How Can I Successfully Host a Larger Home Show with Over 20 Guests?

[pcchefjane]

Okay ya'll! I have never had more than 12 at a Show before! I just talked to my Host for tomorrow night and she has 20 CONFIRMED plus everyone was encouraged to bring a guest! I am making 30 guest packets just in case I have that many.

We are making Mexican Chicken Lasagna and the Mini Carrot Cake Cups. I had planned to do only the Lasagna as the demo but with this many coming, thought I would do "stations" and do both recipes. I plan on putting a "tool" on each nametag so the participation would be better!

My Host is VERY excited as well and when I told her if they each did a $20 minimum order that would give her over $400, she said, "Oh I have already been calculating how high it could go!" WOOHOO! She also said she had told some of them she may start selling herself! Another big WOOHOO because she had told me she didn't think she was still interested on Friday! She was telling me she had some friends who really loved having fun. I told her that she may want to think of someone who would be good at the business for her to join with and have her first Recruit to start with!

I told her we would play one game... I thought about either the "Queen of the Shoppers" but not sure how many of the crowd is PC familiar or the "Pass the Prize" Game with questions about the business. Which one do you think would be best? How do I handle full service checkout to make it go faster? I will have the laptop so that will help me! I am also taking the "Dinnertime in No Time Set" sheet from the lady (sorry blank on name right now) who sold 12 at her last Show!

Any other suggestions? I am so excited! I am going to put the packages together tonight. I thought I would carry 10 more catalogs with me with order forms in case we are overwhelmed with more than 30 (heaven help me) tomorrow night!

Thanks in advance for any insights!

 

[Sheila]

I've done about 1/2 dozen shows now with more than 20 guests. I usually do 3 workstations and let them all get hands on with the tools.I probably should, but I do not do the "full service" checkout. I just address the group as a whole, tell them what the booking benefit is and what the upcoming specials are. And if they THINK that they MIGHT want to host a show in the next 6 months to tell me NOW so that the current host can get the booking benefit. So far, it's worked well.

 

[Admin Greg]

Wow, it sounds like you have a lot of excitement and potential for a successful show! Congrats on having so many confirmed guests and the possibility of even more. It's great that you're planning on having extra packets and catalogs, just in case. As for the game, I personally think the "Pass the Prize" game would be better since it involves questions about the business. It's a fun and interactive way to introduce your guests to the business side of things. For full service checkout, I would suggest having a designated area for guests to place their orders and have someone helping you with the checkout process. You could also have a laptop or tablet set up for guests to place their orders online, if they prefer. It sounds like you have everything planned out well and I'm sure it will be a great show. Good luck and have fun!