I Think I Broke a Show Sales Record !!

[genburk]

For the lowest kitchen show ever.......

Here is the story.....

3 guest show up with their spouses, we had a wonderful time. 3rd time for one attendee and she said it was the best show yet. I did the Hershey kisses, for ALL good comments, and we had a great time. We laughed the whole time, and the husbands were having fun, while playing games in the other room, and they kept butting in... I gave them Hershey kisses too, just for fun.

1 lady was the host, and she wanted to use her host benefits, so $0 from her.

1 lady had a show in Dec., married in Jan, got pregnant in Jan, Husband had a low show in Feb (they had just found out that week they were expecting a new little bundle, and had decided to move from Ohio to Ok.) They were moving within 2 weeks, so $0 from her.


1 lady was getting married in 3 weeks, and she usually buys $75-100 (her 3rd show), talked about a wedding shower, buying more items, wanted the guest special (this was in April), was going to get her order together and pay the following Monday. Called her the following Monday - told her about the Wedding Registry again, and about the Well-Stocked-Kitchen again, and to see what she wanted. They broke up over the weekend, no longer getting married, moved back in with parents, doesn't need any kitchen items now, soooo $0 dollars from her.

Last lady, came to show with 2 well behaved kids She may have felt pressured to spend something so she did. $17.05... Oh wait, that includes tax and shipping. $12.25 was the subtotal.


Can you beat that low show total? $12.25 - I don't hope anyone can, but it would be comforting to know that I am not the lowest. I have had $0 catalog shows before, but I understand those.

I surely should have host coached more, but she cancelled the show 2 different times, so I imagine she lost a few guests along the way.

I am not discouraged though. The show must go on... Just thought I would share with ya...

Oh yeah, and on a side note, I called the guest that bought to see if she wanted to add her order to another show (would take about another week), and she wanted her money back, so now I am in the hole .39 (for the stamp).

Whew.... I got it all out.

 

[clshirk]

Oh- so sorry. But although I haven't been around to reach that goal yet- I'm sure I will too. When it does, I'll be glad to know I'm not the only one. It's kinda funny how people come to the shows, but things are going on and really can't spend much- you can't blame them. Everyone has to allocate money somewhere. At least you had a blast! I think that was worth the night and effort.

 

[ShanaSmith]

I actually had a show that I left with $0. It was for a friend of mine and the only people that came where the MIL and her boyfriend and they just ate and left. She did collect outside orders and it ended up at $300.

Wow I just re read your post. You win Negative $.39 is the lowest I have ever heard of!
Don't you just love those shows!

 

[heather9892]

Hate to say it but i can beat that!!!
A friend of mine had one of my first shows for me
Sent her hostess package Express post-cost $8.95 plus tx
i drove an hour to get there-about $20 in gas
she had 3 people show up one person bought-small bamboo spoons $5
which i added to another show and then mailed to her at the cost of $8.95 plus tx
my comm on the sale was $1 and travelling and mailing cost me around $40
would have much prefered the .39 over the $39 in the hole
oh well it was practice lol

 

[amy07]

ok, that makes me feel better for the times that I have left with only $75 in sales!
I'm glad you have a such a good attitude about it though! I always just figure that each low sales show gets me that much closer to the big ones!

 

[Chef_2_Four]

I hope that never happens to you again!!

I had a show Saturday that is my worst so far. She should be collecting outside orders. I left her house with a total of $87. I haven't ever had one that low, well I take that back. My cousin did a catalog show that didn't qualify so I added her orders onto another. I think it was a little over $80 too.

 

[dannyzmom]

For the lowest kitchen show ever.......

Here is the story.....

3 guest show up with their spouses, we had a wonderful time. 3rd time for one attendee and she said it was the best show yet. I did the Hershey kisses, for ALL good comments, and we had a great time. We laughed the whole time, and the husbands were having fun, while playing games in the other room, and they kept butting in... I gave them Hershey kisses too, just for fun.

1 lady was the host, and she wanted to use her host benefits, so $0 from her.

1 lady had a show in Dec., married in Jan, got pregnant in Jan, Husband had a low show in Feb (they had just found out that week they were expecting a new little bundle, and had decided to move from Ohio to Ok.) They were moving within 2 weeks, so $0 from her.


