Collecting Payment and Delivering Orders
To start an MLM Party Plan business, most Networkers make a
list of their friends and close acquaintances and ask them what they think
about their new business opportunity and if they would be interested in
helping to evaluate the products and the Party Plan concept. The vast
majority of people are more than happy to help in this way when a new
Consultant is establishing herself/himself in the business. A word of
caution here. It is easy for new networkers to become a little pushy with
their friends. This is a serious mistake as it can alienate your friends
and leave you with few people to relate to outside of your business,
except for those already involved with it.
Nearly everyone you know, if asked in the right way,
would be prepared to help, by either holding a party at their own home and
inviting friends along or simply by attending a party at someone else's
place.
To make a success of Party Plan it is imperative to find
a steady stream of willing hostesses. This is is easily done by asking
guests at the first party held, if any of them would have friends they
would like to invite along to their own Party Plan Presentation to allow you to
show your products.
This will normally lead on to others who who will book
parties for you well into the future. However, sometimes the circle of
friends and acquaintances can begin to dry up and the Consultant needs to
widen their search for new hostesses. This is where it is a good idea to
belong to a social club or an organization. Becoming involved with school
functions and fundraisers is an excellent way of making contact with
others. Often you will find in return for the help you are giving the
organizers, they will be happy to promote your business via their
newsletter or by allowing you to have a stall at the event where you can
take bookings.
It pays to make sure you have exclusive rights to the
event. There is nothing worse than having two Party Plan Consultants both
promoting the same products and taking bookings at the same event. If the
organizers don't want to have you operating a stall at the event, offer to
help with one of the existing stalls in return for the handing out of your
leaflets and contact cards for your own Party Plan Business.
When thinking of ways to generate interest in your Party
Plan Business, why not consider doing some public talks at clubs and
functions. Any organization which is holding regular meetings will jump at
the opportunity to have a speaker along. With our organic business, we
have a multitude of topics we can discuss as regards chemicals and the
environment, the dangers of chemicals in relation to children and the long
term damaging effects on health etc. The list of topics, once you start
researching is endless. You may find you become a popular public speaker
in your local area. This would mean you would have endless opportunities
to not only book parties but to introduce others to the concept of Network
Marketing and training them to become Independent Representatives like
yourself.
You will find no end of charity groups and clubs and
organizations when looking through your local yellow pages for instance.
call them on the phone or pop around and ask them if they are interested
in a public talk about child health and the role of chemicals or whatever
the subject is that you are comfortable with talking about.
When speaking at a function or event you can ask the
organizers if they would mind handing out your contacting cards for your
Party Plan business. See if you can leave your cards in a prominent place
where the club members will find them.
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Proper Planning
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Proper Planning = Success for your 1st Party
Often people people fail to plan properly
when becoming involved in a business opportunity of this nature. Let me
say this, no-one "plans to fail" in their business, but you would be
surprised at just how many fail to "plan to succeed". If you approach your
Party Plan business with little or no planning you are destined for
failure and you will join the ranks of at least 80% of networkers who
ultimately fail in this industry.
You see there is
little incentive for most people joining a network company to actually
make it work for them. The entry fee is so ridiculously small, (in our
case the entry fee is just AUD$88.00) which means there is little or no posture on anyone to do
anything. Compare this with the cost of starting a conventional small
business. Unless you have a minimum of $100,000 and access to borrow
perhaps another $200,000, you have no hope of getting established.
Too many people when looking at Party Plan
and Network Marketing treat home business as a joke and fail to recognize
the enormous potential Network Marketing via a Party Plan approach
presents to them. So let's get on with planning for your party!
You must be organized! If you are organized
it will show in the way you approach your business - it will make the
products seem even more attractive and instead of "selling" to the people
at the gathering they're "wanting to buy" what you have. Just as it is
true a well planned approach will ensure a success of your first party,
presenting your products in a less than professional way will limit your
sales and your ability to take bookings from customers at your first
event. So carefully think through exactly what your plan is before jumping
in, boots and all, with your first party.
You need to be in touch with your Hostess
and work with her. Who has she invited? How many has she invited?
