Product knowledge is so very important! If you do not know what your company carries, what the product does and what the results are you will have a big problem. When I join a company I am usually excited about one of their products and can chatter about it all day. But what about the other things they carry?? You have at least got to know they are available!
There are many ways to go about learning. I will list some that have worked for me and you choose what you think will work for you. Often I do more than one (and sometimes all!!) of them as the more I go over it the better it sticks in the old beaner!
1. Take Notes!! If you get in the habit now it will save you time along the way somewhere. Also... making notes will help your brain remember it better.
I like making up a price sheet. If there are a lot of products I use a spread sheet. I list things like name of product, size if there is more than one size and the price. Don't forget to record the URL for easy finding later on!
Or you can make a product folder, (saving it in your company file so you can find it later) Use notes for each type of product and put the above information in it. Stop and consider how you want to set that up before you start out. If your company carries a few Health and Beauty Aids a HBA folder would be perfect for you listing all of them. On the other hand if you work for a HBA site and that is all they carry you may want to break it into Shampoos, Lip Gloss.... etc. Make it easy for yourself in the beginning so you do not have to redo it.
2. Look through the web site or your company's catalog. Most companies are online now and the web site is more easily updated and has the latest prices so I try to do that over the catalog at all times. It sounds funny but don't just look at the pretty pictures. Read the information about the product (description, sizes, and you never know what else you will learn!)
If it is a smaller company with not many items I would try to go through it all, the very first time. And every time I have a few minutes I would flip through it again. Studying is not all that fun but like your parents used to tell you it pays off in the end. And now? It pays off a lot sooner than when we were in school and right into our bank account!
If you are with a large company you may have to do it a chunk at a time. You do not want brain freeze! Or burn out! Even when you do not have time to take notes look through the site. The more often you see your products the better you will know them.
3. Make a fan page on facebook. This is the quickest way I know to help me learn about my products. You work with the images, the descriptions and share links to your web site all at one time to start getting customers as you learn.
Decide if you want to make a fan page or a fan group page. There is a big difference. I have fan pages except for one and still undecided on which I prefer. Just make sure you have something so you are working with your products... and hopefully customers as well!
4. Join the consultant's group if possible. That is the best place to find out the hottest products that move the fastest! Best bet? Type the words craft fair in the search box. It will bring up comments about craft fairs and people always ask what to take. Others jump in to say what sells the best for them.
Always remember that you do not need to know everything the first day, week or even month for that matter. Just keep at it a bit every day and before you know it you will be surprising yourself! It does get easier as time goes on. Trust me on this ;-)
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