Never Miss an Opportunity

My daughter is having her 5th birthday this weekend.  After much back and forth, she decided to have a Halloween party.  You may be asking yourself, 'what does this have to do with Avon?'  When she picked Halloween, I went through my inventory and found some of the Halloween chap-sticks from last year.  I will be putting these in the gift bags.  My point is, that while it is only a minor thing, by giving these out as prizes, I am reminding everyone that I sell Avon and we have holiday items. 

The next time you have people over, find a way to remind them you sell Avon. Never miss an opportunity to increase your sales.

Once is Not Enough

Here is a great hint on how to increase your customer base which in turn will increase your earnings. Recanvess areas on a regular basis, at least a few times a year is a good idea.

In this economy, you will see people move houses on a regular basis.  While the first time you left a book at a house you received no interest, those new people who have just moved may love Avon be in need of a new Avon Lady.

Another reason to recanvess is that people change their minds. At the time you left a book and they said no, but things have moved on in their lives and now they may need Avon.  Also people are busy, so they may feel that they missed the opportunity to order from you the first time.  If they see that you will continue to get them the chance, they order from you.  There are loads of other reasons why people change their minds.

To give you an example I have just started to recanvess an area and I received a call the next day from a lady who said she had received my book the first time, but misplaced it before she could place an order. She was so excited to receive the second book, that she wanted to call me right away to place her order.  Over a year this will add to my income.

So if you have never done a recanvess of your area, spend time and do it, it is very worth the time and the effort.

Create Your Own Bundles

Ofter times Avon will create opportunities for your customer to order multiple items at the same time, but why wait for these sales.  You could offer your special discounts to anyone who orders multiples of certain items such as lotions, shower gels, or bubble bath.  You can accomplish this by either just taking the hit in order to increase your sales, or you could stock up on the products when they are on sale and offering your customers a special price when they are not on sale.


You can also create your own gift sets, which is great especially for holidays and birthdays. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Place one each of a chosen scent of the Naturals lotion, shower gel, and body spray in a Drawstring Beauty Bundle Bag (289294) with some tissue paper.
• Create a look and sell it as a bundle.  Pair an eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, blush, and lipstick.  I would suggest modeling the look yourself, taking a picture, and then creating a flyer. 
• Around the holidays we often get lotions, chap-sticks and shower gels wrapped with the holiday theme, why not up these together.

Have any other suggestions of bundles you create?  Why not share them in the comments section.

Do You Self-Promote?

Don’t forget that you should be talking about your business all the time, everywhere, everyday!


Many Leaders say that often times someone in their downline will call and say, "I have no sales!"  When you ask them what have you been doing to promote your business, 9 times out of 10 your conversation will sound very similar to this:

“Well, I talked to my mom and her friends and I have gotten nothing.”
“What else have you done to promote yourself?”
“Well, I pass out books but nothing happens!”

And there in lies the problem… I pass out books and nothing happens.

Ok, do you get the person's phone number and call them and ASK them for an order? Do you call them and just leave a reminder, “Hey my order is going in this weekend in case you need something!” Do you order extra books and pass them out like water? Do you make flyers and mail them out to everyone you know? Do you TREAT your business like a business?

Honestly, most of the time the answer is no. The most self defeating thing in our business is our self!!

I will say it again.

The most self defeating thing in our business is our self!

Why? Because we are afraid to promote OURSELVES!

I have seen Avon Reps cringe at the thought of talking to a stranger.  I have seen ladies hang their head and mumble while trying to push a book into someone’s hands. Would I order from someone like that?

Probably NOT!


Be proud of your business! If you truly love your business, why are you ashamed to talk about it and shout it to anyone who will listen???

Stand up and say “I sell AVON and I LOVE my job!” Wear pins, carry books and business cards with you everywhere! Put stickers on your car, signs on your lawn, notices or biz cards in your mail, talk to the other moms you know, network locally, and tell the world! You don’t have to be pushy or tacky about it, but you also don't have a neon sign above your head that says you sell AVON.  So if you don’t promote it, who will?

Take a hard look at your business and how you act with it and see what you can do to improve yourself and your attitude about it. Everyday, work on improving your business visibility in your community and with other people, your potential customers. And remember, customer service and consistency is key! Then, watch your sales rise!

Make a Plan

Having a planner, (daily, weekly or monthly) will be a big asset to your business.  By writing down your appointments in one central location, you can prevent overbooking yourself.  You will also be able to see what you need to accomplish that day which will keep you on track.

When filling out your planner, it is important to include both your personal and professional appointment in the same planner. If you don't, you my not schedule any time for yourself and you will get burned out really quickly.  Some of the things you may forget to include when you first start using your planner is drive time, both to and from your appointment, and things that don't have a set time, but are still a priority, such as tossing and prospecting.  You will find that the more you put in your planner, the more organized you will become and the more you will be able to get accomplished in a day.

