~Avon Hints & Tips (Part 7) ~

MarsdenCuckoo

sylvergrunge wrote: »

Hey nixinixi, my SL showed me a way of recruiting online if you have to get a rep on quickly as in your case. On your account, go to "My Team Office" and then "Online appointments". You will need to have all the information from the contract to fill it in and in addition you will need to find out the maiden name of the reps mum for verification when they input their order. If you dont have a copy of the form, just ask your rep for the details again, just telling her you want to be sure she is on the system and not relying on Avon inputting her in time I am sure she would be happy to give you all the required info again as she sounds very keen :T Hope this works for you.

All SL's can now do online appointments but as Lozza says it might complicate matters by not having the a/c no. on the paper form.

I queried with SL Helpline recently whether the online appointments actually meant reps would be loaded onto the system more quickly and they said No; they still, apparently, wait for the paper form to arrive so can't really see the point of us being able to do OA's. You have to have the signed form in your hand before you can do it anyway....

I,_Geek

A few posts and threads on Connects have left me pretty shocked at the quality of training and recruiting. I'm talking about SLs, not reps - there's always been posts where it's clear a rep has been left high and dry. However, over the last couple of weeks it seems like I keep reading "just finished my first campaign and signed up as a TSL", "became a rep in November and a TSL in December" and so on. I don't know whether to post this on Connects or not, just because with the wrong wording it could look like I'm singling out certain people when it's not really them I have the problem with. Sometimes I think they've been naive, but I think the responsibility lies with the upliner who convinced them to do it.

For example a rep came along asking questions about repping (basic ones that should have been covered by upliner), then asked about SL-ship (a couple of us advised to wait a while before doing that), their next thread only a day later was saying they'd decided to become a TSL, since then they've asked more about the basics of Avoning, their personal sales aren't high enough, they don't have the confidence to do a round (that would make some methods of recruiting very difficult). Basically every post makes it clear they're not fully prepared to be a rep, let alone able to train others. This isn't the fault of the individual - we're all ignorant about Avon when we start and it's a learning curve. I just worry about how this attitude to recruiting effects Avon's image (and subsequently our sales). I think it's really unprofessional to have "the blind leading the blind" (for want of a better phrase - I don't mean to offend anyone with sight problems). I don't want Avon to be a company that has a reputation for poor training and "managers" (in this case SLs) who don't know what they're doing.

I just had to get that off my chest

Aesop

The problem with Avon, is that your training is only as good as whoever recruits you. If you are recruited by someone who has not been an SL for long themselves, and they quote you things they have not personally done, so have no experience of, but are quoting verbatim from another site.... You, yourself are new to Avon, haven't a clue and believe them....

Especially when you are only receiving half the story.

If you have a decent ASM or SL, who really knows their stuff and trains you properly, it makes the world of difference to you having a successful business. Sadly we don't all get decent ASMs and/or SLs.

I,_Geek

Exactly Aesop - it's a circle and if you have good training you'll see the value in it and want to make sure you're ready before training others.

Another person on Connects said they became a TSL, then got no help from their upliner because the upliner also didn't know what they were doing. Fortunately they broke the cycle by going to the ASM, who helped them both.

johanne

i personally think you should have to be a rep for at least 6 months before even being allowed to become a SL... but thats just my personal opinion!

training across the company is poor as its passed from recruit to recruit and not done by AVON themselves... its like a giant game of chinese whispers!

I often wonder about becoming a SL myself but i dont think id have the patience but i have seen so many new reps (including 2 i personally know) be left high and dry by an ASM regarding training nevermind by a SL! There are some amazing SLs out there... (many on this thread from what i read)... but i know ASMs (wont mention specifics here ) who are getting BRAND NEW reps to consider SLing whilst signing them up as a rep... even though they dont know what they're doing as a rep (and they dont get trained to be a rep either...) .... i really think training is something the company needs to look at!

[/ends soapbox rant]

I,_Geek

Don't worry Johanne - I was on the soapbox earlier!

6 months is a good length of time I agree. Some will be ready sooner, but I think it would be best for everyone if Avon brought in a min LOA before letting people become SLs. Those who would have been fine starting at 3 months would also be the sort of people who could accept that a limit's there for a reason and be happy to wait.

I just remembered something else the TSL-after-1-campaign rep said on Connects: they were fed up already because they weren't earning enough money. :eek: Oh dear...

Aesop

I,_Geek wrote: »

I just remembered something else the TSL-after-1-campaign rep said on Connects: they were fed up already because they weren't earning enough money. :eek: Oh dear...

that is exactly why they become SLs... someone tells them they can make loads money...:mad:

yes they can, but they have to build a team first! and the team has to be making them money and they have to to do their own business too.

grrrrr

MrsGSR

I agree with all those last few posts. I was asked about SLship by my SL and said I may be interested but in all honesty I am not ready for it and another thing I don't want to feel pushed into it. My SL is a lovely person but I don't feel I have had anough support from her really (but then I don't know the level of support I should be getting) I have pretty much just got on with it!

I think you should have been a rep for at least 6 months before being eligiable to do it. As for the bit for not making any money on your first camp well isn't that the norm?

Aesop

yep! if you don't have a team of at least 5 people and they submit an order between them of x amount and you submit an order of x amount, you won't make anything.

MarsdenCuckoo

Need to get out and do my deliveries but (to avoid it for a bit longer) thought I'd pop on here....

Yes, totally agree with what's already been said. Whenever I sign a new rep up I mention in passing about SLship and building your own team but usually comment something to the effect of 'but until you've been a rep yourself for a certain amount of time it's not worth considering because you won't be able to guide others through all the problems/queries until you've experienced them yourself and/or at least become familiar with what being an Avon rep entails.'

Having said that I did meet one new rep last year, who signed up more or less immediately as a TSL. When I made my usual comment to her she told me she'd worked in Sales for umpteen years and the skills you use are totally transportable. Haven't seen her since but makes me wonder how she's getting on.

I tend to work in a cycle: recruit, train and then build my customer base back up. Not sure I could cope with doing all three at the same time! :rotfl:

PS: Just recruited my first TSL (she's done 11 camps and is a switched on cookie - can see her soaring past me up the ranks.:T )