It’s the age-old question and the one I hear the most – how do I book more parties? How do I keep my calendar full? What can I do to make sure that I’m not staring at an empty calendar every few months?
Bookings are a large part of the “hustle” in direct sales. You need them to sell stuff. You also need them to continue to build a strong customer base. And there doesn’t have to be an every quarter hustle to fill your calendar back up. Once you nail down a few key areas, you will find that you have a self-sustaining calendar and booking parties starts to become almost automatic. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Let me clarify. I’m not saying you don’t have to work for them. You still have to do some things but if you focus on these 4 tips, I can almost guarantee that your calendar will stay in shape!
Want a proven plan for growing your direct sales business without feeling like you're chasing your tail? The Direct Sellers Business Blueprint explains the 4 key areas you must master to build a simplified, systematic business. It will even tell you which area to tackle first, so you can stop feeling overwhelmed or confused about what to do next. The best part? It's completely FREE!
CONSISTENTLY OFFER THE HOSTING OPPORTUNITY
A few weeks ago, I did a quick poll on our Facebook Page asking friends and followers what their biggest struggle was when booking more parties for their direct sales business.
The response was overwhelmingly one thing…
Consistency.
Now, as a direct seller, you’re an entrepreneur responsible for your own success. We all went into this business knowing that nothing would be handed to us, and we would have to work for every penny of those commissions.
But we’re also mommas, wives, friends, sisters, or side-hustlers still at full-time jobs. Balancing all the things can be SO incredibly difficult. But balancing all the things and remaining consistent is how you’re going to see growth.
So be consistent, friend. I know it’s not as easy as reading it here and implementing it, but take baby steps, start with bite-sized pieces, and set achievable goals. Because the #1 way you’re going to succeed as a direct seller is consistency.
Set time aside weekly (or daily if you really need to build the habit) to check your calendar and reach out to potential hostesses. Don’t wait until your calendar is bare to send mass messages. Being proactive and consistent is going to keep your calendar full all year long.
Think about it. You don’t lose 10 pounds after one workout, and you don’t become a master pianist after one lesson. The key to success in anything is consistency.
Start small. Start with 15 mins once a week or 5 mins a day.
Challenge yourself this year to be consistent.
The hard truth is: your upline and I can’t fix your problem with consistency. YOU are the one who has to fix it and manage priorities in your life to make things happen, and I know you can do it.
FIX YOUR MINDSET
I realize you may be too young to remember tapes. Tapes are those things that we used to shove into our boomboxes to listen to the latest boy band to hit the music scene. Then we had to hit the rewind button (GASP!) to listen to the song over and over and over again. And heaven forbid that time when you desperately wanted to listen to a song, but you forgot to rewind the tape the last time you listened.
We would listen to those songs so many times that we knew the lyrics by heart. We could sing them in the shower, on the way to school, and with our besties on the playground. Oh, and another 458 times a day silently in our heads.
The same thing happens when we talk to ourselves about booking parties. We’re at a home party, staring at Facebook for a virtual party, or chatting with a friend at a soccer game and the tape starts automatically playing.
- “She’s so busy. I know she wouldn’t want to have a party.”
- “Summer is sooooo hard because everyone is traveling.”
- “Fall is so busy with the holidays. No one will want to host a party with me.”
- “I know she would never have a party because (insert any of the 1,067 reasons you can come up with here).”
Ever heard yourself say things like this in your head? Trust me, friend. You’re not alone.
Most people talk themselves out of offering the opportunity to host because this nonsense starts playing in their head, just like that boy band from the 80’s. It plays over and over and over again until we know the lyrics by heart and don’t even think much about it. It just starts automatically and the worst part is that we believe it.
Time to change the tape. Time to put another song in there because this one probably isn’t working for ya. Am I right? The next time you hear yourself saying something like that, STOP. Just STOP.
Focus on what you know to be true about the person, season, or situation you’ve got rolling around in your head. Everyone isn’t traveling over the summer. Everyone isn’t too busy to book a party. Fall isn’t busy for everyone. We tend to throw around words like always, never, and everyone to talk ourselves out of even asking. In reality, we have no idea what the other person is thinking or what’s going on in their schedule.
