Have Great Business In Your Home Party Plan Business Any Time Of The Year!

When I started my party plan business everyone told me that January is the pits so guess what… I had a terrible January.  That was not good, I mean not good in a big way because my party plan commission was my total household income. Since then I have learned that there are certain things you can do to guarantee a consistent year round business.

January is a crummy month of the year to host show is all in your head! If you choose to make it, January can actually be the best month out of the year!

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Every Month Is GREAT In Party Plan!

There is always a good reason to host a show. This Party Plan Benefit flier will help you to think of why every month is a great month to host a show so that the reasons are fluent and natural.

When you practice knowing why every month is a terrific month to host a show, you will even start to believe it yourself!  That is really what it takes to have a great party plan business. The passion and belief that it really is the best thing since sliced bread.

When you make a decision that every month is a great month to host a party, then it will be! Your company has tons of benefits for hosting shows.  A few may include:

• fun
• themes
• tips
• new catalogs
• retiring products
• new products
• pool parties
• ladies night out
• high host bonuses
• you name it

Print the worksheet so you are always prepared to say why someone should host a Party Plan Show

Get Your Direct Sales Marketing Team To National Conference!

If you have been on any of the Power Hour direct sales marketing training calls or visited this training center more than once you probably have heard me say: “Meeting makers make more money!” “Consultants never quit when they are making money!” So with that in mind, the most important thing you can do for your team is get them to the meetings and especially to the company’s national or annual conference. I would like to introduce you to a team training incentive that will guarantee you have the largest team at conference.

“Pitcher Yourself At National Conference” Direct Sales Team Incentive

I guarantee you that this team incentive will get a higher percentage of your team to conference than ever before. The first year I ran it, I had more team members at conference than my upline did.  That is saying a good bit since I had a team of 50 with 50% of them at conference and he had a first line of closer to 100 with less than 10% at conference!

The Incentive Program Works Like This

You will want to start your incentive program soon after conference is over this year so that you have a great attendance next year.  Start the “Pitcher Yourself At National Conference” incentive about 11 months prior to conference.

The incentive program works like this:

• Buy some cheap ugly pitchers at a department store or better yet, a dollar store.
• Have a huge kickoff at your meeting to start the program.
• Give everyone a pitcher:  Explain to them that they are not committing to going, they are only committing to play the game. There will be lots of things to do all year and we will have fun doing it.
• The pitcher is a piggy bank to save for conference.  Each consultant is saving pocket change all year to go to conference and you are making it fun and adding some incentives that will put a bit of extra money into the pitcher.  The worst that could possibly happen is that they have a bunch of money to spend next year.
• Take their picture and tape it on the pitcher when you give them the pitcher.
• Make a big hoopla about the “Pitcher Yourself At National Conference” incentive at all your meetings after that.
• Continue to give out pitchers at every meeting.
• Each month offer a new incentive to play.
• Require everyone to bring their pitcher to all the meetings.
• Make a big deal about “Pitcher Yourself At National Conference” in the newsletter, on Facebook, at the meetings, all the time.
• Offer interim incentives like “Team Dollars”. Do this or that and win the team dollars. (I called it Deb’s Dough.) The dollars are either matching, or special prizes for special things, like having a $1000 month, etc.  The “Team Dollars” only get spent AT conference though.
• By the end of the year your team will have all the money that they need to go to conference.

Market Company National Conference

When you market your national conference all year to your team, they will be financially and psychologically prepared to go. The main reason consultants do not go to conference is money and you are taking that excuse away. Everyone will have fun with this incentive and you will have a huge team at conference.  You will be amazed at how much your team gets into this incentive.

Interim Direct Sales Incentives

You can use all the regular direct sales incentives during the year to enhance the “Pitcher Yourself At National Conference” program.

• Weigh your pitchers monthly and give awards.
• Give “Team Dollars” for bookings, recruiting, and sales.
• Award “Team Dollars” other year-round incentives.
• Give “Team Dollars” for registering.
• Fill your pitcher and get bonus dollars.

Team Training Program

Create A Cash Flow Show is a proven system for party plan consultants. It worked for me and it will work for you and your team!

The Key Sales Cold Call Is The Gatekeeper

The key to getting past the gatekeeper when cold calling potential clients is practice and confidence. Do you have the confidence to call a perfect stranger and make it sound like a personal call?

Can you stay positive and sound confident?  Do you know that any hint of uncertainty or apology will kill you?

Tips To Get Past Gate Keeper To The Decision Maker

• Use his or her first name only and your full name, but no company name. If you say your company name, it makes it obvious that he doesn’t know you. (For simplicity’s sake, I am going to use the word “him” or “he” for the rest of the article.)

• Follow up on previously sent information or a message. Leaving a message on the voicemail will never result in a return call, but it will give you the ability to honestly say that you are following up on a previous discussion.

Gatekeeper: “Can I tell him what this is regarding?”
YOU: “I’m following up on a prior conversation with Paul.”

• Sometimes the best thing to do is send a mailing piece, then call so you can answer this question honestly.

Gatekeeper: “Is he expecting your call??”

YOU: “I sent him some information and am checking in to see what he wants to do next.”

YOU: “He should be, based on the info I gave him.”

• If you keep calling and continue to get the runaround and the “he’s not available” line, then try this:

YOU: “Listen, I’ve called a million times and am sorry to be driving you crazy. How does Paul decide who he talks to?”

