The actual steps I used to double my party sales

When I started growing my direct sales business, I had a great “problem.”

I was TOO BUSY!

I was doing 2 or 3 parties each week, which was great. BUT being that busy came with a backbreaking downside.

I was scrambling, a little overwhelmed, and didn’t think I had time to host coach properly or to do customer follow-up with all my party guests. And even though I’ve heard the same “fortune is in the follow-up” advice many times, I thought it would take too much of my time and, honestly, I didn’t think it would help that much to be worth the extra time.

I was getting exhausted.

As a result of this, as I later found out, I wasn’t earning nearly as much in my business as I could have been.

Once I set up a semi-automated system for host coaching a customer follow-up, MY PARTY SALES DOUBLED!

My average party before was around $750, so I earned about $262 per party. So doing ten parties a month earned me $2,620 from my personal sales (not including my team commissions).

After adding the systems below, my party sales doubled to around $1,500, which earned me around $525 per party!

That doubled my monthly income from my sales from $2,620 to $5,250, adding over $31,000 to my annual income from just my personal sales!!!

Here’s what I learned.

First, I found out that when my hosts didn’t know what to say or how to invite their guests, those parties weren’t nearly as good as hosts that have had parties in the past, either with me or another consultant at another company. Hosts that had parties in the past already knew what to do.

Here’s my host coaching system

So, the first thing I wanted to focus on was making sure EVERY HOST NEW EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY AND HOW TO INVITE GUESTS to the party.

I needed a system to make sure each host knew how easy it is to host a party and exactly what they needed to do.

The great news is that this is not hard and can work for any type of party!

I found that by giving my party hosts specific things to do and INCENTIVIZING them to get them done, my party attendance was consistently over ten guests every time.

Here’s exactly how I did it.

The first thing I want my host to know is exactly what to expect at her party. This includes things like keeping food and drink simple, what time I’ll show up, how the party will flow, etc.

Next, I made sure it was easy for my host to invite her guests, so I emailed each host a sharable invite, a quick guide on who to invite, and the actual words to say when inviting her guests. I knew that if I made inviting guests easy, it would have a better chance of getting done and getting a positive response.

I then added a reminder to call my host to see if she has any questions and to SET A GOAL FOR THE NUMBER OF PARTY GUESTS.

On day seven, I sent another email incentivizing my host to have AT LEAST 10 buying guests at her party. I do this with a small gift, usually a consumable product, for my host as well as an incentive to her guests to bring a friend. Lastly, I include a reminder that outside orders also help her earn free products.

The following email I sent is on day 14, where I get my host excited about all the free products she can earn by having a big party. I get her thinking about exactly what she’d like to earn for free, so she gives a little extra effort to her invites.

The final email I sent was the day before the party to prompt my host to remind her guests about the party and to get a quick headcount. This helps me plan for the party and also helps my host think about any last-minute invites she can make. Lastly, I remind her about the free gift she’ll receive if she has at least ten buying guests at the party.

The last pre-party communication from me was a quick call or text message on the day of the party to help get my host excited.

That’s it!

I semi-automated this using Direct Sidekick messages. I use email messages for things like sending the party invite, verbiage my hosts can use when inviting, and my other check-ins to incentivize her to get more guests at the party. I use task reminders for the phone call and text message.

So, for my full 21-day host coaching script, I call my host once, send one text message, and the rest is automated for me!

This one thing led me to have so many more potential customers at my parties!

You can download my host coaching scripts below.

Or, if you’d like to semi-automate this using Direct Sidekick Messages, paste the following share code to import the drip here:

59b40e0758b9cf165e8247b80c725a4fb296c107

Good old fashion host coaching helps fill the room. Next, it was time to tweak my party checkout process.

Here’s my party checkout system

I always try to have a separate checkout area. Most of the time, it’s in the kitchen so that I can work on the kitchen table. I like to work one on one with my customers when it’s time to check out so I can ask about bookings, joining my team, and make recommendations based on other items they’re buying.

Before I ask my new customer what they’d like to buy, I ask them about hosting a party.

I say something like, “Hi Mary! Did you have fun tonight? Would you be interested in having a fun night like this with friends? This will help the host, and you can choose a free gift. (I show them two items to choose from)

I’m currently booking for January 12 and January 15.

Which one will work best for you?”

If she says yes, we schedule the date, and I hand her a host packet and catalogs and set a time to talk in the next two days.

