AMBASSADOR PROGRAM
JOIN SPARKY’S BALLONS GLOBAL NETWORK
Dear Prospective Sparky’s Ambassador,
We’re excited that you are interested in joining the Sparky’s Balloons family as an ambassador. This exciting venture allows you to leverage Sparky’s brand, event builders, and website to direct our eager customers to your professional balloon services. We take care of the advertising and technology, freeing you to do what you do best: creating singularly incredible balloon displays for memorable events.
Below you will find an FAQ and application to start our journey together.
We look forward to hearing from you!
— Salvador Tovar, Owner of Sparky’s Global LLC, d.b.a. Sparky’s Balloons
Sparky’s Ambassador FAQ
Our ambassadorship program is simple. We garner excitement in your area with cutting-edge technology and strategic marketing and send client orders your way.
Customers head to our site and utilize our one-of-a-kind balloon builders and once the order is placed, we send it out to you so you can fulfill them-adding to your revenue stream and boosting your business.
“You dream it, we blow it.”
Our mission is to be the premier balloon decorating network in the United States, to create incredible and memorable events that exceed our clients’ event planning expectations, and to build rewarding value for our ambassadors.
“You dream it, we blow it.”
Sparky’s Balloons is owned by Sparky’s Global, LLC, based in San Francisco, California.
Owner: Salvador Tovar
Headquarters: San Francisco, California
Sparky’s Balloons acts as both a balloon decorating/delivery company based out of San Francisco and as an internet-based network of independent small business owners operating their own balloon decorating/delivery companies in the cities where they reside. As part of their local decorating/delivery operations, these ambassadors fulfill orders for Sparky’s Balloons.
A typical order is created by a customer on the Sparky’s Balloons website, then automatically routed via the website directly to the appropriate ambassador serving the city where the order needs to be delivered. Sparky’s Balloons collects all revenues and redistributes earnings to Sparky’s Ambassadors once a month.
Sparky’s Balloons marketing includes four tiers.
Tier 1: Pay-Per-Click Advertising – online sponsored ads placed with Google, Yahoo, MSN, Bing, and other search engines.
Tier 2: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – SEO is the creation of website pages and page titles created specifically to increase the chances of sparkysballoons.com appearing near the top position in natural search results.
Tier 3: Ambassador Referrals – Referrals provided by our ambassadors through their website links and telephone messages.
Tier 4: Event Planners and Concierge Services – Sparky’s gives a discount to self-service, high-volume clients who are comfortable enough to design their events with limited to no input from Sparky’s Balloons. These clients provide dependable demand for balloon designers in the locations where they require service.
Tier 5: Product & Service Awareness – Sparky’s Balloons counts on each customer experience to generate repeat business by the sending customer and new business.
Yes. You will have a branded website built for your company shortly after becoming a Sparky’s Ambassador.
- During the past three years you must have operated balloon bouquet delivery service as a licensed business.
- You must have the skills to replicate and deliver the bouquets and decor which are sold on the website.
- Your company, must maintain minimum liability insurance coverage of $500,000.
- You must provide a cell number that makes it possible to contact the owner or manager of your company after hours and on holidays.
- You must operate with an internet connection at your business location, with an email account.
- You must agree to the customer service policies and operating procedures established by Sparky’s Balloons and posted in your account.
- You must operate a delivery vehicle that will allow you to deliver a bulk order of 100 11-inch latex balloons in one trip.
- Unless you have been sponsored by a current Sparky’s Balloons ambassador, you must provide a reference letter from your primary balloon supplier. Note: A retail store is not required for ambassadorship. Home-based operations are welcome.
- You must have a reliable source for helium.
- You must guarantee that you will offer Sparky’s Balloons service an average of 20 days each month.
Applicants must be capable of fulfilling orders for balloon bouquets, centerpieces, air-filled and helium-filled arches and columns, as posted on the site in the Balloon Decor Department.
Sparky’s Ambassadors gain the oopportunity to increase their income without incurring additional advertising costs, without spending time on the phone to take orders, without processing payments, and without the risk of credit card fraud.
