During the months of October, November, & December consultants have the opportunity to earn a free iPad from the home office! This is a CONSULTANTS ONLY challenge...in other words, I (and all other supervisors) can't earn an iPad.
Here is what you need to do to earn an iPad of your very own: 1. Sell $3500 net during October - December (our biggest selling months of the year!) 2. Have 3 personal recruits who reach Bronze ($750 net sales) during the months of October - December.
That's it!!! FYI...if you do this, you will probably also promote to Supervisor since having 3 Bronze recruits is one of the requirements for promoting to Supervisor! Promoting to Supervisor means that you will begin earning 11% on your central group's net sales every month! Don't worry...if you promote to Supervisor in the process of trying to earn an iPad, you will still get your iPad. All people who are consultants as of October 1 are eligible for the iPad. So what are you waiting for!?! Get out your calendar and get on the phone...don't let this amazing opportunity pass you by! If this is something you want to do, please let me know...I would love to help you earn an iPad. Let's see how many iPads Randall has to buy for consultants on our team! :)
We had a great time at the Southeast Regional Training this past Saturday! Seven members of our team were able to be there (Top: Melanie Bouyer, Deanna Leras, Tara Maple, Shannon Windsor; Bottom: Kelly Akers, LeAnne Haynes, Maegan Cody). Our president, Randall White, shared with us and introduced us to some great new fall titles! Directors, Nancy Ann Wartman and Sharon Riegal, also shared some secrets of their success with us. It was so great to hear from people who have been with our company for many years and have built very successful businesses with Usborne! Regional training and national convention are HUGE ways to get motivated to take our businesses to the next level! I hope many of you will be able to join us in Tulsa for the Usborne National Convention this year...go ahead and mark your calendars for June 10-11!
Our internet-linked (IL) books are amazing tools for families, teachers, and libraries. I want to make sure all of you understand how they work as well as the many benefits of our IL books. At every home party, library appointment, and booth I try to share with customers about our IL books. Basically, IL books provide you with internet links that go along with the book and provide more information on the topics covered in the book. You will know a book is IL because it will tell you somewhere on the cover of the book. Also, in the catalog the IL books are denoted by a little purple circle with "iL" in the middle. (For a key to all the symbols in the catalog, look on the contents page at the beginning of the catalog...page 4 in the Fall 2010 catalog.) You will notice that some books in the catalog are denoted as "iR"...this means internet-referenced. The difference is that IL books give you many internet links throughout the book, while IR books have a list of internet links in the back of the book.
How do IL books work? In the front of each IL book, it explains how they work so that our customers will know how to use them.
Type in the key words for your book. They can be found at the beginning of your book on the page that explains how the Quicklinks work.
Type in the page number of the links you want to access. Some IL books will have a header or footer on the page that denotes if there are links for that page. But, most IL books will have a IL box on each page that lets you know there are links for that particular page.
You should have received at least one IL book in your starter kit. Go grab it and check it out! I LOVE using the IL books with my boys! There is such a big variety of links in our IL books...articles to read, videos to watch, audios to listen to, games, experiments, puzzles, quizzes, worksheets to download, etc. There are also downloadable images that can be accessed on the Quicklinks site for kids to use in reports, etc. These are denoted in the IL books by a small black star next to the image.
Benefits of IL books (make sure to share these with customers!):
Cost-efficiency - You are buying SO much more information that just what is included in the book!
Time - When a child is studying a topic in school or researching a topic, the links provide a quick variety of resources for them. Also, Usborne regularly reviews and updates the links.
SAFETY!!! - Parents do not have to worry about their child googling a topic and finding who knows what on the internet. All the sites are safe for little eyes!
Who to tell about our IL books?
Parents for their homes
Teachers for their classrooms
Librarians for their libraries
Always explain to them how the IL books work and the benefits of our IL books. People are continually impressed with this amazing feature of so many of our non-fiction books!
As of September 15, this wonderful book will be available! It is the classic story 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, but it is a recordable book. What a precious gift this Christmas! There are SO many people who could be blessed by this book...a school-aged child can record their voice reading the book and give it to their grandparents, grandparents can record themselves reading the book and send it to their young grandchildren, children can record themselves and send it to their dad stationed overseas with the military...the list of ideas goes on and on! As if that wasn't enough, the book also comes with 5 bonus gifts...2 Christmas music CD's and 3 Look & Find Activity books! To help us market this great new book, the home office has provided us with a wonderful flyer to use at home parties and booths and a marketing email to send to our customers. To access the marketing email login to your consultant site, under Links select Business Forms/Tools, UBAM Marketing Emails, "Special Sneak Peak - Arriving Sept 15!" You can send the email to yourself then email it out to your customers.
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. :)
Ryan and I were first given this book at a baby shower. I read it and was AMAZED at the extensive research, statistics, and first hand stories of the benefits of reading to children. We were so blessed to have the author, Jim Trelease, as one of our speakers at convention last year. It was so inspiring to be reminded of how important our job is...getting books into the hands of children, helping people build their home libraries, helping schools get books on their library shelves and in their classrooms, AND educating parents on the importance of reading to their children. This book is an excellent tool to incorporate into our home parties! Katie Hewitt, a Supervisor with Usborne, led an excellent seminar titled "Promoting Reading Aloud at Home Shows" at convention this year. I highly recommend listening to it! It is available on your consultant site under Links, Training, Audio Training, & Home Shows. And, if you have never read this fantastic book...guess what!?! It is available in our business supply store! You can add it to your next book order! You can also go to Jim Trelease's website at www.trelease-on-reading.com to download FREE brochures for parents such as, Ten Facts Parents Should Know About Reading and Why Read Aloud to Children.
