Give Your Direct Sales Business a Financial Face-Lift!

Many direct sales distributors rely heavily on home shows to market their products. Unfortunately, this method of marketing seems to be a bit more challenging than in previous decades. 

While many of our friends and family may have good intentions of opening up their homes, the busy lifestyle that has swept the nation prevents many hostesses from following through with their original intent.  Sporting events, school breaks, holidays, illnesses and weather conditions are only a few of the factors leading to low party attendance or cancellations.

In a world where shopping on the internet has become rather convenient, we seem to have moved away from community entertainment in our homes.  This has created a difficult situation for those who have chosen to work from home and rely on others to open their homes for entertainment.

For those of you who are motivated by a challenge, I encourage you to take a closer look at your method of hostess coaching.  You will find that your contact with your hostess prior to your show will greatly determine the outcome of both attendance and sales.  If you are ready to take the reigns of your success, the following steps will prove to be beneficial in giving your business a financial face-lift. 

Hostess coaching begins the moment you and your hostess agree on a date for your show.  At the time a date is determined, you will want to have a hostess packet ready to hand over to your hostess so she can begin to make arrangements with her friends to attend her party.  This packet should include the following:

            3-4 catalogs

            3-4 order forms for any outside orders

            A 'wish list'  for her to begin working towards her goal of    

            earning FREE product

            A guest list for her to document the name, address, phone

            number and email address

            A self addressed, stamped envelope

Give your hostess a deadline to have her wish list and guest list in the mail.  I recommend a postmark date of 3 days after she has received the hostess packet.  Reward her with a special gift item if she has both of these lists to you by the specified date and offer an additional gift item if she gives you a completed guest list of 30 names or more. 

Make personal contact with each guest 1-2 days prior to the event.  Remember to remind them to bring a friend and let them know of any incentives you offer if they follow through.  If you are unable to make personal contact, by all means leave a message!

Host a drawing.  This is a great way to get more information from your guests.  Be sure to encourage each person to put down their email address for future notification of specials and new seasonal catalogs. This is critical in finding out who might be interested in joining your team or perhaps hosting a show. 

Display future openings for home shows.  With this method, you determine the dates and times you want to work.  Write the date and time down on a note card and display this on your table for all to see.  Make it available for the guests to pluck the card from the display and bring it directly to you upon checkout.  You may want to offer an incentive for booking a show that will be presented to your hostess the time of the show.

Have ready-made hostess packets available.   You will want to go over all the information in the packet with your hostess.  This way she can begin making plans immediately after she leaves the party. 

Be sure to publicly thank your hostess.  You must show your appreciation for your hostess publicly.  During this time, inform her guests of free or ½ price items she has earned as a result of hosting the show.  Let them know her goal to earn free items and remind the guests that this is a great time to purchase gifts for birthdays, holidays, graduations and special occasions.

Have a Hostess Appreciation Show immediately after the new catalog is introduced.   It is a lot of fun to open your home to recognize your hostesses.  As a special hostess incentive, offer a discounted price on any inventory you have accumulated during the previous season or  present them with a gift certificate for any purchases made from the new catalog.  This is a wonderful opportunity to book new shows by providing a special luncheon with thank you gifts for each hostess.  It may be wise to invite frequent buyers to your appreciation show as a way of saying thank you for their support of your business.

It is important to remember that while we are self employed and fortunate to be able to work from our homes, we must be self-motivated and willing to work the business.  Direct sales requires us to get out in our community and begin networking with others to be successful.  Be excited about your product and promote your business opportunity a product to everyone you meet to obtain maximum exposure.  You business will begin to flourish once you begin to take the reigns and reap the benefits of being in the driver's seat leading to financial success!