Control your diary and get more bookings in your direct sales biz

A common mistake I see a lot of direct sellers make is to take party bookings whenever and wherever people want them. I used to make this mistake myself.

I’d be so happy someone booked with me and I wanted to accommodate my hosts so I’d basically let them dictate my diary.

This caused chaos in my family life and interrupted plans. I even started to resent hosts who booked at a time that I didn’t really wanted to work or times that actually interrupted family time. Of course that was a little silly because I was the person who allowed that happen in the first place and it wasn’t the host’s fault – they had no idea!

The solution is to take control of your diary and your bookings so you can have a life too!

How to take control of your bookings diary

Step 1: Decide when you want to do parties or demonstrations.
If, for example, Sunday is a family day for you then mark Sundays as family time not as business time. If you play sports on a Tuesday, then cross that off as business time.

I used to keep my weekends open for bookings but I would only party on one day. If I booked a party on Sunday I’d keep Saturday for family and the other way around. That way I’d always have one day each weekend to spend with my family.

If you’d like a free direct sales planner to help you take control of your time, you can grab one here.

Step 2: Learn what to say to help promote the times you want to take bookings.
I’ve always found that once you get one party on your preferred day, it’s easier to keep that flow because bookings from that event usually stick to the same day and time. After all, it worked for them in the first place.

Here are some examples you can make your own:

Monday is often a lost night for many people. Why not start your week in a really positive way by having a ….. party?

Tuesday is a very popular night for parties. I find that people have so many activities scheduled for family towards the end of the week that my Tuesday parties have the best attendance.

Wednesday parties are usually very successful! It’s the middle of the week and people generally feel caught up on work and are happy to socialize and play with our beautiful products.

For many people Thursdays are a night out. The parties I book on Thursdays are usually a hoot because everyone is already looking forward to the weekend.

Friday parties are excellent! It’s the end of the week and most people have finished work so they’re happy to come and have a glass of wine and a chat.

Take control of your direct sales diary and get more bookings

Step 3: Have a system to direct bookings to specific days
You can also control your diary by using ‘Star Dates’ and an incentive for people who book on your preferred dates. Print off a calendar for the month and put stars on the dates you want to party. Say something like: I have Wednesday the 17th free, which is a Star Date. That means you get a product XYZ / other incentive if you book on that day!

To prevent cancellations and no-shows, follow that up with: I have found that parties held within 2 weeks are always the most successful. People know what they’re doing in the coming fortnight but usually don’t want to commit yet to a month down the track.

This way you can control your diary and they get an extra little something for accommodating you!

These tips will help you to have a better work/life balance and not let your hosts dictate your life. It’s tempting to just take any time and date someone wants a booking, but in the long run you’ll need to direct bookings to times that suit you and your family so you don’t burn out.

Learn more!

How to use survey boxes to grow your direct sales biz

As a direct seller, it’s essential to have a constant flow of new leads.

One way to generate leads in new circles is to create a “survey box.”

Use a pretty box and a pretty prize.

I like to make the boxes where I collect completed surveys look pretty. I’ve found that the prettier and more eye-catching they are, the better they work!

I leave the survey box in a business for one week. I have a sign explaining when the parcel will be collected and that anyone who completes a survey will go in a lucky draw for a prize.

It works best if you can display the prize with the survey box.

The prize doesn’t have to be very expensive – if you’ve got a spare product, you could add some chocolates, wrap it all up in clear cellophane with a bow or ribbons, and it suddenly looks beautiful.

What do you ask in the survey?

How to use surveys to grow your direct sales business!

You’ll need to ask a few relevant questions about your business or field on the form. Don’t make it too long and difficult to fill in; it should not just be a raffle ticket.

The answers on the survey forms will give you a good starting point for a conversation when you follow up with people.

I’ve provided 2 example surveys you can grab by filling in the form below. One example is for a health or wellness product, and the other is for a beauty company.

You can swipe the examples for your business or use them as a starting point to create your own forms.

Where to put your survey boxes

Use a survey box to get new leads for your direct sales business.

