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Wednesday

How to Host a Community Event



Basics

Community events—house parties, video screenings, presentations, and dialogues—are great ways to strengthen a group working to end corruption. A community event may serve to provide information, motivate activists, bring allies together, increase awareness of the Represent.Us Campaign in your community, announce a campaign launch, or celebrate victories.

Goals

A community event, just like tabling or canvassing, must have goals in order to measure success. It should have numeric goals (i.e. audience turnout, funds raised, co-sponsor sign ons) as well as non-numeric goals (i.e. to educate the community about the issue, to raise awareness about the campaign, to celebrate a victory).

Before planning an event, you should be able to state your goal clearly: “Gain 40 new cosponsors” or “Produce 35 hand-written letters to our elected representative.” All other decisions about your event should be made with this goal in mind.

Step-By-Step: How to organize a community event

1. Logistics
Type of event: There are many different formats for a successful event. The choice of format depends, in part, whether your goal is to educate or motivate. If your goal is to educate, a debate or a panel discussion is an engaging way to provide information. A single focused speaker or a screening of an anti-corruption video allows for an emotionally resonant presentation that will motivate your audience. If you decide on a speaker(s), possibilities include chapter members with expertise in a given subject area, local or community leaders, local college or university professors, elected officials, or individuals who have been personally affected by this issue. If you are interested in doing more creative events like holding a direct action, speak with your staffer to brainstorm ideas.

Co-hosts/co-sponsors: Working with another organization to co-host or co-sponsor your forum offers several advantages. Collaboration provides a bigger pool for resources and potential attendees. It can result in a more balanced or diverse perspective, which is especially important for a debate. Furthermore, working with other organizations represents a great opportunity to build and maintain coalitions, presenting a united front. The Event Co-Sponsors section below includes suggestions for possible co-host organizations. If you do cosponsor the event – make sure that you have the same goals, or that their vision of the event does not conflict with yours

Location: Choosing the right location for your event depends on who you’d like to attend and the particular environment you want to create. Where do people in your community already gather? If you are promoting the event to the public, think about a place where people of any race, religion, or sexual identity would feel comfortable. If you want to encourage your local public officials or other community leaders to attend, select a location that would be appropriate and convenient for them. Find a space that is big enough for your guests to be comfortable, but not so large that it is difficult for people to see the presentation or participate in a group discussion. Other factors to consider when selecting a space include parking, access to public transportation, and the distance your guests must travel to get there. It is a good idea to select a space that is wheelchair accessible. Here are some good potential locations for your event:
Reserve a room in your local library or community center
Incorporate the forum into the regularly scheduled meeting of a local club or organization
Use space available at your church, mosque, synagogue, or temple
Ask a local coffee shop, pub, restaurant or other business if you can use their space
Hold the forum on a school or university campus–in a classroom, student center or dorm lobby
If you are showing a film or video, find out if a local independent movie theater will host your forum
If the event will be small and you feel comfortable, you can always host the event at a committee member’s home

2. Recruit Your Volunteers
Planning and running a successful event takes time and energy. You will need volunteers to make the event run smoothly. The number of volunteers you will need depends on the size and scope of your forum. The following tasks are usually managed by volunteers:

Publicity: For this key task, volunteers must create and send advisory notices to local media venues, create and post flyers, make copies, send emails, place phone calls, and generally coordinate event publicity. This is a big role and may require a small committee with a leader. (See Publicizing Your Event)
Set-up and clean-up: There will be tables and chairs to set up, food to arrange, copies to make, name-tags to prepare, and a multitude of other logistical details to address before, during, and after your event.
Greeting and registration:Station one or two volunteers at the door to greet guests and route them to the appropriate area. Have one or two other people handle registration, asking people to sign in and answering any questions attendees may have.
Technical set-up: Are you showing a DVD or other audio-visual material? You may need assistance locating and setting up the appropriate equipment for your presentation. Find someone who is skilled at operating electronic equipment and troubleshooting technical problems. Make sure the AV equipment works properly before the event begins!
Photographer: Have someone take pictures at your event. Be sure they capture one overview of the room to show how many people attended your event! Let your guests know that photos from the event may be posted on a Represent.Us website, and allow them not to be in a photo if they so choose.

