Party Plan…
Giving Your Customers What They Want
At a recent barbeque with some friends, one of them complained about the direct sales consultant who she was disappointed with after recently hosting a party with her. This began a conversation with a barrage of complaints along the lines of, “Oh, don’t you just hate it when they do…,” or “Why do they always do …?”
So I thought I would share the most common of those points here. After all, if you know what your customers don’t want, you can turn that around and make sure that, wherever possible, you can give them what they DO want.
Here are the top 10 complaints and how to avoid them:
• Arriving late: Make sure you plan your journey in advance and are clear of where you’re going. When the hostess gives you her address, ask if there’s any special directions you need to know. If you are running late, phone your hostess and let her know. Perhaps even give her an extra gift as an apology if you are very late.
• Not knowing their products: This one is simple to avoid—know your products! If you’re new, explain this upfront. If you don’t know the answer to a question, tell the person you will try to find out and get back to them.
• Illegible writing (on orders and summaries): You don’t have to have perfectly neat writing, but just make sure it’s legible. Don’t scrawl.
• Inaccuracy (in taking orders, filling orders and calculating totals / hostess discounts): This is often because demonstrators are distracted while writing or packing the order. Stay focused; use a calculator and double-check.
• Unprofessionalism: It’s easy to get caught up in the frivolities of the party atmosphere. That’s fine, but remember that this is your business. Stay professional at all times.
• Lack of customer service skills: Surprisingly, a number of people mentioned this as their greatest peeve. In general, remember to always be polite, courteous and treat your hostess and her guests well—even if they’re being a total pain! (We all get those customers from time to time). There is no excuse for rudeness.
• Disorganisation: Remember to plan and practise, then plan some more and practise some more. Once you’ve been demonstrating through party plan for a while, you’ll get this organisation thing down pat.
• Promising things that never happen: Again, an easy one to avoid. Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. If you do say you’ll do something, send something or phone someone, write it down so you don’t forget.
• Unclear return/refund policies for damaged items: There’s often so much to remember to say at a party that this important policy can be easily overlooked. A simple way around it is to print a small leaflet clearly explaining the company’s return/refund policies and include it with each customer’s order.
• Sending hostess pack too close to the party date: If you can’t give your hostess the information she needs and some invitations at the time the booking is made, make sure you send it to her as soon as possible. Don’t leave it until two days before the scheduled party!