Maximizing Opportunities: Recruiting and Booking Games for Your Business

[Chefstover2]

OK, I thought I'd finally gotten over feeling pushy...taking the emphasis off me and offering everyone the opportunity to host and/or start their own business. I've never really been much of a game person, but I've been using the "Ask me Anything" 'game' and gathering a bunch more recruit leads. I'm also making sure I asked everyone at checkout if they wanted to host.

Well, last show of the year went well (I thought)...I did my big MAC calls, etc. All was well. I sent out my newsletter and got an e-mail back from one of the guests saying she had intended to book a party but was put off by my hard-sell and that she felt even the game was pushy. She wanted off my mailing list.

I responded to her that it was not my intention to come across as pushy, but just wanted to make everyone aware of the opportunities available (to host or start their own business). Took her off my mailing list as requested.

So now my next show is on Saturday and now I'm nervous about my "ask anything" game and offering the hosting opportunity because I'd hate to be thought of as pushy. Any encouraging words you can give to get back my "mojo"? How many of you do a recruiting or booking game?

 

[MissChef]

I don't do one but I've seriously thought of doing it!
I have a question..... other than this obvious mean spirited person, how has this game worked for you before? Have you got more booking by asking people at check out and have you gotten more interest in the opportunity since doing this game? If you have then I wouldn't change it! I once got a really good peice of advice within the first year or so of my business and it has stuck with me all of these years!! .... one of my upline director's once said "Don't determine the success or failure of your business by your last show" In other words, you need to look at the whole picture. If it has been working then go for it, if you have more people tell you that you seem pushy, then maybe you should change it. You need to consider that maybe this lady was just a scrooge and you got the abuse she was feeling from something else!
My advice..... get over it and move on. Pick yourself back up.... take a good look at your business and everyone's responses not just one person's and determine your success by how overall it's been! I bet your will realize that it was just one person having a bad moment and you probably didn't need her anyway!
I'd love to know what your answer is to your overall business success.... I have a feeling you are doing just fine! :balloon:

 

[Kitchen Diva]

I bet that lady was just upset about something else, and for some reason even though you didn't come across as pushy, she just took it that way.

You are always going to upset someone, or seem pushy to someone, especially people like that who will come up with an excuse for almost anything they were going to do, but now aren't because of whatever reason- the wind blew too hard, or the sun wasn't shining, or they ran out of their favorite shampoo, or someone cut them off on the freeway. If she really wanted to book a show I feel she would have. I have a feeling that it doesn't take much for her to feel someone is being pushy, which means she is more than likely jealous of your confidence or maybe insecure herself- maybe she doesn't have anything in her life that she feels as pasionate about, like you do?

So you weren't her type...that should not effect you! You should be happy you found out that you weren't her type before you did a show for her and stood in front of a room full of people just like her! (I'm totally NOT trying to be mean here)

I have learned the hard way that some people just don't get it, and will be offended by almost anything anyone tells them. Heck, I did a show where people actually told me afterwards to NOT call them...EVER! And I recruited the host that night! (I'll show them to tell me not to call them)

My thoughts after rambling on here are that you didn't do anything wrong. You believe in PC, and the opportunity, and in the Host Rewards...you want everyone to take part in it. Some will, some won't...who's next?

Best of luck and keep at it.

 

[smile10308]

I play a few games at my shows because I like it to be interactive. I play the ticket game throughout and tell everyone I will be giving away prizes at the end. I give tickets for asking me questions about the products, my business, helping find things in the catalog, reading things from the catalog for me. I also give the tickets to the host so she passes them out and the guests normally keep her on track.
I also play a game called Pampered Poker(I learned from someone else). This game is focused on recruiting and I play it at the end of my show. I use playing cards, ace through 10 in 2 suits. I tell everyone this part of the night is all about my business, no more questions about products, just my business. I also tell them what prizes they will be winning. I have a large chip clip, a season’s best, and a citrus peeler. Some of the rules are you cannot be polite, you must have fun, and you can get personal on the questions. I have them ask me the questions and once the first ten cards are gone then I start drawing cards from the other ten I had. As I call the first number I let them choose a prize, and then when I choose the next number they choose to steal that prize or they can choose another. I do this until all ten cards have been picked and the prizes are gone. Everyone seems to love this game and I have had soooo many more recruit leads from this because everyone wants to win a prize.
Then right after the game, I do my door prize drawing and I pass out the slips. I tell everyone this is my way of knowing how to take care of them better. I say I will be giving away a prize and to fill it out completely so they can win. I then go through each thing. If you want to be in my recipe of the month club (My newsletter) please fill in your email. If you want to get your friends together and have me cook for you, check that box. If you saw what I did tonight and you are at all curious about knowing more, then check that box. I also tell them that it does not mean I will call and stalk them until they become consultants, however if they want to know more I would love to sit and chat with them.
Then I collect them, give away a prize (paring knife or mini serving spatula), then I give away the prize for the ticket game (usually the hold and slice) for the ticket game I give the best prize since they have played the whole night.
I hope this helps in some way. I know it is probably info over load. I try to be consistent and when they check out I say, I haven’t had a chance to check all the drawing slips, do you want to get your friends together for a fun night? If they say no I offer a recipe to take home so it ends on a good note. If they asked some good questions I tell them. You asked some really good questions tonight, have you ever thought of doing something like this, if so I offer to have coffee to chat more, if not I say well ho about having a fun night with your friends? If not, I offer a recipe. I also try to end it on a positive.

