Posts filed under 'The Tools You Need'
I can’t believe I finally did this - I’ve uploaded a sample template of the sales cycle tracking sheet that I’ve been promising for so long!
This is the system that I’m using right now (template has generic names and private info removed). Of course, I just found a scratch piece of paper from when I originally had the spreadsheet idea and it has different columns. Now I can’t decide which is better, but I’m sticking with the one I’m already using for now.
The current system (which is a simple Excel file) works for me because it always has the next action I need to take for each prospect, and when that action should take place. As long as I visit, follow, and update the spreadsheet during my sales calls each day, then I’m keeping the pipeline full. There are always prospects to call, follow-up emails to send, and existing accounts to upsell to.
The scratch paper I found had each of the following bullet points as a separate column, in case some of you might find this way more useful:
- Prospect (store name)
- Contact Name
- Contact Number & Email
- Send Pitch (enter date occurred)
- Call (enter date occurred)
- Follow-up email (enter date)
- Appointment (enter y or n and date)
- Contact again on: (always have a date here)
- Signed PO? (enter y or n and date)
I hope that didn’t make it more confusing than not!
March 24th, 2008
Where did Amber go? It’s been a crazy time in my business-owner life since I last posted. We had a fabulous celebrity gifting event in January. I will do a post soon on what a difference our “spinning cake” display made for exposure during that event. (You can see the display cake pretty good in the photo to the right, follow the link above to view more celebrity photos).
I did a great follow-up job of coming home and writing up a press release. I even stayed up late to perfect it and get a bunch of images together to send to one big-traffic site. I got that sent and it paid off. We were featured the next morning.
Then I tweaked it a little for the other media outlets, put my computer on stand-by and never saw its happy face again. That was it, my computer crashed completely. I did an ok job of backups, except for my emails and email lists. Oh what a mistake that was - what a nightmare it has been catching up.
Get an external hard drive and set up automatic scheduled backups for all of your files. That’s my big duh-I-should-have-already-known-that lesson for the day. And I wanted to say I’m back and I really have a lot of posts coming up to share about press releases, affiliate programs, preparing for the next cash-and-carry events, creating a “wow” display, and all sorts of other things I’ve learned since the great crash of ‘08.
February 15th, 2008
My husband emailed me this link to Mind Tools-Essential Skills for an Excellent Career. Specifically, he sent me to the “Time Management” pages (I won’t get into whether or not that was a hint ! ha ha), which is the section I’ve gone through.
I found the site to be an incredibly great reminder of ways to ’stay on track’. I’m already great about To-Do lists, but now, I’m applying the priorities and then re-writing the list so that only “Important” items are at the top. And then I work down the list.
What I saw immediately is that some of my most important tasks have stayed on my To-Do list the longest. By having them buried somewhere in the middle, I’m able to excuse them by not really ’seeing’ them. Now these things are at the top and have to happen first. I can also see that I “skip” over them lightly because they are tasks I don’t like doing.
We’re working on tracking how long all of our tasks take, and that’s also a real eye-opener. I spend a lot more time dilly-dallying during the day than I thought I did. But this is good news (and not to be mistaken with IMPORTANT brain breaks and kid-time). It’s good news because it means I really DO have more time in the day to get stuff done. A lot of emails can be accomplished in a “found” 15 minutes.
The best by-product of this is that by the time I reach my night, my stress levels are down because I know I took care of the most important stuff for that day. If I keep working after the kids are in bed, it gets to be on some of my more enjoyable tasks - like DESIGNING!!!!
By the way - Project Runway is back on Wed. nights!!
November 30th, 2007
Finally! A picture of our booth at the ABC Show. Takes me forever to get pictures off our camera and uploaded and even
this picture cut off the top of the booth. But that was our booth at the show.
I see so many things that I would change already. We’re not at the point of having a hardwall booth yet, which I would love. I don’t know how much of a difference that would make. It is definitely different to do a show that has low (3′) sidewalls, vs. a show that has full 8 ft sidewalls.
Someday I’m going to come up with the perfect way to display our blankets. They need to be spread out so the name is eye-catching, but I also want to show that there is a variety of options.
Like I said in a previous post, all we can do is get better each time. Can you tell that I don’t like this booth anymore? Almost sounds like I’m trying to make excuses, but it is HONESTLY leaps and bounds above our first trade show display booth.
