Mr. Avon Calling: Is Gender Relevant in Skincare Sales?
Meet Bobby McKinney. Your local Avon man.
"Forget the product,
forget it’s Avon. This is a very viable business," says the 58-year-old
fire code inspector from Winter Haven, Fla. He rang up about $800,000
in sales last year along with his wife and has about 170 sales reps
under him.
That is exactly how a recent Associated Press article on men selling Avon products began. (And, please note: it is not Bobbi with an "i.")
Apparently the longtime, "women’s products" brand is trying to broaden its appeal, and a Derek Jeter skincare line and more male salespeople are two of the methods to their sane-ness.
The story of Bobby is a great example of comfort zones expanding between the sexes. Men can apparently still be manly and care about their skin and women don’t seem to have a problem buying their skin and beauty products from a man. In the same way, women can still be feminine and want to buy motorcycles or lawnmowers, and they don’t have to have women selling those products to them.
Sometimes I think marketers don’t give consumers the credit they deserve. Society just rolls with the punches. What may once have been seriously "taboo," may now just be a line in the sand that is easily crossed.
The lesson? Never make assumptions about who may be a great salesperson, and don’t forget to involve a few more men in your marketing development process. They may both learn a few things and become better at serving women, and they will likely bring a balanced perspective to how you are approaching your twenty-first century audiences of women and men.
