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Meet Carlos Flores!

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Ever wonder who is in charge of organizing the warehouse at Alison’s Pantry? Meet our warehouse manager, Carlos Flores! He is new to AP and we are happy to have him.

He is originally from El Salvador but after living in New York for 15 years he moved to Utah working for an investor running his warehouses. He also began his own business: ”Flores Apparel LLC”. www.floresapparel.com. He and his wife, Vanessa, have been married for a year and they are expecting their first child in July. With the upcoming birth, he felt he needed more permanent employment and came to work for Alison’s Pantry. He has been with AP for 3 months now. He loves working with the good people at Alison’s Pantry, and enjoys working closely with Josh and Jesse. AP has a great work environment, is down to earth, a good place to be. He feels so well treated!

As a newbie to Alison’s Pantry, he hasn’t had the chance to try all of the products, but so far loves the Bacon Wrapped Pork Fillets. He also loves the Soup Supreme Clam Chowder and is looking forward to trying many more AP products.

Carlos loves the city and the outdoors. He enjoys fishing and sports, especially basketball. He is so excited for his new baby girl to be born and can’t wait for her to get here so they can enjoy the summer as a family.

Thanks Carlos for working hard for our company, we appreciate your dedication!

Ribbons, Ribbons. What’s your color?

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As an Alison’s Pantry representative, each time you reach a new tier of commission you will receive a social media graphic ribbon from your RSM. This ribbon is for you to display on the signature line of your email or on your Facebook pages and groups. These ribbons are a small tribute to the work, dedication and time that you put forth in your business. AP is proud of you and all your accomplishments, we want to honor you in a visual way, besides all the tasty food, great relationships and the increased commission level that you earn, it’s our way of patting you on the back for a job well done.

Each time you move up from one tier to the next you will receive the corresponding ribbon. Your customers will be impressed with your achievements and you should feel good about displaying it. AP_TopTenBadge_2

The other ribbon available is the top ten ribbon. This top ten includes all the reps in the company and is determined following the close of orders for each catalog. This ribbon is a great accomplishment, if you earned it, then display it proudly.

Haven’t received your ribbon, or reached a new level lately? With the renewal of Spring comes the ability to make changes and set new goals. Share your goal with your RSM, she is there to help you achieve, offer ideas and direction and be your cheerleader when you succeed. We love to see you shine.

So, let’s display those ribbons, be a team, set some goals and go to work! As Mary Kay Ash used to say, “Nothing happens until somebody sells something.”

Stacee Izatt

RSM

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Meet Cecily- AP Buyer

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Meet Cecily Lawson, she is the buyer for AP, without her hard work and dedication our orders would not be easily filled, sorted and delivered to our customers. She works hard at managing the ins and outs of over 800 products daily. Here’s a bit about her.

I have been with AP about 2 years – I started in the Fall of 2014, took a 6-month sabbatical last year, and returned in the Fall of 2016.

I love working with Kim and the Brokers. It’s always fun to research and assist with finding quality products that would fit Alison’s Pantry customer base. Some are huge wins and others not so much. I’m also a bit of a nerd, I love the computer program Excel and nothing is more engaging and challenging for me than assembling and compiling data for analysis. For most people that would be boring. The unpredictable nature of this job can be challenging and frustrating at times. There are so many variables we can’t control. For example, we have no control over Suppliers delivering late or shorting us product, customers ordering heavier than we expected, or when the weather delays our trucks. There is a lot of scrambling that goes on in the background to keep everything running smoothly.

I am married to a wonderful man named Rob who happens to be in this industry too. Our children are grown up and out of the house so right now it’s just the both of us living at home. We recently moved to Kansas City, Missouri for his job and we miss our four kids and five grand kids terribly. They have all been out to visit and we’re planning their next trip for this summer. We’re doing our best to entice them out to the Midwest.

I love a good read so I usually have my head in a good novel or I’m out in my yard working. I admit I also like a good Netflix binge watch. Since we are new to the Midwest, on the weekends we almost always go out for drives or try to find a local festival or event. When I have extra time, I volunteer with the Kansas City Pet Project helping rescue animals.

