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Avon In the Airways
Tuesday, February 15, 2011One Phone Call Away from Success!
This 82-year-old male Representative reveals his strategies for success.
"Nobody in town knows who Bob Bettiga is, but everybody knows Bob-the-Avon-Guy," says Robert Bettiga of Corpus Christi, Texas. This former navy man and financial planner started his Avon business at the age of 75 in 2003. You might say he inherited it. His wife, Jeanette, was an Avon Representative. She was doing well but after two elbow replacements her activities were limited, so she began to lose Customers. "Well I can fix that; I'll sell Avon," Bob said with his signature confidence and enthusiasm.
"In nothing flat, I was doing so well that Jeanette quit and signed up as my co-applicant, and we've been a team ever since. Jeanette handles all the computer work, and I do most of the contact with people," Bob explains. In just two years, he achieved McConnell Club and one year later President's Council. Bob realized early that his Avon business is a path to rebuild their retirement money, maintain their lifestyle and keep him, a self-described hyperactive person, involved for many years.
Asked how his sales soared so quickly, Bob replied, "I do what Avon has been espousing for 125 years and it works every time. But very few Representatives do it. When asked to speak at Representatives' meetings about my system, I start with these questions: How many give out an Avon Brochure? All the hands go up. How many put a label with your contact information? Out of 200 people, 180 hands go up. How many get Customers' contact information? Maybe 125. How many call that person within a week for an order? Just 12 hands go up. Of course they don't get orders," he says.
Bob's take on why it's not done: "Too many Representatives don't want to invest time and energy into their business." Bob and Jeanette work eight hours a day, five days a week. "I incorporate my Avon business into everything I do."
He also emphasizes goal-setting; approaching one new person a day to be a Customer, Recruit or Helper; and that Representatives should use Avon products themselves. He urges them to find out what their Downline members want from their businesses and to set each of them on a course to achieve it.
Each campaign, Bob calls every Customer who has not sent him an order?usually over 100 of them and his success rate is excellent. "It's a no-brainer," he says.
"Bob is admired by all of the Representatives in his District, and he will help anyone succeed even if not in his Sales Leadership Unit," says his District Sales Manager, Janet Henry.
Bob and Jeanette lead rich, exciting lives, but there have been hurdles. Jeanette has made three trips to the Mayo Clinic for surgery, and Bob had back surgery four years ago, as well as surgery on his neck, spine and rotator cuff; three cancer surgeries; and radiation treatment.
Despite these upsets, this dynamic duo has never missed an order in their seven years selling Avon together. Their sales are 33% ahead of last year's, and they're on target to reach President's Council for the fifth consecutive time!
Both Bob and Jeanette take time to share their good fortune with others in their community. At Thanksgiving, they arrange with the local cafeteria to serve meals to people they know without a place to go. And at Christmas they "adopt" a couple of families apiece and make sure they have a joyous holiday.
"I like people. I want to help them get what they want, and Avon is the perfect vehicle to make that happen. It's real easy to get in to, doesn't cost much at all and the company gives you credit to start your own business. It is a business?you've got to invest in it!" exclaims Bob-the-Avon-Guy.
Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Foundation 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011Avon Foundation for Women Announces 2011 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer
The Avon Foundation for Women has announced the 2011 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer schedule, renewing its commitment to breast cancer research and advancing access to care, regardless of a person's ability to pay.
The complete 2011 Avon Walk for Breast Cancer schedule includes: Houston (April 16?17), Washington, DC (April 30?May 1), Boston (May 14?15), Chicago (June 4?5), Rocky Mountains (June 25?26), San Francisco (July 9?10), Santa Barbara (September 17?18), New York (October 15?16) and Charlotte (October 22?23).
During the 2010 Avon Walk season, nearly 22,000 participants supported by hundreds of thousands of donors raised more than $55 million for local, regional and national breast cancer organizations. In total, since 2003 the Avon Walks have raised more than $380 million through the dedication of more than 142,000 participants, including women and men ranging in age from their teens to those in their 80s, from every walk of life.
On stage during the nine 2010 Avon Walk closing ceremonies, the Avon Foundation immediately awarded 88 grants ranging from $25,000 to $1.2 million to leading cancer centers, research institutions and community-based organizations in the Walk regions. In total, the Avon Foundation awarded more than 250 grants nationally throughout the year. For a complete list of Avon Foundation funding, visit www.avonfoundation.org.
We encourage you, your families and your friends to join Team Avon at one of the nine Walks.