Stay positive yourself and try not to let that lady get you down. Happy New Year!!!

 

[Chefstover2]

Thanks, Kacey and Jodi.

I have been getting plenty of bookings from my asking at check-out (in fact, I can only fit one more show into January!! A first for me) and my recruiting lead list is miles longer than it was last year this time.

So I guess I will just have to get over it and move on. Thanks for the advice and encouragement!

 

[Christ Follower]

I would've never given this business another thought if it weren't for my (now) directors ask me game. I was actually looking into a different DS company untill I attended a PC party and played the game. Of course my director followed up as well before I actually signed.

 

[Kitchen Diva]

Thanks, Kacey and Jodi.

I have been getting plenty of bookings from my asking at check-out (in fact, I can only fit one more show into January!! A first for me) and my recruiting lead list is miles longer than it was last year this time.

So I guess I will just have to get over it and move on. Thanks for the advice and encouragement!

You are welcome...and heck- my director/recruiter (who's also a very good friend of mine) "stalked" me for 9 months before I sipped the kool-aid/signed on the dotted line.

I understand how you feel when that lady said what she said- I truly do. But pooh on her! You rock and roll with that recruiting leads you have and way to go on a booked January!!!

 

[raebates]

My wonderful, no-way-she-could-ever-be-pushy director once had a host think that her offer to watch the kids so she could go shopping for the ingredients was pushy. (If I remember correctly, they attended the same church.) Since you have been getting bookings and this is the first person to react that way, you can probably assume it's just her issues. You've done as she asked. Just keep up the good work, and forget about her.

 

[chefmeg]

OK, I thought I'd finally gotten over feeling pushy...taking the emphasis off me and offering everyone the opportunity to host and/or start their own business. I've never really been much of a game person, but I've been using the "Ask me Anything" 'game' and gathering a bunch more recruit leads. I'm also making sure I asked everyone at checkout if they wanted to host.

Well, last show of the year went well (I thought)...I did my big MAC calls, etc. All was well. I sent out my newsletter and got an e-mail back from one of the guests saying she had intended to book a party but was put off by my hard-sell and that she felt even the game was pushy. She wanted off my mailing list.

I responded to her that it was not my intention to come across as pushy, but just wanted to make everyone aware of the opportunities available (to host or start their own business). Took her off my mailing list as requested.

So now my next show is on Saturday and now I'm nervous about my "ask anything" game and offering the hosting opportunity because I'd hate to be thought of as pushy. Any encouraging words you can give to get back my "mojo"? How many of you do a recruiting or booking game?

Kristin?????Is that you???? we were bus buddies to the HO tour a hundred years ago!!! How the heck are ya? I'll be at leadership, too~

Margaret Childs!!!!!!!!!!!!! most folks don't know my nickname is Meg!

 

[Chefstover2]

Hi Margaret! Yes, it is me! I'll pm you if I can.

 

[jrstephens]

I would contineue to do what you do. You never know about people. If you had gotten more than one complaint then I would say make a change but not from one person.

I had one lady when I made follow-up calls compliment me on how great it was for me to follow-up and stay in touch with guests and then in a few days in response to an email she requested to be removed from my contacts, so, you just never know.

Bless and Release!

 

[baychef]

Kristen, you are getting some AWESOME advice here!

The "ask me what I do" game helped me feel more comfortable about talking about the opportunity. I don't play it all the time. You may want to ask your host if she minds if you play a short game before you plan on doing it. I have not asked, but think I may in the future. My last host asked me not to play games at her party. She had attended another home based business party and she said that the game went on too long. Some of the questions asked were about the history of the company to which she said she could have cared less. Her and her friends want to just have fun, learn a new recipe and she is not interested in being a consultant.

I know that it knocks out her guests knowing about the program, but I have information in each of their folders and I do talk about it (briefly). I had one woman with a million questions, to which I answered hers and others. She complimented me later on telling me that she appreciated that I took the time and the interest in helping her with her selections. I booked about 3 or 4 parties that night and I received compliments about how fun my party was.

