Market your home decor business by using your creativity to develop your own style and area of expertise. Teach your customers how to arrange and group products to enhance a room. Or instead of selling baskets and storage containers, teach people how to get and stay organized. Show potential customers how the product work for them or enhance their lives.

Put yourself in the shoes of the customer. As a business owner we sometimes forget that we are also a consumer. We look at selling our products from the standpoint of the company and their marketing materials. Consider what you would look for in a product? What questions would you ask before purchasing your products from someone else? Use this information to direct what you say during your parties or as website content to gain the trust of your audience. Trust translates into sales when done well.

Turn your own home into a showplace that advertises the beauty and necessity of your products. If customers see that they can have a living room or kitchen like yours by purchasing your products, they are more likely to buy. It is one thing to see a group of products in a catalog and another thing to be able to see how they actually will look. Use before and after pictures of your home on your website to further showcase products.

Holiday decorating provides another opportunity to show customers how to transform their home. Be sure to have holiday tips and catalogs available in plenty of time to get products delivered for your customer’s decorating schedule.

When you are having success with a particular strategy or sales method, develop training tools for your team so they can begin to use the same or similar techniques. And be sure to market your training series is an added benefit when recruiting team members.

Strong leadership, great incentive trips, and the company’s commitment to helping women are a few the reasons Julie Mansfield joined Private Quarters, the only linen direct sales company in the United States. Here is what she told me about the company and her party plan business, and how she can help you start yours.

Briefly describe the company and opportunity.
Private Quarters is a new, six-year old direct selling company focused on high quality linens and comfortwear for the bed and bath. It is the only direct selling linen company in the United States. There is huge opportunity across the country to get in on the ground floor. This is a party plan company, offering personal shopping experiences for hosts and guests and it offers incentives to host parties that are out of this world. It only costs $199 to become a comfort consultant, and each new consultant has a coach to help them be successful. There are no territories, so you can sell anywhere in the United States!

How long have you been with the company? How long have you been in direct sales?
I have been with Private Quarters since June of 2010. I left an executive level career of 25 years in corporate America so that I could have a life and be in control of my own destiny. I have never been in direct sales before, but anyone with a desire to have their own business can do this regardless of a lack of sales experience. The products are so beautiful, they practically sell themselves.

What is your title or rank with the company and how long did it take you to achieve that rank?
I am a Group Leader with Private Quarters and attained that level in five short, fun months. Group Leaders have three people on their teams and help coach them to be successful. I have seven people on my team. Some are full time Comfort Consultants, others are Interior Designers, while others are stay-at-home moms and grandmothers. Each person brings something unique to the business. Group Leaders are the first level of leadership, and there are seven levels of leadership.

Besides commissions and cash bonuses, what’s your favorite benefit or perk?
I have always loved to travel, and if you meet the objectives of the incentive trips, you will go to beautiful places and can take your spouse or a guest. We had a trip to La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs in January, and I qualified for it. It was an all expense paid trip, and it was wonderful. The next one is in June, and it is to Kauai, Hawaii. Talk about fabulous travel!! I can’t wait to take my husband and have him enjoy the fruits of my business while playing golf in Poipu.

What’s your best selling or favorite product?
We have two best selling products which are also my favorites as they are life changing: the deluxe mattress pad combined with the deluxe featherbed. If you have ever been to a five-star resort and wondered why the bed is so divine, wonder no more. Private Quarters can turn your bed into the lap of luxury which will help provide the much needed sleep so many people are deprived of.

What support and/or training do you provide to lead your team members to success?
Comfort Consultants are offered a weekly coaching call, one-on-one coaching, and are given assistance and training with their launch party with their Sponsor. Private Quarters as a company provides you with your own personal web site and marketing newsletters, along with a first-in-class training manual called “The PQ Way”. Tons and tons of online training is available as well as and conference calls with the stars and trainers. This is the best training I have ever seen in my career.

Which one or two sales methods do you primarily use and teach?
We primarily teach home parties which we call “personal shopping experiences” as they involve the bedrooms and bathrooms of your homes. I also sell quite a bit to individuals I meet one-on-one. Each Comfort Consultant is provided with a starter kit which contains samples that people can touch and feel.

What would you say is the key to success with this company?
The key to success with this company lies in its management. Private Quarters offers incentives to Consultants, Hosts and Guests that make it easy to be successful. This company shares the wealth with its sales force. The leaders are genuine, kind and caring.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Private Quarters believes in helping women. They support the domestic violence awareness project, and each year they give a half a million dollars worth of bed and bath linens to battered and homeless women’s shelters across the nation. They have a campaign each April called “Share the Comfort”, and through this campaign and the efforts of Comfort Consultants, PQ is able to donate product while making communities more aware of domestic violence.

Contact Julie to start your own home business selling linens by visiting her Private Quarters information page in the InternetBasedMoms.com direct sales directory.

Yesterday marked the official launch of Willow House a home decor party plan company that resulted from combining Southern Living at Home (SLAH) and Entertaining at Home. The making of the company started back in 2009 when Entertaining at Home purchased SLAH from Time Inc.

Consultants seem to be very enthusiastic about the new company which offers decorating, entertaining, and organizing products.

Learn more about the company and contact an independent representative by visiting the Willow House company page in the Internet Based Moms Direct Sales Directory.

Entertaining at Home Inc. recently announced their acquisition of Southern Living at Home from Time Inc.

Entertaining at Home is itself a new company that got its start last year when founders Bill and Robin Shaw and a group of investors purchased the company from the Reader’s Digest Association. The Shaws are highly respected in the industry and bring years of experience to their company roles.

Edited 8/18/09 to add: While not from an official source, I found information suggesting that the companies won’t be combined into one, but will continue to operate as separate entities.

Find more information about both companies in our home decor company directory.

Many people think that if a company files bankruptcy it means they are going out of business. Often that is not the case. If fact, certain types of bankruptcy filings serve the opposite purpose – to keep a company in business.

On April 29, 2008, Home Interiors voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States bankruptcy code. The Texas based direct sales party plan company has been selling home decor products for more than 50 years. They currently operate in the United States, Canada, and Mexico and the bankruptcy filing involves only their US operations.

This type of filing allows the company to continue to operate the business in much the same way as they did before the filing. In public information on their website, Home Interiors states that their intention is to “use the protections afforded by Chapter 11 to restructure our debt and restore our financial health and profitability.” In their FAQ for consultants they ask their representatives to continue to sell product and recruit new consultants.

The company clearly has a plan to come out financially secure and with a successful future. In my opinion, their willingness to publicly address some of the many questions consultants have is an indication of their confidence in the restructuring plan. And most important for consultants who may be making decisions about their future with the company, it provides accurate information on which to base decisions rather than forcing them to try and determine whether outside sources have all the facts.

Update: In 2009 Home Interiors and Home & Garden Party merged to become Celebrating Home.

For more information about the Home Interiors consultant opportunity, visit HomeDecorBusiness.com’s Home Interiors information page.