Archive for the ‘Party summaries’ Category

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How to be a great hostess

August 21, 2009

Jen wrote a comment on my blog:

Great blog :) I stumbled over here after searching for tips on how to be a good hostess for my friend, who is in direct sales. If you’ve got any great ideas on how I can create a fun experience for my guests so it will (hopefully) be a successful party for my friend, I’d appreciate it!

So I thought I’d write a post to give some suggestions on how Jen and any other hostesses out there can create a great party for their guests, as well as making their direct sales consultant very happy!

1. Over-invite. Only about 1/4 to 1/3 of the people you invite to a direct sales party will typically come. I’ve had the occasional party with 20+ guests, but it’s a rarity. Far better to have that problem than the far more common scenario where the hostess only invites 10 people and ends up with 3 guests. You and the consultant are doing all this work – let’s make it worth your while. 8-10 guests makes a great party.

2. Answer your phone and email. A good consultant will want to check in with you at least two or three times before the party. Have people received their invites? How many people are you expecting? Did you know about the extra hostess special this month? Do us a favor and return our phone calls or answer our emails. It’s very hard to prepare for a party when you have no clue whether you need to bring 5 catalogs or 20.

3. Collect outside orders in advance. There is nothing better than arriving at a party to discover that a hostess already has $100 in outside orders and a booking waiting for you. We’ll love you forever! A good consultant will give you extra catalogs in your hostess packet to pass around to friends and colleagues who can’t attend the party. Share your excitement and you should get orders and even bookings, all of which means more free stuff for you.

4. Farm out the kids. Pick a time to host when your husband is around and he can get the kids out of the way, or put them to bed. There’s nothing worse than whiny overtired kids who want to “help” me with my display, or who talk through the presentation, or who constantly interrupt and distract the guests.

5. Lock up the pets. Please put them outside or in another room. I don’t need to have an 80lb dog hurling itself at the front door as I try to carry in my boxes. I don’t want a cat brushing up against my display or a dog slobbering on all the products. Many consultants and guests are allergic to animals. Just because they are a beloved member of your family doesn’t mean we want them rubbing all over us.

6. Don’t overdo the food. Most direct sales parties take place at 7 or 7.30pm. Most guests will have already eaten dinner and will only want a light snack or something to nibble on. My heart sinks when I see the hostess taking tray after tray of hot food out of the oven. Either it won’t get eaten, or the party will end up in the kitchen and nobody will be looking at the products or catalogs! Stick to some chips and dip, a few veggies or a fruit salad for the health conscious, and a plate of brownies. It’s less work for you and less of a distraction for the guests.

7. Alcohol in moderation. It’s fine to offer your guests a glass of wine. Themed Margarita parties can even be fun. A little alcohol helps to loosen everyone up. But this is not the time to be offering 12 different kinds of cocktails, or getting people drunk. They won’t want to sit and listen to me, and they’ll end up talking loudly over everything. Worst case scenario, they’ll order something and then want to return it because they don’t recall choosing it.

8. Use your hostess benefits and share with your friends what you got. I have parties where the hostess qualifies for hundreds of dollars in free and discounted merchandise, but only uses a fraction of it. I like to see the hostess make the most of her benefits – after all, why are you having the party in the first place if you don’t like the stuff? Also, share with your friends how much you enjoyed the experience and how much you earned for free. It gets other people excited enough that they want to book their own party. There should be an extra benefit for you as the hostess for securing bookings; and they are the lifeblood of a consultant’s business, so we’ll be grateful too!

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Posted in Hostesses, Party summaries, phone | 1 Comment »

You win some, you lose some

August 16, 2009

Party on Wednesday night: 3 guests, $375 in orders.

Party on Saturday night: 4 guests, $83 in orders.

Sometimes, there is no rhyme or reason to this business!

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An impartial assessment

July 8, 2009

Have you ever thought of asking a trusted friend or acquaintance to come along and critique one of your home parties? It can be really valuable to get some honest feedback on the good and bad points of your presentation. Two events this week got me thinking about this.

