Check Your Social Media Hustle: Would you follow you?

Social media is THE channel where most direct sales representatives should be putting their marketing efforts. Consider your local advertising, purchase the promotional items that make you happy, but social media and the reach of an enormous audience is where you will find your sales success.

Plus, it's mostly free.

BUT (there's always that but)... you really, truly, absolutely need to hustle it. The Social Media Hustle is very real. You can't just BE on social media, you have to live and breathe social media. You have to work social media. And you have to make social media consumers want to engage with you.

Previous resources I have shared about social media content:

• Social Media Network Marketing, Simplified offers a run down of social media tools and Four Key Social Media Network Marketing Activities: Content, Listening, Relationships, Linking.
• In Create and Share Content on Social Media, I reiterate that you have to have to have to create content, and frequently.
• In Selling With Social Media: Creating and Pushing Content, I offer even more resources to get that content train chugging.

Putting this social media train into practice requires planning, scheduling and implementing.

PLAN

Create valuable content. Consumers of social media content do not want to keep seeing the same content; they are looking for the newest, freshest, most interesting content. Make sure you know your products very well, you know the needs of the consumers that use your products, and that you actively seek the newest information within your product niche. What does that mean? Consider what products you sell: you should know the benefits of your products, and be able to speak to those benefits easily. You should also know about similar products in the industry, and what is currently awesome. Remember, would you follow you?

Example: If I sell lipstick, I'm going to know my lipsticks inside out and upside down. I'm also going to know about other lipsticks: what is available, what colors were just released, benefits of other brands, where you can purchase those lipsticks and how much they cost. Why do I need to know? Because my customers know. And I need to have the same information my customers have, or more.

Create content in many different forms:

• Photographs (Flat Lay, Behind the Scenes, Organic/Natural/Not Posed, etc.)
• Videos
• Infographics
• Blog Posts
• Tweets
• Quotes
• Conversations about products
• Links to industry news, research and events
• Sharing similar content created by others (Retweets)

Adapt your content to fit each social media channel; you will not want to share identical content on all channels every time. This takes some work, but you have very different audiences on each social media channel, and they expect to see the type of content that is suited for that channel.

SCHEDULE

You need an editorial calendar. Every single week, share the same type of content on specific days, make it consistent and stick to it. Every. Single. Week.

Skincare Sunday, Makeup Monday, Throwback Thursday. You've seen these, right? Get on this hashtag content train. Tag your original content and visually appealing images with known hashtags for more exposure, but do it carefully, thoughtfully and on a consistent editorial schedule.

Followers want to see a reliable amount of quality content, but they do not want to be inundated with too much invaluable content. There's a sweet spot, and this chart actually provides soem posting guidelines about how frequently to post for each channel. When scheduling your content, ask yourself, would you follow you?

Channel	Minimum	Maximum
Facebook	3x per week	10x per week
Twitter	5x per day	none
Pinterest	5x per day	10x per day
Instagram	3x per week	10x per week
Google+	5x per week	10x per week
LinkedIn	2x per week	5x per week
YouTube	1x per week	5x per week

IMPLEMENT

Push content our to social media channels. Push current content first, and make it a focus. But don't be afraid to push related content, similar products, and older content that you want to reintroduce into the feed.

Connect with other people to form relationships, grow your network and hopefully, reach your sales goals through volume. Follow for follow, like for like. Comment, interact, engage with other people, and you will begin to see the same engagement with you.

Action, Action, We Want Action. A-C-T-I-O-N! Use a Call To Action (CTA). In every content post, have a call to action. Join. Click. Shop. Save. Login. Follow. Find out more. Subscribe. Download. Email. Snag this. Get it now. You get the idea: Use an action verb that drives visitor traffic to engage with you. If you were a social media consumer, would you engage with your own call to action? Would you follow you?

Visit my beYOUtiful business blog to read more articles about social media and direct sales!

6 Stepping Stones for a Successful Side Hustle

A side hustle is a small business you run on the side, or a part time entrepreneur gig. Everyone should have a side hustle that follows a passion. < if you love beauty, then a beYOUtiful business is perfect for you! > To make that side hustle really work for you, you have to get into the hustle mindset and set up a smart operation.

