Phoenix traders - what is your most successful selling technique?

Rosemary_Jane

Starfish1 wrote: »

Hi

Just wondering what people include in their brochure drops - anyone doing anything different and getting results?

I am currently just using the download from the Phoeinx site and putting in a brochure and a few sample cards. I have a website too via Phoeinx and include a label on the front with the details on.

Just wondered if anyone had had success with any other approaches that you would be happy to share with everyone.

Thanks in advance...

Hi Starfish.

In my door to door drops I staple the 'why buy' download on the front of the brochure (the A5 leaflet, and I have now discovered there's an enabled one, so can input my details before printing, which saves having to put on a sticker).

I then paperclip on the first inside page a freepost card, an order form (the DL size) and a sample card. Have the inserts in towards the spine of the catalogue, and then the bulk is less for folding for the tiny letterboxes.

On the front of the brochure I also have a bright yellow sticker with 'Traders Wanted' printed on it (as advised by Stuart Millar in his 'get to ET' training).
I place these in an A4 gripseal bag which I bought 1000 of from e-bay, works out at £2.50 per 100 (the first 100 I paid over £13 for at Staples, til I discovered better!). On the gripseal bag I put a sticker saying 'I will collect this catalogue on Sunday' or whatever day it'll be.

Door-to-door drops generally do not pay in and of themselves. I get 1 or 2 orders of about £10 each per 60 odd houses. I lose about ten of those catalogues, which total about 56p each with inserts, despite putting through a slip in those houses where the catalogue is not outside 'I'm sorry I missed you today. Please place your Phoenix catalogue outside the door for me to collect tomorrow.' also I print an image from the downloads on the slip. (I might get more back if I were braver and knocked on the door). I expect the return may improve if you do the same houses every three months regularly. I haven't run out of first time houses yet!

However, those orders I do get add to my regular customers. All reorder regularly, and a number have approached me asking for more stock. (When delivering, make sure you add a want to buy more card). I am also just about to sponsor one of last year's door drop customers, so the reward is longer-term.

Oh, and by the way, always put a supplement in, if there is one, I seem to sell proportionately more from them. As Advent calendars tended to go well door to door last year, I am expecting to sell several of the advent village ones.

Hope that helps,

Rosemary

Rosemary_Jane

Oh, and by the way, with the door drops, when you have collected the catalogues, and are going through them for the orders; have spare stuff with you, and as you check each one, make sure it is reloaded and ready to go, it'll save a lot of time getting ready for the next drop. The really time consuming part is the loading of the cats.

Keep good records of which houses you've got to go back to to pick up again, and dates you've been to each road, and houses where you lost catalogues, you may not want to drop to them again.

I think it makes a difference which sample card you place in there, it should be a great example of the range (you can buy a single bulk lot by ordering from the samples section). I won't be using the blue butterfly one again though, too many people kept it when returning their catalogue, although I have wondered whether it'll be worth putting a sticker on them as well - 'to order any of these wonderful cards contact...etc', then I shan't mind losing them so much. None of the other designs got nicked though.

Rosemary

paulnjulia

Hi Guys,
On the door drop issues, some very good points made well by Rosemary, She's obviouly been doing some for a while now. I think the best thing is to keep records, because there comes a time when roads get "tired" and then are probably best left to recharge. We've only been door dropping for 18 months, but have hit this point on some of the roads.

I must launch the web site "Door-dropping to success" one day lol

Have fun

Paul n Julia

lyndsey80

I got my info pack yesterday - lots of info!! I am a bit concerned that you have to pay £25 per year. Also, what do you get with the £45 you pay and is it worth spending more money on the samples pack (I think it's called that)

Rosemary_Jane

lyndsey80 wrote: »

I got my info pack yesterday - lots of info!! I am a bit concerned that you have to pay £25 per year. Also, what do you get with the £45 you pay and is it worth spending more money on the samples pack (I think it's called that)

Hi Lyndsey,

Don't worry too much about all the info in the pack, it can seem a bit overwhelming. Hopefully, the contact you have got, who will be your sponsor if you go ahead, will be able to reassure you.

