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Re: Avon Newbie (Reply to this comment)
by mfnu007
Keep your Avon money seperate. Use a different purse/wallet/envelop and checking account. I didn't think I was making any either until I did this.
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May 11 '09
4:40 pm PDT
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Avon will always be richer than their reps!!!!! (Reply to this comment)
by kmm4465
I have been an AVON rep at least 4 times on and off because I can't make any money selling it. I pass out the books, but there are too many reps selling, and not enough people buying, unless they know you. And even they don't want to buy it. Avon wants you to recruit more reps to make more money, but how does that help you sell and get more customers? And then, they don't even want you to advertise that you ARE selling AVON over the internet because using their name is somewhat against their policy!!! WHAT the bleep bleep bleep?!!!! That's just plain stupid. How do you make money selling if you can't advertise it? HELLO!!!
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Nov 29 '08
12:39 pm PST
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Avon is richer than their reps!!!!! (Reply to this comment)
by kmm4465
I am an AVON rep and I've done it about four times, quitting after a few months each time because I'm not making any money. I've done what I can to sell it, but AVON is getting most of the money, even if you are selling alot. The most you can make is 50 percent but you're putting alot into it. I think it's all a scam. I like their products and buy for myself, but I only have a few customers. I don't have money to put into this and I hate being taken for granted. There are too many people getting into it and Avon wants you to recruit more reps. When do you sell when you are recruiting others? That doesn't make you any money!!!!
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Nov 29 '08
12:20 pm PST
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Re: How naive are people about getting into direct sales? (Reply to this comment)
by anyone4avon
I'm not sure it's a matter of being naive but more like being in unfamiliar territory. The buildings of the new city look familiar but they're positioned differently so you have to rely on a road map. Now, if you stop in a store that doesn't carry road maps, then you're own your own. Of course, there's so many resources online now for answering any question you might have, that it doesn't pay to stay in AVON and not be a part of the online community that supports your efforts. There are a few YAHOO groups that are awesome at getting you where you need to be. There's nothing like one-on-one face-to-face training, too, which is why the sales meetings and unit get-togethers are so important. The rep has to reach out and do their part, too, but, really, no question should ever go unanswered.
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Jul 31 '08
3:21 pm PDT
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How naive are people about getting into direct sales? (Reply to this comment)
by hattiemae32
I can't believe that the district manager didn't cover that you need to invest in your business. I also can't believe how many didn't know that they have to purchase samples, supplies, etc. That's just common in any business. Mary Kay or otherwise requires you make some sort of investment. Avon starts you out with a very affordable kit, and if you're not spending all your profits on yourself or your family, you need to start investing it in samples, brochures, and the like. Eventually you'll be making money.... but it's not right away. It's never right away with any business. Like anything....it's what you put into it....that will bring you success and hopefully profits. I use to be a DSM for Avon Products, Inc. and I'm now a Independent Sales Representative. I never set up false hope in any rep I recruited. I just told them that there is opportunity out there....and there is. I also warned that if you're your own best customer...then it might not be the right thing for you. Pace yourself....if you have the finances and want to stock up on things....great....but know....that you won't see a profit for some time. Fund raisers are a great way to get started....and will get you a great start towards sales profits..because you can often get repeat customers from those things. I just had to sound off on this....because Avon can be profitable.....but as I said....it's all in what you do with it.
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Jul 15 '08
9:32 pm PDT
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Avon Newbie (Reply to this comment)
by ruthieaphisig
Hello-
I finally made a decision to start selling Avon.
It does take alot of time organizing, selling, driving, ordering and delivery. I can't figure out if I am making any money. As soon as I think I might me. I get a return, bounced check or my custome gets layed off. Does anyone have any suggestions or worksheet that you have used to figure out if you are making money.
I would appreciate it so much.
thanks,
ruthie
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May 08 '08
12:51 pm PDT
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Re: Quit (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
I am truely sorry to hear this. Yes it does take time and effort. I have two disabled children. Some weeks are worse than others. Those weeks Avon is on the back burner. Don't official quite though. If you pay your account and just not order anymore they will remove you for inactivity later on. By going this route you can always try again later if you choose too. But if you call and have them remove you. Then there would be a waiting period. Or you could always remain active and make your own personal purchuses. I hope that you do find what you are looking for and I wish you well..
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Feb 19 '08
3:27 am PST
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Quit (Reply to this comment)
by ethinker
I decided to leave Avon. I have spent so much time working the business while neglecting other things. To be successful, you must put in a lot of time, and I just can't do that at the expense of everything else.
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Feb 18 '08
5:57 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
You know, that is really not bad. Three months in and you already have a recruit. Might I may a suggestion. Call your district sales manager. Tell her or him that you want to go into leadership, and that if you lose the recruits you currently have then you are going to quite.You managers get nothing off sales of the Reps. They are paid salary. But they do have recruitment numbers that they have to get per campaign. It is hard for a sales manager, I think to get reps, into leadership. I know that they would Jump at the chance to help someone who WANTS to do it They can actual take you out and show you ways to do it although anyone that they may get does not go in your downline, it will help to see them in action. We have a great manager. She has helped me alot. Talked to yours.
