Growing Your Avon Business During Uncertain Times
I have had many discussions with some of you about how the Coronavirus is impacting our families, communities and businesses.
So many events are being cancelled, people are being asked not to be around lots of people and just stay home.
But how is this all going to affect our Avon businesses?
It’s scary… I know.
I am not an alarmist at all. But I want to be real with you all because I love you.
I do expect this to impact our Avon businesses.
I would anticipate things to get a bit worse before they get better.
People are not working and are worried about their financial stability, in person events are being cancelled, and everyone is just a bit distracted or on-edge waiting to see what will happen next.
Avon is going to have product shortages and out of stocks because so many businesses are shut down.
It’s not going to be easy, for sure!
As a business owner, I think it’s important to be proactive, be prepared and be sensitive to your teams and customers.
But I also want you to know that there is hope!
The Wall St. Journal is reporting that they expect business revenue to be down 30%, but here’s the thing…
The Direct Sales or Network Marketing business is known to grow in a downturn economy.
In fact, in our profession, we experience our greatest wave of momentum when the economy is struggling.
Did you know that there’s more millionaires created during a recession than at any other time?
The last big financial disaster was in 2008. It was horrible.
Our economy has been doing very well the past several years, and we’ve been due for a correction for years.
The good thing is the economy is strong, so many believe that it will bounce back quickly once this health emergency is taken care of.
It’s easy to get in a place of fear.
I’m not talking about our health today. I’m talking about the health of our personal finances, of our mind, of our mindset, and our time now that many people are having to stay home, kids are home…
We have to put things in perspective that we’re in a great place of opportunity as well.
Our business crushes it during turmoil. When the economy is down, Direct Sales blows up.
Where there is great tragedy, there is great opportunity.
It all depends on how you look at it.
Faith or Fear – They both require the same amount of energy.
Belief in the unknown. Belief in the unseen. I choose to put my attitude and my energy, my attention, into faith.
So, I want to bust a myth today.
First and foremost, it doesn’t take money to make money. This is a myth.
What it takes is creativity, and an open mind, and a willingness to make money in today’s time.
Many of you are thinking about how to pivot.
You’re like, “Oh my gosh. The kids are at home. What am I going to do? I’m at home, now what am I going to do?”
People are at home. They’re worried about finances; they’re worried about their current economic situation.
I believe we have to get our head in the right place. And not fall into this pandemic of panic, which I think is overshadowing some people in situations right now.
We do have an amazing opportunity with Avon, especially right now with Free Signups, to offer people a solution.
And so, while I don’t want you to be sleazy about this, think about how you can help someone who is out of work, even if it’s temporary, to be able to bring in some money.
You can help them get signed up for no cost, maybe you can give them some brochures to help them get started, or teach them how to use the digital brochure to get started right away.
Come from your heart and show them how to be successful. Don’t just leave them floundering. Make sure they are connected to training and support.
An online business like Avon is a perfect business in today’s time.
So, here are 5 really great tips:
#1 – Low cost, no risk.
Right now, it costs nothing to get started. You can promote your business and make money right away.
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- For online store orders, Avon deposits your earnings into your bank account 2 days after the order ships.
- For personal delivery orders, you have the money right now – just make sure you hold out what you are going to owe Avon before spending anything.
#2 – No experience necessary.
You don’t need experience to be successful in this business.
Avon offers tons of training in Avon U, and on Facebook Lives on the Avon USA Representatives Page.
My blog, OnlineBeautyBiz.com is also full of training and helpful tips.
#3 – You have the opportunity to be profitable right away.
Literally, you can start right now and begin earning this month. This week! Actually today!
As I explained earlier, you can seriously make money today!
The time to look for a Plan B is not when you need one. Obviously, many will need it now, but even for those who are getting sick leave or paid time off, it’s a great way to spend their time while they’re home wondering what to do with themselves.
Not to mention, it’s just smart business, right!? Think about all of the tax benefits that are associated with having a home-based business.