Once you have your volunteers, make sure you clearly explain each of their tasks to them. Allow them to ask questions before the event so that they know what to do on the day of your forum. At the event, if you notice that they don’t have enough to do, give them another job. If your volunteers become overwhelmed with too many tasks, try to quickly locate a sympathetic guest willing to help out. Most importantly, don’t forget to thank your volunteers after the event is over!

3. Publicizing Your Event
Know Your Audience: Not every event is of interest to every audience.Before you develop your publicity plan, decide who you want to attend your event.
Personal or public: If you are hosting a small house party, personal invitations are the only “publicity” you will need.These can take the form of phone calls, e-invites, or written notes. If you are seeking a large audience, many of the techniques listed below could be appropriate.
Paid advertising: If your committee has funds at its disposal, paid advertising could be an option. Knowing your intended audience will ensure that resources are targeted and well spent. Even if a publication has a huge readership, if only a small percentage of readers are among your intended audience, it’s not worth the cost. A smaller publication with a high percentage of readers in your target audience represents a better value.
Know Your Event: If you are hosting a large public event, make sure you have planned it to be of interest to the general public. What is unique about your event? Is your event linked to a national news story? Linked to a larger event or day of action? Different “angles” will give you a “hook” to catch the interest of potential attendees and the media, who can help raise awareness about your event.
Make Your Plan: Having focused on your audience and your event, you are now ready to make your publicity plan. This should include a calendar listing all relevant deadlines, e.g., for publications (newspapers, magazines, events listings, etc.), as well as “lead times” required for printing and distributions of flyers, posters, invitations, and programs.
Decide on your “look”: All your materials should have a consistent theme and share similar design elements that highlight the message of your event.
Put someone in charge: Publicity by committee is rarely successful. Although several volunteers may assist in accomplishing tasks, make sure that one person is responsible overall for execution of your plan.
The Five W’s: In everything you produce—flyers, posters, e-invites, news alerts, event listings—you must have the correct 5 W’s:
Who will be speaking
What will they be addressing
When will it happen
Where will it take place
Why your committee is sponsoring the event

Every publicity piece must have this information. You can be brief, but make sure it is accurate and exact—time, address, directions, etc. In addition, most publicity should have contact information where people can get additional information.
Publicity Tactics

The most typically used publicity pieces include:
Flyers: Often simple 8 x 11 reproductions, flyers can be posted in high-traffic locations distributed at booths at fairs or farmers’ markets, given to passersby. Some good targets include:
Campuses
Shopping centers
Libraries
Local businesses
Movie theaters
Sports stadiums

Make sure to pay attention to local rules on posting. Flyers posted in restricted areas will likely get taken down quickly. A good rule of thumb is that if you don’t see any other flyers posted in an area, you probably can’t hang your poster there. Stick to community bulletin boards and kiosks
Newsletters: You might advertise your event in publications from local organizations and neighborhood associations, merchants’ groups, PTAs, or local chapters of national nonprofits.
Phone Calls: Phone calls, personally inviting individuals, is far-and-away the best way to guarantee a turnout at your event. You can ensure that 50% of people that say they will come to your event over the phone, will show up. The downside of this tactic is that it can be very time consuming, so plan accordingly. Start with the people you know are most-likely to show (volunteers, friends and family, etc) then reach out to other community members (i.e. presidents or chairs of local community organizations, religious institutions, libraries or schools, etc.) Because this tactic can be time consuming, you can try getting some volunteers together to hold a phone bank.
Email:
A well designed email announcement will not only be read by your address list, it will also be passed along to their contacts.
Web sites:
Find local online calendars (these will often exist on the town website, and/or the website of the local paper)
Make a Facebook event and post the event on the pages of local groups and schools
Paid Advertisements:
Contact your local newspaper and the publications of nearby schools and colleges; they often have reasonable rates.
Community Events Calendars:
Most large regional newspapers and many local radio stations have community events listings.
You might be able to have your event featured in several of these venues.

If you have developed your message, and focused on your “local angle” or “hook,” these media will be more likely to select your event for publication.

Many campuses have student-produced radio or TV shows, and public access stations often appreciate notice of events in their local area.

