Dear Archive Visitor, Last weekend our family accompanied my 77 year old father-in-law on a hiking trip down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. We haven't seen rain here in Phoenix for months, but of course, it was pouring down rain when we got up on Friday to begin our long hike down. I'm convinced the surest way to end a drought (even better than washing your car) is pack up your hiking and camping gear. Works like a charmer. In today's article I'll show you the charmer to avoiding those home parties where the guests seem to get rained out (meaning so few show up). There is a surefire way to help your hostess increase the number of guests that attend her home party.

A Surefire Way to Help Your Hostess Get More Guests at Her Home Party By Tammy Stanley What's stopping you from hosting a home party tomorrow? What if I told you that December 7th (that's tomorrow) is statistically the best day in December to have a home party? What would stop you from calling some of those new acquaintances you recently met and inviting them to come over to your home and take a look at the products you sell? I bet I know what would stop you from doing that. If you're like most direct sales consultants, you don't think anyone would attend because you wouldn't be giving them enough notice. By the way, I don't really know whether or not December 7th is statistically the best day in December to host a home party. I just wanted to illustrate how the thought that people need more notice than one day is probably powerful enough in your mind that you wouldn't take advantage of hosting a show tomorrow, even if December 7th were the best day in December for home parties! My goal today is to change the way you think, when it comes to how much notice people need to attend a home party. But before I do that, let me present something. Imagine your next hostess inviting her friend, Gloria, 2 or 3 weeks before her home party. Gloria tells her, "That sounds so fun. I definitely want to come and it's on my calendar." It just so happens that two days before the home party, Gloria's daughter comes home from school and says, "Mommy, I forgot to tell you that my class is performing a Christmas sing the night after tomorrow. You can come can't you?" Now tell me, is Gloria going to say, "Let me look at my calendar. Oh no! I'm sorry honey I can't; there's a home party I have to go to because it's been on my calendar for 2 - 3 weeks."? I hope you're laughing! Of course Gloria isn't going to say that. She's going to skip out on going to the home party because something more important in her life has come up. And that, my friend, is one of the keys to understanding how to help your hostess get more guests at her next home party. I'll show you why in a moment. You see, your hostesses are very similar to you. They think they have to give the people on their guest list a couple weeks' notice before inviting them to their home party. Indeed, they often think it's too late to bother if they haven't given them a couple weeks notice, so they don't. Of course they are too embarrassed to tell you that they haven't invited anyone, so they put off telling you until they can't put it off any longer. That's when you get the postponement or cancellation call the day before or the day of the home party. Now, here's what you must understand: attending a home party just isn't a high priority in anyone's calendar (I know this might be tough to hear, but bear with me. It's all going to end happily ever after). The good news is that people don't need 2 weeks notice for something that isn't a high priority. It comes down to this, if a woman has the night free and she wants to go to the home party, she'll go. How this all works in your favor and in your hostess' favor is that she can invite people up to the day of the show. If she sees someone (that she forgot to invite) on the day of her home party, she can simply say, "Oh gosh Sally, I can't believe I forgot to invite you to this, but I'm so glad I ran into you so that I could. I'm hosting an XYZ party tonight and I'd love for you to come if you can." When I coached my hostesses, I got into the habit of saying, "Jane, just know that attending your home party isn't going to be a high priority for any of your friends. Women will attend if they have the night free and want to attend. This means that you can feel comfortable about inviting people up until the last minute. I've hosted shows and invited people the day of and they showed up simply because they had the night free and they wanted to attend." One of the many things that became very clear to me during my years in the home party business was that the longer something is on someone's calendar, the more likely she is to think of it as a commitment. And as soon as she starts thinking of something as a commitment, she starts wishing she could squeal out it. Contrarily, spontaneous events often sound fun and exciting, partly because people today have become so accustomed to planned commitments. If your hostess' home party is a spontaneous event in her guests' minds, they'll be excited to attend. Reassure your hostess that she doesn't need to give her guests 2 -3 weeks notice, and that a week's notice is plenty for something like this. Don't believe me? Test it out yourself. If you don't have a booking already in your calendar this up-coming Tuesday night, I double dare you to host a show with your own products in your home. Make a list of people you've recently met that haven't seen your products. Then add the peoples' names that you've known for a while but have never told them about or shown them your products. Start calling and inviting them on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Then, continue to call anyone you think of or anyone you meet on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday night, you'll discover that the ones who had the night free and wanted to come will be there. During my years in the home party business I tested this over and over again, and discovered that it was actually easier to get guests to attend with a week's notice or less than it was with 2-3 weeks' notice. And this little tip not only made it easier for my hostess to get better guest attendance, it made her job easier. Anytime you make your hostess' job easier, you stack the odds in your favor that she won't postpone or cancel her home party with you. Now if you found this article helpful, you've barely touched the surface of the system you'll have when you order my "Stop Postponements in the Home Party Business." You'll have an arsenal full of ways to make your hostesses job easier and your home shows more profitable. Check out the special I have for you and give yourself the gift of a more effective home party business in the New Year. Check out my special offer and order it today! WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE? WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER OR ON YOUR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Author, Sales Trainer, and Professional Speaker Tammy Stanley publishes the propelling 'Sales Refinery Insights' weekly ezine for direct sales professionals. If you're ready to jump-start your direct sales business, make more money, and create more value, get your FREE tips now at www.tammystanley.com/ezine/ezine_offer_ds.htm

A while back I spent an entire day calling my ezine subscribers. One question I asked them was to tell me one of the biggest difficulties they faced in their business. Many of them expressed frustration when it came to bookings Ñ either they didn't know the keys to getting bookings or they didn't know how to get great results consistently from the bookings they had. All those frustrations are thoroughly considered and handled in my programs, 10 Keys to Skyrocket Your Telephone Results, and Stop Postponements in the Home Party Business. If you order them both as a gift to yourself this holiday season, I'll wrap up my book, Carpe Phonum, as a free bonus gift so you'll also hold the secret to "seizing the phone" even when you lack the courage to call your prospects. Click here and take advantage of my special offer today!

Tammy Stanley, founded and directs The Sales Refinery, a sales training company that assists sales professionals to generate more business and build long-lasting sales teams through powerful marketing, selling and leadership strategies.

Tammy has been coaching and training since 1994 and has a deep understanding of the challenges and needs of the independent sales consultant. While raising four children, Tammy built a multi-million dollar direct sales organization, reaching her company's Circle of Excellence 7 consecutive years in a row. She earned numerous sales and leadership awards, world travel, and promoted 11 offspring managers.

The Tammy Stanley Sales Refinery
Tempe, AZ 85283
Call Today: 480-775-4866
tammy@TammyStanley.com