Everyone loves to attend a good product party, especially when they have some type of fun theme. Parties that have a bit of mystery have always been a huge hit! Who will get to keep all the goodies? No one knows! It could be anyone, which is why they’re always a popular choice. But many people get stuck in the weeds on how they work, so let’s get started breaking it down.
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WHAT IS A MYSTERY HOST PARTY?
It’s a party that doesn’t have a dedicated host when it’s scheduled, which means that there’s not one specific person who’s gathering her friends together to reap the rewards of your host program. It’s a free for all and super exciting for the guests because any of them have the chance to win the rewards!
WHY SCHEDULE A MYSTERY HOST PARTY?
Since “just because” isn’t the best reason, let’s break down some good reasons to schedule a mystery host party.
- New catalog or product launches – What a great way to feature all the new and exciting products your company just released!
- Fun and easy holiday shopping for return customers – Give your loyal customers a simple way to shop while offering them the added bonus of possibly winning rewards. It’ll take them back to the first party they hosted with you – ahh, memories!
- To foster community and engagement in your existing customer group – Get your group pumped up for a chance to win host rewards while you all get to know each other better!
- Get people off the fence about hosting – Do you have a group of people who aren’t quite ready to host their own party? Have a lot of newbies who just joined your community? Awesome! Invite them all to participate in an upbeat environment with the added perks of winning rewards!
- New consultant kick-off or launch party – Help your new team members gain confidence AND customers – it’s a win-win for everyone involved!
- Customer or past host appreciation event – Nothing says love like free stuff, am I right? Thank your customers and hosts with a fun-filled party to show your appreciation of their loyalty to you.
WHERE TO SET UP A MYSTERY HOST PARTY
Now that we know what they are and why to host them let’s chat about where to set up mystery host parties. The beauty of this type of party is that they can take place in any location and form. The choice is yours!
They can be:
- In your home
- Church hall
- School
- Neighborhood clubhouse
- Online via Facebook, Messenger, or Instagram
- Office
The possibilities are endless here! Remember that even though they can take place anywhere, the best thing you can do for your party is to theme it! As I mentioned above, people love a good party theme. We’ll chat about that below – I’ve got some ideas for you!
HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL MYSTERY HOST PARTY
Right off the bat, I’m going to give you my biggest, best secret for rockin’ a Mystery Host party! I promise it will be worth the price of admission. Are you ready for it?
Yep, you read that right. So now you might be a little confused because technically there is no host before the party starts, right? Uhm, wrong. The host before the party is you! So, guess who you get to coach to have a great party? That’s right. You have to coach yourself to be the best host you’ve ever had!
Just for one second, I want you to picture your ideal party host. What do they do before the party? During the party? After the party? I can tell you what mine did…
- Before the party, she spent time with me, walking through all the details.
- She made a list of the people she would like to invite and then personally reached out to them to make sure they felt special. She didn’t just randomly invite many people on Facebook and call it a day. Ahem…
- This girl was a rockstar! She participated in the party by commenting, interacting, and making the party experience amazing for her guests!
- After the party, she followed up with those who couldn’t make it at the last minute.
Humor me because I’m going to get preachy for one hot second. Host coaching is critical to your long-term success in direct sales, and that goes for every party, every host, even Mystery Hosts. You can’t actually coach the host when you don’t know who they are, so you must step into that role and coach yourself. Work to be the best host that you can be. You will do everything you tell yourself to do because the success of this party lands squarely on your shoulders. #nopressure
Now before you check out and run away screaming, don’t let that scare you! The good news is that you already know what you should do, and the great news is that you can do it! Okay, I’m off the soapbox…moving on.
HOW TO PROMOTE A MYSTERY HOST PARTY
Now that we understand the importance of host coaching ourselves let’s walk through some ideas on how to promote your party. Here are a few ideas:
- Personally reach out via text, messenger, or the dreaded phone – I’m listing this one first because it’s going to give you the best bang for your buck. The ratio of RSVPs you get from personal contact vs. the number of contacts you make will be much higher using this method. Don’t be afraid of it, and don’t avoid it. Direct sales is a relationship-building business. So let’s build them, shall we?
- Newsletter – if you have a regular newsletter that you create and send to your customers, include the info on the event. If it’s online, make sure you include a direct link for them to RSVP. If it’s in-home, give them a way to contact you for the location and details. This method might take more than one time to get some traction, so make sure you plan your content to get the best results.
