Category: Sales Tips

Anyone looking at cleaning out and organizing anything hears the word “declutter” – verb – to simplify or get rid of mess, disorder, complications, etc.  So what does this have to do with your Alison’s Pantry Customer List?

Do you have a lot of potential or past customers in our ordering system who are not ordering?  How long has it been since they placed an order?  You can answer these questions by going to your Reports Menu in your Rep Portal and clicking on the “Customers Active within the last 6 Months” Report.  This report will show you all your active customers in our ordering system, if you are paying to have the office mail them a catalog (Catalog Subscribed), and if they have ordered at least once in the last 6 months.

The ultimate goal for every sales rep is to have a customer file full of active, ordering customers who order on a regular basis.  This is accomplished by making monthly contact with your customers through email, texting, Facebook and phone calls; by marketing our great products to them using our professional images and catalog links; by sharing what you buy and how you use them (recipes, ideas); by helping them get what they need from Alison’s Pantry to provide for their families through ordering online; and by getting their orders to them after you receive your delivery each month.  Unfortunately, there will be times when you will have a customer who has stopped ordering (moved, died, financial issues, irreconcilable differences) or you find a duplicate customer file and you need to deactivate that customer file.

DEACTIVATING a customer file – Deactivating a customer file is easily done by clicking on your Customer Page, clicking on the customer file to be deactivated, and then clicking on the box with a check mark that says “Status” which is just above their Billing Address.  (Clicking on the box will remove the check mark.)  Then go to the bottom of the page and click SUBMIT in the green box to save the change.

NOTE:  Deactivating a customer file will not delete it from our ordering system, but it will remove that customer file from showing in your customer list.  **If you need a customer file reactivated, you will need to contact your RSM or the office to do this.

You should be decluttering your customer list at least once every 3 months to keep it clean and showing only ordering/active customers.  This will help you focus on your ordering customers each month so you are not wasting time and money sending out catalogs and trying to get orders from people who are not going to order anymore.

**A personal phone call to non-ordering customers is the best way to determine if they are interested in ordering again and will remain in your customer file or if they need to be deactivated.

IMPORTANT:  Before deactivating a customer, make sure to remove them from your Mailed Catalogs list if you have been paying to have a catalog mailed to them each month.  Otherwise, they will continue to get a catalog mailed to them even though they have been deactivated.

 

Being aware of who is on your customer list will help you stay organized, will keep you in constant and consistent contact with your customers to get their orders in each month, and will help you to strengthen and grow your Alison’s Pantry business.

Becky Price, RSM

“A plan is what, a schedule is when.

It takes both a plan and a schedule to get things done.”

Peter Turla

When I first started selling Alison’s Pantry I pulled out my calendar and wrote down everything that needed to be done and when I was going to do it.  For instance on Monday May, 15^th I wrote: deliver catalogs.  Life is so crazy, busy and stressful if we don’t plan ahead and schedule when things are going to happen, either A. they don’t get done at all, or B. we do them but rushed and stressed out because they should have been done yesterday or last week.  I promise you that if you write down when you are going to do your AP tasks it will change your life!  Procrastination only works for people who have a nice stash of Xanax because they are ALWAYS stressed out.

Everyone does things differently, and everyone is on a different schedule depending on what group you are in, but here are some suggestions on things to schedule and when. 

• Get catalogs out either by mail or hand deliver them: 2 weeks before order
• Make a list of who, and give catalogs to potential new customers: 2 weeks before order
• Reminders – send email the week and a half before order closes, 1^st text Mon/Tues of order week, phone calls Wed/Thurs of order week, text Friday, text Sat. night, last call text Monday night.  Check out some great things to say in a text here: Marketing Helps

This is what Becky recommends, “I rotate through reminders, at least one of these per day – email, text, Facebook post, phone call, then start over.  Monday, if my order is low, I would do an email and Facebook post in the morning, send a text at lunch, then email/text/phone calls after work until about 8 p.m.”

