Demonstrator Meeting 8/28

I want to extend a great big THANK YOU to the four local demos who took time from their busy schedules to attend our demonstrator training meeting last night! Here we are, Christina and baby Mallory, Traci, Chrissy, Raquel, Erin and my daughter Alayna.

We spotlighted some of the new fall releases, here we are "Romancing the Candle"
We took the fragrance quiz to see which of GC's new perfumes suits us, we introduced Gold Canyon's new leadership bonus, talked about September's promotions, fundraising, had a product hunt in the catalog, had drawings, and shared what was great in each of our own businesses this month.

I think the best part may have been playing with the Emerge products, each of us pampered our hands with the hand scrub and hand silk. It not only smells divine, it felt sooooo soft and luxurious. Lots of Emerge party ideas!

It was a fun night with giveaways, free gifts and stirring up some excitement for fall with Gold Canyon! Stay tuned and we'll do it again soon!

Interactive Party

Involve your guests by making your next party INTERACTIVE! Here is a fun party idea shared by Celeste Ortiz.

Ask for guest volunteers. They will be reading these cards and you play the Vanna White role by either holding up product or show the pages in the catalog. Give your host the candle care card and pass out one card to each volunteer (you don't have to use all of the cards). The guests generally know each other, so they will listen and it will change up your presentation in a fun way. All volunteers get a tealight!

Cards: Card # 1 Gold Canyon has an incredible fundraiser program. Your organization can earn up to 40% profit!! I know someone who is here today that can answer your questions if you or someone you know would be interested in learning more! Card # 2 Fem Fabulous Candles feature this ultra chic black glass, colorful cocktails and divine desserts in fun flirty colors! These 16 oz candles come in 3 different scents and burn 75-95 hours. Card # 3 Looking to get the fabulous scents of Gold Canyon in over 70 different fragrances but without the flame? Then our Pod Warmers are for you! There are 7 different styles now available with an on and off switch with timer option of automatic off at 4, 8 or 12 hours! Card # 4 Gold Canyon is going green! Check out our line of plant based cleaning products called Homeology. This product actually won Rachel Ray's "Greenie Award"! These reasonably priced items will have you feeling like you're in a Day Spa while you're cleaning! Card # 5 Emerge! Rise to a new sense of energy. Reach a new level of focus. Find a new state of balance. In less than 15 minutes a day! Card # 6 As a company committed to delivering the "World's Finest", we carry a greater obligation to invest in the world's most valuable asset and finest resource-children. With the purchase of each Candle's for Kids, 100% of your purchase will be donated to The Prayer Child Foundation. Since 2000 Gold Canyon has given over $1.5 million in aid and assisted children in need throughout the world. Card # 7 Our signature Heritage Line has over 40 scents to choose from in four different sizes. Burn times range from 25-30 hours in our mini 5 oz. to 175-200 hours in our double wick 26 oz. This line is sure to please! Will you be ordering the Pomegranate? With fresh pomegranate-a fusion of peach, strawberry and green apple scents! OR does Sugar Cookie suit you better? Sweet cream, butter, sugar and vanilla baked to a golden perfection! Card # 8 Gold Canyon candles are safe! We have cool burning wax, so if there was an accident and the wax spilled on your skin, it wouldn't burn, you'd just smell real good! Each candle has safety wicks where they will extinguish when there is around ¾" of wax in the bottom of the jar, thus preventing shattered glass. We also provide Lead-Free Wicks! Card # 9 July Host Specials - Any Pod Warmer FREE or Discounted With Party sales of at least $400, Hosts will receive 50% off ANY Pod Warmer. $550 or more in Party sales equals 75% off for Hosts and $700 or more in Party sales gets them ANY Pod Warmer FREE! As a bonus, Hosts with Parties of $400 or greater will receive two Scent Pods™ FREE (A value of $11.96). This is on top of the FREE and discounted items you receive as a Host! Now have dates open in July for Girl's Night Out! The Demonstrator just happens to have a calendar with her. Card # 10 Did you know that you can become a part of the Gold Canyon family for as little as $20? Get this fabulous product for a 25% discount and your home will never be lonely of fragrance again! There is someone in this room that would love to have you as part of her team. Don't wait one more minute. Just tell her SIGN ME UP, I love these candles and want to save money! Card # 11 Candle Care What is it? In this Candle Care 101 class you will learn how to keep your candles in tiptop shape and extend their burn life! First, maintain the beauty of your candles by trimming the wick to ¼" before each burn with this Wick Trimmer. Second, rather than blowing out the flame, use a Wick Dipper. There will be no residual smoke and it coats the wick for an easier light the next time!

