Potholes, Personal Accents, and possibilities

Thursday, March 06, 2008  by Susan Julien-Willson
Category: selling, catalogs, retailing, Personal Accents, party plan

On my way to work today, I had a lot on my mind. Sheryl Crow singing about now that she's free, she's free to make a mess of things ... and how I can relate to that!--me swerving the car to miss potholes I think might be there but are now covered with freshly fallen snow... and amusing myself with my new, evergrowing fear of potholes (is there an official phobia for that?) --me pondering on getting stuck in a monstrous pothole and relating that to getting stuck in a rut creatively ... what we could do creatively to make Personal Accents a more profitable product line for IBOs? What's missing? Is the catalog too pretty? not pretty enough? Do we need to have a party plan? A party plan like (yet other direct sellers of jewelry. Should there be more support materials? I remind myself we have a budget and I must adhere to the budget ... but I quickly forget that because, well, I do ... and begin to imagine all the possibilities. I see Personal Accents written in the sky in Cezanne type font, glittering like diamonds (ok, maybe cubic zirconia because PA  jewelry is a shining value) as I drive into the parking lot at Quixtar.

I park the car. Walk briskly (it's cold!) into the building. Glance at my computer and instantly decide I'll write a blog post and ask you what you think. If the sky was the limit and the road straight and clear to success... there were no potholes to dodge, no bumps to worry about, no budget constraints, attitudes were positive, customer pocketbooks were bulging, and everything was coming up pretty near to perfect ... what would you hope would be in our plan for Personal Accents? Even if nothing was perfect or positive, what do you think should be in the plan for Personal Accents?

As always, no promises we can do it all, but we're all "ears" and we love to play with ideas, especially if they'll help IBOs sell at a profit. We're searching for gems!

Be a jewel and send us your ideas.

sjw

 

Comments

# YankeeIBO said on March 6, 2008 10:25 AM:

Susan,

One of the stumbling blocks to growing this program is the high up-front costs for the party collections. What we need is a small sampling of pieces that showcase the quality of the PA products, as opposed to some other jewelry companies that sell junk at exhorbitant prices (I know ladies who regularly throw good money away on these!).

My suggestion is to take some leads from the Artistry program's Purse to Purse selling. Create a sample selection of about six items, displayed on a velvet cloth that can be rolled up, tied with a bow and put in your purse. IBO cost should be limited to $150 max, and also contain some hand-out cards telling about the quality and how the decision is made to include an item in the PA line--along with spaces to list items the customer is interested in. Also--where are the samples for the new Anticipate fragrance? AND all the other fragrance samples we used to have?

# Susan Julien-Willson said on March 6, 2008 10:57 AM:

Yankee IBO,

We have some jewelry sample kit plans that will definitely allow for flexibility ... and definitely have out-of-pocket IBO expense in mind.

Tell me more about how you envision the hand-out card with the 5 to 6-item purse-sized kit? Short and sweet with your (IBO) contact info  on it? Something you could put a label on or something you order printed through Quixtar Brand Support?

Samples of Anticipate. Hmmmm. Let me check with the Brand and Merch Mgr of the program on the feasability of Anticpate samplers.

Thanks for your ideas and suggestions!

sjw

# Canadian IBO 2 said on March 6, 2008 1:16 PM:

Susan,

Here in Canada, the Personal Accents selections are buried in the front section of the Options catalog.  We do not have a separate catalog as in the States.  I like Yankee IBO's ideas and suggestions.  To take that one step further, how can Personal Accents become marketable and profitable here in Canada for IBO's (like my wife) who know very little (or nothing) about jewelry?  I do know that we do not have sample kits available here in Canada (I just called Q-Canada).  So, to answer your question here in Canada, having affordable sample kits would be a good start.

# Susan Julien-Willson said on March 6, 2008 1:54 PM:

Canadian IBO 2,

Sending your info on to Canada ... not sure who handles the jewelry there but would like them to read your post. Just curious, do you sell the jewelry from the Options Catalog?

# Canadian IBO 2 said on March 6, 2008 2:52 PM:

Susan,

Not at the present time.  Here the Personal Accents is just another product in the catalog that one just skims by when flipping through the Options catalog.  Unless someone is interested in jewelry and familiar with the prices, it goes unnoticed.  I'll forward my post to Q-Canada as you suggest.

# YankeeIBO said on March 6, 2008 3:41 PM:

Susan,

maybe a small 'Z' trifold--4x6. The third fold would be a tear-off for the IBO, with a space for the customer name and info on one side, and items of interest on the other--with the sample items pre-printed and priced with check boxes, and a few lines more for other selections from the catalog. This would match the back customer page, except that there would be a space for an IBO label. If a prospect doesn't order at that time, the IBO has a handy way of keeping the customer contact info all in one place, and could  even be kept in a card file. Just keep in mind that the paper stock has to be pen & ink friendly!

# Canadian IBO 2 said on March 6, 2008 5:38 PM:

Susan,

I forwarded my post to Q-Canada.  According to an email that I received from one of their product support staff members, there will be a Personal Accents sales kit and training in the future.  No details, prices, etc at this time.  That is great news!  Thanks for your suggestion.  

# deb said on March 17, 2008 2:41 PM:

invitations (like they have for no-tox) available to download or purchase would be great

# Susan Julien-Willson said on March 17, 2008 5:24 PM:

Thanks for commenting, Deb. We do have Personal Accents invitations available as postcards (large) through Quixtar Brand Support, Partner Stores & Services at Quixtar.com Check it out! They're beautiful. I think you'll like them.

sjw

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