Now is the BEST time....and Convention TEAM PARTY!

I'd like to wish all you Moms a Happy Mother's Day!  The day is still bitter sweet for me as I lost my amazing Mom 3 years ago.  I treasure her memory and the legacy she left through her scrapbooks.  It reminds me of the importance of what we do and offer our customers.  I hope you share your passion for memory keeping and paper crafting with those in your life!

I have begun planning and preparing for another FUN and FABULOUS Convention Team Party along with my upline, Karen Morris and sidelines, Julie Reynolds and Kimberly Moss.  Here are the details we have to share thus far:

Date: Wednesday June 26th
Time: 7:30-9:30 pm with special contest judging at 8:30
Place: Parlor Suite

Complete details will be sent to all convention attendees when we finalize our plans. 

 

Reminder:
Get Your Degree by May 31

As previously announced, the last day to earn your Training Academy degree is May 31, 2013, at which time the Training Academy will be closed. We will still make the courses available, but no degrees will be offered for completion of the courses. If earning a Training Academy degree is a goal of yours, be sure to complete it before the end of the month to be part of our final graduating class.

Business Bit:

Now’s the BEST time…
When we invite people to join our team, often we find that the response can be; “maybe later”… It is our job to help our prospects know why NOW, is the best time to join. Spring, in particular, can be one of the smartest times for someone to begin building a party plan business for a number of reasons…

1. Many people have a little extra cash because they have received their income tax refunds.
2. The kids are still in school and spring celebrations (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduations and other end-of-the-school year concerts and parties) have not yet begun.
3. The warmer weather is here. Neighbors come out of hibernation, so there are many opportunities to spread the word about a new business.
4. It’s a great time to get that “learning curve” out of the way. As with any new endeavor, a fair amount of time is needed to “get the hang” of the ins and outs of this new home business. Things that come naturally to seasoned consultants (ie; maneuvering the company website, placing orders, calculating tax/shipping and filling out forms) are foreign to a new consultant. What better time than when things are a little less hectic to learn these new skills?
5. Cycles of business. Seeds planted NOW, will begin to blossom and be ready for picking by the end of the 3^rd and into the very lucrative 4^th quarter of the year.

By inviting people to join now, you will be helping them to get their business started and be up to full speed by the fall! Use this week to re-visit some old leads or perhaps approach some new prospects and remind them why NOW is the BEST time to join CTMH!

Copyright 2013 by The Success Factory All Rights Reserved

Shout Outs:  I'm so pleased that CTMH has added a new report in Advanced Reports!  It now lists our team members that are recognized in The Ribbon!  Here are a few of the awesome achievements for April:

Top 10 in the Company -  Personal Sales:

 

Monthly Sales Consultant Name Rank:  1 Sales: $ 8296.8 Lynn Como Rank:  2 Sales: $ 6769.85 Briana Bostick Rank:  3 Sales: $ 5522.95 Allisa Chilton Rank:  7 Sales: $ 4392.4 Dr. Phil Wilhelm     Straight to the Top Level 1 achievers reached at least $300 in personal sales during their first month as a Consultant. Level 2 achievers reached at least $1,200 in personal sales during their first three months. DL Level          Consultant Name          Upline Name                  Straight To The Top - Level 1 3 Halli Matheny   Noreen Petty   4 Althea Morgan   Allisa Chilton   4 Stacey Price   Lynn Como   1 Julyne Morvis   Naomi Smith   2 Michelle Crippen   Kathy Markloff   3 Sharon Ditzler   Elisabeth Weaver   Straight To The Top - Level 2 3 Taniesa Vlasak   Elise Mcquilliam   3 Alicia Petitt   Rebecca Cameron

 

 Promotions                  

These ambitious Consultants achieved a title promotion during the month of Apr 2013                               

