Hi everyone! I received several great ideas from another direct sales person and shared then with my team at our Team Training Chat last week. I thought I’d post them here so everyone could benefit. Some of them reference our product or market (children’s educational felt) but if you aren’t a Story Time Felts Consultant, you can easily adapt the ideas to any product or service!
The #1 way to market the business is OPEN YOUR MOUTH!
But in your spare time (ha!) you can also try these ideas for some extra exposure and possible leads!
TAXI CABS - Does your town have a taxi service? Call them up! Donate catalogs to the company who will place them in the backseat magazine holder of their cars! Same for airport shuttles or buses - just ask. It can’t hurt.
FUNDRAISERS - When you see OTHER fundraisers going on like pancake breakfasts, car washes, BBQs, bake sales, etc. go to them and talk to the people running it - they are looking for ways to make money, right? Why not offer them a way to earn some felt dollars? You can give them a percent of your sales and you keep the free felt, etc. yourself, especially if it is a kid-related organization (school, sports, etc.). I usually start at 10% or if we sell over a certain amount I will go up in increments, or if it is an organization I am with myself I usually donate more. The only thing is, you need to recoup your expenses like catalogs, etc. so make sure you aren’t losing money.
BOOKLETS - Make up a little booklet on anything kid related - maybe kid recipes, craft ideas, learning activities, storybooks, Story Time Felts coloring sheets - just photocopy a few pages and staple in middle, then plaster your biz info all over it saying Courtesy of So and So from Story Time Felts with your phone number. Give them out to daycares, doctor and dentist offices, beauty salons, etc. as giveaways. If it is useful information vs. a catalog, people will hang onto them longer.
MAGAZINES - When you are done with your magazines you read, print up some labels saying Courtesy of ______ and donate them to doctor offices, hospitals, rest homes, whatever! Make sure your contact info is on there or as much as you can put on the label about the business.
PRESS RELEASE - Come up with something newsworthy you are doing and write up a press release and submit it to every news venue in your area along with pictures and tell them you are accepting interviews. You have to have something newsworthy, though, like donating felt sets to a daycare, and tell the news, or if you do a fundraiser, write up a press release about it.
LEAD BOXES - Contact some small shops in your area (the smaller the better) and offer to put up a drawing box and prize. Put out lead slips asking for contact info and give away a prize. You could also have them drop in business cards instead and draw from those - then you know what they “do” and can start a conversation when you call.
CLASSES - Contact mothers’ clubs in your area, daycare provider associations or any “club” having to do with moms or teachers or providers and offer to teach a class on anything related to the product like making felt boards, hands-on learning, the value of felt, etc. Moms’ clubs are always looking for speakers.
PENCILS - Get cheap printed pencils with your business name and phone number on them and give out to businesses/employees.
CHECKS - Did you know you can print your business name or website or email address on your checks? Your checks pass through many hands - why not get that exposure? You never know.
ANSWERING MACHINE - Make sure you say something about your business on your answering machine. People who call not knowing you will get curious and ask.
HALLOWEEN - Put out fliers by the door with a sign saying MOMS! TAKE ONE. Pass catalogs to moms while walking around with your own kids.
YOUTH GROUPS - Contact local Girl Scouts, 4-H, church youth groups, Boys and Girls club, etc. and offer to come in and do a project. It can be as simple as making a stick puppet with a felt figure and popsicle stick. Have them cut it out and make up a skit together. Offer a fundraiser to the club and ask to pass out information to the kids to take to their parents.
STORYTIME - Offer to do a story time for the local day camps in the park. Many of the day camp workers are teachers or childcare providers or college students. Offer to do them at the library, or at bookstores. Barnes and Nobles has a story time. Children’s consignment shops sometimes like to have events. Offer to do a free story time in exchange for doing a lead box at the event and passing out information, putting up posters a week ahead of time, etc. Let them promote it.
ADULT ED - Look at your community education department and think about signing up to teach a class on felt board storytelling! You get paid AND get leads. The scrapbooking people do it all the time as do kitchenware people (cooking classes). They just don’t tell you in the information that they are salespeople. Community colleges also offer Saturday seminars.
BABYSITTERS - Find high school girls’ groups and offer to teach a little class on babysitting fun!