I’ve found that gyms, restaurants, waiting rooms, local real estate agencies, and libraries are great places to leave survey boxes. The key to making it work is to offer a small ‘bribe’ to someone at the premises to keep an eye on it for you.

Perhaps you can ask friends or family to take a survey box to their work for a week? Create a few pretty survey boxes, post a photo on social media, and ask if anybody local is prepared to “host” a box for a week.

The survey box strategy is a numbers game. Many entrants won’t be interested in your business but want a prize. That’s fine. You’ll likely find that some locations yield nothing, but others will be a gold mine for new contacts. So get lots of boxes out there!

And then, of course, you follow up with everybody who’s filled in a survey! So check this article on how to make your follow-up strategy sing!

Bonus tip: post a photo of the winner with their prize on social media to increase your credibility and build social proof.

Want to learn all my secrets to growing a direct sales team? This book has everything I have learned from the industry in the last 20 years. I’ve tried and tested many methods to arrive at my winning formula!

Order your copy here

Do you give up too easily on your follow-ups?

Far too many people in direct sales or party plan businesses are afraid of rejection. They’re afraid of hearing the word “no“.

And I get it. I used to be afraid of rejection too.

In the first 2 years of my business, I did not sponsor anybody. At all!

I was afraid to ask, and by avoiding the ask, I rejected myself in advance.

I was saying “no” to myself before anybody else had a chance to.

So how do you change this?

You need to change your outlook on asking and following up. Because there’s nothing to lose by asking.

Thought exercise

Imagine you ask a friend to host a party for your or join your team. Imagine she says, “no,”. There it is, the dreaded no…

But what actually happened? In reality, nothing happened because before you asked, she wasn’t on your team, and she wasn’t hosting a party.

And after asking, that’s still the situation.

And you’ve spent your whole life without her on your team, so you know how to deal with that!

How to ask for what you want

There’s an art (or science) to asking and getting what you want. I found some great tips in the book The Alladin Factor by Marc Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield.

Ask your sales lead to join as if you expect them to. Ask with a positive expectation, as if you expect to get a “yes.”
Assume that you are able to get new team members (or bookings). Assume you can get a “yes.”
Ask repeatedly. One of the most important traits of success is persistence. So don’t give up.

Are you persistent?

Do you give up too easily on your follow-up? Direct sales requires persistence...

You want to keep asking your leads (without annoying them!) because they might say YES…

on a different day
when she’s in a different mood
when her circumstances have changed
when your company has a different offer
when you’ve learned to ask better

The statistics that have most inspired me to persistent came from research by a marketing specialist at Notre Dame University:

94% of all sales people quit after the 4th call. However, 60% of all sales are made after the 4th call!

I didn’t want to keep missing out on 60% of my bookings or recruits because I wasn’t asking and following up enough. Read this article for more on using a leads book to ensure you have a system for following up.

You need to get used to the idea that there’s going to be a lot of rejection along the way to your goals. Don’t take the rejection personally – they are not rejecting you as a person.

Don’t give up. Develop tenacity and persistence. When someone says “no”, you ask someone else. It’s that simple.

Order your copy here

What to do when you have zero bookings in your diary?

What to do when your diary is empty, and you have zero bookings? The first thing is not to panic. The second thing is not to give up because this situation is temporary!

How you deal with a zero bookings situation depends on how long you’ve been in your direct sales business. I’ve got two options, and if you do the first option, nothing stops you from moving on to the second option to boost your business even further!

The Re-Launch Option

The re-launch works well if you’ve been in business for a while. The first thing to do is to get excited because it’s a fresh start!

Now, in your diary, set two party dates within three days of each other—for example, a Friday night and a Sunday afternoon in the same week. Next, grab a FRANK worksheet and think of anybody and everybody you can call.

When you call the people on your list, ask them to host a party for you. If they can’t do that or are uncomfortable doing that, only invite them to attend one of your parties. (“That’s okay, I have a party at my place. Which is better for you, Friday night or Sunday afternoon next week?”). If they can’t host a party and they can’t attend your party, ask if you can send them a catalog. Always start with the biggest ask (hosting a party), not with the catalog option!

