Struggling with Unresponsive Hosts?

[armywife_consultant]

sorry if this isnt ment to be here i wasnt sure where to put it and i need to vent. i had my first show on the 16th of feb,it was a catalog show. my apartment managers passed out flyers apartment wide and it was held in the leasing office . basically the local hang out. well for some reason they decided to host on a monday( presidents day) and its a military 4 day because of the holiday so everyone goes home. a few people showed up not as many as i was hoping. about 12 or so i got $160 in orders. well the apt managers havent given me their orders yet... they keep saying they wanna wait and see if any one else is gonna order. i left order forms and books in there for over a week now. i wanted to have the show submited by now. and no matter what i tell them it doesnt matter. i told them i was closing the show the 20th and its what the 22nd? what do i do? i dont want to be rude but there just not listening to me! HELP!

in the mean time to help me qualify i mailed catalogs and order forms to friends and family around the united states. so they can collect orders and earn host rewards and specials as well as free and half price stuff. im helping them and there helping me. im keeping my fingers crossed. gotta make that car payment!

 

[princessmeshelle]

For the future, just tell your hosts that you don't keep shows open longer than X # of days. The X is whatever you are comfortable with. I tend to say a day or 2, unless it is the weekend. In Fact, I tend to submit on Mondays. I seem to have the show over the weekend, go home input everything, put the money in the bank on my way home from the show, submit on Monday because there doesn't seem to be a difference between Saturday night and Monday morning. That is just me though. I also like to set a date and time to close, like Sunday night by 8pm. That way they feel like they have some say, and I have more control over when it really happens.

As for this show, I would say it depends on what you told them. You could try telling them that it need to be in before the end of the month to get their special. When my hosts have tried to hold out for that "one last order" that never seems to come in, I try to let them know that since we have already had the show, there are people who are waiting to receive all their wonderful products. That usually snaps them back into reality. Would you want to wait 3 weeks for your new stuff because your host didn't want to submit in a timely manner? NO!

I really hope that helps you out. I find setting a date to close and being firm about it makes things a lot smoother come time to close. that way there is no question.

Michelle :chef:

 

[chef131doreen]

Also of it was held on the 16th of Feb you MUST close it bu the 15th of MARCH because the host and guests will not get the specials if it goes past that date . In this case I would keep it open to get more orders, soulds like alot of people pass through.

 

[armywife_consultant]

thanks ladies that helps alot. alot of people do pass through the office all the wifes hang out down there while our hubbys are at work. its just so frustrating. im gonna go down there on monday and say orders due to me by 5pm. im gonna put my foot down!

 

[Flamingo]

you go girl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Triciascucina]

Let the managers know they are holding up products for customers that have already paid. How would they feel if they ordered something and had to wait longer. also let then know if orders come in after and are $150 or more you can just send in another show.

 

[scottcooks]

Don't wait - send the orders you have in, even if it's not a show. (Still counts as your commissionable sales) You can send them in as individual orders, or have it shipped to your home as a show.

Some of my worst host experiences involved dealing with apartment managers or apartment folk trying to 'do a favor for someone'. Maybe the temporary nature of apartment residents makes for a less grounded host?!

Good luck!

 

[Cr8vKitchen]

I agree! I had a show for a friend who is an apartment manager. We had over 20 people show up and it was total chaos....everyone came for the free food and that was it! I got ONE order out of it!!!

 

[twocooks2many]

I usually tell them that I HAVE to submit by a certain date. So if I am working towards a goal, I give that date as a deadline. I have also told hosts that I need to close February shows in February no matter the date held. This has actually helped me with my late February shows too. I am also finding that my shows do not drag out and when the new month arrives I am starting fresh.

 

[scottcooks]

make up something arbitrary (The company says all orders for the month need to be in by the 21st) and send it in. It counts as a show b/c it's over 150. Probably they don't have much $$ to order things, but they also have not done the work to get other orders.Last possible "high road" alternative, is hand hold them and ask which customers they believe are still going to order, and get contact info and contact those guests yourself. Proably they are just putting it off - make up their minds with a deadline. Take care!