1 lady was getting married in 3 weeks, and she usually buys $75-100 (her 3rd show), talked about a wedding shower, buying more items, wanted the guest special (this was in April), was going to get her order together and pay the following Monday. Called her the following Monday - told her about the Wedding Registry again, and about the Well-Stocked-Kitchen again, and to see what she wanted. They broke up over the weekend, no longer getting married, moved back in with parents, doesn't need any kitchen items now, soooo $0 dollars from her.

Last lady, came to show with 2 well behaved kids She may have felt pressured to spend something so she did. $17.05... Oh wait, that includes tax and shipping. $12.25 was the subtotal.


Can you beat that low show total? $12.25 - I don't hope anyone can, but it would be comforting to know that I am not the lowest. I have had $0 catalog shows before, but I understand those.

I surely should have host coached more, but she cancelled the show 2 different times, so I imagine she lost a few guests along the way.

I am not discouraged though. The show must go on... Just thought I would share with ya...

Oh yeah, and on a side note, I called the guest that bought to see if she wanted to add her order to another show (would take about another week), and she wanted her money back, so now I am in the hole .39 (for the stamp).

Whew.... I got it all out.

I can beat it!!!
One of my very first shows - a good friend wanted to help me start my business. We were both single moms at the time and she invited a bunch of her single mom friends. Well, hello...single moms tend to be pretty broke. everyone came to be supportive (and eat free food - LOL) and the only order was the hostess' ex-MIL -- she bought a Pizza Cutter.

Oh - and last month I had a fundraiser booked off a fundraiser. This was a man - he wouldn't hear anything I had to say about how to go about inviting people. He assumed since the FR he booked off of did pretty well ($1300) that his would too since he was raising $ for the same group. WRONG. He had 5 people show up. One ordered about $27 worth of products. But the nice thing is that as soon as he realized it was gonna be a complete bust (but AFTER I had prepped all the ingredients and dirtied my tools) he suggested I sit back and relax and let his kids (he has 3 preteen & teenaged kids who are the most well disciplined people you'll ever meet) do the demo. We all ended up having a really nice time - and he threw in an order of his own bumping sales to a whopping $90...but I would have much prefered a REAL show with REAL sales, kwim? Oh and PS - they had a pet DUCK wandering around the house - that was a real hoot!!

 

[raebates]

Oh, my, I'm so sorry. It's good to see that you still have your sense of humor, though. And, at least you know you're in good company.

 

[sailortena]

Oh, how about this one!! I had a show scheduled for April 21 in Dallas, Texas. I live near Little Rock, AR. The show is for a friend of a longtime childhood friend of my sister's. I host coach her, *every* piece of communication I send to her and tell her about is for that particular date.I call her the week before, we are ok on the date. So I tell her I will call her the night before when I leave for Dallas. I don't reach her, but leave a message and say I will call back from the road.70 miles from Dallas, I call her to get specific directions from her house. She says she doesn't know who is coming but will make sure they come next week. I'm like next week! Your party is today! She's like no, I have a baby shower today, it's next week. And I tell her we confirmed the date, time and everything the week before! She is firm that the party is next week and she can't do it that day, so sorry. The host KNEW where I was driving from. So I tried to reschedule. She then cancelled that a couple of days later. Sales: $0
Driving time lost: 4.5 hours each way
Gas, food and meals paid: $70
Mileage: 700 milesThen I learned from my sister's friend that this host STILL had a party on the supposed date it was to happen, but with another direct sales company. She totally lied to me and I will never do business with her again.

 

[dannyzmom]

Then I learned from my sister's friend that this host STILL had a party on the supposed date it was to happen, but with another direct sales company. She totally lied to me and I will never do business with her again.

Oh now that's just sleazy.
Karma baybe...she'll get hers

 

[janetupnorth]

Oh and PS - they had a pet DUCK wandering around the house - that was a real hoot!!

That would have only been with a real owl wandering around - this show just quacked me up.

 

[PCJenni]

Amazing! People are so rude. My worst shows have been my own!!! He he he. I have had a few catalog shows to reach out of state friends and family. They are usually a few hundred dollars.

 

[AJPratt]

Some people just don't get it.

