Effective Booking Talk

When you deliver an effective booking talk, combined with booking seeds throughout your presentation, you will get multiple bookings from your shows. Particularly at the beginning of your business, that is your primary goal. Too many new consultants – or their sponsors -  focus on lots of sales, so they bring far too many products to show and sometimes skip the booking talk altogether.

Remember, your goal at your first few shows is to get practice, get comfortable . . . and to get bookings. These bookings will replace and add to your business and lead to much higher sales in the end.

When you’re new, you often think to yourself: "I’m running out of time. I’m sure if they want to book, they’ll let me know." So your booking talk consists of something like: "We have a wonderful hostess plan and I’d love to do a show for you. If you want to book, please let me know." That’s not a booking talk!

On the other end of the spectrum are those of us who go on and on with a booking talk that’s a lengthy bullet-point presentation on the hostess plan, complete with percentages, half-price and free items.  Don’t do it! One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to start giving every single detail and point about your hostess plan. Why? Because it goes right over their heads and you lose them. You are hostess coaching before you even have a hostess!

Your booking talk is not about what a hostess is going to get; it’s about why she should want to book a show. Your booking message should leave your guests thinking that booking a show is going to be fun! Why in the world wouldn’t they want to do it? They’d becrazy not to take advantage of this!

One way to initiate your booking talk is to do your opening talk, show two or three products or groupings, and then begin:

Ladies, let me ask you: What is your favorite department store? Where do you like to shop? (Wait for response. You may hear many, i.e., Target, Macy’s, Dillard's or Nordstrom.)

I would like you to pretend for a moment, if you will, that I have a $150 shopping spree in my hand to your favorite store and you had the chance to shop at great discounts. And, honestly, nothing would make me happier than to give it to each and every one of you here tonight. How many of you would love a $150 shopping spree and 50% or more savings?  Great!

I know you are all busy ladies, aren’t you? Well, you do need to find one night out of your busy lives to spend it. Do you think that would be a problem? No? Great! The other thing is you pretty much have to spend it all at once. Do you think that would be a problem? No? Great!

Well, ladies, I’m so happy to hear that, because that’s exactly what I have to offer you this evening – a $150 shopping spree! And all I really need from you is one night within the next t30 days so you can spend it!

Let me show you the next item . . .

Now, as they’re seeing the rest of your products, they’re wondering how they can get that shopping spree. After you are finished showing your products, continue with your booking talk:Ladies, I know you all have fallen in love with many of the wonderful products this evening, and you’re probably thinking to yourself, "that possibly you aren't able to get everything tonight, and that $150 shopping spree sure would be nice." Well, let me tell you how easy it is for you to get that.  It takes one night out of your life and a handful of friends.

It’s really quite simple. All it takes is about seven or eight average orders – just like we have eight people here this evening. Leslie will do that easily, with a couple of outside orders. And she just needs two friends. I know that not only does Leslie have two friends here this evening who would love to help her out, but she has two friends here who would love to take advantage of that $150 shopping spree themselves.

And really, ladies, why in the world wouldn’t you want to have a show? I’m going to do all the work for you; it takes no more time than the time you’ve spent here tonight. It’s easy and fun! Haven’t you had fun this evening? (Nod and smile) That’s how much fun we’re going to have with your friends.

If I’m going to come in, entertain your friends, give them some great ideas (or feed them, size them, teach them, etc.) why in the world wouldn’t you want to have a show? I can’t imagine! You would be crazy not to want to take advantage of it!

So I’m encouraging each and every one of you to say "yes" and I will work with you on a date that is suitable for you and your schedule.

It’s got to be the WHY factor and the WOW factor: You would be crazy not to...; this is what you’re going to be able to get...; this is what you’re going to be able to experience...; etc.

If you feel more comfortable using a $75 shopping spree, based on your own hostess plan, that’s fine. The point is: do not use words like "percentage" or "half-price" or "three bookings" or a "$500 show." Most guests don’t think their friends will buy that much, much less book a show. Use words like average orders, two friends, and shopping spree. Stay away from dollar amounts and percentages. You can cover that when you coach your new hostesses.