Chapter 14
Coaching Your Host
IN THIS CHAPTER
Understanding the key role hosts play in your business
Figuring out why hosts do what they do
Coaching on attendance
Maintaining excitement and engagement
Keeping your host informed
Coaching online
Doing events with hosts has been a popular way to do business for the Party Plan, or Social Selling, model for many years. Due to the increase of online events, many in the Network Marketing model are seeing great benefits in doing these types of events. They allow you to see more than one person at a time to promote your products.
When you want to reach new people with your products, services, and opportunities, the most efficient way is to do an event (also sometimes called a party, show, workshop, class, herbal hours, or trunk show). When people host your event, whether in their home, workplace, or service establishment, they’re lending their excitement and circle of friends to you in person or online. That means they become your business partner for the evening. The company usually gives them rewards for taking the time and introducing the product line to a new group of people. Some reps whose company doesn’t have a sponsored program may choose a gift of their own.
To help your hosts have a successful event, you need to make sure they remain excited, engaged, and informed. You don’t have to spend a lot of time coaching your host, but if they’re engaged and excited about the event, you can create a win-win-win situation for everyone: the guests, the host, and you.
A host who has a great experience with you is your best prospective team member. They like the sales method, are enthusiastic about the products, and most importantly, like you.
Network Marketers will often have events at a host’s home to introduce and educate the guests on the benefits of the products. They use this format to build customers and/or add new team members.
This chapter shares ways that you can coach your hosts in a number of areas so both you and the host have a successful event.
Understanding the Host’s Motivation — Keep Everything Simple
The main reason people book events today is to have fun and provide an enjoyable shopping experience for their friends. If guests are having fun, they’ll be more likely to book an event, and if you mention, “When you have your party or event, your friends will appreciate it, and I’ll make sure they all have a fun time,” you’re more likely to pique someone’s interest.
Hosts like free and discounted products, but they want to make sure their guests have benefits as well. Ensure that your host knows what the customer specials are for that month so they can create excitement when inviting guests.
No matter the host’s motivation, though, the most important thing to remember is to keep the process simple. Simplify the process as much as possible while still giving them tips on how to be engaged with their guests.
In all my years of experience and my participation in many parties, surveys, and focus groups, I’ve been able to gather valuable information that will help you understand why someone would host with you and what does and doesn’t motivate them. In the past few years I’ve interviewed groups of independent representatives on what their greatest challenge was with their business. They often quickly respond with, “I can’t get bookings.” Then they amend their answer: “Actually, I get them booked, but I can’t get them to hold.”
I asked a number of hosts why they would book a party and then cancel. Here’s a typical answer:
“When I booked it, I was at my friend’s, and we were having a lot of fun and the rep said it would be easy and fun and my friends would love it. I thought, Okay, I’ll do it. The next day the rep called and told me I needed to make a list of 40 people. I needed to work on five outside orders. If someone can’t come, try to get them to book for an advanced booking. The rep wanted me to make a list of everything I wanted to make sure we got enough people there in order for me to get everything I wanted. I decided then it was just too much work. I was having the party for a fun time with my friends, not just so I could get free stuff.”
In today’s world, when I interview hosts for online events, their common complaint is that they have to be on for five days and have to comment on every post, which seems anything but simple. Simplify for them by telling them to over-invite, encourage the guests to bring a friend, and plan on having a fun time. We discuss this more throughout this chapter.
Coaching on Attendance
Getting a booking is great, but of course it’s just the beginning. Most of the work happens after you get the booking, and a good part of that work is helping the host understand what they should do to have a successful event.
Regardless of how simple the process is, if you don’t talk to your host between the time you booked and the time of the event, attendance will be low, and there will be few, if any, orders from those individuals who weren’t able to attend.
Keep the following in mind when coaching on attendance to boost attendance:
- In order to make the event fun, remember, the more the merrier. To help the host succeed with inviting friends, give the host a few things they can say, for example scripts about what’s in store for the guests. That way, when they’re inviting friends, the host will feel good about telling them what’s in it for them.
- Encourage your host to not only think of their own friends, but also friends of those friends. You can say, “Hey, Carol, you should ask Debbie to come with you.” This makes people feel special, gives them an idea to act on, and will likely increase attendance.
Give samples of texts the host can send to friends. Include information about when the host should send them. For example:
- The day after booking: “Hey everyone! Save the date for a great girls’ night in. Jewelry party at my house on Thursday, April 17!”
- One week before the event: “I’m looking forward to seeing you next week at my event! Don’t forget, you can bring a friend.”
- The day before or the day of the event: “Don’t forget! Tonight is our fun night for socializing and shopping! Hope to see you there.”
Tell the host to text friends one at a time. They can use the copy and paste feature on their phone to easily send these texts in individual messages. Sending a group text or a group Facebook message is a sure turn-off because potential guests will undoubtedly get multiple replies meant solely for the host. Group texts also make guests feel like the host only cares about the quantity of guests and not necessarily who is there.
