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Elora's advice for a successful home sale
How does a special fashion home sale work?
01 JULY 2020
Home sales are more convivial and personalised than traditional sales. Private sales are held in small groups (usually between 5 and 10 people) and the guests often know each other. The VDI, or fashion consultant (Personal Stylist at Elora), advises and accompanies each guest in their clothing purchases.
The fashion consultant has two options for organising her home sale: she can welcome potential customers into her home or organise the sale in a meeting at a hostess's home.
A hostess welcomes the fashion consultant into her home and invites the people she wants to attend the sale. The consultant should help her choose the right day in advance and assist her with the organisation and invitations.
Home sales: our advice for success
Are you a home seller? Here's how to make a success of your door-to-door sales!
step 1: Preparation
On the day of the sales meeting, arrive early so that you can prepare everything at your hostess 's if you have one, or prepare your reception room at home beforehand. Don't forget to bring or take out the collection you want to present.
Don't forget to bring your catalogues if you have any, pens, order forms and envelopes for orders and payments. Providing small gifts can build customer loyalty, so don't hesitate to offer them!
Presentation is a major selling point. Just as shops use their windows to attract customers, highlight certain pieces from your collection and create a cosy space that will put your customers in the right mood.
You can also provide pastries and cakes to eat, as well as tea and coffee. However, reserve the breakfast or snack break for the end of the sale so as not to distract your customers.
step 2: Welcoming guests
Everything should be ready when your first customer or customers arrive! First impressions always count.
Find out about your customers beforehand if you can. It's always nicer for guests to feel that you're involved in their well-being. If you're staying with a hostess, don't let her down - on the contrary. Welcome all the guests but don't hesitate to thank your hostess in front of them to show her off.
What's more, we recommend that you give her a small gift to say thank you, different from that given to the guests if you're giving them one too.
step 3: Host the door-to-door sale
For a home sale to be a success, customers need to be attentive and have a good time. So keep the presentation short, warm and to the point. To achieve this, keep smiling throughout the presentation, make your guests laugh and highlight the advantages of your products.
We recommend that you quickly introduce the brand you work for and its commitments, explaining why you wanted to join it. If your guests are new to home selling or if you're meeting them for the first time, explain what home selling is and what its advantages are.
If you're working with a hostess, explain her role and the benefits she derives from it to encourage your customers to become hostesses too.
After introducing your sale at the meeting, you can present the clothing collection and show a few highlights. Don't hesitate to ask your customers what they're looking for and what type of clothes they'd like to see.
Afterwards, the best way to convince them is to try them on! Your hostess is your best asset and the person you need to get involved: so ask her to step in and be your model during this presentation. She'll be delighted and feel privileged.
step 4: Advise and conclude
After showing part of your collection and answering questions, pass around your catalogues. Each guest will be able to see all the clothes in your fashion collection. This is when you'll be able to offer advice.
Listen to your potential customers, offer to do a quick study of their morphology to help them choose the right clothes, advise them on choosing the right colours... in short, be there for them!
Don't forget that you're there to help your customers make their purchases. After the advice, it's time to move on to the conclusion. Explain to them spontaneously that they can place an order today, whether for one garment or several, and that you will personally take care of their requests. After your advert, spend some time with your customers to collect the order forms.
Also take the opportunity to explain to them that you are always recruiting new hostesses and that you would be delighted to organise a sale at their home, at the date and time they prefer. Remind them that hostesses enjoy significant benefits...
step 5: Thank the customers and finish the home sale
Once you've collected the order forms and answered all the guests' requests, it's time to finish your door-to-door sale. If you've arranged for pastries and cakes, invite your customers to help themselves.
If you're at your hostess's house, thank her publicly in front of all the guests. Once again, she should feel privileged. You can decide with her beforehand on a future date, in which case you can announce it to the guests present.
Also thank the guests and have a personal note for those who want to take part in the next meeting or who are interested in becoming hostesses.