Ever wonder what you’re doing wrong when you ask someone if they want to book a party, and all you hear is no? Would you like to hear “yes” a little more in your direct sales business? Have you ever been left wondering what everyone else is doing to get and keep a full calendar?
In my experience as a direct sales leader, I’ve found that it comes down to one of two problems. It’s a problem with the question or a problem with the audience. But 9 times out of 10, the issue falls squarely on the shoulders of “the Ask.”
When I say “the Ask,” I’m talking about any question you ask to get something from someone else. Will you pass me the mac n cheese? Hey, would you refill my coffee while you’re up? These are all a type of Ask.
The Ask is where your direct sales business lives or dies. It’s where you sit staring at an empty calendar or one bursting at the seams. It’s where you get the sale or lose the customer for good.
Friend, in my experience with this industry, most direct sellers do it wrong because they just don’t know how to execute the Ask in a way that almost guarantees them success. So let’s dig in and see if we can improve the Ask, shall we?
Simple Steps to Improve Your Booking Ask
Step 1 – Check Your Mindset
One of the things I hear most from direct sellers struggling to get bookings is that they think they need to build a stronger relationship with the person they’re asking and take more time. That’s a myth. You do not need to be besties with your potential hostesses before asking them to book a party. Most of the time, that strong hostess relationship is built after a couple of parties together!
If you are doing your parties well, you’re already building relationships with party-goers, providing them with tons of value, entertaining them, and sharing a little bit about yourself and your family so they can relate to you.
So, while you may not think your relationship with a potential hostess is strong enough, put the Ask out there and see what happens.
Think about this for a second. If someone has had a great time at a recent party with you, gotten to know you, likes your products and made a purchase – the next logical step is to host their own party and get some free goodies, right?!
If they say no or they’re not ready or whatever they may say, that isn’t a yes – don’t panic. Encourage them to join your VIP group or invite them to follow your business page. Their “no” is likely not based on the fact they don’t know you well enough. It may not be a good time for them, or they may not need more products. Shocker, I know.
Once you get them hanging out with you in other places and If you’re consistently sharing helpful info on your business page or engaging with your customers in your VIP group, they’ll continue to build know, like, and trust. They’ll either continue to be customers and may eventually book a party or even join your team.
Don’t be afraid to ask, and don’t be afraid of the “no.” Remember, the answer to the question that was never asked is always no.
Step 2 – Define Your Value
What if you’re asking but still aren’t getting the results you want? It means your Ask might be broken, and we need to fix it. The first step to fixing it is to determine your value.
Ask yourself a few questions:
- What value does my product offer?
- What problem does my product solve?
And don’t think for a second that your value is identical to someone else that’s also a rep for your company. My message as a 30-something (okay, 40 something) is very different from someone in my same company that’s 60. Your value and what you bring to your customer and host experience will be something you have to determine.
When we think about someone hosting a party, the first thing that comes to mind is the savings from your company’s host rewards program, right? But the value to the host isn’t always monetary.
Could a girl’s night out for a stay-at-home mom be valuable? Uhm, yeah!
Could your value be educating people, like food tips, clothing style hacks, or cleaning shortcuts? Yes, please!
Once you know your value, it’s time to determine your offer.
Step 3 – Choose Your Offer
Please do not offer 17 different things at one party. You have to decide what you’re offering in a party. Think about what you’re excited about right now and what you think your potential hostess will be excited about.
Is it a fun new theme you dreamed up? Maybe it’s a new release party for a brand-spankin’ new collection you’re obsessed with?
Whatever it is, be clear about what you’re offering in this party opportunity for the hostess, which leads to our next point…
Step 4 – Craft Your Message
One of the biggest mistakes that direct sellers make is not actually asking a question! You build the relationship, and you know how to help this person. And then you end it with “Just let me know!” Uhm, that’s not asking.
Most people respond if you really ask a question because that’s how questions work.
But if you say something like “Just let me know” that makes me think I can completely ignore everything you just said. There’s nothing in that statement that compels me to answer. So please, for the love of all the things, make sure you end your ask with an actual question.
Consider closing questions like:
- “What do you think?”
- “Would you be interested?”
Let’s run through an example here.
Let’s pretend you had a party guest who told you she loves holiday baking. You could reach out to her and say, “Hey, Sally! I know you love to bake, especially around the holidays, so I was wondering if you may want to get some friends together online so you can get some freebies for your kitchen just in time for holiday baking?”
Start thinking about your Ask from a relationship-centered place. If you focus on what the guest is interested in and what value you can share with them, you’ll have better results.
And please, keep your messages short & sweet. When you send a novel, they’re not going to read it. Just the rest of us, people are busy and only have enough time to skim and answer the important stuff. So don’t make them scroll for a mile.
When I get a novel disguised as a Facebook message, I typically read the beginning and end but completely skip the middle. And many times direct sellers bury the Ask in the middle.
So, for more effective messages, keep it short, sweet, and personal.
Step 5 – Evaluate Your Results
Bookings lead to quick wins. They plump up your commission checks. They propel your business forward and fuel new conversations to help you grow your team. The bottom line is you can’t have a successful direct sales party business without bookings.
So, make sure you’re taking the time to evaluate your results. Make a list of who you are asking and keep track of the results.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself to get started:
- How many people do I have to ask to get to a yes? It shouldn’t be a 100.
- How many guests am I asking at each party? It should be everyone.
If you’ve got a few no responses in a row now, don’t ever let that get you down. Take these tips and implement them; I promise you’ll start getting more positive responses.
What NOT To Do
Alright, friend. I’ve given you some tips on how to improve your Ask, but let’s walk through some things you should not be doing when it comes to filling your party calendar.
Do not spam people with booking messages!
Once you decide what you’ll offer your hostesses in the next few months, think about who comes to mind and base your asks on those people and relationships. Do not send the same generic message to 476 people and expect a response or a full calendar. Keeping it personal implies there’s a relationship.
It may be a newly formed relationship from a recent party, but it is still a relationship – not a shot in the dark because someone happens to be online at the same time as you. Remember, if you’ve never had contact with this person, you have no idea how you met them or how you got to know them – that’s just spammy.
Don’t do it. It’s not effective and gives direct sellers a bad name.
Stop using the words “book a party”
When people hear “book a party,” they think, “plan a wedding.” It sounds like a lot of work. Keep it light and fun. Instead, ask them about getting their friends together or having a girl’s night.
Stop using desperate language
There is absolutely no place in a booking message for the words “I need you to,” “Please help me,” or “I’m trying to earn.” I mean, nowhere. That sort of language is all about the person doing the asking. Flip that message around and figure out how you can serve the other person. Trust me. It will come back to you.
Stop “green dotting”
Just because you see that someone is active on Facebook when you need a party on your calendar is not a sign from the direct sales gods that you need to message them with the same message that you just sent 47 other people.
Please, please, please build the relationship first.
When you build a relationship first, your Ask will be all about what you can do for them because you will actually KNOW a little something about them.
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About the Author: Steve Nauta