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Feb 17 '08
8:11 am PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by ethinker
Yes, I have one recruit. I've been an Avon rep for three months. I just got the recruit two weeks ago. She found my business card at a restaurant. I have left business cards at every restaurant I've been to. I have 5 1/2 months to get 4 more recruits. I have approached my customers about selling, and none are interested. I have asked all my customers (over 30) if they know of anyone who might be interested in becoming an Avon rep. No one knows anyone. I'm doing everything possible to get new recruits. If I do not have them in the allotted time, I will quit Avon. I will not start over again.
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Feb 16 '08
8:57 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
You have one recruit? How many campaigns has it been. Have you considered running an ad in one of the local papers? Have you approached any customers that you have that might be interested in giving it a shot? They get a great discount on their own personal orders. I always tell my customers to give it a four campaign trial. IF they find that Avon is not for them, then the can simply pay off their account and their done. No questions, no hassles. Most simply just buy their own products. Cause after four campaigns they are kind of not willing to give up the 20% off their personal purchases. I have had a few that never sold and never tried to sell. They just like the discount. Those qualify you also. Just think of it this way. I approach a customer who buys often. I ask them if they like buying out of Cataloges and shopping online. Do they find it easier than in the stores. These days alot of people do that. As a rep, they can do mail in orders which is what some do anyway. They can shop online, which some do anyway. The only difference is if they place before the order due date, they can get Free shipping. The other plus is no other online shopping or Cataloge shopping offers. (1) 20%-50% off purchases. (2) You get your order and they give you two weeks before you have to pay. (3)100% money back guarentee on any purchase made, no hassles, no questions. That one is a plus. Most are unwilling to experiment with makeup and perfume, because it is costly and if you don't like it you are out of money. But Avon guarentees all their products including lipstick. These are pointers that you can Mentions to Customers, friends, relatives. You can also off a discount on customer orders for referrals of Recruits. (if they sign up) knock 10% off your customers order.
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Feb 15 '08
3:52 am PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by ethinker
It's not the Fast Start I'm concerned about. It's getting all 5 recruits within the 13 campaign period required to keep whatever number of recruits you get. I have spent countless hours, money, and gas trying to get recruits by handing out flyers, business cards, and talking to people. I still have just one recruit. I do have labels on my brochures and always dress professionally. Yes, I have an online store (eRep site). My sales are going OK, but even with $300-400 in sales each campaign, I'm not making any money when I subtract all my expenses. If I cannot get the 5 recruits within the 13 campaigns required, I will not start over again once Avon takes the recruits away from me. I will give Avon new representatives without any benefit to me only one time. Then I'm done.
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Feb 14 '08
7:57 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
Honestly, I did not TRY to earn the fast start. I just concentrated on my sales and if I came across someone that wanted to sell, then I would look at recruiting. I just continue to sell, sell. Do you have an online store.
I have gotten quiet a few contacts through my store and had to list them as a referral because I was unable to meet with them because they were out of state. Sometimes it is better when someone approaches "you".
But I still do look at recruiting. So I made me some shirts. I wear them out when I am planning on being at the mall and such. It is like a wearable,comfortable business card. I done the shirt transfer right on my computer. I do not stress myself over this. I just do it! IF it goes well all the better. If I have times were it don't, oh well. I want to have fun with this and I truely enjoy doing it. I tell my downline all the time to enjoy it. Customers pick up on that. I encourage them to add a touch of professional to their Avon. Take some of your earning and buy a stamp that has your name and info on it. Use that to label your brochures. I done a test faze with that. I bought 60 brochures. I stamped all of them but 1. That one the info was hand wrote. The exact same info as what the stamp said. I put the handwritten one on the table with one that was stamped. I gave out 59 brochures just by doing this. Two at a time on that table. NO ONE picked the hand written one. They would pick up the identical brochures, with the identical info on them and no one took the handwritten one. I feel that the customers LOOK at professional look. Avon is easy to sign up to do. Avon offers credit. Customers have given money in the past and the rep never gives them their product. Some reps simply don't stay in Avon. Some people simply want someone that is there for the long haul. They see the effort and professional touch you put to it. One said that she seen my effort and stated that she felt that I was the right Rep for her because I did that and she did not think I would go as far as business cards, professional touches if I was planning on taking their money and runnning or quieting just the time she got comfortable with me. SOmetimes it could eb simply things that make big impressions.I also encourage ALL my downline to open Business checking accounts so that they can track things more efficiantly. The ones that maintain a separate account for Avon alone, show better sales. And are more likely to Pay for their orders and stay on track. When I had decided to Sell Avon, I went an opened an account, before I even signed up to sell. I already made me some business cards, referral cards, and $5 off cards. I was ready before my name was signed on that contract.
