How To Throw The Best Direct Sales Home Party
Your Party Presentation will make or break your career. Since Parties are the lifeline of our business, it is crucial to have a great presentation that will encourage your guests to buy products, book more parties, and also join your business.
Successful Party Presentation Tips
Sell Yourself First. Your appearance, demeanor, and professionalism are the first impression of your hostess and guests. Make sure you are presenting yourself as a Party Plan Diva! Before anyone is going to purchase anything from you, they have to like you and see you as a Professional Party Consultant. Your language is also very important.
Make sure you are being personable, but do not talk about yourself to the extreme. Your guests are not there to hear about your problems or issues. Even if the conversation pertains to something you are experiencing, you still want to be more interested in learning about your guests, than telling about yourself.
Your table and product appearance must also reflect the standards of a Party Plan Diva. Make sure your table is neat, clean, and organized. Products should be full and look new. Keep your games, prizes, demo kit, etc either neatly arranged or hidden underneath your tablecloth.
Mingle. When you arrive at the party, set up your table, and then spend time mingling with your guests. This is the time you are listening for the Green Lights of Recruiting! When you have someone complaining about her job, or having to leave her children, or struggling to make ends meet, you want to make a mental note to talk to her about your opportunity.
Remember, it is being selfish not to offer to change her life! Keep note of the time, be sure not to inconvenience the guests who arrived on time by having them wait for latecomers! Discuss quietly with the Hostess when you want to begin.
Break The Ice. To begin your presentation, I suggest playing an “Ice Breaker” Game. Something fun that will get everyone laughing and relaxed, and also introduce them to one another. See examples of Ice Breaker Games in the Party Games Section.
Get Your Guests Involved. At the beginning of each party, you will want to invite your guests to choose how they would like to participate in your company. She can be a CLIENT, a HOSTESS, or become a CONSULTANT.
Here is an example script of how to get your guests involved:
“Next I want to invite you to choose how you would like to participate in my company. The first way is as a CLIENT – everything that you order tonight is done confidentially in another ordering room after I have finished my presentation and packed up. I accept credit cards, checks, and cash, and your orders will be delivered to your hostess next weekend.
Now, I also have monthly specials and discounts on a MAILING LIST – which I do predominately by email, so please make sure you put a valid email address and mark that box if you would like to hear of my upcoming specials.” The NEXT way to be involved with my business is as a HOSTESS like (name) has done tonight.
As we are going through the presentation, put a dot, dash, or check next to the items you are interested in. If by the end of the night you have WAY more dots dashes or checks than your check BOOK is going to allow, you may want to consider hosting your OWN Party, and earn those items for free. HOSTESSES receive ____% total party sales in FREE merchandise, plus I have a terrific hostess program exclusive to MY hostesses only.
The THIRD way to be involved with my company is as a CONSULTANT. I know no one in this room came here for a career change, but it is possible someone is looking for a part-time job, or maybe even just some extra money for (the holidays, summertime, etc). The demand is high for parties in our area, and I am looking to add 2 girls to my team this week to help me. There is an amazing deal going on right now to help you get off to a great start. If you, or even someone you know, might be interested, please talk to me in the ordering room, and I will send you home with some info tonight.”
Product Knowledge
Knowing your product line is crucial to your success. Simply put – the more you know, the more you sell. Choose the top products from your product line to demo at your party. If it TEACHES something, makes something EASIER, improves the QUALITY of something, or makes you LAUGH – keep it in your demo. Everything else you can cut out.
You can also consider rotating products, meaning you will not show the exact same thing at every party. This gives a sense of newness, and also allows you to show all of your products.
Make sure during your presentation that you are using the correct terminology. Never use slang or nicknames when talking about the product, client, or process. You also never want to use yourself as an example or share a story about yourself. You are selling the EXPERIENCE.
When talking about a product, always say it in “you” terms. You will feel…. You will find…. You can have… etc. When you say that, you are creating a picture for your party guests to see themselves already with your product, showing them why they need your item.
Make sure to go over all of the benefits and features of a product. A product that can “multitask” – meaning it can be used for more than one sole purpose, is more apt to sell because it fits several needs. Understanding the difference between a feature and a benefit will also help in your party presentation. For instance, in a botanically based skin cream, a FEATURE is that it is all natural and great for your skin and fights the aging process, a BENEFIT is that because it is so natural you will only need to use a small amount, making the product last longer, but still get terrific results. A FEATURE of an electric knife is that the blades are adjustable to size/speed/etc, whereas a BENEFIT is you can cut everything from meat to vegetables easily and safely.
