The Party Business Model: Make Sales at Parties

Oh no. You just got another email inviting you to a party. Not just any party. You will have to go and look at merchandise at this party. You'll get the hard sell. Sure, it will be fun. A lot of your friends will be there. They'll serve wine and appetizers. But you'll be expected to buy something . The salesperson will probably even give you the pitch to host a party at your house next time (you can earn rewards if you do so). Heck, you may even get pressured into signing up yourself to sell the stuff. Susie will tell you that she and her husband took a trip to Hawaii last fall with all the bonus points she earned since she started with the company. Its all so great!!

Sound familiar? These days more and more women (not men very often) are getting involved in businesses in which they sell products from home and earn rewards by signing up additional sales people to also sell products. When they convince friends to host parties for them at which they hock their goods, those friends get free or discounted products It makes you wonder how high the retail prices are on these items.

Of course, this all started with the Tupperware parties waaaay back in the 1950s and 1960s. Today, the various companies that my friends are involved include:

• Mary Kay Cosmetics
• Arbonne Skin Care and Cosmetics
• Southern Living at Home
• Cookie Lee Jewelry
• Silpada Jewelry

I have also seen intriguing commercials showing women having a total blast at sex toy parties. These are called "Passion Parties," and *ahem* they run the ads in the morning when I'm on the treadmill, wondering why, in God's green earth, this stuff is on TV in the morning! Still, I haven't gotten an invitation to one of these parties yet. I may be too old.

Before you consider signing up to be a consultant for one of these companies, you should gather their literature and talk to one of their ex-consultants. Yes, that's right. Someone who is no longer with the company. Ask what they liked best, and worst about the business. What was required for initial outlay? (most ask that you put up at least $100-200 for a "starter kit"). How many parties do you have to book a month? How many sub-consultants are you expected to sign up? Sometimes, it may make sense to be a consultant for certain companies, if only just to get discounts for yourself (i.e. Mary Kay or Avon). My mother-in-law introduced me to Mary Kay cosmetics 15 years ago, and I still love the stuff. But no, I'm not a consultant. If I was to sign up to sell anything, though, that might be it.

Ask about shipping costs. Who pays? The company or the customer? How often does the merchandise change? How often will your customer need to replace their merchandise? With makeup, you may have loyal customers with repeat business, but each item is low cost. With jewelry and home decor, your customers may not buy as often, but sales will be potentially higher. Getting back to the sex toys consultant. I really can't imagine too many repeat customers (boy, that would be embarrassing, wouldn't it?). But if you can find a fresh base of new victims each and every time you have a party, more power to you and the dildos you sell.

There is no limit to the type of items sold in the party business setting. Just the other day, on NPR, I heard about women selling taser guns to each other at a party. They all got bolder and bolder, shocking the poor target one, by one. And yes, some of the taser guns were pink. Unbelievable. The woman salesperson sells at least one $400 gun per day. Not bad.