Keep learning!

Einstein once said that if a person spends 15 minutes a day studying a subject, he or she would become an expert in that subject matter.  Well, this month you've spent a minimum of 15 minutes a day getting your business organized and learning new party, booking, and recruiting techniques.  So, my message today is to keep it up!
After a month of pouring information into this blog, I can only hope that it inspires you to keep learning more about your business.  Take 15 minutes every day and learn something that will help you with your business.  The best thing about owning your own business is that you get to choose what you think is going to help you the most instead of anyone else.

If you feel like you know everything there is to know about Jamberry, spend your time researching other at-home businesses.  What works for their consultants will often also work for us.  You can adapt the games they play at their parties to your own; you can look at their layouts or their flyers and find new ideas for your own.

The thing is, you don't need to just be a Jamberry expert, you need to become a marketing and business expert.  Learn how to best market your product while you're walking around or at a party or even when you're not there!  Learn how to build your business and meet your goals.
Where do you learn these things?  Well, Google is an amazing thing.  I've found tons just googling something like, "at home business party games" and the like.  Just think of what you want to learn and Google it.  You'll find something.  There are sites that are set up just for this, one of which (Party Plan Divas) I am thoroughly entranced in, but they often require a financial commitment to continue to use them.  The other place you'll find Jamberry and at home business tips is on YouTube.  There are dozens of videos on these kinds of things there.
Go, find something to learn and tell us all about it!

Homework:  Spend 15 minutes learning something and write us an article!  Due February 28.

The Journey Box

I've recently been in contact with Kat Roberts who learned what a Journey box was at a regional conference and explained it to me.  She got the idea from a leader named Lisa who told her what was in her Journey box.  I thought it was a great idea to add some fun to your parties as well as drumming up some interest for recruits.  The box is a tool to tell everyone about what Jamberry means to you. You can use it at a party to do a give away. Get a roll of tickets and every time someone guesses what the item you pull out means to you they get 1/2 of the ticket. You drop the other one in a container to draw from.

You start by saying, "This is my Jamberry journey Box and inside are items that have special meaning to me concerning my Jamberry Journey."
Here are some items you can put in your journey box:

• A flag-meaning that the products are made in the USA, are vegan free, etc.
  
• Luggage tags for all the fun places you will travel by earning incentive trips 
  
• Pom-Poms everyone loves recognition for a good job 
  
• Pen-write your own check. Jamberry is your own personal ATM: Any Time Money where else can you party for a living? 
• BFF necklace for all the friendships you will develop 
  
• A cut up credit card---you will be debt free by partnering with Jamberry 
  
• A bra (yes that's right! A bra) because it's the most uplifting and supporting company. Lisa also added that because of Jamberry she was able to go out and spend $50 on a bra now. 
  
• Product because it's great and simple 
• Last but not least: a $100 bill (fake and enlarged play money) because that's all it takes to start your own business
  

Hope this helps and you can adapt it to your needs.

Demonstrating Indulgence

If you look at our Jamberry products as a whole, it often feels like "one of these things is not like the other" when you see Indulgence.  It's has a different price scale, packaging, and purpose than every other product Jamberry offers.  Therefore, it seems harder to sell than our other products.  The application kit?  You need all those tools to get your Jams on.  The heater?  Silent alternative to hair dryer.  Indulgence?  It uh...
So, I wanted to tell you how I sell my Indulgence sets.  It's very similar to the way I used to sell another, similar product from another Direct Sales Company.  The way I use this method, your guests should be loving the product and wanting it.  Use that desire encourage bookings to earn Indulgence for free or half off.

1. Order an Indulgence Set from Jamberry.  You don't have to pay full price for it.  Wait until you have some hostess rewards to turn in and get your own for free!
2. Buy a pack of baby wipes from the dollar store.
3. Take the Indulgence to every party you have.  Statistically, the more you demonstrate the hand care line, the more likely you are to sell one!
4. As soon as you get to your hostess's house, put your Buff bottle in front of your Jamberry heater and turn it on (not too close, or you're melt the bottle).  The colder Buff is, the harder it is to squeeze out of the bottle.  If you get it warm at the beginning, you're going to have a better time later.  Retrieve it right before you start introductions.
5. You're going to demonstrate Indulgence right after the introductions.  I do this so that the lotion has plenty of time to soak into their hands and won't hinder the adhesive.  I say something like this, "Our newest product is the Indulgence hand care line.  It makes your hands feel absolutely scrumptious in a way you can only understand if you feel it, so we're going to try it right now.  Before we try it, though, I want you to really feel your hands."  At this point, I always have at least one guest show disgust at how rough or dry her hands are.
6. Walk around the table or room and give each guest a pea-sized amount of Buff on their hands.  As you're doing this, you should talk about the product.  "The first part of the hand care line is Buff.  This exfoliant is so gentle that you could use it every day, but you shouldn't have to use it more than once or twice a week.  Rub this all over the front and back of your hands paying special attention to any areas of your hands that were especially rough."  I always give them an example of my own hands to make them feel like theirs aren't so different. "I notice that the area between my knuckles is my roughest spot, so I always make sure to really scrub it in.  Once you're done, wipe it off with your baby wipe."  Be prepared to give them extra baby wipes if need be.
7. After my guests are all cleaned up and before the next step, I always have them feel their hands before lotion.  The exfoliating step reveals soft skin which is often surprising.  "Before we get to the next step, I want to invite you to feel your hands again.  I want you to notice how much better your hands already feel."  Usually the same person who was upset about how her pre-hand care hands felt is now stroking her hands lovingly.
8. Again, go around the table or room and give each person a pea-sized amount of Nourish.  "The second step of Indulgence is an amazing lotion called Nourish.  Massage it into your hands and notice how little it takes to fully moisturize them."
9. You may notice that, at this point, your guests are muttering to each other and feeling their hands and smiling.  If you don't want to demonstrate Quench it's up to you, but this is how I do it.  "The final step is called Quench, and it's a deep moisturizing cream.  You don't need very much, so I'd like you to just push your fingernail through the top and get a tiny bit.  Then just tap it onto your cuticles and rub it in."  If that's confusing think about scratching the top, but do it in reverse.