Timing
The average adult’s attention span is about 30 minutes. Meaning if your presentation is longer than 30 minutes, you will want to consider having a two-part presentation broken up by a break or “intermission.” Make sure you put a time frame on this break (i.e. “Ladies, we are going to take about a 10-minute break, and when we come back we will play a game and talk about —!!”) so that they understand the presentation is not over.
During the break is a great time to again mingle and listen for the Green Lights. You can have an activity or demonstration during the break as well. For instance, in the Adult party plan, show a massage product on each guest’s arm or back. For a skincare line, let them wash their hands in a great exfoliant. For a food industry, let them sample another larger dish.
The Second Half
When coming back from your break, you want to reconvene everyone with a fun game! This is a great time for a Booking Game! See the Games Section for more ideas on Booking Games. Make sure that you give prizes away to instill the “I want that” thought in your guests’ minds. Go over again the three ways to participate in your business. You can do this more quickly, and in less detail, but you want to remind them of the ways they can get involved. Be sure to thank your Hostess again and make her feel special.
Like in sports, the “Second Half” is generally more exciting, more active, and more fun! Remember that this is the last impression or memory your guests will have of your party.
A Great Finish
Be sure to end your presentation with your favorite “does it all” product. By ending your presentation with a BANG, you will keep the excitement about ordering going. Remind your guests of the three ways to participate one last time and thank your hostess again. Touch on the ordering details – payment you accept, where you will be taking orders (if in a different room), when products will be delivered, etc.
Start your guests playing one last game while you pack up your table. This is a great time for a recruiting game! See the Games section to choose your Recruiting Game. Pack your items slowly and neatly – do not run to the ordering room. Take note of those who offer to help or come up and talk to you about your business. These are very subtle Green Lights! Also, allow someone to help if they offer.
Again, the easier your business looks, the more people will think that they could do it too. And finally, leave out Recruiting information when you head to the Ordering Room. Your Brag Book, Recruiting Brochures, etc can be left on the table for your guests to browse through while waiting to order.
A couple finals tip for a fantastic presentation:
Find your own presentation style that fits your personality, but make sure it is appealing to all sorts of people. Remember that the better of a time people have, the better the chance they will buy, book, and join your team!
Your Hostess is the “Diva of the Night” – make sure to absolutely shower her in gifts and make her feel absolutely terrific! She has done a LOT of work for you, and if it was not for her, you would not be having the party at all. Make sure she knows how much you appreciate her. You can even go as far as taking a little tiara or boa for her to wear during her party for fun!
Guests can smell fear – so be honest with them. If you are just getting started in your Party Plan Career, be honest with your first few parties that you are nervous, but looking forward to having a great time with them. When you are upfront and honest, you will feel better, and your clients will as well. Plus you want to make sure they know that it is FEAR and not you being snobby or rushed.
Confidence is key – “Fake it till you make it” if you have to. Confidence exudes from you and is very contagious. You are a SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS WOMAN! And you are a PARTY PLAN DIVA!! There is nothing you cant do! If you need to – sneak into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and recite the Party Plan Diva Mantra.
Mess up on purpose! It is good to occasionally mess up or drop something. The reason why – you still have to be HUMAN. It will show your guests that you do not have to have absolute perfection to do a really terrific party.
You MUST have as much fun as your guests do! After all, you are at a PARTY! Laugh along with your guests, joke with them, engage in conversation, make sure they know your job is as fun as it really is.
Do not focus on the money. If your focus is on having a great time and helping other women, the sales will come naturally.
Never pre-judge! Change your priorities to THEM, not YOU.
Hostess Gifts and Prizes need to be nice items, presented in great packaging. You need to give a Hostess a gift that she can not just go out and get herself. Picking something up from a Department Store defeats the purpose of having a party of your products. Always give gifts that come from your product line only. It will give you exclusivity as well as increase your volume.
Consider offering incentives for higher orders. Giving an “Appreciation Gift” for high orders is strongly recommended. Choose smaller promotional items to package together as a great “Thank you” gift for orders over $100.00. This is a great way to increase your average order size. You can also use these as booking incentives.
You must spend money to make money. Think of the saying “You cant see the forest for the trees” if you hold a penny to close to your nose, you will never see the fortune past it. Do not go overboard, but do not cut too many corners either. Generosity goes a long way.
Always be prepared and organized. This will make you more relaxed and your party run more smoothly. Make sure you have everything in your Party Checklist, and that everything has your contact information on it.
The MOST important thing is to HAVE FUN! I can not stress this enough! No matter what you are selling, a fantastic FUN party will keep you in business!