Ensure all your party dates are close to getting momentum and your business going again. Also, don’t invite people hosting a party for you to your party because they will stop the booking momentum. When one or two people say, “I’ve already booked a party with you…” other guests are less likely to book with you thinking you’ve already got a full diary.

Also, you don’t want to drive your friends and family crazy with your business 🙂

Find New Networks

Perhaps you’ve only recently hosted your party. Or maybe you’re new in your party plan business and launched not long ago. If the Re-Launch Option doesn’t work, you must find new networks with new people!

The trick with branching out into new networks is to cast your net wide and try many different things. Don’t pre-judge the ideas. Start trying them out.

Survey Boxes

Use surveys to get fresh leads for bookings or recruits. Create a survey related to your type of direct sales business (e.g., health, fashion, home decor). Ask a couple of questions and collect details to follow people up. Anybody who fills out a survey goes in the draw for a prize.

You can leave your surveys at businesses in your town.

Read this article for more details on using surveys to get new leads, and grab the two survey examples to get started.

Letterbox Drop

Create a special promotion for party bookings and staple a bright flyer to your catalog. When planning your letterbox, drop it’s better to target the same house three times than to deliver as many catalogs as you can in your town. People need to see something more than once before they take action (that’s why TV ads get repeated so often). For example, if you can afford 60 catalogs or flyers, deliver them to the same 20 houses over ten days rather than to 60 houses. My results from letterbox drops have been mixed. Sometimes it worked well, and I had no phone calls other times. But it’s about casting that wide net!

Posters

In most neighborhoods, you can find a noticeboard to put up a poster to advertise your business. I use posters with tear-off tabs with my contact details. Put at least five posters in different locations such as your local library, university, cafe, laundromat, supermarket, lunch rooms at large offices, community notice boards, etc. Don’t forget to check back and replace posters if needed. This is a tremendously low-effort method.

Party Swap

Do you know a consultant in a different party plan business? Arrange a party swap: you’ll be hosting a party for her, and she’ll be hosting a party for you. It’s a fun way to get a booking as you’ll have an evening of fun with your friends and you’ll have a chance to watch another consultant at work and see if you can pick up some ideas from them.

Business Box

If you have spare products or testers gathering dust at home, put them together in a nice box or basket and drop them at a local business. Ensure to include some catalogs, order forms, and the host offers for parties. It’s a good idea to have a special gift or incentive to bribe someone to be ‘in charge’ of the box at the business (e.g., the receptionist). Leave the box at the company for a few days, and then retrieve your box or basket and any orders.

Market or Fete

Are there any markets or events coming up in your local area? Booking a site at a local event is a great way to spread the word about what you offer and pick up new bookings. Also, consider creating a special booking incentive to entice people to book a party with you.

Read this article to learn more about these ideas.

Maximizing Bookings Once you Have a Party

Once you’ve cast that wide net, you’ll get at least a few bookings.

Now you need to make the most of those parties to get more bookings and get your business rolling again.

Here are some ideas to do just that:

Use referral vouchers. This is an easy and low-effort method, so add it to your repertoire! Please read this article on how to do it well and grab the free printables.
Check this article to learn about booking boxes, party bags, star dates, and wish lists.
And for three more booking enticements check this article too.

Order your copy here

5 Ways to Maximize Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is a fabulous opportunity for your party plan or direct sales business.

I’ve listed five ideas that you can swipe to maximize your February!

Shower your customers with love

Declare February “The Month Of Love.” This month, pamper your customers and show them how much you appreciate them. Perhaps you can offer a gift with every order, free shipping, or a discount.

The gift doesn’t have to be big or expensive. For example, I recently made an online purchase and received a small heart-shaped soap as a gift. How cute is that for February? Another option is adding chocolates to every order to make your customers feel special.

Declaring February as your “Month of Love” allows you to promote your special deal all month, not just for Valentine’s Day.

