The Importance Of Explaining Your Warranty, Returns and Exchange Policy To Customers

When it comes to Direct Sales and demonstrating your business products at home parties, it is important to take time out to explain your company’s warranty, returns and exchange policy to all of your home party guests.

Customers who attend your home parties have the right to know your business policy up front before they place an order. There are a few ways you can approach this but I feel its best to do it at the beginning of the ordering process, in other words…before your customer starts filling out the order form.

You can go over your company’s policy several different ways, However, I like to do a combination of ways to ensure that my customers know the policy. Here is how I handle it.

1. After talking about my products and before I have the guests fill out the order forms, I like to spend 5 minutes talking about my particular company’s policy and I do this in a group setting…near the end of my demonstration time period.

2. My company has the policy printed in the catalog so I tab that particular page with tab-type stickers.

3. My company has the policy imprinted on the back of our order forms so when each customer hands me their order form, I like to ask them if they have any questions about my company’s policy.

By spending a few minutes at your home parties explaining your company’s policy to all of your party guests, you will save yourself time, money and a headache down the road. Customers have the right to know your business policy before they give you an order so its in your best business interest to spend time explaining it to them.

What are your thoughts? Do you spend time talking about this at your home parties? If so, is it in a group setting or one on one with your customers?

Shelly

Food and Refreshments at Home Parties

When it comes to home parties I think its important to not go over board with the food and refreshments. As a consultant who has been in Direct Sales for over 20+ years, I have seen some party hosts go way over board with preparing food and refreshments for their party.

A few years ago I did a home party for a party host who I had no previous relationship with. When I arrived to do her home party, she sprung it on me that she was expecting over 40 guests (she had told me 22). On top of that, she had a spread of food fit for a king to serve her guests. When I say a spread of food…we are talking about appetizers galore, hot and cold ones along with 8 different types of beverages. On top of all of that, she had numerous dessert style foods for her guests too.

Now let me tell you what I don’t like about this.

#1. My party host had herself so stressed out about preparing and serving all of this food.

#2. It was an un-needed expense.

#3. It cut into my presentation time in a big way. Instead of me presenting for my normal 45 minutes, I had 20 minutes.

#4. I like to be in and out of my party hosts home in 2 to 2 1/2 hours…for this particular party, It took over 4 hours. After my presentation, guests were more interested in eating than shopping and placing their orders.

When it comes to home parties, I think its important to let your party hosts know upfront that you would prefer for them to keep the food and refreshments simple along with the benefits of why they should be kept simple.

Afterall…the primary reason a host books and holds a home party is to earn free and 1/2 price products and the secondary reason is to mingle with their friends and family while shopping.

So…remember…keep the refreshments easy and minimal so that you have the proper time to make your presentation and can get in and out of a hosts home in an appropriate amount of time.

Happy Partying!

Shelly

How Set Selling Can Boost Your Product Sales

One way you can maximize your personal sales as a Direct Sales consultant is by set selling. If you are not familiar with the concept, it basically means that you demonstrate and sell items in sets.

If your company doesn’t provide prepackaged sets, you can make your own by grouping similar products together and offering them at a discounted price.

Customers want value when it comes to purchasing in quantity, so stress to the customer the savings they receive when buying a set. In addition, it is important to demonstrate why the products work well together, instead of separately.

When I make my own product sets, I like to provide gift boxes and/or gift bags with the purchase, along with a generic greeting card. You will find that a lot of customers purchase these types of items to give as gifts, especially around the holiday time.

When I do home parties, I offer 5 different product sets to my customers. I will spend 20 to 30 minutes demonstrating and talking about the items along with the benefits of purchasing them as a group. (example: value and convenience.)

If you really want to boost the average of your home party sales, focus on demonstrating sets instead of various single products. If the average cost of a set is around $50.00 and you sell six of these at your party, then your party sales are easily at $300.00. However, if you focus on demonstrating five single items that retail for $10.00 each, you would have to sell thirty of them to equal what you would make in selling just six sets.

Should you still offer the low-cost single items at your home parties? Yes, but limit them and offer more affordably priced sets to your customers and see how the benefits of selling in sets can boost your home party sales.

~ Shelly ~

Direct Sales – 9 Fall, Winter and Holiday Theme Party Ideas

If you are in Direct Sales, you have probably noticed how popular themed home parties have become. These days party hosts are looking for something different. We have all been to those parties where a consultant just stands up there and shows you her business products, but these days, those type of parties are less appealing.

Party Hosts now want an interactive and fun themed party. I have compiled a list of some very popular home themed parties for you to consider that are seasonal in nature, meaning that they are great at certain times of the calendar year.

1. New Year, New You Party: (great for home organization ideas, weightloss and healthy eating, pampering and spa type of parties).

