Sale Organizer Advice

As busy mamas, I know we all have ONE HUGE WISH on our Christmas list... more time!!  Here are a few tools & tricks that will literally save you HOURS each month. 

Stock Email Responses

Sale week is crazy and your patience is stretched to the max!  Ever fired off a quick reply email only to look back and think, "Wow, that was snippy?!?"  The reality of sale ownership is that your consignors won't read every page of your website or contract.  And that will mean that even despite your BEST efforts, you will get those "stupid questions" over and over.  Save yourself the stress and the time and create a series of stock answer emails NOW!   Think about the top 10-15 issues that crop up and craft your message now... while you are calm... er, while you are "mostly sane."  Some questions that always pop up:

1. How do I register? (and yes, totally OK to just copy & paste from your website and send them a link as a friendly reminder).

2. Can you extend the deadline?

3. Can you extend the item limit?

4. How many of X items can you sell?

5. I can't make my volunteer shift, can I still get my percentage / pre-sale pass, etc?

6. I can't pick up my items, will you save them for me?

7. Why aren't my items selling... I only have 5% sell-through so far?

8. Can I get an extra pre-sale pass for my mom, brother, uncle, friend, husband's-second-cousin's friend-of-a-friend?

9. Where can I get wire hangers? Safety pins? Cardstock? 

Hootsuite

Facebook marketing can be both a blessing & curse.  If you find yourself posting hot & heavy one week and then go silent for a few weeks, Hootsuite is a great tool to help you schedule & stagger your posts.  Create an account, link up your fan page and then start scheduling posts weeks or months in advance.  I love that I can create a calendar of posts WEEKS in advance... That way my fans don't get 10 posts in a single day at 2am just "because" that is when I had my brainstorm and no kiddos tugging at me...   Maximize your Hootsuite-ing and schedule for optimal response times... 7-9am and 6-8pm. 

Direct Deposit

Are you still hand writing check after check after check?  Tired of tracking down lost checks?  Fearful that folks haven't cashed their check in months?  Direct deposit is an incredible tool that can help... big thanks to our ConsignmentMommies.com Facebook forum members for sharing this one!! 

Check with your local bank about setting up your consignors with direct deposit.  For most banks, all you'll need is a simple form and canceled check from the consignor, then you log into your account and link up the accounts.  When it is time to write checks, you'll log in and just have the payouts deposited directly into the consignors' accounts.  No check-clear time, less stamps, less wrist strain from signing. Win! Win! Win!

Do you have any other time saving tools you swear by?