WAHM Forums

Some companies really like to emphasize the fact that you do not need to do parties, or that they have many ways you call sell their products, or if you want to do parties it is optional. I am in the process of looking at several different companies right now, and with one of them they sell only through parties.


Do you think this is a weakness? What would you consider as some of the *benefits* ofbeing ableto sell your productsonly through parties?


A couple things I thought of, there is probably less competition. If someone can orderyour products off of one of a gazillion websites online, that makesyour productsso much more accessible...why order from their consultant if they just order it anywhere on the web? Also, having only the option of selling through parties I think might make someone's business more simple--not so many different aspects to focus us, and also I would think more duplicatable as well if you want to build a team. Any other ideas?


Like I mentioned, I am in the process of deciding what company to choose, so would appreciate any insights or opinions about this particular issue.Thanks!


Laura smileys/smiley1.gif

Hi Laura!


And welcome to WAHM! Personnally, I do not think it is a weakness to sell only through parties. This is the best way to meet potential hosts, customers, and teammembers. I also agree that it is the best way to build a "safe" customer base, without having to worry about them going to another website to purchase.


In the end, your love for the product will be the most important thing - because if you have a passion for what you are doing, success will most likely follow, regardless of how you can sell.


Good luck and please keep us posted on your decision!


smileys/smiley1.gif

I think home parties are great fun and profitable. If you like them do them, no matter which business you choose. I don't think I would personally pick a biz with the only way to sell is thru home parties. Not when there is a whole other world out there. JMO


Goodluck!! :)

Hi Laura:


I think being limited to only parties will not give you a very broad range of prospects. You can only cover a fairly small territory that way. By being able to put "many different lines in the water" you have a better chance of being successful because you can get the word out and meet so many more people that might be interested in the business. Fundraisingand/or craft fairs are othergreat ways to promote. Your product will get out to so many people you would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet.


I just think only having one way to promote a business is way too limiting.


Best of luck in your decision.


Barb


www.CandleSuccessInfo.com (http://www.CandleSuccessInfo.com)

Hi there,

I am with a company that is going to be selling only through parties and although it's a change from my last company, I think it will be better. I don't have to worry about somebody putting an ad on every site out there and trying to compete for online orders.

With only ordering through parties, it sort of levels the playing field for those who aren't computer people smileys/smiley2.gif

Good luck on whichever company you go with.
Brenda P.

Hi Laura,


I love selling through home parties, but I also want the ability to place individual orders on behalf of my customers with the option to ship direct. Once I do a party and gain new customers, I don't want to tell them when they order from me in the future that they have to wait until I have enough orders toqualify fora party before I can place their order. I don't mind not having a website to sell from because it can take away from the personal touch.


Best ofsuccess to you on whatever business you choose!!

Home parties are the best and I'll tell you a secret:


I make the most money in the least amount of time at a party! WOW! If I focused just on parties and took out the other stuff, I'd be rich!smileys/smiley32.gifThat's an AHA moment!


Don't think of it as a negative. Parties are great.
<UL>
<LI>Your hostess gets customers in the same room with you</LI>
<LI>She gathers orders for you</LI>
<LI>You get to meet face to face and give one on one time</LI>
<LI>Everyone gets to have fun</LI>
<LI>You book parties</LI>
<LI>You recruit</LI>[/list]


Just don't forget to hostess coach!


Best of luck in your search. Follow your heart!


Debbie

For me at this time, a party only plan did not work out. I signed up
for a home decor company right before my husband started a new job. He
has ended up working 6 &amp; 7 days a week, leaves at 5:30AM and gets
home 7:30-8PM. That leaves me with no time available for parties. That
wouldn't be such a problem, but we have a minimum order. Like someone
mentioned, I can't just place an individual order for someone. I have
to have enough to qualify as a party. I'm not saying it wouldn't work
for you. It's just another detail to consider. Parties are great,
because when guests get to touch, see, and feel your products you will
sell more. I just need something more flexible to fit my needs. My
current businesses blend perfectly with my massage practice. You have
to choose whatever fits YOUR needs and will make you happy. You'll make
it work either way!



Good luck!

