Challenging Times Are Only Temporary – Don’t Slow Down Now!
This coronavirus thing is pretty terrible, and it has just become very real for many of us.
So many people that I know are laid off, or furloughed, or ordered to stay home for now.
So, obviously this isn’t just about us or Avon. The entire world economy has hit a brick wall.
They’re talking about the great depression all over again, and none of us know what’s going to happen next.
One thing I do know is that many, many direct sales and network marketing companies will go out of business.
Obviously, I know nothing about what is going to happen in the future, but here are my thoughts.
With Avon, we are very lucky.
When LG purchased Avon, they stood on stage at RepFest and made the commitment to us that they are in this for the next quarter century, not just the next quarter.
And LG has the money to weather this horrific storm.
So, I feel pretty safe with Avon. I believe that LG will make sure we keep going. Not only that but that we get through this in the best way possible, and as soon as this crisis is over, we will be poised to massive growth!
So, Now is not the time to sit back and wait and see what happens. Now is the time to continue to work your business.
Wait and See is not a business plan!
I know this isn’t unicorns and rainbows! Things are tough right now, and I expect them to get worse before they get better.
First off… If you need money right away, do something to get it. If you are able, there is a world of opportunity as delivery drivers for Amazon, GrubHub, Door Dash, and any of these other delivery companies. That will get you making some money right away for your immediate needs.
Times are tough. I get it. But we’re all in this together.
But don’t put your Avon business on hold
The only thing that’s holding us back right now in building our Avon business is we’re not able to go out in public and in large groups.
Yes, that for sure puts a crimp in our business, but there are so many other things we can be doing to help ensure that this does not put us out of business.
If you don’t slow down, your business will continue for now, and will speed up when everything is open again.
If you slow down now, you will have a pretty big lag of getting back going once the whole country is open again.
It’s all about momentum. If you keep things moving, it will be easy to ramp them up again when this is over. And you’ll be in the right place at the right time when the economy is back up and running.
If you stop things, you’ll have to start from the beginning and will miss out on the momentum you could have built up.
Your customers know we’re in the middle of a pandemic, the likes of which have never been seen before in our lifetime.
Some customers will place orders on your Avon Online Store. The products will be shipped directly to them, and you’ll earn your commission.
Some customers will continue to call or email you with their orders. You can take their payment electronically with Venmo, PayPal, or whatever method works for you.
When the orders come in, you can let your customer know when you’ll be delivering and leave it on their door. There’s no reason for personal contact.
There are Many Other Ways to Keep Your Business Going
Start an appreciation campaign with your customers. Text or email a couple of customers every day letting them know how much they mean to you. Even better, send a card to them. They’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness.
Recognize your team members.
If you are brand new to Avon, you will still be able to do a lot of the things I’m going to suggest to you.
But first off, as a new Representative… Work to get the word out that you’re now selling Avon.
Start working on your Facebook Business page if you haven’t done that already.
For everyone, continue to take orders, while working out ways to take care of your customers while keeping them and yourself safe.
Go live on Facebook. People need to see you and what you’re doing.
By going live, and sending thank yous to your customers, you’re strengthening those relationships.
Be sensitive to the situation at hand, but also stay active and in front of your customers.
Continue to provide information to your customers and prospects.
If you have any templates – such as welcome emails for your team, or prospecting emails/texts, now is the time to read through them and edit or update them.
Spend a lot of time on Avon Social putting out content on your business pages.
You want to keep it at 20/80. 20% business and 80% personal. Even though we can’t ship products, we can still let customers know we are still in business and they can still order.
We can also use our Facebook posts to teach about some of the new products and show what Avon now has to offer.
Show your customers/followers what your life is like now. What are you doing with yourself? Be personal with them. Show them that you are just like them as we’re all going through this disaster.
Go through the training on Avon U. This is a great opportunity to find the time if you haven’t already done it. Learn as much as you can.
Go back through the Avon USA Representatives Facebook Page and watch their Live Videos. You’ll learn tons about the new products and how to promote them.
Be sure to watch any replays of any Go to Webinar trainings that Avon has offered. You can find links on AvonNow under News / Business Calendar and on Avon U under Resources.
Find new ways of communicating with your customers and your team members.
I’m doing what my friend, Lisa Wilber, calls Facebook Espionage.
I’m finding pictures that people are posting on Facebook about weddings, new babies, things that are happening in their lives at the moment – remember, life goes on – we can’t stop that baby from being born, right?
Anyway, I’m finding those pictures and adding them to a card and sending them a card in the mail.
I have a great service with SendOutCards, where I pay a monthly fee and can send unlimited personalized cards every month – and trust me, I’m working that subscription hard.
I’m sending cards to customers, friends, team members, and even other Avon Reps.
But the cool thing is that with SendOutCards, you can have your own advertisement on the back of the card so that promotes your business.
And I can change the back of the card as much as I want, so for team members and other Avon Reps, I’m not promoting my Avon business.
Find more ways to connect with people, and maybe even sell any products you happen to have in stock
Do more video calls or use Zoom to do small web conferences with your team or even your customers.
If you have products on hand, you can share with you have with your customers.
You can do that on a Facebook Live, or invite your customers to a zoom call. You can sign up for Zoom for free. I believe the free version limits individual meetings to 40 minutes.
That thing you’ve been putting off?! The website? Email marketing? Your blog? Instagram? Batching your social posts? Now is the time to get to work!
Now that you have the time, maybe you’d like to start building your blog. You can find information about how to do this on OnlineBeautyBiz.com – click here for details.
When this emergency is over, everything is going to power back up, full-tilt!
In fact, there will be all kinds of opportunities for new recruits and new customers!
It will be like it was just a pause, and it’s back on and going.
Everything will open up again. Hopefully most people will be back to work.
And Congress is working on a stimulus bill to help anyone who was hurt by this.
Remember, Wait and See is not a Business Plan.
Don’t freeze up now. Keep going. We will get through this! We always do.
And if you don’t freeze up now, you will be back in business immediately when everything powers back up!
So, here’s what I want you to do next.
Be grateful for what you have. Love on people. Be smart. Do all the smart things. Be sensitive. Be sensible.
Continue to do the income producing activities to help yourself and help others as well.
Be thankful that we have this amazing company, Avon, and for all the people who are working from home and in the warehouse, making sure we are getting our products and have the ability to keep our business going.
Most importantly, take care of yourself and your family.
We are privileged to have the ability to run our businesses with flexibility and make changes as needed to keep going even in challenging times.
I’m rooting for you. And I know you can make the most out of this terrible situation!
——> Did this article help you? If so, it would mean a lot to me if you would share it with others!!! And, share your comments below! I would LOVE to know more about you and your thoughts on this subject! <——
