Sharing The Opportunity
Tough Cookie Mommy

Today I received a message from a woman who expressed interest to me a couple of weeks ago in becoming an Avon Representative. We spent quite a bit of time recently discussing all aspects of the business and she definitely seemed interested in going into business for herself. This was very exciting for me because I know how my life has changed since I started selling Avon and I would love to share that with someone else. Of course, signing new representatives also increases my business but it is so much bigger than that.
I have always been a very confident person and try to look my best when I venture out of my home to go to work or in general. Since I started selling Avon, I am even more confident for a number of reasons...First of all, I feel empowered by the fact that I am running my own business. I understand that it is still in the early stages and is obviously not making enough profit to allow me to quit my day job. However, it is wonderful to be able to make my own business decisions and to use my creativity to market the product that I am selling. Secondly, I use the products and they are excellent. Believe me, if you know me personally, you know that I never say anything that I don't really mean. At the end of the day, I can honestly say that I would still be purchasing Avon products for my personal use even if I wasn't selling Avon.
My new recruit will probably be meeting with me this week to receive her starter kit and I will be taking her under my wing to share with her some of the tools that I have developed to market my product and to let others know that I am an Avon Rep. It does take a lot of work but it is work that you are doing to better yourself and maybe give you some level of financial independence. That is definitely something that we would all like.
No, I am definitely not a millionaire from this but I am definitely a changed person. It is very important that we, as individuals, take risks in our lives to better ourselves and to improve our situation in life. Through advertising my business, I have had the opportunity to meet many people that I might not have otherwise. That, in itself, is something extremely positive. At the end of the day, I am having a really good time selling Avon, making some money, and meeting great people. As far as I'm concerned, what more could I ask for?
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Do You Actually Use The Product That You Are Selling?
Tough Cookie Mommy

Since I became an Avon Independent Sales Representative, I have come across literally thousands of people trying to market or sell some kind of a service or a product. You can see them all over Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, Myspace, etc. Don't get me wrong, I think it is wonderful that there are so many people out there with a goal or a dream of becoming financially independent. I sometimes wonder, however, if they really believe in the product that they are selling or if they actually use the product.

I have to tell you that I am absolutely in love with Avon products. You are probably thinking to yourself that I am only saying that because I sell Avon. Believe me, I am not a person who doesn't say exactly how she feels and thinks. It is amazing but I have replaced all of the beauty, personal care, Skin Care, and bath products in my home with Avon products. In my mind, it was the logical thing to do because I get a discount on the products because I am a representative. However, I quickly realized that their products are great and affordable.

I am not really a makeup person and generally just stick to lipstick or gloss and eyeliner and mascara. Little by little, I have found myself trying out lots of different makeup products in great colors that are so easy to use and apply. Due to this, I find myself feeling even more beautiful and confident whenever I go anywhere because I feel sure that I look my very best. My husband loves the way Avon perfumes smell on me and has even begun to use some of their colognes as well.

I am a perfume buff and have spent a lot of money over the years on designer perfumes and scents. So you can say that I definitely know a lot about perfumes and what separates quality perfumes from cheap, watered down ones. As a matter of fact, I have been known to name a perfume simply by smelling it on a person. Let me say that Avon perfumes are definitely comparable in scent to many designer perfumes and they are half the price. Avon perfumes actually last all day and smell great and they contain some of the same key notes that department store brands use. (For those of you who are not well versed in perfume lingo, "key notes" refers to the primary ingredients contained in individual perfumes.)

Honestly, I don't think I would be able to sell Avon if I didn't love their products. How could I possibly convince others to invest their money in Avon if I, myself, did not use it on myself, my children, my husband, and in my own home. So I guess the advice in this blog is, if you are looking to get involved in selling a product, it should definitely be a product that you believe in. After all, anything short of that would be a misrepresentation.

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Giving Out Samples
Tough Cookie Mommy

One of the things that I really love about being an Avon Independent Sales Representative is that you are not obligated to pay any hidden fees to Avon aside from your 10 dollar start up fee when you join Avon. This gives you a lot of freedom to run your business and incur overhead costs at your discretion. You can choose how many brochures you choose to purchase during each campaign and you can choose how many samples you want to purchase to distribute to your potential customers.

