How to Sell Yourself to Prospects
Think a sales job is relatively difficult? Think again! If you apply it in the party biz, selling is actually more of a hobby, a given, than a challenge. A party entrepreneur has to sell herself, her services and her personallity to get hired. Among these, your personality is your best asset. You want people to say “thank goodness you’re here now” as soon as they see you approach. Your approachability and dependability can be the things that will make the sale.
So, if you have exemplary sales talents, don’t do a sales job search just yet. Try bidding for party planning jobs and for sure, there’s always a vacancy for you.
Here are a few sales tips I got from other party planners:
1. Name drop subtly - We cannot avoid namedropping, and this skill is actually advantageous in our industry. The trick is the way you do it. Don’t start a sentence with “oh the mayor/ceo/vice governor loved my work…” You can simply describe a successful party and then incorporate the name of your best client in the story. This is a skill that few have mastered, but it’s a good one.
2. Calling Cards - It’s not the design, but the way you phrase your business on your card. Put in your specialty. Touch on the clients’ pains. For example, you know that your clients are busy, you can put “hassle free parties” as a tag line. Make sure that they know what you’re about jsut by looking at your card. And make sure that your message is powerful enough for them to put your card in a place they can always access, like their wallets.
How to Enjoy Christmas Parties (Even When You’re on a Diet)
The thing with attending parties is that you can’t always tell what they’re going to serve for dinner. Your friends, may always have you (and your diet) in mind while they’re planning the party food, but you cannot expect them to do this every time they have a party. So what does a dieter do during Christmas parties and everyone seems to be “pigging out”?
1. You don’t make an issue of it.
Simply put, if you don’t like the food (or it’s not allowed in your diet plan), don’t go on a tirade about how unhealthy the food is in the party. You can mention tha you are taking diet pills in passing, but don’t go all “healthy food only” on people. Your companions are eating a lot of the cakes and pastries, and enjoying it, and too much “diet talk” will seem rude. Don’t make anyone feel guilty about pigging out when you can’t.
2. Grab a tiny plate and fill it with a sliver of everything
Need I mention that the sliver should be really thin and easy to ignore once you managed to taste the food? I have seen people do this so that they could tell the host “the food was absolutely DIVINE” and not be lying about it. The host could have spent a lot of time or money on preparations and catering services, so your job is not to destroy the festive mood by b*chin about the food.
Planning Ahead: Easter Party for Kids
We’re nearing the end of the year, and soon Christmas parties and New Year gatherings will stop. What’s the next BIG occasion to celebrate? Valentine’s?… but a lot of people don’t consider Valentine’s a family affair… so what is it then?
Easter, of course.
And, the good news is that you can use some of the gifts and party implements during Christmas to plan your Easter party early.
- Did you watch any Christian videos during Christmas? You can watch them again during easter, so make sure you keep them out of the attic and a regular in your DVD case.
How to Create Easter Flowers from Colorful Tissue Paper?
- Take the ribbons and the tissue paper used to wrap gifts and turn them into… easter bouquets! Here are the tips on how how to make your very own easter bouquets from tissue paper and ribbons:
- Collect the following materials: tissue paper, pipe cleaners (green), styropore, vases (or regular glass jars) and ribbonsPick the colors you want from the tissue paper piles and roll up the tissue together. Wrap an end of a pipe cleaner around the center of the tissue paper and twist. Detach each sheet of tissue paper to create the folds. You can then pull the edges up so that they surround the end of the pipe cleaner. Cut the “extra” length of the tissue.Do this over until you make one bouquet, and then wrap a piece of ribbon around the tissue flowers. Stick the pipe cleaners into a styropore and arrange the “flowers” inside the vase.
You CAN Afford a Party Planner! Some Lifestyle Changes Will Do the Trick!
Party time will always be a part of people’s lives. Regardless of recession and the lack of jobs, people will still be meeting with friends and sharing meals together. Furthermore, birthdays and anniversaries, and the occasional wedding will still be rolling in. People think they can save money by doing everything on their own and not hiring a party planner, but those who have attempted this ended up bone tired and unable to attend their own party. Hiring a party planner is cost effective, particularly if she’s efficient, but how does one come up with the money to pay for the service?
Here are some tips on how you can save cash by eliminating day to day incidentals:
1. Bring a thermos flask to work and drink only home-brewed coffee instead of purchasing breakfast on the way to work or that cup of coffee at a famous coffee shop. Bake some biscuits over the weekend so that you have your instant breakfast every single day of the week.
2. Check out economy outlets to purchase clothing. Your good taste and style matters more than the brand.
3. Always create a shopping list before you go to the supermarket so that you won’t buy things you don’t need. Some people forget their budget when presented with “deals” at the supermarket, and they cannot stick with the things they can afford. Always do your grocery shopping after a full meal at home, and never when you are famished!
4. Keep a well-maintained car to keep repair costs down. Make sure to always be on the lookout for the cheapest auto insurance in the market.
5. Sign up for your local pharmacy’s newsletters to be alerted when they have discounts on prescription medicines.
6. Always have a cookie inside your bag, and vow to eat it later that day when you feel like buying snacks from vending machines.
7. Cancel your gym membership and workout at home. Also, don’t join gyms that encourage you to stay dependent on their service.
8. Make sure you have sufficient funds for writing checks. Bounced checks cost a lot of cash.