Firstly, I participated in a focus group. For two hours I got to give my good, bad and sometimes ugly opinions about one of the local big-box stores. I had many things to praise about their operation, but several ongoing concerns as well. It struck me how useful this information could be to them, assuming they were able to get past the natural desire to get offended at the criticism and instead see it as an opportunity to review their practices. Especially if they heard the same concern from several respondents, it might be time to consider a change.

Secondly, a friend of mine recently attended an in-home party. Upon returning home, she got straight in touch with me to tell me about how awful the presentation was! The company shall remain nameless – however, I will say that it was a cooking demonstration, and leave you to fill in the blanks. The consultant was, to put it nicely, lacking in charisma. She suffers from severe food allergies and as a result hasn’t tasted any of her company’s food products and couldn’t provide feedback on them to the guests. She kept pushing a dish made with chicken broth on a vegetarian, even when it was politely and repeatedly declined. When anyone expressed the slightest interest in any of the products, she jumped on them to ask for a booking. My friend said the consultant seemed simultaneously desperate and disinterested – an odd combination. She ended her rant with a lovely compliment to me: “Now I’ve been to a few of your parties, I know what makes a good one!

I got me thinking: What if the consultant knew how people were really feeling after her presentation? What would she do with that information? Has she ever asked anyone for feedback? Would she go on the defensive, or be able to take a good look at what was working and what wasn’t? Something to internalize and ponder….

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Snippets

June 26, 2009

In my direct sales career, there are many small incidents that don’t seem worthy of a blog post all their own, yet I’d like to have a record of them for posterity or amusement. So I hereby present a random assortment of recent happenings:

* I have a repeat customer with a shopping compulsion that she hides from her husband. She refused to give me her credit card number over the phone the other night, because her husband was in the vicinity and would overhear her. I can’t imagine keeping secrets like that from my spouse. I feel a bit guilty that I’m somehow enabling her…

* When I do booths at fairs, I often put out some crackers and dip as a way to entice people to stop and check out my display and engage them in conversation. At a recent fair, a Board of Health inspector came along and told me that was illegal and I had to throw it out. I understood his position and happily complied, but I thought it was strange that I’ve done this at 30+ fairs before without anybody ever commenting on it.

* I was unloading my car in the rain before a recent party. I opened my trunk to grab the next round of products, and a cat leaped out! I would have got a shock if I’d been driving home and had suddenly discovered I had a live stowaway souvenir from my hostess…

* At another recent party, the glass screen door slammed behind me as I had my hands full of products, hard enough to knock some tchotchkes off a shelf in the next room. Everyone came running to see if I was OK. Fortunately the damaged teapot and photo frame didn’t appear to be of great monetary or sentimental value, but I felt awful! I am meant to be leaving the hostess with additional items, not breaking them!

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Lessons from a Tupperware party

February 12, 2009

I’ve always been at great pains not to reveal the name of the company I work for or the products I sell. But if I write this blog for long enough, you’re going to figure it out by a process of elimination, because there is no way I can write about what I experienced this week without name-checking the products concerned.

Suffice it to say, I don’t sell Tupperware. I recently attended a Tupperware party and it was honestly one of the most excruciating, cringe-inducing 90-minute segments of my life.

Here are the lessons you could learn from her presentation:

1) Don’t believe your own hype. Of course, we all have to believe that we are offering a good product that has worthwhile features, but in the end – it’s just stuff. She freaked when my friend lent on one of her demo pieces to write on her order form. When she told me, “You should always treat your Tupperware like fine china”, I confess that I laughed out loud. Nothing gets treated like fine china in my house – not even the fine china! I don’t say that to my customers about even our breakable products, never mind something that’s plastic. For crying out loud, lady – get over yourself.

2) Highlight the good values. Are you seriously waxing lyrical for 5 minutes over a 6″ lidded saucepan for $180? In this economy? My entire set of pans barely cost more than that. I liked your straw cups until I saw they were $24.50 for 4. That’s about 5 times the price of the ones I currently buy. Sorry lady, ain’t gonna happen.

3) Get your facts right. She called me by the wrong name 4 times. Each time someone else corrected her, until the 4th time when everyone in the room simultaneously told her my correct name. Better to not use customers’ names at all than to get them wrong repeatedly. Then she told us about her awesome January specials. The only problem is, it’s February.

