When you are settling on a guest list, make sure to invite at least twice as many people as you’d actually like to host. Most Direct Selling companies average a 35% to 50% acceptance rate, so plan accordingly.
Set Up
Your Direct Selling consultant will advise you on the specific needs that will best display her products. You may need to have mirrors available, full-length for clothing shows or handheld or table mirrors for jewelry and skin care lines. Ask your consultant whether she will provide those. Find out if additional tables are needed, but generally the set up should be very simple. For example, Arbonne consultants are trained to bring all their necessary supplies into the host’s home in only one trip, and most skin care classes are staged around a kitchen table. How simple is that!
Hosting Duties
Your job as a hostess is to provide instant support and testimony to the consultant, to be the link between the consultant/the direct selling company and your friends, and to facilitate the “party” aspect of the event. For example, the hostess should refill glasses or snacks so that the guests can pay full attention to the presentation.
When the consultant concludes her presentation, the hosting duties will shift slightly. If the consultant plans to have a “check-out area,” where shoppers will place their orders, the hostess should remain in the main area with the guests. As one shopper finishes her order, the hostess can organize the next person to start the process.
The hostess can also answer basic questions, and get assistance from the consultant, as needed. However, it is imperative for the hostess to continue to promote the company, the products and the consultant, so that the guests will consider hosting their own get together and also so that the hostess will earn whichever host bonus products are available to her. This process really does hearken back to the old days when sales were accomplished between friends, around the kitchen table, over a cup of coffee!
After the Event
As a home party hostess, you may think that your responsibilities are over as soon as the party concludes. However, it is really important to send a follow up thank-you, (handwritten, of course!), within two days of the event. This thank-you note will let your friends know that you appreciate them supporting your event, that you were glad they could share the evening with you, and may also encourage them to host their own classes and enjoy the same benefits that you did, simply by cleaning one room in your home and gathering a few friends to hear a presentation!
