Jewelry Bars for the Holidays

The holidays are a great time to host Jewelry Bars.

How can you maximize on the Holidays as a designer? Here are a few ideas.


Offer your own BLACK FRIDAY special. You must do this in a private FB group or in person- so you can not post publicly about your special.  
         Shop at YOUR discount  or
         Black Friday party is open to 10 guests who spend $100. At the end of the weekend, all 10 guests will get to split the Hostess rewards and one lucky guest wins the Hostess exclusive.
        

Host a party for woman- get their wish list and their Husband's email and cell phone number. Then contact him

Host a party for Men. Have sets ready to go  in different price ranges for him to purchase at your party. Or if you don't have inventory, help him create looks that you can purchase on online for him and invoice him using Pay Pal.

Have a HOLIDAY themed JB with another direct sales rep- Pampered Chef or Scentsy etc. 

Have an OPEN HOUSE party at your house. Do this in early November. Decorate for Christmas. Have Christmas treats etc And Christmas specials. Invite past customers, hostesses, neighbors, friends from church etc. Make it a FUN Holiday gathering

Put together specific looks and post 12 days of Christmas specials on your VIP Origami Owl group. Or you can post on your regular FB and tell interested customers to message you.

Start decorating your JB displays NOW with Christmas tree. Add lockets to the trees, or take out boxes for decorations. Search the O2 Academy for fun pictures and social media imagines from last year. I love to find cute lockets on Pinterest too. 

Being Social and Selling

Found my Hacky Sack from High School today! Time to get it on!-  Donavon Roberson

In this day and age, being active on Social Media is key to having a successful business. Let's think for a moment...when was the last time you reached for a phone book to look up a number? Or did you simply ask Siri or do a quick search on Google? The internet is where it's at.

 I will admit, I love technology but I am not a fan of change. It took me many years to accept the fact that this wasn't 1994 anymore- when someone calls and leaves you a message, they are expecting you to return it asap instead of assuming you have an old fashioned message machine that you can only press play at in your kitchen.  Nope! Now a days, customers, friends, family, even the dentist, expect you to be ready to answer that call, text or email, 24/7. You need to know- customers will assume you have an OPEN SIGN up, 24/7.

 I LOVE this quote.  Isn't Origami Owl all about telling stories?  So this is a perfect fit- If Social Media is all about telling stories, and Origami Owl is all about telling stories, it just makes sense that we engage in this manner.

So... how do we tell stories? How do we engage? And how do we make money using social media?

ENGAGE THEM IN SOMETHING THEY LOVE. TELL STORIES!  Here are some tips I've learned from classes, seminars and books I've studied.
Post at least three times a day on Social Media. -
1. Something personal- My kids did this. I can't wait for Rick to come home from work because...  Just made the best apple pie. etc.
2. Origami Owl related-
3. Something personal-

RULES- Keep it clean. You are what you post. So if you are posting negative, or crud things, that becomes a part of your Branding and personality online.  Do you want to be seen as the person who is always complaining? Or do you want to be remembered for being positive, uplifting and full of life?

Okay, so let's say these are your three postings for the day.
8:34 am:  I love eating breakfast with my kids.
11:32am. I'm so excited for my Origami Owl jewelry party tonight.
4:59pm: Outback steak house! YUMMM

Those are fine statuses. But here is how to make it better.

8:34 am:  I love eating breakfast with my kids I'm eating peach cobbler. Yes i'm fully aware that's NOT breakfast but haha I love it. What about you? What's on your plate this morning?
Notice some things I did there? I threw in a picture of my food WITH some O2 in the pic. Not an obvious set up. But just a honest pic- My breakfast, my table clothe, some school work and a catalog.  I also ASKED A QUESTION which encourages my followers to comment back. When they do, I need to at least LIKE their comments, but even better-- engage with them.
Mary- I'm having oatmeal. I'd rather eat peach cobbler
Me- Well, cobbler has some oatmeal in it so it's kind of the same thing, right?
Mary- haha, mine is plain though. Going off sugar this week. HELP ME!