• Print invoices: Don’t print invoices before the Friday the order ships and the orders are processed. You can print invoices anytime after the invoice says “shipped” or “declined”. Don’t wait until delivery day to do this (your printer might break). 
• Check declined orders and contact customers and the office: as soon as the order processes, the Friday after the order closes, or the next Monday.  Read how to handle declined orders here: Declined Orders
• Decide on samples: when you place your own order, the day before delivery is too late, you won’t have what you need. 
• Contact customers with pick up times or delivery schedule: The Monday before the order arrives (unless your order arrives Monday) send an email.  The night before send a text (or phone call) with pick up/delivery times and if they owe you money how much, and you could text again the day of pick up/delivery (people forget).
• Sample prep: the day before delivery if possible, if not, before your customers arrive. You might need to schedule your pick up times a bit later to give you time to prepare samples.  Here are some great ideas about what to sample: Ideas
• Print labels for catalogs and the Be Nourished Flyer: the day before delivery.  Be nourished flyer
• Facebook posts: once a day all month long, at least 3 times per day order week.

I challenge you this month to pull out your calendar and plan ahead what and when you will do your AP tasks.  You will find things go so much more smoothly and your sales will increase!

Julie, RSM

Alison’s Pantry consists of many parts.  Each of these parts is an important link in the chain of our success!

Every adult person is a potential customer because everyone has to eat!  Your sales come from your customer base so having a strong customer base is essential to having strong sales each month.  Without customers, you would not have anyone to sell our great products to and Alison’s Pantry would not be in business.

As you go out to build your customer base, talk to everyone you know and meet!  Do you advertise that you are a sales rep?  Do the people around you (friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.) know that you are a sales rep??  Have you offered them a catalog to look at?**  Are you sampling our products at order pickup or at fairs, tasting parties, or open houses?  Do you invite them to attend our product-training webinars?  Educate your customers on how great our products are (restaurant quality, larger quantities = price savings, 100% guarantee on everything we sell, online ordering, payment options, delivery time frame, etc.).

As a sales rep, we want you to grow in the town where you live but you can branch out to the towns around you to find customers, especially if you live in a town with a small population.  It is very important for every sales rep to understand that sales reps DO NOT have territories and there can be more than one sales rep in a town or area.  In fact, it is really better if there is more than one sales rep in a town.  You may be thinking “but this is MY area!” but it is important to understand that, as much as we may wish it, we may not get along with or be liked by everyone in our area, we don’t run in the same crowds or interact with the same people as someone else, so more than one sales rep allows more customers the opportunity to buy our great products!  More than one rep in an area means there are more than one of you sharing the good news of Alison’s Pantry and what we offer!

We encourage you to continually work at growing your customer base each month because customers don’t always buy every month nor do they buy the same amount.  In order to have consistent sales, you need a good-sized customer base.  As I mentioned, besides growing in your local town, you are free to reach out to towns around you AS LONG AS you are able to get product to those customers safely.  A good rule of thumb is within 30 minutes of you.  Any further and you risk the possibility of frozen items thawing out unless you have the means to keep the product frozen (coolers, dry ice, portable freezers, etc.).

We also want to stress The Golden Rule – if someone already orders from another sales rep, no matter where they live, they are that sales rep’s customer and they need to stay with that sales rep.  You would not want someone trying to take your customers away so please do not try to take customers from another sales rep.  As always, there are exceptions to that rule – immediate family, next door neighbors, your best friend (of course, they would want to support you in your AP business) BUT these people will need to contact the office or your RSM (Regional Sales Manager) personally through a phone call to request that they be switched to you.  Breaking this rule could result in you no longer being a sales rep for our company.  We take this very seriously.

How do you contact your customers to get orders (in person, phone call, Facebook post or personal message, text message, email?  Is it effective?  How often do you contact them?  Do you continue trying to contact them until you get a response from them? (Yes, they have an order or no, they don’t have an order.)  **Don’t be afraid to ask for the sale!!