• Maybe you can cut a deal with the gatekeeper. “If I send some information to you, would you walk it in and hand it to Paul? If you promise you’ll do it, I promise you’ll only get one more unsolicited call from me. My last call will be to find out whether he’s willing to talk.”

• This is my favorite technique to get through to the gatekeeper. There are no tricks or games here.

YOU: “Hi! My name is Deb. I am a sales rep who would like to schedule an appointment with Mr.________. Could you please help me?”

Then just shut up and wait. Asking for help and using silence is a great, great way to force her to make a decision. You need to have the confidence to wait. If you speak first, you lose. If you hold your silence, the gatekeeper may become afraid that if you’re really somebody that will help them, she doesn’t want to be the one who turned you away.

Cold Call Techniques

• Know the decision maker’s name
• Know what benefit you have to offer the decision maker
• Make it personal
• Never sell to the gatekeeper
• Be confident
• Take ownership of the next contact

Remember to treat the gatekeeper the way you would like to be treated!  After all she or he is just doing the job! I read somewhere that most corporate decision makers receive up to 150 unsolicited calls per week.  Actually, based on the number I get in my home office, that seems to be a lowball figure!

Direct Sales Power

What kinds of techniques have you used to get past the gatekeeper when making cold calls?  Tell us in the comment section and you will be entered in the “Direct Selling Power” sweepstakes. Every comment on the blog is automatically entered to win the hot new summer direct sales training “Direct Selling Power.” We are giving away a fully autographed book to some lucky visitor. Learn more about the Direct Selling Power and the 9 ways to enter.

Please comment below with your “cold calling” and “gate keeper” techniques!

Direct Sales Team Motivation

If I could put motivation into a gift bag I would gladly “gift” it to everyone I know in direct sales!  However, reality is very different.  You can inspire others, however motivation isn’t something you can give to another, motivation comes from within oneself.

It’s not a level playing field in direct sales.  People choose direct sales for different reasons.  Some people stumble into direct sales thinking it will something fun to do, others want extra pocket change, some want a new career or to replace lost income, some can see the potential to grow a large business and create financial freedom and some want to meet and mingle with other people.

I could give you a success plan for you to attain, consisting of what I think is success for you, however would you be motivated to work my plan or would you be motivated to work your plan, with your dreams and goals?

Sales Team Motivation

The key to motivation is to find out what drives each member of your sales team.  What are their short-term and long-term inner dreams and goals?  Those are the motivating factors you will need to discover within each team member.  Some people aren’t even aware of what their inner desires are because generally people don’t allow themselves to dream big because they think “oh that’s never going to happen!”

I’ll share a story with you about a woman whose dream is for her 14-year old daughter to become the first person in her family to attend college, but money for tuition and books is very expensive, and she doesn’t have the money now and if she started saving the little bit she could now she wouldn’t have enough money saved by the time her daughter graduates from high school.  Listening to her talk about this dream, I sensed her strong desire for her dream as well as her defeating thoughts and words.

I asked her if I could show her a way for her dream to become a reality, would she be interested in hearing it? Together we worked on a 3-year plan with actions she could take in her business to make this a reality.  She was amazed that she could actually make her dream become a reality by creating her plan with consistent effort in her business.

She has motivation!

“When you know what you want and want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.”  Jim Rohn

Sales Team Motivation

So quit trying to make people “get motivated”, it doesn’t work!  Each person on your sales team is motivated differently.  Motivation comes from within and from a belief in one’s dream.  Find out what that dream is, show them the path to make that dream a reality, and they become motivated!

Team Trainer And Coach, Merilyn Strange

Merilyn Strange is a Avon leader and a team trainer. As a regular contributor to the site as one of our direct sales team coaches Merilyn brings us motivational team building techniques that create a team with a leadership focus. Contact or learn more about Merilyn by visiting her site or her Cash Flow Show expert page.

Nicki Keohohou Kicks Off Direct Sales Training

Nicki Keohohou, founder of the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance, motivated hundreds of direct sales consultants, corporate executives and industry vendors at the 2010 DSWA Celebrations conference. Held this past weekend in Los Angeles, the leading direct sales and marketing educational event was a huge success. In this video Nicki shares her inspirational message and encourages the direct sales professionals to reach for their dreams and connect with their goals. Achieve success by reaching for more and empowering yourself by being authentic and operate from a place of strength.

Best Sales Marketing Training

Nicki’s presentation was only the beginning of an action-packed conference, featuring some of the best marketing trainers and educators. Spotlighting education from a wide variety of speakers including Mark Victor Hanson, Neil Dana Phillips, Noah St. Johns and Dr. Steve Taubman, the event was attended by corporate executives, sales leaders, direct selling vendors and suppliers, as well as those new to the industry.

Direct Selling Women’s Alliance

Nicki Keohohou is one of the Cash Flow Show experts and contributing authors. DSWA is the second-largest direct selling association worldwide and is a major influence in the industry. My personal experience at all of the Direct Selling Women’s Alliance Celebrations is that the event is MORE inspiring than a company-sponsored national conference, due to the wide variety of companies represented. The learning experience is leveraged tremendously due to different corporate perspectives networking together. I strongly recommend that you attend next year. Usually held the third week in April, I will post the actual dates of next year’s event as soon as I get the information.

If you were at the 2010 Celebrations, please make a comment below about your experiences. Every comment made on the Cash Flow Show prior to May 1st is an entry into the direct sales sweepstakes! You may win the “Stop Recruiting, Start Sharing” training program. We look forward to hearing about your Celebrations experience.