Collaborate: Having partners in your publicity effort expands the reach of your message.
Ask local friends and collaborators to make announcements at their meetings, send out an email about the event, or commit to bring a certain number of people to the event. Offer to do the same for them when they have their events. This helps to reach a larger audience as well as foster relationships amongst organizations and communities.

Follow Up: If your event is worth publicizing, it’s also worth reporting on. Prepare a brief news story about the event for publication in the local press. It doesn’t hurt to write a brief thank-you note to those publications or media that featured your event in their community events calendars. Let them know how many people showed up and how well the event went. The benefit of establishing good, professional relationships with media gatekeepers will pay dividends well into the future.
Debrief: What worked, and what didn’t? Ask attendees how they heard about your event. The more you know about which publicity techniques worked in your area, the larger crowd you’ll be able to attract to your next event. Publicity is a key step to planning a successful event and an effective tool in spreading the word, about both your event and the importance of getting money out of politics.

4. The Event – Careful preparation on the day of your Community Forum will result in a smooth-running event.
Registration: At your registration table you should have the following things that one or two volunteers are in charge of:
Sign-in sheets with space for attendees name, address, phone numbers, and email
Cosponsor sheets for the AACA at the registration table so people can become cosponsors if they aren’t already
Represent.Us educational materials, bumper stickers, pamphlets, etc. Contact Represent.Us and we may be able to send you materials.
Name tags and markers
Extra pens
Refreshments: While not absolutely necessary, guests always appreciate refreshments. You can keep it as simple as coffee and sodas, with store-bought cookies or pastries. If you hold your event at a local coffee shop or restaurant, owners may donate some drinks and snacks.
Introductions and opening remarks:As your guests get settled, before the presentation begins, take the opportunity to welcome them.
Introduce yourself—who Represent.Us is and why you are holding an event— with a few brief comments reminding attendees of the importance getting money out of politics. If the group is small enough, you might go around the room and invite each person to say their name and what brings them to the event. If you notice any local elected officials, community leaders or other key individuals in the room, introduce them and thank them for their attendance.
In your opening remarks, briefly explain the format of the event so that people know what to expect and how long they might be there. Take this opportunity to mention the photographer and the opportunity to request to not be in photos. Also, suggest that your guests write down questions, comments, or ideas they have during the presentation to bring up during group discussion.
Sample Programs: To give you some ideas on how to structure your presentation, we’ve included two sample agendas: one for a one-hour event and another for a two-hour event.
1-hour program:
8:00 – 8:10 Welcome and introductions
8:10 – 8:40 Panel presentation, debate, speaker, or screening of video
8:40 – 9:00 Take individual action (letter writing, phone banking, etc.) and planning
for continued action
2-hour program
7:30 – 7:45 Guests arrive, sign in, enjoy refreshments
7:45 – 8:00 Host welcomes guests, makes introductions, explains agenda for event
8:00 – 8:30 Panel presentation, debate, speaker, or screening of video
8:30 – 9:00 Group discussion, comments, and individual action—letter writing, phone banking, etc.
9:00 – 9:30 Plans for next meeting and continuing actions
Group Discussion: An important part of the evening will be the time when individuals can share ideas and actually take action, such as writing letters, sending emails, making phone calls and organizing for continuing activities. Leave ample time for group discussion and suggestions for individual action to follow the screening.
Have a few pre-planned topics or questions. If everyone in the room seems to have something to contribute, you can scale back their ambitions to focus on a few central points and one or two urgent actions. On the other hand, you can use a question or idea as a way to elicit a response.
Call on people. Give each person a chance to speak and graciously limit the length of their comments.
Stick to a time limit. If you hit your time limit and the group is still talking, ask for one last question. If people wish to continue the discussion, they can do so outside or after other people have the chance to leave.
Wrapping Up: At the end of your forum, it is a good idea to give a short concluding address. Thank everyone for coming and be sure to remind them to sign up as citizen cosponsors (sending around a clipboard with cosponsor sheets works well.) This could be a good time to let people know about all the great work your committee has been doing and what is coming in the future. Announce the time and location of your next chapter meeting and invite everyone to come. Also, offer cosponsor sheets and other materials to anyone who is interested in spreading the word about the campaign.

