Trick or Treat!

YAY! It's October! Which means Halloween is just around the corner. Who doesn't love dressing up and getting free candy? AND... every jewelry lady's dream: Lots of mommies with young children coming TO YOU. What a prime opportunity to spread the word about Premier. This Halloween I will NOT be attending parties or trick-or-treating myself. We are toooo darn PREGNANT for that situation! But what a better use of my sitting in a chair skills than passing out candy and treats for mommies! I posted to Facebook and did some googling to look for different ideas for making the most of Trick-or-Treat time in my neighborhood. Here are some of the ideas I've found and the one that I decided to go with. I encourage you to mix and match and make them your own. Let me know what you come up with!!

...Payday
Hand out Payday candy bars. Attach a note that says, "Premier could be your Payday! Call me" and add your information. Put it in a treat bag with a coupon, your business card, and/or a mini catalog. 

...Smarties
Put Smarties in a treat bag with a note that says, "Be a Smarty, Host a Party!" Put it in a treat bag with a coupon, your business card, and/or a mini catalog. 

...Snickers
Attach a note saying, "You won't SNICKER when you see all of the jewelry you'll get for FREE!" Put it in a treat bag with a coupon, your business card, and/or a mini catalog. 

...Popcorn Balls
Buy prepackaged popcorn balls at Walmart and stick a business card and label that reads: "Business is poppin" or "I would love to pop over and help you earn free jewelry" or "Pop over and learn how you can add extra cash to your month!"

...LifeSavers
Use individual lifesavers. Staple them to your business card with a label that reads: "Premier has been a real lifesaver, let me show you how!" Or "Hosting a jewelry show can be a lifesaver for holiday shopping. Earn jewelry free when you party with me!"

...Treat for Mom
Include a coupon on your candy or in your treat bag that says, "This treat is for Mom! 20% off your order!"

...Stuffed Treat Bag 
Include whoppers, spree, smarties, and smiley face suckers or stickers, & a note that says:
To all the MUMMIES:
Looking for a WHOPPER of a good time this Holiday Season?
Interested in a Premier Designs Shopping SPREE?
Why not host your own Holiday Jewelry Show & earn lots of FREE and HALF-PRICE Jewelry?
After a great night of jewelry, friends and fun, your guests will surely leave SMILING!
So, be a SMARTIE and book your Premier Designs Jewelry Party today!
Hope to hear from you soon!
[Then enter your contact info]

I saw some moms post about sending these bags to school with their kids, too!

...Mini Catalog
Use with any candy! Just drop a mini catalog and a coupon in with whatever candy you're handing out!

...A Little Note
Here's an idea for a little note:

Hello Neighbor!
I thought this would be a fun way to introduce myself. I am a Jewelry Lady with Premier Designs Jewelry. 
If you call me within 48 hours, I will have a FREE charm bracelet for you! [Or insert coupon/gift]. 
All I ask is that we set up a 10 minute appointment so that wee can meet and I can show you a little bit about what I have to offer!
I can explain how you can get even MORE free jewelry, or even make some money of your own, and also present you with your free gift!
I really look forward to meeting you. Remember to call within 48 hours!

And the Winner Is...
My own creation! :)
I loved all of these adorable ideas so much. However, I thought of doing this little poem and was just too thrilled. :) So, my sweet graphic designer hubby helped me come up with these cutie coupons (notice she's even wearing Premier jewelry!). They are designed to print as 4x6 photos. To me, it's TOTALLY worth it to buy prints rather than use up ink and cardstock and then have to cut them all out. Plus, check out these great deals! 

• York offers 100 free prints to first time users. They also have a promo for prints for $.05 each.
• Shutterfly offers 50 free prints when you sign up. (I went with this deal)
• Walmart offers 25 free photo prints when you register with them. Then they're only $.09 after that.
• Snapfish offers 20 free prints when you first sign up. Then they're only $.09 after that. 

If you don't want to print them at a store, you could totally do four per page on card stock. Also, My poem says 40% off. I know that's a lot, but my goal is to make contacts, not a profit, and several ladies mentioned they don't have a whole lot of response with this type of thing. So, go big or go home, right? I'm new to this town (just moved to MO from TN last month!) so I need to get my neighbors' attention! I kept that extra little percent hoping that I can make back the money that it cost to do this project! (Only $8 worth of catalogs plus the $4.36 shipping cost from Shutterfly!) Here it is:

To get the 4x6 JPEG of this file, click here!

