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.

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

Save

Save

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.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

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 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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

“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.

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~