Advice and Useful Tips for New Reps
1. Using Order Forms - Write your name and phone number on the order form and ring around the day of collection – place in the brochure and deliver to the customer.
2. Collection of books - Allow at least 3-4 days between delivery of books and collection, as any shorter time will not give the customer sufficient time to look at the book.
3. Check Order forms - When picking up your books check that each customer has written their name and address on the order form. This will save any confusion when it comes to delivery.
4. Use the blue Customer Book - Take your customer book with you when picking up your books so that you can make a note of any books not collected. You will need to go back again the next day, or whenever it is convenient, and if you have not marked down which houses you have not picked the books up from, it is easy to get in a muddle.
5. Save all your old books for canvassing new territory. Remember you can back order from the previous brochure in the new campaign.
6. Checking order forms for errors - After collecting all your books, sort through the order forms and check that they have been filled in correctly, especially their name, and any colour, shade or fragrance required – for example if a customer just puts `lipstick` that is not very helpful to you when it comes to bagging up the order, as you could have dozens of lipsticks in your delivery box – how would you know whose was whose? You can find out by checking the product numbers on the invoice, but that can be rather time consuming. Also make sure they have totalled it up correctly and that the customer has understood that `buy 1 get 1 free` means they get the cheaper one free.
7. Getting the best out of offers - Remember that you cannot only order from the current brochure, but also from the previous one. So always try to get the best deal for yourself when ordering. Sometimes you can `marry up` different customers` orders – e.g. if two customers both order only one item from a buy 2 get 1 free offer then you can claim the 3rd item for yourself to keep or resell. (For this to work though, you MUST enter all 3 items together if using the internet as the system will only give out offers when it thinks the items all belong to one customer so do not split them on the order). Also a customer may order something from the current brochure, eg an aftershave, for £8, but it may be £4 in the previous book. If you order it in at the cheaper cost this will go towards the cost of your brochures.By constantly checking prices and ordering at the cheapest possible cost, you may be able to make more money!
8. How to fill out your order form – on your first order form the products from the current brochure are listed on the left hand side. Products from the previous brochure, Link, ‘While Stocks Last’ and any sales aids, such as bags, order forms and ring sizers , (I strongly recommend that you order these), should be listed on the right, under section A.
Your second order form may be different – it might be a booklet type form and in this case you must fill in an oval for every product needed. The pages are in the same order as the brochure pages. Link, ‘While Stocks Last’ and Sales Aids are all listed separately and any products needed from the previous campaign must be listed at the back under section A.
9. How to order on the Internet – follow the “using the internet” guide given to you when you signed up. It is a small booklet and shows you how to submit your order. You have to register first on the website though so you can only do this once you have received your account number. If you have not received your account number within 7 days please contact me.
10. Ordering brochures ahead - Remember to order your brochures for 2 campaigns ahead, and that they come in packs of 5. So if you need 20 books you order 4 packs. If you order 20 you will be sent 100 books!!
11. Making payment - If this is your second or subsequent order you will need to make a payment to Avon for goods received from the previous order. You can do this in one of 4 ways – make a payment at the Post Office by filling in the Giro slip and getting the postmaster to stamp the front of your invoice. Alternatively you can pay by phone, on the internet, or by placing a cheque in the front of your order form along with the completed Giro slip and posting your order. On the back of your cheque write your account number and area number.
12. How to order - You may order in one of 3 ways - by post, over the telephone, or on the Internet. If you are ordering over the Internet then you will need to click on the large box corresponding to your current campaign number from within the ‘place an order’ screen. You must still click on the same box even if you have customers who are ordering from a previous campaign, as you are able to select the campaign, which the product relates to once you are in the actual product and description screen. You must make sure you click on the little box with the campaign number next to the products if you want to order from the previous campaign. If you have to add to the order do NOT click on `additional order` as this is nothing to do with your main order and you may find that not only will you incur postage but you may lose your commission. What you should do in this case is to ring Avon and speak to an agent. If possible, though, try to place your order all in one go, as although time consuming it may prevent unwanted problems.
