CANI days for your Facebook Parties

Keeping up with Facebook changes (algorithms, policies, event, group, newsfeed looks, functions and features) and keeping our parties fresh and relevant - including content posts, new products, trends, tips and tutorials...how do we stay up to date?

I highly recommend that you implement Constant and Never Ending Improvement (CANI) Days!! These are days I schedule specifically to freshen up my party posts, my pictures and my videos. I find a quiet place to brainstorm. It could be the library, a quiet corner in my favorite tea shop, or just another area of my home. I settle in and I write down everything I think of around what's working (and what's not working!) in my parties. This is my brain dump, if you will.

Once that is complete, I pull out my Roadmap for Facebook Parties and freshen up or even rebuild parts, or all of my party. 

I use a variety of resources for inspiration: My own notes after my parties (what worked and what didn't), industry magazines, influencer's social media pages and blogs, files on my computer that I keep on things I want to revisit for creative bursts…I even have a Facebook group with just me in it that I share posts into that inspire me to create similar posts with my own spin. You get the idea…things that spark my own creativity to build engaging, fun, or educational party posts.

From there I think, what is working well in my party already, and what needs freshening up? Then I build the new posts, and make plans for new graphics and videos. 

Your Facebook party is an experience that YOU have created through your roadmap. This is not a one-time deal that you just create and forget. You must continue to tweak, enhance, throw out and write new fun posts through your CANI days!!

Be the consultant that doesn't just want to be good at her Facebook parties. Anyone can be “good.” Strive for extraordinary in every post, graphic, video and interaction you have with your hostesses and guests, because Social Media is a blessing and a curse in our business...a blessing because we have 2 Billion potential connections at our finger tips, but then a curse because if we aren't entertaining them with our party content, they can quickly search for a consultant that does. 

So, when are you scheduling your CANI day?

5 Ideas to Increase Your November Sales (Without Leaving Your House)

If you've been in direct sales for any length of time you know that RIGHT NOW is the busiest time of the year for our industry. But what if your calendar isn't quite where you want it to be? Try one of these easy ideas to get some extra sales in (and some extra cash in your pocket before the holidays!)

1. Hold a turkey trot. You may have heard this term before. Basically, you get a number of people (generally 6 or 12) to agree to collect $100 in orders, and in return they receive a portion of the hostess rewards. So, let's say for example that with a $600 party, your company offers 3 half price items and $100 in free product. You would take those rewards and divide them up between the six people who collected orders, so one person receives $50 free, two people receive $25 free, and three people receive a half price item each. This is a fabulous choice for those that want to reap the rewards of your company without hosting an entire party themselves. Set a deadline by which the orders need to be in, and then draw for who receives which rewards. Boom - an extra $600 or $1200 in sales for you!
2. Create a product bundle and have your hostesses market JUST that bundle to her friends. When she sells a set amount of them, she gets her bundle for free. Let's say you sell make-up. Assemble a bundle with a mascara, an eyeliner, and two eye shadows and figure out how many of that bundle would need to sell in order to accumulate that amount in hostess rewards - that's how many bundles the hostess will need to sell in order to receive her bundle free. The beauty in this is, you're able to reach people who are turned off by the "idea" of hosting. They're not "hosting" per se, they're not earning "hostess rewards", they are just sharing this great bundle set with friends and getting one for free. They get product, you get sales, it's a win-win.
3. Host a holiday theme party inside your Facebook closed customer group. Theme parties are great any time of year, but this time of year is particularly fun, because there are so many fun themes you can come up with, depending on the industry your company falls into. One theme that works well across most any industry would be a "Stocking Stuffers Party". Showcase your less expensive items ($30 and under generally) and encourage people to think about shopping for teachers, aunts, cousins, neighbors, nieces, etc. Turn it into a mystery hostess party and give the rewards away, with guests earning tickets for purchasing, booking their own party, sharing ideas, and commenting on  your posts. 
4. Have a texting party. Give your hostess a graphic to send to her friends asking them if they are interested in participating in a texting party (check out RedStamp.com for creating awesome text able images). Those that respond yes, you will text each of those people once a day for five days with the party link and a product or bundle image. People are busy busy busy, so this can be a great way to pick up some extra sales without a lot of time spent on your party or your customers.
5. Hold a Christmas Stop & Shop cocktail hour on Black Friday in your home. People can come by after hitting the mall and have a couple drinks while shopping either your catalog or your in-stock inventory. Pick up some cute wrapping paper from the Dollar Store and set up a couple wrapping tables, too, so that people can get their essentials wrapped before they take them home (think about how much easier it is on mom to not have to sneak the toys into the house and hide them from the kids after Black Friday shopping - this alone is a HUGE draw!!)

Try one or all of these ideas to give yourself a sales boost this season. Have other ideas? We would love to hear them below!