At the age of twenty-eight, David McConnell, a traveling book salesman made a startling discovery, his customers were far less interested in the books that he was selling then they were interested in the free items he gave his customers as a sales incentive. He had been giving his customer rose oil perfumes, a perfumed toiletry that women seemed to adore, thus their incentive to purchase the books he was selling. Whenever the customer’s supply of rose oil was exhausted they would purchase another book from young McConnell in order to receive another bottle of their treasured toiletry.
McConnell utilized this newly acquired information and his entrepreneurialism to begin a cosmetics company which would bring a world of beauty directly to the women who bought his product. McConnell was soon joined by Persis F. Albee, a woman who would pioneered the idea of women salespeople in an age before women even had the right to vote, 1886. She is also credited as a pioneer of the now-famous direct-selling method.
Little did either McConnell or Albee realize one hundred an eighteen years later, not only would the company still be going strong, but it would be have grown to include worldwide strength, being sold in 143 countries with more than three and one half million sales representatives. The realization was not even made fifty three years after the inception of the company, 1939, when the company was renamed as a salute to McConnell’s favorite playwright William Shakespeare and Stratford on Avon. Yes, indeed, what began in 1886 as a company honoring the basic toiletry needs of women across the United States, now services people worldwide with gifts, toiletries, cosmetics, clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, personal hygiene products and now caters to the fund-raising needs of groups and organizations worldwide; Avon.
Today, it is possible for a sales representative to merely service her fellow employees, by dropping a brochure in the lunchroom and picking up the orders a day’s end. It is also for a sales rep to service people across country via the Internet. While the sales rep can’t tend to any questions via email or telephone, the customer is free to browse the Avon Catalog online, placing their order and having the items directly shipped to them. The customer simply places the sales rep’s telephone number in the appropriate space and walla; their customer base has just extended across the continent.
A sales manager can just as easily recruit new sales representatives on the opposite side of the continent, utilizing the Internet and telephone. Today’s Avon offers great advantages to the entrepreneurial man or woman. It is easy to sell, easy to service, and new representatives can literally have their own business with a mere ten dollar investment; a business backed by a century old establishment that still thrives on offering customers a one hundred percent satisfaction guarantee refund. Where else can you invest so little to make so much? Assistance and support is always as close as the telephone or email.
Of course Avon offers sales reps and managers plenty of incentives to sell, sell, sell! Trips to San Francisco, cruises and a $10,000 per district prize are amongst the many sales incentives now being offered. New sales reps have even bigger incentives to join the Avon team and become an Independent Representative. A new representative can earn up to 50% profits on their first four orders, providing their orders are placed via e-connect, a great new technological means to order supplies, pay for your orders, ask questions and even receive training.
All in all, Avon is the perfect way for any man or woman to decipher if entrepreneurialism suits their needs. It is also a way for any man or woman to earn a little spare cash utilizing their own time, space and personal contacts.