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Feb 07 '08
3:38 am PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by ethinker
I've tried to convince my best customers that they could save a lot of money if they became reps, but they all have excuses, and nothing I say changes their mind. The potential recruit my DM "worked on" at the restaurant and gave my contact info to told me yesterday that she doesn't want to start right now...maybe this summer. My DM gave me a lot of recruiting flyers, and I've been handing those out like crazy. Nothing. I'm afraid that if I work hard over the next several months to get recruits and mentor the ones I have and then lose them all because I didn't get the 5 in the time period Avon requires, I will probably quit rather than trying to start all over again. It takes too much time, money, and energy to have Avon take it all away for some arbitrary reason.
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Feb 06 '08
11:10 am PST
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Re: Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
It is a shame that I am unable to upload different things like flyers and such to this post. I could give you SO many different ideas that you could try for getting new recruits. I am trying to average 1 recruit per week. You cannot believe all the different approaches I have used. Some may not help you others may. Or they may give you an idea of your own. One thing I did was I had a new customer recently. Her order was $50 . I try to get to know my customers so that our relationship is more personal and friendly. I found that she was going through a divorce with a small child. She was in between jobs. When I emailed her total to her, I followed with the Idea of her selling Avon. I told her that as a Rep, every single item she had purchased would have cost her 50% less than what she was paying me. {She had core Avon products} We emailed back and forth that day and she signed on the following day. Thinking that she would only order her own stuff and not sell...I was surprised when she said that her mom sold before and that she had been a helper for her friend. Before I knew it she had orders stacking up. Not all work out so well, but I do know one thing. Alot of people are shy about Avon afraid of being "stuck" with orders. Very few realise that you can return the product and not pay for it. There are alot of ways to get interest. But like with anything, you have to be able to judge someone after talking with them a few...to see which route you need to take.
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Feb 05 '08
5:18 pm PST
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Re: Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by ethinker
Everything you said sounds accurate to me and is what I've been told. I'm not averaging $390 a campaign but do have a high enough average to qualify for Unit Leader IF everything else falls into place. Campaign 1 killed me (I actually have a loss in that campaign because of low sales and returns). I, too, do better "seeing" my goals and will definitely plaster them somewhere where I can look at them at least once or twice a day. I have a tall order to fill to try to make it to unit leader. I'm just afraid of getting some recruits, spending a lot of time helping them, and then losing them because I didn't qualify in all areas nor got the 5 needed. For the "fast start" bonus, I have to have 5 by campaign 7 (we're in campaign 4 now). I watched my district sales manager in action last night and was amazed at how naturally and easily recruiting is for her. She may have helped me get another recruit. I know building an Avon business takes time. If it's fun, the hard work won't seem so hard.
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Feb 05 '08
3:18 pm PST
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Re: Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
As far as the recruitment period that they give you. I believe that it is 13 campaigns which is an estimated 6 months. I have recruited alot of people since April, some work some don't. Avon I think gives you that timeframe of "keeping" 5 successful recruits for their benefit and yours. By successful, I mean that they have placed an order of $50 or more and paid for it. Depending on your location, some of the numbers might be slightly different. But they also help you by running an incentative of where they new Rep placing $50 orders each campaign keeps them in a 50% earning for four campaigns. The 50% earning potential helps the new rep make more money than they would typically, so that they can uild their business with what they earn. You will get recruits that never place their first order, which will cause them not to count. Or you could get recruits that place under a $50 order which will cause them not to qualify as successfell and prevent you from achieving a Fast Start achievement. Then you will get the one who places a large order and never pays for it. None of the Rich and Famous pulled it off in a year. IT took work and Commitment and it paid off. The way I look at it. You sign up 5 Reps and 1 works out. So you get you 5 successful recruits you might have to go as far as to 25 people to get those 5. Maybe less than that. With me I got my mine but I can after almost a year tell you which one of those successfuls are in for the long haul. I have 14 Reps currently and can tell you that 10 are considered successful. Three of which are the long haulers. Out of the remaining 7 I would say that 2 might or might not be, they are too new to tell, but the rest are high risk. So I look at it like this. I have 3 that I know are pretty much there, so that means I have to continue to find new Reps. Even though I am Unit Leader and earn my check. If the other 10 does not work out, that will leave me only three with no check. Just curious, are you an US Rep. If you are then you need $10,100 to become Presidents Club. That means that you should set a goal for yourself. A visual goal. If you set a goal of $390 per campaign starting in Campaign 8 you can achieve Presidents Club by the end of the campaign year. I have a goal tracking chart that I created for my downline this year. If you want I can send it to you. I found that verbal goals are not achieved as quick as visual. So what I do it I put my chart up on my wall, where I see it every single day. So if my sales are below my goal amount, I go that extra distance. Calling customers that have not ordered that campaign just to ensure that they have not forgotten that order was due. I find alot of customers simply forget and they have orders. You would be surprised at how many orders are waiting for you because they forget your due date.
