What is Party Plan?
Party plan (think Tupperware, Avon, Nutrametics, Creative Memories, PartyLite, Emma Page, etc.) is a way for companies to sell their effectively products through personal referrals. Demonstrations in the home to family and friends make the events intimate, network based, and highly customer focussed. As a part time job or full time career, party plan provides the sales person with a flexible, supportive, and cost-effective income opportunity.
This blog is all about turning that opportunity into a profitable and rewarding business.
What Party Plan Is (answer adapted from wikipedia)
Party plan is a method of marketing products by hosting a social event, using the event to display and demonstrate the product or products to those gathered, and then to take orders for the products before the gathering ends. The primary lead generation system for home party plan sales is through the home party itself. The sales professional uses the home party business model as a source for future business.
Party plan developed in the early 1950s. In this system, full-time commissioned representatives of the sales organization, almost invariably women, approach other women about hosting a social event in their homes during which a product will be demonstrated. In consideration, they will be given hostess gifts and a portion of the proceeds from the amount of goods sold. Frequently all in attendance will be given a token item of nominal value as an incentive to attend, although the primary reason to attend is for the fun of the social environment. The value of fun as a commodity coupled with personal customer service is what makes this business model so successful.
This plan has been used primarily to sell items whose main appeal is to women by women, such food-storage systems, kitchen utensils, home decor items, candles, jewelry, skincare, clothes, cosmetics, and similar products.
What Party Plan Isn’t (answer adapted from wikipedia)
Party plan is NOT a pyramid scheme. A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, often without any product or service being delivered.
Legitimate network or multi-level marketing businesses (i.e. party plan) can be distinguished from illegal pyramids by their compliance with these three criteria:
- Substantial sales of products or services to end users
- Commissions paid only on product usage, not on new enrollments
- Company buys back the inventory of terminating participants
Professional Associations for Party Plan Businesses
- World Federation of Direct Selling Associations – WFDSA is a non-governmental voluntary organisation globally representing the direct selling industry as a federation of national direct selling associations. www.wfdsa.org
- Direct Selling Association – DSA is the US trade association of the leading firms that manufacture and distribute goods and services sold directly to consumers. www.dsa.org
- Direct Selling Association of Australia – The Direct Selling Association of Australia Inc (DSAA) is the national trade association and voice of Australia’s direct selling industry. www.dsaa.asn.au
- Direct Selling Women’s Alliance – DSWA supports direct sellers around the world who are achieving their dreams through a party plan, network marketing or person to person sales. www.mydswa.org
