In- Home parties are a great way to market your home based business. For one, you are invited into someones home and are now a trustworthy contact for their friends and family. Secondly, you are now a friend and someone they can trust. Sales boom when customers feel like you are “one of them”.

However, just because you are invited into someones home, doesn’t mean that every party will be worth your time. Here are a few tips to make sure that this event is a great success for both you and your hostess.

Hostess Coaching:  Work closely with the hostess to invite her guests. Give her an attendee goal and help her with the invitations. For example, I would recommend inviting through several means: phone calls, snail mail, evite, facebook, or text. People respond to different medias and you want to make sure they feel personally invited to the party.

Speak with your hostess at least 3 times before the event.
1. To explain how a party is run and the hostess benefits. Perhaps give her an attendee goal!
2. To discuss her created guest list and ensure that all invites have been sent out.
3. To gather a guest count and remind her of her hostess benefits.

Gather the names, phone numbers, and emails of the guests and contact them the night before to remind them of the party and see if they have any questions.

Do not be nervous to call the guests who have not RSVPed. People are busy! If they haven’t gotten back to you, it doesn’t mean that they are not interested. It simply means that they are busy and forgot to reply, or maybe they have questions regarding your product before they commit to attending a party at their friend’s home.

Successful In – Home Party Presentation:  Have fun! This is a social gathering of friends, as well as a product demonstration. This is a time to build relationships, ask questions, and get to know your guests needs.

Keep it simple. Keep food to a minimum. You do not want future hosts to feel like they have to provide a buffet for their 2 hour home party.

Be organized and have a clear plan so the guests know what to expect.

Party Follow – Up:  It is important that you follow up with your guests several times over the next few months.

Remember the 2/2/2 rule:
1. Two days after the event to thank them for coming and see if they would like to book a party,
2. Two weeks after the event to make sure they received their order,
3. Two months after the event to see if they have any questions and are still pleased.

This follow up is an important piece of the puzzle as you build relationships and gain more business!

If you’re truly looking to have a lucrative and fun home party, the above tips should get you off to a great start. To learn my BEST secrets for having a great in-home party, check out the following link: In-Home Parties

Denise Walsh is a direct sales expert and certified Life Coach. You can read more about Denise at her blog, I’m Loving Life

I Drove All That Way for One Person

I was talking with a consultant recently as she lamented that she drove 50 minutes to get to a home party. When she got there, only the hostess’ mother-in-law showed up; no other guests. The mother-in-law placed an obligatory order totaling $12.

The consultant earned 25% off that $12 sale or a sum total of $3.00 commission. She drove 50 minutes each way and went through three quarters of a tank of gas for which she paid $3.52 per gallon. She also turned down an opportunity to do a vendor event that night because this party was booked first. And she had to pay a babysitter while she was at the party. It doesn’t take a math whiz to calculate that the consultant lost money traveling to do this party.

The hostess spent the day cleaning her house, making cookies and chopping fresh vegetables, and setting up folding chairs around her living room to accommodate all of her expected guests. Imagine how she felt when she went to all this trouble and only her mother-in-law showed up. Talk about awkward.

This is an unfortunate situation. This is also a common scenario that many direct sales consultants may fess up happened to them at one time or another. This is also a situation that could have been avoided.

What went wrong? From the outcome, it appears a number of things went wrong. Likely the hostess did not invite nearly enough people. She also very likely did not call those she invited to determine if they were coming to the party or if they wanted to place an outside order.

It also may be a safe assumption that the consultant did not properly coach the hostess. Some things are certain in this business:

1. Many people will not RSVP, even though requested
2. Some people will say they are coming to the party, but will not show up
3. Only a small fraction of those invited will attend a home party

If the consultant had worked with the hostess, there would have been a much better turn out or the hostess would have told her that she didn’t have any confirmed guests other than her husband’s mom. The consultant could have made an informed decision if she wanted to reschedule the party, turn the party into a catalog or basket party, or make the drive regardless of lack of confirmed guests.

Some consultants choose to make a personal policy that they won’t travel to a party for fewer than five confirmed guests. Others set a mileage limit for those parties where very few have confirmed attendance. You’re an independent consultant, free to set whatever policies you choose to implement for you business.

