Local Avon Lady nears top of 115-year-old company

By Andrew Gomes
Advertiser Staff Writer

If it's been a while since you encountered the "Avon Lady," look out.

Avon Lady Lisa Duhaylonsod, right, meets customers and recruits at shopping malls, on the Internet and at craft fairs, among other places. Here, she greets Zeny Muyot. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

She's prospecting in neighborhoods and at workplaces, but she's also soliciting customers and recruits at shopping malls, on the Internet, at new product shows, craft fairs, job fairs, in newspaper ads and even on the Neighbor Islands.

Duhaylonsod's part-time work with the world's largest direct-selling company has delivered the soft-spoken local girl from Waipahu into the elite ranks of multilevel marketing. And her achievement is one of the keys helping the $5.7 billion global business of New York-based Avon Products Inc. grow in a challenging time.

The story of Avon's surging expansion in Hawai'i — Avon's Hawai'i sales force has outpaced domestic expansion for the past three years — also is one of personal growth: how someone who never considered herself a salesperson was invited to meet the chief executive of a billion-dollar direct-selling corporation and share her talent with fellow Avon representatives from around the world.

"I have this determination," said Duhaylonsod, who is considering flying to Las Vegas to broaden her recruiting efforts. "If you don't give it a real good try ... " she added, trailing off before considering the unthinkable.

In November, after just one year with the company, Duhaylonsod became one of 150 "executive unit leaders" out of 2,000 sales representatives in Hawai'i, 550,000 nationwide, and nearly 3 million around the world.

Since then, she has remained Avon's 61st busiest recruiter-representative, though not far behind her is Tami Masuda, a 37-year-old mother of two and full-time accountant with the federal government in Honolulu who also reached Avon's executive unit level late last year.

Duhaylonsod and Masuda are the only Hawai'i representatives to reach such a level of recruiting, which is a key to Avon's growth.

Expansion challenges

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The direct selling industry Direct sellers sold $24.5 billion of goods and services to U.S. consumers in 1999, the latest year for which figures are available. There were 10.3 million domestic direct-selling representatives in 1999, up from 7.2 million in 1995. The typical representative is a 43-year-old married, Caucasian woman with at least some college education who earns less than $12,000 a year and is not additionally employed. 27 percent of representatives are men. 52 percent of direct sellers spend less than 10 hours a week on the job; 91 percent work less than 30 hours a week. The main attractions of working as a representative are additional income, product belief and discounted prices. Beauty and personal care products are the most popular direct-selling items. Source: Direct Selling Association

She said most of Avon's sales-force growth is in foreign countries where career opportunities for women are limited.

"The whole thing with direct sales is you must keep that active number of sales reps growing," Bolton Weiser said. "It's a real struggle to get that number growing."

Though not without its own challenges, Avon's Hawai'i sales force has outpaced domestic expansion for the past three years, quadrupling the company's three-year national average, according to Avon. Last year, Hawai'i recruits grew by about 4.5 percent, resulting in a 7 percent increase in sales, compared to a 4.7 percent sales increase nationally.

Proportionally, Avon's state sales force provides a fraction of the company's total revenue, about $5 million of $2 billion in annual net U.S. sales. But their recruiting achievements are significant.

"They're thinking, 'I'm in the middle of the ocean. I live on an island. There's no way I can recruit people and maintain sales,' " said Chuckie (no legal last name), a salaried district sales manager who has been with Avon in Hawai'i for 16 years.

Foot soldiers

The 115-year-old company has done a lot lately to facilitate growth, including diversifying merchandise to include clothing, electronics, collectibles, toys and art; launching a first-ever global advertising campaign; selling some products online through e-representatives; opening retail kiosks in shopping malls, though none in Hawai'i yet; and planning to launch new product lines in J.C. Penney Co. Inc. and Sears Roebuck & Co. stores.

"So many people think direct selling has gone the way of the dinosaur, but nothing could be further from the truth," said Avon spokeswoman Stephanie DuPre.

Still, the company relies on traditional foot soldiers including Duhaylonsod and Masuda for 98 percent of all revenue.

