This page is intended to fulfill answers to any questions you may have about your role as a Consultant. It is a place where your hints, tips and ideas can be published to share amongst each other, and a place where you can keep up to date with what is happening within the Company. This page is intended to house information that is above and beyond what you already have in your handbooks, however, information may be duplicated from the handbooks herein from time to time.
Dates for your Diary:
The office will be closed from Sunday 3rd June to Sunday 17th June 2007. Office will re-open for business on Monday 18th June.
The office will close for Christmas at 3pm on Tuesday 24th December and will re-open for business on 2nd January 2008.
SPECIAL COMMISSION BONUS
Book 4 parties between the dates of 25th June and 3rd August, and receive a £50 bonus (to qualify for the full bonus, all parties must generate sales of at least £100 per party.)
MAY'S TOP SELLING CONSULTANT IS.......
Debbie Allen
Well done from everyone at FJJ!!!
May / June News Update
As you will have seen from the Consultant newsletter, the new sterling silver range will be due out shortly. This will include a basic silver range, high-end silver range, costume range and childrens sterling silver and gold range inset with conflict free diamonds. Your catalogues will be posted out to you once the office has re-opened.
The following items are now no longer stocked or sold by FJJ: FJ003 I Vont Von of Those in all colours; pink, black, cream, aqua (main handmade catalogue) This is due to various quality issues that have arisen in recent weeks. FJJ will look to find a replacement item similar to this one. Please remove these items from your catalogues.
To keep movement of the sales process between customer, Consultant and FJJ as swift as possible, ordering has been taking place for items above and beyond FJJ stock on a Monday morning. All orders are now to be placed before 12.00 midday on each Monday. As before, any orders placed after this will be tacked onto the following Monday's orders.
Events:
Don't forget, if you go to a Craft Fayre or Event, the 10% hostess gift normally given at parties, will be something you can choose for yourself. So if you retail £250 at an event, you get to choose an item up to the value of £25 in lieu of that event. Please note that FJJ do not give raffle prizes at events.
Hostess Scheme Update:
As from 27 April 2007, we are introducing a new bonus scheme for hostesses to promote party bookings. At parties, if the hostess has any guests who book and subsequently hold their own FJJ party, the original hostess will receive a free gift. The free gift is not deliverable to the original hostess until the guest party has taken place.
This is an incentive which you will need to tell not only the hostess about, but also her guests.
This idea was put forward by Debbie, who will receive a free gift in lieu of her excellent suggestion. Got a suggestion? If you have and it's taken on board, you could also receive a free gift.
Personal Shopping Allowances:
As of April, each Consultant will be afforded a personal shopping allowance of extra-discounted items. This means that each month, you are allowed to purchase one item at a rate of 35% discount from the RRP. You can choose anything you wish from any of the ranges we stock. The shopping allowance is not on a roll-over basis, so if you don't use your allocation each month, it will not carry over to the next. There is no restriction on how you choose to use what you have bought with the shopping allowance. (excludes selling via ebay or boot fairs.) Please note your personal allowance items when sold, will not count towards your overall monthly sales figures as they are already heavily discounted.
Don't forget your recommend a friend scheme :- Recommend a friend to work witth FJJ, when they join and reach £500 in sales, you receive a £50 cash bonus.
(The £500 sales mentioned is not in one month, it is over the lifetime of a career.) You could expect to earn your £50 cash bonus within approx 3 months of someone joining. Figures based on 4 parties with average sales of £150 per party
On a Personal Note.....
Here you can advertise anything you wish to, a birthday, impending baby, marriage etc, and the company will also place congratulations on this board.
19/04/07 - Congratulations Debbie, on not only getting into one newspaper - but two!!!!!! We'll run your story on here for everyone to see shortly...
20/04/07 - Congratulations to Caroline for getting into her local paper and also having the story published online by two different newspapers! Caroline's story is available to view on our press page.
