Reps Blog

Southern Naturals Blog was created to give valuable information to our reps, and also to give additional info to those of you who might be thinking of signing up with us.

Here you will find answers to your questions about becoming a Rep as well as answers to your questions about how your website works, Ideas to make you business grow and party planning ideas.

Question and Answers-to answer any questions you may have.
Program Information- on how our program works and the benefits
About Your Site- For those wanting to know more about how their site works
Suggest A Product-Have a product you would like to see us carry, tell me about it.
Places To Party-Some great places that will let you host an online party for free

Hostess Rewards for hosting a Southern Naturals Party

Just for booking a party with Southern Naturals you receive a 2 oz bottle of our Hand Sanitizer.

$50 in sales~ FREE 10 oz candle
$50.01- 100 in sales~ FREE 10 oz candle and a product of your choice
$100.01-200 in sales~ FREE 10 oz candle and two products of choice
$200.01- and up ~ 10% of sales in FREE product

1. Find a friend to host a party for you
2. Decide whether you will do a presentation for the guests or just let them browse.
3. Arrive early to set up your display. Keep it simple, so that it’s easy to set up and clear away. A table covering with some strategically placed boxes underneath will usually suffice.
4. Chat to guests as they arrive and let them know whether they can buy there and then or whether you are just taking orders to be delivered later on. This is also the time to do your presentation if you have one. Encourage sales by being as friendly and helpful as you can!
5. Give your host a gift to say thank you and a percentage of sales to spend on their own purchases.
6. Ask guests whether any of them would like to host a party of their own.
7. Clear away as quickly as possible once the party is over, so as not to impose on your host any more than necessary.
8. Deliver any orders back to the host as soon as possible to distribute to guests.

rom: Internet Based Moms http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/articles2/online_parties.html

Online parties are similar to home parties, but the guests are able to stay at home in their pjs if they like. Its makes for a more relaxed atmosphere. You hold your party pretty much the same way you would a home party just you don’t have a display case to set up.

1. Setup online parties

A) Finding a Hostess ~ The first step to setting up a online party is to find a hostess. Try asking friends and family members to host a online party for you. You can also put out ads on the internet looking for random hostess for your party. You could do a mystery hostess party where you would draw a name from the guest and give them the hostess benefits. Another idea is to host your own party.

B) Setting a good date -You will want to grab your calendar and find a good date for you and your hostess. But you will also want to do some research on which days are good for online parties. We have seen that during the week are good days for parties. When winter hits then weekends can be great for parties to because the family is not out doing things together instead they are home trying to stay warm

c) Getting a Room - You will need a chat room to have your online party in. There are several places on the net to get a chat room. Again you will want to do some research and find the best one for your needs.
Editor’s Note: Internet Based Moms offers free chat rooms for Work at Home Moms Networking. Southern Naturals offers it’s own party/chat room http://reps.southernnaturals.com/chat/index.php for you to use if you wish.
You have the option of getting your own chat room and hosting it on your site or paying for a party room. Here are some free chat rooms and some party rooms that you can get a fee.

1) Bravenet.com - Offers a free chat room to be hosted on your own chat. Bravenet offers many things great for WAHM’s you can check them out at http://bravenet.com

2) The Mouse Connection - Offers party rooms hosted on there site. Fees ranges from $8.00 - $45.00 a month. There are many features that come with these chat rooms you can check them out at http://themouseconnection.com

3) Direct Sales Moms - Offers party rooms hosted on their site. Fees are $45.00 a year. There are many features that come with these chat rooms you can check them out at
http://www.directsalesmoms.com/online_party_rooms

There are many more rooms out there, these are just 3 we have either used or been in and they are good for parties

D) Figuring out Specials - Always know your company specials. We usually try to make up a special that is only good for the guest of the party also. This lets them know they are getting something special for taking the time to come to your party. Good specials range from a free (small) gift with a order, 10% off price, a lot of customers love the free shipping specials. Be sure that whatever you give as a special isn’t going to leave you with no profit though.

E) Games and prizes Be sure to come up with some games and prizes to be played at your party also. Games add a little competition to your party adding more fun. There are many games that can be played at parties below are just 4 of the games we have played before:

1) Scramble - Pick 5 - 10 words from your site or your business and scramble them up before the party. Let everyone know that the words are coming from your site or your business whichever you choose.

2) Trivia - Pick 5-10 questions about your site. Let everyone know that the answers can be found on your site. The first person to get the correct answer gets a point at the end of the game the person with the most points gets the prize you have picked out.

3) Bingo - Have a list of words on your site and have guest pick out 5 words and email you those words, then later on when time for the game start picking words from your list, the first person who you call all 5 words calls bingo and wins the game

4) Auctions - These are a blast and we have done great with them. You make up a list of ways for guest to earn play money to bid with. With the highest way to earn being either purchasing or booking a party
Then you pick out a few prizes to auction off. This is a great game to get competitive juices going.

For each game you have you will want to have a prize. There are many different prizes that you could give, below is just some suggestions for a prize. When picking out a prize be sure to pick out one that is suitable for the game. For example if its a harder game you might wanna pick out a better prize than if its a easy game.

A) Gift Certificates - in what ever amount you deemed suitable. Usually $5 - $10 are good amounts.

B) Coupon Books made up of coupons for certain amount off a certain product.

C) If you company offers sale aids for giveaways at home parties these make great gifts too.

F) Preparing Invite and sending it A invite to a online party is like a ad. You will want it to entice people to come to your party. Be sure to include all the info that is needed for your party like date, time, place, specials etc… Send the invite out to all your friends and family and to any groups you belong to. Be sure not to send them to people you don’t know or groups your not in, this can be considered spam if you do and you don’t want to get in trouble for spam. You can send a invite via email or you could use evite.com and they will send your invite out for you.

2 Actual Party

A) Introduction of your business You will want to greet people when they come into your party. Wait until few minutes after the time it is suppose to start and then let everyone know what it is you do. Be sure to thank them for being at your party.