You have to sometimes feel out your crowd, but by all means, you can not predict how some people are going to react. You handled this customer extremely well. You expressed that you did not intend to be pushy and you did as she asked and took her off your mailing list. As many on here have said, bless and release. Her words hurt. I know because negative things have gotten back to me and people have made up their interpretation of how I may have handled something. (sometimes I think they like to put people down just for some sick pleasure).

Concentrate on all of the happy customers you have. Concentrate on how great 2008 will be because your January calendar is so full (my hats off to you!!) Look forward with happiness and excitement in your heart. The best revenge is success!!!

 

[dannyzmom]

OK, I thought I'd finally gotten over feeling pushy...taking the emphasis off me and offering everyone the opportunity to host and/or start their own business. I've never really been much of a game person, but I've been using the "Ask me Anything" 'game' and gathering a bunch more recruit leads. I'm also making sure I asked everyone at checkout if they wanted to host.

Well, last show of the year went well (I thought)...I did my big MAC calls, etc. All was well. I sent out my newsletter and got an e-mail back from one of the guests saying she had intended to book a party but was put off by my hard-sell and that she felt even the game was pushy. She wanted off my mailing list.

I responded to her that it was not my intention to come across as pushy, but just wanted to make everyone aware of the opportunities available (to host or start their own business). Took her off my mailing list as requested.

So now my next show is on Saturday and now I'm nervous about my "ask anything" game and offering the hosting opportunity because I'd hate to be thought of as pushy. Any encouraging words you can give to get back my "mojo"? How many of you do a recruiting or booking game?

Oh honey - you ROCK!!
Don't let that nasty so-and-so rattle your mojo. You've got the juju, girl!!! She's just got issues of her own that she diecided to spew on you that day. Say a little prayer for her that she should someday find peace and a position with a wonderful company like ours ... and and get your groove back on & get out there!!
I love ya!

 

[chefmeg]

Oh honey - you ROCK!!
Don't let that nasty so-and-so rattle your mojo. You've got the juju, girl!!! She's just got issues of her own that she diecided to spew on you that day. Say a little prayer for her that she should someday find peace and a position with a wonderful company like ours ... and and get your groove back on & get out there!!
I love ya!

Carolyn....a little smiley happy there, aren't you????? I totally agree with everything you said!

 

[finley1991]

I don't play games at my shows... never have... never will. It's amazing how we all can be successful doing different things. My customers CONSTANTLY thank me at shows for not playing games.I do a Q&A about the opportunity, but it's not a game.

 

[sfdavis918]

For those of you that don't play games, do you still have the guests fill out door slips and pull for a prize?

 

[chefann]

I do. The only other thing I do that I call a game, even though it's not a separate activity, is "Have it Love it." When I mention a tool, someone who has it and loves it can talk about it for a minute, and they get a ticket. I draw a ticket at the end of the show for a little prize. My DPDS prize is free shipping.

 

[finley1991]

Absolutely! At the end of my demo, I announce that we have a door prize and then I explain the drawing slip.On everyone's invitation, I do state that there will be an on-time drawing. I give tickets to everyone who gets there before 7pm (my usual start time). At 7pm I draw the winning number and that person gets free shipping. This ensures that my demo begins no later than 7:20 to accommodate the stragglers and I am out the door by nine. It's awesome!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I don't call mine a DPDS - I call it a guest care card. I have a space at the bottom where they can write comments, and it provides me with their info. I use them to also draw for free shipping - unless it's a really small show, and then I usually have a couple gifts with me (SB, QK knife, etc...) that they can choose from.

 

[stacywhitlow]

I also call mine a guest care card. I don't normally play games but sometimes do the why bag or ticket/question game. I do plan to make my shows a little more interactive. I do ask guests to talk about the products they have but still think my shows need "something".

 

[Bren706]

I play a Tally game while the recipe is in the oven. Guests get points for coming by car, having buttons, rings, children, etc. Then there are also points for hosting a live cooking show before, points for being a smarty and booking their own party, taking info on the wedding registry or fundraisers, and then big points for asking me about the opportunity. Sometimes there are a lot of questions asked, and other times the room is quiet. At quiet times, I don't push it, and just have them tally up their points.

I like the tally game because it incorporates a way to get not only the booking and business opportunities out there, but it gets the wedding and fundraiser info to my guests as well. I do use a DPDS as well, and I also TRY to ask everyone at the end of the show as well.

 

[schel]

I do. The only other thing I do that I call a game, even though it's not a separate activity, is "Have it Love it." When I mention a tool, someone who has it and loves it can talk about it for a minute, and they get a ticket. I draw a ticket at the end of the show for a little prize. My DPDS prize is free shipping.