5. Debrief: After the event pull together your volunteers. Evaluate whether you achieved your goals or not and what you would do the same/differently next time. Celebrate a job well done with the volunteers.
After Your Forum:
Sustain and utilize your activist base. The sign-in sheet from your forum becomes one of your most valuable organizing tools. Enter it into an electronic database the night of the event. That list contains the names of people you already knew were inspired to become activists, or someone you met whom you had not worked with before, or a key leader in your community or an organization who you can ally with in the future. The next time you plan an action in your community, the people on your sign-in sheet will be the first people you invite. For your next event, invite them and ask them to bring a friend!
Follow up with your guests in some way before too much time passes. If it was a small event, give everyone on your list a call or send an email or note. If you had a large event, choose a select number of people to contact, or ask volunteers to help contact people on the list. Tell attendees how glad you are that they participated. Ask for feedback on the event. (Be ready for constructive criticism or tips for next time.) If you already have plans for another event or chapter meeting, give them a heads-up now and ask if they will commit to being there. Ask for names and contact information for any friends they think might like to be added to your list.
Share your news: Your forum is powerful because it inspires people in your community. You can share news about your event with your community. Draft an article about your forum, including the number of people who attended and any plans for future action. Suggest ways that people can get involved and provide a way for them to get in touch with you. Send your article as a letter-to the-editor to your local or neighborhood newspaper or submit it for publication in a community newsletter.
Represent.Us would love to see pictures from your event! Send photos to grassroots@represent.us. Please identify the name of the photographer and the names of the individuals pictured. Please let your guests know that photos from the event may be posted on Represent.Us website. If you did not have a chance to let your guests know that photos may be posted, please let us know.


Sample Planning Timeline
2-4 weeks before the event:
Plot your general program timeline
Select location, make necessary arrangements, set event date and time
Decide on intended audience and ideal number of guests
Secure event co-sponsor/s
Announce the event to your friends, neighbors, and associates
Seek out volunteers
Determine appropriate promotion strategies
Contact Represent.Us to get materials for your event 1 – 2 weeks ahead of time.
Submit advisory notices and information to local media and community event listings
Send emails and place phone calls
Post flyers
Prepare checklist of items necessary (refreshments, handouts, sign-in sheet, nametags, etc.) and begin gathering them
Refresh yourself on the issues surrounding campaign finance reform and the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Act.
2 days before your event:
Send follow-up emails to media and attendees
Make follow-up phone calls to media and attendees
Finish gathering all necessary items, including food and supplies
Confirm the date and time of your event with outside venue
Draft and practice your opening remarks
Plan a few items for the group discussion
Confirm final tasks with volunteers
Test your technology, especially if showing a video
Print handouts and materials for guests
1 day before your event:
Send second advisory notice to local daily media venues
Two hours before your event:
Set up all technical devices and test your technology!
Set up chairs and tables
Set out handouts, sign-in sheet, pens, and name-tags
Arrange refreshments
Answer last-minute questions from volunteers

Tuesday

Avon Pre-Holiday Season Prep 2015


Get In The Thick of It!

The holiday season incites bonanzas, conferences, craft fares,concerts, funraiser,fashion shows you name it. Find out who the event coordinator is, ask if there are any vendor booth, sponsorships or fundraisers opportunities available.

Avon Holiday Credit Extendion!

Starting Campaign 22, Reps who have been with Avon for over a year may qualify take advantage of this benefit ! Ask your district manager to assist you with the application

Buy extra books!

Campaign 24 – 26 will be your best campaigns of the year so buy extra books. ONLY GET AS MANY AS YOU CAN IF YOU VOW TO MAKE THEM WORK.

FREE STUFF:

For added value AVON give you 5  Avon Living flyers FREE for  Every 10-pack of Avon Campaign 24 books you purchase.

ITS A PARTY!!!!!

Have a holiday get together.  Bake some cookies, warm the apple cider and be sure to have plenty of Avon holiday demos on hand. Oooohhhh Yes and LIGHT THOSE AVON SCENTED CANDLES.  I have found if you have those on hand your guest find a way to leave your house WITH A COUPLE.  You might want to have a few Avon Gift Sets on hand and offer this as a solution to your guest Christmas shopping for a loved one.  You can even offer to wrap it for them. Let your guest know that  Avon is great way to earn extra christmas as well and that you are delighted to show them how to earn it!

