Category: For New Reps

Hi All!  My name is Kristin Beckstead and I am one of the fabulous AP reps in Orem, Utah. I remind my customers often that we (my family included) are their favorite reps in Orem. It is a family affair at our house with my face being the most well recognized, but everyone in the family pitching in and helping with all aspects of the business, including taking orders, entering orders into portals, picking up at the warehouse, doing inventory, helping customers at pick up, printing invoices, distribution lists and tax reports, and doing taxes. Fun, fun! Family includes my husband of 25 years Ryan, 24 year old son Trevor and his lovely wife Angela who are also giving us our first grandbaby soon, 21 year old son Xane, 18 year old daughter Korin, 13 year old son Sam, my mother Vicki and my in-laws helped us too before they passed away.

I fell in love with the Alison’s Pantry products many years ago as a storefront customer.  I actually found them when it was called Wholesale Foods and I’m thinking it was 18 years ago or so. I would pop in every few months and buy hundreds of dollars worth of spices, mixes, utensils, etc. I always took out of town family with me whenever they visited and usually some friends tagged along too.  I remember one day seeing the Alison’s Pantry booth at a Taste of Home cooking class in Lehi. The employee recognized me and introduced me to Alison as a loyal customer.  She was kind and gracious and suggested I become a rep for the company.  I panicked and said no way!!!

Change arrived again and in January 2010 the business plan for AP was changing.  The storefront was closing forever and I panicked again.  “How will I get my favorite products?” I asked. “You can get them through a rep or become a rep yourself,” was the immediate reply.  Hurrumph! I chose to finally become an AP rep and have enjoyed it for the last 6 1/2 years. My initial driving force was to use any commissions earned to support our oldest son on his LDS mission for two years. Since then, I have used this business for preparing before, supporting during and later helping missionaries after their return home.

Several times a year, I review all the craziness/unbalance in my life and try to get rid of something.  Usually this introspection occurs right around pick up time and as I consider saying good-bye to Alison’s Pantry, I realize how much I love what I do. I love figuring out samples, I love visiting/emailing with all my friends (AP customers), I love serving my family great food, I love going to the bank with a stack of checks and a wad of cash and making a nice deposit, I love sharing AP products with others as birthday gifts, wedding gifts, welcome to the neighborhood gifts, just because gifts, etc, I love going to the food shows, I love learning more about the products during any kind of training, I love looking through the beautiful catalogs –  I just love it all!!! I keep doing it because it’s fun for me and I committed to my husband that when it stopped being fun, I would leave it behind. Hopefully I pass that joy, enthusiasm and excitement along to my customers. I’m happy to help them fill their pantry and freezer with great, quality products.

I don’t believe I am a very good “sales rep.” However, I am a very nice person and an excellent facilitator.  If my customers want a product, I will bend over backwards and go the extra mile to get it for them. I send an email every month to customers reminding them when orders are due and when pick up is scheduled. I invite my customers to my home on a certain day to pick up their items and pay me for them and if it works out, great! If it doesn’t, we plan a better time for us to get together. Some customers prefer that I deliver which I am happy to do. I always have food samples at pick up (but only on the scheduled pick up day. If they miss it, I don’t worry about it later). I like to try to do my own food show at my home once per year with about 50 products to see or sample.  I also like giving a holiday thank you with their orders. Some customers order every month, others several times a year, and still others order once every several years. I am grateful for them all!

Good luck to you with your business ventures. Remember some months are better than others and don’t worry. Work hard, love what you do, have fun serving your AP friends and be grateful that there is still a company to work with that actually cares about you, the rep.  Alison has passed the baton to Jesse and Josh and they along with all the amazing support staff in the office, in the field, and in the warehouse, care about me personally.  They work hard so I can succeed.  It’s an amazing feeling and I am thrilled to be an AP rep!

My name is Haley Notter and I live in Eastern Colorado.  My husband and I have 3 children. Cyler is 11, Hanna is just shy of 10 and Corbin will be 6 this week.  They have us on our toes for sure!  I became an AP sales rep when I was getting out of a 15-year streak of being a licensed daycare provider.  I was used to being in the sales business prior to AP so it was natural for me to share Alison’s Pantry with people.  The food business is much better for me because people always have to eat. 🙂 I’m a food lover too so it fits!  I also LOVE the flexibility I have being a stay-at-home momma.  AP is the best part-time job any mom could ask for.  Even as young as our kids are, they are responsible each month to help get ready for the truck.  They love the little incentive of a pay check too!  AP is definitely a family business for us.  My husband is one of my best supporters!

