Where should we hold our September Meeting?

[pamela]

I am usually the idea queen for our Cluster meetings (there are 4 of us that do our meetings together)....but with all of my personal strife, I haven't even thought about a meeting!

Do you all have any ideas???? Thanks in advance for sharing!

 

[MORFIA]

1st off Do a pot luck dinner--that is the most FUN--Recruiting let all the new ones---speak--

 

[chefkathy]

We always divide up our meeting into three teaching segments--bookings, recruiting, and then the third is either product knowledge or business basics. We have four directors so we each take a segment and then the 4th does announcements and moderates/keeps the meeting on track.We are trying to include a recipe demo in one of the segments each month. I have bookings this month and I am demo-ing the new White Chicken Chili for the microwave. I'll be focusing on the fast and economical meal ideas and how to market that for bookings. We're doing some sort of quiz or game for the new products and a roundtable discussion for recruiting.HTH!

 

[pamperedlinda]

What about the Meeting Planner? Do you all use that?

 

[cmdtrgd]

I'm doing a Family BBQ. So, the spouses and kids go out back to the pool and bbq area while the consultants and I stay inside and do a quick meeting. We'll be talking about how to book the fall season and how to recruit. I'll probably pull some ideas from the Meeting Planner (yes Linda, I use it) and hopefully be done in 30 minutes. Then Booking Bingo and we move outside to do recognition in front of the families. I am providing the burgers and dogs, and I have asked each consultant to make a recipe from the new Season's Best (they have to let me know what they choose so we don't have any duplicates) and be prepared to say what, if anything, they would change next time as well as if it is a good show recipe and why. I'm hoping all of that will take us only an hour or less. Then bbq, swim and socialize. I wanted to bring in the families because the fall season is usually more stressful on them and I wanted to say thanks in advance for being patient with their Pampered Chef. HTH

 

[pamela]

Booking Bingo???? Is this where you get them to put their show dates on the calendar???

We did recipes from the new SB last month, so I am looking to maybe not have a demo~I do like the idea of the economical aspect of many of the recipes....I wonder if there is a list of prices for common ingredients....maybe we could have that and break into groups to get a price per serving on some of the recipes..........

Recruiting is where we really need help in all of our Clusters..........I would love to do a biggie for that!

 

[annew]

Do any of you do something special for your recruiting segment???
games.....incentives.....role playing???
I'd love to hear your ideas I think I need something new & fresh.

TIA!

 

[cmdtrgd]

Booking Bingo - I have them put their LIVE show dates on the Cluster Calendar. Then we draw numbers (for days of the month) and if they have a live show on that date, they get a piece of candy (the mini sizes). When they have 3 pieces of candy in front of them (or wrappers), they stand up. When their fourth number is called, they yell Bingo and get the Booking Bingo prize - usually something I have laying around that costs $10-20, or a combo to get up to that. HTH

 

[DebPC]

We are having ours next Tuesday. FoodFest where everyone brings a recipe from one of the new cookbooks and a booking blitz.

 

[PampMomof3]

OUrs is rescheduled to Sept 16th due to Hurrican Ike.

 

[BethCooks4U]

Mine was supposed to be this last Thursday, but needless to say, it was cancelled. I was going to do a guesstures game. Oh, well, now I have more time to plan that for October.

 

[pamela]

Beth, what is guesstures????

 

[annew]

ok mine is tonight & I'm stressing out I'm going to try the bookings bingo & wondering if you have any great ideas/incentives for recruiting???!!!

 

[chefkathy]

At our meeting last night, we just had an informal discussion about recruiting...What do you say to ask people to join you?
Do you give them info?
How/when do you follow up?And that just opened up a whole discussion and we shared ideas. Got a lot of GREAT feedback on that.

 

[annew]

Debbie that's great I'll cut & paste the words that Morfia uses to go along w/that
this is the area we need the MOST help in so maybe we'll do some role playing too.

 

[chefkathy]

Debbie that's great I'll cut & paste the words that Morfia uses to go along w/that
this is the area we need the MOST help in so maybe we'll do some role playing too.

Not role playing--PRACTICING. it's all about using positive words here...role playing sends shivers of fear down everyone's spine. LOL

 

[BethCooks4U]

Beth, what is guesstures????

Someone had mentioned this on CS and I asked for details. Her director sent me the info. I plan to use some of my extras for the auction for use of their winnings. I also have been using a punch card this year at my meetings and am thinking of offering to exchange those for more $$ to use in the auction if they want to.

