Paperly's Starter Kit: Different is Okay

Paperly's Starter Kit is different. Different can  sometimes feel good, but other times different can feel unsettling. I thought I'd take a moment to explain the rational behind Paperly's "different" Starter Kit.

The Past

Originally, Paperly's Starter Kit was $249. Wow! That was a big investment for a new Consultant. However, the Kit was full of samples, printouts of training & promotional materials, 2 different catalogs, etc. Unfortunately, the Kit was a big, heavy, cumbersome mishmash that didn't meet the needs of the Consultants for a number of different reasons:

• It was too expensive. The $249 price tag prevented too many from joining Paperly.
• The training & promotional materials were outdated almost as soon as they arrived on the new Consultant's doorstep. Paperly needed a more timely and accessible repository of documents.
• But most importantly, the samples were too generic. Sure, it's nice to receive a platter in a Floral design personalized with "Jane Doe". But what if the Consultant didn't like Florals?  Or didn't like the font we chose?  Or worse - what if her customers don't like Florals? Not surprisingly, the generic samples didn't generate the passion and enthusiasm from the new Consultants we had hoped.

We knew we had to make a change.  But equally as important, we knew we had to make Paperly different so that it would standout from the crowd.

The Present

In January 2012, Paperly launched its current Starter Kit and we believe it solves all 3 of the problems listed above: price, timeliness and passion.

• Paperly's Starter Kit is now only $99. We stripped away the extraneous pieces but retained everything critical for new Consultants to start and grow their Paperly business.
• Paperly's training & support documents are now available instantly online. As soon as a new Consultant enrolls, they can login to their Virtual Office and immediately begin reviewing critical training documents such as Paperly's "12-Week Roadmap to Success". Plus, we are no longer terrified of included an outdated promotion into the Kit; instead, it's always online and accurate.
• Most importantly, we removed many of the generic samples and instead began offering new Consultants "40% off for 40 Days".  Now Consultants can choose the exact product they want, in the exact design they want, with the exact personalization they want. We have found Consultants are 100x more passionate about a sample when it reflects their personal style.

We are confident the ability to personalize the Starter Kit with the exact products a new Consultant wants makes Paperly sufficiently different. Yes, sometimes it's unsettling to a new Consultant - i.e. "I now need to choose my samples?"  But all in all, we are VERY proud of Paperly's current Starter Kit.  And yet... in order to remain ahead of the curve, Paperly has further plans for what it offers new Consultants.

The Future

Paperly's Starter Kit needs to continue to evolve. The "40% off for 40 days" promotion has been a huge hit, so I expect to keep it.  And yet, I want to include additional samples into the Kit.  For example, it makes sense to include a Paperly-branded key chain or bag tag, doesn't it? And instead of single sheets of Paperly's notepads, we probably should include entire notepads, right?  Also, we could add some timeless promotional & training materials - such as Hostess Rewards, the Commission Plan, etc. - and not worry about these documents becoming extinct instantly.

In conclusion, I am confident Paperly's Starter Kit will always be a bit unique, but will always far exceed its primary purpose: To help Consultants start and build their Paperly business. In the end, I'm okay with being different.

- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

Paperly: Consultant Displays

I love seeing the magic Paperly Consultants perform with the samples we provide as part of Paperly's Starter Kit.

As a reminder, in Paperly's Comprehensive Starter Kit are the following samples (not to mention the catalogs, order forms, training documents and personalized marketing materials we also include): design swatches, hard-sided coaster, memo sheets with acrylic holder, napkins swatches, placemat, self-inking stamp, clipboard, wallet and dozens of loose samples (flat, folded, labels, stickers, etc.).

Below is a recent picture from Paperly Consultant, KateC, who has accumulated many, many samples during her tenure at Paperly, as clearly evident by her gorgeous display table.  Fortunately, Paperly has recently helped Consultants purchase personalized "hard goods" (e.g. picture frames, platters, coasters, etc.) via its Consultant Sample Sale.

Paperly Consultant, KarenS, is relatively new at Paperly, but even so, her display table is amazing! Here's what she recently said about it, "This is the table I set up for a Santa's Workshop, all direct sell companies. I had limited space so I clipped samples to my mini tree and put the rest in a half size binder in sheet protectors. The binder was perfect and the tree was super cute. The "star" on the tree was the holiday wine tag, I even ordered 3 sets for one customer!"

