5 Best Ever Solutions to Prevent January Cancellations

News flash. Next year is actually happening next month. Which is why I’m blogging about January party cancellations when you probably haven’t finished Christmas shopping yet. The reality is, bridging December to January takes planning and preparation, because you’re booking parties 4 – 6 weeks ahead. Factor in holiday party celebrations and a Christmas cookie food coma and you might wake up on New Year’s day with a flurry of “booking remorse” cancellations. Meaning, your Hostess is hungover and remembers the party is next week but she has not invited a single friend. EEK. Her text to you reads something like, “Happy New Year! PS: I’m canceling my party.” Before you’ve poured your second cup of coffee your big dream to have the most ah-mazing year ever is not looking so good.

The secret to overcoming January cancellations is to start coaching your Hostess before you finish all the cookies and drink the leftover wine. Right now is a good time to start (to coach your Hostess, not drink wine).

Here are 5 best ever solutions to help you prevent January cancellations and start the new year strong:

Send your Hostess a Holiday or Happy New Year card: Nothing helps you stay top of mind more than a holiday greeting that shows up in the mailbox. Even better if you can make it personal – which builds the know, like and trust factor – by using a photo of your family or furry friends. Write a note that says, “Can’t wait to party with you on (date),” as a friendly reminder. Side note: check Shutterfly for half price sales to create a personalized and affordable greeting.

Repurpose retired products into booking gifts: Every year direct sales companies retire a portion of their product line to make room for the new. While many consultants sell retired products at “end of year sample sale” type of events, I recommend you use those products to secure January dates and book a few more parties. Wrap up the products and play Santa by telling your January Hostesses you’ll have a special present for them when they hold their party on the original date. Even better, go LIVE in your VIP Group to launch your Santa plan so new Hosts can see the presents awaiting them (include a gift tag with their name on it). Put available dates on extra presents and book more parties with customers who are tuning in and don’t want to miss out on all the fun. Tip: Size matters for this strategy, so put your earliest dates (Jan. 1 – 10) on the biggest presents. If you sell product that comes in little boxes put the little box in a big gift to communicate the value.

Coach your Hostess to text “Save The Dates” this week: Use an app like Canva to create a digital save the date invite that your Hostess can text now. Encourage her/him to send you a list of RSVP’s so you can keep track of who’s coming before you create the event. Need a system to stay organized? Trello is a free collaboration tool that can help you and your Hostess work together and track to-dos.

One of our Elite Mastermind Members, Rebekah Behrens, has implemented the “save the date” idea with her team and is having great results!

Rebekah says, “My hostesses are having amazing success texting this free digital save the date to their friends. Their friends RSVP right away to be entered to win a prize. My team is having fewer cancellations because when people are coming to the party the Hostess is excited!”

Rebekah uploaded photos to create this customized save the date:

Save The Date digital invite example via Canva

Mail your Host a new catalog: Have you noticed the lack of mail in your mailbox these days? Stand out and go old school. As soon you get your hands on new year product/host reward updates (catalog, flyer, etc.), mail it to your January Host and encourage her to keep it in her purse. Even better if you mail it in a bright colored envelope with some fun stickers.

Challenge your Host to get at least 5 orders by sharing the catalog at all the holiday parties she’s attending between now and New Year’s. A hostess who has pre-party sales will be way more motivated to go for even more sales and bookings (just like losing the first 5 lbs. motivates you to stay on a New Years diet plan).

Schedule a “Wish List” call before year end: Stay in the gift giving spirit and schedule a call with your Hostess to find out what’s on her wish list, because you get to play Santa every time you party. Remind your Hostess why she’s hosting (fun, free, friends) and help her make a plan to earn all her goodies. Example: put Post-It tabs on the catalog pages that feature her wish list items, or send a sneak peak video of a new product that’s on the top of her wish list. Include encouraging words like, “We’re going to have so much fun! Can’t wait to meet all your friends on (date)!” Or “You’re doing a great job with RSVP’s! 3 more party guests and you’ll be on your way to earning ALL this!”

BONUS TIP: Use the time you’re spending on Facebook to stay connected with January hostesses. Here’s how:

Customize your newsfeed preferences: Odds are, your Hosts will be posting about all their holiday moments on Facebook. Stay engaged with your January Hosts by customizing the posts you see first in your newsfeed. Go to your personal profile and click on the upside down arrow in the right corner > News Feed Preferences > Prioritize who you see first. Select the names of your January Hosts from your friends list and boom!, you will no longer be in the land of forgotten consultants.

One more important tip: The best way to plan and prepare for a strong start in the new year is to overbook. Your hairdresser does it, your doctor does it, and we all know the airlines do it. So should you. I started every year with at least 20 January parties on my calendar and, using the solutions above, I was able to hold an average of 14 parties (3 – 4 week) within the first four weeks of the New Year. Yup. That means 30% of my parties still canceled or postponed, because life happens.

Think about this. Imagine if these ideas help you hold 2 more parties (that otherwise might have canceled). And, at those 2 parties, you added 16 new Customers, booked 5 more parties and sponsored 1 new Consultant. Now multiply that by the number of consultants in your downline. Pretty great start to 2018, right?!

I’d love to hear from you. What are you doing to prevent January party cancellations? Share in the comments below 🙂

Ready to really rock your direct sales biz?