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Ok, I'm SERIOUSLY considering becoming a demo on Feb 1st....and I thought I'd take this directly to the experts......
For all those past and present Demos...
*What do you wish you had done differently?
*What are you glad you did?
*What would you suggest ordering/not ordering on your first order?
*What would you suggest to promote your business?
*What tips would you give me for doing a first class? Do a party & then take sign-ups for a club or what?
*Anything Else? Seriously, I love stamping, and have spent a fortune on it, but this feels like such a huge step. Any and ALL suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Be honest....I want to hear the "good, bad and the Ugly" sides of being a Demo.
You should ask your potential upline these questions, if you want to pursue this as a career, it might be a good indicator as to how much she can help you grow your business. With that said, here's my input...
*What do you wish you had done differently? Take it easy on your first few purchases. You get a 30% discount on your first order, but make sure you are going to use what you buy. Don't buy just for the sake of buying.
*What are you glad you did? I'm glad I joined the demo side of SCS. There is TONS of great info and a great support system. I also joined another paid demo group. They have both helped me out a great deal.
*What would you suggest ordering/not ordering on your first order? I think this should be based on what you already have and your preferences/style. Make sure all the stamp sets you get in your starter kit are ones that you would want to demonstrate.
*What would you suggest to promote your business? Get a blog and send emails. Make phone calls!
*What tips would you give me for doing a first class? Do a party & then take sign-ups for a club or what? Have an open house with a make-n-take. Encourage a good friend to book a workshop and go from there.
*Anything Else? Don't be surprised if you end up spending more money now that you have in the past. There are so many opportunities to preorder and get additional discounts that you are tempted to buy more. (I should know, I am my best customer! [You'll hear that a lot too!])
Do it! It is awesome! I'm a 3-week-old demo and I'm in it for the discount. If you can make your quarterly minimums with your own sales great, if not....put yourself out there and take it one thing at a time. Talk to your upline.....loads of wisdom there. Make sure you get good sets in your starter kit and buy things that you think will stay around awhile. 85% of the stamp sets I own are retired, same for accessories, ds paper, etc. If you want to do business, you gotta keep current. Good Luck!
I wish I would have signed up sooner. I think of all of the years I bought that stuff without the discount. Look seriously about the stamp sets that are in your starter kit. Everything that debuted in the Spring Summer catalog will be available for at least 1 year so you won't have to worry about geting it and then retiring.
Why are you joining? Hobbyist or business? I thought I'd just be a hobbyist but ended up doing monthly classes and the occasional workshop so what I thought I'd use- I didn't.
What support will your upline offer. Does she offer meetings? Or maybe an upline a couple levels up? I thiught I'd never want to go to Convention but after attending a Regional -I just had to go and had a blast. Now I want to go every year!
Don't feel like you need everything! I end up using the same stamp sets alot (Lovely as a Tree) so you don't have to buy a ton of them.
Don't forget to have fun! In my opinion that's the best thing about stamping!
__________________ Stacey Carter
For stamping and Papercrafting ideas My Blog
I wish I would have signed up sooner too!
I have a technique club that takes care of my minimums. I just buy what I love. I demonstrate those stamp sets and the paper I love. I haven't felt "stuck" with anything when the retirement lists come out because I would have bought those things anyhow.
I signed up as a hobby demo 4+ years ago. I wish I had known what a great business opportunity it really was and would have ordered lots of cardstock, ink pads and embellishments when I first signed up instead of so many stamp sets. My business took off and I found that I was having to replenish my paper & embellsihments right way. I wish I had purchased more when I could get them at the 30% one-time discount!
Be sure to sign up during Sale-a-bration so that you get your choice of a FREE stamp set for joining! Also, make sure you sign up under someone who is there to help you and answer all your questions!
I'll echo Michelle's suggestion to ask these questions of your potential upline. Make sure that the person you are signing up under will be able to help you grow your business! Don't be afraid to ask her what she does to suport her downline in terms of training, incentives, etc.
*What do you wish you had done differently? I wish I had signed up sooner. It took me 5 months to take the plunge. I thought I had to know more about stamping to be a demo when, in fact, it's really not necessary to know a lot. I would have saved myself a lot of money if I had signed up sooner.
*What are you glad you did? I'm glad I took the time to seriously think about who I wanted to sign up under and that I had the opportunity to meet my upline's upline and her up-upline and other girls in our demo group and that I made sure I would have the support I needed regardless of whether I decided to be a hobbyist or a business demo (at first I thought I would just buy stuff for myself, but as soon as I did my first party I realized that I loved the business side of SU even more than the creative stuff)
*What would you suggest ordering/not ordering on your first order? The two things I ordered on my first order (in addition to card stock, envelopes, some accessories, etc.) were the Many Marvelous Markers and the tabletop cutter and I still consider those the very best purchases I ever made with SU. I cannot sing the praises of the Many Marvelous Markers enough. 1.5 years after I purchased them they are still going strong and I use them almost daily. Plus, having the markers in all 48 colors allowed me to take my time on purchasing the full ink pads. And the tabletop cutter saved my mental health when the fiskars cutter was driving me absolutely crazy with the blades dulling seemingly at the speed of light. I rellly, really love it and I would never even consider using any other cutter.
