If you could give the hostess one tip to have a successful party, what would it be?

Invite everyone – even people you think wouldn’t be interested.  You may be pleasantly surprised!  – Amanda

Be engaging. Mingle with your guests, start conversations and interact with

them. You want to come across as excited and happy that they are there to

experience the products with you. Show some enthusiasm! – TaVona

I tell the hostess to make it an informal and friendly environment. Personal experience, I enjoy and purchase more at parties that I do not feel pressure to buy from hostess or consultant. – Amy

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About our Guest Posters:

Amanda is a consultant with Gold Canyon Candles.  You can check out her website at  Gold Canyon -Candles~Body~Home

TaVona "T.J." Jefferson is a consultant with Jamberry Nails.  Check out her website at http://www.nomorenailpolish.com

Amy is a consultant with Pink Zebra. You can shop with her at  www.pinkzebrahome.com/scentsationalsprinkles

Guard the door

Encourage your guests to come early and your consultant will start on time. This is only polite to all who have been invited. You want to have the party then let every one go home and leave you alone — at a decent time. If you think that some of your guests will be late position yourself by the door to quietly greet them, take their coat, give them any materials your consultant gave to all the other guests and provide a seat all with a minimum of fuss. Late guests can be an interruption and distraction from the show, so keep any latecomer’s “spotlight” as brief as possible.

Don’t Feed the People

If you like to entertain and feed people that is fine, but being a hostess is not the time to showcase your culinary talents. Your guests are coming to buy, not eat. Your job as a hostess is to focus around the product being sold. Your guests may expect some food, but keep the food very, very simple. Iced tea and a package of store bought cookies is perfect. Feed your guests right away to keep their focus off the food and on the products. After the presentation is over it is time to take their orders, not concentrate on eating.

Absolutely Avoid All Alcohol

You may think that tipsy people will buy more, but actually they won’t. You want honest sales from sober people, not an alcohol-induced buying spree. And there is also a liability factor. If someone leaves your party under the influence, you could be held liable (major legal troubles) if they get into an accident, and so could your consultant and even the party plan company. Be on the safe side and abstain from serving any alcoholic beverages.

Be Excited About The Product

The folks at the party will be your friends. They already know and like you. They are watching you and following your lead. Be excited and enthusiastic about the products that you and the consultant are selling. You like the line/products enough that you opened your home and invited people to come see the products and buy. Now it is your job to center the conversation and your enthusiasm around what is being sold, not the latest gossip or TV show. Also, speaking of TV, please make sure it is turned off. Don’t hold a party on the night of your (or your guests) favorite show.

There was an incident where I was almost — but not quite — done with a show I was doing when the hostess squealed, “It’s time for American Idol!” On came ‘Idol’ and my customers all followed the hostess’s lead and I lost them. To this day I despise that show.

Missed Part 1 or 2?  Check them out here!

Hostess Tips – Part 1

Hostess Tips – Part 2

Check out the last part in this series next week!

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Author Bio: Mary Jane Humes went from working in homes with a jewelry party plan to working at home, turning her passion into profit by building an Internet business based on her passion of natural health. You can check out her website at www.raw-food-diet-magazine.com.

Advance orders

As you are personally inviting your guests, also get advance orders with the money. But only get orders from the people who will not be coming to the party. When you get the advance orders, make sure you get their payment in full before your party. Remember you are doing a job and this is a short-term sales job, so don’t apologize if you think you are being pushy. Part of being a hostess is to politely ask for orders and if the answer is “no,” then move on. Do not place the catalog in your break room at work with a note in it; this generates nothing. Personally hand the catalog to people with an order form and a pen. Tell them if they would like to order you need their order soon. Give them a short deadline such as within a few hours, by the time you get off of work, or at the very most, a day or two. You need to get the book to others. Make sure you share with them any specials that your consultant is offering. Ask them if they would like to have a party to get free stuff, too. If they cannot order, this is an excellent way to help them to get some things they really like.

No Children, Please

Now you may think that I don’t like children, but honestly, I do. They are wonderful, small people. However, you are a hostess with a job to do and your job does not have room for children since they can be a distraction. If you know that babies and children have to come with Mom, arrange for a responsible teenager to take them in another room and babysit during the party. Tell you Moms that you will provide child care so they can bring the babies and not worry. You can pay your sitter with either some of your free products or better yet, let her pick out something from the party and you pay for it.