Jennifer



ETA: You can always do catalog parties, too. Those work out very well.
You don't have to pack all your stuff up &amp; your hostess doesn't
have to have her house spotless! :)


Edited by: happymommy

Hi Laura,


Like Debbie said, home parties are the best way to make the most money in the shortest amount of time. In any party plan company, I think it's wise to consider home parties as the backbone of your business. But to make that the ONLY way to sell your product is, in my opinion, overly limiting. For instance, I have many very good customers that, for various reasons, will not attend a party. However, they place $50-$60 personal orders with me every 2-3 months. NO WAY would I want to give that up. I have built my business by listening to my customers and fulfilling their needs. If I had to tell these ladies, "Sorry, you'll have to come to a Party if you want to buy that gift for Aunt Frannie's birthday," I'm certain that I would lose business. Fundraisers have also been a great success for me... I wouldn't want to do without those, either. The same goes for numerous other avenues of business.


So I guess what I'm saying is that it's good to keep home parties as theprimary focus of your energies. But all of those other avenues of business (person-to-person, fundraisers, fair booths, etc.) can really help you build, too. They're the icing on the cake. smileys/smiley1.gif


(Now online sales... that's a whole different ball of wax. I can't easily give my opinion on that topic because there are too many different factors to consider.)


Blessings,


Christy

Wow! smileys/smiley4.gif Thanks for all these answers. The company I am thinking about, when you move up into leadership, you have to have on average 6 parties a month. Heck, if I am earning 25$+ an hour and wanting to build my business, I would have no problems with wanting to do that. I'm not a "party person" per se,but I would rather be at a party or a show than tied up to my computer 8-9 hours a day like I am at my current career. I'm not too sure about how difficult it would be to get to that point (1-2 parties consistently a week), but I know there is a lot of support and help from the company.


They do have a fundraising option, and people could order individually from me but I would place their order through one of my parties, I think. Also, the product is candles, so I would want to put some (or a lot!) offocus on getting repeat orders.


It was interesting to hear different perspectives on this.


Laura smileys/smiley1.gif

HI Laura -


Good luck with what you decide -


I have done party only plans and plans that allow multiple venues to market your product -


For me - the party only plan did not work - I enjoy doing county fairs, craft fairs, local festivals and meet a ton of contacts both for selling and for recruiting - it's my favorite way - along with the 1:1 contacts -I had a tough time getting parties booked too - I seemed to hit a wall and got tons of no after a while - and ended up driving ridiculous distances for parties - which ate up a lot of time and gas money - but I live in a fairly small town in a fairly rural area - so that might be part of it -


I just like the freedom now of doing parties, selling 1:1, selling wherever I want, internet, fair, festivals, etc........


But again that's just my experience - I know people that do well with just parties - I have a friend that has done it for 2 years now - and is still doing quite well.


Best of wishes whatever you decide - whatever you do make sure you LOVE the products and believe people are getting a good value for the money - that will make it easy to sell ........smileys/smiley2.gif


Meg

I'm with Deb on this one about the parties. My husband is in Real Estate and one of the things he's learned about having a website is that it's a "billboard in the middle of nowhere". I would HATE the amount of work involved in finding customers without the party aspect. For me it's just easier. In this technology day of age we all seem to think the internet is the best place to find customers, but I think with that in mind there are even more people who WANT the personal touch of a party. And the personal folow up of someone who wants their repeat business. JMHO!

Well, Lisa, the company I'm talking about is Northern Lights at Home, which I'm sure you probably figured out!! smileys/smiley4.gif


Laura

It also depends on the product. Take, for example, Northern Lights at Home (or any candle company, for that matter). People are more likely to want to purchase this kind of product when they have had a chance to experience. Scent is very personal. You can read all about the description of a scent, but you never really know if you're going to like it until you actually smell the candle yourself......hence, the in-home party experience is best for that.

It seems to be unanimous that parties are a great way to build a business but how many of you really do home parties only? I would think not many. I didn't even know there were companies that didn't allow any other way. One of the reasons most people get into network marketing is to have their own business and not have to answer to a boss. Companies that don't allow other means to work a business, to me, seems more like a boss/employee scenario. I would not want that kind of restriction put on "my home business".


JMHO.


Barb


www.CandleSuccessInfo.com (http://www.CandleSuccessInfo.com)

My company is a parties only. Then again, think about my product......it's wine. Most people want to taste wine before buying it. I know of a couple of candle companies that are parties-only, as well. The one thing these two drastically different products have in common is that both scent and taste are personal. Not very many people are motivated to buy something they eat or smell, based on a description they read at a website, unless the customer has already experienced the scent themselves and are simply placing a re-order.


