Starting Off

It wasn’t what I expected. The way my upline manager met with me, in my home and face-to-face, but still with an impersonal feeling, left me kinda feeling like… huh? What just happened? I had expected simply to meet with her and discuss what would be involved in the process, since she had pushed me to have that meeting, but I ended up going ahead and signing up that day. After my initial appointment with my upline Doris, I spoke to her only one other time, when she called a week later to check in on me.

There are good and bad upline managers. Some help you get going, maybe help you throw your first Avon party and get you started with some supplies. Some, on the other hand, do the bare minimum, sign you up with your initial “kit,” and expect you do go at it. Mine was one from the latter group, and so I was really on my own from the beginning.

Learning the Ropes

To supplement my lack of instruction from my upline, I turned to online resources. Avon supplies a very nice training section of their website which any representative can access. The Beauty of Knowledge courses go over how to make sales, how to enter your orders, understanding how much you’ll make off of your sales, et cetera. It was very useful. I also made use of the official forums to ask more experienced representatives for advice.

I knew I would run into one problem with selling Avon: I’m not an outgoing, pushy, make-the-sale type of person. I’d learned to be firm when talking to insurance companies at my former job, but talking to potential customers is a whole different kind of firmness. Still, I was ready to try, and so I started going out with my few brochures and doing what I could.

The first couple campaigns went well enough that I decided to start ordering more brochures. After all, I was mostly breaking even, so it was worth the risk to try and actually make some profit. Instead of 10 brochures per campaign, I pushed it to 20 and then to 30. Things got fairly busy at that point – on my end but not with incoming orders. I still received maybe two or three orders each campaign, but I was keeping myself busy with running around trying to take brochures to various places (and trying to share one car with Hubby).

Doing the Work

After a few more campaigns of this workload, I began to feel worn out. I seemed to only have time for Avon and blogging, and I wasn’t happy with it. I was stressed, feeling pressured to do more, and yet I was disappointed that I was not seeing any positive results from how hard I was already working. Around this time, also, my husband was having to spend weeks at a time doing field training, and I was getting lonely and somewhat depressed. I started to think that Avon just wasn’t for me.

Rather than giving up, I decided to cut back on what I was doing. I lowered my brochure orders to 20, then 10, and my orders stayed around 1-2 per campaign. The truth is, for the last month or two, I haven’t been trying very hard at all. There are so many things important to me, so many things to spend time on, and this just hasn’t been one of them.

I’ve enjoyed selling Avon, though. I really have. I got to meet new people and try something new, something I never pictured myself doing. I got to try Avon products for the first time for less than I would have paid if I hadn’t been a representative. And I like them a lot! I got to experience the fun of running my own business and organizing my time and my supplies the way I wanted them. And I really liked being able to provide people with products they love. That was the best part.

But I’m feeling now like I’d rather use my time and energy on writing, drawing, housekeeping, reading, and studying. And I’m starting to feel like my organizational skills would be of more use in running my website and my home. I guess I just feel like I’ve given it a good run, but it’s just not my thing. And, besides, I’m losing money at it.

Moving Forward

So here’s my plan. Unfortunately, it starts with dropping the online store and my status as an E-representative. The cost of maintaining that is not worth the one-per-month order that it gets. I apologize for the inconvenience to those of you who have been using my online store from time to time.

The second part of my plan is to stop ordering brochures. I have to pay for them, and I have to spend the time handing them out when I get them, and it’s just not something that I can keep up with financially or otherwise.

The third part of my plan, however, is to maintain my status as an Avon Independent Sales Representative, at least for now. Customers will still be able to email or call me with their orders, and I will still be able to submit orders and get products to deliver to them. They just won’t get their own personal copy of the current brochure with their order.

My point is, that summer has arrived, in the real world as well as in Avonland. Do you have sunscreen? Bug repellant? Awesome flip flops? Extra deodorant? Travel-sized toiletries for vacation? A mini burger grill basket or a hot dog roller for the family BBQs?

