Host coaching through e-mail

babywings76

I have a party next Friday with a host who just had her tonsils removed last week. She's been having a tough recovery. I wasn't able to reach her by phone the other night, so I left her a message about seeing how she's feeling and if she's still on for the show and to see if she needed help with the invitations.

I didn't have her e-mail till just now when she sent me this:

Hey Amanda!
Sorry I missed your call the other day, I was alittle under the weather and unable to talk. I am feeling better finally, and planning to return to work tomorrow. About the party, I am still planning to have it, moving into the house this weekend! yay! I put together my guest list and did word of mouth, emails, texts, and facebook invites. Only a few confirmed guests as of now. What else do you need me to do?!

This poor girl had a house fire and lost her whole kitchen. We're really hoping she'll have a good show so she can get a lot of stuff. I hope people rally behind this girl and order stuff so she can benefit.

Since she can't really talk on the phone well right now, I thought I'd e-mail her a response. What do you think of this? I always struggle with e-mails. As you can tell from my posts, I tend to be very wordy. Is this okay though?

Glad to hear that you are feeling a little better. It sounds like you're doing all the right things with getting the word out. The only thing missing would be if you wanted invitations mailed out to your friends. I can help you with that if you'd like. But if you've directly spoken with everyone, that's really ultimately the best. Keep mentioning it to everyone you know. A few days before the show, you'll want to remind everyone about it.

Did I give you enough catalogs to pass around? Be sure to show it to anyone who can't come. Leave one sitting out at work for people to browse through. Be sure to invite people (especially those who live far away) to view my website and shop online. They just need to put your name in as the host so you get the credit. If you go in the hosts section of my website, you can send out e-mail invitations to those people. It'll let them know what the website is and how to shop online. It'll also let them know what the guest special is. I'm sending you a separate e-mail with your password to get on there. Let me know if you need any help with it. I can also send them out for you if you provide me with the names and e-mail addresses.

Also, did I give you a copy of the guest special? You'll want to let your friends know about it. A lot of people love our Simple Additions items but like to wait for them to go on sale. So now it's a great time for them to get something. Perfect for the upcoming holidays, too.

Just remember, the more orders you get, the more free products you'll earn. We've got a little something for everyone and prices to fit all budgets. The main thing is to ask everyone--you just never know who is looking for a new recipe, or has been needing to get something, or has been wanting to try out our rubs, sweet sprinkles or beer bread, needs to get a gift for a wedding. You get the idea.

So the next question is what recipe should we do at your party? Do you have a regular size microwave? I have some great recipes that we can do in our Deep Covered Baker. Here are a few options:

1. 15 minute Fajitas and Fresh Salsa
2. Loaded Baked Potato Chowder w/ Garlic Biscuit Bites
3. 30 minute Miracle Chicken w/ Garlic Biscuit Bites and Fresh bread w/ dipping oil seasonings
or
4. Zesty Ravioli Skillet w/ Garlic Biscuit Bites
(as you can see, the Garlic Biscuit Bites are very popular!)

Let me know what you think and if you have any other questions. I'm here to help you have a successful show, and I'd love to see you able to get lots of free stuff!

Hope things go well with your move this weekend!

babywings76

I went ahead and sent it. Hopefully it's okay and she finds it helpful and not overwhelming.

ChefBeckyD

Now that it's too late I have a couple suggestions.

First - usually, people only read the first one or two paragraphs...or they'll read the first and last paragraph of a long email or memo. I would break up the email into 3 shorter ones, and send them a day or so apart.

2nd - I don't usually discuss food with my hosts until a couple days before the party. Even if we've decided on a theme earlier, we don't recipe specifics until just before the party. It helps so that instead of putting the focus on the food, they are focusing on getting people there. I usually tell them that what we make will depend some on how many people will be there.


Okay - that's it.

babywings76

Sure...now you tell me!

babywings76

Man, now I'm sitting here with anxiety that I've messed up and overwhelmed her! lol This is a girl who works for my DH, so I'm already nervous about being the perfect consultant.

Wish I could have more confidence and not doubt myself...but really wish I could just figure out things the right way on my own and not be so dependent on getting assurances from others. sigh...

ChefBeckyD

LOL - you'll be fine! I shouldn't have said anything...

babywings76

No, Becky, I'm glad you said something. It's how I learn. Please don't feel bad, it's just my insecurities. I appreciate your advice.

raebates

Amanda, you did just fine. While Becky's right that many people only read bits and pieces, there are lots of people out there like me who read every word. We'll just assume this host is one of us.

Confidence comes with experience, and experience can really only be gained if you risk making a mistake. (Not that I think you made a mistake here.)