In addition to helping get great attendance, coach the host on how to get additional orders — orders from those people who aren’t able to attend the event. This can include coworkers or out-of-state friends and relatives. Your host can send non-attendees a link to your online catalog and personal website. These additional orders can be your connection to repeat customers, new bookings, or new team members.
The easiest way to accomplish this is for you to run an online event alongside your in-person event. This allows the host to invite people who can’t make it because of logistics or prior commitments. It also allows any guests who weren’t able to make it at the last minute a place to learn more and shop.
Keeping Your Host Excited, Engaged, and Informed
The more excited your host is, the more your host’s guests will be excited, and the better the attendance will be. The more engaged your host becomes, the more motivated they’ll be to make the party a success. The more information your host has, the more they can prepare and the more they feel included in the process. The following sections delve deeper into how you can accomplish these three things.
Keeping your host excited
Building excitement for your host is important. Why? Because excitement is contagious. If you’re excited, your host will be excited, and the guests will be excited.
Here are some examples of what to say to your host:
- “I can’t wait to meet your friends!”
- “Your friends are going to love you for creating a fun and unique shopping experience.”
- “There’s nothing better than spending time with your friends and shopping for amazing products, not to mention the great deals!”
Give your host some examples of what they can say to their friends:
- “This is going to be so much fun; you’re going to love it.”
- “Carrie, you won’t believe the quality of these products. I just know you’ll fall in love with the mascara and lip stain. I thought of you!”
- “I’m having everyone over for a spa afternoon! I think it’s about time we all get pampered.”
- “Jewelry boutique at my house! You’re going to love this collection, and it’s really affordable.”
- “I’m having a food tasting at my house tonight! We’re going to learn how to make quick, easy, and delicious meals in less than 15 minutes. The company has some amazing deals happening this month that I just knew you wouldn’t want to pass up.”
Keeping your host engaged
To engage your host, encourage them to do things like post and create an event on Facebook, bring catalogs to work, collect outside orders, and send reminder texts. By giving them a few simple responsibilities, they’ll work with you to create a successful event.
For online events, give your host ideas on how to comment and respond to your posts.
Make sure they’re excited about the event and are promoting it to their friends. Let them know there will be fun games or drawings to create excitement for their guests.
Keeping your host informed
The number one complaint I hear from hosts is “I booked the event and I didn’t hear from the consultant until the day before or the day of the event.” By discussing with the host things like what time you’ll be arriving or what area of the home you can set up in, you can ease their nerves throughout this process. For online events, communicate what day … start and what posts … comment on, and ask them to share what their favorite products are in the collection.
The following lays out tips that help you with your host-coaching communications. Don’t spend a lot of time on any one of these things, but instead focus on reaching out and connecting with your host multiple times. These timelines are guidelines and are based on someone booking three to four weeks in advance. If someone books within a week of meeting them, you need to condense these timelines.
The day you book your host
If your booking is from a prior party, your host will already know a bit about what to expect during the event. You’ll also want to have information on hand to give to your host. You can say something like this:
“Take this home, look it over, and start inviting your friends. I’ll be making a Facebook Event for you, so make sure you add me to your Facebook friends so I can invite you to it. After we do that, you’ll be able to start inviting your friends to the Event page as well.”
Include the text messaging scripts in your information and encourage your host to send a Save the Date text right away.
The day after you book the event
Making contact with your host the day after you book the event is critical. It begins creating excitement and shows that you take your business seriously. Here’s an example of quick email you can send:
- Dear Carrie,
- Thank you so much for booking your event on _____ , _____ (day, date). We’re going to have a fantastic time. Read through the host packet, and I will be connecting with you in a couple of days. If you haven’t started making your guest list, get started working on that. Also be sure to remind your guests to bring a friend — this will help with attendance. I want this to be a wonderful experience for you and your friends.
If you’re texting, you can shorten it:
Thank you so much for booking your event on ______ , ______ (day, date). I’m looking forward to it! Don’t forget to send out a friendly text to your friends telling them to save the date.☺
This contact time is quick, and the goal is to be professional and build confidence.
Three to five days later — The first phone call/Zoom
Make this contact within three to five days after the host books. Say something like this:
“Hey, Carrie, I want to talk to you about your event. It won’t take more than a few minutes. I just wanted to see if you had any questions after going through the information I gave you. We can jump on Zoom if you’d like.”
This is the time to go over a few details. Remember, make this contact short and sweet, so your host isn’t overwhelmed with too much information. It should only take a few minutes. The key thing you want to focus on during this call/Zoom is inviting people.
You can also mention all the fun things you have in store for the guests. You should have put some information in the host packet about joining the business. Ask if they had a chance to look at it and if that’s something they’d ever consider doing. If the host replies no, tell them to feel free to pass the info on to a friend. If they reply yes or they begin to ask questions, proceed from there. (See Chapter 18 for more on attracting new team members.)
