Most people associate Avon with two things: 1. Cosmetics. 2. The sound of a ringing doorbell and a pleasant female voice intoning “Avon calling!”
But times have changed. First off, Avon products go well beyond traditional make-up to include many men’s grooming products, as well as clothing, toys, electronics and more.
Secondly, while it’s certainly still possible to sell Avon in person and door-to-door, many Avon representatives now make some or all of their sales online through a website they operate.
So, how does one go about selling Avon products online?
First, you need to become an Avon representative. You do this by going to www.avon.com and signing up. The Avon district sales manager in your area will then contact you and set up a meeting.
Among the material you’ll receive from the Avon district sales manager are instructions on how to set up your own personal Avon sales website. Once you create that, you’ll be able to make online sales.
So then you just sit back and let the money roll in? Well, not quite. There are tens of millions of websites seeking to sell Avon products, including the official Avon site itself, which sells the most. That’s your competition. If you do nothing but set up your website, your sales will be low, and in fact probably zero. So you need to do something to get people to your website in the first place.
There are many possibilities:
One is to market the Avon products directly to your friends and acquaintances just as you would if you were selling Avon exclusively in person like in the old days. The only difference is, you provide them with the URL to your website so that they have an additional, convenient means of ordering when they’re ready to buy.
Another is to pay to advertise your website. For instance, you could pay for a sponsored ad on Google for people who search for a specific Avon product. That way you’d know that the people seeing the ad are all people who did a Google search on that Avon product and are presumably strong candidates to make a purchase.
Another is to write a blog where you talk up Avon products, with links to your Avon site.
Another is to maximize your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when you create your website, so that as often as possible when people search for Avon or an Avon product, your website will rank high in the results.
You’ll also want to follow up with customers who order through your website. Use the tools Avon provides you to send Avon-themed e-mails with news and promotions and such. People who bought once are prime candidates to buy again.
Finally, don’t forget that you can make money by recruiting other folks to sell Avon. You will get a percentage of their sales added on to what you are already making through your own.