The day of your first party is just around the corner! I'm going to walk you through what I take to a party and how I set it up. You don't have to bring all of the items I bring to a party and you certainly don't have to do it the same way I do it. However, the idea is to show you what I do and then you can make it your own or copy the heck out of it!
I also want to go over some training on how I explain the Q-Club and the double dip programs.
Party Supplies:
I happened to have a duffle bag with wheels and a handle on it. It's the greatest thing EVER for carrying all of my sample cans of Thrive. I only bring a few of my favorite and best sellers to sample at the party, and I bring them in the pantry size cans. I try to select items that are on special for the month and at least one item from each food category. I also bring one #10 can of the instant milk, and 1 pouch of the strawberries to show the different sizes containers we offer. My favorites to bring are: 1-2 yogurt bite flavors, corn, one of the berries, pineapple, green chills, macaroons, whole egg powder, chicken, and quinoa. I also bring the Thrive Express meals that are on special for the month. All this gets packed into my duffle bag.
Next I found a plastic crate the holds my binders, nice and neatly. I also put the booking binder and my consultant packets/ host packets, and my Q Flip Cards in the crate.
I bought some 5 gallon buckets with gamma seal lids for my dry ingredients in my pantry and didn't end up using all of them. So I've converted one into my emergency supplies holder. I keep a bunch of random emergency supplies, that I've purchased to show off at my parties, in the bucket. The bucket makes a great storage tote, and it also allows me to show them the bucket size that some of the Thrive FD Foods come in. People LOVE the gamma lids. I sell so many of them having the bucket there.
I use the reusable grocery bags to carry all the other random things I bring like my apron, calculators, pens, extra catalogs, cookbooks, signs, etc.
I also like to bring my Pantry Consolidator to help show off the Food Rotational Shelves. (FRS) I've hot glued mine together so it won't unsnap as I drag it all over Portland. It wasn't made for transporting!
Food Samples:
I usually prepare
Chicken Salad on Ritz Crackers, the
Enchilada Bake from the Thrive Cookbook with
Sour Cream powder - 1/2 cup reconstituted, and 1 Qt. of the
Instant Powdered Milk. I have the host supply little paper plates, forks, napkins, and dixie cups - for sampling. I stress "little" paper products to my host, so that people realize that they are
sampling the food, not eating dinner! I've also gone to Cash 'n Carry in Clackamas and bought some plastic sampling cups. I use those to put one of each of the following: yogurt bite, pineapple, strawberry, corn, blueberry. I like to hand out these dry samples as I talk about the ease of healthy snacking with Thrive FD Foods. I have people sample the other foods as they come in and are waiting for the other guests to arrive. It gives me time to explain to them what they are eating and meet them individually too!
*
Don't put the dry items in the cups too early. Sometimes the moisture in the air will make them go soft and sticky quickly. Especially in the winter time here in Oregon. I've had a few other consultants tell me that Cash 'n Carry has lids that go on the cups, to prevent this, but I haven't had a chance to look yet.
** I recommend getting some pretty glass bowls that come with tupperware type lids to transport the food. I also use a tupperware like pitcher with a snap up lid to transport the milk. I make everything the morning of the party and keep it in the refrigerator. (Cold milk is much better than luke warm.) I have the host have her oven preheated to 350 degrees and put the Enchilada Bake in the oven when I get there.
Don’t try to bring every item you received in your Starter Kit to your parties. First of all, it takes up a lot of room to display them all, and your host might not have that much room. Second, it's a pain to haul it all in and out of your car. Last, but most importantly, if someone says, “Gee…I really would have liked to taste the pineapple," but you didn't bring that. You can say, “Well, how about you host a party and I’ll bring whatever you would like to try to that party?” It works about 90% of the time. ;)
Here's a picture of the party all set up!
Welcome:
Make sure to smile and welcome all the guests that attend the party. Introduce yourself and see if they are familiar with Shelf Reliance. After showing them to the samples and explaining all the yummy foods you have to sample, hand them a Party Binder and show them the catalog and price list. Encourage them to use the scratch piece of paper in the back to make a wish list of items they would like to purchase as you give your presentation and as they look through the catalog.
Let guest know that they will be receiving the LOWEST price possible - even better than Costco and Walmart - just by ordering through their friend's party and by using a SR consultant!