            Sr Ex Manager   Lisa Merrill                              

            Manager             Sheila Tobias                          

            Supervisor                                         

                          Sherry Mcgill                  
                          Kris Layne                               
                          Randi Lewis                            
                          Lindsay Towner                                  
                          Jennifer Willcox                                  
                          Valerie Hudson                                   
                          Paula Schaefer                                   
                          Marie Holmes                          
                          Stephanie Brown                                
                          Teri Koden                              
                           Robin Spencer                        
                           Kim Vanderberg                                  
                           Bekki Edwards                        
                           Cindie Fischer                        
                           Dee Blackburn                        
                          Julyne Morvis                         
                           Gail Hopkins                           
                           Jami Rudd                               
                           Martina Newport                                 
                            Monzetta Hawkins                               
                            Patricia Oxender                                 
                            Mary Wood                             
                           Jessica Harding                                  
                            Veta Evans                              
                            Keara Thompson                                
                            Pat Lambert                            
                             Deb Green                              
Creative Corner:
Here is a fun find at Michael's for $6.49 they are 50% off this week - it's a 6x6 scrapbook page holder.  I thought it would be great to display cards or samples of our B&T's or embellishments.  Unfortunately our old 6x6 page protectors don't fit - the hole don't line up.  There are also 12x12 and 8x8 holders in a slightly different format.  The 8x8 is an easel style

I've been busy with preparations for our Team Party at convention.  I'm making special gifts for my 1st downline attendees so I don't have any of my own new artwork to share this week.  I thought I'd share some of my favorite artwork from other members of the team that are unique ways to use the Dream Pop paper packet.

This first one is from Michele Rowley from here in Washington.  She just returned from a trip to Japan where she found inspiration for this cute card.

Card by Michele Rowley

The two photos below were shared by Debi Squires on the CTMH Artwork board.  She used the resist technique by sponging the cardstock, she completely changed the character of the paper!  You will want to use a color that is darker than the cardstock and blends well - are next to each other on the color wheel.

By Team member, Debi Squires from Denver, CO. - as seen on the CTMH Artwork Board

 

I fell in love with the card below from the new Marker Magic video.  I did a "Print Screen" to capture the image.

From the Marquee Message: Marker Magic by Jill Broadbent  -watch it here:
https://orders.closetomyheart.com/CTMHConsultants/ToKnow/Marquee/post/2013/05/06/Marker-Magic.aspx

Quote of the Week:

“To many people, minutes are like pennies – not worth picking up. But add them together and they become valuable. Instead of managing the day, try managing the minutes and see if you have more time to do the things you really want to do.”

 

From - How to Simplify Your Life by Kathy Peel

Increase your Sales with Dream Pop!

The view from my office window

Spring has finally sprung in my corner of the world - here in the Pacific Northwest, we are famous for all the rain we get - and for good reason!  This time of the year we celebrate when the sun finally comes out and with it, we are blessed with a riot of green and a multitude of colorful flowers.  As I sit here in my office I want to share with you the view out my window.  Each year the big cherry tree in my backyard greets the spring with a blanket of delicate white blooms that drift in the wind like snowflakes.  It is so fleeting and lasts just a few days.  Today, my husband and I are going on our annual trip to the see Mother Nature's artistry in the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.


 

Roozengaard Display Gardens - Mt Vernon ,WA

All of this color reminds me of next month's Constant Campaign, Dream Pop, to celebrate National Scrapbooking Month!  I'm so excited to share this colorful paper pack with all my customers.  CTMH has provided us with an awesome tool.  Besides the artwork on the back of the packaging, there is an entire workshop guide and video complete with instructions on the website!  Check it out: https://orders.closetomyheart.com/

under Marketing - Constant Campaigns - Dream Pop.  CTMH has made it Faster - Simpler and Easier to help us make the most of this wonderful Campaign! 

Here is an article that will give you some tips on how to increase your sales so that your customers will qualify for the Dream Pop paper and with just $5 more, the Stamp of the Month too!

Business Bit:

5 Hot Selling Tips To Increase Your Sales
By Barb Girson
(My additional text is in italics)
 

Customers appreciate when you do some of the thinking for them. These selling tips work only when you have a service mindset in your head and customer satisfaction in your heart.