But you know, it’s a reminder that you have to just start somewhere and go for it. No matter what, you’re always going to want to make it better; there is always a part of you that will feel like if you just change this or that, THEN you’ll be ready to launch; THEN you’ll be ready to show off. But really, you have to just leap, you have to give yourself permission to have room for improvement. Make sure you believe in the quality of your products before leaping, of course. Quality matters a lot.
Basically, if we expect it to be perfect before we go for it, we’ll never start, we’ll never meet our own expectations (=misery), and we’ll miss the whole journey. Someday I’ll have a great trade show booth - for now we’re doing the best we can and trying different things each time.
October 4th, 2007
In all honestly, I don’t have all of our line sheets lined up right. I hate them and I hate doing them. As if I like any of the admin aspects of running the business. I think my problem is that I haven’t found a great template that I am happy with. I’ve had a couple of versions of a catalog, a look book, and previous line sheets - but I’m not satisfied with the look / feel of any of them. Now we have new styles and need new line sheets and I think I just don’t want to do them. I keep letting it fall farther down my to-do list and it’s so crucial for our sales. I can’t put them off any longer.
I’m working on the line sheet for our graphic tees and onesies. Not a big deal because all the images are finally done - including the new styles. I even started hashing out the layout for the line sheet. I’m going to be so happy when it’s done. Its getting to that point that annoys me right now.
A line sheet should be simple: technical sketches of the style, the fabrication, sizes available, colors available, and care instructions, pre-pack combinations. This is the main sales tool - the piece of paper that shows what you have, you could say they are as important as your samples, they are what prospective buyers can keep in their hands, what they can walk away with, what they can peruse and review at their will. Which reminds me that contact information needs to be on every line sheet.
I guess it’s making the line sheet look good that has me hung up right now. I do know, with 100% certainty that all of our line sheets and sales materials are going online to make sending them to people a lot easier. I need to simplify the wholesale inquiry process, so I need a simple link that I can email to potential clients.
Note that the line sheets do not have the prices on them. We maintain a separate price list. Create a pdf, upload it our site and send that link out like mad to wholesale prospects. It’s so easy Amber, just stop talking about it and do it already.
September 30th, 2007
I have to learn not to be so reactionary. I have to learn to implement some standard operating procedures and then follow them. We’re starting with standard status meetings. Pop, pop, fizz, fizz, what a relief that is. We’re all on the same page. I never realize how much I’m keeping in my head ALL THE TIME.
I kind of expect everybody else to just know what needs to get done because I do. I kind of expect everyone to hold everything as a high priority, because I do. But no one can read my mind. And if I’m keeping it all inside, I’m getting frustrated at what’s not getting done insted of just making it happen.
I catch myself thinking that just because I’ve mentioned something in passing at one point in time, the person I mentioned it to will know that means it’s now a to-do for them. Sounds totally ridiculous when I write it out, but it is something I’m recognizing.
We’re now documenting everything. So that all the to-do’s are visible to everyone and assigned to someone. We’re setting deadlines for all the little tasks. I can’t believe how big the big picture is, how important it is to sit down and re-visit everything you have on your plate. You’ll find out what is really a priority and what can maybe wait for the zillion other things in front of it.
We’re gearing up for the holidays, so we’re trying to add as much sanity as we can before the insanity slams us.
And concretely - we’ve planned a marketing / sales campaign that we’ll realistically be able to launch by the end of next week.
September 26th, 2007
I came across a great book on fashion illustration last week. It’s called Drawing Fashion Models by Lee Hammond. The book is a part of the Discover Drawing Series, copyright 1999.
It’s an excellent tutorial book for those of us who both have no clue about fashion illustration and need a lot of help with it. It is designed to take you from beginner to master, with each excercise building on the last.
One of the things that I really like about the book is the that the author really focuses on fashion. She talks about tweaking proportions and flattering model positions. She also goes into detail on how to draw all different kinds of fabrics and folds and even lace.
I have a long ways to go before I have anywhere near the drawing skills of the author, but it’s a great kick off for learning the skill. If I could be even just a little bit better at illustrating the fashions I’m designing, then it would streamline our development process. Better drawings would communicate my vision better.
Fashion illustrations, which attempt to show the viewer what the apparel looks like on a model, are different than technical sketches, which show the viewer what the article of clothing looks like when laid flat on a table and viewed from above. It is a technical sketch that you hand over to your pattern maker.
