All tied up in Ribbon

Friday, March 14, 2008  by Susan Julien-Willson
Category: Ribbon, retailing, sales selling, gifts and incentives

For the last few months, my world (and the Ribbon Program team's universe) has been rockin' and rollin' with Ribbon. Ribbon Gift Cards. Ribbon Gift Collections. Ribbon Steps to Success Brochure, Ribbon How it Works flier, Ribbon Presentation Brochure, Ribbon testimonials from IBOs.Ordermygift.com. Ribbon Retailer. Ribbon Order Form. Ribbon FAQs. Ribbon Customer Presentation CD with two great video clips on how Ribbon works ... did you read that? Yes, it's true! These video clips are like commercials that capture the emotional pull of choosing the perfect gift, giving the perfect gift, and receiving the perfect gift. The current CD is selling big time so we can't wait to roll out the new one with the heartwarming, informative video clips. It's coming on April 1, along with the Sales Kits and more merchandising materials.

As excited as I am about all of it, I am also a tad stressed by it. (This is why I work out at the fitness center!) I know mistakes happen and Ribbon is no exception. We discovered one that ended up in print on the back of the Steps brochure. I'm going to tell you about it so you can know ahead of time. It's good news for you. The price list on the back of the brochure lists the Customer Presenation CD 5-pack price as $16. GUESS WHAT? It's really just $10. The guesstimate was $16 originally ... and well, we worked hard to get the price down ... and obviously, it did get all the way down to 5 CDs for $10. But, darn, it still says $16 on the back of the Steps Brochure. 

I woke up last night from a dream of myself tangled up in the purple ribbon and twirling around and around and around with the numbers 5, 10 and 16 woooshing by. It appears the error was on my mind.

I know mistakes happen. Regret does too. I regret missing this error before the brochure printed. I really hate it when imperfections are revealed--I know not everything is perfect or runs perfectly, but hey, Ribbon is about the perfect gift ... shouldn't everything be perfect in the sales materials? Everyone on the team feels badly about the error, including myself. (You probably already figured that out.)

Besides fessing up to the error and asking forgiveness, please note: the  5-pack of Ribbon Customer Presentation CDs (40-0857) coming in April is just $10 regardless of what's printed on the back of the Steps Brochure. May that be rich news for you.

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Comments

# Josh said on March 14, 2008 1:14 PM:

Susan,

Mistakes are great, especially in this business.  It is also good to see that our friends at the corp also make mistakes.

I believe people will be worried about this mistake, because it benefits us, with being only 10 bucks.

Now you might have received a bit more grief if it were switched around, but I bet people won't complain about it when they see it really is only 10 dollars.

Kinda like when you go to a store and buy something with a tag on it that says $35, and when you ring out it says $22. Pleasant surprise!!

# Susan Julien-Willson said on March 14, 2008 1:44 PM:

You are incredibly supportive, Josh. Thank you. Given the amount of pieces and all we accomplish in the course of a workday, the Ribbon Brand Managers and my upline are understanding when mistakes happen. Doesn't mean any of us like mistakes to happen ... it only means we must do what we can to correct an error and move on. Luckily, it is in the IBO's favor. Better to make a mistake this way, right? :-) I must say every day I am humbled by reminders of how incredibly human I am! sjw

# rdknyvr said on March 14, 2008 4:41 PM:

Susan, laughter and a big smile are the best ways to deal with these kinds of 'mistakes'. Did you know that there are mistakes in the DICTIONARY? Really!!!

# Jeff Namnum said on March 14, 2008 10:25 PM:

You are a trip! Come on Susan, we all screw up and in my mind this is not a huge one.  

HOWEVER, I have to say it is very impressive to go out of your way to 'fess up. I believe it shows the true measure of a person.  On that note, I better send a quick text to my wife and admit to eating that chocolate ice cream last night  at midnight.

Thanks for all you do.

# sivaram said on March 17, 2008 6:45 AM:

Susan,

Kudos for pulling off this great Ribbon upgrade and we appreciate your efforts so much !!. Looking forward to a great Ribbon Sales Year.

# CJ said on March 19, 2008 11:08 AM:

Susan,

Saw the picture of the new Ribbon Sales Kit on the website when I logged in this morning-I can't wait!! I wish we could all get a small taste of the videos on the CD-LOL!

CJ

# Susan Julien-Willson said on March 19, 2008 11:29 AM:

Great, CJ! I wish you could see the video clips. You are going to be so happy.

I received good news from our Customer Service Rep in printing. They fixed the CD 5-pack price on the back of the Steps Brochure. I am so grateful. SO ... the Steps Brochure pricing will be correct. Is that great or what?

