Join Longaberger for FREE and Earn Extra Cash for the Holidays

Starting September 1st through December 31st, Longaberger is offering you the opportunity to try an online Longaberger business for FREE. Earn some extra holiday spending money with 25% commission on all Wishlist and Monthly Flyer sales. Recruit your friends and earn 5% commission on their sales until Dec. 31 as well (Fundraising, Factory Store, and Supply/Sample Orders excluded).

To join my team, simply go to my website and click on 'Join My Team' or 'Join' on the homepage. You will get your own website and receive weekly email promotions directly from Longaberger which you can then forward on to your friends, family, and colleagues just in time for holiday shopping! You can run your business completely online with no product samples or home shows, or you can order samples or a kit during your first 30 days. Customers can access the Wishlist and Monthly Flyers online and then order directly from your personal website.

Longaberger will also be offering weekly training calls for all new consultants. If you sell at least $500 worth of product by December 31st you will be offered the opportunity to continue as a Longaberger Home Consultant at no extra charge unless you choose to maintain the MyShop Gold membership for $4.99 per month. 

Please call if you have any questions (541-752-8247) or email me at cindypaden@live.com.

Ever Considered a Marketing Career?

Last year I decided to sign up to be a Longaberger Home Consultant because I loved the product, but also because I wanted to expand my world and the people in it.  What has amazed me since that time is how unpredictable people are in what they buy and when.  Being a scientist by training, this has been perplexing because I cannot see any pattern (yet, anyway).  Mind you, my current list of customers are my friends and neighbors so you would think I would know something.  It strikes me that this business is an excellent opportunity to gain some marketing skills and experience, especially for those who are interested in the subject, but not able to find a career position in this economy.  Here is what I have learned or am doing as part of my Longaberger home-based business:

1. Learning to talk to people about this product when I am not always comfortable doing so.  I can see that without a God-given gift for sales or public speaking this can take some practice.
2. But, I have been saved by a recent decision on the part of The Longaberger Company to allow home consultants to advertise online and in print advertising.
3. I have since worked with a marketing person at our local university to create an ad for placement in the alumni magazine.  I took product photos and he laid the design out in Photoshop with my feedback on the image placement and ad copy.
4. I have obtained a domain alias for my Longaberger website so that my print ad URL will be shorter and more relevant to the ad content (www.TailgateBaskets.com will forward to my site at www.longaberger.com/cindypaden).
5. I took a web design class a few years ago "just for fun."  After a grueling quarter, I created my first website, having learned HTML and CSS.  Since then I have been recruited by my family's business to help them with their website where I learned more about Content Management Systems and understand what is behind the Longaberger website to some degree.
6. I will now be creating a one-page website at www.TailgateBaskets.com to highlight the Team Spirit, Collegiate, and NFL baskets from Longaberger and then direct people to my consultant website to purchase.  More online marketing skills.
7. I have read about inbound marketing and find myself enthralled with the internet and social media.  So today I decided to learn how to use ConstantContact so that I could send out weekly (hopefully) newsletters to my Longaberger customers with "inbound" links to my online store.
8. I have contacted another, larger university to inquire about placing an ad in their alumni magazine, only to find out that the prices there are 5-10 times higher!!  I guess it would make sense because they have a larger readership than our local university and are much more well known.
9. We had a meeting last night for our Branch (our group of Longaberger consultant's under one leader) and discussed the recent conference and how to enhance our social media presence by adding a page to our Facebook account.  Of course we only have Facebook accounts (being of a certain age) because people have asked us to be their "friend", not because we "write on our wall".  Being in sales with a company like Longaberger forces one to consider multiple marketing avenues and to stretch and learn the new technologies that are available.

All this made me think of my niece, Lauren, who recently received a degree in marketing.  She finally was able to find a job that was not 60-80 hours a week at a start-up company when she accepted a position as an administrative assistant at Stanford University. It occurred to me that starting a Longaberger business would provide one with a lot of opportunity to practice and learn marketing skills.  For only $49 plus S/H you can get a sample basket and catalogs plus your own website.  You are automatically part of a team that meets and communicates with one another to learn how to promote the product.  But most of all, you have a real life opportunity to see consumer spending habits and likes and dislikes.  What better way to keep on learning and growing while you move up the career ladder to your final marketing position.  To join, got to my website and click on "Join My Team" near the top of the home page and follow the instructions or call me for questions and/or help.

