Song of My Heart Demonstrators

Out of the Box Bingo

Recently, a fellow demo, Michon Dubbs, shared an idea that her husband had for our large Bingo background stamp. With her permission I share it and the following variations that were subsequently contributed by other demonstrators.

Bingo is available as a stamp and as a My Digital Studio download. I prefer the MDS download as it is easily mass produced and I can alter the size as necessary.

1. Workshop Bingo: Use the Bingo card as an icebreaker at the beginning of a workshop. Give everyone a blank Bingo card (or have them stamp it on the back of their grid paper). Have them write down the names of common Stampin' Up products (ink pad, paper snips, bone folder, etc). As you go through your demonstration, they can mark each one off as you mention it.  Winner receives the door prize.
2. Variation on Workshop Bingo--have the customers flip through the catalog and write down the page numbers of the items you pre-wrote in the boxes. First one to find all the page numbers (blackout) wins the prize.
3. Wish List Bingo: At your annual new catalog open house, have the customers write down the names of stamp sets , punches or other larger items they want in each square. When they purchase it, they can mark it off. You can do a reward for a bingo or for a blackout.
4. Loyalty Bingo: Use the Bingo card as a "frequent shopper" program, filling in a square for each increment of $$ specified. When the card is full, they receive the agreed-upon reward or discount. 
5. Appreciation Bingo: At your hostess appreciation event, pre-stamp the Bingo cards with incentive stamps or hostess or Sale A Bration sets you have broken up. Clean them all carefully and put them in a large jar. To play the game, draw a stamp from the jar and have everyone mark it off. The winner of the first bingo gets their choice of the incentive stamps. You can do several winners with this one, up to the number of stamps you wish to give away.
6. Downline Bingo: At your demonstrator meetings, have your downline stamp the cards randomly themselves, assembly-line style. You stamp one, too, and cut it apart to use for the random drawing. This helps you not have to stamp all the cards yourself in advance. Play bingo as you normally would.
7. Icebreaker Downline Bingo: in advance, put the name of each downline member in a square on the Bingo card. Have your downlines introduce themselves and initial each other's squares on the card. First one to blackout wins. 
8. Baby Shower Bingo: pass out blank cards before you open presents. Have the attendees write down different baby items they think the hostess will get in the squares. Check them off as the hostess opens each gift.

If you have additional ideas for use with the Bingo card stamp, please leave a comment here. I think we'll all be looking at this wonderful background stamp in a totally different way now!

Dream BIG!

My Own Private Island Game

I recently attended a Thirty-One party, and the consultant played a game with us which left me quite intrigued and determined to adapt it for Stampin' Up use. She was able to not only break the ice with this game, but work in recruiting statements in a totally non-pushy way.

It didn't have a name that I am aware of, so I am calling it "My Own Private Island" Game, for reasons which will become clear.

Start by giving each guest a blank sheet or half sheet of paper (if you have forgotten to bring these, in a pinch you can have them draw on the back of the sale flyer or grid paper.) They'll also each need a pen or pencil.

Tell the guests to close their eyes and not to open them until they are told to do so. After each step of the game, they are to lift their pencil up and hold it in front of their faces so that you know they are done. This also makes the game even more fun, as they tend to lose their mental place on the page and the drawings get crazier.

In order, tell them to draw the following things, pausing between each to allow them time to draw and lift their pencils between the steps: an island; a palm tree on the left; three coconuts on their palm tree; themselves on the right; a shopping bag in their right hand; money in their left hand; the word "free" under the shopping bag; and finally, three friends up in the sky.

Have them open their eyes and see what they have drawn. There are usually lots of giggles and comparing of scribbles. Have each person pass their drawing to the guest on their left. Then have them total up the points as follows:

• one point for drawing waves and/or sunshine with their island
• if the palm tree is on the island, one point
• one point for each coconut that is touching the tree
• two points if they drew hair on themselves
• if the shopping bag is touching the person, one point
• two points if the word "free" is under the shopping bag
• if the money is touching the person at all, one point
• one point for each friend drawn with a smiley face

Then as they total up their scores, you tell them the meaning of the drawing. The island represents the exotic locations they could visit as a result of their Stampin' Up business. The waves and the sunshine reflect how good they will feel when they accomplish their goals. The palm tree is for how relaxing it is to be your own boss. The shopping bag represents the wonderful products we carry, and the word "free" stands for the loads of product they will receive as a demo. The money reflects how they have a great opportunity to earn extra income. The three friends represent all the wonderful people that the new demo is going to meet during her Stampin' Up journey, and the smiley faces are to show that everyone is having a ball!

