Anyone in the Marston Downline?

[jwpamp]

I heard from another loop that Tom was leaving PC. Hope it's not true, he is such an inspiration to so many.....but anyone in his downline know what's up?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Have no idea - but did notice that I hadn't seen his name in any recognition lists lately.......Usually he is #1 or #2 for sales.

 

[Pampered Laura]

Tom's cell phone has a different message now.

I'm calling him at home again and will find out what "statement" he wants to make. If he tells me I can post it here, I will. Speculating is bad, and that's what a lot of people are doing...

I befriended him in January @ Leadership and he flew out to Dallas for me and my team in April to talk to us in a small group. So of course since I'm the one that befriended him and got him here, I'm getting the phone calls and questions about him.

I don't know very much... and because I have a lot of respect for him as a friend, what I do know I don't want to say w/out his permission. KWIM?

Hope that makes sense...

 

[chefann]

That makes complete sense, Laura. Both speculation and distributing personal info w/o permission are bad. Treat others the way you would like to be treated, right? Thanks for calling, though. My interest is piqued.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

Let us know...... that would be sad... if he did leave PC!

 

[pamperedlinda]

I did notice that I hadn't seen his name anywhere lately. I was hoping that he'd be in Wave 1 this year and that I might have the possibility of meeting him, he seems like a fun guy.

 

[Pampered Laura]

He'd be in wave 2 I believe.

 

[pamperedlinda]

He'd be in wave 2 I believe.

Well, that figures. At least I'm going to hopefully meet you!

 

[mommyhugz1978]

You will just have to tell us about Tom, Laura..... ... hehehe... nah.... will just take it to heart that y you know him personally and leave it at that...

 

[jwpamp]

It's a sad thing if true, so let him know that we would miss him terribly!

 

[Pampered Laura]

Okay, I just got off the phone with Josh - Tom's partner, and got permission to tell. Sorry for being so vague earlier...

Tom did resign as a Director from Pampered Chef. He is still a consultant though. His partner is a consultant for a linens and bedroom fashions company. They do fabulously well, and Tom resigned as a Director so that he could sign up under Josh with this new company.

Tom is still doing Pampered Chef shows, and still doing his Quarter Auctions, he is just not a Director anymore because it states in the contract that you can not be a director if you are with another DS company.
Tom wanted to do it right by resigning first, out of respect for The Pampered Chef.

From what they told me, they're doing really well and having fun.
His health is good, no worries there - for those of you who were concerned about that. Thanks for asking -- that was my primary concern with everything when I first heard what he was doing.

 

[dannyzmom]

Okay, I just got off the phone with Josh - Tom's partner, and got permission to tell. Sorry for being so vague earlier...

Tom did resign as a Director from Pampered Chef. He is still a consultant though. His partner is a consultant for a linens and bedroom fashions company. They do fabulously well, and Tom resigned as a Director so that he could sign up under Josh with this new company.

Tom is still doing Pampered Chef shows, and still doing his Quarter Auctions, he is just not a Director anymore because it states in the contract that you can not be a director if you are with another DS company.
Tom wanted to do it right by resigning first, out of respect for The Pampered Chef.

From what they told me, they're doing really well and having fun.
His health is good, no worries there - for those of you who were concerned about that. Thanks for asking -- that was my primary concern with everything when I first heard what he was doing.

Wow...
I am sad to see him go - I looked up to him SO much.
What are quarter auctions, btw?
And what company is he now with?

 

[Pampered Laura]

http://www.myprivatequarters.com/index.php

his quarter auctions are kind of hard to explain... he made fun of me for being so freakin' dense when he tried to explain it to me. Brat. LOL

 

[DanielleQ]

How admirable that he did the right thing by resigning as Director first. Laura, you absolutely did your friendship with Tom justice by not just blabbing away! Good for you! I'm glad he's only doing this for personal reasons, not health reasons.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

all I can say is WOW!! at least he did not leave the company all together ....

 

[luvs2cook]

Here is a picture of Tom and Josh in the Private Quarters newsletter - http://www.myprivatequarters.com/pq_pdfs/2006%20Convention%20Newsletter%204.pdf - go to Page 6.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

How did you find that?????