One time I was doing a party when a guest with her two-month-old baby arrived a bit late. All of the guests immediately ignored my presentation and my hostess left the room to help the mother change the infant. Needless to say, I was very disappointed with my hostess and the results of that show.

Did you miss Part 1?  Check it out here!

Tips for Hostesses – Part 1

Stay Tuned Next Thursday for Part 3!

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Author Bio: Mary Jane Humes went from working in homes with a jewelry party plan to working at home, turning her passion into profit by building an Internet business based on her passion of natural health. You can check out her website at www.raw-food-diet-magazine.com.

“Congratulations! You are my next Hostess!”

Have you ever heard that? Yes, I know, you were at a party, a shopping/buying party, and for whatever reason — a free product, you liked the consultant, your friend needed you to book a party or you just wanted to — you did. Good for you! Now what?

My name is Mary Jane Humes and for 10 years I was in direct sales. I sold jewelry via the “party plan.” I had both good hostesses and not so good hostesses. So I will tell you from a consultant’s point of view how to make your party a success and help both you and your consultant to come out as winners.

Listen to your Consultant

Your consultant will coach you. I know you have own ideas, but part of your consultant’s job is to help you have the best party ever. She will teach you how to do you job as a hostess. You pick your show date and work closely with her until your party is closed. She will be both your friend and ally, so listen to her. Don’t be afraid to call and ask her questions.

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Her job is to help you so use her.

Invite Your Friends the RIGHT Way

There is a way of doing this right and a way that is wrong. Set a goal as to how many people you want to be at your party to buy. You don’t just want bodies, you want a certain number of buying customers.

Your consultant may give you fliers, mini-catalogs or postcards to hand out or snail mail to your guests or she may ask for a list of names so she can send out the invitations. Whatever she decides to do, you need to make a list of people and personally invite them. The very best way to invite is to actually see them and ask them the pointed question: “I am having a _______ party at my home next Saturday night. Can I count on you coming over?”

Do not post your invitation on Facebook or send a mass e-mail and expect to have a houseful of people. Now you can use social media such as Facebook or Twitter to remind your guests and to build excitement. In fact, you should. You can and should send out reminder e-mails and post reminders on Facebook every day. This is in addition to PERSONALLY-VERBALLY asking your guests. If invitations were mailed out, then call the people and ask if they are coming. Don’t even leave a message on their answering machine and don’t text them. If you only depend on Facebook or e-mail or even texting to ask your people about coming it is far easier for them to say “no,” and you don’t want that to happen; you want plenty of “yes” answers. So make it a point to see your friends in person and talk with them to make sure that they are coming. Tell them that you need an accurate head count to give to your consultant. You do, so that your consultant needs to know how to prepare. Hey, we consultants are very flexible, but an accurate head could does help us do our job a whole lot better.

Stay Tuned next Thursday for Part 2!

Related articles

• Why do Direct Sales consultants do hostess coaching? (directsalesbusiness.com)

There are several things that a direct sales consultant wants their customers to know.  Here are some examples:

• This is a job for us, not a hobby.  We are taking time out of lives to come to your home and present our product, and we expect you to do your part to make the party successful.
• Please do not ignore us.  We have been doing these parties for a while so we know what steps to take to ensure that your party is a success.   Listen to our suggestions and if you do not agree with us, please ask us the reason behind it.  There is likely a good reason due to past experience.
  

  Image via Wikipedia

• If the party starts at 7 pm, please stress to your friends to be at your house by 7 pm.  It is disrespectful to me by not starting until 7:30 not to mention for those that showed up by 7 pm.
• Not all of us do this full time.  For this reason, do not expect us to return your phone call within 2 hours.  Please give us the courtesy of 24 hours before you look for another consultant or decide that we are not interested in helping you.
• For me, a good party has to do with how many people buy.  This should be true for you as the more that buy, the more free items you get which is likely part of why you invited me.
• Keep food and drinks to a minimum before the party.  I do not want to hang around for 3 hours because everyone is too busy eating.  I have family and friends that I have left to come do your event; I would like to get home to them.

Related articles

• How do I get free stuff at my direct sales party? (directsalesbusiness.com)
• Why does the direct sales consultant want to close the night of the Party? (directsalesbusiness.com)

I know that when I host a party, I get free stuff.  But how does that work?

