Get More Bookings with a Bonus Cookbook!

[chefannie]

I am trying my hardest to come up with ideas to get more bookings! My main focus is to sell the Host Benefits which I do but I find that when I give something extra people seem to be a little more interested. I was thinking about giving the Stoneware Sensations cookbook that is on the 2008 outlet for a great price of $3.50. I would offer it as an additional incentive for anyone who books a party. What are your thoughts on this? :chef:

 

[kspry]

Sounds OK to me, if you know they already like stoneware & cookbooks.
It might not appeal to some, but will to others.

 

[PamperedDor]

Sometimes I offer up the 8"saute pan - what I do is add it to their order when they host a show on their additional discount - (plus I make my commission) - I coach them to have at least a $500 show - outside orders, attendance and PWS - you can of course offer anything else that way!!

 

[chef131doreen]

I have about 6 shows in Jan but Sundays show I am going to put up my booking tree with Dates I have to fill till Feb 13th to get DOUBLE POINTS . I am going to put a picture of Stoneware ect if they Book that they will get at there Show 2 gifts if thety get 5 outside orders before the show

I also want to book March so I will do the same for that mont with new product I;ll let you know how it works

 

[linojackie]

I have about 6 shows in Jan but Sundays show I am going to put up my booking tree with Dates I have to fill till Feb 13th to get DOUBLE POINTS . I am going to put a picture of Stoneware ect if they Book that they will get at there Show 2 gifts if thety get 5 outside orders before the show

I also want to book March so I will do the same for that mont with new product I;ll let you know how it works

I have done this but found that I end up spending more than I make at the party. Any suggestions on how to avoid that? I'm also hearing that people are afraid to book because no one will show up. How can I fix that?

 

[wadesgirl]

I've done "Pay the Day of your Party". Gave away a large bar pan for anyone who booked before January 12 for the day they booked the party (Jan 2 = $2, Jan 4 = $4). I got 3 bookings doing this.

I also play a deal or no deal game at my shows. I made deal or no deal briefcase stickers (I was supposed to post them along time ago and cannot find it yet!). I tell them it's just like the real game, they pick a briefcase and at the end of the show I'll ask them if they want to book a party (take the deal) if they say yes, they get the product in the envelope at their party. It's usually something under $10 and a new product. Spring season will be a little bit harder because there wasn't that many small products so I may place some classics (mix n chop for example)

Never, ever, never, ever, in my opinion, give somebody something at the show they are currently at! There is no guarantee that they will hold their party. If you want to give them something like the cookbook, give it to them as a thank you at the beginning of the party or add the item onto their host order to get you a discount.

 

[linojackie]

I was offering free shipping to those who booked at the party because it was not only getting them to purchase now, but I got the booking as well. It seemed to be working for me. However, I felt like some people were just booking get the free shipping and then would blow me off.

 

[Michelle's Kitchen]

I am trying my hardest to come up with ideas to get more bookings! My main focus is to sell the Host Benefits which I do but I find that when I give something extra people seem to be a little more interested. I was thinking about giving the Stoneware Sensations cookbook that is on the 2008 outlet for a great price of $3.50. I would offer it as an additional incentive for anyone who books a party. What are your thoughts on this? :chef:

This is what I offer to my hosts, if they have two people book a show from her by the time I get to the show, they can choose two products around 15 dollar amount. Which she will receive products at their show.. It gets them asking them asking their friends and family when they are making reminder calls before their show. That is how I got my last two bookings. Just an idea.

 

[Mwalker]

I give a cookbook at the time of their show. They dont get the book until then.

 

[missyciccolella]

I have a couple of ideas to share:

1. Go to a craft store and buy the mini-ziploc (like for jewelry beads) and place 1-2 TBSP of a seasoning (like Southwest or Dill) along with a "hold the date" card and dip instructions. The host will only have to buy dip ingredients, veggies and/or chips for her show. :thumbup:

2. I made a visual flyer to show the host benefits. I took a $600 show and literally cut from a catalog the products the host got for free and discounted. To be honest, it is not he prettiest thing to look at, but I honestly see mouths hit the floor when I talk about it at my shows. I started getting a lot more bookings once I started using this (just about doubled my bookings). I did a lot of thinking about what sales level to choose, and decided against the $1000 b/c I host coach to that, and this is get them hooked/booked. This is like a "pile on" that people do at their shows but it stays the same at all my shows so it makes it easier for me to talk about. I've had many people tell me they were dead set against a show until they saw this. It features the free stuff, half priced stuff (the host chose cookware as 1 50% of product), the discount and the 60% off item. I list the numbers of orders and guest sales, and the real attention grabber is when I reveal the full retail price, what she paid and what she saved...I've been 100% satisfied with my results since implementing over a year ago. (This eliminates the need to give product out of pocket)

 

[stacywhitlow]

Never, ever, never, ever, in my opinion, give somebody something at the show they are currently at! There is no guarantee that they will hold their party. If you want to give them something like the cookbook, give it to them as a thank you at the beginning of the party or add the item onto their host order to get you a discount.