If you have extra time you can quiz the guests on candle care. Use the bottom label of a candle for you the answers. Be sure to have the monthly host promotion and join us special in card #9 & 10. I'm going to be trying this at my next party, thanks for the idea, Celeste!

Candle Confections

Well, I have another party tomorrow night and I was sitting here wondering what I should do for customer appreciation gifts and door prizes. I had the idea to make some little tealight treats and they turned out very cute!

Woops, I didn't notice one of those is upside down and you can see my ugly tape job. Oh well, nobody's perfect!!!

I used a package of Caramel Ginger Strudel tealights that have been sitting on my shelf a while. I love the brown color - it's just like real caramels or toffee. I used some clear cellophane and curly ribbon to trim them, wrapping like candies and tying both ends. They are so cute, if I do say so myself. I'm going to put them in a candy tin and they're perfect for a Christmas party - not to mention inexpensive, gotta love that.

One of the demos (Megan, was this you? I can't remember) shared that she brought treat bags to give out because she didn't want anyone to leave empty-handed. I loved the idea so I picked up some Santa bags, bite-sized snickers, Andes mints, mini-candy canes and marshmallow reindeer. One of each per bag and voila! I'm sure everyone will feel like kids again. I made 12 and I hope there's one left over for me :o)

Here's some miscellaneous pictures I had on my camera, this is from a show I did on Saturday, see how I put the red bows on each package of Auto Golds in the basket? Those things come in packages of 12 at the dollar store and you can tuck the wire in the fold of the envelope and they just stay on there. My price tags were ugly this day because I ran out of my usual stickers. Not sure if you can see in the upper left hand corner, there are a set of the ceramic songbirds from our Spring catalog. I tied red & green ribbon around and they sold quickly! Also, each of the 5oz candles has a small satin ribbon and jingle bell tied around the neck. I sold a dozen in the first hour. Not sure if you can see the baking line candle there, I had a new wooden spoon I tied on there with wired ribbon, I've also used cinnamon sticks in there and it looks good.

Below I have a pyramid of boxes, usually I would drape some fabric over but I was using it for different things, so I took extra wire ribbon and just laid it around. It helped things look a little more festive. I also sat out my scent pods on a holiday goody tray. You can see the little polar bear holders in a cello-bag with a vanilla mint votive and peppermint taffies. I also put bows on the Emerge products & Homeology. I notice the things with bows on them always sell quickly, maybe there's something subliminal about that... I also try to use holiday table cloths to put everyone in the mood.

And lastly, I love this sweater basket and it fits my winter catalogs perfectly. I sat them in a window sill with a box of pine cones. Don't you love the green light wire draped by it..... oh well.

Any and all of these ideas can be adapted for future parties if you Christmas parties are already wrapping up. Just use other seasonal decor. Please share some of your pictures, too!!!

