Having trouble getting bookings for home parties?  There are generally three main reasons why your booking success leaves much to be desired:

1.    Your peeps are basically non-party people.  Sometimes it’s as simple as that.  Those you know or talk to just don’t get into hosting or attending direct sales home parties. Have you ever tried to convince someone who prefers country music to listen to jazz?  Or how about convincing a true blue dog-person to get a cat?  Sometimes it’s that simple; nothing you say or offer will convert them into party-people.

2.    You haven’t asked.  That may be a BGO (blinding glimpse of the obvious) but are you honestly asking people if they’d like to host a party?  Or are you making up their minds for them? Have you already decided that she wouldn’t want to have party? There might be a market for your mind-reading abilities.

3.    You’re using words and terms that make people run.  Sometimes when people hear “home party” their mind translates that into something as fun as a mammogram or paying taxes. Perhaps you can say the same thing in a more enjoyable manner that will get favorable results.

The Solution

If you fall into one of the above three categories consider these possible solutions:

1.    Review your company policies and procedures to ensure you are permitted to market via methods other than home parties.  Perhaps you’re better suited to participate in vendor events such as craft shows or state fairs.  Can you use Internet marketing?  Perhaps that’s the way to go instead of constantly hitting the wall with home parties.

2.    Open your mouth and give people the opportunity to get free stuff.  And for goodness sake don’t ever use the word “favor.”  Your hostesses aren’t doing YOU a favor – you’re doing THEM a favor by providing them the opportunity to get some products free or greatly reduced. Until you change your mindset about that favor thing, no matter how you ask, you’ll come off that you don’t really believe you’re offering something worthwhile.

3.    Try using creative language.  How about “Free (candles, jewelry, makeup, etc.) For Large Orders”?  That says nothing about a home party but gives potential hostesses the opportunity to merely collect orders or to decide how to go about getting the free goods.   Also try other names for home party – Tasting Event or Scent Samplers.

If what you’re doing isn’t working it’s really as simple as finding a different way to arrive at your destination.  Take a detour; try something different than what you originally thought was the way to go.

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

Most Business 101 books will tell you not to give away the farm; remember you’re in business to make a profit.  However, when it comes so to direct sales parties, guests will be more likely to remember the fun event if they walk away with a prize.  Just make sure it’s a product prize from your company.  I’m amazed at the number of consultants who give away chocolates, lip balm or other items that don’t even represent their own company product line!

So how do you determine the best way to establish who receives the prizes?

Know your hostess and the crowd.  If you decide that you’re in front of a group of guests who may be open to some games, then play some. People are by nature a bit competitive, some more than others, and a game is a great way to get the party started. It helps people become acquainted and adds a bit of fun competition to the festivities.

Assuming you have a competitive group, pick a game, anything from a trivia game about the products or a game of strategy and skill.  Another benefit to playing games is that it provides the perfect opportunity to find people to donate prizes to.  Depending on how much time you have and how many prizes you have to give away, you can award first, second, and third place a prize.  Or you can play a couple games and the first place winner of each game gets a prize.  Just be sure to give a disclaimer that each person can only win once!

Obviously if you get blank stares or groans when you announce a game, that may not be the best crowd for games. Instead have a simple drawing.  Invite each guest to enter the drawing and the first, second, and third names drawn each receive a prize.  The upside to this method is that a drawing is a great way to generate leads.  Instead of having people simply put their name on a piece of paper, they can actually fill out a pre-set postcard.

Consider asking for the following information:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Email
- If they are interested in becoming a consultant
- If they are interested in hosting a party (and earning free gifts)

Make sure you actually use the information you’ve collected to send out information about promotions and new products.

Whether you choose to host a drawing or ask your attendees to play a game, giving away prizes is a great way to introduce new people to your products and gain future customers.

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

You’ve either found or are seriously considering a direct sales opportunity that fits you well, therefore you are obviously going to want to tell people about it.  Plan an open house launch party so that everyone you know gets the opportunity to come and support your new venture.  Below are some suggestions for preparing, planning and presenting your first direct sales launch party.

