Need Mother’s Day Gift Ideas?
Mother’s Day is only a few weeks away. Many direct selling companies offer products that any mother would be thrilled to receive as a gift. Whether you sell candles, lotions, hand bags, kitchenware, chocolate, spices or jewelry, I’m sure you sell something mom would love.
Let’s face it; most men don’t excel at gift giving. No hate mail please, I will acknowledge that some men do well in this area. Though, a majority of guys would appreciate a painless gift giving process. If you’ve ever seen men lined up in the card aisle on Saturday night prior to Mom’s Day – you know what I mean. Hallmark greetings are usually pretty picked over by that point and their goal is to just get something – anything and get out. They can’t show up empty handed and let wife or mom down.
Here’s how you can help these gentlemen.
To really pull it off at this late date, you should already have some on-hand inventory. It may be pushing it a bit if you have to place an order for some products to receive in time for Mom to receive it for her special day. Time is of the essence. Look at what inventory items you have on your shelf that would make a great gift for mom. Then package it up pretty. Wrap it in clear cello so that the purchaser can see what is in it, but so that it is also ready to give as is. Ideally you should have a variety of price ranges – maybe something around $10, something for $20 and something in the $40 range.
Take some photos of your beautifully wrapped gifts, and then print out some one page flyers highlighting your offerings, clearly showing the prices of each. Next put your Mother’s Day gift baskets in your car and go to locations that typically have a lot of men working. Auto repair shops – which include mechanics, body repair men, quick oil change, muffler shops and the like – are good places to start. Construction sites and in some cases, factories are other suggestions.
If you’re not comfortable just walking into places of business, just pretend you are. Take a deep breath, hold your head high and walk into the front desk with all the confidence in the world because you are there to HELP them and make their life EASIER. Be aware that you do have to be careful about No Soliciting policies, but it doesn’t hurt to go in and ask. The worst case is they will say “No thank you”.
Ask what?
Say something like this, “Hello I’m [insert your name here]. I’m a local resident and I have a candle business (or jewelry business, or other business). I have some Mother’s Day gift baskets in the car (show your flyer at this point) and wondered if I could show them to your staff so that they don’t have to worry about going to the mall or flower shop after work since Mother’s Day is this Sunday?” Then based on the response – you may need to add, “Or I could leave this flyer here and check back in a few hours or tomorrow?”
The hook is that it’s cash and carry, ready for the guys to take home TODAY. No ordering, no running around at the last minute. You will get some who aren’t interested. Don’t let that frustrate you. You’re on a scavenger hunt of sorts, to find those who are interested. Think of yourself as Chris (Will Smith) in the movie, The Pursuit of Happyness. He had to sell bone density scanners because he needed the money. Every day he went out with the objective that he wasn’t coming back until he sold one of the heavy pieces of medical equipment. He pounded the pavement until they were all gone.
You can do the same with your Mother’s Day gifts. Leave your house with the idea that you’re going to keep knocking on business doors and talking to men until you help all those who need your help with their Mother’s Day gift – or until you’re sold out; whichever comes first. An added bonus is that in the process of looking for these gift giving challenged men, you may also run across a busy female worker who isn’t gift giving challenged but still needs something for her own mother.
It is imperative that you remember you’re not asking anyone to “do you a favor and buy your baskets” but rather on the contrary, you are there to save the day. You are providing a service (readymade gifts) to make their life easier.
Time is ticking and Mother’s Day is right around the corner – so don’t delay. Go get some new customers!
About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Deutschland and the UK. You can find Laurie at https://la.Scentsy.us or https://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com
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