What time is the party planned? Be guided by what she "feels" and
take into consideration anything she suggests. You must work around the
hostess as much as you can and time things to suit her. Make sure she is
comfortable with all aspects of the Party Plan before arriving at her
place.
When the hostess is inviting her friends,
the best procedure for her is to post/email out, or give to her friends,
invitation cards which you supply. Of course, the hostess doesn't
necessarily need to hand out cards to her contacts, but it does make it
look much more business like if she does. The cards should be followed
with a phone call a few days before the Party takes place. This will
ensure, not only is the guest reminded of the coming event, but will also
allow you, when confirming at least 48 hours prior to the party, how many
guests you can expect to be at the presentation.
An important rule is to always be flexible
with your approach. Even though you may be very busy yourself, your
customers are all important
Plan how much time you need to allocate for
a party based on the numbers expected to be attending. For instance if you
only expect a few people then the time spent displaying the products and
allowing them to touch and feel the products and the subsequent orders
will be far less than than if you have a dozen or more people there. It's
vital not to rush through a Party Presentation if you have booked another
Party too close to it. This will give the wrong impression to everyone in
the room and severely limit your sales.
Always plan to arrive at least half an hour
ahead of when the first guests are expected to arrive. This means taking
into account the distance you need to travel and any unexpected hold ups
like rush hour traffic or other minor delays. It's very unprofessional to
arrive late for any appointment and sets a bad atmosphere for the whole
room.
If this is your first Party, there are
quite a number of important considerations to take into account. Decide
what brochures you will need, any visual aids like product posters etc.
How are you going to introduce yourself. Are you going to put your
audience at ease by telling a joke? What products are you going to have
open so the audience can feel and smell the difference of Certified
Organic skin care products. Are you going to do a facial for one of the
ladies present or do "mini facials" on the backs of several of the
participants hands.
To be completely confident before the party
takes place, it is important for you to do a "dummy run" using perhaps
your own family as the audience or a couple of close friends. Do this at
least several days prior to the appointment. Ask your family and friends
to treat this very seriously as this is your new career. It is vital for
the success of your future business, for them to give you a proper hearing
and constructive comments at the end of your "presentation". If there are
things that are obviously lacking in the way the products were presented
to your family, be prepared for well meant criticism. If need be, tidy up
any of the areas that need more attention and hold a second "presentation"
with your family and see what they think. Like most things in life,
practice does make a difference to how well one performs.
A good Party Plan Consultant will readily
fall into management and planning mode prior to arriving at the party.
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Your First Presentation
You've confirmed with your hostess the day
or night before the Party is a "goer" and now the big day has arrived. As
outlined above in the planning of you approach, you've arrived at least
half an hour earlier than when the official time guests are due to arrive.
This gives you ample time to set up and also allays any fears the hostess
may have about you not getting there on time. It also allows you a bit of
time to work with the Hostess to perhaps rearrange the room somewhat so it
is more suitable for your demonstration.
Set out your testers and sample bottles
before the customers arrive and also lay out any extra bottles of products
and brochures where they can easily pick up and browse through them. It's
a good idea to have quite a number of the company newspapers available
with your name and address contact details on them of course. Customers
can take these and read them after the Party and also hand them on to
their friends. This in itself will lead to many new contacts who would
like to become chemical free.
Don't be too worried if you are nervous at
your first attempt. This is a natural reaction and everyone will know it
is your first real attempt and will readily emphasize with you if you
stumble here and there. Quite frankly there is nothing worse than a glib
sales person at a Party Plan gathering. You need to be yourself but in
control of the situation so just imagine you are talking to just one or
two close friends until any "stage fright" wears off.
Try not to use too many big words nor talk
to fast nor too quietly as people at the back may not hear you. If you are
talking about chemicals and some of the chemical names you may stumble on
them. So leave all the long chemical names to the chemists. A good
thing to say is this "If you can't pronounce the chemical name and you
wouldn't eat a chemical you can't pronounce the name of - then why let
your skin eat it by using synthetic chemical skin care products?"
Talk the same way as you would to a couple
friends on a night out. It's not the facts and figures that will impress
your audience but rather how you put it across. Remember this - facts
and figures tell - stories sell! So relate some of your own
experiences with the products and how you became involved in the business.
