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Posts Tagged ‘theme parties’

Over the past 2 1/2 years I have written several blog posts on promoting your direct sales home business during the holiday season and how to utilize this season to make even more money than what you usually do!

It is now November 4th and you need to GET BUSY booking your holiday parties NOW (if you have not already begun to do so) and since it is the beginning of the holiday season I thought I would make a little list of some tips I have posted over the years regarding direct sales and the holiday season.

You can click on each title/link below and it will take you to the post that I previously made on this blog regarding the subject title.

Fun and Interactive Holiday Party Ideas

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

Are You Booking Your Holiday Parties Now?

Direct Sales – 20 Seasonal Home Party Theme Ideas

In addition…browse around the Direct Sales category here on my blog and you will find 100′s of blog posts to help guide you to a successful holiday selling season!

Do You Need More Bookings? If so, check out that site!

Top 5 Ways to Get More Datings At Your Direct Sales Home Party

By Rayven Perkins

The very heart of the home party plan business is dating more parties. Without parties, your business is at a virtual standstill, with no ways to generate substantial sales. With your date book filled with scheduled parties, a world of opportunity opens up for you to grow your business and experience financial rewards.

So how do you generate more parties? Here are my 5 favorite ways to get more parties dated during a home party demonstration.

#5 Offer Incentives

As you go about your demonstration, be sure you point out various dating incentives to your guests. Make sure the guests know that they can receive a gift just for dating a party, and another for holding the party. Go over your party plan companies hostess plans, and when possible, show guests the actual items they can receive.

#4 Stack Your Hostess

Play a game of Show and Tell. You can explain hostess gifts to your guests until you are blue in the face, but until the guests actually see what it is that they can receive, it doesn’t mean much to them.

Towards the end of your presentation, have your hostess sit in a chair at the front of the room. Take this opportunity to thank her for hosting the party. Then begin to stack her.

Starting with the gift of least value, hand all the items to her one by one that she has received for hosting the party. Give her the conversation starter gift, the dating gift, the hosting gift. Make sure you stack her with all the items it is possible to receive, even if the party sales are not totaled yet. Does your company offer half price items in addition to other hostess gifts? Stack her with those as well.

When guests see just how much they can receive, they are more likely to date a party themselves.

#3 The Theme Book

Your party guests want to have fun! What better way to get them excited than by offering a wide array of themed parties? Everything from the traditional Auction Party to a Banana Split Party, Couples Party, Children’s Party or Margarita with the Girls. Get creative and think of fun ways that your guests can come together with their friends.

Print out a simple information page with each of these ideas and put the pages in a 3-ring binder. Leave the binder on the coffee table before and during the party. When your guests find a theme that interests them, they will be happy to date a show with you.

#2 Dating Games

Most home party consultants offer their guests some sort of prize or trinket for coming to a show. Reserve your most sought after trinkets and prizes for a special dating game. At the end of your show, offer the best goodies to your guests for participating in the Dating Game.

Have all the trinkets in a large bowl or decorated box. On each trinket, attach a note. Half the notes should say “Host a Party” while the other half should have a variety of messages ranging from “Draw Again” to “You’ve Won a Free Item”. Tell the guests that participation in this game is optional. Explain to the guests that on each prize is a note, and whatever the note says is what is to be done. If a guest draws a “free item” prize, you will give her a specified free item, but if she draws a “Host a Party” prize, you expect her to date a party tonight.

This really helps to determine which guests are willing to hold a party. Only guests who are willing to consider the idea will draw a prize.

#1 ASK!

This might seem obvious, but the best way to date more parties at your next demonstration is to get into the habit of asking each guest. Do not feel that you are being pushy. The guests expect you to ask them to host a party! One method I have used to force myself to ask each and every guest when they place their order is this.

At the beginning of the party, I make an announcement. I hold out a $20 bill and say “At the end of the show I will be asking each and every one of you to host a party to be eligible to receive all these wonderful hostess gifts! If, however, I forget to ask you to host a show, I will give you $20 worth of product of your choice!”

This forces me to ask each guest, and makes each guest aware, prepared, and even looking forward to my question.

Did you like these ideas? See the complete Direct Sales Resources section at Direct Sales Resources

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rayven_Perkins

Do You Need More Bookings? If so, check out that site!

When it comes to your business and doing holiday theme’d parties…it is your job to make them fun & interactive during the holiday season. When guests mingle, laugh and have fun during the party…you will see increased sales and bookings.

Here are a few ideas to make your holiday parties fun & interactive.

1. Play holiday theme’d games.
2. Ask host & guests to dress in holiday colors and/or to wear Santa hats.
3. Go to the dollar discount store and purchase gift wrap, gift bags & holiday greeting cards. You can hand them out for FREE to guests who purchase a certain dollar amount at the party. Everyone loves getting freebies & these are inexpensive!
4. Incorporate a cookie exchange into the party. Have each guest bring cookies (a dozen will do) along with a container…let them swap cookies at the end of the party so that each guest goes home with a variety of holiday cookies.
5. Ask guests to purchase a little something extra from the party to donate to their local charity to help low-income families during the holiday season.
6. Tree Trimming – If your host has not yet put up her holiday tree, ask her to wait until after the party. Then if guests want to help, by all means, let them pitch in.
7. Incorporate a holiday (Christmas) ornament exchange in with the party. Have each guest bring a holiday ornament to exchange with another guest.

There are a lot of ways you can make your holiday parties more fun, festive & interactive. Studies show that when the guests are having fun…the more money they will spend at the party! Furthermore, you will obtain more bookings from the guests for future sales.

