Why Personal Invitations Are Important

How many parties have you had where 10 people are coming and only 3 show up?

How many times have you found out that your hostess only invited 20 people?

How many times have you had to start the party 15,30 even 45 minutes late?

If you answered yes to any of these questions than you need to reevaluate what YOU are doing.  Ladies, there are some things we can put up to “it wasn’t our fault” but……more often than not the answers to the above questions are all about us and what we are doing or not doing wrong with hostess coaching.

Before we dig into this topic please watch this short video I made about FB events as an invite being the

DEATH OF THE FB EVENT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLChXVyqyA4

FUN FACTS:

1. 20-25% of how many you invite will come to the party.  So if you invite 20 only 4-5 will come.  Invite 40 and 8-10 will come.
2. We have to assume our hostesses know nothing.  Let’s face it.  This isn’t their job (remember it is ours).  They aren’t in DS (direct sales).  And if they were I am going to assume they weren’t successful.  Because that is honestly the song and dance I usually see and hear.
3. Not everyone listens to voicemail.
4. Not everyone opens emails.
5. Not everyone opens private messages on FB.
6. But, texts are opened almost always immediately.
7. And mail with hand written addresses on the envelope are opened immediately.
8. People are forgetful.
9. People don’t RSVP like they used to.
10. People procrastinate.
11. People are rude.

So, let us dig into each of these topics one at a time.

1. 1.  How many people should a hostess invite?  40 minimum.  I push for 50+ and I tell her why.  I tell her the math of 20-25%.  I completely give her the numbers and relate it to her $600 minimum party we are shooting for.  Because the average guest spends $60=$70/  Remember we have to assume she knows nothing.  I urge her to think of her invites as if she was having a baby, getting married or having an open house for graduation.  Because we all have those hostesses who claim they don’t know anyone.  Pull out that FRANKS and explain it to her.  Guaranteed she knows plenty of people.
2. Explain, explain, explain.  And then follow up, follow up and follow up.  Remember it is our job to tell our hostess exactly what she needs to do to get people at her party.  We have to truly coach her.  And with that we have to make her feel special!   Because remember this is all about building relationships.  And don’t forget hostesses are our #1 recruits and truly the key to our business.  Without them we have nothing.
3. Voicemail and talking on the phone are becoming a thing of the past.  Tell your hostess to call still.  She should know the ones who will answer the phone. The ones she talks to on a regular basis.  Talking on the phone to a live person is a great way to invite.  But remind her that not everyone listens to voicemail.  It tends to be a generation thing.  The younger the guests the more they will be texters not callers.
4. Email is truly becoming a thing of the past.  Weaving through the 100s of emails we all get a day is honestly annoying.  But remember that word “blended” we need to still send out the emails.  Because some women with a 9-5 job for instance use their emails faithfully and will indeed see this invite and cherish it among the 100s of dreadful emails they receive in one day.
5. FB messenger can be a good or a bad thing.  Some live on FB and the minute you message them voila they are responding.  Some have this fear of messenger on their phone and won’t use it.  And they never get on their laptop they only use their phone.  So again, it can be an option but not the only option.  There is that word “blended” again.
6. Our Redstamp is AMAZING.  If you aren’t using it you are missing out.  Redstamp invites are pretty amazing.  I mentioned texts are opened.  And more often than not they are responded to.  One more way to use that “blended” approach.
7. Snail Mail.  In my opinion it is still one of the best ways to invite.  Who doesn’t like to receive something in the mail that isn’t a bill?  I know I do!  When I get something that has handwriting on the outside I think it must be my birthday or a holiday.  I always know it will be from my Aunt Nancy because she is the only one who sends me anything anymore lol.  But truly I love it. So get those addresses from your hostess and send her invites.  Side Note – She is going to tell you she doesn’t have their addresses.  YAY!  That is a great thing!!  Why?  Because she now needs to contact them and tell her she is having a party and needs their address.  Hello invitation #1 already happened by her contacting them to get the addresses!!  Yay!  Yay!  Yay! This is what we want!!!
8. People are forgetful!  They do not write things down.  They don’t pay attention.  This is where that blended word is key!  We need to literally be inviting them to the party a minimum of 3 times.  And probably different ways each time.  So here is an example.  1.  Your hostess sends out the private messages on FB, calls and texts her friends to tell them about the party and that she needs their addresses,  2. She gets you the addresses and you send her invites.  3.  You send her a redstamp as a reminder a few days before the party.  Now is that enough?  Probably not still.  I would recommend sending a redstamp also in the time before you send out the mailed invites.  And don’t forget the emails from our back office too.
9. After all of that does the hostess still know how many people are coming?  Probably not.  Because she still probably looked at that FB event you made her and can see 8 people coming.  And yup, one is you and one is her so that really leaves 6.  AND those 6 people only clicked join because they were curious!!!!  She has yet to TALK to them.  You want to encourage her to literally make contact with all 50+ people that she invited and confirm if they are really coming or not!!!  People have become rude (more about this later) and they don’t RSVP anymore.  They just don’t.
10. Procrastinate.  They wait.  They don’t reply.  They don’t respond.  They wait.  Enough said.  Call them.  Text them.  Have your hostess make them feel wanted at the party!  Remind her to tell them why she wants them there and how she misses them and would like to catch up 🙂
11.  Rude.  Let’s face it.  People are rude.  They don’t pay attention to invites.  They don’t RSVP.  And they certainly don’t show up on time.  So this is one more area you have to take control of your business.  The party starts when you say it starts.  And you make sure your hostess knows that.  Make sure she tells her guests you will be starting at the said time. I have been personally doing a party at 6:30 and knowing in my head that I will start at 6:45.  But NO later.  I don’t care if it is me and the hostess.  I want to show her that my time is valuable.  And this is my job.  And remember she is our best recruit.  So everything we show her matters.  But again it is our job to make sure that hostesses knows our time is valuable and we will be starting on time.  Make sure she knows you want her to express this to the guests.

