Archive for June, 2008
I’ve never worked so hard in my life, but I need to work harder!! Harder baby, harder baby. I can’t believe that I’m years into this now. What I really can’t believe is how much there still is to accomplish, even with the years of work behind us. Doesn’t that sound nice and discouraging? It shouldn’t. You have a whole lifetime of work ahead of you, whether you’re doing your own business or climbing the corporate ladder. I hated working in a corporate environment, it really wore on me. Having a business is stressful and completely up to you. I’ve traded what to me was corporate-misery for heap loads of stress. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I buckle down and work under stress and I’ve finally buckled down and focused on crafting a couple of designs we love (oh wait until you see our little giraffe gift set) and selling them every single freaking day. I spend at least an hour on sales and marketing every day now. At least. And the momentum is building and the sales are rolling in - but it’s still a battle. New orders inevitably mean new supplies are needed, so we have to be prepared for the constant flow of money going out. I’m learning to watch every penny. Basically, I’m gaining a broader understanding of “cash flow”.
Even as times are tighter, we’re bringing on more help and growing our product line. Our organic onesie sets sell like mad in the boutiques, which has helped me hone my sales pitch. Even today, I got an appointment with a local boutique I’d really like to be in - just because I pushed it. They “don’t do personalized” because they need fast baby shower gifts. Oh and btw, if she had thought that our product line was for her, she would have responded to my email. I didn’t skip a beat before saying “our organic onesie sets are great gift sets that sell like mad in that type of environment. They have photo-real graphics, tattoos on the back, and matching hats.” She wanted another email, I told her I’d rather stop in - she’d be happy to see me on Friday. I’m getting more confidence, we’ve been out long enough that I know what really sells, and I really know that if I can get our stuff in her hands, she’ll want it. Like I said, I’m gaining more confidence.
And praying every day too.
June 24th, 2008
I have to admit that it is sometimes hard for me to remember all the things I didn’t know when I first started down this designing path. Fabric, fabric, fabric. Everything about fabric intimidated me. Not because I hadn’t worked with plenty of it in my life, but because I didn’t really know anything about it - types, care of, properties, etc.
I felt really lucky to happen upon the Fabric Swatch Kit that is available at fashiondex.com. It comes as a workbook that you put together. The fabrics are divided by type in the 3-ring binder, and you start with a pile of tiny fabric swatches. As you put the kit together, you can touch and feel and really LEARN about the different types of fabrics that are available, what the common uses are, and all kinds of useful information!
I still use the kit as a reference tool and to keep additional swatches that I’ve found through my designing journeys.
The knowledge that this kit gives you, especially if you are completely new to the field, is invaluable. You will have a lot more confidence in your line and your fabric buying excursions if you take the time to learn about fabric.
June 21st, 2008
Wow, before I jump in, I want to apologize for being so side-tracked from this blog. I have been incredibly busy and my focus has been elsewhere - but I have a lot to share and I promise to pour it out here as much as I can.
I attended a Business Intensive Seminar on Sales last Friday. The seminar was put on by a business coach who had been referred to me by a friend. I’ll admit I was skeptical, and I battled back-n-forth in my head all morning about whether or not to go. I pretty much had myself convinced to stay until I told myself “you are going. The only reason you don’t want to is because it’s outside of your comfort zone. So you are going.”
I am SO happy I went.
I really have a different perspective on sales. There were a lot of concepts that were thrown out as food for thought, as well as concrete ways to set sales goals and figure out both lead and sales conversion ratios. However, the main thing that struck a cord with me was the idea that, during any given sales pitch, you are focused on one of two things:
- Money
- How you’ll make a difference - meaning your service or your product
If you are focused on how you’ll make a difference to the person you are pitching, you will be far more successful in your pitch than if you are focused on money, or closing the deal. The more you are focused on the money, the more you decrease your chances of converting the sale.
Funnily enough, I can use said Business Coache’s pitch to me as a prime example. When he was pitching me, I felt strongly that he cared about making a difference in my business. He had me sold on his group coaching program and made it sound like he’d send me info and it was all easy-going. The next email I received jumped right into needing my payment for the group coaching, and needing immediately or I’d miss the boat (group). Well, that completely threw me off. I almost immediately backed out and said I would look into it for the next round. If he had stuck with the original approach and made it seem like getting my money wasn’t the MOST urgent part of the process, I would have been happy to stay on course. Instead, I decided to attend this one-time seminar at about 1/20th the cost of the group-coaching program.
I think this is important for all of us who don’t have a sales background. It’s hard not to focus on whether the prospect is going to say “yes” or “no” - which is focusing on the money. Focus on how you are helping them and they will feel lucky to be in business with you. You always want it to feel like a win-win, especially in our industry, where you are looking for long-term relationships.
Even if you aren’t the sales rep for your company, this concept should translate to all of the PR and marketing you do for your company as well.
June 2nd, 2008