After you demonstrate the Indulgence set, mention that this is one of the many items you can get for free or half-price when you book a party.  The last party I did this with, I got an order of Indulgence and a party to earn one.  Good luck!

Party Games 2

For Party Games 1, click here.

It was requested that I put up some more party games to keep our home shows fun and interesting.  The problem is that I'm really bad coming up with ideas on my own, so this list will be populated by other peoples' ideas I found around the internet.  Every game I post here will have a link back to where I found it, originally.

Auction!

This can increase both sales and bookings.
Items Needed:

• Play Money
• Prizes (2 for every 5 guests) 
• Wrap each package so guests do not know what is inside..

Distribute money as follows:

• $100 for Attending the Party
• $200 for Bringing a Friend
• $100 for Placing an Order
• $200 for every $50 Ordered
• $200 for Paying for Order at Party (I make everyone pay at the party, so free money!)
• $200 for Booking a Party
• $300 for Booking Party to be Held Within Two Weeks
• $500 for Requesting Information about Becoming a Demonstrator

After everyone has placed their orders, begin the Auction of the items wrapped. The highest bidder gets the item.
Note: You can also issue money during the party as prizes for other games you might play, someone asking questions, etc.

Let's Make a Deal

Great way to get bonus bookings!
Items Needed: 4 envelopes and a basket with your inexpensive door prizes.

Inside each envelope, put a small piece of paper folded several times so they can't see it.
n one, write $1.00; another $2.00; another $3.00; and another $5.00.
Tell everyone what is inside and that they are gift certificates for tonight!  Have the first person to your left pick one of the envelopes. But tell her she CAN'T LOOK!  Now, play  the "Right-Left" Game and the envelope travels right and left.
At the end, tell the person with the envelope "DON'T LOOK" ~ Because I want to "Make A Deal" with you. 
Say: "Since you didn't pick the envelope, maybe your luck is better than hers...so you can trade for another envelope if you want to."  Hold the other envelopes out. Usually everyone is hollering "trade" or "don't trade."
Next, say, "DON'T LOOK!" ~ "I'll make another deal with you...(Pull out your gift basket). "I will trade you the envelope for an item in my basket....that envelope could be worth $5 or maybe just $1." Everyone is again yelling "trade" or "don't trade."
She then makes her choice. Then say, "DON'T LOOK!!!" ~"I have another deal to make with you....I will give you your envelope back and DOUBLE what's inside or give you TWO prizes from my basket IF you will book a show tonight and help (Hostess) out."
If she doesn't book she gets either what's in the envelope or her gift but MOST of the time they will book.

Purse ABC's

Bring a bag of candy with you to the party (Hershey Kisses, etc.).

Tell guests not to eat the candy during the game. Call a letter of the alphabet, and the first person to SHOW an item from their purse representing that letter wins a candy.

Each person who wins, gets a piece of candy; the person with the most candy at the end of the game is the winner.

Only use about 8-10 letters or so, then stop the game and do your party demonstration.

You can play the second half of the game at the end of the demonstration, but this time the guests must ask you questions about your direct selling career and company to earn a piece of candy. Imagination counts. It could be a description of an item, the brand name, color, etc.

You'll notice that the same things can be called different names, but they all work for this game. It's a lot of fun to see what people think of when you call a letter.  Sure to bring you lots of laughs.

Jamberry BINGO

Okay, so I can't attribute this to just one person because it's all over the internet.  A lot of direct sales businesses recommend you have customers write down different products then mark them off their card as you talk about them, but that doesn't work very well for Jamberry as we don't have enough different products to fill a card.
I thought long and hard about how to adapt it to Jamberry.  I have 3 potential solutions for you:

1.  Download these blank BINGO cards I made and give each one to a guest.  During the time between demonstration and sales, have them go through the catalogue and fill out their own BINGO card.  Make sure they know they can choose anything from the catalogues - Heaters, Indulgence, etc.  Then draw designs and products from a hat (here's a file with all of the designs that you can cut up and use for draws).  First one or two with a BINGO win! 
        Pro:  Gives you an idea of what designs and products your customer really wants.  Use that as a booking or recruiting tool 
        Con:  Takes a long time.  If your party's running long, use pre-printed cards (see below.)
2. Download this list of all the designs and products (different from the draw slips above) and make your own pre-printed BINGO cards using this site.  Cut up the draw slips and play as before.
3. Skip all of the previous rigmarole and print off my BINGO cards.  (Note:  My BINGO cards don't include Collegiate, Sorority, or Holiday Designs, so the draw slips are different.)

Time Pockets

The other day I was listening to a training that talked about time management.  During the training, she mentioned a concept that I use all the time, but I'd never had a word for it:  Time Pockets.  The concept behind Time Pockets is that, we're all busy and have full lives, but we have to find little pockets of time to make our lives flow best.

