Gone are the days when you could slap a few posts on Facebook and the sales would come streaming in. Online parties are here to stay, but I find many direct sellers are making some consistent mistakes that are preventing them from getting the results that they want. If your virtual parties aren’t bringing in the party sales, bookings, and the recruits that you expect, you may need to tweak one of these common mistake areas in your business. Let’s dig in.
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#1 – Host Coaching
By far the biggest mistake I see with direct sellers and online parties is host coaching. Host coaching is how you equip your hostesses to have a stellar party. And most direct sellers think they’re host coaching but they really aren’t. A few random messages to your host telling her she needs to invite everyone on her friend list and post in her party is NOT host coaching.
Host coaching involves so much more than that. It’s about building relationships with your party hosts and getting to know her specific pain points related to your product so you can help her create a wishlist and then help her earn everything in it at her party.
Host coaching takes time but it’s by far the best investment into increasing your party results. Successful host coaching gets the right people to the party and gets your hostess excited and involved in every aspect of the party.
Good host coaching doesn’t just increase your party results, it also decreases the number of party cancellations because your hosts feel excited and equipped to have a successful party.
If you want more help on your host coaching, make sure you check out our other free training resources on our site.
#2 – Party Content & Graphics
After you get the right people (and enough of them) to the party with stellar host coaching, you need to make sure your party content is on point! That’s why the second reason your virtual parties might not be working is your party content and graphics.
Lots of direct sellers feel like they can just copy and paste the same stale content they’ve been using for the last two years. Friend, your party content should be an ever evolving and improving process. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to see if your Facebook party posts might need an update:
- Have you been using the same party posts for more than 6 months? The same products that solved problems for your customers 6 months ago may not be the same products now.
- Is there a logical flow to your posts or is there just a smattering of random ideas and products? Creating fun party themes is an easy solution for this one!
- Are there grammar and punctuation errors? You can be conversational but still speak like a professional. Make sure you aren’t scaring off guests because you’ve got simple spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Are your graphics easy to read on mobile? Most of your party guests are probably viewing your parties on their cell phone, not a 17-inch computer monitor. Make sure your graphics are readable on a mobile device.
- Do you have a mix of content that includes different post formats? A party full of just static graphics is BORING. Mix it up with videos, Lives and even albums to keep your guests engaged.
PRO TIP: If grammar and punctuation aren’t your forte, use Grammarly.com. They have a free version that checks the grammar and punctuation for you!
#3 – Edutainment
Another common problem with Facebook parties is a lack of edutainment. I’m pretty sure that’s not a real word but let’s roll with it! By edutainment, I mean educating and entertaining your guests and not just asking them to buy your stuff, host a party, or join your team.
Bottom line – Are your parties fun and educational or are they something akin to watching paint dry? Have a friend that isn’t in the biz check it out and let you know.
#4 – Features versus Benefits
Another common problem that might not be as obvious is features versus benefits. If you’ve ever heard the phrase – features tell, benefits sell – you know that whoever said it first wasn’t wrong. Think about it. Most people don’t care about the specifics of a product, like where it was made, the color, or materials, but they DO care about how it will help them.
Most direct sales party posts ONLY talk about the product features. Now, don’t get me wrong. Talking about some of the features is great, but only talking about features is the kiss of death for party sales. Do yourself and your commission check a favor and don’t leave out the details that are critical for selling – how that particular product will save your guests time and money.
Here’s an easy way to think about it. Ask yourself why the features matter to them. Let’s pretend your product is dishwasher safe. Why does that matter? It saves them time and energy not washing the dishes. I mean who wants to hand wash anyway? Think about books as another example. Let’s say they are board books. Why does that matter? Because they’re durable and don’t need to be replaced. Viola! You just saved your customer some money!
Another easy way to share is through your personal stories. As you’re talking about how YOU use your products, you’ll naturally share the benefits through storytelling. Want to know the best way to create personal stories around your products? Use them. Make it a point to use the products you sell on a daily basis and the stories, including the benefits, will start to be created naturally.
#5 – Relationships
And last but certainly not least on our list of common virtual party mistakes is relationships. And to be honest, it’s super easy to miss relationships during your virtual parties. Because it’s all online, it’s tempting to just schedule your posts and then cross your fingers hoping that the sales will start flooding in!
But here’s something to think about. Would you stand in a corner at someone’s home party and not say anything? I hope not. So don’t do that in your virtual parties either.
Building relationships is critical to selling your products, booking new parties with guests, and even building desire for your business opportunity.
And while it might seem like it takes FOREVER, building quality relationships in your parties just doesn’t take that long. Set aside time during your parties to strategically reply to comments and engage with party guests. Ask questions to open engagement and conversations. Really focus on starting conversations and the results will follow.
After reading through this list, you might be wondering where you should start. I recommend you start with host coaching. It’s a critical piece of your party to master, because if you don’t have the right people at your parties or enough of them, it doesn’t matter what you post.
If you need some quick tips and training on improving your virtual party experience, check out our Direct Sellers Toolbox. It’s our digital workbook that’s chock full of actionable tips and tricks that you can implement in just a few hours. It also included checklists and trackers to help you track your results so you know exactly which area of your business needs to be improved next.
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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.
