Can anyone buy your products?
Yes, anyone can buy. Simply go to our shop online page and shop.
What kind of discounts do Country Gourmet Consultants receive?
As a Country Gourmet Consultant, you will receive 35%-50% off your orders. We pay our consultants the highest commissions in the gourmet food industry. When a new consultant purchases one of our start up kits at this link http://www.countrygourmethome.citymax.com/page/page/4072086.htm they will be sent discount codes to shop online and receive their discounts. Orders can be taken online, by fax machine or mailed in to our headquarters.
How does a consultant sell your products?
As an active Country Gourmet Consultant, you may sell in many ways and earn income. The best way to sell our products is by holding Country Gourmet Cookin' Parties. The consultant prepares some of the dishes for guest to sample and while they are sampling, she also demonstrates how some of the products are prepared. A Country Gourmet Consultant may also host catalog sales, have her own website (we do not offer websites as of yet), do fundraisers at school, etc...
To see how a Country Gourmet Cookin' Party is conducted CLICK HERE.
How long does it take to get my start up kit?
Generally it takes 1-2 days to process and up to 7 days shipping. Sooner if we can.
How long does it take to get products after I order?
Generally it takes 1-3 days to process your order and 5 -10 business days for shipping, depending on what zone we are shipping from. Our home office is located in Ogden, Utah. We will get it to you sooner if possible, but we have no control over shipping times. We use UPS or USPS to ship your products. If we can ship USPS priorty and the cost is the same as UPS we will ship that way. Large orders always ship UPS Ground.
Do you require Consultants to invest in inventory?
No. Keeping inventory is expensive and time consuming for consultants. That is not what we are about. Consultants can purchase what they need to show samples and then collect orders. It generally takes 1-3 business days to process the order and 7 days for shipping. Consultants can tell their prospective clients to expect delivery of orders within 2 weeks.
How much does shipping cost?
Shipping is based on weight of our products and is calculated by a UPS calculator. As of Sept 1, 2007 order forms consultants hand out will collect 15% from each customer to help offset the shipping paid by the consultant. Make sure your guest includes this amount in the total amounts collected. Consultants pay actual shipping charges based on weight of the order it averages 15-20% for each order. We are located in Ogden Ut and local consultants can arrange to pick their orders up at no shipping cost. West coast zones will generally have cheaper shipping charges because they are closer, east coast consultants will generally pay up to 20%. Being able to have your customers help you pay this fee will bring your net shipping charges down. You can also write them off as a business expense for those items you use to sample, and use to promote your business.
What are the sales quotas to remain active?
To remain an active consultant all you have to do is purchase $100 in product every 90 days*. That is less than $9 per week or $35 per month. If you fall under the sales quota and want to start back up all you have to do is pay a $25 re-activating fee or buy another start up kit within 1 year. If you work your business you can easily have that much in reorders from your customers. Just give your customers a call monthly to see what they need. It's that easy! See our testimonials from our consultants.
*If you fall below the necessary quota, but you are close, do not worry, we will work with you if you have been active.
We change our discount codes every quarter and send news one to those consultants who are active.
Why do you have a sales quota?
We do have a requirement that you have $100 in sales in a given quarter or around $33 per month. Companies that have these requirements have them for a reason. When someone signs up with a company, they need to make a commitment to be listed as an active consultant. Otherwise, they may be listed as a consultant and not really answer questions when others are seeking company info from them, thereby making the company as a whole seem uninterested in their request. This is the main reason we have a "sales quota".
How do I accept credit card payments from my customers?
You may either use your master order form and place your order through fax or phone and give us the customers credit card information you collected. Or if you want the convenience of ordering online and having the customers money collected and deposited right into your bank account you may set up for Propay or Paypal.
As a courtesy to our new consultants, any credit card payments you need to take before you get set up we will process for you for the first 30 days after you sign up. We understand sometimes you have to wait until you earn a little money to be able to pay sign up fees.
www.propay.com their fees are $39.95 annually to accept Visa & Mastercard or $59.95 annually to accept all major credit card. View their tutorial at this link http://www.propay.com/tutorial/process.aspx We think propay is the easiest and most convenient to use. You decide just visit each site for more information.
It is an easy way to collect credit card payments at your party and or by phone. Fees do apply, but they are way less than setting up your own merchant account. Let us know if you have any further questions.
www.paypal.com is free to accept credit cards via email request if your customer has a paypal account.
We process our credit cards via Paypal, they are our Merchant.
Do you offer consultants websites and may we sell online?
Yes, each of our consultants will get their own personal mini site. Consultants direct their online customers to their site and earn the same commissions off their online sales. For example a customer goes through your site and places an order for $100. You as a consultant will be paid $40 of that sale 40%. Commissions earned on our consultant websites are paid out quarterly. You may see a website in action at this link www.countrygourmetmixes.com
Consultants also get 5% of their recruits sales, paid out quarterly. This is a first line commission only. We are not multi level and do not requrie our consultants to recruit.
Consultants may also sell online other ways, but they must offer the products at our retail prices, not discounted prices. The purpose of Country Gourmet is to help others make money from home and this would conflict with other Country Gourmet Consultants.
Do you offer leadership benefits? Are you a MLM company?
Country Gourmet does offer our consultants leadership benefits and commissions on team sales. However we are not a multi level and do not require our consultants to recruit. Recruiting is appreciated and rewarded, but not necessary to remain an active consultant. You may request more information on this by contacting us.
How do I pay taxes on your products?
As a consultant you are considered Self Employed and responsible for paying taxes on your commissions and income you earn from selling our products.
Each state has different requirements for paying sales tax. You as a consultant are responsible for collecting and paying sales tax as it applies to your state. Please contact your local taxing authority in your state for information. Most states have this information available online.
Utah consultants collect tax and pay through home office here.
Who pays for Hostess rewards?
At this time Country Gourmet pays for your hostess rewards on sales of $201 or over. Active consultants can also benefit from these rewards by earning them for themselves. Consultants offer 10% of party sales to their hostesses in free product. This is paid for by consultant on parties of less than $200.
FOR EXAMPLE: A hostess has a party for you and you only have sells of $101. The hostess will be paid $10 in free product (or you can offer a $10 credit on her order). You will order the products at 40% off therefore only paying 6.00 for the products out of your commissions of $40.
What kind of support do you give your consultants.
We are a small company and customer service is our #1 priorty. However, because we are so small, most of our support is given in the form of weekly news which can be found on our website at this link www.countrygourmethome.com/news.html We ask that our consultants read this weekly to keep themselves updated of any changes. Our Consultant Chat room is also available to chat with other consultants and get support, business ideas, and tips. Plus, you can always call or email us and ask us anything, we take suggestions seriously and want to make our company the best. Our company is Your company and we hope to have a great relationship with you.
I have another question?
Please we want to answer all your questions. Please first go to the Contact Us page on the tab above and input your email address for our company information letter. If you still have questions, you may contact us at this email to find out more countrygourmet@comcast.net. Your questions will be answered in 1-2 business days. You may also contact one of our Gourmet Consultants through their websites located in the Consultants Corner tab above. Thank you.