The highest score wins. Have a cute prize handy for the winner, and then tell them you'll be happy to answer any questions they have about how Stampin' Up can help them get on that island and make their own goals and dreams a reality.

Putting together a compelling recruit packet

My downline Business Challenge this month is to put together some recruit packets in advance. Many of my group discovered for the first time this year how Sale A Bration greatly increases the attention of interested potential recruits, and were left scrambling around for information, trying to print off forms, and figure out how to do the various add-ons and discounts.Now, a perfect upline would have held this challenge BEFORE Sale a Bration... add that to my yearly, chronologically-laid out calendar for next year!

Imagine this all-too-real scenario at a coffee shop:

Interested Ida: "...And you know, I talked to Handsome Harry, and I'm really thinking about it."

Daisy Demo (squeals): "That's so awesome! I'm so excited for you! I just love being a demo."

II: "Yeah, I'm excited, too. I'm not totally positive yet, but I think I might want to do this."

DD: "I can get you some info and some forms so you can see how you can personalize the kit..." (rummages in purse for dog-eared business card.) "This is all I have with me right now... do you have a catalog already? I have one in the car I can give you, but it's a little sticky..."

II: "Oh that's ok. I can wait. I picked up a little pamphlet thingy at your show, but I think it was outdated, because it had a stamp set from two years ago in there."

DD: "Oh, that might be... I will be sure to get you a new one. I have a whole packet I hand out to people (thinking: or I will, as soon as I pull one together!). I can run it by your house this week."

II (getting ready to leave): "That would be great. I want to read up and make sure Handsome Harry's really on board. I'll be watching for the packet. Great seeing you again. "

DD (makes mental note to swipe a decent looking school folder from her oldest to put everything in): "Ok! It's a deal! I'm so glad we ran into each other! Bye! Oh, wait, I need your address! Here, write it on this napkin!" (rummages for pen and pulls out a broken crayon)

How much more professional and impressive would it be if you had a folder all ready to go, that you could just pull out of your bag or your car when someone expressed interest? That you knew in advance had all the collected information, up to date forms, and the latest brochure? And you could carry on the recruiting conversation without sounding like an idiot while your mind raced ahead in panic?

Here are some collected tips for that wonderfully awkward, exciting moment when you realize someone is truly interested in learning more:

• Presentation is important! Don't just hand them a wad of papers to look through. Get a nice folder and embellish it with a wheel stamp, or use the ones available on a supply order. Put the materials in the order you want your potential recruit to look through them.Fun things first, then the forms, and finally the IDA.
• Include something fun in with all that business material--a handstamped card, a card kit, a sheet of quick card layouts, a template, old Inspiration Sheets, etc.
• Even if you plan on signing people up online, print out the Starter Kit Order forms. This will give them a worksheet for choosing how to personalize their kit, and show them everything they will be getting. If that is filled out, the online sign-up process will be a piece of cake.
• Create a handout that specifically sends them where they need to go to sign up online and lists what they will need to have ready in order to complete the process, with your contact info and assurances to be there if they have questions.
• Use the most current, up to date recruiting brochure from Stampin' Up. These were recently redesigned to be less specific as to kit contents, so they can be used from year to year. However, when there are significant tweaks to the Career Plan, you will need new brochures. Make sure your contact info is on the back.
• I have a form letter that tells my personal story and shares a few of the highlights of demonstratorship. At the end I let them know the various ways I can be contacted for more info, and assure them I will be available every step of the way. 
• Write a personal message on a large sticky note and put it on your form letter or inside the folder. Let them know you're excited for them to be thinking about starting the journey. Mention a characteristic or asset they already possess that will help them be a great demonstrator.
• Put a Stampin' Up sticky note on the front of each packet. Then, when you hand them out, ask the recipient to write their address and contact info on the note and give it back to you. This will prevent the ball from being left entirely in their court, should they fail to get back with you.
• Keep a recruit packet in your car, protecting it from mishaps with a Craft Keeper (I also keep a catalog and mini in there as well.) Put a note on your planner to check it once per quarter to keep it up to date, or replace a damaged envelope. 
• Keep another recruit packet in your workshop tote. Don't leave home without it! I take mine out during the show, tell everyone what it is, and leave it right on the display table so that anyone who is interested can take it home with them.
• Consider making up a smaller, simpler recruiting info packet for events where you will be handing a lot of them out, such as a craft show or vendor fair. These don't need all the heavy-duty info reserved for very serious potential recruits, as they are likely only getting picked up by casual shoppers. Make them cute and fun, with just enough info to spark more interest--and of course, your full slate of contact information.
• Don't forget to replenish your stock of recruit packets when you get low. You've done well, purposefully planning ahead for your success. Don't let disorganization end badly what started so well! 

