Recently someone shared an article with me by a “Stampin’Up! Business Coach” and they were chatting about running unprofitable classes.
The basic premise is that if you charge $15 for a class but they get it for free with a $25 purchase you really aren’t making any money.
And I totally agree with that…..unless…..
for me, as a team leader, I make 99.9% of my income from commission on my team sales. In order to make the maximum amount I can on my team I need to generate $1500 in monthly sales. The amount of money I make each month is significant so I don’t need to make any money from my own sales.
and there are many more examples of times when this may work out grand. Each person needs to know what their goals are, how they make their money, what short term sacrifice may lead to the bigger goal, and so on.
so, just know that there are exceptions to this idea.
The “free with an X purchase” came about because so many demonstrators were holding events and not generating sales. And without product sales this whole Stampin’Up! gig disappears. We need to sell product AND make money for this thing to work. If we all make money at our classes but don’t sell any product, Stampin’Up! will not be around for very long.
I like to hold 2 kinds of events:
- A simple $15 for 4 cards. This puts $$ in my pocket and people feel comfortable inviting a new friend because it is inexpensive.
- $30 product based class in which the attendees receive $20 in product with $10 being cash to me.
That doesn’t mean those are the classes you should hold.
Know your goals, be selective in what you offer, and keep fine tuning to make sure what you are doing is working for you.
So here is the takeaway:
- Don’t just adapt what you see other demonstrators doing. They have distinctly different goals and situations. So while it might make perfect sense for them, it might not make sense for you.
- There are lots and lots of fabulously qualified people who can offer you information and training on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, etc…..but when it comes to advice on how to best run your Stampin’Up! business I highly recommend turning to people who actually run successful Stampin’Up! businesses.
Click here for my number one most popular course when it comes to running profitable classes.
Thank you so much for stepping up and addressing this, Lisa.
I, too, saw that article and immediately thought of a multitude of rebuttals to it, but held my tongue and instead vowed to incorporate this topic into future team training. My immediate impression was that this thought-process was surprisingly short-sighted, and undermined the very point of Direct Sales and MLM/Network Marketing – which is the sale of product. While it is true that one’s immediate commission on a $30 order might be as little as $6.00 (or potentially a $3 commission on a $15 order), there can also be far greater longer-term benefits for having made such a sale in the first place.
I am so happy to have kindred spirit on this thought Lynda!! Thanks so much for sharing on the importance of selling product xoxo lisa