Origami Owl Lockets and Charms

@LocketsNcharms - A Think Goodness Brand Partner

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How to Sell and Have Customers Without Really Selling?

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So how does one keep themselves going with Origami Owl, keep demand up, and keep selling?  There is plenty of training that the company provide their people but here I share what has worked for me.  Keep in mind, I am really shy, I am not pushy, I don’t like to “sell” to people, and I doing this business as what they call me “hobby consultant”… doing it here and there and do it when it suits me and keeping momentum with the least effort.  Despite being a hobby consultant, here is what has kept me moving along with Origami Owl:

Have inventory.  I don’t “sell” or promote it so much and work my other projects and hobbies plenty more, but because my friends know I have a mini store of OO (inventory) at home, i sell these like hot cakes because they can drop in and take it to a birthday party or baby shower in the next hour.  Having inventory  sets you a part from other designers, offer a great service and convenience, and saves them shipping of 7.95.  it is a win win.  of course, a designer would have to invest upfront for this inventory.  If i didn’t have it on hand, i probably would not be “selling” an average of 10 lockets a month at $65 average…. just something to think about.

And yes, we do process credit cards.  People can enter their CC# when they shop online, and we can place orders in the back office and put in their credit cards.  The other ones like Square or PayAnywhere is good for events because OO reps have bought the inventory upfront and have paid for it upfront.  Reps offer the credit card convenience to people and customers by using these smart phone swipers. Also at parties, some use the CC swipers so the rep can take payment for lockets there and when she gets home, order one big order in the back office at whole sale price, keeping the difference that night (kinda like getting paid upfront.  does that make sense?

So get what you can, have inventory, be the personal shopper for those who need an amazing last minute gift.  Even if there are other Origami Owl reps, be the go to person for sales because you have the service and convenience while others don’t =)

Military Charms No Longer Available

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March 2013 – They are no longer available =/

 

Heading off to do an even in a couple of hours on a local military base.  So much to do still to prep but wanted to share what we have that someone serving or supporting would love!  If you are reading this to during or after an event, please make sure to join my mailing list to get your catalog.

Also, I have donated a locket for this event’s auction.  Make sure to ask the event coordinator how you can get it on winning!

To DO or NOT to Do Origami Owl?

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I was perusing online in a respected online forum, I read someone post that that despite all the Origami Owl “hype” they have heard that people are no longer selling anymore because demand has died down. Really?!!  The company just started taking Designers in 6 months ago and it has already died down? I beg to differ! This was their message to someone considering joining Origami Owl. Fair enough, they did mention that they are not an Origami Owl rep and this is simply what they “heard” online.

(Update March 2013: The newest person in my team is #23866.  That means that the company has almost 23,000 reps in just a year’s time. There is STILL A WAITLIST TO GET IN and someone personally told me that they were #6000-something on the waitlist.  The desire of people to become an Independent Designer with Origami Owl has not died down).

Since I am an Origami Owl rep, I thought it would be fitting to report what I know from personal experience and to share with you what I have seen in my Origami Owl circles.

Business may have faded for this person they heard from because they are out of friends and family to sell to.  The reality is… unless one goes out of his immediate circle, business will stop. Unless one knows how to create recurring sales, leads, and repeat buyers from their immediate circle and beyond, business will stop.

A second reason as to why someone is not selling Origami Owl is simply because they are on vacation.  The direct-sales industry (the category and business model that Origami Owl is) gives people the right to take a vacation at any time. July is summer and kids are out of school. People travel and have their hours filled.  Yes, you can take your Origami Owl business with you but you may not have the dull on time ad ability to run business while on vacation.


Another reason someone may not be selling Origami Owl is because the Designer did not have such a strong start, got demotivated, and quit.  But this is not limited to Origami Owl. Human nature, we don’t like to do what is not easy or avoid things that hurt.  Having a bad launch party or hearing no’s or not getting enough yes’s can be a real blow to self-esteem and cause one to quit.  This goes for any direct sales company or sales business: if people don’t have a strong start, the enthusiasm fades away.  Unless they do something against it, the natural flow is to stop. One can simply choose to fold the business to avoid the not so fun that comes in this business, or work it.  Think of it as what is is NET-WORK MARKETING…. cast a big net, work, and market the hell out of yourself!
Yes there are bumps in the road with home office, there are things that happen that you rather not happen, but every business has that and one just has to roll with the human errors that occur despite the best intentions.

Do I know of anyone who has personally quit quit?  I know of one person who has and has signed a Designer Termination Agreement to make it official.  Why did she quit?  I personally asked her and she said, it was simply because she just didn’t want to do it anymore and was just bored with it all.  That is what she said to me.  While on the other end of the spectrum, someone mentioned last month that they have 50 people on the wait-list who are so patiently and excitedly waiting to sign up with them.  How much more are joining than quitting?  There are over 4500 on the wait-list.  My upline started with Origami Owl in Dec and she has 300 people under her downline.  300 in 3 months is impressive!