FJJ Plans For The Future
As the company continues to grow and more Consultants come on board, FJJ will able to fulfill direct relationships with Artisans from around the World. This will have a great significance for Consultants, not least of which will be the introduction of more pre-printed marketing materials and the introduction of even better commission rates and bonus structures. This will also produce definitive openings for Consultants to build their own teams, and reap the financial benefits of becoming a Manager.
So where do you fit in? By continuing to work to the fantastic standards you already do, and by encouraging party-attendees or colleagues to become FJJ Consultants.
Commission Structure and Bonuses:
Bonuses:
If you place your first order within 30 days of becoming an FJJ agent, you receive a free product with a retail value of £9.99 to retail.
If you place your second order with us within 60 days of becoming an FJJ agent, you receive a second free product worth £15.99 to retail.
If you only place one order within 60 days of becoming an FJJ agent, you receive the first free product to sell only.
Extra Bonuses
Further free products with a retail value of £15 will be awarded to you when you reach retail sales of £500. (this is over your career span with us, not per calendar month.)
When you reach £1000 retail, you earn more free products with a retail value of £30 to sell onto your clients. (this is over your career span with us, not per calendar month.)
Further order bonuses are yet to be put in place and are at the sole discretion of the company.
Changes To Commission Structures, Hostess Gifts Or Policies.
From time to time, the company reserves the right to change it's commission structures, policies or hostess gifts. Any information on such will be held here.
The FunkiJunk Jewellery Co reserves the right to change, alter or remove items from our catalogues without prior warning. This is due to the nature of the way the items are made.
Noted Changes:
With effect from Monday 7th May, all orders will have to be paid for before they are dispatched to Consultants. This is to stop abuse of the current system.
As a self-employed Agent of FJJ, it is your responsibility to make sure you order or have enough stock available for shows and events in advance of and in good time for each of them.
This should not have any adverse effect on the way orders are currently put through as you are all putting your orders through soon after your parties in any case. The orders are then made first thing on a Monday morning, before your payment has even arrived at FJJ. This means your orders (stock permitting) are usually ready just as payment is clearing in most cases, so the new procedure should make little difference to the way orders are currently placed and sent to you.
Please remember to make customers aware that there can be an approximate two week wait for goods, and that there is no guarantee that they will be available sooner.
From May '07 all Consultants must ask their customers to record their details on the customer order sheets provided by FJJ. If an order comes through the website from a client in your area who's name and address has not been recorded and sent to FJJ for the customer database, then you may not be eligible for commission through the website.
With effect from 10 days from the date of 19/04/07, Any orders under £150 placed by a Consultant, will be subject to a flat rate £4.00 postage and packaging fee. This will come into effect as of Monday 1st May. Any orders placed during business operating hours (Monday - Friday 9-5pm) before the 3rd of May will be honoured at previous postage and packaging fees as levied by the Company.
Placing Your Orders - Important Information
Unless in special circumstances, any orders placed by a Consultant MUST be in no later than 10am on the Wednesday after your party or event has been held. Any orders placed after each Wednesday that require ordering stock in from overseas, will be added to the following weeks Wednesday order.
If an item is not in stock, orders can take up to 2 weeks to deliver, and in some cases, longer due to the hand-made nature of most of the stock. This is not something that FunkiJunk Jewellery have any control over. PLEASE REMEMBER TO REMIND YOUR CUSTOMERS THAT DUE TO THE HANDMADE NATURE OF THESE PRODUCTS, DELIVERY IS NOT ALWAYS IMMEDIATE, AND MAY TAKE UP TO 2 / 3 WEEKS IF NOT IN STOCK.
With regard to delivery times on your items, FunkiJunk Jewellery can not give exact delivery dates on bulk-order items until they have been dispatched. Only approximate or estimated delivery dates will be given prior to then. All orders will be sent recorded royal mail delivery or royal mail standard parcels delivery. FJJ does not have control over the postal service and therefore are unable to accept responsibility for exact delivery times once the parcels have been dispatched. Indications will be given on any items that are on back-order via your delivery notes that you will receive with your orders.