BUILD AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS
Next up is relationship building. I’ve seen way too many direct sellers hiding behind that screen. Your business is not a crockpot. You can’t just schedule some stuff and walk away for hours or days at a time. Would it be nice if it worked that way? Absolutely. Does it work that way? Heck no!
You need to engage with your parties in a virtual world, and while building relationships virtually may feel awkward at first, it’s not. Think about it like you are actually sitting across from a new partygoer in person. What would you ask them? Ask the same questions via comments in your virtual party. Simple as that. If you see someone responding to comments that you don’t know, introduce yourself and ask about them!
You cannot set the posts and let them run without engaging.
Ask the questions, prompt the discussions, and show that pretty face of yours with some Facebook live party fun!
The best part about virtual parties is you can build relationships from anywhere. And let’s be honest, we own a business so we can work where and when we want to. So, capitalize on that. Keep it real, be you, ask questions, and engage. The relationships will come just as they would if you met in person!
FOCUS ON OTHERS
Another way to book more parties is by focusing on others. Remember that rule your mom drilled into your head when you were little? Treat others the way that you want to be treated? Yeah, I had those same discussions as a kid.
This applies to your direct sales business as well. If you see me purchasing a higher-priced item that you know will be 60% off next month if I book a party, you better be telling me about it!
Don’t assume that a guest wants to pay full price. Don’t assume your customer is too busy. I’m never too busy to save on something that I was going to purchase anyway.
Here’s the bottom line. It’s not pushy, spammy or whatever you’ve got playing on that tape in your head to let people know that they can save money on your product. That’s just good customer service!
Pay attention to the upcoming specials with your company and pay attention to what people are eyeballing or purchasing. “I noticed you were checking out the XYZ. Did you know you can snag that at 60% off next month when you get some friends together for a party?”
I am never offended when someone hands me a coupon for saving money on something I have in my cart. So just ask.
CHECK YOUR BOOKING ASK
Improving your Ask is critical and asking someone to host a party isn’t as difficult as many people make it out to be—I promise. Many direct sellers tend to get awkward because they don’t like asking people for things, but remember, friend, you got into this business to sell things, so be personable and get out there.
I like to use a simple three-step process to create my party Ask, and it’s a process that’ll work for anyone.
- What are you excited about in your business?
- Why did you think of them? What about that thing that excites you made them pop up in your mind?
- Ask the question!
See? Simple as 1, 2, 3—literally.
A quick message like:
Hey Susie—we just launched a new line of [x,y,z], and I thought of you because I know you said your daughter loves [a,b,c] at [so and so’s] party! Wondering if you would be interested in getting some friends together in March so I can show you what’s new. What do you think?
Nothing crazy. Short, sweet, and to the point. It also shows you cared and listened last time you saw each other (virtually or in-person), which helps the relationship-building aspect as well.
Keep it friendly, keep it light, and avoid the mile-long word vomit messages we know we’ve all sent at some point in our direct sales career, and you’ll see your calendar fill up fast.
SHARE THE VALUE OF HOSTING
Once you’ve checked your booking Ask, let’s make sure you share the value. Ask yourself a few things –
- What is the value of my company’s host program?
- How much can my host earn just by booking a party?
- What extra goodness do I offer at my parties?
If you don’t know the answer, grab a cup of coffee and ponder that for a minute.
One of my favorite parts of my direct sales business was after my host, and I had put together her order, and I was ready to hit submit. I would ask her, “Do you want to know how much you saved??”
Even when we were chatting via text or messenger, you could hear the excitement. “YEEESSSS!!” was usually the response. Then I would share with her how much money she had saved just by getting a few friends together.
Most of the time, if my host worked the host rewards program right, she would save more than I made in commissions. That’s a huge amount of value! Are you sharing during your parties what people can save by hosting?
You also want to ask yourself what extra goodness, or value, you’re offering during the party. This one isn’t monetary, but it definitely counts!
