What you Can Learn from McDonalds

Have you ever ordered a value meal at McDonalds? Sure you have! Let me share with you what I know about myself and those meals:

   – When I actually did the math on how much I saved with a "value" meal, I was shocked! It's less than thirty cents, on average!
   – I don't generally eat most of the fries (I certainly DON'T need them!)
   – I honestly get confused by all the choices on the regular menu.
   – I order the value meal because it's easy. That's the bottom line.

So, what does this have to do with your direct sales business? Well, if you're not offering your guests your own version of a value meal (I called them party packages), you're leaving money and orders on the table.

Think about it. Your catalog is an awesome tool but it can be a little overwhelming. How do I, as a guest at your party, decide what to buy? There are so many choices! People love things that are easy (you know, the no-brainer. Like when you were a kid at the ice cream truck and the driver would say "just touch the picture" instead of reading the complicated name of the ice cream treat you wanted. Yea, like that). When you offer "packages" of your products to your customers, you make it easier for them to order.

Many direct sales companies provide packages for you and those are featured in your catalog. Generally, these are offered at a discount (making them even easier to sell). Become very familiar with them, find a way to display them outside of the catalog, and start promoting them! I recently placed an outside order for a party I couldn't attend and the host offered me the customer special package as an option for ordering. It was such an easy way for me to order that I ended up spending more than if I'd picked out an item just to be polite and place an order.

If your company doesn't do this, you can create your own packages. The only difference is, I wouldn't offer a discount (you don't want to lose money). Just put together a few packages of products and make sure they're easy to order. Keep these things in mind as you're doing this:

• "Name" your packages to make them compelling and easy to understand ("The Valentine's Day Package," "The Welcome New Neighbor Package," "The Father's Day Package," etc.)
   
• Create at least three different "levels" of pricing and packages; one that's inexpensive, one that's in the medium-average order range, and one that's more extravagant (I called this my "Just-couldn't-help-myself-had-to-have-it-all" package ).
   
• Talk about your packages at the end of your parties when sharing details about how to order, payment, etc. Point out that the easiest way to order is by simply choosing the package they like best.

This was, without a doubt, the best tool I used to increase my party sales and I had party package orders at every single party I did.

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Julie Anne Jones is a success language consultant, a direct sales coach and trainer, and the CEO of Julie Anne Jones, Inc. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read more blog posts, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.

Who’s in Charge at Your Parties?

In the past few weeks on the Q&A conference calls I've facilitated, I've noticed an interesting trend. Many direct sellers who do parties for a living struggle with "control" at those parties. You deal with unruly or (dare I mention) drunk guests, or large groups of "chatty" women who refuse to give you their attention. I'm sure it won't surprise you that I have some thoughts on this subject as well as some tools you can use to gain control of your parties.

First of all, I just want to remind you that it is a "party." No one here signed up for night school, and if you're expecting them to sit quietly with their hands in their laps and listen intently to your presentation, that's not realistic. The idea is to create an experience that's interactive. That means you have to be willing to tolerate some side conversations and you have to make sure it's not all about you and your products. That being said, you also have a right to be treated with respect and to command their attention at certain times during your party. I've found almost universally that people love to know what their boundaries are and, in general, people do what they're told. So take a few minutes at the beginning of your party and lay some "ground rules."

1. Make sure you give your guests permission to get involved and have fun. I actually told my guests at the beginning of my parties that my number one rule was that they had to have fun. I invited them to "play" with me by getting them involved with my product (if that's appropriate for you), my presentation, and generally starting with the expectation that this was going to be an interactive experience.
    
2. Use a "fun" reference everyone can relate to to get them involved. For me, that was asking the question, "How many of you have ever done the Hokey Pokey?" I guarantee, everyone in the room raised their hand, because we've all done that at one time or another (and if you're in my generation, you did it on roller skates!). Then I asked what the last verse of the Hokey Pokey was (in case you can't remember, it's "you put your WHOLE SELF in."). That reference was how I invited them to participate in our party – it was a "whole self in" experience and I needed them to interact and create the experience with me.
    
3. Set up a clear rule about negative behavior. I told my guest right up front that they weren't allowed to say anything negative about anyone or anything for the entire evening (one of my rules). Then to back it up, I appointed a "party cop." My party cop got a squirt gun and was instructed to squirt anyone who broke the negative behavior rule. That kept anyone who was inherently negative in line and turned responsibility for keeping things positive over to the guests (and believe me, they take this job seriously!)
    
4. Let them know up front that you'll have a few "commercials" during the course of the evening. These commercials will be kept short and sweet and it's information they'll want to know, you promise. Tell them you're fine if they want to chat with their neighbor or get a cup of coffee throughout your presentation, but during your commercials you'll expect them to listen. Then when it's time to talk about bookings or your opportunity, you simply have to announce "time for a commercial" and the whole room magically quiets down and pays attention. Really!

The bottom line is this: they're called parties for a reason and parties are supposed to be fun. You want your guests to have a great experience at your party because if she does, she'll be more likely to book one of her own. It's also your job, however, to set up a clear set of behavioral guidelines so that one or two unruly, rude guests don't spoil the experience for you and everyone else there.

What do you think? Do you have any other tactics for maintaining control and making your parties a great experience?

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Julie Anne Jones is a direct sales consultant and trainer, an ICF accredited coach, and the CEO of Julie Anne Jones, Inc. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read her blog, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.

10 Great Ideas for Taking Your Live Party Online

Today’s blog post is written by our “Ask the Expert” speaker for November, Diahana Barnes. Diahana specializes in online content development. She is the President and Chief Learning Coach for LearnEase, LLC and has over ten years of experience in building training and leadership programs from the ground up. She has written an e-book called, “The Online Party eBook” and developed a 3-week Web Seminar series on how to offer your parties live and online.