An introduction which relates "you story"
to the audience is easily the best way to ease any tension you feel as it
is familiar to you and will give the participants an insight into you and
your business. Insincerity will show through in the way you talk. If you
are anything less than sincere about the products or the ethical nature of
the business then you shouldn't be in it. Even if you are stumbling here
and there, don't worry about it, a sincere person will always be well
received and most of the audience will know this is your first attempt at
Party Plan.
During the introduction you could briefly
touch on the very ethical nature of the business and the organic movement,
but don't get on your soap box about it. Many people need a lot of
education when comes to being concerned with the environment. The mere
fact that they are there and listening to you talk about toxic chemicals
and the alternatives to them, is an excellent step in the right direction.
It's all about education and getting people to look at a different way of
shopping for the health of our planet.
Once you've got past the introduction, you
can swing into "role" for the part you have practiced on your family or
close friends. Work through the products you want to show and
explain what the benefits of each are. You may want to start by devoting
some time explaining about the importance of Pro-Biotic bacteria in the
gut. Scientific trials are showing conclusive results that good bacteria
are missing in our diets and have been killed off by over use of
anti-biotics over the years. For proper skin care you need inner health
too! Again don't get too technical. You may be able to relate a personal
story about InLiven and how it has helped a member of your family or
someone you know well. Stories sell!
You will find, talking about inner health
first and how this is vital for clear glowing skin, it is an important
introduction to the chemical free skin care range we have. Healthy skin is
far more than just lathering chemical "beauty" creams on it. Glowing inner
health and wellbeing is vital for anyone who desires acne free, smooth,
young looking skin. Inner health provides a glow that shows. By
introducing the InLiven formula first it may well mean you will double
your orders, as nearly everyone will see the sense in maintaining a
healthy body first and foremost.
Now you can move onto demonstrating the
skin care products. Call for a volunteer or ask the hostess if she would
like a facial done so you can explain the properties of each product as
you use them. This way the audience can see the correct regime they need
to follow to be able to make a wise choice for themselves.
Once you have done the facial, allow others
to pick up the products and try little samples of them. A good idea is to
get a few of the ladies doing little "facials" on the backs of their
hands. The absolutely pure nature of our products will soon convince them
to try them for themselves and hopefully to become a regular monthly
customer.
Really it is not a difficult decision for
someone to opt out of the toxic chemical syndrome once they know the
facts!
Once the demonstrations have concluded this
is the time for everyone to relax over some refreshments and talk about
the products and what they have just seen and heard. Invite everyone to
take an order form and brochure so they can tally up what they would like
to order. It is a good idea to have plenty of pens on had in your kit.
There is nothing worse than waiting for one or two pens to do the rounds.
Everyone who fills in the order form make
sure you give them an extra copy and a brochure so they can hand it on to
a friend. This is a good way of extending your reach. Whilst everyone is
still in the room ask them if anyone would like to hold their own party.
Normally, if the hostess gift is really worthwhile, which it is in our
case with the unique Ambrosia Essence, you may find several of the
attendees will be more than happy to host their own party in the future.
Check when a good time is for them against
what you have booked in your diary. If the new Hostess moves in largely
different circles to the Hostess where you have just done the presentation
then you may want to slot the next party in week or fortnight. If she is
not able to invite largely new people to the her own Party then it may pay
to book her Party some time down the track, perhaps 2 to 3 months on.
One of the really good aspects of the
Organic Party Plan Business is the fact all the products are consumable
and most people will be re-ordering their normal consumables like
toiletries and personal care products on a regular monthly basis. This
will build excellent repeat volume into your Party Plan Business for the
future.
Make sure you stay on after the event and
help the Hostess to tidy up. This will help to build good rapport with her
and encourage he to ask you back for another presentation in the future.
Many Hostesses enjoy the interaction and are more than happy to continue
to invite friends and acquaintances to regular events. Make sure you
aren't pushy. It's up to her to decide.
Before you leave thank your hostess and
make sure she understands, you will be dropping around her gift for
holding the party, based on the volume of sales which have been achieved.