For everyone that has officially quit, I would think that there must be at least 500 that are joining.  This business is easy, fun, financially rewarding, and most of all – there is nothing like it and nothing better than jewelry that you put together yourself.  From Business Builder stand pint, it is amazing too because there isn’t another company that offer jewelry that looks like what Origami Owl has.  When you see this jewelry, you know it is an Origami Owl locket.  I don’t know, maybe it is just me, but I think that that is pretty neat!

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Update March 2013 – I have been here one year and 2 months and I am so happy to be here.  Not only is this “job” so much fun, but it is also so rewarding in a dozen ways.  I say you do it!  At the very least, you deserve to give yourself a chance to be successful at it.  Join the wait list at https://locketsandcharms.origamiowl.com/enrollment/joinourteam and consider me as your Mentor #1186 (Jennylou Raya)

 

An Origami Owl Hype with a Freeze?

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Late last year, Origami Owl transitioned from their retail mall location from the mall to the direct sales model, which is selling through independent designers.

In less that 2 months, It has grown past the 1000 mark. I joined the 3rd week of January and got my ID # 1186,  Days later, my friend signs up and she was #1200.  Everything looked normal to me.

I joined my upline’s upline FB page for her Team,  and witnessed the growth from end of January to mid-March to over a couple hundred  – 200+ new Designers in 2 months on her down line alone!

Then 1500, and soon after, a freeze came in March that was followed by a wait-list… and today there are reportedly 5000 on the wait list.  I do not know that for sure, but I do know that there are at least 4,565 because my latest Designer in Waiting got #4565.

The freeze was put in place not to “hype” anything up.  Yes, I could see how people could think that, as companies have done this demand vs. scarcity ploy as part of their marketing strategy.  Yes, it is exciting when there is a line of people as it must mean something is up and it may be something good.  Like the 2 hour wait at Fashion Valley’s Cheesecake Factory on a Saturday night?  People like to be where the “crowd” is, it makes them feel good to be a part of something so wanted, and because of this truth, some companies do create “a line” to create a “hype” but this Origami Owl freeze was definitely not a freeze to create demand.

Why is there a freeze with Origami Owl?

The truth was and is, the freeze was put in place because there wasn’t enough stuff to go around, people were waiting 2 weeks up to a month or more waiting for their charms.  It really made me upset.  It made many upset.  At the same time, it was quite understandable as some Teams were selling over $100,000 in lockets for the month!  So needless to say, demand superseded supply and a freeze needed to be put in place.

Also, with so much growth came demand for bigger and better infrastructure.  Home office needed to not only get supply up but they also needed to hire the hands to run the the home office, the hands to pack and ship, and get the right training to all new “owl babies.”  A responsible company should not keep “birthing babies” without feeding them and raising them with the culture and values they want to instill in their new ambassadors.  With Origami Owl, there were so many new Designers that they needed to equip then and do so quickly early on, with the company culture and correct message, if they wanted to have a better grasp of the message and branding these new babies were sending out to the public.  All this would not have been possible without a freeze at the rate that Origami Owl was growing at by mid-March, as growth was growing exponentially while everything else – such as supply and training – was heading the other way.

So I hope this has clarified a  little bit about whether or not the happenings of Origami Owl were manufactured hype by the company or if it really was organic.  I will personally say that it was not manufactured but the wait-list crowd has really intrigued a lot of people in the industry and the high numbers of the wait-list may have piqued interest and have caused them to be one of the 4500+ on the wait-list.  Wouldn’t you be a bit curious if you saw a line of 4500 people waiting for so something for so long? I know I would 😉

Locket inspired by Twilight’s Breaking Dawn

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Those who know me even a little bit know that I am a Twilight Series fan. It may be the sappy story line, or the innocence of young love, the message of  “you are ultimately the choices that you make,” or the powdery face of Robert Pattinson when I first saw him grace the 42″ flat screen in my living room.  Whatever it is, I have incorporated Twilight in several aspects of my every day life – even candles inspired by the books.  And one of those include the lockets that I have.  This picture was created by my friend and fellow team mateGenelle.  Once I got all my pieces, I had to make one for myself too.

Pictured here is a Large silver locket with crystals, an 18-20″ rolo chain in silver, 4 charms (apple, piano, infinity symbol, and a book that says ‘i <3 to read’), and 2 dangles (rose in vintage white and a bayview dangle in gray).  You may build one and order at my e-commerce site at http://locketsandcharms.origamiowl.com/how-to-build/.  A video featuring this locket will soon be posted, stay tuned =)

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