Ideas to Implement

A few ideas to enhance your candle business this week:

$1,000 Silent Party. Phone ten past Hosts, customers or friends/family members and have them each collect $100 in outside orders. Put them all together and you have a $1,000 Party without even leaving your home. You can raffle off all the amazing Host incentives so each of your ten participating Hosts receive free products.

Calling All Customers. Get your phone, your customer phone list and a mug of hot cocoa. Sit by the fire and call all your customers for re-orders. Introduce yourself and say, "A really important part of my business is customer care and I wanted to call and ask if you are running low on any products or need any of our great new fall products for your home or work? I also have wonderful gift giving ideas."

Step out of the box today and see what it can do for your business!

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!

October Party Games

Our newest demo, Megan Moreno, just had her debut party and did a great job! She shared her party experience with me and I really appreciated her efforts so I wanted to share her ideas with all of you.

There were 9 people in attendance and they played two games. I know some of you don't do games at parties, but I feel like it is important to get the crowd interacting and relaxed a little bit. Megan's game ideas were perfect for this goal.

First of all, she provided all the guests with a pencil and paper and they had to close their eyes and draw a jack-o-lantern while she walked them through each step. The one with the best jack-o-lantern wins a prize. You could choose the winner, let the host choose, or let the crowd choose. The second game was getting to know your host. Megan explains, "I had a list of items such as favorite movie, restaurant, country, etc... and the host had to write down the first thing that came to her mind. The others had to try and figure out what she would write down and the person with the most answers correct won." I think that's a wonderful idea and fun for all. One other thing Megan did that really impressed me was making treat bags for everyone who came. She didn't want anyone to leave empty-handed. She filled little party sacks with Hershey's kisses and a tealight for each guest.

Megan, you are fantastic! You really went the extra mile with your first party. Congratulations, and keep up the great work! I hope the rest of you will also share some of your business ideas with us.

While I'm here, I'll go ahead and share some another idea as well. Megan had mentioned to me that she had a guy in attendance. I've heard of "couples" parties, and guy nights where the ladies all bring their boyfriends/husbands and serve "guy" food (meatballs, chips, sodas) and let the guys participate. The game they played was making up the most creative scent idea for a new candle fragrance - like "Steak & Potatoes" or "Mechanic's Shop" or "Burnt Hair". Guys come up with all kinds of crazy stuff women wouldn't think of. And they love to smell and pick the scents their wives are buying. Men are big buyers! And at convention this year there were LOTS of men in attendance - helping thier wives demonstrating when they see how lucrative the business is.

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!

Simply 2

Last night we had a team tele-conference discussing Gold Canyon's new "Simply 2" Slogan. Much thanks to all the demonstrators who took time out of their lives to join me on the call: Mary (AZ), Kathy (NY), Traci (AZ), Monica (CA), Jenny (AZ), Ronda (NY) and Kelly (MA).

Simply 2 reminds us to do 2 things a day for our Gold Canyon business to remain consistent and help build our teams and sales. The 2 things can be adapted to fit your level of activity, but their recommendations are: 2 Parties per Week, 2 Bookings per Party, 2 Sponsors per Month, 2 Customer Contacts per Day, 2 Fundraisers per Month (and for leaders,) 2 Personal Coaching Sessions per Day and 2 Team Promotions per Quarter.

We also discussed Gold Canyon's Simply 2 Incentive taking place 9/1-11/30. It's an additional way to be rewarded for your efforts in consistency this fall. There are higher rewards available but right now I'm just focusing on everyone achieving the first level. (See full incentive flier at Essentials online.)

MONTHLY REWARD: 4 Parties over $350 = 75 Gold Dollars and/or a $2500 Fundraiser = 75 Gold Dollars

MONTHLY BONUS: Sponsor 1 new Demonstrator = $50 in cash

CUMULATIVE REWARD (Paid out 12/10 for combined totals in Sept, Oct & Nov): Sponsor 2 new Demos + 4 Parties over $350 = $150 Target or WalMart Gift Card!!! and/or Sponsor 2 new Demos + 2 fundraisers over $2500= $150 Target or WalMart Gift Card

Gold Canyon designed this special incentive for ALL demonstrators to succeed. Even if you're starting brand new with no customers - implement "SIMPLY 2" into your business and you will succeed!