1. Think Multiples! When adding up the order, ask if they have anyone else who might like this item as a gift and suggest, "Do you have anyone else on your gift list that is around the same price range? You might save time picking up a few of these for others, too?" Things like the 6x6 Memory Showcase, Piercing Tool kit,  our stamp scrubber and our new Organizer boxes are great gifts for any scrapper or stamper.  If the item is for personal use, consider the convenience of having more than one. For example: Blocks are great to have more than one!

2-4  are kind of the same ideas.....

2. McDonald's It! When you order a hamburger, the question that follows is, "Would like fries with it?" No one gets offended by the question and the person asking is not offended if you decline. Make a list of the most popular items that your customers order and be ready to inquire if they would like to pair with it?  If someone orders the Large Organizer Box - you could suggest the Tabbed Dividers, Stamps and blocks, Inks and the scrubber/cleaner and reinkers, the list is almost endless!

3. Amazon It! When a customer orders a book on Amazon, the company always populates a list of related material, as well as listing additional customers who purchased the product. People tend to rely of third party endorsements, thus in this case your customers. Think about the items your customers are selecting and be ready to recommend, "I see you ordered (insert product), many of my other customers who ordered this... also ordered (insert)."  You'll notice that this feature has been added to our OBA's!

4. Upsell It! If your customer orders a single item, recommend the set where applicable. Many items in your product line are matched or complementary pairs. It might mean a ring that matches a bracelet, a kitchen tool designed to enhance a specific bowl, or a skin cleanser with a toner. In order for your customer to get the full benefit, make them fully aware of the compatibility.

5. Sweeten It! How many times have you been tempted to add a luscious dessert on because the server's delivery was too tempting to turn down? When you are adding up your orders, put a sweet cap on the shopping experience by showing a few of your lower priced items that you did not have an opportunity to talk about during your presentation. These add-ons can be the sweetest way to end a good meal, or turn a transaction into a relationship based on recommendations that enhance the service you provide.  This idea can be used to have them qualify to get the Stamp of the Month for $5.00 and in May the Dream Pop Paper pack!

Get to know our product line, what pairs with what and what the price points of our great accessories are.  Make a list of "your favorite things" and do a quick "show and tell" on why you LOVE them!  Better yet, have your customers get in in the action and share their favorites and why - testimonials are the best way to promote our products - take a lesson from the home shopping channels like QVC and HSN.  Listen to their presentations and the people who call in.

Increase your sales by offering stellar service and making smart suggestions.

Barb Girson Original Work© 2011 All Rights Reserved

About the Author
Barb Girson, International Direct Selling Industry expert, trainer and coach, is a highly interactive, creative speaker and author offering professional skill development programs for workshops, leader retreats, annual conventions and teleclass sales training programs.

Barb helps companies, teams & entrepreneurs... Gain Confidence. Get Into Action. Grow Sales.To contact Barb, sign up for her next FREE sales training teleclass and get her Sales Strategies Ezine go to http://www.MySalesTactics.com

Shout-Outs:
Congratulations and thank you to Lynn Como for an outstanding and informative Director's/Sr. Ex. Manager's Webinar.  If you'd like access to these webinars, make a plan to promote to Sr. Ex. Manager! Thanks, CTMH for making these webinars available to Sr. Ex Mgrs too!

This has been an amazing month for team growth!  Since the start of the Sign Up and Celebrate Constant Campaign, our team has grown by an incredible 144 members!  Congratulations to each of you who shared the CTMH opportunity.  Here are the top team builders who have added 2 or more members to their teams:

       Top 5

Briana Bostick - 13

Noreen Petty -11

Michele Rowley -8

Dr. Phil Wilhelm -7

Christina Eisenhour - 4

Sharon Esau -4
 

Dawn Hinckley -3

Debi Thomas -3

Gail Hopkins -3

Lisa Merrill -3

Marie Holmes -3

Mary Wood -3

Allisa Chilton -2

Amy McGrew -2

Corina Biermaas - 2

Deb Green -2

Diane Meinhardt -2

Kathy Markloff -2

Laura Irsfeld -2

Sarita Schraeder -2

Sharon Young -2

Shelly Nemitz -2

Valerie Hudson -2

Wendy Ramey -2

Creative Corner:

