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

Home Business – Emergency Plans

When it comes to having a home based Direct Sales Business, there will be times that emergencies can affect your business schedule. Do you have a back-up plan in place? If not, why not? In my personal opinion, you should!

I have an emergency plan in place in case of a personal emergency. I have a local consultant who is with the same company as myself (my downline of course) who will go out and do parties for me if an emergency should arise. I do the same for her.

She gets to keep the sales from the party but I get the party bookings or we split them…we both work well together so nothing has ever been an issue between us.

I believe it is important to have an emergency plan and a back-up consultant just incase something happens and you can’t make the party or event. If you just cancel and try to reschedule, you could irritate your party host and in turn, lose business…so it’s better to have a back-up plan in place with a fellow consultant who you work well with.

So, if you don’t have a plan in place, make it a goal in 2010 to draft one up. You never know when you might need to use it.

~ 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

Turning Down Home Party Requests

I was recently asked by 2 different Direct Sales consultants this burning question… “Do I have the right to turn down a home party request?”

My answer is yes! When it comes to having your own home party plan business, you do indeed to have the right to turn down a home party request due to safety or health reasons.

Here are some common problems with some suggested solutions.

Example #1: Your party host lives in an unsafe area of town. If you feel your safety could be compromised, I recommend selecting an alternate location. If your party host refuses to relocate her party to a different location, I feel it’s your job to help her find another consultant who doesn’t mind traveling to that area of town.

Example #2: If your party host has had parties before but his/her home is unsanitary, you can nicely suggest an alternative location. You can also offer to let her use your home if need be to host her party. When dealing with this type of scenerio, please watch your wording as you don’t want to offend your party host. If the host still insists in having the party at her home, you can be tactful and explain your reasons why you feel this would not be a good idea. If the conversation has gotten to that point, 9 chances out of 10, she will decide on another location or she will come to terms that her home needs to be cleaned up.

Example #3: If the party host has a reputation of booking numerous parties with various consultants and is constantly canceling them or there are some other type of serious issues that you are aware of, you can indeed refuse the request. However, it is also your job to find another consultant for her or to refer her to corporate headquarters so that they can help her find a consultant.

These 3 examples are just that…examples of some scenerios you might face while in Direct Sales. The important thing to remember is that you do have the right to refuse any home party booking that you do not feel comfortable with. In doing so, you are more than likely losing a customer and/or party host.

I feel it is important that you be honest with your party host about any concerns you may have and if you need to refuse the booking, help him/her find a new consultant who will accept the booking.

~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.

5 Online Party Game Ideas

Online parties are really popular these days and are much like a home party. If you are looking for some fun online party games, I have 5 game ideas to share with you.

1. Guest Scavenger Hunt – Before the party begins, pick 5-7 items from your website to use for your Scavenger Hunt Game. Write them down and come up with 2-3 clues about the product and its location on your site. When you begin the game during your party, let the guests know that you will give them a few clues about a particular product and they have to find that product on your website. The first person to find it, gets a point. The one with the most points, wins the game.

2. Word Scramble – Before the party begins, come up with a list of 10 of your products and scramble up the letters. During the game, copy and paste in the scrambled word and have the guests unscramble the letters to form the correct word. Award 1 point to the person who correctly types in the word the fastest. The person with the most points, wins the game.

3. Power Word – Before the party begins, decide on which word that you would like to use for the Power Word. I am with Tupperware so I like to use the power word ROCKS! Let your party guests know that every time you use your company name during the presentation, that the first person to type in the power word gets a point. Example: Tupperware has lunch products to…first person to type in ROCKS! gets the point. At the end of the party, the person with the most points wins a prize. This game is great as it holds the attention of all party guests during the entire length of the party.

4. Trivia Game – Before the party begins, decide on a few trivia questions that pertain to your niche. Example: If you sell kitchenware, make your trivia questions related to food and cooking. If you sell jewelry, have your trivia questions related to jewelry. I like to use 7-10 questions for this game. The person who gets the most correct answers, wins the game.

5. Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader – Before this party game begins, decide on what type of questions you would like to ask (similar to trivia questions but from a variety of topics). I like to use 10 questions. Have each party guest type their answer into the chat room. If they answered correctly, they get a point. If they type in the incorrect answer, they lose 1 point. If they don’t type in any answer, they lose 2 points. Give them a time limit of 20 seconds per question that you ask. The person who has the highest amount of points, wins the game.

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.

Direct Sales: 9 Ways To Use Extra Product Inventory

As Direct Sales consultants, we often end up with excess product inventory. These items could be discontinued items, slightly used demonstration products, or items you received as gifts from your company.

At my home, space is at a premium. I like to use my overstock to help promote my business, after all, it doesn’t make me any money sitting around in storage.

Here are 9 creative ways you can use your inventory to enhance your business.

1. Booking Gifts – You can use products from your inventory to obtain new party bookings.

2. Customer Orders – Entice larger customer orders by offering a product from your overstock for free or for 1/2 price, if the customer places an order of $100 or more.

3. Open House – If you have a lot of overstock on hand, you can hold a cash and carry open house.

4. Rewards for Team Members – If you have a team, set a monthly goal for them to achieve. If they reach the goal, reward each member with an item from your personal inventory of products.

5. Sponsor a Contest – Donate a product to a business as a prize donation. You can receive some terrific business exposure.

6. Charity Raffle – Donate a product to a charity raffle event. You get business exposure and a tax write-off.

7. Recruiting Incentive – Offer a product from your inventory as an extra incentive to a potential new consultant to join your team.

8. Bartering – Consider bartering with other business owners for business products or services that you need.

9. Gifts – When you need holiday gifts for friends and family members, consider using items from your product inventory.

I hope these ideas have sparked a few of your own. Just remember, if your merchandise is sitting around in boxes collecting dust, it isn’t making you money.

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

The Balloon Game — A Great Booking Game

Before the party, figure out what you would like to give as a little booking gift incentive. Write it down on a slip of paper and fold it to fit inside a balloon. Blow up the balloons and tie them shut.

As guests arrive for the party, they get a balloon… as you hand it to them say… “this is yours for the evening after all what’s a party with out balloons and presents. Hang on to it and don’t trade it away, you may be holding the special balloon…. It’s yours” and if he/she asks any questions regarding what’s inside… just give a very sneaky look and a smile!

When I open the show, I casually remind them to hang onto their balloons, that we will get to them later in the show.

For the entire evening the guest “owns” the balloon and the gift inside. You will see them shaking the balloon and see the curiosity in their eyes. Towards the end of the party, you will want to say, “ladies and gentlemen, you all have your balloons, and by now you have figured out that there is a special gift inside from me! If you decide to book a show this evening the gift is yours. and you may pop your balloon to discover what you have won, otherwise you must return the balloon to me. If three of you pop your balloon then the hostess get to pop hers too.”

The wording here is key! There is not a person in that room who is not dying to know what their prize is… and not a single one who is thrilled to give you their balloon back. And your hostess will also want to pop his/hers to see what their MYSTERY prize is, so he/she will work to get other’s to pop theirs. They must bring their Balloon to you with their order and pop the balloon with you.

If you’re like me, asking for the future bookings should not be the hardest part of the show, but the easiest and something like this would sure move things along.

Prize Ideas: Your prizes should be little items that retail for less than $5.00 each.

Next Page »