We asked all our Tish Tash Toys agents for their ideas of what constitutes a successful home or direct seller and here are the results.

Tish Tash Toys Senior Manager Melanie in Blandford, Dorset advises “Always ask everyone (all guests at parties/anyone you meet) about hosting their own party- don’t wait until people ask you. They will say no if they do not want a party – and you may get more positive responses than you thought!! Also - host your own party every so often. Its a good way to get toys for stock/your present cupboard. You can take advantage of the hostess offers yourself and hopefully drum up party interests from your guests!!”

Experienced Tish Tash Toys representative Mandie, based in Shropshire thinks having business cards is extremely important. “Have these to hand wherever you go, like the catalogues – carry them in your bag. When you do a party, event etc always have a pile on your table as you will be surprised how many people will pick them up – Vista Print is a good place to get them from. Plus, when doing parties I always put a business card loose in the pack so people can take it away.” Mandie is also busy putting up posters in her area. “Use Notice boards – everywhere – schools, pre-schools, toddler groups, libraries, village halls, village shop, post office, hospitals, anti-natal groups, hairdressers, dentists, doctors. Family & friends place of work – staff rooms etc.”

Bridgette represents Tish Tash Toys in Yorkshire. Bridgette says “If you have a stall at an event talk to the other stall holders it is a good way of finding out about other events. Know something about the manufacturers as people may ask about the ethical aspect of the toys. Do a lucky dip with your stall – this often covers the stall cost and then some and always keep customers up-to-date with order issues, customers tend to be understanding about any to follow orders as long as they know what is happening.

Eleanor in Lancashire adds “I always carry a few flyers and a product catalogue with me, so if I get chatting to someone I can give them a flyer with my details on, let them have a look at the catalogue, and hopefully get some contact details so I can send them a catalogue and newsletter. I also distribute flyers and/or catalogues to other stallholders if I do an event, and have managed to organise joint parties this way.”

Julia in Middlesex suggests compiling a database of the birthdays of your customers children/grandchildren etc with gender & age (with their permission). That way, 6-8 weeks before the big day you can offer them a party therefore giving them the opportunity to get presents & party bag goodies at a saving with a free gift as well.

Fiona in London says “consider giving free party bags (something that can be got cheaper in bulk) to people who have minimum order of a certain amount of which at least 2 or 3 items are for party bags. People love the idea of receiving something free!”

Gillian in Aberdeenshire says “At events talk to other stall holders to find out what they do, what works for them in the area, what other events they go to and would be worth attending. Also party swapping with other company agents is good to get new contacts.”

Jackie in Bristol suggests you should set yourself a target to get at least one party booking from each event/party – you can always use a bit a bribery (chocs, free gifts, etc) for first one to book a party.

Amanda in Southampton advises you to utilise your partners or husbands! Amanda says “I’ve given my partner a basket of toys to put on his desk at work, along with flyers and a couple of catalogues. His work colleagues seem to enjoy it, especially the roll tongue animals!”

Kate in Northumberland says “Team up with agents from different companies! I just started out with catalogues just before Christmas and didn’t want to do parties without stock so I teamed up with a friend doing a Phoenix Cards party. Got to hand out a lot of catalogues, got word out, a great response and good amount of orders. So a great starting point!”

Donna (above) in Essex adds “A tip I saw recently in a community hall used by a camera club – instead of a poster on the notice board – use a sheet of labels with each one printed on with your TTT details etc and potential customers can peel one off for a permanent record. This is ideal where leaflets & business cards can’t be left.”

Yvonne in Arbroath says “My tip would be to research your parties, find out who will be there: how old their kids are? Do they all know each other? Would they enjoy games? Birthdays coming up? That way the host feels you care about their party, and you know what toys to focus on/bring, what games to play or if games would just fall flat, and who to target for next parties or party bag toys!”

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