To all Avon Representatives

Way back sometime between the last of March and the beginning of April, I signed on as an Avon representative. Being your own boss and setting your own hours is hard work! It was easy getting signed up (only $10.00). As I sit in a booth at a local Shoney's restaurant trying to keep focused and paying attention to all the sales hype the district sales leader was telling me about, I was excited to be adding some much needed money to my personal budget. She gave me a few campaign books and even some free merchandise in a neat kit. I had several items to take home with me and look over. I even got my own Avon website! How cool is that? And with today's technology; cell phones, Facebook, social media outlets, business cards, labels, etc., I can really make my small business grow!
Like I stated earlier, being my own boss is hard work! That is if you want to make money. I took my kit home and sat down and looked over every piece diligently. Turns out, it was so amazing and thrilling that I was going to be my very own boss, set my own hours, have a big house, drive a nice car, etc. Sales hype techniques that are thrown into the brochures. Nice pictures of cars, boats, vacation spots,and large homes that you could fit a circus in. All this is designed to persuade you that anything you desire is possible by becoming an Avon representative. Mind you, some women and men have achieved a lot of success by being Avon representatives because they have that mindset and determination to succeed. So after looking over my materials, I diligently wrote my name, address, phone number, and email on the back of my campaign books and sent out text messages from my phone that I was now selling Avon and if anyone wanted to look through my books, he or she could. Then I hopped on the internet using Facebook and Twitter informing all my friends and contacts the same thing.
Slowly, I began to build my first clientele. It was amazing and fun! I was beginning to see the results. Hey, I had my first order within a matter of minutes of my post. I had five customers within two hours! By the time the first campaign order went in (on credit thanks to Avon), I had a total order of $500.00! I began receiving emails from my upline congratulating me on my first order. Then came training! Yes, Avon has an online training program where each representative can work at his or her own pace. At the end of each session, a certificate can be printed out and emailed to the district manager where a prize may be given. There are so many other ways to motivate representatives. Sales hype gimmicks galore! But it's all for the benefit of the representative and what he or she wants to achieve.For my benefit, I have taken a few of the courses. The instructors really motivate you and tell you all the wonderful things you never knew about yourself, what is possible to achieve in Avon, how one can rise above the position where they are now, achieve success, and determine how far you will go by the amount of work and effort you put into your business! Like I said earlier, being my own boss is hard work!
I was so excited when I placed the first campaign order with Avon! And it was a little nerve racking! Afraid of missing something a customer wanted, making a mistake on the website, not doing it right, etc. These all went through my mind! What if I messed up, missed something, or didn't even submit my order? Avon has you covered on that too. Customer service! There are so many ways to contact them.Then after submitted my order and getting confirmation, a few days later UPS delivered my campaign order. Then the issues began and I realized being my own boss was not going to be easy. Every campaign is different; back orders, cancelled items that do not need to be reordered, not the right price, etc. But hey, I am my own boss, right?
I continue to be an Avon representative because I love the products, the company and what it stands for, the issues and community involvement they sponsor, the many ways they help you grow your business while at the same time selling for a company that cares! My hat goes off to all Avon representatives and the efforts they are putting into their businesses. Growing community involvement into efforts such as breast cancer, domestic violence, and disasters anywhere. After all, shouldn't we all be involved in some way. So while I continue to grow my business using the techniques I learned from Avon instructors and other mentors, I know it's hard work! Getting together all the materials, distributing them to customers, filling orders, delivering orders, building web pages and constantly learning about new sales gimmicks and hypes to pass on to others, making budgets, buying samples to pass out to potential customers, continuing to add new customers on a daily and weekly basis, my hat goes off to all those who help me along the way. Being a business owner is hard work! Till next time...Happy Avoning!