I hope you never have a party like the one described above. Of if you have, I hope you’ve made corrections to avoid it in the future.

About the Author: Laurie Ayers is a WAHM from Michigan and a Superstar Director with Scentsy Flameless Candles. She enjoys helping others start and maintain a candle business in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Deutschland, Ireland and the UK. You can find Laurie at http://www.ThrivingCandleBusiness.com.

Have you noticed how direct sellers seem to take a "holimonth" instead of a holiday every December? It’s like they neatly put their direct sales business on the shelf for most of the month of December (or at least from the 15th on) and hope against hope that it will be there, strong as ever, waiting for them come January 2nd when the world starts to turn again. Unfortunately, it’s often more the case that their neglected business has withered and is in dire need of resuscitation come January.

It’s important to make sure you’re booking yourself solid for January in November and early December, but once you’ve done that, do you have any options besides just taking two weeks off at the end of December? Absolutely!

Remember all those business activities you’ve been saying you didn’t have time for all year (like personal development, follow up calls, and planning)? Well, now you’ve got two weeks spread out in front of you like a gift. Grab it and rip it open!

Here are just a few ideas for how you might spend your work hours over the next few weeks.

I’ll start with some ideas for direct sales leaders (and just FYI, if you’re a leader, this is a great opportunity to get yourself and your team set up for success in 2012!)

• Plan all of your meetings for 2012. You can even include your direct sales team or down line leaders if you have them in your planning time. Throw a small party, put some cookies and coffee out, and have fun! You’ll be surprised at how quickly this task will go when you’re brainstorming with others.
• Take 1/2 day and call all of your down line leaders and direct down line to check in and learn how you can support them with their goals for 2011.
• Make a recording for your entire team giving them ideas for how to succeed in the new year. Here are some ideas for what you might share with them:
  • Some fun ideas for theme shows in the coming month, complete with a themed invitation e-mailed to them
  • An overview of the host bonuses for the following month
  • A quick recognition of those on her team who are new consultants
  • A booking incentive (like a drawing for a great item from your line)

If you’re not yet a leader, here are some great ideas for using your time at the end of December:

• Call all of your September, October, November and December home party guests and make sure they’re happy with their products. Come armed with some great reasons to host a party in January and make it your goal to book at least three parties.
• Commit to listen to/read at least one training program related to your business and write down at least three ideas you want to implement based on that training.
• Set up and launch a "Host of the Month" club. Here’s a simple format:

o 12 participants are required, 1 Hostess for each month of the year.
o Each hostess is required to place a minimum order of $30 each month.
o Each member will have one month assigned to her as Hostess of the Month at the beginning of the year.
o The Hostess of the Month will receive ALL Hostess rewards for her month.
o If the Hostess of the Month decides to have a personal Home Party in her month, she will have the Monthly Hostess Club funds applied to her party! She begins with at least $360.00 worth of orders, thereby increasing her Home Party sales & Hostess Rewards!

There are just a few ideas. Most importantly, make sure whatever you’re doing, you’re doing something! Taking two full weeks off at any time the the year just isn’t healthy for a thriving direct sales business. You owe it to yourself to at least work part time during the last two weeks of December so that you have a business to come back to in January.

Julie Anne Jones is direct sales corporate consultant, keynote speaker, and trainer, and the CEO of Julie Anne Jones, Inc. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services and to read more blog posts, visit her at http://www.julieannejones.com.

Most direct sales consultants are rolling up their sleeves and heading “back to business” as their children head back to school.

Big mistake.

In truth, the holiday sales season is already in full swing, as parents are quickly filling their fall calendar with events, to-do’s, and other commitments that don’t include your direct sales business. It’s even more important now that you’re filling your calendar early, and host coaching often, in order to have successful holiday shows that stick.

Here are 5 quick tips to help you make the most of the holiday selling season that’s on now:

1. Book early with potential hosts. Holiday calendars fill up quickly, and if you want to be on the calendar in the first place, you need to be reaching out and scheduling those parties now. It also means you need to be more stringent in hostess coaching. Be sure to implement your follow-up system and stick to it for best results in holding shows you’ve booked.