Play

Your side hustle should include your personal passions. Be sure you enjoy what you are doing. Make the side hustle a game. Create challenges for yourself, and compete with yourself to reach those challenges. Make this a gaming mindset - Today, I will network with 5 new people. Or, This week, I will make $500 in sales. Participate in incentive challenges. Have fun! This idea of gamification of the side hustle makes this work feel more like play and passion and less like, well, work. Goals become much more fun and achievable when goal setting, goal working and goal tracking is set up like a game. Customer loyalty cards (spend $100, receive $10 in product) carry this idea to your customer base. Runners always try to beat their last run time or distance. Imagine your side hustle as a series of marathons where you earn a “medal” for completing a specific marathon “goal”. If you enjoy playing games on your smartphone, consider the Proof! app which turns your side hustle into an app game. Find fun ways to self motivate and hold yourself accountable in order to reach your daily/weekly/monthly/yearly goals!

Flexibility

Sharp business people need to be able to adapt quickly. Be prepared for obstacles and have a plan ahead of time on how to navigate those obstacles. Work on building a toolkit that you can pull from when the moment arises that you need it. For example, if you are selling a product, make a list of objections ahead of time and then write your counter argument to each objection. In this way, you are prepared to respond immediately to the objection. Know your policies (or the policies of your mother company, if you have chosen a direct sales side hustle). Know your products and be ready to explain the benefits of your key product lines. Provide choices to customers. When you tell a customer that there is only one option, they will choose the “No” option. If you offer three different “Yes” options, they will likely choose one of those. Actively listen when customers speak, and seek solutions for their concerns. Present them with options they can use to solve a problem they are having; don’t lead with your needs, follow what they say with solutions for them. Be willing to try multiple paths. It is a good possibility that you will find success on one solid path at some point, and you can devote most of your efforts to that one path. Be flexible and open to the possibility that are multiple paths to a goal.

Resourcefulness

Be resourceful with spending. The less money you spend in your side hustle, the more profit you will see. True, you have to spend money to make money, but before spending look for alternatives, shop for discounts, ask around for help. Being resourceful and seeking low cost or no cost resources keeps your expenses low, and your profit high. Be resourceful when dealing with challenges. Finding creative ways to problem solve will prevent you from wasting time and money. If you encounter a problem, make a list of possible solutions. Which one is the least painful to implement? Be resourceful with situations. Instead of striking up a conversation with one person at the store, find a way to have contact with everyone you walk past, even if it means just making eye contact and smiling. Resourcefulness is optimizing every decision you make. As a part time venture, your side hustle means you probably have limited time, so use that time very thoughtfully.

Perseverance

A hustle means daily work. Every single day. For years. As many hours every day as you are able to commit. A few social media posts a week or a handful of knocks on doors a week will not make your business successful. In order to find success with your side hustle, you need to put your offer in front of as many people as possible. Put in the hard work, and do it daily. Take advantage of and leverage “down time”. Many will argue that it is perseverance that makes success happen. It is that “go getter”, “don’t quit” attitude. Go into your side hustle with a positive attitude. Think you will succeed and you will. There are always two outcomes to difficult situations: 1. you persevere and make it happen, or 2. you give up. Every time you persevere and work through a problem, you become stronger, more confident, more empowered. You learn from mistakes, you apply that learning to future situations and you improve. Perseverance requires daily discipline and developing habits. Use powerful side hustle habits like not sleeping in or staying up late, avoid distractions, take care of your body, mind and spirit, dedicating a specific chunk of time every day to your tasks. Always be working your side hustle.

Focus

We all know that small distractions lead to lost productivity. Don’t waste time on time wasters. Checking Facebook, sleeping late, watching tv shows, gossiping - are all serious time sucks. Don’t get pulled into the black hole of non-productive distractions. Managing time well is a critical piece to success. Effective time management incorporates scheduling, organization, list making, prioritizing, and leveraging “found time”. Maintain a calendar for all of your activities. Block out chunks of time for non-side hustle related activities and commit specific times to your side hustle. Then plan that time carefully. Organize sales materials, customer contacts, products, financials - all of it! Great organization saves time and contributes to more sales and better customer service. List making gives you huge advantages. Make lists of sales ideas, people to contact, content to create, skills to learn, training videos to watch, etc. Prioritize your actions to make the most efficient use of your time. What actions will give you the highest return for the least amount of work? That’s a good starting point. Using your lists, separate the wheat from the chafe. Pursue the actions that will give you the most benefit, and avoid doing meaningless, “busy work” tasks. Huge hint here: The more face time with people, the better! Connecting with your network should always be a top priority. Finally, take advantage of random found moments. Use those small bursts of found time to complete some of the smaller, lower priority tasks.