Whether you’re selling candles, gourmet food/spices, jewelry, home decor, makeup or any other product line an open house format will work best.  This will be your official launch party for your new business so you can showcase and roll out the entire line you will be selling.  Referrals will be a wonderful tool in your business; so if people don’t know about your offerings, they won’t be able to give your referrals.  Start with a date.

Prepare

Carefully consider the date for your launch party.  You want maximum exposure, therefore choose a day when the majority of your invitees can come. Remember that no matter what date you select, it won’t be good for some people; just accept that.  Be sure to over invite.  You could invite 150 people and have 12 people show up, and that’s actually a good number of guests!

Weekends tend to work best.  Stay away from holidays unless you know people don’t mind coming.  More people will come if you give them at least a two or three week window before the event.  Ask for R.S.V.P.s so you can get a head count for food. If you don’t get a R.S.V.P. (and chances are you will not receive many) it is vital that you follow up with a personal phone call.  History has shown only those who R.S.V.P. or whom you actually speak with will show, and even then you’ll have some no-shows.

Once the date is set, the fun begins.  It’s time to plan your strategy for the party.  Keep a few goals in mind that you want to accomplish at the party:

* Let people know about the products
* Provide a non-threatening atmosphere with no sales pressure
* Have products available for sale
* Have recruiting information available
* Provide simple snacks

Most direct selling companies provide a starter business kit so that you will have enough supplies to have a show of your own.  You don’t have to keep an inventory for your open house.  It is okay to use your products as advertisements and take orders; just allow enough time to for delivery of the orders for those who purchase for the purpose of gift giving.

Planning

Above all else, keep it simple.  For an open house, there is a window of time when people talk with you, mingle, eat and look at products.  It takes the pressure off since you don’t have to be standing in front of a group the entire four-hour period.

Have a table with your products prominently displayed as well as marketing collateral including business cards (and samples if applicable) to give visitors a way to contact you later if they find that direct sales is an opportunity they are considering.  A table for the food and drinks also keeps you from feeling like you’re waiting on your guests and gives them an opportunity to do as they please according to their time frame.

Present

On the day of your launch party, decorate your mailbox with balloons and/or yard signs to alert all attendees.  Also place a sign on your door that invites guests to “come on in.” Your main assignment for the day is getting introducing your new business and the product line.

Use this opportunity to book hostess parties, sell products, and let people know who and how easy it is to order.  If you have a website or webstore, encourage orders online.  More importantly, relax; have fun; you don’t have to have all the answers; and remember to keep it simple, as you want others to see how easy it is!

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Star Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles.  She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business.  You can find Laurie at http://www.Scentsy.com/LA or http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com

Why You Should Avoid Background Music On Your Website

Don’t put background music on your website. If you want a professional website that has high traffic and retains visitors, it’s a good rule of thumb to stick with. There are always rare exceptions (which I will list later), but for the most part, you should take this small tid-bit of wisdom to heart.

Here are the reasons why:

1. Credibility – There are certain hallmarks that newbie website builders cannot help but fall for. Background music on a website is one of them. Unless you’re selling music or music services, having background music play on your website makes it seem unprofessional. This lowers your websites credibility, and thus you lose retentions of your visitors. People aren’t visiting your website to listen to music… they are probably there to find information. Think about it… does Google, Yahoo, Newsweek, Sprint, or Amazon play music on their websites? Do any ‘professional’ or ‘credible’ websites you know of play music? Now think back to all the website that you know of that DO play background music… how credible did they look? Did most of them look like a first grader designed them? Did it look like a MySpace website? How credible are MySpace websites? Would you trust content on websites like these? Hmmmm…..

2. Bandwidth – Streaming a full version of a song (4-5 minutes) as a background music for your website takes up too many resources. That being said, if your website is super slow to load and ‘choppy’ to visitors with slower connections, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t have a lot of returning visitors. Not to mention the fact that every time you refresh or load a new page, the song starts over – super annoying.

3. Repeating Music – Many people will play smaller segment of background music that loop so as to minimize load times to their websites. If anyone comes to your website and spends any amount of respectable time there, it won’t take long before they go crazy listening to a 15-20 second long song segment loop a thousand times. If you ‘play that funky music’… you’re going to have visitors leaving your website in droves.

