Looking Forward to 2012

Wow, 2011 was another outstanding year for Paperly - thanks to an amazing team of employees, Consultants, Hostesses and customers.  I truly appreciate everything you do for Paperly.

A few qualitatively highlights of 2011 include:

• Dozens and dozens of new, personalized products including coasters, bag tags, design kits, dry erase boards, note cubes, tri-fold photo cards, picture frames and water bottles.
• A new preview technology.  (Feel free to test a sample of our preview capabilities.)
• Graduating our first 2 classes from Paperly's Future Leaders Program.
• Conducting our inaugural President's Council in Chicago in June.
• Significantly enhancing Paperly's marketing efforts, including launching Paperly's Marketing Portal, creating a Paperly YouTube channel and being recognized by the Direct Selling Association for ethical business practices.

Quantitatively, Paperly had another blockbuster year in 2011, including:

• 142% jump in new Consultants. Paperly now has 170+ Consultants located in 34 states coast-to-coast.
• 47% increase in commissionable sales. We love bigger and bigger payouts to our Consultants!
• ~$440 in average commissionable sales per Paperly party.

However, Paperly is NOT resting on our laurels.  We know we have a TON of additional work to do to become the world-class organization we're aiming to be.  Our 2012 initiatives can be broken down into 5 key categories: team building, Starter Kit, Fast Start program, marketing & promotion, and training & development.  I plan to discuss each of these initiatives in my next blog post.

Until then, thank you again for the successes of 2011, and I wish you and yours a happy, healthy holiday season.

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

Of Course Money is Important!

As Paperly's CEO, I talk to a lot of potential Consultants and I have found the top 2 reasons they are most interested in Paperly are:

1. They are passionate about the product.  Most say, they love personalized paper and gift products and think Paperly's exclusive designs are gorgeous.
2. They want to be the first in their community to offer Paperly. Although we've been in the stationery industry for 11 years, Paperly is relatively new to direct selling. Fortunately, our growth has been strong & steady; we already have ~175 Consultants located in 34 states coast-to-coast. Clearly, many communities remain completely untapped, and potential Consultants love knowing they can be first.

Interestingly, very few ever ask about the money. Perhaps they're embarrassed to ask the CEO about money?  Or perhaps it's because money truly is a distant third in the above list? Regardless, I know money is important, and therefore, I wanted to elaborate on Paperly's Commission & Career Plan.

Selling, Recruiting or Both

Paperly's comp plan was built over 9 laborious months and leaned heavily on a third-party expert with over 20 years experience in direct sales/comp plans. Even though he was the expert, I was adamant that Paperly reward Consultants who were successful at selling or recruiting or both (the latter, not surprisingly, offers the biggest payout). So unlike many other direct selling companies, you can join Paperly and do well financially solely by selling products you love - you don't have to recruit. Philosophically, that was important to me. 

Incentive Laden

Also important to me is that Consultants earn lavishly for achieving success. True, Paperly's commission starts at 20% (which already is very competitive), but Consultants can quickly earn much more: a personal sales bonus up to 12%, downline commissions of 3-6% and team/generational bonuses of 2-8%.  It certainly can add-up quickly.

No Resting on Laurels

Paperly requires its leaders to stay active by selling at least $200 per month, which by all accounts is a ridiculously low threshold for a business leader. Why this active requirement? Because I do not want a Consultant to build a big team, retire, and then earn significant commissions from her downline while resting on the sidelines. You must sell - albeit a minimal amount - to stay current. That said, you always earn commissions on your personal sales... no worries in that regard!

No Inventory 

Unlike a number of other direct selling companies, Paperly does not require you to purchase inventory.  If you do the math, purchasing inventory can significantly dent your commissions, especially since you're locking-up money by pre-purchasing products you're uncertain will sell and at what price.  All of Paperly’s products are personalized, and therefore, there is no inventory required.

Cash Bonuses & Paperly Dollars

Lastly, Paperly offers cash bonuses of $50 - $1,000 when certain Titles are maintained for 3 consecutive months.  Paperly also offers Paperly Dollars - which can be used to purchase additional business supplies - when certain personal and team sales are achieved. Again, both cash bonuses and Paperly Dollars align with my desire to make Paperly's plan heavily incentive laden.

Whew - that's a lot of information to digest. Please, if you have additional questions about Paperly's comp plan, ask me.  I'm happy to help.

In closing, I readily admit that (1) passion for product and (2) first-mover advantage should be why you join Paperly, but money matters and I am proud to say that I think our Commission & Career Plan enables you to be wildly successful at Paperly.

Regards,

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

A Direct Sellers Holiday (cont'd)

Seems like my 10/21/11 post, "Direct Selling Only this Holiday Season" seems to have struck a chord. Thank you to everyone that has helped spread the word including:

• Jen Fong's blog piece titled, "Support Your Local Economy: Make it a Direct Selling Only Holiday"
• Kara Wardell's blog piece titled, "Update on the Small Business Christmas Challenge" - although I wish she had listed Paperly as one of her favorite companies ;)
• LinkedIn's "Home Party Plan - Direct Sales Group".  FYI, join the group if you're not already a member!

