Yikes! My Power Cooking Clinic....

[chefruthie]

So Becky, how did it go??? I wanted to post yesterday when I read through the thread but I had no time at all! I hope it went well. BTW, I made your "killer potato salad" all I can say is THANK YOU!!! :thumbup: That was so yummy and will be my potato salad recipe that I make from now on. You're awesome

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Update!Wow! What a fun, crazy evening.....
First, the Stats:

I had 15 women here, a couple surprise guests, but also a couple who rsvp'd and didn't show up (I follow up with them later today)

Show is at just over $600 in sales - but 4 guests are calling/stopping by with their orders today.

4 bookings (one was a new recruit who got so excited talking about her agreement that we forgot to book her starter show!) 3 of those bookings are with people who have never hosted a show before! My neighbor, who has bought PC from me for 5 1/2 years, said YES to hosting for the first time! (She has been asked several times a year - every time she orders! - for 5 years, and finally said yes! So, don't assume, and don't stop asking!)

2 Recruits! Or at least hot leads - one took the agreement with her - and I knew she was going to sign, but the other one I just realized this morning! When she checked out, her first words were "I want to have a show, but I don't know enough people" so I started coaching her on how to find people to invite, and got a July date set up....and completely forgot to ask her about the opportunity - and then, when I was reading through guest care cards this morning, I saw that she had circled a "10" for interest about starting her own business! She is someone who already owns her own Window Covering Business, so she knows what it takes to make a home business work ~ I am pumped about this!

So - now - the show itself!
As the show was starting, I turned the gas on under the partially frozen chicken tenderloins in the 12" skillet.

Then, I started by showing them the 30 Minute Chicken. Surprisingly, only about half of them had been to, or hosted a show where this was demoed! And the ones who had the DCB really sold it for me - giving more tips on how they use it! I sold 3 of them last night, and have 2 more people who held off on booking until stoneware goes on sale again. (Show Savvy past hosts....) I talked about how simple and inexpensive it is to make a great sit-down meal for your family when you have the DCB, and that it can pay for itself in just 2 meals, as opposed to eating out.

Then, after we popped the chicken in the microwave, I had a couple people chop onions and press garlic, and we added it to the chicken. Then - you should have seen then line of people waiting to use the Mix n Chop on the chicken! It was so funny! (sold 8 of them) While they were chopping up the chicken, I had a couple people who have the 12" skillet talk about their love affair with their cookware! (2 out of 4 bookings were to get cookware at half price!)

We then made the 3 Power Cooking Recipes, starting with the Hoagies - and had a couple people use Forged Cutlery(sold 3 Utility knives) to slice peppers, and passed around the Italian Seasoning, and had someone measure in the other ingredients, and stir it all up. Bagged it, and talked about how to squeeze out the air (the demo video on CC is great for this!) and smooth it out flat.

Then we did the Stroganoff - people sliced some mushrooms, used the can opener, and added the spices and stirred it all together. Bagged it for the freezer.

Then the Tacos - used the jar opener, and the can opener, and instead of taco seasoning, we used Southwestern Seasoning, and Chipotle Rub. Got that ready for the freezer.

Took out the Chicken from the micro, and showed everyone, then put the lid on and let it sit - while it was resting, I passed out Recipe Brochures with the recipes, and let them know that while it said Ground Beef, they could all be done with ground turkey or chicken breast - which gives even more variations. We talked about how much we spend on eating out (one lady said that she buys 2-3 rotisserie chickens every week!) and how much we can save by cooking at home, and how simple these recipes make it to stock your freezer with healthy, home cooked meals!

I went over briefly host specials for July & August. Talked briefly about the PC opportunity, passed out catalogs, order forms, and guest care cards. Had them fill those out, and then did drawings for the meals, plus a couple other gifts that I had -

Let them eat, and look through catalogs, and then place their orders. I was completely done with the show at 8:30 - but everyone was chatting and eating, and so it was actually 9:30 before the last guest left.

It was a fun fun evening!

 

[chefruthie]

WOW!!! What an update . I knew it would turn out great. Thank you for taking the time to post all of this. It really encourages me to do this when I have the exact way that you did yours so successfully! What a blessing you are to this site. I'm sure all the other cheffers agree :thumbup:

 

[ChefBeckyD]

WOW!!! What an update . I knew it would turn out great. Thank you for taking the time to post all of this. It really encourages me to do this when I have the exact way that you did yours so successfully! What a blessing you are to this site. I'm sure all the other cheffers agree :thumbup:

:blushing: Thanks Ruthie! You could do it 10X better, I think. (and I wish you were in my wave - we didn't get any time together at Regionals!)

