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

nicki_2

I've had a kick up the bum with my avon. First they've changing our area from mailplan C to A which was a surprise when I saw my invoice! Then when I went to collect my C4 books in on Thursday I discovered someone else has been putting books through on my territory. I've spoken to my ASM as I wasn't signed up by a SL and she said she's going to sort it.

This year I've decided to try a year long promotion, for every order over £20 I'm giving a free gift based on previous orders. The gift is from a bonus box I got so only cost me £1 each I'm hoping it'll encourage people to try other things rather than just sticking with a particular type of nail varnish or just the pencil eyeliners etc. I did no promotions last calender year so it'll be interesting to see if it has any effect on my sales.

Katie87

Morning all


I am been thinking about signing up to be an Avon lady for a while but confess to knowing very little about it.


My husband and I have set ourselves a target to buy a house in 12 months and the extra income would come in handy.


Any advice on whether this is worthwhile or whether it will be more hassle than its worth would be greatly appreciated (I already work full time). Also any other general advice or tips would be great.


Thanks ladies

pixtotts

Hi Katie,
Excuse the length of this post, I have a tendency to waffle, I'm trying not to honest! I don't quite know what to write so I'm just going to say everything and hope your looking for some bed time reading... :P

There is no upfront cost to joining avon, your upliner (the person who signs you up) will provide you with your books for your first 2 campaigns and order forms. Some offer extras some don't just depends on who you go with (I'll talk about that at the end...). There is an Admin fee of £16, but you don't pay this out of your own pocket, it comes out of your commission on your first 2 orders. So £10 comes out of your first lot of commission and £6 out of the second. I always try to explain it as you don't really pay it you just earn a little less for the first two if that makes sense.

There are 2 levels of commission Minimum Order Value which is £85 anything over which we earn 20% on, and Higher Order Value of £155 anything over that we earn 25% on. It sounds a lot I know, but they say on average a customer spends £10 so £85 is only 9 customers... or 8 and yourself, worst Avon rep habbit is spending their commission on Avon, I've done it, got a beautiful handbag to show for it. I've learnt a bit of self control most of the time now though haha!

Business costs - we do have to buy our books. 20 books (which is what your provided with for first 2 campaigns) is £5.50. But each set of books can be used for 2 campaigns.
I order very few books, just the 20, and do multiple drops with them, so most of my books go to at least 6 houses over the two campaigns so I can cover up to 120 houses with 20 books... Others do less drops but order more books. It's really up to how you manage your time. I have a friend who orders over 100 books each time and has split her streets into 2 sections and alternates each campaign. I do all of mine every time, except those who have asked just to see every other. Avon do also give us a personal online brochure which can be shared with friends and family and on sites like facebook, orders from there come straight through to us for us to deliver as normal.
I also buy brochure bags - 80p for 50 (I think...), and delivery bags medium paper - 65p for 50.

There are 2 ways of doing avon. Serving friends and family just sharing books around people you know. Or you can have a territory assigned, so get given streets to take books to. If your doing territory you can also give books to friends and family, but if your doing friends and family you can't just deliver books to streets, it causes a bit of friction. But if your achieving targets you can always have more houses added up to a ridiculous number 500 or something like that...

I mentioned upliners earlier... my biggest tip for anyone joining Avon is to be wise about who you join with. I knew no better and joined through the Avon site and got put straight under my ASM. She's lovely, she has been great helping me since I became a Sales Leader (so I now join people up) but... but... she was not very helpful when I was just a rep, and has always been a nightmare to get hold of, just too busy. So my advice is if you have a good Avon rep already ask them if they are a sales leader if they can sign you up, or if their sales leader is good, and if they would advise going through them... If not if you would like I can help you find someone local through. (I'd ask on avon facebook groups if I don't already know someone near you).

I've been doing Avon 18 months now, 12 as a rep, and 6 as a Sales leader, I love it. I have lovely customers, I have rep friends, I have sales leader friends. And I'm pretty chuffed with how I've done.
I became a rep because I was a carer for my grandad and needed something I could do around that, he stopped needing so much help so I became a sales leader. I now care for my grandma so avons on the back burner a bit. I was saying to someone yesterday I actually currently only put about 12 hours into Avon a campaign, a campaign lasts 3 weeks ( I probably should have said that earlier in this mass of text...). So I like what I get for what I do.