If she says no, I ask if she’s ever thought of becoming a consultant and earning extra income or getting a discount on her products. I always talk about the benefits of joining my team during my presentation, so I ask if any of those sound good to her.

After that’s done, now’s the time I work with her on her order.

If the items she’s ordering are part of a package, I suggest the package and tell her what else she’ll receive.

If she orders something that will work better with another product or it’s something that most of my customers order along with something else, I offer the complementary product.

I “go for no” on this!

That means I continue to offer suggestions until they tell me “no” (or “no thank you” :) ). I’m not pushy. I just suggest items I feel will help my new customer.

Without doing that, how do I know they’re done shopping? I know my products better than my guests do. I know what my guests need to get the best benefits from my products. So, I offer thoughtful suggestions.

If I don’t offer suggestions, chances are my customers won’t even know some of my products exist or won’t get the best benefit from my products.

How much does this help?

Well, if I have eight buying guests and they each add on a $30 item, that will add $240 in sales to the party.

If I have only one party per month, that adds up to an extra $2,880 in sales per year!

If I have one party per week, that turns into an extra $12,480 in sales!

And, if I have my standard 2-3 parties per week, that turns into an EXTRA $28,800 IN SALES PER YEAR for an extra $10,000 in my bank account!

Wow, now that’s a big deal!

All from making suggestions based on what my customers are already ordering so they can get the most benefits from my products.

Lastly, I know that my relationship with my customer only grows if I nurture it. So, I like to get her permission to follow up with her and send her some “tips and how-to’s.” I also ask her if she’d like to join my VIP group by telling her this is where I offer tips, tricks, and discounts. And answer product use questions to make sure my customers always know how to use their products.

Try this checkout system at your next party and see how it goes!

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been told a hundred times that fortune is in the follow-up. So I knew I should be doing it. Of course, I wanted to do it. But adding one more thing to my to-do list sounded overwhelming to me.

The only way I finally started doing CONSISTENT customer follow-up was to semi-automate it.

Once I did this, my business really took off, and it brought joy back into my business!

Here’s my customer follow-up system

Here’s exactly how I use effective customer follow-up to drive sales, bookings, and recruits.

Two days after my party, I call my new customer and simply thank her for attending the party and for her order. Then I let her know I’m closing the party the next day and when she can expect her order to arrive.

I always DO THIS BEFORE closing the party.

I DO NOT try to sell anything on this call or book a party UNLESS my customer brings it up.

If you’re not already making these calls, you’ll be surprised how often a customer decides she wants more after a party but only does something about it once you call and thank her. Or how often I get asked if they can still get the booking gift I offered at the party if they book now.

The next step is an email two weeks after the party to make sure they received their order and, most importantly, if they tried their new products.

This email is the MOST IMPORTANT part of the follow-up, and most consultants miss it. They won’t be a long-term, repeat customers if they don’t try my products. And that is what I’m looking for.

They were just helping their friend or family by buying something at their party.

That’s why I ask my new customers if they’ve tried their new products yet and how they like them.

Maybe they don’t work as they expected.

They may be using it wrong, and a small tweak makes a world of difference.

If I don’t find out right away, they won’t be interested in buying from me again. That’s for sure.

A couple of months after a party, after my new customers have tried their new products, I send another email showing them exactly how to care for them so their new products continue to work their best. In addition, some people send other how-tos or styling guides.

I’m not selling anything yet, just providing them extra value for being my customer. Of course, my email has my shopping link, and I get sales from this email!

Offering a party is OK, but only after providing value FIRST.

My goal for my customer follow-up is to keep myself and my products on their mind WITHOUT constantly asking them to buy or telling them about sale after sale. I know that if the only time I reach out to my customers is to ask them to buy something, they’ll eventually stop opening my emails or answering my phone calls.

Providing value in the form of short videos and telling them how I personally use our products helps me accomplish this while allowing me to highlight my products without being salesy.

Those are the three steps to creating an effective customer follow-up system. After you’ve got these basics down, you can continue to add value every so often based on your product line by scheduling more touches (emails, calls, etc.).

I actually schedule a whole series of emails spanning six months, so I know my customers will hear from me consistently.

Why do I do this?

So, they remember me and think about me whenever they think about my product.

When they need something new or a refill, they’ll reply to a message or call me.

When one of their friends or family members asks about a product they see in their home, they’ll refer them to me.

You can download my customer follow-up scripts below.