In This Chapter

Understanding the importance of a launch party

Planning and executing a successful launch

Having a back-up launch party

Scheduling your parties with the two-booking method

Alaunch party is an in-person event where you launch your new business to your friends and family. The launch party sets the tone and creates momentum for your business. Some companies may call it a grand opening, debut, kick-off, or introductory party. Whatever you want to call it, it is the best way to introduce your new business to a large group of people.

The people at your launch party are what we call your warm market. Your friends and family are likely to be your first customers as well as your first hosts.

Keep in mind that even though it is your friends and family that will help you with your first parties, it is the bookings that you get from those parties that will help you grow your business.

A launch party shows your friends and family exactly what you’re doing and lets them experience your products first-hand.

Being able to share your new business with as many people as possible at the same time creates excitement, saves time, and helps you build a customer base quickly. This is one piece of your business you honestly don’t want to leave out.

You should set a date for your launch as soon as you purchase your kit. Having a date set helps prepare you both mentally and physically.

• Mental preparation: A launch party helps you start to feel like you are in business, and you will start making goals for yourself. It creates a focus for you in the first stages of your business. Your excitement will build as you are telling people about your new business, and you will have somewhere to invite them to so that they can become familiar with what you’re doing.
• Physical preparation: When you have a “start date” set for your business, you work toward that date. You start to learn as much as you can about your products and plan how to do a presentation. You start inviting people to your event and lining up your next set of parties/appointments. You are in a make-things-happen frame of mind rather than wait-and-see.

I recommend throwing a regular home party for your launch, if possible. Home parties typically result in higher sales, bookings, and recruit leads. But there are a couple of other kinds you may consider. There are four main types of launch party:

• Home party (recommended): You run this party like a regular party, except in this case you act as both the host and the representative (see Chapter 9 on how to run a successful party). You greet guests, do an opening talk, give a presentation, give a booking talk, plant recruiting seeds, and help guests with their shopping experience. Your guests will have the opportunity to socialize with each other, and you are able to do a presentation in a group setting for the first time. Home parties start at a specific time and are well-structured — yet still fun for your guests. You can talk to each guest one-on-one during the checkout process.

• Open house: An open house is where you have your kit set up for people to view and experience. This type of launch is more flexible than a home party. You work with people one-on-one rather than doing a full presentation to a group. Typically you have a time frame set up, and people stop by at their convenience — like an open house a realtor sets up when you are selling your home.

  When you give an open time to people, they may not be as committed to attending, and this lack of commitment can lower overall attendance. However, it does allow for someone to stop by who may not have been able to attend a home party that starts at a set time.

• Online party: Representatives who run their businesses almost exclusively online may opt to have an online party. It is important to note that when doing an online party, you will want to follow the same basic principles as a home party. For your online party, follow the format laid out in Chapter 11. Be sure to invite friends and family to an online event, where you will showcase the products and your new business. I suggest posting some videos of you demonstrating the product online.
• Business opportunity: This event is most utilized by Network Marketing companies. A business opportunity launch is where you talk about the products in a group setting, often accompanied with a video, but you focus on sharing the opportunity and the income potential for those who become reps. This type of launch often leads to more recruits, but may not generate as many sales or future appointments. However, many successful Network Marketers still encourage guests who aren’t yet interested in the business to become customers, which can lead to immediate sales. Perhaps those customers will later refer more business or join the team.

If your leader lives in the area, he or she may want to assist you with your launch party, answer any questions, and help out with bookings and recruit leads.

Understanding Why Your Launch Party Is So Important

Your launch party can accomplish the following things:

• Introduces your business to your market: Your party launches your business to your friends and family and lets them experience your products first-hand. This will help increase product sales, party (online or home) bookings, as well as recruit leads.
• Builds your confidence: Your launch party gives you the practice and confidence you will need going forward, for the next parties you book. The only way to get good at this business is simply by doing it. Practice, practice, practice. As mentioned in Chapter 7, I always suggest booking six parties on your calendar within your first 30–45 days. This will give you the momentum you need to keep your calendar full every month.
• Earns back your investment: During your launch party, you act as both representative and host. So, not only do you receive commission from the party to help pay back the cost of your kit, you may also receive free and discounted products that you can use to add more products to your kit to show at future parties.

• Leads to more bookings: Your launch party can also help get more bookings on your calendar. When people at the launch party are having fun and seeing the reaction of the other guests, they become more inclined to book with you right then, rather than later over the phone. Be sure to practice your booking talk as discussed in Chapters 7 and 9. It’s important to try to book your family and friends right out of the gate, so that you can build bookings off of those parties. Even though your friends and family aren’t the most likely group to help you in the long run, those first parties will help you expand your network and reach, and you’ll book people at their parties that you might not have otherwise met.

  It’s always your goal to turn a party guest into your next host or new recruit.

• Aids in recruiting: Your launch party is also a great place for you to find some additional team members. Statistics show that representatives have more fun and earn more money when two friends start their businesses at roughly the same time. So invite your friends to learn more and join you on this exciting new venture. Chapter 14 talks more about recruiting.
• Builds your client base: Being in front of a large number of people allows you to build your client base and begin enjoying the benefits of re-servicing your customers. Check out my “2+2+2 follow-up” method in Chapter 13.
• Earns your fast start: The sales, bookings, and recruits you gain from your launch party will also help you in achieving your company’s Fast Start (or Quick Start or something similar — most Party Plan companies have a program that propels you with incentives during your first 90–100 days of your business. Network Marketing companies often have shorter timelines for their Fast Start programs, often with deadlines that occur in the first 30–45 days). These Fast Start programs help you create healthy habits for your business, give you the momentum to reach sales and recruiting goals, and are designed to get you making money quickly — see Chapter 5 for more details.