I mean, I’m not trying to say that you need all of these things. Or rather, I’m not trying to say that you need all of these things. Maybe just a couple.

Skin So Soft original bath oil is on sale again, and that’s one great product to have not just in the summer, but all year-round! It has so many great uses. Here’s one website called Becky’s Biz that lists 101 uses for Skin So Soft. I would just re-post them, but I don’t want to steal her work. I’ll just highlight a few:

• Bath oil and after-shower moisturizer
• Use to remove makeup
• Insect repellant
• Good for cleaning and conditioning natural wood
• Polishing furniture
• Removes crayon marks from most surfaces
• Flea bath
• Open a towelette and use as an automotive air freshener

If you’re interested in trying out a new product or restocking on an old, you can order any time by visiting my store. There’s a link to it in my header! Browse by current brochure or by categories and brands, and place your order online at your convenience! And you can always email or call me for assistance. I do ask that only local residents select “personal delivery” for their orders, as I can only drive so far to make deliveries. Everyone else, please select “direct delivery.” It just means that Avon ships it directly to you, without shipping it to me first. If you want to be kept updated about special offers (such as sales and free shipping) just let me know, and I’d be glad to put you on my mailing list!

To find all the deals, visit my Avon store, click shop now, and on the left side underneath “more ways to shop,” click on Mother’s Day Boutique.

If you did not receive the email with the current coupon (Free shipping on orders over $5), leave me a comment or send an email, and I’ll be sure to get that to you!

Featured Products – Especially for Moms in Campaign 9!

• The Skin So Soft Signature Silk 5-Piece Gift Basket – This is my favorite scent in the SSS line. The bottles have pink designs rather than the blue you find on the Original SSS, and the gift basket includes a goldtone wire gift basket with tissue, cellophane bag, and self-forming ribbon. The products included are shower gel, 2 types of body lotion, and hand cream. This basket is also available in the Original SSS, and either one will save you over $20 for the bundle!
• The Far Away Fragrance Gift Basket – Buying this bundle saves you $40 over buying the products separately. The goldtone wire gift basket also comes with tissue, cellophane bag, and self-forming bow, and includes Far Away body lotion, shower gel, and body powder. If Far Away is not your favorite fragrance, you can choose from three other top scents for the same price!
• Single Items – Aside from the baskets, there are good deals on quite a few gifts that can be purchased individually. A few that caught my eye were the Glam ‘N’ Gorgeous Summer Scarf (comes in blue, orange, and goldtone), the Embellished Fantastic Thong (flip flops! they look very cute!), and the Key to My Heart Necklace. All of these products are under $10. If you want to make your own gift baskets, there are two types of baskets to choose from: the goldtone wire and the rose felt, which can both be purchased separately. You can also find more beautiful jewelry and makeup gift ideas at the store!

“Michelle asked me to write a review for one of her Avon products that I recently tried called Foot Works Restorative Milky Foot Soak.

I’m really not one for cosmetic products (I am a soldier after all), but I recently completed a field competition called Sapper Stakes. It was a four day event out in the back lands of central Texas, doing Army stuff and walking over 60 miles in full gear. By the end of it all of the competitors had blisters, bruises, and very sore feet. I know I was having trouble not limping when I came home.

So after my hot shower, while I was still whining and whimpering on the couch about my sore body and feet, Michelle offers me a foot soak. She figures out I can’t actually stop her, so she put my feet in a tub of hot water with the Foot Works and… just wow. I’ve used a lot of remedies for sore muscles, but this soak just felt amazing. Maybe it was the hot water, but I doubt it was just that. After the soak with Foot Works my feet felt ten times better, and it didn’t wear off. By that evening my feet felt better than they had even before the field.

Anyways it contains epsom salts, proteins, and oils… I’m not sure of all the details but it works. I’m going to make her keep this stuff around more often, because I really like it. I know I suck at reviews, but if your husband has sucky boots, or sore feet from a long PT run, I’d really suggest you make him try it. We can be stubborn about stuff like that.”

Want to Know More?