Relationships

Building relationships is the number one secret formula for success in business. Find people to network with, not sell to. Find women who need beauty solutions. Find customers wanting innovative products. People want to feel like people, not potential customers. Long term success depends on being friendly, likeable, trustworthy and helpful - consistently and reliably. Developing a social network that brings a financial return to your side hustle takes time and tact. You can’t push people to buy, they spend money on products they want when they are ready. Creating and nourishing those relationships takes patience and deliberate effort. It is critical that you genuinely care about your network, that you offer real value with your product/service, and that you persuade rather than push people into transactions. Only an authentic network will lead you to a sustainable side hustle.

Real Earnings with Direct Selling

Direct selling is a real business opportunity with real earnings.

Get Your Negative Out

But here's the truth. If you start poking around about reviews for direct selling and reviews for Avon, you are going to find negativity. There are millions of naysayers out there. Some of their arguments are valid, some are just lies. The honest truth is that you will find negative things said about direct selling, for ALL direct sales companies. There is even an entire website dedicated to hating on Mary Kay. (I refuse to link to it). The bottom line is that there is a lot of information on the internet, there is a lot of inaccurate information on the internet and there is a lot of hate on the internet. I have taken most of that with a grain of salt. I am also a skilled researcher, and I devote my energy to tracking down valid and valuable research about beauty and business before I share that on my website. Business, ALL business, is what you make it. It doesn't matter if you are in a corporate office, selling makeup or making fries. There are business opportunities, but you have to want to do the work. Sales IS hustle.

Make an Investment

Direct selling companies all require an investment. Usually that investment is very small ($100 or less). When you join Avon, the cost to become a representative is $15, and you receive an official Avon starter kit. However, I still say that you should invest a full $100. Why? On what? Here's why: Yes, the starter kit is $15 (you get your own estore website at no cost --- MOST direct selling companies charge their reps for the personalized website), and that includes brochures, what's new, a workbook, samples, and full sized product. That will give you what you need to launch your beauty business. I recommend spending a little more to get business cards for yourself. Town and Country is an Avon Advantage Partner and they frequently have a discount on business cards: 250 free and you pay only $5.95 in shipping and handling. I would also go to a local office supply store and pick out a physical planner and calendar. The better organized you are with time and contacts, the more sales you will have! These typically cost around $20. The remainder of that $100 (around $60 left), you will hold onto. This can be invested in different things, depending on how you want to direct your beauty business. You could: buy samples, full size products to demo, bags to deliver product to your customers, branded signage to have tables at events, a domain name and hosting to run your own branded website*, a dedicated phone for your business, towards a laptop to help you sell online, office supplies to stay organized - whatever will help you run your business best! Yes, Avon's startup fee is $15, but a full $100 is an investment in your business that will contribute to your success!


* Avon does not allow personal websites for the purpose of selling product; your branded website has to be your personal brand and cannot have "Avon" in it.

Focus on Sales

Avon and long time reps will have all sorts of tips and suggestions for you when you start. Buy tons of brochures! Make a huge list of your warm market! Talk to 3 people every day! Use products yourself! Great. If you can start with that much.

I have my own tips for new representatives, and those tips probably conflict with everything you see from Avon and other reps.

Sell you. Look, sales are not about selling product, sales is about selling you. YOU are the product. Seriously. And human nature is to trust the human product before spending money on it. I know that sounds weird, but that's human nature. There have been studies and studies in marketing and advertising about the human element in buying. In order to run a sales business with long term success, ethics and JOY, you need to sell yourself, and NOT your products. My first year selling Avon I focused on - my warm market and products. I didn't earn much. My second year, I am focusing on - you guessed it! - selling ME. Direct selling is network marketing, and network marketing is primarily about building relationships. I don't tell everyone I talk to in person that I sell Avon. I don't even talk about Avon. Crazy, right?! The complete OPPOSITE of what everyone says to do. What I do is develop relationships and work on building trust. The crazy thing is that people are now coming to me. "Hey, I heard you sell Avon. Can I buy from you?"