Since I found that quote, it's been my favourite thing because it's so true.  You can't claim you have less time than anyone else because you don't.  Is your life busier?  Perhaps, but you still have 168 hours every single week during which you can strive for your goals.  The point of this post is to help you find when your free time is.
First, I want to explain fully "Pockets of Time."  Finding Pockets of time means finding small amounts of time that you can use to meet your goals, even if they require lots of time.  If you have a large project that's going to take you two hours, who says it has to be done all at the same time?  Who says it can't be done in 8 segments of 15 minutes you find during your day?  Very few things require 2 hours without a break.
Think about everything you can do in 15 minutes - whether it be work, home, or play.  The speaker I was listening to broke it down into 10 minutes, but for now, let's just think about 15 minutes.  Things that take 15 minutes or less that can benefit you include:

• Empty the dishwasher
• Fold part of the laundry
• Clean a room (or a part of it, depending)
• Meditate (really you should do that)
• Pray (it you believe in this kind of thing, you should probably do that too)
• Read a religious or self help text
• Call your leads

There are tons more, but this is a starting list that gives you an idea of what you can get done in that amount of time.  I'd love to hear about what you can get done in 15 minutes!
Now, I want to give you this document.  Print it out, get a marker, and sit down at a hard surface.  This is something I used when I was studying Forensic Biology in College.  In my second semester, I began to feel like I had no time to study which resulted in me feeling hopelessly overworked and unable to complete my courses.  Then I had a brainstorm - what if I actually looked at the time I used and tried to see where my empty time was instead of trying to find it in the moment?  The method I'm about to outline worked for me and every single one of my friends who complained to me about not having the time to study, eat, sleep, and socialize.
The page you downloaded is your complete day, for any day of the week broken into 15 minute segments.  Start with any day you like.  I'm going to show you how I'd break it down for my friends when we were in University.  Your schedule will be different, count on it.

1. Start with scheduling time to sleep.  If you don't sleep enough, everything in your life will suffer.  Mark on the schedule when you need to wake up.  For me, it was 7:00 every morning.  Black out 8 - 8 1/2 hours before that.  If you need an hour to fall asleep, black out 9.  Because I woke up at the same time every single day, my sleep times were consistent from day to day.  Maybe yours aren't.  Customize it to your needs.
   
2. Look at times you know you can't move around.  If you have a job outside Jamberry, black out times you're actually working (don't black out lunch yet).  If you're taking classes, black those out.  At this point, only include the time you're actually there.  If your job is 9-5, that's all you should be blacking out (minus lunch).  What you see here is my Monday class schedule then my Monday work schedule (I worked on campus.)
   
   
3. Now add in the driving time it takes you to get from home to work and vice versa.  It took me about 20 minutes, so I scheduled a full 30 so I wouldn't be late.  You'll also note a driving time around 8 PM because I that's when I went to go pick up my daughter from gymnastics.
   
4. Now we add in meals.  Think about the time it will take you to prepare and eat your meal.  If you're given 30 minutes for lunch where you work, but you always have extra time, it's probably only 15 minutes.  Breakfast is a 15 minute ordeal for me on weekdays.  On the other hand, I always budget an hour and a half for dinner - an hour to prepare and 30 minutes to eat with my family.
   
5. The white spaces are what's left.  Are you surprised with how much time you actually have to spare?  I know I was when I did this the first time. I stared at the sheet and said, "What do you mean I have almost 4 hours left on Monday?"  Even if I gave myself 30 minutes to get ready in the morning (and it never took me that long), I was left with 3 hours and 15 minutes of open, empty time with which I could study.

Now, the reason I'm having you do this is because you may not realize how much time you have.  When all was said and done, I had over 20 total hours left over on weekdays only.  My weekends were virtually empty.  Many of us never realize we have all the extra left over because we're spending it watching TV, surfing Facebook, watching kitten videos on YouTube, or any other number of things.  We stress over having no time when our time is sitting right there waiting for us.

How do we use this time?

Okay, now that you see all that extra time, you're trying to figure out how to use it.  Well, my first bit of advice here is don't use it all.  You don't need every second of every day to be filled with activity.  You work hard, so you absolutely deserve to be able to watch one TV show without having to do anything else.  However, you might not deserve to watch 3 or 4.  There are certainly things you can do sitting in front of the TV.  You can make hostess packets, refill your guest binders, fold your clothes, or write customer thank you cards (during commercials).  So, choose one TV show every night that you get to watch uninterrupted then do something during the rest of your watching time.  I usually take half of a show to do what's required of me then I relax for the rest of the show.  This probably results in more down time than I really need, but it works for me.

If you're guilty, like the rest of us, of spending hours on Facebook or other social media, set yourself a timer.  Let yourself surf like crazy on Facebook for 10-15 minutes then get up and do what needs to be done for 15.  Repeat as necessary.
Here's the last piece of advice - when you complete something that needs to be done, celebrate it! Seriously, we as women often feel like our accomplishments are not worth celebrating, but they are.  Who cares if you give yourself a mental pat on the back when you get the laundry folded.  No one's going to tell you that your success dance is uncalled for if you called customers for 15 minutes.  If they do, tell them where they can store that opinion.

Homework:  What can you do in 15 minutes that I didn't mention?  Let us all know!  Due today!

Hostess Packets

One of the most common questions I see asked, no matter what Facebook page or direct sales organizations, is "What should I put in a hostess packet?"  Your hostess packet sets you up for success for that party.  If you put too much in it, you risk the hostess feeling overwhelmed.  Too little can lead to an unsuccessful party.  I'm going to tell you what's in my hostess packet and why, then you can decide what you want.

