Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Party Fundamentals For a Fantastic Fall…Part 1

Holy Cow, I've been MIA for the past 2 weeks!  It has been a busy time for me.  I had a family wedding with many out of town guests to entertain and I have also been caring for a dear friend after surgery.  I love the fact that we can schedule our work around our families and other priorities!  I have also been working hard on a couple of big personal business goals that should come to fruition on Saturday.  I'll let you know next week!

BUSINESS BIT:
I love this article from The Success Factory on Hostess Coaching, it's a great reminder for all of us that our hostesses are the heart of our businesses and we need to keep them Close to our Hearts!  Treat them with care and respect and they will help your build your business. 

 Party Fundamentals For a Fantastic Fall…Part 1

Parties/Gatherings – the heart and soul of our business. Parties are a paid prospecting appointment. While earning commissions for selling our product – we also book more parties, get leads on events and fundraisers and find prospective new team members. Focusing in on the fundamentals of your parties helps you to maximize this time spent. 

Fundamental #1 – Good Hostess Coaching
Treating your hostess as a valued business partner is the key to successful party results. Good hostess coaching insures that your hostess will reach her goals and when she is successful, you are successful!

Help  your hostess build a diverse guest list from a variety of areas in her life. If she draws from just one arena – for example, just her friends from church, then another conflicting event (such as a church meeting) may cause her to have to cancel or reschedule her party.

Ask  good questions to find out as much as you can about your hostess so that you can help her with her guest list. Say something like, “Tell me more about yourself – have you lived in this area long?  Do you have relatives in town?  Do you know other moms from your children’s school?  What do you do for fun?”

Remind her to over invite. A good rule of  thumb is double if not triple the number of guests you’d like to be in attendance.

Be sure your hostess is very familiar with two to three products in your line. That way, her enthusiasm will come through as she invites her guests to her party.  You might consider letting her borrow a couple of your samples to try out before her party.

The magic tried and true formula for good party attendance is call/send/call.  Depending strictly on response from a written or emailed invitation is the recipe for disaster.  The personal touch of a      verbal invitation from your hostess cannot be minimized. A final reminder call the day before the      party (made by you or her) is crucial to her success.  You can also use EZ invite and a Facebook Event.

Help your hostess fulfill a goal of gathering at least five outside orders prior to her party from people who could not attend in person.  Depending on the average price of your product, this will usually net at least $100 in additional sales before the party even occurs.  Be sure she understands the benefit to HER in hostess benefits when she works to collect these orders in advance.

Plant seeds about the business opportunity.  Be sure your hostess packet includes information about becoming a consultant. Tell her to watch what you do the night of the party and ask her to picture herself doing the same thing!

SHOUT-OUTS: Congratulations to so many awesome team members who have been recognized this week on the CTMH website

  Most Cricut AP Sold in August
Dr. Phil Wilhelm
Noreen Petty
Briana Bostick
Linda Sturdivant
Amy Raftery
Top Team Builders
Kudos to these Consultants who recruited two or more new first Downline to their Units.
7 New Team Members
Phil Wilhelm
4 New Team Members
Noreen Petty
3 New Team Members
Ginni Candelaria


2 New Team Members
 
Briana Bostick
Linda Caler
 
  


 
Christine David
Top 10 Individual Sales
These totals include personal monthly sales.
4. Phillip Wilhelm, Belleville, IL
$7,808.50
5. Lynn Como, Colts Neck, NJ
$7,537.80
7. Noreen Petty, Cibolo, TX
$6,127.45
CREATIVE CORNER:
Here are my September customer workshop cards.  The Typeset card was modified slightly from a card created by Laurie Varner.  I like lots of texture so I added a background stamp and words.  To make it more workshop friendly, I substituted the copper brad and a mocha opaque.  The Pumpkin card is from the catalog with sunset and Barn Red, extra layers and a texture stamp on the Olive CS.  The Sonoma card was designed by Lisa Stenz. 


These cards are for my October classes - I try to include one simple card.  This card can be done either way depending on which side of the paper and which stamp is used.  This way, customers have a choice with the same materials. 



Team Meeting News:
The 4th Quarter Oregon Team Meeting will be Saturday, Oct 22nd in Salem, OR.  Watch your emails for details.

The 4th Quarter Washington Team Meeting will be Saturday, November 19th.  This is a new date since I will be doing the CK show on the 11th

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
 "If you can dream it, you can do it."
                                                -Walt Disney

                    

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Sharing my weekend - what did you do with yours?