 

[pkd09]

Tina, I love your sense of humor. No, I can't top it but you never mentioned if you got any bookings?!!!!! At least everyone had a good time, including you.

 

[jenniferlynne]

I had a hostess win a free show, so I paid for all the ingredients. I sent out the invites so I paid for postage too. The only people that were there were her Mother, her brother's pregnant girlfriend and her Grandmother who no longer has her own house. The only order I got was from the Mother, but she said she would pay me for it later. She of course never did. I'm not sure how much in the hole I ended up being.

 

[lsm72]

Well at least you have a good attitude about it!

 

[jrstephens]

OMG!! I know this is not funny, but I cannot help but to laugh or I will be crying for you!

I guess the only thing worse is when PCCHRIS went to a bridal show and then had the host cancel the whole show which was not good to begin with.

I am so sorry but you seem to have a great attitude about it.

 

[genburk]

Tina, I love your sense of humor. No, I can't top it but you never mentioned if you got any bookings?!!!!! At least everyone had a good time, including you.

I didn't get any bookings from it. I should have known there wouldn't be a lot of guest... the 2nd time she cancelled, she cancelled as I was walking out the door. Had the car packed and all. Most of her guest probably didn't believe the show would hold and they didn't show up.

Great thing was, I got to see my oldest's first tennis match that day. So I just changed into Jeans and showed up... he was so surprised and secretly happy (he is 17) that I showed up.

Learn something new everyday. Now I am beefing up my Host Coaching. Thanks for everyone's support.

 

[Skye]

I may not be able to beat some of your stories, but I have a pretty bad one. I had a show recently that had *0*, nada, not a single person showed! To start off, I will send out the invitations, and pay for postage if my host invites 40 or more people. Well...she had a list of over 50!! I was pretty excited about the possibility of a huge turn-out! I even tried post calls (for the first and probably last time) which cost me around $10 for the calls. She lived about 40 min. away. I got there and realized that I had my Trifle bowl box, but no Trifle bowl, so I had my DH rush it out to me. She had thought about 15+ people would show, but no. I ended up making the Trifle for her and her kids because I felt so bad. She decided not to even try and get outside orders because she was so hurt that no one came. So I ended paying the money for postage, gas (for me and my DH), post calls and not one single order. Very frustrating!

 

[Paula R. Lewis]

Oh, I guess it's true, misery really does love company!! Ha! Ha! I just read through this post, and cannot help but "reminisce" some of my own horror stories!!

My last one like this was also a FREE show. I drove about 20 miles to do the show. I made two recipes, the Antipasto Vegetable Pizza, as well as the Pina Colada Trifle that was posted on this site.
The day of the show, I found out she lived in a "not so nice" area of town. I left her address with my husband, and told him where to start looking if I didn't come back!! lol
Fortunately, her show was on a Saturday afternoon, so it was still daylight.
I made the trifle up at home, and had the other recipe almost done as well. (pre-baked, just needed to top it off)

Well, she was nice enough, as was her mother. When I got there, I wasn't sure if I was on the right street or not, as there wasn't a street sign where I first turned. I saw a man standing on the side of the road, talking to someone in a car. I pulled up and rolled down my window, to ask him if this was such and such a street. He looked up at me, sort of blankly. Then I realized he was a street bum!! Yikes!!
I thought....oh boy, what have I gotten myself into here!!

Anyway, it WAS the correct street. I found the house and went inside. Only a handful of people came to the demo, but the boyfriend and a couple of his buddies were in the other room, as well as the bride's teen-age sister and a couple of her friends. (no buying guests from them!!)

I did the demo. There were only two potential buying guests, as the bride's mother didn't even order!! Of the two, one was particularly RUDE throughout the entire demo. She proceeded to make a "gagging" expression when I brought out artichokes for the pizza, and refused to even taste it, even though I tried to reassure everyone how yummy a recipe this is!! (Everyone else really did like it, but she wouldn't budge!)
When I brought out the Trifle, she told me I'd gone and "ruined it", by adding that "nasty cool whip crap" to it!!
I was really struggling to keep my cool, by the time I was done!
She and the other lady spent $27 that day, but couldn't pay until the following Friday, when they would get their SSI checks.
This was the total orders.