Lastly, this picture is of Paperly Consultant, KellyB, who not only did a fabulous job with her Paperly display, but I love the personalized Paperly banner she placed behind the table. Such banners - as well as business cards, marketing materials and signage - can be purchased at anytime via Paperly's Marketing Portal.  In fact, many Consultants never reach into their wallets to pay for such materials, but instead, they use the Paperly Dollars they've earned.

As you can see, Paperly's samples make for a very compelling, eye-catching display.  Thank you Consultants for sharing your pictures with me.  I hope to share additional photos soon.

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

Key Learnings from Washington DC / Baltimore Trip

Last week, I had the great fortune of traveling to Washington DC and Baltimore to meet with Paperly's amazing team of Consultants in that area. In less than 2 days, I had 2 lunch meetings, attended 2 parties, and probably drove 2 much (pun intended). I must admit, I learned so much (as I always do when I conduct field visits). In fact, there were simply too many ideas and suggestions to outline here. However, I wanted to give you a couple of truly key learnings.

#1 Key Learning: Simplify

Paperly needs to vastly simplify its parties. Honestly, a Paperly party should be a 4 hour event: 1 hour pre, 2 hours at, 1 hour post. To ensure that occurs, we need to consider potentially radical changes, such as:

• Moving to 1 catalog as opposed to 2
• Simplifying the catalog (i.e. less color options, less fonts, etc.)
• Enabling direct ship of products at a reasonable price, and perhaps, shipping as ordered rather than waiting for the party to close
• Continuing to reduce the error rates
• Improving the labeling of samples

I cannot promise Paperly will deliver on all of the above suggestions (for a variety of a operational reasons), but they are all worthy of in-depth exploration.

#2 Key Learning: Enhance Support Processes
Paperly could also dramatically help its Consultants by improving its support processes. Such processes begin from the moment the Consultant joins Paperly and continue all the way through the delivery of the product. Areas of improvement might include, but are not limited to:

• Provide a "90-Days to Success" roadmap for all new Consultants, so they know exactly what they need to do to be successful.
• Provide a "recruiting packet" so Consultants can successfully deliver key messages to potential team members.
• Provide better email invitation options/templates, be it for Paperly's system or third-party systems.
• Provide a better reward and recognition program. For example, how can Paperly make Paperly Dollars more effective?
• Provide more timely tracking of packages, so Consultants can communicate more effectively with existing and anxious customers.

Lots of food for thought, right? I greatly look forward to tackling these issues - collaboratively - because I know together, we can make Paperly a truly great company.

And finally, before finishing this entry, I wanted to thank the amazing team I met with: Crystal, Pam, Tammy, Kate, Nancy, Kristen, Tracie and Hilary (see photos below). I am super excited to know you are going to help continue to drive Paperly forward... the sky is the limit.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

A Retrospective: Special Occasions 2008

As we prepare to release Paperly’s Special Occasions catalog for 2011-12 (available on April 1, 2011), I thought it would be fun (and eye-opening) to write a retrospective on catalogs from Paperly’s past. Below is the second in the series. My first blog entry focused on Paperly’s original catalog, Everyday Collection 2007. The entry below discusses Paperly’s very first Special Occasions catalog.

While there were many positives that came out of this initial foray into a Special Occasions catalog, there were many mistakes we made and learned from, including:

• In an effort to be cost conscious, we shrunk the size of the catalog to 8.5” x 5.5”. Big mistake! Unfortunately, it made this catalog seem inferior compared to the 8.5” x 11” Everyday Collection catalog. Lesson learned: Always make your catalogs the same size!
• We introduced a gorgeous set of stationery that included 30 flat notes and envelopes, packaged within a sturdy, well-designed gift box. We loved it! Unfortunately, to make a reasonable margin on it, we needed to price the product at $75! Wow – lesson learned: There is a price point that cannot be exceeded. We now aim for all personalized gifts to fit within the $19.95 - $34.95 price range.
• One of the catalogs most popular products was 300 memo sheets stored in a gorgeous linen holder for only $30. It was a hit! Actually, it was too big of a hit, because we quickly sold out and our manufacturer couldn’t replenish the product fast enough. For the first time, Paperly had to tell its Consultants that we were back-ordered. Yuck! From that point forward, I vowed to never let Paperly get into a foreseeable backorder situation like that again.