2. Set expectations. Let your hostess in on your follow-up system and pre-show contact times so that she knows what to expect. It also holds you a bit more accountable to sticking to your follow up system. If she’s expecting you to call and you don’t, the show’s less likely to hold. On the other hand, if you tell her you’re going to email, and you do, she’ll be expecting it, so you don’t appear pushy.

3. Close the night of the show. If you don’t do this throughout the year (as I’ve suggested in the past), make SURE you do it during the holidays. simply put, products go on back order or out of stock so much faster during the holidays. An item that’s in stock in the morning can be sold out before your show that night – especially if it’s a limited edition item. in order to assure your guests will actually get the items they’re ordering before the holiday deadline, let everyone know you’ll close the show on the night of the party.

4. Bring limited edition products with you (cash & carry) to avoid issues with stop-sell and back-orders. I’m not one for carrying an inventory, but if you’re going to carry some extra items in your kit, the limited edition items are a good choice. It encourages impulse shopping for last-minute cash & carry gifts, and makes you look like the hero if the product they wanted goes out of stock before the show order ships. It feels good to say “this item is sold out, but I have two left that I brought with me tonight.” I’ve sold hundreds of dollars of products right off my table the night of a holiday show because people wanted to take them home with them. I also had a stash of gift bags they could purchase to “wrap” the gift before they left for the evening. If they purchased a certain amount of products, I’d give them the gift bag at no charge. You can easily add the total for the purchases to the show total for the host’s credits, making it a win-win for everyone.

Warning: do not carry a ton of holiday products if you don’t have the budget for it. There’s no sense going into debt on a “maybe” and then get stuck at the end of the season with products that didn’t sell. I was two years into my business before I started carrying extra limited edition sets to my shows for cash & carry. I used unused hostess credits and other “hidden money” to save up and purchase these products to have on hand. Don’t put yourself in the poorhouse to schlep a truck load of products to a party.

5. Use the Full-Service Checkout. It pays to spend quality time with every guest at a holiday party. Sometimes everyone’s in a hurry, but taking the time to do the Full Service Checkout we discuss in Direct Sales 101 gives you the time to review the order, present additional upsell options, as well as share the opportunity and booking options with each buying guest. Leaving money on the table at a show is almost always due to the fact that consultants feel too rushed to treat each customer individually. If you have a handful of people in a rush, have everyone take a number, and service them in that order. Most people don’t mind and appreciate the extra attention and gift-buying consideration of the full-service checkout.

Bonus tip: You have to make hosting and attending a show as easy as possible for a host during the holidays. With so many things vying for the attention of your hosts, the less they have to handle the better. You can easily have thousand-dollar shows (or more) when you make it effortless for your hosts and guests to spend their money with you. Each of these five tips is geared to doing exactly that.

Here’s to a very happy holiday season!

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com.

In the direct home sales industry, bookings are absolutely essential to your success. Without bookings, you cannot make sales, and without sales, you won’t make any money! Home party games will help increase bookings and keep you in the business. Finding a fun and exciting home party show game is essential for success as a direct sales consultant.

Games, Games and More Games – There are thousands of games and variations that can be used at a direct sales party. You are only limited by your imagination. If you try a game and it doesn’t appear to work, move on to a different game.

In the direct sales business, trial and error is often the best way to figure out what works. The important thing is to make sure that the game provides value to all involved.

• Value to the guest = FUN
• Value  to the host = increased benefits
• Value to the consultant = more BOOKINGS

As you gain more experience in the industry, you will have a better feel for what works for you, your products, and your audience. Your trial and error will have less error and more success.

Games can be used just for fun, to help recruit team members, and to increase bookings. Each type has an important purpose and will contribute to a successful and profitable home business. A good home party show game should be fun, encourage participation, increase the energy level, and offer a prize or prizes at the end.

Increase Bookings – One of your principal goals at every party should be to get one or two new bookings. One of the best ways to do this is just to ask everyone at the party if they would like to host a party. To encourage people to say yes, get them excited by playing games. Party games should be:

• Fun
• Easy to set up and play
• Interactive
• Effective – they should work to get bookings!

One of the best games to play is a variation of the “What’s Your Score?” game. You make up a list of things to ask the attendees. Everyone gets five points if they answer “yes” to your question or have the specific item you ask about. Examples of questions to ask:

• Who has a cell phone in their purse?
• Who has been to a home party before?
• Who is married?

