Direct Sales vs. Corporate America

I recently introduced my new business venture to a friend of mine.  To give you some context to his situation, he is an individual contributor working in Corporate America.  In other words, he has a boss, who has a boss, who has a boss, who has a boss.  Now I’m not sure how many layers of management there are from the c-suite to the front line in his company, but in most organizations I’ve seen, you have a President, Officers, VPs, Directors, Managers and the Front Line (or something to that degree).

His response to me of why he didn’t want to get involved was because he said “It seems like a pyramid.”  Pyramid, I thought to myself, that’s what you’re in!  Not sure if you work in a pyramid or not?  Take a look at the photo below.  Does that resemble your organization?  That’s what I thought!

A pyramid scheme is where individuals put money in without doing any work and expecting an increase in return.  Those are illegal!

Now I’m not sure why my friend said what he did, but either he isn’t educated about direct sales or he didn’t want to hurt my feelings for not partnering with me.  Either way, I’m OK with that.  If he got in and didn’t produce, neither of us wouldn’t get paid anyway. 

What I am not OK with is why Corporate America is looked at differently from Direct Sales.  In most standard jobs, if you produce, you get paid.  In my first blog post, Direct Sales - Insanity or Genius, I shared a PDF for download of an article that further explained how in 2010 the Direct Sales Industry produced $125 Billion in revenue and provided a business opportunity to 75 million people in 150 countries.

In Direct Sales, if you produce and/or your team produces you get paid.  If you produce alot, you get paid ...very well!  For example, at Enhance International, there are 3 ways to earn an income:

1.) when you sell products direct to your clients

2.) when your team purchases or sells products to their clients

3.) when you purchase products from yourself

All 3 methods are added together to create your total sales volume and you get paid a commission.  For me, that makes more sense than most corporate jobs!

Do you want to learn more about making a second income or starting a business?  Watch our video on the Enhance Business Overview.  Are you interested in learning more about the products available?  Look at the other tabs on this site for our initial products: ID Nutrition, In a Snap - Sleep and In a Snap - Energy.

Would you like more information?  If so, let’s connect!

Enhancing lives one person at a time,

John Vakidis

Cell - 972-786-6800

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5 Steps to Mentoring in Direct Sales

My friend, Mike Unclebach, once said that Direct Sales is a personal development program with a paycheck.  I like this comment for a couple of reasons.  I have been into personal development since I was around 12 years old.  I also like the thought process of getting paid to grow!

When I was 12, I went to work for my father’s pizzeria business.  I worked my tail off that summer with my brother, Kevin, and from that experience, we both learned the value that “hard work always pays off.”  It was a little bit later that year that I began studying martial arts.  For nearly 17 years, I studied various styles and was mentored by some great instructors.  I have also worked for a leading training and development company for 5.5 years.  I have received mentoring by some of the best in the business.

I am now at a point in my life where I want to “pay it forward.”  I will still continue to receive mentoring, but I am also ready to mentor and lead.  I recently read an article in Inc. Magazine titled, 5 Things Great Mentors Do.  Below are my takeaways….

1.) Mentor the entire company/team

Spend 15-30 minutes a week to get everyone together for a little sharpening.  Here you might share updates on products and services, get top performers to share recent success stories or share best practices. 

2.) Open door policy (open phone line policy)

Setting appointments and maintaining structure in your calendar is key to balance, but allowing for occasional interruptions for a quick question is also important.  You want to encourage your directors to be able to come to you with a new thought now and then.  They should also do the same with their downline and so on.  By allowing team members to call you with an idea and brainstorm, you encourage creativity and your business to flourish.

3.) Set the tone for your managers (leaders)

Meet regularly with your top performers that have teams.  Set goals, activities and hold them accountable to the results.  Instituting a process will help them with goal achievement.  Also, you want them to do the same with their teams.  Getting an entire downline to focus and execute regularly will help you build a high performing organization that can yield sustainable results.

