Hi there:)
In this document, I tried to put the guidance I have learned over my time with AdvoCare (going on 5 years now in Spring 2015 as I type) to serve as a reference for our team and help the brand new person get started. Hopefully it will serve you and save you time starting your new people if you find it worth sharing.
In this, you will find my personal best advice for you to be successful using mixers. We know that “more mixers mean more money” and there is a lot out there and you are free to do this however you choose! But, here is what I have learned.
In this guide, I cover:
- Purpose of mixer (something I actually misunderstood for a while,
- What you need to do it, and
- My opinion about the best approach and format and general tips.
HERE WE GO!
Anna Banana
PURPOSE OF MIXER
Everything we do in set up and delivery is aimed at THIS primary goal if you are are building a business: to book another mixer. Lose sight of that and your business will fizzle.
Its a meeting where you get to introduce AdvoCare to your family and friends and start your business. The next week you are continuing to invite your friends and family that maybe did not make it or that you have not reached out to, and for anyone in the room to be able to bring THEIR friends and family to, and so forth and so on. When you outgrow that location, then your team can offshoot and start to do their own. Sometimes that takes a few at the original location, sometimes that happens the next week. Your goal is to be mixing for yourself or your team each week and for there to be new people in the room to share with.
Your commitment to weekly mixers for you and your team will determine your success with AdvoCare in many ways.
2) The first 2, maybe 3 mixers are also an opportunity for your sponsor to do it for you so that you get the imperative 3rd party credibility you need to start strong but also so you can learn while you earn. Truly they are to train you to do it without your Sponsoring Advisor as quickly as possible so you can go at your own pace and if you have a team, start helping them as well.
WHAT YOU NEED:
There are lots of ways to go about this, so here are my recommendations:
—Keep them simple and fun and your team will plug in and start their own and everyone will be succesful.
—-Also - You can choose different themes depending your audience. Its your business, feel free to be creative! I recommend the 24 day theme.
In my experience, you definitely want to have the following things ready 30 minutes ***BEFORE*** mixer time:
- Spark - made at double strength and iced down in a pitcher or dispenser with cups full of ice ready to go.
- whiteboard with 4 relationships on it
- 24 day challenge display, unto 2-4 add ons or others to show off…less is more here.
- DVD set up and ready to go. You want to know it is working and how to work it way before guests arrive:)
- Impact magazines for your guests or to use with the presentation.
- Laptops ready to order.
- 24 Day challenge overview literature of some kind…right now the booklets challenge focus most of the time because 90% of people come to AdvoCare looking for weight loss and energy and this bundle is the starting point for the majority.
- I have seen some people use additional sales aides, etc, but this is what I stick to.
MIXER AGENDA - I have learned to take out the fluff and follow Jenny Donnelly’s training on my Microsite, so once you log in, you can click “LEARN” and this is the agenda she demonstrates. I learned it by watching that video. What I shoot for:
HOST - 2-4 minutes
Welcome
TIghtly packaged 2 minute story
Intro presenter if diff than host
PRESENTER (also the host in a lot of cases) - 5 minutes
-Tightly packaged 2 minute story
-2 things we do in Advo - any chief history of the company you want here…30-90 secs is best. Short, powerful and move on…
-4 relationships
-Storytime- 6-8 minutes
-2 to 3 DVD stories - 1 product success story (specifically chosen to relate to at least 1 new person) and 1 endorser
-Stories in the room if they have not shared and are tightly packaged, make it conversational and if none, here is where you maybe add one from the DVD science section.
Business and Close 6-8 minutes
-Intro of opportunity
-2 relatable DV stories
-Close it Down - Review 4 relationships
-Call to action.
KEYS TO SUCCESS AND PITFALLS—The real magic occurs not so much during the presentation. Once time I heard the real mixer is the mixer before the mixer. The more 3 way calls that have been done, the degree to which host invites with conviction and excitement and is the PREVIEW so that the mixer is the MOVIE, and the more you spend time asking questions and listening to anyone new in the room you don’t know…the more successful you will be. Here is where you learn about people so you can play the DVD stories that they will relate to the most. This is the KEY that unlocks the mixer!!
