Top Direct Selling Party Trends For 2018

There are two words that best describe the top direct sales party trends for 2018: Experience and Interaction.

The most successful companies are embracing the old with the new, creating a hybrid interactive experience that attracts all generations, from millennials to baby boomers. The ‘I’m OK, you’re OK’ business culture is critical to modern day success. In today’s world, the customer is your marketing department. Listen in and be ready to adapt to what your customer wants vs. what you think is the “the way” to party. Both customers and consultants want options, and that includes partying in-home and online.

The pendulum has swung too far. Companies that went all-in online have faced challenges, including chasing strategies that had unintended coincidences for their entire field. Facebook Jail is one of them.”
~ Laurie Girardi, Direct Sales Expert

Here are some of top direct sales home and online party trends for 2018:

In-Person Parties & Events Are Thriving
Have you noticed your friends are flocking to party plan-like events, including cooking classes and wine-tasting events at local fashion boutiques? Yep. While we were telling party guests to sit down so we could tell them all about our awesome products, paint parties stole our look. Turns out girls really do just wanna have fun – so they can share it on Facebook. Stay relevant and shift from a “demo” type party to an interactive party experience. Instead of thinking of the smartphone as a distraction, leverage social sharing and encourage everyone to take out their phone and post, follow, like and share.
#girlsquad #winetime #thisisfun #letsdoitagain

Need ideas?  VIP Mentoring Member, Sara Hoffman, hands out aprons to guests at her parties. Sara says, “They love it! It’s like playing dress up and the guests are so much more involved. They jump right in, help with the recipe prep and imagine using the products in their own home! Trying on the apron creates conversations about doing what I do!” ~  Follow Sara Hoffman and see her Facebook Live cooking show “Tool Thyme Tuesday” @SaraStovetop

Customers Want Out Of Online Parties In Groups 
I’m a Jersey Girl so I’m gonna keep it real. Holding a Facebook Party in a Group is a big risk in 2018 – because it’s not a good customer experience and odds are your customer wants out of that Group asap. If you don’t believe me, read what the Mommy bloggers are saying about direct sellers and facebook groups (Hint: it’s not good). Do you risk a Hostess or Guest auto-adding friends to a Group = you and your brand perceived – and possibly flagged by Facebook – as a spammer? Truth is, auto-adding party guests to a Facebook Group is a common practice (which is why your Customers don’t like parties in Groups) and impacts both the personal brand of the direct seller and the corporate brand. Whether you’re a top Leader or Direct Sales Training VP, you can no longer afford to ignore the truth – online parties that are held in Facebook Groups are associated with spammy behavior.

VIP Member Leslie Scott has seen her online party sales go from zero to $500 since switching from Facebook Groups to Events. Leslie says, “We’ve always been taught to do closed groups for parties, but I never get any interaction from those, let alone sales. Almost all my online sales last month were from parties in events.” Find Leslie on Facebook  @LesliesMascaraAndMore

Facebook Live Is The New Facebook Party
Virtual party guests are suffering from scrolling overwhelm and refresh frustration, and guest attendance is going down as a result. It’s time to ditch last year’s party scripts and go LIVE. Facebook Live is a better experience for party guests because it’s interactive and most-like a home party, which is why live video builds the know, like and trust factor faster than traditional party posts. Not sure if going live is for you? Meet Melissa Weaver, a full-time Teacher who went from holding 2 parties a month to being recognized as the #1 Consultant in her organization last November – with $3K+ in online party sales. Party guests loved her facebook live online party so much they kept booking and buying. Melissa quickly turned 3 parties into 20! Best part? Melissa was a facebook live newbie and had never gone live prior to taking my Facebook Party course.

Melissa made fun signs for her Facebook live parties so guests could easily interact! Follow her awesome sauce on Facebook @DinnerWithMelissa

Authenticity Is In And Copy/Paste Is Out 
Back in the day (before Facebook), Leaders could easily create party scripts and flyers and tell their teams to copy/paste. That might work in-person, but not online. Copyrighted content and intellectual property are legally protected – and companies like Facebook are working hard to protect those rights. Googling images and “borrowing” graphics is seemingly innocent, but might be illegal. In fact, sharing duplicate content can get you flagged as a spammer – and land an entire direct sales company in Facebook Jail. Yet, I still see company supplied ad-looking graphics flooding my news feed during a particular sale or promotion, which means corporate offices are not keeping up with best-practices (and unknowingly encouraging their field to spam friends and family). Instead, companies need to inspire their teams to be authentic and embrace original content. Simply put, if a photo looks like an ad and sounds like an ad, it does not belong on Facebook.

Facebook’s new mantra for 2018 can easily be applied to both an in-home and online party experience: “Create content that is meaningful, relevant and authentic.”

Inspiring your teams to focus on customer experiences and interactions should be the #1 goal of every direct seller in 2018!

What are you doing to create an interactive party? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

Ready to really rock your direct sales biz?