A little organization and effort before the need arises will pay off in many ways later on, not the least of which is your own feeling of accomplishment when you successfully and professionally snag that new recruit. Feel free to share tips about recruit packets in a comment below.

Dream BIG!

Forgot your hostess gift or door prize? No problem!

I recently hit upon fun and practical idea to cover those occasions when you find yourself at the start of a workshop and realize you have forgotten to bring along a little hostess thank you gift, or something for those door prize slips that people are passing in.

Many demos fall back on "oh, I'll just offer them free shipping," or unobtrusively rifle through their sample basket looking for something that's not too dog-eared, but there is a cute way to cover your boo-boo that won't require you to sacrifice 10% of your income for that person, or give away and of your precious card fronts--and come out smelling like roses.

This idea grew out of my Scrap A Stack Club, where one of our projects is a single 12x12 page. After hearing the ladies mention a few times how they were going to try to match the colors at home and make a two-page spread out of it, I decided that a second page would be the hostess gift. So when I pass around the supplies for the single page project, the hostess takes a second set and that's her gift.

It has been working really well. It requires no forethought on my part, no real extra space in my bag, and extremely little extra weight to carry along. Sometimes I am able to use some specialty papers for that hostess which I can't use for the whole group, or showcase another embellishment that I don't have enough of for everyone. On the occasion that the club is held at the home of someone who is not the hostess for the month, I give them a second set as a thank you as well.

Translating this to the workshop setting, I started cutting an extra cards' worth for every project for a show (in addition to the 2-3 extra I always bring in case of un-RSVP'd guests or unexpected tag-along friends.) This gives you plenty of room to play. You can have the hostess make two as you're all working, or you can give her an extra set like a Make N Take packet, to make up later quickly and easily (to the envy of her friends).

Or, based on the size of the group, you can also do one or two door prizes with those extra supplies, and you can also string the excitment along and draw the names right before each project to see who is going to get to make two of something.

Variation #1--If all expected guests have arrived and you can see that you have plenty of extras cut for the evening, you could also announce that everyone who is planning to book a party that night can make doubles of one (or all) of the projects. Make sure to watch for people who do, and then hold them to it when you are closing up at the end of the evening. However, if they do flake out and never end up hosting, you are only out the supplies for a card, and nothing too costly.

Variation #2-- draw the door prize winner right before you begin the stamping part of the evening. Announce that she gets to make an extra of one of the projects--but that she can't see them in advance and must decide as the supplies are being passed around. Will she jump at the first card, or take her chances that she will like the second better? Door number one or door number two--or will she wait until project three?  The other guests will be urging her to make certain ones, or sighing in mock jealousy, wishing they could make two of a particularly delicious project.

I'm always looking for ways to streamline my packing and eliminate the potential for forgetting items at home. Enjoy this simple and easy idea to help you out of some of those awkward moments at shows, and possibly add some booking interest and a fun twist to your workshops.

Dream BIG!

Price Increases: Sticking to your guns

A big problem that sometimes occurs a couple of years into demonstratorship happens when we realize we need to raise our prices.

Prices are raised for any number of very legitimate reasons, including increased costs, whether of raw product, supply costs, or gas prices; new costs such as developing babysitting expenses or having to rent a larger space; or simply the realization that one is making only pennies for precious time spent away from family.

