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

I,_Geek

Mailplans are how Avon stagger delivery dates. They have about 160,000 reps in the UK so they can't process all those orders on one day (the computer side or the physical packing side). So they're split across mailplans labelled A-O. Mailplan A gets theirs on a Monday, B on the Tuesday, C on the Wednesday, etc... When it comes to order deadline days, they're also staggered (A on Tuesday, B on Wed, C on Thu...). So once the 3-week cycle is complete it starts all over again. I think mailplan O will send off C13 orders on Monday 19th August, and then A will send off C14 orders on Tue 20th.

Dick_here

I,_Geek wrote: »

- cost of brochures - I agree with Lozza, we have low start-up costs (£15 fee, only if you place an order)

And it's split in two, so if you were to only place one order you'd only ever pay £7.50 :money:

lozza1985

Yes you can sort of check what territory is free - you'd have to apply online to whoever you wanted to join with, then they can reserve territory - it will automatically allocate x amount of houses that are available that are nearest to your address - however they only stay reserved for so long unless you complete the application (ie actually join rather than just applying - you wouldn't pay anything though)...I can't remember how long they reserved for though, I want to say 24 hours but it might be a little longer, but it definitely isn't any longer than a few days so that if you change your mind it automatically becomes free again for others. But only the asm can actually view what is free in an area without needing someone's details.

chairing555

Thanks I, Geek. thats really helpful

ajs2013

I've just done my 2nd campaign and now at the start of my 3rd and so far so good, steady orders, good regular customers and finally starting to find my feet and learn how it all works. I have had an old rep contact me asking if i want to buy some of her old stock as she has now quit Avon and is selling it off quite cheaply as she says. I just don't know what I should buy if anything, I know a couple of products that people like which are the shower/bath stuff for the kids and the foot works stuff but just so unsure if it is something I should even consider at this stage at all.
When did you start getting stock in? I have had inquiries from one lady asking if i had an item in and had to say no and don't like to let people down but just don't have the cash to buy lots especially if it is not going to sell. What should I definitely avoid in your opinion? Thought maybe certain items might be good to use as prizes if I was to do a party or as incentives to customers who spend certain amounts with me.
Also i've thought about advertising and found a board at our local swimming pool that charges almost £6 for a month to advertise. Has anyone had much success at advertising for customers that way. I have a facebook page now and advertise on selling sites and have found a good set of customers that way but just trying to boost sales a little more lol.
Hope you all have a fab weekend and thank you so much for this site. it has been an amazing wealth of info so far and has made me feel at ease asking the little silly novice questions

lozza1985

I don't really keep much in stock, I just keep some shower gels, hand creams etc in but mainly as I use them and as I give my customers a free gift for every 6 orders they place I use the bits I keep in for that. If you buy any of the bits from this other rep - you won't be able to return them unless its things you've already sold, so unless you can sell them on/find a use for them I wouldn't buy them unless they're amazingly cheap. I think some customers don't understand how avon works - ie we aren't shops we order things as we need them, we can't afford to keep loads in as it would be at our cost.

Paying to advertise - could be worth a try, but its one of those things you could a few enquires one month then nothing for a while, so it's whether you'd miss that £6 if there was no return on it.

There's no such thing as a silly question anyway

I,_Geek

I'd also recommend not stockpiling. Once you're established and know your customer base you could say, buy original dry oil spray when it's cheapest because you're certain it will sell. I've got a customer who repeat buys Rare Gold a few times a year. Even so, the number of things you could be certain of selling within a few months will be minimal compared to the whole product range.

I agree with Lozza, some people don't understand how it works so don't feel bad if you're having to say, "Sorry but I don't keep stock." If they've had reps who've kept lots of stock in the past, that rep was either very organised and knew the customer base well (and still only kept what they knew customers would ask for) or (more likely) they'd bought lots and had too much money tied up in it and possibly didn't return it in time so now they're stuck with it. That might be why they're an ex-rep, too!

One customer said, "Do you have any foundations because I need one by Saturday and I know reps keep lots of stock at home." Erm... no... Certainly not the numerous shades of foundations and different formulas!

Mumtothree3

Thanks again Lozza and I Geek :-)

Quick questions, the £15 start up cost, does that cost include brochures, or do you pay another £15 for brochures?If included, how many brochures do you get? How much are brochures afterwards? - How many would you recommend getting for first few times? How often do you get new brochures?

Thanks again for your help :-)

lozza1985

Yes you'll get brochures for your first 2 campaigns, you should get a minimum of 40 in total (so 20 for each campaign). Once you buy them off the top of my head its £4.86 for the first 15 - but - after that its only 50p for each pack of 5 so overall it isn't much to buy quite a few brochures, especially with there not being too many other costs. I used to re-use my brochures a lot more, so bought less, but now I have a lot contacting me with their order (so I don't get their brochure back), I buy enough for one per customer, it saves us a lot of time and overall I find that better than saving just a couple of pounds. Especially as with creative ordering, you can earn yourself a few extra pounds so it helps to cover the cost of brochures etc.

Brochures run for 3 weeks, apart from 2 campaigns that are usually December/January, that are 2 week ones. As for how many you buy - it depends really on how big a patch you get, how many customers, and if you have the time to re-use them to reduce how many you buy.

Creative ordering - we can always order from the current & previous brochure. Say in the current brochure someone has ordered a foundation at £10, in the previous book it might only be £5. So you can order it at the cheapest price and make extra money. It takes a bit of time checking through the orders but not as long as you'd think, and it really helps to increase how much profit you make. Sometimes products might be the same price but if you buy one you get one free, which means you can use the free one yourself or keep it in as a little stock.

ajs2013

Thank you all for the advice so far, it really has helped me out no end. Just another quick one. I've been thinking of doing a party probably around October for Christmas stuff with another rep friend of mine and just don't know really how to do it. Both of us are very new to this. I have only ever been to one party and that was Anne Summers one so not exactly the same type of event on the sales side or the way it runs im sure, just wondered what and how you run yours if you do them at all. I am a total novice so really need all the help I can get. The only thing I have started to do is get together some little gifts either cheap products i have seen or free samples i have won through HOV sales which I will look to give out as presents during the evening. Just not sure what else to do and to work it so it is a good evening.
Thank you all in advance