• Catalogue.  I usually only put in one, but you could put in multiples.  Your hostess should know that she can always ask for more.
• Sample packets.  I put in 3.  My hostess knows that when someone says they can't come to the party, she can give them a sample to try.  That sample has all of the information her friend needs to order online.
• Booking letter.  This is something that I got from a woman in Phoenix.  She uses it to explain how to have the best party possible. 
• Hostess Planner.  I have used the ones you can order and had them printed from the workstation.  This is a great place for your hostess to create her guest list.
• Hostess Rewards table.  I know there's one on the hostess planner, but I made one big enough for my hostess to read. 
• Hostess Games.  I include games for my hostess to play that will help her have the most successful party.  I give her three and let her choose which, if any, she wants to use.  You can edit these however you want. 
       Hostess Tic Tac Toe  - I give her this grid with different goals for her party.  She gets an "X" in every square that she completes, and earns prizes for it.
       Hostess Scavenger Hunt  - I've seen a different one of these for every direct sales business.  This is one I found and made my own document.  Tell your hostess that, a woman can only count for 1 category (red-headed pregnant women can only count as a red-head or a pregnant woman).  If she tries to invite 1 of every kind of woman, she's totally going to have a great party!
       Raffle Squares - Before you do this, check to make sure there aren't any laws against it.  Give your hostess the grid and have her "sell" each square for $1 a piece.  Each person can buy as many or as few as they want.  She should write the person who purchased the square in its box.  Once all the orders are made and paid for, you draw one of the numbers that have been purchased.  The person who purchased that number gets the total sold in Jamberry product - up to $100!  This is a great way for your hostess to get a $100 boost to her party sales
• 
  

Recycle Your Business Supplies!

Now we're getting to the end of the month, and admittedly, I was starting to run out of ideas when someone posted one of the projects I'm going to talk about.  Then it hit me!  We have so many freaking boxes, envelopes, stickers, etc being sent to us that we should be recycling them as much as possible.  So, here are all the ideas I could come up with.  I'd love to hear more!

Jamberry Labels

These darn things:

Before I started making my sample packets, I had such surplus of these things that it was frustrating.  I'd get 50 with every set of samples and I didn't want to throw them away, so I kept a snack-sized Ziploc bag full of them.  I still have that baggie somewhere, and it even has old-style Jamberry labels in it.  If you don't want to use your Jamberry labels on sample bags, here are some other ideas.

• Put them on your pens so that you have cheap "Jamberry" brand pens.
• Put them under your return address on Jamberry mailings so your customers know what's coming.
• Put them on items in marketing baskets to make sure everything has a logo.

Purple Envelopes

These:

We get one of these every time we make an order, have a party order sent to us, or turn in hostess rewards. Basically, any time we get wraps in the mail, you get one of those.  If you're like me, you've been tossing them in the recycle basket, but Alicia Pettus came up with this startlingly amazing solution:

Okay, seriously guys, in the blog post where she shows how to make one, she explains that she had this epiphany after seeing that bulletin board business card holders are $7.99 for 4.  Now, $2 each might not be a ton, but these are free, except for construction and they're customized to our product.  For those of you who have lengthwise business cards, make her template a little longer and the "front" of the box a little shorter.

Catalogues

If you don't know what one looks like...I don't even have words.

You can make shopping bags and envelopes out of expired catalogues.  I know we all have a few left over when the new inventory comes out and using them for shopping bags could solve 2 problems at once.  Now that we don't have gift envelopes any more, I'm sure your customers would love to have a bag to carry their purchases away in.  Unfortunately, the only video I could find that explains how to do this is from a lady who does "Passion Parties," so you might want to make sure no impressionable eyes are watching it.  I'll do my best to make my own video with Jamberry materials soon.

Shipping boxes

These:
It seems that I'm getting a shipment in one of these all the time, and they might be the things that have the most versatility.  Deanna uses them for her Book-to-Look boxes.  I use them for filing away smaller papers or pieces of inventory or business items I'm not using right now (like out of season Book-to-Looks).  Currently, I have one of the longer ones filled with old receipts and one of the shorter ones filled with customer care cards.

Homework:  Tell us how you recycle these or other business supplies.  Due tomorrow.

Vendor Events 101

When I started talking to Deanna about topics for the New Year's Tip blog-a-thon, she mentioned posting a Fair/Event 101 which was a great idea.  However, I didn't really know how to write it, and she really didn't either, so we turned to Tamara Busko Allen for her event checklist.  This is adapted from that!

The first thing you should know about vendor events is that you should not look at them as a place to primarily sell and make a bunch of money and success should not be measured necessarily by "if you broke even", especially at a big, more expensive event. Getting contact info from which future parties are booked and recruits are gained is by far more valuable in the long run than a few dollars on a single sale. Some sales, bookings and recruits my not be made until months later, but are people you otherwise never would have met. So you need to look at how you think about bigger events not so much in terms of immediate $$ made.

You do not have to spend a lot of money on expensive banners and things to be successful at an event.   A neat, professional looking table featuring the product and a place to do samples is the main idea.  When talking to the event coordinator ask if there is a way your table can get placed near an outlet so you can use your mini heater.  Your enthusiasm about the product and interaction with people is the most important part - get out in front of the table and talk with people, show them how great Jamberry is and have fun.

You can get a black tri-fold display board from Wal-mart for about $4.  It makes a nice backdrop and somewhere for you to post product pics and information.  There are 5 x7 display cards of wraps in the workstation.

I have found that having a “look-book” of pictures with the wraps on hands helps people to see what they really look like on.  You can use a 4x6 photo album or binder with photo refill pages in it.  You can also display wraps in those.

Ideas for displaying inventory:

• Clip and spin

• Pegboard from hardware store with tool hangers

• 2 plastic crates stacked up and use paper clips to hang

• Wire cooling racks and clips

• If you do not have a lot of inventory - do not worry- many people want to order what they like from the catalog and have it shipped to them. (Remember to bring receipts!)

Event checklist:

• table and tablecloth

• trifold display

• catalogs, host / join brochures, business cards

• survey cards from workstation and enter to win box and small prize

• look book

• heater, extension cord

• samples and application supplies

• calculator, pens, order forms

• calendar with your available dates for parties

• credit card reader is helpful or computer with hotspot

Try to have some form of booking incentive to give people a reason to book their party right there, instead of saying they will call later.  Some ideas are:  book to look boxes, a free half sheet for booking, roll dice odds are a prize, evens grab bag prize, spin the wheel for a prize, pop a balloon for a prize….. Something engaging works well - so many people ask me if they can spin my wheel.