Shelly

How To Suceed as A Home Party Sales Consultant – Tips on Marketing, Party Themes & Game Ideas
By Sarah Makowsky

You went to a home show not expecting to buy much, but then you fell in love with the products, signed some papers, and WHAM you are now the proud owner of a home business. When you wake up the morning after the party, you may feel like you are waking up with a hang over as you wonder, “what have I done?!?” Especially when you try to muster up the enthusiasm to explain the new business venture that you’ve signed up for to your not so enthusiastic and down right unimpressed husband.

If your husband’s cynicism has you second guessing your decision, rest assured you have made a good choice. You are in the right place at the right time. With the fast paced stressful lifestyles of today, many people turn to the internet for after hours shopping from home. Another side effect of today’s hectic lifestyle is that it leaves women disconnected and longing for girlfriend time. So a home party show fills two modern needs: shopping and girlfriend time. It is a concept that was destined to succeed. Maybe that is why the direct party home sales industry is growing so rapidly. According to the IRS tax records from 2005, an estimated 13.3 million people nationwide and over 47.3 million people worldwide that have decided to enter the home party direct sales industry.

It seems like a new direct sale business opens every day. It used to be that Tupperware was in a league of its own and the Tupperware parties were pretty much the only home party company on the scene. But those days of dominance are gone. Tupperware began breaking off into many different subsidiaries set up to target diverse markets. Other companies ran to get in the game.

Now there are companies that specialize in everything from spa, make-up, home specialty products, children’s books, scrapbooking, stamping and so much more. If you can dream it, there is probably already a direct sale company that already sells it. All of this makes it easier than ever to find a company (or several companies) that sell products you love. Becoming a consultant for the company gives you a great opportunity to get the products at great discounts. Plus when your friends and family love it too, you have a great opportunity for part time income.

So even if the fast talking home party consultant that signed you up started to make you feel like a used car buyer with her smooth talking well rehearsed speech about how rosy things will be for you and how much money you will make with her company, don’t feel like you were duped. The truth is, if you are careful and do your research so you can avoid falling into common pitfalls, you can get a lot for a very low cash investment. This book will give you all kinds of tips and suggestions for managing your time wisely and making the most of your business in a short time. Most important, it will give you the tools you need to advertise yourself and your business with enthusiasm.

You were smart to enter this booming market. Sales are setting new records every year. New people are constantly signing up. There are so many opportunities for you if you know how to take advantage of them. So where do you begin? Get new leads with these theme & booking ideas:

Sneak Preview: If someone is interested in finding out more about your products, invite them over for a one-on-one preview of your products. After you’ve shown her all your products, offer a package deal that is too good to pass up! For instance you may put together a group of 10 bestsellers and offer it at a discount. This is not as much as your new consultant bundle that she would get if she becomes a consultant. You do not want her to feel like all you are interested in doing here is sign her up! You really want to generate interest in your products, so just put together a few things that may add up to about $60 or $70 to thank her and get her hooked on your favorite products.

Nights Too Busy to Party: Do a quick get-together over brunch! Bagels, donuts, a fresh pot of coffee and me! Perfect for a Saturday or Sunday morning. In an hour or two your party will be complete and the rest of the day is yours! Each guest who brings a goodie to share will receive a free gift.

Book To Look: Give everyone an envelope that says book to look on the outside and tell everyone that they can open it at the end of the demonstration if they plan on booking a party. Inside I put either coupons or gift certificates for them to use at their show. Everyone is usually dying to see what they receive so they book a show just to see what they get.

Make your parties fun so others want to book with these game ideas:

Get To Know Each Other Game: This game makes a nice icebreaker, especially if most of the guests do not know each other. It can also provide you some clues about who may be a potential prospect. Pass around a bag of M&Ms. Tell everyone to take as many as they would like. Quickly ask them to count the number of candies in their hand. Each person then takes a turn standing up and telling as many things about themselves and their family as they have M&M.s. Of course no one is allowed to eat their M&Ms until they have had their turn.

Purse Scavenger Hunt or Let’s Make a Deal: Remember that old game show, Let’s Make a Deal? At the end of every show, Monty Hall would give audience members money for a specific unusual item. This is the same idea. Divide guests into teams of two or three, giving them a list of slightly unusual items, including a few “why in the world would you carry that in a purse?” items. Assign points to each item based on the likelihood that someone will have it. (a lipstick carries 10 points, a can opener 90 points). The team with the most points is the winner.

Replace It Game: Give each guest an index card. Ask each guest to write down an appliance, piece of furniture or other thing in their home that they would like to replace. Ask them to list 5 or 6 reasons why they would like to get rid of it. When they have all finished their lists, have them cross out the item to replace and put in the name of their husband (or their significant other). Now have each of them read their cards one person at a time. They have to say, “I want to get rid of _______ (Ron, Tim, Bill), because he is, and then list the five reasons. Example: Couch. 1. Old. 2. Ugly. 3. Too Small. 4. Wrong Color. 5. Stinks. Now have them change couch to their husband’s name and when they read it, it goes like this: I want to get rid of Ron because he is old, ugly he’s to small, he’s the wrong color and he stinks.

Visit http://www.homebusinessmakeover.com for a great selection of tips and products that will help you work more efficiently. We offer a huge selection of cute, catchy & professional templates full of EVERYTHING you need to make your life a little easier! We offer customized marketing items and templates for flyers, handouts, business cards, thank you notes, incentive plans, hostess helpers, client loyalty plans, exciting party themes, and fun new games to jazz up your home business. Plus our bookkeeping & inventory management spreadsheets will store all your critical information like cash flow, inventory & events in one spot!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sarah_Makowsky

http://EzineArticles.com/?How-To-Suceed-as-A-Home-Party-Sales-Consultant—Tips-on-Marketing,-Party-Themes-and-Game-Ideas&id=1042290

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 ~

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