~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a Nutshell
Information and Tips for your Image Consulting Business
07/02/02
Issue #3
Linda Gerloff, Editor, linda@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By subscription only! Welcome
to your next issue of
"In a NutShell".
You are receiving this newsletter because you have
subscribed to either the monthly
Automated Inventory
Updates or this newsletter.
Unsubscribe instructions are at the end of this newsletter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IN THIS ISSUE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=> Inventory Updates for July
=> Blue Flute News
=> ‘In a NutShell’ archives
=> Feature Article - Part 3
The one thing your
business can't do without
=> Fun Trivia
=> In my business, how do
I ...
Handle internet sales
that I receive commission for?
=> Guest Column
=> Getting along with your Computer -
The Lifesaver Key
=> NutShell Tip
=>
My Life as a
Consultant -
A Story to Share – Send in a story today!
=> Recognition Corner
=> Party Game
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inventory Updates for July
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your inventory updates for July are ready. You can get them
here: http://www.blueflute.com/btyupdt1.htm
If you lose this link, you can always download your updates
from the main Blue Flute web page. Just click on the
'Pre-Paid Updates' button.
If your
subscription to the updates has expired, you can
purchase another year online by clicking the 'Buy Updates'
button: http://www.blueflute.com/bytnut.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blue Flute News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New
this month – Gift Certificates! Blue Flute gift
certificates are available just in time
for the awards
portion of our year. You can reward and
encourage your
hard-working consultants with a gift
certificate to help
them get their business computerized
with NutShell. For
consultants who already use NutShell,
you can give them
more time to sell with a gift of
Inventory Updates!
More info about Gift Certificates:
http://www.blueflute.com/GiftCertificate.htm
Celebration
– Yea! Celebration is almost here! This is such
an exciting time and I hope I get to
see a LOT of you!
The details of my location are not set
yet. When I know,
I’ll let you know. In the meantime,
though, please let me
know if you would like promotional
materials so that you
can share information about NutShell
with other consultants.
Every paid referral will earn you 6
months of inventory
updates for free!
I’ll send you a button that says “I
couldn’t do without my
NutShell!” along with brochures. Let me
know if you would
like to receive these items:
mailto:CelebrationButtons@blueflute.com
Address change – I have changed post offices:
Blue Flute Software
P.O. Box 77882
Fort Worth, TX 76177
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
‘In a NutShell’ archives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you miss a prior ‘In a NutShell’ newsletter, or would
you like to review one of the articles?
You can view it
here: http://www.blueflute.com/Newsletters.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feature Article – Part
2
Clients - The one thing your business can't do without
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As an image consultant, your clients need you! Not only do
they need you, but they are lucky to
have you. This is
fortunate because, of course, your
business couldn’t do
without them.
Consumers can get makeup, skin care and
relaxation products
a multitude of ways, but getting them
from you is wonderful
for them because you can provide them
with the Personal
Touch. The Personal Touch
will set you aside from the
grocery and department stores and even
other direct sales
consultants. In these days of
self-service and drive thru
convenience, personal service from a
professional can be
seen as a true luxury.
This is the third part of a three-part
discussion about
providing your clients with the
Personal Touch. Good
service will keep them coming back to
you again and again,
rather than straying from one product
line to another. In
past issues, we have explored using
special prices and
discounts to help your clients feel
special. In addition,
your ready awareness of your clients’
product useage will
reassure her that she can count on you
to meet her image
needs.
Now, you can close the deal by staying
in constant contact
with her. The more she sees your name
and hears your voice,
the more likely she will turn to you
for her next product
need. And, she will be receptive to the
idea of hostessing
a party or joining you in your team.
Staying in constant contact with your
entire client base
will take some organization. You will
need to make some
notes and it would help to be reminded
when it is time to
call each client. The Beauty in a
NutShell software can
help with this. Both Notes and
Reminders are an integral
part of the system. Reminders in the
Datebook help you know
on a daily basis who needs to be called
and why. Client
Notes provide an easy and quick way to
remind yourself
about important details related to any
client. And any Note
can be a Reminder!
NutShell can remind you to:
- Follow up on a sale
- Contact a client
- Re-sensor a client
- Send a Birthday card and coupon
- Call a spouse about purchasing an
anniversary gift
- Anything
else - Let your creativity - and your needs -
be your guide!
Setting up Reminders in NutShell is
very easy and only
requires the click of a button. Once
you get your Reminders
set up, just refer to your Datebook
regularly. You can
print your reminders for the day or
week and use the
printed sheet as a check list as you
make your calls, send
your emails or prepare your mail-outs.
Remember that your clients are busy.
They have a lot to
keep up with and will respond well to
your consistent and
attentive service. They are lucky to
have you!
~~~~~~
You can get more information about
using the NutShell
software here: http://www.blueflute.com/btynut.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fun Trivia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In
England - Soap was considered a frivolous luxury of the
British aristocracy from the early
1700s until 1862, and
there was a tax on those who used it in
England.
