The first thing our sponsor instructed us to do after we were sponsored was make a list of everyone we knew. So, during that first week after I was sponsored I sat down and created a list of 52 people I knew whom I would be willing to contact.
Then, with no training or even suggestions about how to proceed, I started making calls. I was terrible! Many years later, I learned Faye went into the bathroom of our small apartment during the second unsuccessful call that evening. She turned the tub on full blast to drown out my calls. I was terrible and she was just too embarrassed for me to listen. She thought I was making a fool of myself; but, I knew I was building a business. Not one of the 5 friends I called that evening was willing to listen. This is the point at which most people quit. I did get kind of discouraged and stopped for the evening, but I didn’t quit.
The next day I told my sponsor about my experience. He asked what I did. I told him. He said, “Don’t do that!” That’s when my training in prospecting began in earnest.
He got me on a good track for future calls.
I studied the Opportunity Plan to deepen my understanding about how a business developed.
I attended weekly SPOM meetings…sometimes twice each week.
I learned to make calls, get appointments, and make simple presentations.
After 30 days in Shaklee, I had sponsored 16 people; including my mother, sister and a few friends. I was excited about sponsoring people but just didn’t know how to ask people if they would buy any products. Not one of the 16 bought a product. Once again, I was terrible!
At the meetings I attended each week, I would hear about the exciting future available to us in Shaklee. I heard people who didn’t seem to have any more potential than I did talk about their success. Their stories and success inspired me and I became determined to learn how to do what they were doing.
Back to the 52 people on my list.
I contacted 21 of the 52 people in the first couple months.
I sponsored 13 of the 21.
I did learn how to move products and our business started to grow.
Here’s what happened with those 13 people I did sponsor into Shaklee.
I made lots of calls and lots of contacts, some in person and some by mail,
I did a lot of appointments for some of them.
I did opportunity meetings & product presentations in some of their homes.
I learned about working in-depth and sponsored many people under those 13 original members.
There were many disappointments but I tried my best to help these people grow so they could experience success. But over a period of months and a few short years the 13 we sponsored decided to be inactive or just lost their dream. They all quit.
But, along the way, we introduced others who were excited about a future in Shaklee. We worked hard to identify those who wanted to grow and to build lasting relationships with them. Our business was growing in spite of those who dropped out. We were growing because we continued to find & sponsor new people and to focus on the fundamentals it takes to build.
In spite of our sorry beginning, the end result has been absolutely incredible.
Even though not one of those original 13 distributors remained active in Shaklee…through them, we found and helped develop over 70 sales leaders.
We currently earn over $18,000 a month in bonus overrides from Shaklee from those 70 sales leaders.
That’s over $200,000 a year which is almost half of our annual income; all as a result of sponsoring 13 people who would eventually quit.
We accomplished this by working in-depth. Not only did we work with the people we sponsored…we sorted and sifted through the people we met through them until we found those that wanted the Shaklee dream. Then we helped them develop their own Shaklee business. Our intent was always to build the distributor we were working with; however, everyone that comes into Shaklee doesn’t always have the staying power to continue. We just always had a mindset that we would end up with at least one leader from every group we worked with.
I can honestly say Shaklee has never felt like work. Yet, we have worked hard. But, it’s a privilege when you work to help people who start to have big dreams and are willing to put in the effort to create a new future for themselves and those they bring into Shaklee and that makes Shaklee fun!
—Gary and Faye Burke