ENGAGEMENT BACK AND FORTH

11:32am. I'm so excited for my Origami Owl jewelry party tonight. Thanks @jamiesmith for hosting it. I can't wait to play with jewelry and meet your friends.

The status becomes more engaging when I tag my hostess.  Using the @ and their name will add the tag on FB or Instagram and Twitter. This will also alert their friends that they are tagged in a status.  I recently heard " People like to see their own name" and it's true! People like to be acknowledged.

4:59pm: Outback steak house! YUMMM Anyone else just want to scarf down that entire loaf of black bread and not share? LOL
Again, I asked a question which will encourage comments


Okay Angie. Those are fine and dandy, but how are those statuses gonna get me a paycheck?

Consistency. By consistently doing these types of statuses, you will build up an audience. You will become REAL to these FB friends. Slowly but surely they will start to notice your jewelry. And eventually something will strike their fancy.

**Where can it go wrong? 
If you ONLY post Origami Owl pictures or ONLY POST the shopping link, then you become one of those door to door sales men.  You didn't ask them to come to your door. They are bugging you during dinner and showing you stuff you didn't ask for. They won't take no for an answer.  And on social media- the way to get those obnoxious salesmen to go away is to unfriend or hide them. You do not want your friends to HIDE you on social media.  ( think about when you go to a department store. How do you feel when the sales lady really wants to get to know you- when she engages with you, goes the second mile with picking the right shape for your body, or a great new fragrance. When the sales lady takes an interest in YOU, you become "friends" and you are more likely to spend more money with a "Friend" then with a stranger. Transfer this to social media- do you just toss up a pic of a locket- or do you talk about it with your friends. "I really love this locket because it has my favorite colors in it. Anyone else love purple?" )

If you post a variety of YOUR LIFE mixed with O2, your friends will take notice slowly.
DO POST pics of Jewelry
DO NOT POST just a picture of jewelry without some type of status with it.

**Where can it go right? Last week, I posted a picture of my "arm party" and asked "what do you like the most?" One friend who hasn't ever commented on jewelry pictures before, commented. The first time in the year and a half I have been a designer. She commented. We went back and forth.Then private messaged. Then she placed a $100 order and then a day later another $40 order.

Now do you remember that picture at the top of this blog? It's a picture  of Donavon's foot, with a hacky sack. He mentions that he found it from High School. Time to start playing again. BUT DID YOU NOTICE THE O2 IN THIS PIC? There it is, on his foot. He doesn't mention it. Just posted about the hacky sack.  But guess what...I took this picture, a long with a picture of my husband wearing a bracelet and another picture of Donavon wearing a locket. I posted the three pictures with a status like "Hey Guys! What do you think  of these looks?" and that evening, I sold some O2 to some male friends who had never seemed interested before.

By consistently posting on social media, engaging with your audience and avoiding being the Door to Door salesmen, you CAN turn your social media postings into profit.

5 Steps to Successful Jewelry Bars

 Does a football team go to the biggest game of the year without doing special practices before hand?  Does a soloist at a dance competition just show up? No!  They practice. They rehearse. They put in some time before the big event.

Success at a Jewelry Bar is the same way. I have been known to go into the bathroom at my hostess's house and look in the mirror and say "YOU CAN DO THIS" . Yes! Sometimes Jewelry bars can be scary, but they don't need to be, if you are prepared. So let's get prepared.

 1. KNOW YOUR SET UP AND YOUR PRODUCTS.  Whether you are a brand new designer or you have a large inventory, you need to practice setting up your display. How do YOU want your table to look?  O2 has suggested we stick to the colors of Teal, Pink, Yellow, White, Burlap and Black for our displays. You don't need to spend a lot to have a beautiful display. Add in some free flowers or something seasonal (like this pumpkin). Keep your display simple, not cluttered. And most importantly, make your display USER FRIENDLY. After all, we WANT our guests to PLAY with our products. Get familiar with the TOM (Take out Menu). Know the differences between lockets, faces, charms etc. Guests aren't expecting you to have it memorized but it is helpful if you are familiar with it.