One of the most important jobs we have is to hostess coach.  We must explain everything.  We must stay in constant contact with that hostess.  If she is saying only 3 people are coming.  Ask her how many she invited.  Explain to her everything I just told you.  Make sure she knows why you want to invite so many different ways and so many different times.  And make her feel special.  Send her a card in the mail before the party as a reminder of what she needs to do.  Send her a thank you card in the mail after the party.

But whatever you do DON’T LET HER THINK HER FB EVENT IS THE INVITATION TO THE PARTY!!  In my opinion it is a last resort and you must tell your hostess it is advertising not inviting!

I love learning!  I don’t know about you but I think it is exciting.  It makes me feel young and new again.  Last night some of us had the pleasure of meeting with Renee from Home Office and we walked away with so many new tips.  My party will literally be taking on a new overhaul!!  I am ready to embrace this new adventure with a new party.  Am I scared?  Yes I am!  I am a creature of habit and and change is scary!  But am I excited?  Heck yea!! I can do this and so can you!!  So here we go ladies!  Here are some tips from the top!

Name Tags – Why would I bother?

• Do you know all of your guests?  Probably not.  So when they walk in the door this is your first connection with them.  Find out their name and find out what they are there to shop for.  Then code their name tag with Y- Just for You, H- Just for Home or F- Just for Family.  Then voila you have more connections for later and you started a relationship.
• During the party as you are showing product…..yup, you guessed it.   Reach out to those ladies who have a Y as you show the purses.
• And the checkout begins.  Use their name ladies.  As many times as you can appropriately.  Studies show we LOVE to hear our name.  We have heard it from birth so it makes sense.  It takes at least 3x to hear our name from the same person before we gain their trust and open up.  Compliment them.  Who doesn’t love to hear praise.  Now here is the fun part.  Did they order in the Y if they said they were?  Probably not.  As women we tend to take care of everyone else and leave “us” out.  So point that out.  Make her realize she deserves items for her.  And if not today on this order…..maybe………at her own party?  Or maybe doing what you do?  You never know if you don’t ask!

Stapled Opportunity Flier

Staple it to everyone’s receipts.  Everyone?  That sounds expensive!!!

• Well, they do cost 35 cents a piece before shipping and tac so let’s say 40 cents a piece.  Multiply that by 10 people and that makes $4 per party.  And 1 in every 8 will say Yes.  Hmmmmm….I don’t know about you but if someone told me I could get a recruit for $4 I would be buying her!!!!  (not that they are for sale…..tehehehehe…..but you get what I mean!)
• So I get to just staple the brochure and voila I will have new recruits jumping on my team?  No, I wish it were that simple but it isn’t.  That is way to passive.  So, of course you already talked to her about it as you stapled it to her receipt.  AND….you are going to tell her you are going to call her in a couple of weeks to check in on her order AND talk to her about the brochure.  And you don’t want to be a liar do you?  So you better be calling her in a couple of weeks!  Pink Glove Service combined with accountability for you!!  And be ready for those No’s BUT with those No’s it just takes 1 Yes to get your team rolling!!!  And make sure you heard the word NO.  Excuses are not NO.  They are opportunities for you to find solutions for her excuse.