4. Taste In Music – Everyone has different tastes in music. What songs you like, others may detest. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe not everyone loves Barry Manilow as much as you do, but the last thing you want to do is drive people away before they even look at your content.

5. Music Already Playing – Now days, people spend a lot of time on their computers. Because of this, they often have music playing from Cd’s, MP3s, Internet radio, etc. on their computer to help pass the time. How annoying is it when you visit a website and it starts playing music that mixes in with your music? Nothing fun about trying to listen to two tracks at the same time. The quick fix will be to leave your website.

6. Public Computers – Nothing like being at work and hitting a website that all of a sudden starts blaring ‘The Piña Colada Song’ at 300 decibels. It’s highly unlikely you will get many return visitors if half of them are out on the streets looking for a new jobs.

7. Legal Issues – Do you have the legal right to broadcast the song you want play as background music? If you don’t, you might get away with it for a while, but if you plan on your website ever having any amount of significant traffic, be warned. The more popular your website, the more likely you will get noticed playing songs illegally. Litigation, fines, and law suites are no fun.

8. Browser Compatibility – Not every browser is capable of playing every type of music file. Having background music on your website comes with the risk that some of your users may have older browsers that lock up when the music is attempting to upload or play.
Exceptions

There always exceptions to every rule. Here are a few cases when playing background music would be considered acceptable.

1. Musicians And Bands – If you’re a musician or in a band and are creating a website about your work, then it would only be reasonable to have some of your songs playing in the background.
2. Establishments And Events That Revolve Around Music – Dance clubs, bars, concerts, etc. Playing music might help set the mood of what to expect at your establishment or event.
3. Personal Websites – Personal websites are off the table. Express yourself freely with whatever song you like if this is what you wish to do.

If you feel its appropriate to play background music on your website, be sure to display PLAY, PAUSE, and VOLUME controls one your website in plain view so that people can have the option to turn it off or lower the volume. You might also consider not having any music play upon page load, but instead, offering the option for them to play it if they want to hear it.

Souce: http://doodlekit.com/blog/entry/3774…n-your-website

Take what you like and discard the rest … it may help you with some December bookings.  You would pay for the incentives, but the commissions you make by actually having bookings in this busy month would more than cover it.

TWELVE DAYS OF DECEMBER!

Book your show today on any one of the first twelve days of December and receive the item listed with the day you booked your ScentEvent! * All items will be added to your party order and will be received with the rest of the orders taken from your party!

On the first day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me….one room spray!
On the second day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…2 car candles!
On the third day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…a 3-pack of candle bars for $10.00!
On the fourth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…4 room sprays for $10.00!
On the fifth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…5-pointed Rustic Star Warmer at 50% off!
On the sixth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…6-pack of candle bars for $20.00
On the seventh day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me… 7 Room Sprays at 50% off!
On the eighth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…8 car candles
On the ninth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…9 ways to decorate with the Any Warmer for 50% off!
On the tenth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…10-pack of a variety of samples
On the eleventh day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…an 11 Car Candles for 50% off!
On the twelfth day of December my Scentsy Consultant gave to me…12 Candle Bars for 50% off!

* All prizes and awards are subject to having a minimum of $200 in sales at your show. These offers are in addition to the regular Hostess Program.

To coach someone means simply:  To train or tutor or to act as a trainer or tutor. Hostesses aren’t expected to be professional hostesses and know all these is to know about home parties (else she’d probably be a consultant!) Without coaching, you should plan on low attended show, low sales and low, if any, bookings. Many consultants who don’t coach don’t do so because they think they are ‘bothering’ their hostess.

Rather consider it more that you are cheating your hostess out of her benefits if you don’t properly coach.

Coaching doesn’t always work – some will let it go in one ear and out the other.  But that doesn’t give you an excuse not to do it. Coach the same each time so you cover all your bases; don’t take short cuts. The better you become at it the easier it gets.  If you think she doesn’t need a portion of the coaching, ask her to just humor you so that you can continue to give her uniform training.

