GUIDING YOUR CUSTOMERS

Your customer is fully capable to order anything she wants. She may not know what she wants, and because of that she will frequently pull back from taking any risk. That's where the
service aspects of your role come into play. And your guidance
provides a crucial service to the consummation of the sale. When you guide your customer, you have controlled the transaction.

Guiding the customer means to anticipate her needs. For example, you are aware that this customer uses VitAdvance Women's Complete II Balanced Multivitamin/Mineral Support. You know that she purchased one bottle of 60 tablets three campaigns ago. Six weeks have passed. You guide your customer by suggesting that it may be time to order another supply. You could probably let it go until she has run out and finally asks you. But then, if you don't have it in hand, it could take a week or more to obtain it and get it to her. She has lost
the benefit of the supplement and you have lost the benefit of the profit from the sale.  Do that every two months and you will have lost six weeks' worth of profit by the end of the year.

That last paragraph should make some sense -- but unless you have taken steps to keep records about this customer's use of that supplement, it will mean nothing. You will not have been notified and you will not react accordingly. This is where judicial use of computer scheduling programs or internet calendar reminder sites can perform wonders for your business. That software or Internet site now becomes a prop for your business -- your business social secretary, as it were. Another prop could be a postcard system.  When your customer has purchased the supplement, prepare a
postcard and file it under a future date in your calendar. When
you have arrived at that date, mail it. There are many ways to
solve this problem and prime yourself to provide such a service.

The same logic applies to the other products, as well. You,
yourself, may use Retroactive. How long does it take you to get
through a jar? A month? Six weeks? Some of your customers will put in on more thickly than you, and will then need the product before you do. Keep a small stock on hand, but keep records as to when the calls arrive. Some of your customers will barely skim the surface of their skin -- they may get two months or more.  Until you can persuade them to use the product more lavishly, the record keeping can lead you to them at the proper time, as well.

I do not suggest that you do this for every product -- just those
that are significant in capability and price. The rest will fall
into line, and it will be sufficient for you to remind the
customer when something they customarily purchase goes on sale.


GUIDING YOUR CUSTOMERS -- THE SERVICE STEPS

Every sale should follow a pattern. That pattern will be a
determination of need, followed by suggested responses to that need, following up with a closing aimed at conveying a product or service to satisfy that need. Some of these steps are cyclical -- and they may even be performed in a parallel manner. But these steps will be crucial to your service activities.

1.  Greeting the customer.

     Beyond the initial "hello and how are you," serve the
     customer by reminding her of opportunities and their
     deadlines. "I know that you were interested in Retroactive
     when it came on special, Mrs. Jones, and today's the day!

2.   Whetting the customer's appetite.

"As you know, Retroactive has been well received and it has
absolutely no competition. So it isn't necessary that Avon
reduce the price to beat the competition. What Avon has
decided to do, then, is to make a selection of products
available to you, free of charge, for you to sample. And the
really nice part of the whole thing is that the value of this product selection is larger than the value of the Retroactive. You could say that you're getting the Retroactive for free.

3.   Focusing on the specific product.

"Now I know that you did try the Retroactive when we had the
product introduction, Mrs. Jones. And you will recall that
you told me how much better your skin felt after using the
product during the two week trial period. And I can tell that the rejuvi-cell technology has really improved the health of the skin on your face. Perhaps this would be a good time to take advantage of two or more of these specials to continue the outstanding progress you have made."

4.   Identifying and promoting the entire line.

"You've been a Retroactive customer for about two months,
haven't you, Mrs. Jones? And the results have been
outstanding. But you know, there are other products in the
Anew line which might be of interest. You indicated that you
thought your skin could use some clarification. Our Vitamin
C Serum is just the thing you need at this point, and Avon
is running a half-price sale on it during this campaign."

5.   Using this sale to bootstrap a non-related product.

"What do you think of this sun, Mrs. Jones? Brutal, isn't
it? Have you given any consideration to adding a sun
protection factor to your skin care? Avon has several
solutions for sun protection, ranging from spf-8 to spf-40.
We're promoting Skin So Soft Suncare at the moment, and you know you can even get a variation of that product which is
good for insect repellency. We're right on top of 'no-seeum'
season,  you know. We can even get a lip balm with sunscreen
in it.

6.   Prepping the next campaign and the next sale.

"Next campaign, Avon will have on sale a brand new
fragrance. I know you like the florientals, and this one will be out just in time for your birthday. You should smell it. It's wonderful. Here's a sample."


A CUSTOMER UNTO YOURSELF

No doubt by now you have found that you are your own best
customer. That's good. Of course, it limits your profits. But
that's OK. What it does for your customers' service is
outstanding. It follows that if you believe in your product
enough to use it, your knowledge and good sense, to say nothing about your loyalty, is intact.

I've often wondered just how successful a representative
can be if she doesn't use at least some of the products she
represents. I'm often asked, "How can I sell lipstick? I don't
use lipstick." Now I would much prefer that every representative be able to use all the products she sells, but that is not a barrier. I don't use lipstick either. No doubt people would look at me strangely if I did. But I am careful to use the products I can: colognes, after shaves, after shave conditioners, moisturizing creams and lotions, etc. I don't rock and roll, but that doesn't keep me from selling a CD. I haven't played with children's toys for more than fifty years, but I get a big kick out of selling Elmo. Suffice it to say that the most successful Avon server will be one who can speak personally and knowledgeably about the products she represents.