I totally agree! If you give the gift before hand, all they have to do is cancel their show & still have the freebie.

 

[stacywhitlow]

I have a couple of ideas to share:

1. Go to a craft store and buy the mini-ziploc (like for jewelry beads) and place 1-2 TBSP of a seasoning (like Southwest or Dill) along with a "hold the date" card and dip instructions. The host will only have to buy dip ingredients, veggies and/or chips for her show. :thumbup:

2. I made a visual flyer to show the host benefits. I took a $600 show and literally cut from a catalog the products the host got for free and discounted. To be honest, it is not he prettiest thing to look at, but I honestly see mouths hit the floor when I talk about it at my shows. I started getting a lot more bookings once I started using this (just about doubled my bookings). I did a lot of thinking about what sales level to choose, and decided against the $1000 b/c I host coach to that, and this is get them hooked/booked. This is like a "pile on" that people do at their shows but it stays the same at all my shows so it makes it easier for me to talk about. I've had many people tell me they were dead set against a show until they saw this. It features the free stuff, half priced stuff (the host chose cookware as 1 50% of product), the discount and the 60% off item. I list the numbers of orders and guest sales, and the real attention grabber is when I reveal the full retail price, what she paid and what she saved...I've been 100% satisfied with my results since implementing over a year ago. (This eliminates the need to give product out of pocket)

I have thought about doing both of those things. How does it work for you? Any success?

 

[pattikake]

Missy - I would love to see your flyer!

 

[28sal]

youre idea sounds great but is a bit confusing. i want to learn more about it so i can do it at my shows. can you explain a little easier for me to understand? thanks.i would love to see the flyer also just for a visual and i probaly could understand it more.

 

[allisonserna]

honestly I dont give them anything additional, making my parties fun and exciting keeps my bookings coming in.

If you say something along the lines of holding up a product and saying this item is 60% next month, that gets people's attention. When you close their order, say "what month do you want to have your show?". They usually just look at me (surprised) and say a month, or I get "I dont have my calendar with me", so I reply. "I do would you like to look at mine?" if they delcine to look at mine, then I just follow up with the idea of hosting when I do CCC (customer care calls). But i ask each person at check out wheather they expressed an interest or not on hosting.

 

[missyciccolella]

Here is the basic "gist" of my booking bit at my show. I had a show in October where guest sales were $616. I used what this host chose for her free and discounted items and created a "collage" (for lack of a better word) to demonstrate what an average host can expect to receive at her show.

My "flyer" is a piece of card stock, and I literally cut the items from a catalog and pasted them to the card stock. I learned thicker paper works better since I pass it around the room for everyone to see. I chose this host because she selected cookware as 1 half priced item (the other was the mandolin), she purchased the DCB at 60% off, and had a great assortment of other products. Basically, she would have paid $814.25 for all the products pictured on the page, but since she was the host she only paid $341.94 so she saved $472.31. I have all this info listed on the collage as well as the number of guest orders.

I am a very visual person, and felt I never explained the host benefits well b/c no one could really see what a host would/could get and her savings. I started doing this in Sept of 2006 and my bookings went from 1-2 per show to 3-5 depending on the number of folks there. I know it only seems like 1 more booking, but my monthly show schedule really boomed about 2-3 months after I started doing this.

I also chose a $600 show instead of a $1000 b/c I host coach to a $1000 show, but that is not my show average so I wanted something more reflective of what an average host get. I feel that I hook people with this and my host coaching raises the bar for the host to strive for a $1000 show. My thoughts are I have to secure the booking first then focus on host coaching.

For me this works b/c I can say, "When your sales reach a $1000, instead of 2 half priced items at a $600 show, you'll have 4. You'll also get about $100 more in Free Product and a bigger show discount." (I reference the flyer and host benefit chart so it makes more sense in the conversation with the host)

I'll be quite honest, my collage is not a work of art, and I joke about that at my shows. I tell guest with a wink and nod that my 6 year old really made this for me...it always gets a chuckle. This works for me and has worked for over 1 year. Like I said I'm visual and I think more people are able to understand the host program a bit better with this. I've sat in the audience at other shows and never fully understood the host benefits because they sputtered numbers at me. For me this evolved from a product pile on that many people use...this was much easier for me and consistent every time.


I have a scan of my first one, but whatever reason I can't upload it. Let me play with it and I'll post it later. I hope this makes more sense...if not let me know.

