Helping my Reps to Pay for their Order

Just a 2 minute email to one of my New Reps today on "How to Pay AVON".

Normally I pay the cash into my bank and then pay online with my debit card (they will give you a payment reference number which you should keep a record of, just in case of any problems),
OR
you can take the GIRO slip at the bottom of the AVON invoice and pay the cash directly into the Post Office or any branch of HSBC and that works just the same - keep your receipt, just in case of any problems.

Added Beauty Tip Videos to my website...

YES..

I have added Beauty Tip Videos to the www.essex-reps.com website

AVON Makeup Lessons
AVON Skin Care Videos
AVON Nail Idea Videos
AVON Hair Colour Videos

I'm hoping that this is helpful for my team to look great every day, and to help them love AVON, and also good for customers, (who may be potential representatives at heart!) and generally great for anyone who wants to know how to make the most of their AVON products.

I have learned a few tips and got a few new ideas of things to try out myself.

Training for me and my SLs planned

My Area Manager has prompted a training session for me as a Sales Leader. I have invited my two Sales Leaders (well Reps that want to be SLs) and another two Reps that may or may not be interested. I am looking forward to it.

I'm doing fab as a Rep myself, am motivated and enthusiastic and producting great sales, but I'm not so great at getting leads and appointing Reps, so hopefully this training is going to give me the ummmph and motivation I need for that part of things.

Expanding the Website: Beauty Tip Videos

I wanted to get a few beauty tips myself and found that AVON have some fantastic videos of how to do great makeup, nails etc, they explain their skincare range and in what order to use the AVON products.

Whether a Rep or a Sales Leader, surely it has to be important to know the product and use them well - so I cleansed my face and applied one of the ANEW products before starting a few pages on my Essex-Reps website for "beauty tip videos" - all will be uploaded later in the week - in the mean time I am having "fabulous lips" and great "skin-care" advice all to myself (and the thousands of other YouTube viewers! LOL

Love the AVON Nail Decoration Tool

OK - this is my Sales Leader blog and I should be filling in how I have got some great orders for the streets I have been "warming up" and have spoken to the ladies that ordered, in hope that one of them might jump at the chance of being a rep for their street and me giving them the orders for their first earnings (without actually having to work for them...) - so far no takers, though I am not one to give up easily and will keep on trying.

In the meantime, my order came today and I also had one of my team's orders delivered to me as she would be working. She came to collect it this afternoon and we had a lovely catch up, partly about AVON and plenty about life, she is already becoming a good friend - AVON has opened doors in so many different areas of my life - I really enjoy it!

And this evening I had a chance to diddle with the products I had bought for myself, one of which was the amazing Nail Decoration Tool.... Here is how I got on!!

Lead from Gumtree

YIPEE - Another lead from Gumtree, must NOT let this Lead go cold (leave her too long without contacting her)... After a quick phone chat, I am now waiting for her to sign up online for me, waiting for my Area Manager to give ma starter pack and then I will get her on board asap...

484 Team Orders in...

All good, my three newbie Reps from 484 for this Campaign have successfully submitted their orders and I will await my other Rep from out of the area to do hers later this week. Two of my Reps don't seem to have an order, so really must get out recruiting as I won't make SL status without 5 active ORDERS! It's all ok though - for my first few weeks in AVON as a Trainee Sales Leader - I have trained and I have led, and I have been trained a bit too - going ok!

Checking on my new Reps/TSLs

So, Sunday before order day.... a quick check (text and phone call) to my newbies, to make sure that they are all set to put in their first ever orders tomorrow - dropped off the Campaign 7 books to one of them to give some time for preparation also. One has definitely reached her MOV, the other has yet to add up her orders and may have reached it. All Good!

Variety is the spice of life!!!

So today was a real mixture of jobs that I fitted in around my life (as you can when you work for yourself!).

The day started with a school drop off, then a bit of prospecting, got a number for a potential rep to see next week and gave out a few cards to some people who werent really convinced enough to give me their number yet.

Then back to school to enjoy a lovely Mother's Day Assembly. Into town after for a bit of a mooch, it was raining and I was quite prepared to do a bit of prospecting, but to be honest most people were rushing to where they were going as the weather was so awful, so I just bought a few bits and headed off to my sign up.

Drove a little distance, as I am trying to get some reps who might be sales leaders a little further afield, then I will be able to give them leads that come in from that area - signed on a lovely young lady who was very enthusiastic and I think she will do well. She is from a different AREA code to mine, so the area manager said she could drop round some books for her (which is great), her order isnt due in until Thursday and she already has some interested parties (which is also great!).

I hope to get back and see her at the end of next week to see how she is getting on!

Then I did a bit of food shoppibg, picked my daughter up from school and had a cuppa - then I spent half an hour with one of my new rep/sales leaders, walking around and picking up soggy brochures with her!

She seems quite happy that she will at least hit her HOV on this campaign as has quite a few friends and family making orders in addition to the few streets she has managed to canvas.

So, I have more than my 5 reps, if they all make orders this campaign and we manage to net the £900, I will go up a level... I am uncertain that we will manage to make it, but positive that I am putting in my best to try and get there!