I bring up the point because if you are a customer unto yourself, you will be more inclined to think of your product and your service from the perspective of the customer. It will change your questions from "What can I order for you?" to "Are you ready to try one of the most successful skin care products Avon has ever produced?" The difference is at once dramatic and beneficial.  Your knowledge is front and center. Your enthusiasm is at a fever pitch. Acting like a customer as you deal with your customer will allow you to share that knowledge and build your customer's enthusiasm likewise.


WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE

The words for service are no different from the words for
selling. The tone of those words may be softer. Their delivery
will be interspersed with other features, claims, benefits, and
experiences. Some time ago, the following was a part of a post on the Internet message loops. Consider how you can use them as you provide service to your customers:

     free, love, safe, new, benefit, gain, money, happy, glad,
     proven, guarantee, fast, results, discover, how you, how to,
     now, fun, value, easy, you, your, yours, healthy, natural,
     magic, secret, comfortable, proud, secure, solution.

     Absolutely.. Amazing.. Approved..Attractive..Authentic..
     Bargain...Beautiful.. Better.. Big..Colorful..Colossal..
     Complete.. Confidential.. Crammed.. Delivered.. Direct..
     Discount.. Easily.. Endorsed.. Enormous.. Excellent..
     Exciting.. Exclusive.. Expert.. Famous.. Fascinating..
     Fortune.. Full.. Genuine.. Gift.. Gigantic.. Greatest..
     Guaranteed.. Helpful.. Highest.. Huge.. Immediately..
     Improved.. Informative.. Instructive.. Interesting..
     Largest.. Latest.. Lavishly.. Liberal.. Lifetime.. Limited..
     Lowest.. Magic.. Mammoth.. Miracle.. Noted.. Odd..
     Outstanding.. Personalized.. Popular.. Powerful..
     Practical.. Professional.. Profitable.. Profusely.. Proven..
     Quality..Quickly.. Rare.. Reduced.. Refundable..
     Remarkable.. Reliable.. Revealing.. Revolutionary.. Scarce..
     Secrets.. Security.. Selected.. Sensational.. Simplified..
     Sizable.. Special.. Startling.. Strange.. Strong.. Sturdy..
     Successful.. Superior.. Surprise.. Terrific.. Tested..
     Tremendous.. Unconditional.. Unique.. Unlimited..
     Unparalleled.. Unsurpassed.. Unusual.. Useful.. Valuable..
     Wealth.. Weird.. Wonderful.

Some of these are useful for advertising hype, of course. Some of these might not apply. But for those that are descriptive, every one that can be worked into your service presentation will promote safety and comfort with the steps your customer is about to take. Every time you use such words, you create mental images in your customer's mind. Read the list over and use the ones that are most comfortable to you.


LAWS OF PRIMACY AND RECENCY

In a nutshell, your customer will remember the first thing you
say and the last thing you say. That's why it's always good to
preview your presentation, make your presentation, and then
review your presentation. In my education days, we called that
"tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em; tell 'em; and then tell 'em
what you told 'em." This would give great credence to the
structure of your sales and service presentation.

Giving your customers an overview of the brochure you've left a
few days before is a very smart move. The service comes about because you have, without waving the book under their noses, reviewed what they, themselves should by now have already viewed.  This part of the presentation is minor -- it's a preview of coming attractions. For this reason, you have prepared for Mrs. Jones. You know what she likely will wish to purchase, and your source brochure is flagged for Mrs. Jones.

As you give your presentation, your best service will be to ask
Mrs Jones what products she would like to choose within the
constraints of type. By this I mean, don't mix face care with
body care with color with men's colognes, with roll-on
deodorants, etc. Focus upon each in sequence. Assume the sale.  Don't ask if she would like something. Ask which of the items she would like. It will put money in your pocket.

The presentation should not be one-sided. You are not lecturing your customer. You may be teaching her, but you are not lecturing her. A dialog will be helpful here: "Have you decided which skin care product you wish to order today?" And then you remind her that one of her favorites is on sale. "Would you prefer to take advantage of the sale to stock up at this time?" Any time you can steer your customer to a favorable decision, you will be way ahead of the game. Here is the place to do it. Anticipate your customer's needs. Suggest before you are asked. Be prepared to change focus as the customer changes focus.

The recency aspect may be subdivided. You will wish to summarize each category independently. Then, when you have finished your visit, and before you leave, you now have your order form before you, it's time to summarize, and it is time to restate the outstanding benefits the customer will receive from the products she has selected.

Next -- we'll wrap up this series on service. It didn't turn out
to be quite the size I had envisioned, but that's OK. The topic
is important and we'll have covered it fully. Our final item will
be to discuss the management of your service.

Ken the Avon Man -- AOL IM kenlordjr
Rose Circle member, Unit Leader, Certified Beauty Advisor
District 7286 -- Tucson, AZ
Book: Becoming an Avon Representative available for $15.