July 16th, 2007
I have to admit that keeping up with the business is difficult enough without trying to keep up with the new & upcoming trends. Whether it’s trends in styles, manufacturing systems, or consumer buying - it’s hard to keep up. Lucky for me, another mompreneur posted a link to a great trend watching site - which just happens to have a very timely article right now on “manufacturing locally”.
Oh, that’s us! We’re “Made in the USA”. The article is worth skimming over, if not reading in it’s entirety. The trend watching site looks like it’s a great trend resource, an easy click away, for us busy entrepreneur’s.
I have to say I felt a sense of pride when I read the part of the article where it says:
“(STILL) MADE HERE encompasses new and enduring manufacturers and purveyors of the local. In a world that is seemingly ruled by globalization, mass production and ‘cheapest of the cheapest’, a growing number of consumers are seeking out the local, and thereby the authentic, the storied, the eco-friendly and the obscure.”
We are not competing on price. We are competing on quality, materials, and style. And, I do believe that it’s taken a longer time to kick start a company that is based on high-end products, because we’ve have to build the brand up enough for people to believe that our products are worth the higher price point. But we’re getting to the point where we have to do less and less convincing and more and more people are buying.
The three big “drivers” for consumers seeking out the locally-made are:
- Social / Eco Responsibility
- Status
- Support
So, if you are manufacturing locally, considering how you are meeting the needs and desires of your target consumer in the above areas. I can say that one of the big drivers for me personally to manufacture locally was to provide jobs here. It’s not like we can take credit for any great number of jobs yet, but our personalized blankets provide work for hard working moms in our community, so it’s a start. I also have control issues, and the thought of having our stuff made in massive quantities far from my peering eyes gives me hives. Not really, really, really - but I’m not wanting or ready to go there.
So it’s refreshing to read an article that confirms the consumers are willing to believe it’s worth it to buy stuff that is made locally..and it also confirms my belief that quality and good service will make a difference in the long run.
June 16th, 2007
People always ask me what it’s like to run my own clothing line. Or they ask what it’s like to start my own business. I asked this a lot when I was first convincing myself that the idea was feasible. Tonight, I have a simple answer. It’s a lot of late nights and early mornings. It’s giving up TV and convincing yourself to do one more thing on your to-do list; like create the additional versions of a product packaging graphic (which I LOVE).
The crazy thing about it is that if you have found the right business to start, meaning the right business for you, something you love, then you won’t care that it means a lot of late nights and early mornings. Sometimes, you’ll be so thrilled by the momentum in your business that you won’t even think about sleep; other times you’ll hit lulls and sneak in more sleep (the lulls do a body good).
I’m always tell myself there’ll be time for the sleeping when this business is well-begun. And, we’re in a ramp up to a weekend event, so there’s extra-lateness to our nights and extra-earliness to our mornings. But it’s the best thing in the world to me, because my kids went with me to my final appointment tonight and because I make the rules, which, obnoxious as it is, is important to me.
April 25th, 2007
The advent of yearly taxes has forced us to finish up our spring cleaning. I couldn’t be more thankful. I feel like we’re getting a little bit of control back. Going through this exercise, coupled with mis-placing important papers over the last couple of months, has been just the slap-in-the-face we needed to get the business paperwork together.
To create a method for the madness, for the madness will never subside.
I’ve learned that I need to keep much better records of our every move. I’ve learned that there is a lot I don’t know, so “bookkeeper” is high on our list of must-hire goals / priorities. But we’re alright for this year considering we’re still a small company. And I kept receipts and bank records help on the double-check.
Taxes are this great big black cloud that just hovers until the fateful day arrives. The silver lining is that mounds of papers have now been properly filed and it feels like my head got de-cluttered at the same time. We’ll be going back to our tax accountant next year, guaranteed. Especially since we plan on being a much larger company. I guess this isn’t much of a helpful-post business-wise, unless someone out there gets motivated to keep track of everything from the get-go. Every thing, every thing, every little thing.
I can’t believe how stressful it is. We’re in the home stretch. And we have to be, because I’d really like to make it to the textile show tomorrow.
Besides taxes, there is so much admin stuff that has to happen today it’s crazy. Go girl, just keep going.
April 16th, 2007
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