The Holiday Open House

What events are you doing this holiday season? Did you know that events can inspire your current customers to spend more and attract brand new customers and team members to your business? I would like to cover 3 different types of evens that I feel are absolutely essential to building a successful business. I will be posting these in 3 part series, 1 per week for a total of 3 weeks. We will start this week with the Holiday Open House.

The Holiday Open House:

My first year with Avon, I learned about Holiday Open Houses from a training CD that was mailed to me with my order. I have held one every year since. A Holiday Open House is an event that you hold in your home or a public venue for your customers. This is a chance to show them how much you appreciate their business and support over the previous year. It is also a chance for you to show them all the amazing gift items available this season, in a format where they have the opportunity to touch, smell and experience the products. Many people do not realize that Avon offers gifts for just about every person on their list.

Some tips:
1.)Send invitations 2-3 weeks in advance. Enough time to give people to plan, but not so much that they forget. Use postcards, you can order them very inexpensively from Vistaprint and they are cheaper to mail.

2.)If you choose to have your event at a public venue (coffee shop, public library, community center etc, advertise it. This is a great way to attract new potential customers to stop by. Have some posters printed to place around town and list your Holiday Open House as a community event in local papers and online classifieds.

3.)Be sure to let your guests know that when she brings a friend, she will get a free gift. I like to use jewelry from the demo books that will be new in the brochure from which the guests will be ordering. After admiring her jewelry, you’re likely to have plenty of orders for it. Keep your cost around or under $5.

4.)Keep the refreshments simple. Hot cider and gingerbread cookies have always worked well for me. You could also offer coffee or tea.

5.)Offer a door prize drawing. Have your guests fill out slips with their name, address, phone number and email to enter. That way, you will have contact information for everyone including the friends of your guests who could potentially become your new customers. I like to use a footworks or Naturals gift set, usually priced at around $10 in the brochure. Your cost will only be $6 but the actual value might be more like $20 or $25. Draw the winner at the close of the party.

6.)Have display items, but keep it simple. Choose about 4-5 items which you really want to promote. Choose them from different categories, 1 piece of jewelry, 1 bath and body gift set, 1 decorative item, something for the man in your life etc. Be sure to choose items that you are really excited about, it will be easy for you to get your customers excited too.

7.)Have cash and carry items, but keep your stock to a minimum. I’ve always had the vast majority of my sales be orders at these events and it’s nearly impossible to know for sure what will sell. So keep it simple. Be sure to put out anything you already have in stock, but don’t buy a lot of new stuff.

8.)If there’s 1 thing you should buy however, it’s impulse items. Avon holiday minis sell really well at all types of events and they’re great add-ons. Place them by your order-taking table so guests can add them at the last minute. Avon mini hand creams, mini bubble baths, holiday lip balms and kids bath-time body paints are must-haves.

9.)Last but not least, have a dry-erase calendar displaying your “open dates” for people to book parties with you and earn free product. You are likely to have a few guests who want o buy way more than they can afford. Simply say “I’d LOVE to help you get some or all of these items for free, is that something you would be interested in?” (More on this in my next post on the Home Party)