B) Sales Specials and Leads Let all your guest know what the specials for the party are. Also make sure they know where to get to your site at. A suggestion would be to have the link on the party page so they can just click right on it. Watch for any questions that someone might have. Answer them to the best of your ability.

C) Games and prizes You have your games and prizes figured out, pick a good time to play them usually after everyone has had a chance to look through your specials and site

D) Recruiting & Hosting Leads Let your guest know what your hostess is getting tonight for hosting the party. Tell them they can get the same thing if they would like to host a party also. Ask them to let you know if they want to host and then try to set a date then for the party if you can’t let them know you will be emailing them to pick out a good date Tell the guest what you get from starting your own business. Be sure to tell them the recruiting special that your company has going.

E) Chit Chat Make room for general chit chat all through your party. Don’t want it all to be business but make sure you keep control of your room that way when you need the conversation geared back to business it can easily be done.

3 Closing the Party

A lot of times online parties don’t end right when they are scheduled to so plan on being there a longer than what you have actually planned . When everyone is getting ready to leave (they will usually leave at different times) be sure to thank them for coming and let them know you will be contact with their total (if they ordered and if you hadn’t already gotten it to them) Also let them know you hope they had fun and you hope to see them around again sometime. Ask
if they would like to be added to a invite list you are making for
upcoming online parties. Be sure to thank you host for hosting and let her know you will be in contact to let her know what she has earned from her party

This is just a basic way to have a online party. You will want to do what feels comfortable to you. Play with the idea do what works best for you.

Home Party Tips - Setting Yourself Up For Success

Hosting a home party can be a great way to generate more sales for your product! A home party makes people feel more relaxed and comfortable with the rep, and that increases the likelihood that checkbooks will come out at the end of your presentation. Sometimes, though, the mood just isn’t there and sales don’t happen the way you’d like. How can you avoid a situation like that? Here are a few tips about setting yourself up for success with a fantastic home party!

1. Be prepared - Always be prepared well beforehand to avoid any last minute rushing around (you know what I’m talking about). Know exactly what you are going to present and have needed materials and visual aids at hand. If you are passing out take-home information, have enough on hand for everyone. If you have to transport your material to another location, use sturdy boxes and label each one so you know where everything is. Having a husband or friend along to help can save you time and stress.

2. Cleanliness counts - If you are hosting the party at your home, do the cleaning the day before or hire someone to do it for you. If a friend is hosting for you, ask them to be sure the home is clean Messiness detracts from you and your presentation. Indoor animals should be shut in a room with food and water to cut down on distractions, and children and husbands should go out for a few hours or stay quietly in another part of the house.

3. Set the stage – Allow yourself plenty of time to set up your materials. Once everything is set up, check it out from the perspective of the clientele. Can you see everything clearly? Light a few scented candles or use a plug-in air freshener to help the mood – subtle scents can relax customers and increase their desire to buy. A word of warning: try to find out ahead of time if any of your guests have asthma or breathing difficulties, and avoid candles if so. Having a potential client go into an asthma attack at your party is not the way to boost sales!

4. Relax yourself – before beginning your presentation, do a few breathing exercises or (if you can go somewhere private) some stretches to help loosen yourself up. Good speakers come across as confident, self-assured people who really believe in the product or service they are presenting and this in turn convinces the audience that the product or service is something valuable.

5. Circulate, circulate, circulate! – Once your presentation is finished and the guests are involved with refreshments, make yourself available to anyone and everyone who might want to talk to you. Be friendly and accessible, and move around the room, not just around your table. If you are away from the table and see someone examining materials, you can always go back, but frequently guests feel more comfortable talking away from the display, which can mean pressure to buy to some.

Try one or all of these tips and see your sales jump as your home parties become more and more successful!

1. Be at the party (See that was easy)
2. Present the Products ( If you have some products in mind get with me I will be happy to work with you on promoting the products
3. Supply Samples
4. Supply Brochures
5. Help Hostess with set up and clean up.
6. Take orders
7. Hostess rewards order must be emailed to me at: JenG@southernnaturals.com separate from the party orders.
8. All orders are shipped to the rep for Distribution
9. Use brochure for your order from.

Log into your admin at www.yoursite.com/admin
1. Click on the Promotions icon
2. Click on the Add New Promotion Button
3. Under Promotion Code enter the name of your code. You can call it anything you like.
4. Enter the % of the discount you want to give, 10, 20 the choice is up to you.
5. Click the Update Promotions Button
6. That’s it your done. You can give this code to anyone you want to give a discount to. I find it works well for advertising to yahoo groups. That way you know which group your sale came from.

128 ways to market your Southern Naturals Business

These ideas can be used with Business Cards, Brochures, or Samples. It just depends on how you work your business.

