is Party Plan worth it or is something else better?

[tan32]

oh and another question, do they have a certain minimum party's /sales that need to be made.

Also thought of Postie fashion , really i have no idea..........lol any feed back is appreciated

[briggsy's girl]

postie have a six party in two weeks start up

you have a minimum percentage of sales (all) and you get your "kit adds" cheaper depending on your sales levels the month before. minimum "party" level is fairly high i think - can't recall now - i was doign it while i worked for a telco. most of my wardrobe is postie (cos it lasts so well) and UCW (no, i didn't sell that as well - just had a few parties a few years back!). my ex manager for Postie is someone i still talk to a fair bit. have looked at the latest catalogues and i'm not so impressed with their clothes any more though so haven't bought from them for ages... again, it's about your target audience. given i'm not sure where you're from, you may need to scope out the people you will try to sell to as to whether postie is on the too exxy side

something to consider is the benefits for you and for your customers - UCW offer both underwear and clothes - there are items catering to a larger price range so appeal to more people. customers as well as hostesses earn rewards for what they spend. people are more likely to spend more if they get more back (i think it's something like a $25 voucher when they spend $250 as a customer - they get loyalty points for parties in that) - definitely the kind of thing to look for... it's so much easier to sell to people who are short on cash if they can see the bargains - like two bras you save x dollars, two tops you save x dollars - kwim?

[sazzafrazz]

Almost all will have a minimum sales or bookings quota to keep you in. Or else you would just use it to get cheap stuff for yourself.

I found with The body shop that was another problem. I didnt have the time to hold that many parties. I think they have relaxed their requirements now though.

I know people who do Creative memories can maintain their requirements just by their own and family an friends, plus friends of friends needs.

[Astrid]

I started with Nutrimetics at the start of the year. All I need to do is put in a minimum order once every 5 months to stay as a consultant. Kit, catalogues, delivery, hostess gifts, booking gifts have to be paid for by me. There are freebies each month if orders are put in between certain dates about a certain amount.

Downside I am finding is that I think the work when you want is a bit of a con. Basically if you want the parties then you have to be flexible with your customers. Also there are meetings and training sessions that are set. I find that these are not a convenient time for me, but seem to be for the other consultants (they are much older than me with adult children) and are of an evening. Oh, the meetings also cost $2.00, so it all adds up over time.

Others are right about finding the right product for your area. Where I am I am competing with Mary Kay (the rep steals my brochures), Avon, Body Shop at Home etc. Went to one facial only to find she had signed up with Mary Kay that morning. I signed up with Nutrimetics as I really like the product and want to get it for myself, I just did not think about what the market wanted around me. So it remains to be seen how I go. It is just a matter of keeping on going and taking 2 steps forward for every 1 step backwards.

Whilst it is great to get product cheaper, don't be caught up in buying heaps for yourself. I kind of needed to as I was desperate for makeup and skincare after years of neglect, but it has put me behind the 8 ball with regards to being profitable. I have given myself 12 months to be profitable and as of this week will be kick starting things again to start getting more business.

[Tinks]

I did Creative Memories for 4 years and loved it. Classes were very hard to come by for me though because people had to pay to do them so it was hard to get new people to my workshops. I did workshops twice a month which only just kept me going. It didn't really make me the money I thought it would and in order to make my quota I was spending my own money. I also found with CM that I had to have stock on hand which I purchased with my own money.

I then did Tupperware for a year. Tupperware was seriously easy money, heaps easier than CM and I didn't have to stock anything other than my kit as people were more than happy to wait for their orders. People loved it and it just sold itself. Party bookings came so easily as did new recruits.

With any party plan it really depends on how much time you put in as to your return. You have to rmember that with some of them you have to purchase your own catalogues and business supplies, so a small % of what you make goes back on your business supplies. You'll be on the phone quite a bit so your phone bill will go up and you'll need to organise your kids to be semi quiet at those times . If you do 3 parties a week you'll probably spend that amount of time at home doing paperowrk and follow ups. You really do have to earn your money, it's not easy but it can be rewarding.