Home Party Hostess

Hostess Party Games and Home Party Ideas

The home party hostess in an integral part of successful direct sales home parties. Stay at home mom businesses need to use these home party ideas to make sure the hostess receives many gifts and has fun with hostess party games. Follow this advice for more information on how to properly take care of your hostess before, during, and after your direct sales home party.

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The Home Party Hostess

Your relationship with your home party hostess begins the moment you date a party with her, and does not end. Even after the party has come and gone, she is still a part of your business. When you first date a party or book a home party demonstration, at this time you should give her your hostess packet.

A home party hostess packet is a nice package, in a 10x14 envelope, filled with everything she will need to throw an awesome direct sales home party.

Most stay at home mom businesses included the following, or a variation of the following, in their hostess packets:

(4) Monthly Sales Fliers

(2) Catalogs

(4) Order Forms

Instructions

Guest Mailing List

Hostess Gift Flier

Consultant's Business Card(s)

Hostess Game Goals (Tic-Tac-Toe)

(optional) Recipes

(optional) Small Gift

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Home Party Ideas for the Hostess Packet

Though most hostess packets vary from one company to another, this list will give you a good outline to follow for your direct sales home parties. Here are some explanations.


Hostess Instructions
This page is something you probably will personally create on a word document on your computer. You will want to give your party plan hostess specific instructions on how to make her party a success, by coaching her through how to collect orders and have the most guests show up.

Here are some common instructions included on many home party hostess instructions pages:

How to collect orders and money from guests who will not be attending, including how to figure out shipping and handling and sales tax

How the hostess program works, and what she needs to do to earn the prizes she wants, and instructions on any games/incentives you personally offer

How to gain the most guests at her party, by filling out the Guest Mailing List and getting it back to you within 48 hours, by calling and personally inviting each guest within 48 hours, and by calling to remind her guests 2-3 days before the party

Instructions on keeping the refreshments simple so that she does not stress about the party

Guest Mailing List
This is an extremely important part of a successful direct sales home party.

You will give your home party hostess a Guest Mailing List, which is basically just a form to fill out 20+ names, addresses, and phone numbers of the people she would like to invite to her party.

You want this list back within 48 hours, mainly because your hostess will forget about it if it takes any longer.

For local hostesses, schedule a time to come and pick it up. For long distance hostesses, give a self-addressed stamped envelope to the hostess and call and remind her to send it two days later.

It is very important that she fills out a minimum of 20 names; if she does not, help her think of more people she can invite.

Once you receive the list, mail out invitation postcards to the guests. Also, assume that two days before the party starts your hostess has not called the guests, and do it yourself. Remind the guests if they bring a friend they will receive a special gift. This is also a great time to introduce yourself, and see if they have any damaged product (if your company handles this) to bring in for exchange.


Hostess Game Goals
Hostess party games are just plain fun! And the best sort of games are hostess party games that are played with just the consultant and the home party hostess. My favorite is the Tic Tac Toe game, and I include one in all my party themes.

It goes like this. On a word program on your computer, create a graph that looks like a tic-tac-toe board; 3 squares in 3 rows.

In each of the squares, place a different task the hostess should complete to have a successful party. If the hostess can make a tic-tac-toe, she wins a nice prize.

Here are some examples of tasks for your home party hostess, and some notations on the best place to put them on the tic-tac-toe board:

Have at least 10 guests in attendance (corner)

Have $150 in orders prior to the show (corner)

Have one dating prior to the show (center square)

Get Guest Mailing List back to consultant within 48 hours

Have at least 30 people on Guest Mailing List

Call your guests personally to invite them

Call your guests 2 days before the show to remind them

Set an appointment to hear about The Opportunity (corner)

Have party at original date and time

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Your Contact with Your Home Party Hostess

Like mentioned above in these home party ideas, your contact with your party plan hostess is extremely important. Coaching your hostess through the planning stages of a party is the key to having a great direct sales home party.


Before the Party
When you hand a hostess packet out and date a show, that is when your relationship begins. At this time, you need to set an appointment to pick up your Guest Mailing List. At a bare minimum, the home party hostess needs to complete 20 names and addresses, and if she has not, help her think of who to invite.

Let her know that less than one-third to half of those invited will usually show up. That is why she wants to invite as many as possible. Shoot for 30 names, and settle for 20.

Two weeks prior to the show, make sure you call to confirm the party. Sometimes hostesses will get wishy-washy, and will complain that no one is coming to their show, or there wasn't much interest. These hostesses will rarely call you to cancel, but will wait until the last minute. If you call two weeks prior to the show, you have an opportunity to work with your hostess to fix any perceived attendance problems and save a show.

Two nights before the show you will want to make contact again. This time, remind your hostess to call each guest on her Guest Mailing List to remind them of the party and see if they are attending. If your party theme requires guests to bring a certain object, this is the time for your hostess to ask them to bring it. She should also mention that there are gifts for bringing a friend.

Grow Your Business Grow your direct sales party plan business by sending out greeting cards. Use your computer to create, sign, customize and the system will put a stamp on and mail them for you. Party invitations, sales specials, thank you cards, and more! More Greeting Card Info

After the Party
After the party, make sure you send your hostess a thank you card. In addition, she is now a permanent entry in your address book.

Your home party hostess should be at the top of your mailing list for monthly fliers and sales promotions.

Also, you need to make a note to call her in 6 months or a year to schedule her next party.

Stay at home mom businesses know that past hostesses make the best future hostesses.


Stack the Hostess
Though I love the tic-tac-toe game for hostesses, my absolute favorite of all hostess party games is the “Stack the Hostess” game. This game occurs during the party, and the only winner is the hostess.

It works like this: you sit your hostess down in a chair at the front of the demonstration. You then begin to shower her with all the gifts, both from you and from the company, she gets for holding a show.

Start by handing her any gifts she received for dating the show, followed by her gifts for completing the tic-tac-toe, for holding her show, for having a certain amount of sales and datings. Soon her hands will be full and you will need to start putting gifts next to her on the floor.

This is fun for the hostess, and for the guests. This shows them how much they can get too, and they are more likely to date a show from you.

An important note: the gifts you stack your hostess with are only representations of the ones she will receive. Don't actually give her your examples; order hers for her. Otherwise you will have no examples for your next show.

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More Direct Sales Home Party Ideas:

How to Coach a Hostess
What to Bring to a Party
How to Give a Party
Finding New Customers
Ways to Get Bookings
Importance of Samples
Product Discount Cautions
Direct Selling Resources
The Online Vendor Fair
Find a Direct Sales Company to Join

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