Hopelessly Heather

Building a team is something I’m relatively new at. For the longest time, I focused ALL of my attention on building up my Avon customer base and becoming the best Avon lady I could be. That suited me just fine for a long time but the more your customer base grows, the more likely it will be that one or more of them will want to join your team.

Folks join direct sales companies for lots of different reasons: for the discounted products for their own use (“Personal Shoppers”), for a bit of side money (“Hobbyists”), or for replacing a job they hate with a career they are in control of. Understanding WHY someone joins your team is the key to everyone’s success as we all define that word differently.

That DOES NOT mean you shouldn’t provide those with lesser needs/goals with ALL the same info you give to those who want to achieve the ultimate dream. Some of you already know that I was a personal shopper for 19 years myself before I switched to being a hobbyist. I am now open to it becoming my full time career, but I have A LONG way to go before I’m comfortable giving up my day job!

So, how do you build a team?

1: Ask! Make sure to ask without expectation – this will help hearing the nos easier on your ego. Folks say no and sometimes really mean “not right now”. I keep this list of folks on my mental “warm list” – some of my customers used to reside on that list until recently when I let them know about the Share the Love incentive and that made it the right time for them to join the team! Had they said no again, I’d still have kept them on my warm list and checked back in when the next incentive rolled around.

2. Make regular social media posts! Admittedly, I am not great at doing this regularly yet. I tend to make one weekly post on Monday AMs to join my team and leave it at that. However, I did start making more regular posts about the Share the Love incentive and it’s paid huge dividends! Although, to be fair, this incentive was just plain amazeballs and if it didn’t convert all my warm leads to team members, I’m not sure what will!

3. Make Contact! Have you identified folks in your network that you think would make a great Avon rep? TELL THEM! Send them a private message, text message, email or phone call and let them know why you think they’d make a great Avon rep! Sometimes a customer will buy SO MUCH from you that you know they will benefit from being a personal shopper – let them know they will save lots of money if they join. Sometimes a friend is so convincing in her reviews of products she’s recently tested that you just know she’d make a great salesperson. If you don’t present them with the idea, someone else might see the same things in them and snatch them away from you. Don’t let your fear of rejection or anxiety over stepping our of your comfort zone cause you to lose great team members!

4. Label your brochures! I always have a recruiting label on the front of every brochure that says “Join my team for ONLY $25”, then I add the link to join my team below it. It’s simple and if someone picks up your brochure and decides they want to add Avon Lady to their resume, the info is in front of their face!

5. Flyers! You can post these anywhere (in businesses, on community bulletin boards, near bus stops, etc.) – I’d suggest making them have tear off bits on the bottom so folks can take your sign up info with them. You can also include flyers in your customer’s orders or in brochures if you want to point out something specific or be more detailed than a label will allow space for.

6. Paid ads on social media! Doing any paid ad on social media is hit or miss. While I don’t always achieve the end goal of gaining a team member or a customer, I almost ALWAYS receive value for my ads by getting likes on my post, likes on my page or new members in my Avon VIP group. If you don’t think that’s value, you’re not playing the long game! Every like can turn into a customer or team member. Every time someone likes something you posted, it makes it potentially visible on THEIR timeline for their network to see and interact with. And you never know whether a future post you make (that they are NOW following) will cause them to become a customer or team member. EVERY interaction has potential to turn into a great end result!

7. Listen! We all like to think we’re good listeners, but sometimes we don’t offer an opportunity when it presents itself like an Easter egg! Such as when new moms complain about not being challenged, having too much time on their hands or needing a flexible work from home gig. Or customers who are so gung-ho for anything Avon related that they’d be a natural salesperson. Or retirees who wish they had something to do that brought in a little cash without having to enter the traditional workforce. They are ALL potential Avon reps. Provide them the info on the Avon opportunity and see if they are at all interested. If not, ask the follow up question of why/why not so you can put them on your DNC (Do Not Call) list or your warm leads list.

8. Follow up! When new incentives drop, send private messages, emails, text messages, smoke signals, WHATEVER IT TAKES to make sure your warm leads know about it! If someone then says they are interested, but doesn’t close the deal, send them reminders about when the incentive will be ending so that they don’t miss out. People get busy and forget to do things they had every intention of doing. Don’t let that happen!

9. Giveaways! Traditional in-person giveaways are GREAT opportunities to find new team members. Make sure to have a checkbox on the entry form for those interested in joining Avon – then follow up!

10. Traditional Advertising! There are many ways to advertise traditionally: classified ads in the paper, yellow pages, direct mailings in local coupon books and many, many more! These require paying a fee which isn’t always a viable option, but still worth mentioning.

Did I miss including other great tips in my list? Share them in the comments! Which tips above are YOU going to implement to grow YOUR team?