Fresh Ideas For A Direct Sales Turkey Trot

Turkey Trot Ideas for Direct Sellers

Turkey Trot Ideas for Direct Sellers

My search for fresh (no pun intended) Turkey Trot ideas to help direct sellers gobble up extra sales in November led me to Tara LaMagna, leader of a million+ Lemongrass Spa organization and active member of our Visionista community. Tara, a thirty-something Mom of 2 who started trotting four years ago, sold $600 at her very first Turkey Trot and last year grew the “reinvented mystery hostess party event” to over $1,000 in sales. This year she’s hoping to break a new record with her biggest attendance to date!

I interviewed Tara to learn her fresh ideas for Turkey Trot success, which include engaging with her Facebook Group, creating a Facebook Event and incorporating Facebook Live:

Lynn: For anyone who doesn’t know, what exactly is a direct sales Turkey Trot?

Tara: A Turkey Trot is a reinvented Mystery Hostess party held during Thanksgiving weekend. You ask customers to collect $100 in orders, and everyone who participates is in a prize drawing to win the Hostess Credits – just like a Mystery Hostess party. My Turkey Trot customers collect $100 in orders, or they can place a $100 order themselves.

Lynn: Thanksgiving is coming up soon… is it too late for a direct sales consultant to do a Turkey Trot right now?

Tara: No, it’s not too late. This is the first year that I was really proactive and started planning for my Turkey Trot in the beginning of November, but normally I roll it out the week of Thanksgiving.

Lynn: How do you invite the people who participate?

Tara: I let customers and past Hosts know a Turkey Trot is “the easy button” for a party! They don’t have to clean their house or collect a large amount of orders. It’s just 100 bucks – so I call it the “easy button”. I let them know they’ll get a chance to win all the Hostess credits and awesome prizes. I keep it as simple as possible when I’m explaining it. The reason it’s called a Turkey Trot is because people are going to be seeing friends and family during the Thanksgiving holiday, which makes it easy to say, “Hey, I’m putting in some orders for XYZ company. Do you need gifts or anything for yourself?”

Lynn: What do you send your Turkey Trot “hosts” once they say yes?

Tara: I send them a Turkey Trot packet that includes two catalogs, five order forms (a lot of people just order online), a few samples, and a handwritten note with a cute little turkey on the front to say thanks for being one of my turkey trotters this year – for my fourth annual event! I let them know that they should bring out the catalogs when family members are passing around the Black Friday ads (because everybody does that on Thanksgiving), and they can share the samples too.

Lynn: Do you give a deadline to submit all the orders?

Tara: Their Turkey Trot packet arrives a few days before Thanksgiving and I give them about a week – with the goal to close on Cyber Monday. Most of the time participants have $100 in orders signed, sealed, and delivered within the first couple days… even before Thanksgiving.

Lynn: Do you also create a Facebook event for your Turkey Trot?

Tara: Yes, and this year I was so excited because you gave me the idea to use a GIF for the cover. It’s super fun because you see all these turkeys headed towards the screen!

via GIPHY

I create an event on my business page because it’s the easiest way for everybody to share, share, and share with their friends. I started my event earlier this week and I’ve been posting, and people have been adding themselves to the event by RSVPing “going”, and becoming turkey trotters all week long. The turkeys are trotting!

Lynn: Do you give extra incentives for people who collect higher sales?

Tara: I do. I give them a full-sized product when they submit $300 or more in sales. I also do a prize for the first turkey trotter to submit their first hundred dollars.

Lynn: Do you name your party hostess “Turkey Trot?”

Tara: Yes! It’s so fun, and they get really excited when they’re searching for the hostess.

Lynn: Tell us what’s happening on the event, are you going live?

Tara: I post some fun engagement questions (like the one shown here) and then I go live to introduce myself and explain what to expect with the Turkey Trot. I really focus on the gifts that we offer and make cute little bundles for them because most people right now are in the mood for holiday shopping. I also ask them who they’re shopping for, and I do a little bit of one-on- one shopping with them to help customers find the best gift for whoever is on their list.

Lynn: As you’re getting close to the final deadline, are you doing recognition for trotters who have already submitted their orders, and what does that look like?

Tara: That’s my favorite part! I always announce when each turkey trotter has completed their $100 in sales and then, as they submit $300 or more, they get a huge shout out. I also share how many Hostess credits I’m giving away as they get higher and higher, which influences even more people to jump in and join the Trot!  This year I’ll use Facebook Live and go live to announce the winner of the Hostess credits and prizes. I also have each “Turkey Trotter” pick a turkey with a number underneath of it. That is how they select their mystery prize (it’s a low-cost product or a discount this year).

Lynn: Thanks so much for sharing! Any other advice?

Tara: If you haven’t done a Turkey Trot, start now and make it an annual event! My customers get super excited because they’ve done it before and they come back every year. I did a post in my VIP group last week and I just said, “On a scale from one to ten, how excited are you about this year’s Turkey Trot?” Everyone commented: ten ten ten ten! And then some group members asked, “What’s the turkey trot about?” That gave me the opportunity to go live and share why it’s so much fun.

Are you planning a Turkey Trot, Reindeer Run, Elf Race, or your own unique themed Mystery Host event? Share your ideas in the comments!

 

Tara LaMagna is a former Teacher, Mom of 2 boys and Platinum Director with Lemongrass Spa. Her success has allowed her to leave her full-time career and work her biz at home

 

 

 

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Join my VIP Group for direct sellers and get my popular Vendor Event Course as a bonus... a $97 value! PLUS 2 more gifts: What to post on your Facebook Page to book more Facebook parties and my Top 10 Call-To-Action Posts For Facebook Parties, along with How To Build A Booming Facebook Group in your exclusive Members-Only Learning Center. Learn more. Lynn Bardowski is an award-winning entrepreneur and bestselling author of Success Secrets of a Million Dollar Party Girl. In addition, she speaks to global audiences about Direct Sales Success, Women’s Empowerment, and Social Selling. What's more, she's a valuable resource for press, media and bloggers. Follow Lynn on her social sites by clicking on the icons on the top left of this page.

 

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