2. Beat The Winter Blues Party: During the winters months, people get the winter blues from being stuck indoors. If you have a fun and exciting party concept, try labeling it the “Beat The Winter Blues” party. You can have all of your guests dress in blue or have them do the opposite and dress in sunny cheerful colors.

3. Halloween Costume Party: If you are doing any parties during the month of October, turn it into a Halloween Costume Party and have all the party guests wear their favorite costume.

4. Men Only Holiday Shopping Party: Invite the men over to shop for gifts for their wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters etc.

5. Holiday Baking with Children Party: If you are with a gourmet food company or one of the kitchen companies, this is a great party theme around the holidays. Have parents bring their children along to the party for some baking fun.

6. Holiday Cookie Exchange Party: Have all the party guests bring a dozen of their freshly made holiday cookies to the party with them. Have each guest take home a few of the cookies that others brought to the party.

7. Secret Santa Party: (have the guests make a list of 3 items below $25 each) then have each guest draw a slip of paper and they have to buy one of those items on that list for the Secret Santa pal without letting them know its for her. Then you have the second half of the party in a few weeks when the orders come in and invite guests back to exchange their gifts and for them to try to guess who it was that was their secret Santa!)

8. Secret Santa Office Gift Party: A lot of workplace offices these days do secret santa parties and exchanges. I make up a list ahead of time of all items that we sell that are $12 and less! I attach the list to the front of the catalog and only demo those items. Guests are always looking for affordable gifts for their secret santa office parties and you can help them find them!)

9. Trim-the-tree party: Have the hostess put up her Holiday Tree and dig out her holiday tree decorations. You all have a tree trimming party and afterwards you can hold your regular sales party.

So when it comes to booking parties this fall and winter…think of a theme to suit the season. I find that my bookings and rebookings increase when I do theme parties…and in turn, my party sales are higher as my guests enjoy themselves a lot more!

Shelly

Are You Booking Your Holiday Parties Now?

What are you doing right now…this week to fill up your dating and booking calendar for your fall and holiday season home parties?

Are you still sitting on the fence? Are you taking action and getting your calendar filled up? Not sure where to find your holiday bookings yet?

Well…the clock is ticking. It is time to get busy booking your fall and holiday parties now!

Here are a few ideas on where you can find some holiday bookings.

1. Contact all of your past party hosts. Ask them to book a party for October or November. Offer them a holiday themed party if possible.

2. Contact local schools, sports team and groups and offer them a holiday fundraiser if your company offers a fundraising program.

3. Contact some adult daycare centers and assisted living facilities and offer to come in and do a holiday party for their residents. Seniors have a hard time getting out and about to do their holiday shopping so take the shopping to them. Parties of this nature need to be planned and scheduled at least 30 to 45 days in advance.

4. Contact local daycare centers for children. See if you can come in and do a party for the parents and daycare teachers & staff.

5. Contact local consultants in your area and team up! Find a nice place and all of you go in together and hold a shopping event. You will all need to help promote it to get the customers in there.

6. Contact some churches and local groups to inquire about their fall festivals and holiday events. A lot of them hold open house shopping events and craft shows. You can usually get a booth or table for less than $40.00

Yes…I know this is the beginning of September but it’s time to get busy and start working on your fall and holiday home party calendar. Pick up the phone, make a few calls and watch your calendar fill up with party bookings.

Shelly

Direct Sales: Easy To Use Checklist To Guarantee Party Success

As a Direct Sales consultant, it is our job to be thoroughly prepared when doing a home party for a host. The better prepared you are, the more successful your show will be.

Here is a simple checklist of what you need to do before the party.

1. Prepare your hostess packets. You want to have a minimum of 5 hostess packets prepared and ready to go.

2. Fill out the invitations with your contact information and the host’s information. Stamp invitations and mail them out approximately 2 weeks before the party date. Call your host and let her know that the invitations are in the mail. Take this opportunity to build excitement about the upcoming party.

3. Prepare the catalogs and order forms. Stamp and label your catalogs, attach any inserts and get them ready to go. Fill out the order forms with your contact information. Pack all of your ordering supplies and make sure you have enough pens/pencils.

4. Prepare the games. Make sure you have enough games and prizes. I recommend 2-3 extra prizes just incase there is a tie or you need extra gifts.

5. Contact your host 24-48 hours before the party to confirm and get directions. This is a good time to ask your host to remind her guests about the party.

6. The day before, finish up the last minute preparations. If you are personally bringing any food or beverages, this is the time to prepare them. Before packing up your supplies and products, do a visual inspection of each item to make sure they are in perfect clean condition.

You can print out this handy pre-party checklist for your next home show. I can guarantee, when you’re organized and prepared, you will have an error-free and more successful home party.

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. You can contact Shelly through her Tupperware Website or visit her Recipe Blog.