Preparing for Your Launch

Your launch party will set the tone for your business and will show your friends and family what it means to host a party, attend a party, and do business with you. Even though you’re still new, and your launch party might not be perfect (it’s okay! it’s your first one!), it’s important to prepare as thoroughly as possible. That way, you can generate excitement and fill your calendar with bookings, your team with recruits, and your pocket with sales.

As mentioned earlier, now is a great time to reach out to your leader or sponsor. They will assist you in planning for your launch party, give you tips on how to best utilize your business starter kit, and help you with your booking and sponsoring efforts.

Here are some tips for planning your launch:

• Choose a date and time as soon as you can. You have ordered your kit and are excited about your new venture. Within the next two to three days, get the date for your launch party on your calendar, as well as the date for your second (back-up) launch — see the next section for more on this back-up launch party.

• Over-invite. One key to a successful launch is to have as many attendees as possible. Only about a third of those invited will typically be able to attend. Ideally, you would love to have 10–15 guests. Start making your guest list using your cellphone address book and your Facebook friend list.

  Probably the best way to invite is with a personal phone call. On the phone, the person on the other end can feel your excitement, which leads to increased attendance. Follow up with the 1-2-3s of inviting (see the next section).

• Build desire and create an interest. Social media is a great way to build excitement for your new business. Be sure to announce to your family and friends that you’ve started a new business and have created a Facebook Business Page where you share information about the products (Chapter 11). Begin exposing your market to your products through photo posts, statuses, blog posts, and videos well before your launch party.
• Explore your starter kit. The kit you purchased when you signed up contains everything you need to conduct a successful party, appointment, or presentation. Become familiar with the products in your kit as well as the benefits to using your products. You will use this kit for your launch party, so it’s important for you to learn as much as you can about the products you will show. But don’t worry, your leader will be able to assist you with questions your guests have about the products that you are unable to answer.
• Study your catalog. Even though you will focus on demonstrating the products that are available to you through your starter kit, it’s important to familiarize yourself with your catalog. Your party guests will be able to shop through the catalog for additional items that you didn’t cover specifically in your presentation. If there is an item you know that your guests will love, be sure to let them know that they can see the item in the catalog. Make it a priority to also shop the catalog yourself — you will be able to get many other products for your starter kit through the host benefits you receive at your launch party. If there is a particular item you don’t have that a customer is interested in but wants to see in person first, let her know that you’ll be selecting that as one of your items from your host benefits and encourage her to host her own party where you can share that product with her friends.
• Practice, practice, practice. Read through Chapter 9 and practice. In that chapter, I go through all the key elements of a successful party as well as scripting. Use that chapter to learn how to conduct a party, create your own talks, and then practice, practice, practice.
• Attend a party with your leader. Another great way to get practice before your launch party and after reading Chapter 9 is attending a party with your leader. Chances are you became interested in joining your company after attending a party yourself. However, you had a different perspective on the evening as a guest or host. Go to one of your leader’s parties and watch how she gives her opening talk, demonstrates the products, shares the hosting and business opportunity, and completes a full-service checkout.
• Learn from your leader: It is great if your leader can attend your launch. That way she can help you with your booking and recruiting talk, answer any questions you might not have the answer to yet, and give you assistance during the checkout process (see Chapter 9 for more). However, if that’s not possible, let your leader guide you and offer expertise and wisdom before and after the party. Beforehand, you’ll practice what to say so that you’re familiar with demonstrating the products and presenting the three parts of the party: opening, booking, and recruiting.
• Review company training. I want you to succeed. Your leader wants you to succeed. And your company wants you to succeed. Your company has made training information available to you, usually online or in the form of a guide that may have came in your starter kit. Be sure to review this information — especially the training specific to launch parties, home parties, and online parties.

The 1-2-3s of Inviting

Inviting guests to your launch party is as easy as 1-2-3. Follow these three easy tips to increase attendance at your launch party:

1. Pick up your phone and invite each person personally. Let them know how important it is to you that they come. Encourage them to save the date and bring a friend. Think of a friend they may know, and suggest they bring that friend. People are more likely to attend a party if they know a friend will be there.
2. Send an invitation seven to ten days before the launch party. You can send e-vites, Facebook invitations, or even mail postcards. There are many resources for this, including RedStamp, Canva, MarGo, and Pic Collage. Chapter 22 talks about these and other resources.
3. Make reminder calls. A few days before the party, call or text guests to remind them that you’re looking forward to seeing them. You might say something like this: “I’m really looking forward to having you at my launch party! You’re going to love the products, and it’s going to be a fun time. Are you bringing a friend?”

Having a Back-Up Launch

One of the best things you can do for your business is to have two launch parties within three days of each other. The second party acts as a back-up. Having two parties allows you to accommodate more guests and get your products in front of more people. Because only about a third of those you invite will be able to attend your first launch party, being able to offer a back-up date immediately is essential to making sure that a particular guest or client is able to see your product.

Scheduling two launch parties very close together also gives you immediate practice, boosts your confidence, and helps you become more familiar with the product line. Plus seeing the reactions of your guests creates excitement.

If any guest tells you they can’t make it to the first party, simply say, “That’s okay, Michelle! I’m having a second one on _________ for those who can’t make it to the first. Does that work better for you?”

For best results, don’t mention the back-up launch unless and until a guest says they can’t attend the first one.

Depending on the sales, you can combine both parties into one order or split them up for two great parties. These two parties will put you on track toward earning the rewards of your company’s Fast Start program.

After the Launch: Introducing My Two-Booking Method

This section outlines what I call my two-booking method for scheduling your first six parties.