This is the #4 bookings tip from the ongoing series of 63 creative direct sales booking ideas outside of your show.

How many business cards have you thrown away in your life?!

I mean really, how many have you actually held onto?

I have a shoe box of business cards on my shelf that I throw cards into whenever I am given them. When it starts to get too full I throw the whole lot of them away!

The Life Of A Direct Sales Catalog

The life cycle of a catalog or a mini-flyer is much longer than that of a business card.

When you give out catalogs instead of business cards you can be sure that they will be kept longer, possibly shared, but also they will hopefully/possibly create desire for your products, opportunity or services.

A direct sales catalog takes on a life of its own but a business card is pretty much following a dead end street that ends in the garbage.

The catalog becomes a wish list, bathroom reading, something to share with a friend… it may even get put into the magazine basket or on the book shelf for future reference.

For sure, it rarely ends up in the trash!

A business card goes from your hand to theirs and chances are it is never seen again after that. In the best case scenario the business card may end up in a wallet or purse, only to be thrown away later.

Use Old Catalogs

You should NEVER throw a catalog away either! Keep all your old catalogs to be used as business cards! If your company has mini-brochures those would be good as well.

• Make absolutely certain that each and every catalog or brochure has your name, phone number, email and website permanently displayed on the front and back.
• Have the “Gather 6 Orders and Call It A Show” catalog show stickers on the flyer or catalog as well!

Don’t tell them it is an old catalog.

Just say here is my contact information, the same as you would if you had a business card! Treat it exactly the same as you currently treat your business card. If you ask them for their contact info in return, then do the same thing when handing out the catalog!

Direct Selling Catalog Shows Will Roll In!

When you get in the habit of doing this (always and forever) then you will start to have people calling you out of the blue with orders!

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Bring A Friend And Get A FREE Gift!

That is what Deb Bixler says to get more people to your party but the party crasher ticket will make that easier and more effective!

Party Crasher Tickets Increase Show Attendance

You’ve got a party coming up this weekend and you’re touching base with your hostess.

You ask the question – so how many people are coming on Friday night?

You might hear crickets, or you might hear something like, “I’m not sure” or “I didn’t hear from too many people so I don’t know.”

Sound familiar?

So many consultants are struggling with this and it begins with your hostess coaching!

A few hostess coaching tips:

• Invite guests multiple ways – mailed invites, Facebook event, text message invite (Redstamp for iPhone) and phone calls
• Ask hostess for her top 10 VIP friends that she wants to MAIL invites to – include 2 Party Crasher Tickets inside each invitation
• Get her EXCITED! If she’s excited, she’ll be spreading the excitement to her friends
• Give it a theme; it makes the party more appealing to attend
• When you call the hostess to check in, try asking her for her head count in a different way – “So who are you excited to see on Friday night?” (she’s going to rattle off all their names!) It sounds less formal and more fun!

Party Crashers WANTED!

If you send out the invitations or even just get the top 10 names of your hostess’s best friends you can add the party crasher tickets in each envelope. Or just get the names/addresses of the hostess’s top 10 VIP friends, put 2 Party Crasher Tickets INSIDE the party invite envelope.

This encourages guests to bring friends (you can offer a gift, prize, etc.)  Like Deb says: “Bring a friend or an order and get a FREE gift!”

Coach your hostess on how to talk about the Party Crasher Tickets.

When she follows up with her 10 VIPs, tell her to ask that guest, “So who are the party crashers you’re bringing to the party?” not “Are you bringing anyone?”

Verbiage is key!

Once you are AT the party, recognize the Party Crashers, make them feel welcome and offer a small gift/token for being at the party!

Party Crashers WILL increase everything!  By having extra guests in attendance at every party, everything else will increase:

• Sales
• Bookings
• Recruiting
• Your commission
• And the FUN!

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email for more info:  jillianlynchls1@facebook.com

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The 3rd finding business tip out of the 63 direct sales booking ideas : today lets talk basket bingo!

No, you do not have to be a basket consultant to find business at bingo!

How many times have you passed a fire hall sign that said “Join Us For Basket Bingo Friday”?

Chances are they were not raffling off empty baskets!

Most of the time they are raffling off FULL baskets and also other things besides the basket.

Keep a notebook with you and next time you see that sign, stop and write the number down!

Don’t Give The House Away

We have 2 goals here:

1. YOUR contact information is in EVERY basket that they are giving out.
2. Your brochures are available to the whole group on a side table.

Chances are you have an inexpensive item you can donate to every basket bingo that will take it!

Think about it –  what if only one lead from each bingo event called you for a show or ordered something from you?

One show will pay for a donation to all the basket bingos for a year, because you will have a new (unrelated) branch on your business tree.

Make sure that your donation is something that your name and contact information is permanently affixed to! Depending on your product line it could be anything: cookbook, how to tip cards, scrapbook items, magnet for fridge… think outside the box.

I am sure that you have something of value that is capable of affixing your contact info on and not a major investment!

Send Your Products To Basket Bingo To Find Business

Get started!!

Send your products to basket bingo and get ready to find business with people unrelated to your existing customers!

Don’t forget to log your mileage too, because when you gather leads when running errands, you can double dip here and claim an income tax deduction!