BOOKMARKS - Print your information on homemade or cheap bookmarks and give out! You can also slip them into library books. You can easily make bookmarks with plain cardstock from the office store; it doesn’t have to be fancy.
MOVING COMPANIES - It can cost money to get into the “Welcome Wagon” program but MOVING companies that rent trucks and sell boxes often give out coupons for light bulbs, keys, etc. for new movers. Ask if you can include info in their packs.
CAR FLIERS - Make up some fliers and punch a hole in the corner, take a ribbon and tie them together. When you are parked at the park or other kids’ event like the zoo, etc. hang them out the back window and put a sign saying TAKE ONE.
ICE CREAM MAN - See if the ice cream man in your area would pass out information for you, or let you put a flier up on his van, or just follow him around to find out where the kids are.
REST STOPS - If you are on a road trip don’t forget to put your information in the bathrooms, either in the stalls or by the hand dryers.
PARTY SWAP - See if a consultant from another company will book a party with you and you do the same with her.
CATALOG SWAP - Arrange with another consultant to pass out HER catalog after your parties if she will do the same - after they place their orders of course! Join or start your own “samples exchange” group with other consultants and take turns sending catalogs and samples to the other group members.
BULLETIN BOARDS - Drive through town and make a note of any bulletin boards in or outside stores, libraries, coffee shops, etc. Put a flier with tear-off information for them to call for a catalog, and then use the list you made to go back and update them every month.
ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES - Assisted living communities are seniors who are still capable but just need some supervision. Go in and ask if you can have a vendor night for them to Christmas shop for their grandkids! You can also do the same with “active adult” communities. Seniors LOVE OUR FELT - it reminds them of their youth! For nursing and rest homes, approach the activity director. The patients love playing with the felt. They also have family days with dinners for holidays where families can spend time with their loved one. Offering a story time on a day like this would be great!
MAIL TIME - Stamp your business information on every piece of mail that leaves your home including bills - it can’t hurt and it’s cheap! Also include your business card in your bills!
NEW MOMS - Watch your birth announcement section of the newspaper then use their name to look up their information on the Internet and contact them about our business opportunity. New moms are usually in the market for a way to stay home with baby.
BABIES - Baby expos, events and contests are great places to meet customers and recruits! Keep an eye out for them and ask to set up a table or insert fliers.
BUS STOPS - Tack up fliers; people are just sitting there bored and need something to read!
YARD SIGN - Get a yard sign made up with your business name and phone number.
MAGNETS - Attach magnets to the back of felt samples and give away, people are more likely to keep a magnet than a business card. You can put the magnets all over your car when you are parked at parks, etc. and say TAKE ONE.
NAME TAG - Wear a business nametag everywhere you go every day. People will ask what it’s all about! Get one of the buttons from http://www.thebooster.com that says “Ask me about my business” or “Earn some free,” etc. and wear that too.
LOBBY BASKET - Make up little bags of information and ask hotels, restaurants, bed and breakfasts, etc. if you can leave a pretty basket in their lobby for guests to take information.
CAR AD - Get a vinyl cling with your business name and phone number, email address or web address and put it on your car. Mine says “Felt Stories and More to Buy or Sell” but I think I’d change it to Buy, Earn, or Sell. You can also get magnets but they will damage the paint if left on all the time. I like the vinyl window signs, either clings or permanent. I got mine from http://www.webdecal.com. It was under $25, I think, and says http://www.FunFelt.com. You can also put your business information on your license plate frame.
BLOCK PARTY - Arrange to have a block party at the end of your street or in a cul de sac. Invite other businesses to come set up a display, and someone like a kids club to sell hot dogs and hamburgers, drinks, etc. and tell everyone in town.
CRAFT FAIRS - Call churches and schools and see which ones are having holiday craft fairs or bazaars with inexpensive ($25-$50) booth fees, or attend one and ask the vendors there which shows they do to get ideas. A great place to find them in your area is http://www.craftlister.com.
BOUTIQUE DISPLAY - Contact small local area businesses such as hair salons, massage therapy offices, boutiques, banks, etc. See if you can set up a table for one week with three of your best selling products on it along with some catalogs, fliers, coupons and your business card. Keep a basket on the table for any customer orders which you can follow up on after you return back to pick up your display. Offer the store owner or manager a free gift for allowing you to do so. For our business, good places to do it would be anywhere that moms go, like kids’ boutiques or consignment shops or book stores, etc. (small independent places, not chains).