Grow slow. My tips focus on growing sales at a realistic pace. Creating the network takes time. Like, more than a few weeks. It takes years. During this building time, you may not see a lot of sales every campaign. This is where many reps give up, because they do not see the immediate results. Instant gratification does not a business make. Most "brick and mortar" business take 5 years to see a profit. This may also be true for direct sales businesses. Growth is exponential. I see many successful Avon earners who did not get to their high profit margins for years. If they had given up their first year or so in, they would never have seen the profit they do now! Relish in slow growth, but be realistic about it. Actively work on sales and developing your network. Celebrate pockets of success (right before the holidays and in the spring are typically peak buying times).

Don't buy. Unless you can afford to invest more, do not go over that initial amount you have reserved for supplies and demo products. Spend as little as possible on brochures. Buy only as many brochures as you know you can schedule to distribute. If your warm market is 5 women, only buy 10 brochures and then force yourself to get rid of those other 5 brochures. Do not buy too many brochures if you can't develop that large of a market yet. Don't buy a bunch of supplies, like samples, sales tools or bags. Buy ONE pack of the literature bags. I know they are only .80 but buy them one pack at a time. Only buy sample deals from the What's New if you really love the product and can actively market it to your network. Avoid loading up on samples and bags until you have a use for them. If you do want to start building up samples, start with skincare.  Until you begin having campaign orders of $50 or more, do not invest in any of those extras. The bare minimum I suggest your very first order should be, if you do not yet have any customer sales: 10 brochures ($6.49), literature bags ($0.80), and one recurring future brochure, item 030347, ($0.30). IF the only thing you buy during a campaign is brochures, call the order in and Avon will not charge you the OSF (One Simple Fee). You want to be earning based on sales YOU make, not on product you buy.

Learn product. You can't sell what you don't know. You should spend a good chunk of time learning about the products that Avon sells. They are incredible products and many have a long history. These products contribute to having loyal customers, so do your reading and learn about them. Start with the brochure. READ every single page in the brochure, then expand into the online inventory and delve deep. Learn about the product in depth on the estore, and take advantage of product trainings through Avon University.

Challenge yourself. Sales can be achieved, but it does take hustle. Hustle is making sales related connections, with a sense of urgency, but with tact. In order to be successful at making sales, you need to set challenges for yourself. Small goals, at first, will develop into larger goals. "I will give my brochure to 5 people this campaign." "I will ask 2 people to reorder." "I will make $200 in sales this campaign." This is not a competition with other people; this is about finding the right pace for you, and meeting your personal financial goals.

Finding Those Real Earnings

It's time to show you the money! What are the earnings possibilities with direct selling? While there are different earnings charts for every company, the earnings you make depend totally on you. Your earnings are tied directly to the sales volume you make happen. Your compensation is based on your performance.

If you have a $50 order, your earnings are $10. If you have a $300 order, your earnings are $105. If you have a $1000 order, your earnings are $450. Personal sales are completed by you, so you manage your earnings.

Any sales you complete through your estore earns you 20% of that sale, and Avon delivers the order directly to your customer! Once you earn over $25, Avon will send you your earnings. You can receive this profit through direct deposit, or on a prepaid Visa card.

See How It's Done

There is an elite group of women who have worked hard to turn lipstick into life. These women are some of the top earners for Avon, and they are successful because they HUSTLE.

Top earning representatives with Avon truly know how to hustle. Yet, every single woman does it differently. That is the beauty of this beYOUtiful business: this flexibility allows you to earn in the way that is best for you!

A few of these top earners - the "famous Avon ladies":

• Lisa Wilber has been selling Avon since 1981. Her leadership checks for 2015 were over $250,000.  
  
• Emily Seagren started in 2008 and has focused on selling online. Her 2015 team sales were over $550,000.   
  