We recognize our team members who have already placed a party order over $350 this month and are already on their way to the first incentive: Gina Anderson $485, Christine Dunlap $466, Mary Reynolds $554, Ronda Strauss $353, Lisa Thorpe $406, Monica Vega $451.

Movin' and Shakin' (Convention 2008)

Opening night at Convention is always fun because they have the big kick-off for the conference theme. Everything this year was from the 50s. I can't even start to describe all of the fun decorations, props, music, costumes... They had a dance troupe from Broadway entertaining us (Sherrilynn!!!). The pre-show entertainment was "expected". The costumes were typical, the dances traditional, very enjoyable but not fantastic. The SPECTACULAR part came when the curtain lifted for the "real" show and the dancers wore 50s costumes with a modern twist - and danced to updated versions of the 50s songs and "hip" renditions of those 50s dances. It was so enjoyable! Will all of you please come with me next year??? Then, in their final number, that song from the end of Grease.... what's it called?... "We go together like ramma-lamma-lamma-ka-ding-ditty-ding-de-dong" you know, that one. Curt & Karen (Gold Canyon's founders) came out center stage and danced the whole finale along with the troupe. It was very cute, obvious that they aren't dancers, but fun nonetheless. Karen was wearing a little black outfit kind of like Olivia Newton John did in Grease. She & Curt had gone to New York and taken lessons to be able to do that - so fun! I want to do that! They stayed on stage when the troupe finished the session by sharing and teaching the idea that learning to run our businesses effectively can be compared to learning to dance - it takes practice, and after you get the basic steps you can start adding fancy flourishes.

Like I said before, everything was decorated in juke boxes, diners, all kinds of cute things. One of my favorite, most creative, unique decorations was the giant balloon soda pops. There were several of these around the halls. This is my dear friend & mentor Kelly Montierth posing by the soda pop with me, in our poodle skirts, of course. (For those who haven't met me yet, I'm on the left)

Speaking of Kelly, she's so on the ball, she made all of us these cute satin pink scarves and gift bags with glasses, gum and other treats. We all worship Kelly so she let us sit up front with her, just kidding, we loved her before we knew she had the VIP seats. Help me with names somebody, L-R: ??, Janet, Nancy, Jane, Kelli, ??, Angela; Bottom: Kelly & I

After the big opening session we were all pumped up and ready for the Fall Product Release party. This is where we get to see, touch and smell all of the new fall product first hand. And of course, refreshments!!! My plate looks wimpy but I was feeling full from our Mexican dinner at Matador's. I took this picture because I wanted to remember to make these things for my fall party, MINIATURE PUMPKIN PIES!!!!, coconut macaroons, peppermint bark and brownies. They also had a chocolate fountain with all kinds of dipping things.

Gold Canyon had the entire ballroom filled with rented furniture and false walls - made to look as cozy and welcoming as someone's home (mansion)- and every room was decked to the max with candle displays. It was so incredible! I won't make you all jealous by telling you they sold us boxes of the used items dirt cheap! Okay, I will. Anyways, these pictures will give you some great ideas for staging your candle displays for your fall parties.

This was one out of the Halloween room. The little feet on the left are the "Witches' Brew" set. To their right is our Floating Tealight Trio and instead of filling it with water they put gummy eye balls in it! Sitting on the place seting is the other part of the Witches Brew shoes, but instead of the cauldron they come with, one of our floating tealight cups is filled with candy corns and a little place holder is stuck inside.

I sell tons of the Iron Votive Centerpiece holders, and I always love the endless possibilities with it. Here, it's shown framed by two tapers in our new Dual Hammered Glass holders (with a fall leaf stuck inside), and then the Iron Votive Centerpiece has skinny pinecones stuck inside some of the votive cups! The other cups have candles of course, and then it's finished off with wired dall ribbon wrapped all around the edge and tied in the front for a finishing touch. It looked fantastic!