Finally, what constitutes an “active customer”?  An active customer is someone who has placed at least one order in the last six months.  If it has been longer than that, they really aren’t a customer.  There are exceptions if you have “snowbirds” (people live part-time in two or more places throughout the year) and only order from you when they are in your area.  It is important to reach out to any customers who haven’t ordered in 3 or more months to see why and if there is something you can do to get their business back.  The “Customers Active in the Last 6 Months” report is super helpful to see who the customers are who haven’t order for at least 6 months.  Please use it!!

Our Sales Reps are the essential link that finds those customers and sells our great products to them.  We love our Sales Reps (yes, we do!) and we appreciate all you do each month to reach out to your customers and help them get what they need from Alison’s Pantry through you.

Being a sales rep for Alison’s Pantry entails more than just handing a catalog to someone.  We want our sales reps to treat their Alison’s Pantry business as a business and not a hobby that they do only when they feel like it or have time.  You will need to make time to work at your businesses by setting goals, learn company policies, learn the ordering and delivery procedures, gain product knowledge, build a customer base of loyal customers, and build a great working relationship with those customers, your RSM, and the office.

 

You are the face of Alison’s Pantry to your customers so we want every contact they have with you to be a positive one.  When your customers hear from you, are you pleasant and smiling?  Do they feel good after talking/interacting with you?  Are they happy with the products and service they are receiving?  Is your pickup location organized and clean?  Is the customer’s product in top condition – frozen items frozen, dry items in a clean box or bag?  Make their experience with you one they will want to look forward to every month!

Alison’s Pantry procures restaurant-quality food from food service brokers and makes it available to regular people through their wonderful sales reps.  We offer a 100% money-back guarantee on everything we sell.  We want our customers to be happy with the products they buy from us!  We provide a beautiful 48-page full-color catalog each month for customers to order the items they need.  These catalogs are provided FREE of charge to every ordering customer plus sales reps get 10 extra for FREE to help them continue growing their businesses or to hand out if a customer did not get one in the mail (if the rep pays to have catalogs mailed by the office).

 

We want you, our sales reps, to be successful in your AP business and we work hard to provide you with the tools you need to do that – personal contact with your RSM; ideas, recipes, reminders, and encouragement on our website Nourish Blog, Facebook groups and Pantry Academy blog;  product and sales tip training on monthly webinars; a wonderful website to order on with product information and product availability; professional truck drivers to deliver our orders each month; and professional and friendly office staff.

If there is anything we can do to make something better for you or your customers, please let us know!

Becky Price, RSM

 

 

1. Know your customers

Who are they?  Do they have large families?  Do they work?  Are they retired?  Do they travel a lot?  Knowing who they are and their lifestyles can help you know how to best serve them. Which brings us to #2.

2. Solve their problems

If your customer is retired and all of her children have moved out, you wouldn’t tell her about our bulk Tater Tots.  But you would tell me about them!  I have a large family, I work full time, and when I need a quick side dish, Tater Tots work great.  You would definitely tell your retired couple who doesn’t really want to cook anymore about our Soup Supreme and Deli Containers.  They can cook the soup all day in the crock pot for a warm, nourishing meal at the end of the day.  The leftovers can be scooped into our deli containers and frozen for another day to warm in the microwave for a quick lunch for two.  Knowing your customers and understanding their needs can help you to better serve them and help them find products that not only meet their needs but also solve their problems.

3. Know your Products

When you know and love our products they are so easy to sell.  Occasionally a customer will be reluctant to try something new.  But if you can share how much you love that product and how you use it at your house, they will want it too.  One time I had 2 customers picking up at the same time.  I was telling the first customer how much she was going to love her gluten free pizza crusts and all the ways she could use them.  The second customer was listening and got so excited she asked me to add them to her order on the spot!  By using the products yourself you will know how they come packaged, how to best prepare them, how they taste, and creative ways to use them.  When you are confident in AP products your customers will be excited to try them.

