Sunday, August 7, 2011

Adding Value to a Qualatex Bubble Balloon - Step by Step DVD

I recently posted a blog 'Adding value... 'The Very Best Way to stand out from our competitors'! Here is a short DVD clip that show's you how to make one of the designs that I made. It's quick and simple, and with just a few additional balloons it really does add value to the Bubble balloon.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The Very Best Balloon Store - Retail Sales Tips 1.





Welcome to the Very Best Balloon Store! 

I would like to share with you on a weekly basis some retail sales tips and idea's that you may find useful and effective within your own stores, try them out and let me know if they worked for you? How about sharing some of your best sales tips too, I would love to feature them and credit you for your idea's!

As a retailer we need to find different ways to ensure that we have made the best possible sales opportunity with each and every customer who enters our stores:

I would like to start with two very simple sales tips, if you do not already do this have a go today and train your staff to do the same.

1. Each and every time someone purchases an item, the person serving should ask
"Did you find everything that you were looking for today?"  
Quick, simple and polite. Let's face it, we all from time to time forget what we actually went in a store for, or we just cannot see the item/s that we are looking for.

Think about it, let's say you manage to make an additional $20 worth of sales each day as a result of asking that very simple question.
That in turn could increase your weekly turnover by $120 which would potentially give you additional annual sales of $6,240!

2. "Can I help you?", a very classic question that we are often asked when we are walking around a store. The usual response is "Just looking"!

How about changing the way we approach our customers and ask:
"Hi there, what can I help you look for today?"
Just by simply asking a different question may get a different response and give you the opportunity to open up a conversation and recommend products or services that you are able to offer.


These sales tips are very important within our industry. We have the ability to fulfill our customers needs every time by being able to offer the perfect balloons, bouquets or arrangements custom designed to suit the customers needs.


 These  sales training tips were sourced from  MTD sales training blog.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Welcome Mr Q- the Qualatex Mascot that everyone adores!

Who's 7' tall, round, has a passion for balloons and of course is very handsome... it's Mr Q! 


This week sees the official launch of this adorable Qualatex Mascot, this chap is so important he has his very own email address and Facebook page - mr.q@qualatex.com & www.facebook.com/qualatexmascot  I am sure that he would love you to become his friend or email him from time to time!
Mr Q has actually been around since 2009 (when the Qualatex logo was revamped).

He told me “Back then, I was laying low and preparing for my on-screen debut in the video many of you saw before the Plant Tour at the World Balloon Convention 2010. Remember, the charming little fella who taught you all those interesting facts about latex balloons?
 I’m looking forward to seeing you again (in person!) at the WBC 2012 – but until then, keep an eye out because you never know where I might pop up next… After all, I love a good party!”


Mr Q will be a great ambassador for Qualatex, representing everything the brand stands for. (For those of you who don’t know, that’s quality, innovation, passion, excellence, and commitment…

I just love his favorite quotes:

"Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon." --Winnie the Pooh
"Don't worry. It's Qualatex."
"Hey, what's poppin'? Not our balloons!" --Mr. Q

I know that I for one am looking forward to meeting Mr Q in person, he sounds like a fun kind a guy!

Monday, July 25, 2011

Super Free Marketing Materials for Balloon Artists! - just a click away!

Have you seen the fantastic, new and easy to sell Everyday Bouquet Idea's available at Qualatex.com? 

They are fresh, vibrant and fun! Each bouquet has been beautifully designed using a selection of Qualatex's extensive balloon range like the stylish Birthday Funky Zebra Stripe Cake that features in the fantastic bouquet displayed below, complimented with Birthday Elegant Damask and Birthday Shining Star 11" latex... a truly 'delicious' birthday bouquet!


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Adding value to your balloon designs ... 'The Very Best' way to stand out from our competitors!!

  
In this ever increasing competitive world we need to look for ways to make our business stand out. Like many Independent business's we are surrounded by 'the big boys', who can sell products cheaper than the independent store... so how can we ever compete for business?

BE DIFFERENT! 
If I want a single balloon on a ribbon & weight, I am most likely to buy it from my local supermarket, the same can apply to a bunch of fresh flowers, chocolates or candies, it's easy, it's convenient and in most cases it's cheaper. But if I want a special bouquet of flowers or elegant handmade boxed chocolates then I head off to the professionals!

