Any Advice for a Brand New Consultant?

[sthorp]

I'm a brand new consultant. Actually I haven't even signed up yet because my first show is on August 11 so I am waiting until the last possible minute to sign up so I can maximize the 30 and 90 day incentive. I would love whatever advice you could give me so that I can be successful in this...Pampered Chef is what is going to allow me to stay home with my 6 week old daughter. Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[chefann]

Congrats on signing!You picked a great time to start your business. The new Fall catalog comes out in September, and there are some amazing products coming out (can't talk about them yet, as conferences are still going on and some people haven't seen the intros yet). Related to that-- OVERBOOK your August and September! There are some fantastic host specials those months, and a related consultant promo (can't talk about it for the same reason as the new products). You can earn a whole lot more in your first 90 days with this promo. Mostly, though, just be excited and ask everyone you know if they want to help you get your business off to a roaring start by hosting a show.

 

[Christ Follower]

Don't be afraid to ask everyone about the opportunity! When my director asked me, I was cosidering a different direct selling company and went with Pampered Chef instead! Recruiting is a big part of growing in the business.

 

[missydivine]

Congratulations on signing.

 

[hperschnick]

I'm new too - 3 weeks!
* Book your first shows pretty close together. I did a Monday then the following Saturday and Sunday. It was nice to have some momentum and not much time in between to freak out.

* Do the same recipes at all of your first shows - made it easier to concentrate on the presentaton part.

* Ask every guest at checkout if they would like to "treat their friends to a cooking show and go on a shopping spree." I didn't do this and didn't get any bookings from my first show which was my largest so far (900+).

* HOST COACH!! If it is family or friends just tell them you are going to do it as practice (but you really want them to do these things to boost attendance). I didn't do this and my 2nd show only had 1 person show up!! It was still a $285 show but could have been much bigger. I don't have any more shows until mid August and I'm definately going to read up on host coaching - here and in my PC stuff.

Also, just relax and have fun - if you mess up just laugh it off - I spilled a cup of water at my presentation last week! What a dork! No more drinks for me during my show! Just remember you will get better with each show you do - don't worry about being perfect from the beginning.

 

[JAE]

Sounds like you are off to a good start just by knowing not to order your kit too early. Someone is teaching you the details. I didn't even realize my 90 days starts as soon as my kit is delivered.
Definitely ask people if they want to have a show. Duh! If I would have done that I could have avoided a lot of calls in the last two days. For instance, I called someone from a May show and simply asked her if she had ever considered having a PC show. She said exactly what we are told in training she would say. "You know, I hadn't really thought about it." And she is very interested. She's planning for me to follow up with her on Tuesday if she doesn't call me first. Another call in the same 1/2 hour brought me a potential September booking. Why didn't I ask her in May at the show?!!! Ask, ask, ask!
JAE

 

[MomToEli]

Use this time to your advantage.

Depending on your personality type, get yourself organized before your start. Put together your host packets. Print your outside order forms and flyers. Have a place for everything so you can just grab and run.

Take advantage of this site. There is tons of info on here. Pick a topic each week ... recruiting, bookings, cooking show tips and techniques. Read everything on that subject you can get your hands on. Practice shows in your mind and on your family. Practice the recipe(s) you want to offer for hosts.

Keep track of all of your expenses starting now. You can deduct the cost of making a recipe twice while learning it before using it at your shows. If you don't have your kit and don't know what to use, go to the company website and you can download a list of everything that comes in your kit. See if your recruiter will lend you their paperwork CD ... it has product cards on it for every single product in your kit. Start learning what they are, what they are called and some of the features of them so you can rattle some of that off in an easy, conversational manner.

I really believe that being on this site and reading, reading, reading like crazy shortened my learning curve considerably.

(My 60 days is up --- tomorrow!)

 

[sthorp]

Thanks so much for all of the great advice! I can't wait to get started. There is so much information on this site it is overwhelming, and encouraging at the same time. I could spend days on here.

 

[legacypc46]

Use this time to your advantage.

Depending on your personality type, get yourself organized before your start. Put together your host packets. Print your outside order forms and flyers. Have a place for everything so you can just grab and run.

Take advantage of this site. There is tons of info on here. Pick a topic each week ... recruiting, bookings, cooking show tips and techniques. Read everything on that subject you can get your hands on. Practice shows in your mind and on your family. Practice the recipe(s) you want to offer for hosts.

Keep track of all of your expenses starting now. You can deduct the cost of making a recipe twice while learning it before using it at your shows. If you don't have your kit and don't know what to use, go to the company website and you can download a list of everything that comes in your kit. See if your recruiter will lend you their paperwork CD ... it has product cards on it for every single product in your kit. Start learning what they are, what they are called and some of the features of them so you can rattle some of that off in an easy, conversational manner.

I really believe that being on this site and reading, reading, reading like crazy shortened my learning curve considerably.

(My 60 days is up --- tomorrow!)

ditto ditto ditto

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the information and ideas here. Two things helped me 'manage CS' during my first 90 days.

I kept (keep) a notebook by my computer and jot down posts/thread I want to return to later (I then review it every couple of weeks to see if there is something relevant to my business right now).

The second is a timer....it is way too easy to loose track of time while on here. Having a timer will help you stay focused. If the topic you're reading about is 'host coaching' and you only have 30 minutes available, why spend 10 minutes reading about newsletters?

Since you have several weeks before your first show....read, read, read. This site is a tremendous resource.

 

[JAE]

This site is great, but don't try to do everything you see here. Do the simple basics and get comfortable with your shows, and add on one thing after a while. PC has great flyers and training. Stick with the basics rather than getting overwhelmed and spending a ton of money on copies of what you see here. Ideas here are awesome and questions get answered quite quickly.