Start A Successful Home Party Plan Business.

Billions of dollars are spent each year by a certain group of people…and that group is everywhere we look. Yep, you guessed it – I’m talking about moms. Mothers are responsible for much of the household spending and influence the buying decisions of family members across generations.

If you’re looking to market more effectively to this group of savvy online consumers, download Wendy Wood and Alice Seba free 9-page report:

“Quick and Easy Ways to Market to the Powerful Multi-Billion Dollar Market of Mothers Online”

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- Just how big and influential the mom market is
- Why moms use the Internet and what they do there
- How to reach moms and gain their confidence – all on a shoestring budget.

You can download their free report right here.

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How quickly you ship your product to your customer could have a direct correlation on whether that customers buys from you again or not.

If you order something online, you expect it to be shipped within a reasonable amount of time. Three days is reasonable. Ten days is not. And the faster your turnaround time is, the more likely you are to get future orders from this same customer, especially if this person is also shopping your competitors.

This is why most consultants will have stock on hand. When a customer places an order online or over the phone, she is able to ship that item immediately and not have to place an order with her company, wait for it to be delivered to her and then ship it on to the customer.

If you have a policy is to ship within 24 hours, be sure to place that somewhere on your order page, so your customer will know. When a shipping time frame is not mentioned, potential customers will either assume the best or the worst. If you ship in 7 days, but your customer assumes you would ship immediately, you could end up losing that person as a future customer.

You should also give special consideration to how you package your items. Your customers will expect their items to arrive safe and without dents or scratches. It is reasonable for you customers to expect bubble wrap or popcorn to surround their packed items.

It is common customer courtesy to send an email to your customer when you ship the item, or to tell them the date it will be shipped. That way your customer knows that the order was received. This could also save you lots of time in the long run when people email you asking if their order has shipped, but without including any order information.

If you want return customers just think, “how do I expect my orders to be handled”, and treat your customers the same way you would want your order handled.

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It makes sense to share a table with someone else at Trade Shows, to save on the booth fee. Some Trade Shows and even Craft Fair booths can be quite costly.

There are a couple of schools of thought on sharing the booth. Some believe you should share your booth with someone who is in a “different” business than you are in. There are others that believe you should have one united front at your booth. Both have valid pros and cons.

One thing that makes many consultants hesitate about sharing a table is the fact that you have to split the leads with those who share the table with them, and the possibility that someone might actually lose a lead that they actually talked to and had the potential to sign.

There is of course a very easy way to track leads when you are sharing a table. Simply have each person put their name on the entry slip and “claim that lead” as theirs. Or, you can make up different colored entry slips for each person at your table. So, your draw slips might be blue, while another consultant has green ones, and a third consultant has red ones. Simply keep your draw slips with you, and as people approach the table, if you make the first contact with that person you can hand her your blue slip to enter the drawing.

If you are sharing your booth with someone in a different business than your own, it is very simple to keep your leads apart, just use separate boxes for your draw slips. You can also work out something with the person you are sharing the table with, that if you talk to a lead for her while she is on a break, you put your name on that slip and make a percentage of any sales that she makes from that lead and of course vice versa.

At the end of the day when you divide the slips up you will know exactly which lead belongs to whom.

If you like what you read here you can find more on my website at www.pinkrenegade.com

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Trade shows are a great way to get leads for your home party plan business. Where ever you decide to host a both, home business show, or at a craft fair, professionalism is the key to your success.

There is an old saying that goes something like this, “You only get one chance to make a first impression.” You had better make your first impression a good one.

Dress Like a Professional

You do not have to go out an buy a formal gown or designer dresses and high heels, but dress for professionalism. You might dress in a womens business suit, or in casual khakis and a blouse, depending on the event. Never wear jeans, casual sweatshirts (unless they have your company logo), or anything too tight (you may think you look great in your midriff baring shirt, but chances are, others will think it makes you look as though you have a complete lack of professionalism).

Use Your Companies Logos Whenever Possible

Does your business offer uniforms, shirts, or sweaters with your company logo embroidered on them? If so, wear them. This way even if you are away from your booth, you will be easily identifiable by potential customers or recruits. Use company produced forms whenever possible, they have your companies logos on them too.

Use Professional Signage

Never, ever use hand written signs! This is so amateurish and people will run not walk away from something like this. Signage is very affordable now a days. You do not have to get three color signs if you can not afford it but it will of course look better if you can.

Entry Forms

Print up the forms on your computer, with name, address, phone no., email address, and use check boxes so each person can let you know whether they are interested in being a consultant, a hostess, a customer, or not interested at this time. Print out twice as many as you think you will need, and do not date them or put the event name on it so you can use them at another event later.

Remember you want to make a lasting impression on people. What impression are you going to leave with them?

If you like this information and would like more on building your home part plan business, please visit my website at www.pinkrenegade.com

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