You can find the Big Deal for campaign 8 on pages 168-169 of your brochure. Remember, you can click the store link to shop online at your convenience, and in addition to traditional browsing methods (by brand and category), you can also click the link at the top of the page to view the current brochure.

If your interested in just a couple of the Foot Works products, but don’t want to get the whole bundle, check out pages 160-161 for another great deal: Mix and match any two of the featured Foot Works products at a great price!

The following Foot Works products are available for the mix and match deal: Vanilla & Brown Sugar Calming Foot Soak, Smoothing Scrub, and Moisturizing Foot Cream; Lavender Clay Mask; Restorative Milky Foot Soak with Epsom Salt; Antifungal Foot Spray; Intensive Callous Cream; Lace Foot File; and the new Dual-Action Pedi Peel.

The Big Deal bundle contains: Deluxe Touch Toenail Clipper; Restorative Milky Foot Soak with Epsom Salt; Therapeutic Cracked Heel Relief Cream; Overnight Renewing Foot Cream; and Deep Moisture Cream.

Yes!

So far I’ve had a very positive impression of this elixir. It sprays out in a consistency that is slightly thicker than a liquid but thinner than a lotion. I have long hair (to about my elbows), so I have used about seven or eight squirts the two times that I’ve used it so far. I try to get a good coat on the tips of my hair, where most of the damage is, and then I start back at the roots and work my way down with a light coat. I sleep on it, and in the morning when I brush it out my hair feels a lot softer (my husband and I both think so, and I’ll go so far as to speak for my cat, as well).

In examining my hair, I think I am already noticing a difference in the amount of split ends I see, as unbelievable as that seems. And, as another plus, the stuff smells really good.

I’m going to continue using it before making my final judgment call, but so far I’ve been very pleased and would recommend it to any other woman with damaged hair. I’ll let you know what my final opinion is, though! If you are interested in trying it, feel free to look it up at my store.

I also became aware of how small my little bag of samples really is! Of course, I can’t afford to buy samples of everything all at once, but I would still like to start increasing what I have. For now, I’m going to start with some different orange-ish shades of lipstick, as one of my customers has requested that, as well as the new perfume Haiku. Please, please let me know if there is anything else you are interested in! I would love to be able to get it for you!

Right now, I have a few samples of the new Ultra Color Rich Mega Impact Lipstick (it comes in pinks and purples), and I have the following women’s fragrances: U by Ungaro Fever for Her, Eternal Magic (coming out next campaign!), Sweet Honesty Everlasting, Rare Gold, and Rare Pearls. I also have three samples of men’s fragrances: Ironman, Blue Rush Intense, Aromadisiac for Him.

It’s called U by Ungaro Fever For Her Eau de Parfum Spray, and they’re calling it a “woody floral” scent. If you look it up at my store, you can find the ingredients and further information, such as pricing. As for me, I’ve had to tell myself in no uncertain terms that I cannot use any more samples, or I would surely use them all up. I guess I’m just going to have to buy a bottle!

It’s a fairly strong fragrance, but the florals are, like Avon says, deep and woody, not fresh and fruity. I think it’s a great night-out perfume, and I’m planning to order some as soon as I’m able! If you’re interested in a sample, let me know!

Do you have any thoughts about the new U by Ungaro Fever For Her?

Overall, I’d recommend the Smooth Minerals brand over the new Mega Impact lipstick. If you do get the Mega Impact, you may find yourself applying a little more often! The bright side is that at the introductory price, the new one is half the price. I tried really hard to like the new product! I just don’t think it’s quite hitting the mark.

I got into Avon for reasons similar to what others say: I liked the flexible hours, the working for myself, the additional income, the discount on products. I think it’s a good endeavor for women who are not otherwise employed, or who are students. I would advise that if you think it will be easy money, think again. It’s not hard to break even, but it requires effort to make a profit. You have to treat it as a job, or else you won’t get an income from it.

Startup:

It’s easy to sign up. If you don’t know an Avon representative personally, you can just get on the website and fill out a form. Then, an Avon rep in your area will contact you. It costs $10 to get started, which pays for the “kit” you’re given. If you have a good upline manager, you will also be supplied with a few brochures for your first few campaigns.

