Showing posts with label Qualatex Event. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Qualatex Event. Show all posts

Monday, November 21, 2011

Has attending The Qualatex Event inspired you?

Last week I wrote a blog that gave my own personal summary of  The Qualatex Event. I felt that it would be great to hear what others thought too! So I invited a few delegates and some who also took their CBA exam at the event to share their experiences and maybe a photo or too! A huge thank you to those that responded with a few personal highlights from the weekend!


Lucy Hennessy CBA






I really enjoyed the event it's just a shame I couldn’t fit every class that
I would of liked to have seen, each time you walked along the corridors you were simply stunned by the creations. It was nice to meet old and new friends that all share a passion for balloons. The parties were great fun and the decor fabulous. I can't wait for the next event!


Lucy Hennessy as Miss Piggy with Friends

I'm doing a job on Saturday using the new Minnie & Mickey mouse designs that
were sitting in the corridor ( not sure who created them) and  have also
taken an idea from Fiona Fishers class on foil numbers and adapted it for
the same job increasing the clients original order by over £150.

Lucy Hennessy CBA



Soo Wheeler CBA & Paul Webber CBA


When we heard about the Qualatex Event, we were not sure we were able to go due to costs etc, but we are so glad that we decided to go. From the moment we arrived (on the Friday), we felt like we were part of an exclusive family of like-minded balloon mad people. Our work with balloons started straight away as we were helping with creating a piece for the medium balloon sculpture competition. In a way, we are glad that it was non-stop as it gave us a bit of space to NOT think about our CBA exam that was scheduled for the Saturday morning. We were both extremely panicky and nervous about the exam as we had completed our QBN part of the CBA back in 2007 and we brought the dvds with us to enable us to have one last swot before the morning! We didn't get much sleep that Friday and were still up in the early hours of the morning! Don't forget to "like" us on Facebook www.facebook.com/PartyBudsBalloons
Many thanks

Sue & Paul, CBA
Sue &   Paul with Jo Uddin

Sue & Paul With Robbir Furman and Niko Fric

Sue & Paul with me :)


Vicky Wilson CBA - Missy Moo Ltd

OK here are my thoughts!

This was the first event me and mum had attended and had no real objectives except our CBA so the run up to it and first part of the weekend was all about our CBA exam.  It was a great feeling to do it at the event though and made it extra special! 

I came away from the event with a very proud feeling - its hard to describe...  I always used to listen to my husband talk about conferences etc that he had been on with his work, and he used to say that he would always leave them very buoyant and proud to be working for the company he did.  Having never been to a conference etc before, I hadn't experienced this feeling - but certainly have now.  I found the video montage at the gala dinner very moving (and I wasn't even drunk!), it just brought a few tears to my eyes, but left me feeling so excited and pleased to be a part in such a great industry, with such fab, helpful and talented people!  And the fact that really talented people are happy to teach you their tricks of the trade is amazing!

We met some great people, and picked up some good tips - just little things, but stuff that makes your day to day work better!  We learn't some brilliant new designs, which we are already selling your bubble bouncers and are trying out different varieties of them. We are also taking one of Luc's designs and playing around with that too.  However we have lots of ideas for the future, and most of these have come about in some way, shape or form because of the event.

Vicky - Missy Moo


Tony Hanscombe CBA



As someone who has been in the balloon business for some years I wondered if I would find anything of interest and use at the event. As it turned out I needn't have worried as I found several things of interest and some that I am putting into practice, in particular - the decorated numbers, Dee White's belly buddies, Colin Miles ideas for what I call 'bespoke' decor and your giraffe. The whole weekend was very enjoyable and it was nice to meet so many old friends.

All I can hope that is that this becomes a regular event alternating with the Dallas WBC.



A final note from me: 
I know from my own personal experience that attending conventions and events are so inspiring, not only do you learn from some of the best instructors in the world, but you also make friends and contacts, people who will help you when you need advice or even help you out on a job! Your confidence grows and so does your business! Conventions may seem to be costly at the time, but those costs are soon turned in to profit! It is great hearing feedback from those who attend, as an instructor it is even more rewarding when we here how our ideas are being put into practice and making money!!
Picture sent to me by Debbie O.Neill of 'Gerry the Giraffe', a design that I taught at The Qualatex Event... congratulations Debbie, he looks perfect a the Zoo!


If you have never attended a balloon event or convention, then why not make it your 2012 resolution and sign up for the World Balloon Convention, you truly will not regret it!

