WAHM Forums

I have a hostess that gave me 17 names to send invitations to. I think that this is low. How can I tactfully ask for more names? We have discussed the fact that only a third of them will be able to attend and the list had suggested to put 30-40 names to invite. What else can I do?

I do my invites a little differently.


1. I have my hostess make a guest list.


2. Then I have her call each guest and invite them to the party. The hostess makes a notation as to which guests from her list will be, maybe, or will not be coming. (Now she knows 3 weeks in advance as to who will not be coming. She has lots of time to get outside orders from them and find out if they would be interested in hosting their own show. Plus we also know ahead of time if she needs to invite more guests.)


3. She sends me a list of women who will be or may be coming. I only send out invites to these ladies. Their invitation becomes more of a reminder card since they have already been personally invited by the hostess. (I save on postage & biz supplies.)


4. On each invitation I address it to the guests "and friend." I also put "bring a friend" stickers on each invite.


5. My hostess then makes reminder calls before the party.


I would certainly be concerned about a guest list of only 17. Focus on the hostess when you call her. Let her know that in order for her to maximize her hostess rewards she will need 10+ guests. This is difficult to do when you only invite 17. Give her some ideas as to different women that she could invite. Or have her ask each guest to bring a friend.


(You also never know. I once hosted a party where EVERY guest I invited attended. This was before I had ever worked in direct sales. I didn't even send out invites. I just called my friends and asked them to come....they came.)


:-) Marianne

Thank you for the advice. I like the idea of only sending a reminder card. I want to get the best result not only for me but for my hostess. Of the reminder postcards you send out, how many usually attend the party?

I have gotten a few invitation lists that only had 14 or 15 names on them. I call the hostess and tell her that usually we try to invite about 30-40, because about 1/3 of them will be able to attend - and I tell her that if she can't think of more names and addresses that I will make up some extra invitations to send to her, so that she can give them to people she may have forgotten.


Nora

I do exactly what Marianne does, and I think it helps a lot to constantly refer to the invites as "Reminder Invitations," and their "Reminder Invitation List."


It is so true that people will respond more favorably to a personal face to face or on the phone invitation, as opposed to just receiving a postcard or piece of paper in the mail.

I ask her for names of co-workers, friends, etc. that she may see on a daily basis but don't know their addresses. If she can think of more, I do like Nora and give/mail her invitations to hand out. I also ask her to personally invite them in person or on the phone and use the invitation as a reminder. Edited by: nlove

I think it's SO important for your hostess to touch base with her guests personally before the invitation arrives. People are more likely to attend when she invites them personally. (It means more!)


I also give away a Southern Living cookbook (SLAH gives them to us free with our business supply credits) when someone brings a guest and that really helps! Friends can increase attendance by 5 or more! I really encourage that with my hostesses.


Also -The reminder calls arecrucial! But many hostesses don't like to do them. So...depending on what you sell, you can call your hostess a few days before and give her a "reason" to call and remind her guests. Sometimes I tell her..."Can you call everybody and tell them to bring a spoon?" Why... because our flatware is so gorgeous and heavy! I do a spoon contest and no one can ever beat the weight and size of my spoon! We have a "My spoon is bigger than your spoon showdown!"


Your hostess is more likely to call her guests if she has a reason.


Hope that helps!


Susan Scarborough Smith / Star Director

I send Evites to all the guests that have email! This is FREE and it works awesome! You as the Rep can send notes to them an automatic reminder is sent and both of you can watch the RSVP's too.





Also for EVERY party I offer raffle tickets if they bring 2 buying friends! Raffle tickets are available at most party stores and walmarts. I raffle off a small gift at the end of the party! It works great. Also their are more ways to earn tickets at the party. If an outside friend comes and books her own party, the person that brought her and she will get 5 raffle tickets!


For evites go to www.evite.com (http://www.evite.com) to check out this amazing feature! Their email address's dont show up just the first part of it, so email addy's dont get in the wrong hands. Saves time and money. If they dont have emails I simply send a post card. smileys/smiley2.gif





P.S. on the evite make sure you put your website address so they can go look at the online catalog if they can't come they can still order!

