Let's Get This Party Started!
by Sue Bradley, Executive Consultant, Sheffield Resource Network

Let’s get one thing perfectly clear. This is not your mother’s Party Plan. What worked for Tupperware and other massive success stories years ago just doesn’t cut it in today’s “group selling” format. The times, people and business model have changed. Here’s just a few observations about how the industry works now and some ways you can use this amazing marketing strategy to help your company’s launch, expansion or rejuvenation. Today’s Party Plans offer women (and men) an easy way to turn their passion into a profitable business. They pay out more money, to more people, faster than ever before. They don’t require their consultants to stockpile or hold inventory. And lastly, they capitalize on available technology, which enables consultants to balance business building and retail product sales.

    In an industry that either has to innovate or evaporate, the Party Plan has evolved to be a great blend of high touch and high tech marketing. Many of the clients we see at Sheffield Resource Network are using it to market products and services that range from the mild to the wild. And even more intriguing is that many new and established companies are now seeking ways to integrate a Party Plan component into their Network Marketing and Direct Sales compensation plan and overall marketing strategy.

    What’s driving this change? It’s asking the tough questions, and then getting straight answers from those who’ve faced similar challenges. (As you can tell by this newsletter’s slogan, we really like that philosophy.) For example: How does a Party Plan consultant make the most money? Selling product. But where does a typical Party Plan consultant spend most of her (or his) time? Follow up, bookkeeping, inventory management, and customer relationship management. So what should smart companies do? Figure out ways to keep their consultants selling and recruiting by supporting them, as much as possible, with everything else. The day-to-day minutia that eats up a Party Plan consultant’s time also distracts them from what really makes them money. Multilevel distributors know that, and their companies have been supporting them for years. So, many Party Plans today are doing the same.

    So, where do you begin? Ask these tough questions when you are starting or expanding your Network Marketing Or Direct Sales company. Do your products need to be demonstrated? Do they need to be touched so that people can feel the quality? Do you have more than one product or product line? Is your product easily purchased in quantity for gift giving? If you answered “yes” to any of the previous questions then maybe you should consider a group selling component to your compensation model.

    What is group selling? It is simply a group of people who gather to be shown a new product so that they can touch it, try it and ask questions about it. Here are five great benefits of a group selling model. Your consultants can:

1. Have a higher average sales per showing. Party Plan consultants average from $300-$500 in personal sales per month versus Multilevel marketers at $50-$75.
   
2. Reach more people in a shorter amount of time. Why present a product or service one-on-one when you can get better results with one-on-many?
   
3. Find it works well for church and civic groups, employee lunches, parent’s groups, a great number of clubs, schools, etc.
   
4. Have an advantage because the guests there can help you sell by simply agreeing with you. There is power in consensus. And once the buying frenzy starts, people are quick to follow because they are caught up in it.
   
5. Find that converting the customers to active distributors is often easier because they tried and fell in love with your product or service in a really fun environment. And everyone likes to have a business that is fun.

    The new and improved group selling model is a great way to turn people and passion into profits, and can stand-alone or blend perfectly with Network Marketing or/or Direct Sales. So, if you’ve shied away from Party Plans because you thought they were outdated or one-dimensional, it’s time for you to get this party started.

About The Author
   As an Executive Consultant with Sheffield Resource Network, Sue Bradley serves as the firm’s Party Plan specialist on group selling dynamics. Sue is also instrumental in directing clients to the most exciting, cost effective Awards, Incentives and Recognition (AIR) programs for Direct Sales, Multi-Level Marketing and Party Plan companies. Sue has worked with some of the largest direct sales and network marketing companies in America holding corporate management positions in Operations, Human Resources, Distributor Relations, Distributor Services, Event Management and Recognition.

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