13. Additional orders – These are extra orders in between your regular orders. So if a customer wants something before the normal order date you can order, but a charge will be made for p & p and you can only order from the previous book as the new book will not yet be valid. At the time of writing (02/07) the charge is £2.50. If you order £74 pounds or more of products you will get commission as usual, but if not, then you will forfeit your commission.
14. Commission – To qualify for commission, your order must reach the MOV (minimum order value) which at the time of writing is £74 to get 20% commission and £140 to get 25% commission. Occasionally your orders may not add up to the MOV even after you have ordered your books (which go towards your MOV as do products from Link, While Stocks Last and sales aids, though you will not get commission on these items). In this case it is in your best interest to bump the order up yourself in order to obtain full commission. I heard of one rep that submitted an order for 50 pence less than the MOV and she received no commission! For the sake of 50p she could have received approximately £14! Don’t let it happen to you!
15. Delivery of Order - When your order arrives on the appointed day a useful tip is to open the boxes from the bottom- not only will it save your nails, but it will enable you to reuse the boxes especially if you need to return something.
16. Check items against your invoice – any missing products should be reported immediately to Avon. If by any chance you forgot to order something don’t tell Avon that – just say it didn’t turn up and they will send it out to you free of charge.
17. Bag up your customers` products - also include a new brochure and order form. Place in the bag the top copy of her previous order form and retain the bottom copy for your own reference. Sometimes a customer will tear off the top copy herself when placing her order. This is incorrect, as it means you will not have the bottom copy to refer to because you will have to put it in the bag with her order. If she insists on keeping a copy for herself just let her. You don’t want to lose a customer over it! You can always write out another order form for your own records if you want to.
18. Delivering the goods - When delivering the goods UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LEAVE THEM WITHOUT RECEIVING PAYMENT. I cannot stress this enough. Sometimes even the most honest person, who may even be a personal friend, may promise to pay you `next week` and forget. You are responsible to Avon for the products sent to you and you are responsible to Avon for payment. I always say `Avon won’t let me leave the order without receiving payment`, which strictly speaking is not true, but it saves embarrassment on both sides. Cash is preferable, but if the customer wants to pay by cheque it is at your risk and it should be made out to you not Avon. Avon is unable to receive individual customer cheques.
19. Returning goods - Everything may be returned if not suitable except opened cd’s, dvd’s, videos (unless faulty) and underwear – again, unless faulty. Before returning, Avon must be notified by either filling out the back of your order form (it is self explanatory) or going through the appropriate procedure on the internet or fast track. The top copy out of the returns book, and a returns sticker must accompany returned goods. The sticker has a bar code and your name and account number on it, which can be found with your invoice. It must be stuck over your address label on the box or on a bag enclosing the returned goods. The driver must sign the book. If he does not do this, and the goods go astray you are unfortunately answerable to Avon and they will recharge you. You can also return the goods by royal mail and instructions and stickers for this can also be found with the paperwork accompanying your invoice.
20. Failing to submit an order - If you fail to put in an order, 3 campaigns in a row, your account will be closed. If for any reason you cannot put in a normal order then just order something small for yourself. This will keep your account active.
21. Account problems - Any problems that you may have with your Avon account, must be referred to Avon directly. I’m afraid I cannot deal with personal account queries.
22. Recommendations - If you are able to recommend anyone else who wants to become a representative, I will give you £5 in gift vouchers (store of your choice) when they place their first order. Even better, if you find 5 you could start your own team. Avon will pay you £80 when 5 team members put in a total of £600 over the first 3 campaigns. Ring or e-mail me for further details!
23. Late Orders - Please, please, please put your order in on time! The order day is specified on the front of your invoice, but if you are placing it by fast track or Internet you get an extra 2 days. After that it is classified as a late order, which could cause all sorts of problems, and will come back on me…
1. Using Order Forms - Write your name and phone number on the order form and ring around the day of collection – place in the brochure and deliver to the customer.