I am glad that things are picking up for you. Good Luck,.
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Feb 05 '08
4:07 am PST
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Deleted Previous Messages (Reply to this comment)
by ethinker
I deleted my previous messages because I believe I made them too soon after starting my Avon business. I also re-read the original message that started this discussion and found several problems with the posters method of doing business. The person complained about not making money with Avon, yet she admitted to buying nearly every sample available (which is unnecessary and expensive) and to buying a lot of products for herself. You should use Avon products if you are going to sell them, but you don't have to buy a lot at one time.
I have been selling Avon for about 3 months. I've seen my customer base grow and my orders grow as well. But I'm still not making very much money. I'm also in the process of recruiting my first representative to join my team. I don't know if my business will become successful. I don't know if I will burn out before I get there (Starting your Avon business does require a lot of time.). But I am going to try. I'm not happy, however, that Avon reps have only a certain period of time (13 campaigns) to recruit a total of 5 representatives or else they lose all that they have recruited and must start over. I think that is unfair to reps who work hard to recruit any number of Avon reps FOR AVON. Yet Avon won't lose out: they will have 1-4 new Avon representatives selling their products, and Avon won't have to pay a commission to the rep who recruited the new reps.
I do believe it's important that successful reps share what has worked for them but at the same time not adamently claim that what works for them will work for everyone. For example, some reps have success simply tossing brochures (hanging brochures on doors or tossing in driveways). Others, like me, do not. I have tossed hundreds of brochures and have never received one order. Another rep has tossed and received a lot of orders AND 18 recruits in one year. You have to experiment and find what works where you live.
Statistics do show that the majority of people in direct sales do not make much, if any, of a profit. But many also quit before they have time to get there.
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Feb 04 '08
12:51 pm PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Difficult to make a profit (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
Honestly I have taken nothing you have said as insulting or offensive. There are places that selling is difficult. I use to live in one. But I also agree about attitude. I believe that you both are right in many areas.
Truely I love in a great area to sell, but I also feel that the more difficult it is on where you are at, the more creative you have to be. I HAVE to be insistant and creative even here. Every campaign I do something new for my customers which keeps them coming back. If I miss a campaign then it shows on my sales. It is hard work and shows little profit returned. That is why I went into leadership. My profit off sales gooes back into my business and back to my customers. The money I get off my leadership is what I consider my earning. It is very satisfying to SEE that deposit in my account every two weeks from Avon. I have offered one time before and will again. If you want I can help you. I cannot guarentee anything but it would be worth a try. I thought about what I could do to sell if I was back in MS, where my nearest neighbor was my Dad and he lived a mile away. I can give you ideas on what I had come up with. I have done alot of funny things and pulled off some really good ideas out of it. I love helping people.
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Jan 05 '08
8:22 am PST
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Re: Re: Difficult to make a profit (Reply to this comment)
by avonfromstubby
Colognes you have to be a bit tricky about selling to both men and women. I inject a ton of humor when I'm selling to men because they seem to respond better. I took a demo bottle in to work and had all the men spray themselves on the wrist. The place smelled like a club when it was over and I sold about 13 bottles at a $1.00 off the regular price. I figure it didn't hurt me much to give them the "Christmas discount" and actually made 2 other sales out of them for other things. One man ordered a gift basket from me.
I guess I'm a hustler but it sure is fun! Imagine me a salesperson! Never in a million years because about the only time we get visitors here at the house is if someone is picking up AVON or they are trying to sell me something! Of course, there's the pizza delivery guys, too :) And I live in a "big" city and don't have a clue who my neighbors are. Never met them in the 6 years I've been here.
I wrapped up some samples of men's cologne and tied them in a pretty ribbon (I used small cello bags that I got off eBay at an incredible price) and gave all the men on the floor a bag. 10 samples = $1.00 out of my pocket and the men appreciated it! Included a business card and have several sales to order because of them. I also gave them to the women to give to the man in their life :)
Be very humorous and creative with the cologne and you'll find it flying off your shelves :) Good luck!
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Dec 25 '07
7:14 am PST
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Re: Re: Difficult to make a profit (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
A good way to do cologne is to allow men to test the actual bottle of cologne. I allow them to try and them name a price. Some of my guy customers actaul are allowed to take it home for 5 days and then make a decision. All mine sold like that. But I would really try to sell the cologne even at a beautiful discount. The "Free" prize is only if you sell the required amount. IF you return the product you have to return the "Prize"
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Dec 25 '07
6:39 am PST
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I disagree! (Reply to this comment)
by precious0606
If you curb your spending right when you start, then you can start making money quite quickly with Avon! I do not buy a sample unless it is specifically requested. My District Manager supplies samples and demo products at our sales meetings. Also, you can get free brochures to use from your District Manager and your upline. Do NOT buy Avon supplies off of Ebay! I have noticed that everything Avon-related is overpriced on Ebay.