 

[luvs2cook]

I was just looking around the website.

 

[nikked]

I've been hearing great things about PQ...the product and the company. I actually emailed them looking for a local consultant to buy from, and there's none in my area. They asked me to join...can't even manage TPC right now, much less another company!

Sorry to see Tom step back, but proud of him for doing things the right way!

Thanks for the update!!!

 

[Pampered Laura]

How did you find that?????

If you click around under the opportunity page, they have their "online scrapbooks" available from conventions.

 

[mommyhugz1978]

Cool deal!!

 

[MissChef]

Wow! I'm am blown away! Didn't see that coming! Cause he was so darn awesome at PC!
I know he signed David Meenan too and both of them are always off the charts in sales!!
I'm glad he didn't leave completely!
I remember when my senior director stepped down, it blew me away, she is still active too but doesn't really do shows. She does e-mail newsletters for many people in this company and weekly motivational newsletters for directors. It's great and helps keep me inspired! The hardest thing for me is that both my recruiter/director and my senior director (Erika) quit at the same time for entirely different reasons and they both loved PC! I almost quit after that but I held on cause I love PC, all though it was hard!
Well, I wish Tom all the luck!

 

[katie0128]

http://www.myprivatequarters.com/index.php

his quarter auctions are kind of hard to explain... he made fun of me for being so freakin' dense when he tried to explain it to me. Brat. LOL

I'd love to know about the auctions. If it is something that is hard to post, you'll have to fill us in in Chicago!

 

[mommyhugz1978]

I think we are going to have work shop purely for Laura to fill us in on what auctions he is doing LOL....is that a possibility Laura??

 

[lacychef]

Thanks for sharing the info Laura. I was very surprised when I read the first post. Happiness & doing what's right for yourself is most important though. I hope he's just as successful with the new biz as he's been in PC.

 

[heat123]

Thanks for sharing the info Laura. I was very surprised when I read the first post. Happiness & doing what's right for yourself is most important though. I hope he's just as successful with the new biz as he's been in PC.

I'm sure he will be succesful at whatever he decides to do!

 

[mommyhugz1978]

I wonder what would have happened if we would have bombarded him with emails saying please don't' leave us... your an inspiration..... LOL

 

[AJPratt]

I am glad he isn't leaving!

 

[D_Patel]

Hmm , kinda makes you wonder why, he was sooo successful at PC, i bet the benifets and pay is more with the other company.

 

[chefjwr]

Wow! I'm so informed. This group knows everything.

Julie

 

[heat123]

Hmm , kinda makes you wonder why, he was sooo successful at PC, i bet the benifets and pay is more with the other company.

How long was he with TPC? Maybe he was just burned out as a Director and saw something new and exciting to try out! I hope he stays with us though!

 

[Pampered Laura]

He was in for 11 years with PC I think. I'm not sure on that.
People come and go in this type of business... the really successful ones are the ones that stuck through it even when they really REALLY wanted to do something else. I'm sure he'll be successful with PQ, but I know he'd be super successful with PC, too. I wish he stuck it out till he became an executive director or higher before he changed companies...But hey - whatever makes him happy, ya know? He's still a friend.

 

[its_me_susan]

Hmm , kinda makes you wonder why, he was sooo successful at PC, i bet the benifets and pay is more with the other company.

Maybe he was just supporting his partner or decided it was time to try something new? He taught a workshop I attended last summer and was really nice. I'm glad he hasn't left PC altogether. Could he resume directorship at any time? He still has people under him that he personally recruited, no?

 

[its_me_susan]

http://www.myprivatequarters.com/index.php

his quarter auctions are kind of hard to explain... he made fun of me for being so freakin' dense when he tried to explain it to me. Brat. LOL

I want to know about his auctions too! Will someone email me please?

 

[DebbieJ]

When you resign from directorship, all of your team members are given to the next upline director.

So, no. He does not still have people under him.

Or at least that's how I uhderstand the structure to work.