*What would you suggest to promote your business? Talk about it with everyone, and I mean everyone! People you know, people you don't know (strangers in line at the supermarket), everyone! Today I had lunch with a former male co-worker and mentioned my stamping business in passing. He said that someone he works with was just telling him about a scrapping weekend retreat she recently attended. So I quickly grabbed a sale-a-bration brochure out of my purse and asked him to give it to his co-worker. After lunch he e-mailed me to tell me that she was very excited when she saw the brochure and would be calling me! I never would have gotten that contact if I hadn't mentioned my stamping business to a guy who could not be less interested in stamping or scrapping himself!
*What tips would you give me for doing a first class? Do a party & then take sign-ups for a club or what? MAny demos start their business by hosting a party for themselves and asking the attendees to host parties or to attend classes. That type of event is also a good way to gauge the interest of the people you know, so that you can tailor your future classes to their interests, thus increasing attendance.
*Anything Else? Keep a positive attitude, believe in yourself and don't be discouraged if things don't go as you hope in the beginning (I'm not saying they won't, but it's always good to be prepared just in case). Remember that most businesses take time to grow -- it just takes a can-do attitude and time.
If you decide to have an open house to kick off your business, invite EVERYONE. Don't select only those who you think may be interested in stamping. You just never know. The same applies to promoting your business.
You already have SCS as great back up, but do select an upline who will be there to support you in the way that you need.
For your first order, I'd concentrate on accessories. But it really depends on what you can afford.
Whenever you have a workshop and are returning the guest's totaled order, ask "Would you like to book a workshop?"
I am no longer a demo but here are a few things that really helped sales -
create a monthly special.
-If your order is 50.00 or more , you will recieve 1 FREE Stampin Marker of your choice - I would switch this every month between the marker, an ink refill or the 2 way glue pen
-If you palce a 75.00 order you will recieve 1 free classic inkpad of your choice- again I would switch this every month with the eyelets or grossgrain ribbon or something similar in cost.
and so on. People LOVE free things. My sales increased by doing this. Someone who would only order 35.00 worth increased their purchase to 50.00 just to get that free item. You can even start out with the 75.00 one with something free. Yes it does cost you a little but the sales increase was well worth it to me. I know once in awhile for 100.00 I did a pack of designer paper free and I actually had gals that increase their order to that!
Of course for 150.00 order I threw in a 11.95 stamp set. That did happen a couple of times!
I also ran a free ink pad if you book a party. And I threw in some free specials for party totals.
300.00 show and the hostess recieved a free pack of ribbon or something like that. You can play with this however you want. 500.00 show and I threw in a free stamp set of a 15.00 value.
It did help my bookings as well.
I kept a board the had squares on them. For every 50.00 order you got to put your name on that board for a free stamp set. When it was full I had my DH draw a name for the winner. Girls LOVED this as well. That board was always filling up.
One free thing you can do is to let your customers know that they can "donate" a card they made. When you collect say 10 or 15 cards, draw a winner of all of who donated and then they receive the whole pack of cards.
If I got a BRAND NEW stamper as a customer, I would give her something as well. It was usually an inkpad. that helped lock her in as a new repeat customer of mine. I also gave that gal that brought her something for opening that door again, an inkpad or eyelets or something like that. I did get some new gals by doing this.
Little things like this is a great way to boost your sales.
Good luck to you and I wish you the best!
When I first got into stamping was I heard about 2 other mom's at my DS's school talking about it. 1 was a demo. I went to a party and was hooked. I did stay with that demo as a customer BECAUSE of the specials that she ran. I love free things! We always can justify the extra money we spend because we get something free!
Last edited by meluvstampin; 01-23-2008 at 04:07 AM..
Oh yes, I forgot to mention one other thing. I also ran a technique type of class. I charged 20.00 and that covered all of the supplies and lunch. We did different techniques and put them on 6x6 cards and kept them in a 6x6 brag book that they bought from SU. I did the A to Z techniques. I divided this up into 3 classes. It also helped increase sales as the gals ended up buying things like the brayer and embossing powders and so on.
I agree with asking your potential upline these questions as well. In hindsight, since I'm a business demo, I probably should have signed under a "business demo". And if you do want to have SU! as a business, you have to keep "profitability" in mind. Just because you have high sales, doesn't necessarily mean you are highly profitable (if you give away too much or spend too much time on a task). The other key thing (again if you want a business) is to WRITE down goals. Don't just think them--write them down and share them with your upline. And one more tip, be consistent and persistent. Most direct sales have ups and downs, but if you are consistent and persistent, you'll do well. Good luck to you! Once you join SU! make sure you join the demo forum here too--lots of great info!