It is true that you have to sell more product in order to get more profit, but the more you work your customers the more sales you will have! If you work it correctly then you will succeed. By "work your customers" I mean provide incentives, inexpensive free gifts for certain things (under $1), etc...not being pushy.
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Dec 21 '07
4:24 pm PST
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Difficult to make a profit (Reply to this comment)
by avonfromstubby
Nice! Great comments!
I took the new Driven Black cologne (a bottle of it - not the samples) and walked around the office letting guys spritz themselves. Smelled like a disco when they got done but I sold 12 bottles of the stuff! Actually, it smells different on me so I wear it from time to time. My husband just loves it.
I'm thinking of doing this on the next new bottle of women's cologne. Not too many liked the Christian Lacroix for some reason, although personally, I like it. :)
I know it's a long road to riches with AVON but there are too many women out there who are bringing in those $8,000/per campaign commission checks (Diane Smith is one in the Peachtree district - I actually saw her checks for 4 campaigns. Amazing)
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Dec 19 '07
6:43 am PST
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Difficult to make a profit (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
I will not deny that you are right about location and abundance of Avon Reps interfering in your business. I sold back in 1999 in MS in a very rural area. I had no car and was a single mom, kicking a 16 hour a day job. Of course I had no support from the one who signed me up and had no idea of the fine print. I simply offered books and took orders and that was about it. I finally got out of it. Now that I think about it, I think if I had known more I might have done better. There was no training or anything. I live in the city now with tons of other Avon Reps. In my City alone which is about 4 square miles there are a total of 8 Reps outside of me and my down line. I do fine. I do not walk door to door, I drive. I cannot chance being away from my car if the school calls. I put in $20 every two weeks in gas. That covers all my driving. I actual go out very little with Avon. On order week. I go out on Thursdays and deliver 250 brochures to my customers. The following week I go out on Monday and Thursdays to deliver orders to my daytime customers and Thursday nights for evening customers. During my delivery times, I arrange for errands and such that has to be done that way I can kill two birds with one stone. With all the Reps in my area, I sit with about a fourth of the town in my back pocket, and they are left scratching their heads about how I did it. There is always competition and you have to work with that. I avoid selling inside businesses and stay more door to door. I have picked up two businesses in which I have helpers for. Helpers are great. They take orders for you and increase your business and customer base. In return I give them 20% of the commission earned off what they sell. The other great thing about helpers is if they see what to do they could turn out to be a potential recruit. There has never been one single campaign that I have not offered something to my customers. I always give back to them in some form or fashion. Examples are: with $20 order Free Gift. Refer a friend and receive $5 off next order if they order. (Brochures has Customers names on them) Leave brochure somewhere and if someone calls to order and gives name on brochure, you receive $5 off your next order. I have drawing for prizes, offer fundraisers, and give great discounts off new products, Like the Rouge where I offered it to my customers for half off. I received no profit but increased my sales and customer base dramatically. I hand business cards out to everyone. I invest in mailing labels for my printer which are what I put my Campaign Specials on. I am not by all means trying to put down anyone. I am simply telling what I do to help my business so that maybe it can give others tips on maybe helping them. I have helped many people that was not in my down line simply because I believe in what I am doing and enjoy it. I believe that I have given my contact number above in a prior post here. I can send info and such that has helped my business. There are so many supports since Bill Gates brought us the personal computer and the internet came available. As far as the online store, I have one in which I get rare orders. But it has made keeping track of all my customers and down line a lot easier. I am in yahoo groups with thousands of other reps and they are great on tips and all. The only thing I can tell anyone is that there is support out there and encouragement. I gather that you ( Ethinker ) are an Avon Rep that is struggling and at the end of your ropes. I will help you with ideas or tips if you would like. Cannot guarantee anything but it would be worth a shot, would it not. Don’t be fooled though, I have struggles of my own with doing Avon, but that has never stopped me and never will.
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Dec 19 '07
5:05 am PST
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Re: Difficult to make a profit (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
"You're better off starting your own business or working for someone else for a decent wage where you don't have to buy every little thing you need in order to have your job.”