However logical those reasons may be, raising your fees can be a deal-breaking moment for some of your periphrial customers and is not for the faint of heart. Many of us raise them incrementally, hoping customers will not realize it, and others come to the end of their ropes and "rip the Band-Aid off," so to speak, getting it over with quickly. There are things to be said for both views. 

Sometimes demonstrators assume that because the price of gas and groceries has gradually gone up, customers will also be reasonable and realize the same is true of the costs of cardstock and shipping. Not to be a discouragement, I'd like to warn you that this in not usually the case.

When people realize they are paying more for the same product or service, there is a very normal negative reaction. Now, we hope that this negativity is immediately tempered by rational internal dialogue, with the end result being the customer swiftly comes to the conclusion that you had no choice but to raise prices. In reality, some will not be able to overcome that initial negative reaction and it will take them time to adjust to the "new normal."

If you choose the "rip the Band-Aid off" method of raising your prices, I encourage you to be prepared in advance for lower attendance, upset emails, and a few who drop out entirely. It is not subtle and it should be accompanied by a simple, short and sweet explanation just to your customer friends that are affected (no mass emails). It should also not be undertaken lightly or without a good deal of forethought and feedback from trusted, experienced sources. However, there are cases where this approach is completely necessary, and sometimes it is not as bad as you think it is going to be.

I once came to the realization that I was providing too many projects for a monthly hostess club. I continued to do so for months simply because I was afraid I would lose them by cutting down the projects, and I didn't feel good about raising the minimum order required each month. If I might say so frankly, that was very foolish. I do not work my tail off full time in order to subsidize my friends' hobbies. I looked for ways to sub in cheaper supplies and save on paper, but it was not enough. So eventually I had to bite the bullet and tell them I was cutting one of the projects. And you know what? I didn't lose any of them.

I encourage you not to wait until you have lost a lot of money, or a little money gradually over a long period of time. Here are some take-away tips to remember when considering your pricing structure.

• DO YOUR MATH so that you know exactly what your costs are. Be sure to add all incidentals like gas, room rental, food, paper goods and business forms, too, as well as any assistants or babysitters you paid. You might be surprised at how little the projects actually cost, but how much the "extras" do.

• Be intentional when setting your prices--never pull a figure out of the air and NEVER just price a class the same as always just because that's what you've always charged.

• Stick to your guns. Remember how bad you felt when you realized you did not make any money at all, rather paid some out of your own pocket, for that one event. Recall the feelings you experienced as you drove home that night and did the math, coming to the conclusion that you had paid people to come to their friend's house and use up your stamping supplies.

• The less involved your customers are, the less likely they are to accept the changes with postivity. So the best advice I can give you on raising your prices is to do your level best to provide even more excellent customer service and foster that sense of relationship with your stamping friends. Up your intangibles in equal proportion to how high you are being forced to up the tangibles.

• You are not here to subsidize anyone else's hobby. No reasonable person, no true friend, could possibly expect that. Some customer friends may need fuller explanations or more time to process the changes and get over your new fees, and you should try to stay calm and professional and try not to get upset or take it personally.

• If you do lose some customers, it's ok to look at your fees and reevaluate to make sure you are being reasonable, but don't cave in right away.  You can tell them truthfully that your business is a work in progress, and you will be analyzing the results every few months and reassessing the situation. You may not revise your prices at all in the end, but your customer will have time to adjust, to ponder the reasons you outlined for the increase, and eventually will probably work it out.

While raising your prices may not be popular, it may be absolutely crucial to the survival of your business. I'd encourage you to leave comments here if you would like to relate any additional tips or personal experiences for your fellow demonstrators. And then take a moment when you're planning out your upcoming classes to make sure that you are being intentional with your prices, and realistic as to the actual expenses you face. Your business will be the better for it, I promise.

Dream BIG!

Why you don't need a business coach

You won't be a demonstrator very long before you notice that there are people offering "business coaching services" specifically for the stamping business owner. Obviously, clever entrepreneurs have discovered a market in selling products and services specifically targeted to other demonstrators.

