Why You’ll Suck at Selling Avon (Should You be an Avon Rep?)

Should You Become an Avon Rep?

Wow – rude much?
No… not really. Just blatantly honest.

Listen….. I've been with Avon for years. I currently have a team of over 150 reps – reps from all over the country. I bet I've recruited over 1000 reps in the years I've sold Avon – where are they now? Ummm….no idea.  But I can tell you – probably more than half of them basically sucked at selling Avon.

They sucked for the same reason you'd probably suck at selling Avon too – probably any direct sales company for that matter. It takes special people to succeed at direct sales. I might go as far as to say VERY special people. I honestly don't think this type of person can be mentored or trained – they just are. They are charismatic, ambitious and like stepping out of their comfort zone just for the adrenaline rush.  They WANT to succeed and understand it's work.

Let's break it down a little more…
I won't just bestow the accolades of the attributes of those that succeed in direct sales – I will also pinpoint the issues with those that don't succeed, and probably why.

WHY YOU WILL SUCK AT SELLING AVON

The Whiny-Pants Avon Rep

If you don't know who you are…. we do. You piss and moan about everything pretty much. Just going for a cup of coffee with you or a walk with you is so draining we feel we need a blood transfusion when we're done. You suck every bit of joy out of everything. It's like the human form of a negativity magnet – do you hear yourself? We wish we didn't. And we've tried… we really have – but honestly, you're not worth it.
We could blow confetti up your butt all day and you'd still be a party pooper (no pun intended). Hell… you can't find the joy in Disney World (it's too crowded and expensive), chocolate (it'll make me fat) or sex (I don't like being naked). And sure – we all have problems – whether they be financial, health or relationship – but unless you're actually dying – there just doesn't seem to be a reason to walk around with this post-apocalyptic attitude. You're a downer. And you'll find every excuse in the bummer-bible to blame for you not having success at selling Avon or anything else. Find a life coach, take inventory of your life – hell, carry a tape recorder around with you for one damn day – listen to it when you have time later that night – you'll cry like an 8-year-old watching The Odd Life of Timothy Green. I'm depressed just writing about you.

The Lazy Ass

If you “think” we don't know who you are – you're wrong. There are tell-tale signs. But they become glaringly obvious when you sign up to be an Avon rep. Not to be overly simplified – but you don't do jack crap after you sign up. You literally sign up (and if you have a wee bit of Whiny Pants in you – you will gripe about having to spend a BIG $10 for your Avon kit – whoa…. outrageous!!) – and do NOTHING. It's like you think money from the Avon heavens will fly right into your bank account. I mean – you DID buy the kit By-God?? What the heck?

You cannot buy a direct sales kit and magically generate income. If you can – then you must have mythical creature type powers – because only buying a lotto ticket can generate tons of money with pretty much no effort. And the chances of that are pretty lame.
You have to tell people you're an Avon rep, you have to advertise and buy business supplies. You can't sell anything without having brochures? Yet I have had reps sign up and not buy any brochures? You should at least buy 10 brochures – how the hell are you supposed to let people “see” what you're selling. Yes – of course, you can have an eRep site and send them online to purchase – but you really need to build a clientele. Clientele defined:: a body of clients. No one is going to GIVE you a body of clients. You have to go out and get them. Lazy Asses don't understand this. Might as well go for a walk with Whiny-Pants and talk about all the things you'll never accomplish because you're lazy. Or hey…. maybe a walk is putting forth too much effort.

The Hand Holder Avon Rep

I love holding hands with my husband. I don't so much like holdings hands with child-Reps. Of course, I believe in mentoring… well actually… I really don't. I'm on the fence about it really. Because I required NO mentoring for my Avon business. None. I don't even attend the sales meetings. I really don't. (O M G – SHE DOESN'T MENTOR? SHE DOESN'T GO TO SALES MEETINGS? HATE HER!) Whatever.
I don't really feel I need to have someone explain to me how to sell things out of a brochure. Hello McFly? There are gobs of online training sessions and tutorials on the Avon site – these are all geared to help you succeed. There are so many tools it's ridiculous. There is an online community and tons of Facebook pages for every Avon district. There are promotional materials and samples – fliers…

Do you REALLY need someone to say… “Ok… you take the brochure and you find people that might be interested and then if they want to buy something, you take their order, then you input the order through Avon's super simple online ordering system… blah blah blah…”
Granted – maybe you will have questions about how to return an item, or demo products, or a statement – how do president's points work….how do I sign up a rep myself?