Don't forget to get to your event early so that you can set up and do some statement nails!

Homework:  Ask any further questions you have about fairs and events on the group page.  Due any time.

Dress for Success!

Okay, the topic I'm about to write about is probably one of the most contentious subjects in the direct sale world - how you should dress.  Very few of you have ever met me, but you should know that I am possibly the least fashion conscious person on the planet.  You should also know that I have more body issues than Time magazine.  However, I recognize that this is important, so you should probably give me 15-20 minutes of your time to read about it.
How you dress is what gives the first impression to your next client; there are no two ways around it.  It doesn't matter where you meet her.  It could be at a home show, a fair, or where you buy your groceries.  The fact of the matter is, if you don't look like someone she wants to work with, she'll probably ignore you and go on.  Before we get to what you should look like, I want to tell you a story.

When I started my first direct selling business in 2003 I was told that I was to only wear skirts when marketing my product (that product will remain nameless, but at least one person knows what I'm talking about).  I was told to go out and buy a suit in which I should do parties - a suit with a skirt - and if I were to vary from these edicts, I was not welcome at the meetings.
What you may not know is that 2003 was the year that my daughter was born.  The doctors forced me to go well over my due date and I gained a lot of weight in those extra four weeks.  Because I had a cesarean, I couldn't do very much in the way of exercise, and I was out of work.  I turned to direct sales because I could have a job that would let me rest and watch my daughter, and the first thing they told me was to go buy clothes that were going to cost me more than my start-up kit.
So, I broke that rule.  I bought a single pair of really nice slacks from a sale rack and some tops that could fit my new shape.  I found women wouldn't talk to me at meetings, and no one wanted to help me boost my business.  I stopped selling that product because of the attitude it had toward clothing.

I told you that story to explain why this is such a difficult topic.  I know that you're comfortable in your clothes and you don't want to buy any more.  I also know that, if you're not dressed well, you're probably not getting as many leads as you want when you're out and about town.  The third thing is, that most of us, honestly, began direct sales and thought "great, a job I can do in my pajamas."
Well, you can do your job in pajamas - when you don't leave the house.  Seriously, wear all the pajamas you want in your own home, but remember that every time you leave, you have the potential of a selling opportunity.  If you leave your house in a torn t-shirt, sweatpants, and bed head, what are you going to say to the cashier that says, "Omigod, I love your nails?"  Would you say, "Thanks, I sell these," and give her your thirty-second commercial or would you sheepishly thank her and walk out wishing you had looked better?
Every day that you leave your house, you are confronted by dozens of women you could market to.  This is to help you feel more confident about doing it.  As much as we all hate to admit it, everyone judges the book by the cover first.  You want your outward appearance to be that of someone they can talk to.

Okay, so, speech over.  I don't want you to run out and buy a new wardrobe.  I mean, if you were planning to do that already, more power to you, but more than anything I want you to be conscious of what you're presenting to the world.  Here are some basic tips for going out and meeting the world.

1. Wear clothes that fit you well.  That means that your blouses shouldn't be so tight you can see every thing, but they also shouldn't be so baggy that they're falling off.  Everything in your closet that doesn't fit well should be out of the running for everyday wear, anyway.
2. Don't wear clothes with holes in them.  Okay, so now they make designer jeans with purposely worn areas in them.  Though I don't like those, I'm not talking about them.  I'm talking about your favourite top that just developed a tiny hole in it.  If it has a hole, you're going to play with it which will draw attention to it.
3. Wash/brush your hair. I am not going to get into the argument about how often you have to wash your hair, but before you leave the house, look at yourself and be brutally honest.  If your hair is dirty, wash it.  If it's clean, do something with it, even if that something is just brushing it.
4. Put on some lipstick.  Again, not getting into the argument about how much makeup is necessary.  The bare minimum for your make up should be some lip gloss.  Some women say, "lipstick and mascara"."  That's fine.  Put on something that says, "I tried."
5. Do your nails!  You sell nail art.  How are you going to approach a stranger about nail art if you're not wearing any?  I don't care if it's lacquer or wraps or a combination of both.  Make your nails look great!

That's it.  Simple steps.  You can wear a pair of jeans and get new clients, just make sure they aren't those jeans you paint in.

Homework:  Go through your closet/dresser and organize them into clothes you go outside in and clothes you wear at home.  No due date. This is for you.

30-second commercials

Every single business and marketing course will talk about today's topic and how important it is.  Why?  Because you don't often have a lot of time to tell a new, potential customer everything about your customer and why she should be buying it. This tool is called the "30-second commercial" or "the elevator pitch."  It was so named because it was developed for businessmen who were being interviewed on the elevator.  If they didn't create a good enough impression of themselves by the time the elevator got to the boss's floor, they had to go back down.
Developing your own elevator pitch gives you the advantage of being calm and relaxed when you come into contact with your latest client. You will sound organized and professional to this client.
So, today, I'm going to go to several different business pages and combine all of their information here so that you can develop the best elevator speech you can.  Remember that this might be the only chance you get to connect with a new client, so work out your speech with these tips.
You want your speech to embody Jamberry as well as you as a consultant.  The delivery of your speech will help a lot with selling yourself.  This technique is going one step beyond, "Thanks, I sell these," or "I do them with my hair dryer!" when someone notices your nails.  This is a practiced, cohesive, and specific to your Jamberry business.
The best breakdown I've found of a 30 second commercial lines out all the things that your commercial/pitch should entail.  I highly recommend you write down each of these on a piece of paper and skip a couple of lines so that you can write down your ideas.

• Your name
• Your company
• Specialty - What do you do?
• Features and Benefits - Why is it better than other products like ours?
• A "hook" - why your customer should act

The key to your success here is to connect the ideas together in one cohesive statement, preferably no more than three sentences long. Here's what mine is:
Hi, my name is Jennifer, and I'm a consultant for Jamberry nails.  Jamberry shields are a non-toxic alternative to nail polish.  They don't chip, they don't crack, and they can't spill on your carpet!  Would you like a sample?

