Cell Phones are a Direct Sellers Best Friend

Well, do you have a cell phone? I sure hope so!

If you are a direct seller, your cell phone is your best friend. Your cell phone should always be with you and the only time you should not answer it is when you are with a customer... but the minute you get out of “hearing range of that customer” you call the other customer back.

As Avon is a “direct selling” company, YOUR business is built on YOU personally interacting with your customers. Your phone is your best source for orders. Not having orders equates with you not making money. You are in this business to make money... and to make sure your customer’s needs are met. If you have customers you can not take care of... send them to me!!!

Oh, did I say that the cell phone should be on “vibrate only” when you are working your business. No customer wants to listen to your cell phone ringing while they are trying to give you their order! Remember: it is all about THAT customer while you are with them.

Pass out brochures

The first thing you do is make sure you have passed out brochures for the current campaign. Make sure to carry extra brochures in your purse or bag or briefcase to hand out to others you meet while you are out and about. And make sure those brochures have all your contact information on them. Basically what I put on my brochures is the same thing I put on my business cards: name, home and cell/text numbers, my online website, email address, and the date the order is due for personal delivery.

Be sure to also carry a pad & pencil so you can write down the name and phone number of the person you gave the book to; how else will you know who to contact when you follow up to ask for that order!

Following up

Every direct seller knows that following up is the key for making money. Let me tell you why...

Let’s pretend you are a Independent Sales Representative for XYZ Insurance Company, a 25-year-old “direct selling” company that offers life or car insurance in your local area. You draw a salary or a commission based on how much you sell to the John Q. Public and you are required to contact at least 3 people a day about buying insurance... because the insurance company told you that 1 in every 3 people you contact will buy insurance. You need to sell enough insurance each month to make enough commission to pay your electric bill or car note or buy groceries. If you do not follow through with contacting these people, how are you going to make money to pay your bills?

Now... let’s pretend that instead of being an Independent Sales Representative for the 25-year-old XYZ Insurance Company, you are an Independent Sales Representative for a 125-year-old “Fortune 500” company that has more than $10,000,000,000 (10 billion dollars) in “direct sales” every year. But instead of a one-time sale, you can go back to the same customers every two weeks and sell them something else or repeatable sales of the same product. These are people that now know you and trust you to follow through on what you tell them... such as taking and delivery orders on time.

However, in both cases YOU will be the one to decide how much your income will be based on how much you sell to your customers or how big your customer base. Now... would you be willing to contact THREE people a day to see if they already have a representative or need one?

Maybe you don’t have enough customers or your potential income is not as big as you want it to be... and maybe after you try it a time or two... you decide it is so easy to contact 3 people a day, maybe just maybe... you could contact 5 people a day or 10 people a day and up your potential income?

It is all up to you... it is “YOUR” business.

Choosing to work the business you are in

So... which scenario do you like the best? The local 25-year-old local company or the 125-year-old “Fortune 500” world-wide company?

Remember, this is up to you. It is YOUR decision.

But... wait a minute... if you are an Avon representative you are already set up with the “125-year-old, $10 billion, Fortune 500” company... so would it not be better to actually give it a try? A real try! You could start out by setting a goal of contacting three new people a day to try to build your customer base. Only 15 people a week... You could just stand on a cold street corner somewhere handing out books....

Or you could grab a pencil and a piece of paper and make a WDYK list (who do you know) and while you are at it, grab your phone book and your cell phone too. Okay... mother, sister, brother’s wife, aunt... don’t forget the men in your life... next door neighbor... the secretary of your bowling club, and who is that girl where you stop for gas or those chocolate donuts? How about the men who work with your husband (he can take a book to work) or the nurse at the doctor’s office... the school secretary...

Run out of names? Call and ask everyone in your cell phone for other potential customers. They’re your friends, right? Or they would not be in your cell phone... so all you are doing is asking them for help you to find new customers! It is not like you are asking them to buy Avon from you! Geeeee!

Power Hour

Now, sit down for a few minutes every day and make a few short – very short – phone calls... You can actually do this on your cell phone while you are waiting to pick up the kids from school or band practice or while you grab a burger at the burger barn; just do it in the car where no one else can hear.

Hi, this is (your name)

I am an Avon representative and we have some great sales going on right now. I just called to see if you currently had a rep or if you needed a current brochure?

Skin So Soft “24 oz” original bath oil is on sale in campaign 5 for only $8.99. Yes, madam, the 24 oz is biggest bottle of bath oil.

Look through your current brochure and find something that you can save your friends and family money on... if they buy it this campaign. Be sure it is full earnings so you get maximum profit. You SAVE them money while you MAKE money. Best of both worlds!

Did you notice...? You are not asking them if they want to buy Avon. EVERYONE buys Avon... the problem is finding a representative that will service them longer than it takes for the cocoa to get hot! If they are not interested this campaign, tell them you will be glad to call them back again in a couple of campaigns from now... so don’t lose that list!

Remember: All they can say is “not interested” or hang up on you. You are on a phone... they can’t throw stuff at you! If they are not interested, it is not personal... just say NEXT... and go to the next name on your list.

Playing the NO game with your cell phone

Make it a game. Write 100 NOs on a piece of paper. Every time you get a NO mark one of the NOs off. When you get 100 NOs, treat yourself to a large ice cream cone... or a new lipstick... or whatever. Then start over working on getting 100 NOs. By this time you will need your best friends to help you figure out who to call.

Oh, wait just a sec... How many YESes did you get? How many brochures do you have to deliver? And how many orders came from trying to get those NOs?

Is your brain working yet?

Have I got you to thinking? That is all I wanted to do...

Just something to think about

Note: I used Avon in this article as I am an Independent Avon Representative, but this would work for any direct selling agent including Amway, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Scentsy, and etc. Just plug in the name of your company.