1. Send a business card out with every bill.
2. If you have another business you ship product for be sure to include something from Southern Naturals with your out going packages.
3. Get a free or low cost ad in your apartment or homeowners association newsletter.
4. See if the apartment or homeowners association sends out a welcome pack to new community members often they will let you add flyers or samples.
5. Give a card or sample to your favorite waitress. I have made tons of sales this way.
6. Always hand a card or sample to the store clerk.
7. Staple one to permission slips filled out for your kids school.
8. Send samples and cards to your husbands work.
9. Hand out samples and cards at play dates for the kids.
10. Ware an “Ask Me About Southern Naturals” button when you go out.
11. Leave cards in Dr. and Dentist waiting rooms.
12. Give cards and samples to the mailman or delivery boy. Don’t forget they have wives and girlfriends.
13. Leave cards in restroom stalls in public places. I know sounds strange but I have gotten sales this way, and what else do you have to do in the bathroom stall.
14. Take a small zip close baggie (snack sizes work well) and include the following in it: Your Business Card, Business Oppty Mini Flyer, a Piece of Candy such as hard candy or a lollipop, mini flyer of current host specials,
discount coupon (optional) etc. Hand these out to the bank tellers, retail cashiers, at your kids sport events, every where you go!
15. When I stay at hotels & motels I leave a mini catalog, my business card & discount coupon and the mini coin canister for the maid! I put her tip inside the mini coin canister! I have gotten 3 orders by doing this! Be creative when you leave tips for Hotel Maids, Waitresses, Waiters, Hair Dressers, etc. Don’t just hand them your business card, make it memorable! You can also buy cute little beaded change purses at your local dollar discount store!
16. Print out flyers with your contact info (not your personal address), your website address & email address along with any current specials you are offering. Then contact local area mobile home park offices, apartment complex rental offices, housing developments etc and ask them if you can leave fliers in their office or hang on their tenants doors. Give the office employees a free gift or discount on their personal orders.
17. Contact local area bridal supply stores, bridal gown stores, caterers, tux rental centers, wedding dj’s etc. Ask them if you can leave your business cards & fliers about the great (Company Name) Bridal Gift Registry for them to give to their customers. Offer store owners a free gift or a personal discount for helping you spread the word about your business.
18. Daycare Centers! They are excellent to contact and leave business cards and/or fliers at! I print out a flyer of just a few items from our Tupperware Children’s line and I attach my business card & a discount coupon. I get a lot of orders by doing this!
19. A lot of churches hold a Spring and Fall Fest! Contact them about getting a table or a booth. A lot of times this will cost you under $15.00 for a space! Make sure you take products with you along with business oppty fliers, plenty of catalogs, business cards etc. Do a contest drawing at these types of events. Make up entry blanks that gather the customers info so that you can initiate contact with them again!
20. Join your local area chamber of commerce! They are always holding local business events that you can participate in.
21. College Campuses! Dorms & Housing Students are always looking to spend money! A lot of college students are also looking for an extra income so target them with the Business Oppty too! Drop off fliers and business cards to the College Student Center! They usually have bulletin boards, tables and other things where you can leave your information at for FREE!
22. Contact your local area hospitals and ask for Human Resources Dept. The Majority of hospitals hand out New Mommy Diaper Bags filled with products, samples and other stuff for New Moms who just had a baby!
It’s FREE for you to add in your information! I have gotten party hosts, new customers and new recruits by participating in these types of programs.
23. Contact your local medical offices, particularly Gynecology and OB Offices and Pediatric Offices and inquire about you leaving information with them. This is a way for you to target Parents of Children with both the home party oppty, the business oppty and new customer sales.
24. Donate a Product to your local area Radio Station, they have numerous contests and they are always looking for sponsors!
Your donation can be written off as a tax deduction plus you will get FREE Advertising & Business Exposure for your donation!
25. Donate a Product to your local area Bingo Halls! They are always looking for sponsors of their Bingo Prizes! Bingo is BIG in a lot of areas!
26. Call your Chamber of Commerce and find out about Local Area Job Fairs. Get a booth and set up info about the fabulous business oppty!
27. Contact local area car dealerships. I have 2 in my local area that hand out a small packet that I made up for FREE to their customers who come in to take a free test drive!
28. Target your local area gyms! You can get a table space for $20 or less in most cases! Make sure you have 3-5 products on display, plenty of catalogs, business cards and fliers.
29. Network with others in your community who are in home business. Find out what events and activities that they participate in. They are usually “in the know” and can help you get started in networking in your community.
30. Contact Companies in your area to see if you can come in and set up a table in the employee lounge or cafeteria for a employee shopping break! These days a lot of companies will allow you to do this if you ask them!
31. Does your local area tv cable company have a local information channel? Inquire about advertising! These ads will reach thousands of potential buyers for you! I recommend you only use your website address for these types of advertising and not your personal at home address.
32. Contact local small companies and shops to see if you can offer an exclusive discounts or freebie gift to their employees. Companies are always looking for a way to “treat” their employees to specials from the local surrounding community.
33. Small Home Town Newspapers! I don’t get too good of a response when I do big newspaper city ads, however… when I target small town newspapers I usually get a great response. I even had them let me place an ad on their wedding and engagement announcements page which I advertised the Bridal Gift Registry.
So if you are going to do any type of newspaper advertising, inquire about getting your ads on specific pages in the newspaper that targets the group of people most likely to buy from you.
34. Get a low cost outdoor banner printed up with your business information on it. You can usually get them done for $55 or less depending on who makes it.
You can have these outdoor banners displayed at outdoor music/concert events, outdoor children’s sporting events, outdoor adult sport events, outdoor neighborhood block parties, outdoor community events, carnivals, fairs, etc.
35. Take your business on the road during nice weather. Contact local area parks & community centers to see what their schedule of events are and inquire about setting up a booth or table.
This is a great way to network & market your business to those in your community.
36. Community Clipper Coupon Packs & Sales Flyer Mailings. These days a lot of communities have mailings such as these, contact them and see how you can participate and advertise your business.
37. Contact small local area businesses such as hair salons, massage parlors, boutiques, banks etc.
See if you can set up a table for 1 week with 3 of your best selling products on it along with some catalogs, fliers, coupons and your business card. Keep a basket on the table for any customer orders which you can follow up on after you return back to pick up your display. Offer the store owner or manager a free gift for allowing you to do this.
You can also offer to donate a prize for a contest if they let you display the prize donated & get a copy of the contestants entry blanks after the promotion closes.
38. Contact local area pizza shops, diners, deli’s and coffee bagel shops to ask them about advertising on their paper placemats! Customers do read those ads!
39. Contact local area restaurants, bars and clubs and see about advertising on their paper beverage coasters!
40. Local Television Stations are always holding on-air contests & website contests for their viewers, contact them about you donating a prize or gift certificate to sponsor one of their contests! Great business exposure for you!