Hi there


I always try to partner with my hostess and let her know I want her to have the most successful show she can have. I remind her 40 invitations does NOT mean 40 guest. I think the number 40 scares the beejeebees out of people but once you tell them it doesn't mean 40 guests they calm down a bit. I tell them if they invite 40 they are lucky to have 10-12 show up.


I also create fun incentives for my hostess. If she has 10-12 people there I give an extra gift. I always encourage her to remind the guests if they bring a friend they will receive a free gift from my spa basket. That usually increases attendance too.





Good luck!


Colleen

There's also a chance that this host has invited the people she knows will come. I realize we all have that 30 - 40 invites in our mind, but lately I've had several hosts invite just 10 - 15 and EVERY guest they invited show up!!! And I mean like 5 hosts or so that have done that. So, you might do some chatting with the host too so you can see if these are guests guaranteed to come or just the people she's hoping will come. I tell you what, my opinion of low guest lists has changed drastically in the past month!

With my past company, I had a guest list that had phone #'s too on it. I would call them 2 days before the show and introduce myself and remind them at the same time! That way I gave them a great 1st impression. smileys/smiley2.gif

I agree Jody. Reminder/introduction calls are great attendance boosters for your parties. They've done wonders for me:)

What if she only knows 17 people?


Perhaps she only wants close friends at her party. Maybe he feels uncomfortable with people she only knows as acquaintances (co workers, people from church, kids' friends' mothers, etc.) at her home.

Yes, that may be the case. How do I go about and find that out?

I do my invites a little differently.


1. I have my hostess make a guest list.


2. Then I have her call each guest and invite them to the party. The hostess makes a notation as to which guests from her list will be, maybe, or will not be coming. (Now she knows 3 weeks in advance as to who will not be coming. She has lots of time to get outside orders from them and find out if they would be interested in hosting their own show. Plus we also know ahead of time if she needs to invite more guests.)


3. She sends me a list of women who will be or may be coming. I only send out invites to these ladies. Their invitation becomes more of a reminder card since they have already been personally invited by the hostess. (I save on postage & biz supplies.)


4. On each invitation I address it to the guests "and friend." I also put "bring a friend" stickers on each invite.


5. My hostess then makes reminder calls before the party.


I would certainly be concerned about a guest list of only 17. Focus on the hostess when you call her. Let her know that in order for her to maximize her hostess rewards she will need 10+ guests. This is difficult to do when you only invite 17. Give her some ideas as to different women that she could invite. Or have her ask each guest to bring a friend.


(You also never know. I once hosted a party where EVERY guest I invited attended. This was before I had ever worked in direct sales. I didn't even send out invites. I just called my friends and asked them to come....they came.)


:-) Marianne





Marianne, do you feel that your parties are better attended when you do your invites this way?

I do the same a Marianne. I have been doing that for over a year
and have seen a dramatic increase in attendance and sales. I also
do not experience cancellations by working closely with my host.
I am also going to start doing the reminder calls myself, that way if
someone can't attend I can ask if they would like to host their own
tasting. Another opportunity for a booking!

I coudln't imagine scraping up 30 or 40 ppl to invite to one of my parties. Thats alot of ppl! Not everyone is that social to have so many ppl you would want to invite.





cindy

Amy,


Ask her to explore all her categories (church, hairdresser, school moms, co-workers, women at the gym) Invite everyone instead of just some because some people might say "So and so was invited but I wasn't) Don't assume someone doesn't want to go--it's better to ask.


Also, I have had alot of luck with putting stickers on the invitations that say "Bring a friend, recieve a free gift" I offer either free shipping or a polishing cloth.


Do you ever listen to the weekly Silpada clinics? Today was about bookings!! It's a great place to ask questions like this one and to hear lot's of great ideas!





Anne

Some people have small circles of friends, but that doesn't mean they won't buy!! Sometimes a party of 6-8 can have better sales than a party of 10-12. Remember to ask each guest to host their own party, too.


Tell your hostess that no one is bummed when they are invited to a party, only when they aren't!!!


Suzanne