How to build an online Avon business-Dee Foster

Dee Foster is the, in my opinion, an internet network marketing guru!

Here is  her story from her website:

How to Build Your Avon Business (Or Any Business) Online

June 14, 2013 • Dee Foster

My Online journey with Avon started in March 2010.  However my online journey started as early as three years prior to that. 

My Personal Journey (The Short Version)

I fell in love with the Network Marketing business model when  I was first introduced to Mary Kay over 10 years ago.
Though I had relatively good success with Mary Kay and was even in qualification to receive my first car at one point during my partnership with Mary Kay.  However, it got to the point where it was just too much for me to balance a full time job, with family, ministry and business.  I was at a very awkward point in my business.  I was having pretty good success but not enough to quit my job but just enough to be too busy with it that it started to affect other areas of my life.  I finally made a decision to close my Mary Kay business.
After that experience, I decided that I was no longer going to pursue Network Marketing any more, even though I still kept an eye out for other opportunities.  I did  eventually partner with another company and also started having success, but I soon gave that up as well, all because of the concept of ALL of these businesses being something that was marketed as what I could do in my OWN time and build a HOME BASED business, but really was not.   You see I DID NOT WANT to do parties, go to meeting every week and give presentations.
I wanted a business that was TRUELY a home based business in every sense of the word  So I got online and started my search on google.  Eventually I came across Wealthy Affiliate, an online business community created to teach anyone how to build a business online, or learn how to market and existing business online.
I stayed with this community for several years and learned how to start a website/blog in any niche and then find products to sell in that niche.  After about a year, I started to have some pretty good success with affiliate sites such as Amazon and generating income with Google advertisement.  I even gave up my membership, because at the time, I felt I  learned enough to make it on my own. Things were really starting to look up.  What I enjoyed more than anything was the fact that this was something I could TRUELY do FROM HOME.  NO PARTIES, NO MEETING, NO PRESENTATIONS ...

Return to My First Love

However, my mind kept going back to my first love...... Network Marketing.  I just started thinking that if I could apply these same strategies to a high converting Network Marketing company I could really make alot of money because I knew the commissions were much higher.
So, my restless Network Marketing heart was on the hunt again, in search of the perfect Network Marketing company to promote online. For me the perfect company had to be a company that had great products at very reasonable prices, where I did not have to sign anyone up in order for them to get a discount or having to become a distributor JUST to get the lower prices.  At that time, I had NOT INTEREST in recruiting.  Had enough of trying to motivate grown folk who SAID they wanted to build a business  and then not think enough of themselves to commit.  I had had enough of baby sitting.... Already had 5 kids of my own.  Didn't wany any more.
OK...... So I continued my search.  The perfect company for me also had to be one where the consumer could purchase products very easily without any hands on, for the most part AND the commissions were large enough that I could earn a fulltime income just from retailing the products alone without having to recruit.
The company that turned out to meet these qualifications for me was Avon.  Avon met all of these qualifications for me (you may not agree), but this is my story right?

• They have great products at very affordable prices.
• The customer can purchase directly from my website without having to become a "preferred member" just to get a discount.
• The commissions are great (up to 45% for an ERep)

For me, this was the perfect recipe for a fulltime income FROM HOME, with no parties, no presentations and no recruiting (unless I wanted to).
Fast forward, three years after starting my Avon business as an E-Representative, I am a top seller in my district at the McConnel Club level and know I have all the pieces in place to grow my business to a fulltime income just from my personal sales alone.  I have also started building a team of Avon Representatives as well.

How You Can Build Your Avon or Any Business You Choose Online

When it comes to going online with any business, product or service, there is one thing I want you to never forget.  It is all about information.  First and foremost the internet is a source for information and research for people who are searching to solve a problem or fill a need.  90% of people who come on the internet, they are searching for information and not necessarily looking to buy right away.  The ones that are buying, they have already done the research.
What you will need to do and become extremely good at is positioning yourself to becoming a provider of great content that either solves a problem, or fills a specific need.  In the Internet Marcketing world, we refer to this a niche marketing.
The following are the steps you will need to complete in getting your business set up and making money online, whether it's Avon, Herbalife, or even building an online presence for a local business.
1.  Find a niche - What problem are you looking to solve? Who is your Target Audience? What benefits do you want to provide? (i.e.  Skin Care Tips for Women over 50, health care for children, etc.
2.  Do Keyword Research - Use paid or free tools to discover keywords for what people are searching online for.
3.  Buy a Domain Name - You will want to purchase a domain name for the site that you area going to set up.
4. Purchase Hosting Service - Yes you can use free social sites and free blogs like blogger.com.  However, if you are serious about building a sustainable business online, you DO NOT want to start your business using free sites. Why? Becuase you will not own it...
5. Install WordPress -  Once you purchase domain and hosting, you are now ready to install wordpress.
6.  Creat Quality Content -  Before your site even goes live, you will have wanted to already have written at least 15 - 20 articles that you can schedule on your blog so that the search engines will start to send spiders to your site and see that you have a site that is adding new content consistently.  Outside of keyword research, this step is where you will spend ALOT of time.  So prepare yourself.  If you are not a writer, you have several choices... Outsource your writing, buy PLR articles and edit them or you can create videos and post to your blog.
7. Promote Your Content:  Every peice of content you create on your blog will need to be promoted so that it can eventually be found by the search engines and also drive traffic from social sites and directories.  This process is also referred to as building backlinks (one way links that point back to the content you creat on your site.