Never Leave Empty Handed!

With the permission, obtain the following contact information of EVERY person whom you give a card, brochure, or exchange any Avon business with.  And ask if you may send them an Avon Ebrochure.

Name
Phone #
Email

After all your hard work, enter this information into the youravon.com address book.

*Remember make sure your card is presentable and on hand at all times.
*
Happy Holidays!

Thursday

Brand Your Beauty Business Using Social Media

Using Social Media To Brand Your Beauty Business

Have you used social media to brand your beauty business? Social media is making it possible for you to brand your beauty business, whatever it may be, and for you to become an important part of consumer interaction.

There are things that you’ll want to be prepared to do.

It takes time and energy in order for your social media to kick in, and you want to ask yourself a few questions about social media.

Will Social Media Work For You?

Do you really believe a social media strategy built around your beauty product will work?

Does it have a place in your brands future? You also want to ask yourself if you enjoy exploring and assessing the possibilities of all the technology or intricacies of working in the social media environments.

Are you willing to dedicate time and resources into building and maintaining an identity in the arena of social media?

Before I go any further, social media are those environments like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Digg.

These are just a few of the environments that you can use to brand your beauty business but they are considered the arena in which things happen and take place fast and quickly.

It’s important that you understand these platforms even if you hire a company to work them for you.

These are spaces in which a lot of business and relationship building is being done.

Because of that, you’ll also want to ask yourself, can you take it when a consumer uses your platform to share criticism of your brand or your products.

They may not have liked it and sometimes people just wake up and want to have a place to vent and lash out and you were the last person or your brand or product was the last product they tried.

It may have caused a certain reaction but this person is now coming online and lashing out. How will you handle that?

Trusting Your Customer To Tell You What They Want When Branding Your Beauty Business

Do you trust customers enough to take what they tell you into consideration?

If you’ve answered yes to most of these questions then it’s possible that you will be able to use social media as a marketing tool for your beauty business.

When you brand your beauty business using social media, you’ll be creating a persona or what’s known as a voice for your product brand with opinions and values that are similar to those of your customers but are not always shared by them.

You’ll also want to share with your customers and give them the opportunity to share with you as your owner.

The more you share, the more you’ll connect. Being able to maintain an environment in which social media will give you a presence has actually become a necessity for beauty brands.

Finally …

When branding your beauty business,whether you’re a big or small company,domestic or international, everyone who has a business is using social media to stay in touch with people who are interested in the product they are selling.

So it may be a good idea for you to do the same. 

Wednesday

Your AVON Business On Halloween


As AVON reps we have so many opportunities to make a ton of sales and a ton of money.

This Holloween consider passing out goodie bags to the children  filled with candy, your business card, a current AVON book, outlet, insert and Mark.

Furthermore plan on hitting major areas in your neighborhood especially the areas where Halloween festivities will be. Your message will be "Happy Halloween from the AVON " Then hand people a bag. and a brochure.

I NEVER leave empty handed however. I place a post it on the from of my brochure as ask for contact info, cell or email for my REALLY interested prospects. Have a SAFE and SUCCESSFUL Halloween!! !!

Monday

SUCCESSFUL BRANDING Techniques for the MODERN "AVON LADY"

SUCCESSFUL BRANDING Techniques for the MODERN  "AVON LADY" 

In the past Avon operated on territory selling so each Representative had a set neighborhood or territory that was assigned to them to work and sell. This made it possible for every household in America to have an Avon Representative. They all knew who their Avon Representative was and they all purchased from her loyally.

When territories were lifted the effects were widespread… The positive impact was that it allowed Representatives to sell to friends and family members across the country. The negative impact was that all of a sudden we had entire neighborhoods that did not have an Avon Representative. Right now approximately 9% of the female population is purchasing Avon products; however, 60% of the female population has stated that they would purchase Avon products if they had a Representative.

That is staggering statistics!!

So what can you do?

“Brand” yourself and Avon into your own neighborhood so everyone recognizes you, your car and your customer service every campaign.

So, let’s get started….