41. Attend Local Area holiday shopping events. Customers who are ready to spend holiday shopping money turn out for these events by the thousands! You can usually get a booth for less than $50.00 so they are economical to participate in!
42. Hold a local area community Block Party at your home or local community center! Families are always looking for something to do during the nice weather seasons!
Optional: Attend your neighborhood block party and set up a table with your product offerings or samples. Get out there in your community and get your business seen!
43. Get your business listed in your cities telephone book yellow pages! A lot of them also have a coupon section too!
44. You can take this phone book advertising one step further by finding out what company makes the plastic vinyl phone book covers which have local business ads on them and get your business added to it! 45. Get your business information printed up on pencils and hand them out to local colleges and technical schools for them to hand out to their adult students! This keeps your business information in front of them! (make sure you only donate them to schools with adult students).
46. Get a vehicle banner made for your automobile. I recommend the vinyl window clings or vinyl cling ones that stick to your automobile but don’t scratch or remove the paint. You can easily remove them when washing your vehicle!
47. If your city has a travel guide that tourists request, contact that business and find out how you can advertise in it too!
48. Local City Maps! These days even city maps have advertising on them! You can usually get a small business ad printed on them for an economical price. Don’t advertise your personal location. If you don’t have a business location then advertise your website address or email address.
49. Contact local area hotels, motels and bed & breakfast inns and ask them if you can do up a Lobby Basket and leave it in their Lobby.
What is a Lobby Basket? You make up little packs of info about your business & products and put them into the Lobby Basket for their patrons to take.
They usually have a pamphlet wall or area too with pamphlets from local area attractions etc. If they don’t have a lobby basket area, inquire about leaving your business info in their pamphlet area.
50. Get your business info printed up on balloons! This is very economical to do! You then distribute them to local community centers, sporting events and other types of places where parents book their children’s birthday parties!
These balloons can be displayed at the birthday party giving you business exposure. You can usually get them done for .3-.8 cents each. Your business name & website address is all you need on them!
51. Find a few other self employed business owners in your community and team up! You can all sponsor a local parade float, parade clowns etc. Make up signs with your business info imprinted on them so that you can receive some great business exposure during the parade!
52. Get some T-shirts printed up with your business information on it (both front & back sides) and hand them out to some friends, family and co-workers and ask them to wear them out and about in the community. This is their FREE gift for helping you to spread the word about your business!
Optional: Get ball caps printed up with your business info!
53. Get some canvas tote bags printed up with your business information printed on it. Find a few ladies who are very active in your community and ask them to use your tote bag and give it to them for FREE under the agreement that they will use it every time they go out in the community for errands & events!
54. Get a license plate made up for your vehicle! If you have your normal license plate on the back of your car, put your business named one on the front of the car!
You can get one with just your business name on it for about $20-$30 per plate!
55. Wear a business name tag every time you go out into your community! Get a Catchy Slogan printed on it such as:
A. Ask me about (your company name) Products!
B. I work from home, you can too!
C. Earn some FREE when you party with me!
56. Local Area Magazines! Does your city publish a City Magazine? If so, contact them about advertising or if they hold contests for their readers offer to donate a product or service for their contest!
57. Check out your local area State Fairs & Community Carnivals, there are always a lot of them going on during seasonal weather.
Ask about getting a booth or table & set it up with your business information! People love to shop at Fairs & Carnivals and they are looking to spend money!
Get some Business Card Magnets printed up and hand them out every where you go! Have your friends & family pass them out too!
People are more apt to keep a magnetic business card compared to a regular one which gets shoved into a drawer or wallet. By having a magnetized card, your business is kept in front of the potential customer/client.
58. When you give gifts to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers etc. make sure you give them gifts from your own company! This allows other people to see & touch your gift meaning FREE business exposure for you! (plus, you bought the gift from yourself so you are saving money!)
59. Invite your spouses co-workers over to your home for a little mingling party! Serve some refreshments or do a cookout BBQ and make sure you have a table set up with some product displays!
If you sell kitchen or food products, make sure you use them!
60. Do a neighborhood children’s shopping party!
I do this before Christmas and again before Mother’s Day. I invite
the neighborhood kids to come by and shop for gifts for their
parents and loved ones. They enjoy shopping on their own and parents
enjoy a small break from the children!
To make this successful make sure the products you are offering are
economical, I try to keep them under $25.00 each with most being
around $10.00 each. Have a table set up with some inexpensive
crafting supplies and let the children make their own greeting cards to go with the gifts they have purchased or have a gift wrapping
table set up so they can personally wrap their gifts!
61. Do a joint party with another consultant in a non-competing
business. Partying with a friend is always fun! You can hold it at
one hosts home, your home or at a local community center. Invite
every one you know and have others help you spread the word. Hang up
fliers at local centers & businesses too!
62. Put an AD in the back of local high school yearbooks! You can
usually get these ads for around $20.00 which makes it affordable
advertising for you!
63. Put an AD for your business in local Athletic Sport Programs!
You can find these at the High School Level, Minor League Level and
at Professional Sporting Events!
64. Contact Local Churches & Religious Groups and see if you can
place an AD in their weekly church bulletins & program guides!
65. Do you have a local Community Play House? If so, get your
business ad placed in their play programs! You can usually get ads
in them for less than $25.00
66. Co-Sponsor a Local Youth Athletic Group! Baseball teams,
softball teams, cheerleading squads, gymnastic squads and swim
teams, etc. are always looking for sponsors!
Co-Sponsoring a team will help get your business noticed in your
local area!
67. Get a Yard Sign! If you have a home business consider getting a
Yard Sign printed up and proudly display it in your front yard!
68. Does your neighborhood hold local Meet & Greets? If so, make
sure you go out and attend them! Get to know your fellow community
members!
69. Donate a Raffle Drawing Prize to a Non-Profit Group or Charity
in your local community! They are always looking for prize donations
for their charitable raffles.
Note: Make sure you get a receipt for tax purposes!
70. Do you have a Online Business & Website? Consider getting some
computer mouse pads printed up with your website address & business
name on them! This will keep your website & business in front of
them every time they sign online! This encourages them to check out
your website often for new products, updates & features!
71. Local Bus Stops & Bus Sheds! Have you noticed that a lot of them
have local business advertising on them? Call up the company and see
how much it would cost you to advertise there too!
72. Does your local area grocery store allow advertisers to place
business ads on the back of their cash register receipts? If so,
contact them about getting your business ad on there too!
73. Local baby expo’s and baby events/contests! Set up a booth or
table with your business info! These events are always very popular
and a great way for you to reach new customers!
74. Watch your local newspaper for Wedding, Engagement and New Baby
Announcements! Make a list and then go to:
www.searchbug.com
to try to track down addresses. You can mail off your business info