The specifics will depend on the company you are having a party with but here are the basics:

1)       Hostess Credit – Every company gives you free items when your sales hit a certain level.  Some companies will give you a percentage of sales and others will give you a set amount at different sales levels.  You use this credit to purchase those items you want for free.

2)      Discounted Items – Most companies will offer the hostess discounted items.  You may get these just for hosting, for reaching certain levels in sales or when people book from your party.  It is possible to qualify for multiple free items as well depending on the plan.

3)      Hostess Only Items – Some companies off items that are only available for the hostess.  While these are not usually free, they are discounted and are used to get people to book parties.

4)      Hostess Gift – Chances are that the direct sales consultant will give you a gift as a thank you for inviting your friends over and having a party.

Your consultant will likely go through this when you book your party but just in case, you will want to ask your consultant about the rewards.   This is especially important if you are aiming to get a certain product for free.

When you are having a party, you need to get some of your friends to attend to make the event a success.  But you may be wondering if your guests will get something when they attend to make it worthwhile.  In short, the answer is most likely yes.

It is always best to ask the consultant about what guest specials are happening.  They can change from month to month and may vary in regards to what the customer gets.

Different guest options:

• Discount – Guests may get a discount at a direct sales events when they spend a certain amount
• Free Product – Another guest incentive is free items for spending a certain amount
• Exclusive Items – There may be exclusive items that your guests qualify for when they spent a certain amount but these products tend to be reserved for the hostess
• Booking Gift – Many companies offer a free gift to any guest who attends your party and decides to book their own direct sales event.

Many times the consultant will ask you to make your wish list up in advance so that your party can be closed the night of the party.  There are several reasons for this which you may or may not be aware of.

Product Delivery – The longer you hold off closing your party, the longer it is going to take for your product to be in and delivered to you and your customers.   If you live in an area where the product is there within a few days, this may not be as much of an issue as if you live where it can take a week or two to arrive.  People start wondering where the product is after two weeks and they tend to blame the direct sales consultant, not the hostess.

Penalizing those that Attend – One thing about holding the party open for longer is that it is penalizing those that were able to attend.  Chances are, you knew about the party for a week or two before the event and so did your friends.  Therefore, they should have had a chance to check out the items online/look at a book, and determine what they want before the event.   Holding it open makes it appear that you do not value those that came out in person.

Outside Orders – A lot of times the hostess holds off as her friends have told her that they plan to order.  But the reality is, a hostess rarely gets orders after her party.  Friends tell her this so that they get off their back and leave them alone and hope that they end up forgetting.

Excitement – The excitement wears off after the party and people are not as likely to order once they leave.  By closing that night, people have to make their order that night.  If they are not prepared to order, then they may want to host their own event and then they are able to get product for free.

Related articles

• Picking a Consultant to have a Direct Sales Party With (directsalesbusiness.com)

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You may wonder why the direct sales consultant that you have booked a party with keeps calling you before your event.  There are actually a few very valid reasons for doing this.  That said, it is not something that all reps do and some prefer to do hostess coaching via email or other means instead of over the telephone.

Preparation – A lot of times a hostess does not know what all to do to get maximum attendance when she has her direct sales event.  By doing hostess coaching, the consultant can help to get a maximum amount of attendees which gives the host a larger customer base which will help to get all the items that she wants for free.

Outside Orders – Quite often the hostess has people who cannot attend but want to order.  By staying in touch, the consultant is able to answer any questions these other people may have and also get the totals for the hostess.  Some hostesses are not comfortable with adding up orders themselves so this helps them out.

Reliability – While this may not seem like an obvious reason to stay in touch, when the direct sales consultant gets in touch with you on a regular basis, you know that you can trust them to show up when they are supposed to.  I have had people who told me that they booked with someone and they never heard from them as their date got closer so they found me instead.  Their loss, I once had a $1,000 party due to this!

Space – Many consultants require space when they arrive whether it is for setting up their display or a place for ordering.  When talking to the hostess beforehand, they can let her know what they require to make sure that the hostess can have it ready when they arrive.

Wish List – It is beneficial for both the hostess and the consultant if the hostess has her wish list made up in advance.  With the coaching, the direct sales consultant can make sure that she has thought about this and knows what she wants to earn free at her party.

While you may find it a bit of a hassle when the direct sales consultant calls you and wants to know how things are going and if you have any questions, they are really doing it for both of your benefits.

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• How to be a Great Direct Sales Customer (directsalesbusiness.com)