~Avon Hints & Tips (Part 7) ~

I,_Geek

Ugh... bit of a rant because I found out yesterday I've been delivering a brochure to someone for 6 campaigns and they've had another rep going there for years. This is someone I spoke to at the door when I collected their first brochure, and I asked whether they'd be interested in more books. Then I saw them in person nearly every time and after a few campaigns I double-checked whether they were still interested. I know we can't expect people to know the workings of Avon and automatically know something's up if 2 reps are delivering books, but I can't believe she didn't think it was even the tiniest bit worth mentioning to me that someone else also called. I only found out because she had 2 books in the house and didn't know which was mine.

It also got me thinking about customers' loyalty to their rep. Even though this was an exception and most other people with a rep tell me even when I haven't specifically asked (i.e. they tick no to more brochures then add a note to say they get it from someone else), it proves that customer loyalty isn't always earned. The other rep had been going there for years and yet the homeowner was happy to have someone else call (with a backorder, not current, brochure) and didn't even know her name.

She's never ordered from me so I wouldn't be surprised if she also hadn't ordered from the other rep. I doubt very much she told the other rep about me since I haven't had a call. Next time I do my rounds I'll be explaining to customers that 2 brochures from different people means something's up and I'd appreciate if they told me.

One of my other roads has a different situation where the rep's been ill. They must have been inactive so their roads were freed up - it's been 4 months since they last dropped a book. Some people have placed orders with me, while someone else is holding off for now. I've got their phone number but will have to think of the best way to go about this - I don't know whether they know their road's been de-allocated. It would be different if they were still actively serving customers there - I'd work around them like on other streets - but there are customers who now haven't had a book for a long time.

MarsdenCuckoo

There's a lady near me, who actually has three reps call! She's disabled and explained to me once that she gets fed up of reps starting and then finishing i.e. letting her down, so she 'keeps a rolling stock' of reps (and tries to order a little from each). Makes sense in her case and, I guess, gives the customer the best of both worlds if they can see both the current and back offers.

In such situations it's a good idea to make a point of offering your own special offer too i.e. this campaign I've offered SuperCurlacious mascara's @ £3 (knowing I can buy the loyalty pack of 5 for £10) or free for orders £20+ Not done this one before and am due to pick my books up today so will see how that goes.

As for the rep, who's ill, why not call her and see if you can strike up a relationship? Chances are she's no longer bothered anyway but if she is she may appreciate your help. Earlier this year I helped another rep, not on my team, by servicing her customers for her when she couldn't and we split the commission. Just kept the customers 'live' and she then got them back when she was in a position to look after them again.

Good luck.

I,_Geek

Customers using more than 1 rep - I've got another customer who said when I started that her friend did it but she didn't see her often. She sees every other book from me and orders every time. Her orders aren't over £10 - I don't know if that's because everything else comes from her friend, but I don't mind either way. That's the sort of situation where I understand reps being okay with not being the only rep to serve 1 person. My mum prefers to order from me but we only see each other a few times a year. If she ran out of something essential and a rep called at her house I wouldn't mind if she used them to top-up (although I'd ask her to tell the other rep so they know where they stand).

In the case of the person yesterday I don't think she'd told either of us the other one was there. If I'd known at the beginning I would have chosen not to carry on because we would both have been the "regular" rep - rather than 1 "regular" and 1 "top-up". She had the option to compare current and backorder but never ordered from me which makes me think she's either not a regular customer of the other rep, or she is and chose never to order from me. Over the campaigns I offered cheaper-than-brochure-price deals, a free gift with first orders, and started a loyalty scheme - all of which would have undercut the rep who'd been going there for a long time.

I know we do that as customers of other businesses - split our loyalty to get the best deal, go to another shop and say "I can get it for £x there so can you match that?" :money: It just seems more personal when it's led to us wasting our time and money. I've learned to be much more direct in asking people whether they're getting a book from anyone else. I always do this on streets I know someone else used to cover but I need to start doing it everywhere.

Unrelated tip when canvassing - something else I've decided to do is not ask the "man of the house" whether they'd like more books. The response - if their wife/girlfriend isn't in - is always "no, I don't think so". And I mean the exact same wording at every house. I've decided to get it straight from the horse's mouth in future. My husband and I tell each other everything but even he wouldn't know what make-up and toiletries I like.

joyfull

Unrelated tip when canvassing - something else I've decided to do is not ask the "man of the house" whether they'd like more books. The response - if their wife/girlfriend isn't in - is always "no, I don't think so". And I mean the exact same wording at every house. I've decided to get it straight from the horse's mouth in future. My husband and I tell each other everything but even he wouldn't know what make-up and toiletries I like.

You're so right I Geek. I was put off for 5 years by the husband speaking on behalf of the wife. Eventually the wife requested a book and orders EVERY campaign!

I,_Geek

I spoke to the rep who'd stopped doing her round for health reasons (and it turns out some other ones as well) and she was lovely. It turns out she was assured her round would be given to another rep and she told her customers there would be no change apart from the rep themselves. One customer didn't mention the new rep at all and the other said she came for a few weeks but stopped. I also got a few more customers on those streets who weren't used to dealing with another rep.

So the previous rep's a bit annoyed now that her hard work wasn't continued by the new rep (who's still serving another part of the village). Fortunately the customers didn't seem annoyed by it.

lozza1985

Haha I love it when I'm right - MIL gave up as her orders were getting less & less as she lost customers due to them moving - kept moaning to us about it, and of course our answer was recanvass as she hadn't in over a year. She wouldn't. Even though I offered her books for FREE! She decided to give up, but one of her customers wanted to join so she's taken over her patch. In less than a week she's got more orders from those streets that MIL did, and she hasn't even canvassed half of her territory yet! Feeling smug, as if MIL actually listened and realised why we do so well (cos we put a bit of effort in!) then they could have been her orders. But no the silly mare didn't, so someone else gets to benefit now lol Can you tell I'm not much for the MIL pmsl!

Chazolate

Hi
I finally signed up my first Rep today! My SL has been great and she has suggested I go into town tomorrow with my ASM and other SL to find Reps. Has anyone done this before? Just wondering if anyone has any tips on what to say and what to bring? Thanks!

Mumto2

Any tips for dealing with flats that have communal postboxes?
They are on the outside of the flats, as the flats have secure entry system.
It's 20 houses of my round!

Chazolate

Mumto2 wrote: »

Any tips for dealing with flats that have communal postboxes?
They are on the outside of the flats, as the flats have secure entry system.
It's 20 houses of my round!

I have two sets of flats and haven't had much luck with them so far. I am able to post the books into their letter boxes and then ask them to leave them outside the front on collection day. If you can't get the books in the letter boxes maybe leave them in a pile outside the front door with a 'please take one' sign. However I may not be the best person to give you advice on this as I have never had an order from either building! And I'm lucky if I get a couple of books back!

MarsdenCuckoo

Mumto2 wrote: »

Any tips for dealing with flats that have communal postboxes?
They are on the outside of the flats, as the flats have secure entry system.
It's 20 houses of my round!

For my 2p-worth, would definitely think it's a case of 'ringing and asking' and/or ideally finding a 'friendly' way in i.e. someone, who knows someone, who lives there so they can act as an intro for you.