Party Prep

I was just getting a few things together for a party tomorrow night and I thought I'd post my preparations. It's always fun to see what someone else is doing, so feel free to copy. Hopefully, this will spark something in your own creativity to share with the rest of us. This first picture is my "on time" drawing prize. I do a drawing to open every party - it's a fun way to get everyone gathered so I can start my presentation. Only the people who are there on time get to enter, and I obtain the guests' name and contact information little entry papers. You may recognize this elegant keepsake box from our Boutique Chic line. This is the pretty blue-green box from my FAVORITE candle in this line, the brand-new Woods & Vanilla Romantique. I burn that candle in my bedroom and I always have the cute boxes leftover..... so tie it up with some satin ribbon and voila! an adorable gift box. I had a little bit of paper shred I placed in the bottom along with a car freshener. I applied vinyl lettering spelling "Simplify" to dress up the votive glass. The two tealights in the glass were leftovers out of my own package. It is simple, cute, easy low/no cost, and I think it will be a fun keepsake for whoever wins tomorrow! Use whatever you have laying around to create unique prizes & gifts. Take some pictures and share with us!
These are the gifts for my booking game. After my short presentation, we'll play the game outlined here on the blog under Karen Phelps' convention lecture (find the instructions using the labels in the right column "booking"). I wondered if all my demos knew how cute these bags are, and if you knew they're available to you through the supply orders! On Essentials, click Action/Order Entry/Supply Order and use item #96351, Small Floral Shopping Bags. You'll get a package of 20 for $5.00. They are sturdy and cute and have the Gold Canyon Logo on them so you'll look professional and all. I've also used lunch sacks tied with pretty ribbons and tissue, or reused gift bags when I'm out of the Gold Canyon bags. For these gifts, I just picked items off my shelf that were out-of-date, or that I received for free or discounted prices from previous party orders. So all 3 gifts plus my host gift didn't cost me anything out of pocket - it's stuff I had on hand. Keep your eyes open for good deals so you can do the same. For example, one of these is Emerge Start Clean Body Lather. That would cost the customer $14.98 - but I got it on a promotion about a year ago for buy 1 get 1 free. Since I had stocked up so much I decided to get it out there. It didn't cost me but she'll not only use and fall in love with it, but she's going to think I really went all out for her!! Another bag contains the Garden Sparrow Set from our spring catalog. I used them in my living room all year, but I got bored and they still looked as good as new, so instead of donating them to charity, I dusted them off, put a fresh, new tealight in each of them, wrapped them in tissue paper, and badda-bing, another booking gift. Again, these are a $15-20 value, so the guest is going to feel spoiled. This is all stuff I had on hand by chance this time. You can get by with less if you need, in fact, send me good & cute ideas for inexpensive gifts and prizes, please!

The last thing I was putting together - well it was kind of already done I just had to update a couple of things - is my guest folders. At back-to-school time every year I stock up on these pocketed folders for 10-cents apiece at Wal-Mart. I keep a page protector in it and insert the current monthly promotional flier. For this party, in the left pocket, I put Gold Canyon's Holiday Wish List (.pdf file available through email) along with the second page of November's print quality promo file (available on Essentials, click Current Promotions on home page). I also have an order form - notice it's pink! I hate wasting 1-2 copies of our invoices because I really only need the original and ONE duplicate, not 3 duplicates for crying out loud! So when I get them, I put my contact information on them and then separate half of the copies. (Half of my invoices are white and the customer keeps the canary copy, then the other half are pink and the customer keeps the golden copy.) I try not to be tacky about it - like at this party everyone will have the pink ones. Notice my business card is placed in the front of the folder. If you don't have a business card, make one! Or order through Town & Country (Action/Marketing Tools/Stationary & Logo Merchandise). Flipping the page, behind the flier I poked an invitation card with the picture side facing out. I wrote in a sharpie on the invitation "Book a show with me and receive $10 Gold Canyon Cash". You can give out the actual Gold Canyon Cash guest booking certificates instead (available through Supplies, item #96436, $2 for 20). The post-card is more colorful and candle-ish though. In the back pocket I've placed an Opportunity Pamphlet, which is a recruiting flier that has been discontinued now but I'm using up my old stuff. You could add anything there to personalize it for your guests. I also slide a catalog inside and clip a pen to the front. As guests arrive I hand each one a folder and as they leave they hand them back. Taking eight is usually sufficient, and I always carry extra supplies in case there's a big turn out.

