CELEBRATING YOUR STAMPIN' UP! ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM ...

oxofficesuccess
love
your job
Can you really make money and have
this much fun? Meet Tamie Ackerson.
tamie ackerson
manager
Corunna, Michigan
Monthly Events: 8—12
Average Monthly Sales: $5,357
Tamie has two
different types of
stamp camps each
month—
a “regular” camp and a “product”
camp. She told us about one
“product” camp she held recently.
It was a punch camp, with three
punches included in the $40
registration fee. Customers
made eight cards in 2-1/2 hours
and got to try several punches.
Sounds easy enough, and what a
great way to get your customers’
hands on different punches! Her
“regular” camps are set up like
an open house. At one camp, for
example, customers paid $10 to
make eight quick and cute cards,
or they could place a $25 order
and come to the camp for free.
She had 25–35 people show up
between 2:00 and 6:00 PM!
If you ask Tamie Ackerson,
a manager from Corunna,
Michigan, what her business is
all about, she can sum it up in a
single word: “Fun!” But there’s
more to learn from Tamie than
just how to have fun stamping
(though she could offer some
great ideas in that area). Her
quarterly sales figures are jawdropping:
she’s had over
$12,000 in sales every quarter
for the past several years. How
does she do it? We set out to
find the answer.
We started by asking about her
events. Tamie plans two stamp
camps a month (see sidebar),
and typically holds six to ten
workshops. “A lot of the
workshops are hosted by repeat
customers,” she explains. “And I
meet new people at those.”
Tamie’s strong customer base
regularly attends her events and
holds workshops . . . but her
secret lies in the word-of-mouth
marketing these loyal customers
provide for her! At a recent
event, Tamie overheard two
ladies talking while they
stamped. “They said they liked
coming to my camps because I
spoil them. They liked that I had
everything already cut out for
them.” It seems like such a
simple thing, but customers
appreciate it. And they tell their
friends. “I’m always getting
Family: Husband Steve; daughters Heather and
Ashley (17)
called out of the blue by people
who have heard about my
events,” says Tamie.
Then Tamie laughs. “I really do
spoil my customers.” And she
loves doing it, whether she’s
cutting out card stock for
customers or providing them
with a smorgasbord of creative
ideas. “I’m a speed stamper, and
I demonstrate seven projects,
which I give to the workshop
hostess. Plus, I always give the
hostess cards outside of the
workshop. I send her a card two
weeks before her workshop with
a reminder to send out her
invites and a card one week
before reminding her to follow
up with her guests for RSVPs.
Then I send her a thank-you card
after the workshop.” Hostesses
love all the cards and projects
they get for hosting a workshop
with Tamie! And they tell their
friends to book workshops too.
Customers relate to Tamie
because she’s such an enthusiast
for the product and for stamping
in general. They pick up on her
cheerful, gung-ho attitude. “Any
time a new product comes out,
and I see it used on a sample I
love, I think ‘I gotta have it!’”
she admits happily. “My
customers do the same thing.
It’s all about the samples.” And
with all the fun projects Tamie
demonstrates at her workshops,
customers have a lot of
opportunity to fall in love with
stamp sets and accessories. “It
makes my night when customers
say ‘Oh! Now I have to add to my
order!’ It makes me think, ‘Yes! I
did my job.’”
But even so, Tamie confesses
that her workshops don’t feel
like a job to her. “I’m just having
fun!” she says. “I just be myself. I
make fun of myself when I screw
up, and it makes people feel
comfortable around me.”
After our conversation, it’s easy
to see why Tamie’s definition of
her business is “Fun!” It’s that
sense of fun that shapes her
business. It translates into an
ease with herself, an enthusiasm
for the products, and the way
she spoils her customers. It
keeps Tamie’s sales high and her
customers coming back to her
again and again. ■
16 www.stampinup.com