For clarity's sake, I am differentiating here between those who always offer advice, seminars, etc for free, and those who charge some or all of the time. All of the advice below is referring to paying for business advice or coaching services.

While in most cases, no rules are being broken here at the time of writing, I have reservations as to the advisability of paying for these services for the average demonstrator. Do not feel as if you have less chance of succeeding, if you don't have a business coach. That is simply not true. While some business coaches claim a high "client" base in the percentage of demonstrators who are high achievers, which of course we have no way of verifying, I can assure you that most high-achieving demonstrators are not paying anyone to coach them.

Stampin' Up has a wonderfully simple, easy to understand business plan, with excellent resources and training materials, available in a variety of formats, and backed by a incredible team of support. While I would never say there is nothing to be learned from direct-selling, marketing and home business books, websites and bloggers, I truly believe there is no need to pay for any extra services beyond what Stampin' Up, an encouraging upline, and the networking opportunities provided through physical events and Stampin' Connection have made possible.

In my experience, the single most unfortunate aspect of some of these coaches is their subtle implication that the average woman cannot succeed in Stampin' Up without outside help. This is not true, and I know this from personal experience and from speaking with many, many other demonstrators who have made wise use of Stampin' Up's resources and their own creativity and determination. You can succeed, and with flying colors!

YOU and your unique talents and efforts are what got you to where you are today and what will get you where you want to go. In fact, those coaches would agree with me when I paraphrase the quote by an unknown author--"all the business advice in the world will not work unless YOU do. "

Not all business coaching services are bad, although there are none that I recommend without reservations at the time of writing. However, some business coaches use frankly shady tactics to draw customers in. I have identified some practices that should set off alarm bells when you are considering a business coach:

• caution that the company is misleading or misinforming their own demonstrators
• promise ridiculously high sales increases in short time periods
• provide no statistics or don't back up claims of efficacy with proof
• have few or no testimonials, provide no dates for testimonials, or never update the testimonials they mention
•  regularly offer "free" webinars and phone conferences that contain some generic advice but are obvious vehicles for advertising paid services, books or products.

Remember, as soon as a person solicits money from you, their motives must be taken with a grain of salt. It stands to reason that those who claim to help you learn all the secrets of good advertising are good advertisers of themselves, and they know how to present themselves in the best light possible.

If you do decide to spend your hard-earned money on a paid business coach, go into the relationship with your eyes wide open and your research well done. Do yourself a favor and commit to really working the resources around you first, before you spend your dollars for advice. Seek out experienced demonstrators who have been there and done that. Take full advantage of the tools available, and trust in your own intuition and ability to learn and grow and help your business flourish.

Dream Big!

 

Setting goals for your stamping blog

What do you want from your blog? Do you know? Have you ever really thought about it beyond, "it's fun?"

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them." ~Denis Waitley

I've been reading Typepad For Dummies (thanks, hubby!) and the authors give some good thoughts on goal-setting for your blog (interspered here with my own stamping-specific thoughts and paraphrases):

• Consider what motivates you. Why did you start the blog? What keeps you going on days when you think, "I haven't posted today. I really should... but I don't want to?" You goal could be sales, connection with your customers, educating your downline, simple sharing, or all of the above.
• Once you decide what you want out of your blog, it's time to evaluate whether or not you are doing that job or meeting those goals. Has it become a valuable source of information for your downline? Is it a place where your customers go when they need inspiration? Is it a jumping-off place for your DBWS, generating sales?
• Break down those big goals into increments. Write them down somewhere so you can reevaluate those goals and decide if you need to take a new approach.
• Try to transform intangible goals into tangible ones, and non-specific goals into specific ones. How will saying "I want to make money from this blog" play out in real life?
• Deal in facts. Concentrate on subscribers, not page views--and definitely not comments. One comment for every 100 views is unfortunately not at all uncommon, and should never be taken as indicative of whether or not readers are enjoying your blog. Page views are great, but can be falsely inflating. One subscriber means one person.
• Be aware of blog reading trends--slow down times, weeks where people's attention is drawn elsewhere by a big news event or major holiday. Don't get discouraged over a traffic dip that everyone is experiencing--not just you.
• If you have multiple goals for your blog, consider an editorial calendar. This will cover what you write and when you write it. For instance, say you want to make sure you  mention the business opportunity once per week, along with regular posts targeted to the scrapbookers amongst your stampers. or you want to post a card sketch or color combo on a specific day of the week. Planning the week's posts out on an editorial calendar--or even just scrawled in your planner or a Post it Note stuck to the monitor--can help you stay on top of that general schedule.
• Focus on what you can control. Other people's reading habits are not controllable, ultimately. Make it as easy as possible to get to, read, comment on and subscribe to your blog, of course-- but set your own goals and work towards those, letting go of what is beyond our control.