2. Collection of books - Allow at least 3-4 days between delivery of books and collection, as any shorter time will not give the customer sufficient time to look at the book.
3. Check Order forms - When picking up your books check that each customer has written their name and address on the order form. This will save any confusion when it comes to delivery.
4. Use the blue Customer Book - Take your customer book with you when picking up your books so that you can make a note of any books not collected. You will need to go back again the next day, or whenever it is convenient, and if you have not marked down which houses you have not picked the books up from, it is easy to get in a muddle.
5. Save all your old books for canvassing new territory. Remember you can back order from the previous brochure in the new campaign.
6. Checking order forms for errors - After collecting all your books, sort through the order forms and check that they have been filled in correctly, especially their name, and any colour, shade or fragrance required – for example if a customer just puts `lipstick` that is not very helpful to you when it comes to bagging up the order, as you could have dozens of lipsticks in your delivery box – how would you know whose was whose? You can find out by checking the product numbers on the invoice, but that can be rather time consuming. Also make sure they have totalled it up correctly and that the customer has understood that `buy 1 get 1 free` means they get the cheaper one free.
7. Getting the best out of offers - Remember that you cannot only order from the current brochure, but also from the previous one. So always try to get the best deal for yourself when ordering. Sometimes you can `marry up` different customers` orders – e.g. if two customers both order only one item from a buy 2 get 1 free offer then you can claim the 3rd item for yourself to keep or resell. (For this to work though, you MUST enter all 3 items together if using the internet as the system will only give out offers when it thinks the items all belong to one customer so do not split them on the order). Also a customer may order something from the current brochure, eg an aftershave, for £8, but it may be £4 in the previous book. If you order it in at the cheaper cost this will go towards the cost of your brochures.By constantly checking prices and ordering at the cheapest possible cost, you may be able to make more money!
8. How to fill out your order form – on your first order form the products from the current brochure are listed on the left hand side. Products from the previous brochure, Link, ‘While Stocks Last’ and any sales aids, such as bags, order forms and ring sizers , (I strongly recommend that you order these), should be listed on the right, under section A.
Your second order form may be different – it might be a booklet type form and in this case you must fill in an oval for every product needed. The pages are in the same order as the brochure pages. Link, ‘While Stocks Last’ and Sales Aids are all listed separately and any products needed from the previous campaign must be listed at the back under section A.
9. How to order on the Internet – follow the “using the internet” guide given to you when you signed up. It is a small booklet and shows you how to submit your order. You have to register first on the website though so you can only do this once you have received your account number. If you have not received your account number within 7 days please contact me.
10. Ordering brochures ahead - Remember to order your brochures for 2 campaigns ahead, and that they come in packs of 5. So if you need 20 books you order 4 packs. If you order 20 you will be sent 100 books!!
11. Making payment - If this is your second or subsequent order you will need to make a payment to Avon for goods received from the previous order. You can do this in one of 4 ways – make a payment at the Post Office by filling in the Giro slip and getting the postmaster to stamp the front of your invoice. Alternatively you can pay by phone, on the internet, or by placing a cheque in the front of your order form along with the completed Giro slip and posting your order. On the back of your cheque write your account number and area number.
12. How to order - You may order in one of 3 ways - by post, over the telephone, or on the Internet. If you are ordering over the Internet then you will need to click on the large box corresponding to your current campaign number from within the ‘place an order’ screen. You must still click on the same box even if you have customers who are ordering from a previous campaign, as you are able to select the campaign, which the product relates to once you are in the actual product and description screen. You must make sure you click on the little box with the campaign number next to the products if you want to order from the previous campaign. If you have to add to the order do NOT click on `additional order` as this is nothing to do with your main order and you may find that not only will you incur postage but you may lose your commission. What you should do in this case is to ring Avon and speak to an agent. If possible, though, try to place your order all in one go, as although time consuming it may prevent unwanted problems.