Now that you've created a commercial for yourself, stand in front of the mirror and practice.  Have your friends listen to it (you might get them to try Jams if you do).  Practice over and over until it's second nature - just another normal thing you'd say.

Homework:  Post your elevator pitch on the team page!  Due tomorrow.

Basket Marketing

If you feel like your contact list is running dry, it might be time to explore new avenues of marketing.  Today, I'm specifically going to talk about bringing baskets to businesses in order to connect with their employees.  Why should you do this?  Because you don't know these women yet and they all have friends you also don't know.  If only one person from each business you bring a marketing business to books a party, you're going to have a ton of new contacts from which you can "snowball" your business.
I put my baskets together for virtually nothing.  I buy the basket at Michael's at 70% off (go see if there are still sales at your craft stores) and the rest is just catalogues, samples, gifts, and brochures.Here are my Do's & Don'ts of Basket Marketing.

1. Don't choose a store where you already have friends and/or clients working.  The key to basket marketing is that you want to meet new women.  Your friends and clients can use their referral cards to get your name out at their places of business.  You need new women!
2. Do put your name, phone number, and website on everything.  It doesn't matter what's in your basket, it has to have your name, your phone number, and website on it!  How else is your new client going to know how to get ahold of you?  Download the return address label template from your back office and print off a sheet.  Put a sticker on everything!
3. Do include a catalogue.  Who cares if you never get it back?  You want these women to see everything we have to offer!
4. Do put in samples!  However you want to package them (see below) make sure that these new customers have samples to try.  You never know, someone might bring a hair dryer into work one day so everyone can try them!
5. Don't just put in samples!  You don't want to bring these ladies a basket of only samples and catalogues.  You want them to have a reason to look in the basket.  Include candy, hot cocoa or tea.  Put the candies in inexpensive tulle bags you can get at the dollar store.  Remember that it can be inexpensive without being "cheap."  Here are some suggestions:
        Personalized Tea Bags
        Smarties bearing the tag "Be a SMARTIE, book a party!"
        Reisen candies with the note, "You don't need a REISEN to book a party - any day is good!"
6. Do check back.  There are two reasons you want to check back.  First, you want to connect with your customers and tell them that they're more than just money to you.  Second, you don't want them throwing away your basket.  I don't care how cheap you got that sucker, you want to reuse it as much as possible.

So, those are my rules.  Here's a really good optional tip:  Give your new clients more than one way to get ahold of you.  Of course you have your phone number and website on your tags and catalogues and flyers and samples, but you might want to get one more way for them to find your website - I use a QR code.  That's one of those cool square barcodes you see on movie posters that take you directly to the movie's websites when you scan it with your phone.  If you use QRstuff.com (forgot about that on "free tools day), you can create your own that directs them directly to your website.  Mine goes to the "view all" section of my website.

Snowballing Your Business!

So, by now, you have a good idea what the end of January and beginning of February looks like for you.  You know how many parties you have on the books, and you may be thinking that it's not enough.  Well, let me tell you what, if you even have one party (or party lead) on your books, you have everything you need to grow your business.  We're going to snowball it!
Set yourself a goal for how many parties you want to book from any given party.  Now double it!  Here's why:
At any given party, you're given a new set of women that you've potentially never met.  Now, you might have a former hostess there, but let's assume that most of them are new.  You ask every single woman at that party to have a party and you book your goal (or even a little under it, remember, you doubled your old goal).  From each of those parties that you book, you then book your goal and so on and so on and so on.
Let's assume your goal is 3 parties, and you have 1 party on the books.

That 1 party becomes 3 parties. (Total 4 parties)

Those 3 parties become 9 parties.  (Total 13 parties)

Those 9 parties become 27 parties. (Total 40 parties)

And so on.  If you only book in the next month and you actually keep snowballing, you would potentially have 2187 parties!  I don't know how you would hold that many either, but wouldn't it be great to have that problem?  Yes, you will have cancellations and not all the bookings will be successful parties, but if you keep growing and growing and growing, one cancellation or bad party isn't going to get you down. You've got 8 more coming!

Homework:  Post your "snowballing" party goal in the Facebook group!  Due tomorrow.

Make a Party Packing List

Have you ever gotten to a party or event and realized that you've forgotten something really important?  Have you forgotten something that's not really that important, but you forgot it nonetheless?  Well, today, you're going to make a list that insures that never happens again.  You should have a list of everything you take to parties and have it ready to print and check off as you get ready for your parties.  Last week, we talked about organizing your week and having a day where all you do for your business is get ready for parties.  I have a hard time making any of these priority over the others, so I'm just going to write them in the order I think of them.  I'm also including a downloadable checklist you can edit for your needs.  This is a list that you use to make sure you can do that:

• I make Sample Packets to make sure I don't forget anything for application purposes, but if you don't, you'll need:
      Alcohol prep pads
      Orange Sticks
      Files
      Samples
      Business Cards
      Application instructions
• Even if you do have sample packets, you'll still need to bring:
        Nail Scissors
        Cuticle Pushers
        Heater
        Extension Cord
• I also have my binders that have my sample packets in them as well as:
        Customer Care Cards
        Catalogues
        Pens
• Include 5 Hostess Packets (or more!)
• Calendar
• Party Bank
• In case of guests with painted nails, I also bring:
        Acetone/Nail Polish Remover
        Cotton balls or pads
• Don't forget your Book to Look Boxes! (Make sure they're the right ones, haha.)
• You'll be lost without basic business supplies like:
        Calculator
        Receipts
• Hostess Gifts
• Party Prizes
• As a last look, make sure you're not supposed to bring something for refreshments (see Theme Parties).

