Category: Sales Tips

Hi, I am Jamie Perkins from Panaca, Nevada.  I have been married for 19 years to my husband, Grant Perkins, and we have 8 kids 16 and under—Trevin, Bryson, Stetson, Tatelyn, Jexten, MaKyzee, Cutler, and Emmaree.  I don’t personally have many hobbies, besides chasing kids, but someday I am hoping to scrapbook again, possibly ride my horse, and maybe read a book!  In the meantime, I follow them to wrestling and basketball and shooting sports, cooking and cleaning and trying to stay sane!

I became a Rep in June of 2018, taking over for a friend that had new adventures ahead.  It was something that had been in the back of my mind for many years and I really feel was meant to be.  I was very concerned because I live 3 miles north of our town of 900, and 1.5 miles of that is dirt road. And some of those people come from Pioche, 14 miles further.  BUT, so far it has been GREAT!  Of course, we are rural, 90 miles to Cost-Co or Walmart, so that also creates a higher demand for our products.   People love their Alison’s Pantry, but they also love supporting a person that they can relate to, so let them get to know you, and you will love them right back!  I have doubled the business since I took over and I think a few of the reasons are:

#1–I had a lot of ideas about implementing more Facebook, which have really paid off.  I sit down and schedule a lot of posts at a time if I can, I take pictures almost every time we are using an AP product, I share lots of recipes from whatever I am making, and I get lots of feedback from that.  People love knowing who you are as a Rep, they love knowing what you are using and how you are using it.  If you believe in the products, then it makes it so much easier for them.

Believing in the products has been easy for me.  My mom started buying from a friend in Beaver, Utah, named Linda Jessup, sometime around 1990-91, when I was 10 or 11.  I remember being excited to go pick up the order and see we were getting.  The big mylar bags of pudding mix were our favorites and my mom has used Vegalene Spray ever since!!  So, when I was first married and a friend approached me about it, it was really easy for me to be excited to start buying from her.

#2– I do send a text reminder a week before the deadline, the Saturday before and then again on Monday for any stragglers.  I have a list of those who tell me they need or love reminders, so I don’t feel like I am bugging them because I know if they haven’t gotten their order in it is because they forgot.  I know that I was always needing a reminder to get my order in and to get my order picked up, most of them will let me know if they aren’t going to order so that I don’t have to text them again.

#3—I do a monthly drawing for all who ordered that month, with extra entries for those who share, comment, post, or get involved on facebook.  I usually do something simple, a whisk, a bottle of syrup, seasoning, etc.  I try to have a few items on hand so that they can choose and really get something that they will like and use.   I also do a $5 credit for friend referrals when the friend makes their first order.

#4—I do like samples!  I have done soup supreme in the 2 oz cups, cookies, strudel bites, bread with cinnamon chips. I DO NOT do them every month, but I try, it just depends on how crazy life is, but they support me and so I love doing little things for my customers, too!  I always have higher sales in those areas on the next order.

Some of my favorite products—oh boy, so many—I bake A LOT, so the crestware pans, the parchment, the SAF Instant Yeast, all of the seasonings, the Country Pride Chicken Nuggets, the Wyman’s berries, The Holten Beef Fingers, Country Gravy, Vegalene, the Stir Fry Veggies I have been buying as long as I can remember, the bread and roll bags are a must have for me, too!  Since I am looking to share products in my facebook posting, I am always amazed by how much I use.  I love camp chef, norpro, canning stuff, I have bought a little of everything.

I have loved being a Rep, I love the customers, getting to know them and speaking ‘adult’ has been a real blessing to me as a stay-at-home mom.  I am kind of a passionate person, so I put a lot into whatever I take on, so that is really helpful, but this company makes it easy to be excited and passionate about our products and our customers and I really have been blessed to be a part of it!

Studies show that 1 in 5 people are chronic procrastinators.  I think it’s more like 5 in 5.  Who doesn’t procrastinate sometimes?!

One interesting thing we have found at Alison’s Pantry is that the top reps with the highest sales make lots of reminders and they start early.  So, what I am saying is that procrastination might get in the way of your high sales.