Whew – lots of mistakes, but lots of success too. We quickly learned of the market’s insatiable appetite for reasonably priced, personalized beverage napkins, guest towels, teacher gifts and notepads. All those items continue to be strong winners for Paperly.

I must admit, it is fun looking back at Paperly’s past catalogs. I can’t wait to write about Paperly’s next one.

Until then,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

A Retrospective: Everyday Collection 2007

As we prepare to release Paperly’s Special Occasions catalog for 2011-12 (available on April 1, 2011), I thought it would be fun to start a retrospective series on catalogs from Paperly’s past. So let’s dial the time machine way, way, way back to Paperly’s very first catalog, Everyday Collection 2007.

Being our very first catalog, boy did we make a lot of mistakes with it! Here are just a few key learnings we discovered:

• The catalog had no pricing! How is that possible, you ask? Well, we envisioned the catalog to be a mere complement to a 3-ring album we had put together, so we put pricing in the album but not in the catalog. Big mistake! We quickly learned that the catalog needed to stand on its own… and soon, we ditched the album altogether.
• There were no exclusive products! Instead, Paperly used other company’s designs and passed along orders to those companies. Big mistake! Without exclusive designs, customers asked why purchase from Paperly as opposed to the designers directly. Plus, without owning the designs, there isn’t enough margin to pay our Consultants the commissions they deserve.
• We showcased the designs, but not the product! For example, we’d show an icon of ballet shoes, but we wouldn’t show that icon on a flat note, folded note, luggage tag, address label, etc. We learned that customers need to see the product in use, as a flat note – for example – and preferably in a photo, so depth, contrast and scale were all readily evident.

I could probably go on and on about other mistakes we made with this first catalog, but the important thing is we quickly learned from our mistakes and our catalogs have continued to get better and better.

My next blog entry will discuss Paperly’s first Special Occasions catalog!

Until then, 

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Anatomy of a Launch

My apologies for the delay in posting this latest blog entry.  Although it’s not an excuse, we are in the midst of launching 2 new catalogs next week: Everyday Collection 2010-11 and Holiday 2010.  The entire Paperly community – Consultants, Customers, Hostesses and employees – is very excited about the launch.  That said, I thought you might find it interesting to read the basic steps that occur prior to such a massive unveiling.  Please note, I’ve grossly simplified each step below, but I’m hoping to give you an idea as to what occurs “behind the curtain” at Paperly.

• 6 months prior: Paperly aggregates all the feedback it has received from its Consultants, Customers and Hostesses about its designs.  By mapping strengths and weaknesses, Paperly is able to identify what direction its future designs might head.
• 5 months prior: Paperly begins to marry its new design ideas with its team of designers.  For example, one designer might be a better illustrator while another might be better at geometric patterns.
• 4 months prior: Initial design ideas are reviewed and feedback is given to designers.
• 3 months prior: Final designs are agreed upon, and then, designs are carried through all product types (i.e. gift stickers, address labels, etc.)
• 2 months prior: The design of the catalog begins.
• 1 month prior: Loose samples are printed and quality checked.  Photos are taken of the loose samples.
• 2 weeks prior to launch: Catalogs go to the printer, e-catalogs are created and the website begins to be populated with products.
• 1 week prior to launch: Boxes are packed full of catalogs/sample sets and shipped.  At times, it’s hard to find a square inch of Paperly’s office that isn’t covered in boxes!
• Launch!

Of course, this series of events completely skips over the marketing, promotion and training that needs to occur in parallel.  As you can tell, a catalog launch is a Herculean effort.  But boy, is it worth it when the positive feedback starts pouring in from Consultants, Customers and Hostesses.  Of course, by then, we can’t bask in our success, because we are already behind in started on our next catalog!

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

All the Pieces are in Place

Time for full disclosure…  Although we know stationery (we’ve been in the industry for 10+ years), we’re still learning a lot about direct selling.