Avon does get easier the longer you do it....I'm at a point now that I know if I'm having a rubbish time and wont get many books out I know which customers order every time, they go to top of the list to get books. I don't drop to every house on a street, I know who orders, who wants to see a book, who doesn't. So now book drops take about half hour - a hour depends if someone gets talking... also means I could order less books and save money that way, I don't because I just do less drops. Some customers take their book to their friends so I get several orders coming through one house hold. They trust me as their rep so they place bigger orders, they know what they like, they repeat order the same products.

I think anyone can do Avon, those that aren't successful, either don't put in the effort or spend everything they make. It's fairly simple, it's pretty easy. I don't know what else I can say about it.

I hope that helps

Charlotte x

Katie87

Hi Charlotte


That's all amazing thank you. I am based in Colchester, and don't currently get the catalogue.


I hope you don't mind me asking as I know its a personal question, but how much do people usually make doing this? I'm not afraid to put the work in, but obviously will be taxed on it so want to make sure its worthwhile xx

Pinzy

How much we make is so incredibly varied! To give a rough idea - I probably only put in about 3-4 hours per campaign, and make commission of around £20-30 (after costs).

It is hard to start with, as many customers will wait a few campaigns to see if you're going to stick around. You'll also initially be dropping books to every house, and it'll take a while to sort out who doesn't want one, or who never gives the books back, etc. After that couple of months initial period though, your work:profit ratio will even out a bit.

dating_thoughts

lozza1985 wrote: »

Please check this first post in case your question has already been asked, if it hasn't, please feel free to post.

If you're new please introduce yourself .

( The previous thread can be found here )

Welcome to the Avon Hints and Tips threads. We are a friendly bunch on here, a mixture of Representatives and Sales Leaders. No question is ever a silly question, we welcome all questions, although you should check out the first posts as your questions maybe answered here. Yes, there is quite a lot to read and take in, but you don't need to digest it all in one go, come back and read in your own time. Have a question? Check the Frequently Asked Questions (further down this post) as it may already be answered here.

What is Avon?

A catalogue with toiletries/makeup/beauty items/some clothes/accessories. A representative orders for customers and earns discount on all items sold.

Representatives buy the catalogues from Avon and canvass friends, family, neighbours, work, local streets/local businesses, baby clubs, gyms, etc for orders.

How to Sign Up with Avon

You can contact Avon through their website, http://www.avon.uk.com/PRSuite/home_page.page

or look in your local newspapers, local shops, Tesco, Sainsbury's, etc for an advert from a Sales Leader looking for Representative to join their team. Or google avon + your town name and see if it brings up anyone.

If you contact Avon through their website,you will be allocated an Area Sales Manager or a Sales Leader who will come out and visit you, give you more information and sign you up. Sales Leaders are generally easier to contact and provide more help but all comes down to who you get! Some ASMs are great and very supportive.

What costs are involved in starting with Avon?

You pay a £15 sign up fee when joining, you pay this over the first two campaigns and this covers the Administration costs, it effectively comes out of your earnings. And your ASM or SL will supply you with at least 20 brochures for each of your first 2 campaigns.

NOTE: You MUST declare your earnings as you are classed as being self employed, whether actually employed, self employed or on benefits already. You can be fined for not doing so and AVON does advise you to sign up as self employed.

click on here for I Geeks useful info for new reps

TO REGISTER AS SELF EMPLOYED - CALL THE NUMBER BELOW

they are very helpful and will talk you through the process.

Newly self-employed tax helpline: 0845 915 4515

or use online registration

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/selfemployed/register-selfemp.htm

How do I earn money?

For every order you place over £80 to £150, you will receive a discount of 20%. For orders place over £150, you will earn 25% discount. So in effect - if you get £100 orders, you would get £20, if you got £200 you would get £50. Costs of brochures etc need to be paid out this though, but it gives you an idea if percentages aren't your strong point.