Sue




Thursday, October 20, 2011

'I want that one' - a simple tried and tested trick to sell more balloons!


Last week I wrote a blog on how to turn the 'mini' Qualatex Microfoils into big profit earners, I suggested that the 'mini' Microfoil designs are perfect for counter top sales and impulse purchases.

Sue Bowler
Design by Sue Bowler CBA
Today's blog follows on from this point and was inspired by my husband John. John has worked in the balloon industry since 1991 and has held a number of different roles within the industry. We spend a lot of time talking about our industry, here are his thoughts on how we can inspire our customers to buy from us.

When we walk round stores, what makes us buy what we do? Do we always know what we want when we walk in or are we looking for inspiration?
So how can we discover the little tricks that will help us to sell our products and designs to the general public?  First of all I guess we need to know what it is that inspires the public to purchase a particular item.  Now there are many large corporations that spend millions of pounds, dollars and Euros on researching this very issue.  Clearly we don’t have that kind of money to spend on research so how can we get this information?  Well let’s not forget that we make up a section of the society that we refer to as ‘General Public’ and we can learn from looking at ourselves.

It is often said that the smartest ideas are the simplest ideas, and so it would seem.  

Sue Bowler
Design created by Keith Stirman CBA & Dominic Cassidy CBA
A very good friend of mine taught me an invaluable little trick a number of years ago and I have seen it work on many occasions and I am especially pleased to report that her business has flourished from its humble beginnings to become one of the most impressive balloon stores that I have seen and many others have made the same comment.  Oh the trick! Yes I’m coming to that now.   We are fortunate in our industry that we can offer a bespoke service of unique designs and deliveries rather than just a single product ‘off the shelf’. 



Firstly it is important to know that the majority of the ‘public’ will only ever buy what they see, they have little time for design and creativity and let’s face it, if we left it to them they would leave with a single balloon on a weight.   So, it is our role to inspire them and give them ideas, and the best way to do this is to have some 'ready to go' Balloon Bouquets and other ready made designs on display such as this adorable Minnie Mouse Bubble sculpture and the beautiful Tinker Bell & Fairy Friends Bubble design, never be afraid to make your designs impressive! 

Shirley Ray
Design created By Shirley Ray CBA
So, having impressed them the next thing is to make the customer feel that the product is value for money, now this is the smart bit!  The best way to do this is to show that others have already paid for the same design and therefore endorsing that it is value for money.  To do this, simply add a ‘delivery note’ and a personalised gift tag creating the impression that it is waiting for a customer to collect or the driver to deliver.  If the design is exactly what the customer wants you can offer to swap the gift tag and let them take that one and you will ‘make up another one’ or if they want it in a different colour or for a different celebration you can build one just for them. 
“But I want that one!” I think it is human nature for many of us to want what somebody else has and this, is the key to this little trick. 
Very Best Balloon Blog With Halloween less than 2 weeks away, it's time to fill your store with 'ready to go' Halloween designs and try out this simple little trick!
Remember, you can do this all year round, every day someone is celebrating a birthday or a new baby arrives!
Dont forget The Qualatex Event, 5-7 Nov, Oxford, UK & The World Balloon Convention, 22nd-25th March 2012, Dallas, USA, where you will learn how to create wonderful designs such as the one's featured in this blog created by Shirley, Keith and Dominic and much much more!

Looking forward to seeing you at the Qualatex Event in 2 weeks time!
Sue

Monday, June 27, 2011

Balloon Events - are they worth the investment to your business?

I suppose I should start by defining what a balloon event is? For me an event is usually more than a one day training course, with several or a number of instructors offering a variety of different classes.

I attended my first event, at that time known as the Qualatex Symposium in Paris in 1996!
This was my first great 'balloon adventure' since I started my balloon business 5 years earlier. I had previously attended several 1 day courses in the UK, but I was always left feeling that I wanted to learn more!
On the 7th March 1996 my business partner Rosemary and I jumped into my little Mini car and drove all the way to Paris (France), full of excitement and anticipation of what the next 4 days would hold for us!
But we did not just go to attend the many different classes (45 in total to choose from) or to see the 12 amazing line-up of instructors, oh no, that would be too easy, we decided that if we were going to go all that way, we would enter all the competitions too! That included a large sculpture, buffet and centrepiece design... were we mad or what!

Images Balloon magazine