BBC News

Women’s opportunities

Women selling cosmetics to women directly in their home has been a winning formula that has resulted in the present day Avon having a presence in more than 100 countries with a total revenue of $8.1bn (£4.2bn) and more than 5.1 million reps worldwide.

This unique way of selling cosmetics came about by chance.

In 1886 a book salesman David Hall McConnell was giving out free perfume to housewives to encourage them to buy more books.

However, his customers were more interested in the perfume than the books so Mr McConnell decided to forget about the books and concentrate on making and selling his own perfume.

His eureka moment came when he decided to use women to sell to women at a time when they did not even have the right to vote.

Avon Man

To sort it out, Avon is committed to doubling its global advertising budget and Andrea Slater, Avon’s president in the UK and Republic of Ireland says the UK “is certainly going to get their fair share of that”.

Ms Slater also now feels that Avon is at a stage when it has to “step it up a level and really focus on the brand building pieces”.

While one in three women in the UK are regular customers, Andrea is keen to ensure they “spread the word to the two in three that perhaps don’t know Avon that well”.

Avon Lady Earns £1 Million  A Woman who struggled for cash after losing print factory job becomes first Avon lady millionaire

A woman who was jobless six years ago and struggling to pay the bills is celebrating after becoming the first millionaire Avon lady.

Debbie Davis, 31, and her partner have earned £1.4million from selling cosmetics door-to-door for the make-up company.

Miss Davis, who was raised on a council estate, has built up a team of 8,000 representatives and is the proud owner of a recently renovated home and a sporty Mercedes.

After being made redundant from a printing factory in 2004, she found herself struggling to make ends meet and paid £15 to sign up as an Avon representative to help pay the bills.

In just one week she became sales leader and recruited her partner, Dave Carter, to work in her team as a representative.

During a three-week campaign they turned over £18,800 worth of products.

Since then they have built up one of the largest teams in the UK.

Last year Miss Davis, from Sunderland, took home £300,000 and has turned over a staggering £9.3million in total for the business.

This year the couple were crowned the make-up company’s top earners for the fifth year running.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Avon-lady-finds-true-calling/article-2403609-detail/article.html

Eight years ago Rebekah Testar worried about how her family would cope when her husband was forced to stop work due to hypertension and depression.

But last year her Avon company had a turnover of more than £2 million and she now employs 1,750 people.Rebekah, was walking her daughters to playgroup eight years ago when she was approached by an Avon representative.She was not sure if selling cosmetics was really for her, but she took a brochure and made an appointment to meet with a representative a week later.

How to sell Make

Despite the challenging economic situation, make-up is a great way of putting a smile on your face without spending a packet!   Research tells us that when money is tight, consumers are happy to spend on a new lipstick to update their look and make themselves feel good, when perhaps they cannot afford a new outfit.  

Avon’s make-up ranges feature innovative technology and come in stunning colours to suit all ages and budgets, so try some of these selling tips to ensure that you maximise your Avon sales:

I have noticed that since Joining Avon as an Avon Lady my sales have steadily increased over the years.

I put this down to Avon’s Advertising & women needing to feel good about themselves in this downturn in the economy.

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