So as a balloon professional and specialist let us look at what we can do to make our balloons stand out from our competitors.

Image 1
Step 1. Sell balloon's that last!
The Qualatex Bubble range is unique. They are vibrant and fun like the Birthday Brilliant Stars Bubble shown (Image 1). Made from a special stretchy plastic makes them pop resistant and withstand outside pressure changes better than most other types of balloon. They do not oxidize and will float for a number of weeks! All in all a retailers dream!


It would be easy to just simply inflate a Bubble balloon and attach it to a weight, but hey... anyone can do that (with a little know-how).






Image 2.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

What is balloon art?

Cove - created by Jason Hackenwerth
What is balloon art?

I have been a balloon artist for over 20 years, but I suppose it is not until now that I have really considered what ‘balloon art’ actually means?

I am a skilled balloon artist who can create decor for events. I have the creativity to design my own work and am always excited when I complete something new, but I question, can I call my work art?



Stone Chang  a balloon artist from Taiwan, recently held an exhibition in Taiwan called ‘The Art of Rapid Expansion’. The exhibition featured work created by him and a team of balloon artists from around Taiwan. As part of the exhibition, Stone also featured 11 International balloon artists using large posters to display examples of their work and their points of view of balloon art, reading each artists words and descriptions as to what balloon art means to them was truly uplifting, and I would like to share a few of their sentiments with you.

 

“As balloon artists we are able to literally breath life into creations that then go into the world spreading beauty, and wonder, and joy, and connecting us all”. Don Caldwell aka Buster Balloon, USA







“Once inflated, they capture the heart of every young mind, in a child as well as an adult”. Luc Bertrand, Belgium.




“ If you can see it in your mind, you can make it with balloons. Air is the canvas, balloons are the paint, your hands are the brush that paints the picture”. Marvin Hardy, USA



“Balloons are amazing product for doing art, they have a special power for people, magical, simple, people like it”! Niko Fric, Slovenia


Stone himself says: “ Balloon, a piece of childhood memory. Creatively twisted, readily inflated into a delightful splurge. So let’s grab the chance to enjoy this volatile handicraft of peasants, a swiftly ballooned art”.



Recently, I met an artist called Jason Hackenwerth. Jason studied art and was awarded a BFA  at Webster University. St. Louis, MO. USA. Jason works with balloons (only the very best balloons) as his art medium, to create his grand sculptures such as the ‘Megamite’  or ‘Cove’, which he recently installed at Selfridges department store London, as part of a campaign to support an environmental project named Project Ocean.
Jason has been commissioned to create sculptures at numerous exhibitions, features in many publications and has a string of awards to his name.
It is strange how we ‘find’ balloons in our lives, Jason told me that his mother was a clown, and that as a young boy he was very embarrassed by this (funnily enough so were my own children and although not a clown, this is how some of their friends perceived me as I was a mummy who ‘played’ with balloons). Jason overcame his embarrassment and learn't the art of twisting from his Mom and used the tips that he earned to help fund his way through college and now, the rest is history as Jason has proved himself as a highly talented artist, who’s art form is very much in demand Worldwide.

This brings me back to my original question "can I call my work art"? Looking at the definition of the word art, I do not think that I can, my designs are 'arty' and creative, but like a graphic designer, cake decorator and many other artistic trade, maybe not a work of art. There are so many fantastic artists in our industry, the entertainers who use balloons within their acts, the extremely talented artists who can make stunning balloon dresses, with incredible style and precision, the artists who can create sculptures on a grand scale working with 1000's of balloons and the twisters who can turn one balloon into a masterpiece. I am in awe of the art and creativity that can be made from the humble balloon.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Balloon Spiral Column Number design - Step-by-Step recipe

I really love the new Qualatex Number Shape Microfoil balloons! I want to share with you a really fun and easy to make column that I made using the 'candy' spiral technique, topped with a number balloon it makes perfect birthday decor and a great way to display the Number Shapes in your store windows!

What are you waiting for, make one today!
If you would like to know step-by-step how to make this great design simply click on the clip below.