Congratulations on your decision to take control of your life and start a
prosperous business of your own with SMC. As an SMC member you have exclusive
access to over 3,000 fast-selling products, a huge variety, with retail
prices from a few pennies to thousands of dollars and because your cost is
just a fraction of that you make big profits. I feel like the time I've spent
marketing my SMC products has been very profitable. For the time spent I can't
imagine anything that would be more profitable really. I spend very little
time and make a lot of money. I'm bringing in probably about $500 extra a
month which makes me very excited because I don't really work that many
hours. SMC's products actually sell themselves and you don't really have to
know how to be a salesperson, you don't have to know business, you just basically
show the products and they'll like them. Since we've got associated with SMC our
business has grown to close to 2 million dollars a year. I don't think we could
have ever achieved the kind of growth that we've experienced without SMC
behind us. The very first time that I received my very first check from
selling an SMC product you would have thought I won the lottery. I was so
excited that I took a copy of it and I still keep it to this day. Your SMC
business kit is your box full of dreams filled with everything you need to start
making money right away and here to tell you all about the contents of your kit,
how to place an order and how to get started is SMC executive vice president
Linda Levine. Hi I'm Linda Levine and I've got a kit here like the one you
received. The contents of this kit represent decades of experience, testing,
improving and refining so we are proud of it and we are confident we offer you
the best, fastest and easiest way to start a successful merchandising business.
Before we go through the contents I want to boil this whole business down to the
simplest formula possible. When you sell an item for this much and it costs you
this much you make this much profit. That's it I'll show you what I mean. Take
a look at your giant world of products catalog. You'll find it underneath your
program manual in an envelope full of catalogs and brochures. Packed inside is
your white price list. Now open your catalog to any page and look up an item
number. Here for instance is item number 28475 a fun little beach house for birds.
The retail price in your catalog is $19.95 but your cost as you can see on
your white price list is just $6.65 a third of the retail price so your profit
is over $13 on every one you sell. That's if you sell at retail. If you wholesale
meaning you sell the item to a gift store or other retailer your profit per
item would be less but the orders would generally be a larger quantity. To help
you know what to charge we've provided you with special price lists for
wholesaling and for home parties. Your program video and manual show you how to
use these lists. By the way don't let anyone else see your confidential price
list. That would not only reveal your profit margins but your source and you
don't want them to know that. Remember to your customers you are the source.
It's a big box but don't let that scare you. Once you see how clearly it's
organized you'll be able to zero in on the parts that interest you most and
study those in further detail. Here are the basic components. Your getting
started manual reiterates the information in this video. You'll want to
keep it handy and refer to it often while you're getting your business up and
running. Business envelope labeled envelope number one is where you'll find
important paperwork identifying you as a member of the National Specialty
Merchandisers Association which comes to you automatically with your SMC
membership. Included is a purchasing license which allows you to order through
SMC. Remember we don't sell merchandise to the general public. Most important
here's the only place you'll find your membership number. You'll need to use
this number to place orders and in all correspondence with SMC. For instance
when you send a check or payment write your member number on it. Keep this card
somewhere safe and write the number down where you'll remember it. Finally we've
included some recent copies of the specialty wholesaler your monthly
newspaper so you're right up to date. Now let's look at the next major components
of your kit. The program videos and the program manual. The program video gives
you an excellent overview of the steps to success in each of the SMC moneymaking
programs. Once you've taken a look and you've decided which programs you'd like
to try turn to your program manual. Here's where you'll find simple step-by-step
instructions on how to launch and run each program. Plus, and this is really
helpful, a 30-day action plan that tells you exactly what to do and when to do it
to get the fastest possible results. Each program is covered. In the sales
envelope are all your catalogs, brochures, some new arrivals flyers, all your great
sales tools that help you generate lots of orders. Your catalogs include world of
products featuring your entire line of over 3,000 items. Bayberry Lane, your
all-purpose catalog that works great for mail order thanks to its smaller size
and hand-picked selection of top sellers. It's also ideal for home parties and
perfect as a handout or an order stepper. You'll want lots of these. They're hard
working catalogs and come with an order form and return envelope inside so it's
easy for your customers to send you orders. One of my favorite catalogs is
the fine jewelry featuring the 14 karat gold and sterling silver collections. Now
there's one other great tool you can use a lot of ways to help build your
business but it's not in this box. It's on the internet. It's SMC's members-only
website at www.smcorp.com. Here's where you can download color images of new
arrivals and hundreds of other great selling items. Check on the in stock
status of any item other than fine jewelry. Download the most recent price
list. Check for recent bulletins. Confirm the ship date of your order. Read the
most current edition of the specialty wholesaler newsletter. Get a daily update
of your account activity, email customer service, and of course place orders. To
access this site just click the initial sign-on button. You'll be asked for your
user ID which is your account number. Be sure to use eight numerals and don't use
the numbers after the dash. For instance 12345678-99 would be entered this way.
If your account number is only seven digits long before the hyphen just add a
zero in front to make the eighth number. Next you'll be asked to submit a
password. Just make one up. Choose one you're likely to remember. Type in
lowercase letters only then click submit. It'll take a couple of days for your
password to be cleared and after that you'll be able to log on whenever you
want day or night. Check your getting started manual for a
thorough look at this site plus some guidelines about what images you can and
can't use on your website. So with all the materials in this kit along with the
website and the supplies available for order you've got everything you need to
start making some sales and putting some profits in your pocket. So let's take a
look at how to place your first order.