I’ve created some tiles you can use to promote your Month of Love on Social Media. Please scroll down to grab them.

Shower your leaders with love

If you have a party plan or direct sales team, you can use Valentine’s Day as the inspiration for a “Share the Love” recruiting incentive.

Encourage your team to focus on promoting the business opportunity during February by sharing their love for their business. For example, leaders can offer heart-shaped jewelry, luxury gift boxes of chocolates, or other Valentine’s Day-appropriate incentives to teamies who recruit.

Bonus tip: wait until after Valentine’s Day to buy your incentive prizes when they’re on sale!

The direct sales opportunity is a gift. Please share it with as many people as possible in February.

Make Buying Easy

Make buying gifts super easy for your customers by creating gift bundles.

Gather a few of your products that make an excellent set, and add a gift that complements your bundle. Think of gift items like a bottle of wine, a tea towel, a candle, etc.

The best way to promote this is to buy some nice boxes or baskets and create a few different bundles at various prices. Use gift wrap, cellophane, and ribbons to make your gift look stunningly attractive.

The benefit of pre-purchasing and preparing your gift bundles is that you can offer last-minute gifts (as you don’t have to wait for the stock to arrive) and have something physical and pretty to promote.

Start taking them to your in-home parties a few weeks before Valentine’s Day to promote your bundles. Also, take some photographs and share your bundles on social media focusing on the men in your customers’ lives.

Depending on your products, you could even take these gifts to workplaces and offer men these gift packs for their loved ones.

Add Valentine’s to your display.

A great way to promote Valentine’s Day and spark the gift-purchasing impulse at your in-home parties or vendor events is to add some Valentine’s Day-themed items to your display.

Just as a window display is designed to entice people to enter the shop, your display attracts people to purchase products or book an event.

In the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, add some lovely heart-themed props to your display to promote gifts.

Don’t forget Self-Love.

I want to expand the meaning of Valentine’s Day to include self-love. At your events and on your social media, encourage your customers to treat themselves to something special.

Self-care is vital for our mental health, so let’s make sure that people treat themselves in February, so they feel fabulous!

I hope these ideas sparked your creativity to make the most of Valentine’s Day. And I’m curious to hear what you’re doing in February to maximize the special occasion!

How to kickstart your direct sales business in the new year

If you plan ahead during the busy Christmas season, you can ensure an awesome start to your direct sales or party plan business in the New Year.

To get you off to a great start, you want to fill your January diary with bookings. And to help you with that, I have two tips and a kick-ass printable you can grab by filling in the form below.

Simply ask

The first way you can plan ahead for an awesome January is to re-book parties with your hosts from the holiday trade season. Simply put, you ask for another booking!

Most direct sales companies have either a new range released or extra special deals for January that you can use as a draw card for a new party. I encourage all my hosts from October to December to host another gathering in January.

I remind hosts that it’s a more relaxed time in January to catch up with friends after the silly season. And to help with that, I offer some party themes that work well with relaxing and catching up. I usually get a good response by asking that way, coupled with the new products or January specials.

Offer January coupons

The second method you can use to fill your January diary is by offering coupons or discount certificates.

You give these coupons to every customer you meet during the Christmas selling season! Make sure that the offer is only valid during January – this creates some urgency and helps you to fill your diary! (I have some samples for you to download below.)

Kickstart your direct sales biz in the New Year

To really make this work for you, create a list with every person you’ve given a coupon. At the start of January, you send them an SMS or Facebook message to remind them of the offer.

A great way to encourage your customers to use their vouchers in time is to invite them to an open home or an online party hosted by you.

Never fear if you didn’t get organized with coupons during the Christmas season! You can create the coupons in January and contact your customers and hosts with the offer as a belated thank you for shopping with you during the Christmas season. It’s the perfect reason to get back in touch!

Are you missing out on bookings?

For my entire first year in direct sales, I missed many opportunities to get bookings at my parties… With this article, I want to save you from making the same mistakes as I did!

Assumptions can cost you bookings

The big mistake I made was that I made an assumption. I assumed that someone would only want to book a party or event to qualify for free and discounted products.