• Molly Stone Bibb started in 2004. 
• Lisa Monoson since 2000. Her team of 400+ sells over 1 million each year.
• Theresa Paul started in 1994. She has 600+ on her team. 
• Milagros Garcia joined in 2001. Her checks total over $100,000 a year.

I joined in 2014.

Every single one of these women has been successful with selling Avon because of their hustle. Every single one loves selling Avon. And every single one earns real income by selling Avon products and training others how to sell Avon products.

What I love the most about these women? They are all friends on Facebook, they are accessible to all Avon representatives, and they are willing to help new reps grow their business because they care about successful beauty businesses. This handful of inspirational Avon ladies really make it worth choosing this company for your direct selling business. They are amaze!

I want you to have real earnings, too! Join in!

What is Direct Selling, Exactly?

Direct selling is the business model where products are developed and tested then distributed to customers through direct channels such as independent sales representatives. There are no "middle men" - no large scale distributors, no retail stores.

Avon Products, Inc. products go directly to the customer, either shipped directly when ordered online, or personally via one of Avon's Independent Sales Representatives.

Sales Channels

Direct sellers make sales face to face or online. Personal face to face  can be made through a representatives existing social networks (friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, groups, businesses) or by prospecting in their geographic area. Online sales can be made through networks online, which expands a representative's prospecting base considerably. Many representatives choose to sell products using both face to face and online channels.

SLM versus MLM

Single level marketing (SLM) direct selling is where a representative buys product from a direct selling company and sells the product directly to customers, gaining a profit on the sale. Multi level marketing (MLM) direct selling is where a representative participates in SLM and also participates in leadership of new representatives, generally with a commission or an incentive.

Avon's 2014 revenue was $8.9 billion.

Why Direct Selling Appeals to Home Entrepreneurs

• Direct selling is a good choice for:
• Stay at home moms
• People with full time employment who want to supplement their income
• Individuals on disability or are retired and may have limited mobility
• Retired veterans

Why? Because direct selling has flexibility - you are not confined to specific work hours, driving to a specific location or required to have specific resume skills. It is this flexible alternative to traditional employment options that is probably the most appealing.

In direct selling, there is unlimited opportunity. Direct sales representatives do not have to worry about the product supply chain. In traditional entrepreneurship, the new business has to focus on developing a product or service and identifying the market for that product or service. Product development and manufacturing takes significant time and financial resources. Even a simple at home craft business would have to invest $5000 to $10000 to launch. Direct selling companies typically have a $100 or less investment to launch.

Avon's products include a large, diverse catalog of makeup, skincare, fragrance, bath & body, jewelry, fashion and home, with products for women, men, kids and millenials.

Advantages of Direct Selling

The advantages of a direct selling business model for a sales representative:

• Create your own work schedule and hours of effort.
• Ability to enter entrepreneurship with little formal training or education
• Empowering, especially for women, by creating transferable social and business skills
• Low start up costs, low risk to maintain, easy to grow, plus profits are tied directly to effort
• Product catalog available with no development and manufacturing investment

The advantages of a direct selling business model for a customer:

• Individual human representatives to guide product choices and answer questions
• Innovative product choices not always available in retail stores
• Convenience and reliability of service (home delivery by representatives or online shipping)

Freedom of Entrepreneurship

Starting a direct selling business opportunity does not require diplomas, certificates or college degrees. However, direct selling often develops those marketable skills!

• Communication
• Time management
• Organization
• Innovation and problem solving
• Customer service
• Technology literacy
• Soft skills (creativity, process management, work ethic & social skills)

There are over 18 million people in direct selling. The average cost to start is $100. The risk of loss is incredibly low if you decide to quit. Reasons people are direct selling reps - long term supplemental income, products at a discount, independent entrepreneur flexibility. (DSA 2015 Growth and Outlook survey and 2014 National Salesforce Study).

Join In with your own beYOUtiful business!

Social Media Network Marketing, Simplified

What is Social Media Network Marketing?

Social Media Network Marketing is a type of marketing that leverages social media tools, like Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, to build network connections for the purpose of selling product or recruiting individuals to a direct sales company.

