The Pareto Principle & Your Business

Who is Pareto and why is he in this blog? Nope, Pareto was not a Pirate, Jack and Hector were pirates, Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto was an Italian civil engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist, and philosopher from the last 1800's. But DANG Pareto would have been a great pirate name, don't you think mate!

The Pareto principle, also known as the 80:20 rule, states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Like Jack, you can apply it to anything in life, from drinking beer to working with customers. There are blogs on the world wide web about this rule ad nauseam, some give deep explanation and some telling us it's all a lie. I know that in virtually every job I have had since I was a teenager this rule, or 'code' ad Jack might call it, could be applied.

What does Pareto have to do with my business?

• 80% of your sales volume is generated by 20% of your customers

When it comes to working your direct marketing business, Pareto's principle is a good feather to stick in your hat as you work. Think about it this way, 20% your customers will likely repeat purchases of your product ... Which ones are they? You have no way of knowing so treat all your new customers as if they will be in that 20%. Will they make their next product product purchase from you or another rep? One way to make sure your customers return to you is the follow up. This is an easy step to do but easily forgotten.

Keep in mind 80:20 is only a number to get your thought process working the the right direction. Don't panic if your 20% looks more link 5%, our goal is to make or exceed the 20%.

The Fine Line Between Pushy & Present

• 20% of the people in my life are likely creating 80% of my stress

When planning your method of follow up, remember, you DON'T want to put yourself in this 20%. Show your customers you are behind your product and there for them by making first personal contact a positive experience. During your contact you want to be professional, friendly, and keep your contact as short or long as your customer needs. Finding this balance is an art, start short and build, learn to read your customers needs, and most importantly, keep notes! We all have different styles, but I never want be remembered as being that "pushy MLM Lady". When they see my name pop up on their messenger, text, or caller ID I don't want to send them running.

The 2-2-2 Follow Up

• 80% of value is achieved with the first 20% of effort.

The 2-2-2 Follow up has been the key to my code, when I first read about it a flashbulb went off in my head. I was already doing most of this, I just had to adjust a few things and add a couple steps, you may find the same thing. When your are working my 2-2-2 follow up method you should adjust for your schedule and the needs of your customers. Remember, these are more what you'd call 'guidelines' than actual rules.

The right tools will float or sink your ship.

Don't blow holes in your own ship by not having the right tools. You will need a place to keep customer notes, a place to keep text to copy paste, an idea to make it shine, and a way to schedule the time. (Yes, an idea is a tool in my world.) These are the tools I use for my Pampered Chef Business.

• Project Broadcast - This one tool does the work of the next 4 items below! You can set up a 2-2-2 campaign and let the platform remember to send the rest. It is worth every penny!
• Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, or another app that allows you to make a task list
  • I use MS One note on all my devices to organize my Pampered Chef Tasks so I do not overload some days and other days twiddle my thumbs ...but that's a future blog.
• Boards
  • Available in the Apple store, Google Play, and any browser. This app lets you save pre composed text and paste it into emails, social media, and texts. You can also share your boards with your team. Click the link to learn more.
• Contacts Journal App
  • Apple Products Only, a powerful contact app that allows a to do list and contact log.
• Your Preferred Email App on a mobile device that can text.
• Pampered Chef Virtual Consultant Product Catalog
  • Consultant Corner->Explore->Consultant Tools->Consultant Product Catalog
• FedEx, UPS, and USPS tracking apps.

How do I make the time?

• 20 percent of your time leads to 80 percent of your happiness.

I add it to my daily check list

I have a designated 'Follow Up' day, it was Tuesdays at first then I changed to Wednesdays, be flexible. When I have a party I add the host name with a date to do the follow up to my follow up checklist. When a customer orders that is NOT in a party, I add their name to the list also. I have a few notes reminding me what to do for those mornings where my morning mud is not caffeinated me fast enough. And do not overthink it, these dates are not exactly 2 weeks and 2 months out, they are rounded off to the next Wednesday, adjusting for dates when I know I'm out of town or unavailable.

• 80% of the public uses 20% of their computers' features.

On a side note; If you are just setting up your business, I highly recommend you have a completely separate email address for your business. Read more about My Elaborate Email System in Email Madness.

I set the text in my boards App

My Boards app is one of my biggest time savers. You can also use Microsoft OneNote or Evernote, but the Boards App attaches like a keyboard and is much more user friendly and time saving. I have all my follow up text set in my boards app (And MS One Note) so all my follow ups are 99% copy paste.