In 2007, we launched Paperly by crisscrossing the United States, conducting a half dozen test parties.  In 2008, we invited 6 Consultants – yes, only 6 – to join Paperly.  We purposely kept the community small to ensure we could deliver quality products in a timely manner at a reasonable cost before we announced Paperly to the world.   In 2009, we invested significantly to enable Paperly to grow unhindered.  For example, we spent months customizing a world-class Web solution to enable Consultants to place orders online, manage their back office virtually and post online shopping events.  See www.MyPaperly.com/paperly for a demo.

Now, it’s 2010 and we are not slowing down a bit:

• We’ve introduced a new Starter Kit option, priced at only $99, to allow new Consultants the opportunity to quick-start their business with minimal investment. (http://www.paperly.com/kit.asp)
• We’ve introduced a new Commission & Career Plan so we can return every last penny possible back to the Consultants.  For example, the maximum commission on personal sales volume has increased from 25% to 38%!
• We’re fervently working on 2 new catalogs (Everyday Collections 2010-11 and Holiday 2010), plus a Future Leaders program - both to be released soon!

I share all of this, because honestly, all the pieces are now in place for Paperly’s Consultants to be wildly successful.

I just did a quick analysis and discovered that in 2009, 62% of Paperly’s sales occurred from September thru December!  That means, if you're already a Consultant, it’s time to fill your calendar through the end of 2010.  However, if you're not yet a Paperly Consultant, there may be no better time to join than now.

I’m proud of the progress Paperly has made.  Now that all the pieces are in place, the future is truly limitless.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Environmentally Friendly Products

It goes without saying, the environment matters to Paperly.  We try, whenever possible, to use environmentally friendly materials in our products.  Unfortunately, being a paper company, it’s harder than you might think.  True, “green” paper products exist.  But shifting Paperly’s entire product line to those materials is impractical in the short-term for numerous reasons: price, quality, product selection, etc.

Nevertheless, Paperly does currently offer some great, environmentally friendly products:

• Most all of our Color Collection products (#10240-10247) – both paper and envelope – is composed of at least 30% post-consumer waste.

• Our Eco Tablets (#10281), which consists of 7 notepads of 100 sheets each (700 sheets total), is composed of 100% post-consumer waste.  Additionally, this product uses a recycled, cardboard holder instead of the more traditional acrylic holder.  Even the name, “Eco Tablet”, is “green”!

• Paperly’s catalogs are printed on paper approved by the Forest Stewardship Council, a non-profit organization devoted to encouraging the responsible management of the world's forests.  In addition, our catalog paper is composed of at least 10% post-consumer waste.

We know Paperly still has a long way to go to meet our strong desire to use 100% environmentally friendly products, but we feel we’re making good progress.  I can assure you Paperly is committed to making beautifully designed, environmentally friendly stationery.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO * Co-Owner, Paperly

Paperly & My Six-Year Old Niece

I recently had the joy of helping my soon-to-be six-year old niece design her birthday invitations. Since the party theme was Pinkalicious (like the book, for those who don’t know) the invitations had to be … pink, of course! Deciding on the borders and ink color were easy, since she already knew she wanted pink. However, choosing the perfect icon wasn’t as simple, since Paperly has so many cute “girly” options that would complement her party theme. Even for a six-year old, she is a very thorough researcher, so she carefully browsed the catalog for any designs that were pink and recorded their item numbers. Then she looked at each one online several times to narrow down the choices to her favorite three. She still couldn’t decide and wanted a little more time to think about it.

Two days later, as we celebrated her last day of Kindergarten, she announced she had chosen #10725 (Garden from the Personally Yours collection) for her invitations. I doubted she had remembered the correct item number and consulted the Paperly Web site via my BlackBerry to search for the item. Sure enough, she had the numbers exactly correct. Well, of course, she had. Aside from her incredible memory (which I should know by now not to question), she had even more reason to remember these numbers for they represented a very special day (for which she had been planning a very long time) for a very special girl.

Below, I’ve included an online proof.  I can’t wait for the invitations to arrive!

LauraS, Paperly Consultant (http://mypaperly.com/LauraShelley)