Plus, if you are a little "short" on orders this is very useful to know:

£137 customer orders - 20% commission = £109.60 nett to you
£150 customer orders - 25% commission = £112.50 nett to you

So, essentially, the extra order for £13 worth of goods actually only costs you £2.90!

When you place an order with Avon, you will see that there is an Avon Price, which is the brochure price, Customer Price, which is what your customer has to pay, and Your Cost Price. Your Cost Price is how much it would cost you to purchase the product, this is not the same as the customer price as it is discounted. Your invoice will show you how much discount you have earned, this is money you get to keep once you have collected the money from your customers and paid avon.

A great benefit of being an Avon Rep is that we can purchase products at cost price (depending on how much you sell) plus we have a Rep exclusive magazine (called Hello Tomorrow or HT for short) where we can order products 2 campaigns early, at roughly a 30% discount on the brochure price. This can save you money on everyday toiletries, and if you spend a lot on Avon products already it will work out much cheaper for you, reducing your outgoings.

How to distribute and collect your books, VERY IMPORTANT!

"This is the statement from Avon about how you obtain customers

There are two ways a Representative can find new customers. They can canvass their allocated territory (which is given to them by their Area Manager or upline Sales Leader) with brochures which should be delivered to the homes on the territory and re-canvassed on a regular basis (checking if those people that did not order from them before may want to order now). A Representative should only canvass the road or street that has been allocated to them by their Area Manager or up line Sales Leader.

The second way is by identifying 'Who they Know' - these customers would be the Representatives personal network, e.g. family, friends and work colleagues and may live anywhere."

Right, before you distribute your books, you need to prep them and make sure you get them back.

First of all you need to buy protective bags for your books, you can buy plastic freezer bags with a ziploc top from Poundland or 99p shop or from Avon direct, they have the Avon logo on, item code 76935. Pack of 50 bags for 80p. These are just large enough to take an Avon book. Or buy your bags from ebay.

Recommend by Sylvergrunge

http://www.stormtrading.co.uk/grip-s...x-11-107-p.asp

they offer free p&P


First of all you need to prep your book. Get your Order form and put your contact details, usually your name, mobile number and/or email address is sufficient. Make sure you mark on the bottom of the order form when you will be coming back to collect the book, and when you will be delivering the order. I recommend highlighting this to make it stand out more.

If you want to pass on a message to your customers, ie Spend £20 and receive a free gift, there is a space for a message on the order form.
Put the order form in the brochure.

On the front of the book, place a sticky note or a piece of paper, clearly saying that you will be coming back to collect the book on xx date, if they could please leave outside to save you disturbing them, even if they do not wish to order. Also a message about if they would not like to receive any more avon books, to tick this box and leave their house number, so you know not to leave a book there.

Also, if it is your first time delivering books to new territory, you might like to put a note introducing yourself, ie Hi, I am xx, your Independent Avon Representative and I will be covering your road. I can be contacted on xxxxxxx.

This gives people a chance to know who you are and what you are doing and that hopefully you are going to be a regular rep who sticks at it.

Put your book in the plastic bag and away you go. The note on the front is very important for trying to get as many of your books left out for you as possible. MOST people don't realise that with Avon, we have to pay for our own books and so won't leave them out. If you don't tell them, they don't know.

Some people like to door knock and introduce themselves. You should still put your books in a plastic bag, so they have the option of leaving the book out for you, although some people don't like to, so you may need to knock for these books.

Others, like me, like to stuff and run. By this we mean, put in the letterbox, and go. Then we come back a few days later to collect the book, I say 2 or 3 days is plenty for the first time. If your book hasn't been left outside on your confirmed day, knock on the door and ask for it back. If no one is at home, put a note through their door, saying you called for their order, sorry you missed them, if they would like to contact you, give your details, or if they could just leave the book outside for you to collect the next day.

Make sure you use your calling book, or notebook etc, to record the houses you deliver brochures to, so that when you come to collect them you know which houses you need to go to.

Your calling book is also useful to make notes in - which houses don't want brochures, who orders from work (worth trying them in a few months in case their Rep finishes), who works shifts, any other important notes (I have a customer who is hard of hearing, so I make sure to remember that I need to take her phone number with me in case she doesn't hear the doorbell).

