charge a fee to host parties worse they pay their celebrity invitees to attend i know of a woman who sends her cv to top international brands to establish her credentials and follows it up with several phone calls to plead for invitations thats the level of desperation and with that d lays down the last and perhaps most important rule anyone who uses a social occasion to shamelessly network or hard sell a product or service is asking to be snubbed and ostracised thats plain bad manners the secret societys cardinal rules rule no 1 the more familiar the face the more plebeian the status i rule no 2 its not just about being welldressed you have to have made a contribution i rule no 3 you are who you know i rule no 4 dont use a social occasion to shamelessly sell a product or service