The annual £25 registration fee covers all the admin side of the business, which gives you first-class back-up with products and deliveries, and also covers the cost of the newsletters, and the Trader workshops. Having said that, many of the most active traders never have to pay it; if you sponsor one trader (who is active - that is buys £125 at wholesale - just once) then your next fee is halved; if you sponsor two active traders, then you don't pay the next fee at all. So, there is a way to avoid this if you are prepared to sponsor people.

If you are joining just to be a retailer, then you'll have to pay the fee. But it is a good thing in a way, or many people who would otherwise be your customers would join just to get the cards at wholesale prices; so this keeps them as your customers

What you get for the £45, well, there should be a sheet in the info pack with the list of contents. Basically, the £45 is the first £25 annual fee, and then for the other £20 you get everything you need to run your business for, supposedly 30 days. Mine lasted a lot longer than that! and the binders etc will last. It includes things like several hundred sample cards and other stationery samples; a sheaf of advice factsheets, a couple of binders/black backing sheets/silver pen/gluestick to make up sample folders to hand round (mine was very succesful); you also get 50 catalogues, order forms, paper bags, general stationery etc etc.

The extra packs are actual products that you can order at an extra discount. If you want to sell at fairs and events, then you will need to sell from stock. Most people who sell party-plan also find that people buy more when you have stock there to sell at the time. Many traders sell very successfully from the sample cards in the basic business pack, though, so there is no necessity to buy an extra pack unless you want to and can afford it. You cannot, though buy it later on. However, some traders find that there is much in the pack that doesn't sell anyway, so the discount may be illusory.

You also have the opportunity to buy Christmas stock at a discount within the first 30 days of joining, the same caveats apply.

Direct selling legislation does not allow a new participant to spend more than £200 with the company in the first seven days of joining, so if you want to buy cellos or other business aids, you won't be able to if you've bought the biggest pack; although you can probably buy them from your sponsor like I did.

Anyway, I don't want to say so much that it overwhelms you contact the person who will be sponsoring you and s/he can answer questions.

Do join in, the business is great fun and you don't need to spend a lot to be successful, though the cards are so nice, it's hard not to.

Rosemary

MissOptimistic

Hi there everyone
I became a Phoenix trader about 3 weeks ago and had my first 'event' last week which was a card party at home in the evening where I invited half a dozen or so neighbours. That, together with a few orders from family has so far given me customer orders of about £230 which I am really pleased with so far. I am just a bit worried that now I have 'done' all the people I know, that the venture will lose momentum.
One thing I did do, which I have not seen mentioned, is that I held a raffle. I basically wrapped a shoe box up in some fancy (phoenix) paper and arranged about 10 cards in there, together with a pack of postcards and some tags (scrunched up tissue paper in the bottom bulked it out) I sold tickets for £1 each or 5 for £3. assuming that most people will buy 5 (mine all did) multiply that by 10 if you have 10 people at your event and you have £30 profit (minus the cost of the few stock items you have bought) still worth it though I think, - Let me know what you think

jojotoo

I am thinking of starting selling Phoenix cards as nobody at the children's school sells them and I know quite a lot of the Mums in the playground. The tips on here are great and I have started noting them down as my sponsor only sells cards at Christmas when she has a coffee and cards morning. Looking forward to getting my pack and hopefully some orders before Christmas.

Rosemary_Jane

jojotoo wrote: »

I am thinking of starting selling Phoenix cards as nobody at the children's school sells them and I know quite a lot of the Mums in the playground. The tips on here are great and I have started noting them down as my sponsor only sells cards at Christmas when she has a coffee and cards morning. Looking forward to getting my pack and hopefully some orders before Christmas.

Hello, jojotoo

When your registration is through, you can go on the website and look at your 'genealogy'. If you click on upline, you can find an exectutive trader upline to you who may be able to give you more support than your sponsor will, if you want to be more active. It is in all their best interests to help you to be successful, and is one of the outstanding characteristics of the network marketing model.

Rosemary

jojotoo

Oh, thank you Rosemary that's good to know. It seems a really popular way of selling so the model must be good.

Lorne

Is it possible to find out how many phoenix traders are within my area?