Over the past few months, we experimented with a live poll on our home pages and order info page. We wanted to know why so many visitors came to our site but didn't always order. The most common response was that the visitors were not business owners, but wanted to purchase several of the same item.

WE LISTENED! Effective March 17th, www.lilfairyprincess.com is our retail website. You do not need a business resellers number to order. Anyone and everyone can order through this website! The prices are substantially reduced, but not quite wholesale. We hope you enjoy this opportunity to purchase from Sugar Plum Princess direct!

Everything in today's world is fast and technologically advanced. While I support the shift from the industrial age to the information age, I still think we need to promote wholesome interaction between children. Our children are losing their ability to dream & drift. They don't know how to pretend.

It is my sincere hope that this business, Sugar Plum Princess, will help keep pretend play alive. We have been doing this now for 4 years...supplying retail establishments around the world. I hope every little girl & boy can believe in the magic of pretend play because it truly is a fundamental stage in childhood!

We think it's pretty brilliant and so do consumers! For a mere $15, you can become a registered Trunk Show rep for Sugar Plum Princess. What's the $15 for? Well, I have pay someone to track your orders, file your sales, commissions, & it goes on and on. The good thing is that YOU can make a great supplemental income with zilcho investment (well, that's not completely true because you have to pay for your samples).

It works one of two ways:
Much like a Mary Kay party, Arbonne, Home Interiors, etc, you'd call friends or family, school parents...whoever! Book a party & sell! The other way to do this is to contact your local boutiques & gift shops. Offer to give a private showing of our collection to their VIP customers. Bring a sampling of our goodies and sell it on the spot! If the customers were receptive, you will most likely open a new account with that boutique. You profit 30% on the original party, then 15% on the shops reorders. We are your advocate and won't throw you out to the wolves (no pun). We want you to succeed so we will make sure you are ready to hit the homes & have fun.

I'll bet you are wondering what your profit will be? You get 30% off retail. If you have a $200 party, your profit will be $60. Not bad for 1 party!

To all reading this, I hope you look deeper into the opportunity. You'll make money, have fun, & make friends! We have our very own brand and it has been a raging success!

Pull your customers in by creating the "WOW" effect! How is this done? Merchandising 101! If you have a window display, maximize that space! This is the most valuable physical marketing space available to you. Change this display often...keeping it fresh. Macy's in downtown New York is famous for their window displays. People expect elaborate and mesmerizing displays. If your window is ho-hum...the same ol' same ol', your sales will reflect it.

If you don't have a window space to merchandise, but you have product to sell, focus on the display! We've randomly gone into stores of our customers (unannounced) just to see how they are merchandising our goods. Folks, this will make or break your success with any line!
So, merchandising 101 for the Sugar Plum Princess line:
1. You must remove the items from the cheezy plastic bags they come in. These were not meant for display...they were meant for packaging purposes only.
2. You really ought to purchase a child-sized plastic form or french mannequin form. eBay sells them amongst a multitude of other wholesale display companies. Display a fairy set so they can visualize.
3. Don't expect your customers to have the visual creativity you have. You have to create it for them!
4. It's amazing what some white twinkle lights and soft shimmery tulle will do to a display. These cost-effective items will create a magical ambiance that will draw your shoppers.
5. Create groups. There has to be flow within your display, otherwise, the shopper cannot indentify the products you are selling. They only see "everything" without seeing "anything". I hope you understand what I am saying.
6. Put together sets as often as possible. By matching a few items together, you can upsell. Upselling is a beautiful thing ;)
7. Offer party sets. You will get shoppers who are looking for birthday party ideas. If you create party themes, you could sell a ton to just one customer! The catch...you should offer this at a reduced price.
8. Truly think about how you want your display to look. Sketch, create a mimi-model, get it down on paper! If you get a shipment in from a supplier and just put it out on the shelves, there is nothing special about that, and even worse, your customers will be unimpressed. Change is good. Customers will get bored and shop else where if you don't change things up a bit.

Well, I hope you have enjoyed some of my tips. I know these ideas work because we witness the "WOW" Effect each time we design a display. It is so rewarding to watch moms, grandmas, children come up to our projects and actually say "WOW" or "Oh my gosh!"

It really doen't matter what you have to offer your customers. You can make ballpoint pens look gorgeous if you take some care in merchandising them. If you need more help, let me know. For a fee, I'll be glad to come out to your establishment and set up your Sugar Plum Princess display. For free, I can offer you these tips...even send some pictures to you upon your request.

What is the opposite of winning? Losing right? It's a no-brainer!
Well, that couldn't be farther from the truth! What's the old saying...."When the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'". I love that, but there aren't enough of us getting tough.
My friends, How many times did Benjamin Franklin fail while trying to create the light bulb?
Over 10,000 times!
What did he do each time he failed? He tried again. When we are babies, we instinctively begin to walk. We don't ever get it right on the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd try. Heck, I think the average a baby falls down while learning to walk is in the ballpark of 300 times. They fall down and get back up again. They do this over and over and over again until they finally get it.
So, the opposite of winning isn't losing. It's quitting. Ask yourself, am I a quitter or a winner?
Every single day of my life, I juggle a family of 8 while running 2 businesses nearly single-handedly. Believe me, there are days I want to quit. Sometimes, the demands of running my own ring is more than I bargained for, but I know that my existence here on this earth wasn't meant for mediocrity or "just getting by". We were meant for something great, but all too often, we sit back and think greatness will fall in our laps.

If you want to improve your situation, you can't keep doing the same thing the same way. Stretch yourself everyday. Expand your comfort zone. Expand your success. As Winston Churchill said, "NEVER NEVER NEVER QUIT!"

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