to them announcing your business, bridal gift registry, baby gift
registry, etc.
75. Stamp your business info to the outside of all outgoing postal
mail! Include your business card on the inside. Do this for personal
mail, business mail and for paying your bills!
76. Contact your local Fire & Ambulance companies and see if you
can set up a table at their next BBQ Event or fundraiser event.
77. Contact LOCAL Assisted Living Centers for Senior Citizens (this
is different then a nursing home!) and see if you can come in &
offer a shopping oppty. to their Senior Residents! Seniors can NOT
get out like they used too so they appreciate being able to shop
from home and the majority of them don’t own computers & if they do,
they are not extremely computer savvy…so offer a one on one
shopping experience with them! They also appreciate the adult
company!
78. Are there local small summer concerts held in your local parks?
We have them here during the summer months! Ask about advertising
options during these community events!
79. BUY little boxes of Smartie ™ Candies! Put your Business
info on one side & on the front side slap on a label that says “Be a
Smartie, Earn FREE (Your Company Name) w/a Party!” Hand them out
every where you go!
80. Make up candy packs with your business info attached to them
and hand out to the Halloween Trick or Treaters!
81. Exchange Business Cards, Fliers or Coupons with another Home
Party Consultant in a NON-Competing Business and place her filler in
your bags & outgoing packages & have her do the same for you! Sort
of “scratching each others backs”.
82. The PUBLIC Library! I go in there often and see all kinds of
local advertisements for businesses there! See if you can leave a
catalog & a few business cards!
83. Do a CATALOG SWAP with another party plan consultant (NON
competing business). See if she will swap a few catalogs with you.
You hand out a few of her catalogs at the END of your party and have
her do the same! Hand them out as guests are LEAVING the party!
84. I have a friend & fellow network member who prints out for
me…mint books…she prints a pretty graphic on it, along with my
business info…they look like matchbooks and inside is a piece of
peppermint hard candy! They are inexpensive too! I think I paid
$8.00 for 40+ of them! She includes the candy too! I can refer her
to you if you want to try those! Tell Tonya that Shelly sent ya!
www.bboopsworld.com/
85. Do a PARTY SWAP with a Consultant in another HOME party
business! (NON-COMPETING!) Tell her if she holds a (Your Company)
Party for you…..you will hold a XYZ Party for her!
86. Ask about getting your info printed onto golf tee’s and golf
balls & then donate them to a local golf course or mini golf course!
87. FOAM DRINK COZIES, the foam thingie you wrap around a cold
beverage can! See if you can get some of those with your business
info on them & hand them out at local sporting events!
88. Indoor Concert Arena’s. Have you attended a concert lately?
Tons of advertising by local and national merchants at concerts!
Check into doing some advertising!
89. Children LOVE Stickers! Buy a slew of stickers with your
business name on them….hand them out! Chances are that the kid’s
parents will see the stickers too!
90. Temporary Employment Agencies…again drop off packets of info
about Your Business Oppty to them. The Economy is sluggish in a lot
of the areas in the USA…ask Temp. Employment Agencies to refer
some clients to you who may be interested in a (Your Company Name)
Home Business!!! You could offer the staff a discount or free gift
for referrals.
91. Print up some flyers and get permission from local shopping
centers to see if you can leave them on car windshields! Always ASK
permission first!
92. Does your community print up FREE Renters Guides, House Buying
Guides Etc? (you can usually find them for FREE at your local
supermarket). If so, contact them about placing your business ad
inside one!
93. Got a local ice cream man who drives around in his ice cream
truck throughout your community? Talk to him about passing out
flyers or letting you add a logo onto his truck via a vinyl cling
logo banner!
94. Do a web search for you local county, local township and
surrounding areas. I found tons of websites for my area with FREE
online business directories which I was able to get my website
listed in. They also have offline ADS that you can advertise in too!
A great way to also find out about upcoming local community events
to participate in!
95. Are there any professional moving companies in your area? If
so, contact them! They usually give out new business packet info to
their customers/clients to welcome them to their new home. See about
adding your business information to their “New Move” Packs!
96. Local small town radio stations that are usually found on the
AM frequency usually offer very low-cost local area advertising on
their small radio station. A great way to get your business info out
to those in your local community.
97. Get your business information printed out onto paper text book
covers! You can make them yourself! Donate them to local area adult
technical schools and colleges!
98. Is there a local business in your area holding a upcoming Grand
Opening? If so, contact them! A lot of times they are giving away
freebies to the first few hundred customers plus they do heavy
advertising announcing their Grand Opening. This is a GREAT way for
you to capitalize on that!
99. Get your business info printed up on inexpensive bookmarks!
Then give them to local area colleges, adult technical schools, book
reading groups, libraries etc. You can usually print up your own
bookmarks with your business info on them for less than .8 cents
each! This will keep your business info in front of those avid book
readers! They are also great to give away for FREE with customer
orders!
100. Put your Business Knowledge to Work! Offer to teach classes to
adults!
Examples: If you are with a kitchen/cooking company offer to teach
adults to cook! They are always looking for fast & easy ways to
prepare healthy meals!
If you are a scrapbooking consultant, offer to teach a class to new
moms on how to scrapbook new baby pages!
If you are a Bath/Body/Spa consultant offer to teach pampering
classes to women & moms!
You can find adult programs by contacting: Local Community Centers,
Local Civic Groups and a lot of High Schools & Community Colleges
offer evening classes to adults. (continuing education).
This generates leads & sales and only takes a short amount of time!
101. Put the word out to your friends, family & co-workers that you
offer freebies to party go’ers. What do I mean?
Well, people who are holding baby showers, bridal showers, birthday
parties, anniversary parties etc. contact me about my freebies. They
make up party goodie bags and are always looking for things to stuff
them with. Depending on what type of party it is depends on what I
donate!
I print out pretty bookmarks, recipe cards, candy wrappers, gift bag
tags, shopping lists, chore lists etc. with pretty designs on them
along with my business info. I also attach a coupon. I keep my cost
down to .15 cents per person. An inexpensive way to reach new
potential customers.
102. Print out your own Re-ordering labels! If you sell consumable
goods (foods, spices, soaps, bath products, cosmetics etc) make sure
you stick on a small re-ordering info sticker with your business
info on it so that your customer can easily locate your information
for placing reorders! This is also important to do considering some
customers purchase items from you to give as a gift, this way the
person who received the gift will also know how to contact you and
will become a potential new customer for you!
103. Establish a Referral program for your business and print out
referral coupons! Offer established customers a free little gift or
personal discount if they refer a new customer to you! I like to
give out 3 Referral Coupons to every new customer I get so that they
know they will be rewarded for referring new customers to me.
Established customers are more apt to refer new customers to you if
they know they will be rewarded for that referral. Verbal referral
programs don’t work well, so print up referral coupons or referral
promotion cards to hand out to your established customers. I also
like to put a “referral reward” sticker in all of my Tupperware
catalogs. You can also add a sticker to the backs of your business
cards.
104. Print out Coloring Pages with a small section on them
advertising your business and donate them to local area restaurants,
daycares etc. I was able to find 4pc. crayon sets for ONLY .05 cents
a box which I also donated along with the printed out coloring
pages! Parents hang them on the front of their refrigerators after
the children are done coloring them which keeps your business in
