How Much Do You Know About Your Products?

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Discussion Overview

The thread explores participants' experiences and feelings regarding their knowledge of Pampered Chef products, including product details, pricing, and catalog navigation. Many consultants share their struggles with product familiarity and the pressure to present confidently during shows.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about product details like oven temperatures and prices, feeling unprofessional when unable to find items in the catalog.
  • Another participant shares their experience of using flashcards to memorize product prices, indicating a desire to improve their knowledge.
  • Several users mention relying on experience and repetition to gain product knowledge, with one noting that they focus on creating a need for products rather than memorizing specifics.
  • One participant describes feeling foolish when unable to answer customer questions about products, despite having been a consultant for over two years.
  • Another participant shares a strategy of using humor to cope with not knowing page numbers and prices, while still studying key products.
  • Some participants discuss the importance of using products personally to gain knowledge and confidence when presenting them to customers.
  • One participant mentions the Product Information Guide as a resource for learning about products, suggesting reading it in small increments.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ on the importance of memorizing product specifics versus focusing on practical usage and customer engagement techniques. No clear consensus emerges regarding the best approach to product knowledge.

Contextual Notes

Participants share personal experiences and strategies for improving product knowledge, reflecting a range of comfort levels and methods of learning within the consultant community.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants seeking to enhance their product knowledge and presentation skills may find the shared experiences and strategies relevant to their own practices.

  • Thread starter
  • #31
yummy4tummy said:
Gillian, I too think my time can be better spent in other areas than memorizing the product prices, pg #'s. By time you get it down, the catalog has changed. Oh the power of the "cheat sheet" Also, if they ask a price...just say, Free...if you host your own show". Valky
I LOVE this line, Valky!! Thanks...it has officially been stolen :D!
 
Great point Valky! Everything in our catalog is free when you host your show! I'm going to use that at my show tonight...hopefully not the one show noone asks :).
 
speedychef said:
You can find the PIG on consultant's corner under products and recipes.


I printed mine off and have it in a binder. I did it years ago and have to just update it every three months or so. I probably would not print the whoel thing again HOWEVER I love that I do have it to access any time I want.
 
yummy4tummy said:
Also, if they ask a price...just say, Free...if you host your own show". Valky

That's a wonderful response!! I will have to try to remember that!!
 
I hardly know where anything is in the catalogue. I can remeber very few materials products are made of, and I am BAD at prices. I'll tell you a couple of tricks I've learned.

When they ask where something is in the catalogue, I say, "I'm not sure because as soon as I get it memorized, they get a new catalogue! So I give up, but together we can find it." Then I grab a catalogue and help them find it. They usually laugh and sometimes finish the statement for me by saying, "they get a new catalogue!"

When they ask about a price, I think about what I think it might be, then round it up and tell them I'm not exactly sure- they never hold it against me. Then when I find it in the catalogue and it's a bit cheaper, we look really good!

I agree with the others that using emotion and reason to sell instead of memorization is the most important thing. Make jokes about what you don't know, etc, and people will laugh with you. Use a joke like, "See, you know as much as me! You could do my job, too!"
 
This is one of the things that makes me scared to do my 1st show. I think oh my goodness how I am going to remember the names and numbers of ewverything. I am going to check out the consultants corner though and look for the "pig". thanks for the heads up on that.
 
Yes that..knowing everything and remembering to just sayng stuff like how many of you have had burnt cookies etc etc. I rarely have had burnt cookies because I never cooked before PC. So I am trying to say..now how many of you many of you thought stone was something we threw at boys we liked in grade school or a chopper was a bad beautician....lol well that was me..becuase I had no clue what in the heck this stuff was or how to use it. I didn't cook. I am trying to find ways to relate again because I never cooked..so is really really hard for me..well beyond page numbers and prices.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #38
Jilley- my director taught me to link a product and a "line" like a joke or tip. That way, every time you talk about a product the tip or joke will eventually just pop into your head!
 
That's a good tip, Gillian.