13. Additional orders – These are extra orders in between your regular orders. So if a customer wants something before the normal order date you can order, but a charge will be made for p & p and you can only order from the previous book as the new book will not yet be valid. At the time of writing (02/07) the charge is £2.50. If you order £74 pounds or more of products you will get commission as usual, but if not, then you will forfeit your commission.
14. Commission – To qualify for commission, your order must reach the MOV (minimum order value) which at the time of writing is £74 to get 20% commission and £140 to get 25% commission. Occasionally your orders may not add up to the MOV even after you have ordered your books (which go towards your MOV as do products from Link, While Stocks Last and sales aids, though you will not get commission on these items). In this case it is in your best interest to bump the order up yourself in order to obtain full commission. I heard of one rep that submitted an order for 50 pence less than the MOV and she received no commission! For the sake of 50p she could have received approximately £14! Don’t let it happen to you!
15. Delivery of Order - When your order arrives on the appointed day a useful tip is to open the boxes from the bottom- not only will it save your nails, but it will enable you to reuse the boxes especially if you need to return something.
16. Check items against your invoice – any missing products should be reported immediately to Avon. If by any chance you forgot to order something don’t tell Avon that – just say it didn’t turn up and they will send it out to you free of charge.
17. Bag up your customers` products - also include a new brochure and order form. Place in the bag the top copy of her previous order form and retain the bottom copy for your own reference. Sometimes a customer will tear off the top copy herself when placing her order. This is incorrect, as it means you will not have the bottom copy to refer to because you will have to put it in the bag with her order. If she insists on keeping a copy for herself just let her. You don’t want to lose a customer over it! You can always write out another order form for your own records if you want to.
18. Delivering the goods - When delivering the goods UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES LEAVE THEM WITHOUT RECEIVING PAYMENT. I cannot stress this enough. Sometimes even the most honest person, who may even be a personal friend, may promise to pay you `next week` and forget. You are responsible to Avon for the products sent to you and you are responsible to Avon for payment. I always say `Avon won’t let me leave the order without receiving payment`, which strictly speaking is not true, but it saves embarrassment on both sides. Cash is preferable, but if the customer wants to pay by cheque it is at your risk and it should be made out to you not Avon. Avon is unable to receive individual customer cheques.
19. Returning goods - Everything may be returned if not suitable except opened cd’s, dvd’s, videos (unless faulty) and underwear – again, unless faulty. Before returning, Avon must be notified by either filling out the back of your order form (it is self explanatory) or going through the appropriate procedure on the internet or fast track. The top copy out of the returns book, and a returns sticker must accompany returned goods. The sticker has a bar code and your name and account number on it, which can be found with your invoice. It must be stuck over your address label on the box or on a bag enclosing the returned goods. The driver must sign the book. If he does not do this, and the goods go astray you are unfortunately answerable to Avon and they will recharge you. You can also return the goods by royal mail and instructions and stickers for this can also be found with the paperwork accompanying your invoice.
20. Failing to submit an order - If you fail to put in an order, 3 campaigns in a row, your account will be closed. If for any reason you cannot put in a normal order then just order something small for yourself. This will keep your account active.
21. Account problems - Any problems that you may have with your Avon account, must be referred to Avon directly. I’m afraid I cannot deal with personal account queries.
22. Recommendations - If you are able to recommend anyone else who wants to become a representative, I will give you £5 in gift vouchers (store of your choice) when they place their first order. Even better, if you find 5 you could start your own team. Avon will pay you £80 when 5 team members put in a total of £600 over the first 3 campaigns. Ring or e-mail me for further details!
23. Late Orders - Please, please, please put your order in on time! The order day is specified on the front of your invoice, but if you are placing it by fast track or Internet you get an extra 2 days. After that it is classified as a late order, which could cause all sorts of problems, and will come back on me…