front of the parent daily! Cost: About .03 cents for printed out
coloring page with your business info located some where on it
and .05 cents for the mini box of crayons.
Try to find a design that relates to your business for the best
effect.
105. Contact your local area Girl Scouts, 4-H Club and other youth
groups. Talk to them about you coming in to do a project with the
youth’s in the group. You can also talk to them about your business
fundraiser program if you offer one. During the summer time there
are a lot of youth camps throughout the community. You can also find
youth camps through local churches. Some are seasonal and some are
year long programs. The YMCA is also a great resource!
For Example: If you are a Kitchen Consultant, come in and teach the
youth how to cook or about kitchen safety. If you sell pet products,
go in and talk about grooming a pet. If you sell candles, go in and
make some mini candles or teach them how to decorate them for gifts.
Be creative!
106. If you are crafty with your computer you can print out tea bag
wrappers with a pretty design on them along with your business
information. I purchased a few boxes of individually wrapped tea
bags and then put my printed business tea bag wrapper over it. You
can hand them out throughout your community.
I like donating them to: Assisted Living Centers, Senior Community
Centers, Daycare Centers (to be given to the parents & teachers),
School Teacher Lounges, Employee Break Rooms etc.
Example of Cost: .03 cents for a printed color wrapper and about .03-
.05 cents per tea bag.
107 Make sure you leave info about Your Business on your answering
machine or voice mail message! Not everyone who phones you knows
that you sell or represent a particular company! (especially those
pesky bill collectors & telemarketers).
108 Take your outdated catalogs and randomly mail or distribute them
thru-out your neighborhood! Make sure you stamp it OUTDATED and
provide contact info for yourself so they can contact you if
interested to get a current catalog!
109 Get Business Themed Banking Checks! Your bank checks pass thru
tons of hands that could become potential customers or party hosts!
If possible get your email address or website URL preprinted onto
them! I also suggest using preprinted postal address labels too!
(try to get checks that have pictures of some of the products you
sell on them or at the very least make sure some where on the check
it says: Tupperware Consultant, Avon Rep, and so forth.)
110. Get your business info printed onto matchbooks! Donate the
matchbooks to candle shops, smoke shops, clubs etc. to help get your
business name out in your community!
111.Consider getting some inexpensive mini desk-top sized
calendars printed up with your business information on them and hand
out to local office workplaces! A great way to keep your business
information in front of a potential or repeat customer/client.
112. Take the above idea a step further. Get your business info
printed up on pencils, pens, mini note pads, tab stickers and so
forth. Contact local office style businesses and donate a
few “business” supplies to them!
When you go to the doctors or dentists office you see a slew of
these types of things from various companies all over the office, so
you can do the same thing by donating them to office-style
businesses.
113. Contact local groups in your own community. These can be hobby
groups, collector groups, new moms, new parents, neighborhood watch
groups and so forth.
See what their coming up activities will be and offer a fundraiser
opportunity to them or offer a party or to teach a class to them.
Better yet, get involved in a group as a participant. The more you
get out there in your community and make contacts the better your
business will be.
114. Local Holiday Events! Does your area hold a children’s
Christmas party, Easter egg hunt, Halloween party, etc? If so, get
involved! You can donate candy or other holiday items and get
yourself some business exposure, besides they are always a lot of fun
to participate in!
115. Get your business info printed up on some Lanyards and
distribute them to local office place environments for employees to
use to keep their keys on or give as freebies to your current
established customers etc.
116. Get your business info printed up on some employee id tag
holders! Hand them out to office environments that have a lot of
employees to get your business info seen by lots of people!
117. Contact some local small shops in your area. Offer to sponsor
a drawing box & prize. Make sure you have an attractive drawing box
and have the prize on display. A lot of small shops have in-shop (in-
store) drawings that are sponsored by other local merchants. You
should also have on hand a few catalogs and a stack of business
cards. This is a great way to get business exposure and to collect
leads.
Make sure your entry form states:
Name, phone number and email address
plus a section for:
____ more info about hostessing a party
____ more info about the consultant opportunity
____ request a free catalog
____ please subscribe me to your online newsletter
118. Draft up a business press release. Submit it to your local
newspapers, local magazines, tv stations and radio stations. Offer
to be a guest on one of their live or recorded shows.
119. Do you get a lot of magazines to your home? If so, after
reading them, print up some labels on your computer that
say “Compliments of __________________” and donate them to local
doctors offices, dentist offices, local hospitals, libraries,
community centers, senior centers, etc. Make sure your label
includes your business name & information.
120. Draft up some mini tip booklets, recipe booklets or craft
project booklets. Make sure you label them as “Courtesy of
________________” and donate them to local daycare centers, salons,
civic and community groups, etc. You can print them out on your home
computer inexpensively.
121. If you can afford this idea, its a great one! Remember those
little rubbery type of change purses with the key ring attached to
them that advertisers use to put their name and advertising info
onto them? Well, they are popular again! I got one from our local
bank! If you can afford it or co-op it with another consultant that
would be a great idea to hand out to BIG office environments where
employees carry around a lot of change for vending machines, parking
meters etc.
112. If your company has a fundraising program the best way to
promote it is to locate local area fundraisers. What do I mean? When
local groups hold bake sales, sub sales, chicken BBQ’s, car washes
etc….go visit them and offer them a company fundraiser pack with
all of the important fundraising information, catalog and a contact
sheet & business card.
123. Contact your local area Home Owners Association. See if you
can drop off flyers, catalogs and business cards promoting your
business to them or set up a free contest giveaway basket in their
offices to promote your business and products.
124. Do you attend a lot of outdoor sporting events & concerts? Have
you seen those afghan throws that you can get personalized? Instead
of getting a family name & date imprinted on one…get your business
name on it! I have one that has my website address & my business
name. Since we attend a lot of outdoor sporting events in the fall, I
take it out with me and wrap around myself on the bleachers!
Everyone sitting around me gets to see my business info! I even lend
it out to friends & family when they attend outdoor events!
125. Take the idea above one step further. Do you spend a lot of
time out at the neighborhood pool or at the beach? Get your business
info printed up on beach towels & beach blankets! You can also get
your biz info printed up on a beach umbrella…better yet, get
yourself a rain umbrella with your biz info printed on it!
126. Does your city/town have a local taxi cab company? If so, call
them up! I recently donated 35 of my mini catalogs to a taxi company
who placed one in the back seat magazine holder of 35 of their cars.
Since that time, I have gotten 1 new consultant and 2 new customers!
Some bus companies will also accept them so check those out too!
People are always looking for something to read!
127. When you travel take numerous catalogs, flyers, business cards
etc. with you when you pack for your trip. Make up a separate tote
bag just for these items. Leave you catalogs, flyers and business
cards ever where you go while on your trip.
ie. back of train seats, back of airplane seats, hotel lobbies,
restaurants, sporting events, etc…where-ever. This is a great way
to target non-local customers and interest in your business.
128. Contact other work at home business people and small business
owners in your community. It’s more economical for a group of you to
share costs on community advertisements and mailings.
By Shelly Hill