The plan is to attach my label to the back of each coupon. Then I will staple a coupon to a mini catalog (also with my label on it) and pass them out to the mommies. Of course, we'll hand out candy too! Wish me luck!

It's BOOTH Season! #FallYa'll

Girls! It's OFFICIALLY my favorite time of year, HANDS. DOWN. I love love looooove fall for a bazillion reasons: 1. It's pretty. 2. The holidays are coming. 3. It's no longer kill-me-now-before-I-melt HOT. (Which was even worse being overly prego this year). 4. Cider, Chai, & Hot Chocolate. And pumpkin or apple flavored everything. 5. It's pretty. 6. The holidays are coming. and 7. It's pretty!

There are (whatever a bazillion minus seven is) more reasons I love fall, but we're going to take time today to focus on items number 2 and 6. 

Girls, holiday season is PRIME BOOTH SEASON. Churches, schools, banks, community centers, nursing homes, hospitals, and on and on! Keep an eye out in the paper, call your chamber of commerce, and definitely ask friends and neighbors for ideas of great places to set up your booth!

Here's what you need to know:

The Goals:

Goal #1: Sell Jewelry OFF OF YOUR TABLE

In my experience, and from my jewelry lady friends, I've learned that you are going to be more successful if you sell jewelry off of your table rather than try and collect orders. People approaching you at booths are A) strangers and not going to be super thrilled with giving their money away and expecting a shipment, and B) probably at an event where they were expecting immediate gratification. They want it NOW! :) 

When choosing what jewelry you're willing to sell, you'll want to consider a couple of items:

1. When is your next home show? If you have one coming up, you'll need to have your samples for showing. If you have over a week, you can place an order immediately to replace anything you've sold. 

2.  Which items are retired? These should be the first to go! Don't let go of your favorites if you think you'll want them later. Replacing these pieces is not always easy! Most of my samples that are retired I am happy to part with. I would rather have the cash to buy jewelry from the current line! 

3. What condition are the pieces in? If your jewelry has been worn a lot, or if you have something that is broken, be extra careful not to include these on your table. You don't want to advertise your "worn out" jewelry. Take the time to clean those pieces that can be cleaned to look like new. Don't put out anything that is broken or tarnished.

Goal #2: Collect Names!

Booths are a GREAT PLACE to collect names. You may want to consider having a drawing in order to entice the ladies to leave their information with you. Here is a sample of an EASY drawing slip. Just print these on 1/6 or 1/4 of a sheet of paper and have a jar to drop them in!

Goal #3: Book Shows!

Definitely have your calendar on hand. You may even want to offer a special incentive for booking while they're standing there with you. Maybe they'll get an additional $25 in free jewelry to spend at their show, or maybe you'll bring them a special gift (a charm bracelet is cheap, and attractive!).

How To:

Step 1: Find the events. Search the internet, ask around, etc. Then sign up. I would NOT recommend signing up for any booth where you have to pay a large fee. I've seen bridal shows that charge $700 for a vendor to sign up!! This is fine for a photographer who makes $3000 off of ONE bride, but it's just not a good idea for jewelry ladies! I like Free - $25. 

Step 2: Prepare your booth. You'll want an attractive booth, with plenty to look at, but not too overwhelming! You could set it up like your display at home shows, or add a little flare. You might consider adding a sassy scarf to Mandy or a theme with some SIMPLE decorations (fall, Christmas, animal print, etc). You'll also want to prepare some signs to get attention. Print them on the computer or decorate by and and put them into a picture frame for a professional look. Here is a part of my booth from this past week. We had a fall theme, of course! 

For my 8x10 Fall into Fabulous Flyer, click here.
For my 4x4 Prices sign, click here.

This time in my frame I had a sign for the specific catalog promotion I am doing. In the past I have done a sign that says something along the lines of, "Ask me how to get this jewelry for FREE!"