Finally, I reccomend a SHORT (it's too easy to get carried away when viewing stamping blogs)and specific analytical browse through no more than four blogs. Look over the most recent posts and think about what their blogging goals might be. Are they working towards those goals? What are they doing/covering well? In what areas could some of them improve?

Just being aware of your blog as a tool to help you get somewhere is a huge step in the right direction. Being mindful of the blog's place in your larger business scheme will help you stay motivated to keep it up and turn it into an even more useful tool than it has been in the past.

Dream Big!

 

Blog Tips: Adding the Facebook "like" button to posts

All major blog platforms now have the capability to add a neat little Facebook "like" button to the bottom of each post. Do a quick Google search using a phrase such as "adding Facebook like to blog posts" and then select a tutorial that works for whatever blog platform you are using (Typepad, Wordpress, Blogger, etc).

It should only take five minutes or so to accomplish, and then every post you generate from then on will have that little universal icon for people to click on.

Why is this a good thing? I encourage you to do so for a couple of reasons. First, you will gain totally cost-free, effort-free advertising, beginning today. Every time someone "likes" a post of yours, it shows up on their Facebook wall and home feed as a link straight to your blog. Anyone who sees it can then click on it and visit you. What's not to love about that?

Secondly, it will provide feedback from a greater percentage of your readers. It's far easier to click a button than to leave a comment. It's just an unfortunate fact of blogging that only a tiny minority of your readers will ever leave a comment, no matter how easy you make it for them. The "like" button can help you remain encouraged and motivated to blog even when actual comments are few and far between.

Plus, the Facebook "like" button can only be POSITIVE feedback, right? There's no "dislike" button. So there are only upsides to adding this tool. Take advantage of this easily added widget to help promote your blog and spread the word that things are happening in your fun stamping business.

FREE PDF: Bonus Bundle flyer for SAB recruits

In making up my recruiting packets for the upcoming Sale A Bration 2011, I felt like a flyer outlining what comes in the Bonus Bundle was in order. Feel free to use this generic flyer for your own business. There is no personal information that would have to be changed out.

Download SAB Bonus Bundle

 

Dream BIG! What is your recruiting goal for Sale A Bration? Is it a bit of a stretch, or are you not budging from that comfort zone? Click here to read an article about those cozy places!

Card Making Relay downline challenge

I've been saving this fun game idea until after I presented it at Leadership Conference during a Business Share session on Downline Retention. It's the perfect team-building challenge for your next downline meeting--and loads of fun as well as a learning experience!

The goal: each team will create a single card together, using only the supplies in the box, within a given time frame (10 minutes works well).

Set up: prepare two boxes (or more, if your group is large and you will have more than two teams) with identical stamping supplies inside. They should have everything they need to make a typical card--only there is no sample card. They have no idea what it is supposed to look like. There is no "right" answer here--they will "win" because they are learning to work together.

You will also need a stopwatch, and if you will be judging the finished results, a prize.

To play: divide the group into teams and give one box to each team. Once the supplies are out and the stop watch is clicked, the team members must pass the card around the table as each person does ONE step. They can only add ONE element to the card before they must pass it on. A punch counts as a step, a stamp, a layer, a fold, etc.

They can verbally encourage each other and communicate, but must rely on the other members to do their part and be open to others' visions. Whatever is handed back to them when it comes around full circle, they must work with. The card may go around the circle several times or just once, depending on how many people there are in the group. The game ends when the time is up.

Try this fun challenge at your next meeting and help your downline grow together as a team. By giving them opportunities to foster group unity and camaraderie, you will be increasing the likelihood that members will stay involved and active in the group for more reasons than just their love of stamping.

Dream BIG!