Here are a few sites to get you started if you are interested in doing Vendor Fairs.

We are a group of Homebased business owner that are joining together.
We do monthly, weekly, and hall group events. Member can join the ones
that are best for their time schedule they not tied to time lost and
our group actually does want to get to know you and your buisness and
to do business with you if you want to get to know them and do
business also.

I have references if you would like them.
You get all our events included and your own table page you set up and
change when you wish.

Check up out anytime. www.expo-connector.com
__________________________________________________________

I would love for your reps to be able to be a vendor at our parties1
Our parties are Monday and Thursdays 5pm-midnight at www.stopshopandparty.com
__________________________________________________________

HI - I have seen several requests for Online Party Sites
I have a few sites that are online party sites
Here is the list of mine and the links are in my sig line - smile!

1st I have TheMouseConnection (TMC)~ Opened in 2000
It is a chat room site and offers chat rooms for gals to have their
own chat room in a community setting
Some of you may know it, as I host the Monday Mompack chat there
every Monday!
http://www.themouseconnection.com/MondayMompack/

2nd there is TheExpoConnection ( TEC)~ Opened in 2001
We hold 5 Expos a year here~ Jan Sale through Holiday Expo

3rd
I have TuesdayExpos~ Opened in 2005
It is a weekly every Tuesday event where each week the same group
of vendors have set party times.

4th ~ Opening Soon! Smile!
My Newest that is opening May is EverydayExpos!
After TuesdayExpos ran out of room I decided to open this new one
It is a 4 day a week party site and gals can pick their own times to
have set party times each week.
Each of the 4 days has a great mom in business mostly mompack
members as sponsors!
http://EverydayExpos.com

5th I have a site I am looking for a new site manager for
I am talking to one gal now and hope it works out!
TheRecruitingConnection - we did have Thursday AM chats there for
vendors
but since I now have PT each Thursday I cannot do it myself
so I hope to have a new site manager and it back up soon!

My passion is online parties!
I love to see someone who is new to them
grow over time doing online parties. Sometimes it is a few parties
and they get into their comfort zone and do well!
And I admit I was the worst vendor when I started,
I was so scared and did not chat so I also did not get sales.
Over time I was helped by TheMouseConnection original Staff
and then was fortunate to become the owner ~ Smile!
(Thanks to Julie and Meg)

I went from an off-line direct sales supervisor with a down line
to an Online Expos- party site owner! And love it!
Plus I have had and seen some great networking and
friendships form at online parties!
_________________________________________________________
The Online Fair www.TheOnlineFair.com
_________________________________________________________
We are a long standing site who has had hundred of vendors!
With over 3 years experience!
We do it right!
Then [url]www.onlinevendorparties.net [/url] is the place

[url]www.onlinevendorparties.net/vendorevents2007.htm[/url]
AND NEW LOW COST PARTIES 2.00 EACH Frenzy or Timed
Beat that!

We have been having online vendor parties for a long time and we know what vendors want and what customers like! We offer ads, parties, private rooms, and best of all the best networking around! When is the last time you said I wasted my money with this party or placing this ad? At Online Vendor Parties you won’t be saying that because you will see results whether in a party you meet a new friend or meet a new recruit or even a customer who places an order! You will not be disapointed. We have the lowest prices on all your party needs. You can join our great Yahoo group dedicated to the vendor party world where we are open, friendly and best of all supportive of your endeavors!