This led me to only focus on this when promoting future bookings.

Later I realized that I was missing out on a huge opportunity. There are lots of people who aren’t only interested in the host rewards. For many people, the host rewards are a nice extra but not their main reason for booking.

It took me a while to learn that many hosts book for fun, the connections, or simply because they like you.

Connection & Themes Are Key

When I started to relax more, connect better with the guests, and talk about all the reasons for having a party, my business exploded.

Some of the things you might want to highlight when talking about bookings are the opportunity to catch up with friends, how easy it is to shop for gifts (especially around Christmas), and the different themes you offer.

You do offer themed parties or events, right?

One of the best things I ever did for my business was to start offering distinctly themed events and parties. The more thematic your parties are, the better. You’ll get more repeat business, and guests will enjoy coming to party after party because each one is different.

Offering themes also helps you to cater to a variety of different interests and personality types, which expands the appeal of your business.

Don’t be a product dumper

Avoid being a “product dumper” – don’t show every single product at every party. You want to keep something up your sleeve for different themes. You want people to return to you repeatedly, and if you show all you’ve got at a party, there’s no reason to return. Well, other than the host rewards, that is!

I’ve written the kind of book I would have loved someone to give me when I started out —it’s the HOW-TO OF RECRUITING.

Choctober Theme

Almost everyone loves chocolate.

I love a good bit of chocolate, but I love “Choctober” even more. Choctober is my secret weapon to fill the October month with parties.

And the best part is that the Choctober theme works with almost any direct sales business. That, and chocolate, of course.

I want to fill my October month with parties to set myself up for a profitable holiday trade.

Run your own Choctober month

I promote special chocolate dates for October, where anyone who books a party on those particular dates will receive a box of chocolates from me as a special gift.

That way I can control my diary to suit me.

I take 3 or 4 varieties of gift boxes with chocolates to my parties, so there’s bound to be at least one that appeals to the guests.

I also promote Choctober in my VIP customer groups through Facebook Live.

Online promotion tip: Show only 1 box of chocolates each variety (3-4 in total) and make clear that when they're gone, they're gone! You want to create a little bit of urgency and a sense of scarcity to nudge people to act. 

(I've created some tiles and a Facebook cover image for you too to help you promote Choctober, download them below.)

Now you have your booking incentive all set, but the fun doesn’t stop there!

Choctober Themed Parties

I recommend you add a chocolate flavor to your parties by running the Chocolate Game. I’ve explained how to play the game here

Using the Chocolate Extravaganza game, you can also incorporate chocolate into your host coaching. Check the article on how to play and grab the free printables here

Finally, I also use Smarties to promote my parties. I’ve created these cute Smartie packs by printing up a bunch of stickers (I used the ‘address label’ size on VistaPrint) and putting them on little Smartie boxes.

I hand them out at parties as prizes, pop them in the delivery bags or use them as an alternative to my business card during Choctober. People are always excited to receive them, and they work well with the Choctober theme.

With these tips, you can run a fabulous Choctober and set yourself up for a sensational peak season. However, some direct sellers can make Choctober even bigger and better with these ideas:

If you sell cooking products, you could demonstrate chocolate-related dishes.
If your company has brown-colored products (think make-up, nail products, clothing, etc.), you can highlight those products during Choctober.
If your product range includes products with a scent, you could highlight scents that you could relate back to chocolate (mint, orange, caramel, etc.).

I just love Choctober because I’m already getting excited about peak trade, and this way, I get a running start!

Are you looking for games? Have a look at the Ultimate Games Bundle for Direct Sellers. It comes with 26 done-for-you games for in-home and Facebook parties. Check it out now.

Boost your booking behaviors

Do you want more bookings in your diary? Most direct sellers do, so I’m guessing you said ‘yes’ to that question.

If you’re not sure what to do to get more bookings or if you find yourself making a start on getting bookings but then fizzling out, I’ve got just the thing for you!