Here is one of the cards from the CTMH workshop guide - below is my version

I made 5 tweaks to the original card to make it more "workshop friendly"
I used a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 white base card and cut the colored cardstock at 4 x 5 1/4 so that I can get 6 out of a 12x12 sheet
I created the card using 2 different cardstock colors to show the versatility& color coordination and have enough from 1 pack
I also cut the stars using the Cricut instead of using the Wood Tiny Trinkets -  I will show them those as an upsell item
I changed the Bakers Twine to Gray since it's available as a bulk item
I cut the B&T the opposite direction so that each piece is certain to contain all of the colors so that the colors make sense
I could have used a 1/2" strip of the Glitter paper instead of the Shimmer Trim and used it as a upsell item or vise-versa

Here is my May Stamp of the Month class card, inspired by Kelly Brandt

 

This beautiful card is from CTMH to commemorate my 22nd year with CTMH

I love this card inspired by Dawn Montagano.  I used the bulk Claire B&T and matted the "thought bubble"  I used Cricut Craft Room to change the shape of the mat piece to make it fit better.

This is a simply great card by Michele Kunigk.  It can be made with different paper packs and you can use up your scraps.
It would make a great demo card to show of our coordinating inks, cardstocks and B&T paper as well as our paper trimmer and how our stamps coordinate with the Cricut shapes.  Bulk sparkles help keep the cost to a minimum

Quote of the Week:

From Brian Tracy's Facebook Page

What's Your Story?

Twenty Two Years with Close To My Heart

The first DOTS catalog - all the artwork was done by Jeanette

I just realized that this week marks my 22nd anniversary as a CTMH (DOTS) consultant!  When I signed up, the company was just 6 months old.  I was a stay-at-home mom with 2 kids ages 5 and 7 and I was looking for a way to earn $500 a month after expenses for the "extras".  In those days, things were very different!  The company was known as DOTS - Dozens of Terrific Stamps.  One of my friends was having a party and shared the catalog with me.  I was in LOVE!  I loved all those rubberstamps and thought that embossing was magic!  I also saw DOTS as a way for me to be able to earn that $500 a month sharing something I loved AND be home with my kids. If you'd asked me 23 years ago if I'd ever thought about doing a home party plan, I'd have told you you were CRAZY.  It's the last thing I'd consider doing.  On top of that, it was "not a good time" for me as I was very busy with PTA and other volunteer jobs.  As I recall the kit was $250, so it was quite an investment for our limited budget. 


The first CTMH catalog

 

The introduction of Background and Texture papers!

Photo stencils to crop your photos

My point is in sharing my story with you is not to prejudge anyone when offering the opportunity to become a consultant.  CTMH has been one of the biggest blessings in my life.  It has provided me with so much more than I had ever dreamed of.  Beyond the financial blessings, there are the friendships, personal growth, a way to express and share my creativity, the tools to preserve my family's stories through scrapbooking, a way to teach others so they can do the same and being a role model for my children.  I have been able to fulfill my goals of being that stay-at-home mom and have an awesome career. 

If building a CTMH team is part of your goals, I'd like to encourage you to share your story and offer it to everyone you know.  You never know who may be interested in our amazing opportunity. 

Business Bit:
Are you taking advantage of this month's Constant Campaign, "Sign Up and Celebrate"?
April is the month to sign up as a new Consultant because when you join the Close To My Heart family, you’ll receive the April, May, June, and July Stamp of the Month stamp sets for free! Now that’s a reason to celebrate!  - this deal is valued at over $75!  If you have former downline, you should contact them and offer them this opportunity to join the CTMH family again!  Sr. Director, Linda Sturdivant from San Jose, CA has created a group that she calls "club consultants"  you can create a special group and hold classes that they can create projects using the contents of their kit.  Let them know that you can now join for just $49 plus tax and shipping!  Here are some timely tips to help you out. 

