~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a Nutshell
Information and Tips for your
Image Consulting Business
11/04/04 Issue
#31
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 November
=> Blue Flute News
=>
Feature
Does Selling Make You Nervous?
It is easy to cure.
=> In my Business, how do I…
Prepare for the New Year?
=> NutShell Tip
Grab Product without Messing up
your Inventory
=> Game
Secret Santa Office Gift Party
=> Consultant Success Story
=>
Recognition Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inventory
Updates for November
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Your inventory updates for November are
ready. The updates will
bring your
NutShell inventory list in synch with the
current
BeautiControl order form. If you purchased the
NutShell Combo, Career Builder Packager
or have subscribed
to the update
service, you can get your updates here:
http://www.blueflute.com/btyupdt1.htm
If you would like to sign up for one of
these options, they
are available
here: www.blueflute.com/orderpage.htm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blue
Flute News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NutShell
Special – November Sale –
NutShell Combo for $144.99
As business owners, we are approaching a
significant
date as we head
toward the end of the calendar year. It is
‘Now or Never’ for consultants who still
need to get their
books in order.
The weather is changing in Texas.
Maybe it has already
changed where
you live. Since the outdoors is getting
less inviting,
now is a good time to set aside a weekend
to get started
with getting organized for the end of the
year.
If you already own NutShell and you are
behind, schedule
time to do your
paperwork. Your business is important and
it deserves to
be taken care of properly! If you can’t find
the time to do
the work yourself, a Nutshell expert can
help. Let me
know if you need a NutShell expert:
mailto:Expert@BlueFlute.com
For consultants
who don’t already own NutShell, the
NutShell Combo is on sale this month for
$144.99.
Encourage your consultants to get
started now.
Flyers
and introductory material are available here:
www.blueflute.com/Flyers.htm
Please feel free to hand them out
liberally!
Links
-
If you are not familiar with NutShell,
learn more here:
http://www.blueflute.com/btynut.htmm
Download NutShell here:
http://www.blueflute.com/ordrform2.htm
Cheryl Ashworth’s Skin Care Regimen
sheets here:
Informative sheet: www.blueflute.com/SkinCareRegimen.pdf
Instructional sheet: www.blueflute.com/SkinCareRegimen-Mini.pdf
Personal
Growth – Develop a Millionaire Mind! – Working on
our ‘insides’
(our thoughts and feelings) improves what
happens on our
outside (results). Harv Eker
is an expert
at helping us
tweak our ‘insides’. For more information:
http://www.millionairemind.com/a/join_with_you?page=/wow/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Current
‘In a NutShell’ Newsletter and 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
Does Selling Make You Nervous? It is
easy to cure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Does this sound
familiar?
“I
tried talking to a fellow mom at my son's soccer game
on Friday, but it
went terribly because I was so nervous.
After a few minutes, I realized that I was
rambling on and
on. My recruiter had
told me to make up a thirty second
description of what I
do. She called this an 'elevator
speech'. I memorized
my elevator speech and tried to use it
when I talked to the
soccer mom, but I really messed it up.
I am starting to think I am just not cut out
for selling.”
While it may seem
that some people are born salesmen, and
you
aren't one of them, don't worry. That's not really true.
Nervousness when selling usually comes
from two things:
a
weak attitude and a lack of knowledge.
Weak Attitude
A weak attitude is
an attitude that works against you when
you
try to sell. When you approach your prospect, you may
feel
that you need to please her. You hope to get a booking
or
sell a product, and you believe that you've got to please
the
prospect to do so. Often, as women, we feel a need for
approval.
But hoping for approval is a very disempowering
frame
of mind to sell from.
To get into a more empowered position,
work to develop the
belief
that you offer value to your prospects simply by
selling
to them, whether you are selling products, a spa
experience
or the Opportunity. This is true because as a
sales
professional, you have knowledge, products and
services
that your potential client wants. They will
engage
with you if they think you can help them in some
way.
Don't forget, "What's in it for me?" is the top
question
in anybody's mind when considering making a
purchase.
Lack of Knowledge
Your confidence will increase quickly
when you develop a
depth of
knowledge about what your clients need, and what
you are able to
provide for them. By attending training
and unit
meetings, asking questions of your director and
recruiter,
and becoming familiar with your favorite
products, you
will develop the knowledge base that you
need. Be sure
to work in areas that are interesting to
you. If you
love spas but are weak on glamour, don’t feel
you have to
provide image services just because your
director may
love to sell the Fall Collection.