What’s In Your Purse Party Game

This is a really fun game to do at a home party and it gets your party guests into a fun and happy mood.

1. Anybody have a 2009 year penny?
Talk about how great it would be to start a new business this year.

2. Anybody have a dollar bill with a 2 at the end?
Explain booking gifts for hostesses and benefits of hosting a party.

3. Anybody have a credit card with a 0 as the last number?
Explain business opportunity of (your Company), and how they could pay off that debt.

4. Anybody have a crayon?
Talk about the colors of your products.

5. Anybody have a travel brochure or picture with an ocean? *Could be on a check!
Talk about wonderful trips each year (your Company) offers.

6. Anybody have a telephone/address book with him or her?
Talk about how easy it would be to have a Party of their own and earn lots of free merchandise!

7. Anybody have a goldtone keyring with car keys on it?
If your company offers a consultant car program, talk to the guests about how they can qualify to drive a new car.

Give 1 point to each person who had one of the items mentioned above. You can award a prize to the person who had the most points.

Tips To Get More Bookings And Higher Home Party Sales

Are you in Direct Sales? Are you struggling with getting more dating’s and higher party sales?

As a Direct Sales Consultant, its important to keep your dating and booking calendar full. Why? Keeping a full calendar means consistent income for you!

It’s equally important to work closely with your home party hosts. You want your host to have a successful home party so that they achieve the goals that yield them the most free and half-priced items. The more successful the party, the more bookings you will get from it. If the party host feels completely satisfied, she will rebook another party from you.

Try these tips to increase your party bookings.

1. Offer an immediate dating gift to someone who books a home party with you and sets a date for the party within the next 21 days.

2. Half-Price selections are one of your most valuable tools. Let party guests know they can purchase these products at the half-off price by holding a party with you.

3. Reward hosts who have a “Dating in Waiting,” a party dated before you arrive. I like to offer a product that retails for $10-$15 as my extra incentive for outside bookings.

4. Re-Bookings. Offer an incentive to your host if she rebooks another party with you, to be held in 90 days.

5. Offer Exclusive Host Gifts. These are products that only party hosts can earn for free or 1/2 price for having a home party with you.

Try these tips to increase your home party sales.

1. Attendance Specials. Provide an incentive for hosts who have 10 guests at their party. Provide an additional incentive for hosts who have 20 guests at their party.

2. Encourage party guests to bring an uninvited friend to the party. One way of doing this is by labeling the party invitation with the bring a friend to the party information. I personally reward guests with a 10% discount off their personal order for bringing along a friend.

3. Offer several Purchase with Purchase Specials, also known as Bonus Buys.

example: With a $50 purchase, you can add-on xyz item to your order for only $10.00 or with a $100 purchase, you can add-on xyz item to your order for only $25.00

Enticing customers to buy more to receive a special offer is a great way to increase party sales.

4. Have plenty of items to demonstrate at your home parties. The more items guests see, the more they will buy.

5. Make your parties fun and interactive. Get your guests involved in the party. Play a few games, offer some great prizes and more importantly, make sure you enjoy yourself.

By offering incentives like these, it helps to increase party attendance, which in turn increases your party sales. When you have satisfied hosts and guests, they will in turn, book parties from you!

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. You can contact Shelly at:
Web: Shelly’s Tupperware Home Business

T.A.C.O. Theme Business Opportunity Party Event

Totally Awesome Career Opportunity!

If you are in Direct Sales and looking to recruit new members to your team, then try hosting a T.A.C.O. Business Opportunity Party. This type of party can be done at a business networking event, expo, fair, community center or done from your own home.

How To Advertise The T.A.C.O. Business Event/Party: print up fliers and hang them up locally through out your community, mail out invitations to those who you know who might be looking to start a home business in Direct Sales, get a classified ad in your local newspaper and do some online advertising on local area message boards and web sites. It would also be adviseable to invite your past customers and party hosts to the business event.

Theme: Stick to the T.A.C.O. theme by serving mexican-style refreshments such as tacos, nachos, virgin margaritas, taco chips and salsa.

Decorations: If you are looking for some inexpensive Southwest and/or Mexican style party items, check out your local party supply store. You could purchase and wear a sombrero, get some southwest printed table cloths, use some cactus and aloe plants as accents etc, just get creative! You will want to set the mood as soon as your guests arrive for the T.A.C.O. business event.

Preparation: Make up some business opportunity information packets ahead of time and load them up with information about the business opportunity that you will be presenting. It is also helpful to have some visual aids on display during your presentation.

Time: Keep your presentation to about 30 minutes in length and then allow another 20 minutes for your guests to ask you questions and another 30 minutes for a little bit of mingling and clean up.