These little squirrels are so much cuter in real life than in the catalog! I loved how they put this little guy in our Footed Glass Hurricane, al sitting on top of fall berries, and then little plastic acorns and fall leaves help set the scene. These little guys looked right at home scattered all around the fall colors and leaves. They'll fit in perfectly to everyone's fall decor!

I'm not so sure burning candles on hay bales is such a great idea. These were fake hay, though and hopefully flame-retardant. Well we didn't have any accidents anyway. These displays were simpler, but they offered a nice mood grouped with the fall props. Lots of us probably already have scarecrows and pumpkins and such. Just take a few things you already have to spruce up the table at your next party!

This was another beautiful table. Each dinner plate featured one of our sparkling new Ruffled Candle Pedestals, holding cinnamon stickes tied with raffia, and then a little country home-made pinecone turkey (see his red head, googly eyes and straw tail) It was country meets sophistication - I think I'll try it on my Thanksgiving table this year! See more squirrels sitting around on the runner. Also, tied to the front of the pillar is the hang tags off our new Harvest Hearth candle.

This is my favorite idea HANDS DOWN! The large French Vanilla and Buttercreme Pillar is wrapped in biscotti!!!!!!!! Yummo! And it was all tied together with a cream colored satin ribbon. This would make the perfect display to show your Caffe Velluto candles! And look at the little copper coffee-shaped wick dipper leaning on the saucer. That's only available in our exclusive "Double Shot" Gift Box.

This display was elegant and gorgeous, too. Our Cottage Tealight Lamp (left) was surrounded in pretty glass ornaments and glittering leaves. Then on the right, the Gold Leaf Floret holds our newest product, a DIFFUSER! There was so much hype about these diffusers, I guess everyone has been requesting them like crazy. They last 3-5 months and the sticks use every last drop of the fragrance oil. I thought this was a very attractive way to display it.

This was a bedroon. At the foot of the bed was three Footed Glass Hurricanes sat on mirror tiles. Each hurricane has glass tree ornament bulbs in the colors of the pillar candle. Shown: Heather & Hyacinth; French Vanilla & Buttercream.

On to Christmas! This little Gingerbread House scene is self-explanatory - using cotton snow with little people and trees. It was creative that one of the Gingerbread Houses was sat up on our Candy Cane Columns for height variation. By the way - each of these adoreable Gingerbread Houses is our new tealight holders for the season!

Another use for the Gingerbread House holders - place holders again. I didn't zoom in enough to see how they attached the card to the chimney. Each piece of stem ware is donning the felt hang-tag from our new Peppermint Bark candle. Also in the center of the table it's hard to see but the floating glass tealight holders are filled with water and red rose petals. It looked very lovely.

This is another favorite of mine. The brown box is one of our current plush gift boxes which has been filled with ornaments, glittery leaves and taper candles tucked right in. This was so beautiful!

This is kind of a top view so it doesn't look that great, but it was. There are jingle bells sprinkled around like confetti. Then, two Ruffled Candle Pedestals are stacked on top (like tiers) both filled with gumdrops and the top pedestal holds the new Gingerbread candle. Both of the floating glass tealight holders on the side are filled with mini gumdrops and tied with matching Gingerbread hang-tags. The glass tealight squared have a simple ribbon tied around to make them more colorful.

This was way cute and easy. The glass hurricane is filled with mini candy canes and our new Peppermint Bark candle is nestled inside. Each of those votive cups are filled with peppermints and a tealight on top. All have the Peppermint Bark hang tag on them.

I really liked this red, white and blue Christmas display. I wouldn't have thought to put the Snow Bear Hugger on top of the Candy Cane Column like that. And all of the blue Amber Woods and Savannah Rain pillar candles look beautiful. There are two small holders on the left, a set of the Snow Bear Votives - and the votive glass is filled with red berries or candies or something.