My favorite AP product is Daily’s Bacon of course! (my husband is a Regional Sales Manager for Daily’s). This changes from time to time but my current favorite item is the #1400 Lockhart Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough 108ct – I’m a bit of a cookie snob and these are high quality, tasty, tasty cookies. Since it’s just the two of us, I love that I can cook up a couple cookies when we are craving something sweet or when I need a plate to take the neighbors without having to make a whole batch.

Thanks Cecily, we appreciate all you do for our great company!

Consistency-Make it a Habit

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We all know the Aesop’s fable of the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. The Hare thought he had it all figured out, just run faster than everyone else and he would finish first. While the Tortoise had the plan of just to keep moving, the Hare had time to spare. After a few stops along the way, the Hare found himself behind, and the Tortoise in his slow but consistent pace moved along and ended up finishing the race first. The Tortoise had determination, set his eyes on the prize and let consistency be the determining factor. In the end he met his goal and left the fast burning Hare in the cold. In all fables, there lies a moral to the story, this one is no different, slow and steady wins the race.

slow How can we as Alison’s Pantry reps use this little story in our own businesses and lives? As we began our businesses, we were more like the Hare than the Tortoise, so excited and more than ever determined to meet the goal and get there fast. As we moved down the track to the finish line, many obstacles were placed in front of us, new babies, health struggles, teenagers, changes in work, family and finances, and just like the Hare some of us doddle on the path. Many obstacles can slow down the progress of our movement towards our goals. How do we get back into the race or step up our pace to reach the finish line? We can learn from the Tortoise and keep going, he looked ahead, saw the goal and pushed forward and never stopped. What’s our goal? Do we see the finish line? Here’s a few tips to help in finishing the race and being consistent in our AP business.

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Set a goal for each month, whether your goal is to reach the minimum, or to beat your last month’s sales, maybe you would like to add 2 new customers each month, or find someone to deliver the 10 extra catalogs you receive. Whatever the goal is the key to achieving your goal is to acknowledge it, write it down, be accountable. Tell your RSM, she is there to help you with ideas and suggestions to help you achieve your goals. Then when you do, she will be your biggest cheerleader, she wants you to see the success you so richly deserve and want.
The next thing to help you is to set a plan in action to achieve the goal. Plan your daily calendar and your work will flow much easier. Set a day to deliver your catalogs, plan your contests, then mark those days on the calendar to remember to advertise them to your customers. Use our pre-designed FB ads to share with them, it couldn’t be more easy! Try to advertise to your customers a minimum of once a week leading up to order week, then daily on order week. Post pictures of your own family meals and suggestions, recipes from the webinars and suggestions from the catalogs.
Order your samples the month before they will be sampled to your customers to ease you in finding the time to prepare them before your delivery day.
Order your gifts for the winners of your contest, remember that your samples and gifts are a tax deduction for your business expenses on your taxes, save your invoices for that.
Plan the time in your schedule to deliver your Alison’s Pantry catalogs in a timely manner, allowing you customers at least 7 days before the deadline to find time to look it over, then contact them to confirm that they received the catalog and let them know that you will be contacting them in the future for their order. This would be a great time to let them know about any contests or programs that you might have started, i.e.; punch cards, early bird contests, coupons.
Print out your customer list, check it against the orders you have received and then plan to contact those that you haven’t heard from. Don’t prejudge your customers! You will not receive an order from them if you don’t contact them, and if you contact them and they don’t want to place an order, you are not out anything, you have nourished the relationship and offered customer service that will benefit your business in the future.

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In business and in life being consistent will bring about great things. You will reach your goals and will feel accomplished at your success. Remember our friend the tortoise who kept the goal in sight. Follow his lead, be consistent and you will win the race.