"We go anywhere," said Masuda, who deposited 100 brochures at Salt Lake area homes on a recent day.

On another outing, Duhaylonsod worked the crowds at Waipahu Shopping Plaza, weaving among parked cars and cruising mall sidewalks. "Hi ladies, are you guys on your break?" she asked a group of Savers employees sitting outside the store. "Would it be OK if I leave you with an Avon brochure?"

One woman — Susana Fialua — said she didn't have time to sell Avon, but she took a brochure and filled out a card so Duhaylonsod could call her later to talk about Avon's earning opportunities. Later, Duhaylonsod reported that her two hours at the mall yielded one signed recruit and two possible representatives.

Building ranks

Duhaylonsod usually goes prospecting twice a month at shopping centers or neighborhood residences. In February, she hit a new products expo at Blaisdell Center one week and flew to the Big Island the next.

At the expo, Duhaylonsod and 10 other representatives signed up more than a dozen recruits, a moderate success. On the Big Island, she landed 11 for herself. Last month, Duhaylonsod and one of her "downliners" added five more at a Leeward Community College job fair.

Masuda, who recalled one time when she gained 20 recruits at a food and new products show, particularly likes expos. "That's where you get the people all together in the same place," she said.

Masuda and Duhaylonsod go to such lengths in an effort to maintain their down-line sales requirements, which are daunting enough that relatively few Isle Avon representatives take on the responsibility.

Representatives at the executive unit level are required to train their new recruits, then maintain — for every two-week sales period — a minimum of $250 in personal sales plus 15 recruits with collective sales of at least $10,000. Of those 15, six must have at least five of their own recruits.

Masuda or Duhaylonsod earn 8 percent to 12 percent of sales from their first-generation recruits, 3 percent to 5 percent from second-generation recruits and 2 percent from third-generation recruits.

The incentives can add up. Last year, Masuda said she earned $21,000 from Avon, most of it before reaching the executive unit level. The average executive unit leader earned $52,000. Avoiding down-line losses to turnover, however, is a constant challenge.

"It's not easy to do," Masuda said. "A lot of people come and go, so we have to continually recruit prospects. Right now, it's not so good. A lot of people are dropping off."

Masuda has about 75 recruits, down from more than 100 right before Christmas. Duhaylonsod has about 233 recruits in her unit.

To maintain productivity, Duhaylonsod and Masuda both publish newsletters for their units. They also offer prize incentives and recognize special achievements.

Masuda estimates she averages 10 hours a week managing her unit and selling for Avon. Duhaylonsod figures she spends 15 hours to 20 hours a week.

Masuda got into Avon in 1996 to make extra money for Christmas, and stayed with it when customer orders didn't stop.

Duhaylonsod, a long-time Avon customer, was harder to convince. A cousin persuaded her to get into selling, and Duhaylonsod said "for the first six months I was satisfied with me being my only customer."

Balancing act

Duhaylonsod, who has been invited to New York to meet with Avon chief executive Andrea Jung and will speak at Avon's annual conference in New Orleans in August, said she found that the work was rewarding and fit in with family commitments. "I always want to be there at my son's football game or my daughter's soccer game," she said. "You have to organize your priorities and then Avon fits in."

To help balance priorities, she included her family, somewhat reluctantly at first, in Avon.

Her husband, Anthony, a sprinkler system installer, goes to leadership meetings with his wife and is known to solicit strangers at restaurants on her behalf.

Fifteen-year-old Chazton Bertola, her youngest son, passes out brochures in the neighborhood. Daughter Chezarae Bertola, 10, also plays a role. "When her friends come over they don't leave without an Avon brochure," Duhaylonsod said.

The family also shares Avon rewards. Duhaylonsod takes them out to dinner every other Thursday to places such as the Outback Steakhouse or Sizzler.

"Now (son Chauncey, 19) says, 'Mom, you're doing great, aren't you?' " Duhaylonsod said.

Andrew Gomes can be reached by phone at 525-8065, or by e-mail at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.