Thanks for all the great feedback to last week's blog where I outlined the specific differences in the business model of different Direct Sales companies and how BeautiControl is structured to ensure the success and profitability of the Consultants. As we established last week, BeautiControl was established to be, and remains one of the key players in the Party Plan Direct Sales industry, sharing the market space with industry legends such as Tupperware, Mary Kay and Pampered Chef.
BeautiControl 103 will actually include a series of blogs that focus on the strategies that will help you develop and maintain a profitable, duplicable party business. Group Selling is, without a doubt, the most effective way to maximize profits, increase your future business and find new Consultants who want to join your team. Between now and March 11th we will be breaking down the Party Plan business into specific topics, with the entire 'BeautiControl 101' series wrapping up by the end of March. I feel it is important to take these in bit-size chunks which will allow everyone to absorb the content of each blog. The topics will include the following basics of Party Plan selling:
- Creating a compelling commercial for your business and overcoming objections
- Making your Host your Business Partner at the Spa
- The importance of a concise, duplicable Spa flow
- Creating set-selling opportunities for your guests
- Creating future business
- Being seen as a professional business owner
BeautiControl clearly is a Party Plan direct seller of premium skin care, anti-aging and beauty products. Our method of product demonstration happens at our in-home party, called the Spa, where a sales Consultant demonstrates products in a group selling environment. The Host invites guests to join the demonstration and receives Host credits based on the sales at the Spa either by the Spa guests or from orders that the Host gathers before or immediately after the Spa and for additional Spas that were booked at the event. Since we have a product that has a great deal of impulse appeal, we recommend that our sales Consultants maintain a moderate amount of inventory so they can immediately fulfill on the orders that are placed at the Spa.
Here are some things that I think it is important to remember. In fact, this is something that I’m not sure everyone knows:
- The home office of BeautiControl is not a retailer of products. We do not sell products to clients. BeautiControl is a wholesaler who sells to independent sales Consultants, who in turn sell to their clients. In addition, we create literature, products, tools and programs to help the Consultant sell to the clients and market their own business. It is not the responsibility, or the role of the home office to communicate or sell to the clients and to keep them active; however, we do have programs through Client Connection that will allow you to automate your client contact.
- When a person joins as a Consultant, they will automatically receive what is called a “Career Level Discount” on every order. Depending on the company, that discount structure may be based on Career Level or order size. For instance, when a Consultant attains the level of VIP (having 3 Consultants on their team), they will automatically receive a 50% Career Level discount (50% profit) on every order. If the Consultant has not yet achieved that level, the profit potential (discount) will be based on a sliding scale depending on order size.
- Unlike retailers or other Party Plan or Network Marketing companies, Beauticontrol also uses additional discounting opportunities on the retail price TO THE CONSULTANT to help encourage the Consultant to keep inventory on hand as well as give them the ability to “create offers” for his or her clients without compromising their profitability. This is very rare in our industry and clearly makes us a more attractive opportunity for those who are looking to maximize profits by selling.
In simple terms, BeautiControl gives each of our Consultants the ability to start a retail sales business and enjoy the profits that are part of the Career Level Discount. Since we do not market to YOUR clients, BeautiControl, unlike other companies in our industry, create additional discounting opportunities for you to use to create offers for your clients…Gift with Purchase, Purchase with Purchase, Booking Gifts, Host Rewards, etc, without cutting into your profits. We create the tools and the offers, but you are in control of the way that you market, promote and position your business. To your clients, YOU are BeautiControl...not us here in Dallas.
There are a variety of ways that you can sell your products:
- You could sell through the internet, which can be profitable and easy, but not at all personal and tends not to create a client relationship.
- You could sell one-on-one through personal consultations. While this is probably the most “comfortable”, particularly for the new Consultant, it is not the most profitable and it requires 5 times the work for the same amount of money. The upside is that you can create very powerful and personal relationships with your clients.
- Or, of course, there is group selling. We all know the power of a group selling event (which in our case the Spa). This is the core of the Party Plan direct sales model. Everything happens at the Spa:
- Sales
- Clients
- Client leads
- Additional Bookings
- New Consultant Leads
Without a doubt, the most successful way of selling is by selling through a Spa. From the Spa you build the Clients that you can service through one-on-one Consultations, or through your BeautiPage. A strong Client relationship will give you monthly residual income, will be a generator of leads for future business, will be a repeat Hostess and will be a potential new team member for you. THE MOST SUCCESSFUL LONG-TERM CONSULTANTS COME FROM BEING A FAITHFUL CLIENT.
Don’t get me wrong…I have walked in your shoes and I know that it is not always easy to book a Spa and get it to hold. Much of that has to do with today’s environment, economy and consumer attitude, but some of it has to do with our approach, our confidence, our expectations and our attitude. In business, I always like to keep myself honest and I ask on a daily basis, "Am I creating the kind of store that someone would want to shop in?" "Would I walk into my store?". The ultimate goal of a Consultant in our business is to create a service oriented experience for your clients that represent the core values of the brand.
The successful Spa Consultant typically has these elements as the core of their Spa:
- A compelling vision that overcomes any potential booking objections
- A Host who is your business partner and understands her role in the Spa
- A concise, duplicable Spa flow that pampers your guests and demonstrates your most demonstrable, re-orderable products.
- A set-selling opportunity for your guests to avoid confusion by limiting their choices
- Business that is perpetuated from the Spa by either creating Clients or creating additional Host opportunities
- Consultant that is seen as a professional business owner
Were there any AHA's here or key take-aways that will help you position your business? I would love to hear your thoughs.
Have a great week and be sure to check back on Friday. Next Monday, I will be in in NYC for the Fall 2012 Fashion Week, but I will continue our BeautiControl 103 series discussing how you can create a compelling commercial to advertise your business and overcome objections.
XOXO!
