10 Tips for a Successful Online Sales Party
© 2006 Linda Stacy
1 – Plan Ahead. Schedule your party at least a week or two ahead
of time to give yourself plenty of time to promote your party and invite
guests. Even if the site where you host your party is promoting the
event, your party will be more successful if you also promote it.
Create more excitement by planning your party for holiday shopping
or a special sale or promotion your company may be offering.
Attend other parties to observe what works and what doesn’t.
2 – Send Personal Invitations. You will have the best turnout
if you invite people you know or people who have expressed an interest
in your business. Send personal invitations, ask guests to RSVP, and
send a reminder on the day of the party.
3 – Offer Incentives for Participation. Give guests extra reasons
to attend and to bring friends. Many online parties are “Mystery
Hostess” parties with the hostess gifts being given away in a random
drawing from the guest list. Offer free shipping or a discount if someone
brings a friend who buys something (and give the discount to both the
invited guest and the friend she brought).
4 – Be the Perfect Hostess. Stay cheerful and polite. Make everyone
feel welcomed and appreciated. Greet them by name when they arrive and
thank them when they leave. Make sure you tell your guests a little
about yourself and your company.
5 – Run an Organized Party. Have a schedule of activities and
keep things moving. Have a friend help you out. She can welcome guests
and keep everyone involved while you answer product questions and help
people order. If you play a game, make it one that is easy for you to
run. You don’t want long delays during and after the game while
you tally scores and determine the winner.
6 - Give “Real” Gifts. You can use discount coupons or free
shipping as an incentive to “bring a friend” or to place an
order over a certain dollar amount, but for game winners or a prize
drawing, give a gift of your product. Not only will your guest be more
appreciative, but it’s also a promotional item – the recipient
gets to try out something she may order again in the future.
7 – Inform Guests. Repeat your website URL, ordering instructions,
and incentives several times during the party and for any late arrivals.
Make sure guests understand shipping charges and expected shipping date.
If you are keeping the party open for several days or longer after the
online party, be sure to explain that the order won’t even be placed
for some time.
8 – Grace Under Pressure – Be prepared for possible problems
and handle them calmly and effectively. What will you do if you start
having computer problems in the middle of your party? How will you answer
a guest who keeps asking off topic questions? Or what if there’s
a disruptive intruder or someone starts promoting sales of her products?
Be as graceful as possible when handling such issues. If your computer
is making participation nearly impossible, ask for email addresses and
email everyone an apology and a discount coupon.
Confrontation with rude and disruptive intruders will only escalate
the problem and make your other guests uncomfortable. Most chat rooms
have an ignore feature that you can instruct guests to use for the disruptive
intruders. Offer to contact someone by email after the party for off
topic discussions. And ask the person who is promoting her products
to wait until the end of the party and invite anyone who is interested
to stay for a few minutes.
9 – Bring the party to an end at the designated time and give
your email address so guests can contact you with any additional questions
or orders.
10 – Stay in Touch. Email your guests to let them know when their
order was placed and when they can expect delivery. Inform them of any
backorders or delays and offer alternatives.
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For free chat rooms for your online party or business opportunity chat
visit http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/online-party-rooms.html.
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