Recruiting tips from The Success Factory

Quick Tip #1 Never prejudge! – Ask everyone to join. You never know why someone may be interested in the business. It is not your job to decide FOR them - it is your job to share the opportunity with them and let THEM decide!

Quick Tip #2 Ask questions to reveal a potential recruits "hot button" or "need". Think about why she would benefit from working with your company and what qualities she has that would make her a good consultant.

Quick Tip #3 Your hostess is your best prospect! She has experienced first-hand what a fun and easy job you have. Parties that you book at her party can be her parties to do! Be sure you are offering the opportunity to your hostess from your first coaching call by planting seeds like "Watch what I do the night of your party, if you think you can see yourself doing the same thing, we need to talk!"

Quick Tip #4 An objection is often a request for more information. For example, when a prospect says, "I don't have enough time", she may really be unaware of how much time a job like this takes. A great response is, "How much time do you think this takes?" This gives you the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions she may have about the business.

Quick Tip #5 Don't forget to close or ask for the sale. It's so simple, just remember to ask, "So, what do you think?" Then, BE QUIET and wait for her response.

Shout Outs:  Congratulations to these awesome team members for their promotions in February and March!  I'm sure there will be many more next month!
  

Kathy Markloff  Sr Ex Director    

Helen Onulak Sr Ex Manager
Wendy Coffman Sr Ex Manager
Linda Lynch         Ex Manager
Jessica Mathewson   Ex  Manager
Nancy Brown     Manager
Laurie Varner     Manager
Kelly Karnafel    Supervisor
Debbie Storey   Supervisor
Diane Jackson    Supervisor
Darlene Rosson    Supervisor
Harry Sher           Supervisor
Sheila Iverson    Supervisor
Carol Adkins       Supervisor
Lisa Whitley        Supervisor
Martha Zook      Supervisor
Sheree Brogan    Supervisor
Angel Bankston    Supervisor
Christina Riley       Supervisor
Renee White         Supervisor
Mary Stuart          Supervisor
Meliisa Quinby      Supervisor
Lalia Harris              Supervisor
Gina Sessum           Supervisor
Sharon Young            Supervisor
Heather Schon          Supervisor
Kim O'Dell                   Supervisor
Jackie  McCroskey     Supervisor
Diane Cook                 Supervisor
Marcie Helmke         Supervisor

Top Team Builders as of Thursday morning - the stats are changing hourly!

Michele Rowley - 7 new team members - Costa Rica will be in your grasp!
Dr. Phil Wilhelm - 7 new team members too!  You'll be the next person to earn the Costa Rica  trip for sure!
Alisa Chilton - 2
Valerie Hudson -2
Kathy Markloff -2 Laura Irsfeld -2
Marie Holmes 2
Valerie Hudson - 2

Creative Corner:
Participating in art swaps is the best way to quickly have new ideas to share with your customers.  This can be done through team meetings, at CTMH events such as Convention and Regionals or through the many online swaps on the CTMH bulletin board.  When the new Idea Books are released, I participate in a "board swap" coordinated by my upline, Karen Morris.  It is an honor to be part of this group of artists and I look forward to the day that my postman delivers the treasures!  I must say that I feel a lot of pressure to do my best work.  The consultants who participate are not only great artist, but they are also some of the top sellers in the company!  Here is some of the artwork (including mine). 

If you'd like to participate in one of our team meeting swaps, email me and I'll send you the details.


Awesome artwork by Cindy Herman - I love the pop of red on her 12x12 layout



My artwork using Chantilly


 



Surf's Up artwork by Lisa Combs. I love the simple elegance of her 2 standard cards in the upper right

 




A gorgeous card shared at the Oregon Team meeting  the "For Always" B&T is sponged!


Quote of the Week:

"Excellence can be attained if you: Care more than others think is wise.  Risk more than others think is safe.  Dream more than others think is practical.  Expect more than others think is possible"

~Jim Gentil~