 

[baychef]

I had my meeting last night and literally threw a few things together. I must say that it wasn't the best meeting I have had, but hopefully I was able to share some ideas.

We had a representative from our nearest food bank come and explain how Round up from the Heart helps our communities and about the Food Bank of Syracuse. It was very interesting (to me at least!!)

Then I took Karen Phelps latest teleseminar on Fabulous Fall bookings and shared some of her ideas. Some that are tried and true were the Mystery Host, Fall open house, Wish Lists for the holidays, a list of reminders of who to buy for for the holidays and several others. There were some new ones too that I will share later. I have REALLY got to get back to work!!! (sorry)

 

[imported_iteachurkid]

Ok, my meeting is tomorrow night and I have nothing, nada, zippo...I have had one of the busiest weeks I can remember and I still need to straighten, vacuum and dust in the 1 and a half hours I have between when I get home tomorrow and when people get here. Oh and did I mention...I NEED TO PLAN A WHOLE MEETING!!! I'm stressed a lot. My meetings are small (I think I have three coming tomorrow night), so break off into group things really don't work. I may try guesstures...just need to make the cards I guess. Maybe I'll find some magazines and we can make a dream board. Anyone else have any ideas? I need them to be excited, but I'm so tired and stressed right now, it's hard for me to be. Somebody, anybody, help me get motivated!!!


Jennifer

 

[BethCooks4U]

I have picked up some notebooks (the bound ones that teachers want the kids to keep journals in - usually black mottled covers) and plan to have them add stickers to them. They will be their meeting notebooks to help them keep things more organized and at their finger tips. I started mine a few weeks ago and will use it for my director meetings and other trainings.

I had wanted to do that at my September meeting and then have them bring them to the Regional Kick-off with Amy Neal but then I had to cancel the Sept 4 meeting because of my Sept 2 surgery and then because of Hanna and the rain and flooded streets on the Kickoff date (Sept 6) they decided to not go. If I was driving SOME of us would have gone it was not that bad!

One idea anyway...

 

[baychef]

Ok, my meeting is tomorrow night and I have nothing, nada, zippo...I have had one of the busiest weeks I can remember and I still need to straighten, vacuum and dust in the 1 and a half hours I have between when I get home tomorrow and when people get here. Oh and did I mention...I NEED TO PLAN A WHOLE MEETING!!! I'm stressed a lot. My meetings are small (I think I have three coming tomorrow night), so break off into group things really don't work. I may try guesstures...just need to make the cards I guess. Maybe I'll find some magazines and we can make a dream board. Anyone else have any ideas? I need them to be excited, but I'm so tired and stressed right now, it's hard for me to be. Somebody, anybody, help me get motivated!!!


Jennifer

Jennifer, I am too late to help with your meeting, but don't feel alone. I had to take my meetings out of my home because I kept feeling the way you did and meetings were more of a downer than feeling like I inspired. This time of year I am busier than a one armed paper hanger so sometimes I just open things up to the team and ask them to share what is working for them. It leads to good ideas and discussions of challenges in a "solving" mode not a complaint session.

Hope all went well...let us know!

 

[imported_iteachurkid]

Thanks for the ideas guys! The meeting actually went well. I had three here, we played guesstures with kitchen words, trained on working booths/fairs, and made dream boards. At the end I gave away a bunch of stuff in an auction where they used the money they had won in guesstures.

Ann, taking the meeting out of the house is a good idea, but I have no idea where I'd do it. I guess I need to think about that. Maybe it's something I could start after the 1st of the year. Thanks again for your help!!

 

[baychef]

SO glad to hear your meeting went well!!! For the longest time we were able to use a church that was PERFECT. They had an kitchen and a meeting area in the same room. The church is having problems (which I can now understand why...very rude people) and we were told we can no longer use the church. I paid them about $300 a year.

I looked for another church and was approved, but they wanted $50 a month for just a meeting room!!! Thanks, but no thanks.

So we are in a small cafe that someone's cousin owns and we are using that for free.

Ask your team members if they know of a good place. They have been my best resource, I have found!

OR hire a housekeeper and write off the expense. My problem is that I am a clutter person and visual. Once it is filed, it is out of site, out of mind and that gets me in more trouble. For me, once the clutter is organized and sorted, the cleaning is the easy part, so it honestly won't work for me.

Also, I am trying to keep the meeting location central so no one has to travel further than 30 to 40 minutes. My house is not central and attendence drops when I have them at my home.