Organization is the key

When I was upset about how messy my house was and upset that my kids would not help to keep it clean, my son-in-law said to me . . .

"Not everybody can be organized!" 

Really?  Are you serious?  My response to him was . . .

"Have you ever been to my office at work? It is VERY organized!  There is a place for everything and everything is in it's place.  It's just too hard at home to organize because nobody will help out!"

Does this sound like your house?  Now that I'm older and wiser, I realize that I can't organize anybody but myself.  However, I can teach you the skills to get yourself organized in hopes that one day your family will notice and, hopefully, follow your example.  If not while they are living in your house, then later when they are on their own.  Unfortunately, I didn't learn these skills early enough in my child rearing years because both of my kids are very disorganized.

Your filing system can be as simple or as elaborate as you would like.  It can be as simple as an empty Avon box that you throw everything into or it can be filing cabinets that have folders with labels that can be categorized.  The most important thing to remember . . . use the system that will work for you and that you will keep up with.  Keeping in mind, no matter what kind of filing system you use, you must keep some records for income tax purposes and they must be kept for about 7 years.  Check with your accountant or tax preparer for more information on this.

The better you organize your paperwork, products, brochures, etc. for your Avon business, the easier it will be for you to make money.   If you have all your stuff scattered around "willy nilly", you are not going to know if you are making any money or not.  And, if you think you are not making money, you can't look at your records to see why you are not making money and what you can do to change that fact. 

 "Organization is the Key!"

Below is the filing system of an Avon representative.  I'm sorry I forgot to put her name on this file but she explains how she uses her fairly elaborate system is also quite simple and effective.  You could adapt this method or adjust it to work for your space and situation.

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Organizing my "Per Campaign" paperwork:

For my paperwork, I use Manila Envelopes, A Sharpie Marker & an Avon box!  I have 1 envelope (9x12 size) for each campaign.  For example, right now, I am working with 3 envelopes. I'll explain.

I currently have "active" the C6, C7 & C8 envelopes.  When I received my C6 order this past Monday, I put the following INTO my C6 envelope:

• Invoice
• Customer order slips (I write down EVERY customer order in an order book, those are my "hard copies" of their orders, these slips have various notes on them & customer info also. My customers receive an invoice from my MBA program, which I typed up using these slips.)
• My copy of the packing slips for any returns that were sent back during C6 (I print 2 copies of the packing slip, and I write the tracking number for the box on my copy, so that I can track it.)
• My "mileage" sheet for C6
• My Profit/Loss sheet for C6
• Receipts for business expenses for C6 (office supplies, vista print, postage, etc)
• When I am finished delivering my C6 order, my "delivery" list will go into the envelope as well. 

In my C07 envelope, there is exactly nothing. I am currently selling C7, so there is nothing to put into it right now.

In my C8 envelope is... 

• 1 copy of EACH Avon book & flyer that we can order from beginning in C8... Mark magalog, Core book, "charities" flyer, outlet book
• The "payment" envelope that comes with my order. That way IF I get a CC payment in C8, I will know where an envelope is to send it to Avon with.
• Demo Books. Mark & Avon that I can order from beginning in C8 (campaign 10 demo's)
• C8 Product Number Guide

When C7 is over (when I have turned in my C7 order next Thursday). I will empty out the C8 envelope, as I will be selling C8 and when my C7 order comes, and I have checked over my invoice, my C7 envelope will contain that my C6 envelope currently contains.

Office Supplies, Business Supplies, etc:

Next to my desk is a Rubbermaid 4 drawer "thing" that I use for storing stuff in.

 Drawer #1:

• What's New Bags, 2lb paper sacks, Color Charts & Shade selectors for Avon & Mark - Foundation & Lipstick.

Drawer #2:

• Samples... this drawer has ONLY samples in it. Perfume, Skincare, Foundation, Lipstick, etc

Drawer #3:

• Business tools -
• Blank Order books,
• Avon Address book,
• Business Cards,
• CC Slips,
• Collection Envelopes,
• Blank Mileage Sheets (home-made ones),
• A box of checks for my "Avon" bank account,
• Writing Pads for taking notes, etc.,
• Day planner,
• Blank Deposit Slips.

Drawer #4:

• Envelopes,
• Printer paper,
• Blank Labels,
• Pens & Pencils,
• Staples,
• My Stampers,
• Ink Pads & refill bottles (this is the hardest drawer to open because it is the heaviest, so these go in here to keep my kids from playing with them!),
• My Avon "binders" (success by design, leadership & beauty advisor, these are no longer available, having been reformatted into other literature).
• And finally my Color Me Beautiful books (I rely on these greatly, when customers ask me to recommend a lipstick shade, etc so I need them close at hand). MBA Users manual.

