Phoenix traders - what is your most successful selling technique?

jojotoo

Thank you Minder mum, I want to make sure it goes well as I have been struggling to get going with Phoenix. I'll check out the best seller list and also the specific cards you mentioned, thanks!

Snowbell

Has anyone been on a Get to ET meeting?
I'm going on one next week, hoping it'll make me think about things in a different way, and to hopefully become more successfull at this.

Snowbell

mrsmoneyworries

Snowbell wrote: »

Has anyone been on a Get to ET meeting?
I'm going on one next week, hoping it'll make me think about things in a different way, and to hopefully become more successfull at this.

Snowbell

Hi Snowbell

I have only recently joined and can't make this one, however I definitely would like to make it to ET !!

You will have to update us.

Rosemary_Jane

Snowbell wrote: »

Has anyone been on a Get to ET meeting?
I'm going on one next week, hoping it'll make me think about things in a different way, and to hopefully become more successfull at this.

Snowbell

You'll have a great time, Snowbell.

For personal reasons I haven't managed to do a lot of Phoenix lately (though had a good party on Friday), and I can't make Stuart's meetings this year.

I went to one last year, and it was really good. Stuart is such a lovely, down to earth person; and you are right, he does help you think about how to go about your business differently.

The main thing I took away from it last year was that there are lots of ways of running your business, but if you want to be an ET, you are not just a card seller.

You are in the business of finding people who want to build a business and helping them to do so in the way that suits them. You do have to sell cards, but that is as a means to an end, to show your team how it's done, and to find potential team members.

Stuart puts it much better than that, and he also shows you exactly how the reward plan works, so it's really easy to understand.

Do let us know how it goes, and share some tips with us here.

Rosemary

Snowbell

Mrsmoneyworries, and rosemary jane, thanks for the replies. I'm really looking foreward to going next week, I hope to come away with some simple but effective ideas that i can put into place straight away,but also a better idea of the business overall - that it's not just card selling, because until now that's how i've thought of it.

I'll let you know how I get one.

Snowbell

Snowbell

Hi, have been to Chester today for the ET meeting, and Rosemary Jane, you were right. The information was all really easy to understand, and Stuart does expalin really well.

I thnik the main thing I took away from it was the part about really moving on from just selling and moving up a peg to sponsoring.

As he says you have to make a mental shift and move out of the comfortable selling zone, and on to the next rung.

Also nice to meet other traders, who I've not met before.

Well worth the effort of going, and I would reccommend others do it as well if they are thinking about ET.

Snowbell

mrsmoneyworries

Snowbell wrote: »

Hi, have been to Chester today for the ET meeting, and Rosemary Jane, you were right. The information was all really easy to understand, and Stuart does expalin really well.

I thnik the main thing I took away from it was the part about really moving on from just selling and moving up a peg to sponsoring.

As he says you have to make a mental shift and move out of the comfortable selling zone, and on to the next rung.

Also nice to meet other traders, who I've not met before.

Well worth the effort of going, and I would reccommend others do it as well if they are thinking about ET.

Snowbell

Snowbell

So pleased you brought lots of useful info back with you - I am not jealous at all

Good luck and hope you get to put it al into practice very soon :beer:

andi68

I wonder if I could pick your brains please ladies.

How do you show the cost for raffle prizes, cost for events and cash percentage return to customers on your cash book. I understand you should get a receipt for stall costs but not every one will be able to give you one I imagine.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Andi

Rosemary_Jane

andi68 wrote: »

I wonder if I could pick your brains please ladies.

How do you show the cost for raffle prizes, cost for events and cash percentage return to customers on your cash book. I understand you should get a receipt for stall costs but not every one will be able to give you one I imagine.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks

Andi

Hi Andi,

There are almost certainly a number of ways of doing this; no one way is the only right way, but here is the way I do these things:

Raffle prizes. I give out of my stock. In my cash book, I have expenditure which includes the cost of stock; and income which is sales. Therefore, there's no specific line for raffle prizes.
If you are keeping detailed stock lists, then keep a note of what you use as a prize as part of your stock control, but the taxman won't need that, it's just part of your overheads. I just do a stocklist (values, not specific products) at the end of my financial year.

Cost of events. As you say, some you can get a receipt; for those you can't, I make a note on a slip of paper, eg: village minimarket stall, date, cost £3, and put that in as a receipt. That then gets stapled in the month's receipts, and cross referenced in my cash book.

Cash percentage return to customers. I deal with this in the same way as the raffle prizes. Stock is purchases, and the sales are £x. For example, at last week's coffee and cards, I sold £130odd. So I took £13 off the hostess's order, and she paid me £4 and got £17 worth of stock. Her receipt showed that she paid me £4, and that goes in the cash book.
Again, if you are keeping detailed stock lists, you just need to make a note in there for your own stock control.

In the early days, it's tempting to keep exact details of the value of your stock etc, but the aim is to sell more, and as that happens, the stock control has to mature; I don't find it necessary to know that I've got 3 of this card and 2 of that one, it takes too much time when I should be out putting cards or catalogues in front of customers.

One thing that it IS necessary to keep is a note of cards taken for your own use, I just write a receipt out to myself (at wholesale prices). That refers to a card for your Mum, not to a card that you are sending to a customer or member of your team.

HTH
Rosemary

andi68

Thanks Rosemary,

So are you saying that you don't record your raffle prizes in your cash book only by a reduction in your stock list?

I attended a HMRC workshop recently and I asked about not being able to get receipts sometimes, I was told I couldn't write my own and would have to obtain on from the group/organiser's treasurer.

What do you do if you have to give a percentage of your takings to the customer/event organiser as cash and you can't deduct it from their sales as they haven't actually bought anything? It would be easy enough to deduct from their purchase but wonder how this works if they don't buy.

I have written receipts from my own purchases (at wholesale cost) but have also given stock to another trader at wholesale. How do you deal with the paperwork when selling to another trader?

Sorry to ask so many questions

Andi