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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!

 

 

Meet Lori Miskin.  She is an amazing rep who is always going the extra mile with her customers. 

We have a “Yours, Mine and Ours” kind of family with a total of six kids ranging from age 19 (playing basketball in college in Colorado) down to a little 4 year old (who recently severely broke his arm). With high school boys, a junior high teenage daughter and elementary kids, you can imagine we are super busy!! Volleyball, choir concerts, football, church responsibilities, basketball, school plays, cross country, room mother duties, track, band concerts, and the list goes on and on!! I really wanted something to do to earn some money for our family but dreaded daycare for my littles and couldn’t imagine having any time to work.

Alison’s Pantry was a PERFECT fit for me! I was able to take over for the previous rep 2 1/2 years ago and continue to (slowly) build the business in our very small rural town and a bigger neighboring town, too. I love being home and still earning a little extra income. Even though sales fluctuate from month to month, I feel that I continue to improve. I make special effort to remember things my customers talk to me about and ask them later how that went for them. I also check with them when their favorite items are on sale to improve my sales. They trust my opinion and I’m always honest with them. I always do reminder calls, emails and texts. I think that makes a HUGE difference.

I take advantage of the tools AP offers to us as reps, like the webinars, Julie’s fabulous expertise, the fair kit, the beautiful images for facebook and I can’t wait to squeeze in a tasting party or two.

I especially love our cooking products like the parchment paper, the cookie sheets and the cast iron cookware. We offer things you can’t find in the stores. Alison’s Pantry is a unique opportunity for customers and reps alike. I’m so glad they found me!!

 

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~

Tammy Harrison has been an AP rep for 3 months.  She was excited to take over for someone and start selling.  Her first order was just over $1800.  Her 3rd order was over $4,000!  She has really built her business.  I think her enthusiasm and willingness to talk to everyone about AP is key to her success.  This is what she had to say:

I am a new rep whom was delivered this awesome opportunity to have my own business and still keep my job at our local school too.  I have lived her in Carin now for 14 years. I moved her from Elko where I had lived since 1986.  I graduated Elko High School in 1990. I have had food service positions over the years with Pizza Hut, Maverick Country Stores and now the Lunch Program here in Carlin.  So I have been in the public eye for a long time and I talk to everyone, even the people I don’t know.  I at least say hello and smile.  🙂

The ladies who sold before me built the customer list for me.  I now take a section of names and go through and look at all the customers’ information and call them.  I tell them who I am and ask if they would like to see a catalog.  I also have added each month 6 new customers of my own which of course are my friends closest to me.  My sister is a hair dresser and has had a shop here in Carlin for 20 years.  She has helped out a lot because she knows a lot of people.

Alison’s Pantry has great deals on bulk foods and we don’t have that available to us in our small town.  The closest for us to buy bulk is a case lot sale at the local grocery store.  The wide variety of products that Alison’s Pantry has to offer is amazing and everyone that I have talked to that has tried their products has been very satisfied.

I am still learning and trying to organize so I can be successful here in Carlin for a long time.  People say they are happy I am now their rep because I have lived here for so long and am established.  I LOVE MY TOWN.  I am very happy to keep providing Alison’s Pantry products here.

We are excited to see you continue to grow Tammy!

 

Selling Alison’s Pantry can be simple and straight forward.  People love our food!  Find ways to get customers to try our products by taking Alison’s Pantry foods to potlucks, school functions, church events, treats for work, and sick friends. Your friends and family will ask you for the recipes and when they do you can share a catalog.

AP branded products are a great way to let people know what you sell. Vista Print sells some fantastic, inexpensive items that you can offer to your customers such as pens, chap stick and magnets.  Alison’s Pantry has recently gotten on the band wagon by offering totes and freezer bags with the AP logo on it. Watch for more great AP branded products to come.

Hopefully you purchased an AP T-Shirt.  To advertise, all you have to do is throw it on in the morning.  Then when people ask you what AP is you have a perfect opportunity to tell them how great it is without even having to do anything at all.

Personal business cards are a wonderful idea too.  You can staple one to a catalog, add a spice sample and an order form, and you have a something great to hand to a potential new customer.

Get an Alison’s Pantry vinyl sticker or magnet for your car.  Be sure to have extra catalogs in your vehicle for the people that stop you and ask about Alison’s Pantry.  I put mine on the van on Wednesday and by Saturday I had an ordering customer!  Someone saw it at the baseball game and asked for a catalog.

Bring up AP in casual conversation with your friends.  Tell them what AP products you are preparing for dinner, how easy it is to prepare, and how much your children or grandchildren love it.

