As a sales professional known across the country, I've spent the good majority of my working years thriving off of the WIN.
I've nurtured endless hours, days, months and even years of relationship building that led to that first purchase order, the growing relationship, and if all went well, a long-term contract.
Though I've amassed millions in income, relationships
that will never die, incentive trips that have flown me across the
globe and awards that have set me apart from the rest in the industry, something was wrong.
Though I seemed to have within my immediate grasp,
all of the things that any successful business person could have ever
dreamed for and more, my emotions and state of being were crumbling
around me with each waking day.
I was confused, but clueless at the same time; and after a long period of starting each morning by staring into the mirror and coming up empty, I finally just decided to throw in the towel.
I simply could not take it any more. I felt as
though as I was drowning in my own Olympic sized swimming pool of
success and NOTHING made sense any more.
I had every tangible joy and monetary security that
one could have ever hoped for at my age, but that wasn't what mattered
any more. There was something bigger to this equation that had been left unsolved, and I was bound and determined to figure it out.
See, I wasn't just a guy who was missing out on the "American Dream", I was living it for a long time, or so I had thought. I was a providing for my family, everyone was healthy, and more importantly, everyone seemed to be happy.
So what was it?
Well, there wasn't an "IT" that was wrong, there was a "LOT" that was wrong. After a few trips to the doctor, a counselor and a trip to the inner me, thing were finally starting to come to light.
Here's my checklist of what was in need of a SERIOUS MAKEOVER, and FAST...
- My Health - My years of travel and run-go-run lifestyle had taken a tremendous tole on my body in more ways than I could have ever imagined for a person of my age.
- My Family - My family had become more used to be me being gone that being home, which meant that when I was home, they were simply wondering why I wasn't gone.
- My Emotions - Because my health had crumbled and family barely knew me any more, it had thrown my emotions into a spin cycle that was determined to twist every last drop of worthy moisture out of me.
- My Faith - Simply put, when the above mentioned aren't working out, any glimmer of hope that you are still making a difference in the lives of other people goes wayside.
What is missing from your life?
Take
a second below to quickly assess where you are at personally. The
categories are broad, but really, that's the point right now. The goal
here is to pan out for a minute so you can see the BIG PICTURE from a distance.
Alright,
now that you're panned out like I was, keep pace with me here...
After
my thorough self analysis and a pity party, I started back into the hunt for a
new profession and lifestyle, and I want you to walk that road with me now...
I
surfed the job boards for months submitting hundreds of applications for jobs,
and failed continually to be invited to walk through the front doors of an
employer as a member of their payroll. I’ve spent hundreds to have my
resume professionally done by an experience recruiter as to best portray my
long tenured history of sales professionalism where I’ve amassed millions in
sales income, and still no worthy job came from it.
Was
this the ECONOMY? Or was this ME? Stay with me here, and trust me
when I tell you, it wasn't me! I did have plenty of job offers, but not
that I was about to accept.
What I mean is that
after all of those years of 14 hour work days, travel around the country,
blood, sweat and tears, there was nothing left to show for it at the end of the
day.
Sure I earned money
out of my efforts, and sure I packed away some savings and some investments,
but that’s not what I’m referring to. I’m referring to the ongoing
reminders that used to assure me that the time away from my family was going to
be worth it in the long run.
See, when money is
coming in, you can always seem to find a way to justify the fact that you’re
gone and your children are growing up without as much of you as they would like
to have. This sounds ridiculous to myself as I’m writing it, but it’s the
reality that I’m looking back on, and I’m speaking my truth.
I wasn’t ashamed at
the time. It didn’t seem to bother me as long as I knew that I was
working to set my family up for the long haul. Now though, I’m
ashamed.
Now that the
earnings flow is at a screeching halt, all I really want is the time that
I missed with MY FAMILY back. Now that there is no residual stream of
income, I almost feel as though I’ve wasted away 12 years of my life. I
would give back all of the award, honors, achievements and successes in a
heartbeat, just to be able to turn back time and do it again; the right
way.
And that leads to
the inevitable question... What would the RIGHT thing to do have
been? Before I answer that, let me just share with you a realism that’s
expanding by the day in today’s sales job market.