One of the most important things to educate your hostesses on is that their guest list and its importance. This is the key to the success of their show. Remind her that often 30 invites can do out and only one person will show. It’s vital to invite many, many, many!  Next on the list of importance is their follow thru with those who have not RSVP’d (and that will be a long list) or for those who can’t make it. She should ask every non-attending guest if she wants to order from the catalog.

The snacks are secondary.  Whether it’s a bowl of chips or an impressive spread, the guests are coming for your product display. It should not be any work for her.  Easier said than done, I know. Many hostesses fret over cleaning the house and having just the “right” food.  If your hostess is wigging out, offer to bring her a batch of cookies and you’ll even push the vacuum for her.  Really, she needs to relax about the house.

Generally it is not a good idea to hold her party open for days (or longer). All the order collecting should be done prior to the party. If there happens to be some people who RSVP’d that they come and then later did not show, she can always call for their orders the very next day. Remember each time you need to make another trip to the hostess it eats into your profit margin – in both time and gas. If you let your hostesses know in advance to get advance orders, they will usually do what you tell them to.

It is equally important that you remind your home party hostess what she is getting out of hosting the party and that getting every item of her wish list for free is your goal for the party.

Effective coaching increases attendance, sales and your paycheck!

Overcoming objections often begins with offering a solution before the to potential hostess makes the objection.  Some of the most common reasons people give for not wanting to host a home party include:  “I don’t want to clean my house, my pet would be in the way, and I don’t have enough space.”

Why not offer a Reverse Home Party?  When talking to a potential hostess tell her that you’ll have the party at your house.  You’ll do the cleaning, provide some chips and beverages and you have plenty of room for everyone.  The hostess will still get all the benefits of hosting a party in her own home, without all the hassle.

It’s also win/win for the consultant in that you don’t have to lug your entire inventory and continually set up and tear down your display.

Give this approach a try to see if it doesn’t increase your bookings!

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan. She started her first home business in 1988. As a single parent, Laurie has supported her family by working at home. She is currently an Independent Consultant and Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles. You can find Laurie at www.IncomeWax.com

Tired of the same hum drum, let’s face it – boring home parties?  Spice up your next direct sales home party with an exciting theme!  The ideas below ought to get your creative juices flowing. Starting planning your next bash and watch the sales roll in!

Banana Split Party – Hostess provides the ice cream, guests provide the toppings. Guests bring a dressed banana for a banana fashion show to be judged by the guests. Winning banana gets a prize.

Beach Party – Keep that summer feeling going all year long. Guests bring their bathing suits in a brown paper bag for everyone to guess who belongs to the suit.

Chocolate Lovers Party – Serve chocolate goodies. Guests bring their favorite chocolate recipe. A fun chocolate quiz is given. How well do your guests know their chocolate?

Christmas in August – Lots of specials for hosts and guests. First look at the beautiful new holiday line. Every guest gets a sample or car candle.

Come and Go Party – On the go? Juggling too many things at once? Have friends drop in and out in allotted time period. Drawing every 30 minutes.

Couples Party – Get couples together for a fun time with candles. Men LIKE candles, so why not get them together with you so you can find out what each other likes. All couples get a gift.

Garden or Patio Party – Have your show in your garden or on the patio/deck. Guests wear a garden hat or big floppy hat. Drawing for the best hat, funniest, ugliest.

Fundraiser Party – Looking for a new fundraiser idea? Why not support your favorite cause at the same time guests are doing their candle shopping?

Halloween Party – Challenge your guest to come in costume and earn a gift. Goodie bags given to all who bring a friend. Serve apple cider, pumpkin pie or candy apples.

Hawaiian Shirt Party – A bit of the Islands here on the mainland. Some Don Ho music, your favorite tropical drinks and a lei and you can have Hawaii in your living room. Guests who wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt will get a gift.

Mardi Gras Party – Any day can be Mardi Gras. Guests who dress in Mardi Gras colors, wear beads or a mask get a gift.

Margarita Party – Love Margarita’s? This is the party for you. I’ll bring Margarita recipes and give the guests a Margarita quiz.

Mother/Daughter Party – Includes mothers-in-law, step-mothers, grandmothers etc. It’s a time for laughter and sharing with a favorite picture. All mothers get a sample or car candle.