The current average order is $125 USD (sum of product and delivery without Processing Fee).
Sparky’s Ambassadors earn 74% of each order’s product cost and 74% of the delivery charge. Your income on an order of $125 would be $92.5 (74% x $125).
We do not release sales and performance data. However, if you qualify for ambassadorship, and a Sparky’s Ambassador position is available in the city/territory you want to represent, we will provide you with a sales forecast for your prospective territory based on data from other territories of similar size.
There are several variables that influence how many orders a ambassador receives, including the following.
- The population of your territory – As a general rule, the greater the population, the greater the opportunity for orders.
- The demographics of your territory – If you serve a small town with a large university, student deliveries can provide a steady stream of orders. If the median income is higher than normal, that can also increase the number of orders above what would normally be expected.
- The number of days you are available for service – Sparky’s Balloons does not require that ambassadors make themselves available every day, but each open day increases the chances of additional orders.
- Same-day service – 10% of our revenues are from same-day orders. Ambassadors may opt-in or out of offering same-day service. Those that opt in may set ordering deadlines as desired for specific zip codes.
There is no enrollment fee, but there is a $95 charge for a Starter Kit which will be shipped to you from the San Francisco office. It includes the following:
- Sample variety of press-on vinyl letters used to personalize mylar balloons
- 100 Greeting cards with standard key rings and adhesive privacy sealing dots
- 50 Sand-balloon weights (without sand) with heavy duty key rings
- 4 Teddy Bears (12-inch standing)
Payment of the Starter Kit is made as a deduction from your account at a future date.
Replenishment of greeting cards, weights, and Teddy Bears can be ordered as needed, with easy on-line ordering.
There are no on-going fees. The only additional cost is for inventory.
Sparky’s Balloons has 4 levels of ambassadorship which we call Zones. Think of a Zone as a membership category, or inventory level. The difference between each Zone is the depth of inventory required. The 4 current Zones are Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3, and Zone 4.
New ambassadors are enrolled as Zone 1 ambassadors. The inventory cost for Zone 1 will range from $1,500 to $3,000, determined by which balloons you currently stock and the quantity of new balloons you need to purchase. An inventory spreadsheet will be sent upon receipt of your application. This document will allow you to review the Zone 1 product line and calculate your costs, with no obligation.
Non-balloon inventory and weights:
- Helium and inflation device
- Hi-Float
- Narrow curling ribbon in a wide range of colors
- Note: Printed 16in balloons noted below are optional. Ambassadors may use printed or plain.
- Bouquet weight type 1 – sand weight (ambassador provides sand)
- Bouquet weight type 2 – water weight (ambassador provides sand)
Sparky’s Balloons works with three distributors – Burton + Burton, Asmodee North America, and Qualatex. New ambassadors may purchase inventory from distributors other than these, however, these distributors carry a significant portion of the Sparky’s Ballons inventory.
There will be times when one of our preferred distributors will be temporarily out of an item. For this reason we encourage all ambassadors to open accounts with all three, as the overlap in their inventories may provide a backup.
Yes. As manufacturers discontinue old products and introduce new ones, Sparky’s Balloons must keep pace. ambassadors need to make inventory changes as requested in order to keep up with this process. A minimum thirty days notice is provided.
We do not offer a buy-back program for discontinued inventory. The best way for a ambassador to utilize discontinued inventory is through that ambassador’s locally based sales.
Pricing for products are displayed in US Dollars and are the same in all cities we serve in the USA. In addition to the posted price, a delivery charge will be added, which is set by each ambassador.
Orders can be placed online at www.sparkysballoon.com.
Every ambassador controls their schedule with online account controls, making it possible to create any desired deadline for incoming orders. New ambassadors receive an indoctrination to these controls prior to the launch of service.
There is no maximum amount of time an order must be placed in advance of delivery on the website. The more time, the better.
We have an hour-window delivery
Customers schedule for an hour-long delivery window and Sparky’s charges based on the portion of the day where that delivery falls.
