Usborne - Books Kids Love!

Once you've gotten your EC kit and become certified as an Educational Consultant, check online or by calling Educational Services to see if the library/school is listed. If it is not, call the library and ask "who purchases for the children's department?" Be sure to write their name down right then. Sometime you are connected directly to that person and when they answer they will say their name - write it down quickly. Say, "Hello, I’m_______, a local consultant of Usborne Books. Are you familiar with Usborne Books?" (Whether she says "yes" or "no" is fine.) "Oh, they’re wonderful! If you’re not already working with someone with our company, I’d like to make a 15-20 minute appointment to show you some of our titles I think you’ll like. Do you have a time this Thursday that I could come by?" Give her a specific time so she can write it in her calendar. Keep working with days & times until it is scheduled. You can ask if there are any subjects (animals, medieval, science...?) she needs so you can try to bring those or others in the series.

If she says she doesn’t have money available right now, ask when you should call back. Write this in your calendar & remember to call then. If she says she gets her books through Baker & Taylor (or another jobber), say, "Yes, I understand. If you are authorized to get titles through a Sole Source Provider, you may well be interested to see that many of these books are not available through jobbers. We also have the newest editions and titles with Class A library bindings that are available only through us. Would you like me to bring some by for you to see?"

If she simply won’t see you, that’s OK, just call the next one on your list. Speak slowly and confidently, while respecting their time by avoiding rambling. Sometimes it takes a little persistence to get the appointments, but may well be worth it for both of you!

More than half my sales last year were to libraries. This may be an avenue you would like to pursue. After calling ahead to make the appointment, here’s how the visit might go.

I arrive on time, dressed nicely; friendly & confident that she will fall in love with these books. I have a catalog & pen for each of the people I'm meeting. It may be just the children's librarian, or also young adults' librarian, a teacher or principal, or a buyer. I tell them it is fine to circle things in the catalog if they'd like & I'd be happy to write up orders for them, or work with whatever procedure they want to use.

I usually start at the front of the catalog w/ the board books. (I have my books prearranged in catalog order.) As I hand them one book & let them look at it, we look at that page in the catalog together so they can circle the whole series! You want them to use the whole catalog to order from rather than just the samples you brought. Then we look on those pages at information about books I don't have with me. I point out ones that are new, revised, or that I particularly like.

I bring books I particularly like, but probably not models, nor sticker, flap & slot books. As we get past the board books, I tell her that most of the books come in both paperback and library binding. I let her hold a library bound book & show in the catalog the (P) & (L) and mention that I brought mostly paperback editions so I could bring more for her to see. Even though the librarian's time is precious, we take quiet time to look at & even read books if she seems to want to.

Sticking with my sequence through the catalog prevents skipping over something she may want. I continue handing her a book & looking at that catalog page together, letting her ohh & ahh & circle the series, then look at the others on that page before moving on to the next book or page.

I draw her attention to the First 1000 Words series, since she will want all of those in library binding. She may already have them in hardback before the nice revisions which include multiculturalism and more modern illustrations. I point out the computer books, noting that we have the most current, up-to-date editions published. Overall, we don’t have to say much about the books. She’s very familiar with books & knows what she likes and needs.

I don't go through the Kid Kits, telling her we are done, that the rest of the catalog includes kits and more about the new titles. I tell her that the books come within 2 weeks or can come with processing if she would rather. If she is interested in that, the order form for all cataloging products is on the back of the mini S&L order form. The form will answer her questions about that. I ask her to complete that part of the form so I make sure she’ll get exactly what she needs.

I reiterate that I will work with whatever ordering procedure she wants to use. (EVERY S&L order I've had has used a different procedure. She may give you a purchase order right then, she may need to request a PO from the school or library acquisitions office where you to come back in a few days to pick it up, she may not have access to funds for months, she may need to spend her money now or loose it, or she may need to send it directly to the company - make sure she includes your ID# on her order.) Again, I offer to write up her order from what she has circled in the catalog & I ask if there are titles she would like in multiple copies. She may want more than one copy of books she expects will get high circulation.

Listen to what she says & see how you can service her the best. While not taking up too much of her time, remember to smile, ask her about herself & be friendly enough that she will want to see you again. You will probably get an order from her every 6 months when the new titles come out or when she gets her money. It is OK to ask her when her funds are available or when she does her buying or when you should contact her next. She has money that she HAS to spend on books; we have books she wants. Just help her make it as easy as possible. You can ask her if there are other librarians or Library Media Specialists she recommends that you visit.