Chef Dollars / Auction Party Results...

[murkey]

I had my first Play pampered chef dollars with the auction and such party today.I had 10 ladies and the bucks were a HUGE hit! Everyone had sooo much fun that one lady, who had to leave early, stood up and said "I have been to a LOT of home sales shows and a few PC shows as well, I have to say, this has been THE funnest show I have ever attended!"So... the details. Everyone shared, everyone ohhhhed and ahhhhed. The ladies loved the auction and were more than thrilled to take home the door prizes I gave out. Ladies cheered and participated. but the bottom line?...Only 6 of the 10 ladies bought something AND not a single order was over 2 items, and NOBODY was over $30.00!! 10 ladies attended, everyone got door prizes and proclaimed they had "the best time ever" and the show has not even qualified!! WTH?? Could I have done anything more?! I just don't get it!!Oh and every single lady was thrilled to take my gift but NOT my booking! zero bookings or catalog parties

 

[Chef Bobby]

What items did you auction off?

 

[murkey]

I did mystery gifts with just little clues like "Feeling steamed" or "just in time for the holidays" and then started the bidding. I auctioned a bread tube, a micro-steamer, a "Wisk you a Merry Christmas" presentation and a Pumpkin Plate.:cry::thumbdown:

 

[murkey]

that was in addition to my door prizes (booking incentive) gifts which were twixits, bamboo spoon, measuring spoon, a polishing cloth from the 99 cent store (awesome though), chocolates, and hand towel from the outlet.

 

[wadesgirl]

Remember the old saying: why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

They had fun and you gave out a lot of products which of course meant they didn't need to buy as much.

 

[murkey]

oh and they took my special "purse bags" when I asked everyone to please leave them. Only one was left for me!!! HUGE looser! I lost money before the darned show has even closed and as of right now, it's NOT GOING TO because it's not even qualified. :yuck:

Oh well, Live and learn. I will NOT be offering the same format again. The auction did fantastic so I may continue to do that as it really caused guests to INTERACT, PARTICIPATE, VOLUNTEER and SHARE :chef: It was a hit for fun but a financial failure. Mmmmm, back to the drawing board! LOL :angel:

 

[murkey]

Remember the old saying: why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

They had fun and you gave out a lot of products which of course meant they didn't need to buy as much.

exactly right! I thought it was part of the "spirit of the event" to cause the guests to be excited about the product and turn into sales. Almost everything I gave was super small and inexpensive and nobody knew what it was they got when the auctioned or when they ordered. It was announced at closing.

Still you are right of course. I will do this again but DIFFERENT much different!

 

[wadesgirl]

exactly right! I thought it was part of the "spirit of the event" to cause the guests to be excited about the product and turn into sales. Almost everything I gave was super small and inexpensive and nobody knew what it was they got when the auctioned or when they ordered. It was announced at closing.

Still you are right of course. I will do this again but DIFFERENT much different!

I had a show the other night that had about 12 people in attendance. I should have known it was going to be a low show when I went around the room for introductions. 1 guest said her favorite product was the pan scrapers, one said it was the mini serving spatula, one said twix-it clips and another said the large serving spatula! Talk about nothing to work with when the entire crowd loves all the cheap stuff!

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Don't give up! I just did my second show tonight using an auction format. I'm the one that had started the thread. I saw what success another home business got using this. I just had to try it myself. Last week's show I had 4 bookings. Tonight, I got 5 bookings! (1 Dec. cooking show, 2 Jan. cooking shows, 1 Jan. catalog show, 1 host rebook for March cooking show). They had fun, and wanted to do it again. They hadn't had this much fun at a show before they said. One lady "doubled" what was in the box before opening it. It was "you're having a cooking show". She wanted to double it, because she was excited to play. Find out later, she wanted a show, because she hadn't had so much fun before. She's had shows with another consultant before me.

 

[cookingwith_tara]

My last couple of shows - no one's order was over $30 - I guess people are feeling the effects of the economy, I don't know. Here's how I look at it. I don't have any extra money to spend. I am not going to be purchasing anything for anyone this year, it's just not there to spend. So I can understand about having low sales. What I don't understand is the NO BOOOKINGS! My show on Monday, 18 guests, no bookings. My show last night, 8 guests, no bookings. I have a show today, we'll see if I can get any. I'm so bummed - I NEED SOME SHOWS FOR DECEMBER!!!

 

[lockhartkitchen]

Have you tried the booking game? Out of 8 guests only one person chose to put her box back. 50% of the boxes have the phrase "you're having a cooking show!" on them. and free products. I don't purchase anything special. I've given out old season's best, retired products I needed to get rid of. It's amazing how people are so into opening a box.

 

[Fluffy215]

I do something similar with your boxes and I have not had a show without at least one booking. I agree my sales are getting smaller. So far this month I have had 4 shows and none of them have gone over $200. I have one more on the 28th as well as my Black Friday sale so hopefully will at least hit the $1500 mark.

 

[gingertannery]

oh and they took my special "purse bags" when I asked everyone to please leave them. Only one was left for me!!! HUGE looser! I lost money before the darned show has even closed and as of right now, it's NOT GOING TO because it's not even qualified. :yuck:

Oh well, Live and learn. I will NOT be offering the same format again. The auction did fantastic so I may continue to do that as it really caused guests to INTERACT, PARTICIPATE, VOLUNTEER and SHARE :chef: It was a hit for fun but a financial failure. Mmmmm, back to the drawing board! LOL :angel:

Just remember.. they had a great time.. They might have spent more than they were planning. Money is tight right now. You just gave them a memorable time with PC. That is awesome. It will probably pay off in the long run. Call a few and let them know they won the "special drawing".. a free cooking show. Might turn into something great with "their" friends. I think you hit on something.. just the timing is off for mega bucks right now. Don't give up.