Focus on learning how your favorite
products work together
to solve your
clients' problems. Pay attention to how your
current clients
feel about their products. They can teach
you both
product benefits and product uses that you may not
have thought
of.
Increasing your knowledge will change
your attitude. Armed
with
information about your products and services, you will
have no doubt
that you are doing your prospects a favor by
selling to
them. With this increased confidence, you will
stop getting
nervous in front of your prospects because
you will know
that you are truly offering something of
value to people
by selling to them.
You'll talk conversationally with ease
and self-assurance
because not
only will you know what you are talking about,
but you will
know that you are benefiting your prospect by
providing
something that she wants.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In my Business, how do I…
Prepare for the New Year?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prepare for the new
year? I’m joking, right? Well, just a
little bit.
We still have almost two months left till the end of the
year, and during those two months we have the
Thanksgiving
and Christmas holidays. So, you have a lot on
your plate,
I know. Don’t make this a big deal. Do just a little bit
at a time.
What needs to be done? You need to do 3 main things:
1. Get your inventory in order.
2. Bring your client and sales information up-to-date.
3. Get your expenses organized.
Which one of these do you feel most like tackling? If you
are easily intimidated by bookwork, then pick the
area that
seems the most approachable and get started. If
the
incomplete bookwork is bugging you, pick a
bigger task and
get going!
For your inventory, start getting your shelves organized,
so that end-of-year counting will be easier. Do
you have
product scattered everywhere? Spend just a few
minutes
straightening up. Get all skin care together in
one place,
spa products in their group and glamour in its
own section.
Group like items together. Have you taken product out of
inventory without writing it down? Start
thinking about this
and make a list.
What about your clients and sales? Have you gotten behind
entering this information? If you are behind,
believe me,
you are in the norm. Don’t feel bad about it.
Just tackle
it a little bit at a time.
The same is true for your expenses. Get your receipts
organized and start entering a few. If you have
a bunch of
receipts for the same type of thing (postage,
copies, etc),
it is OK to lump them together. Add them all up
for the
month and just make one entry into your books
for each
month. As long as you keep the receipts for
documentation,
you are covered. You don’t have to log each and
every
transaction, unless you want to.
Right now, you have the luxury of just doing a little bit
at a time. Pick your Bookkeeping Day and stick
to it. For
example, every Monday at 9:30 AM, spend an hour
working on
your expenses
or sales. You can do one month at a time.
And you will watch that big pile of
work get smaller and
smaller.
Good intentions at this time of year are easy to come by.
It is the follow through that is hard. Start small and take
it slow to insure your success. Every time you
get a little
bit accomplished, you will be encouraged and
this will
motivate you to do more! Start now!
*-----------Quote of the
Month-------------*
"In our daily lives, we
must see that it is
not
happiness that makes us grateful, but
the
gratefulness that makes us happy."
-- Albert Clarke
*------------------------------------------*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NutShell
Tip –
Grab Product without Messing up Your
Inventory
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let’s face it. You lead a busy life and
you aren’t going
to enter an invoice in the computer
every time you grab
product from
your shelf on the way to a meeting or an
appointment.
But, you can still control your
inventory:
Place a piece of
paper and pencil in a convenient
place in the
area where you store your inventory.
Put the date at the top of the sheet.
This is your
‘Grab Log’.
(You can download a Grab Log here:
www.blueflute.com/MyGrabLog.pdf
)
When you grab product from your shelf,
jot the
name of the
product on the log. Make sure you
keep the pencil
with the paper. Don’t carry it off
accidentally!
If you are grabbing the product for a
certain
consultant, or
as a gift, jot down this info, but keep
it short. If
you make a big deal out of this step, you
will quit doing
it.
On your Bookkeeping Day, replace the
existing Grab Log with
a new Grab Log,
putting the current date at the top. Use
the existing
Grab Log as your work sheet and enter one or
more invoices
into NutShell to account for each product
on the list.