While we are on the subject of handing out samples, I would like to talk about my noticings with regards to how important it is to give out samples of Avon products along with the brochures that you give out. Today, I had a doctor's appointment and I took my Avon tote bag with brochures and samples with me to give out to the staff at the office. As I stated in a previous post, I recently purchased the Ebook, Secrets to Explode Your Avon Sales by Tracey Edwards. I'm not going to give away the information in the book because I think it is a great tool and she deserves to earn the meager amount that she charges for such great tools and information. I will, however, go on to say that she stresses the importance of giving out samples to potential customers in her book. This seems logical considering that most consumers like to test products before they commit to buying them and women, especially, love to sample beauty products before they purchase these items. On the flip side, however, I guess some Avon Reps keep their sample buying to a minimum in order not to waste too much of their profit.

My position would be one that agrees with Tracey Edwards. So I took her advice and I gave the Office Manager at my doctor's office a handfull of samples along with some brochures. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy she was to receive the product samples! She proceeded to hand them out to the rest of the staff and to pull out the ones for products that she was interested in and dropped them in her purse. She seemed genuinely shocked that I was giving her samples and told me that nobody had ever offered samples of their products when they tried to sell items in the office before. I quickly realized that I had made the right decision by giving out the samples and that it is going to set me apart in the minds of this woman and the rest of the staff. Purchasing these product samples is an investment in my business that will pay off in the long run and I will continue to carry samples in my bag from now on.
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Attended My First Avon Sales Meeting Tonight
Tough Cookie Mommy

It was so exciting to attend a sales meeting tonight and to be able to network with other like minded and goal oriented individuals. This was the first time that I attended a sales meeting since I became an Avon Rep almost a year ago. The atmosphere was very friendly and productive and everyone was eager and willing to share best business practices that have been working for them.

The beginning of the meeting was interesting because we had an ice breaker to allow everyone to introduce themselves. It was clear to see that all of the representatives came from all walks of life and that they all had very clear reasons for embarking on their own Avon journeys. This just reaffirmed for me that this business opportunity is truly beneficial to everyone. It is great for people who want to build a business from home and set their own hours and it is great for people who already have jobs who have short and long term financial goals and are looking to make some extra money. This puts a lot of ideas into perspective for me in terms of how I can approach others about recruiting them to sell Avon.

I was very impressed by how professional and knowledgeable the District Rep was. Additionally, I was very happy to be able to share how I have been putting effort into organizing and decorating my Avon website. One of the things that I noticed is that a lot of the other representatives are either not using their websites at all or not using them to their full potential. I think this is definitely a mistake. As entrepreneurs, we have to be able to keep up with the pace of how technology is evolving. What's the point of using old methods of keeping business records when you can do everything online.

I now realize that it is going to be very important that I attend as many sales meetings as possible. They gave us free samples for our customers and they conducted a raffle with Avon products for prizes. I must be a lucky duck tonight because I won! My raffle ticket came up during the fourth round and I chose a Spectra Color lipstick to add to my product demo kit.

I encourage all of you, who are already selling Avon, to make time to attend sales meetings. You will definitely receive a lot of information and tools to help you grow your Avon business.
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Taking My Business Seriously
Tough Cookie Mommy

The past couple of weeks have been amazing in terms of boosting my self esteem and confidence as a businesswoman. When I started selling Avon, last November, I really was only interested in getting their products at a discounted rate and having unlimited access to their products, which I have loved for years anyway.

Low and behold, I started selling a lot of products and turning a profit. This was totally unexpected because I really wasn't putting all that much effort into it. Basically, I just told my family and friends that I was selling Avon and then they told other people. Eventually, people started approaching me to ask me if I sold Avon. In all honesty, the products are really good. I wouldn't sell anything that I don't like or that I wouldn't use myself.

This empowered me to finally start looking at my Avon business as a real business with the potential to make me a profit. As I start this blog, I am experimenting with a variety of ways to get the word out about my Avon business. Hopefully, I can share my experiences and they will help someone else just starting their Avon business be more proactive. This past week I gave brochures out at the park that my boys play in. It was hard, at first, going up to complete strangers and introducing myself but I found that most people were very friendly and receptive.

This evening I purchased the Ebook, "Secrets to Explode Your Avon Sales" by Tracey Edwards. I am excited that this book will give me more insight into how to promote my business from someone who is more experienced. I will be reading it and definitely reporting back to let you guys know what I thought about the book and whether or not the tips in there will actually help me to get more customers. Any of you guys who have any tips or suggestions, please share...
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