For more information or to register for an Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, visit www.avonwalk.org or call 1-888-540-WALK begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 1-888-540-WALK end_of_the_skype_highlighting(9255).
Join the official Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Facebook Group page with nearly 8,000 members and counting!
Visit www.avonwalk.org and click on the Facebook icon.
Join the conversation and the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer's 4,000+ followers on Twitter! Visit twitter.com/avonwalks.
The Possibilities Are Endless with Avon
Friday, December 17, 2010
The Possibilities Are Endless with Avon
So where is this goal-oriented, self-motivated Representative headed?
The inspiration from the smile on her face every day keeps me going. She is the most positive child I have ever met. She has taught me more than I think I can ever teach her. She never gets down on herself, and she thinks it's cool to be in a wheelchair.
Mindy Madewell-Baker of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is describing her eight-year-old stepdaughter Dru, who became a paraplegic when she was in a car accident at the age of four. Making Dru's life easier is one of the reasons Mindy began her Avon career and the other reasons include her lovely 10-year-old stepdaughter, Ivee, and supportive husband, Nick.
High school English teacher Mindy remarried just last year and, wanting extra income to make their home more handicap-accessible for Dru (which is a very costly endeavor), she turned to Avon. With a teaching career, a brand-new marriage and two little girls one of whom requires quite a bit of time, I learned to juggle and multitask, she says.
The need for money drove Mindy to sell, she acknowledges, But I really didn't know what I was doing. I just started selling. However, both her Upline and her District Sales Manager saw leadership qualities in Mindy, and they encouraged her to join the Sales Leadership program. It was the perfect fit. As an accomplished former basketball coach, Mindy already knew how to train, motivate and mentor and those were just the abilities required by Sales Leadership. I saw the limitless possibilities, and my business took off, she explains.
In just seven months, Mindy achieved President's Club and Advanced Unit Leader status. How did she pull this off so quickly? Time management is a key element. Every Saturday morning I plan and strategical my week. I jot down in my planner everything that needs to be done, she says. You have to be goal-oriented and self-motivated. Post your goals so you see them daily and are motivated to keep moving forward.
In addition, she's emphatic about using samples and demos. Customers don't want to hear about a product; they want to see it, she says. As for Sales Meetings, she urges Representatives to attend them. If you don't go to Sales Meetings, you are not doing your business or your Customers justice. The meetings are the place to learn about hot new items; to see, touch and smell the products; to learn new strategies and to develop a plan of action, she points out.
She also says that the chance to share ideas with other Representatives is priceless. According to Mindy, her most valuable asset is her positive spirit. That's no surprise, since keep a positive attitude is the mantra of most successful Representatives, because it's the most potent tool for reaching goals, getting over hurdles and around obstacles. Mindy nurtures her positive mindset.
Both she and her husband advocate reading books that nourish and develop positive thinking. One of Mindy's favorite quotes is: There's a choice you have to make in everything you do; so keep in mind that in the end the choice you make makes you.
She explains that positivity is a choice: You can get out and do something, or you can choose to say, Not today. I have to be honest though, selling is not always easy. On those days when its rainy outside, or I don't feel well, or I need to go home and make dinner, I tell myself, You have all these women in your Downline who are looking to you, and then there are the bills to pay. You just have to get yourself out of that chair and get going.
For Mindy, the pleasure, excitement and fulfillment she experiences when she achieves her goals are well worth the effort invested. So on her short lunch break at school, Mindy dashes out to get her what's new bags, stuffed with samples and a brochure, into the hands of three to five potential Customers. It is one priority in her cache of strategies.
But Mindy goes beyond just saying, Hello, please browse the brochure and give me a call. She peaks people's interest by placing cards with their information into a monthly drawing for an Avon bundle.
(Mindy's very supportive District Sales Manager, Lori Yandell, provided her with this tip.) But, Mindy cautions, You must, must call potential Customers within 48 hours. Follow-up is critically important to getting new Customers. And to keep them, she advises, cater to them by adding that personal touch.
Mindy says she knows what it's like to fall on her face. She slipped from Advanced Unit Leader (AUL) to Unit Leader when she spent more time on recruiting, but not enough time on the essential task of training her new Downline members. Since then, she has revamped her approach. Mindy's determined to regain her AUL status and she is very close to doing so.
What's her proudest moment? Mindy's one-minute video, made with her girls serving as the film crew, was a winner in the Avon Money Makeover with Suze Orman contest. This moment, which she shared with her family, including her mom and dad, meant so much. I am very, very blessed. We needed that $10,000 award to make our home more comfortable for Dru, she says.