1st "2" - 2nd Day Contact

The day after the order is placed.

• 80 percent of your satisfaction is from 20 percent of your tasks

This one, in my opinion, is the most important one AND the most time consuming... first personal contact. When I receive an order I get an email notification from Pampered Chef with all of the order details. I immediately review the order for missed offers and common mistakes. If I need to hold back an order I send the customer a text right away, otherwise I wait and do all the 2nd day contacts the next morning. It's important to know you can call the person, I just prefer texts.... and reasoning for that is a future blog. Be sure to subscribe to Julie: Girl Friday for notifications.

Each morning I do my follow ups for orders placed the previous day. I do this on my iPhone because the tools on it make for the most efficient way to get this task done. The first thing I do is add new customers to my contact app, c-journal. I do this by opening the email, holding my thumb on the zip code of the address and selecting 'Add Contact'. Be sure to look at what the customer selected for the contact preferences. You will want to add them to your contact card. When I add the contact I put the host's name in the 'Business' field. This process adds the contact to the iPhone contacts, when I open the C-Journal app I get a pop up to import all the new contacts. Once my new customers are in C-Jurnal I set filter to recently added and assign tags and groups.

• Group: Pampered Chef
• Tags: Customer, [party type ordered from or host], and other tags that are helpful for sorting

I open my Pampered Chef Virtual Consultant Product Catalog App and look up one of the products purchased and pick a related recipe and copy the link. Sometimes there is not a recipe so I improvise on the recipe. If your business is not food or cooking related you might send a tip or some other sales tool you have available in your arsenal. Then I head over to the c-journal app, open my customer entry, and click the message icon. I then click the Boards Keyboard Icon and then select the 2nd Day Follow Up Thank You TEXT. It automatically adds it to your message, then I paste the recipe link after the text, press next, press send. Easy as pie.

Since I ask all my party goers to book via PM or in person, I don't ask to book in this contact unless it works it's way into the conversation. I would have just asked this person or will be asking in a day or two. I like my first TEXT message to be zero pressure for my customer.

My Thank you text:

Good morning! This is Julie, your pampered chef consultant. Thank you so much for your order, please add my number to your address book as “Pampered Chef Julie”, call or text me any time if you have questions about your new products. Thanks again and here is a recipe for your new products. https://www.pamperedchef.com/pws/travelingtrivet/recipe/Appetizers+%26+Snacks/Avocado-Lime+Crema/1827425

2nd "2" - 2 Weeks

• 20 percent of your decisions affects 80 percent of your life

Don't go against the code!! No matter how busy your are be sure to NOT skip this one. You can postpone, but don't skip. This is mostly done in my Pampered Chef Consultant Corner. I review all the orders and make sure the tracking shows received. For all party guests who received their order I send an email from Consultant Corner. I include a big thank your, ask if they have used their products, ask if they have any questions, and ask them to book a party.

For the host I send a PM or Text. By now I have had many conversations with my host and I make sure to personalize my board entry so it does not feel canned.

For anyone who has not received and order I send a PM or text. It is specific to the situation and I let them know when to expect the package or what the problem is. This does not happen very often and I have usually made contact if a package is taking exceptionally long to arrive. I also add their tracking number to the appropriate app and add a notification so I know when the package is delivered.

Check out my Follow Up Board here for the text I use, or make your own: https://boardsapp.com/7kCpsIw9

3rd "2" - 2 Month

• 80% of your complaints come from 20% of your customers.

The 2 month contact is a wild card, I like to mix up a bit. Sometimes I postpone a week, or move up a week. I try not to stress over the exact timing. I do what I have time for, if time is tight I send an email from Consultant Corner. If time is better I send a text or PM, or a combo of both. I ask if they have been suing their products and if they have any questions, I follow up on previous questions, I tell about current offers, ask to book, etc. Use your imagination and your shining personality.

This is the step where I receive the most feedback on a product or complaints. I do my best to go above and beyond resolving any negative feedback. Never take this personally, take it as an opportunity to change a bad experience to a good one. The best way to deal with a grumpy person is to not let that person ruin your day, instead ruin their bad day by staying positive and keep smiling, you may put a smile on their face too.

This seems like a lot!

• 20 % of what I do produces 80 % of the results

But it only seems that way, with the right tools and set up this should only take a few minutes a customer. The rewards will be worth it.

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By the way, no. I've never actually met Pareto, but I love his pies.

• 80% of my jokes are only understood by 20% of my friends.