Bookings are the lifeblood of your business–the opportunity to sell, book more parties, and recruit! If you don’t have a booking, then you aren’t working. Spring is a great time to start filling your calendar with bookings, especially if your company has just released a new or updated catalog.
Here are 5 tips for filling your calendar with bookings this spring:
1. Get Bookings At Your Current Parties
The best way to book more parties is to strike while the iron is hot and book on the spot at your parties. People are excited in the moment and want to carry that excitement home with them. I made it my goal to always make sure a new host set a date at the party, NO MATTER WHAT! I assured them they could always change the date if they got home and discovered a conflict. That way, they had to call me to reschedule instead of me chasing them around to get a date on the books.
2. Use “Think-About-It Packets”
If a potential host is unwilling to commit to a date, send them home with a “think about it packet” and follow up with them. This is simply a host packet that you ask them to take and “think about” before you follow up. Learn more about exactly how to use this simple concept here.
3. Use Commercials to Get Your Point Across
You know the main rule during the Super Bowl, right? Never go to the bathroom during a commercial (because the commercials during the Super Bowl are the best of the year). Why not use great commercials at your parties to hold your guests attention as well? Using a booking commercial is a great way to get the word out about all the benefits of booking a party with you. Be sure your booking (and recruiting) commercial flows naturally as part of your presentation. If you’re already using a commercial, polish or update it as necessary. Be sure to practice (out loud!) until you get comfortable with it so it doesn’t sound too rehearsed.
4. Make Your Presentation Visual
Most of us are visual learners, so the more visual you can make your presentation, the better. Instead of just telling your guests what a hostess receives in benefits, try showing them. Use hostess stacking, where you hand several items from your display to a potential hostess to hold so that it is easier for your guests to visualize how much they can earn.
5. Be Intentional About Your Party Dates
Decide when you’re working and then use Party Date Cards (you’ll find my template for these cards, along with a ton of other great templates for getting better results from your parties on my Powerful Tools For Your Direct Sales Business product) to intentionally offer those available dates to your guests. These are simple cards with room for the host’s party day, date, and time, their personal info (name, e-mail, phone, etc.), and the host coaching appointment time. Displaying these cards in a fun way (I recommend a “booking tree” which is a photo stand that holds the cards in clips – you can learn all about how that works here) and offering an “instant booking gift.” These gifts are very inexpensive (dollar store anklets, votive candles, etc.) that give your guests a free gift in exchange for booking the night of your party.
The bottom line is, offering bookings, whether at your parties or elsewhere, comes down to using intentional tools and being very clear about what your host receives when she hosts a party (besides free product). What are your best booking ideas? I’d love to have you share them through the comments below.
Speaking of bookings, you may want to 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!
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Julie Anne Jones is 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 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.