This is my 5th summer selling for Alison’s Pantry.  I feel like AP has been a great success for me because I strive to reach new customers every month to help fill the gap when other customers’ freezers are full.  I always make sure each and every customer is contacted every order period.  If I don’t reach them the first time, I’ll try again.  I typically make a phone call to them if I have not heard back from them after the second attempt.  It feels like I’m pestering but most customers are always so thankful for the reminder call.  It is very important to do reminders.  So many forget but have intentions on ordering.  I like to do monthly drawings for free product and customers appreciate that even if it is only $10 worth of product.  One thing that has been a total hit is each month I order in a bunch of extra product and the day prior to delivery, I post it online for sale.  It is a little extra work with invoices but it definitely boosts sales by $200-$400 depending on what I buy.

I can’t thank Alison’s Pantry enough for coming into our family’s life.  It’s definitely been a blessing.

Haley Notter

Meet Fern Goodwin, she is one of our reps in the southern region of UT. Here’s a little bit about her background and her business.

I have been a rep about 10 years. I became a representative, to help my son save money for a mission. I have loved my association with customers, who quickly became friends. I love seeing my AP friends each month. Alison’s Pantry has been a big part of my life for over 30 years. During the recession, our family was hit pretty hard, and with other health issues, we relied on the income from AP sales to feed our family, and be able to buy gifts through the many non food items that AP carries. What a great blessing it has been!

I have 8 children, who now have their own families, we have 23 grandchildren, they have all had opportunities to help with catalogs, delivery and unloading the truck.

I always order samples for my customers; many times this will be a spice for the upcoming seasonal baking, a favorite sprinkle, a small food sample, or a cleaning product. I have food samples for them to try when they come to pick up their order. I have not only great customers, but they have become friends as well.

Hi, my name is Teresa Burnside. My family and I live in McKinnon, WY.  After living in Mesquite, NV, for 13 years, my husband and I decided it was time to come home to the cold and the snow to raise our family. We have lived here for almost eight years now.  We have four terrific kids, who we enjoy spending all of our time with.  Our family is very active and involved with basketball and rodeo competition year round.

I became involved with Alison’s Pantry six years ago when my parents took over from a previous representative. After two years they turned the business over to me when they left to serve an LDS Mission.

There are so many products that I enjoy from Alison’s Pantry, but living where we do 45 miles away from the nearest grocery store, it is hard to keep fresh produce on hand. So, I really enjoy the great selection of fruits and vegetables that Alison’s Pantry has to offer.

I have found in order to maintain great sales I have to create the habit in people of ordering, to create this habit and keep it alive I do the following:

The week that orders are due:

1. Send out an email with a newsletter and deals reminding customers that orders will be due soon.

2. Send out a text to all customers about two days before the order is due as another reminder.

The day that orders are due:

3. I personally call, or text any customers that have not ordered for the final reminder. I call as a simple courtesy because everyone is so busy and it is easy to forget.

These three simple steps get me a repeat order from customers 90% of the time.

I look forward to the new changes that are happening with Alison’s Pantry. Once again living where I do, the mailing of catalogs has helped me connect with customers that I wasn’t always able to get a catalog to.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a Rep. for Alison’s Pantry. They are an honest and great company to represent and they provide some of the best product around, which makes it easy to sell.

I try to do something with Alison’s Pantry each day whether it is sending out a newsletter by email, posting something on Facebook, calling and updating information with customers, sharing catalogs, entering orders, using the products in my everyday cooking or sharing something with friends or at functions.  This past month I had several contests!  Like my post on facebook to be entered into a drawing for a free brownie mix, drawing for a free recipe book if you place an order over $25, free cookies if you pick up your order on delivery day, $10 off any one item or free shipping on any size order when you place 12 consecutive orders, and today I just posted that everyone who likes my post today can get 5% off their catalog #3 order.  I also participate in a yearly craft fair, and some of my best and most faithful customers have come from that alone, and because of that they have become my best friends!  I don’t seem to grow in sales, but I am pretty consistent.  The best way for me to get new customers is through the hot buys!  I have tried many different things from having a sample each month at pick up day, a table of products to buy on pick up day, which I don’t charge shipping or tax on (I pay it), prizes for referrals, and any time I win anything from Alison’s Pantry, I pass it on to my customers!  One last think is I multitask a lot!   I don’t just go to a soccer game, I pass out catalogs while I am there.  I don’t just wait patiently at a doctor’s appointment, I browse a catalog while I wait or in November when my husband was in the hospital, I made a lot of phone calls updating information.  When I see a picture of myself or a testimonial from myself in a catalog, I try to do a seek and find contest with that.  I love reading other people’s ideas and then try to implement them in my plans too!  The attached picture is of my most faithful customer, my mother, Dawna Carlisle, at my craft fair in November (notice she is passing out catalogs).  Remember, I multitask?  So I did the craft fair with my son, Rick and his wife, Heidi, who make wood burning crafts.  I forgot to take a picture of me at my booth.

