All hosts: home party, basket portable party, and online party, need coaching from the consultant.
To coach someone means simply: To train or tutor or to act as a trainer or tutor. Direct sales party hosts aren’t expected to be professional hosts and know all there is to know about home, basket or online parties (else he or she would probably be a consultant!)
Without coaching, you should plan on low attendance, low sales and low, if any, bookings. Many consultants who don’t coach don’t do so because they think they are bothering their host. Instead of thinking of host coaching as being a bother, consider it more that you are cheating your host out of his or her rewards 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. Online and basket hosts need as much or more coaching that home party hosts. The better you become at it the easier it gets. If you think your host doesn’t need a portion of the coaching, ask them to just humor you so that you can continue to give them uniform training.
What to Tell the Host
One of the most important things to educate your host on is their guest list and its importance. This is the key to the success of their show. Remind them that often 30 invites can go out and only one person will show. It’s vital to invite many, many, many! Three hundred invites might net you thirty people … maybe. But only inviting 10-20 people will not give much attendance, possibly none at all.
Next on the list of importance is the hosts follow-through with those who have not RSVP’d (and that will be a long list) or for those who can’t make it. They should ask every non-attending guest if they wants to order from the catalog. Asking every guest, does not mean putting a blast on Facebook. That doesn’t count. The host must personally call or text, or better yet ask in person – Individually. “Hi Chris, I wanted to you mind you about the Scentsy party Thursday.” If they say they can’t make it, then “I can still submit an order for you. Did you look through the website or catalog yet or do you need one?”
The snacks are secondary. Whether it’s a bowl of chips or an impressive spread, the guests are coming for your product display. Munchies should not be any work for the host. Easier said than done, I know. Many host freak out over cleaning the house and having just the “right” food. If your host is wigging out, offer to bring a batch of cookies and you’ll even push the vacuum for them. Really, they needs to relax about the house.
Collecting Orders
It is not a good idea to hold the 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 to the party but did not show, or won’t have any money until after the date of the party, then don’t hold the party open for one person that may or may not come in. Instead flip them to be a host for another party.
Remember each time you need to make another trip to the host it eats into your profit margin – in both time and gas. If you let your host 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, basket, and online party host what they are getting out of hosting the party; and that getting every item of their wish list for free is the goal for the party. The host should take an interest in getting people to attend. If the host does little to nothing to promote the party, the host will earn little to nothing.
Effective coaching increases attendance, sales and your paycheck!
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It is true that as a direct sales consultant, if you can get home party bookings, that is still the very best way to get a large amount of sales in one location in a short amount of time. It’s also true that in 2013 because of changing times, busy schedules and technology finding hosts who want to invite family and friends to their home is more difficult. More difficult doesn’t mean impossible.