Setting your Goals

Goal setting is a powerful way to motivate yourself to achieve your dreams and increase your sales. It is just as important to set personal goals, as professional goals.  The process of setting goals helps you choose where you want your business to go. By knowing precisely what you want to achieve, you know where you have to concentrate your efforts. You'll also quickly spot the distractions that would otherwise lure you from your course. More than this, properly-set goals can be incredibly motivating, and as you get into the habit of setting and achieving goals, you'll find that your self-confidence builds fast.

The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective goals:

• State each goal as a positive statement: Express your goals positively – 'Execute this technique well' is a much better goal than 'Don't make this stupid mistake.'
• Be precise: Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
• Set priorities: When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by having too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
• Write goals down and post them where you will see them: This crystallizes them and gives them more force. By seeing them everyday, they will stay fresh in your mind and you will stay focused.
• Keep short-term goals small: Keep the low-level goals you are working towards small and achievable. If a goal is too large, then it can seem that you are not making progress towards it. Keeping goals small and incremental gives more opportunities for reward.
• Set goals on your personal performance, not others actions: You should take care to set goals over which you have as much control as possible. It can be quite dispiriting to fail to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond your control! In business, these could be bad business environments or unexpected effects of government policy.  If you base your goals on personal performance, then you can keep control over the achievement of your goals and draw satisfaction from them.
• Set realistic goals: It is important to set goals that you can achieve. All sorts of people (employers, parents, media, society) can set unrealistic goals for you. They will often do this in ignorance of your own desires and ambitions. Alternatively you may set goals that are too high, because you may not appreciate either the obstacles in the way or understand quite how much skill you need to develop to achieve a particular level of performance. 

When you have achieved a goal, take the time to enjoy the satisfaction of having done so. Think about the results of achieving this goal and how this goal affects your other goals.  If the goal was a significant one, reward yourself appropriately.  Set a new goal that builds off of the one you have just achieved.  Remember too that your goals will change as time goes on. Adjust them regularly to reflect growth in your knowledge and experience, and, if goals do not hold any attraction any longer, then consider letting them go.

Avon Meetings and You

Do you attend any Avon meetings?  Depending on where you are at in the country and with Avon, you could be attending Unit Meetings, District Meetings, or Leadership Meetings.  Whether you attend a meeting once in a while or all the time, it is important to your business to that you attend some type of meeting.  

Now I know that some of you are thinking, "I don't make any money attending meetings.  Why should I waste my time?"  While it is true that in most cases you will not make any money directly from attending a meeting, there are many ways that meetings will help increase your sales.

1. By attending District Meetings, you will be able to receive information and test out products, often times before they are available from the What's New brochure.
2. Your District Sales Manager can be a wealth of knowledge and help.  The manager of our District always has lots of great handouts. 
3. By attending your Unit Meeting, you can meet with other ladies in a smaller setting, so you can make a better connection.
4. In your unit meetings, your unit leader will help you to define your goals and how to reach them.  She may also lead the group in roll-playing.
5. By holding your own Unit Meeting you can check in with your downline and see how they are doing and where they feel they need to improve.  This knowledge is invaluable in helping to increase their sales and your earnings.

Contact your District Manager or your Upline to find out when the next meeting is.  If you need help holding your own meetings, I highly recommend checking out all of the training course under the Leadership tab in the Beauty of Knowledge.

Don't Reinvent the Wheel

I have never believed in reinventing the wheel, so I love to see how others are promoting their business and find out how I can use their ideas to suit my needs.  Often times I will do a Google search for AVON FLYERS to see what is already available.  In my search, I found a great website for downloading and sharing all different kinds of promotional material.  The site is scribd.com. You can search all of the documents that have already been posted or you can add your own. 

One of my favorite items I have found so far is the Avon Product Flyer ebook! 87 unique flyers for your business.  This eBook includes flyers for both finding new customers and new recruits.  You can customize the flyers with your information and then hang them at places like the library or the laundromat.  Flyers can be a great way to find new representative when placed on job boards in your neighborhood.  There are full-sheet, half-sheet, and tear-off flyers, so you can find one that is perfect for your needs.

Find an Avon Buddy

Do you know any other Avon Reps? If so, it can be a great idea to buddy up and try and think of selling strategies together.

Having a friend to bounce ideas off is a great way to stay motivated.  It's also more fun if you decide to hand out brochures to people if you have someone else there for moral support.  I it just like when you start a workout routine.  If you have plans with someone else who is counting on you, you are more likely to follow through.

Choose a great location and both go and hand out brochures and business cards. You can even hand out samples if you like - but try not to spend too much money. Any new customers or leads that you get, split them 50/50 with your Avon buddy so it's fair.

