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 concerns.

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 its 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 offer to let her use your home if need be, to host her party.

When dealing with this type of scenario, please watch your wording as you don’t want to offend your party host. If the host still insists on 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 scenarios 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 them find a new consultant who will accept the booking.

Shelly Hill
Tupperware Manager
http://www.classybusinesswomen.com
http://wahmshelly.blogspot.coma

Everyone loves a party. One of your goals as a party plan consultant is to make hosting your company’s product party a super experience not only for the guests at the party but, most importantly for your hostess. When your hostess has had a positive experience, chances are excellent that she will become one of your repeat hostesses and will also recommend that her friends do the same. One of the biggest keys to helping your hostess have a good experience is if her party is a success. A successful party is a party with high sales. The best way to achieve high sales is to be sure guest attendance is high.

What fun is a party if no one comes? A big party is a fun event for everyone. People make new friends, the evening becomes a celebration and most importantly it lowers the pressure to buy.

• Encourage your hostess to invite double or triple the number of people she expects to come. Only about 50% will be able to attend so over-inviting is key. A great goal is an invitation list of 40-50 people.
• Help your hostess remember who she knows from all areas of her life! Believe it or not, if your hostess is at least 18 years old, she knows at least 1000 people. A great question to ask her is “Tell me about what you do?” this will give you insight and ideas to help her invite friends from a variety of places.
• Encourage each invitee to bring a friend – this automatically doubles the invitation list. Consider offering a prize to the guest who brings the most friends!
• Be sure your hostess carries around some invitations in her purse prior to her party to pass on to people she sees regularly (at her children’s activities, the gym, church etc;) but perhaps doesn’t have a phone number or address for.
• Call-send-call. When scheduling her party, have her take the first 48 hours after scheduling her date to start to >verbally check in with people to be sure the date is a good time for most of the people on her list. Her invitation (email or snail mail) should serve as a follow up reminder to that initial verbal invitation. THE MOST IMPORTANT call of all happens the day before when either you or she does a final reminder call about the party. (*Note – be sure your hostess understands that this final call is a great courtesy to her guests as people are very busy and often feel badly if they’ve forgotten about the invitation!)
• RSVP – When coaching your hostess, remind her that for whatever reason in today’s society, RSVP has lost its meaning. It is not unusual for people not to respond one-way or the other. That is why that final reminder call is so key! Personal contact and enthusiasm is a “must”… it helps people know that their hostess really wants to see them!!

Dede Gruenberg is a free lance writer, trainer and business coach. She has been sharing her extensive experience in the direct sales/party plan business since 2004 working with The Success Factory. TheSuccessFactory.com is a unique resource providing specific strategies, techniques and resources to exceed in business, family and life. http://TheSuccessFactory.com

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In a report to the FTC, the Direct Sales Association (DSA) reported that “there are 7.2 million direct sellers nationwide and the industry has a very high attrition rate due to the temporary and part-time nature of 90% of our sales force.”

In fact, the direct sales industry is recruiting, on the average, over 70,000 new people per week. Additionally, 6% of U.S. households currently, have an active direct seller living there. 14% of U.S. households have a person who has been a direct seller at one time living in that household.

Sadly, the average attrition rate for Direct Sales companies is approximately 40%, meaning just under half of the people you recruit will stay on for a year – at most.

Most network marketing business owners who have managed to make an effective go of their first year in business find that their second year – and subsequent years – are much more fulfilling, and less problematic. The reason? With a learning curve behind them, consultants are now better able to handle not only product questions, but recruiting, training and the typical sales cycle “ups and downs” as well.

So how do you navigate the rough waters of the start-up year in order to come out ahead in year two?

First, don’t panic. Realize that you’re in business to make money, and that building a business takes time. Most recruits that stick with a company for a year, find that success comes much more easily in subsequent years so keep that result in mind. Commit yourself to staying “active” for a year.

Second, commit to working your business like a business. Hobbies are an occasional activity – something you might participate in a few times per month. In order to be successful in direct sales, you should insist on doing something related to your business every day of the week. It might be customer calls, or hostess coaching, or labeling your catalogs, but every day SOMETHING should be done to improve your business position. Take the weekends and holidays off, but make sure that you’re “operational” during regular business days.

Third, mark your time. Touching your business every work day shouldn’t take the entire work day. On the contrary, you should expect to spend no more than an hour each day that you’re not making presentations. On presentation days, I strongly encourage you to focus on the presentation and not have a lot of other business activities to deal with. You’ll be working hard enough doing your demo, you don’t need your mind distracted with creating hostess packets, promotional, flyers or other items related to your business.

