Here is a great way to sell your candles and soaps. Host your own open house event or have someone host an event for you. It is not difficult to plan one, but hosting an open house does take some leg work.
This style of selling helps supplement the weekends or months when you do not have craftshows scheduled. Some candle and soap business even rely solely on hosted open house events instead of attending craft shows.
By hosting your own event you also do not have to compete with other soap and candle businesses. You can include other businesses in the event that do not compete with you. Another benefit is that the attendants are specifically at the event to buy your products.
Here are two ways to set up an open house event.
1. Host one yourself
2. Have someone host it for you
You can do both or choose the one that you will benefit the most from.
Here is a general overview of what you will go through to set up your open house.
1. Choose the best seasons ~ Usually they are early summer (June) and around November
2. Try to get your friends involved and have your event run by word of mouth or have them hand out brochures about your open house event
3. Mail out postcards~ give the date, hours open, RSVP date, website address, they can pre-shop on your website or first come first serve.
4. Have the event open for a couple hours Friday 6:30-9:00 and Saturday/Sunday 9:00-12:00 Or arrange it so they can drop in. Give your customers time and date options to buy from you
5. Always have specials.
6. Encourage your customers to bring a friend
7. Throw contests for free door prizes. Have door prizes ready at least 4 weeks prior to the show. If you hand out brochures list the prizes on the brochure
If You Have Someone Hosting A Candle Or Soap Party For You
1. Hostess invites a min of 15-20 people.
2. They have a guestbook where the attendants provide their name, addy email. Snail mail them 1-2x’s year to keep them updated on your business news and events.
3. Do a guestbook “new list” draw prize
4. Rely on word of mouth
5. Make sure you check out zoning if you are able to advertise for the open house
6. Hand out flyers
At the Show Check List
1. Request to use to 2 rooms
2. Have a theme ~ Christmas, Harvest, Easter, Mother’s Day
3. Provide Snacks
4. Holiday Music to set the mood
5. Special Orders get 20% off that night. Get their email, so you can email them when the special order is ready. Make sure you get at least 20-50% money down.
Treating the Hostess
1. Receives 15% of sales that night in products.
2. Bring a small token gift and give the gift early on.
3. Gift certificate giveaway for door prize.
There is much flexibility in hosting your own party or having someone host one for you. You can set up the event anyway you want to cater to the needs of your customers. Make the event special and unique only to them.
If you have thrown your own open house candle or soap event, we would love to hear about it. Write about the experience in the comments section. Share any tips with us.
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