- A tremendous amount
of organizations in the middle of today's crisis are moving ‘sales positions’
to ‘1099 contractors’ and/or solely hiring new sales associates under a 1099
status. There are a number of reasons for this.
- 1099
workers pay the tax load because they don’t have an employer to pick up part of
the Social Security and Medicare tab through payroll taxes like businesses do
for employees.
- 1099 contractors are paid a sum and are required to pay both their share of taxes and the employer’s share of taxes from the sum they are given. (30-47%, depending on income level, in the US)
- Paying for health insurance and putting money aside for retirement becomes the responsibility of the 1099 contractor which alleviates the business from incurring any of that expense.
- Because problem solving, staying cool under pressure, and general people skills are hard to assess from a resume or even in depth interviews, employers take the risk out of the situation by hiring 1099 which is critical for employers in a rough economy with thousands of resumes floating through their Human Resource departments daily.
- 1099 contractors are easy to fire. In fact they can be "fired at will".
- 1099 contractors are a capitalized expense and are easier to budget on a per-project basis. That means employers will grab you when they need you and let you go when they don’t.
- 1099 contractors require little training or specialized knowledge.
Now don’t get me wrong here, there are also a few benefits to being a 1099 contractor such as no HR issues, but that's not where I'm going with this. Stay with me as I’m not trying to bash the concept; I just want to show the direction that today’s job market is heading in.
The good news is
that there’s still work. The bad news is that it could just leave you
with a blasphemously long resume and no benefits. Moving on...
In the midst of
this borage of 1099 sales jobs across all of the job boards, I did my due
diligence. I interviewed at some places, and others would email me back
as soon as the next day after receiving my resume telling me “Your Hired”,
without ever speaking to me at all.
Seriously, there’s
a ton of companies out there right now that will simply shoot you an email with
all the documents you need to do your job, along with the requirements that
they expect and a W-9 to complete and return, and tell you to “Go to Town”!
It’s rather
astonishing, but honestly, in our state of economic crisis, it’s no wonder that
it’s happening. And after doing some serious thinking about this whole
thing for a while, the light bulb finally went off in my head.
Keep in mind here
again that the critique I’m about to make is solely based on 1099 sales jobs,
not 1099 service roles. I’m a professional salesman by trade and
will probably die that way. Now back to my point....
What really
astonished me was the amount of accountability that some of these companies
truly expect out of you as a 1099 sales contractor. I mean seriously, how
indignant is it for a company to tell someone to go sell stuff for them while
paying people nothing more than a small commission; at the same time expecting
certain hours, reporting, quotas, responsiveness, accountability, etc.
Seem
ridiculous? I think so!
Sure, some of the
folks out there will give you a small gas allowance, or maybe even help you
finance a computer, but realistically, they’re using 1099 sales people like
slaves in order to move product fill their pockets.
It’s gotten so bad
that companies have hired head hunters to go out find more 1099 sales folks;
and sickeningly enough, that head hunter is probably on salary with
benefits.
Literally, I’m
getting emails daily from insurance companies and various other verticals that
want to hire me on the spot while trying to convince me that my resume they saw
on Monster.com was AMAZING! Companies are making sales pitches
to sales people which is a total reverse of the work-a-day world that we’re
used; again, all to sell their own stuff. It’s simply gotten out of
hand...
Could I make some
money with these places? Sure; I’d like to think that I could sell an ice
cube to an Eskimo! Do I want the ridiculous accountability they seem to
think they can require out of me? Not a chance. Pay me benefits and
insure me and we’ll talk.
So where I’m going
with all of this. Well, it’s simple. Let me retrace my steps
quickly.
There are two core
frustrations that I’ve been left with after leaving my previous career, and
while searching for a new one.
- In my previous career, after busting my butt for 12
years, I was left with no residual benefits, just a 401K that lost more than
half its value in the crash, a savings account, and the other investments I had
made that are pretty much deflated below what I originally paid into them
- In my current pursuits, if I’m going to go make money
for someone else without any benefits, I refuse to answer to anyone other than
myself, within reason anyways. Reporting, hourly requirements, daily
progress calls and the rest are out.
When the bulb went
off, I was reminded of an opportunity that I had been introduced to a number of
years back. It was actually rather startling at first when I realized
what the simple solution to all of this was, but I was quick to settle because
it simply made sense!