Stacee Izatt

RSM

Meet Kimala Douglas

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Meet Kimala Douglas from Cedar City, another one of our fantastic reps! Kimala loves to hike and go on fun adventures with her family, she loves to create fun and beautiful things. One of her new favorite AP items is the Foster Farms Marinated Sauté Ready Chicken, but it’s hard to pick just one. Kimala was introduced to Alison’s Pantry when her mother bought it when she was in high school; it was then that she learned that she didn’t want to bake cookies without PARCHMENT PAPER! After she was married and started her own family she wanted more of the Alison’s Pantry products in her own kitchen. Following the birth of her second child, she quit working, but wanted something to help her family and keep her busy. It was then that she remembered Alison’s Pantry and decided to give it a try. She has been a representative for 6 years!
She feels so grateful for Alison’s Pantry. She loves that she can provide quality foods to her own family and help others to do the same for their families. She does most her grocery shopping with Alison’s Pantry each month which is a great financial benefit for her family. She has 3 children, ages 9,5 and 2 that keep things hopping and are the light of her life. Her husband is so supportive, although he is very picky when it comes to food. She loves pick up day when she gets to visit with her AP friends. She loves the relationships she has built with them.
She feels the key to increasing sales is to start early, and give reminders about the order deadline. She posts on social media many ideas for meals, including school lunch ideas.
She loves the AP motto, “Be Nourished” as that is what this is all about!

The Case of the Missing Product.

Our AP warehouse staff does a tremendous job at sorting and packing our orders, they double check each order to make sure that the order is correct and accounted for. Occasionally a product goes missing or gets damaged in the transport.

We all know that mistakes happen and sometimes they can’t be helped, however, as AP reps we can do our part to aid the situation. When you receive your order from the truck or as a local from the warehouse, rest assured that the order has been checked and should be correct. Occasionally you may find a mistake; maybe missing an item or an extra item may have found its way into one of your boxes. It is in these times that we ask you to assist us in being a solution to the problem.

One of the most important things you can do in your Alison’s Pantry business is to learn to do a complete inventory (click here for a video on doing your inventory) when your product is delivered to you. It is the only way to know if the entire order is complete and accounted for. An order should be inventoried before any product is delivered to your customers. When you inventory the products with in a 24 hour period, you will increase the chances of finding a short or missing product. In the past we have asked you to post on Facebook — this has not been as effective in finding the lost product as we would have hoped for. Instead please contact the 2 reps in front of you and 2 reps in back of you from the current delivery schedule to help in locating your missing product.

We understand that often the product is located miles down the road; in this case, please contact Rep Support to let them know where the product was located. They will let you know what to do from there, it is handled on a case by case basis. Contacting the other reps helps us to locate the product easier. If the missing item is not located with those contacted reps, then please contact Rep support within 48 hours to ask for an adjustment on your invoice. Please don’t post on Facebook any longer about missing items.

If you are a local pickup rep, this is also applies to you. While you won’t contact the previous reps, you will however be required to do an inventory and then let Rep support know if you are missing or have any extra products. If you are missing a product and it is still in stock, you may make arrangements to travel back to the warehouse to retrieve the missing product or to take back any extra product you may have received. Please return any extra product within a 30 day period.

If any of you find an extra item in your order and aren’t sure why, please contact rep support to let them know. As we know that freebies are a fun thing, realize that nothing is free. This extra item belongs to another rep or to the office, someone has to pay for it and it must be accounted for. If you receive an extra, you will be asked to try to sell it to your customers or friends. We ask that you advertise it at the regular retail price, then after 48 hours if you can’t sell it to anyone, you can adjust the price starting with a 25% discount. When you sell the item you can let Rep support know so that they can adjust your invoice.

When it comes to damaged items, this same principle applies. If the damage occurred before it reached you, please contact rep support. If it occurred while in your possession, like slicing a bag open when opening boxes, or not getting the product into the freezer in a timely manner, this is your responsibility. You will need to work out the problem with your customer. In the case of a sliced bag, (we’ve all done it), quickly tape up the bag and let your customer know of the accident when they pick up. You could offer them a discount on the product if they still want it. This discount comes off of your profit, not AP’s. It wasn’t AP’s fault. In most instances your customer will be happy with the 25% percent off, and we want happy customers. If the situation is handled professionally, then your customer will respect you and will continue ordering from you.

If your customer doesn’t want the product then it becomes your product. You can use it as a sample, a demo, or for your own family use.

We appreciate all your hard work and are here for you if you need any assistance. If you have questions about any of these situations please feel free to contact your RSM or Rep Support for the answers you need . Happy Selling!!

Stacee Izatt RSM

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Meet Lori in the AP Office

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We would like you to meet Lori from the AP Office, if you have ever phoned the office it is her voice that you will likely hear at the other end of the phone. Lori has been with Alison’s Pantry for about 10 months, but even though relatively new to AP, you would never guess it. She has helped out in so many ways. She is the reason we have the beautiful special offer sheets and gift tags for the customer appreciation, she is very proficient at publishing programs and helps the RSM’s to look more professional in our correspondence with all of you.