CJ, promise me you'll let us know what you think when you see the new CD and the kit, okay?

sjw

# Eleanor said on March 29, 2008 8:34 AM:

I had a thought about simplifying for Ribbon:  You mentioned that the RIbbon promotional CD will have a few commercials that help to illustrate and create an emotional link to how the Ribbon program works.  Could those be intros for the Ribbon personalized websites?  Skippable of course for those who are repeat visitors.  But that would simplify by allowing the promotion and subsequent visit to the website create a view of those commercials even when a face to face meeting is hard to schedule with the consumer.  We've all had people who are willing to go look at the website but dont want to sit down with you.  That way they are still exposed to that explanation and the emotional connection.

# John Niemann said on April 15, 2008 7:57 PM:

Susan, I've been a B2B marketer of the Ribbon program for the last few years, and frankly I am very excited about all the new B2B materials that you and your team have created.   I just downloaded the new b2b video to my desktop but I'd like to see something else here regarding Ribbon sales.   Almost all the collateral I've seen, including what is in Quixtar University starts with what to say when you IN are a sales presentation.  I'd like to know how to approach a business customer from the time you pick up the phone to setting up the appointment.  I've read and reviewed the testimonies from the larger B2B Ribbon IBOs and I don't really get a feel for those initial approach conversations.  Did I miss something or is this something you can blog about or have other the larger, more experienced Ribbon IBOs blog about and perhaps create a forum to share & swap experiences.    

# Susan Julien-Willson said on April 17, 2008 7:29 AM:

John,

Thanks for commenting. You make some good points and quite frankly, we don't have a lot of info on approaching biz customers prior to presentation.

First, I'd like to suggest IBOs reading this blog who are selling B2B comment and share ideas with John.

John, we are working on a new Instructor Led Training Course and QU training for B2B -- I'll let the team know they should include more about the finding and approaching the B2B customer in training. Excellent idea.

I will also ask the Ribbon Team at Quixtar to share their ideas and suggestions. Our marketers and sales reps are sure to have some suggestions.

I will also do some research and blog about this topic in the future.

Appreciate your comments and ideas. Please keep 'em coming! sjw

# Susan Julien-Willson said on April 17, 2008 11:59 AM:

John,

Here's a short scenario of how one of our B2B Ribbon Retailers approaches real estate offices. This was provided by our Training Department to share on the blog:

One of our most successful B2B retailers has given us this tip:  To book an appointment you need to give the prospective customer a compelling reason why they should make time in their busy schedule to see you.  This means you need to know something about the business you are approaching so you can anticipate their need and explain in a 30-second “elevator speech” how your product is the answer they have been looking for.

This IBO used the example of selling Ribbon Albums to a Real Estate company.  When Linda answered the phone he said:  “Linda, I’m John Doe.  Can you tell me – is there anyone in your company who has trouble getting referrals because if there is, I have a program that can help them.”

“There are?  Fantastic.  Well, if you could help me get 30 minutes of their time I could show them an approach that has worked for many customers.  Would you be willing to do this?”

# Susan Julien-Willson said on April 17, 2008 11:59 AM:

John,

Here's a short scenario of how one of our B2B Ribbon Retailers approaches real estate offices. This was provided by our Training Department to share on the blog:

One of our most successful B2B retailers has given us this tip:  To book an appointment you need to give the prospective customer a compelling reason why they should make time in their busy schedule to see you.  This means you need to know something about the business you are approaching so you can anticipate their need and explain in a 30-second “elevator speech” how your product is the answer they have been looking for.

This IBO used the example of selling Ribbon Albums to a Real Estate company.  When Linda answered the phone he said:  “Linda, I’m John Doe.  Can you tell me – is there anyone in your company who has trouble getting referrals because if there is, I have a program that can help them.”

“There are?  Fantastic.  Well, if you could help me get 30 minutes of their time I could show them an approach that has worked for many customers.  Would you be willing to do this?”

# Susan Julien-Willson said on April 17, 2008 12:00 PM:

John,

Here's a short scenario of how one of our B2B Ribbon Retailers approaches real estate offices. This was provided by our Training Department to share on the blog:

One of our most successful B2B retailers has given us this tip:  To book an appointment you need to give the prospective customer a compelling reason why they should make time in their busy schedule to see you.  This means you need to know something about the business you are approaching so you can anticipate their need and explain in a 30-second “elevator speech” how your product is the answer they have been looking for.

This IBO used the example of selling Ribbon Albums to a Real Estate company.  When Linda answered the phone he said:  “Linda, I’m John Doe.  Can you tell me – is there anyone in your company who has trouble getting referrals because if there is, I have a program that can help them.”

“There are?  Fantastic.  Well, if you could help me get 30 minutes of their time I could show them an approach that has worked for many customers.  Would you be willing to do this?”

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