A friend introduced me to her Avon brochure less than a year ago. I knew very little about Avon, other than the company’s fund raising efforts for breast cancer. I was amazed by the variety of products, and being a frugal gal, decided that, rather than purchase from my friend’s brochure, I would buy from myself at a discount.
Advice was plentiful from other Avon reps and articles published in Avon’s own “Representative Times.” The key seemed to be to buy as many brochures and samples as we could afford. We are urged to purchase demonstration products from “What’s New” to show our customers what will be available in the upcoming months. Avon representatives are known for going door-to-door handing out brochures, or standing in front of public buildings and shopping centers in an attempt to publicize their business. I knew that if this was how Avon was to be sold, it was not something I was capable of doing successfully. My limited budget and time constraints would surely hold me back. There were also my own personal hang-ups about talking to strangers that didn’t seem to mesh with the whole attitude of being an Avon representative. It is, after all, a sales job.
Nevertheless, I decided to give it a shot. I have always felt that knowledge is the key to success, so my first step was to educate myself. I would definitely encourage any new representative to take advantage of the free “Beauty of Knowledge” online courses. Apparently, there used to be a fee to take them, but they are now offered to any representative, both online and on dvd. It is an invaluable resource, teaching everything from how to manage the website, storing customer information, increasing sales, handling returns, to differentiating between different scents in perfume and color families for giving make-up advice to customers. I managed to finish all of the classes within my first few weeks of joining Avon, and I honestly don’t know how I would have managed without them as I began to build my business.
Another great way to gain information is to join the discussion forums. There are forums specifically for new representatives, e-reps, and the seasoned pros. Online involvement is key in this day and age. Knowing how to get your questions answered, send out free e-card offers to customers, and manage your website all with the click of a button can really simplify running your Avon business.
Monthly sales meetings are yet another fabulous resource for information as well as other business building tools. At our meetings, our District Manager holds raffles, giving us the chance to win free products and samples. She is kind enough to give out about 10 prizes at each meeting, so I manage to go home with a raffle prize almost every time. We are also given “Avon Dollars” just for showing up to the meetings. We then spend this money before and after meetings at a little “Avon Boutique” set up in the office. These are the products I have always used as demonstration products. They are not always the latest items featured in “What’s New”, but if your budget is limited, it’s a great way to still be able to let your customers try out the products. Believe me, the best way to a sale is to let people try the products on themselves before they buy them. I also use some of the smaller items as customer appreciation gifts. Along with information and prizes, the monthly sales meetings supply us with a copy of the newest brochure and usually a package of samples relevant to a newly released product. Another little secret I have learned is that there are always extra brochures in the district office that your unit leader or d.m. will gladly give you for the asking. Since customers can place orders from up to 3 brochures at a time, they can often get most, if not all of the products they see in the older brochures. Even if the case of brochures you get is older than the current campaigns, you can use them as samples, with your name, phone number, and website stamped on the back. Consider it free advertising.
The question is now, what to do with these many, many brochures. Since I am more of a shy personality than an outgoing sales person, I have always worked around the door-to-door approach and will simply leave brochures throughout the neighborhood. Great places to target are those where people spend time waiting, such as the laundromat, hair salons, coffee shops, bus stops, tanning salons, and restaurants. Simply saying, “I just stared selling Avon. Would it be alright if I left a brochure with you/ for your customers?” usually does the trick. These are also all places where you can continue to leave brochures week after week, since there is a constant stream of people passing through these establishments.
These are just a few tips to get you started in getting your new Avon business off to a successful start without investing a fortune. If you can take advantage of the resources that Avon makes available to you, resist the urge to spend all of your profit on your business, and budget your time, I believe that you too can enjoy selling Avon and be a success. Good luck and have fun!
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