Placing an order with SMC is really a simple and quick process. The fastest,
easiest, and most convenient way to place your order is at your member's only
website at www.SMCorp.com. The site features easy point-and-click shopping
and instant credit card verification so your order goes directly to our warehouse
for fast processing and shipping. You can order any time of the day or night. I
really recommend this as the simplest and most efficient way for you to place
your orders plus you'll be able to track all your orders via UPS right there on
the website so that's an added convenience. If you can't or don't want
to order over the website you can of course call our toll-free order line or
fax your order toll-free or you can even mail it in. If you're mailing or faxing
your order it's best if you use your fast action order form. You've got a
sample in your business envelope in your kit and we'll always send you more
every time we ship you an order. Let's say we just sold 10 of these, a
Sponglass Unicorn to a local gift shop. First we put the item number here 22-558
and a brief description. Unicorn is sufficient. Now here under style, size, or
color we'll just draw a line since it doesn't apply. If you had a choice of
colors for instance you'd enter it here. Next is packing which is shown in your
price list. The price list says one each so that's what we'll put. Now the cost
per packing which our price list shows as three dollars and thirty cents and
then the number of packings. We sold ten. Finally the total amount of this line
item which is ten times three dollars and thirty cents or thirty three
dollars. Since that's all we're ordering in this example we'll go down here to
the extended total and fill in thirty three dollars. By the way your average
order will probably be larger than this. I'm just keeping it real simple. Okay
let's fill in the back of the form and we're done. Fill in page one of one, date
it, and fill in the total from the other side. Now we'll figure our freight. As you
can see orders are shipped via UPS ground unless you specifically choose
another method such as rush shipping. As it mentions on the form rush shipping is
expensive and can significantly decrease your profit margins. Avoid rush shipping
unless it's absolutely necessary. Since UPS ground is far and away the most
economical way to ship we'll check UPS right here and we'll figure our freight
by looking at this zone chart. This chart looks a little intimidating but it's
really simple. You just look on the map let's say you live in Kansas that's zone
six. Now turn the page over and you'll see the percentage of your order to add
to your merchandise total based on your zone. See here's zone six and our order
is between $25 and $499.99 so our freight charge is 19% of our order. That
sounds like a lot but remember two things. First you're charging your
customer freight and second your customers freight percentage is actually
just a third of your percentage because they're paying on the higher retail
price. In other words your 19% is only about 6% to your customer if they're
paying the retail price and your cost is covered. Okay back to the order form 19%
of $33 is $6.27 so we'll enter that here. Add sales tax only if you're a
California resident and don't have a resale number or if you're shipping to
California. Our order is over $25 so there's no service fee. If you have a
membership payment you want to make you can add that here and here's where we'll
put the grand total. Right below is a space for special instructions. For
instance if you absolutely need delivery by a specific date or need the package
dropped off because you won't be home anything like that should go in here. Now
we'll fill in the payment method. You've got several choices. You can use a check,
money order, certified check, credit card or funds in an account you keep with
SMC. To place funds in an SMC account just send us a check or money order for
whatever amount you'd like. It really helps if you write the word merchandise
right on it. We'll hold that money as credit and you can order against it
whenever you like. In this example we'll pay by credit card or debit card which
is the fastest way. Fill in the amount, check the card type and provide the
usual credit card information. We're almost done. Moving down to the
membership section. This is an important section so be sure to fill everything in
and there's a little box here at the bottom you can check if this is a new
address or phone number. Finally let us know if you're drop shipping the order
meaning sending it to an address other than the one you just provided in the
membership section. When you drop ship your order is sent with labels that
carry your name so your customers don't learn your source. Oh and remember we
don't offer drop shipping outside the United States. All done just in closed
payment unless you're paying with a credit card or SMC account funds of
course and drop it in the mail. Your business envelope includes some blue
order envelopes. If you're faxing your order, fax both sides. Put your name and
membership number on the top of the front page. The order fax is a toll-free
number. You can phone your order in toll-free at this number and as I said
your members only site at www.smcorp.com allows you to place orders whenever you
want day or night. So now you see how easy it is to place an order and you've
had a brief look at all the great material in your business kit. So how do
you get started? Well the truth is you already have. Now just show your catalogs
to a neighbor, a friend, someone you work with. You can offer a nice discount off
the retail price because your margin is so high and get ready to take orders.
Once you start putting money in your pocket like that you won't be able to
wait to start one of the proven marketing programs in your program
manual. And don't forget once you reach the required total of purchases through
SMC you'll earn a complete refund of your membership fee. SMC offers a refund
on your membership fee after you sell a certain volume and I was able to receive
that in the first year and I had a phone with that because I took that, bought
more merchandise and turned around made a lot of money with it. The last tip I'll
leave you with is to take a few minutes each day to read through your program
manual and watch the video and then give your business coach a call. Your coach's
job is to get your business off to an immediate start and while you're in your
first 60 days you're eligible for some special savings to help make that happen.
Finally I just want to say how happy I am that you've decided to make this
change in your life. It's happened for so many people. Ever since my father
founded this business over half a century ago. SMC does everything
possible to assure your success. We supply merchandise at lowest below
wholesale prices. We supply sales programs that bring you orders. We give
you the highest profits possible. We ship fast and we will warehouse the
merchandise for you. We do everything possible to assure your success because
our success depends upon yours. We want you to succeed. It was my father's dream
to succeed by helping others to build successful businesses of their own. If he
were alive today I know he'd be proud to personally welcome you to the SMC family.
So I welcome you and I wish you the best of good fortune on this exciting
journey you've begun.