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I first tried stamping in June. My demo was new and she's like a little sister to me. I bought the Heartfelt Thanks kit to see if I would like stamping. After a couple of months of stamping she told me about SCS. Once I came on line and saw all the cards and possibilities I started buying TONS. I've told her over and over to give every single customer the SCS site if she wants to increase her sales. I don't care about receiving freebies, incentives, gifts or whatever you want to call them from demos. The demos at the bottom of the pyramid are making little to no money, they really can't afford to give everything away. I agree wholeheartedly with everything Julie said in her earlier reply. These demos are not employees of large companies paying out big commissions, they are trying to make a living just like everyone else. My demo was in the red the first few months and now she's breaking even. I've never been to party, I have my catty and usually order weekly. I don't feel that the SU accessories are any more expensive than what I find at Michael's and at least with SU I earn hostess benefits and get stamps and merchandise for free so in a way, SU is cheaper with their accessories because of the "kickback". I feel SU products are of a much better quality than what I find at Michael's or Joann's. I purchase almost exclusively with SU to get the hostess benefits and also to help my demo. I recently went to a holiday stamp camp. We made five different items; I only liked one of them, but I had a lot of fun with the girls. I thought it was going to be learning techniques. I want to go to a camp where a demo teaches one or two techniques with step-by-step instructions.
Wow, this is quite a thread!
I love my demo! She is not at all pushy. When I have a workshop, she always has 3 things to quickly demo, then let us make. People have commented how generous she is: always adding ribbon, eyelets, etc. to the projects we get to make. I know that my friends come with an order, but usually change, or add, due to something she had us use. I think I had one workshop where every single lady ordered a pack of shimmery white! Sometimes she will demo a 4th, and give it to me. She usually gives me a hostess gift. I love it when she offers free S&H, but that doesn't happen often. I thought it was an offer from SU, but now I realize it comes out of her profits. I hate paying tax on S&H!!!!!! My demo gives me a free catty when I host my first workshop after the new one comes out, so I love that! I like to curl up with it in bed, pen and wish list in hand, so the online catty doesn't appeal to me. I also like to go through and highlight what I already own when I get a new catty, so I don't duplicate. I like my demos stamp camps, but the date doesn't always work for me. Dates aren't a problem when I host my own, and I love the hostess incentives! Nothing like free sets and free merchandise! I always place a large order at my own workshop! My demo used to have it shipped to her, then drive the separated order to my house, but now she just has it shipped directly to me. I love going through it, seeing what my friends ordered, and separating out their orders!
For the past year or so, I have been stamping with a friend who has a different demo. We attend each others workshops, and the opposite demos stamp camps, etc. We have agreed that it is fun getting ideas from more than one demo!
I must admit that I now get a lot of ideas from SCS,but I still love my demo. I probably order enough stuff that I could be a demo, but then the flow of ideas from her would stop. I guess I'm willing to pay the extra 20% to help her with her business.
Eleonor is my demo and she is absolutely fantastic!
Her classes are wonderful and original. For November she did a tag book class, Christmas card class, Paperbag journal class, Santa card class and Christmas Ornaments class. December is just as interesting. Eleonor doesn't just do card classes. She is starting several stamp clubs beginning next month. She did a summer stamp camp which was very successful. Also, she makes up her own designs for her classes. I tend to learn something new at her classes. For instance, the last card class we used the tacky tape and micro beads. The class before that she showed us faux stitching with the white SU gel pen. I can not believe everything that I have learned from her.
Eleonor has coffee, cookies and cake at her classes. Very nice touch.
Eleonor is so friendly and approachable. Tonight I called her to tell her I got my mini winter catty yesterday and we chatted for awhile. A few minutes ago I checked her website and noted she has been working craft fairs all this week. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that she must be rushing home each night to make goodies for the next day. Did she blow me off? No! She is so great.
I'm really lucky to have Eleonor as my demo.
