The Best Place to Get Booking is At Your Parties

I've made no secret about the fact that I didn't like creative bookings when I was working my party plan business. It was just no fun to pick up the phone to get bookings. That's why I always made it my goal to get as many bookings as I possibly could at my parties. There is an art to this, however. Today's home party guests are smart and, frankly, a little jaded. They've heard every "canned pitch" to book a party you can think of and don't want to be leveraged (which is what they expect).

I also only booked with hosts who were at least a little enthusiastic about doing a party with me. I had more than one conversation with someone who was being bullied by the host to have a party in which I actually talked them out of it. I would look at the less-than-enthusiastic host and ask, "Do you really want to do this?" If the answer was any variation of "no," I offered to hold a catalog party instead. The point is, you want to make sure you're not only getting bookings, but you're also booking parties with quality hosts.

Here are some simple tools to make sure you're getting enthusiastic new hosts from every party you hold.

• It's all about the experience! Make it fun for your current guests and they'll be excited about creating the same experience with their friends. If someone isn't having a great time at your party, there's no way they'll want to book one of their own.
• Use tools that support communication with potential hosts. I talk a lot during my trainings about the Guest Care Card (which gauges your guest's interest in booking a party and learning more about your opportunity using a scale from 1-10) and a Wish List instead of an order form so that you can see all of the products they like and offer to help them get many of those things for free or 1/2 price by booking a party.
• Create a booking commercial and make sure you do it at every party you do, NO MATTER WHAT! (You can learn more about creating an effective booking commercial here).
• Use the language of offering instead of asking. That means offer to come spoil your potential host and her friends with a great experience that's all about her.
• Find a fun way to display your open party dates (I used a Booking Tree. What's that? You can read about it and see what I'm talking about here)
• Most importantly, make sure you're dropping booking seeds throughout your party, focusing on the next month's host special and all the benefits your current host is getting as you go through your presentation. Just make sure they're seeds you lightly sprinkle, not full grown trees you're bashing them over the head with!

Always remember that guests and potential hosts are smart and they've probably all had a bad experience at a home party in the past. Never talk "down" to them and don't patronize them. Best to just be yourself and relax. I guarantee, more people will want to sign up to spend more time with you if you're focused on that.

How about you? What booking tools work best for you at your parties?

The Problem with New Year’s Resolutions…

Today really is the first day of the rest of your life, but not because it's January! I'm sure you're reading lots of blog posts and articles about New Year's Resolutions this week. Every year, we're encouraged to use the New Year as a fresh start, as if the calendar rolling over somehow magically transforms us into the person we've always wanted to be. I've always been curious about that. What makes you think you'll be any more resolved to actually do any of the big things you plan for yourself just because the calendar says January instead of December today? I think that's just a recipe for failure (and I bet you have dozens of stories, just like I do, of New Year's resolutions gone bad to back up my opinion). So, this year, I'm taking a different approach. Now, don't get me wrong. I have some huge goals for 2010 (many of which have come out of my annual planning sessions), but I know that if I focus all of my energy on achieving these huge goals, I'll probably feel overwhelmed and do what I've done in the past (which is give up). It's literally true the the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. So I've decided to think smaller. I'm choosing a few smaller actions I can implement every week that will move me closer to my bigger goals. For me, that means I'm going to:

• Create a weekly plan every Sunday with goals for the week and daily action steps
• Set some stronger boundaries around my schedule so I stay on track throughout the day
• Plan at least one full day every week with no appointments where I can focus entirely on implementation
• Find at least one new blog to follow each month and implement what I'm learning from it

While these action steps aren't resolutions in and of themselves, I know they'll support me in getting what I want by the end of the year (and then some, I'll bet). If there's one thing I've learned over the past few years, it's that action is the key. Grand plans and resolutions are great but if you don't do anything to bring them about, they rarely happen (and that's why you find yourself making the same resolutions over and over again every single year). Here are a few direct sales-related actions steps you could commit to take on a weekly or monthly basis that, if implemented, WILL change your business in 2010. Pick a few and start moving toward your goals!

• Get your office completely organized so you love working there
• Set up one-on-one coaching times each week with your key team members
• Start a "Host of the Month" club (click here to read about how to do that)
• Commit to hold an opportunity event every single month
• Attend our "Ask the Expert" call every month (it's free and we have some amazing experts signed up for this year. Check them out here)
• Make it a goal to learn at least one new thing every week and implement it in your business
• Join a networking group or your local Chamber of Commerce
• Make at least five booking calls and five recruiting calls every week (this one action could literally double your business this year)
• Hold at least eight parties each month

That's just a start. Coming up with three or four should be no problem for you. If you're not sure what to commit to, ask yourself this question, "If I get to the last day of 2010 and my business is exactly where I want it to be, what will I have accomplished?" Then figure out what small steps it's going to take to make that giant leap and commit to them. And why not add your suggestions below? I'd love to hear from you. One last thing - With the brand new website, a few things have changed and if you've been receiving my blog posts in your e-mail box, that service may be interrupted. I'd love it if you take a second and go to the home page and click on "Subscribe to Direct Sales Success Made Easy" by e-mail to make sure you continue to receive my posts. And take a look around while you're at it. I love the new site! Thanks!

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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 athttp://julieannejones.com.

My First Video Blog Post!

Don’t You Just Love a Fresh Start?

The absolute best thing about starting a New Year (and in the case of this year a new decade) is that it's a natural opportunity for you to make a fresh start. There's a feeling of "out with the old, in with the new" when a New Year begins. You can use the opportunity to do the same in your life and business. I remember last New Year's Eve. I spent it in Sun Valley on vacation. I'd had a truly horrible 2008 and was looking forward to saying goodbye to it and welcoming 2009. I've never been big on celebrating on New Year's Eve so I had gone to bed around 11:00. At midnight, I was awakened by all of the usual commotion with fireworks and people shouting. I remember waking up and thinking, "Thank goodness 2008 is over. Now bring it on, 2009!" and going back to sleep with the most amazing feeling of relief and possibility. As it turned out, that was just the fresh start I needed to change my whole life and business. I can honestly say that 2009 has been one of the best years of my life, both personally and professionally. I truly believe much of that started with that fresh start I gave myself on the first minute of 2009. So, no matter what you're doing this year when the old year finally passes away and the new one rolls in, take a moment and consciously create a "fresh start." You don't even need to know what you'll do to make it different necessarily (I certainly didn't – I just knew I wanted it to BE different). Just breath out the old year and take a huge breath in of the New Year, with all of it's possibility and newness. Here's to the most amazing, abundant 2010 either of us can imagine. I'm ready for an amazing ride and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

Balance or Harmony?

I used to strive for balance in my life. Then one day, someone challenged that. The idea was that balance was static, still, unmoving (think of a scale in perfect balance. It doesn't move). 

Harmony was a different concept but one that really made sense to me as a singer. When my life is in harmony, all of the parts are flowing and moving (like notes on a page of music) in their own individual tune, and yet they also fit together to make beautiful music. I loved the analogy and have used it to this day. So now, I don't strive for balance, I strive for harmony. 

Last year, I created a test to determine how harmonious your life is. I just recently took it again myself. I love its simplicity (it will only take you about 5 minutes to take) and the fact that, once you know your score, you can decide what you'll adjust in your life to create more harmony. Click here to take the test, and then let me know how you did. I'd love to hear if your results surprised you.

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 WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE FOR FREE IN PRINT OR ONLINE?

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 athttp://julieannejones.com.

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