Make Your Party Look Easy

Here it is ladies.  You are going to see me completely change my party.  Upside down and inside out.  I will NOT be taking one of everything from the catalog……gah…..even typing it was hard to do!  So what is that I am going to do?   Well, that is a work in progress and I promise I will blog about that later.  But I do know I am going to use these tips on what to bring:

• Our #1 selling items – LUT, ZOUT and items from the top 20 list.  Where do I find this list? On the 411!  Your 411 tells you every month what items are selling.  So ladies these are what people want to see! (My weekly News and Notes usually has this list also) A lot of these items you can be using at the party.  Your mobile office.  The bag you carry things in with.
• Specials – Current and upcoming for the customer and the hostess
• Hostess Specials
• What the hostess wants to see.  Yes!  Make her happy!  Ask her what she wants to see!  Hello relationships ladies.  Take it a step further and ask her what she thinks her friends and family would like to see.

OK, so what do I do if they want to see something that isn’t something I brought to the party?  I will lose a sale!  No you won’t.  If they really are interested they will just buy it!  ……but maybe I should have it in the car to show them if they need to?  DO NOT be at their beck and call.  Does this look easy to be you?  Would you want to sign up to sell?  Probably not if your job looks to hard.  AND…..what if you go to the car and get the item and they say, “oh, I am so glad I saw it.  I don’t want to buy it now!”   Oh no!!  You just lost a sale!!

So here is the thing ladies.  Not only should your party be simple because it will make your life easier.  BUT…..your hostesses and guests will want to be you!  If you look like they can do it too then they will consider joining!  But if your job looks  like too much work they will not think they want to do it or that they CAN to id!  Keep it simple.  Make your job look like something they would want to do and can do!

10-15 minute presentation

Gulp……this will be really hard for me.  I can’t lie.  For me personally I am going to take baby steps and try for 25 minutes.  lol  But the point is again, you want to make your job look easy!  All that I can say for this one from me is stay tuned.   I promise I will blog about it later.  In the mean time ladies I challenge you to shorten your presentations.  BUT don’t leave out seeds, seeds, seeds.

Ask Me About My Job

Oh geez!  This crazy Renee lady seriously turned my party upside down!  I have been doing double tickets if you ask me about my job.  And I have LOVED it.  Everyone asks questions.  They all sound interested.  Yay!  But I have noticed this trend with my recruits…..they all want to be kit nappers.  I think I may have figured out why….because they all ask me what they have to do to stay active.  And I gladly tell them they only have to have $200 every 3 months……and there you go.  The kit nappers delight.  Now, I was a kit napper or so I thought.  So I am not saying that we don’t want kit nappers.  But we want all walks of the business.  So instead of asking me about my job.  I am going to come up with my own commercial about what I want them to know about my job instead.  Don’t ask me what yet!  lol  Again, I PROMISE once I try a few new things I will keep you posted and blog about it.  Because we HAVE to still plant those seeds.  But I want the seeds to be my info.!!  Stay tuned 🙂

Secret to getting your girls qualified

Simple – Find out their why.

• If they want free product?  Then help them get that Startswell.
• If they want money.  What for?  What would they spend an extra $250 a month on?  And help them get the amount they need.
• If they want the kit only.  Find out!  And ask them what else you can help them with and get that relationship still built.  They may want more for free.  They may want money.  They may not know it yet.

Timing of Your Party

Have you ever had a party that doesn’t start for 30 even 45 minutes after it is supposed to?  Gah…me too!  And it is dreadful.  This is your business and your time.  And time is money ladies!  So what do we need to do about it.  Communicate!  Make sure the hostess knows exactly when the party is starting. I personally tell her the party starts at 6:30 for all invitations, etc. before the party.  But….I know in my mind only that I will start promptly at 6:45.  And no later.  It doesn’t matter if it is you and the host.  You start that party.  You are teaching that hostess about your job.  And you want her to know this is your business just like any other important business or job out there.  And remember, hostesses make the best recruits. So before the party make it very clear in hostess coaching that you will be starting on time.  Take control of YOUR party.

Timing of you LEAVING Your Party

Once again, time is money.  When you are done with your party you tell the guests how long you will be there.  They can continue drinking and chatting after you are gone you tell them.  But you do not have to be the last one to leave.  You have control.  Tell them they have 30 minutes to shop while you start your one on one full service checkouts for anyone who is ready.

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So there it is ladies.  My party will be upside down and inside out by tomorrow and I can’t lie…..I am scared!  But change is good!  And I am ready for something new!  I am ready for the challenge!  Are you?

Hello and Welcome!!

While FB is great for communicating this will be a great place for me to be able to organize our files, blog and add videos, start off our new consultants strong and much more!!  I am so excited to have this for our team!

I am looking forward to it and I hope you are too!