We are not just a party site we have Garage Sale Mondays, Frugal Fridays, and the newest rage the first to hold these Auction Parties! Our Rates are the lowest around! Sure you can go to a site that just popped up yesterday and have a party but wouldn’t you rather have a party where you know we will be around in a month or even a year? We don’t have our personal site on our site! Our site is just Parties! Where we come up with new ideas all the time. Accept no imitations come party with us! http://www.onlinevendorparties.net
Frenzy Parties-$2.00 Per Company
Timed Parties are-$2.00 Per Thirty Minute Slot
Banner Ads-$2.00 Per Month
Button Ads-$2.00 Per Month
Auction Party Fees-$1.00 Per Party
State Directory- 3.00 Per Company Per Year!
State Directory State Sponsorship- 10.00 Per State Per Year!
Yahoo Group-Free To Join
Frugal Fridays-Free
Garage Sale Mondays-Free
Private Parties (1 Vendor)24 Hours-$5.00-Comes With Party Page and Also Your Party on the Vendor Events Page
Private Parties (1 Vendor)4 Days each 24 Hours-$15.00-Comes With Party Page and Also Your Party on the Vendor Events Page
Private Parties (Mulitple Vendors) 24 Hours-$15.00-Comes With Party Page and Also Your Party on the Vendor Events Page
Private Parties (Multiple Vendors)4 Days each 24 Hours-$40.00-Comes With Party Page and Also Your Party on the Vendor Events Page
NEWLY ADDED RENT JUST A ROOM
CHECK OUT THE PRICES LOWEST AROUND!
[url]www.onlinevendorparties.net/packagedeals.htm[/url]
We had over 495,000page views last month and over 893,00 hits last month and 1754 unique views!
Our Banner and Button ads have a proven record of bringing in sales and traffic to your sites!
___________________________________________________________
http://mondoexpopartyspot.bravehost.com/

Copyright © 2007 Kevin M. Stirtz

One of the best things you can do for your business is to ask new customers how they found out about you. But when you do this, don’t expect to get accurate information.

I know this sounds strange, but it makes sense, I promise.

If you make decisions about how to promote your business, then obviously you want to know how your customers find out about your business. So, you ask. The trouble is the information you get when you ask this questions is not always accurate. In fact it’s mostly inaccurate. My estimate is that it’s about 25% accurate at best.

There are two reasons for this.

One reason is that people simply do not remember. People don’t remember because they have other, more important, things to occupy their mental space. Your business and your marketing are not tops on their list of priorities. (Sorry!)

But, they want to give you an answer (because you asked) so they say some thing makes sense. “I saw your ad in the yellow pages” they might say. Or “I think I found you in the phone book”. I know because I do the same thing. It’s not that we’re dishonest. We just want to be helpful.

A friend of mine told me about a survey they did once for an event they helped promote. They asked people how they found out about the event and over half of them said they heard about it on the radio. On the surface this sounded like great marketing feedback.

But there was one problem.

They never promoted this event on the radio.

People said “I heard about it on the radio” because they wanted to be helpful and because they listened to the radio a lot. So, it made sense (to them) that they probably heard about the event on the radio.

The second reason this sort of feedback is usually not accurate is because people hear about your business in many ways.

Remember, if you’re doing your marketing well you are probably using more than one medium to deliver your message to your market. Depending on your budget and market you might be using five or more different ways to let people know who you are and what you do.

It’s not hard to find five or more ways to promote your local business:

On site signage
Yellow pages
Bus bench
Newspaper ad
Direct mail piece
Coupon shopper
Newspaper insert
Networking
TV
Radio
Local sponsorships

This is good because it builds both awareness and credibility for your local business. (Remember, the more ways a person hears about your business, the more credible and memorable your message becomes to them.)

The trouble is, people are not going to remember (or tell you) they saw it in all these different places. They’ll give you the name of one place they saw your ad. (Usually the most recent place they saw it.)

So, we have a marketing paradox.

To get the best results you want your message to be seen by people in multiple ways. But, that makes it impossible to determine (with any accuracy) which media is working best. And you want to know what media works best so you can make the best use of your marketing dollars.

What do we do about this?

It depends on a lot of factors like your business, your budget, your marketing goals, etc.

It also depends on how important tracking marketing ROI is to your business.

One of the big obstacles to tracking results is scale. As a small, local business, if you went to the expense of trying to survey and track every type of marketing available to your business, you’d spend much more on tracking and surveying than you would on the marketing itself.

If you have a multi-million dollar marketing budget then you can afford to do some serious testing. Once your testing shows you reasonable results, then you roll out the big campaigns on a larger scale. But that only works because your testing costs are a tiny fraction of your whole marketing plan.

But, for those of us with small, local businesses, this method simply does not work. The testing would eat up most (or all) of our marketing budgets.

However there are some things you can do to try to monitor what is working. Over the next few months I will be writing in more detail about these. (We don’t have room here in one article to cover them properly.)

In the meantime, here are some tips to make your local marketing work better and to help you monitor it.

1. Establish a budget and commit to it. Consider this as important as your rent or payroll. Don’t make it a low priority unless your revenue and profitability are low priorities.

2. Decide what you want to say and whom you want to say it to. Keep the message simple, clear and concise.

3. Decide if you want to increase awareness for your brand or if you want a direct response. These are two DIFFERENT goals and they require different tools and strategies.

4. Remember your goal is EXPOSURE. You want to expose your market to your message as often as you can within your established budget. So spend your marketing dollars to buy this exposure as effectively as you can.

5. Stick to it for a reasonable amount of time. Don’t quit after a couple months. Give it time to work.

6. Get feedback from customers, friends, business associates, employees. Try to find out WHO is seeing your message and HOW they are seeing it. Always be willing to tweak and tune it as you go, based on feedback.

7. Watch your revenue and your new customer activity. Does it go up or down as you implement this marketing?

Remember, they key to getting more customers is to let more people know who you are, what you can do for them and why they should consider doing business with you. Focus your resources on making sure your potential customers know you and remember you. Then they will consider doing business with you.

About The Author:

More customers, more revenue and more profits. That’s what Kevin Stirtz helps you produce. Kevin is a business growth expert who helps people improve their companies. Get a free copy of Kevin’s latest book, “Marketing for Smart People” by going to his website at:
http://www.StirtzGroup.com You can call Kevin at 952-212-4681 or email him
at kevin@stirtzgroup.com