Tossing vs Hanging

When I first started with Avon, I would use the What's New plastic bags (535077) to hang books on doors.  Another Avon rep showed me to use the same bag for tossing.  You just put the bag in sideways and push the extra part of the bag into the middle of the book.

I have been comparing my results and decided that I have better response from tossing.  

• I get between 1 - 3 customers for every 200 books from either tossing or hanging.
• When I hang, it takes about 2-3 hours to distribute 200 books and that's with my husband's help.  Now that I toss, it takes about 30 minutes to distribute 200 books. (I drive and he tosses)
• When I would hang, I had to find a babysitter, so I couldn't do it every week.  Now that I toss, I can load the kids in the car with me and they don't mind. 

I can see the advantage of hanging, because you can try knocking on the door and increase your chance of response, but when it's still 111 at 6:00pm who really wants to go outside.

What's In Your Basket?

Do you carry a demo basket? If you don't, it would be a good idea to start. For those of you who don't know how to create a demo basket, the general idea it to carry a basket with the featured or upcoming products in order to allow your customers to try them before they buy. This is also a great way to increase your sales by introducing your customers to products they might not have considered in the first place.

Another option is to use an organizer instead of a basket.  One of the ladies in my district introduced us to Switch It by Nan.  They are clear organizer purses that have lots of pockets to display your demos and samples.

A demo basket is also a great way to find new customers. I like to take my basket and set in on the table when I go out to eat (restaurant or fast food). People walk by and ask about my basket. I then let them try the products, give them a book, and get their information. Just carrying the basket around catches people's eye and starts the conversation about Avon.

New to Avon

Whether you just started selling yesterday or have been selling for years, here are some good tips to keep in mind.

• Make goals and keep them where you can always see them. If you have something to work towards you'll have a better chance of getting there.
• Reinvest back into the business - samples, brochures, and sales aids are your friend.
• Tell everyone you know and everyone you meet that you sell Avon.
• Smile, people do business with happy people.
• Be reliable. If you say you'll call - then call.
• It takes time to build up a good customer base, and it takes good customer service to keep it.
  
• Think positive - everyone has bad days but try and find something positive out of the experience even if it is a learning experience.
• Remember, Success attracts Success, so don't give up. If you want it to work, it will.
  

It's Hot Out There

Here in Las Vegas we have been in the triple digits for a few weeks now, so I though I would talk about how to minimize it's effect on your business. No matter how good the air conditioning is in your car, the constant in and out while making your deliveries in hundred plus temperatures can melt your products.

One good way to keep this from happening is to keep a cooler in your car. Depending on the size of your vehicle, you can get a large cooler to keep all your deliveries in or a small one to only keep the meltables in. Some of the ladies in my District use the Insulated Folding Picnic Basket (073570) as it is so compact and easy to store. The most important thing to remember is that ice melts. It is best to either use dry ice or ice packs so that your products are not ruined by water damage.

As an added benefit, by caring your skincare products in the cooler, you can show your clients just how nice it feels to use chilled moisturizer on a hot day.

Finding New Customers vs. Keeping Current Customers

Often times when we are trying to increase our sales, we concentrate on finding new customers. While it is important to find new customers each campaign; by focusing on customer service and giving little bonuses to your customers you can turn one time orders into repeat business. It is actually takes less energy to build your business by keeping your current customers happy, than by finding a new customer base every two weeks.


If you just spend a little time with your customers when taking and delivering their order, you can get to know them and make better suggestions for them. You know how much time it takes to get new customers, so if you already have a customer base make sure you don't ever lose them by providing them with the best service you can. In addition, if you provide exceptional customer service, your customers will not only buy from you again and again, but they will even recommend you to their friends and family or even 'help' you by getting orders for you.


Remember, one customer for life is much better for your business than ten new customers who only order once.

Word of Mouth Marketing is a Great Way to Make Your Business Take Off!

Let's get people talking about your business. Testimonials are a great way to increase your sales on new items. A great review can go a long way in assuring potential customers that the product is as good as the brochure says it is. So get started!

Don't be afraid to ask! Start with your regulars – make sure they have samples and demos to try out long before the items are in the brochure. Follow-up and ask them what they thought about the product and any tips they might have for some one else using the product. You might even give them an incentive if they are willing to write a short review about the products or services. Happy customers love to share positive experiences... so don't be shy!

Got a negative review? No problem! We can learn just as much from a negative review as a positive one. Find out what the customer didn’t like about the product and see if it may just be user error. I their concern is a valid one, be prepared to share this with other customers who are interested in this product.

The Golden Rule Stands! Remember, in the long run, increased sales do not come from pushing the newest products, but from good customer service. By asking for and sharing customers comments and concerns you are showing that you care about your customers and they will be more likely to help you increase your customer base by sharing with their friends what a great Avon Lady you are.