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. Need some great tools for making your parties fun? I cover this thoroughly on my “Designing an Amazing Party Experience” audio program.
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. Both of these are available on my Powerful Tools For Your Direct Sales Business program.
Create a Booking Commercial
Use this to share the benefits of booking a party with you 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 instead of asking her if she’d like to book a party with you (see the difference?)
Find a Fun Way To Display Your Open Party Dates
I used a Booking Tree. What’s that? It was simply a photo holder that I used to hold my party date cards so that everyone could easily see them. You can use a basket or anything else that’s visually appealing. Just make sure it makes it easy for potential hosts to see your open dates.
Make Sure You’re Dropping Booking Seeds Throughout Your Home Party
This is the most easy tip to implement. Use seeds that focus 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?
Need some help filling up your calendar? 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 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.