This is great information. I too am signing up in Feb. I only wish I would have signed up sooner. I already feel like I own the company because I have purchased so much. Barb
You gals are so helpful! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!
Any other ideas? I'd love to hear other ideas too!
Here's another question & I hope it's not "tacky" to ask this....what are some of the other incentives & "perks" of being a demo....other than the 20% discount? Do demos earn hostess sets and freebies too?
You gals are so helpful! Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!
Any other ideas? I'd love to hear other ideas too!
Here's another question & I hope it's not "tacky" to ask this....what are some of the other incentives & "perks" of being a demo....other than the 20% discount? Do demos earn hostess sets and freebies too?
Thanks again everyone!
~Melanie
If we submit orders of $150 or more (in theUS) we get the same hostess benefits as any other customer. We also get a monthly magazine full of creative and business ideas, a quarterly magazine that features projects that won SU contests and has articles about other demonstrators (those are so much fun to read -- it's like you can get to know a person you only heard about and find out what's she's doing in her business that's working for her -- great way to pick up business tips) plus access to the SU demonstrator web site that has a lot of ideas and templates for 3-D items.
Of course we get to pre-order from the mini catalogs and preview brochures, sometimes at a discount in addition to the typical 20%. And, on occasion, SU sends us free stamps for no reason at all (that's in addition to all of the free products you can earn through various promotions and rewards programs). The free stamps are truly a surprise, so it's sort a benefit that may not apply in the future, but in my 1.5 years of being a demo we received 2 free sets, which was awesome!
If your business really takes off you can win an annual incentive trip. And you can earn a volume rebate on any monthly sales over $400.
Your potential upline is the best person to ask about all of the perks and she'll eb able to give you details about all of the programs :-).
Ok, I'm SERIOUSLY considering becoming a demo on Feb 1st....and I thought I'd take this directly to the experts......
For all those past and present Demos...
*What do you wish you had done differently? I wish I had purchased more wisely ... LESS stamps sets (I know, shocking right) and MORE tools and embellishments. I wish I had bought LESS business items. I have an apron, a money pouch and few other items I hardly ever used and now I REALLY don't use them!:rolleyes: I was so excited I just bought EVERYthing! So take it slow ... get as much mileage out of your starter kit as you can! Oh - and if they offer that scrapbooking booster still ... buy it, that IS worth the money!
*What are you glad you did? I'm glad I became a demo ... it made sense. I was buying a LOT and so was my MOM! We enjoy my discount and when I was a business demo she used to help me with my classes and parties. It was great fun ...
*What would you suggest ordering/not ordering on your first order? If you don't like something on the standard order, get something else! Make sure you have a good selection of stamp sets (solid images, line art, cute, realistic, etc...)
*What would you suggest to promote your business? I dunno ... I wasn't a very good business demo. I hear the new Demo Websites are great though! You might also consider a blog?
*What tips would you give me for doing a first class? Do a party & then take sign-ups for a club or what? I ALWAYS held my classes in my home. It was great ... a lot of work but I got to keep all the hostess bennies! I preferred doing them at home becuase if I forgot anything I just had to run upstairs! A couple of times I did "mystery hostess" where somebody won the hostess stamp set and I also offered my home to anybody who wanted to host their own party ... they had to invite NEW guests though ... not just the people I had brought in as customers that they also knew. That worked really well.
*Anything Else? Seriously, I love stamping, and have spent a fortune on it, but this feels like such a huge step. Any and ALL suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Be honest....I want to hear the "good, bad and the Ugly" sides of being a Demo. Don't give away the farm. I see TOO many demos that give away WAY too much. If you do door prizes make sure you are not spending too much on them. I made that mistake ...
Also, be sure to strike a good balance with your life as it exists now. You can EASILY be overtaken with the work involved with being a Demo... it is TONS of fun but class prep does take time. Carve that time out and know when enough is enough. Don't take on more classes/parties than you can reasonably handle... spread them out. Oh - and if you have multiple parties in one month do the SAME project in all those classes/parties! Cuts WAY down on prep and development time. Oh ... and CASE! SU! offers great templates and card layouts to demos to use at parties and classes and workshops. Use them!
Thanks a million!!!
~Melanie
Good luck Melanie! Being a Demo is LOTS of fun and can be very rewarding and exciting!
This is great information. I too am signing up in Feb. I only wish I would have signed up sooner. I already feel like I own the company because I have purchased so much. Barb
Ditto! Now I'm afraid I own almost everything in the catalog and won't have anything left to buy myself.
this is a link to a thread that was started in August when Stampin' Up! had a free family of ink pads recruitign promotion. A lot of the information pertaining to that special is not relevant right now, but there is a lso a lot of good information in there about becoming a demonstrator so it might be worth scanning: Forums at Splitcoaststampers
Thank you to everyone for their ideas. I am thinking of signing up as a demonostrator because of the quantity of stuff I purchase for myself. This is great information!
New Demo Tips