I'm so sad I forgot to take pictures before we got started. The bank I was at (This was Customer Appreciate Day) supplied 8 foot tables for us, and then I had two 4ft tables that have adjustable legs, so I was able to have a shorter table in front and create a stair step look. It was the MOST SPACE I've ever had and it was GREAT! But by the time I remembered to take pictures, the ladies had destroyed the pretty little set up. :) 

Anywho, here is a list of other items you won't want to forget.

• Tables
• Table Cloths
• Decorations
• Jewelry, cleaned and tagged (unless you are using flat prices, like above)
• Frames/Signs
• Business Cards
• Sponsoring Packets
• Lights
• Bags for putting purchases in (include business card in bags)
• Jar (for drawing)
• Pens
• Slips (for filling out; drawing)
• Calendar
• Mirrors
• Neck Boards, Bracelet Bars, etc.
• Mandy
• Money Bag
• Propay Jak
• iPad or whatever you use to run your debit cards
• Catalogs, Labeled & Covered
  • 
    

Step 3: Go to your event! Have a great time. Be personable, professional, and outgoing. Just like at your shows, be friendly, complimentary, and excited about what you do! Tell them about your specials, or a little about Premier, or about how they can get free jewelry. Pass out business cards and take lots of names! Sell your jewelry and make sure EVERYONE knows about the Golden Guarantee and how to get in touch with you. While exchanges are no fun, they are a great way to serve our customers and make connections!

Step 4: FOLLOW UP! If you're doing a drawing, draw a winner and call her with the good news. Be prepared with verbiage to ask for a show or permission to contact her with the next hostess promotion. Then call EVERY person whose name you got! Let them know that while they did not win the drawing, there are LOTS of ways to earn plenty of FREE jewelry with Premier!

I would LOVE to see what other ideas you have for booths! Please feel free to comment below or message me!

More links for successful booths:

• http://julieannejones.com/booths
• http://ceoofmeinc.com/vendor-event-success-tips-for-direct-sales-home-party-plan-consultants/

my FALL INTO FABULOUS event

Alright, so a couple of days ago I mentioned my FALL INTO FABULOUS event that I am attempting. I haven't had HUGE luck with these in the past, so I'm not promising it will turn out fabulously. Vickie has been successful with similar events before and since I am currently unable to do home shows and because we now have the fabulous new online catalog, I'm going to try it again! Here's the rundown of what I'm doing. I WELCOME suggestions and ideas!!







The Goals
- To have as many catalog shows open in October as possible.
- To promote our newest tool, the Online Catalog. Of course, I don't want sales via the online catalog to harm or replace my home show business, but it's a great tool for this particular event and this particular (ginormously pregnant) time in my life!
- To have a way to keep in touch with my hostesses and customers as I take a couple of months out of the home show world. 
- To continue earning income as I take a "maternity leave" from the home show business! This is mostly a small side perk as I am awarding quite a bit of money, I don't expect a huge income. But this will help to earn my CV for my commission check.

The Details
The girls have until October 17 (one week before the end of the accounting period) to collect as many orders as they can. I give myself a week because in my Catalog Show experience, the girls are NEVER ready on the intended end date. This way I have a few days wiggle room and can still have the shows in before the end of the accounting period.

I award each girl $25 in free jewelry just for participating and then they get the catalog show hostess benefits. The girl with the most sales earns $50 in jewelry instead of the $25.

The Plan

1. Advertise:  
I posted a blurb about the event on my webpage.

I sent a text to every girl in my phone book who I thought may possibly be interested.

I sent an evite to every girl whose email address I had or two any girl who has told me they are interested in participating. This helps me track the official YES RSVPs.

Now all of these are techy impersonal! I like to do these first so that they have the information in front of them. The next step is to CALL CALL CALL! Follow up with your girls so that they know you're interested in THEM PERSONALLY.

I also had a flyer at my booth yesterday. My sweet husband designed this for me. I was able to talk about the event in person, collect names, and then send the evite and rest of the details via email. 

2. Send Details
After I have my RSVPs, I send out an email with all of the details. Click here to see the details I sent. Then I will call to follow up with girls and make sure they don't have any questions and have some guidance for a great catalog show.

3. Keep in Touch!
Over the next few weeks, I'll keep in touch with the girls, offering encouragement and answering any questions they may have. 

And I think that's it! :) Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas to make this event more successful. It's been fun to plan, but what's the point if I don't have participants! :)