People attend parties to connect and have fun. Direct sales home parties are no exception. Except that sometimes direct sales representatives lose sight of this fact. The host and guests are your parties are there to have fun and, most importantly, it’s about the connection time for them. Especially since most of the guests at your parties are women and women really don’t get enough time to simply connect with each other. You are a catalyst for that connection, especially at the beginning of your parties (before you start your presentation as people are arriving and relaxing into the party atmosphere).
With that in mind, you need to be all about connecting with the guests, connecting with the host, and facilitating an environment at your home party for them to connect with each other. As a direct sales coach and trainer, I do a lot of training on how to connect because it’s the most important skill you can master. If you do everything else wrong and you do the connection part right, you’ll probably succeed.
The bottom line is, whether you book parties or not at the end of your parties greatly depends upon the strength of your connection with your guests during the first 20 minutes of your parties. Here are my top five suggestions for becoming a master connector:
- Ask your hostess to introduce you to her home party guests upon arrival.
- Make them feel special by making eye contact, taking their coat, offering to get them a drink, etc.
- As you mingle, make it your goal to be “one of the crowd”, not “the direct sales consultant”.
- Get out of yourself and into them and learn about them! (That means being curious and asking questions).
- Use heart-centered, curiosity-based listening – Don’t just wait for them to finish talking so you can share something with them about yourself, wait for them to finish talking so you can ask them a question about what they just said!
You may have heard the quote “being listened to is so close to being loved most people can’t tell the difference.” People who are listened to feel valued and are much more willing to buy from you, book home parties with you, and even consider your direct sales business opportunity. In my experience as a direct sales trainer, I think that’s the most important part of learning to connect. So get curious, get amnesia about yourself, and make it “all about them” at your next home party. You might be surprised by what happens!
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Julie Anne Jones is a sought after keynote speaker, online trainer, and corporate business consultant. She’s an accredited life and business coach with over fifteen years of experience speaking on stages across the United States and Canada. Known as “the systems specialist,” Julie Anne can break down any concept into simple, step-by-step, action-oriented training. She is known for her authentic and easy-to-use scripting and specializes in specific language and communication tools for business success.
To learn more about Julie Anne and her products and services, and to read more blog posts, visit her at www.julieannejones.com.