*Don’t miss our webinars!  We show you what the products look like and share great recipes for using them.  This invaluable knowledge can really help you grow your sales!

Knowing your customers, knowing best how to solve their problems and knowing our products can help you offer top notch customer service.  When people feel like you care about them and their lives, and you help them get dinner on the table in a way that works for them, you will have loyal customers for life!

Julie, RSM

If you look at all the different business out there vying for your dollar, what makes one better than the other?  You’re probably thinking “the one that has what I want or provides the service that I need”.  The cost is usually a concern too but also the experience of dealing with the company.  If you are always being put on hold, never talking to a real person, issues are not being taking care, you receive poor customer service, etc., you are probably not going to take your business to that company again.

In today’s world, some of us have a lot of choices when it comes to the services or products we need – online shopping, a gas station/convenience store on almost every corner, fast food restaurants everywhere, multiple grocery stores/department stores, etc., and some of us have only one choice in our area or, unfortunately, no choice and have to travel a distance to get to one or more of the products and services we need or want.

Now, let’s look at Alison’s Pantry.  We offer restaurant-quality products through our sales representatives once a month with delivery happening in 7 – 12 days usually.  If you compare what we offer to other businesses, how do we rate?

First, we offer a higher-quality product than most grocery stores because our products come from the food service industry.  They are the same products restaurants use to make the delicious meals we love to go out to eat (and at a higher cost).  And they come in bigger sizes so we save money that way too.

Second, we don’t offer PRIME shipping but our delivery schedule is much better than it was several years ago when it was 4-6 weeks before we got our orders delivered.  Unless the customer places their order early in the month, they aren’t having to wait as long to get their product each month.

Third, and I think the most important factor is, we have wonderful sales representatives to add that PERSONAL touch to ordering from us.  Even though we now have our new online ordering program that makes it more convenient for customers to place their own orders, many customers would prefer to interact with their sales representatives.  And if they do place their own order, we still have that personal contact with our customers through reminders and delivery of their orders.  Customers rely on their sales reps to be knowledgeable of the products we sell; to point out sales, incentives, hot deals and closeout items; and to remind them of order deadlines in this crazy, chaotic world we now live in.  They look forward to seeing your smiling face when they pick up their order or you deliver it to them.

In looking at these 3 factors, what do you think makes Alison’s Pantry the most different from other businesses?  Why do they buy what they need from us instead of other businesses?  In my opinion, it’s that PERSONAL TOUCH that only YOU can provide!!

Good luck with your Alison’s Pantry business this year!

Becky Price, RSM

We finally have it!  Our new online ordering program!  And we hope ALL of you are loving it!  But if you and your customers are struggling with it, here are some tips and ideas to help you and your customers enjoy it more.

Embrace it!  This is how we will be ordering from now on and it really is easy once you learn how.

Be enthusiastic about it!  If you are excited about our new ordering program and share that excitement with your customers, they are more likely to love it too!  Anytime you talk about it, share what you love about it – easy to use, can see everything that is available in the catalog, Hot Deals, Overstock Items, Gluten Free items, etc.  We have pictures for everything plus descriptions, baking directions, nutritional information, etc.  All the information you customers will need at their fingertips!  (If you find something missing, please let the office know.)

Educate yourself and your customers!  If you haven’t watched the training videos yet or need a refresher course on them, here are the links to the videos for sales reps and customers:

Sales Reps – Sales Rep Training – New Ordering Program(20 minutes long)

Customers – Customer training  (8 minutes long)

**Share this video with your customers.  Educate them so they will be more likely to go online and place their own order because they will know how.  Have the program up and available when customers come to pick up their orders.  Take a minute to show them how easy it is for them to place an order and to find out information on items they are interested in buying.  Offer an incentive to those willing to place their first order online!  (Incentives could be – $1 off their next order; have a drawing and give away a prize such as an AP item, FREE delivery of that order, $5 off their next order, etc.)