Avon is your own Business and anyone that has a business knows that if you do not put back into the business you will FAIL. Are you telling me that running your own Restaurant, Welding Company, Disc Jockey, or any other business does not require you to put what you make back into your business. That it does not take a lot of time or effort. Avon, like Tupperware and many other Direct Selling companies are not for some people. Some people are simply not ready to give up their profit in a hope to see reward in a year or two. With me...I am willing to wait and see... I have two Autistic children and 4 other children besides. This business unlike a lot of other businesses gives the flexibility to be able to attend their needs and run my business. I did not go into Avon with this idea that I would be making big money. I went into it for the pleasure and the chance to do something for "me". I recruited and I went the extra mile to look into the fine print. Yes you can make money with Avon by selling and no you don't show much profit just starting out. Matter of fact after you put back into it to "build" there is little left over. I was aware and prepared for this. I had NO intention of pocketing ANY profit my first year. Since April 6 of this year which is my first year of selling, I have at the present time, sold $12,500. I have made Presidents Club, and within that time frame have become Unit Leader. I have recruited abt 25 men and women. Out of those recruits, about 8 of them are doing well. And yes to make the type of money that you want to make, recruiting and training is the answer. But it is not just signing up people. You have to train and mentor them. The better you train them and help them to establish their business, the more they sell and the more you make. My first bonus off My Unit Leader was 20.19. I was very proud. This was in campaign 19. By Campaign 24, which is two and a half months, I had increased that to over $100 per campaign. The money I have made off my bonus has helped with Christmas and bought my laptop which is to help conduct my business and manage it better. This is outside of my sells. My sells typical run about 400.00 + per campaign. My sales commission went to the following. Business cards, customer specials (which increases customer relations), Drawings for prizes, Avon Logo for my auto, Avon business bag, A stamp for my books carrying the Avon logo, Christmas presents for all 250 customers that I currently serve, Gifts for My down line, Bags and such for my orders, ink for my printer, my phone, my cell phone, my internet, my laptop, and so much more.
I also know that out of 100 brochures you might get lucky to get more than one customer. That One customer might place a $20 order. Of course that customer got my new customer special of spend $20 to receive a free gift or a 10% discount. I make sure that one customer is completely satisfied. That customer became a regular, and so did her neighbor and three of her co-workers. Within two campaigns I had sold almost 500.00 off that 19.00 set of brochures.
“The only way to make money is to recruit other reps, but you must be careful not to recruit too many in your area, especially if you live in a small community. Then you will be creating more competition for yourself. Recruiting is difficult and will take years to build up enough recruits to result in any substantial amount of money - if any at all.”
I have about 7 recruits that live in my community. We are not having problems with each other taking customers. I see it this way; if one of my Recruits snags a customer then I have not pleased my customer. I try to up my customer service. But that also means that the one that snagged the customer increased her sells which means I will in the end still make more money. So I still make money in my leadership bonuses off the same customer.
I met a couple from Virginia at our career seminar. They have been in AVON 17 years. They currently do nothing but AVON. The own three houses that are paid for, they put their children through college, they never missed out on anything that their children did growing up. They currently have more than $5000 in sells each campaign. They have 550 people in their down line and last year made over $100,000 of their leadership bonuses on their down line outside of their personal sales. They have reached Senior Executive Unit Leaders. They even admitted they were skeptical in the beginning and admitted that it took a lot of effort. They drove away in a nice new BMW. I had my picture taken with them and it hangs in my office. My plan is to be where they are at one day. I am willing to wait that long to achieve that $100,00o a year. Just think. If you made $20 off each recruit and you have 28 recruits that are doing well. You have made $560 in two weeks. $50 off each new recruit is going to be $1400. By the way, one of my recruits made Presidents club with in 8 campaigns.
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Dec 15 '07
7:52 am PST
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Been 6 Months (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
Just wanted to update everyone sine my last posting. By going by my goals and small but working business plan, I have almost $8,000 in sales and am now Unit leader with 6 members in my downline, with one signing up tomorrow night. Thanks to my last posting, I have recruited a wonderful woman that has almost surpassed me in just a few short months. So if I am not a good enough example of starting a successful business, she is. She has about $4000 in sales and has recruited two into her downline. I have enjoyed my business and if anyone would like to know more, please contact me anytime. No it is not a get rich quick, but like with most other successful and long term businesses. It takes time and effort. But most of all, you have to enjoy and like what you do.
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Oct 09 '07
6:21 pm PDT
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Avon-not the best money maker out there..depends (Reply to this comment)
by daileylife
I believe that hard work pays off in the long run. I have been an AVON rep only for about 3 months. My goal is to run my own business and be successful at it. I set up a business plan before I ever recruited. I budget my spending at the beginning of each campaign. Once I have placed into my cart all my selling supplies and samples, then I set myself a sell goal so that I never have to pay for anything out of another income. I planned in advance to give all my commission up to start my business. I estimated to do this for at a minimum of four months and a maximum of 6 months. Buying a pack of Glazewear Samples is $1.50 per pack. When you sale a Glazewear lipstick (1) at 50% earning then you have paid for your samples. I have a fishing tackle box that I keep samples in so that my customer can browse and pick out what he or she likes rather than drop into an order. I have recruited 4 individuals in two weeks. They were provided with 10 current brochures and 10 future brochures. I also gave them a tip sheet and contact information. At least 5 ways of reaching me. They were each giving about $20 in samples to start off with. I do whatever I can to help them to be successful. Their success is my success. I have not sold less than $500 in any campaign I have been in. I have a total of 93 customers, which about half order every campaign. In my first four campaigns at 50% commission I bought all my sells supplies I would need for an estimated six months. Now all I buy is my books, samples, and one demo per campaign. I budget everything. I now pay my phone bill, my internet service, all the gas for my car, my cell phone. I still walk out with over $100.00 to the good in pocket each campaign. So it depends on what you want out of your business and how much heart you put into succeeding. With one more recruit I become Unit Leader. Avon does offer many opportunities to be successful. If anyone would like to know more about just how successful they can be as an AVON rep contact me anytime, cynthiamdaley@aol.com. This is a Business, not a job. Even though with AVON ADVANTAGE, you get discounts with places like Staples and Dell. You can also purchase Life insurance and health insurance. It is a great opportunity for someone who is in for the long haul.