I'm glad you liked the Potato Salad. I know it's a little more work than the normal potato salad, but soooo worth it! DH, who isn't a big potato eater, absolutely loves this salad - and the biggest compliment of all was when my MIL asked me for the recipe!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Oh - I forgot to post - this was the recipe brochure I used - thanks to ChefLoriG for posting it!

 

[chefruthie]

:blushing: Thanks Ruthie! You could do it 10X better, I think. (and I wish you were in my wave - we didn't get any time together at Regionals!)

Thanks Becky but I highly doubt that! I too wish we were in the same wave, maybe next year! I am going to do a Power Cooking Clinic in June or July. You have inspired me so much. I may be calling you to pick your brain on some things if you don't mind. I can't wait to hear the final outcome. When are you going to promote?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

:blushing: Thanks Ruthie! You could do it 10X better, I think. (and I wish you were in my wave - we didn't get any time together at Regionals!)

Thanks Becky but I highly doubt that! I too wish we were in the same wave, maybe next year! I am going to do a Power Cooking Clinic in June or July. You have inspired me so much. I may be calling you to pick your brain on some things if you don't mind. I can't wait to hear the final outcome. When are you going to promote?

Call anytime! Do you need me to pm my phone # or do you have it?

I was really shooting to promote by June 30th, but it looks like the timing is going to be a little off....I have everything in place, but 2 people aren't signing until their shows in June.....so it may be July or August before I promote. It will happen though!

 

[dianevill]

Becky,

Thanks for the update. What an awesome show/clinic! Congratulations!

 

[lacychef]

Wow, what awesome results! You have definately inspired me too; I'm doing this in June! For the recipes that they won; did you just give them the mixture you made, or did you give them the extra ingredients needed to complete the recipes?

I was just thinking of you yesterday & wondering how close you are to promoting....you're going to be an awesome director!

 

[DebbieJ]

Great job Becky!!!

 

[stefani2]

WOW!!! AMAZING job chefbecky! VERY inspiring!!! :love:

 

[janetupnorth]

Call anytime! Do you need me to pm my phone # or do you have it?I was really shooting to promote by June 30th, but it looks like the timing is going to be a little off....I have everything in place, but 2 people aren't signing until their shows in June.....so it may be July or August before I promote. It will happen though!

Yeah Becky!Can I say I TOLD you so????I TOLD you this year!!!!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Wow, what awesome results! You have definately inspired me too; I'm doing this in June! For the recipes that they won; did you just give them the mixture you made, or did you give them the extra ingredients needed to complete the recipes?

I was just thinking of you yesterday & wondering how close you are to promoting....you're going to be an awesome director!

Thanks Lacy!

I didn't give them all of the ingredients. Just the bread/starch that went with it - so for the hoagies, I gave the rolls; the tacos, I gave the shells; and the stroganoff, I gave the noodles.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Yeah Becky!

Can I say I TOLD you so????

I TOLD you this year!!!!

Yeah, Yeah, I know!

 

[Chef Kearns]

Becky, I scheduled mine for June 22!! Thank you for sharing! I may send you a PM or two to pick your brain. I hope you don't mind.

I already have questions. Tenderloin in the skillet? Did you say anything special about the high dollar products that were purchased or stick to the "company lines"?

 

[lacychef]

OH, & I forgot to say...wow, I had not thought of using the mix&chop for chicken in the skillet! Does it work great? That is a great tip!

 

[janetupnorth]

Yeah, Yeah, I know!

I would LOVE to see you walk by conference so we can celebrate by banquet, but all in due time!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Becky, I scheduled mine for June 22!! Thank you for sharing! I may send you a PM or two to pick your brain. I hope you don't mind.

I already have questions. Tenderloin in the skillet? Did you say anything special about the high dollar products that were purchased or stick to the "company lines"?

Yea for you Sandra! You will do great!

I used Frozen chicken tenderloins because they were on sale this week buy one get one free. Then I can point out that when you power cook, you can save money by using whatever is on sale! This week the chicken was cheaper than the ground sirloin.:thumbup:

I LOVE:love: LOVE:love: LOVE the DCB, the 12" skillet, and the Forged Cutlery, so it's easy for me to talk about.

Last night, because it was a lot of past hosts, I let them sell the stuff for me!
While we were cooking the chicken, I would call out guests and say "Now, Karen, I know you have the 12" skillet...do you absolutely love it?" (I know she does) and then I ask her questions about how she uses it, and how she cleans it....
While we were using the Forged Cutlery, I said "Now Theresa, I know you have this knife - do you absolutely love it?"......
Same for the DCB....

