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!