#4 – It’s fun, it’s flexible.
You do this on your time, your terms.
So many parents build their Avon business around their children’s nap time and between running errands. You can do this too.
So, leverage this time that we’re home too, that our friends are home, and as people are thinking about solutions and opportunity.
#5 – the support, the culture, the community.
You’ve got to admit we have a great Avon culture. I love the idea of One Avon, One team. There are so many Facebook groups that welcome all Avon Representatives, and we all support each other.
So, Yes. For sure, offer the Avon opportunity to anyone who you could bless with this amazing opportunity!
This is not about being an opportunist. It’s about focusing on opportunity.
We know what we have. This is about helping people to find financial peace, peace of mind right now, and really focusing on what true freedom is.
Come from the heart, offering what you have to offer that can help someone get through this time.
But let’s look at some other ways you can grow your business during this time as well.
Here are some ideas about things you can do to make some shifts in your business to still say present and profitable while there’s a lot of unknowns.
Show Up on Social Media
Your customers want to hear from you. Go LIVE.
Be sensitive to the situation at hand, but also stay active and in front of your customers.
Afraid to go Live? Here are some blog posts you might find helpful:
Don’t worry about being perfect. Your customers want to see the real you. They’re not looking for polish and perfection.
And keep in mind, many of your customers are home and bored and surfing Facebook.
Start Doing More Online Parties
If you haven’t done anything with online or Facebook parties, now is the time to do so.
You can find a whole list of blog posts to help you with this here.
Set a goal to do as many online parties as you can.
Many Reps have been having great success with Facebook Messenger Parties as well. Look into doing something like that.
Offer Virtual Personal Shopping.
Connect with customers using FaceTime, Google Hangout, Zoom or even text/ PM or DM quick video clips to facilitate shopping. Bring the shopping to them!
If you’ve got a smart phone, you’re in! You just have to figure out how to make it work for you during this time.
Offer Delivery Options
If you are still able to make deliveries to your customers, give them options to give you their credit card over the phone, Venmo money to you or whatever methods you have to take payments. Most of this should be already something you are doing since Avon now requires payments up front.
But offer to drop their order at the door at a set time so that you don’t have to have personal contact with your customer.
I’m sure they would still love the personal service if you can help alleviate their fears while you are providing it.
Use this time to work on increasing your visibility and presence online.
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 how to do that here.
Go through Avon U or Avon Social and learn all that you can about how to build your social media presence. Maybe now you can actually find the time to do that.
Be sure to click on Avon Social from your AvonNow.com back office. Once you are on the Avon Social Platform, click on the Training tab for everything you ever wanted to know about building your business online.
Go back to AvonNow.com and click on News / Business Calendar and watch replays for any trainings you may have missed or not had time for in the past.
Go to Avon USA Representatives Facebook Page and watch any Live Videos you might have missed.
Use this time to set up some Automation in your Business
If you haven’t done so yet, now is the time to setup that automation in your business.
Things like mailing brochures, follow-up calls & texts can all be scheduled and automated.
You can learn more about how to do that here.
Setting up automations can make a huge difference in your business.
This can make sure that every single customer gets a reminder, either by voice message or by text, every campaign.
And once those reminders go out, your customer orders start coming in!
Be there for your team.
Know that many teammates are also going to experience cancellations and may get frustrated.
Bring the positive attitude, we’re-going-to-get-through-this perspective and ideas. That’s your job as their leader.
Remember, Wait and See is not a Business Plan
I don’t want you to spend time on Facebook and dwelling on the fear.
That’s doing nothing for your physical health, your emotional health, your financial health.
Instead what I want you to do today is pivot. That’s what leaders do.
That’s what entrepreneurs do. They take action.
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.
Most importantly, take care of yourself and your family.
We are privileged to have the ability to run our businesses with flexibility and make shifts, as needed.
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! <——
Let’s have some conversation!
EXPECT Success!
By Lynn Huber
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