Current Books that I am Selling From:

Next Campaigns books, I keep stacked under the table, If we need to use the dining room table (which is rare, as we don't entertain much, and we eat in the kitchen, so the dining room became my "office"), I put them in a corner elsewhere, but that happens rarely.

  

The current campaign books are usually already stamped with the current and next campaigns order dates, and are either in their original boxes for giving to customers or refilling my book drop spots, or they are in what's new bags, in a big Avon box, stamped, labeled and ready to toss. They are beneath the dining room table also. (We only have 1 set of chairs, and those are at the kitchen table, even though they "go to" the dining room table.)

Orders, getting them bagged quickly & efficiently:

When my order arrives, I open it, separate it out by product or packing type, and check it against my invoice. For example:  I will divide my order into several boxes:

• Box 1 - makeup & jewelry
• Box 2 - perfume & bath products (hand creams, body lotions, Bubble Bath, Bath Oil, shower gel, etc.)
• Box 3 - Boxes of stuff, usually fixed earnings items, like the home deco things that come packed in foam & boxes
• Box 4 - Shoes, Slippers,
• Box 5 - Clothing, bags, toys

It doesn't take 5 boxes to divide everything every campaign, sometimes it takes less, sometimes it takes more, And most of the time, I combine several groups in one box.

Then I bag the orders, one complete order at a time. As I get each order bagged, it gets the customer receipt & whatever books and flyers that particular customer gets, as well as any free gifts that I advertised, new samples, or requested samples. Then I set it on top of my dining room table, according to where that customer lives. I try to deliver to an entire customer group at once, to save gas.

Keeping track of WHO has a current book & where I have tossed:

I have a "list" of all my customers divided out by the area that they lived in, following each name, was a square for every campaign, and I would attach my list to my clipboard, and as I gave each customer a book, I would mark their name for that campaign. It is a simple, but effective way to make sure that you get a book to each customer every campaign. It is also a great way to track those customers that you give books to every other campaign, instead of every campaign.

I use a similar list to track the areas that I canvass, I have a space for the name of the street or development that I am canvassing, and check boxes after it that I can write in the campaigns that I canvassed that area in. I try to canvass each area 5 campaigns in a row.  So this is a very helpful tool to me also.

Tracking which backordered items belong to whom:

I have a notebook that I use to track backorders in.  I have a page for each campaign, for example,

My C5 page lists - 

• Backordered items  
• Expected availability  
• WHO the items "belong" to  
• The bottom half of the page is for notes.  "Mary - cancelled Detox Patches - 3/15 - 130pm"  That way I can keep track of what I need to call CS and cancel and what needs to stay ordered.  Then, when the bo'd items arrive, I will add a note to that particular bo'd item.   

The info would look something like this... "C5 - detox patches x2 - ECA: C7 - Kay G. - arrived C6"

As for keeping Old Books:

I personally do NOT keep old books. When I turn in my C7 order forexample, I will be pitching ALL my campaign 5 books, the C5 book, and any flyer that has C5 as it's last valid campaign will be tossed, as those prices are no longer good. If for some reason I need to look up something in the C5 book, I will pull it up online. I only keep the books for the current 3 active campaigns, which as we are in C7 would be the books for C5, C6 & C7.

Keeping Current Books Organized & Readily Available:

I have a plastic tiered "file hanger" hanging on the wall above my desk.

In section 1 (in the back):

• Customer list for delivering books
• Backorder Notebook
• Canvassing List
• Demo Books
• PP Flyer
• Current Product Number Guide
• RPS Schedule (which I printed out FULL page size on a piece of hot pink paper, and slipped into a plastic page protector with a piece of thin cardboard so that it won't "droop" or slip down and get destroyed) 

Section 2 (in the middle):

• Mark books, Avon sales flyers & outlet books

 Section 3 (in the front):

• Core Avon books (IN the plastic brochure covers)
• Order book (IN order book cover, with a pen)
• Calculator 

I use an Avon box that I put my delivery bags in, another box for Returns... and a 3rd box for my "Free Gift" items... mini hand lotions... lip balms... shower gels... misc. "stuff" that is cheaper to keep then ship back... etc.

Happy Selling!

Karen Whitney