Summer weather has finally arrived here in the Pacific Northwest, just in time for the kids to head back to school.  For many of you this week has been a flurry of back-to-school activities.   It's so much fun to take those "first-day-of-school" photos each year and see just how much the kids have grown! Since my kids are adults and out on their own, I must confess, I've been out playing again. Hence the late post.  Those of you who live here know we must soak all of the sunshine in while we can before it turns to liquid until at least next July!  I hope you all had some fun over the long weekend and took lots of photos to capture the memories in your scrapbooks, share with others and remember the fun you had.  Here are just a few of mine.
My husband Dave and daughter Rachel at Summit Lake
Sunrise over Summit Lake


Our camping spot on the cliff over the lake at 6000 ft.
Motorcycle trip to Mt St Helens - that's it in the background.
It's hard to tell it was once a beautiful peak!




 
Hiking with friends to Skyscraper Mt. - in the far distance
lots of wildflowers!

Sunset at Cape Alava - 3 day backpacking trip.  Those of you who are Twilight fans, this is just north of La Push, northwest of Forks.  We got one of the rare clear, sunny days there. It's such a privilege to be able to get out and enjoy the beauty of nature.  We were visited by a family of 6 raccoons, heard a pack of coyotes, had a chipmunk try to steal our sandwich and a Momma deer and her fawn came strolling through our camp.  We were lulled to sleep by the sound of the waves and the sea lions barking on the island and wakened by the seabirds.

I'd like to encourage each of you to find that activity that feeds your soul and recharges you.  For me, it's getting outside, away from the crowds where I can think and be inspired by the beauty of nature.   I'd love for you to leave me a comment.  What is it for you?

Shout-Outs:
Congratulations to the following team members for promtions in the month of August!
1 Lisa Combs Supervisor Manager
1 Judith Gerke Supervisor Manager
2 Kat Stromecki Consultant Supervisor
2 Faith Hilsinger Consultant Supervisor
3 Jenifer Benner Consultant Supervisor
3 Jennifer Davis Consultant Supervisor
3 Vivian Reynecke Consultant Supervisor
3 Sherry Lester Consultant Supervisor
3 Heather Pierce Consultant Supervisor
3 Jennie Hilligus Consultant Supervisor
4 Sherrill Black Consultant Supervisor
4 Alison Tunison Supervisor Manager
4 Tammy Sinks Consultant Supervisor
4 Marce Taylor Consultant Supervisor
4 Denice Conary Consultant Supervisor
4 Penny Mabbitt Consultant Supervisor
5 Malisia Broom Consultant Supervisor
5 Lori Sharp Consultant Supervisor
5 Tracie Brown Consultant Supervisor

Welcome to the newest members of our team!


Consultant Name City State/Province Upline Name
Amory Ortega TOMBALL TX Adina Godin
Lela Lindquist TOMBALL TX Adina Godin
Rebecca Whitson TOMBALL TX Adina Godin
Sandy Graham EUGENE OR Kari Palmer
Dawn Nelson NEW ENGLAND ND Kim Olson
Elaine Gall GASTON OR Wendy Coffman
Leasie Cornelius BRENTWOOD CA Lisa McNatt
Melanie Akey BRENTWOOD CA Lisa McNatt
Beth Campbell DUNCAN SC Dr. Phil Wilhelm
Erika Ross SIMPSONVILLE KY Dr. Phil Wilhelm
Janna Gray OVILLA TX Christine David
Lisa Compeaux CUT OFF LA Tracy Angelette
Vicki Wild BEDFORD TX Cheryl Dakin
Mary Howard RALEIGH NC Christina Jackson
Yoshira Torres FRESNO CA Krystal O'Neill


  

CREATIVE CORNER: Not a lot to share this week beacause I've been playing.  There will be LOTS next week since I'll be getting my board swap in the mail and I should have my class projects done for this month.  Here are the last 2 projects I did with the Sonoma papers:


12x12 Layout
Pattern from Magic- Crystal Ball, C1466 Instant Memories, D1482 Love Life, Z2114 Cocoa Ink,
Z2137 Olive Ink, Z2147 Smoky Plum Ink, Z2161 Petal Ink, Z1104 Clear Sparkles,
Z1635 Heirloom Assortment, Z1612 Foundry Pin Clips, Z1100 Cocoa Grosgrain, Z1102 Colonial White Grosgrain, 1388 Colonial White Cardstock

 

Take-out Box- Cut at 8 inches,   Gift and Gift Layer- Cut at 3.4 inches
Circle Tag- Cut at 1.3 inches,  C1461 Salutation Seals
Z2114 Cocoa Ink, Z2147 Smoky Plum Ink, Z1104 Clear Sparkles, Z906 Bamboo Waxy Flax
1388 Colonial White Cardstock
Super simple party favor!


QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see.
-John Burroughs