As a Consultant, it is your responsibility to ensure your customers are aware that there could be a potential wait on some items. Most clients are happy to wait for their items knowing that they are being especially made for them.
The Company will endeavour to update Consultants on all stock issues where applicable.
Business Streamlining
The office business operating hours are 9-6pm Monday to Friday. Any orders placed or emails sent after this time will be dealt with during business hours (with the exception of special circumstances, such as important issues that need addressing during parties etc.) Telephone calls can still be made to Victoria up until 9.15pm or up until 11.00pm on nights that you have parties booked.
You will shortly be receiving updated ways to place your orders via FJJ.
Table Display Hints and Tips
Use a nice pale table cloth or something similar to lay your jewellery items on. Use any boxes or packaging you may have with you to create platforms underneath the cloth to enhance the jewellery if you wish, however, please not that carrying bulky items with you to parties are mostly unneccessary.
Use your black FJJ bags to stand at the bag of the table to create a professional ambience, and so your customers will see the company logo. Remember, branded products sell better than un-branded ones!
We have a stock of display busts we will soon have on offer for Consultants to purchase, or you can have a look on ebay for some busts. We recommend that you DO NOT purchase any suedette, leatherette or wooden busts as they deteriorate quickly through use. We suggest using thin robust PVC busts. Pictures can be obtained from Victoria if you would like further details on what to look out for.
Your Display Stock
We advise that where best sellers are within your display stock: Rather than keep certain items as continual display stock, you should sell these items on and buy in the same style item from FJJ once you place your next order. Where you have parties booked very close together, allocate the stock to whomever buys it first, but keep it in your kit for your next party. You don't need to tell your customer that they have had the item allocated, you can just give them their invoice and tell them to expect delivery at a later date along with your other items.
Where to look for booking parties and events:
Parties
Party-plan has become a phenomenon amongst women because we're all really good at one thing, and that is networking (or chatting) with other people. The more you let people know what you are doing, the more chance you will have of getting parties. So use your networking skills to create avenues for booking parties.
Use the posters available from the company to post around your village, put up in Doctors surgeries, playschools,schools, hairdressers, local shops etc.
With this type of work, it takes time to build up your contacts if you're new to the game, as you'll have to build your contacts up from scratch. Those who have parties for you, you keep their details and contact them at a later date to see if they'd like another (especially coming up to Christmas.) Or alternatively, ask them on the night of their party to re-book for 6-9 months time so that they get to see all the new products that are out.
When you're out - wear an unusual item of the jewellery, take your business cards out with you and if someone asks you where you got the jewellery from - give them your card and say you do parties, or that they can buy over the website (you'll make commission on any people you get to buy through the site.)
If you go onto the chat boards on www.netmums.co.uk you'll be able to find oodles of other party-planners. What quite a lot of Consultants do is party-swaps. i.e - you hold a party-lite candle party for a lady and in return she hosts an FJJ party for you.
Keep focused on the parties, and use events as a side-line and craft fairs and fetes are definitely a seasonal fixture.
IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY BEEN SENT A PRESS RELEASE TO USE IN YOUR LOCAL PAPER TO DRUM UP BUSINESS, THEN CONTACT VICTORIA NOW!
Events
If you get in contact with a local college that has a beauty faculty and speak to the admin team there - they'll have access to umpteen pamper and ladies evenings in your area, where the tables are roughly £5-£10 for the evening. Ask them if they can give you a list of pamper evenings that are available.
With regards to local events, you won't ever get on to all of them! They do book up in advance, but keep trying because not all of them do, and it also means you'll be building up a network of contacts for next years events. Look to the Christmas events now - see if you can find any in your area or by going on your local council website information pages.
