Overcome Your Fear of Prospecting

If you think you’re the only one who has a fear of prospecting, you would be wrong.

They say the two most dreaded things are public speaking and taxes. I say there’s a third — having to prospect.

And you know what?  It’s OK if you feel that way. I too felt that way at one time.

And most every Avon Representative struggles with this, at least in the beginning.

But, if you want to be successful, you’ll need to find a way to get over it.

Growing your Avon business is pretty simple.

There are only 4 main steps:

1. 1. Prospecting for new customers & recruits.
   2. Getting a brochure (either paper or digital) to every customer every campaign.
   3. Following-up with every customer you gave a brochure to every campaign before you place your order.
   4. Take the order, submit it to Avon and deliver to your customer, or send them to your Avon Online Store to place their order

And then Rinse and Repeat.

It’s really that simple. You just do these 4 steps over and over again, and you will have a strong Avon business.

We have our Daily 8 System to help you work on the activities that will help you grow your business.

The Daily 8 system is a proven formula

When followed consistently, the Daily 8 Plan will help you maintain the consistency required to build a thriving team and an exponentially expanding residual income.

Instead of working 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, your goal is to capture 8 POINTS a day, 5 days a week for a total of 40 POINTS per week.

Print this sheet and use it to track your weekly points.

Follow this plan consistently for 90-days and teach your team to do the same. At the end of 90 days, REPEAT and then REPEAT again. This is your Daily Method of operation.

The real secret to your Avon Business success is that there is NO SECRET!

It simply takes a simple plan and the dedication and commitment to WORK THE PLAN consistently! That’s it!

Click Here to Download the Daily 8 Plan!

Want to be part of our Daily 8 Challenge?

Click here to log your Weekly Numbers.

And be sure to join our Online Beauty Biz Facebook Group for all the fun!

Everyone is welcome! Whether you’re on our Avon team or not, we welcome you & invite you to join in. 🙂

 

Today We’ll Talk About Overcoming Your Fear Of Prospecting

It’s a rare person who wakes up in the morning excited to do nothing but prospecting.

It’s even rarer to find a person who enjoys doing it day after day, week after week.

The average person would call that the definition of insanity.

But if you want to build a really big Avon business, this is exactly what you need to do.

Whether it’s for new customers or recruits for your team, prospecting is vital to your business.

In my experience, It seems that the fear of prospecting comes down to one thing – your mental outlook on how you respond to rejection and the sense of not making progress.

This is something that every one of us has to deal with as we grow our Avon business.

Some of us have been around long enough that we’ve gotten better at it.  And some of us struggle.

I get it.  I used to be in that boat too.  In the beginning, I wasn’t only afraid to pick up the phone, but I was also nervous about responding to messages regardless of how I received them.

The reason I was scared is that I was always thinking the worst possible outcome was about to occur.

Excuse me, the worst possible outcome???

During that entire time, I was never in harm’s way.

I was never about to be ripped apart by ravaging lions, and I wasn’t at risk of starving to death. 🙂

Yet for some reason, we all seem to think the worst might happen when it comes to prospecting.

But seriously, the worst that can happen is they say No, or a variation of it.

Or maybe we think they will laugh or think badly of us.

I guess that’s possible, but is that really going to hurt us?

We Need To Let That Fear Go

Can we all take a deep breath and accept the fact that no animal or children will be harmed when you prospect?

Prospecting is merely an activity.  It’s no different than getting in your car or taking a shower.

It’s just an activity – a first step, that will prepare you for the next step.

Prospecting is actually kind of a mind game.

And it’s actually in YOUR mind, not in the other person’s mind.

When we change OUR mindset towards prospecting, we will change the results we will get from it.

What Are We Really Afraid Of?

Actually, it’s probably not really prospecting that we are afraid of.

So, let’s first take a look at those fears.

Afraid of looking stupid –

Maybe you’re afraid that you’re doing it wrong and making mistakes.

You know what you need to do, right?  Talk to everyone you meet.  Offer them a brochure (either paper or digital) and get their contact information.

I use the drawing forms for that.  It’s a great way to get their contact information.

I say something to the effect of, “I mail my brochures.  Would you like to get on my mailing list?”

And then I hand them the drawing form and let them fill it out.

I like it because it also asks if they would like information about Selling Avon.  I also have a chance to ask them about that while they are filling out the form.

Another thing you can do is put a post-it note on the brochure and say something to the effect of, “Write your name and phone number on here, and I’ll give you a quick text before I place my order.”

Or, you could say, “I am an Avon Rep, and Avon has this really cool new Digital Catalog.  You can browse it right on your phone.  Can I text you a link?”  Then get their contact information and text them the link.

These are easy to do and don’t require a lot of training.

So, I’m guessing that you’re lacking is confidence, and that’s going to come from experience.

Making mistakes is just part of the process. Everyone does it, even the best. You can’t do something really well until you’ve made the mistakes and learned from them.