I have lots of brochures (also probably soggy!) to collect tomorrow from my area and a new area that I have been "warming up".

Sounds like I did a lot today, but in total it was just under two hours work on AVON.

1 + 1 Sign up

I had a sign up today, and I have another booked for tomorrow. I am finding the 'getting leads' part of it a little tricky... though I strongly believe that's because I've not really been in sales before, I'm not used to it and I have to learn the tip and tricks to get really good at anything. So basically - I won't give up!!!

Even though it's a little slow going, I have set myself three times tomorrow (each one hour), when I intend to get out there and find some wannabe representatives - if it's dry, they may be in the park, if it's raining I might have to hang out in Costa!

Now off to have a bath a read the one minute sales manager!

Pulling out all the stops....

I really would like to make it to Sales Leader on Campaign Six, I have five Reps but they're not all active yet, so I really need to recruit another couple and get them to put some orders in for this week! I know I'm pushing it !!

Pulling out all the stops - I put up 5 more adverts online, have been out and about approaching likely prospects, have an appointment pending and a few friends to ask...
Watch this space!

Out Prospecting

Prospecting: Looking for potential new Representatives, having a chat with them and giving them some information to get back in touch and hopefully taking a phone number so you can talk to them and sign them on as a Representative in your team.

So, today, I went out with my area manager, armed with some prospecting cards (AVON cards filled out with my contact details).

I was out and about with my Area Manager - and we had a bit of a chat and a bit of a giggle while we were out - it is always a motivating experience and I always learn a lot, even if we don't always do what we set out to do, I always gain some extra knowledge about being a better Sales Leader - so it is always good to be with your Area Manager, out prospecting for the day.

We didn't have a great deal of luck today, though one lady, who we found in the local swing park chatting with a couple of other Mums, when approached, she was quite interested to "earn a bit of extra money" and I got her number to give her a call.



The art of prospecting is driven by 'open-ended' questions. Do you live round here? Do you get AVON at the moment? Would you consider being a Rep?

If the prospect responds with any of the common questions/answers the way forward would be...

-"I don't have much time" - answer with "How long to do you think AVON takes?"
-"I've got kids, so I don't know if I could manage it" - answer with "Thats great, do they go to activities? Do you wait around with other Mums? Do you meet up with other Mums? Do you walk to school/nursery?" etc
-"I've tried AVON before" - answer with "oh, who was your sales leader?", "did you sell to friends and family or did you have territory?", "How many brochures did you put round?"

Listen to the prospect and their lifestyle, try not to tell them all the details there and then at the initial discussion, try to get their confidence enough to phone them later and make an initial appointment to meet. Too much information in one go and it's likely to be met with a bit of a negative, with too many things to think about and take on in one swoop - tried and tested is leaving them curious enough to want more...!

Day Off - Birthday Pamper Time

Yep - working with AVON means I can choose my time off - and, as it's my birthday (21 again obviously) - I am having a well deserved chill out day - involving quite a lot of cake and a few other relaxing things too...

Training for my TSL / Reps

So, on Saturday I had a busy day, taking my new TSL's out, individually to show them the ropes, inspire them and get enthusiastic about AVON.

No big deal, but just getting the brochures prepared and posting out, walking round their route for the first time, talking about the opportunities ahead and what they want out of it.

It gives me a chance to get to know my own team members better, for them to know me, for me to see what they are like and get an idea of how they like to work and what kind of things will work best between us etc etc.

This weekend was the first time I've done this, and they are both lovely, one is running along with AVON already and I can see she has already grasped it all really easily, the other is going to need a little bit more encouragement to get her started, but an intelligent young lady and I am sure soon enough, after a little confidence boost, she will be flying along too.

I allocated their territory, as I say, I walked the beat with them (so to speak) - to make sure that they knew where it all is, and we talked a little about prospecting, so hopefully I can meet them both during the next week or so, to actually DO a bit of prospecting.

Really hoping that they both hit their MOV or HOV this Campaign as it is a great motivator.

Target One - Sales Leader - Nearly There

Well, I am nearly there to be a Sales Leader - just need to motivate my team to hit their sales and get a great group total.

Have really got excited after last night's meeting and put a lot of effort into planning how I can work with my own Sales Leaders, helping them on their AVON journey.

Further training with my own Area Manager next week will be great for me to learn a bit of proper sales techniques (like listening skills!) and asking open ended questions to my potential and existing REPS & Sales Leaders to find out more about them, who they know and how they will be motivated to reach their own targets and help them achieve their own dreams.

I am happy that this is a WIN-WIN business, with customers loving their products, reps enjoying getting out to meet people, Sales Leaders etc also very passionate about what they do. It really feels like a fellowship - an AVON family.

My latest sign on, was a Rep on Wednesday but after our meeting last night is now a Sales Leader, cooked a really fantastic lunch today - Rice 'n' peas and Jerk Chicken - heavenly. She is already my favourite!

Tonight I am happy for my team, looking to expand it as quickly and professionally as possible - keeping with the friendly start that I've pounced off with already though.

Loving Working for AVON so far... and that's not even counting the pennies, just the structure, the set up, the support, the help given, the way it really does change people's lives.