BRAND Your NEIGHBORHOOD
Choose 60 homes in your immediate neighborhood as long as it does not have another Avon Representative actively working it already (in other words, leaving brochures every campaign, following up with everyone, every campaign, etc.). You can make those 60 homes 3 streets with 20 homes on each street or 2 streets with 30 homes on each street, etc.  

1. Customer Follow Up List (can be obtained by clicking on the “Training” tab at youravon.com, click on “Beauty of Knowledge”, click on “Tools and Resources” and scroll down the list to “Customer Follow Up List” and print off enough pages for your 60 homes. Number each column under “Campaigns” with the next 13 campaign #s.

2. Take your Customer Follow Up List, title the first page with the name of the street and odd or even numbers, and go down the street and write down the house numbers on one side of the street on each line of the List. Then do the same thing with the other side of the street. (see Sample Customer Follow Up List).  

3. Fill in any information that you already know about that particular house number, such as neighbor’s name, phone #, email address, etc.

4. When finished, you should have all 60 house numbers, from your chosen neighborhood, listed on your Customer Follow Up Lists.

PREPARATION FOR CANVASSING
Items Needed:
60 Brochures with contact information and book expiration date clearly marked on back
60 Double Sided Raffle Tickets to affix to the front of each brochure (leave the side with the name, address and phone # loose)
Introductory Letter of your own or Home Sweet Home letter with contact information on letter
60 Samples
60 What’s New Bags
Basket with Handle


Pack the What’s New Bag with the Brochure with affixed raffle ticket, letter, and sample


Load your basket with the What’s New Bags, note paper and pens, demonstration products, and maybe some “cash and carry’” items along with your Customer Follow Up Lists, Customer Order Book, and Calculator.



Get Ready, Get Set..….Now Go Beautify Yourself! 

Customers will purchase products more readily when given the opportunity to meet a sales person face-to-face to establish credibility and confidence. So look the part –


Beautify Yourself – Be Proud Out Loud…
Wear Avon Make-up
Wear Avon Jewelry & Accessories
Dress casually and comfortably but please, dress appropriately
Nice clean shirts, pants or skirts, comfortable shoes, etc.
Please no short shorts, sweats or dirty sneakers.

Go Ye Therfore; Establish the relationship

Personal contacts are vital since they give a Representative the opportunity to establish a solid relationship with her Customers.

Using your prepared Customer Follow Up List, go to your first street and knock on the first door and say something like this, “Hello, I’m Brandy Iron, your neighborhood Avon Lady and I wanted to stop by and introduce myself and offer you the latest Avon Brochure.”



What to Expect!!!! 

In neighborhood selling only four things can happen when you knock on a door.

Someone will answer and invite you to come in:

Sit beside the Customer, preferably at a table where you can display your demonstration products and show her your cash and carry basket. Take her through the brochure, show her the sample and follow the steps to a sales call:
Open/Get Acquainted
Determine her needs
Sell the benefits
Overcome objections
Close the sale

Be sure and have her complete the raffle ticket on the brochure for your weekly product drawing!

Update your Customer Follow Up List with her contact information and the total amount of her order on the first line of the address under the Campaign column to track your sales and orders.

Someone will answer and take a brochure but not invite you in:

Take a brochure out of one of your What’s New Packets, tell her to complete the other half of the raffle ticket for your weekly product drawing and let her know you’ll give her a courtesy call before your order is due. Update your Customer Follow Up List with her contact information when you get home and put a “B” under the Campaign # on the 2nd line of the address (see Sample Customer Follow Up List)

Someone is home but says, “No Thanks”:

When someone says “No,” let her know you understand. Regardless of the type of “No” you face at the door, you can handle it.

No one will be home:

The not-at-home person may become your best customer. She tends to have more money, needs personal service, and she hasn’t said “No.”

When no one answers the door, here’s what you do:

Place a “What’s New” bag on the doorknob.

If there is a name on the door, jot it down on your Customer Follow Up List and put a “B” under the Campaign # on the 2nd line of the address (see Sample Customer Follow Up List)
When you get home, all the “not at homes” need to be looked up on websites such as whitepages.com, anywho.com, etc. You can do a “reverse lookup”. For example, put in Oak Street, City, State & Zip and up will come all listings on Oak Street. Scroll through the list until you find your address and jot down the customer’s name and phone # so you can call for a follow up!