So, you have to expect to make some mistakes.

But that’s nothing to fear. Learn from those mistakes and use them to make you better.

Perfection is not the goal.

Action, learning, and progress are the goals.

Expect to Hear No (And That’s OK) –

Just like in any business or any type of marketing, advertising and sales, most people will say No. And that’s perfectly okay.

“No” can be a good thing, because the more of them you hear, the closer you get to a Yes!

If you approach your prospecting understanding that most people are going to tell you “No thanks,” that should eliminate most or all of your fear.

Just remember, they are saying No to the brochure or to Avon.  They are not saying No to YOU.

Let’s Look At Some Ways To Change Our Mindset About Prospecting

We all get scared at one time or another.  Sometimes I still get nervous when I need to talk to someone.

But now I have tools to help me get over it.

Below are some ideas to help you change your mindset.

1 – Write out a list of all the benefits you have to offer with your Avon business.

Make the list as long as you can and keep it right next to your phone or in your car.  This list is to remind you why you do what you do.

Avon has so many products that make a difference for people.

What are your favorite products?  This is a great place to start.

Talk about what you love about them and how the products make a difference in your family.

The same with the Avon Opportunity.

What has your Avon business done for your life and your family?

Maybe it’s the money that’s benefitted you.

Be prepared to share how they can earn $3,000+ in their first few months with the Pathway to Premier program.

Maybe your Avon business gives you something else.

Maybe Avon helps you use your skills and helps you feel like you’re contributing.

Maybe you’re a stay-at-home mom and Avon gives you some adults to talk to.

Whatever it is, get really clear about the benefits so that you can be comfortable talking about them.

2 – Block time in your calendar for prospecting.

If you want to really make it happen, it must be scheduled.

Saying you’re going to get to it is never going to cut it.

Schedule it and stick to it!

3 – Set easy goals you can achieve.

You might be fearful of picking up the phone.

Fine, set your goal for today to make only one call.

Tomorrow you raise the goal to two, and you keep the process going.

By setting calling goals you can achieve, you’ll create momentum from your momentum.

4 – Remember that it’s not about you.

When you’re talking to someone, remember that it’s about that person, not you.

What do you have that can benefit them.  How can you be of help to them?

Leadoff with questions.

Your objective is to have a discussion so that you can learn more about them and what they need, and then to see if you have something that can help them.

Know that as you go about your day, there will be somebody that you talk to each day who you know you will be able to help.

It won’t be every person you talk to.  In fact, it will probably be very few of the people you talk to.

Understand that it might only be one person, but that one person is out there and they are waiting to hear from you.

So give up the idea that this particular contact will make or break you.

It’s about playing the long game.

Over time, you will build a huge business if you just make new connections every day.

5 – Don’t expect overnight results.

Prospecting takes time – more time than you originally think.

One of my mentors once told me that “most people overestimate what they can do in one year, but underestimate what they can accomplish in 5 years.”

And she was so right.

In the beginning, it seems like you will never get there.

But if you keep working and keep prospecting for new people every day, in five years you won’t even recognize your business.

When you look back at your business, you won’t believe how far you have come.

It can and will take more time than you think to fill the funnel, but you will get there.

6 – Don’t hang around negative people.

When you’re prospecting you need positive voices.

You can’t afford to have any type of negative noises coming into your mind.

Go and find successful people to connect with.  Successful people will teach you how to think differently, just by being with them.

An amazing thing happened when I did this.

I suddenly found myself thinking differently and, more importantly, acting differently, and it was all due to my mindset.

This is why you want to earn the trip incentives.  The trip earners are the best of the best.  Who better to hang around with and learn from?!

7 – Celebrate success every day.

Regardless of how poor you might feel the day went, there is always something that was awesome.

Always end the day thinking about the best that occurred as a way to help prepare you for tomorrow.

And if you really can’t think of anything that was good, make a plan to ensure that tomorrow is great.

8 – Set prospecting goals.

Set a goal that you will talk to “x number of” people.

A good goal is 3 new people a day.

If that’s too much for you, then make it 2.

How you do this is up to you.

Maybe you will go out and about and talk to people as you go about your day.

Maybe you’ll be prospecting on Facebook or other social media, and you’re making connections and meeting new people.

But the key is that you make that commitment that you won’t go to bed until you’ve met your goal for that day.

9 – Remember that tomorrow begins today.

Never end the day without finalizing the list of who you will be prospecting, or how you are going to meet new people tomorrow.

10 – Never forget that you’re doing what most people won’t even try, and that makes you special.

You are someone who is achieving success far beyond what others view as possible.

Be proud of yourself, because you are doing what will take you to wherever you want to go.

Do you see anything on the list you can’t do? I didn’t think so.

It’s not just possible. It’s doable!

Just make up your mind to do it, believe in yourself at a level you haven’t been doing previously, and then making it happen.

You’ve got this!

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EXPECT Success!

By Lynn Huber

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