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Jul 08 '07
9:32 pm PDT
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The problem... (Reply to this comment)
by danaseilhan
...with reviews like this one, about direct sales organizations, is that the writer seems to be comparing the direct sales opportunity with a regular wage-paying, employment-type job.
Not terribly long ago I was *this close* to signing up someone for the Avon Opportunity. I went out of my way to explain to him that this was NOT a job, that it would be his own business and that he would be considered an independent contractor, and then I told him it was $10 to sign up. He balked, in a tone of voice that told me he thought I was scamming him. I know that job-seekers have been told not to pay someone to get a job but THIS IS NOT A JOB.
Likewise, the obvious expectation here that everything in a direct sales business should be handed to the salesperson, and this is not the only DS business in which I have seen such sentiments expressed. If they don't want everything handed to them, they at least want more freebies than they're getting. If you really want to feel pinched for funds, try starting your own business from scratch sometime. I guarantee you that you will receive VERY few lucky breaks on such things as business aids and samples, and more likely you will have to pay for *everything.* To add insult to injury: because you'll be a small business, especially if working out of your home, you will not qualify for the deepest quantity-based discounts. This is why corporations like Wal-Mart are blowing small businesses out of the water. They aren't really providing anything better than what a small business can do, they just get the discounts.
Meanwhile, with Avon, I don't have to pay fees when someone buys something from me with a debit card. If I had my own business, I'd be paying fees for a credit card merchant account, including per-transaction fees.
I don't have to buy and stock inventory. In fact, if something I have in stock is not moving, I can return it to the company. If I haven't paid the bill for those items yet, I haven't lost anything.
I've been with other direct sales organizations who wanted an arm and a leg for sales aids. Avon's brochures are the cheapest I've seen so far. Better yet I could order a couple hundred business cards for six bucks' shipping from Vistaprint with my eRep URL on them, pass them out and pay fifteen bucks a month for my eRep site and not worry about the brochures at all, at least in theory. (And I could not get a website that nice for fifteen bucks a month if I had to hire someone to write it and update it!)
Most inventory suppliers do not have samples you can give out to your potential customers. If they did, I doubt the samples would be as cheap. Avon has the leverage of making their own samples; even if they didn't, they are large enough to command the type of discount Wal-Mart gets, so samples would still be cheaper.
And if you have to curb your own buying to keep your profit, welcome to the wonderful world of math. Regular business owners have to do this as well. I've never owned a storefront business but I have worked in retail, and I found that if I wanted enough paycheck to pay my rent and bills at home, I needed to curtail using my employee discount! Which, incidentally, was never more than thirty percent, did not apply to clearance items, did not authorize me to resell the items in question (except maybe at a yard sale or on eBay, which might or might not make me back the money I originally spent), and was always more than any commission percentage I might be earning on my sales. I would have *loved* to make thirty percent commission. In a retail chain, that's not supported by the economics UNLESS you are an independent contractor, not an employee.
Do you have to work hard to make money with Avon? Sure, but that's true any time you are exchanging labor for cash. The only time you can make money without doing anything is if you are an investor, and you had to make the money to invest to begin with, and you still have to keep an eye on your investment accounts. Them's the breaks. Meanwhile, I don't know of any long-term, established, successful direct sales business that lets you start for so little, which probably explains why Avon's making inroads into poor countries and poor U.S. neighborhoods.
It's not for everybody, but it's especially not for people who want something for nothing, or who want to put the minimum amount of effort out there for maximum return.
One more thing: I've seen criticism of the use of the term, "This product sells itself." Most people realize this statement is not literally true. However, Avon has such fantastic brand recognition now that all I have to do is leave a brochure at the laundromat and sooner or later, someone will call wanting to buy a product. I don't have to convince anyone of anything, I just show them what I have to offer. That is what this statement means. Anyone who's ever been, say, a Kirby vacuum salesperson will tell you how hard it is to move product when potential customers are not familiar with the product, and customers don't usually like to be subjected to sales pitches--it makes them feel like they're being scammed even if the product is legitimate. So it's nice to have products that people actually WANT.
To anyone deciding to try the opportunity, good luck to you. But remember, you make most of your luck.
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Feb 10 '07
6:31 pm PST
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That Depends on Who you talk to..... (Reply to this comment)
by avonfromstubby
A person signs up for AVON and boom! instant cash! Instant customers! Instant fame and fortune! And very little effort or work to get there! Wow! Fantasy come to life!