With that in mind here are a few tips to help you not to procrastinate.

• Chunk things down into smaller tasks. Take the tasks and break them into smaller, simple steps. Don’t make a disorganized crazy to-do list.  Create categories such as home, family, work.

• Start with your hardest tasks. My mom always said getting started was the hardest part. Count down from 5 (5,4,3,2,1) and then go! (See Mel Gibson, 5 Second Rule).

• 15 min rule. This means just work on something for 15 minutes.  That is all.  Then you can do something else.

• Tell yourself a new story. What negative things are you saying about yourself or the tasks that need to be done? Change your story! Be positive and empathetic with yourself.

• It doesn’t have to be perfect. Seriously. Done is better than perfect.  And done is better than nothing at all because you didn’t start.

• Reward yourself when the task is done. Having something to look forward when the task is completed helps you stay motivated to get it done.

• In case you didn’t already know, we have made a calendar each month for you that helps you not procrastinate.  Everything is scheduled out for you including when you need to get your catalogs out, and send out emails and text reminders.

It makes it so easy not to procrastinate.  Just post the calendar where you can see it and follow it step by step.  You can even put reminders in your phone to help!

• If you pull up the calendar digitally from the website dashboard. You can click on the links and it will take you right to the pre-made texts and emails.  All you have to do is copy and paste!

Let AP help make your job easier; check out the calendar, emails and texts and get those reminders done!  You will be amazed at how much it helps your sales!

– Julie, RSM

Dixie Hanson, Alison Chuntz and Janal Hoff at the Food Show, fall 2017

Hi  Everyone! I started as a Wholesale Food rep in February 1997 as a way to help with our grocery bill.  I was pregnant with our 6^th child and loved being able to work from home.  I have been through 3 name changes and 6 months with no company but was very happy to have Alison back and now Josh and Jesse!

I have been married almost 38 years to Harvey.  We have 6 grown children and 10 grandchildren.

We are the 3^rd generation to own and operate a dairy farm on our land.  It has been in his family for 100 years.  We have 2 robotic milkers to milk our 120 cows.

Our favorite products are the Pacific salmon, the Pub style battered cod, the New Island Sweet Roll dough, the flav r pac stir fry veggies and the parchment paper.  Our favorite way to cook some of these is in our air fryer which was mentioned on a webinar!

The best part about being a rep is the customers.  They become like extended family.  I do reminders at least twice during order week.  People are busy and appreciate a reminder text or call.  The younger customers love ordering online while some of my older customers do not have a computer or credit card. I love getting referrals and offer the referring customer free shipping on their order.  Handing out flyers has been a great way to get new customers!

Everyone hates a pushy sales person.  In fact we avoid pushy people.  However, we don’t want our customers to miss out on our great products, and we want to grow our sales, so what do we do?

1. Build a relationship and care about your customer. Remember important names, dates and events in your customers’ lives. Ask about them.  Care about them.  When you feel like your customers are your friends, being pushy is off the table.

2. Solve a problem. Most of us struggle getting a hot meal on the table at dinner time. Too much to do, too much to think about, and not enough time.  Let your customers know that you are there to help! Ask questions to find out what challenges they are having when it comes to meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking.

AP is a great solution to all of those problems and you can feel good knowing you are making a difference in families’ lives.  Recently Alison’s Pantry has created several meal plans that work for just about any family.  Share those with your customers!

3.The secret tip to the perfect reminder –All of the top reps will tell you their number one secret to success is lots of reminders. But you don’t want to seem pushy or bug people…..

This trick works every time!  In your text, email, Facebook or phone call use this phrase:

“I don’t want you to miss out”

When you say you are contacting your customers because you don’t want them to miss out it lets them know you care about them, and you are looking out for them.  Pick one or two items you don’t want them to miss out on and add those to your reminders.  If they say they don’t need anything this month, reply, “Ok thanks, I just didn’t want you to miss out on ____.”  It works every time!  Try it!  You won’t feel pushy, they will feel loved and everyone wins!

I challenge you to try these secrets to grow your sales this month without being pushy and see how great they work for yourself!

– Julie RSM