The Night of My First Open House

When the time finally came for my first open house back in March, I was a little overwhelmed. I of course had to thoroughly clean the house, prepare some appetizers, and set up the table to display my products. Being new, I didn't have a whole lot of samples, but luckily my sponsor had agreed to come this time and bring hers. I had spread my Longaberger products around the dining room table, but it looked pretty sparse. My sponsor graciously rearranged everything and set up her samples showing me how to give height to my display by using a box from a Collector's Club item and setting the basket on top.

The first guest to arrive was a neighbor from the block behind me. I was pleasantly surprised to see her as we had only really met a few times at neighborhood block parties. Our husbands spoke regularly as my husband rode his bike by their house on his way to work. She was delighted that she had been invited and said that her husband was quite jealous that she had something to do this Friday evening while he sat at home. I introduced her to my sponsor and then we all chatted a bit while I waited for my next guest. (Mary and I have recently started going to the gym together and are planning a garage sale soon. She is one of my regular customers now.)

Slowly people started to arrive and in the end there were about eight of us out of probably twenty women that I had originally invited. All of the women who showed up were very excited to be out of the house for the evening with something to do; especially with other women. We sat around chatting for a long time. What struck me most about this gathering was how much each one of us missed getting together with other women. We talked about needing to do this more often and I felt like my efforts were very much appreciated.

Two guests found out that they had both been teachers before retiring and had much to share. Two others talked about the book, "Three Cups of Tea", and one of them went to her house down the block to retrieve a copy for the other guest who didn't even live in our neighborhood. I talked with one neighbor about our common dream of writing someday and shared my limited knowledge of blogging on the internet. (A few days later Linda excitedly flagged me down to tell me that after our conversation she had gone online to check into blogging and discovered a website that accepted stories like the ones she wanted to write--several weeks later she got 3 of her stories accepted for publication online! She credits our conversation for getting her started.)

After about an hour, my first guest showed an interest in looking at the products. I didn't muster the courage to give a "real" presentation to my friends and neighbors, so we just looked things over on the table and my sponsor shared some information with everyone. One of my neighbors decided to leave when the "shopping" started as she had come only for the company. I felt sad that she didn't feel comfortable enough to stay despite not wanting to buy anything.

One special memory from the evening was when my neighbor from two doors down saw the Medium Market basket. Her face just lit up and emotion washed over her. "That is just like the basket my Mother had when I was growing up!" She decided to order one with a liner for her knitting. She also got very excited about the Longaberger To Go^TM Shoulder Tote Basket that my sponsor had brought along. She apparently loves bags! I really enjoyed getting to know a bit more about her through sharing the Longaberger products. (I am not sure that I would have learned either of those things about Anne in one of our regular front-yard encounters and she would not have had the opportunity to bring home something that would remind her of her Mother and her childhood home).

The evening lasted longer than I had expected, but my sponsor stayed the whole time. I really appreciated her time as well as her toting all those products to my house so that I could use them for my show. What was really amazing was how excited my husband was to have all of this going on in the house. He loved having people over and despite staying away for most of it, finally joined the conversation in the end. My sponsor told me later that she thought he would soon be joining my team! I don't think so, but he definitely was supportive and continues to be so.

Guess What Honey! .... My Longaberger Kit Arrives

I decided to become an Independent Longaberger Home Consultant without discussing the idea with anyone--including my husband. This was partly because I was so excited to get started and mostly because I know how he is about spending money and adapting to anything new. Nevertheless, I wanted to tell him about my decision before my Business Kit showed up on the doorstep.

A couple of days before the shipment was due to arrive, I casually mentioned my plans to him while we were fixing dinner. As expected, he was taken aback. "Why did you do that? How much did it cost?!" I explained to him that it was a product that I really liked and that I would be saving money on it by being a home consultant. In addition I would earn a 25% commission on any sales that I made.

Unconvinced, he remained unsettled. He couldn't see me selling anything. Of course, he never has seen me sell anything. I told him that I wanted to do this so that I could meet other women and do something besides sit behind a computer all day. My plans were to earn back all the money I had spent on the business kit.