The one candle company I am thinking of actually has a set dollar amount for what they consider to be "a party." If the consultant gets outside orders that reach this amount, then the consultant is more than welcome to turn them all in together and have it considered to be "a party". So, there are ways that the consultant can still take care of the one-off orders, provide customer service, etc.

Point well taken Mellonie. I have sold many candles though just by name alone or because people love candles in that particular group of scents - florals, foods, etc. It would be harder to do this with your product though I would think people who love a certain type of wine might give one of yours a try just because it's that type of wine that they like without trying it first (I obviously know nothing about wine).


Barb


www.CandleSuccessInfo.com

A sure thing with a party only party plan is that you are sure to get a lot of orders at one time, which is a wonderful way to grow your sales~


But, our society is based on so many different characteristics. Some people may love to host parties, but not all customers like to attend those parties.


With Watkins we can promote our business any way we like, and we have some very successful people that promote only by way of hosting parties~


Having a variety allows you to grow your business in many ways. Remember the old saying 'don't keep your eggs all in one basket'~


If it's a party plan that you want to venture into that is wonderful, but keep in mind, you will be the one hosting these parties. It's a lot of work for one person with limited tools. It will also limit your ability to recruit since this would be your only source to do so.


I do wish you well with whatever you do! Remember that if it excites you and interests you, you can be successful with it~smileys/smiley1.gif

I wanted to clarify one thing about The Traveling Vineyard, while we market only through parties, you also get credit for any purchases any one of those attendees makes after the party either on line or by calling corporate, so your guests can reorder without having to wait to attend another party.


Also, if you have some friends from out of town that aren't able to make it to one of your parties, you can set them up with an online account and if they purchased wine(without ever attending a party) you still get credit for it.


Lori Sievers

Oops. I feel like an idiot.http://www.wahm.com/forum/smileys/smiley36.gif I didn't even think to expand on my company's entire program (The Traveling Vineyard) because I was just focused in on Laura's question and how it all pertains to marketing through parties versus one-off sales processes. Sorry about that! Thanks, Lori.

I love to do the parties and would not want it otherwise. You make your $ the fastest this way and look at all of your new customers, that you have just met at a party. The thing that you also need to look into is the compensations program, the hostess program and do you have to pay for part, all or none of it. These were important dactors for me too. Do you have to have inventory and do deliveries too, because that is costly too. Good Luck!

I like parties,but I definetly do not want that to be the only way that I could sell.For some people it works out just fine,but for me I want the flexibility to run my buisness however I see fit.Alot of people I know do not like home parties and they rather purchase there products either off of my website or in person,so if I had to sell soley through parties I probably would not profit much lol,however there are people that find selling just through parties is more profitable and they do well at it!My suggestion is to do what is best for you and your family!I personally do not like home parties and only will do them occassionally just because I could not see taking my daughter with me,as she is autistic and it would just be a disaster!But once again its all a personal choice what is best for you and your family!Good lucksmileys/smiley2.gif

Hi Laura, the one thing that would concern me is that there is a quota of parties necessary. I LOVE parties, like Deb said, but can truthfully say that I haven't done 6 every month of my career. I would not like a company that requires certain activity or requires a certain amount of sales. I have a friend who was with a candle company and got kicked out because she had a month where she didn't make the required sales. It was because her daughter was sick, but the company wouldn't budge.
~Parties are a marketing advantage because you see a lot of people at one time. Think of other companies and how you would have to market to one at a time. I do consider parties to be an advantage, not a detriment, but I think a good marketing plan would incorporate other selling options to their consultants.
I think many things are important when choosing a business. I loved the fact that my product is consumable, and I get an additional $300 a week just from reorders. I loved the additional marketing options and the high percentage of commission,50%. You may have different criteria you are looking at in a company, but it is all important to consider. I hope that you find the perfect fit for you.

Valerie S
Senior Sales Director
Mary Kay Cosmetics

I agree with that!I would think that there would be too much pressure for me at least if I had to have a certain amount of parties each month!I know there was a company I was looking at that had that criteria.You just have to decide if that is what you really want to do.