where to find things, or what things mean. If I don't know, I look it up. Google is a great source, but I use dictionaries, thesauruses, online encyclopedias, books I've read and, get ready for it, the PartyLite Consultant Guide, almost everyday. Seriously.

Just Do It

What a simple concept, but you've heard it since you were little. Practice makes perfect. The Beatles weren't born great musicians. Bill Gates wasn't born a computer wiz. Jamie Oliver doesn't have magical cooking capabilities. Wendy Lloyd Curley was not born knowing how to conduct the perfect PartyLite show. (I do like the idea of being compared to the Beatles, Bill Gates, and Jamie Oliver, however, and since it's my blog, I will do just that.) :)

This Nike tag line is so valid. Just do it!

The Moral

I often say that I "make it up." That's not really true. I just do it. I just push through and learn from my mistakes and look up the answers when I don't know them. My confidence increases after every experience - even if those experiences weren't perfect.

There's no such thing as the perfect gig for the Beatles. There's no such thing as the perfect code for Microsoft (how many patches can there be?). Jamie adds and dilutes and tastes his way until his concoctions are tasty. For me, there's never a perfect show, just a great practice session for the next one.

This article was inspired by a quote I just read from a site I subscribe to: "Great managers insist that their employees “Think”, and instead of giving them an answer, they give them the tools to find many answers."

You aren't my employees. I'm not your manager. But the tools are all here.

So get out there! Look it up. Just do it!

You Only Have 14 Days!

Do you know anyone who might be interested in earning some extra money with no cash outlay, no boss, no deliveries, no cold calls, no inventory, and free training?

OK, you have 14 days to go before the awesome $1000 Starter Kit goes away forever! How about making up some flyers and passing them out to people tomorrow to let them know about this last chance offer. How about calling each of your hosts and letting them know aboutthe $1000 Starter Kit available in March only? How about contacting people who you thought were interesting and letting them know about the $1000 Starter Kit. How about calling 5 people a day and asking them if they know anyone who would be interested in earning some extra money with no cash outlay, no boss, no deliveries, no cold calls, no inventory, and free training? What other ideas do you have to get people interested in this amazing Starter Kit and this amazing business?

If you were in charge of your own company (and you are) and if you had a $1000 Starter Kit available (and you do) plus a free Essentials Hurricane for the $550 show with 2+ bookings (which you have) and 14 days to attract a person to this business, organise a Starter Show, and make it happen - could you do it????

Of course you could!

What ideas do you have? What are you doing to excite your clients about this offer? Please share your ideas by commenting here!