If you have not registered yet for the Southeast Regional Training in Atlanta on Saturday, September 25, send in your application with payment asap! The early bird special of $38 ends September 1...after that it increases to $43...still a GREAT deal considering you get a full day of training from very successful Supervisors & Directors with Usborne! The training begins at 8:45 AM, so most of us are going to drive over on Friday evening and split hotel rooms. When you register, please email me at akers72900@yahoo.com and let me know if you want to join the caravan on Friday. I can promise you that YOU WILL BE SO GLAD YOU WENT!!!! You will leave equipped, excited, and motivated to be successful with your Usborne business! New consultants...I can't think of a better way to hit the ground running with your new business! Not to mention, we are going to have SO MUCH FUN!!! :)
Good news! I just got email confirmation that new consultants who sign up after the September 1 earlybird special deadline, can still get the earlybird price of $38!!! So, let's bring a BIG group with us this year! It is going to be GREAT!!!
One of the many great things about convention is being able to learn from other consultants. There is a phrase you here a lot with Usborne, "There is no need to re-invent the wheel." We can learn so much from other consultant's successes and failures. Last year I left for convention very frustrated with my home parties...I was sick of getting everything ready only to have a party with only 1 or 2 people in attendance. Yes, there is always the eShow. But, we all know that people really need to see and touch these amazing books to fall in love with them. So, at convention I was able to attend a seminar by Melissa Beyer that completely addressed all my frustrations! You can listen to Melissa's training session on your consultant site...Under Links, Training, Audio Training, Home Shows, "Home Show Tips & Tricks" Melissa Beyer Convention 2009. I have incorporated these tips and tricks and have seen HUGE results!!!
Home party problems & solutions:
Problem:Bad attendance
Solutions:
1. Hostess coaching:
Make sure the initial invitation to the party is either in person or over the phone. This is SO much more effective than emails or Evites...these are easier, but they are also easy to ignore and forget!
Let the postcard be a reminder, not the initial invitation.
Call your hostess 3 different times between booking the party and the party day. 1st call - to tell her to make her guest list and begin inviting over the phone or in person. 2nd call - the day you mail the "postcard reminders" to let her know they have gone out and to remind her to keep telling her friends. 3rd call - 2 days before the party to have her call everyone who has responded "yes" and those who have not responded one last time to remind them. Tell her we all can get "Mommy Brain" and completely forget!
2. Send the postcard reminders for your hostess
Yes, I know this is more work for you. Yes, I know it means paying for postage. But, it completely takes away any anxiety you have wondering if they ever got sent out!
As soon as a hostess books a party, I email her a blank Avery address labels template in Word and ask her to type in her addresses and email it back to me. Then, all I have to do is print, peal, & stick!
Put them in the mail 10 days before the party date.
Problem:Not getting started on time
Solution:On time drawing
I let the guests know about the "on time drawing" by putting a little return address label sticker on the postcard reminders that says: Arrive on time! Free book drawing at 7:05
As guests arrive, I give them a drawing ticket (2-part raffle tickets from Wal-Mart).
At exactly 5 minutes after the party start time, I draw a ticket. I have a basket of books the winner can choose from.
My basket of drawing books are free books I have collected from Home Office Challenges, booths where there wasn't an organization to redeem free books, etc.
Problem:Not getting home party bookings at every home party
Solutions:
Circle or highlight available dates on your calendar and put stickers on the dates you really want to fill (i.e. the most recent ones that you don't want to pass by without having a party). Stickered date = free book from basket of books :)
Gift-bagged brownie mix or cookie mix for anyone who books at the home party. Ensure them that is all they need to do to prepare for their guests...they don't even have to go to the store!
Problem:No body pays any attention to what I say because they are looking at the catalog
Solution:Wait to give out catalogs until AFTER you have shared
When guests come in I only give them 3 things: a clipboard with a wish list attached, their free book drawing ticket, and a pen.
I wait until AFTER I have shared about the books, the hostess benefits, and the business opportunity to give them a catalog...but only after I receive their customer survey. Keep reading. :)
Problem:Not getting back customer surveys
Solution:Fill out your customer survey and I will give you a catalog
Getting back customer surveys is HUGE because guests may mark on there that they are interested in having a party or becoming a consultant but would never tell you in person.
After my presentation, I pass out customer surveys and ask them to wave them in the air when they are done. Then I bring them their catalog.
When they are "checking out" after making their selections, I will find their customer survey and see if they checked any boxes. If they did, I will follow up with them right then by either getting their party on the calendar or talking with them about being a consultant and giving them a recruiting packet and maybe even signing them up!
As I said earlier, these things have really helped my home parties. I have higher attendance which has resulted in higher sales! Give these tips a try and see how it goes!
Welcome to our team! This blog is designed specifically for YOU! Usborne has been such a blessing for our family and I want to make sure that you are able to have that same success. This is a blog for sharing information & ideas, celebrating achievements, and learning how to grow our businesses. Please let me know how I can help you! If you have a topic you want to learn more about, let me know and I will create a post. You can email me at akers72900@yahoo.com.
During the months of October, November, & December consultants have the opportunity to earn a free iPad from the home office! This is a CONSULTANTS ONLY challenge...in other words, I (and all other supervisors) can't earn an iPad.
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