Homework:  Tell me what your checklist has on it, or what I forgot!  Due January 26.

Recruiting Red Flags

What are RED FLAGS? Red flags are clues that someone might have an interest in a Jamberry Business! They can be subtle (liking all or many of your posts/pictures) to bold (asking how much it is to get started) and everything in-between! Identifying these and asking the right questions can lead to more mew team members for you!

Following are some Red Flag Questions that commonly come up:

    How many nights a week do you do this?
    Do you do this every night?
    Don’t you get tired of loading and unloading your car?
    Are there very many consultants in this area?
    How long have you been doing this?
    What does your husband think about you doing this?
    What do you do with your kids while you do shows?
    Is this all you do?  Do you have another job, too?
    How far do you have to travel to do shows?
    Do you get trained how to do this?
    How do you remember all these product names?!
    Do you only do shows at night?
    Do you have to go to a lot of meetings?
    Did you have to buy all these products?
    Do you ever get nervous before a show?
    I used to sell _______, how do you like Jamberry?
    You really seem to love what you do!  I could never do something like this.
    I live pretty far away from here, would you come that far to do a show?
Remember that the key is to answer the question with a question.  And of course, you’ll want to send her some information about the company and a catalog and sample.  Very few of us consultants “checked the box” on a door prize slip, so if you’re missing Red Flag Question askers, then you’re missing some great recruits!  If you don’t ask, someone else will!  JUST ASK.  J

Remember – the key is to answer with an open-ended question, NOT a statement that leads nowhere!  Practice saying these responses so you’ll be ready at your next show!

1. Is all that stuff heavy to haul around?
   Would you be willing to haul it for $100 a night?
2. How often do you do this?
   I do between 1-3 parties a week, depending on my family’s schedule.  How many do you see yourself doing?
3. I bet your husband hates it when you go out at night.
   At first he did, but he found he loves the paychecks.  Would your husband mind you making $100 a night?
4. I want everything.
   I can tell you love the products.  Would you like to hear how to get PAID to wear the products?
5. Can you really make any money doing this?
   Absolutely!  Could you use some extra money?
6. I’d never have the time to do this!
   How much time do you think it takes?
7. Who watches your kids?
   Would child care be an issue for you if you made $100 a night?
8. I could never do what you do.
   What is it that I do that you think you couldn’t do?
9. I hate my job.
   I know how you feel.  Have you ever thought about doing something fun on a part-time basis and make full-time pay?

Remember to keep the focus on the person asking the question – NOT yourself! Recruiting is NEVER EVER about you!

Homework:

1. Write your own responses to some of the questions listed above.
2. Think about your Facebook activity. Make a list of people that have liked/commented on your posts multiple times. What type of leading questions can you ask each one to spark the extra interest? (If you need help with this, post on the team page and we will all help you out!)
3. List any additional questions you have been asked that you think are RED FLAG questions.

Book to Look Boxes

I don't know about you, but when I'm setting up my table for shows, I always had a problem figuring out what goes in the middle of my table.  I don't want there to be anything that obstructs guests' views of each other, but I also hate the look of a bare centre.  When I heard about the idea I'm going to present to you today, it solved my problem!  This is an idea that can be transformed for any month/holiday/season, and you can use it over and over again!
First off, let's start with what my November/December tables looked like:

See that pile of presents in the middle?  Well, those are my Book-to-Look boxes.  They're pretty, they're unobtrusive, and they're going to get you a party!These are jewellery gift boxes that I picked up at Dollar Tree for 3 for $1.25 (that's how Dollar Tree works here).  I got cheap ribbon and tiny bows and decorated them.
Inside each of those little boxes is a slip of paper with a prize on it.  There are 12 of them.  3 of the prizes are "big;" 3 are small, and the rest are just a set of nails:

• 1 has an Indulgence Set (8% chance)
• 1 has a heater (8% chance)
• 1 has a manicure set (8% chance)
• 1 has a nail oil (8% chance)
• 1 has a "grab bag" (8% chance)
• 1 has a half sheet of nails (8% chance)
• 6 have free nail sets (50% chance)

When I start my parties, I recognize my hostess, do introductions, all that stuff, then I say, "Now, you might have noticed the gifts in the middle of the table.  Those are for you!  Inside each of those gifts is a different prize, up to and including an Indulgence hand set!  Here's how it works - if at any point during this party you think, 'My friends would love this!' I want you to reach out and grab a gift and put it under your chair.  When we're all done, you bring your gift with you to my private sales room, and you get to find out what you've won!"

So, you have these pretty boxes in the middle of your table that your guests have to look at when they're sitting around and they keep hearing about all the fun free stuff they could earn when they have their own party?  There's a good chance someone's going to pick one up and put it under her chair before you're at the sales part.  Even if they don't, when someone says, "I think I could book a party," it's almost always followed by "wait, does that mean I get to pick a present?!?"

When you give your hostess her packet, make sure she understands that she only gets her gift at her party and when her party reaches $150 in sales.  Write what she got free on the front of the packet.  Remind her about her prize when you follow up on her booking.  Keep driving it home that she's getting something in addition to all of her hostess prizes.  People love free stuff!!  If you make your own look to book boxes and they all have things you can buy at the Dollar store, no one cares because she's excited to get something for free!

Now, I've only shown you my Christmas setup, but I promised that you could customize this for whenever you were having your party, so here are a few years to get you through the year:

• January - buy snowflakes or hinged disco balls
• February - Find some heart-shaped boxes
• March/April - Easter Eggs!
• May - Put the prize at the bottom of a floral stem and put them in a vase.
• June - Glue them to the bottom of flip-flops
• July - Same thing as May, but use American or Canadian flags
• August/September - Apples, pencil boxes, school stuff
• October - Plastic jack-o-lanterns

Homework:  Tell us what you'll be using for your book to looks and what your prizes will be! Due tomorrow.