Sending the invitations seven to ten days before the event
Most people use some form of electronic invitation, like email, texting, or instant messaging to send invitations. Ask your host if they want anyone who isn’t tech savvy to receive an invitation or catalog.
Remind them that a personal invite from the host will generate more interest than just posting or blasting the information to a large group of people. The invitee will be able to gauge the host’s excitement through a personal invite.
Making the booster call about five days prior to the event
This contact happens about five days prior to the event. A host may start to question themselves about why they said yes to having an event. They may begin to doubt themself or feel nervous, especially if they only have a few people coming. The booster call encourages and reminds the host that you’re there to help. You might suggest that the host send out a text reminder to their guests and encourage them to bring a friend.
Your job is to boost them up, make them feel good about having the event, and keep them excited.
During this call, you also go over the logistics — your arrival time, whether the host needs to provide anything, and so on.
The day of the event
On the day of the event, call to confirm the directions. Even with a GPS, bridge and road construction projects have a way of popping up when you least expect. I also like to use this call to get the host pumped up for the event again. Sometimes what happens between the booster call (five days prior) and now is that they originally only had 4 people coming, but now they have 15! Confirming that number is important. You need to make sure you have enough catalogs and other materials ready to go.
Arrive early with enough time to set up everything. A half-hour is the optimal time, allowing you time to set up, have a chat with your host, and be ready by the time people arrive so you look professional. Arriving early also helps you avoid rushing around at the last minute. During this time the host will often ask you more questions about the business opportunity.
You want to be poised and able to meet and greet the guests. Tell each guest that you’re happy they came. Ask each one if they’re familiar with the products and the company. Make sure your interactions are enthusiastic and sincere.
At the end of the event — closing
Closing your event is the process of officially ending the time you can receive orders for a particular host’s event. When you close the event may depend on your host. Some want to close the event at the end of the evening, but usually the host wants to keep the event open for a few days, especially if you’re running an online event alongside it.
Regardless of when you close the event, make sure you let the host know where they stand. Tell your host what the sales are and what they’ve earned so far. Communicate how far away they are from the next level of host rewards and how little effort it would take to get additional specials, free credit, or half-priced items.
Immediately after
A gesture that goes a long way is to mail your host a handwritten note after the event. Be sure to include a magnet (some companies offer this) or your business card with a reminder for reorders. Tell your host that it was a pleasure meeting their friends and that you had a wonderful time.
Another good idea is to type up a generic letter and put it in with the thank-you note. This letter will be all about the logistics. It should say something along these lines:
Thank you so much for having the event. You still have time to get another booking (if your company has a booking bonus program). You and your guests should receive your orders in about ___ business days. Please reach out with any questions you might have!
Two weeks after the event
Make a follow-up call to ask your host if the products arrived, if they’re enjoying them, and how the guests like them. Also ask your host if they’ve heard any feedback. The guests may feel more comfortable telling the host about something that they might not tell you.
If the host shares some feedback, you can follow up with the guests and let them know you heard that they loved a specific product. You may get more orders this way (if any of the guests or the host has run out of the product or wants to know the current month’s specials), and you might even be able to pick up a booking or two. (If you know that the product hasn’t arrived yet, adjust the follow-up call date slightly, but keep it within a two-week period.)
The follow-up call demonstrates that you’re conscientious and friendly and reminds not only the host but also the guests that you’re a professional independent representative who cares about them. If they haven’t joined your online customer community, this is a great time to remind them to do so.
Coaching Hosts Online
Host coaching online happens when your event is conducted on an online platform, for example, a Facebook Event (Chapter 10 covers these types of online events in detail). You coach your host in pretty much the same manner as an in-person event, although most of your contact will be via email, text, or Facebook messages.
Choosing which friends to invite and knowing how to invite them are two big considerations that this section discusses.
Inviting with intention
You want the host to invite the friends and family they know will attend. You don’t want your hosts to invite all 467 of their Facebook friends. That’s way too many, and it’s not personal when everyone is getting the same pop-up on their computer.
A general rule is to stick to around 50 friends.
Being personal in your invitations
Regardless of how the event will be set up, everyone the host is inviting should receive a personal message from the host. You can help your host type up something like this:
“Hi, Maureen. I’m having an online event on ____ (day, date), and I’d love for you to attend. We’re going to ______ and _______ (list a couple of fun things that will happen). I really hope you can join us.”
Don’t send this as a group message. A group message to 50 people will turn into an annoying disaster when people begin replying. You can copy and paste the same message to individual text messages.
Have your host gather as many phone numbers as possible. That way they can also follow up with phone calls or texts. And get an address for where to send the thank-you note to the host. You can treat this as an in-person event, but just remember that a lot of your conversation with your host may be online.