An Honest Question--and an Honest Answer
Thursday, January 6, 2011 at 07:53AM I’m working on my next Question & Answer post but noticed this comment and felt like I needed to answer it separately—and quickly!
Someone wrote, “My New Year's wish: Please don't abandon those of us who are loyal hobby demonstrators.... it definitely feels that way right now with the heavy duty push to recruit.”
This demonstrator then goes on to explain that, because she doesn’t have any support from her upline or any opportunity to join a stronger upline, she doesn’t really feel comfortable recruiting anyone. She also noted that she feels like a “hanger on” and that she wonders if a lot of hobbyist demonstrators are having to leave in this economy because of the quarterly minimum requirement.
She says, “I hope that just this once someone asks, ‘What could we do to support you more effectively?’ without saying, ‘You need to perk up and work harder at building your business.’"
Several things came to mind as I read this comment. . . .
First, I’d like to say that I appreciate this demonstrator’s honesty.
Second, I have to admit that my heart broke when I read her words. Through the years we’ve said over and over again how much our “hobbyist demonstrators” mean to us—and we absolutely mean it! These demonstrators are crafting enthusiasts who value our product, and love to create. In fact, many of them live to create!
We try to do as much as we can to support these demonstrators—offering a nice variety of the highest quality products available; providing LOTS of fun, inspiring projects; creating a community (Stampin’ Connection) where they can share and be recognized by their peers; profiling artists in our magazine (Stampin’ Success) every month. . . those are the things that come to mind immediately, and I know there are more. In fact, the monthly So Shelli Creative Challenge was a direct result of trying to meet the needs of our demonstrators who live to create!
Third, as a company whose very existence depends on growth, Stampin’ Up! has always had to focus on recruiting at some level. And in these challenging times, we’ve had to focus our efforts and resources more than ever before on a few key things that will ensure that we survive—and even thrive.
We have focused on recruiting heavily during the past year, but that increased focus doesn’t mean we value our demonstrators who enjoy creating any less than we value our demonstrators who enjoy building a business. It just means we’ve been talking about recruiting more. Our priorities haven’t changed—every single demonstrator is important to us, and we will do all we can (recognizing that our resources are limited) to support and encourage every demonstrator, at whatever level she chooses to be part of our Stampin’ Up! family.
I can understand why this added emphasis on recruiting might make a demonstrator whose main priority is stamping feel less valued. All I can say is, if you’re feeling this way, please don’t! Please know that we care about you. You are part of every conversation we have and every decision we make. We are trying to carefully balance our need to encourage growth and recruiting with our absolute commitment to reach out to EVERY demonstrator in our Stampin’ Up! family and make sure they can continue to love what they do.
Thank you, Dona, for sharing your feelings. I promise you that your role as a “hobbyist” is and always will be valued.
Reader Comments (68)
I'm also a hobby demo. I can't say that I feel *pressured* to recruit (and, after all, Stampin' Up! is a business and needs growth to survive), but I don't feel that my creativity is as valued as I'd like it to be, and I think that's partially because SU! is still a relatively young company in Australia. I'd really love to see the Artisan Award come to Australia, and being featured in a Stampin' Success magazine sounds wonderful! Hopefully we'll get those in the future too. At the moment I don't feel much impetus to attend Convention because there's so much focus on achievement in terms of sales. BUT, I also recognise that SU!'s primary goal is going to be sales and growth - a company doesn't get to this level of success without that focus!
I so appreciate Dona sharing her comments and the total openness of Shelli's reply. I feel fortunate to be part of the Stampin' Up! family.
Most of my downline are hobbyist. We live in a rural area and most of them have the same customers which makes it hard to compete with each other for the sales. My downlines are all loyal fans of Stampin' UP's finer products. I have lost a few and wonder what would happen if we made our minimums lower for the gals that sell less or giving them a longer grace period but how could we do it and still be fair. Some have left to join other companies whose minimums are lower but I know they are not happy with the quality of the stamps or products the other companies sell.
I have managed to stay in SU for almost 5 years and I am more of a hobbyist than business builder myself. I do have classes and although I don't get many sales from those. Most just come to create and are perfectly happy to just use (and sometimes Abuse) my stuff. They enjoy visiting with each other sometimes; more than staying focused on creating. I still do my best to recruit and at times it is difficult but I was never happier than when I hit my goal of the manager level. If you put your mind to something you can do it. I try to instill this in all of my downlines. I Do love the socializing too and being with others that like to create. I love what I do and share what I love. Thanks for balancing all of the details and making our jobs easy. I appreciate all you do for us. Hope to see you at Leadership ( my first one...YEAH)
With much love
Debi Pippin
Florida
I think that Stampin' Up! is an exceptional company, and I'm grateful to have had the crafting and personal experiences that have come my way since I first learned about the wonderful products.
I guess the 10,000 new recruits can fill my measley little gap.
Some programs and perks are there for those who aim to reach for them. But when I was a hobbyist, I felt as loved as I do today.
I am touched by Shelli's heartfelt response because she really means every word. I beg everyone to please know that she cares about all of you equally just as the other corporate team members do. I am not sure if everyone realizes how very unique SU is in this regard.I have walked within corporate and every person is so friendly and so upbeat. It's not a mask. They really are super nice and kind people who all care very much.And, trust me, I'm a cynical big-city girl who has been blown away by the consistently kind & caring company we're associated with!
I'm good friends with my upline, so I don't really feel I'm in a position to complain to her without potentially losing the friendship, but I provide her and her downline of 4 with more support than she does. I'm the one who sends emails with promotion details because I know what it's like to not get them. And her downline contact me when they have questions. I wasn't made fully aware of Stampin' Start either, so I missed out on the benefits.
I've heard lots of people say they've signed under the wrong person. In a previous direct sell company I worked with, anyone could recruit and get the benefits, but the recruit joined that person's team - so if the recruiter wasn't into being an upline, it was okay. The recruit still got the benefits of an upline and a team, while still being able to sign with the person who first interested them in joining.
Just a few thoughts! :-)
I do feel badly for individuals who don't receive any upline support. My upline was supportive and nearby for a few years, but then she moved out of state and I have not heard from her since. I kept in touch with the other local demos from our group and I'm fortunate that one of them has a very successful group and includes me in their activities. If you're feeling abandoned, I would suggest reaching out to others for the support and cameraderie you are looking for. It's out there!
Having said that, there has never been more or better info online than there is now. Dig in! And come to Convention. You will meet great people and get more ideas and suggestions than you can even think of using.
We all need to think of ideas on how to better our hobbyist world. When reading through the comments to the blog entry I saw some but few people providing ideas on how to address the hobbyists needs. Lets all keep thinking up ideas, and looking for ways to implement them (either through SU or through the SU network).
That is one of the great things about being part of this company as there is support from SU but there is also outstanding support from the demonstrators around the country/world (upline or not). Think outside the box, and challenge yourself to come up with ideas and get them implemented for the hobbyist or not.
Now,unfortunately that doesn't mean that all uplines are created equally.
During SAB of course there is a small incentive to recruit but the substantial incentives are still set up to reward the follow through.
I think the fact that Shelli felt the need to answer this question right away speaks volumes about how she feels about each and every demonstrator.
Mary Beth West