IMPORTANT – If your customers really don’t want to place their orders online themselves, you can still place their order for them just as you always have!  I actually offer to do exactly that.  This is an example of what I say in my email order reminders to my customers – “Order deadline is almost here!  Please let me know if you need anything this time.  And, if you love ordering online, you can now place your own order!  Just sign in on MY ACCOUNT with your email and your password (first time users use the password 123123).  I will need your payment information to process your order.  You can pay with a credit card, debit card or bank account (ACH).  Payments will be processed the Friday after we close this order.  I look forward to helping you get our fabulous products!!”

Encourage customers to pay for their own orders.  Having prepared my customers for this new online ordering program so they were ready to pay for their own orders when the time came, I can honestly say “I LOVE not having to collect money from my customers!!!!!”  It is such a relief to not stress about getting money collected and in the bank by Day 10!  And my customers love that they don’t have to remember their checkbook or credit card.  Many have commented how nice it is to just stop by and grab their order.

I know there are some of you who want to pay for your customers’ orders with your own credit card so you can earn extra points/sky miles/etc. and some of you have thought your customers would NOT be okay with the changes and you would lose business if you asked them to pay for their own order so you are paying for their orders and still collecting when they pick up, but I would like to give you a few ideas on how to encourage customers to pay for their order if you ever want to change what you are doing.

3 Ways to Pay – Let your customers know they now have three different ways to pay for their orders – credit card, debit card, or bank account (ACH)!

With a credit card, the customer can earn extra points/sky miles/bonuses by using their own card to pay for their order.  They have 30-60 days to pay for the charge on their card and it helps them build credit.  When paying with a credit card, their payment will be “authorized” by verifying the card belongs to them, the billing address in their profile matches the credit card’s billing address, and there are enough funds at the time the order is placed to cover that order.  **

With a debit card, the program will also “authorize” the payment the same as a credit card but the money will come out of a bank account when the payment is processed the Friday AFTER we close that order. **

If customers want to pay with a bank account (ACH), the customer’s bank routing number and bank account number are entered.  (These numbers are at the bottom left of the customer’s checks.  Anyone they have ever given a check to has seen these numbers so they are not “secret”.)  The program will check that the bank account belongs to the person paying for the order by verifying their billing address (which needs to be the same in the billing address section of the payment screen).  It does not check the balance in the account. **

**When payment information is entered at the time an order is placed, the payment DOES NOT post to that card or account nor does it put a pending hold on those funds at that time.  ALL payment will be processed the Friday AFTER we close your Group’s order each month.  Orders now close on Mondays at midnight MST.   (I tested paying for orders each of these different ways and Credit Card charges showed on my account the following Monday, Debit Card charges and ACH showed on my account on Tuesday or Wednesday of delivery week.)

Saves Time and Money – If you have customers who do not want to pay for their order because they don’t want their account information online or they don’t understand how it works, be patient as you try to explain how it works:

1.  When a customer pays you for their order with a check, once you deposit it into your bank, the money is transferred from their account to your account over a secure internet site.  Someone from your bank does not physically walk over to their bank and withdraw the money and then go back to your bank to deposit it into your account.  Alison’s Pantry’s order payments are processed by Heartland Clark (the same company that prints checks for many financial institutions) and they process those payments on a very secure SSL site, just like your customers’ banks do.  It is also a faster process for customers to pay Alison’s Pantry directly by taking you out of the payment process.

Customer pays rep –> rep deposits to their bank –> $ from customer bank to rep bank –> $ from rep bank to AP’s bank.

Customer pays AP online –> $ from customer’s account to AP’s bank.

2.  Because the customer’s payment does not process until the Friday after the order closes and before the order ships to you the following week, the customer is paying for their order less than a week earlier than if they were paying you directly when they pick up their order.  **This is, of course, based on the customer picking up their order in a timely manner instead of leaving you waiting for them to stop by and pay you for 1, 2, 4 or more weeks later.

