When they try, they buy!
It's true! When you invest in samples and get them into the hands of your customers (and potential customers), they will buy. Maybe not all of them, but enough of them to make it worth your while. One lovely lady, who is one of my best customers, has purchased 8 bottles of PropoliThera Shampoo & Conditioner, 13 Cucina Hand Soaps, and 2 boxes of Fresh Fiji Detergent so far just because I gave her samples and she loved them (she also buys for her daughter). That's over $340 in sales from sampling to just one customer! And that's not including all the other stuff she buys (she also loves our jewelry).
Avon used to provide a lot of samples for purchase, but since LG H&H took over the company, there have not been as many - mostly just the new products. But does that deter me? Heck no! I'm actually getting BETTER results with my own hand-made samples than I did with the prepackaged ones. Maybe it's because they're made with love? ♥
Or, maybe it's because they're deluxe samples, and my customers appreciate that I took the time to make something especially for them.
Each campaign, I pick one or two special items to sample in each of my customers' orders, and I buy a bottle or jar of each to sample out. That way, everyone gets the same samples so I don't have to keep track of who got what. I just keep a running list of what I gave out each campaign in the front of my planner. I usually feature items that will be coming out NEW in the next campaign, so I will order a demo from the What's New section. When delivering their order, I make sure to mention the new product and that there is a sample in their bag.
Depending on what you're sampling, you can get all kinds of containers on Amazon in bulk at very reasonable prices. I use the little 1 oz. condiment cups for things like body lotion, body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and hand lotion. The fancier little jars with colored lids can be used for face creams. I'm also using those for the new Jeju Aloe Gel. And then there are little plastic perfume atomizers with lids that hold enough for a week-long vacation.
How to make samples
It's really very simple, and inexpensive to make your own samples. As I mentioned above, you just need to buy one bottle of the product, and the appropriate sampling containers. The 1 oz. condiment cups are available on Amazon for about $7 for 100 cups with lids. I wouldn't go any bigger on the cups. In the pic above, I used these containers for Cucina Dish Liquid, Cucina Hand Soap, and Cucina Hand Lotion. They're also good for body wash, body lotions, Foot Works creams, etc. - you get the idea.
A note about labeling: I recommend placing your labels on the containers before filling them! I use a DYMO Labelwriter 450 printer (which I love to death), but you can use Avery printer labels or even hand-write them on the round labels you use for garage sales. With my DYMO, I print 4 to a label and cut them up into little rectangles that fit even the tiny plastic jars. Some people are more creative and artistic than I am and make really pretty labels. Mine are simple but functional.
I place my labels on the containers and line them up on the table. I usually make 12 at a time, and then more as needed, but a full bottle will make a lot more than that - probably 3 times more. If your product is in a pump bottle, use the pump to fill several squirts into each container, so that is about 3/4 full, and snap the lid on right away.
Safety First!
Be sure to never touch the actual product with your hands while filling your containers. The Avon Defense Nitrile Gloves are good to use.
If your product is a thicker cream or gel, use a disposable cosmetic spatula (also available on Amazon) to scoop and place the cream into the little jars with screw-on lids (50 for $6.99 on Amazon). Be sure to start with a fresh spatula each time. With the tiny jars, I like to make those all the way full because they're so small. This is how I did the Jeju Aloe Gel samples.
Perfume Samples
To make my perfume samples, I use the little atomizer tubes I got on Amazon (they were $10 for 30 and came with a little funnel). Since labels won't stick to these at all, I use little 3X4 inch zipper bags (also from Amazon, $7.50 for 200) and my DYMO LabelWriter 450. The zipper bags also prevent the atomizer from leaking in your customer's bag. I buy a bottle of the perfume, get my tubes and lids ready, and label my bags. (Now that I look at my picture, I should have added my name, Avon Independent Sales Representative, and my phone number to the labels. The next ones will have that on them! In the meantime, I'll just add another label on the back side of the ones I already made.)
But I digress. Take the funnel, place it into the tube, and squirt right out of your bottle into the funnel. You can get a lot of squirts in there, but I stop at 20. That's plenty for them to use for a few days. One bottle of perfume can make A LOT of samples, and you can just keep what's left to use yourself.
Other Samples
Another idea I had was to make samples of the Fresh Fiji Laundry Detergent Sheets. This is super-simple. One sheet, folded at the perforation, fits perfectly into the square snack-size zipper bags you can get at the store. On these labels, I included instructions for use because how would they know? One box of Fresh Fiji Detergent Sheets has 60 sheets in it, so you can do a lot of sampling. These samples were stapled to the page in the brochure when Fresh Fiji was first introduced.
I'm sure there are lots of other great ideas for sampling, too. If you have one that's been successful, please leave it in the comments!
Haven't joined Avon yet? It's free for a limited time! (Or you can get the starter kit for the regular $30 fee.) Head on over to www.joyoflipstick.com and click on Become a Representative at the top of the page.
Questions? Shoot me an email at pammy.murphy@gmail.com.
