Growing your Social Capital - Assignment 20A

Domain Expert: Denise Holland

Denise started her own line of lotions a few years ago. She had a rough start at first, but is doing quite well as of recently. Her daughter works with my sister, and through them I was able to set up a Skype call to explain to her my ideas. I was very interested to hear her input on my strategy because she tool introduced a completely new idea to the makeup industry.

After talking with her and buying one of her lotions, I hope to be able to have her as a contact for when I need to get into the makeup industry with my own new product. She had to do the same thing when trying to get her natural lotions on the market, so I believe she will be able to help me to do the same.

Market Expert: Jessie Brown

Jessie is an Arbonne consultant who focuses on reaching out to women who are in search of skincare products that not only meet your needs, but also helps keep your skin and body healthy. There are so many types of products with Arbonne, but Jessie focuses more on the people she meets. She had approached me before to try and sell me Arbonne, so I already had a way to get her to listen to my idea.

After discussing with her how she decides who who her customer market is and how she finds her potential customers, I became more aware what the market is all about and better ways to sell to potential customers.

Supplier: Erin Schroder

Erin is a Mary Kay consultant who has been selling Mary Kay products for years. She knows everything there is to know about the Mary Kay brand, including the important details of the company’s founder. She is an expert in the market of Mary Kay makeup products and knows how to sell- she does well at marketing Mary Kay products to her own social network by having a closed group on Facebook where she displays the new products as they enter the market, and older ones that continue to be best sellers.

I contacted Erin through Facebook. We have been at the same social settings on multiple occasions and I knew she sold Mary Kay. She was able to give me valuable input on the make up market and I bought some Mary Kay from her in hopes of that giving me an edge if I needed her makeup contacts later when developing my product.

Reflection

After having to intentionally go out and meet with contacts, I have gained more confidence. I know the experience will help me in furthering my social capital and help me to gain more networks at the same time.