Recently, I was hired to conduct some test parties for a company that was thinking about adding another distribution channel to their mix: Home parties.

The question frequently arises, Is the party over?

Here are five discoveries:

1. The party is NOT over. Human beings are social animals. We are wired to connect. The more we are connected electronically, the more we crave live human interactions. Opponents of the home party plan concept always say, I dont need a home party to get together with my friends. True, yet a home party prompts that gathering to happen in much the same way that inviting company over to our home gets the house cleaned. We have a goal.

2. Booking in close works best. Booking in close means scheduling events within a short time, usually within 3-10 days. By booking in close, people know their schedule and they either attend or dont. People usually attend home parties if they have nothing better to do; that means no work, school, or children commitments that have a higher priority. For many people, especially working women, the opportunity to get together with the girls is a luxury that gets wedged in between work, kids, and family.

To build attendance when booking home parties in close:

a. Be sure to get the cell phone number of your friends.
b. Send them a text with the invite information. Heres an example of a short and sweet invite sent on short notice:

Party Thurs. nite at 123 State St., 43550
5:00 pm
See if you can bring 2-3 new friends.
Appetizers and fun. Shop for
Hostess: Susie Smith
RSVP please, coming or not

c. Use multiple means to message your Hostesss friends.

We (the Hostess and I) also made personal phone calls, emailed a PDF invitation to guests, and posted the party on Facebook. Most of the phone calls went to voice mail, which is normal. The point here is that in todays busy world, multiple methods of inviting are key to getting a good turnout.

If you want to take one more step you can use Eventspot or Eventbrite.com to create an invite and track RSVPs.

3.Parties can be held in public places. Retail establishments are looking for creative ways to bring customers through the door. Just the other day, I went to a local grocery store, The Market. They had a cafe filled with people, a live band and a wine bar. The atmosphere was more like a festival than a supermarket. Who would have thought a supermarket could evolve into be a local hangout? The store had figured out what we in direct sales have known all along. The best way to bring people together and pleasantly shop was by throwing a party.

As I started to book my test parties, when I was met with resistance about having a party in ones home, we started brainstorming options. Several of the parties were held at locally owned, independent restaurants.

It was a winning combination. The home party concept brought in guests who didnt normally patronize that restaurant. The Hostess was relieved of having to open up her home and the guests were more likely to bring friends that the Hostess did not know because of the less personal turf for the party.

Holding a home party or direct sales party in a public establishment has a few unique twists to consider:

a. Set up the partnership with your venue in advance. Share the benefits of collaborating to bring in new potential customers for both of you.
b. Determine in advance who is buying the refreshments and communicate what is being served. It is a fair expectation to ask your Hostess to serve something. This communicates it is her party and builds her commitment.
b. Beyond the refreshments being covered by the Hostess, offer guests the opportunity to order whatever else they want, just mention it is Dutch Treat (meaning everyone pays their own way).
c. Explain to the server in advance how you would like the bill to be handled.
d. Discuss with your venue the need to set up a display.

In my case, the Hostess agreed to order appetizers or serve the guests pizza and a pitcher of soda.

Most of the guests ordered extra items and the restaurant seemed pleased with the additional business. The restaurants permitted me to have a separate table for a display. This was manageable because we picked a time before the rush hour to hold the event. The average attendance was between 6-11 attendees.

4. People gravitate to people who look and sound like they are having fun. Common to a traditional home party, I conducted a short, fun presentation and then offered to help the guests with their selections. We were obviously having a good a time and a few people stopped by to see what was going on. Several people joined us, ordered items and even booked another party for the following week. We held the booking at a different restaurant and met a whole new group of people. Some of the guests who attended the original party came back the next week to support our newly found friend and Hostess!

5. Wine works wonders. Depending on you and your Hostesss acceptance of the idea, this might or might not be for you. All of my recent Hostesses offered their guests a glass of wine to add to the party atmosphere. This seemed to make the experience relaxing, fun and festive.

So to all those who ask, Is the home party over? I say: No way. Use your imagination as to where and when to hold the home party. Maybe in the future we will refer to them as Home-like Parties?

In fact, with the unlimited opportunities to be creative and the need for an excuse to connect with others, the party has only just begun! Party on!

2014 copyright My Sales Tactics original work.