2. KNOW YOUR PAYMENTS.  How are YOU going to accept payments? There are lots of different ways to accept payments. I personally have a PayPal swiper. It fits on my phone and can swipe all credit cards. The money then goes directly to my pay pal account and I can use my PayPal credit card to spend it. Another way I like to accept payments at Jewelry Bars is by setting up my lap top. I have my Jewelry Bar shopping link up on the screen. When a customer is ready to order, I simply add their items to the cart (OR I ASK MY HOSTESS TO DO THIS) and the customer can enter their credit card directly to the O2 website. Other ways; cash, check (made out to you), Square swiper, Payanywhere Swiper.

Next, have a CHECK OUT location at your Jewelry Bar.  Put a small Jewelry display there- earrings or a core bracelet. Something that can be "added" to the purchase. Think about your favorite store. Is there stuff for sale at the cash register? YES!  Have you ever bought something just because its right there at the register? YES! So plan your Jewelry Bar the same way.

Have a sign at your Jewelry Bar check out- IF I DON'T ASK YOU TO HOST A PARTY, YOU GET YOUR SHIPPING FOR FREE, IF YOU HOST A PARTY, YOU GET FREE JEWELRY.  This holds you accountable to ask every customer because if you forget and they call you on the carpet for it, then YOU have to pay for their shipping!

Practice writing up an order. Practice placing an order online. Practice running a credit card.  PRACTICE MAKES AWESOME!

"

 3. GET EVERYONE INVOLVED! Everyone has a story. YOU as the designer are responsible for getting everyone at the party talking about their story. How do you do this? Here are a few ideas...

• Have your jewelry bar at a table where guests will naturally come to sit down at. Instead of having a formal display with rows of chairs for the guests.
• Mingle and encourage your hostess to mingle. Introduce yourself to every guest. I like to say "Let me show you my locket"  -- side note, always wear a locket that is easy to explain...don't wear charms that you can't buy anymore. I like to include a Mom charm, a butterfly "to remind myself to be okay with change", an ice skate "because I figure skate" and a suitcase charm- 'because I love to travel and seek out new adventures.
• When guests arrive, ask them to pick up a picture from a table (or floor)- pictures are print outs you have made of things that represent charms- Anchor, Photo of  mom with a baby, Sail Boat, Ballet shoes, Soccer ball, Piano etc.  Ask the guests to find a picture that they connect with or feel represents them. Then later you can show them that there is a charm for everyone!
• Encourage kids to make lockets- BUT stay close by...I have seen lockets get dropped on cement and shatter, as well as kids not screwing the face down so the locket opens and all the charms fall out.

4. PAY ATTENTION. Listen to conversations and look for clues. Does someone have a college student? Offer the watch. Someone getting married soon? Inscriptions would be perfect- Inscribe the Wedding date or a simple "Rick Loves Angie". Find ways to up sale- sale a pave slider along with a leather wrap to give a second look.  Know the monthly specials (Current September 2015- spend $85 get a free chain and two faces-- knowing this can help you help guests get a good value). KNOW WHAT'S OUT  OF STOCK. This info is updated every few days in the back office.

5. BE YOU!  I know this is a simple concept but it's so true.  Often we think "I'm not a salemen" or "I don't want to be pushy". Just be YOU. Remember WHY you fell in love with the jewelry and chances are good that someone else will fall in the love for that same reason. Be yourself.  Be friendly, Happy, Smiley. YOU are unique gifts and talents that no one else has. Channel those. Use them. Be smart, clean, sharp. And always SHINE.

Watch these three videos...SO MUCH GREAT INFO HERE!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2XuCuHkwi4


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MLYYEyDH30

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfhAd4ndJfg