I’d suggest you register for the website youravon.com as soon as possible, which will be a couple of days after you are appointed as a representative. The website gives you access to product reference guides, online ordering and payment, and much more. Some of the useful things took a while for me to find, on my own. I would specifically point you to the “community” tab, where you can find forums (message boards) for communicating with over representatives and, on the left hand side, a link called “Avon advantage,” which will show you all of the business partners that will give you discounts on products for being an Avon rep. One of the most useful ones will even give you free business cards, minus shipping costs.

Do the online training courses, especially if your upline manager is not in contact with you frequently enough to answer all of your questions. You should try to finish these within the first few campaigns if you have the time.

Marketing:

When I first talked to my sister about Avon, she immediately assumed that, since the brand is so well known, I must be doing little-to-no work and getting tons of sales. Wrong. As evidenced by my own sister, who has known of my business for a month but has ordered nothing, Avon does not simply make money grow on trees for me. It does, however, sell itself. To a degree.

The good thing is that it is well-known. But you have to get your name, and more specifically your brochures out there. Buy some printable address labels as soon as you can and print out something with your name, phone number, email address, and website if you’re an E-rep. Stick them on your brochures. Get on some nice, business casual clothes. Then go out and do it. If you walk into a business or up to a stranger with a brochure, the worst that they can do is say no (to avoid embarrassment, check businesses for “No Soliciting” signs). The more brochures you get in people’s hands, the more potential customers you have, and the more calls you can get.

More than anything demos or samples or gift baskets or sales, you should make it a priority to get brochures out. Just do it.

Bookkeeping:

Keep your Avon money separate from your personal money, and keep accurate, thorough records. This means saving receipts for anything that might be a business-related expense. Traveling to make a delivery = gas money. Printer cartridges, printer paper, internet service, and gas money are all business expenses to track. I’m no tax expert, but I know you can write off business expenses, so keep good records! Start early so that at tax time you’re not running around stressed, trying to find those long lost receipts.

Things I Didn’t Know:

When I started my Avon business, I was probably less familiar with Avon than most people. Maybe you’re in my position, maybe not, but I want to go through a few things I didn’t know or understand at first. Hopefully it will help you out.

1. Campaigns & Brochures – Each brochure is good for one campaign, and a campaign is 2 weeks long. At the end of the two weeks, the brochure is expired. The new brochure may have different products available, or it may just be they’re available at different prices. You put your order in at the end of the campaign, and then you receive your products and make deliveries. And that’s how it goes. Every. two. weeks. Also, you pay for your brochures. They’re not expensive, and they do get cheaper the more you buy in bulk, but they’re not free.

2. Upline & Downline – Your upline manager is whoever is above you, who appointed you. It may or may not be your district sales manager. It may just be another representative. At any time, you, too, can become an upline manager, but be aware that the first “appointment” you make must be done with you, your upline, and the new rep. And you won’t receive any extra commission right away.

3. Ordering Early – Don’t do it. I learned the hard way, following the advice of my upline. If you want to submit your regular order early, forget it. If you try to add another order to your regular order after it has processed, you may be stuck with an “additional order” fee. For some reason Avon refuses to add items to an order once it has processed, even if the deadline for submitting orders hasn’t passed yet and the order hasn’t shipped yet. So I’d advise to just avoid it. Don’t order early because it gains you nothing.

I love the scent and how it layers with the other products I use. (I use the Soft and Sensual deodorant, body wash, and gelled body oil.) Once it dries, my underarms feel dry, and it lasts longer than the old, powder deodorant I used to get from the drugstore. It never leaves a mark on my clothes, either, or leaves me feeling sticky!

Try it now if you never have before, or stock up if you already use it. Avon Roll-On deodorants are on sale now in several wonderful scents, such as Timeless, Sweet Honesty, and Imari. And the others are at their usual low prices. I highly recommend that you check it out at my store!