Tips for Hosting a Successful Direct Sales Party or Event

From home parties to vendor events, a key tool for attracting new business in the direct selling world is through in-person shopping events. Potential customers take kindly to being able to ask direct questions, get a feel for your products and get to know you on a deeper level. And sometimes, customers don’t want to be treated as customers, they want to be your friend. To attract a large crowd, plan an event that people actually want to attend, especially if you are having it on a weeknight. There are many themes to go with, which we covered here, and I’m here to help you with some planning tips to build attendance and increase results for both you and your Hostess.

Make the Party an Experience

Make your event an experience that draws a crowd. Consider an interactive, social share-worthy activity – you don’t always want the entire event to entail talking about your products. Plan something fun, such as pizza decorating, wine tasting, create your own (fill in the blank), or a DIY craft activity. Another thing to consider is refreshments. No matter the kind of event you plan, your guests will want a little something to eat and drink. Keep it simple and incorporate the day of the event into your theme to make it easy for guests to remember the party date, like “Margarita Monday”, “Sunday Funday” or “Wine-Down Wednesday.”

Promote the Party

Promote your event online. Before the event takes place, register your event online or create a Facebook event to attract friends (and friends of friends)! The more exposure your event receives, the better. If you’re renting a hall or community room, share its page on your social channels to draw more local people in. Encourage your already-committed guests to share your event on their own social channels. This will help spread the word to a larger audience. After all, word-of-mouth and personal endorsements are great tools for attracting a crowd!

Offer Up Goodies

Hand out mementos for your party guests to remember you by. Takeaways are very important – from business cards and catalogues to tasty goodies and samples. Once they leave your event and reenter the world, how will they be reminded of you? A great idea is to combine the fun with the practical. For instance, adhere your information to a delicious cookie, water bottle, or sample. When they pick up your useful giveaway item, they’re reminded to give you a call and order some products. Odds are, guests will love their goodie so much they’ll do your marketing for you and take a photo of it to share on Facebook and Instagram. Encourage guests to tag your biz page and leave a review, too!

Host a Pop-Up

Host a quick, “Stop ‘n Shop” pop up party at a local restaurant or happy hour one evening after work. It can be as simple as setting up your kit and offering a prize drawing to generate leads. Then let your friends mingle while browsing your newest products, catalog and sales fliers. Oh, and to shop! Set up an online option for your friends to check out as well, in case they have too much fun mingling and forget to do any shopping! And, of course, go LIVE from the event (on Facebook) to increase your audience reach. Facebook Live ideas include behind the scenes as you are setting up, interviewing shoppers to ask what their faves are, or sharing a new product sneak peek.

No matter what event you choose to host, always remember to make it enjoyable. If you’re having fun, your customers will have fun! Not to mention, it will leave them coming back for more, time and time again.

Ready to really rock your direct sales biz?