The former basketball coach says that her next slam dunk will be to regain her AUL status, and take the steps necessary to achieving Executive Unit Leader. As Mindy confidently asserts, With Avon, the possibilities are endless.
So where is this goal-oriented, self-motivated Representative headed?
The inspiration from the smile on her face every day keeps me going. She is the most positive child I have ever met. She has taught me more than I think I can ever teach her. She never gets down on herself, and she thinks it's cool to be in a wheelchair.
Mindy Madewell-Baker of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is describing her eight-year-old stepdaughter Dru, who became a paraplegic when she was in a car accident at the age of four. Making Dru's life easier is one of the reasons Mindy began her Avon career and the other reasons include her lovely 10-year-old stepdaughter, Ivee, and supportive husband, Nick.
High school English teacher Mindy remarried just last year and, wanting extra income to make their home more handicap-accessible for Dru (which is a very costly endeavor), she turned to Avon. With a teaching career, a brand-new marriage and two little girls one of whom requires quite a bit of time, I learned to juggle and multitask, she says.
The need for money drove Mindy to sell, she acknowledges, But I really didn't know what I was doing. I just started selling. However, both her Upline and her District Sales Manager saw leadership qualities in Mindy, and they encouraged her to join the Sales Leadership program. It was the perfect fit. As an accomplished former basketball coach, Mindy already knew how to train, motivate and mentor and those were just the abilities required by Sales Leadership. I saw the limitless possibilities, and my business took off, she explains.
In just seven months, Mindy achieved President's Club and Advanced Unit Leader status. How did she pull this off so quickly? Time management is a key element. Every Saturday morning I plan and strategical my week. I jot down in my planner everything that needs to be done, she says. You have to be goal-oriented and self-motivated. Post your goals so you see them daily and are motivated to keep moving forward.
In addition, she's emphatic about using samples and demos. Customers don't want to hear about a product; they want to see it, she says. As for Sales Meetings, she urges Representatives to attend them. If you don't go to Sales Meetings, you are not doing your business or your Customers justice. The meetings are the place to learn about hot new items; to see, touch and smell the products; to learn new strategies and to develop a plan of action, she points out.
She also says that the chance to share ideas with other Representatives is priceless. According to Mindy, her most valuable asset is her positive spirit. That's no surprise, since keep a positive attitude is the mantra of most successful Representatives, because it's the most potent tool for reaching goals, getting over hurdles and around obstacles. Mindy nurtures her positive mindset.
Both she and her husband advocate reading books that nourish and develop positive thinking. One of Mindy's favorite quotes is: There's a choice you have to make in everything you do; so keep in mind that in the end the choice you make makes you.
She explains that positivity is a choice: You can get out and do something, or you can choose to say, Not today. I have to be honest though, selling is not always easy. On those days when its rainy outside, or I don't feel well, or I need to go home and make dinner, I tell myself, You have all these women in your Downline who are looking to you, and then there are the bills to pay. You just have to get yourself out of that chair and get going.
For Mindy, the pleasure, excitement and fulfillment she experiences when she achieves her goals are well worth the effort invested. So on her short lunch break at school, Mindy dashes out to get her what's new bags, stuffed with samples and a brochure, into the hands of three to five potential Customers. It is one priority in her cache of strategies.
But Mindy goes beyond just saying, Hello, please browse the brochure and give me a call. She peaks people's interest by placing cards with their information into a monthly drawing for an Avon bundle.
(Mindy's very supportive District Sales Manager, Lori Yandell, provided her with this tip.) But, Mindy cautions, You must, must call potential Customers within 48 hours. Follow-up is critically important to getting new Customers. And to keep them, she advises, cater to them by adding that personal touch.
Mindy says she knows what it's like to fall on her face. She slipped from Advanced Unit Leader (AUL) to Unit Leader when she spent more time on recruiting, but not enough time on the essential task of training her new Downline members. Since then, she has revamped her approach. Mindy's determined to regain her AUL status and she is very close to doing so.
What's her proudest moment? Mindy's one-minute video, made with her girls serving as the film crew, was a winner in the Avon Money Makeover with Suze Orman contest. This moment, which she shared with her family, including her mom and dad, meant so much. I am very, very blessed. We needed that $10,000 award to make our home more comfortable for Dru, she says.
The former basketball coach says that her next slam dunk will be to regain her AUL status, and take the steps necessary to achieving Executive Unit Leader. As Mindy confidently asserts, With Avon, the possibilities are endless.
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