Q&A

I absolutely LOVE getting questions from new consultants and one of the newest members of the team just asked such great ones that I thought I'd share them (and the answers) with you.

Dear Wendy,
 
I would like to ask people about their interest in booking parties using facebook and with a letterbox drop, but I am not sure about the legalities and guidelines surrounding this. I have looked at the literature online and I note there is an application form for this but not sure when it needs to be utilised.

Facebook – There are social Media Guidelines on the CBC under Consultant Guide > Advertising > Advertising >Advertising Guidelines AND Advertising & Social Media Policy - Clarifications


Letterbox drops – There are lots of ways to do these and you don’t need permission to do so. Just don’t use PartyLite images or logo and always say “Independent PartyLite Consultant” if you mention PartyLite at all.

• A great article with good comments under it…. http://www.partyplanblogs.com/wp_cms/back-to-basics/2012/02/14/letterbox-drops-dont-work/ 
• Hints and Tips: If you can't resist.... https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/marketing/direct-marketing/leaflet-marketing-letterbox-drops-handouts

Advertising Forms – Free to fill out and send in, so worth it whenever you are going out where others might be (Chicks at the Flicks, fetes, expos, print ads, etc.). I love PartyLite’s support when I’m doing marketing. They let me know if I’m breaking the rules before I spend money. They also have good advice.

I am also looking to do some fundraising type parties. Are there any restrictions with these? I know Jan has done some and has been running them like a normal party or outside orders so just wanted to clarify that is how i would do it too.

Well, you can fundraise anyway you want to. I find normal parties are great, but most charities wand cold hard cash and I like to keep my commission. So I offer to do a fundraiser by letting the host donate the host benefits to be a raffle prize. I give the raffle prize to the host and let them sell raffle tickets to raise money for the organisation. I do this a lot and have been very successful. Win-win-win.

In regards to the brite start program, is each month dependent on the before month target being met? for example, can month two rewards be received if month one wasn't?

Each month is separate. You can achieve any or all in any order

On a different note, I have a customer that would like to order the brighter world trio but I am not sure if you receive all 3 of those different fragrances or you get 3 of one type. can you please clarify this. Thanks.

On page 37 of the catalogue it specifies the three fragrances: Vanilla Black Pepper, Cinnamon Orange, and Lavender Verbena.

Finally......I would love to come watch one of your parties if possible

Yippee! I have one on Thursday, April 28th and one on Friday, April 29th and I’d LOVE to have you come with me. Please let me know which one is good for you. We would meet here at my place and go together.

Great questions. Hope I helped. X WLC.

Conference 2015 - What you need to know....

We Love to Party!

Here are some the things you need to know about conference.... Everything else you'll learn at our Unit Meetings.... So come to those and get excited!  

Conference Registration

Conference registrations are open, and if you're already a consultant, I’d like you to make the commitment now. Every Rainbow who registers for conference before the close of business on Monday, March 30 will get a fantastic early bird present when you attend conference. If you register after March 30, you won’t get the early bird present. EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS MONDAY - March 30, 2015.

Register now - pay later! If you sign up on the CBC for Stash Cash BEFORE you register, you can defer your payment until June. Stash cash takes a little bit of your profit from each party you do and puts it aside for your conference fees. The minimum is $10 per party and the maximum is $50per party. It adds up pretty quickly if you do it that way.

DON'T register if you're not sure you will go. There is a $100 administrative fee for cancellations and only conference attendees get the free products. So, once you do register, put it in your diary and make it a priority.  

Conference Accommodation

There are heaps of options for accommodation near the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. I strongly suggest sharing a room with someone to save money. Personally, I stay at the Novatel because I'm lazy and don't like to be far from my room. There are other options, including renting a house nearby and having a group of people room together. The best place to talk about what other people are doing is at a Unit Meeting or on Facebook. The highest cost (if you arrive on Wednesday night) would be four nights of accommodation at about $150 per person. You can definitely be more thrifty than that.

Conference Air Travel
Conference Registration opens at 12:00 on the Thursday afternoon and the conference starts at 1:45. The other Unit Leaders and I will be organising a brunch meeting at 10:30 on Thursday morning for all of the future Nirvana group. I will be arriving on the Wednesday evening so that I'm fresh and ready on Thursday. If you need to travel on Thursday, please take a very early flight. There are heaps of sales as the date gets closer. Fly into Brisbane if you can - the Gold Coast will cost you as much in road travel as the cost to fly directly to Brisbane. I usually get flights for less than $200. (Note: I NEVER fly JetStar.)

The gala dinner on Saturday ends after 11:00 and it is usually a late night, so plan your flights out according to your sleeping requirements.  I won’t leave until after 2:00 on Sunday – no rushing for me.