1. What do you like about what you currently use?
2. What don’t you like about what you currently use?
3. What would you like to see enhanced or improved?

The Time to Ensure a Successful Holiday Selling Season is NOW!

Today’s post is by my friend and fellow Mastermind Group member Lisa Robbin Young. I met Lisa through Twitter last Spring and she contacted me about collaborating on a few projects. On our very first phone conversation, I knew she was someone special. Lisa has such an amazing ability to focus in like a laser on the heart of any situation and clearly draw out the best way to solve it, share it, promote it, you name it. Her post for today is loaded with great, actionable tips you can use right now to jump start your business this fall. Like she says, just choose a few, act on them, and watch what a difference it makes!

It’s not often I write about booking, selling and recruiting, as there are plenty of Direct Sales trainers that speak on the core elements of our business. However, as a consultant in the trenches, I must chime in about taking advantage of the biggest selling season of our year.

1. Get clear on your objectives. Think about what you want your holiday earnings to look like now. And as Julie said in her previous post, make a plan. So often, we get cloudy on the execution because we weren’t clear on our goals and didn’t make a suitable plan. Plan for the vacation, the new TV, the gifts for the kids – and know how many parties you need between now and then to make that happen.
    
2. Know your benchmarks. What’s your average show sales? What’s the average ticket per customer? How many bookings do you average per show? If you don’t know those numbers, you can’t begin to plan. Benchmark your last 6 months versus the same time period last year. For some, their averages are slipping due to local economic issues (or other issues), but for others, because competition is waning, their numbers are on the rise.
    
3. Commit to "a little more" than before. Getting more than you’ve had before means being willing to do things differently. Are you reaching out to new markets, spending more time creating an online marketing strategy, or making more cold calls? What are you doing above and beyond the norm to drum up new, additional business to front load your calendar?
    
4. Sell into next quarter. I know several consultants that are booked 90 days (or more) in advance. Yes, it’s totally possible. For my business, I rarely have a client that can book in the next two weeks because of their own scheduling conflicts. I don’t fight it. I book 4-5 weeks out and coach my hostesses, using incentives to help them keep their originally scheduled date.

1. Plan a special promotion at Thanksgiving. Each year, when other people are expecting/sending Christmas cards, I’ve already touched my most valued (top 20%) hosts and customers with a Thanksgiving card. Make a memorable connection, include a special offer, and follow up with a quick phone call to see if they’re able to order or book to add to your holiday sales. It’s a unique and different way to provide value and generate business.
    
2. Start approaching businesses and school offices now. Many times they’re already planning their holiday gift purchases, and if you wait until November, they’ve already made up their minds. Be proactive in contacting commercial customers – sometimes they have a huge lead time for approvals on orders and holiday gifts.
    
3. Remember to give plenty of advanced notice on all your parties. Consider sending invitations a week earlier than normal, and follow up with a phone call. It’s a little extra work, but the payoff is tremendous.
    
4. Start your VIP/customer appreciation programs now - when spending is high. This encourages repeat business throughout the year – even after the holidays. They’ll already have a few stamps on their VIP cards, so they’ll be eager to get them filled!

Back to School Means Back to Work in Direct Sales

 If your kids didn’t start school this week (mine did), they’re getting ready to within the next two weeks or so. I’ve always loved this time of year because it feels like it’s so full of possibility. The nights start getting shorter and colder, the air is crisp, and my routine gets back to some resemblance of normal. Think about it. A brand new school year for your kids is the best time for you to grow your business. Did you know that more small business owners start their businesses in September than in any other month?

The question is, have you done what you need to do to capitalize on this very lucrative time of year in our direct sales profession? There are a few very important steps you need to take right away if you want to experience success in the next few months and into the holiday selling season. Here’s my checklist:

• Make a plan. I wrote a good post on the importance of this and how to accomplish it on Monday. Just in case you missed that, you can read it here.
   
• Get booked! You’ve heard it from your home office and your upline for the past month – the time to get booked for Fall is right now. Believe it or not, September is just a few days away. It’s getting late, grasshopper! You had better start planning for the upcoming season or you’re going to go hungry! There are lots of ways to accomplish this. Here are a few posts I’ve written on the subject (just click on them and they’ll open in a new window of your browser):
  • Take the Challenge: 24 Bookings in 24 Hours
  • 7 Surefire Ways to Get Bookings NOW!
     
• Follow-up. This will help with the above as well. Getting on the phone can be a challenge and it can also pay off in a huge way once you get beyond the fear and just do it. Click here to read a post I wrote called, "Hate Creative Bookings? Read On…"
   
• Share your Opportunity. This one is so easy at this time of year. With kids going back to school, mom’s are looking for part time work and with the holidays coming up, many people are looking for extra income. Open your mouth and share! I created an entire month of "Tips of the Week" on this topic. Click here to check them out.
   
• Work smarter, not harder. You’re going to be busier than your kids once school starts, I guarantee it. Between soccer games and school events, the time just seems to fly by each week. Time for yourself can easily become a luxury that you feel you can’t afford. WRONG! Read a post I wrote on the topic back in June here. This revelation really changed my life!

So, there you have it. This post is filled with so much great content, if you take the time to access and read it, you’ll have more ideas than you know what to do with to jump start your business this fall.

And what about you? Do you have any great tips for stepping into an abundant fall? I’d love it if you shared them below.

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Julie Anne Jones is a success-language consultant, a direct sales coach and trainer, and the CEO of Julie Anne Jones, Inc. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, visit her at www.julieannejones.com or check out her blog at http://julieannejones.com.

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