These are Sparky’s current delivery rates, but ambassadors may change their rates and open or close delivery windows based on their own schedule and holidays:
- 6am to 8am – $50
- 8am to 6pm – $30
- 6pm to 8pm – $40
- Same-day – +$20
There are optional special delivery time delivery windows (1-5-hour windows) that can be enabled by the ambassador through their online account tools.
You will receive an email notice when an order is submitted, and the order will be automatically added to your preferred Google Calendar. In addition, a copy of the order will appear in your online account.
All ambassadors are provided with a Sparky’s Balloons website which can be outfitted with their business. Access to this account is password protected. Only you and our operations staff have access to your account.
All of your orders and statements are posted within your online account. In addition, the following links can be accessed from your account home page:
- Calendar access for scheduling days on and off
- Controls for offering customers special delivery time slots, with or without surcharges
- Inventory Catalog for your Zone of ambassadorship
- Territory zip code controls (delivery charges and order deadlines)
- Marketing links
- Operations Manual
Yes. Ambassadors are required to confirm that a delivery has been made as soon as possible following delivery, via the internet.
You are required to record the time of delivery and the name of the person accepting the delivery. If the order is delivered to a third party, you will need to record the name of the accepting party and take a photograph of the order being delivered. Ensure that the first and last name of the person who accepts the order are both clearly recorded. This information must be recorded in the order notes of the specific order number. The photograph should be retained for 30 days in case it is needed to settle a customer dispute.
The website uses the following criteria to distribute incoming orders:
- Product availability – selects those ambassador which stock the requested products
- Service availability – selects ambassador who are open for service on the selected date
- Lowest delivery charge – selects the ambassador with the lowest delivery charge
- If all ambassadors serving the territory stock the requested inventory, are available for service, and charge the same delivery charge, the site will distribute orders equally between the ambassadors.
There is one exception to this priority system. If a customer begins their purchase on an ambassador’s website, the order will stay with that ambassador if they stock the requested inventory and are available for service, even if that ambassador’s delivery charge is higher than that of other ambassadors serving the same zip code.
The number one complaint of customers making online purchases is not receiving what they were promised. Unlike the floral industry, Sparky’s Balloons does not make substitutions without customer approval. If you find yourself short of inventory for an upcoming order, your options are as follows:
- Place an expedited order with a local supplier or one of our preferred distributors.
- Contact Sparky’s Balloons San Francisco to see if we can overnight what you need.
- Contact the customer for approval to substitute.
- Substitute without approval, but be prepared for a refund if the customer is not satisfied.
a. All latex balloons must be hand-tied. Clips are not acceptable.
b. Ribbon colors must match the balloon color as closely as possible, unless the product description or client directs you to use different colors.
c. Ribbon lengths must be at least 8 feet long before being tied to the balloon.
d. Ribbons must be attached to a weight using a knot that is capable of being untied. Ribbons should not be trimmed short after being tied to the weight.
e. The Sparkysballoon.com greeting card should be attached to the weight.
f. A business card promoting the ambassador’s company may be attached to the Sparky’s Balloon greeting card.
g. ambassadors should use a non-latex weight for hospital deliveries.
Service for any date can be blocked using the online calendar in your account.
a. With school deliveries, prior to inflation, ambassadors are required to confirm that the school will accept a balloon delivery.
b. We do not deliver latex balloon orders to hospitals. If you receive such an order, you may substitute latex balloons with an equivalent value of mylar balloons, without approval. We request that you use a non-latex weight of your choice for hospital deliveries.
c. With all hospital orders, prior to inflation, ambassadors are required to first call the hospital and confirm that the patient has not been discharged and that the patient can receive balloons. Many intensive care units will not permit balloon deliveries.
d. With residential orders, prior to inflation, ambassadors are required to call the residence to confirm that someone will be home to accept the delivery. When making arrangements for a residential delivery, the initial call should be placed by mid-morning of the delivery date. This call can also be made the day prior to delivery. Same-day orders should be called as soon as possible on the delivery date. If you are unable to get an answer by early afternoon, please advise the customer. It is acceptable to make the delivery after the designated deadline if such an arrangement has been made with the recipient. If you are unable to deliver the order on the assigned date because you have been unable to make contact with the recipient, advise Sparky’s Balloons and the customer. Make the delivery the following day, or later, only with permission from Sparky’s Balloons or the customer.