4) Don’t talk to the guests like they are stupid. You don’t need to pick up a standard Tupperware, pull the lid off and say, “Now I want to teach you how to use these.” It’s a plastic container, lady! I think I can manage to get the lid off without a lesson. Other gems we heard at this party included “Money’s very expensive these days”, “Steam can burn” and “Now do use a potholder if you’re taking this out of the oven.”

The presentation was long, dull and fact-filled. She took herself WAY too seriously. She hunted me down as I was leaving and seemed incredulous that I didn’t want to date a party. You could not pay me enough to invite this woman into my home. How this lady has been in business for 20 years is beyond me.

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Posted in Other consultants, Party summaries | 3 Comments »

An open letter to today’s hostess

January 31, 2009

Dear inconsiderate hostess,

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. I usually give clients a second chance. But I’m afraid in your case, you have finally exceeded the limits of even my patience.

I met you at a craft fair in November. You booked a party for a date 3 weeks later. When I called you the day before to find out how many people you were expecting, you told me “only a couple” and that you wanted to reschedule to January “to make it worth my while”. Fair enough; we fixed a January date.

Two days before that, I call you for your numbers – you tell me that you unexpectedly have to work that day and need to reschedule, but you “definitely still want to do it in January because I know people who want to order”. Fair enough; we settle on the last day of January.

Yesterday, I make that courtesy call again. You tell me you are expecting about 6 people, and already have orders waiting for me. You specify a couple of products you want to see in person. We have a brief chat and I confirm that I’ll arrive at your house at 1.15. I begin to get my hopes up at last, concluding that this won’t be the biggest party the world has ever known, but it should still be worth my time.

I locate the requested products, stamp catalogs and load up the car. I get changed into my working clothes and dispatch my husband to entertain the children. I drive to your town, stopping at the post office because I have a few minutes to spare and don’t wish to appear rude by arriving early.

While I’m in the line at the post office, my cellphone rings. It’s you. You need to cancel the party. “But aren’t 6 people planning to show up at your house in 45 minutes?”, I splutter in disbelief. “I can’t do this today”, you say, offering no further explanation. “What about the orders you already have?”, I ask. “I’ll email you, ” you say before hanging up. My mouth hangs open in shock as the call disconnects.

So I just thought I’d write and say thank you. Thank you for messing me around at such short notice – not once, not twice, but three times. Thank you for considering your own time so much more valuable than my own. Thank you for not realizing that this is how I earn my living, and I was counting on this income. Thank you for officially claiming the title of my rudest hostess ever.

I wouldn’t hold your breath if you’re expecting to hear from me again. I have better things to do with my time than waste it chasing after you.

Regards
The Traveling Saleswoman

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Posted in Hostesses, Party summaries, Pet peeves | 1 Comment »

Old dogs, new tricks

January 26, 2009

I do enjoy getting back to a regular schedule of home parties after the lull that often occurs in late December and early January.  People  seem reluctant to book around the holidays and immediately after the New Year.  But I get rusty if I  too long between parties.  They are much easier to do when you maintain a consistent schedule and don’t have to recreate the wheel with your display or demonstration each time.

The added bonus is that regular parties give me lots of blog-worthy material.  I’m almost spoilt for choice after this week’s events.  I could write about how I rang the wrong doorbell, because my GPS told me, “You have reached your destination” and I couldn’t see the house number.  It turned out that the actual house I needed was a quarter mile away!  Or I could tell you how mid-way through my spiel, two heavy products fell off my display and clonked me on the head.  Or how I got the shock of my life on the way home late at night, when it turned out I was being followed by a police car that suddenly turned on its lights and siren and passed me at great speed, causing me to nearly swerve off the quiet country road in shock.

But instead I’m going to talk about dogs.  Now, I should state that I am not a dog owner.  I bear them no ill will, but I am not really an animal lover.  But it amazes me the lengths my customers will go to in order to accommodate pets.  At one recent party, there was a new puppy who was extremely curious.  I am not kidding when I tell you that the owner must have said, “Down!” at least 200 times over the course of the evening.  All her guests (including one with two replacement knees) had to climb over gates to get in and out of the family room when they wanted food or drink – the gates were to keep the puppy in the kitchen.  At one point a beer bottle cap went flying and the puppy promptly ate it, and there was much wrangling required to get the dog to spit it out.  I swear, it was more work than having a baby.

