Summer’s here and it’s a great time to host a home party. As you’re offering that party experience to potential hosts, remember to get them excited about their potential party by offering a theme. I love theme parties. They get your hosts excited about their parties at a whole other level than “see how many paying customers you can get to come to your party” and they increase the likelihood that they’ll have a good turnout. That’s why I always encouraged my hosts to choose a theme, even if it was a simple “Girl’s Night Out” theme. During the summer, I loved theme parties that were seasonal. Here are a few of my favorite summer themes along with a few tips for each:
- Ice Cream Social Party – Have the host provide all the “fixin’s” for making sundaes – including edible bowls made out of ice cream cones (which you can buy at any grocery store) and let your guests go to it!
- Wine and Cheese Tasting Party – Ask each guest (on the invitation) to bring their favorite wine in a plain paper sack and have the host provide the cheese. Then do a “blind tasting” and let everyone vote. Whoever brought the winning wine wins a cool prize!
- Pool or Patio Party – Great for the warm nights of summer. Use a large bowl or bucket full of ice to keep beverages cool and encourage your host to keep it simple with finger food and paper plates.
- Back Yard BBQ Party – I just received an invitation for one of these in the mail and loved the idea. Who doesn’t like a BBQ in the summer? After everyone’s eaten, they’ll be ready to hear about your products.
The other thing to consider here…if you’re struggling with attendance at your home parties, take a look at how compelling that party appears to your host and guests. Now consider this question: Would you rather attend a “bread and water” party or a “Mexican fiesta”? A “bring your checkbook” evening or a “Chocoholic Extravaganza”?
When you throw a direct sales home party without a theme, you’re basically saying to your guests “come to the host’s house and buy my product.” I don’t know about you, but that’s not a really compelling reason for me to want to attend if I’m a guest! In fact, for many, it’s a reason to stay home!
And unfortunately, post card invitations to home parties (the kind we’ve all gotten a million times in the mail) say just that (”Come to my house and spend money”). Think about the last time you received a postcard invitation to a home party in the mail. What did you honestly think? I’ll bet it wasn’t “I can’t wait to attend this home party!” It was probably more like “Great, she came to my house last month and bought a bunch of baskets, so now I have to go buy some candles from her next week.”
Is that how you want your guests showing up at your home parties? No way! Why not let your invitation scream “COME PARTY WITH ME!!” Here are a few tips for creating a compelling invitation:
- Create a few fun invitations that emphasize the theme, not your products or your direct sales business.
- Let people know that this is going to be a blast of a party not to be missed by emphasizing your theme with clip art and fun details.
- Print your invitations out on simple, bright colored paper and put them in a bright envelope with some confetti or a few extra raffle tickets. People open mail that looks fun first!
Need some help filling up your calendar for 2016? Grab your complimentary copy of my “Book Yourself Solid In The Next 30 Days” roadmap. It’s yours for free when you subscribe to my mailing list. Already a member of the list? My system won’t add you twice, so go ahead and grab the roadmap anyhow. Click here to grab your roadmap now!
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN PRINT OR ONLINE?
You may, as long as you do not alter it and include the following information (with active links as appropriate)
Julie Anne Jones is a direct sales corporate consultant, 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 systems, language, and tools for success in direct sales. To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read her weekly blog posts, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.
