Jewelry Home Parties & Sapphire for September
This month is how to
make money from jewelry home parties and September's gem, sapphire. Scroll down, or click
one of the links below on the html version to go to a certain section.
See us in the UK during September and October -
for dates click here.
First bead show at Edinburgh, on Sunday 25th September.
If you're in the East of England, come to see our own bead fair at Norwich on
16th October - details here.
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How to Profit from Jewelry Home Parties
Sapphire: September's Gemstone
How to Make a Killing
Selling Bead Jewelry
15% Discount
How to Profit from
Jewelry Home Parties
Party guests feel comfortable buying from you, because your presence in the
hostess’s home implies they can trust you and your work is good. You’re a friend, not an outside sales person. Trust is the
most important factor in selling and developing repeat business. And
customers enjoy shopping in a relaxed, personalized environment, rather than a
mall. top of page
Everyone Loves a Party!
A jewelry home party is one of the most profitable and fun ways to
market your bead designs. There’s no competition from other sellers, and the
guests love to encourage each other to shop. It’s better than say a
Tupperware party, because you’re the actual designer, personally selling your
jewelry. Buyers love that!
Parties are very efficient. In just
three hours, you can make hundreds of dollars. And it’s not always necessary to
pay any fees or commission - just give your hostess some free jewelry and a
discount based on the takings.
Organizing the Party
It’s easy to sell at a jewelry home party every week
while holding down your day job. You only need a couple of hours’ preparation.
You choose the dates and times, and it’s easier than you think to attract
bookings.
Work the party like a craft show - greeting customers
browsing and encourage trying on jewelry.
Answer
questions, make suggestions, and advice on custom orders.
Create a fun atmosphere of a girls’ night
out shopping. 
Around 3-hours at someone’s home work best.
Although you can estimate how long you need for the party, add 50% more
time, and tell this to the host in advance.
Invitations
The best invitations are color postcards with an enticing photo of your
finest jewelry – this will encourage people to attend the party.
To prevent guests from assuming everything will be too expensive for
them, add “Prices Start at $3” (or whatever your least expensive item is) on the
invitation. Other tips are:
Print in color one side, and leave the other side blank so
you can fill in for different parties.
Write or print both your and the hostess’s details on the
cards - so guests can contact you in the future to either buy jewelry or book a
party of their own.
Attract More People
Setting Up
Only about half invited may actually attend, therefore encourage your
hostess to ask over 20 people.
Request a guest list with names, addresses, and phone numbers, so you can mail
invitations two weeks in advance. Provide her with plenty of invitations
early, so she can distribute at work, school, church, clubs etc.
Suggest she telephones all the guests the day before to remind them.
Arrange beforehand, whether to use the hostess’s dining
table or bring your own table(s) for display, and take black or white velvet to
cover the table top.
Save time by
setting up all you can at home beforehand, but arrive 15-minutes early to
organize and assemble everything.
Bright lighting is crucial for good jewelry sales.
Tell your hostess you need a well-lit room and bring extra lights with an
extension cable. 
Take lots of mirrors so customers can see how good they
look when they try your jewelry. With their friends' opinions, this is what
makes the party fun for guests. You may also want to bring scarves, hats
and other props too.
How to Sell
Don’t distract
Most guests intend to buy jewelry.
Keep them focused there, you don’t need anything fancy. Simple and
without pressure - letting people come and go as they please. Guests attend to
shop and socialize, not eat. They
can’t try on jewelry with food in their hands. Tea, coffee and biscuits; or
nuts, wine and cheese is all you need.
Right away is always best
Try selling as much jewelry as possible at the actual party - instead of
showing samples and taking orders. Impulse sales come easy when people are
excited and guests like to take something home.
Emphasize that your custom jewelry is unique and impossible to duplicate.
If they don’t buy now, they could miss the chance to own the piece later.
“Fear of loss” is a powerful seller!
Extra orders
Sincere encouragement Take payment in full at the party, otherwise some will
cancel later. Accept credit cards,
Paypal, or post-dated checks for larger amounts.
Also take a float of change and a money box for cash.
Display a nice photo album of your work at every party. This triggers
custom orders and makes it easier for you to give suggestions. Expect
questions about how and when you became a jewelry artist, places you sell,
materials used, how it’s made, and where you met the hostess.
Interesting comments said about your art
makes it more appealing.
Look your guests in the face when you talk, with breath eye contact.
Smile and chat to show you’re sincere.
Emphasize the BENEFITS of owning one of your pieces. Say something like
“you’ll look fantastic in this pearl necklace, all the guys will fancy you - and
they never go out of style!”
Taking orders
Bring two calculators, order and receipt forms, and some nice pens.
For custom orders, ensure both you and the customer have a written and
signed copy of the agreement. Specify delivery date with their phone
number and e-mail address. Make the date slightly later than when you
expect to finish the order. Then you’re covered if it’s late - and they’ll be
impressed if it’s early.
Extra Party Tips
1. Let the hostess choose pieces of your jewelry to
model during the party.
2. Display an area of under-$20 gift selections next to a
sign that reminds customers of people they need to shop for:
daughters, mothers, grandmothers, babysitters, teachers, coworkers,
bosses, employees, godmothers, goddaughters, clients, nieces, etc.