Alison’s Pantry products make great gifts! Wrap up one of our best selling Muffin Mixes or some of our delicious specialty candies.  Or bake up some of our yummy cookies and share them in a decorative tin.  Your friends and family will love the gifts and then of course they will need to reorder once they have tried them.  Watch for our #11 webinar where we will be sharing tons of great ideas to turn AP products into gifts everyone will love.

When you are passionate about AP products because you love them so much you will be surprised at all the creative ways you can find to share what you love!

Julie

My name is Beverly Beeter! I have been an Alison Pantry Representative for almost 2 years. In my spare time my family and I like to go camping and fishing. Our favorite Alison pantry products would have to be the precooked bacon, but there is never a meal that we don’t use an Alison pantry product.

What make me a good representative, I am always telling people about our products and what my family loves about them. I have set up a Facebook page to try to help my customer stay in touch and to let them know what is on sale or when the deadlines are. Especially during order week I usually send a text, emails, and also use Facebook Messenger. I usually send  reminders on Tuesday or Wednesday, and than again on Friday and Saturday.

My best customer service tip is always keep in contact with your customers!

“The number one Phone phobia is manifested in this fear: “Customers will think I’m pushy.”  Guess what?  If a customer gave you her phone number, she gave implied permission to call her!  Follow through on your implied promise to keep connected.”

• Ask her how she would like to be contacted. Does she prefer a text, Facebook message, phone call or email?  Knowing the right way to contact her will make her more comfortable and you more successful in reaching her.

Maybe you are worried about interrupting your customers or catching them at a bad time.  When your customer answers the phone and you’ve identified yourself, simply ask, “Am I getting you at a good time to chat for two minutes?”  Giving yourself a time limit of two minutes alerts her that you’re respectful of her time.  Keep your promise to be brief and concise.

The secret to getting the orders is in the follow up.  People love our catalog!  They love our products!  They are busy though, and they need a reminder; just like your doctor’s office calls you to remind you of your appointment.  You appreciate that reminder, don’t you?  A quick phone call asking them how they are doing and reminding them that the order is going in is great customer service.  And it’s the difference between an okay rep with okay sales and a great rep with fantastic sales.

Are you afraid you don’t have time to make reminder phone calls? Look at your schedule ahead of time (like a month in advance)and write on your calendar when you will be making your reminders.  Then don’t plan anything else in that time slot.  The best way to do that is to set aside 15 min. at a time.  Everyone can find 15 minutes to make reminder phone calls and texts.  And over a week’s time those 15 minute increments add up fast!

Don’t be afraid of picking up the phone and calling your customers.  It’s a great way to nurture friendships and grow your business at the same time.

You can read more great ideas about this here

Julie

First of all I just have to say how thankful I am to be a part of this company. This opportunity has already done so much for my family.

The first thing I do every month is print off my customer list. This is so as I talk to my customers I note by their name anything that I might need to remember later. For instance if they are going to be gone for a period of time, might like to try a new product, or any changes to their account. I also have a notebook that is just for orders. This way if I get orders while away from home they are all in one place.

Most of my customers are from previous Alison’s Pantry reps so I don’t know them personally. This adds a whole new level of providing personal service. When I talk to my customers I ask how they liked things they have ordered before. This gives me an insight to what they ordered before I was their rep, and gets them thinking about reordering their favorites.

I send out text and emails about specials. I make sure to keep in contact at least once a week. I also have a Facebook page that I post in quite often through the month. Mostly I just try to keep my customers updated on anything new happening.

I  always make sure to have extra catalogs on hand and ask all my customers if they would like one to share. Most people will take an extra. I also leave 4-5 catalogs at the local gas station, school, bars and bank.

We had VBS this last week and I made up some mini blueberry muffins for snacks. I got many complements on how good they were. My response was “Thanks its all Alison’s Pantry”. My Husband is a huge supporter, he is much better at talking to people than I am. One day we had some people that are friends of a friend and when he introduced me he says ” This is my wife Sebrina, she sells Alison’s Pantry and Avon”. All of the hard work was done and I was able to just get down to business of explaining how it works and what Alison’s Pantry is.

I am my biggest customer! When I tell people that I buy 95% of my food from Alison’s Pantry they want to know more about our food. It helps that I am 30 miles from the closest grocery store and 50 miles from a Costco or Sams Club, most of my customers are even further. When we are around other people I like to ask my kids what they want to eat when we get home. When they see how excited my kids are about our food they want to know what’s so special about it. I also have snack food on hand when we travel and have people ask where I got it, that’s when I hand them a catalog. I try to talk to at least 3 people a day about Alison’s Pantry. Food is such an easy thing to sell and when its great food it just makes it that much easier.

I’m not sure when I learned this but I always keep it in mind while making calls. If you SMILE while you talk your customer will hear it. if you sound happy and excited your customers will get happy and excited too!