~Avon Hints & Tips (Part 8) ~ Please read first post :)

MarsdenCuckoo

crystal-jo wrote: »

Hello newbie Jo here, I just signed up on Tuesday. If any one could advise about the following will be much appreciated.

my sales leader has given me brochure 16, is this right? as when i log on to Avon is says that i am on c17, and everybody seems to be on c17. when i asked her about it she said that she didn't have any spare 17 books and that she was allowed to give out 16 as well.

she also said that I have to pay for my second campaign of books, which I have now confirmed with Avon is not the case.

Does anyone know how I can get in touch with a upline sales leader in my area 580 ?

thank you

Strictly speaking she IS allowed to give out the previous campaigns books to a new team member if she's run out of the current book (it's better than nothing!) BUT a decent upliner will certainly make sure you have books for your first two campaigns i.e. to give you a decent start. You can use your C16 books for your C17 order but it's obviously useful to have at least some of your current book. Ask your upliner to let you have some C17s asap - even if only a handful (she should have some for her own customers that presumably she can let you have when she's finished with them anyway).

As you've probably been told by Avon, SLs are reimbursed for 40 books + a sign-up pack for every new team member, who places an order MOV+. That usually relates to free books for your first two campaigns but can be split to suit you both.

As for your query, Data Protection Act precludes us from accessing details of your upliner's upliner. If you're happy to let us have a postcode near you (not necessarily your own) we can find out the details of your Area Sales Manager for you, who should be able to help.

Failing that, there is another thread on MSE, which I started ages ago - some of us 'voted' for where we are in the UK. Long shot but maybe one of us is near you....

Hmm.... just a thought, if you're not happy with being on your upliner's team and you are still within 14 days of being appointed, you have the option to resign from her team and look for a different, hopefully more supportive, upliner. You only have 14 days to do this though and notify Avon....

Good luck, whatever you decide.

MarsdenCuckoo

Probably a case of closing the gate when the horse has bolted but it's been pointed out to me that it's prob not a good idea to publish an ASMs contact details in open forum so am amending this post. (PM me if you still need the details.)

Another thought.... why not go onto Avon Connects and see if you can find any SLs in your town? If you start a new thread saying that you are interested in being a rep and quote your postcode you should be inundated with replies!

I,_Geek

City Rush MMs - I've just checked my figures and my award sales have definitely gone down by £25 per set returned, not the £15 it should be. Despite Avon saying I haven't.

MarsdenCuckoo

I,_Geek wrote: »

City Rush MMs - I've just checked my figures and my award sales have definitely gone down by £25 per set returned, not the £15 it should be. Despite Avon saying I haven't.

Oh dear, now you actually have proof then presumably you're going to challenge it again?

Beachview_2

I've heard about back ordering from the previous book. I know I can give the last book to houses (I've not visited before) where I'm not sure if they'll return it or not. So how do I actually back order?

Another thing I'm interested in is adding the Avon brochure to my FB page. How does the order get delivered to anyone who places an order on my FB page? Is it delivered directly to them by Avon?

My sales leader didn't give me any bags and I've not had my first order delivered yet. Does it look bad, from a customer's point of view, not to be delivering the items in an Avon bag?

Was I supposed to be given samples with my first book? What sort of samples are best to order? There's quite a big selection so I don't want to be buying too many. I got a decent sized order so far without any samples, although one customer was asking about samples. Though she seemed to mean generally as she didn't say what sort she wanted. She just meant from a business point of view she thought it would be a good idea. I remember an Avon rep used to come round here years ago and she never gave any samples. So are they needed or not? Or should I just wait until a customer wants to test a particular product then order the sample of that for them so they can get it the next time?

There was an item missing from my first order and Avon didn't even bother to leave a note in the box or send an email to tell me.

Thats all for now

thelittlestranger

thelittlestranger wrote: »

Hi ladies, hope no one minds me bombarding this thread with a question that I'm sure has been asked numerous times!

I'm really trying to make money from Avon but at the moment I'm not. The reason I continue to do it is because I actually really like the products!

Anyway I have now been given some streets to canvas, and will start them with C17. I have also just paid to have a stall at a Christmas fair which I'm looking forward to but I have NO idea where to begin!

So please could someone advise me on the following...

- What products should I order and how much should I charge for them (shall I just use brochure price?)
- HT products have confused me. I have read on Avon Connects that you can buy clearance products and sell them at fairs, but it does say on the back of HT you can't sell products on. But I know some people do?
- Any other hints and tips for my first stall?!

Thanks in advance x

I'm so sorry to bump my post but starting to worry about my stall... eek!

Another question I have to add to my original post is should I do an additional order to get some stock here now?

I,_Geek

MarsdenCuckoo wrote: »

Oh dear, now you actually have proof then presumably you're going to challenge it again?

I've sent one last e-mail (showing the credits section of my invoice) but after that I don't know how else to explain it. So many people have complained about this now and no-one has had a satisfactory answer that address they problem they can prove is happening on their account.