Steps of a Sale

Every time you meet a Customer or deliver an order, you have the opportunity to build your business. The basic steps of any sale are:
Open/Get Acquainted
Determine her needs
Sell the benefits
Overcome objections
Close the sale

1. Open/Get Acquainted

How to talk to prospective customers:

“Hi, I’m Brandy Iron. I’m the neighborhood Avon Representative. Avon has some wonderful values that you don’t want to miss. May I show you the brochure today?”

2. Determine her needs

Your goal is to encourage that Customer to give you information about product likes and dislikes. Ask questions that begin with who, what, when, how, or tell me to determine her needs.

“What kind of skin care products do you use?”

Remember asking questions that can be answered “yes” or “no” makes it too easy for the customer to end the conversation. Always listen to the customer, than recommend the products that suit her needs.
3. Sell the Benefits

Now that you know what your customers need, let them know what the product can do for them. Use the information in the brochures. It is strongly suggested that you try the products yourself so you can give a personal testimonial.

“I love the Anew line; it’s the best anti-aging line in our skin care family.”

4. Overcome objections

Using the felt/found technique is the best way to overcome objections.

“I felt the same way when I found out the cost was $30 a jar but I found that similar skin care products that offer the same benefits cost much, much more.”

5. Close the Sale

The key to closing a sale is asking the customer to make a decision to buy. Help your customer make the decision to buy by asking for the order.

“Shall I order both the Anew Day Cream along with Anew Night Cream?”

How to Handle a “No”

Just remember to…

Smile! Be friendly. Be Positive.

Agree…to show you understand.

Listen…to what she’s really saying.

Ask…to find out what she uses.

Offer her…what she wants or needs.

Show demo products.

Introduce her to all that Avon offers.

Keep selling…especially those specials!

Sell her on regular, personal service.

No…don’t take that “NO” personally!

Be persistent…and keep going back! It may take several calls to turn that “NO” into a “YES”.

Enjoy the challenge of selling the tough ones.

Tips…On Selling to More People

Use a daily calendar to organize your time.
Spend only 20 minutes with each customer
Plan to call on a specific number of new people each day.
Adjust your selling time to when people are home – include evening and weekends.


Use the telephone.
Make appointments to see new people.
Make appointments with people at houses where you have left brochures.
Set aside time to do follow up calls on every brochure left at every door every campaign.
What to say? “Hi, this is Brandy Iron, your neighborhood Avon lady and I just was giving you quick courtesy call to let you know my order for the brochure I left for you is due tomorrow, was there anything you needed this time?”
If no, Say? “Oh by the way, did you happen to see the special on the back cover? Our famous Glimmersticks for eyes, brows and lips are on sale for only $1.99 each and the regular price is $6.00 each? What shades would you like me to order for you?”


Update your Customer Follow Up List.
Fill in the names, addresses, phone numbers and emails of all the people in your neighborhood
Be sure and fill in the dollar sales per campaign, per customer!
Order enough brochures for the upcoming campaign for every person on your Customer Follow Up List and a few extras for their friends and family!


Keep Your Business Growing
Experiment and try various techniques like…
1. Order extra brochures each campaign to get new customers.
2. Go back to the people who said they would buy later
3. Return to the people who said no.
4. Work Saturdays and some evenings to reach “Not-at-homes”.
5. Consider key customers for referrals and/or helpers.
6. Use the “courtesy call” technique during the last days of the campaign to reach those customers you could not reach in person.
7. To interest new customer, try “lumpy brochures”
Attach 4 – 6 samples to the pages they appear in the brochure so customers can try various products.
8. Have open houses with other Representatives
9. Go out on rainy/snowy days. People stay home on nasty days.
10. See every member of the household as a potential Customer.
11. Brand yourself with 30 more houses.

· Do your “homework”
· Prepare Yourself
· Get Ready, Get Set…Now Go

12. Don’t forget the first 60 houses where you received “No’s”
· After canvassing for 6 campaigns in a row, go back every 5th campaign and leave another What’s New packet. Maybe someone new moved in? Maybe they lost their previous Avon Representative? Maybe something in the brochure will now be of interest to them?


 MAYBE THEY WILL LOVE YOUR PERSISTENCE! Haha Who knows...

But most of all…..

Have Fun!!!