Ok, first thing is first.....

I've found that the key tool in my arsenal of sales tactics is the one thing that takes absolutely no effort at all, and that is the Tastefully Simple Catalogue itself. The Tastefully Simple Catalogue rocks all by itself, but we will get into that a bit later. For now, lets think of it as the final blow in your delivery when trying to recruit. One thing I noticed when I first started doing this, is that you run through friends and family pretty fast, they either join, or politely decline, and there's only a handful that aren't really sure and you know will cave in time. So I began resorting to soliciting perfect strangers, but I did it on forums just like this one, and can't you believe how effective it has actually been. Lots of people are actually more than willing listen to what you offer, especially when you know how to talk to them and not present your offering as though you are really trying to sell them something.

It's like no matter how bad the economy gets, people don't go without specific things, gas, comfort food, and entertainment. So I chose discussion boards, billboards, and even people that I engage in small talk with in the supermarket. Food places are a FABULOUS place to find new members because they all share the same problems, food prices, and the fact that they want to make more money. So basically I tell them what I do, and they can see since I have a positive attitude that I'm not unhappy in any way, not struggling and certainly not working 40 hours a week. When you introduce it that way, they are interested, and without sounding pushy or "infomercialish", they fold as soon as you show them the Tastefully Simple Catalogue.

Tastefully Simple Catalogs are gorgeous, its kind of like watching food network when you're starving lol! They are available online, and in printed color versions. They have really big photos, well written descriptions and lots of small country-ish themes that really set the mood. The catalogues feature mixes and sauces, snacks, drink mixes, condiments, cookbooks and recipe cards showing how to make desserts, dip mixes, spices, jams, beer bread mix like the one I featured, and tons of other treats, its bad ass! if you don't mind me saying so.... :O You can also get paper catalogues through mail order or from Tastefully Simple sales consultants
such as myself.

Hi Irataages, I was wondering how you were making out with Tastefully Simple, glad to see you are doing so well with it, though I did have a few questions. Do you have any idea where the products are manufactured? I can't seem to find any information regarding where the factories are, or if they are American, Chinese etc..I think the web site looks great, as do a lot of the products, but I am not a fan of the E-catalogue because it is barely compatible with the products they are displaying. It's as if the photos and descriptions were inserted into the catalogue program and weren't even fit to the correct size, like they were just tossed in. I'd like to see a bit more care taken on that, maybe even if they have one programmed specifically for them.

Most people will simply prefer the web site show all 44 pages of products and skip the E-catalogue altogether because of how bad it is, and you don't want that, you want people to see all the products. A well designed catalogue can make you look through it even if you could care less about the products inside. Here's a good example:

 http://www.walthers.com/

Walthers is a manufacturer of model trains, a subject in which I have not the slightest interest, and yet, I spent about a good half hour of my time impressed with the web site and looking at all the interesting trains and models they produce. They don't use a digital catalogue, they just put the work into the web site to show everything in full screen, non-document glory. Anyway, I realize you have no control over this, and I'm sure the color catalogues are as awesome as you say they are, but the web site catalogue is terrible, and I apologize for using such a strong word, but its such an obscure topic, this was the only place I could really voice my opinion about it since it was the topic of your post. :(

I have to disagree with you Wallace, I think I like the e catalogue on the Tastefully Simply site, I have no problem navigating it. Do you think maybe there is a compatibility issue with your browser? I have come across that exact catalogue program on a few other sites, I don't know who makes it but I can see where some people may not be used to them. I admit that on the first couple pages some stuff is displayed sideways, which sort of renders putting it there in the first place pointless, but I still like that its separated from the web site, allowing more freedom to browse multiple windows without having to mess with tabs or losing everything incase you have an Internet explorer shut down.

Heya Avalon, I just use IE. I used to use firefox but I hate the interface, especially how favorites work etc..I can see how many people might like the catalogue done that way, especially the download ones. Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but there is something really special about the way product sites were presented for the past 15 or so years. I guess the best example I can give aside from Walthers was the old Babbages and Electronic's Boutique video game stores. They had beautiful web sites with tons of pages, all broken down into the popular gaming systems at the time, all having their own section. Each game had its own place in the catalogue with full color photos of in-game screen shots, the cover box art, and a description of the game. All those features were of course linked so you could look at any aspect of it in full colorful glory. You couldn't download anything that extensive now, and it couldn't be updated. I think the whole process is perfect as being part of a web site.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the Tastefully Simple Catalogue isn't attractive, just that it seems like a downgrade of what a fully detailed, "tricked out" catalogue should be. I don't want to see future companies de-gress backwards just because its cheaper. People love a good presentation because it shows that a manufacturer really cares about the products it makes, and if you can trust a company's intentions, you are that much closer to buying the product. There is of course the argument that Tastefully Simple products don't evolv as quickly as video game merchandise, so in that case there may not be as much need for such extensive details, but none the less the depth of the traditional online catalogue has had and will continue to have, a much more profound effect on me, especially as dare I have to admit it; a "consumer"...