4.) Ask questions, don’t give answers

If you always respond to questions with the answer, you will never teach your team members to think for themselves.  By answering with a question, you allow them to process their thoughts in front of you.  If you get them to think through the challenge, they will often have a good idea to overcome it.  Overtime, you will create teams that can overcome obstacles on their own which allows you more freedom to work on the big picture.

5.) Make mentorship part of your DNA

When you mentor others and encourage them to do the same with your teams, you will be teaching them the Japanese principle of Kaizen, aka, “Continuous Improvement.”  If you can instill this in your teams, when you suggest a book to read, a class to attend or call to jump on, they will be anxious to follow your suggestions.  You want people on your teams that are hungry to learn.  Inside them, you will find people that are hungry to earn!

If you are ready to make some changes in your life that will allow you to grow and make more money than you think is possible, watch this video and then send me an email or give me a call. I’d like to spend 15 minutes with you to better understand your dreams and see if it Enhance International and I can help you achieve them.  You can also learn more about the business opportunity here.

Enhancing lives one at a time,

John Vakidis

Cell - 972-786-6800

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Your Journey Towards Cardiovascular Health

Stone Hearth News recently posted an article online titled, Positive feelings may help protect cardiovascular health.  I found the data interesting that “optimistic individuals have a 50% reduced risk of experiencing an initial cardiovascular event compared to their less optimistic peers.”

This article also stated that, “The American Heart Association reports more than 2,200 Americans die of cardiovascular disease (CVD) each day, an average of one death every 39 seconds. Stroke accounts for about one of every 18 U.S. deaths.”

This hits home for me.  My father had a stroke in his early 40s.  He also had multiple hearts attacks over the following years of his life.  He ended up with a defibulator on his heart to keep him alive.  He died in his early 60s and never got a chance to meet his grandson, Asher.

While my father was optimistic and lived life to the fullest, he wasn’t great about taking care of his health.  He drank, smoke, got little rest, rarely worked out and had a diet that could have been better.  Don’t get me wrong, he was the best cook I ever knew, but it didn’t meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  J

Like my father, I imagine that most of you reading this post don’t eat right, deal with high stress or don’t work-out enough.  That’s why it is important to take nutritional supplements.  Don’t believe me?  Listen to the call titled, “Why take supplements” with Paul Sullivan (recorded April 7, 2012).  Click here now.

You want to give yourself a chance to live longer and healthier, don’t you?  Taking supplements can give your body the nutrients it needs (that it isn’t getting from your diet) so you can fight off family genetics, like in my case: cardiovascular disease.  Will I have a heart attack or stroke some day?  I don’t know, but I do know that if I start taking care of myself now, that I give myself a better chance to meet my grandchildren!

If you’re anything like me, you’re thinking that this makes sense.  Let me tell you something…  It’s never too late to start improving your health.  Begin your journey today with a FREE Health Assessment and recommendation of nutrients from ID Nutrition.  It could be the best investment of time that you ever made!

Helping grandchildren meet their grandparents, one person at a time!

John Vakidis

Cell - 972-786-6800

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ID Nutrition - Short 2 Minute Intro

Take 2 minutes to watch.  This product could change your life!

Want to take the FREE Health Assessment?  Do it now!  CLICK HERE to begin.  Go to the Bottom of the page and look for "Get Started with ID Nutrition!"

Memory Issues Linked to Vitamin B12

Having Problems with Memory? You might need some B12!

A recent Neurology study, found that a B12 deficiency was linked to brain shrinkage. There are several things that can affect B12 deficiency: Increasing Age, Coffee Consumption, Use of Antacids and more. Learn more by reading this article.

Research also supports that supplementing B12 with other B Vitamins helps slow down brain atrophy. Brain Atrophy is a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease. Do you help prevent yourself from having Dementia and Alzheimer’s? It might be time to invest in some B12!

