The Convention

The day of the event we all had to wake up extra early. We got up around five in the morning and got dressed in our business attire. We than made our way down stairs to take our spot in line. There was already a good amount of people there. We had a couple hours before the event started so we all chatted and got to know one another. During these talks I met people from around the world. I met Organo Gold members from Puerto Rico, Australia, and Italy. It was really neat to see how many parts of the globe this business had reached.

Finally the doors opened and the event started. There was lights and cameras all over the place. Music was being blasted through out the room. I felt like I was walking into a rock concert. I kind of hung around Mr. Brown as we both looked for a seat. Finally, we found a spot where we could sit with the rest of the people of our team. We than just waited for everyone else to arrive and take there seat.

The first person to walk out on our stage was Holton Buggs. The crowed went nuts. I myself jumped up and cheered for him. Holton Buggs is seen as a hero by many people who are in the business. He has led many people to financial freedom. A lot of the people in his downline used to be extremely poor, some of his top distributors were even homeless. These people now earn well over six figures with their Organo Gold business.

Holton Buggs started off by telling us how excited he was about where the business was going. He talked about the success the business was having and the accomplishments people have made. He than allowed Shane Morand and Bernie Chua. They talked about how pleased they were with how the company was operating and what they had helped so many others achieve.

The rest of the event was simply about successful distributors telling what they had accomplished through Organo Gold. I must confess that it was pretty emotional to here the stories of how people started in the company with nothing, and than moved up the ranks to become very wealthy. It was a very beautiful experience for me to see so many achieve that I wanted, to be financially free.

Vegas

I arrived in the airport with my new found friends. The couple and I got our bags and than got onto a bus to our hotels. I was headed to meet my team at the Mandala Bay. I maintained contact with Mr. Brown through out the bus ride. Eventually, I made it to my stop and got off. I headed for the room Mr. Brown and some other team members were staying in.

I walk in to find Mr. Brown on the phone taking customer orders and speaking with his fellow distributors. He gave me a warm welcome and introduced me to the rest of the team. There were three other guys in the room. One other was from New Jersey, I believe the other two were from other parts of the country.

We all sat and talked with one another about how each of us was doing in the business. I explained how I was doing growing my customer base. How I had recruited my duel team and how there were two more people on the way that I planned to bring into the business. After a bit more talking we eventually decided to go get a bite to eat.

I can't remember the name of the place we went to, but they had the largest food I had ever scene. I myself ended up ordering pancakes, with bananas and cinnamon. Each of my pancakes were about the size of a pizza, but it was delicious. I remember Mr. Brown got some weird big meal that had a bunch of different meat all rolled into one. I don't remember what the others had, just that we all enjoyed it.

After eating we all took a walk on the strip. There were a lot of street performers. I was hoping we'd run into Criss Angel, but that didn't happen. What we did run into were tons of people handing out cards for an escort service. There were so many people doing this that you could literally look down at your feet and find yourself walking over dropped escort cards. Eventually we made it to a convenience store to stock up on food. 

When we got back to the hotel we had to get to bed early. For the next two days it would be nothing but business, or so I thought.

International Convention

One day I got a call from Angela, she told me that the international Organo Gold convention was coming up. This event is when all the Organo Gold members from around the world meet. At this event we are updated on new things going on with the company. We get to hear about people who were able to find financial freedom through Organo Gold. And we get to personally meet the top earners in the company.

I was told by Corey, Brian, Mr. Brown, and Angela that it would be in my best interest to attend this even. The only problem was that the meeting would be taking place in Las Vegas. Now I was a little anxious about the idea of going to Vegas by myself. I had never traveled so far without at least having a friend to tag along with me. However, I was assured by the others that there would be plenty of other Organo Gold members there. All I would have to do is follow the crowd.

I had about three months before the date of the convention. During that time I just kept building the business. I sampled, followed up, and repeated the process with multiple people. The tricky part for me as I've said before is following up. I move so fast through prospects that I forget about the people that I've already sampled. I just wouldn't stop going from person to person, looking for a new customer.