BREAK ROOM DISPLAYS - Contact companies in your area to see if you can come in and set up a table in the employee lounge or cafeteria for an employee shopping break! These days a lot of companies will allow you to do this if you ask them! (Hint: try schools!!)
PARTY PLAN NETWORKING - Network with others in your community who are in home business. Find out what events and activities that they participate in. They are usually “in the know” and can help you get started in networking in your community.
COLLEGE JOB FAIRS - Call your local area colleges and find out when their next job/employment fair is. A lot of times you can get a booth or table for less than $35 and you will get a lot of GREAT new recruit leads by participating in events like these. There are also specifically TEACHING job fairs that would be great for student teachers to find out about our business opportunity to do on the side.
BINGO PRIZES - Donate a product to your local area bingo halls! They are always looking for sponsors of their bingo prizes! Bingo is BIG in a lot of areas!
RADIO CONTEST SPONSOR - Donate a product to your local area radio station. They have numerous contests and they are always looking for sponsors! Your donation can be written off as a tax deduction plus you will get FREE advertising and business exposure for your donation! You could do the same thing with your local public television station for their Pledge Week auctions.
CAR WASHES - Many of the more upscale car wash places have lounges/cafes where customers wait for their car to be detailed. They need reading material! Leave catalogs or a small display or “fishbowl” with lead slips.
MEDICAL OFFICES - Contact your local medical offices, particularly OB/GYN and pediatric offices, and inquire about you leaving information with them. This is a way for you to target parents of children with our home party opportunity, the business opportunity and new customer sales. ER waiting rooms may work too. If the hospital is part of a chain they often don’t allow independent information, but if you have a small independent hospital TRY IT
VACATIONS - Leave catalogs in hotel dressers, or with the reading material in vacation rentals.
HOSPITAL BAGS - Contact your local area hospitals and ask for Human Resources Dept. The majority of hospitals hand out New Mommy diaper bags filled with products, samples and other stuff for new moms who just had a baby! It’s FREE for you to add in your information! I have gotten party hosts, new customers and new recruits by participating in these types of programs.
COLLEGE JOB BOARD - Find the job board geared toward the teaching college and post your business opportunity!
RESIDENTIAL CANVASSING - Print out flyers with your contact information (not your personal address), your website address and email address along with any current specials you are offering. Then contact local area mobile home park offices, apartment complex rental offices, housing developments, etc. and ask them if you can leave flyers in their office or hang on their tenants’ doors. Give the office employees a free gift or discount on their personal orders.
MAID TIPS - When I stay at hotels and motels I leave a mini catalog, my business card and discount for the maid! I have gotten three orders by doing this! Be creative when you leave tips for hotel maids, waitresses, waiters, hairdressers, etc. Don’t just hand them your business card - make it memorable! Use one of our little felt puppets, or glue two felt hearts together, to put the money in.
GOODIE GIVEAWAYS - Take a small zip close baggie (snack sizes work well) and include the following in it: your business card; business opportunity mini flyer; piece of candy such as hard candy or a lollipop; mini flyer of current hostess specials; discount coupon (optional) etc. Hand these out to the bank tellers, retail cashiers, at your kids’ sport events, everywhere you go!
Okay now, DISCLAIMER on all these ideas - most of these are PASSIVE advertising which is very hard to turn into money without follow-up information on the people so when you can, get their information and if you can’t, chalk it up to exposure (every little bit counts) and the more you do, the more your odds go up for getting something from it. The BEST marketing and booking tool is to OPEN YOUR MOUTH and ASK!!!
Independent Director for Story Time Felts
http://www.funfelt.com
Independent Story Time Felts Consultant
Executive National Director
Put ten pennies (or buttons, or other small object) in your pocket. All of them need to go in the same pocket. Here’s what you do: While you’re standing in line at the grocery store, or at the library, or anything where there are other people, YOUR JOB is to look at the person standing next to you. Look them in the eye. Say, “Hello!” Chances are, they will say hello back. If they don’t, it’s not your problem. You’ve still done your job. If they do, great! Talk about the weather, ask them if they have kids, or how old they are, comment on one of the products they are buying (or book they’re reading).