When customers initially visit the Sparky’s Balloons website they are able to see all bouquets which we offer system-wide, including many which may not be offered in your city. However, once the customer enters the postal code for the delivery location where they need service, the website will reset and post only the inventory and pricing for products available in that zip code.
Sparky’s Balloons will carefully gauge how many ambassadors are required to optimize customer service for a region. Generally, this means multiple ambassadors will serve a city, with no company representing any area exclusively.
a. Using their online Sparky’s Balloons calendar, ambassadors are free to control the days that service is offered.
b. For orders submitted at least one day in advance, ambassadors must offer one or more of the following delivery time slots:
8am-6pm
Any deliveries outside normal operating hours are subject to additional fees:
5am-7am $50.00
Same Day Delivery add $20.00 to delivery fee
c. ambassadors have the option to offer additional special delivery time slots that are shorter, for a surcharge to the customer.
d. ambassadors are required to accept and deliver any order that arrives into their account as a result of their service calendar indicating service on the requested delivery date is available.
No. You may control whether or not your account accepts same-day orders, and you may control the deadline for same-day orders if you elect to offer same-day service.
Ambassadors are able to establish their service territory boundaries by uploading the desired zip codes. Ambassadors are free to add or remove zip codes and to make changes to delivery charges at any time. You may serve as large or as small an area as you desire, as long as you are able to provide reliable service within the entire territory.
To be competitive with florists and other balloon delivery services, we encourage ambassadors to keep delivery charges at $30. However, you are free to charge whatever charge you like.
Not necessarily. Such transfers are at the discretion of Sparky’s Balloons Management.
The following conditions may lead to termination of ambassadorship:
a. Repeated missed or unexcused late deliveries
b. Failure to maintain adequate stock of delivery products
c. Not using prescribed procedures
d. Unprofessional behavior
e. Use of information from the membership roster for personal or commercial gain, or providing this information to any other organization
f. Copyright infringement
g. Failure to maintain adequate communication systems, resulting in a loss of satisfactory two-way communication with Sparkysballoon.com
h. Repeated failure to respond to communications from Sparky’s Balloons
i. Using social media or any other communication tool to post hostile and inflammatory remarks related to Sparky’s Balloons policies and procedures, staff, or ambassadors.
Use the application link just below this message. It reads APPLY NOW FOR AMBASSADORSHIP.
The enrollment process usually takes about 3-4 weeks and includes the following steps.
Step 1 – Applicant completes and submits the online application.
Step 2 – Application is reviewed.
Step 3 – If application is approved, Sparky’s Balloons sets up the applicant’s account and emails the applicant their account login.
Step 4 – Sparky’s Balloons emails the applicant an Ambassador Agreement to read, sign, and return.
Step 5 – A telephone orientation is scheduled. Step 6 – The orientation is completed (Duration is 90 minutes).
Step 7 – The applicant orders all required inventory for Zone 1 status.
Step 8 – Applicant reports that all inventory is in stock.
Step 9 – Applicant is ready to begin service as a Sparky’s Balloon Ambassador.
The ambassadorship contract is open-ended and ambassadors may resign at any time and for any reason, with a 30-day written notice, without further financial obligation.
APPLY FOR AMBASSADORSHIP WITH SPARKYSBALLOONS.COM
Thank you for considering an ambassadorship with Sparky’s Balloons. We are excited to partner with you to get you that extra business that you’ve been wanting. We handle the marketing and ll you have to do is create beautiful balloons and deliver them to happy customers.
Take a moment to complete the application below and we will contact you to get the adventure started. We are looking forward to working with you!
