Start a Party Plan business - earn extra cash and have fun

Earn money Party Planning

Party Plan selling and hosting is a popular and effective way to earn extra money. There are many companies now who provide help and support with this form of sales.

There is a far greater variety of exciting products to sell to your friends these days - not just plastic food containers!

You can arrange a party around the latest fragrances, beauty products, sexy underwear and adult toys, TV chef's products, cards, stationery, kitchenware, clothing, jewellery, buying gold, children's books, toys, etc.

This can be a great way to earn the income you want with the flexible hours you need, especially if you have young children. You can work your Party Plan business from home part-time or full-time, and earn extra money while making new friends. You need to enjoy meeting people and be socially confident, as you will need to demonstrate your product to others, and be prepared to answer any questions or enquiries. Networking will make you more successful, as with any sales related business. You also need to be well-organised with your invitations, orders and deliveries. Running a Party plan business can be fun, financially rewarding, flexible and on top of that give you a great social life!

Party Plan success

Ideally you need to know a lot of people who can come to your parties to be a success. You can act as the host of the party, or find friends that want to hold a party in their home where you act as the demonstrator. The host, if not you, generally gets a free gift or payment from the demonstrator.

The important thing to remember with party-plans is that nobody likes to be subject to a hard sell experience, it's more the skill of your demonstration that sells your products.

The softer approach tends to work much better with the party plan type of selling, where you discover what your customer likes and suits them and suggest options.

Try and distribute your catalogues and business cards as widely as possible. Leave copies at dentist and doctors' surgeries, beauty and hairdressing salons, local shops - wherever you can get permission.

Make sure they all contain your details and an order form. If you are selling a product, such as jewellery, try to wear it as often as you can - you are your best advertising campaign!

Choosing the right Party Plan product to sell

You need to believe in, and personally like( preferably love) the product you are offering, as it will be obvious to your audience when you give your demo. So make sure you choose the right product to sell, that way you will be naturally enthusiastic about it, and not just because it brings the best commmision rate. Try and choose a company with a wide range of products, as this generally results in increased sales - customers like plenty of choice. The refund/ money back guarantee policy is also important for customer confidence and will help your sales of the product.

Make sure you do thoroughly understand all the details of the comission rates, payment system and any items you will be expected to fund, such as, sample or starter packs. You may have to make an initial outlay for your sample case, or it may be deducted from your first commission payment. Check, for instance, whether the catalogues, leaflets and hostess gifts are provided for you or are you expected to deduct them from your comission payments? It is important you find out all the financial details before you sign up to a company Party Plan - remember you are doing this to make money for you, not just for the firm supplying the goods (unless they are a charity, of course).

Once you decide to sign up with a company as a Party Plan agent you are generally given an initial training course, and will then be expected to keep up with any subsequent product development or new products. Most party plan companies offer a commission on the sales you make, i.e. 20 per cent. This is sometimes increased at specified levels of sales, and some companies reward their agents with additional gifts for achieving set targets.

More about the pros and cons of party planning in the Daily Telegraph (opens in new window)

Party Plan games

The most productive and popular time for a Party Plan party tends to be on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and during 7pm to 9.30pm. Arrange your seating in a circle or position where your guests can easily talk to each other, and place nibbles and drinks nearby. Getting your guests to interact, get to know each other and feel relaxed and comfortable is important. Lots of successful Party planners organise a few simple games to break the ice at a party. It's up to you to judge your particular group as to whether they are the type of people who will enjoy physical games, or prefer to remain seated and play a quiz or simple game. It's important to get this right as otherwise your guests can either be bored or embarrassed if you get it wrong!

When you give your demonstration, don't make it too long, you need to keep the customers' attention - so make it interesting and informative...and fun! Remember to take any extras you may need to enhance your products' appearance, such as : mirrors for guests to see themselves wearing your product, velvet or satin cloth to display your jewellery, tablecloths if you are selling food stuff or kitchenware. Presentation makes all the difference, think about how shops present their products in the window display and inside on the counters.

Try and make taking your orders quick and easy, and make sure you inform your customer about the time their order will take and arrange their collection. If this all goes smoothly the customer is far more likely to give you a repeat order.

Make sure you present your host with their gift in front of the guests, so they will be encouraged to become hosts. At the end of the party is the best time to ask for more parties, as hopefully everyone has just had a great time. This is an important part of the party plan, as in no time at all you can be holding several parties a week, if your events go well.

Popular Party Plan Games

Party Plan ideas:

The Direct Selling Association - provide a list of its UK members who all subscribe to a code of practice

Party plan together - information on UK party plan business, direct sales or network marketing

Ann Summers - Adult toys and clothing

Avon - bestselling make-up and skin care beauty range

Body Shop - Body Shop at Home - personal pampering treats and great products

Chocoholics - tasting samples and luxury chocolate treats - seasonal Easter and Christmas parties

Jamie Oliver - Jamie at Home - designer collection of kitchen and dinnerware

PartyLite - candles, accessories and fragranced products

Phoenix Trading - greetings cards, gift wrap and stationery

Tish Tash Toys - toys and gifts for babies and young children

Truly madly baby - products for the mum to be and children up to11

Tupperware - Storage and kitchenware

Virgin Vie - skin care and make-up

Usborne Books - Children's books and games

Don't be misled by claims that high earnings are easily achieved. Personal financial investment may be required.