 

[Pampered Laura]

He needed a fresh start for a lot of personal reasons - not really having anything to do with Pampered Chef, or any dislike for the company.
He relinquished his directorship. Immediately following that relinquishment, ALL of his downline went to his Director. He has 0 consultants under him currently in PC. If for some reason he decided to come back and be a Director again, he'd be starting over from Consultant #1, working to get the 5 needed to qualify.

 

[Pampered Laura]

I want to know about his auctions too! Will someone email me please?

I know... and I know how they work, but GOSH it's seriously complicated to just type out and explain. Impossible really... he's been doing them for years and has never typed it out to explain it.
I asked him to come to Dallas in April to talk to my cluster about it, and he did - that's how we know.
He really suggests GOING to one of his (in the Baltimore area) to see how they work.

 

[cmdtrgd]

Maybe he could do a conference call that could be recorded?!?

 

[chefjenibel]

I just bumped a thread entitled "quarter auctions", I don't know if that's how he does them, maybe Laura could clarify? Purrty please?!

 

[PampMomof3]

I found this on the WLPCtoo site:

I've never actually done this, but I've heard of it before so my description may not be 100% accurate but I did google it and found some details:

Ten different direct sales consultants participate and each bring 11 items or gift sets valued at anywhere between $10-$100. Each item falls into a bidding category: $10-25 1 quarter $26-50 2 quarters $51-75 3 quarters $76-up 4 quarters When you come in the door, you receive a bidding paddle with a number on it. When an item comes up for bid that you are interested in, you place the appropriate number of quarters in the basket in the middle of your table and raise your paddle. Once bidding has closed, the auctioneer reaches into a bin of chips and pulls a number. If your number is called, you win that item (for as little as $.25 up to $1.00!). The bidding goes quickly and 110 items are auctioned in just two hours. If you actually bid on every item, you would need approximately $50 in quarters. There will also be many door prizes as well as goody bags containing goodies and coupons for everyone from all of the participating consultants. Tastefully Simple Baby Crazy Pampered Chef Stampin Up Big Yellow Box Longaberger Home Interiors Tastefully Simple Replica Purses Etc. Party Lite These auctions are a lot of fun and I hope you will join in!

 

[cmdtrgd]

Uhmmm...why would you want to give away a $100 item for $4????

 

[Pampered Laura]

Yep that's about it in a nutshell... when he came to visit my team, he gave us a lot more details and tips to make it successful, but that's the gist of it!

 

[Pampered Laura]

Uhmmm...why would you want to give away a $100 item for $4????

The deal is that EACH consultant (10 direct sales consultants) are committed to bring 10 guests. There will be 100+ people at the auction. Whatever auction is up for bid, the consultant who owns that object gets ALL of the quarters from each table's bucket.

Tom also charges $2 per paddle at the entrance, too. This usually covers the rental space that they use.

 

[katie0128]

I think I get it...To start...
Susie has been invited to one of these deals... she brings a pocket full of quarters and pays $2 at the door to get a paddle with the #4 on it.

Now to bidding...
Item #1 up for bid is a market basket from Longenberger. Susie doesn't want it, so does not put any quarters in the bucket on the table. When the bidding is closed, the auctioneer pulls #4 out of his bowl (this bowl has a chip in it with a number for all the paddles "purchased" that evening... not just the people that bid on the current item). Susie didn't bid, so another number is pulled until someone's number that DID bid is called. They win.
Good so far?

Later that evening...
Item #53 is the trifle bowl that I have up for auction. Susie decides she wants the trifle bowl and puts her 2 quarters (or whatever the cost is based on the retail value of the product) in the bucket on the table, then holds up her paddle to indicate that she has bid on the bowl. When the bidding closes and the auctioneer pulls a number out of his bowl. It is #4, so Susie wins!
Still on track?

My profit...
For the sake of arguement, let's say I only auctioned the trifle bowl. So my income from the auction of the bowl is all of the quarters people used to bid. If the trifle bowl was a hot item and 70 people bid on it, then I get $35 (70 people at 50 cents each).

Alright, that is my thought of how this thing works. I'm assuming there might be additional costs to rent the space and possibly additional income for the vendors depending on the number of paddles "purchased" at the start, right?