This is very important, especially when you are first starting out, especially if you only have 20 books, you cannot afford to lose them all.

Good luck!

Abbreviatons can be found here

Click here for the FAQs.

AVON Connects

Potential customers can use Avon Connects to request a Rep to deliver them a brochure. For you to qualify to receive these "leads" there are some criteria:

Be registered on the Avon website
Association with Avon for more than 4 campaigns
Have no outstanding balance
A minimum of 2 orders in the last 3 campaigns
Have award sales of at least £156 in last 3 campaigns

A great way to get new customers / sales is to host a party - tips for this can be found here

General hints and tips

Christmas Tips by Joyfull:

- Start to order extra brochures well in advance for 'Xmas only' customers. Always carry a brochure around with you at this time of year.

- Keep an eye out for Xmas gifts for customers from Clearance well in advance to save OOS disappointment

-Think about any Xmas Offer or Incentive or special Newsletter to promote your business

- Start writing out Xmas cards to customers in advance (saves wrist ache!)

- Put a note on the Xmas brochures stating that 'now is the time to order for Xmas'. Remind customers of replacement / refund policy.

Remind customers to purchase batteries on items that require them.


101 Uses for Skin So Soft Soft and Fresh Original Dry Oil Body Spray code 06700 can be found here


*~* We are compiling a list of product recommendations to help - link is here - feel free to add your reviews (good and bad!) *~*


Links for online brochures:
These are useful to post on Facebook (or email to people) to give your friends/family a chance to browse without having to ask for a brochure - stops them feeling as pressured to order.


brochure 6
brochure 7
brochure 8
brochure 8 sale
brochure 9
brochure 10



Guide to using Facebook to help build your Avon business is here

Link for a returns form

Just a quick question don't understand this:
£150 customer orders - 25% commission = £112.50

Isn't 25% of £150 = £37.50 or am I misunderstanding something?

Money_maker

Yes, you get £37.50 and pay £112.50 which totals the order value of £150 (less brochures etc.).

janninew

Hi All,

Quick update from me since I started at the start of Jan.

I'm submitting my second order tonight and I'm thrilled to have £211 in orders. I've got lots of customers at my work place and in my neighbourhood. My first campaign was slow and I only just met the minimum order value and started to feel a bit dejected but i've pereserved and I'm glad. Met lots of new neighbours and got chatting which has been a bonus.

Just hoping I do well in the next campaign! :T

laurasavon

I went to Avon Head Office last week for some leadership training and I've done my goal map

So I'm ready to get going with my business again, first new rep of 2015 to sign up tomorrow

PC dinner on Thursday then the Sales Leader Seminar on Friday so lots of Avon this week

If tree are any existing reps on here who aren't Sales Leaders, the recommend a friend has extra freebies for February only - and if any of you have friends in the Walsall / Wolverhampton area I would be very fretful to have them in my team (and you'll get your recommend a friend freebies)

selement

I finally passed my driving test and am still considering joining Avon, but my OH is worried I might actually lose money.... I do work full time also and would definitely have to pay tax on profits so it'd be extra work. Any reassurance/advice/tips to ensure that wouldn't happen?

I was planning on taking books to work (no reps there yet), my mom sometimes buys Avon, my best friend says she'd buy from me (but she often doesn't have that much money), I would ask for streets I don't currently get Avon through door but there's loads of reps within 0.5miles of where I live according to the Avon website so it might be that this area isn't good for finding customers. I'm also a bit shy for knocking on doors and terrified of dogs. I realise nobody can guarantee anything.

Sorry if this is similar to what I posted last time I can't remember what I said before and now I've got nothing holding me back except fear of losing money. If I made the odd £30 profit some campaigns (not every campaign, I'm realistic) and no losses that'd be fab, is that reasonable if the area isn't much good (it might be better than I think I won't know till I try...)?

In the worst case scenario say I buy 20 books (is that probably typical for someone starting out? 4-5ish would be work, friends + family and wouldn't need bags) and bags and don't make any profit on orders, how much would I stand to lose a campaign?