Ask for Bookings!

You know what the #1 way to guarantee that you'll get a booking from the party you've already got on the books?  ASK EVERYONE FOR A PARTY!!!!! Really.  Don't think "She didn't seem interested" or "I don't think she's the right one."  Everyone could want to have fun at her party.  ASK HER!!
Wouldn't you feel awful if you didn't ask someone if she wanted to have a party and found out she signed up for Jamberry with another consultant 3 months later?  That could have been your recruit!  Don't let this happen!

So, how do we make it so that we never, ever are afraid to ask someone if she'd like to have a Jamberry party?  Well, there are two ways, you reward yourself or you punish yourself.  Booking a party in and of itself should be the reward, so asking every single person at your party should be rewarded with getting new parties.  However, that doesn't always work for us.  Put a pile of Hershey's kisses next to you, and every time you actually ask someone to book a party, you get to eat it (once your guest has left the room).

Rewards aren't working?  Here's my new favourite method:

I am not even kind of kidding!  Download that picture or make your own sign.  When you get to your next hostess's party and you start setting up your booking area, tape that sign to the wall where your guests will see it.  I guarantee you that the first woman that says, "Hey, you didn't ask me to book a party," will absolutely make you ask the next one in.
The sign has an added benefit - if you put it up and ask a woman for a party, she can't be offended that you asked.  You're enforcing your own rules (or the company's rules, she doesn't know).

Up the ante.  If you use the sign and are still not getting the job done, make a new one that says $20.  I bet you'll never forget to ask again!

Getting Referrals

Do you still feel like your leads are dry, even after making a new FRANKS list, spending 15 minutes a day on the phone, and booking new parties?  Are your parties starting to be made up of the same women, which is great, but you really need some new clients to make your business take off?  Well, start asking for referrals!  Referrals from your current clients or those who have at least tried Jamberry is a great way to grow your business.  There are a few ways to do this that you can implement right away!
I don't know if you've noticed, but the front of the Customer Care cards that I keep linking have a section on the front that says, "Enter me to win a FREE product by referring 3 friends!"  This is a great tool you should be using!  Find something you can afford to give away - like a free set of nail shields and have everyone who refers three friends to you entered to win.  You can even offer 2 entries for 6 referrals and so on.  Let's do the math on this:

You have 2 parties with 10 people at each one.  Half of those people refer 3 friends to you.
You now have 30 leads!  If only 10% of these people book a party for you, you've gotten 3 extra parties that now have 10 people!  That's three additional parties that you didn't have booked!  What if one of those 30 people becomes a recruit?

Another option you can use to get more referrals is the creation of a referral card.  Consider ordering a pack of free business cards from Vistaprint that have a referral offer.  For example:  Refer a friend and receive 10% off your next order.  It doesn't have to be that, but make it something that your client will actually want.  Maybe say that, if the friend orders at least a Buy 3 Get 1 Free offer or books a party your client gets a bonus.  Write your client's name on the back of 10 business cards and give them to her (or put them in her thank you package).  The next time one of her friends is griping about the price of the salon, she might just pull your name out of her purse!

Using the Square Marketplace

When I mentioned free tools you can use to better your business, I didn't mention Square because, technically, you pay fees on your credit card transactions, and that's no fun.  However, you can sign up for Square and use their free marketplace for free.  You never have to actually use the card reader to get this benefit, and it's a remarkable benefit!

This is my Square Marketplace page.  I kept it from when I was in the States, and I have never signed up in Canada.  Why?  Because 9 times out of 10, if someone wants to pay with a credit card, I just run it through Jamberry's system and never think about it.  The 10th time, when I'm at a fair and she doesn't want me taking the information down, she just pays cash.  Here's the thing though, every piece of my inventory is on that page.  I give it to customers who just want to know what they can come pick up, and they can look through it and decide if they want to order online or come by and buy something.  This is particularly when I hear from someone new and they ask if I have inventory, or if someone is travelling from out of town and wants to see what I have.

The secondary benefit is that, if you do use the Square application to charge credit cards, you already have your inventory set up to push the name of what your client it buying.  She gets an email with your name, your website, and pictures of what she purchased.

So, today, I figured I'd do a quick tutorial on how to set up items in the Square Marketplace and leave it to you to decide if it's something you want to do.  If you do, we have homework!

1. Save every Jamberry design to your computer.  Do not do this manually!!!! I seriously spent 6 hours one day saving every loving design to my computer.  I'm glad I did it, but I don't want anyone else to have to ever do it.  Download this file and then ask me how to unzip it. You're welcome, I just saved you 6 hours.  When the new designs come out, I'll just update it and let you guys know.
2. Create a Square account.  I'll wait.
3. Once you're there and have gotten to the Dashboard, click Items
    
    
4. Select "Create New Item"
   
5. Under the grey box, select "Edit" then "Add Image".
   
   
   
   
6. A dialogue will come up so that you can select your file.  Find a nail design you have in inventory and double click on it.  I'm using Heartstrings because I know that one's on its way here now.
   
7. Enter the name of the nail wrap then create its category.  I already had "Dotted Lines" created, but all you have to do is type in the name.
   
   
   
   
8. Okay, I checked into this and I'm pretty sure this is allowed because of the functionality of the app.  I always put the price in as well as the Jamberry identifying number.  That's because, if I use the app, the price goes in automatically.  Correct me if I'm wrong
   
9. Scroll down and make sure the "Show this item online" button is blue.
   
10. IMPORTANT!!!!!  Make sure the button for "Sell this item online" is grey!  We are not allowed to sell our wraps on any site other than Jamberry.  If your customer wants what you have, she can contact you and purchase it!

Optional Homework:  If you decide to make a Square account, post your marketplace link on the team page!  Due January 20.