I was looking on the internet for powdered eggs I think and came across the name Alison’s Pantry in my search. I called the company and asked about their products and the next thing I knew, I was a new rep! That was 10 years ago, and I’m still going strong! I had not really heard of Alison’s Pantry before I started selling it. I do have a very loyal set of customers who are fabulous!

Alison’s Pantry has been a wonderful thing for me. At the time I started selling AP, I didn’t realize just how much I needed that in my life. I’ve been a stay at home mom for most of my married life, and I love it! But I also needed to have adult contact and something that was “mine” if that makes sense. One of the best things I love about my Alison’s Pantry business is that I’ve met so many great people who I now call friends.
Alison’s Pantry has also been a family business. I’ve been fortunate that my husband’s work schedule is flexible enough that he has been able to help unload the truck nearly every month since we started this adventure. And of course, it has been another way to teach my kids to work because they help too, unloading the truck and putting things away and then they occasionally pull orders for customers.

One of the challenges of selling Alison’s Pantry lately has been the downturn in economy, especially in the area where I live with so many families dependent on oil field work. From a business standpoint, I wish I could explain how I’ve managed to keep my sales high during this time, but there are not one or two things I can pinpoint to do that. I’ve always tried to be professional in my dealings with my customers. I like to think that I’m organized and my work space (the garage) is kept as clean and organized as I can for pick up time. I have set days when customers come to my home for their orders, and I deliver to 2 businesses in town.

I’ve noticed the customers who look at their email or carry a smart phone are the ones who order most consistently. I probably average 70 orders a month, which works out to be about 1/3 of my customer base. I’m a numbers girl, so I keep track of things like that. Over the years, I’ve averaged 1/3 of my customers ordering each month.

I set a goal each month to reach $5,000 in sales and then when I meet that goal, my next goal is $1,000 in commission. I prefer to set smaller goals that seem more attainable. With the new catalog packets I’ll add another goal to give out those 10-15 catalogs each month and see where it takes me. (Now that I have to pay for those catalogs, it gives me more incentive to use them!) One thing I’ve noticed in growing my business is having adequate freezer space for larger orders. I have invested in 2 large commercial upright freezers over the last 4 years and have room in my electrical panel for one more!

It’s been great to be part of Alison’s Pantry and watch the changes and how the company has evolved over the years. I’m excited for the changes taking place now and look forward to where Alison’s Pantry is headed in the future. I’ve enjoyed the training webinars and look forward to more of them. It’s a great company to work for and I enjoy how personable Alison, Jesse, Josh and everyone who works for AP has been. Alison’s Pantry filled a hole that I didn’t even realize was there and has been such a blessing in my life. I’m able to contribute to the family income and still be at home with my kids when they need me. I love working for AP!

Hello, Reps!

I have been recently asked to share how I have grown and maintained my Alison’s Pantry sales.  And I’m thrilled and happy to share.

To begin, I’d like you to ask yourselves a few questions.  How important is being a representative for Alison’s Pantry to you?  Do you enjoy being a rep?  Would you want to live without the products that Alison’s Pantry has to offer?  Does the amount of income you bring in benefit you and your family?

These are the questions that I have asked myself time and time again throughout my time being a rep.  My answers to these questions are simple!  YES, I enjoy being a rep!  NO, I do not want to live without the products from Alison’s Pantry because I love the quality.  YES, the extra income I make from being a rep benefits my family.

I believe that because I enjoy being a rep, it in turn helps me better and sustain my sales.  If you believe in what you’re doing and taking action, how can it fail?  I believe there are two main things that will help anyone with their sales and they are:

• Customer Service! I cannot emphasize this enough!  My customers are the sole reason I exist as a rep.  Without them, how could I be a rep?  I really try to make them feel most important and they are!  When they arrive each month, I like to ask them, “How are you doing?  Have you been satisfied with your past orders?”  I also like to take a personal interest in them.  They are my friends!
• Dedication! You’ve all heard the saying, “You get out of it what you put into it!”  It’s so true!  I have tried hard each month to make sure all my catalogs are out (and now that catalogs are mailed for us, that customers have received their catalog in the mail).  I think if you make the effort to reach your customers, they in turn do the same.  I send emails out informing my customers of specials, hot deals, order deadlines, and upcoming drawings and events.  I feel that if anyone is like me (Forgetful Kenzee) they want reminders!  But make sure that any contact you have with your customers is not pushy in anyway.  They are not a dollar sign to me.  Remember, they are important!

I believe that if you believe in your cause, you cannot fail.  Be dedicated to your cause and your job.  I recently had a booth at a local boutique and I could not believe the response I got from our little town of Kemmerer!  If people see how engaged you are in your product and job, they’ll want to investigate.   If you haven’t tried getting out there…do!  It’s a great way to get people informed!  All you have to do is act!  I hope what I have shared will help you in your upcoming sales.  Good luck!