Anyway....
I wanted to summarize some of the BOOKING SEEDS that we discussed at our meeting! As you know, it is important to pepper at least THREE bookings seeds throughout your party presentation! Remember, no Bookings = No Business, so be sure to work on incorporating some fun and natural booking seeds into your own presentations.
Here are some that we discussed:
- When you thank the hostess: This is a really easy and great time to drop a booking seed! At the very beginning of the party, you should be sure to thank your hostess for hosting the party. The Booking Seed might sound something like this.... "Thank you Jenny for being the catalyst to do what we ALL say that we want to do, but rarely have the time to do and that is... get together with our friends to catch up and have fun! How many of you find yourselves saying 'I really need to call her' or 'We really should get together!'? I do it all the time! Well, Jenny just gave you all an excuse to get together, catch up with each other's lives and enjoy a night away from your normal responsibilities at home. So I want you to make sure that you do just that! Tonight is a party and I want you to be sure to have a good time, so grab a drink, some snacks, and enjoy yourselves."
- Plug the Hostess Special Program: A great way to share the Hostess Special program is by referencing it with a specific product. I like to do this towards the beginning of my presentation. Start by describing (i.e. "romancing") the product and asking the party guests for ideas on how they might use the product. Be sure to choose a product that is a little on the pricey side. After every has fallen in love with this product, you drop a booking seed that might sound something like this... "Now... if you would LOVE to have this product in your home, but feel it's a bit out of your budget, you might be interested to know that as a Hostess you have the opportunity to pick anything in the catalog that you want for 70% off! And that is in addition to earning free and 1/2 price product! So, if Jenny wanted this product, she could get it for $____ instead of the retail price of $_____. Can we all agree that that is a pretty good deal?!" I like to do this using the Nola Party Bucket. It retails for $110, but my hostess can buy it for $33! I usually follow up this booking seed by asking my hostess if she has decided what item she will choose for 70% off!
- Reference Hostess' Suff: Often, I have a hostess who has been a repeat hostess. If I am at a Hostess' house who obviously has quite a bit of product already, I might reference the hostess' current collection by saying something like "You might notice that Barbara is serving her snacks on Willow House products tonight. She has been a smart shopper and has had a few parties already! In addition to getting your friends together, another benefit of hosting a party is having the ability to add to your own personal collection at deeply discounted prices."
- Use your Order Form as a Wish List: Encourage your guests to use their order form as a wish list and ensure them that they are under no obligation to purchase everything that they write on the form! Tell them just to jot down the products they would like to have on the form as they see them, then at the end of the party, have them circle the ones they would like to purchase that night. This gives you a great opportunity to ask them at check out if they would like to "get some friends together for a party and get the rest of the items on your wish list for free or half price." I generally show my party guests my own wish list from this catalog and tell them how much it totals in retail dollars (over $2,000!). I use this as a way to remind them that as a consultant, I get to enjoy a discount and never pay full price!
- Make sure a Party sounds EASY: We don't want hostesses to think they have to knock themselves out to have a party! We want to make sure that they know we encourage them to keep their party snacks simple and cheap! Find a time in the presentation to let your guests know that if they want to have a party, it will be simple and easy. I generally do this during the portion of my presentation that I talk about some of the casseroles and other dishes. I am very honest with my guests and tell them that I hate to cook, but am very good at transferring store-bought food onto a pretty platter! My booking seed follows and sounds something like this... "By the way, if you have a party with me, I EXPECT you to take the easy way out and keep your snacks very simple! In fact, I will even provide you with a sample of a couple of our easy party food mixes for you to try. We have a great Tuscan Roasted Garlic dip mix and all you have to do is mix it with cream cheese or sour cream and you've got a "gourmet" dip to serve with crackers or veggies...." I am planning to create some little baggies with tablespoons of a few of the dip mixes or maybe even the sangria mix. I'll make little labels on how to serve them and include them as party of my Hostess party pack. Hopefully, people will like the dips and buy a bottle at the party!
- Review the Rewards Program on Page 3: Make sure that you point out the Hostess Rewards program on page 3 of the catalog. I generally tell my guests that "On average, my Hostesses receive between $100 and $200+ in free product of their choice. They also receive an average of 4-6 items for 1/2 price and of course, they get to choose that 1 special item for 70% off. Overall, my hostesses enjoy savings of about 70-80% on the products they select with their rewards."
- Set the expectation that you WILL be asking! I've heard consultants say that they set themselves up to be accountable by telling the party guests that they intend to ask each one of them at checkout if they want to host a party. I've never found a way to do this that feels like "Me". However, my aunt is a consultant for another party plan and she told me what she says. It made me laugh and so I thought I'd share it. She says... "I just want you all to know that I am an Equal Opportunity Party Giver! And I don't want anyone to feel left out, so I will be asking each of you if you would like to be my next hostess." I thought that sounded like kind of a cute way to bring it up and then you have to be accountable to what you said and follow through by asking every person at checkout... which is something you should be doing anyway!
- Hostess Stacking: Jeny Ayres shared that she has found Hostess Stacking to be very successful for her this month. She casually incorporates it into her presentation at the end. She passes product throughout the party and then casually asks the person sitting closest to her to keep the products at her feet when they are passed to her. She then asks the party guests to guess what the retail value of the product sitting at the person's feet is. She goes on to tell them how much this "Hostess" paid given her Hostess rewards. She bases her statistics on a $600 party and assumes their are 2 new party bookings. Given those statistics, the hostess would get $90 in free product, 4 items 1/2 price and 1 item 70% off. Remember, she has already passed around and "romanced" all these products. This is what she shows:
- Alfresco Server - $69.96 70% off - $20.99
- Entertaining Bucket & Tray - $39.96 1/2 price - $19.98
- French Wire Tiered Stand - $51.96 1/2 price - $25.98
- Galveston Memo Board & Holder - $59.96 1/2 price - $29.98
- Heritage Hurricane Trio - $46.96 1/2 price - $23.48
- Berry Bowl - $36.96 - Free
- Rosemary Bread Mix - $9.96 - Free
- Cinnabar Appetizer Tray - $39.96 - Free
- Hostess Total = $139.89 with shipping/tax
- RETAIL Total = $419.81 with shipping tax
- Total Dollar Savings = $279.98
- If I were doing this demonstration, I might show that this is what an AVERAGE party would yield. I would then say that "Hostess" was great and got some outside orders, invited lots of people, etc. and had an even bigger party! I would use a $1,000 party stats and add product to her pile until I had at least $200 in free product and a few more 1/2 price items. I would then redo the calculation showing an even bigger savings with MORE product! It reinforces the idea that you can get more stuff if you are will to work to have a good party!
I hope these booking seeds help you!
Keep in mind... people love to get free product, but if they didn't have fun at your party, the chances of them booking a party are slim. So show your enthusiasm for the products and provide a fun demonstration that includes your party guests (i.e. allows them to share their ideas). If they have fun and then learn of the great hostess rewards, your chances of them booking a party increase dramatically!
So choose some booking seeds that you are comfortable with and GO BOOK SOME PARTIES!
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