The general order of things (It’s a chain reaction)…
Here is the general overview of the successful chain-of-events for a MK business… I have truly seen it in action – both when everything falls into place, and when any one link is broken, and the whole things falls apart:
- Start with a lead – any name and number will suffice.
- Use a booking script (http://sarah.macmanx.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Booking-Script_WallinHuff.pdf or http://sarah.macmanx.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Referral-Booking-Script_WallinHuff.pdf) to get the appointment on the books.
- COACH the class and they will come. (This is often the trickiest step, and the one most devastating to your business if too often neglected – take it from someone who personally knows!
- Steps to Coaching (use these, even if it’s only a facial appointment!):
- send a thank you/hostess packet to Hostess – sending the packet to a facial-lead may encourage them to invite a couple people and turn it into a party!
- **Get the Guest List** – here’s the most important part! (coming soon – musings on why the guest list is sooooooo important!)
- How? Tell her upfront you’re going to be in touch to get it from her, schedule a time to get it from her – it only need be first names and numbers. Offer to send invites for her if she gives you addresses.
- Pre-Profile her (if you haven’t already) – yes, even if it’s only a facial. It will get her excited about meeting you and getting her personal needs met. AND, now she will have an understanding of exactly what it is you will be saying to her friends when you call them…
- Tell her it has been your professional experience, time and again, that if you can Pre-Profile them just like you did for her, then the class will go smoothly, you will be sure to have everything needed and know exactly what to expect, and you will be able to answer any and all questions and concerns that her friends may have. Plus, it’s just the polite thing for you to formally introduce yourself to them (so they’re not so afraid of you and come up with reasons why they shouldn’t go in the first place…)
- Be sure to offer an incentive! A free gift or prize or discount, if she calls you with the guest list before you call her!!
- Send the guest invites (if you can), or create email invites using the MK InTouch Beut-evite Party Planner!
- **Call each guest and pre-profile them: just ask them the first 5 questions on the Profile card. Remind them they’re going to get a free gift for coming! Build a good rapport with them.
- Call the hostess the night before and tell her how excited you are to see her! Confirm directions to her place, and let her know which friends are coming and how excited they are about coming – she’ll realize there’s no backing out now!
- Steps to Coaching (use these, even if it’s only a facial appointment!):
- Hold the class! Have fun!
- The Full-Circle Close (see Individual Close in SCC Outline):
- Sell Sets
- Schedule 2nd appointment
- Share the Business Opportunity (Sharing Packet)
- Do it with everybody – in that order – trust me!
- The Full-Circle Close (see Individual Close in SCC Outline):
- Send thank you’s to every single person that attended – in the thank-you, remind them of their second appointment, and tell them how excited you are to see them again!
- Thus begins the coaching of these coming classes! And the cycle repeats itself…
- Be willing to fill in more first-time appointments while coaching and waiting for the second appointments to arrive. A good goal to set to keep you on track is to try and book one new appointment every single day.
- The Sharing Angle:
- Specifically for everyone who indicated a “4″ to a “2″ – 4’s being the strongest, then 3’s, then 2’s – in the “Grade our Company” game of the class or facial: You’re going to be doing a Practice Interview with each of these prospects.
- You will bring this up to them one of two times, either:
- The first time you meet them, after you’ve handed them the sharing packet with a sincere compliment, or
- At their second appointment.
- You can offer it in two separate ways:
- If at the first appointment – “I need to share the MK Story with individuals as part of my training for a leadership position! I’d be so honored and grateful if you’d be a guinea pig for me! I’d be happy to treat you to coffee, or we can do it over the phone. Do you prefer daytime or evening…?” Schedule the interview right then and there!
- If she’s the hostess at the second appointment – this is actually the better and stronger scenario, ideally, but if the second appointment cancels, keep in mind you’ll probably lose your interview, too. By the same token, if you coach it well, it shouldn’t cancel. Use your judgement on how stable the appointment seems to be, and decide whether to schedule the interview at the first appointment or the second appointment. When at the second appointment, decide if there’s time to go ahead and do the interview after everyone’s gone home or settled elsewhere. If it doesn’t look like things will settle for a while, or if the class has already gone too long, as in the first point above schedule her for the “individualized practice MK Story” at another point during the coming week.
- Conduct the Interview, either on your own or with your Director or Recruiter’s help.
Final thoughts:
It has been my experience, time and again, if any one of these elements is missing in this chain-of-events, your business will not run as smoothly and efficiently as it could. And it could entirely fall apart, for a brief time, until this balance is restored. It’s not to say that it can’t be done other ways, or that it has to be done this way, or else! It’s just a whole lot less stressful and frustrating this way!
I hope that you can see with this flow of events, how one element reinforces and strengthens the other. Miss any one element, and the ones after it can’t happen – you will need to start back at the beginning again.
Get a booking, coach it well so it is sure to hold, and book both second appointments and interviews from that first appointment. It truly is the Mary Kay way. And it works so smoothly, when it’s balanced and working together…
Find more suggestions from Nancy DeFina with her Booking and Coaching training and her Goal Setting and Tracking training.
Leave a comment! Let me know if this helped! Or if you have any other experiences to share!
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