I hope I'm allowed to do this. Here is a link to her events page so other demos can see the variety of classes my demo does:
As a hostess, I would have had no problem shelling out $10 for the beautiful catalog, and I loved getting everything shipped directly to me...it was like Christmas (until I had to deliver all the bags to my friends). :( Now as a new demo, I still have the order sent to me, but I offer free stamp mounting to the hostess and also include an inspiration sheet in with the orders when I pack them. My list of growing customers love this, and it's not going to put me further into the red since I am just starting out as a demo because I am giving time as the added value and not money. I have never attended a workshop where I had to pay (because there was no asking fee, but I probably would have paid if I was learning something new) but did pay $10 to attend a fall event at my then demo's home. We made 2 cards, one Christmas themed with embossing and one with the metallic pencils as a resist, a 6X6 page with eyelets and markers, a bagalope containing a Halloween treat, and a cute water bottle with an envelop that had a Crystal Lite packet in it. There was also a large variety of refreshments (but I was too busy learning so many new things to bother, even though they looked great!). I think I was spoiled in retrospect, but that day I also won two of the door prizes (both a current stamp set) and checked the box on the door prize marked "interested in becoming a demonstrator." I know the event motivated me because it taught me so much and I am one to want to learn anything new. I had been scrapbooking for years, and had stamps I never used because I didn't know what to do with them. I will always be grateful to her for leading the way. Thanks Judy, you introduced to me world of creative possibilities and I appreciate all you do for me!
I too am fortunate to have a good demo. I am in a stamp club group and while I normally plan what I am going to order each month I have frequently added to or changed my order based on the products used or technique learned at our monthly meeting. One thing that is very important to me is that each person in our club gets a chance to earn hostess benefits when their designated month rolls around. This gives me a chance at the hostess sets that I normally would not be able to earn since I don't have a lot of friends who stamp. I spoke with some other stampers at a recent stamp show and their demo kept all the hostess benefits for herself. That would bum me out and make we want to find another demo. Also, don't forget about the scrapbookers. At our stamp club meetings most of my group are scrapbookers. While we usually do a card at the meeting we often discuss how the technique or product could be used with scrapbooking too. Another thing I really like about my stamp club is that we get a "free" catalog each year. I have used the online catalog for convenience when my own catalog was not handy but I like my personal catalog that I can flip through at my leisure and carry with me. My demo gave each stamp club member a sheet of coupons when we got our new catalog. We can only use one coupon per order but I have bumped up my orders sometimes to use a coupon. The coupon's were for things like by 5 stamp pads and get the 6th free, buy the watercolor crayons and get a free package of watercolor paper, buy one stamp set and get a second one of equal or lesser value for half price, buy all 4 assortment packs of cardstock and get a free color coach and some other deals. Make sure you keep your hostesses in tune to how far they are away from then next hostess benefit or appreciation gift. I made a point of placing a special order with my demo shortly after my turn as stamp camp hostess so that I could boost my sales enough to get the hostess appreciation set. Finally, offer value to your customers in the form of information, deals (when you can) and fun but don't push. You're selling a good product, if you keep you're customers happy you won't have to push, the sales will come.
I would like a demo that lives in my hometown. There are two that I have ordered from in the last year, but they are 20-45mins from me, so they aren't accessible.
I went to my first "stamp night" and I enjoyed going... the projects were mostly easy. I did like seeing multiple ways to use a stamp set-- even if I don't get to do them there, seeing the examples make me want to buy. I love that the SU catalog is now online!!
I just wish I could order online (I can't, can I?).
Other than this... the other suggestions are great!
wow... I just used the "find a demonstrator in your area" thing over at SU and there are 2 in my town... I just hadn't found them yet!! YAY...going to contact one now....
I am a demo, but my biggest beef was that when I was a beginner stamper I didn't know stamps retired, and I missed out on the set "Have a Ball" I would have loved that set . . . . it was just further down my wish list. I am a hobby demo with no customer base now that I just moved, but I always wanted my demo to let me know about all the specials going on, becase I usually found out about them too late, and you never know who would be interested in what. Send out the retiring list to all the customers you have, it will save them money if they really needed that set for a special reason. I eventually signed up under that demo, she was the only one I knew, and now we live in separate states.
__________________ Kristina Wife, Mommy, Stamper, Nurse Laura 6yo Jack 5yo, James 4/20/08 Megan arrived 3/16/09
The number one "must do" for a demo is prompt order and delivery; and added on to that is prompt attention when something in the order is not right. I "fired" my last demo because she fell short on both of these and it drove me nuts!