I’ve designed a series of practical actions that you can do that will lead to more bookings. I’ve called them ‘booking behaviors.’ Using the printable below, you can keep yourself accountable and set yourself a challenge to keep doing these booking behaviors month after month.

You want to be doing these actions consistently to keep your diary full. Because your business is growing with more parties, you’ll have more sales and opportunities to recruit or sponsor, your business is growing!

Your business will be in good shape if you do 100 of these booking behaviors in a month. So I want you to grab the printable worksheet below and see if you can reach that magic goal of 100 actions towards bookings this month.

What are booking behaviors?

Booking behaviors are the practical things you do that tend to lead to more bookings. These actions include:

Asking everyone at a party (individually) to book a party
Posting three catalogs each week to past hosts, good customers, friends
Mailing the guest or host offer to past hosts, good customers, or friends
Reading a chapter of a self-development or party-plan book each week (ideas here)
Revisiting your FRANK list (download here)
Posting quality content on your biz page or in your customer group (download ideas here)
Texting or phoning hosts that have postponed parties with a follow-up and new offers at the start of the month
Texting new guests offers to past good guests
Putting up a poster on community notice boards to promote your business
Using old catalogs with a personal note to letter drop in your neighborhood
Setting a booking incentive and promoting it at parties and your social media
Proposing a fundraiser for a local sports club or church
Attending a fair, expo, vendor event
Trading a party with a consultant from another party plan
Updating your referral vouchers
Creating a survey box

Boost your booking behaviors and keep yourself accountable in your direct sales biz with this FREE printable.

On the worksheet, you’ll also find some space to make notes or set goals and a space to write down some booking behaviors that are specific to your direct sales business.

You color in a square or add a tick or gold star every time you complete an action. It’s psychologically very satisfying and motivating to watch your chart fill up. Every time you record your success (completing an action), you get a little dopamine in your brain’s reward system. And this helps you to train your brain to keep doing these behaviors. This is how you train your brain for success.

There’s a lot of psychological accountability science backing the effectiveness of a practice like this. Add a reward for reaching the 100, and you’re on to a winner!

Overcome objections to booking parties

Have you ever been in a situation where you offered party guests a booking with you, but they had all kinds of reasons to turn you down?

Let me teach you some strategies to turn those objections into parties! Then, next time someone brings up why they can’t have a party, you’ll be ready to help them find a solution!

Many people are busy and worry that hosting a party would take too much time. To this person, I say something like: “Parties only take a couple of hours and are perfect for busy people who don’t want the hassle of going to the store! And besides, you get to catch up with friends at the same time.”

You can also offer an “express” party at the office during lunch or a Facebook party.

You can help this busy host to have a fun and successful party by making everything super easy for her!

Understandably, people don’t want to ‘double up’ on party plan parties! This is why you want to offer some different themes and have plenty of other games in your stash. That way, you can offer something fresh and new to repeat guests.

So you can say something like: “When you invite people, ask them to bring a friend. That way, the group is a little different, with some new people in the mix. We’ll also choose one of these fun themes that your friends haven’t seen before!”

In my many years in business, I’ve never found this a problem! So when I hear this objection, I say something like: “I prefer it that way! So many of my best parties are in small homes and offices. It seems more intimate.”

I then offer a ‘workshop style’ party and limit attendance to 5 or 6 people to ensure everybody gets personal attention and makes the most of the workshop.

Make sure you also help the hostess collect some orders before the party from people who can’t make it, so she has an excellent chance to earn host rewards.

The last objection I want to mention is this one that I sometimes hear: “I loved this party, but my friends may not be interested in something like this!”

I reassure this person that she only needs a few people to have a successful party. You can offer the same type of workshop-style party as above.

I say something like: “That’s fine, you only need a handful of people at your party. I like to keep my parties small, so I can give each guest personalized attention.”

Now that you have some solutions for these common objections, I’m sure you’ll book more parties! And if they don’t book with you, don’t take it personally. They may be all partied out.

Are you ready for direct sales success?

Take the next step and learn what to say at your parties, what to display, games to play, conversion strategies, follow-ups, and more!