If you mention that you've only been doing PC for a short time (and don't define short), people will cut you some slack about knowing everything about all the products. I try to be honest with my customers. When they ask me about something I haven't used, I tell them, "Honestly, I haven't worked that much with xxx. But I know consultants who just love it! If you think it's something you would like, let's get it on your order."

And I try to know the general categories for products. So if someone asks me where the EAD is in the book, I can tell them that it's with the baking items, and there's a heading on the top corner of the catalog pages to help them find it.

But memorizing prices or page numbers? Bah!
 
Lisa821 said:
This is one of the things that makes me scared to do my 1st show. I think oh my goodness how I am going to remember the names and numbers of ewverything. I am going to check out the consultants corner though and look for the "pig". thanks for the heads up on that.

I was terrified my first show! The guests talked more about the products than I did!!! What I teach my new consultants is...whenever you feel so nervous or you think you are bombing...ask the guests if anyone has the (product that you are using). Some will say yes. For those that say yes, ask them what they like about that product or if it is a stone...what do you cook on it? Invite others to share their experiences. Guests will sell more products for us this way!!

Think of your first show as riding a 2 wheel bicycle. The first time you rode your bike without training wheels, were you able to do jumps or do any other tricks with it? BAHHHHHH!!! Heck no!! It was all you could do to keep your balance! The same thing with your first shows. Learn how to ride your bike before you try to make it do tricks!! You WILL get there! Good luck!
Ann
 
Great advice thank you..hearing these thread always calms me down. ....thank god. I didn't keep my balance though..i fell flat on my face and I may have even need stitches...LOL
 
I've been creating a spreadsheet of our product line and host combo's with every new catalog, that can be sorted by page #, product #, price, etc., then distributed it to my cluster. I thought I saw somewhere recently that the HO was going to start including the product line in the same application/format, on line so we could down load it. I haven't prepared the SS 07 for that reason. If they don't soon, or if it's not as user friendly~I'll gladly share and post. I print off the variations (different sorts) and use it during my intro, before my demo. I let my guests know it's avail during the show, for quick ref to an item in case I'm busy helping someone else. I use a thin 3 ring binder and also have page protected copies of sales specials for Host and Guest and Recruiting info. I use it as a prop to keep the flow of my intro. Anyway...please let me know if anyelse remembers seeing the info about HO making that download avail. thx
 
Last edited:
  • Thread starter
  • #43
I think HO already has this under downloads (you have to click the tab) but it isn't updated for the new catty yet...
 
On CC...On the right hand side of the screen is the box labled Frequently Visited Sites. Under here you will see the link tot he Product Information Guide or "PIG". Under Download Center at the very bottom is "Products and Recipes". You will find the entire listing of catlog products in various sorts.
My favorite is alphabetical. Check it out.
 

Attachments

Thanks John! I thought I had read that they know had that available. Another time saving aid. Even though I know the names of the products, and almost all the prices I always get tripped up at the start of a selling season when items shift and we have new items. Love these lists, thanx.
 
That is a great tool!!
 
I get my customers to try and answer each others questions with the Pampered Poker game. Like when someone asks page or price, I point out that they asked a question and it's 2 pts to whomever can answer first. Then I'm not stopping the demo and getting them to look in the catty :)
 
I would be lost without these!Several people out here have kept us in the "know" with lists like these for years but now HO does it for us. I could not find my way around the catalog if I tried. I used to have guests look up stuff too and give a little prize for finding them but Don Funt was one who said that if you know your products and where to find them in the catalog, you look more profeessional and therfore it actually can increase sales and interest in the business. I have been using these cheat sheets for years. And I found that the alphabetical one works best for me because I can figure out the name of something faster than I can figure out the price, page number or item number.
Tell me the truth? Would it not be easier to find the name of the white slicy thingy with the blades as opposed to the item# on a list? Or that thing that makes those funny cuts on carrots? (Those are real descriptions I have gotten from customers!) So the Ultimate MAndloine and the Crinkle Cutter are easy to find. Then the page number, price, item number are all there too!
 

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