As a Direct Sales Consultant, one of your biggest challenges is to continue to meet potential new customers and recruits to keep your business growing. It is often uncomfortable when you are out in public to strike up conversations with others about your business. Carrying a Brag Bag Photo Purse will help you to advertise your business when you are out and about and attract potential customers to you!

Think of your Brag Bag as a walking Billboard. Carry it where ever you go – shopping, to your children’s school and events, meetings, clubs, restaurants – potential customers are everywhere! Select the largest size Brag Bag that you are comfortable carrying. The most popular size is the nine pocket bag. It’s the perfect size for showcasing your business and carrying your promotional information.

Begin by filling the clear pockets with eye catching items that represent your business. Display them in creative ways in each of the pockets. In the center pocket you may want to put your business card. Mount it on cardstock and mat it with a complimenting paper. To give it the finishing touches, use some inking, stamping, or chalking. Fill the remaining pockets with photos of your product and small samples. Again use cardstock cut to the size of the pocket to mount your photos on and give your samples a backing. Photos can be cut from your customer catalogs or taken yourself. If you are a scrapbook consultant, create mini-scrapbook layouts in some of the pockets. Just be creative and have fun designing your bag to reflect your business and personality!

Inside your bag, keep information packets ready to hand out and also your booking calendar to schedule parties, demonstrations, classes or appointments. In your information packet include things such as: your product catalog, schedule of events, recruiting information, samples or whatever else is applicable to your business. Your information packets could be contained in white, colored or even clear envelopes. Clear envelopes are fantastic for showing off your materials and giving them an extra sparkle! On the outside of your envelope attach your business card. This can be done with a glue stick, photo mounting squares, or a number of other adhesives. Again, let your information packets reflect your business and style.

You’ll find that carrying your bag in public will draw people to you. It’s an automatic conversation starter! People will comment on your bag and this will give you the opportunity to begin a conversation with them. Be prepared with your “one minute” business commercial. This should include: asking them if they have ever heard of or tried your companies products, a short description of what you offer and an invitation to do business with you. Keep your pitch warm, sincere, and focused on how your product can meet their needs. In closing, ask if you may call them after they have had a chance to review your material. Keep contact cards or a small notebook in your bag for collecting their name and other contact information.

You’ll be astonished at how the Brag Bag will change your business by making conversing in public a breeze!

Tracy Carrigan
My Favorite Memories
http://www.myfavoritememories.com

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The author Tracy Carrigan has a tried and true method of direct sales.  My sponsor Wendy has attested to this!  I’m on the lookout for a bag that I like… and here’s what I’ve come across so far:

What-A-Cute-Bag by CoryAnne – Design your own! You pick your style and fabric. (http://home.comcast.net/~coryanne/styles.htm)

A couple examples of What-A-Cute-Bag Catalog Bags by CoryAnne

The Croppin’ Tote Scrapbooking Tote by Craft Locker - Show off a 12×12 page with this tote. (http://www.craftlocker.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=6)

Croppin Tote by Craft Locker

Various Scrapbooking Totes at getorganizedco.com - getorganizedco.com specialize in other Direct Sales products as well. Check them out.
http://www.getorganizedco.com/scrapbooking/en-us/dept_4.html

One of several totes featured on getorganizedco.com

Catalog Totes by Endless Purse-abilities - Choose from what she has available or design your own – http://www.endlesspurseabilities.com/page/page/1907253.htm

Just one example of Handmade PreppyGirl Purses by Endless Purse-abilities

Expressyourselfonline.com Show Bags - Offers various products for Direct Sales consultants.
http://www.expressyourselfonline.com/pages/scrapbooking/specialty.htm

ExpressYourselfOnline's Show Bag (large)

4knitters.com – http://www.4knitters.com/Knitting_Bags_s/68.htm

Bigpigdog – deisgn your bag http://bigpigdog.com/index.php

KBD (Kieren Bellis Designs) Specialty Bags - Show off those HM cards and 5×5 books, too! -
http://www.kierenbellisdesigns.com/Display_bags.html

Catalog Tote Bags by Petit Jardin Designs - Another design your own.  You pick the fabrics!
http://www.petitjardindesigns.com/products.php?p=79

One example of a Catalog Bag by Petit Jardin Designs

Catalog Bags by TRN Designs- Monograming and padded straps included.
http://www.trndesigns.com/cart/index.php?cPath=24

One of MANY different designs offered at TRN Designs

Is there such a thing?  I guess so because I’m suffering from it. 

My blog has been a little inactive lately. Not so much because I can’t think anything to write, it’s more because I don’t know where to start!

Ever since I came back from Reunion 2008, I am just floored with all of the awesome people I met, all the cool and exciting things that are going on with Heritage Makers and the world of opportunity that waits.  If you missed Reunion or haven’t been to Reunion yet, I highly recommend it.  There were guest speakers, workshops and entertainment. (This year we were at Disneyland and Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband provided their musical talents).

The People – I can honestly say that I work for two extremely innovative companies and I am extremely lucky to be a part of the team.  The leaders of the two companies truly believe in their company missions and it shows.  TW & HM have family and relationship as their core.  Maybe its because both are still budding companies but there is a sense of camaraderie and honesty that you don’t see in most other companies…

The Product -HM listens!  If you’ve used Studio before you may have noticed that it lacked one very crucial feature.  The Undo.  Well, guess what’s in Studio now?  I HEART the Undo feature!!!  And if you started out like me, you pretty much had to figure out how to manuever around in Studio if there wasn’t a Digi-Crop workshop scheduled.  Check out the new Studio tutorial.  It is awesome!  You show these in the new “Workshops” that now replace “Celebrations.” 

Studio Link

There’s also new product!  Since 12×12 digital scrapbook pages did so well, is wasn’t a big surprise that they expanded the product to now include other sizes such as 8×8 and 8.5×11.  And although they had done away with the 4×6 size cards, they have lower prices on a number of items!

The Opportunity – Finally, as I mentioned, HM is still a relatively new company.  It would behoove someone looking for a great opportunity to join Heritage Makers now as a business endeavor.  As my sponsor said, if you had the opportunity to start up with a small beauty and makeup company going door to door years ago with a woman named Mary Kay, where would you be now?  Look at all the consultants that are out there with Mary Kay now!  This is that chance.  Especially now that our storybooks have touched the lives of OPRAH herself.

Check it out: http://support.heritagemakers.com/comm/oprah/index.htm

Everyone who knows Oprah, also knows that anything she endorses seems to fly off shelves.  Books that she has on her list end up as best sellers.  Where will you be when word gets out that Oprah totally loves the idea of “Every Story Deserves a Book of its Own?”  On our team, I hope!

So, no, I’m not excited about Heritage Makers, I’m blown away by them!   I don’t think I did three days of Reunion justice with my little blurb but I always thought blog content is usually best in small doses. But in short, Reunion just reminded me that I found a company that is making a difference in people’s lives and that I made a good decision to become a Heritage Maker.   Click here to sign up.