Back Again!

So I've been away from Avon for quite a few months. It wasn't because I wasn't making money with it or wasn't enjoying it, but I had a lot of things going on in my life. I am very happy to report that I graduated college in December.

I haven't landed a full time job yet, I am currently on the hunt but until I find something in a relevant area I am working in retail. I am enjoying my job, it's definitely the best job I have ever had but the post-holiday hours cut has not been easy.

With that being said I am more motivated than ever to make some extra money with Avon. It's time for some team building, I have never gotten a downline in this business but I really want to make it happen this time! There are SO many exciting things happening in the Avon business right now with the addition of things like Avon living that I am extra excited to show of these products!

If you join my Avon team I will give you some goodies and we WILL rock this. Please let me know if you are interested, it only cost $15 to join and there is no recurring fee! Even if you only want to buy Avon for yourself (and not focus on selling) it is still worth it for the discount on products and demos!

Avon Goals and Rewards

I had my first Avon sales meeting this month which really inspired me. I saw that some of the other new representatives sold over $200 more than me on their first order! That inspired me to get after it in my current campaign and really improve my sales. Guess what, I did it! I sold over $300 in sales in my second campaign. My three big goals going forward are:

 1) Get all of the "Just for You" awards by placing a $100 order in my next 2 campaigns (I already did it in my first two campaigns) I plan to keep some of the free products to sell, use some to treat myself, and give some to my mom for helping me get new customers!

2) Join the $400 club by placing an order of at least $400 in one campaign--this one will be tough but I am going to try and  step out of my comfort zone and get some sales! I was actually not too far off in my second campaign! Wish I could've made that extra push! To help achieve this goal I am going to get my books into the hands of new people and leave retired books in public places. I'll get there!

3) Gaining my first recruit! I have a friend who is semi-interested in joining my team but I am trying to find the balance between encouraging her/being pushy. I think it would be a lot of fun to have someone to share this journey with and grow with!

I am having a blast selling avon so far and really want to see how far I can go with this company! If you are interested in joining please contact me. I am so glad I took the plunge and I would be more than happy to help you start your journey and get these rewards as well!

Avon Giveaway Gift Basket

This is the post I used to share my giveaway and instruct people on how to enter.

My Avon journey has been a lot of fun so far. It hasn't gotten off to a rocket fast start, but I didn't expect it to. It's something you have to be creative with and work for. I know I am willing to do the work, are you?

One of the aspects I really would like to be successful in is online marketing. To do this I am blogging and utilizing pinterest, instagrm, and Facebook. I also plan to venture into youtube soon. It takes time and it takes effort but I find it all very fun.

One of the things I wanted to work on this campaign is my Facebook page, I have been struggling to get to my first goal-100 likes. I got some products at a low price and decided that I would do a giveaway to entice more people to like my page. It hasn't gotten as much attention as I expected but I still have over a week left in the giveaway so I am not giving up! I will tell more of my friends about it and continue to repost it. I am hoping as it nears the end it will get a strong push.

I took this photo before I wrapped the basket so you could better see what I included. It cost me less than $8 to make this basket with sales and my discount, but it still provides a lot of value to whoever wins it. It I was selling this basket I would charge $20 for it.

 I am hoping that it will bring in more likes to my page so that I don't feel remorse for holding the giveaway. I included a campaign book and a mother's day flyer in the basket along with some perfume samples in hopes that whoever wins will share the book or order more products. If that happens I will more than make my money back so I was willing to take this risk.

Have you guys ever held a giveaway? Post any tips or success stories below!

My first giveaway!

We've all heard it "You've got to spend money to make money" the phrase that is always tossed around when discussing a new business. Its true though, and I've decided to spend a little extra money  on my Avon business.

My first campaign wasn't super profitable, but respectable. I made my first goal in the "just for you" incentive program and am excited to get that first shipment in and package everyone orders with new brochures and samples! 

One area that has been challenging for me is social media marketing. As I've posted about before I am learning a lot from Makeup Marketing Online because I really want to be successful in this area but I've been having trouble gaining fans on my Facebook page so far. To help with this, I've decided to do a giveaway which requires people to like my page and share the contest post in order for them to be entered to win.

I am hoping it will increase my Facebook page likes so that when I post deals in the future I will reach more people! I got all of these products at great prices when I placed my first campaign order so I don't feel like the giveaway cost me too much of my first profits. 

Have any of you ever done giveaways before? Did it help your page gain likes/engagements?

Avon Business Must-Haves!