Are you offering tips related to your product? What about alternate ways to use them? Is there some educational info mixed in that will keep people coming back for more? Is your party so much fun that they can’t wait to do it again?
Don’t underestimate the value of entertaining and educating your guests! This goes a long way to keeping your calendar full and overflowing.
IMPROVE YOUR HOST COACHING
If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you know how passionate I am about host coaching. Why? Because it works, friend.
Successful host coaching is the most important tool for growing your direct sales business. Your hostesses are your number one business referral tool. If you’ve done your job, educated your hostess, gotten her some free stuff while having fun, and overall, just made the experience seamless for her, your hostesses are going to refer you to their friends and be your champion.
Don’t make it complicated to host a virtual party. It’s a party on Facebook. It’s not rocket science and definitely shouldn’t be that complicated, so have some fun with it! Hold your hostesses’ hand and keep it simple for her, and you’ll see results in her friends booking parties, too.
If someone asks if she knows a Pampered Chef or Stampin’ Up consultant, she will always recommend you and sing your praises if you’ve done your job as a good host coach.
LEVEL UP YOUR PARTY EXPERIENCE
It’s sometimes hard to look at what we’re offering during our party experience from the outside. But it’s also necessary to take it to the next level!
So ask yourself this…would you want to come to your party? Would you want to bring your friends to your party?
Be honest. Don’t sugarcoat it. Be real with yourself, and if you sometimes think your parties feel eerily similar to watching paint dry, think about how you can mix it up to make it fun.
We got into this business to have fun, right!? So make it happen! You also want to share with people how your product or service will change their lives.
Fun + Value = Successful Direct Sales Parties
So how can you make showing value fun?
Do a little DIY crafting sesh on Facebook live. Demo your favorite time-saving hacks made possible by the product. Share a virtual cooking class where they can use their new goodies. Play a little bingo and offer freebies—freebies automatically make things fun.
JUST ASK
I know this might sound silly, but if I’m going to be honest, this is the biggest problem I see with direct sellers not having bookings. They aren’t asking. Plain and simple. They don’t ask, so they don’t get. Friend, if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.
One day this point was driven home by one of my kiddos. Our homeschooling day was all done, and I had sent them outside to blow off some steam while I cleaned up from lunch. I was cleaning the kitchen, and my #3 came walking in. He was around 8 at the time and asked if they could come in and start their computer time. Normally, I would make them stay out a little longer, but I caved and gave him the go-ahead.
Before he ran back out to tell the rest of the crew, something made me ask him, “Why did you ask? How did you get picked to be the one to come in?” He replied, “Well, the other kids were scared to ask because they thought you would say no. So, I decided to do it because if I didn’t ask, the answer was for sure going to be no. Isn’t that what you tell your team?” I hugged him and said, “Yeah, buddy. That’s exactly what I tell my team.”
My little guy had heard my side of many coaching and training calls, and I had no idea he was listening, but that didn’t matter. He took to heart the “Just Ask” mentality, and it gave him the tenacity to just try. And it worked. When’s the last time that you just asked?
Consistently booking parties and keeping a full calendar in your direct sales business doesn’t have to be hard, but it does take some intentional effort.
Getting that inner voice in check, solidifying the value, focusing on others, and just asking can take your calendar from just okay to bursting at the seams. Go ahead and give it a shot!
Pin for later
Want a proven plan for growing your direct sales business without feeling like you're chasing your tail? The Direct Sellers Business Blueprint explains the 4 key areas you must master to build a simplified, systematic business. It will even tell you which area to tackle first, so you can stop feeling overwhelmed or confused about what to do next. The best part? It's completely FREE!
Mary Haynes is a highly successful direct sales leader turned strategist and coach. Her passion is helping party plan people streamline and scale their businesses using simple, proven strategies. Her goal is to eliminate business overwhelm so direct sellers know exactly what to do and when to do it. Mary is also a homeschooling mama that lives in sunny Florida with her husband, 4 kiddos, 2 dogs, and various other backyard animals.
