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A friend of mine introduced me to stamping just this March and now I'm liking it so much that I'm considering signing up as a demo. I had thought about approaching some privately owned stores in my area about carrying cards that I'd make, but after reading here that SU! frowns on that, I convinced my husband that the only way to make $$ (and save money on things I'd purchase anyway) with this hobby is to become a demo, or to do craft fairs (I'm not real excited about that idea).
I'm not a member of a church, but I work on a University campus and know people all over it. I'm not sure how many acquaintances I could convince into having a workshop. That's about the limit of my circle of friends. I'm not a mother (yet!), so I don't have school or parents of my child's friends to turn to.
So, with what seems to me to be a rather limited contact group, how would I make this work?
All of your friends have friends that you may not know and once you have had a few parties you should have a good client base. It might be a good idea to promote a Stampers Club as well. I have a whole bunch of info on my computer I could e-mail you if you would like just let me know.
All you really need are a couple of workshops to get you going. If just two friends hold a workshop, each of them will invite people that you haven't met yet. Typically, at least one or two people from each workshop will book to have their own workshop and invite more people that you don't know. It just continues to snowball. Just be sure that you provide interesting projects and great customer service and you should have no problem building a customer base. Good luck to you!!
I actually signed up in May and thought I would have no luck getting anyone to have workshops. I had one friend that already stamped with me through my demonstrator and my mother was into it too, but that's about it. However, I had an open house when I started (which I hear are notoriously bad... no turnout) and my sister-in-law came to it and a couple of my friends. My total order from the open house? $1,120! They were hooked, and from just this group (which was only 8 people) I convinced 3 of them to have workshops. Then it has just grown from there and I generally sell around $1000/month. That's not super big time, but I am constantly amazed at how easy it is to sell Stampin' Up! You just walk into their home, show them a few things, let them play, and voila! They're addicted too! Even one of my friends who NEVER goes to parties and is really not the crafty-girlie type has had a workshop and is part of my hostess club.
The moral of this story is... just ask everyone you know to have a workshop for you. Even if you only get one or two, it can balloon from there when you show them all the neat things hostesses get for free. Include your family, your friends, your co-workers, everyone you know!
Start with your friends & family. Offer a free workshop with several make & takes, to get them excited. You will be surprised at how many people will get interested when they will start out telling you they're not.
You can also get involved with open houses & home based business fairs. You must know one or two people who either do or know someone who does some other business (Tupperware, Pampered Chef). Contact them and talk about doing a join open house/fair. Open house if at someone's home and only a few of you, fair if a large group (I did one last night where we did it at a church and there were about 10 of us). Do it as a charity fundraiser and get a better turnout and free advertising too. Also, look for events in your Pennysaver & newspapers, call the organizers and ask if you can participate. Once you do a few, you'll get contatcs for customers, they'll do a workshop and you'll grow your customer base.
Actually your contact group sounds really good. There is a snowball effect to this sort of business. You have a friend hold a workshop and you get more bookings from that workshop, and so on.
I would talk to friends and let them know what you are thinking of doing. Ask close friends and family if they would commit to helping you get your businesss off to a good start by holding workshops for you. This is a contagious business LOL Once they see what they can make, they get excited and want to tell others.
As you talk to people, you will get a good feel for where your business will start.
I recently moved to a small town, where I know no one. So I don't have the bookings, but the customers I have gained are excited about it. I am able to keep my quarterly quota without any problem.
Best Wishes to you!!
__________________ "Rich is the person who has a praying friend"
I think it is only as limited as you make it. What I mean is this:
You have a good start with the people with whom you work. I started giving them cards for birthdays, etc. and before long some were asking questions. At that time I didn't want to become a demo so I invited them to Selabration Meets, etc. that my demo held. Guess what? Three of them became demos within the year.
My point is you can do it without pushing it too strong. Just show them it is fun and how to be clever with it. It is really easy. I am not a hard sell type of person and approached them with "You asked, and here is a fun opportunity coming up". And guess what again? They paid $25 to go to the Selabration Stamp Fest for their first experience and all ended up having parties. It was easy and I wasn't even a demo.
By the way, I just signed up for demo and I am still not a hard sell. I just moved to this area and I plan to join groups in order to meet people and sell that way.
Also remember this.......Every NO puts you that much closer to a YES. The more NO's you get the more chance a YES is coming your way. Its true. I have proved it and watched others too.
Sorry for the soapbox, but stamping is an Addiction. Ha!
Karen,
Congratulations for considering becoming a demo! It has really helped me meet new people. When I signed up I was just doing it for the discount so I could support my habit. Recently I've plunged into the world of workshops and hostesses and I LOVE it. But finding hostesses has presented a challenge at first.
What about your neighbors? Ask them. Some neighbors I never thought would be interested in SU are placing orders. Your university campus is a HUGE resource! Once you book a few parties off them they will bring people you don't know. If you get them to book you will come into contact with even more people you don't know and then it builds. Kind of like a ripple. Do you bank at one bank all the time, see the same teller kind of thing? Ask them and leave a mini catalog with your contact information. Most banking people I know LOVE stamping. (Maybe a study should be done).
Another thing I tell fellow demos (and myself ) is to use the Hostess Coaching Flyer "40 Guests in 4 Minutes". It has different catagories of people that get you thinking outside the box. It is on the SU website - when you sign up you will have access to that and so many other training tools. SU is great about giving you the tools to succeed. I think you should go ahead and sign up and give it a whirl. What have you got to lose? I promise you, if you are excited about SU it will become contagious!
Good thoughts your way as you start your adventure!
__________________ "Nothin' could be finer than to be in Carolina in the mornin'!"
Demos-Question from one considering becoming one