In
America - Several hundred years ago in America, soap was
sold door to door. It was later distributed
in general
stores, where it was sold from huge
blocks. Store customers
would indicate how much they wanted and
the shopkeeper
would cut off that amount and wrap it
for taking home.
(imagine using that on your face!)
from www.absolutetrivia.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In my business, how do I ...
Handle internet sales that I
receive commission for?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you receive a commission check for
internet sales,
there are several pieces
of information that should be
recorded. You want to keep
track of the product your client
has used as well as the
dollars coming into your business.
But, your inventory is not
affected, so it may seem a bit
confusing. To handle this,
create a special kind of invoice:
- Create an invoice for the client. Click the Ignore
Inventory button before you start adding items to the
invoice
so that all items will be added to the
invoice
without affecting your inventory counts.
- You will need to adjust out the cost of the products
so that
only your commission shows as the invoice
total.
If you put a 60% discount on the order and
remove
the tax, the numbers should work out
correctly.
If there is a variation, it may be because
the
client paid a different price than is showing up
on your
invoice.
- Click on the Expense button and change the Income
Class
from ‘Sale’ to ‘Commission’.
- Make a notation in the Note box explaining the special
circumstances of the invoice.
- When you are satisfied with the invoice, you can close
it.
*-----------Quote of the Month-------------*
Would you like me to
give you a formula for
success? It's quite simple,
really. Double
your rate of failure. You're
thinking of
failure as the enemy of
success, but it
isn't at all. You can be
discouraged by
failure - or you can learn
from it. So go
ahead and make mistakes. Make
all you can.
Because remember, that's where
you'll find
success.
- Thomas J.
Watson
*------------------------------------------*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Guest column
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Note from
Linda: In this month’s guest column, Michele
raises some very important questions
that I believe
many consultant are concerned about.
There are two reasons
why I have included this subject:
1. If you feel the same way Michele does, you now know that
you are not alone. If you are not an
instant success in
your business, it doesn’t mean you are
a bad consultant.
2. Confusion is helpful because it leads to questions which
lead discussion which leads to answers.
How have you
experienced these issues and what has
helped you? What
feedback can you offer? Please send
your comments to
mailto:answers@blueflute.com
Next month, we will follow up
with Answers!)
Michele
says:
I think I am still a
"struggling" new consultant (10 months
old) because I am being soooo generous
and giving to my
guests and hostesses.
BeautiControl is generous in
suggesting we offer clients prizes,
gifts with purchase,
and discounts, but first, does
that really make a
difference, and second, since I am
still not in the plus
column yet, is that really right for
me? My husband would
like me to get out of the red this year
(which is why I
won't be seeing you at Celebration) and
so would I. I could
use some tips to really push my earning
forward. Maybe
there are others like me out there too,
needing advice....
I've heard of giving tickets away at a
party instead of
prizes during games and throughout the
show (like for
asking great questions, or making great
suggestions) so
you end up giving 1 gift away at the
evening's end rather
than 3 or 5 gifts--it saves me
money.
Any other tips? (OK besides having 8
parties a month and
recruiting) I really want this to be a
financial success
for me as well as a joy to do.
Does having inventory
really make a difference in making a
sale?
"How to maximize profits without
appearing stingy" that's
the question. Do most new
consultants go into debt or am I
unique and just a poor money manager
(and bad consultant)?
I am planning on becoming a Director so
I am working my
business. Right now I am a 3
person strong Senior
Consultant and will be in your
newsletter soon as a
Unit VIP. The titles are great,
but what about the
profits?
Michele Zinser, Sr. Consultant
Chantilly, VA
Thank you, Michele, for asking great
questions and for
sharing them with us!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Getting along with your Computer – The Lifesaver
Key
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You probably think I am being too
dramatic by calling a
computer key the 'Lifesaver Key'.
Either that or I spend
way too much time on the computer.
Well, very few times in
my life have I been called dramatic,
but I have to confess
that I have been accused of spending
too much time on my
computer!
But, having said that, I think you will
eventually agree
with me about the 'Lifesaver Key'. It
is also called the
'Undo' key, and you may have used the
Undo function when
working on your computer in your word
processing program,
such as Word or Wordperfect.
The 'Lifesaver Key' is actually two
keys that you press at
the same time: the CTRL key and 'Z'
key. To use it, press
and hold the CTRL (control) key and
then press the 'z' key.
Release the 'z' and then the CTRL. It
takes much more time
and effort to say it than to do it.
You may still be wondering about the 'Lifesaver'
part. Have
you ever been typing on your computer
and looked up at the
screen and really wished you hadn't
done what you just did?
Especially if it caused the info on
your screen to be wiped
out, and you can't remember what was
there before? If this
happens to you, stay calm! You don’t
have to try to figure
out what you just did - just use the
Livesaver Key (CTRL-Z).
It will undo whatever you just typed
and put everything back
as it was. The thing that is really
good about this is that
you can use it anywhere in Windows, no
matter what program
you are in, even in graphics programs!
If you make a change
and don't like it, press CTRL-Z to undo
it. With some
programs you can use the CTRL-Z
repeatedly to undo the last
several things you have done. This
isn't universal though,
but you can always use it at least
once.