Lori is so good at what she does because she loves her job. The hardest thing about her job is that she can’t always get everyone everything they need and want. She often expresses her feelings about this by using emoji’s. 🙂

Lori is married to her husband Nate of 14 years; they have 2 sweet boys that are 8 ½ and 13 years old, and a yellow lab named Sunny.

Lori likes to read in her spare time, but lately says “she ran out of spare time”. She also loves photography and doing crafty things.

Lori’s favorite AP products are the Pilgrim’s Chicken Breast Patties and the Piccadilly Fries. It’s a must to STOCK them in her freezer. She has enjoyed finding different ways to use both of these products from Chicken Parmesan to Shepherd’s pie her family loves them both.

Her favorite family meal so far is a new product that will be coming in Catalog #1, it’s the Foster Farms Sauté Ready Fajita Marinated Chicken Breast Strips- They were able to sample them and loved how easy and delicious they were in the fajitas!

Thanks Lori, for going the extra mile and making a difference in all of our lives!

The Dreaded Phone Call

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One of the hardest parts of this business for a rep is the dreaded phone call. Why is it so hard to pick up the phone and talk to a person? What are we all afraid of? One of the reasons it is so hard to call a customer is that we feel that we are intruding on that person’s space and time. We are afraid of potential rejection. One of the easiest ways to overcome this is to change the thought process regarding phone calls and to practice.

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With every contact that you make you will risk getting a “NO” as the result. “Yes or No” you will want to analyze it and see what works and what doesn’t. Was the call successful? Why? If it wasn’t successful, is there a better way to say it?

As a sales rep you are in the business of contact. You must contact your potential customers in order to receive the sales. If you wait until the customer contacts you, you will miss out on 75% of your sales. You must contact them to be successful. So the easiest way to push through the discomfort is to practice and prepare. Here are a few suggestions to help you maneuver the hard parts.

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Think positively! If you think about your phone call as a service you provide to your customer to remind her to place her order, then it’s not like you are bothering her, but you are helping her to remember. Even the dentist office calls you as a reminder. You don’t think that they feel like they are bothering you, do you? If they didn’t call they would have a very large “No Show” in their office. You don’t want a “No Show” order do you?

Develop your greeting, make it personal yet professional. Allow the other party to participate in the call; don’t just jump in to it. Be personal first then professional and ask them after you have found out about their day or situation. Thank them for taking the time to talk to you, confirm with them that you know that their time is valuable and you want to respect it. Ask them if they wanted anything on the order; let them know that you don’t want them to miss out on our great products and life is so busy that you know that it might have slipped their minds. Let them know that you want to make sure that they are happy with our products and they can get them when they want them. Remind them of the special offers and the “can’t miss out deal” that we are offering them.

Here are a couple of example scripts that you can make your own. You will want to practice and make them feel like they flow and come easy to you. Remember practice makes perfect.

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“Hi, ____________. This is __________, from Alison’s pantry. How are things going for you? Do you have a minute? I wanted to make sure that you received your catalog and had a chance to look it over; I know how crazy busy life gets every day.

Yes, they looked and want to order= Are you ready with your order? If so I can get that on the system for you. Did they qualify for any of the bonus buys, or would they benefit from items to use with something they ordered? Remember to pair our items to help them utilize our products in the best way.

No, hasn’t looked at it yet = No problem, I can call you back, when would be a good time for me to call you? Call her back within a timely manner and if she doesn’t answer then shoot her a text to remind her of the order once again. (It’s not being pushy it’s going the extra service mile!)

Don’t want anything this month= that’s ok; I just didn’t want you to miss out if you did want something. If you change your mind and remember something you need, let me know by ___________ and I can put it on for you. I will make sure you get a catalog and will call you again next month.

After answering them accordingly, make sure to thank them for their order and to explain when the order will be ready for them and to that you will send them a confirmation.

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The most important thing is to be yourself, make your script feel like it flows and feels real. You can adjust this script as you need, it is only a suggestion. Find what works for you, but most important is DO IT! Good luck and Happy Hello!

Stacee~