Helpful Hints for Hostess Coaching

Written by admin

Coaching your hostess to do her best job in preparing for her direct sales party with you will help you both. A successful hostess means a successful party and that means more gifts for her and more orders (more money!) for you. Spending the time required to ensure your hostess does well is in your own best interest, but it will also make a better experience for your hostess, which means she’ll be more likely to book with you again – and encourage her friends to book with you, too. It’s a win-win situation all the way around.

Here are some ways to coach your hostess to ensure her party is successful:

• Encourage your hostess to call her prospective guests as soon as she books the party to get it on their calendars. This is especially important if you host a party with limited seating, or if you need to bring specific supplies such as in a scrapbooking workshop or a cooking class.

• Tell her how important it is to over-invite, since some guests could have something come up at the last minute that would keep them from showing.

• Encourage her to call each guest again on the day of the party just to remind them. People do forget – even if they wrote it down – and this can double or triple her attendance.

• Ask for contact information for each confirmed guest so you can call them as well. Have your hostess tell them you’ll be calling. Assure them you’ll only take about five minutes of their time, but that you’d like to touch base. Introduce yourself, find out if they are familiar with your product line or if they have questions about anything. This will help you and the guests to feel more at ease with each other during the party itself.

• Stress that she keep refreshments simple. Most successful hostesses serve only soft drinks or tea and cookies. Discourage your hostess from ordering pizza, making sandwiches, or cooking a full meal. You want the guests’ focus to be on the party and the products, not on the food. And ask your hostess to plan to serve refreshments after the show.

• Have your hostess plan in advance in what room she’ll hold her party. A well-lit area with plenty of seating is ideal. Depending on the type of party, suggest the dining room, living room or den. But ensure her that you’ll work with what you have. You don’t want her to feel stressed because she doesn’t have the “right kind” of space. Be flexible.

• If your hostess has small children, encourage her to have her husband or someone else entertain the children elsewhere for an hour or so. She’ll want to suggest this to her guests, too, since children can distract from the show. Stress that it’s not that you don’t love children, but the fewer the interruptions, the sooner you can finish. And since most of us are very busy women, our time is valuable. Remind her that even mom needs a little time for herself once in awhile.

• Be sure to give your hostess an order form and a couple catalogs or brochures to help her get orders before the party. Not everyone she invites will be able to attend. Getting some outside orders can tremendously increase her sales so encourage her to get as many as she can.

• Make sure she also has complete contact information for you, including email, cell phone and anything else she can use to contact you. You want to be available for any and all questions she or prospective guests may have.

• Let her know that you’re looking forward to the party and that you you’re going to do your best to ensure she and her guests have a really good time.

Regardless of the number of guests she has, tell her how much you appreciate her and give her a small thank you gift just for booking the show. Her efforts matter, and showing your appreciation will build her loyalty, which is a key in building your direct sales business through home parties.

Tags: Direct Sales Marketing, hostess coaching