OOOooooo! I like that idea!
Schel

 

[riggs62]

I play the "Just Ask game", but I introduce it more as a Q&A on the business opportunity. I preface it with "Now that you've heard a little about what I do, now is your chance to ask me any question you may have about starting a business with TPC. I will start my timer to keep us on track. As you ask a question you get to hold this "All purpose spreader...etc" and after I answer pass it on to the next person with a question. If you don't have a question, I will provide a frequently asked question so that you still have an opportunity to win the item. If the timer goes off while you are holding the item, you get to take it home with you!"
On my feedback from my guest care cards, a lot of people describe this as their favorite part of the show. I try to keep it from being gimmicky.
I've recruited 3 as a direct result of this game.
Don't let one grouch discourage you. I would also ask in my Big Mac calls what the favorite part of the show was for them. This will give you feedback from a variety of people rather than just one grump.
Don't sweat it!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I play a Tally game while the recipe is in the oven. Guests get points for coming by car, having buttons, rings, children, etc. Then there are also points for hosting a live cooking show before, points for being a smarty and booking their own party, taking info on the wedding registry or fundraisers, and then big points for asking me about the opportunity. Sometimes there are a lot of questions asked, and other times the room is quiet. At quiet times, I don't push it, and just have them tally up their points.

I like the tally game because it incorporates a way to get not only the booking and business opportunities out there, but it gets the wedding and fundraiser info to my guests as well. I do use a DPDS as well, and I also TRY to ask everyone at the end of the show as well.

Brenda,

Do you have a list a questions that you could post?

 

[Chefstover2]

Brenda,

Do you have a list a questions that you could post?

I was going to ask the same thing...I like the idea of doing this when it seems like I need to change it up a bit.

 

[keril]

I ALWAYS play 2 different games and I'm fairly generous with my prizes. I think giving away just a nylon pan scraper is kind of cheesy--I give 3 twixits (all 3 sizes) tied up with a ribbon or a citrus peeler AND a quickut paring knife together or even a seasoning. I have a group of about 30 women who keep hosting shows for me (for past 4 years) and they keep on asking to do the games and they are very competitive. I get 2-3 bookings at every show. However, I must admit that it is easier for me not to be as "pushy" because I don't recruit anymore and voluntarily gave up my directorship so I just focus on making the host feel special, giving the guests a good time and lots of prizes, sharing my product knowledge, and securing the 2 bookings needed for the next month.

 

[pamperedbecky]

OK, I thought I'd finally gotten over feeling pushy...taking the emphasis off me and offering everyone the opportunity to host and/or start their own business. I've never really been much of a game person, but I've been using the "Ask me Anything" 'game' and gathering a bunch more recruit leads. I'm also making sure I asked everyone at checkout if they wanted to host.

Well, last show of the year went well (I thought)...I did my big MAC calls, etc. All was well. I sent out my newsletter and got an e-mail back from one of the guests saying she had intended to book a party but was put off by my hard-sell and that she felt even the game was pushy. She wanted off my mailing list.

I responded to her that it was not my intention to come across as pushy, but just wanted to make everyone aware of the opportunities available (to host or start their own business). Took her off my mailing list as requested.

So now my next show is on Saturday and now I'm nervous about my "ask anything" game and offering the hosting opportunity because I'd hate to be thought of as pushy. Any encouraging words you can give to get back my "mojo"? How many of you do a recruiting or booking game?

Awesome feedback everyone has given you!! I love how helpful and willing to share everyone is on here.

My first thought when I read your post (after agreeing that I also had to get over the "pushiness" feeling and making it about THEM and not me) was that if you are reluctant to share about the opportunity because of how they may view that/you, again you're falling into the trap of focusing more on you than them. Does that make sense? It's an easy trap to fall into and I often have to remind myself that. ALL of the main objections/reluctance we as consultants have to recruiting have to do about US (not wanting to seem pushy, not wanting to take on extra responsibility, not wanting to take extra time, feeling like we might not be a good recruiter/director, not wanting to step outside of that comfort zone, etc). So if we TRULY believe in the opportunity we can offer (just offer - not PUSH on someone), we have to get over all of those things because those are just about US. It doesn't take into account all of the amazing things someone might be able to gain from this experience (extra money, confidence, cooking skills, a "way out" if they're stuck in a bad job/bad marriage/negative life, a feeling of self-worth, a fun and positive way to earn money, etc, etc).

So, just wanted to share my two cents after reading it because I've been in similar situations when someone doesn't repond favorably to how I've gone about things. But I've had to tell myself if I stop what I'm doing or hold back, then once again I'm only thinking about myself and not them. Hope that all makes sense!!

Keep doin' what you're doin'!!!! Keep up the great work.

 

[Bren706]

Tally GameJust saw the request for my Tally game. Here it is. I received it as a hard copy handout at our Regional Fall Kick-off meeting this fall. I just typed it up so that I could share, as well as have it on file. Like I said before, I like this one because it gets me to mention the wedding registry and fundraiser info, which otherwise, I have a hard time fitting it into my show.