Laura, how did I do?

 

[Pampered Laura]

Yes. And in between each "auction", the buckets from each table are emptied in to the "Consultant's bucket". Meaning, if the auction is for the Longeberger basket, 10 tables worth of quarters would be dumped in to the Longeberger lady's bucket when the auction has ended.
Then, next is the Pampered Chef trifle bowl. Quarters are dumped in to the PC bucket. And so on.

People can buy multiple paddles, too. The paddle sales usually recoup whatever "hall rental" fees the group incurs. For instance, at a $200 rental with 10 consutlants participating, all 10 consultants MUST bring 10 guests each. 10 guests per 10 consultants = 100 guests. 100 guests buy one paddle @ $2 each = $200.
Multiple paddles sold = instant profit for consultant.
Quarters tossed = additional profit
Quarters = ability to order more products as a show = products + commission + host benefits = more free products
Eventually, after that first or second auction event, you're auctioning products purchased with your "quarter" winnings.

 

[katie0128]

O.k.... now you've lost me with having buckets on each table. I was envisioning ONE table where products were auctioned one at a time - like an auction at Christie's or something. What am I missing? Does each vendor have a table? Why would quarters tossed into the bucket on my table... oh wait... Is this like I have a table where me and my guests sit and we have a bucket in the middle of the table. When the Longenberger basket is auctioned, if Susie is my guest and she wants to bid on it, she puts her quarters she is bidding into the bucket at my table. Even though it is "my" table, the quarters are going to the Longenberger consultant. After the auction for my trifle bowl is done, all the buckets from the other vendors' tables are brought and emptied into "my lap".

And for the additional paddles... if one of MY guests buys 5 paddles, then I make the additional $8. If none of my guests buy multiple paddles, then I don't make any extra, but have contributed my portion to the space rental.

Still kinda unclear what you mean by the last two lines...

Quarters = ability to order more products as a show = products + commission + host benefits = more free products
Eventually, after that first or second auction event, you're auctioning products purchased with your "quarter" winnings.

But, I'm getting there.

 

[Pampered Laura]

I confused myself

Okay.
Consultants are lined up in front of the room with their products. The "MC" goes over to the first consultant, picks up their product and describes it to the audience. (side note, imagine Tom standing there saying "here we have a faux gem necklace! It's so pretty, but faux is another word for FAKE" ROFL )

The guests, are all sitting at tables in the room. On each table, is a bucket/bowl. When the item is announced by the "MC", the minimum quarter amount is announced. Quarters are dropped in to the buckets in front of the guests at their tables. Guests raise their paddles if they bid.
MC Draws a ball w/the number on it (Tom uses ping pong balls).

Winner is announced, everyone claps, people who didn't even bid are made fun of for being so cheap to not even bid a quarter on a $30 item (LOL again, what Tom does ).

A random chosen person (or one of the other consultants) goes around to each table and dumps ALL of the quarters in to the consultant's bucket whose item was just auctioned off. Item is then given to the winner.

And then the MC announces/describes the next item up for bid...

 

[Pampered Laura]

What I was saying at the end... Tom says that he usually winds up with over $500 in quarters at the end of the night (and his paddle money),for his product investment of 10 products... I'd guess around $200 in retail value or so, but of course at a consultant's discount or however else the consultant obtained the products.
I don't want to give specifics, but one could take that money and do with it what they wanted to in respect to ordering more products on a personal order or whatever they choose to do.

 

[katie0128]

O.k... it is now making sense. (Of course, the images of Tom would probably be funnier if I knew who he was, but I get the idea! ) Now, how often does he do this? Is it just the auction or do the consultants have "display tables" setup to take orders as well?

WOW! $300 profit seems pretty darn good for a night of quarter throwing! That could be a really neat (and different) fund-raiser!

Anyone have any tips on how to get something like this started????

 

[chefann]

To get something like this started, you just need to promote it to your customers. It'll take a couple of them before people really get the hang of it, but they will start asking you when the next one is!Find a couple other people to share it with you, and get an in expensive meeting space at a community center for the first couple times.