 

[reba515]

I have this in my book as well, only I have a few pages...a $250 show, a $600 & a $1000 by showing the lower show it shows them they don't need to have HUGE sales to get some great free products.
I too put how much they paid , how much they would have paid. It also inculdes a page where the host paid $0.

 

[salthechef]

I would love to see the collage too. I am very visual also!

 

[chefannie]

I loved Missy's idea so last night after I put the kids to bed I made the following. I didn't choose really big items as I wanted to test it out tonight at a show and wanted to get feedback. But if anyone here can give me their thoughts I would be really grateful. Wish me luck tonight - my first show of 2008!

Made a decision - going to earn Level 1 in 2008!
:angel:

 

[MORFIA]

excellent flyer====go get um---!!I am still adding Jan shows----YOU CAN TOO!

 

[salthechef]

I love it! I hope you post the response you get from guests tonight!

 

[GiselaElizabeth]

I have a couple of ideas to share:

1. Go to a craft store and buy the mini-ziploc (like for jewelry beads) and place 1-2 TBSP of a seasoning (like Southwest or Dill) along with a "hold the date" card and dip instructions. The host will only have to buy dip ingredients, veggies and/or chips for her show. :thumbup:

2. I made a visual flyer to show the host benefits. I took a $600 show and literally cut from a catalog the products the host got for free and discounted. To be honest, it is not he prettiest thing to look at, but I honestly see mouths hit the floor when I talk about it at my shows. I started getting a lot more bookings once I started using this (just about doubled my bookings). I did a lot of thinking about what sales level to choose, and decided against the $1000 b/c I host coach to that, and this is get them hooked/booked. This is like a "pile on" that people do at their shows but it stays the same at all my shows so it makes it easier for me to talk about. I've had many people tell me they were dead set against a show until they saw this. It features the free stuff, half priced stuff (the host chose cookware as 1 50% of product), the discount and the 60% off item. I list the numbers of orders and guest sales, and the real attention grabber is when I reveal the full retail price, what she paid and what she saved...I've been 100% satisfied with my results since implementing over a year ago. (This eliminates the need to give product out of pocket)

Missy- this is such an AWESOME idea, and I think it will work great for my next show! I can't wait to try it out! Thank you for sharing!

 

[byrd1956]

That is a great flyer! I know some consultants that actually take the products and hand them to someone during the show saying this is what they would get free for hosting.

 

[pampchefrhondab]

This is a great flyer! I'm going to use it at my show tonight (if the show goes on)!!

 

[chefannie]

OK - I promised myself I would post the results from my show Saturday night and I am. I know a little late (but have been battling the 48-hour virus that my twin boys and husband gave me - thank goodness I got it when I came home from the show not before). Anyway...

my party was a great success! My first party of 2008 and sales were over $1,000.00. I was so excited! I don't know if it was anything in particular but I tried for the first time playing the "Got It - Love It Game". I can't remember who recommended it but it worked great! I started the game off with the first person who said Got It Love It, I threw a Hershey kiss to her! Well that started everyone competing for who was able to shout the loudest Got It. Then it just went from there. I think that two very important factors were I had a GREAT Host who made her guests and me feel very at home! Then the guests were so enthusiastic about PC that the good vibes just kept coming. I also got 1 set booking and 1 booking that she is just confirming dates with her daughter. So all in all I had a great first party.

I also want to thank all my friends at Chef Success for all their continued support!:love:

 

[salthechef]

Congrats! I hope mine turns out as good as yours! Thanks!

 

[wickednoodle]

I have a couple of ideas to share:

1. Go to a craft store and buy the mini-ziploc (like for jewelry beads) and place 1-2 TBSP of a seasoning (like Southwest or Dill) along with a "hold the date" card and dip instructions. The host will only have to buy dip ingredients, veggies and/or chips for her show. :thumbup:

2. I made a visual flyer to show the host benefits. I took a $600 show and literally cut from a catalog the products the host got for free and discounted. To be honest, it is not he prettiest thing to look at, but I honestly see mouths hit the floor when I talk about it at my shows. I started getting a lot more bookings once I started using this (just about doubled my bookings). I did a lot of thinking about what sales level to choose, and decided against the $1000 b/c I host coach to that, and this is get them hooked/booked. This is like a "pile on" that people do at their shows but it stays the same at all my shows so it makes it easier for me to talk about. I've had many people tell me they were dead set against a show until they saw this. It features the free stuff, half priced stuff (the host chose cookware as 1 50% of product), the discount and the 60% off item. I list the numbers of orders and guest sales, and the real attention grabber is when I reveal the full retail price, what she paid and what she saved...I've been 100% satisfied with my results since implementing over a year ago. (This eliminates the need to give product out of pocket)

Wow, I love both of these ideas! Thanks so much for sharing!