Top Social Media Network Marketing activities:

• Creating and sharing content
• Listening to social media buzz
• Building networks through comments, Likes, Follows, Tweets, etc.
• Finding more leads online

AVON ISRs are in somewhat new territory. We want to navigate the social media waters, identify the best tools, engage prospects and drive customers to buy at our youravon page or sign up to sell at our startavon page, and we want to be able to measure how all of that is working.

Tool	Description	Effectiveness	Ease of Use
Facebook	connecting and sharing	- hard to tell - FB logarithm changes have reduced views - pages do have stats	Takes Some Effort
Blogs	writing and sharing content	- has to be good, relevant, interesting content - best when it's mobile optimized	Takes A Lot Of Effort
Twitter	short "tweets", micro blog	- can quickly become viral via retweets and hashtags - offers engagement	Easy Peasy
Linked In	professional networking	-good for building connections	Takes Some Effort
Google +	networking (actually most ppl aren't really sure?)	- Google is making some changes	Takes A Lot Of Effort
Pinterest	"Pin" to organize and share visuals	- Very engaging - Repins and links drive traffic well	Easy Peasy
Instagram	Visuals sharing	- Engaging - Can drive traffic well	Easy Peasy
YouTube	Video sharing	- Versatile - Edutainment videos work best - Call to action helps drive traffic	Takes A Lot Of Effort
Tumblr	Micro blog, sharing	- Engaging - Can drive traffic	Easy Peasy
Others, like Vine, Snapchat	video sharing, visual messaging, etc.	- Varies	Varies

With any of these social media tools, one significant factor is CONSISTENCY. Whatever you create and share, do so consistently, on a schedule, with as high a frequency as you can manage. Fresh, interesting, engaging content is so important.

Four Key Social Media Network Marketing Activities:

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Spend time creating and sharing CONTENT

Spend most of your time creating high quality content. You should be spending at least 10 + hours a week creating content, though increased traffic and lead generation usually starts at around 6 hours a week.

Write quality blogs, and push blogs out to social media sites, such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter. Always provide links back to youravon estore! This is incredibly important; prospects can't engage and become customers if they don't have the path to your estore.

Content should be written, but you can enhance and elaborate through visuals and videos.

Share product and opportunity directly from your estore, and leverage the sharing tools available through the Social Media Center!

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LISTEN to people on social media 

Listen to the buzz. Don't comment until you have really listened! Listen to what online prospects are saying. Listen to their concerns, their comments, their complaints. THEN, carefully craft responses that fill their needs.

Listen to individuals through comments and messaging. Respond with professional solutions, but don't push product. Help solve their problems!

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Build RELATIONSHIPS

Make friends, not enemies. Try not to be overly aggressive... people want to buy from a person not just someone who can post about their products. People want to know that you have the knowledge they are seeking.

Make online customers a priority, just like you would if you were helping them face to face. Treat online prospects and sales exactly like personal sales.

Be professional, and always communicate like everyone you meet online is a customer. If you wouldn't say something to a customer while standing on their porch, never say it online! Never be rude, and always respect everyone. Avoid commenting about religion, politics, controversy and never use any inappropriate content on any publicly viewable social media!

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Find more LEADS online 

Drive leads to you by creating quality content. LINK, LINK, LINK directly to your estore or opportunity page.

blogs, infographics and video

Seriously, write a quality blog post, create a valuable video, or pin an infographic you have created EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Online events can rapidly expand your leads. Host a Facebook party!

You can also use tools such as SEO and SIGs to help find more customers online. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is using keywords within your content to help people find you. (This is not the same as Google Adwords, which is not allowed by Avon). These are keywords that you use as a rich way to enhance your content by placing them within your content and as tags/labels on your blogs. Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are niche sites where people go for specific interests they have. These can be within Facebook groups, Pinterest interests, Twitter hashtags, and niche websites such as Ravelry or CafeMom.

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Bonus!

Integrate all social media tools, starting with the quality content and sharing out everywhere! For example, for every blog post you write, share it to Facebook and Twitter. Create a companion board and infographics for Pinterest. Plan videos to post through YouTube. INTEGRATE your Social Media Network Marketing efforts!

Be aware that every social media site has its own policies, and Avon has its own policies. Make sure you read, understand and follow those policies!