You may want to give her some small gift like the toothpaste or chemical
free deodorant as a small thank you before collating the customer orders.
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Delivery and Collection
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Delivering Orders & Collecting Payment
With some Party Plan companies, orders
which are taken at the party must be collated and ordered by the
consultant as one large order. When the products are delivered to the
Consultant it is the Consultants responsibility to ensure the products
match up with the individual orders and deliver them to the Hostess who
held the party. The participants at the Party are then notified to come
around or to make arrangements to pick the products up.
In our case with Organic Natural
Enterprise, orders taken at the party are written down on an official
order form. The customer is required to give their full residential
address, phone number and email address if they have one. Payment for the
products is either by credit card, cash or a personal check.
If the customer is paying by credit card
they need to fill in the details of their card on the form so when you
return home to collate the orders you are able to place their individual
order with the company who will then ship the products direct to the
customer concerned. Make sure the card holders address if different to the
delivery address is clearly shown. Customers placing orders using their
credit cards will ensure there is very little delay. The products are
delivered direct to their door by courier in the shortest possible time.
Freight for delivery is free if the order is over $100 otherwise the
delivery fee is $4.95. You will need to make your Credit Card customers
aware that larger orders over $100 will attract 10% discount and also
entitle them to free shipping when paying directly by credit card. This
will encourage many people to go over the $100 mark to qualify for the
discount.
Make sure the completed order form is
signed by the customer before they leave.
If the customer chooses to pay by check or
cash you will not be wanting to give discounts to them as you will have to
order the products on their behalf using your own credit card facilities
and bring the products into your address as a single bulk order. When the
shipment arrives it is your job to collate the products against the orders
from the individual customers and package them accordingly in the bags
specially for this purpose. If anything is missing or damaged make sure
you are onto the company immediately and notify them of the problem.
It is important you deliver the products as
soon as you reasonably can to the hostess, so she can notify all who
attended and placed orders that the products are there for pick up.
If you are happy to take a check from
someone you don't know make sure it is signed and has the date on it. In
the main there is not a problem with personal checks tendered at parties
as everyone knows everyone else and the embarrassment of a bounced check
would put most people off using an account with insufficient funds in it.
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The Follow Up Apply Now
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The Follow
Up
If the customer has used their credit card
on the order form and you have placed the order on their behalf, they will
have been entered into the system as a Preferred Customer and have been
issued with their own unique PC number. It is important for you to get the
customers email address correct as this is essential for you to be able to
register them in the system. An email is essential if ordering on their
behalf. If they don't have an email address you may find it best to accept
cash or a check rather than use their card.
Many Party Plan Consultants who are
Internet proficient can easily generate an email address on behalf of a
customers even if the customer doesn't have access to the Internet. All
emails sent to the customers address could forwarded on to the hostess if
the customer is a friend of hers and the Hostess has access to the
Internet. Alternatively, you could have the emails forwarded into a
"Customer" folder with subfolders of every individual customer listed
below the main folder in your email program. If you are using Outlook
Express this is very easy to do and will only take a few moments of you
time to set up.
For those Party Plan Consultants who want
to be as efficient as possible, it may pay to set up a domain name with
email forwarding facilities. This way you could have unlimited email
address on behalf of clients who do not have access to the Internet.
Once you have "captured" a customer it is
very easy to keep in touch using email and sending on the information they
need to be able to place repeat orders direct to the company themselves.
Bear in mind this can become very lucrative for the Consultant as every
order a customer places earns you a 30% retail commission. You don't need
to take the order, handle the products, take money for the products, or
buy the products. The customer buys direct yet you still earn 30% of the
order they place.
Once you have your system established it is
very easy to keep in touch with all previous hostesses and customers on a
regular basis with follow up newsletters and items of information
regarding toxic chemicals and drugs and food chemicals etc they may want
to avoid. The more you can follow up with worthwhile information the more
likely you are to have repeat request for Party Plan presentations from
your existing customer base.
As your business expands you will be able
to introduce either previous Hostesses or Customers to the concept of
Network Marketing and teach them how to do what you have been doing. The
exponential growth that will occur in your business will quickly escalate
your Home Business into lucrative career where you are your own boss with
time and money to spare.
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