The only thing to remember is that if
you are in a program
that uses fields, for example, an
online order form, or the
NutShell program, the CTRL-Z will only
be a lifesaver for
the field that you are currently on. If
you make a change,
move to the next field and then realize
you messed up on
the prior field, the CTRL-Z won't help
you. So be sure you
don't advance your cursor before you
are ready.
When a tool is new, it can take some
effort, not to learn
to use it, but to remember to use it! At first, you may need
to consciously remind yourself to use
CTRL-Z. Get the habit
started the next time you write an
email. Type a few lines
of the email, then go back and delete a
word or two, right
out of the middle of a paragraph. Press
CTRL-Z and watch
the deleted words reappear!
Once you get in the habit of using this
tool, I promise you
that you will sooner or later agree
with me that CTRL-Z is
truly a Lifesaver Key!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I discovered a website that I am really
enjoying. It is:
http://www.Webshots.com.
On this site, you can download
beautiful, high-quality pictures for
your desktop wallpaper
and screen saver. The software is easy
to use and you can
download 5 pictures each day for free!
If you like playing with the wallpaper
on your desktop,
check it out! I’m having a lot of fun
with mine.
*---------------A Good Laugh--------------*
Life is a beta test. It this was a real
life, manuals would have been
included.
Definitions:
Hardware: The parts of a
computer system
that can be kicked.
Experience: What you get when
you don't
get what you want
-unknown
*-----------------------------------------*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NutShell Tip – Tips for using Reminders
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Debbie Schroeder from Lincoln, Nebraska
has these great
ideas for using Reminders:
1. Follow up after a client purchases a
new product
2. Follow up when the client may be
running out of a
product.
3. Get ready for parties, such as:
Get the invitation list
Get hostess packet to the hostess
Call to confirm the party
4. Follow up 1 week after a party, 30
days and 60 days.
5. Anything she needs to remember to
do, such as make a
phone call.
6. If someone puts her off, she asks
when she should call
them back and puts a reminder for
that.
7. Client Connection deadline as well
as when to start
calling clients after the mailing
Thank you, Debbie, for sharing your
creativity!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Life as a consultant
– A Story to Share
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One of the best things about being a consultant is the
wonderful community of (mostly) women
that we are a part
of! Having each other is a blessing we
all can enjoy. What
story would you like to share?
Motivation, inspiration,
humor, the humanity in us all – we
would love to hear about
it!
If you have a story to share in an
upcoming newsletter,
please send it to me: AstoryToShare@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recognition Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations to the following NutShell users who have
worked hard and achieved success in advancing their careers!
~Mustang Director!~
Susan Craig
Sue Husser
~Director~
Darla Brock
Saralyn Ostwinkle
~DIQ~
Connie Brown
Geri Cozine
Patricia Crowley
Penny Henze
Donna Kirkbride
Cindy Koleba
Debra McComb
Lisa Poppenhouse
Heather Richter-Egger
Anne Teran
Sherri Maxwell
Denise Newsome
~Unit Manager~
Karen Fritschi
Sandra Mozey
Pam Vanden Bulk
~Unit VIP~
Linda Wheeler
Tammie Wood-Hess
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Party Game – Have You
Ever?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have You Ever?
1. Locked yourself out of the house?
2. Lost a member of the family while
out shopping?
3. Put something unusual into the
refrigerator?
4. Turned white clothes another color?
5. Gone away from home and left the
iron on?
6. Put your heel through the hem of a
dress?
7. Had your zipper break in public?
8. Gone somewhere with two different
shoes or socks on?
9. Remembered an appointment after it
was too late?
10. Called a member of your family by
another name?
11. Fallen up the stairs?
12. Gone shopping for groceries and
discovered you did not
bring any money with you?
13. Driven away from somewhere while a
member of your party
was still out of the car?
14. Locked your keys in the car?
15. Dialed a phone number and forgot
who you called?
16. Got into your car to go somewhere
and forgot where you
were going?
17. Put something in the oven and
forgot about it?
Ask the questions and give auction
money for each ‘Yes’
answer or for the best answer. It will
liven up your crowd.
If you get them laughing and having a
good time, you will get
them booked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please pass this e-zine along to your friends. Just click
the Forward button on your email screen to send this
newsletter to other consultants who would enjoy reading
it! However, please keep it intact and forward it in it's
entirety.
Copyright 2002 Blue Flute Software Creations, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Maintenance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subscriptions to this e-zine are FREE.
Newsletter 'In a NutShell' is published monthly.
To subscribe:
Simply send an email to subscribe@blueflute.com
Be sure to include your name.
To unsubscribe:
Send an email to unsubscribe@blueflute.com
Please note that this newsletter serves as your
notification that Inventory Updates are ready. If you
unsubscribe this newsletter, you will not
receive
notification when the updates are ready.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda Gerloff
Blue Flute Software Creations
linda@blueflute.com
P.O. Box 77882
Fort Worth, TX 76177
817-439-1081