I even have feedback from the Direct Selling Association that they'll try to promote the idea as much as possible, although admittedly it might be a better 2012 initiative for them, given their need for more lead-time to get their PR machine moving forward.

I also have a number of direct selling executives who are willing to pledge and promote this initiative to their representatives.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

But (isn't there always a but).... now what?  How do we continue to gain momentum?  In my opinion, this is a grassroots effort.  We need every direct seller to commit or pledge that they'll try, whenever possible, to purchase their holiday gifts from other direct sellers.

So I ask you - what should such a pledge say?

Please send your ideas to jay@paperly.com. I'll compile your ideas into a "Direct Sellers Pledge" (clearly, it's a working title) and send it to you for distribution.

So again, what should our "Direct Sellers Pledge" say?

Thank you in advance for your ideas.

Regards,

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

"Direct Selling Only" this Holiday Season

Last year, American Express launched its inaugural Small Business Saturday. It took place the Saturday after Thanksgiving, traditionally a very busy shopping weekend, and its intent was to support the small businesses in our communities. I love the idea and plan to embrace it once again this year.  Please visit the Small Business Saturday website to get involved: http://smallbusinesssaturday.com.

Did you know that direct sellers constitute one of the largest groups of small business owners? Yes, it's true!  All those women and men selling personalized stationery and gifts, jewelry, purses and dozens of other products are truly the epitome of small business entrepreneurs.

Therefore, I propose we - as direct sellers - augment the "small business Saturday" concept with a "direct selling only" mentality this holiday season.  What does that mean?  Well, when possible I suggest all direct sellers complete their holiday shopping only from other direct sellers.  FYI, there are over 16 million direct sellers according to the Direct Selling Association.  (Check out the Direct Selling 411 website for other fun facts about direct selling.)

Can you imagine how beneficial it would be for all direct sellers, not to mention the economy as a whole, if we focused our purchases - especially our gift giving purchases - on other direct sellers exclusively.  Wow!

I'd love to get your thoughts on this idea.  Direct sellers - what do you think?  Is this possible?  I hope so, because I'd love for your 2011 holiday season to be your best ever.

I look forward to your feedback.

Regards,
Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

Paperly: Thinking Big

Recently, Paperly announced we are hosting our first-ever national Consultant Conference in January 2012 in Atlanta, GA. More recently, we announced the theme of the Conference, "Think Big".

Why "Think Big"?  Well, until now, Paperly has been the new kid on the block.  We're *only* 3-4 years old, which in the direct selling world is still the infancy stage.

(A recent American Express article notes that most direct selling companies "...make little money in their first three years... (but) year four through eight, many companies experience explosive growth.")

With Conference approaching, Paperly is prepared to live-up to its billing of the leading direct seller of personalized stationery and gifts. After all, our credentials are growing daily, including DSA recognition for our ethical business practices as well as Inc Magazine declaring Paperly as the next guard of direct sellers.

Now is the time for Paperly to "Think Big".  True - we never wish to lose our family feel.  (I personally still answer the phone at the office at least half the time... and I hope to continue doing that for a long time to come!)  But Paperly needs to think about a BIGGER market presence, BIGGER Consultant teams leading to BIGGER commission checks, a BIGGER and improve product line and customer experience... basically BIGGER and better everything!

I personally cannot wait for Conference and all its benefits. You can learn more about how to attend at http://www.Paperly.com/paperly-press-2011-08-Conference.asp. I've already starting "Thinking Big".  How about you?

Regards,

Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly

Paperly's Future Leaders Program

In 2011, one of Paperly's top priorities has been to teach its Consultants how to grow their Paperly business via a rigorous Leadership and Development program. Thus, in early 2011, we led our first class through Paperly's inaugural Future Leaders Program. Four of Paperly's top performers graduated after undergoing a challenging four month program. Next month, I am excited that Paperly will graduate its second Future Leaders class. Congrats to all the grads.

So what is Paperly's Future Leaders Program (FLP)? The objective of the program is to help currently successful Consultants develop the skills and habits necessary to dramatically advance their Paperly business: i.e. more parties, higher sales and larger teams. In short, the FLP will teach Consultants a process, that when followed, should help them create consistently improved results.

Future Leaders are chosen because of their initial success as well as their strong desire to succeed with Paperly. Paperly commits significant time and effort to help Future Leaders become even more successful. In return, Paperly expects its Future Leaders to make an equivalent commitment, including:

• Attend all 4 monthly FLP calls.
• Attend all regularly scheduled, Consultant-only training calls on the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
• Conduct at least ___ parties per month. The number of parties is determined collectively by the group to ensure buy-in by all.
• Complete all homework assignments. 

The monthly FLP calls cover a range of topics, including but not limited to:

• Advanced Personal Selling
• Building Your Business by Building Your Team
• Leading and Developing Your Team

I am proud of the Future Leaders Program Paperly has put together. I know we have a long way to go to build a best-in-class leadership and development program, but I feel we're on the right path.  I am a big believer that Paperly will only go as far as its leaders take it. Therefore, i am committed to ensure training will remain a top priority in 2012.

- Jay Rudman, CEO, Paperly