Experience Tom Marston's Express Show: Info for Consultants

[Susan M]

A couple of weeks ago I saw a thread relating to a show that Tom Marston does - Express shows or something to that nature. Consultants were planning on attending this and were going to post some information on this but I can't seem to find this information - has anybody ever attending one of these shows and did anybody get any good notes as to how he does this? I am curious because I have seen postings on Power Cooking and plan to give this a try and share it with my team but I would love to know more about the Express show idea. Thanks to anybody who can share.

 

[AJPratt]

Andrea (aka SoonerChef) went and provided some wonderful notes. I was just looking over them today! Here's the link.

http://www.chefsuccess.com/showthread.php?t=8758

 

[emolstad]

Tom Marston show-Express showHi! I saw Tom Marston here about a month ago. I thought he was wonderful. First off, he really doesn't cook at his shows. He brings food prepared to share with his guests, and he tells them how to prepare it, along with reviewing the tools he used. He focuses in on how EASY the recipe is, and walks them through it quickly. He has a short list of recipes that he uses that his hosts can pick from ahead of time. He highly recommeds making the garlic pull apart bread, which can be made quickly at the show, because it demonstrates the cookware so nicely. Basically, he has everyone go around for introductions, and has them tell what their favorite PC product is. However, no item can be repeated. This means if someone mentions a piece of stoneware, the entire stoneware collection is closed. He asks the guests questions about the products, what they use them for, what they cook with it etc.. And he asks them each 3 questions: Is it easy to use? Is it easy to clean? Would you recommend it to a friend? That is the bulk of his show. He does tell his personal story, and always has little funny stories throughout, as products are being discussed. As guests are going around the room naming products, he is so good at tying into other products, and getting them interested in having their own show to get the things free. He focuses in on catalog shows, and highlights that it really only takes about 6 orders to fulfill a catalog show, and that you can get the host special also. He does LOTS of catalog shows every month. That is one of the reasons he is so successful, he does not rely on cooking shows alone. He may easily have over a dozen catalog shows per month in addition to his cooking shows. He also tells his guests that they can come to his show, and plan to be out the door in an hour. He believes Less is More. I have adopted some of his ideas, and love my new show format. I do not cook at shows now and my guests love it. I hear more now than ever, that people get bored with the demonstration part of it. It also makes my shows more personal. I elaborate on what items people list as their favorites, and I get the other guests involved in giving more ideas on how to use the products. I also ask the 3 important questions: Is it easy to use? Is it easy to clean? Would you recommend it to a friend? Your guests sell the products for you, it is wonderful! I am so much more relaxed before my shows now, and can really focus on my guests. I also have adopted Tom's suggestion to stop bringing everything with you to your shows. He doesn't bring a lot, and that is nice to. The last thing he does, is he does not hand out catalogs until the end of his show. That is the one thing that I can not seem to do. I still hand out my catalogs at the beginning, I can't help it. I know this is long, but I hope it helps.
Erin

 

[AJPratt]

Erin: I'm glad to hear that has worked for you. I would love to transition to it. Any suggestions to help me out?

 

[Susan M]

Tom Marston showsThank you so much to all of you for this information - this truly helped and was exactly what I was looking for. Wave 2 Conference attendee

 

[gilliandanielle]

What so you say to people who are asking for catalogs? Do they have order forms and are circling stuff, or noting at all?

 

[MicheleC]

What do you do for people who don't have any products (new to PC) when doing the intros?

 

[cmdtrgd]

What product in their kitchen do they most want to replace? That's a great one for newbies as the seasoned guests will sell them on the basic items and then some!

 

[gilliandanielle]

Has anyone ever done a show where the seasoned guests didn't really chirp in and sell each other?? I am so worried that I would sabotage my regular sales by doing thes, then have no one chime in to suggest something.