I'm really bad at using other peoples words, so I rarely use the "company lines" - I just honestly tell them what I love about it, and I use it in my kitchen. I do use some factoids about the products too - like that it's German Forged Steel, so that gives it a thinner, sharper edge, and that the cookware w/ the titanium lining is 3X stronger than SS....that type of thing.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

OH, & I forgot to say...wow, I had not thought of using the mix&chop for chicken in the skillet! Does it work great? That is a great tip!

It is absolutely amazing! Works just as well on chicken as it does on ground meat! So, if you want chopped chicken for tacos, or burritos, or even just chicken salad, you can cook and chop all at the same time! It works best if the chicken is at least partially cooked though.

 

[chefruthie]

Hey Becky, I just PM'd you.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Hey Becky, I just PM'd you.

Just pm'd you back!:balloon:

 

[rennea]

Oh Becky I'm sooo happy it turned out great for you. How exciting to hear about it. First thing on my mined when I woke up this morning

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

Becky, that is incredible!

I would LOVE to do something like this, but am not sure I have the chops, the facilities or the contacts to pull this off.

I am thinking that if I had a somewhat public place to do this, like a church, I might draw more people in. Did you do this in your home, or a larger venue?

My kitchen is not small, but it lacks an island and I can't see getting 15 women in there ... and I can't see making it work with less! And my church does not have a kitchen.

What am I saying .... I can't even get 5 people to show up for a show I sponsor.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Becky, that is incredible!

I would LOVE to do something like this, but am not sure I have the chops, the facilities or the contacts to pull this off.

I am thinking that if I had a somewhat public place to do this, like a church, I might draw more people in. Did you do this in your home, or a larger venue?

My kitchen is not small, but it lacks an island and I can't see getting 15 women in there ... and I can't see making it work with less! And my church does not have a kitchen.

What am I saying .... I can't even get 5 people to show up for a show I sponsor.

Di, my entire house it about 1000 square feet! Very small. Very little counter space, and no island either. I do have a table that has 2 leaves, so I put both of those in, and we all circled around the table, although not everyone fit. I had people standing up against cupboards, and in the doorway....it was tight - so it's a good thing I didn't have to turn on the oven!

I would think if you did it at a church, you could also offer it as a fundraiser for the church - either to earn new tools for the church kitchen, or as a regular cash fundraiser - and then invite all the ladies from the church to participate too!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Oh Becky I'm sooo happy it turned out great for you. How exciting to hear about it. First thing on my mined when I woke up this morning

Rennea - I'm just speechless that I was the first thing on your mind!:blushing:

 

[ChefBeckyD]

Whooo Hooo!

My neighbor just came over to place her order and book her show! $85 order -so now I'm this close to $700, and 3 more orders to come!

AND - she wants to do a Couples Show! Which is great, because her DH is a Grand Rapids City Firefighter, and they want to invite all of the firefighters and their wives! She booked for July, but may switch to August, once her DH gets his summer schedule.

Oh - and they organize and run RESCUE ONE - which is a fire safety program for kids that is hugely successful in this area....

http://www.firesafetyforkids.org/index.html

I'm just pumped because she is someone I never expected to book!

 

[pamperedbecky]

What great results, Becky!! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!:sing:

 

[rennea]

Just keeps getting better!!!

 

[chefmeg]

What great news, Becky! AND, I can't wait for you to come play on DCS!!

How did you promote this as a "clinic" in order to get the kind of response you did? When I have had open houses or mystery host shows at my home, people just dont come....any advice, as I would love to do one of these in June?

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I sent out the Power Cooking invite online to my past hosts and favorite customers, and added this extra personal note to the invites:

We can't control gas prices, and we can't control grocery prices, but we can control how often we eat from drive-throughs, and out of frozen food boxes!

Come to this Power Cooking Clinic, and learn how to make 3 meals in under 30 minutes, and all at less than $2 per serving!

As a bonus, we will be doing a drawing, and 3 lucky winners will go home with one of the meals for their freezer!

This is a fun, interactive show, and everyone will be able to be hands-on with the tools! Plus - I will have all of the new Spring/Summer products on display!

Bring a Friend and receive a great gift!

Book a show, and I have another great gift for you!

Start your own PC business, and get a gift, plus a $25 credit on your starter kit!

Hope you can make it!

and followed up with a Power Cooking invitation that I made at Vistaprint.

If someone could PLEASE tell me how to post a copy of that I would do it, so you could see what it looked like. I would need step by step instructions though.....