At the other end of the spectrum, another house I visited recently had a dog in a diaper.  I’m guessing illness or age had rendered the poor thing incontinent.  It wore a velcroed piece of material fastened around its tail with a removable pad inside. Maybe it’s a common accessory, but I’d never seen this before.  I can only admire a person’s devotion to their pet that they would be willing to deal with such an unpleasant and frequent task as changing that.

However, it always amazes me when I go to homes where the owners are fastidious about housecleaning and cleanliness, yet seem oblivious to the pet hair being shaken everywhere.  I washed every item of clothing when I got home, yet I’m still picking dog hair off things!

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Showing my age

November 21, 2008

At a recent party, the hostess and most guests were younger than my typical customers.  This was most in evidence when several of them seemed in a rush to give me their orders and disappear down to the basement.  I started to wonder, what could possibly be so enticing down there?  Were they playing drinking games, or snorting cocaine off the coffee table?  Was there something unmissable on TV, or were the Chippendales putting on a private show?

Eventually, when hardly any guests remained upstairs, my curiosity got the better of me and I wandered down to see what the big draw was.  I found them all clustered around the big screen, some yelling unintelligible lyrics while others played air guitar or pounded on colored drums and the spectators whooped and hollered.  Yes, it was “Rock Band” on the Xbox.

I can honestly say that’s the first time I’ve ever had to yell to make myself heard at a party over the sound of Bon Jovi and the Bare Naked Ladies.  Evidently “ARE YOU PAYING BY CREDIT CARD OR CHECK?” doesn’t have quite the same pull on this crowd as “WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE”.

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The other side of the fence

October 30, 2008

Last night I swapped roles and hosted a direct sales party at my house for another consultant.  Sales were good and we all had fun.  But I had some observations on the things she did that were less than optimal, from my position as a hostess.  Rather than ‘What Not To Wear”, think of this as “What Not To Do As A Consultant”.

* Keeping me on the phone for 9 minutes, when all she needed to communicate was that she had purchased tortilla chips and baby carrots for my party, so I didn’t have to.

* Giving an extended history of the company and her reasons for joining, in excrutiating detail, right at the beginning of her presentation.

* Reading her notes verbatim rather than talking spontaneously about the products.

* Going into another room to take orders and making guests line up in the kitchen to check out wth her, rather than mingling with the guests and tallying orders where they were sitting.

* Giving away too much!  I swear she barely made a profit becase she offered so much out of pocket – 2 door prizes, free shipping for the hostess as well as one guest, bringing some of the food, and extra perks she threw in for me on top of the company hostess program.  It smacked of desperation  – little did she know, I still would have hosted, even without any of those extras.

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View from the couch

August 3, 2008

The other day I was invited by a friend to attend a direct sales party at another lady’s house. It was a daytime party so kids were invited, which made the atmosphere more akin to a rowdy playdate than the girls’ night out vibe that I’m more accustomed to. It was fascinating to be a guest at a party for a change, rather than the consultant, and I definitely made a few comparisons in terms of our presentation styles.

Pluses
I liked the way she asked if any of the guests already had certain products, and if we did then she actually got us to talk about them. I firmly believe that there’s nothing like a first-hand testimonial from a happy customer to encourage others to purchase.

She brought in well-worn versions of some of the products to show us how well used and loved they had been by her family over many years. I liked that personal touch. Her teenaged daughter was actually present as her assistant too.

Minuses
She put on a DVD that we were all meant to watch, but it was impossible to concentrate on it over the noise of everyone chatting and the children playing. It didn’t help that the featured product was overpriced and something I would never use, and my friend felt the same way, so we just kept rolling our eyes at each other for 10 minutes.

I did feel rushed and like I didn’t get to look through the catalog in much depth. She had already packed up half her display before I was ready to place my order. This strikes me as a little unprofessional, since I was by no means dragging my heels in ordering!

All in all, it was an interesting experience – but it didn’t make me want to sell her products instead of mine! I still think I’m in the right field.

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