The next order-prompter is so simple that most demos don't think to do it (except for my demo, but she's extra special ). Send your customer a keeping-in-touch card using a new set that she doesn't have. Everytime my demo sends me one, I end up getting the set and a few other items that I've been meaning to order.
A demo should "stick to business" and not get too chummy with her customers. I like my demo to be friendly and kind, but I really don't want to know all the knarley stuff going on in her life (lousy boyfriend, kids in trouble or out of control, mother-in-law problems). Keep that stuff for your DF, leave your customers out of your personal life.
Show new products -- don't be afraid to order the expensive items in the catalog like the hodgepodge set or watercolor crayons.....you won't sell them if you can't show them to your customers! My demo almost didn't order the watercolor crayons before she did my last workshop, fortunately they arrived the day before my party and she was able to do a demonstration and sell 4 sets of them to my friends. No one would have bought them that day if they hadn't been able to use them and see how nice they were.
So I guess my advice to demos would be to prompt, courteous, creative, positive and watch the orders roll in!
I see you posted this in October, so you may already know this....but just recently the SU catty is now online! I think it happened in the beginning of November.
I have only attended a demo (2 times) and not had one. I will say that the one I went to a couple of years ago was fun and interesting. Basically, I was invited from one of my daughter's classmate to a Mother & Daughter make and take demo. We learned all kinds of cool stuff and made many things together. I was not into stamping back then but wanted to get some of the cool stuff for scrapbooking (before I signed for CM) and decided to have a party! Gave a month to call and NEVER heard from her! I did receive a few emails but nothing that would interest me into wanting any SU stuff. I then had to think back because I was a Discovery Toy consultant (6 years) and wondered how many people I upset because I never called them back. I guess customer service is important to me.
I went to a crop in SC recently and met 2 consultants that taught me some much that weekend. We did a hot cocoa make and take that was so cool. I always give cocoa as teacher gifts so I came home and made it bigger to hold 5 packs and stamped my little heart out! I had so much fun and taught myself to emboss even!
I know that I am going to have a demo during Sell a bration but I have a problem supporting the consultant that I have. I looked online and found 5 more in my neighborhood. I probably will work with one of them since my other gals are in SC and can't really come that far (LOL) plus I have no connection to the girl I have!
I just my biggest thing is teach me something I can use and make sure you give me customer service. I sure am hoping that 1 or the 5 girls have a stamp camp because that is a great way to learn and see and use new products.
I have been to one demo, and it was very unorganized.( it was at my lss, and only 5 ladies came and no one was interested but me in SU) For me I would like to see a Demo in my area, so I could do all these wonderful things you talk about. I truly would love to join a stamp club and do workshops. Closest Demo I have found is Oshawa and Whibty area and I don't have a car to drive the hour there. I would love to host a show but have no one to invite lol. I am pretty new to this area and don't know anyone who is into this. So I could ask for a DEMO lol so I can join in all the fun. Is there a way to get these mini catalogs mailed to me from SU themselves?
as for the show I did go to, it seemed really rushed, and took almost 4 months for me to get my order, with no sorry. But I love SU stuff so much that I have been ordering my Su from the states from a friend Demo there.
Is there a way say to do something like this for costumer incentive? most lss have stamp cards every 10 bucks we spend we get a stamp once the card is full you get around 25 bucks of free stuff. So say every X amount of dollars we spend we get a stamp on our card, then after so much is stamped on our card say $1000.00 we get x amount of money to spend? JMO
__________________ Jenny Fighting Breast Cancer, waiting for my day to say SURVIVOR!
I would like it if I could order from a demo as much or as little as I wanted whenever I wanted. No parties. No stress.
But you can! You simply place a "customer order," one that's not part of a workshop. The only difference is that shipping is 10% OR 3.95, whichever is greater. In a workshop, shipping is always just 10%.
Parties are more fun, to be sure, but if you don't have enough opportunities to get to or host one, a demo is able to take an order and process it for you. If you don't know any demos, contact www.stampinup.com and look for the Demo Locator. All you do is put in your zip code and they will list the 5 closest to you.
I would like it if I could order from a demo as much or as little as I wanted whenever I wanted. No parties. No stress.
I love the hostess benefits! I'll take the "stress" any day. Granted, it means I have to clean my house, and think of good things to eat, but my house needs cleaning once in a while!
Stress