After being re-introduced to this opportunity, well, lets just say that my sabbatical from my previous understanding of what a CAREER ought to be became permanent. As you continue to read, I'm sure you'll understand.
TriVita is a 9-year-old, near half-billion dollar neutraceutical company, positioned in the next trillion dollar field – the wellness industry. What caught my interest was that TriVita also has a unique business model — one that is simple, optimal and professional. They call this model Cooperative Marketing.
Cooperative marketing is a hybrid business model that marries the best of both traditional and non-traditional
business worlds together. TriVita uses a wide range of advertising — such as TV infomercials and radio advertisements — to market
their wellness products such as the
Super Sublingual B-12 and Leanology.
People respond to these advertisements and become paying customers. TriVita then gives us, the business affiliates, the opportunity to fund a very small portion of the advertising costs using the marketing system called the Media Acquisition Program (MAP), and for every $50 we put into their program we get the lifetime rights to residual income from one of these customers (21% of all their TriVita product purchases, forever).
Where your true immediate opportunity comes into play lies in the fact that TriVita is due to LAUNCH a new product at the end of March of 2009 called Sonoran Bloom™ Nopalea™.
TriVita's Sublingual B-12, also know as a flagship product, became TriVita's first Half-Billion Dollar product. Sonoran Bloom™ Nopalea™ is predicted to be their first BILLION-DOLLAR product.
What does this mean to you?
You NOW have a ONCE IN A LIFETIME chance to be a part of ground breaking opportunity while simultaneously:
What is being said about Sonoran Bloom™ Nopalea™?
- Enhancing the lives of others by introducing them to a measurable life changing Opportunity for Wellness and Wealth.
- Designing YOUR lifestyle by attaching yourself to a Revolutionary Product Launch that will soon be touring the United States and dramatically changing the lives of the masses.
- Creating your future by engaging in and sharing a Cooperative Marketing System and Products with others through a simple and proven process that is second to none.
- Generating wealth by entering into a proven Business Model that sets itself apart through a remarkable set of Foundational Values.
- Setting your life in motion by practicing the 10 Essentials for Healthy Living and sharing the message that YOU care about the health and well-being of others.
"The new Sonoran Bloom™ product line - which includes a proprietary Opuntia liquid
concentrate and
Streptocantha gel - have significant health applications and benefits,"
said TriVita Chief Science Officer, Brazos Minshew."These products offer our Members and Affiliates true wellness benefits by helping with detoxification and reducing inflammation. The source plants for the Sonoran Bloom™ products are considered healing food plants and were used by ancient people in the Sonora desert. Not only will this story be told by TriVita, but also by our Members and Affiliates, who we believe will want to share these discoveries and results with people all over the world," said Minshew.
Take a minute to wrap yourself around what this means. Never again will you have to plague your warm market for sales. You will never again have to sit with clammy hands in front of your phone, trying to build up the courage to make a few cold calls.
Why? Because on day one of your TriVita business, you will have customers – as many as 25. This is what makes your TriVita business 25x more powerful than any other business. After all, what other business – and I mean ANY other business – can you name where you will have 25 customers on day one? This is what I call an Excessive Advantage.
- YOU will be a part of a Revolutionary Product Launch
- YOU will take control of your future in terms of Health and Wealth
- YOU will contribute to the Well Being of others
- YOU will own an automated business that Creates Wellness
- YOU will share the philosophy of Good Health with others
- YOU will spend more time with those that Matter Most
- YOU will take control of your Family's Future
- YOU will improve your state of Emotional Vigor
- YOU will Capture Fulfillment through your contribution to society
- YOU will grow your personal aspects of Financial Security
- YOU will immerse yourself into a Proven System of wealth generation
- YOU will be proud of your daily efforts to Give Back
- YOU will Set Goals that are meaningful and prosperous
- YOU will get to be a part of a system that will nurture Your Success
Within 12 months of starting to leverage off of TriVita's cooperative marketing system Bryan Wirth went full time with TriVita. Now, 8 years later he's still full time and able to retire if he wants to. Hear his interview with the National Sales Director of TriVita, Terry Newsome, as he explains why most companies don't work in building true long term wealth for people and how he became successful with TriVita.