When the kit finally arrived I was so excited. I unpacked everything and it looked like Christmas in the living room. When my husband arrived home from work, I immediately showed him the Medium Market basket. Much to my surprise he carefully looked it over; inside and out, and upside-down. I could tell he was impressed. "This is really well-made," he commented. He has always enjoyed working with wood and really appreciated the quality workmanship evident in the Longaberger baskets.

The next evening I used the new products to serve dinner. I could tell that my husband appreciated their appearance and usefulness. He no longer had any doubts about my purchase. Now to show him that I was actually serious about being a home consultant as well.

How I Became a Longaberger Home Consultant

It is not very often in life that you find something and know that it is the thing you have been looking for. Being a perfectionist, I hem and haw around, looking for all the flaws and potential drawbacks until I convince myself that there must be something better out there if only I could find it. In recent years, my mother has started to tell me, "If you find something you like, buy it!" (I am not exactly sure whether she is sharing words of wisdom from her years of experience or expressing her frustration with my inability to make a decision!)

Even so, I still find it hard to do, and was having the same problem when I went to buy the red travel mugs and see the other Longaberger pottery at my Home Consultant's next show. I wanted to know how durable the pottery was; did it chip; how easy was it to break; did it scratch? She graciously answered all my questions and assured me that it was of the highest quality and very durable. She had the travels mugs in various colors, all of them beautiful, and showed me other products including this adorable kitchen shelf I had seen in the catalog.

My next concern was the price. Being someone who feels compelled to buy things when they are on clearance, I was finding it very difficult to convince myself that it was OK to buy the Longaberger products. Despite my concerns, my infatuation with the Travel Mugs won me over and I decided to order Grandma Bonnie's Pie Plate as well.

By the time I got home I was ready to buy more Longaberger pottery and started to look through the catalog again. I came across a page describing the oppotunity to become a Longaberger Home Consultant and how you could save 25% on your own purchases plus make another 25% on any sales of Longaberger baskets and pottery. In addition, you could get a business kit with selected items at half the retail price. Ahhhh.....a Clearance! If I bought the medium business kit, I could get several baskets and pieces of pottery plus a wrought iron trivet and pay only $30 a month for 6 months. I could do that! I wouldn't have to sell anything if I didn't want to and I could buy more product samples at half price for the first month after I signed up. That could work! (Can you hear my little brain just cranking away?)

I went to my Home Consultant's website and found the 'Join My Team' button on her home page. Without too much work, I was signed up and my kit was ordered. Shortly thereafter, my Home Consultant gave me a call to congratulate me on my decision. She had apparently received an automated email from the company informing her that I had decided to become a consultant. She told me that she was going to let me order the mugs and pie plate myself so that I could get the sales credit and receive the 25% discount. How nice was that?! She then talked me through placing an order on my Longaberger consultant's website which had been instantly created when I signed up. Everything went smoothly and easily--now I just had to wait to receive my business kit and my Longaberger pottery in the mail.

I

The Shiny Red Mug: My Introduction to Longaberger

Back in January I was feeling the usual organizational twinges that follow the holiday season and its over-abundance. In particular, I had started resenting the odd collection of mugs that we had accumulated over the years, with their faded designs and chipped edges. One particular morning, as I was preparing to make my traditional cup of tea, I opened the cupboard to find this tall, shiny, and wonderfully-red mug staring back at me.

You are going to think this is silly, but I remember feeling like a child who had just found the one thing they really wanted under the Christmas tree. Without hesitation I took the mug out of the cupboard, made my cup of tea, and sat down on the couch to contemplate the upcoming day. The mug was tall enough that I could cradle it in both hands to keep them warm. I can still remember feeling so pampered just because of that mug.

This went on for several days until I was spotted with the mug by my daughter's boyfriend. He had accidentally left the mug at our house. It was actually a travel mug that came with a lid. That made me love it even more. Unfortunately, so did his mother. I was saddened by this turn of events and decided I would have to get another one just like it. I called his mother to ask her where she had bought the mug and she told me that it was from Longaberger. "Longa-Who?" I had never heard of them before. She told me that Longaberger was a basket-making company and she had gotten the mug from a friend who sold their products from home.

I contacted the Longaberger Home Consultant to find out when she would be having another home show. In the meantime, she sent me a product catalog. Everything was beautiful and made to coordinate with each other. When I finally went to her house to buy the travel mugs, I was smitten.