Pool Party – Party around your pool. Have guests bring their bathing suits in a brown paper bag and everyone will guess whose it is.

Potluck Party – Guests bring dish pertaining to their nationality. What a great way to get to know another culture and cuisine by Scentsylight.

Red, White & Blue Party – Celebrate the good old red white and blue. Prize for the best patriotic outfit.

Salad Party – Each guest brings a salad ingredient or a salad specialty. All melon scents are on sale.

Shower Party – Whether it’s a baby, bridal, anniversary or house warming, shower someone with a [Your Candle Company] gift shower. Encourage brides to be to fill out our gift registry. For new mom’s, shower her with gifts she can use. What better way to decorate your home at no cost than with a [Your Candle Company] house warming party. Candles, Warmers and wax in every room!

Strawberry Shortcake or Strawberry and Chocolate Party – Or try a fondue Party. All strawberry and chocolate scents are on sale.

Sample Scavenger Hunt – Wax samples are hidden in the backyard or in the house. Guests get to keep what they find.

Tropical Drink Party – Get the blender out, bag the ice and let’s party. Serve various tropical drinks and unwind with friends

Ugly Candle Contest – Admit it, we all have ugly candles hidden away. Bring them out and to the party for an ugly candle contest. Winner of ugly candle goes home with a new one. This also works well for the sootiest candle. We all know that wicked candles, regardless of wax used can produce ugly black soot on the edge. Who has the blackest one?

Very Berry Party – Make berry deserts, or berry toppings for cheesecake or ice cream. All berry scents are on sale.

White Elephant Party – Your trash could be someone else’s treasure. Bring a wrapped unwanted “treasure” from home. You will go home with someone else’s “treasure” at the end of the evening.

Wine and Cheese Party – Relax with friends over some wine and cheese and warmers. Enjoy the warm candle glow of each as you celebrate life.
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Two more excellent themes contributed by Vicki Doran. Thanks Vicki!

The Tacky Party was by far the best attended party I ever did, and we ad so much fun! Think tacky, tacky, tacky – the tackier, the better! Everyone was told to dress tacky, and the winner got a prize – which was a sparkly lawn flamingo I picked up for a couple of bucks at a local craft store. The invitations were printed on scrap paper left over from the neighborhood yard sale (there was a big “x” on the back to cross out the yard sale info). We had a quiz to see who was tackiest, and the hostess served tacky foods such as Pop Tarts, Slim Jims, prunes, Little Debbie Snacks, generic soda (or pop, as we call it in these parts – lol!), and wine in a box. She used all of her kids leftover party plates and napkins for the party. I wore a skirt with gym socks and high heels, and on my t-shirt I plastered labels with every single home party slogan you have ever heard on it. Let’s face it, one at a time things like “Earn Some Free When You Party With Me” or “Is Money Low? Book a Show” are OK, but when you have like a dozen different at one time – that’s
definitely tacky!

My hostess even decorated the front yard with a clothes line featuring giant granny panties and a bra, broken lawn chairs, old tires, and an empty case of beer. The best part of all of this is that the house next door was for sale, and there was a point where we were outside in our crazy tacky getups greeting the next visitor – while the realtor was showing the house! You should have seen the look on their faces – I thought she was going to die!

The 80s party was also fun – I made up name tags with famous people from the 80s, and everyone picked one when they arrived. We had an 80s quiz and a contest for best 80s hair. Sadly, the woman who won for best 80s hair has her hair like that every day! lol She took it really well though!

Hope this helps – theme parties can be as big or as little as you like. Obviously my friend went all out for the Tacky Party, but you don’t have to do all of that and can still have a great Tacky Party. One of the things my hostess loved about that one was how easy it was to prepare the refreshments! After all, it doesn’t take much to break up a few pop tarts and open up Little Debbie snacks!

Take care – happy partying!

About the Author:  Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan.  She started her first home business in 1988. As a single parent, Laurie has supported her family by working at home.  She is currently an Independent Consultant and Director with Scentsy Wickless Candles.  You can find Laurie at www.IncomeWax.com