And now it sounds like the Strictly perfumes are having problems. This time at the charging stage (not the credit stage). I didn't go for this MM, but the brochure price is down as £24 per set with £8 cost price and £16 earnings, when in truth the customer will pay £12.99, which makes a £4.99 profit. I separate out personal items and stock to sell later, but many reps don't so this will make it look as if they're earning more money than they really have. Someone on Connects rang up (non-UK call centre) and they said that since it showed brochure price of £24 on the invoice, that's what you should charge the customer! ::facepalm::

I,_Geek

Beachview wrote: »

I've heard about back ordering from the previous book. I know I can give the last book to houses (I've not visited before) where I'm not sure if they'll return it or not. So how do I actually back order?

Another thing I'm interested in is adding the Avon brochure to my FB page. How does the order get delivered to anyone who places an order on my FB page? Is it delivered directly to them by Avon?

My sales leader didn't give me any bags and I've not had my first order delivered yet. Does it look bad, from a customer's point of view, not to be delivering the items in an Avon bag?

Was I supposed to be given samples with my first book? What sort of samples are best to order? There's quite a big selection so I don't want to be buying too many. I got a decent sized order so far without any samples, although one customer was asking about samples. Though she seemed to mean generally as she didn't say what sort she wanted. She just meant from a business point of view she thought it would be a good idea. I remember an Avon rep used to come round here years ago and she never gave any samples. So are they needed or not? Or should I just wait until a customer wants to test a particular product then order the sample of that for them so they can get it the next time?

There was an item missing from my first order and Avon didn't even bother to leave a note in the box or send an email to tell me.

Thats all for now

Backordering - start your regular order for your current campaign as normal. Then look to the left of where you enter the product code. There's a box with your current campaign number in it - change this to the previous campaign using the drop-down menu. Every time you enter a backorder item, just remember to change the number in this box to the backorder brochure number.

Online orders - everything comes to your house so you need to decide how far you'll travel to deliver. Some people will be happy to pay p+p for lighter orders, but if they like bubble baths they're in for a shock! You can either use the e-brochures (the old-style online brochure with no shopping basket facility), or the POB. Reps are reporting technical and usability issues with the POB. For example, some customers have clicked through to Avon's online shop and the rep hasn't got the order, and there also isn't a subtotal shown to customers before they press send. Technical issues include the basket not filling up, not being able to send the order, not receiving orders that you know people have placed (even after waiting 48 hours). Personally I'd stick to the e-brochure.

Bags - not using Avon ones will be fine. Do you mean you've not had your first order delivered yet, but you did order some bags to come in that order? Or that you forgot to order bags?

Samples - when you mentioned your customer saying she thought samples would be a good idea for you to give out I found myself thinking, "Well of course they'd say that - they want freebies!" There are only a few long-serving, high-selling reps on Connects who I can think of having proven success with samples. I'd wait until people say they want to try something, and even then suggest they make use of the money-back guarantee. I've given out over 100 samples (with some thought put into who gets what) and they haven't paid for themselves - not by a long shot. Actually even when customers have asked to try something they still haven't gone on to buy. You might be getting some free samples with the Smart Start scheme so you may as well give them out, or pop them in with Christmas cards.

Missing item - check your invoice and see if it was charged for, or if it's listed in the OOS section at the end. If it's been charged for you need to ask for an immediate replacement online, choosing the code "ordered and charged for but missing from box". If it's in the OOS section they say whether they expect it to come in eventually or not. You can view your invoice online a couple of days after your order deadline so this is a chance to get advanced warning about OOS items and let customers know (especially if they've only ordered things that are OOS).

lozza1985

Lovely to see some new faces on here
As its now the Christmas issues I'm making a point of putting a note with my books to say there's not many books now before Christmas, and that if money is an issue as they're waiting for payday, to let me know when they order so that I can set it aside. Means well be waiting for our earnings for a while, but I'd rather get as many orders as possible, and for them to be in early to ensure that nothing is out of stock.

lozza1985

thelittlestranger wrote: »

I'm so sorry to bump my post but starting to worry about my stall... eek!

Another question I have to add to my original post is should I do an additional order to get some stock here now?

Sorry thought this had already been replied to. Additional order depends on how your order/delivery dates fall in relation to your stall. Don't forget you will need to hit £78/£148 in your additional order to qualify for discount, and you'll be charged £2.50 postage. Delivery for additional orders can be anything from a couple of days to a week (ish), it all depends really on when the courier is in your area.

As for things to sell - I'd get some of the gift set in (far away is a well known perfume, and some men's sets too), and jewellery, and anything you think would be good to sell (depends on your area - I know my area loves the bubble baths & perfumes, other people find it easier to sell anew creams but I don't get many orders for them).

Technically you shouldn't sell items from clearance - however, as you are purchasing the item from Avon, then reselling yourself, it's yours to sell - I seem to remember being told this by a sales leader the other year - it's why Avon can't stop people having car boots etc, the only trouble you can have is if you regularly return a lot (ie most), of your order. Which you won't be so don't worry. Just make sure that the clearance items actually work out good value (the price you see is what you'll pay), whereas for items from the brochures (inc sale leaflets), you'll get your 20/25% discount on so they can actually work out cheaper.

Let me know if I've missed any questions out, doing it on my phone so might have done. Can't give too much advice re a stall as I've never done one myself. I'd suggest taking plenty of change, having a Bargain box (general toiletries like the naturals range) that you could sell at a £1, and taking some leaflets/books with labels on for people to take away in case they are after a regular rep to order from