The day of the trip I was kinda nervous. It turned out none of the people I knew had gotten a ticket for the flight I was on. I was by myself in the waiting room of the airport when I noticed a couple sitting together. I had a hunch that they were in OG due to the company symbol being on the husbands binder.  It turned out they were with the company so I sat down to talk.

The husband I found out was doing extremely well. He had already had past success with network marketing and had only joined Organo Gold just a couple months ago. But let me tell you he was a beast at it. Based on what he told me, he had built an exceptionally big team and a large customer base. I asked them if I'd be able to hang with them when we got to Vegas till I found my friends. They said that would be fine.

After a long flight the plane landed in Las Vegas. 

Meeting Corey

I waited inside the lobby of a hotel for Mr. Ellington, Skip, and Angela for arrive. I had brought with me a folder that contained various information about the Organo Gold business. This included tips on how to be successful. Short stories on how people found success in their own way. I also got a packet of papers that broke down the compensation plan, along with what people needed to accomplish in order to make more money.

Eventually, all three of them arrived. After introducing myself to Mr. Ellington, he insisted that I call him Corey. We all sat down at a table and started the conversation off by briefly catching up with one another. Corey than took control of the conversation and went over with us his knowledge regarding Organo Gold.

The cool thing about Corey is that because he was a savvy business owner, he explained to us what kind of tax advantages were available to us as distributors. He got very in-depth regarding what we could write off as business expenses and how we could shelter our income. Corey also told us about new technology currently available that he uses to keep track of his statements so that he has all the information he needs when tax season comes around.

He than talked about how high ranking members of Organo Gold are achieving success and what they are doing with it. Corey talked about extremely successful distributors who were using the money they made to finance investments on the side. Specifically, he focused on investment real estate and how Organo Gold was providing people with enough cash flow to buy their first property.

That's another thing that I really liked about Corey, he and I have very similar philosophies regarding how we spend our money. Unlike most people who go to work so they have some money to spend on "toys", Corey and I work so that we can finance our business's and investments on the side. That's what I love about dedicated Organo distributors, most are also hardcore business owners and investors on the side.

Corey ended the meeting explaining what the future holds for Organo Gold and what awaits those who stay dedicated to the business. Once he was done we all walked outside together and left. I left feeling extremely inspired by Corey and knew that I had made a smart move getting into this business.

Meeting a Ruby

Months went by and I just continued to build my customer base. I would just pass out samples to people, collect their info, and follow up to see how they liked the coffee. To me everyone was a prospective customer. I had coworkers at my job buying products from me. I even had our customers turned into my customers. I didn't care what my relationship was to you, I was going to sample you with the coffee.

It was amazing to me how fast word spread about what I was doing. I had relatives who I would usually only get to see during holidays asking me about the business. There wasn't anyone in my network who didn't know what I was doing. I had some people asking me for samples to try, just based on what they had heard from my current customers. It was really cool to see how fast the word had spread.

While all this was going on I continued to stay up to date with Organo Gold information and news. I always maintained contact with Mr. Brown, Skip, and Angela. One day I got a call from Angela telling me she wanted to introduce me to another member of Organo Gold. The name of the guy she wanted me to meet was Mr. Ellington. He is a Ruby in Organo Gold, which mean his business generates at least forty thousand dollars a month.

Now the thing I loved about Mr. Ellington is that he was already a successful entrepreneur before he got started in Organo Gold. His main business was in the world of real estate. Mr. Ellington owned multiple properties and collected the rent for income. However, due to the economy, he was forced to look for alternative cash flow opportunities to make up for his volatile income. That's how he ended up getting involved in Organo Gold.

Angela got Mr. Ellington on the phone with me to have a little chat. He seemed a lot more relaxed it seemed than Mr. Brown and not just strictly all business. We had a chat about how I got started in the company and what I had accomplished so far. He than told me about what he had done with the business and what he had planned for the future.

We ended the call by making arrangements for me to meet him in person to go over future opportunities with Organo Gold. That night I planned to meet up with him, Angela, and Skip.