Hello everyone! I am in the second week of my Avon journey and am having a blast so far. I have been going through brochures, taking courses in Avon University, going to meetings with my DM, and reading tips online. The most helpful site I have found is www.makeupmarketingonline.com which is run by a lady named Emily who has been very successful with selling Avon over the last few years. I'd highly recommend checking that blog out if you are just getting started like me!

Although I am working hard to build my online presence, I realize that having professionalism and good customer service with my in-person customers will go a long way. One of the things I decided to do is make a Avon binder where I can keep my receipts, collected money, labels, reference guides, goals, and other useful info. Since I am just getting started and am on a budget I kept my first shopping trip simple, but I do plan to make upgrades and additions in the future.

 One thing I knew I would need is a place to store the money and receipts I collected. I picked up these two pencil holders with binder rings in them for 97 cents each at Walmart. In one of them I store the money and any unentered orders.

As I enter the orders I move my copy of the receipt and my customer's second copy (I give them one when they order and staple one to their invoice) to the second pencil holder. I also store my receipt book in the one with the receipts when going to take orders.

I also picked up a box of envelopes, these come in handy if someone else is collecting orders for me. This gives them a place to store the money they collecting. They are also useful if I need to send change back with the person that took the orders. I can write names and a quick "thank you" on the envelope and it is a lot more professional than just handing them cash. I think this box costed about $1.50 at Walmart.

Sheet protectors make me happy. I printed out some reference materials for the various Anew products, bug guard products, and some others and wanted them to be available not only for me to reference but for me to show my customers during sales. It will make me look prepared and knowledgable and hopefully help my sales numbers increase. These were more pricey than I expected at about $4.50 for a pack of 50, but they are great quality.

I started labeling some of my books by hand and immediately knew I wanted labels. They save me a lot of time, look professional, and can also be placed on the front of the brochures where I know they will be seen. The ones I chose were Avery 16460 and they were very simple to use.

I LOVE how they came out!

I made this one larger so you could see what I decided to include. I also made a simpler version with just my email and website. Sometimes I put the simple one on the front and this on the back. Depends on my mood. I'm still trying to figure out what works best. 

Labeling was strangely fun and addictive. I hope that my labels can help me bring in some sales, especially to my online store when I leave books in public spaces.

I already had a binder (though I do want to get a different one) so my total came out to around $15 but it was definitely a worthwhile investment as I feel so prepared when I go to take orders now. It also helps that I have my goals and reference sheets on hand. 

Well, I hope this post may help someone like me who is just getting started. I plan to do another post about my binder and how I have it organized once I get some more things printed for it. What are some of your favorite Avon organization tips?

Beginning my Avon Journey

I am SO excited that I have official started on my Avon Journey. I am a college senior and unfortunately still don't really know what I'm going to do with my life. I have decided to focus on school this semester because I had to take some tough classes and some extra hours in order to keep my December graduation date, but I really missed having the financial independence that working gave me.

I have an Etsy shop which does provide me with some spending cash but I wanted to take that next step. Direct sales has been something I've considered for a long time but never thought I could actually be successful at. After watching my bank account continuously drop, I decided to start researching various direct sales companies and how to be successful with them. Here's some of the main reasons I chose Avon and think it the right fit for me:

1) Low start up cost! It only costs $15 to start selling Avon and you never have to pay for your online website. (However to be fair you will probably need to pay for new brochures with each campaign, but you don't HAVE to). Most of the other companies were charging $100 to start plus your website fees. Being a broke college student, the low $15 fee was very appealing and gave me the "nothing to lose" mentality.

2) Support of the Direct Manager: All of the other companies I looked at would force me to join under another representative...even if you don't know them! This isn't necessarily a bad thing, in fact, I hope to some day build my own team, but this was a very refreshing change. The district manager does not sell Avon herself but rather makes salary, so I didn't feel like she was just trying to get me to join her team to help her make more money, I felt like she genuinely wanted to help me succeed at this. I hope that when I do begin building my team I am able to show them that I care and push them to do their best.

3) I needed the flexibility of direct sales in general. This semester I have some tough classes, and working a part time job in the evenings after school would not give me enough time to study. I like that Avon allows me to work how and when I want.

4) No parties! I love that I can have parties if I want to, but that its not forced on me! Most of the other companies require that you host parties and make certain sales at each one to get rewards. Avon still gives me those sales goals but I can choose whether I want to seek my sells from parties, online, informal meetings, etc. I love this because I don't feel as stressed or pressured about it.

One thing that I'm unsure of:
I worry that with SO many new brochures it will get frustrating or confusing. For instance, If I have a customer tell me they love a certain product but its not in the current brochure...I need to figure out how to solve that problem. (Website shopping maybe? Backordering?) Although this problem seems a little daunting, my district manager is only a text or call away so I know she will walk me through this and any future issues!