3.  Because the customer’s payment is processed electronically, they don’t have to use up a paper check to pay you and can save it to pay for something else which, over time, will save them money.  It also saves you from having to deal with NSF’s if they write you a bad check.  (Alison’s Pantry will take care of these if it happens although they may ask for your help in collecting funds if they cannot get hold of the customer.  **Your job is to NOT let the customer have their food until their payment clears.)

4.  Not having to collect order payments also gives YOU more time to work your business!  When customers pick up their orders, instead of having to focus on getting their order payment, you can focus on building a stronger relationship with them,  discussing their purchases and giving them ideas on how to use the products, letting them sample something while you are collecting their order, sharing upcoming events like webinars or holidays they will want to purchase items for, etc.

Ultimately, we are extremely excited to have our new website and online ordering program!  With time, we hope every one of you and your customers will love it too!!

Becky Price, RSM

Have you recently thought about WHY you are an Alison’s Pantry Sales Rep?  I was recently asked this question which sparked a long contemplation on my part because my WHY has changed a little over the 17 years that I have been a sales rep.

I first became a sales rep in January 2000 when my sales rep decided to quit when she went back to work full-time.  I wanted to continue buying from Alison’s Pantry because I loved their high-quality products and I was working at building my food storage and basics at the time.  My WHY was to be able to continue getting the great products we sold.

I loved selling our great products and was making enough to pay for our groceries with my commission but my children were growing and our needs were too.  When my youngest of 5 children was 2 years old,  I decided that if I was going to continue being a sales rep for Alison’s Pantry, it was time to grow my sales.  I needed to sell more product to more people and, therefore, make more in commission.  My WHY was to continue making enough commission to pay for the food I bought from Alison’s Pantry plus have some extra income for other expenditures.  **A perk to all of this was that I had built a relationship with my customers so I now had a lot of adult interaction even though I was a stay-at-home mom so my social needs were also being met.

To grow my business, I started doing fairs, customer referral incentives, contests and anything else I could think of to grow my customer base and my sales.  Then in 2006, I was asked to be an Area Coordinator over a group of sales reps.  Not only did I sell to my own customers but now I was helping other sales reps sell to their customers and I was recruiting and training new sales reps.  My WHY was now not only all the other things I’ve stated but also to help other sales reps sell our great products and grow their own Alison’s Pantry businesses!

I was the only sales rep in Rock Springs, Green River and Farson at the time I was asked to be an Area Coordinator (now Regional Sales Manager) and my first “job” was to recruit more sales reps in my area.  **I had not helped the previous AC grow my area because it was “my area” and I didn’t want competition.  I was doing everything I could think of to build my business but I was only doing about $3,000 sales in an area of about 40,000 in population.  Now it was my job to find new sales reps in my area, so I put out the word to all my customers and anyone else I knew.  To make a long story short, over the last 8 years, we now have a sales rep in Farson, 3 sales reps in Green River and 4 sales reps in Rock Springs and my sales are currently averaging $5,000 a month (double what it was when I was the only sales rep).  It didn’t hurt me as a sales rep to have more sales reps in my area.  It actually helped me!!  Why??  Because there are more of us sharing the good news of Alison’s Pantry!!  My WHY is now to keep getting the great products we offer through Alison’s Pantry, keep getting my groceries for FREE and have extra income, keep growing the company so we can keep getting these great products, and help others to sell these great products!!

I hope that by sharing my Alison’s Pantry story with you today, you’ve thought about your WHY.  Why did YOU become an Alison’s Pantry sales rep and WHY are you an Alison’s Pantry sales rep today??  Hopefully, the main reason is because we have such great products.  Another reason may be because you can get them for FREE with the commission you earn selling them!!  Maybe you love the relationships you have built with your customers.  I hope each of you knows how much we appreciate you and all you do and how happy we are that you chose to be a sales rep!!  YOU are the lifeblood of Alison’s Pantry!!

Becky Price, RSM