Another thing you don't want to forget when you're preparing for a party is to get change! It's a little embarrassing when it's time to take their money and you can't make correct change. So break up a twenty or two, grab a handful of change out of the ash tray, and take it in a bank bag, cash box or envelope so you look like you're organized with your money! And don't forget to take your samples! (Right Traci????) Tomorrow I'm also taking some fall table cloths and fake fall leaves and a few of my other home decorations to make the table pretty. I'll stick my camera in and if I don't feel too conspicuous I'll snap a few shots for you guys!

One last thing I always do before my parties is raid my house for everything Gold Canyon. I have a little basket of my Homeology sprays, my Emerge products and my 1/2 burnt candles in their holders. I take it all with me - there I will share my personal products for testers and if the host doesn't have a candle to burn I'll let her pick one (or two or three) of mine to have going at the party (Don't forget to take it back home with you!!!)

You know, I'd really love for this blog to become a forum! I hope you're not all sick of hearing from me, but this is what I have to do till I get you all on board! Sign up for a Google account (take 5 seconds) and leave some comments, or email me and I'll post your ideas, pictures and comments. THANKS EVERYBODY! Party Hard!

Just a few tidbits...

Monday I participated in a conference call with other Senior Managers in our region, hosted by our Kathleen Quirk at the home office. I always bring little ideas away with me and thought you might enjoy some of them as well...

Some of the demonstrators expressed an inability to get "home" parties - many are leaning towards "catalog" parties. This wasn't the case with the panel of Senior Managers on the phone, only a few had experienced this challenge. That means LOTS of people out there are willing, and having home parties. But an idea that might help your host lean towards a HOME party would be to increase your offerings; add a little "something" to your host gift and let your potentials know, if they have a catalog party they will get such & such but if they have a HOME party they get that PLUS ________. (Don't break the bank, do something you can afford or that you have on hand already). If any of you have more ideas for this, please comment or email.

Once you get your party on the calendar, be sure to use the booking game explained in the previous Karen Phelps post and you'll get a lot more parties coming down the pipe.

One demonstrator on the call was having a party and the "buzz" was that everyone in attendance had already purchased the candles they needed from a recent fundraiser. (I've heard this one before!) For some, this kind of talk could ruin the mood and dampen the party. But not this demonstrator! She jumped right in with a fantastic plan. She had bottles of the Homeology cleaning products on hand and a roll of paper towels for her demonstration, and she announced "We're going to have a cleaning party!" She assigned different guests a bottle and a task and they all took turns cleaning windows, walls, counters, tile, etc. Everyone had such a great time and the host's home was sparkling! Needless to say, lots of Homeology products were purchased that night! And to top the evening off, they all washed their hands with the Emerge Start Fresh Hand Soap, Grains of Truth Hand Scrub and Raise Your Hand Silk. It was a very successful party. Make sure you incorporate our unique lines into your parties and presentations - especially those of you who have been doing this business for a long time and might be feeling a little "blah".

It's been said that "the eye buys". If you have the resources and talents, take a minute to dress up your candles - a simple ribbon with a jingle bell tied to it, pretty raffia or bows, ornaments, candy, etc. Use little props from the dollar store to make your display more attractive. (See Fall ideas from convention post).

I received by email some spreadsheets you might enjoy and find useful for your businesses. One of them lists all of the current fragrances and prices by category, the other has all the fragrances, prices, tax and shipping (you would need to modify for your rates). You could use these lists for a number things, from wish lists, to party packets, to fliers, and more. If you are interested I will you email them to you.

The last idea is one that can also be emailed or you can create your own. One of the demos on the call uses a 1/2-sheet questionnaire for gathering new customer information. She sits them out at parties, boutiques and craft shows and anyone who fills it out completely receives a free tealight. The form consists of the following fields: Date, name, address, best time to call, phone #, favorite item/scent, party interest, interest in selling, interest in fundraising, email address. Again, please email me if you'd like me to send you a copy.

Thanks for reading! Come again soon!