It's That Simple! No Really ...

So that's it in a nutshell.  That is how I built my Avon business to the point that it is today.  I am not a guru by far.  I am not earning thousands of dollars per month, though I know it is only a matter of time before that will happen.  I am certainly closer that I was 3 years ago, for sure!  I am a regular person just like you and I am here to tell you that it IS POSSIBLE to build business on the internet with any company that you choose.
The process really is simply but it is hard work. Why?  You may not see results right away.  You have to be willing to stick with it.  I would say six months at the minimum. For me, it was actually an entire year before I started seeing results.  I would say don't compare yourself to me.  Everyone's situation is different.  Learning capacity, time you have to invest, etc all comes into play.
Be willing to commit to the process and let the outcome take care of itself. If you are serious about learning the complete process, here is a video I want you to watch when you can  block out at least an hour of time.  Let me know what you think?  CLICK HERE to watch it now.  This video and community will teach you all of the steps I outlined above. (visit Dee Foster  website to watch video)

I have great respect for this lady!

She sold over $60,000 ONLINE last year! 

Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!  Learn from her!

How to sell Avon skin care, fragrance and cosmetics from an expert!

Here is a fantastic interview with Rose Circle Avon seller and Make up Maven Chris Sheely:

Thank you for taking the time for this interview!

We've 'known” each other a long time! Well over a decade! You awere voted a Make Up Mavern, have always been a consistent high seller with Avon, and have always been generous in sharing your experience and knowledge!

Will you tell us about your accomplishments with Avon? 

I made PC six months after starting with Avon, just about 32 years ago!  I made HS the next year and RC the following year.  About 15 years ago I was a part of the first Representative Advisory Panel and coincidentally, was a part of the last one about five years ago.  I was also selected to be a Certified Beauty Advisor Trainer about ten years ago and for five years I travelled primarily on the East Coast, training representatives in beauty and color, among other things.  Last year I became a Makeup Maven for our division.  I really enjoy sharing my love of makeup (and skin care) with others!

I remember a great deal of what you taught us in your Yahoo group on skincare and Avon color!

Which brings me to the point!

I recall once you told me that you sell primarily skincare, cosmetics and fragrances because those are the products with the highest commissions!

How do you promote those products each campaign? 

I always check out the brochure ahead of time to see what’s on sale.  I buy samples and often give out three to each customer…one in each category.  If there’s a big sale on a particular item, I’ll often sample it to everyone.

Do you give skin care consultations? What tools do you use to give skincare consultations?

The most important thing about consultations is to listen to what the customer has to say.  In skin care, my first question is always “What’s your main area of concern?”.  Then I go from there, helping her choose the item(s) that will best meet her needs.  I don’t have any tools, per se, other than my knowledge of the products and what does what best!

Do you give color consultations? What tools do you use to give color consultations?  

I do a silent color consultation on every person I meet.  I always look at her, determine which colors might look good on her and then mention that I sell Avon.  With my regular customers, my knowledge of warm/cool really helps me help HER choose the right colors.  My customers know that I won’t steer them wrong, and rarely have a return because a color isn’t right.

How do you sell fragrances? 

I’m very allergic to most fragrance, so I mostly sell it by sampling.  If a customer really wants to try a scent for a week or so, I gladly order it and let her try it for two weeks and then either get the money or the product back.  There are a lot of tricks that you can use (cotton balls in a baggie, spraying your money etc) but I stick mostly to samples.

Do you prospect for customers using your vast knowledge of skin care, color and fragrances?

I do, but it’s a fine line to walk.  Sharing without seeming pushy can be difficult.  When I meet someone, I always tell them I’m a makeup maven and that my manager calls me her skin care guru!  If they need help, they know where to find me.  My business cards mention that I’m a skin care and color expert.

Do you have a favorite product that you promote?

Genics.  It’s good for all ages and really gets the job done.  I love how it feels and it really helps all ages “fix” what’s wrong!!

What advice would you give a new representative?

Educate yourself!  Read and learn.  Talk to people who are successful and ask them for advice.  You can never know too much about your products!!

What advice would you give an experienced representative to build their customer base and increase sales using skincare, color and fragrances?

Make your goal this:  sell skin care to every customer.  Make sure you talk with every single customer about skin care and then offer samples to meet the needs they express to you.  Color is a bit more difficult because you need to understand the difference between warm and cool in order to recommend the right shades.  Even in this day of anything goes, at the end of the day, every woman wants to look her best, and helping her choose her “everyday look” is very important.  For fragrance, make sure you know the basics of each scent.  For example, if you have a customer who HATES musk, make sure you know where to find the ingredients and know which scents have the least amount of musk.  Again, education is the key!!!

 Chris Sheely, UL, Rose Circle

Makeup Maven