Damage Control

I want to tell you a story of how I was able to salvage a sale and customer. Not only did I salvage the sale, but I was able to sell even more products to my customer. Now as you may recall from a few posts back, I did a launch call. On this launch call I phoned various friends and family to sell them a box of coffee over the phone. Well one of those people was my aunt, who is the sister of my mom. Knowing she was a coffee drinker I sold her a box of the black gourmet coffee.

Now the thing you have to understand about my mom and her sister is that they are both blabber mouths. If there is something that they like, everyone around them has to know about it. You can't buy the advertising those two are worth if they like your product. So I was really hoping that she would enjoy the coffee.

I gave my aunt a call one day as I was coming home from work. After asking what she thought of the coffee she told me that my uncle and her "weren't fond of it". She said that the coffee was just too strong for her taste. I told her that I understood and would be willing to give her a refund. She said that wasn't necessary and would just give me back what was left in the box. Since she was currently at my house with my mom, she said she'd give it back to me when I got home.

I must admit I was a little bummed. Not so much that she didn't like the coffee, because I would never take that personally, but because I wouldn't have her as a walking advertisement. Fortunately I was able  to come up with a possible solution to the problem before I entered the house. I told my aunt that I wanted her to instead hang on to the box of coffee and give out samples to people she knew instead. I than asked her if she would like to try a sample of my Organo Gold green tea. She agreed and I brought in some for her and the rest of the family. When it came time to leave she took the box of coffee with her.

A couple days later I woke up to my mom yelling to me upstairs in bed while I was sleeping that my aunt wanted to buy a box of green tea from me. I got her a box and made the sale on the spot. I also made sure to show her how she could order more online. About a month after that point I got a notification that somebody had made a purchase from my OG site. I checked my back office to find that my aunt had made a purchase of nearly one hundred fifty dollars.

I immediately gave her a call to thank her for the purchase and ask what it was she ordered. She said that she ordered two boxes of green tea for herself. However, it turns out she had been giving out samples like she said she would and my cousins girlfriend is a fan of both the coffee and tea. So my aunt purchased a box of each for her too. It was, and thus far still is, my largest customer bulk purchase to date.

Recruiting vs Selling Part 2

As I said in the last post, I believe when starting your business you should focus on building your customer base. The bulk of the customers that you gain will most likely be your friends and family. These are the people that you should have written down for your list of coffee drinkers. Since these people already know you, it shouldn't be too hard to do business with them. Because these people are around you, they'll always be able to get to you when they want more product.

After you get through the warm market and enter the cold market, things get a lot more tricky when it comes to managing customers. Someone in the cold market is a person who does not know who you are. I myself still continue to build customers in the cold market, but I gotta tell you it is tough. The hard part isn't finding people who enjoy the coffee and want to buy, it's maintaining them over the long term.

Because the customers from your cold market aren't exposed to you on a regular basis, they may not think to purchase more product from you when they need it. There have been plenty of times where I've called up a cold market customer to say "hi" and they start telling me how they've been wanting to talk to me about buying more coffee. Or there's the case's where I've had customers say "Hey Chris, I've been looking for you everywhere, I want more of that coffee". "Looking for me?" I ask "You could have just called me or ordered from my OG website". They than tell me how they keep forgetting to call or they don't feel comfortable about placing orders online and would rather buy directly through me. This is where recruiting becomes helpful.

I think of my recruits not just as people who are in my downline, but as an extension of me. They are a way to reach customers of mine, who don't come into contact with me. With this understanding, I've developed my own strategy for finding recruits. What I'll do is ask a friend if they will do me the favor of passing out some coffee samples to their friends and family. In most cases they have no problem doing this because they see it as just doing me a favor.

In most cases they get back to me and tell me how a few of their friends and family loved the coffee. However, I've found that very rarely will these people make an actual purchase simply because they don't have a clue who I am. I ask my friend how they would feel about collecting the money for the coffee themselves vs me making the sale and getting the money. At that point I take them through the steps of getting signed up. I've helped them develop a customer base before even getting into the business.

That is the advantage of recruiting to me, reaching more customers in the cold market.