In a recent attempt to better my own health, I took a FREE Online Health Assessment to find out what nutrients I needed, not only for brain health, but all aspects of my body. In my last post, The Cost of Good Health, I explain that taking supplements doesn’t have to be expensive. I provided the results of my report as well.

After I got my report, I went to a “mom and pop” nutrition store here in Frisco, TX. While I was there, I browsed the isles with my report in hand. I went down the list and came across 5 supplements that were recommended. At that point, I was already at $120 and I still had another 20+ to go. I easily could have spent a few hundred dollars to try to match what was on my report. Instead, I ordered my supplements through ID Nutrition for a small fraction of that cost and I received higher quality supplements delivered right to my door step.

If you are interested in learning more about ID Nutrition, watch any of these videos below:

· 3 Minute Video
· 7 Minute Video
· 15 Minute Video

Take your FREE Online Health Assessment today and find out what supplements you should be taking!

If you would like to speak with me about ID Nutrition or the Business Opportunity in more depth, give me a call, 972-786-6800. You’ll be glad you did!

To your health,
John Vakidis

The Cost of Good Health

Many people think that the cost of being healthy is out of their budget. Depending on your income, if you are living at the poverty level, that might be true. For most of us, that is NOT the case. Check out one of my last posts, ID Nutrition vs. GNC.

Incorporating good nutrition and supplements into your daily routine does not have to cost you an arm and a leg. For example, I recently went online to complete a FREE Health Assessment with ID Nutrition. This process took all of 15-minutes for me to complete. With a little over 40 questions, I was able to input information about my allergies, family health history, stress levels and much more.

When I was done with the process, I was given a CUSTOM recommendation just for me on what nutrients I should be taking. What’s even more amazing is that this is all backed by scientific data. I was provided a basic daily pack option along with 5 additional recommended nutrients. I thought through which were the most important to me at this stage in my life and then placed my order.

Are you curious to know what the system recommended for me? Click here to download a PDF with the details.

Now, if you are curious to see how much all of those supplements cost, I dare you to go to GNC, The Vitamin Shoppe, Costco or even online and add up the cost of all those items. See what it would cost for me to take that monthly. After you do that, give me a call and I’ll tell you what I paid for my customized pack. You will be shocked! The cost of good health IS in your budget!

Are you curious to know what ID Nutrition would recommend for you? Click here to begin your FREE Personal Health Assessment.

Want more details on this product or our business opportunity? Let’s chat soon!

Changing lives, one person at a time,

John Vakidis
Cell - 972-786-6800
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Fighting Depression

So I am up early after a good night’s rest thanks to a sample I had left for In a Snap - Sleep. I was doing a little work this morning looking for an idea for today’s post. I came across an article on Men’s Health magazine online titled, 11 Foods that End Bad Moods. Over and over, many of the foods suggested had nutrients that helped fight depression. That prompted me to do a little research.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, depression affects approximately 1 out of 10 Americans. With today’s fast-food society, that doesn’t surprise me. Much of what Americans consume is not only bad for our body, but it’s bad for our mind. Depression affects us in so many ways. It gives us a low self-esteem and from finding pleasure in what would normally be an enjoyable activity.

Now, back to the diet. Some foods can increase our stress levels. Much of what is found in the typical American diet slows down our body and our mind.

So what can we do about it? In many cases, with a proper diet and a customized daily supplement, like ID Nutrition, we can give our bodies what we need to knock out depression from our system. If you must take anti-depressants, ID Nutrition can work WITH your prescription, not against it, like many OTC supplements.

If you want to learn more about designing a diet to combat depression, seek professional guidance from a Licensed Nutritionist. If you want to learn more about customizing a supplement plan just for YOU, give me a call.

In your corner,

John Vakidis
Cell - 972-786-6800
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PS - I also recommend reading a good book that is designed to “lift you up.” Check out some of the titles written by Krish Dhanam. You’ll be glad that you did!