The Avon Story

Usually I feature Craig Garber as one of the guru's for my morning Sales Training Article. But this is for all of us to learn from:

If you're a baby boomer, then no doubt the words "Avon Calling"
are bound to knock some dust and cobwebs off your mental
shelves. Here's why, and how it all got started...

In the late 1800's, David McConnell was selling books
door-to-door. As a way of persuading people to buy, he started
giving out small vials of cologne and fragrances. But oddly
enough, within a short period of time, the demand for these
fragrances became much greater than the demand for his books.

So McConnell set up shop in Manhattan, and hired a bunch of
women to go door-to-door, selling his fragrances. He also
stood behind a guarantee that if anyone was unhappy with any of
his products, he'd give them a complete refund.

This kind of a guarantee, by the way, wasn't a very common
practice back then.

Today, there are nearly 2 million Avon reps, in more than 100
countries, selling over 700 products.

Great success story, isn't it?

Few really great lessons here.

First, McConnell was smart enough to let "want" dictate his
revenue. He didn't try and force books down people's throats,
he let the marketplace tell him what they wanted. All too
often, people don't respond to this -- they fall in love with
their goods and services because they feel so strongly about
what people "need."

Let me tell you something: outside of food, water and shelter,
we really don't "need" very much.

And if I'm 100% honest, this is where I faltered early on in my
career. Selling into need and not want.

Second, the power of sampling is incredible. In fact, if you
look at places like Costco and Sam's, and even your small-town
local fruit stand, you'll see how entire businesses have been
built on this. (And whether you know it or not, that's why my
daily tips are -- samples.)

And lastly, one thing that's often overlooked: courage. It
takes a great deal of courage to go out and do what we do. To
continually be the proverbial "man in the arena," in spite of
things like competition, doubt, no pre-made path to travel
down... and yes, a bad economy.

So next time you're in a rut or feeling down or insecure about
your business, remember... that's normal. It takes courage to
be an entrepreneur, and even more coverage to weather the storm
on an ongoing basis.

But it damn sure beats the alternative, doesn't it?

kingofcopy.com (TM) 3959 Van Dyke Road #253 Lutz, FL 33558 United States (813) 909-2214

Sphere: Related Content