Conference GROUND TRANSPORTATION
You should definitely share taxis or shuttles getting to and from the Exhibition Centre. You won’t need a car.

Conference FOOD

Breakfasts: Hotel breakfasts or cafes might be a good solution for you. Personally, I eat breakfast in my room most mornings.  We also are going to organise some early morning walks this year.

Thursday: Light snacks are served on Thursday evening, so we usually eat a pizza or something at the hotel bar after the meet and greet.

Friday morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea are provided. We will be free to go out to dinner. Each Unit might come up with a plan. Cost of dinner is usually less than $50 and the restaurants in the past have been BYO (so I bring a bottle of wine from home).

Saturday, other than breakfast, all food is included: morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea, and the gala dinner.

Conference SHOP
You are under no obligation to participate in conference shop, but there are usually some great bargains to be had – exclusive to conference attendees. I buy door prize items and small host gifts. You can also do personal shopping, gift purchases, and stock up on wax (usually discontinued fragrances).

Total Cost
All in all, with flights, accommodation, registration, breakfasts, 2 dinners, beverages, and conference shop, I suppose I spend about $1000-$1200. That's $300 a day. I get back motivation, inspiration, education, friendships, training, stories, free products, pride in our company, and incentives to achieve even more in my business. My return on investment is FANTASTIC. Do 2-3 extra parties in each of April, May and June and it's basically paid for before you even get there.

OK – I hope I’ve given you lots of reasons to ask more questions, get planning, and get your registration in! You will absolutely LOVE conference. Once you go, it’ll be something you’ll tell other people they shouldn’t miss. I promise.

Do You Want a Higher Guest Average?

Increasing your average guest spend is NOT about hocking lots of unnecessary products and upselling everything to everyone. It's about guiding the guests into a decorating mindset, story selling to give them emotional connections to the fragrances and decors, and giving them excellent customer service with quantities of fragrance (wax, oil, sticks, etc.) so that they enjoy everything they purchase.

Here are a few of the ideas I have to share our products.

TO START: I always start my parties with a story about how some of the pages will call out to them and most of them will not. Focus on the pages you like and think about how those pieces will look in their home. I always say that if nothing calls out to them, that's okay, too. I'd rather have them buy nothing than buy a nick-knack.

DURING: The Wow! card and the Show it off! Card are great for talking about the specific products I've brought with me. I let people know that the collections are specifically designed so they can purchase smaller items at a party and get larger items for free or half price when they book a party. (I also acknowledge that some people don't like to have parties, so they just buy the larger items outright.)

AFTER: I hand out the Love it! list and give them information about why they should fill out the front. Then I ask them to use the list to capture their favourites - favourite pages, products, and fragrances. I tell them that PartyLite isn't a one night stand... it's a journey. We can fragrance and decorate their homes one corner at a time.

WRAP IT UP: When this card comes up, I ask them to think of one person who has a birthday, or is moving into a new house, or has done something special for them recently. I share the Brighter World and Forbidden Fruits collections then. I also offer Gift Certificates in $30 and higher for people who are difficult to buy for. I say I want to be their Gift Service and I promise I'll never go above their budget whether it's $20 or $200.

SETTING EXPECTATIONS: When I give an example of the party sales for a booking seed, I always use $1000 as the party total in my example. Also I give out catalogues at the beginning of the party to allow them time to get used to our different products and prices throughout my presentation. The presentation captures the essence of the quality and value they get with PartyLite.

I'm sure you have ideas on how to best position the products and promotions to encourage your clients (new and returning) to buy. I'd love it if you'd share them here and make this post an even more valuable training piece.

How to Follow-Up After a Networking Meeting

Lost Training Notes

Do you take notes at meetings? I have a special notebook I take to all PartyLite meetings so I can keep all of the training notes in one place and re-read, re-inspire, and renew my business when I need to. One of our conference speakers, Terri Hawkins, gave me that advice.

But I just found a lonely piece of paper. One with some great notes on it... I'm going to capture those notes here and then recycle the page....

What meeting was it? Don't know.

How long ago? Don't know.

Who was the trainer? Don't know.

Who took the notes? Me.

Bookings

• No one will get you bookings.
• You won't get bookings unless you change you.
• YOU NEED TO OFFER.
• Set a schedule, make the calls.

Ideas:

1. Customer Service Calls
2. Tealight Surveys
3. Asking at parties

Increase your party average

• Increase the number of guests (through consistent CARE calls)
• Increase the average guest spend (focus on decorating and fragrance - not just candles)
• Ask how they envisage burning the candles.
• Upsell as good service for THEM versus higher sales for YOU.