Questions do come up and yes, I answer every question a rep emails me or calls me about. But having a constant mentor is over the top ridiculous. I don't baby my team and I don't think they want to be babied. These are strong, capable women – and I admire all of them. And I am here for them – to help however I can. But you cannot PIN your success on someone else. You can not have someone with you constantly showing you how to do everything. It takes some initiative on your part. Actually a lot of initiative. I have my own Avon sales quota and I am out there trying to obtain that – you should be too. Be free little bird… fly away – because there is NO nest of eternity.

I Am Not a Dream Crusher

All of us that have been in direct sales (or even those in MLMs) – know what dream crushers are. They are those people that go poo-poo on all your dreams of building a successful business. I feel I am more of a realist. Some people are just not cut out for sales or running a business. Life DOES happen. It's happening right now while you're reading this – we also know that the proverbial poo-poo happens and you can either roll with it – fall face first into it, or create more of it. You have to be able to maneuver, grow and overcome what LIFE is throwing at you. I didn't just sign up for Avon and sit down and go… “Welp… I am an accomplished businesswoman.” The same goes for my site MoneyMakingMommy.com. I didn't just belly up to a computer and puke out a website, content…

I had to learn HOW to do HTML and I had to learn WHAT SEO was and what to write about… and that was 13 years ago!! Before all this “create a site in a night” crap. Anything worth it… takes work. It's the same with relationships, careers, education, raising kids – whatever you tackle. This article was never about telling someone they suck. It was about knowing what you're capable of – and what you're not.
I don't make $1100 a month selling Avon by just sitting around, whining and wishing for help. If I had a question, I asked. If I didn't understand something, I researched it. Avon offers so many incredible training tools. And yes – a big part of their business philosophy is about mentoring others – and I think that's important. Certainly. But you have to want a successful business. It takes hard work and sometimes failing… but you get back up again and keep trying. You don't get angry, blame and give up.

Direct sales businesses are an incredible opportunity for regular people to build extraordinary business and worthwhile incomes. Many direct sales companies were created by regular people with drive and a dream. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot run a marathon by walking. You have to at some point begin to run… little by little. You have to be cool with going it alone most of the time.

You Don't Suck… I Promise

This post was never really about telling someone they'd probably suck at selling Avon. Instead it was about trying to help people figure out if they could actually sell Avon and reap a pretty decent income from doing so.

Avon offers more products than ever today. If you haven't seen an Avon campaign brochure in awhile – find one. You'll be surprised.
Avon has cutting edge laboratories and scientists uncovering incredible formulations for anti-aging and more. They are not to be dismissed – they are a major player in the skincare arena.

For those that say….but you have to buy all those brochures and samples and it's just too expensive – I still don't think you can find a business that allows you to offer so much for so little. Most companies focus on one THING. Avon offers home decor, cosmetics, skincare, baby toys and clothing, electronics, perfumes, kitchenware, books and so much more. Yes – you need to be passing out brochures and following up with potential clients and current clients – but the average Avon customer spends around $25 according to many reps. You can buy 100 Avon brochures for less than that!!!!

And yes – an Avon kit will cost you $10 for an in person meeting and $20 if you sign up as an Avon rep online – but you're getting the materials to start a business. A business of your own that could bring in a significant income if you are successful. The kit you get in return has what you need to get started:
– 10 brochures for your current campaign
– 10 brochures for your next campaign
– One box of product Samples
– 1 order book
– Training Materials
– Supplemental brochures
– Demo Booklets
– Avon Tote Bag

I enjoy selling Avon and I love seeing others succeed as well. But statistically speaking – most sign up for Avon and do nothing. And I mean pretty much nothing. They put more effort into excuses than building a viable business. It leaves me pretty speechless a lot of the time. It's like it's MY fault? Or someone's fault they didn't succeed. Sorry – look in the mirror – the truth awaits you.

If making $1100 a month sounds good to you – I'll be honest – I'm an Advanced Unit Leader (takes work!) so I need to sell $300+ every two weeks and I need to be in Leadership and build a team. If any team member needs help – give it. Or at least point them in directions where they can get help. My family and I use Avon products as well – so the discount is nice. During the holidays – my Avon business has completely paid for Christmas and our Christmas dinner. I always think to myself – wow, I did this! It's a feeling of accomplishment and pride. These are good things to feel.

So maybe you don't suck at selling Avon. If you tried… maybe you just need to try again with a different attitude. Or if you haven't ever sold Avon, maybe this is YOUR time to grab the reins and create your own dream. Women of all diversities and backgrounds sell Avon, some with huge challenges that you would think would be insurmountable. But they sell Avon and they are successful at it.