When trying to figure out where you want to take your business financially, it is important to look at your metrics – your average sales per customer, lifetime value of a customer, and average show sales are a good place to start. Start keeping track of this data so you can periodically review it to see what needs improvement.

Next, consider catering to your target market. Target marketing is the process of focusing on a select and specific group of people you are advertising to. And it has everything to do with the product you are selling. For example, if you are marketing infant products, it would be very unwise to market to the elderly. While it’s possible there may be a few clients in that group (like grandparents), your best bet is to focus on new moms – a group that is likely to need infant products! Get to know the people that need your products. They are your target market and that is where you need to focus your marketing energy.

Remember to read and educate yourself by investing time into study. Learn the tricks of the trade. Make friends and associates with reputable trainers and others in your industry. Mastermind with others who have already done what you want to accomplish. It may mean a monetary investment, but you are trading it for valuable experience to shorten your learning curve. Don’t go hog wild, and set a training budget – and stick with it. There’s nothing worse than a new recruit spending all their earnings on the latest training program only to quit because they ran out of money. There will always be training opportunities – and don’t let anyone fool you into thinking otherwise. There

are also plenty of good books at your local library that won’t cost you a dime to read. Don’t make excuses. Learn more to earn more.

Lastly, apply what you have learned. Knowing and doing are not the same. At the end of a year, you will see a dramatic difference in your life, your mindset and your business. Start now to overcome the hurdles of the first year start-up blues. You’ll be amazed at the results.

After nearly 10 years in Direct Sales, Lisa Young stopped listening to her up-line and started seeking professional sales and marketing wisdom from the far corners of big business. Today Lisa offers ready-to-use insights, tips and inspiration to others in the Home Party Plan community looking to run their business like a business and achieve success. Lisa’s free monthly newsletter “PartyOn!” features articles from a business perspective designed to help MLM reps reach their booking, sales and recruiting goals. You can sign up for the newsletter at http://www.HomePartySolution.com

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RENDI, one of the hottest and newest home party-plan companies, provides a way to create meaningful, custom picture frames and decor as gifts or for yourself. Every Rendi piece is custom made in the US, using 100% recycled wood and water-based finishes. Orders ship out in 48 hours direct to the customers doorstep, and arrive beautifully gift-wrapped.

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Becoming a Rendi Independent Stylist has really empowered me as a woman, and I want to share this opportunity with all women, because, after all, we all deserve to feel empowered!  Contact me for information about joining Rendi.  I will be with you every step of the way, ensuring that you have all the tools and resources you need to be successful…no matter where you live…near or far.

2012 is going to be Rendi’s breakout year…hop on board before this train leaves the station!

www.KimH.RendiStyle.com

When you hold home party games, you can benefit in many ways. It is a great way to showcase your items; you can give your products as prizes, get all of the guests in a great mood, and hopefully generate more parties on your calendar.

It is very beneficial to have party games when you have a home party. A game is the best way to break the ice and allow everyone to get to know the names of all of the guests and a little bit about each other. Games allow the guests to feel comfortable and even in the party mood. The more relaxed and comfortable your guests are, the more likely you are going to sell your products.

Playing home party games requires space in your home if you are the host. If you have your own business then you want to be sure the host has enough space for the type of game you are planning. If the home is really small then you will be limited and not be able to play interactive games that require the people to all stand and move around. Always have a few different types of games that can be played from the home in case you come across a problem with space.

When you have activities it is important to integrate your products into the games. This is an excellent method for nonchalantly showcasing your items and allowing people to see the great products you have for sale. You should integrate your products because it allows people to get a good look at what you have.

One of the best things you can do when you are making home party plans is to use your products as the prizes when you play games. Prizes are an excellent incentive for playing a game but they also are perfect for creating motivation of all of the guests. Giving your products is the best option because the other guests will have the opportunity to buy the neat prizes too.

Guests should be feeling great and having a good time. This should be the ultimate goal to make all of the guests as comfortable as possible. If everyone is having a great time then they will want to have their own event too. This will be a really simple method of filling up your calendar and making more dates for additional bookings.

It is important to plan based on the space the host has in their home. You can integrate the products being sold into the game by making them prizes for the winners. You want the guests to be as comfortable as possible and ensure they are having a really good time. This will ensure you sell as many of your products as possible and get as many new dates on your calendar as you can.

For more home party games, business ideas, and tips on increasing sales, visit http://www.craft-selling-parties.com for great advice on making money from home in your own home party business.