Don’t you find it frustrating to live the dream of a party planner, and someone just bails on you? What’s the worst that could happen, you might ask as you read this? Imagine getting everything ready and a day or two before the party (or even on the day of the party!), your phone rings. Your hostess is on the line, telling you she wants to cancel her party. Horrendous!
Deep breaths now, no need to panic! Our today’s session will ease your heart, because I will tell you how to keep your cool in this situation and what you can do when your hostess wants to cancel her party.
Unenthusiastic hostesses, cancellations, postponements… nobody wants that! However, often we do not have an option of choosing the circumstances. What we can do is choose to put on our ruby slippers and follow the yellow brick road towards The Wonderful Land of Success! Here’s the first step that’ll lead you there!
Step 1 – Be a kind detective!
First thing you need to do is combine your curiosity, dignity, and courage, and find out why the hostess has cancelled on you. Asking a direct question, especially if something concerning has happened, might not have a note of style. You don’t want to end up with a reputation of a pushy party planner! So, be discreet and kind. Politeness doesn’t cost a thing, and it will make the situation for you and your hostess more pleasant. That way, she will not feel pressured to respond. On the contrary, she can look up to you and admire your kindness and care.
“Tell me a little more about what’s happening to you at the moment” is always a kind and effective approach. In many cases, you will hear this as a response: “No one’s coming to my party. I need to cancel.” Once again, you need to act subtly.
Step 2 – Let the panic do its magic!
Give your hostess a moment of comfort for her to vent and let it out – this little panic attack vent is a strategy that works amazingly well! What I usually find in reality is that it’s not that no one is coming; it’s just that the hostess is feeling as if she either needs to have lots of people for the party to go ahead, or just not as many people as she was expecting.
Be a little cheeky here, and make positive assumptions. Ask her about guests who WILL come rather than about those who won’t. It will inspire your hostess to handle such situations better next time, if they even happen!
Now, let’s imagine that only 3 people have confirmed to show up. You know how they say – 3 is a party! Many hostesses assume that they need 8-10 guests minimum. You have to explain to her that 3 is enough for a party to go ahead and that she will still get her reward. In reality, it’s quite normal that only half the people you invited end up coming.
What you can do, and it is all about good hostess coaching, is to point her to little steps she can take quickly to ‘acquire’ more guests in the last minute. Suggest to guests that are coming to bring someone along, call your friends, colleagues, or if you are a parent, call other moms.
It’s on you to give hostesses the expectation from the beginning and help them to understand the common reality.
Step 3 – Warn about the Domino Effect!
Another reason why you should get the party going is due to the expiry date for some bonuses. It might happen that the hostess can get her bonus at the next party only if the next party goes ahead within a certain timeframe. Seemingly terrible, almost like a domino effect, this is actually an amazing strategy! By tying upcoming with the previous hostess rewards you are creating a sense of urgency and it gives our hostess a reason why she really can’t cancel her party. If she does that, the other hostess is actually going to miss out on the bonuses.
Step 4 – Be Brave and Assertive!
So, be brave and assertive. Don’t be afraid to add sense of urgency to make your hostess stick to the plan. Bring up the sense of solidarity, as the other hostess will not obtain her bonus if the party gets cancelled.
Step 5 – Be encouraging!
If you happen to hear “we need to change the date”, you should simply follow the previous steps. Encourage her that already planned date is the date for rockin’n’rolling! If you decide to reschedule the party after all, use our bookings funnel.
Step 6 – Act Then and There!
If you really need to postpone the party, you need to pick a new date straight away before the phone call ends. Again, be brave, be assertive. Do that by using the bookings funnel rather than waiting for her to come up with a decision, as sometimes you might never again hear from her, and that’s a mess we all want to avoid.
Additional scenarios: But, what if…?
If a hostess cancels because she feels that her friends can’t afford to buy your products – don’t let your guests feel like they have to buy anything in the first place! Plus, you will never go wrong with some freebies you can give away!
Sometimes, it might happen that it’s a busy holiday season, and you can hear your hostess saying she had a cancellation because no one was able to come. In that situation I have a mystery gift box that includes freebies as a thank you reward for hostesses keeping the parties going over the busy holiday season.
You might not have as many people as you hoped show up, but again, any party is a good party and you are better off having smaller regular parties, than having less parties. You want to meet more people on a regular basis and keep the busyness going and going, so remember – no party is a bad party!
Until next time, I would love hearing the feedback on these steps!
Love,
Mel 😘
Melanie Parker
Founder of Party Plan 123
“NEVER EVER Run out of Bookings AGAIN!”
Phone: +61 408 084 128
Email: Melanie@PartyPlan123.com
Website: www.PartyPlan123.com
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