Get in contact with your local womens guild. womans own club or happy circle club as they're always looking for 'speakers' to come and talk about things and show them things too. Lots of other party-plan reps do this.
Contact all the local schools to find out if their PTA's have intentions for ladies nights, pamper evenings or fashion shows as most of them will have some on their calendar throughout the year.
Goal setting is a VERY important part of success in any Party Plan Business.
Here are some goal setting tips that work:
Decide "Why" you want to work your business. This must be a strong driving reason to keep you motivated. It can be to buy a new car.....to pay off some bills....to be able to quit your job and stay home with your kids.....to have more money to give to charity....or TONS of other reasons.
Everyone is different, so your "Why" will be different from others around you. You MUST know WHY you want to work your business.
Next:
Decide how much money you need/want to earn from your Party Plan business per week or month. Ask your upline leader to help you figure out how many nights you will need to work each week or month to accomplish this goal. This will depend your you company sales average and your personal sales average.
Look at your calendar and plan your work nights based on the goals that you set for yourself. Make a comittment to be consistent in the times that you work. Remember.....if you treat this like a "Real Business", it will reward you accordingly. If you treat this like a "Hobby", it will reward you like a hobby. Which do you want....a business...or a hobby? Plan your times to work, and stick to it!
Create a Monthly Goal Sheet Consisting of:
How many parties you want to do this month How much in sales you want to have this month How many New recruits you want to have this month Other business goals that you want to accomplish this month
Post these where you can see it!
Post pictures of your goals all around your house. On your fridge, on your bathroom mirror, in your office....etc. You want to keep your goals and dreams in front of you at all times!
Ask your family to help you stay on track. Include them in your goals and dreams.
Have your upline, friend or family member hold you accountable.
Make a plan of where you want to be in:
6 Months 1 Year 5 Years 10 Years
Review your goals regularly to make sure that you are on track. You may even need to update them as your business grows or as NEW opportunities (such as a contest or trip) arises with your company.
Make a committment to yourself to learn to set and achieve goals! Once you have achieved those first goals, you will begin to see that you can accomplish WHATEVER you set your mind to! The sky really IS the limit!
Make Your Home Party a Success!
Home parties can be a lot of fun and a great way to earn extra money. Following a simple guideline can help you have a successful home party that runs smoothly and everyone enjoys. The following guideline will give you a basic idea of how to do this and can easily be adjusted to fit your own tastes.
Before the Guests arrive… Be sure to arrive at your hostess's home about an hour or so before the start of your party to review any last minute details. Set up refreshment table. Re-arrange furniture if needed. Set up your display. Do a quick review of the guest list. Review any before-party sales. Don't forget to lay out the catalogs, brochures and business cards!
Greeting the Guests… Have the hostess warmly greet each guest as they arrive. Have her introduce you and engage in some general chit-chat. Ask them about themselves, what do they do, how do they know the hostess, do they have any children? Remember to smile!
The Ice Breaker… Games are a perfect ice breaker. Play a game or two to make the guests feel welcome and comfortable. Make your games fun and with as much interaction with the guests as possible. Another good ice breaker is to thank your hostess for holding the party and giving her a gift. If you offer gifts to guests who bring friends; now's the time do hand them out.
The Presentation… Start showing guests the items that you've brought for display and give a brief description that you've prepared before-hand on each one. Guests love hands-on viewing. After each description, hand the merchandise to the guests to get a better look and pass around. At the end of your presentation, discuss the opportunity for guests to become hostesses themselves and briefly discuss the rewards. Be sure at some point to open the floor to the guests for any questions, comments and/or concerns. At this time the hostesses should be doing any last minute preparations of the refreshments.
Finishing up Guest Orders… Be prepared to help guests fill in their order forms and answer any questions they may have. It might not be a bad idea to bring along a calculator for quicker or more accurate order totals. Also be prepared to accept checks and let it be known who you'd prefer the checks to be written. Make sure you thank each guest who purchases and give them a copy of the completed order form.
