Saturday, January 28, 2012

Paperly Conference: Day 2

It will be hard to beat the 2nd day of Paperly's Conference. The day started off with the objectives of Conference and goal setting by each of the attendees.  A common theme from the Consultants was "expanding their Paperly business beyond their immediate circle of friends & family".  I then spent some time on Paperly's past, present and future.  I feel it's incredibly important to understand Paperly's beginnings and its everlasting principles so we can collectively build the "right" business. Then, we were honored to dialogue with Joe Mariano, the Direct Selling Association's President.  Everyone loved hearing his perspective on the industry and Paperly's unique and compelling position within it.  After an amazing lunch (of way too much food!) we broke into small teams to discuss best practices across (1) marketing your Paperly business, (2) increasing bookings and (3) enhancing the party experience. We will soon publish the notes from these discussions.  Finally, we concluded the day with a page-by-page preview of Paperly's new Spring 2012 catalog. Now that it's "out", I can finally start sharing all of its amazing designs and products - yea.

Now it's off to a fun-filled dinner of pizza, pasta, salads and wine ;)  I hope tomorrow is as productive - and fun! - as today!

I'll write more soon.

- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly
The leading direct seller of personalized stationery & gifts

Paperly's Conference 2012

Friday, January 27, 2012

Paperly Conference Prologue

Well... it's finally here!  Paperly's first-ever Consultant Conference. I'm currently in Atlanta staring at all that I brought: goodie bags, treats, giveaways, samples from Paperly's new catalog, and so much more. The agenda is literally packed!  (I'm keeping my fingers crossed we can fit it all in ;)  I think I'm most excited about meeting all the Consultants.  They truly are a VERY special group. I also cannot wait to get their thoughts on (1) Consultant best practices, (2) solutions to Paperly's most vexing challenges, and (3) Paperly's new Spring 2012 catalog.  I've come to learn that Consultants want to learn some about Paperly, but more importantly, they want to listen and learn from each other. So it's my job to create the right learning environment and then get out of the way as fast as possible!

I promise to blog a lot more about Conference, hopefully throughout the event, but at the very least when I return to Chicago.  And yes - we will take lots and lots and lots of pictures and videos.

Remember - Think Big!
- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly
The leading direct seller of personalized stationery & gifts

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Paperly's 2012 Initiatives

As promised in my last blog piece, "Looking Forward to 2012", I'd like to elaborate on Paperly's 5 key initiatives for 2012: team building, Starter Kit, Fast Start program, marketing & promotion, and training & development.

Team Building
Someone once told me, "Paperly will only go as far as its leaders take it." I completely agree, so I have made it a top priority in 2012 to support the growth of Paperly’s leaders’ by helping them build their team. How? By allocating inbound leads to existing and future leaders who have met pre-established monthly criteria including personal sales, attending training sessions, and subscribing to Paperly's website & e-newsletter services. I am confident Paperly's current leaders will cultivate these leads into the next generation of leaders. 

Starter Kit
On January 1, Paperly launched a new and improved Starter Kit. The new Kit contains everything a new Consultant needs to successfully start and grow her Paperly business, including catalogs, order forms, loose samples and training guides. But of equal importance, the new Kit is less expensive ($99), will arrive faster (it'll ship in 1-2 business days) and will provide the opportunity to receive more personalized products. To that latter point, take a look at Paperly's new program titled, "40% Off for 40 Days".

Fast Start Program
On a personal note, I'm aghast at how many new Consultants never attend a Paperly training session. Of course, I cannot force them, but I can reward them when they participate. Thus, in 2012 I will post a list of activities I expect all new Consultants to complete, and as they're completed, Consultants will earn Paperly Dollars.  These Paperly Dollars can then be used to purchase additional samples, personalized products or business supplies... all of which will help the Consultant grow her business bigger and faster.

Marketing & Promotion
I appreciate that not all sales will occur at a party. Therefore, I have decided to extend Paperly's Free Shipping promotion for the foreseeable future, thereby enabling easier one-to-one sales. I'm also excited to announce that Paperly will launch an e-newsletter service that'll make it significantly easier for Consultants to stay connected with their Customers. Lastly, Paperly is committed to continuously expanding its offerings - such as personalized and branded signs, car clings, banners, etc. - within its Marketing Portal.

Training & Development
Last, but certainly not of least importance, is Paperly's commitment towards training and development in 2012. We have already established our yearlong training calendar, making it even easier for our Consultants to stay abreast of Paperly's latest programs and announcements. We also will begin in February our 3rd Future Leaders Program. And finally, we're holding our first ever National Conference, plus we're hoping to hold our 2nd President's Council in the summertime.

Of course, these 5 initiatives are only the beginning.  We already have so many other amazing things planned for 2012 including a free cruise for those who earn it, new products, a completely redesigned single-catalog approach, and so much more.  I hope you decide to ride the wave, because I'm confident 2012 will be a year like none other at Paperly.

Regards,
Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly