Host a Home Party!
When? It’s truly up to your hostess. I find Sunday evenings work well. I also love a “Books & Brunch” theme on Saturday mornings. If you’re in a playgroup, a weekday morning get together can also be effective.
How do I invite? Just like a Facebook party, you want to personally invite your guests. You can use an e-vite, a Facebook event or SedStamp to track RSVPs. Often times, I will provide my hostesses with cute postcards to hand out to friends, a sample email invitation or an image that they can text out to their friends and family when inviting.
What’s the set up? For a home party, you’re going to set up the books from your kit. You can easily display them on a coffee table or dining room table. Bring your branded box to easily transport books and create some height on your display (Psst…. Having some drinks and snacks for your guests is nice, too!).
What else should I bring? You definitely want to bring full and mini catalogs, pens, order forms, and some change in case your guests pay with cash. If you have the Post-It note wish lists and lead forms, I would bring those along, as well. I often raffle off a prize so you might want to bring along a small giveaway too. Make sure you bring your planner or calendar so you can book future parties as well.
What do I say at the party? You can be as formal or informal as you’d like at your home party. My first home party was basically me hanging out with my friends with some books and catalogs on the table. I do definitely suggest you take a few minutes to share a little about WHY you decided to join, mention the amazing replacement policy, ask if anyone would like to get free and discounted books by hosting a party, and highlight some of your favorite books and their features. It doesn’t need to be a long lecture, but at least a high-level overview of Usborne Books & More.
How do I take orders? When your guests are ready to place an order, you’ll have them complete an order form. Make sure to add your local sales tax and shipping. Shipping is $6 up to a $75 order to have the books shipped directly to the guest or 8% for orders over $75 or if they’d like their books delivered to the hostess. This means that if someone is just ordering 1-2 books, it may be more cost effective for them to have the books ship to the hostess. If they’re paying with a credit card, you can take their payment via Square or write down their credit card information so you can enter it in OrderPro at the conclusion of the party.
Why should I recruit my home party hostess? It’s likely your home party hostess will have a ton of fun. I mean, she’s already opened her home to you so she’s clearly passionate about the books. Unlike an online party where orders are placed on your eCommerce site, if your hostess decides to join your team, you can attribute the sales credit and commission for her party to her as an added incentive for joining. Yes, you’d lose the sales credit BUT you’ll gain a team member which is even BETTER for growing your business in the long-haul.
How do I enter home party orders in OrderPro? If you have orders shipping to a guest, you’ll enter those in eCommerce first. For the rest of the orders shipping to your hostess, you’ll enter orders those in the “full retail” category in OrderPro. Then, you’ll enter your hostess reward order so all the books will ship together.
Watch this short video to learn:
- Why home parties are a lucrative aspect of your business
- How to book parties from home parties
- Why home parties are great for recruiting
Becky’s Bonus Tip: Consider a home party theme like “Books & Brunch” or “Coloring between the Wines” or “Mom’s Night Out” to generate even more excitement among your friends. They will want to attend when your party theme screams FUN!
Your To-Do List:
- Set a home party date and back up date.
- Create a home party box of supplies.
- Jot down some notes of what you’d want to say at your home party.
- Comment below with what excites and scares you about a home party.
- Download the 30 Day Launch Workbook.
Do you hand out folders with the order forms, catalogs etc? I have my first home party in just under 2 weeks and I want to be prepared 🙂
Hi Melissa! I usually give each guest at a home party an order form, a wish list, paper, a bookmark, a lead form, and a mini catalog when they arrive.
I think I’m going to take the jump and host my own first in home party to get my feet wet with it. What is a lead form and where do I find those for purchase? Or do you make your own?
Yay for hosting your first home show! You’ll have a blast! I do make my own forms, but you can also get them ordered from the Supply Store.
I’m hosting a home party next week. I’m a new consultant and very excited for my first home party. Only problem is I may not have my prizes on hand yet. How can I do prizes if I don’t have them on hand without looking tacky?! Suggestions?
Prizes can be as simple as something picked up at the dollar store! People just love to win “something”!
The whole idea of a home party scares me to death! But sounds so fun at the same time! I think I would be most afraid that I would be asked a question I don’t know the answer to. I think I am going to push myself to go ahead and do this!
You can always let them know that you can get back to them and it’s a great way to connect to them after the party!
My hubby is military, so we are far far away from family. however, I have developed a lovely set of friends and they love to get together. they are always having little parties here and there for their small businesses. what scares me the most is handling someone’s information and making sure all the correct charges are being places with shipping and with taxes. Also afraid I wouldn’t have a big enough inventory with a wide enough selection.
Hi Michelle, that’s amazing you have such a great mom tribe! If you use square to take payment, you can update your tax settings so it will calculate tax for you! Major help! Also, don’t worry about inventory – for home parties, it is standard to take orders. They’re going to love seeing all the books!
Hi. I love this website! So helpful! Okay, how do I order invitations for home parties? I know I do it through Order Pro but I can’t figure out the rest! I’m LOST in Order Pro! And while I’m here, how do I stock up on prizes uses Bonus Books, how do I order those? Thanks!!
Hi there, when you’re in step 3 of orderpro, use the dropdown for supplies on the bottom half of the screen. There’s even little pop-up images so you can see what you’re ordering! Super helpful! You might want to check out the Meet OrderPro training video (include link). For the party bonus books, you get $50 worth of books at 65% off for each party you close in orderpro. I’ve found that’s the best way to order mini books or doodle cards for prizes!
Excited me: the social engagement and gushing over the books; Scares me: no bookings/recruit leads.
Did I hear right that you suggest we “download the checklist”? What is that and where do I find it?
Hi Cindy! I don’t think there’s a home party checklist that I’m aware of…I would just reference the notes in the blog post above and have some fun with it! 🙂 You’ll do great!
My goal is to have a FB Sale first and then follow up with a Home Party shortly after. I think I need to do the FB first to get my feet wet. Probably the fears but also I consider that a time of leaning before having a set up at home. This video does excite me to try and do well. Perhaps my phone call with Becky will give me some reassurance.
What excites me is introducing the books to my friends & family. What scares me is that no one will show up.
Veronica, every party is a learning experience! Even if there aren’t sales, or attendees, you learn and grow from the questions asked and preparation you’ve done. Stay consistent and keep learning and growing! Also check out tips and tricks I review in this YouTube training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR5GRo12YCU&t=5s
I’m going to do a home party play date on Sunday afternoon. The books sell themselves so I’m just excited to get them into the kid’s hands. I’m actually a little nervous about doing invoices and billing when I’m on the spot.
Great information! Thank you
Of course!! Home parties are so fun!
I’n so scared that I am going to look silly in front of people!
BUT! My best friend has so much faith in me! She wants to do a home party just so I can be comfortable with her, get honest feedback, and to get out of my comfort shell of not wanting to host a home party. So glad I have a friend to push me!
I actually like the idea of home parties 🙂 It might be difficult finding someone willing to open up their home but running the FB parties stresses me out more than the idea of home parties haha!
What scares me most about a home party is finding someone I don’t know very well since I’m in a new city. I don’t have the close friends that I had in the city I grew up. Also I am not the best public speaker but I’m definitely good with people and smaller groups so hoping I wouldn’t get nervous. It would be exciting to meet new people/ mom and maybe make some new friends.
Sounds like a great excuse to invite some mom friends over. Maybe you just keep it informal and make it a playdate for the kids / books to browse for moms? Just an idea to make it casual!!