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The second in a series of 63 direct sales bookings ideas : today we will elaborate on how to tap into homeowners’ associations for shows.

These days many condominium or residential communities have a homeowners’ association. Many even have a clubhouse that residents can use for their personal or group parties.

What can you do to serve them?

Some associations have regular meetings, in which case they may need entertainment.

• You are entertaining, I am sure!

Often the community needs to raise money for something…

Once I presented a fund-raiser show to a homeowner association so that they could raise money to buy a school bus ‘box’.  The kind the kids sit in at the end of the development when waiting for the bus so that they do not have to stand in the rain.

• You have a fundraiser program, right?

Another time I did a show so that the residents could stock their clubhouse with the products that I sold.

• Is there something in your product line that they may be able to use as a group?

Keep in mind also, that if the clubhouse is available to the residents for personal parties, it becomes a great scheduling tool for you when booking a party in that community and the potential host says “my house is too small.”

• Next time you hear that, say “do you live in a community that has a clubhouse for the residents?”

Think About It – What Do You Have To Offer?

• Workshops – Education
• Fundraiser Opportunity
• Home Parties
• Free Products For The Group

How To Get Started With This Booking Idea

Over the next few weeks as you go about your daily activities, errands or running around, watch for community living.

1. Create a list of communities that may have condo associations, clubhouses, or homeowner organizations: Don’t think that these are just high-end residential areas. There are many middle- and low-income housing communities that have clubhouses, homeowners’ associations or resident services.
2. After you have a few names, get on the internet and research the communities.  Chances are if you have the right names of the development you will be able to find the office number online.
3. Check your connections: If you know anyone in these communities, connect with them first to get the actual name of the homeowner association president or leader.
4. Make some calls: When you call, don’t make a pitch, but ask who is in charge of the homeowners’ association. If you can hook up with the association group itself as opposed to the realtor or rental office, you will have better luck.

When you start to make your calls, remember that you have many services to offer. At the very least get on the club ‘leaders’ good side and be a resource for the community in the future. The more calls you make, the better you will get at it!

You certainly cannot fill your calendar by presenting at clubhouses for communities, but one event every once in a while will bring you new clients that you never met before!

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Due to popular request we are starting a series on bookings tips.

Over the next few months I will take each of the 63 ways to find business listed in the previous article, direct sales booking ideas and elaborate on each one separately.

Find Business With Real Estate Agents

While this technique of finding business will not fill your calendar, when you secure a couple of realtors, mortgage brokers or home remodeling companies who use YOU as their customer “thank you” gift provider you will have a loyal long term customer.

There are many industries that provide gifts to their customers after the sale or when the deal closes. Real estate agents usually send a gift to the new home owner, a high end re-modeler does the same.

Think about who you may know in these industries or a similar line of work that may give gifts to their customers.

How can you make that easier for them?

Create A Thank You Gift Service

Think about your plan.

How can you service these organizations that give thank you gifts on a regular basis?

Offering these companies or agents a catalog may be a bit overwhelming, so think about how you can create a easy to use service?

There are any number of ways that you may make their life easier.

• Pre-Planned Product Packages: You could create 3 price point product packages that you offer to these groups. Welcome Package #1, #2, #3 or Gift Package #1, #2, #3 which are already combined products in 3 different price ranges that make nice gift ideas. Create a simple flyer with your packages rather than giving out the whole catalog.
• Wrapped or Assembled: Depending on your products either buy a basket, cello-bag, gift wrap or use one of your products to assemble a gift package. If you have pre-planned packages it is easy to assemble a few of each to keep on hand for a last minute call.
• Delivery Service: Delivering the packages to the customer for the agent may be a great perk that will enhance your service and give you a chance to meet the guest. (Every package should include your contact information too!)
• Bulk Discounts: Buy 3 packages and get the 4th one free. Or buy 10 at once and get 20% off.

These are just ideas so you can get your creative juices going.

Visit Offices Who Need Gifts

After you have a plan set aside a week to introduce yourself to groups or offices that may need your services.

• Contact anyone you know in one of these industries and leverage that connection.
• Make a couple of appointments in the offices of your connections first.
• Bring one of each gift idea packaged and a flier
• Plan your presentation to the office manager or (better yet) the whole office
• Hit the streets – after you have a good system of presentation start contacting other offices either by phone or as a walk in inquiry.

There is no doubt that this takes time and effort but the pay off is worth it!

Who Gives Gifts To Their Customers?

There are a lot of companies who give gifts to their customers:

• Car Dealers
• Real Estate Agents
• Mortgage Brokers
• Construction Companies
• Financial Consultants
• Insurance Agents
• Lawyers
• Can you think of anyone else? Add it in the comments please!

Find Business Tip

This tip to find business DOES work (I am sharing from first hand experience) but it is not a get rich quick technique for finding business! It takes time!

Once you get a real estate office or a construction company that uses you though it can be a long term relationship that gives you that little boost you need once in a while!

Be sure to think outside the box when it comes to “what the gift is” because there are literally hundreds of ideas for gift giving to clients: stationary, books, cooking equipment, food samples, decorating items, coasters, flowers, wreaths, gift cards, frames, teas, coffees, chocolate, spa products, etc.

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