The important thing is to keep track of
the products
that you take
out of inventory at all times. This can
prove to be
very challenging since life tends to get
hectic. Give
your business the attention it deserves,
though. Take
good care of your inventory counts by
setting up a
simple method of recording your activity.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Consultant
Success Story
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Success Story by Jill Denson
Being a new user of NutShell, I had my
first opportunity to
use the Client
portion as it is designed for.
I had a client call me to order some Lip
Apeel for her mom.
I met this client at a spa 6 months ago.
I immediately pulled
her up on the
Client/Colleague screen and checked Notes,
where I
discovered she was interested in updating her colors.
(We had actually decided at the spa 6
months earlier to do
her colors. At
the time, I made a note about this on the
Note screen in NutShell.)
So, scared since I had never done this
before (and I have
been in
business 15 years), I asked her if she was ready
to update her
colors. Her answer was ‘Yes, I have been
meaning to do
that.’ She asked the total and, Voila! I
was able to
print up an invoice quickly. She agreed to the
amount and I
turned a $17 sale into a $67 sale.
Thank you NUTSHELL!
--Jill Denson, Unit VIP, Cypress,
Texas
___________________________________________
Who are you proud of?
Please help with this part of the
newsletter. It can be
motivating to
those of us who are working hard, but
sometimes get
discouraged.
Who are you proud of? (It can be yourself!) Sing their
praises and inspire others:
mailto:SuccessStory@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Game
– Secret Santa Office Gift Party
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Secret Santa parties are common. They
are done in offices,
schools, Sunday
School, etc. Make Secret Santa shopping
easy for party
participants and acquire new clients at
the same time!
Make up a list of items that sell for
less than $15-$20!
This will be mostly spa products, which
make great gifts.
Attach the list to the front of a
catalog and ONLY demo
these items!
You can do this in a quick 15 minute lunch
break.
Guests are always looking for affordable
gifts
for their
secret Santa office parties and you can help
them find them!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recognition
Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Congratulations to the following
NutShell users who have
worked hard and achieved success in
advancing their careers!
~ $20,000 Achiever ~
Angie Barrett
~ $10,000 Achiever ~
Susan Lewis
~ $5,000 Achievers ~
Kitty Barrow
Vicki Bryson
Geri Cozine
Karen Mosteller
Lois Ann Royer
Carol Winfree
~ New Executive Director ~
Amy Cooper
~ New Senior Directors ~
Kitty Barrow
Vicki Bryson
Geri Cozine
Karen Mosteller
Lois Ann Royer
Carol Winfree
~ New Mustang Directors! ~
Cathie Crate
Sue Light
~ New Directors ~
Diana Baker
Kellie Blumberg
Jan Barrow
Lou Cauthron
Patricia Crowley
Tracie Jones
Donna Lee
Robbin Reid
Debbie Schroeder
~ New DIQ ~
Sandra Bell
Cyndi Blau
Julie Boschert
Leslie Boyd
Sarah Cole
Sue Crochet
Linda Croft
Sarah Funke
Kimberly Golden
Kim Hileman
Marilyn Hillman
Ann Marie Root
Jennifer Rousseau
Connie Stock
Tina Stock
Colleen Stone
Janet Tarr
Deborah Thrapp
Susan Tullos
Shawna Wright
~ New Unit Managers ~
Rachael Allen
Janice Hagedorn
Kim Hileman
Kelli Horn
Reba Johnson
Michelle Jones
Leigh Ann Leslie
Laura Morlando
Janice Obman
Toby Ownby
Jennifer Rousseau
Frances Scruggs
Terri Selby
Diane St. Pierre
Linda Swilley
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 its
entirety.
Copyright 2004 Blue Flute Software
Creations, Inc.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List
Maintenance
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Subscriptions to this e-zine are FREE.
Newsletter 'In a NutShell' is published
monthly in 3 parts.
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.
A note about referrals and your email
address – Being an
avid hater of
email spam as much as you are, I have
never (and will
never) give, sell or rent your email
address to
anybody who could possibly spam you! However,
I will give your email address to
consultants who list
your name as
their referral. I will give her address to
you, as well. This is so that you and
she can be ‘NutShell
partners’! If
you would rather not have your email address
given to your
referrals, please let me know:
mailto:privacy@blueflute.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Linda Gerloff
Blue Flute Software Creations
Linda@BlueFlute.com
P.O. Box 77882
Fort Worth, TX
76177
817-439-1081