There are thousands of easy questions to ask. The goal is to design questions that most people will respond to with a “yes.” You want everyone’s score to be similar. At the end, you will give anyone who books a party an extra 25 points. The person with the most points gets the grand prize; the prize needs to be an item that is good enough to motivate people to want to win. If you are in the adult toy business, this is a great game to play because the right questions can encourage plenty of wild fun. This game will increase bookings and help you succeed in the direct home sales industry.

Deb Bixler is a direct sales trainer who provides party plan education and training that insures that consultants never worry about where to find business again. Learn more effective home party games to increase bookings.

As the Holiday selling season rolls into full swing, I hear from clients even more about the biggest fear most direct sales consultants face: being pushy.

With your hosts being busier, it becomes even more important to stay in contact with them. Yet, time and again, consultants come to me asking about the best way to do it without appearing pushy.

Here’s the thing, hosts need you to stay in contact with them. You may be booking parties further out (and I hope you are!), which means if you want shows to hold, you need a contact plan to keep your hosts on track.

This is where most of you will fall down.

In direct sales, the phrase “host coaching” has an ominous cloud around it. Frankly, a better word for it is host training.

I’ve learned in life (and in direct sales) that you train people how to treat you by the behavior you tolerate from them. Expect better to get better.

Here are 5 tips I use to help train my hosts in having the best show possible:

1. Book the show early. During the holidays, you’ll be more likely to book 4-5 weeks out, because holiday schedules are jammed. In all honesty, I’ve had better results all year long when I book 4-5 weeks out, but host training is the key to navigating a calendar booked that far in advance.

2. Have a plan for contact. Contact points can cause interruption in the host’s day, which is what makes you “feel pushy.” If you have a planned a series of contact points, hosts will feel like they’re getting just enough contact from you, but not too much. For best results, direct sales consultants should plan on no more than 5-6 contacts in a 2 week period, using a variety of contact methods (phone, facebook, email, direct mail). As you’re booking further out, plan on about 10-12 contact times in a 30 day period. That’s about every 2-3 days, which is why you don’t want every contact to be a phone call. Plus, by reaching out in different ways, you’re more likely to show up on her radar. If her email’s down, or her phone is off, you can still catch her via regular mail.

3. Communicate the plan. Each time you reach out to contact your host, let her know when and how you’ll be reaching out to her next. In your email, tell her you’ll be calling in a couple of days. On the phone, let her know you’ll send her a message on face book next. That way, she’s expecting to hear from you, which holds you accountable, and gives her “warning” about your next mode of contact.

4. Use an “Early Warning System”. I have a firm policy in place that keeps me from having too many open dates on my calendar. My Early Warning System has two “red flag” devices that keep me in control of my calendar. One of them is the guest list. Hosts have three days to return the guest list to me. If they mail it, it must be postmarked within three days. If the guest list isn’t received by day three, a call is made to remind the host that the show will be rescheduled if I don’t have it by day six. On day six, if there is still no guest list (or contact from my host), I call to reschedule the show. Simply put, this red flag lets me know how serious she is about hosting. If your host won’t call you back to let you know when to expect the guest list, she’s more likely to flake out. This way, you’ve only lost 6 days, and if you’re booking 4-5 weeks out, you can still fill that open spot during one of you upcoming shows.

5. Make your host part of the team. For a truly profitable and successful show, direct sales consultants need to stop looking at hosts as an employer. Your host is your business partner for the duration of the time between the booking and closing the show. Treat her as such, and expect her to act as such. Train her on the proper words to say when someone’s RSVP is “unable to attend”. Be honest with her about why you want guests to bring friends – more people means a more successful show for HER (and you!). The more she can see behind the veil, the more she’ll realize what’s in it for her.

Bonus tip: Close the party the night of the show. This isn’t just a holiday tip, but one you should implement in your business throughout the year. Every contact with your host should help increase your bottom line, and going back to the scene of the party to close the show at a later date will end up costing more than you’ll earn. Besides, if you’re training your hosts all along, they’ll be ready to close the show when it’s party time.

Lisa Robbin Young offers direct sales coaching and training to direct sales professionals looking to grow their business like a real business instead of an expensive hobby. Sign up for her free weekly ezine at http://www.homepartysolution.com.