Ending the Show… Make sure you once again thank the hostess for having the show. Be sure to thank each guest for coming as they leave whether they made a purchase or not. Don't forget to have all the needed information to contact guests after the party concerning their orders or potentially hosting a party themselves. And don't forget to have fun!
Plant plenty of booking seeds during your parties.
Know when you are going to work. Have your openings for the next 6 weeks always planned out.
Treat your hostess like a Queen...make her the envy of the guest.
Highlight the Hostess program of your company at your parties.
Ask EVERYONE to have a party (don't pre-judge anyone)!
Offer your hostess an incentive to have 1 or 2 bookings waiting for you when you arive at her party.
Re-book your hostess.
Some useful sites:
http://www.homepartyplannetwork.com/ An American network for people who are party-plan Consultants, some of it's cheesy and will be irrelevant for the UK market, but there are lots of tips, tricks and ideas. It also leads onto another site called work at home moms, so follow the links through for that.
As you will be aware by now, our costume jewellery and handbag stock is either ethically or fairly-traded.
As a company, we ourselves are not BAFTS (British Association Of Fair Trade Shops) registered. For a shop, or retailer to become BAFTS registered, they have to have direct links with the Artisans and small workshops who make the products, and the products retailed have to make up 70% of the stock range.
Because our sterling silver range is actually larger than all the ranges of ethically and fairly traded products we have and is equivalent to at least 70% of what is stocked, we can't presently become BAFTS registered. HOWEVER, ethically and fairly-traded goods are in the blood here at FJJ, and so we are meticulous about the suppliers we use for our Costume jewellery, handbags and our bridal ranges. All of these ranges are imported into the UK by BAFTS registered traders or by importers who abide by the ethics of the British Fair Trade strategies.
In the future, we will look to become a BAFTS supporter, and one day hope to be able to make direct links with Artisans and producers of jewellery in other countries, so that we can become a BAFTS importer.
Several aspects of fair trade include:
· Producers receive a fair price for their goods and advances on orders.
· Fair Trade organisations work with producers to provide quality products.
· Purchase and marketing of producers' goods are conducted according to high ethical standards; continuity of orders is important.
· Sources, production and workplaces do not exploit people or the environment.
· Products have meaning above their tangible attributes; consumers are informed about the people who make the products they purchase, increasing their loyalty and understanding that their purchasing power makes a difference.
· Cultural exchanges between people in the South (developing countries) and people in the North (western countries) are encouraged.
Many of the sites we advertise with are seen on our Links page on this website. We also advertise on the following:
Netmums
mumandworking.co.uk
Musmnet
Adzooks
Gumtree
Local Media (i.e - press releases)
National Media
Through word of mouth
At business events
Returns Policies
If an items is faulty, goods can be returned to FJJ for a refund or for an exchange of goods. The legal onus is on the client to prove that the items is faulty. Consultants are not expected to organise nor pay for the return of such items if they have come direct from a customer. Customers must return them themselves, and will be refunded the cost of postage and packaging.
With regards to items that have been sent to a Consultant which appear faulty, the above applies but the onus is on the consultant to prove that the item is faulty and to organise return of goods, whereby a replacement will be sent and postage and packaging reimubursed.
If FJJ has reason to believe that an item has been purposely tampered with or broken, we have the right to refuse a refund.
Please note, except where faulty, we can not accept returns on earrings due to hygiene reasons.
If a customer wishes to return an item because they have ordered the wrong size or have changed their mind etc, they can be issued with an exchange or a credit note. No refunds will be made. This does not affect customers statutory rights.
About Direct Selling
Training Manuals
FunkiJunk Jewellery, everything you'll ever need for fair-trade hand-made costume jewellery or sterling silver rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, chokers, Pendants, chains, jewellery sets, semi-precious gems, handbags and bridal accessories