Your Presentation:
Always try to start on time! Make sure you respect the time of others and are courteous to those that showed up on time! They are usually your best customers! Try to keep your presentation to no longer than one hour. You might not be able to get every detail in, but that's okay! Too much information overwhelms people and they start to tune out. If they have questions or want to know more, they'll ask, but make sure to listen to your customers and don't just talk. Talk to them about what they're interested in! I like to keep my party guests engaged. Ask leading questions like:
"
What prevents you from creating a home store?"
Answers from guests: Money, lack of space, lack of motivation, don't know where to start. "
Well, SR can help in all of these areas. Let me explain how. Sarah you said you didn't have enough room. Let me introduce you to our Rotational Shelving units...."
Remember to tell people about the Double Dip feature. Do you understand it yourself? If not, study up in your Consultant Manual. This feature will get you tons of booked parties! When someone comes up to me to hand in their order form, I always ask if they would be interested in hosting a party and inform them that they have already accumulated ______$ towards their own party in free product. (10% of their order) This usually gets their attention and they book a party. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
Also, don’t forget to stick in a plug about how they can become a SR Consultant too! Explain that you love it because you earn free SR products and make money all at the same time. Let them know that if they’re interested in learning how to do this themselves, to come talk to you after your presentation and you’ll give them some information to look at…i.e. the New Consultant Packet. When you give them the packet make sure to get their contact information from them and ask if you can give them a call on ___________ date to follow up and answer any questions they might have.
The Q-Club:
There are 3 main objectives, as a consultant, at every party. 1.) Find others that want to become consultants 2.) Book more parties 3.) Get more Q customers.
The Q is your bread-and-butter. It is what makes working for this company so rewarding. It creates residual income for you and your business. In other companies, if you don't have a party and sell product, you don't make money. With SR, you continue to make 5% off of each Q, for as long as that Q is active. Therefore, you make money even when you aren't constantly having parties.
I use some power point screens that I've blown up and laminated to help me explain the Q. One of the other SR consultants made them, and I love them! It keeps me on track and helps me remember all the points I want to bring up when explaining the Q. If you would like this "Q Flip Chart" (as I call it), please comment below and I'll send them to you.
UPDATE: Here is the link to some new Q Flip Chart Cards. These are from the website More Thrive by the Abbotts. http://morethrive.com/img/QCards_ShelbiOwen.pdf
*Remember to refer to the Q Pamphlet in your binder and explain the Platinum Membership and the benefits. This is where I also bring up the shipping prices. I always let them know that it's always the most cost effective to max out the shipping. For example: Up to $70 in product is only $6.99 to ship, so if you can, spend the full $70. Don't just buy $50 worth of product.
** The lowest price a Q can be set at is $50. However, NEVER mention this at your party unless asked!!! Let people set their own Q amount based on their budget, but really stress that it doesn't take any extra money if they focus on reallocating their budget and using their Thrive foods everyday! Most people will sign up for the Platinum Membership level and higher if you don't mention the $50 price. In fact, most of my customers sign up for a Q of $130, so they can max out the $9.99 shipping prices and get the Platinum Membership.
*** Don't forget to mention that customers are locked into the Q price they select for 3 months. The reason they ask you to commit to 3 months is for food purchasing reasons. The company needs to have a projection of the amount of food it needs to purchase and send out to it's customers each month. This helps with that projection. After the 3 months are over, they can increase or decrease their Q.
**** Qs can be pause for 1 month (after the 3 month period) with no penalty. However, if it is paused for longer than 1 month there will be a $19.99 fee to restart your Q.
Closing Your Party:
1.) Have your guests take out their order forms when you're done with your presentation, and explain how to fill them out. Have everyone fill out the top portion of the order form. Explain that the middle section is for starting the Q. The bottom of the form is for placing a one time order. As people are doing this I take the opportunity to explain the double dip program and suggest becoming a SR consultant if they like what they've just seen.
2.) Pass around the email list, and have people add their contact info to the list, if they would like. If they want a price list sent via email, have them write that down on the side.
Email Sign Up Sheet
3.) Take any final questions from your guests. Let them know you will be in a certain location to help fill out order forms and answer any questions.
4.) As people start getting up, let them know that the party will be closing in one week. For those guests that say, "I need to talk it over with my husband/wife," my reply is... "Would it help if we did a party at your house so he/she can see how great these product are for themselves? I'd be happy to set that up for you?" OR..."Do you have any concerns that I can help you with before you leave? Can I help you understand anything further?"
5.) Thank them for coming and make sure they have a business card for future reference. Remember that "No" doesn't mean "No" forever. It just means not right now.
Send to friend
