Avon ….. business or religion?

A couple of weeks ago, I encountered an Avon rep, touting from a stall at the front of my local shopping centre. Now my usual Avon lady is a bit erratic, and I am lucky to get brochures on time, so I thought GREAT! I can grab a book, and order a couple of things I like.

Instead I copped the full business spiel. I argued that I was only interested in being a customer, got talked into signing up anyway (ostensibly as a “customer member”), and then had to tolerate the whole “business package”, including so-called training. This training involved me sitting with the Rep, and having her read a booklet to me. What struck me most, is how Avon plays on the materialistic wants of a person.

One question asked is “list your hopes and dreams”. Here I think Avon is hoping to play on the desires of your classic SAHM ….. income, new car, pay off the house, and have luxuries …… all things you wish for when you are living on a tight budget. My dreams, don’t centre on material things ……. healthy children, a happy marriage and enough fabric to keep me occupied. And I see no need to discuss those dreams with a stranger.

But then the kicker. You even get coached, on how you sell the Avon business …. not the products, the business …. to friends and family, including phrases you use, aspects you should highlight.

Having gone through the evangelical christian process as a teenager (and never really getting it totally), this approach reminded me markedly of a religious witnessing. You highlight the deficits in a persons life, and then make the group you are touting seem like the only way to take away the woes. Even to the point of saying that you have some visual indication on how you need the group. (just a hint Avon rep: telling a mid-40’s woman she needs a 50+ range of face creams, is just plain insulting, and does not encourage me to buy the product). Its nothing more than a way to play on a persons vulnerabilities.

So, today I cancelled the membership. I just don’t see how I need to support a company that seeks to use the doubts and fears of others, to make money. Avon may think they are doing “good business”, but behaving like a religion does not make it a good business.