Make sure to get the contact information from your guests, a great way to accomplish that is by having a preprinted survey for them to complete or try offering a contest with a prize and have your guests fill out a contest entry form which will collect their contact information. After the event, follow up will be key in getting new members to join your Direct Sales team.

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989 and is a Manager with Tupperware. You can contact Shelly at:
Web: Classy Home Business Women
Web: Shelly’s Tupperware Home Business

Direct Sales: 20 Seasonal Home Party Theme Ideas

If you are in Direct Sales, you have probably noticed how popular themed home parties have become. These days party hosts are looking for something different. We have all been to those parties where a consultant just stands up there and shows you her business products, but these days, those type of parties are less appealing.

Party Hosts now want an interactive and fun themed party. I have compiled a list of some very popular home themed parties for you to consider that are seasonal in nature, meaning that they are great at certain times of the calendar year.

1. New Year, New You Party: (great for home organization ideas, weightloss and healthy eating, pampering and spa type of parties).

2. Beat The Winter Blues Party: During the winters months, people get the winter blues from being stuck indoors. If you have a fun and exciting party concept, try labeling it the “Beat The Winter Blues” party. You can have all of your guests dress in blue or have them do the opposite and dress in sunny cheerful colors.

3. Sweet Treats for Lovers on Valentines Day: If you are with a company that sells chocolate, dessert mixes, fondue dips, etc. This would be a fun theme to incorporate into your party line up during the months of January and February.

4. St Patricks Day Party, Luck of the Irish: During the Month of March, this would be a fun theme! You could serve green appetizers, green beverages and have the party guests and host all dress in green.

5. Easter Party: This is a fun themed party to offer to your party hosts a few weeks before the Easter Holiday arrives. Parents can bring along their children to the party where a table can be set up to let the children paint eggs or do an Easter Craft while the parents attend the party hosts party. In this case, its always helpful to have a volunteer help the children while you do the party.

6. Spring Cleaning and Home Organization Party: It has been a long standing tradition in this country for women to do Spring Cleaning every year during the start of the Spring Season. If you sell products that can help with that, try using this party theme at your next Spring Party.

7. Hawiian Tropical Themed Party: You can purchase some inexpensive lei’s at your local dollar store along with some party favors or table decorations to fit this theme. This is a fun themed party to do during the Summer Months.

8. Mothers Day Tea and Dessert Party: This is a fun theme to do the end of April and the beginning of May to honor all of those special mothers in our lives.

9. July 4th Summer Cookout Block Party: If you live in a neighborhood, I always recommend doing a once a year Summer Cookout Block Party and invite all your neighbors and friends. Let them know on the invitation that this is a combination party for company XYZ and that afterwards you will all be having a summer barbecue.

10. Halloween Costume Party: If you are doing any parties during the month of October, turn it into a Halloween Costume Party and have all the party guests wear their favorite costume.

11. Men Only Holiday Shopping Party: Invite the men over to shop for gifts for their wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters etc.

12. Holiday Baking with Children Party: If you are with a gourmet food company or one of the kitchen companies, this is a great party theme around the holidays. Have parents bring their children along to the party for some baking fun.

13. Holiday Cookie Exchange Party: Have all the party guests bring a dozen of their freshly made holiday cookies to the party with them. Have each guest take home a few of the cookies that others brought to the party.

14. Secret Santa Party: (have the guests make a list of 3 items below $25 each) then have each guest draw a slip of paper and they have to buy one of those items on that list for the Secret Santa pal without letting them know its for her. Then you have the second half of the party in a few weeks when the orders come in and invite guests back to exchange their gifts and for them to try to guess who it was that was their secret Santa!)

15. Secret Santa Office Gift Party: A lot of workplace offices these days do secret santa parties and exchanges. I make up a list ahead of time of all items that we sell that are $12 and less! I attach the list to the front of the catalog and only demo those items. Guests are always looking for affordable gifts for their secret santa office parties and you can help them find them!)

16. Back to School Party: If you sell items that back to school kids and moms can use this is a great theme party to try doing.

17. Christmas in July Party: Have you noticed that retail stores will often run Christmas in July promotions during the month of July? Well you can incorporate that same idea into a themed home party!

18. Beat the Tax Season Blues Party: This is a great party to do during the April Month.

19. Trim-the-tree party: Have the hostess put up her Holiday Tree and dig out her holiday tree decorations. You all have a tree trimming party and afterwards you can hold your regular sales party.

20. Beach Themed Party: During the Summer Months, people are always looking for a little piece of serenity. You can build a summer party around a beach theme. You can decide if you would like to have any summer alcoholic beverages at the party or let your party host decide.

Shelly Hill has been working from home in Direct Sales since 1989. Shelly is a Manager with Tupperware. You can contact Shelly at:
Web: Classy Home Business Women
Web: Shelly’s Tupperware Home Business

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