- Start on time and respect their time. My most successful mixers were where the presentation was 20 minutes or less! The value is in the time before and the time after :)
- The more you share with your friends through 3rd party - using the DVD or another story in the room, the better. Many times there aren’t to ns of live stories in the room. NO WORRIES! The DVD and point to an Impact Mag story that your friend will relate to and you are fantastic. Let the DVD do most of the talking, and if there are other TIGHTLY PACKAGED live stories in the room, go for it.
Pitfalls -
- during the inviting phase—Inviting people by sharing everything we learn at a mixer instead of just being the preview. Previews are all about excitement and selling getting them to the movie, not so much getting them to buy something….that was a game-changer for me.
- at the mixer —Inviting a new person to share their story during the mixer…typcially they will lose your audience. Feel free to share it for them in this case :-) Their nodding confirmation will be 3rd party cred enough and you don't lose your mixer to a 5 minute story :)
- Sponsors who talk to their friends and just get up and present AT the new people.
-Anyone that doesn’t immediately get to know all new people in the room. We have an amazing culture and team and we all have such great friendships, but this can be a pitfall when mixer time starts. When new people get there, its not time to visit with our AdvoFam anymore. This is all about THEM..welcoming them and getting to know them. This is hard for me and for most people I know, so learn how to smile introduce yourself and start asking questions to get to know the new people. The person who asks the most questions and listens and smiles wins!
-Hosts and or sponsors who DISTRACT from the mixer. No matter how many times you have seen it, scrolling phones, moving around, talking, looking bored, and standing in the back of the room and forcing the new person to sit on the front row are all things that make new people feel like outsiders. If this isn’t interesting your YOU and your are not on your edge of your seat then why would your friend think its interesting?
-Worrying about a no show or 1 show mixer. Everyone has them. I still have them! Entrepreneurs adjust and continue. Talk to more people, book more 3 way calls and try again next week. Persevere and figure out how to increase the 1 on 1s and 3 way call number and your mixer numbers will increase. It will boil down to changing your approach or talking to more people or both. Easy fixes if we choose to acknowledge and fix them.
GENERAL TIPS:
-Watch and practice Jenny Donnelly mixer training and practice it. I was AMAZED at how well doing it “simple” works!
-Another closing wording option: “SO think about where you fit, are you a 1, 2, 3 or 4? If you are a 1 or 2, please see so and so and get started with them. IF you are a 3 or 4, please come back in a few minutes and we will do a quick start training or you can say…please see so and so to get started. Everyone else, you are free to leave, thank you for coming and for this opportunity to share AdvoCare with you! Everytime I go off on a tangent, I feel like I lose folks! Short, simple and action oriented gets the best results.
Room Set Up Tips:
- If children are welcome, have someone designated to watch them in a play room or bedroom
- Have music playing when guests arrive (not TV!), have it loud enough so people can feel comfortable engaging in conversation
-Typcially we shy from food, we want them SPARKED UP :)
- Position mixer presentation products near/on coffee table near television / dvd player, this is where the mixer will take place (if it’s a
tight/intimate room, presenter should be on a stool or on knees, don’t stand/hover over people)
- Like Jenny says in the video…Spark everybody immediately! Don’t ask if they want it, say “this is what you came for” and get Spark in their body!
PROMOTIONS -You can do giveaways or any kind of promotion for people who get started that night. You can do door prizes - people love to get gifts :))) This is where you can be fun and creative!
OPTIONAL: At the close you can offer to have a 15 minute “quick start training” for anyone interested in business and
WORDING MIGHT BE “If business is interesting you I have some forms up here with a place for the list of 10 people you are probably thinking of right now (NEW PALS MIXER POSTCARDS ON PARRTEAM.COM ARE DESIGNED FOR THIS). You can come get those. I am looking for people who want to have mixers in their homes. This is a powerful team moving at a fast pace - they are booking mixers at least one a week for the next several weeks so they have their clendars and you need to get them on your schedule. We help with all the planning and details, so see the person who invited you. Then go over having a Purpose, Getting to Advisor, Making a List and becoming a professional introducer AKA The Success System.
What I usually do is just open my laptop if that is workable and walk them through parrteam.com Getting Started. ITs something anyone can do and its something they can go dig into later as well. Again, simple , FUN, and duplicatable is really the secret to success in my opinion.