- Facebook or Instagram stories – this is a fun way to show some personality and snag some RSVPs! Take a fun selfie of you with a magnifying glass or other detective gear, and let your followers know the details!
- Facebook post – This is the easiest way to promote your party and the most frustrating. I’ve seen this happen way too often. You throw a post out there hoping for the crowds to come flocking, and it just doesn’t happen. Facebook is a fickle beast, and you don’t get to control who sees your post or when they see it. If it doesn’t get almost immediate engagement, you can forget about anyone seeing it later. Putting a post out there on your personal profile should be your last attempt and should really serve more as a reminder and last-minute round-up for the stragglers. This should not be your main strategy.
When you’re promoting your event, the best method is a layered approach. Use some or all of these ideas to promote the party. We’re all different, and so are your customers, so promoting multiple times in multiple ways is key!
HOW TO THEME YOUR MYSTERY HOST PARTY
I don’t know about you, but I love reading mysteries, playing clue-finding games, and solving riddles. Why not incorporate that into your regular parties?
Here’s what I mean. Think for a second about the product that you sell. I’m going to run with kitchen products since that was my jam. What problems do the right kitchen products solve? Quick and easy meal prep. Getting dinner on the table in less time. You with me?
What mystery could I create around that problem? How about Cracking the Code on Dinner Time Drama? Or what about Solving the Mystery of Thanksgiving Dinner?
A great theme is also an amazing booking tool for future business! Once you rock your Mystery Host party, why not offer to let the mystery continue? Invite guests to host their mystery-themed party with a fun product twist!
Here are some ideas to get you thinking:
- The Riddle of the Reluctant Reader
- The Mystery of the Missing Christmas Cards
- Cracking the Code on Spring Cleaning
- The Conundrum of Mother’s Day Gifting
Seriously, throwing in a theme will give you tremendous success! Not only will it provide your guests with a super entertaining party, but you’ll also have a blast that will show them how much fun it is to do it all over again when they book with you!
HOW TO CHOOSE THE WINNER
Everybody wants to be a winner, right? That’s one of the big draws of a mystery host party. You want to win all the goodies without actually having to host a party! So how do you choose the winner?
Most people give guests entries for doing things during the party like RSVPing, bringing a friend, ordering, booking their own party, etc. You can choose to give all the host rewards to one person or divide it up among multiple winners. Here’s the rule I always followed. Ready for it?
Reward the behavior that you want repeated! Choosing the winner should involve incentivizing the things that you want to happen. Let’s walk through an example:
Let’s pretend that you’ve been slacking a bit and not doing your follow-up, and your calendar is looking a wee bit too empty. Anyone ever been there? So, you plan to strategically use a Mystery Host Party to introduce some new products and also get some new shows on the books.
Before you decide how to give away the goods, think through what results you want to have from the event. In this case, it’s bookings! So the entries to win the host rewards would need to be heavily weighted toward getting bookings! They might look something like this:
- 1 entry for RSVPing (we need them to show up!)
- 5 entries for bringing a friend (more people that you don’t know to expand your warm market)
- 5 entries for every $X ordered (we need orders to have host rewards)
- 10 entries for scheduling your own party (big entries for this one because this is what you want to happen)
I know what you might be thinking – WAIT! If I give away the host rewards, will people actually book a party to get more host rewards? Yep! They sure will! When you throw an amazing party and build a desire for a product, host special, or theme that you’re offering, people will book their own party!
WHAT TO DO AFTER THE PARTY
Let’s talk after-party! What happens after the mystery is solved? This is where you finish strong and wrap it all up with a pretty little bow on top! Ready?
- Follow-up – Who couldn’t make it at the last minute? Follow up to see if they would still like to order! Trust me. I love these reminders because stuff falls off my radar, and if I RSVP’d, I really was interested in ordering but might have forgotten about the actual party. Anyone else ever had this happen?
- Help your winner(s) pick out her goodies – Make sure you’ve communicated with your winner(s) and given them a deadline to choose their host rewards.
- Thank You’s – Do not miss this one! At least send a thank you message, email, or text. Let guests know when they can expect their order. Offer them the opportunity to host their own parties with that fun new theme you created.
Want even more help putting together your mystery host party? I’ve got the graphics covered for you! Check out our complete Mystery Host Themed Facebook Party graphics! It includes everything from banners to party games. Your posts will be planned and in your hand faster than you can say, “mystery solved!”
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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.