When the following week came, I called the host. She told me that she didn't have any more orders. I explained about needing it to reach $150 in sales to call it a show. She ended up cancelling the entire show, and told me to just "not worry about it"!!

For this show, I paid for the two recipes, paid postage for the invitations, drove 20 miles each way, just to be irritated. The fact that there were no bookings? A blessing, if you ask me!! lol

One thing I did decide to do, however, for a future FREE show? They will only get ONE recipe, unless I get at least $150 in outside orders at least 24 hours BEFORE the show occurs!! At least this way I can see how serious they even are at succeeding, and my costs will go down, too!!

Paula

 

[PChefPEI]

I can beat the number of guests! How about zero!! Well, almost. The host, who was having the show at her sister's who she also booked the show from. So, the sister was there and the host's 10-year old daughter. Oh yeah, and the rep from the jewellery direct sales business.....host had a great idea to have two direct sales companies. It was my first and only Sunday show!!!

 

[pcchris]

OMG!! I know this is not funny, but I cannot help but to laugh or I will be crying for you!

I guess the only thing worse is when PCCHRIS went to a bridal show and then had the host cancel the whole show which was not good to begin with.

Hey! Thanks for remembering me, Jennifer!! LOL!!! I was going to post about my disasterous bridal shower...was really surprised when I read your post about it! At least by reading this thread, I realize I'm not the only one out there that has had horrible shows!

All you can do is forget about it and move on! Take it from me....been there!! I had my own pity party for a while, but it's done.

Still don't have many summer shows, but it's my fault for not picking up the phone and asking. I am going to do that tonight.

Anyway, to all of you who have have REALLY BAD shows, don't take it personally...as Rae says "Bless and release".
Don't dwell on it, or your business will suffer. Trust me, I know!!

Have a great day!

 

[Sallie_M]

Thanks for the groans and smiles today, Ladies. I've had some, uhmmmm, less than perfect shows, too.

But if you have a chance to listen, or relisten to the Nat'l Conference speakers cd from 2 years ago, where NSE directors talked about their business, it would help reinforce the idea that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN THIS COMPANY!

It's been a while since I listened, but the first speaker had one of "these" parties, and she made it easy to laugh about it. How she picked herself up and kept going was really encouraging. Anybody remember who it was in the Texas heat, with 7 bags of garbage on the porch, no table to set up on and one dangling lightbulb to work under?

Moral of the story was: In the grand scheme of things, one party does not really matter.... Just keep on keepin' on!

(Having a thankful Thursday in Michigan! And, off to my ft job that has given me bad moments every day so far this week... Still thankful!)

 

[Aun]

Recipe for Pina Colada Trifle

...I made two recipes, the Antipasto Vegetable Pizza, as well as the Pina Colada Trifle that was posted on this site....

Pina Colada Trifle! That sounds great! Can you (or someone) post the recipe? I tried searching both the forums and the files sections here, but I couldn't find it.

(Sorry to hijack the thread but that sounded so good I could resist!)

 

[JaimeQ]

I've had a show that no one bought anything kinda sad. I had a show where only 1 person came besides the host.... the host barely got enough orders to make a show.

 

[PC_CPR]

It is so sad....Don't mean to make it worse...but didn't stamps go up to 41 cents?

 

[Jilleysue]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahah...all I Got To Say About These Stories.

 

[dannyzmom]

Thanks for the groans and smiles today, Ladies. I've had some, uhmmmm, less than perfect shows, too.

But if you have a chance to listen, or relisten to the Nat'l Conference speakers cd from 2 years ago, where NSE directors talked about their business, it would help reinforce the idea that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN THIS COMPANY!

It's been a while since I listened, but the first speaker had one of "these" parties, and she made it easy to laugh about it. How she picked herself up and kept going was really encouraging. Anybody remember who it was in the Texas heat, with 7 bags of garbage on the porch, no table to set up on and one dangling lightbulb to work under?

Moral of the story was: In the grand scheme of things, one party does not really matter.... Just keep on keepin' on!

(Having a thankful Thursday in Michigan! And, off to my ft job that has given me bad moments every day so far this week... Still thankful!)

Ooooh Ooooh Ooooh :::::raising hand wildly::::: I know who it was!! IT was my NED Carol Radu -- and she had me laughing so hard I nearly peed my pants when she told me the story - LOL