3. Give bonuses for individual sales at different levels.
For example, a guest who purchases over $150 receives a coupon for $15
off jewelry purchased within 30-days (or free earrings). This also motivates
customers who have spent $149 or less, to buy one more item
4. Award a
special prize for the customer who spends the most - and dramatize giving it to
them at the end of the party. This
encourages people to spend more at future parties.
5. Each piece of jewelry should be part of a possible
set. So if they buy a pearl necklace, suggest a pearl bracelet too.
If you don’t have ready-made matching pieces, offer to make custom items
to match.
6. Show lots of impulse extras: like chains and neck
wires, inexpensive earrings, jewelry polishing cloths, etc. One extra item onto
each customer’s total adds up.
7. Sell everything in a quality presentation box, and
offer free gift wrapping to make it easy for guests to buy for presents.
8. Sell gift certificates for your jewelry.
9. At the end of the party, encourage guests
to book their own jewelry party.
As an incentive, offer a free
voucher (or gift) if they commit there and then.
10. Distribute vouchers to promote both your own custom
jewelry designs and for guests to host their own jewelry party.
Include a color photo on the leaflet, highlight the benefits, and offer a
gift or small discount.
Hostess Incentives
If someone feels she couldn’t host a party, suggest
doubling up with another hostess to hold a group party - where each person
invites her own guests and gets credit for their purchases. Negotiate
whose house to use, and give them extra. Apart from discounts, you can entice potential hostesses
with a special gift, like a unique design that everyone wants, but only they can
buy.
People agree to host a jewelry party because they want cut-priced jewelry.
However, some hesitate as they think it will be too much work. Therefore,
tell your potential hostesses they only need provide snacks, you’ll do
everything else. Explain that she’ll
have a lot of fun: socializing and shopping with friends for free jewelry.
After she books, send a thank-you note
the next day. This shows your appreciation and commits them.
Don’t feel over obliging
Try to avoid paying commission in cash – far better to give a discount for
your jewelry or a small design free.
Tell your hostess how long it took you to design and make a piece.
There’s nothing wrong charging for your time - don’t undersell yourself.
Hostess Credits
Work out what incentives you want to give to your hosts before approaching
them and set a few rules. Like there
must be at least two people besides the hostess who purchase jewelry for it to
be considered a party - and the combined guest total must be at least
$100 for her to earn free/discounted jewelry.
If these conditions are met, then a few ideas of what the
hostess could receive are:
·
A $25 gift certificate to spend at her party or use toward
a custom order.
·
Plus discounted/free jewelry equaling 10% of her guests’
pre-tax total of $100 to $499, or 15% of her guests’ total over $500.
These totals don’t include the hostess’s purchases.
·
Also give her another $10 for each party booked from her
jewelry party, and an additional $10 if she has 20 or more guests.
If all goes well,
hostesses will often host again - especially if they enjoyed themselves and got
some nice jewelry. Mail her a handwritten
thank you the day after her party, with an extra jewelry coupon that’s good for
30-days.
Discount Vouchers
Use quality printed discount vouchers.
Design so they are versatile and can be given both to customers and to
your jewelry party hosts. The
voucher must have your name, logo, and contact details.
More on discount vouchers later.
Sapphire:
September's Gemstone
Sapphire is the birthstone for September, and is chemically and structurally the same as ruby, an aluminum oxide. However, where rubies are only red, sapphires come in every color but red: blue, golden yellow, reddish-orange, or violet. The most valuable sapphires have a vivid royal blue color. Some sapphires do change their colors between blue and violet depending on the light.
Sapphires are extremely durable, only diamonds are harder. Sapphires are generally cut into cushions, rounded rectangle or oval shapes. However, fancy sapphires may be triangles, squares, marquises, pear shapes, cabochon cut, or smooth domes. Sapphire is the anniversary stone for the 5th and 45th years of marriage.
Dark blue and lilac sapphire is said to enhance ones creativity while guarding against distraction. It is also good for sexual relationships because it tends create deep bonding between people and brings loyalty.
Light blue sapphire is the inspiration stone. It helps to bring new thoughts and makes one feel excited and full.
Green sapphire brings a lucky sense to ones life for
it allows things to run smoothly.
Orange works on a totally different level by not allowing you to deceive
yourself. It makes you look at things in their basic form without distorting it
to conform to what you want it to be. Brings true knowledge - a good stone for
students, teachers, writers and researchers.
Pink sapphire allows one to surrender to another for the good of the all.
White sapphire helps you take care of yourself and to tend to your personal needs. Yellow sapphire connects you to the total you with all of your inner knowledge. It also helps you to see what you do not know so you can look for an answer, rather than believing you already know the answer.
Blue chalcedony
can look similar to sapphire at a fraction of the cost. Although a very
fine-grained variety of quartz. It has a waxy luster with a compact fibrous
structure. Natural chalcedony is usually grayish blue and sometimes with hints
of pink, however it can be color enhanced to light blue.
It is said that chalcedony was used
as a sacred stone by the Native Americas, promoting stability within the
ceremonial activities of the tribe. Chalcedony is thought to augment emotional
balance, vitality, stamina, endurance, kindness, charity and friendliness. It
also supposedly alleviates hostilities, irritability and melancholy.
For our Chalcedony click MrBead or MrBead.co.uk top of page
From our
new book How
to Make a Killing Selling Bead Jewelry - to
buy at a 33% discount to listed price click:
US Version or
UK Version
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