Ok, now the reality check. Millionaires will tell you there is no fast-easy to making the kind of money you want to make in any direct-sales industry - AVON, MK, HIG, etc.
If you go in with blinders on, you'll get your feelings hurt pretty quick because you don't have a check coming in from all that "residual money" that the recruiter told you about initially.
Guess they didn't tell you that you have to spend money to make money. Guess they didn't explain that if you don't go to the sales meetings, you don't get a fresh perspective of your own goals. Guess they didn't tell you that your direct sales business was actually a BUSINESS that you would have to manage (keeping on target with your goals) or bring innovative ideas to the table to be considered a useful part of the team.
Guess it's really easy to look at all those direct sales people and critique them without walking a mile in their shoes or even being a part of their team. Guess you thought you'd go through years and years of being a rep and doing the same things over and over again and hoping you'll get somewhere.
If you're in the business, what are you doing to help your team? What are you doing to help your business? If you're in the business, have you made specific goals and are working towards them? Are you sharing them with your team?
Is your family looking at you and saying, "oh, she/he has a nice "hobby" selling this stuff but you don't really make REAL $$ doing it." Do they pat you on the head a lot and toss you a cookie and wait for you to just go away? Do your customers do this to you?
Maybe there's something to not making a load of $$ with direct sales. But, for me, that's not the case. I am making money with AVON and I'm keeping track of everything I make and what I'm spending my profits on. I don't buy demos. Why should I? I have an upline or a member of the team that has that demo product so I just borrow theirs in exchange for me helping them toss books one day or going to a craft fair and helping them work their booth. Barter and trade. The less inventory you keep, the less you have to keep up with.
As for not making to full 50% on every item you sell, well, all I have to say is you're only concentrating on items that give you the guaranteed 20% return from AVON. You don't push the 50% items, only the 20% because the 20% is newer or it's a short-term/seasonal item or it's easier to sell because it's cheaper. But consider this..... you have to work MUCH harder to get to the 50% level if you're only selling at the 20% level. You're spinning your wheels because you don't know your product, you don't know your company benefits and you don't know how to sell. I'm no expert but thanks to my team and the AVON training, I'm quickly getting to that expert level. Why? Because I WANT to be there. I don't want to do the same things over and over and over again. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired with my life and my bank account.
If that means I have to step up my attitude, so be it. I'll break the mold that everyone sees in me and do something different. I'll succeed.
But thoughts like that come with thinking you're a leader and not a follower (something different for me, for sure). Thoughts like that come with a promise to yourself that you're not giving up or not going to do things the way you've always done them. (another concept that's alien to me but I'm working to make it my way of life)
And you can't tell me MK, HIG and all the rest are any different. Been there. Done that. Got the T-shirt and promptly sold it.
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Jan 06 '07
9:28 am PST
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Re: Avon (Reply to this comment)
by aurora8202
Other things that I haven't seen mentioned here is that Avon reps only make up to 50% on SOME products that they sell (in Canada for sure). To make 50% off of my order I would have to sell over $1685 worth of products in 2-3 weeks. And even then, only certain products count towards that amount. For example, if I sell $200 worth of Avon clothing and $1500 worth of regular Avon products (skincare, makeup, fragrance, jewelry) my order would be $1700 but because the clothing doesn't count towards my discount, my order only counts as a $1500 order instead and I go down from 50% to 45%.
Not only that, only SOME products get the 45% off. There are a LOT of products in the brochures that stay at a 10-20% discount no matter how high my order is.
Also, if reps want to show their customers the new products coming out, they have to buy them themselves at the same discount. This is just my opinion, but Avon wouldn't sell anything if it didn't have reps doing the work. Yet if I want to be able to show my customers the new $50 christmas collectible (or whatever) coming out in the next campaign I have to buy it at (if I'm lucky) $45. Customers like to see what they are buying before making a decision (I do too). You'd think that seeing as nobody is going to see it if the reps don't buy it they could at least give 1/2 price. And they don't have to worry about anyone taking advantage and buying three for their mother because we are only allowed one of each item number from the demos already.
And then there is the subject of Avon's "Guarantee". They offer 100% refund for any reason, but don't expect the reps to return it. We are supposed to either pay more than the cost of the item to ship it back to them through the mail (And I sold on eBay for a while before trying out Avon, I know about the costs of shipping through Canada Post). I think that if THEY want to promise the return, then they should pay for it. Or I can keep it to "demo" or "sample" and add another $_ to my expenses (If I wanted to sample the darn thing I would have bought it myself in the first place).
Anyone in Canada considering signing up as a rep should read this and at least know what they are getting into.
My Mom sold Avon for 10 years starting out at about the same age as I am now and even though she had over 500 customers and made quite a bit of money, she still has the same opinion of Avon as I now do. I think they could do a lot better job of 'helping' their reps.
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Oct 29 '06
9:19 pm PST
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