Business Vs. "Busy-ness"

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]

A top Distributor told us: "Whenever a Distributor tells me how busy he's been - and what terrible luck he's been having - I ask to see his appointment book." He smiled. "It's amazing how quickly they change the subject."

Our friend has found a way to pierce the armour of self-deception. The complainer may convince himself he is indeed unlucky, and he may actually be frantically busy, but ... in his heart he knows the truth.

True, it's easy to be busy when a business begins to grow. You find so many things to do: making lists, planning meetings, keeping the books ... the list seems endless.

Yet none of these tasks even existed until the Distributor himself (or herself) did two other things first: selling and sponsoring. These are the two - and the only two - that generate business. They are the two that only the Distributor can do. And they are the two that show up in the appointment book.

Not only that, but all of these other tasks can be done equally well - or even better - by others. In fact, we always advise new Direct Distributors to delegate everything in favour of the essential two. But the best time to start delegating is when you first "find so many things to do." Free yourself to concentrate on productivity - even if it costs you something. The additional business you generate can make up the difference - and then some.

So give top priority to your own appointment book and devote your valuable time to business - not "busy-ness." You'll find more hours in the day, and your luck will change for the better, too!

More writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel:

[1]  The Plan That Works

[2]  Zero to Hero

[3]  An International Passport To Success

[4]  The Amway Sales and Marketing Plan - Positively Superior

[5]  "Reasons" Vs. Facts

[6]  Keep The Plan Simple

[7]  Keep It Simple

[8]  A Business of Your Own

[9]  Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[10] Amway is a Repeat Business

[11] Customer Service is the Difference

[12] Keep The Customer Coming Back

[13] Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[14] Who Will Rise To The Top?

[15] Make Selling Your "HOBBY"

[16] The Facts Of Life

[17] Business Vs. "Busy-ness"

Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]

It depends on you. If you joined Amway for the sake of a good part-time income, merchandising is it. You can be well repaid simply by developing a list of customers - and serving them well.

But if you're out to build an independent business of your own, merchandising and sponsoring both count. Few Distributors ever build a truly independent business through merchandising alone - there just aren't enough hours in the day. But "building a business" through sponsoring alone is like building a house on a week foundation.

Why? Because the people you sponsor - and the people they sponsor - look to you for leadership and example. When they see you're not merchandising, they feel they shouldn't either.

On the other hand, when a Distributor starts by selling and sponsoring, the business works because both halves of the business are being built at the same time. A business build on this solid foundation will endure and grow.

Sponsoring may look more impressive than selling - just as a skyscraper looks more impressive than a cement foundation extending deep into the ground. But without that foundation, no skyscraper can long exist.

Build - and constantly maintain - a strong foundation of retailing in your business, and your sponsoring "skyscraper" can reach to the stars!

More writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel:

[1]  The Plan That Works

[2]  Zero to Hero

[3]  An International Passport To Success

[4]  The Amway Sales and Marketing Plan - Positively Superior

[5]  "Reasons" Vs. Facts

[6]  Keep The Plan Simple

[7]  Keep It Simple

[8]  A Business of Your Own

[9]  Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[10] Amway is a Repeat Business

[11] Customer Service is the Difference

[12] Keep The Customer Coming Back

[13] Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[14] Who Will Rise To The Top?

[15] Make Selling Your "HOBBY"

[16] The Facts Of Life

[17] Business Vs. "Busy-ness"

Keep The Customer Coming Back

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]

Shopkeepers aren't loyal to any one brand or type of product they stock: they want to sell everything on their selves. But, will they give you advice on its use? Even if shopkeepers have any product knowledge, they are probably too busy to share it. This point is clearly an advantage for you as an Amway Distributor. Your loyalty to Amway products, your knowledge of their features and benefits, and your willingness to offer friendly-in-home service help create customer confidence and repeat sales.

Successful Distributors provide faithful customer service. You build a sold, repeat business by calling back on customers at their homes every two weeks. Dependable service enables you to answer questions about the Amway products your customers have on hand, to introduce new products and new uses for established ones, and to keep customers supplied with the products they use most.

Keep in mind that to busy customers, convenience can outweigh quality. If you fail to service your customers regularly, supplying them with products before they run out, they will turn to the shopkeepers. And the shopkeepers will gladly sell your customers something off their well-stocked shelves.

Build a successful retail business through faithful customer service. That service, along with Amway's product quality, value, and Satisfaction Guarantee, will keep your customers from ever having to buy products anywhere else.

More writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel:

[1]  The Plan That Works

[2]  Zero to Hero

[3]  An International Passport To Success

[4]  The Amway Sales and Marketing Plan - Positively Superior

[5]  "Reasons" Vs. Facts

[6]  Keep The Plan Simple

[7]  Keep It Simple

[8]  A Business of Your Own

[9]  Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[10] Amway is a Repeat Business

[11] Customer Service is the Difference

[12] Keep The Customer Coming Back

[13] Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[14] Who Will Rise To The Top?

[15] Make Selling Your "HOBBY"

[16] The Facts Of Life

[17] Business Vs. "Busy-ness"

Customer Service is the Difference

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]


We have said it before, but it deserves repeating: your competitor is the shopkeeper down the street. He has the variety, the stock, and the apparent (but not real) lower cost that make frequenting his shop very attractive to the customer. 

Then what can you offer your customers to entice their business?

You can offer your customers what the shopkeepers can never provide - consistent, personalized customer service, in additional to special featured products never available in stores.

Sure, the local shopkeeper knows some of his clients by name. He can even tell them what's a good buy this week and what's new on the self. But can he tell them the one best product for cleaning the kitchen, the bathroom, the workshop, the laundry, and the garage? How about telling them what combination of products to use for cleaning a blood stain or mildew? Can he keep track of when the customer will run out of laundry detergent or remind her of an important birthday or anniversary? Can he deliver the products, and will he do so at the customer's leisure? YOU can!

Even if the shopkeeper can do some of these things, you can do them better. By concentrating on 20 customers (unlike the hundreds the shopkeeper may be handling), you can be there when each customer needs you. You can talk to your customers about their problems and how to solve them, using the Amway products you sell. You can be the friend/consultant/supplier who is always there so that they never have the need to return to the shopkeeper.

Although you, too, offer a variety of products at very reasonable prices, it's the customer service that will keep your customers interested in you. They won't let you down if you don't let them down.

More writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel:

[1]  The Plan That Works

[2]  Zero to Hero

[3]  An International Passport To Success

[4]  The Amway Sales and Marketing Plan - Positively Superior

[5]  "Reasons" Vs. Facts

[6]  Keep The Plan Simple

[7]  Keep It Simple

[8]  A Business of Your Own

[9]  Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[10] Amway is a Repeat Business

[11] Customer Service is the Difference

[12] Keep The Customer Coming Back

[13] Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[14] Who Will Rise To The Top?

[15] Make Selling Your "HOBBY"

[16] The Facts Of Life

[17] Business Vs. "Busy-ness"

Amway is a Repeat Business

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]


Any farmer will tell you it's crazy to break new ground when you haven't worked the soil you've already prepared. It's harder work than wastes time and effort - although breaking new ground is important for increasing your potential yield.

Building a strong Amway business works the same way. You need to nurture your retail business by adding new customers as old ones fall away or move out of reach. But once you've broken ground with a new customers, efficient growth requires that you make repeat sales. Repeat sales are easier than first sales because, as the saying goes, "You sell a product to a customer only once. After that, with regular service, it sells itself." And what's true for one product is true for the whole line of products!

One reason for the rapid and substantial growth of Amway Distributorships has been the ability of the products to sell themselves - repeatedly. When this is coupled with the convenience of home shopping and delivery, and when customers see the double advantage of a quality product plus the quality service you offer, they can be your customer for life.

Repeat sales are the backbone of your successful business. They continue to produce income for your time and again while you are broadening and strengthening your business with new products, new customers, and new Distributors. The first sale may be more difficult than subsequent ones, but with Amway products, it can be the beginning of a long and profitable relationship. It's to your advantage to nurture that relationship today by introducing your customers to more and more quality Amway products.

More writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel:

[1]  The Plan That Works

[2]  Zero to Hero

[3]  An International Passport To Success

[4]  The Amway Sales and Marketing Plan - Positively Superior

[5]  "Reasons" Vs. Facts

[6]  Keep The Plan Simple

[7]  Keep It Simple

[8]  A Business of Your Own

[9]  Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[10] Amway is a Repeat Business

[11] Customer Service is the Difference

[12] Keep The Customer Coming Back

[13] Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[14] Who Will Rise To The Top?

[15] Make Selling Your "HOBBY"

[16] The Facts Of Life

[17] Business Vs. "Busy-ness"

Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[ A collection of writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel; Co-Founders of Amway Corporation ]

We continually stress following the basics in building a strong, successful Amway business. One of the most important basics is to use Amway products before you present them.

Of course. Amway products work well, so they are easy to demonstrate. We've designed them with that in mind, but you need to practise your demonstrations to perfect your delivery and smooth out your presentation. By using Amway products in your own home on a daily basis, you'll learn more and more about how effective and economical they are. You'll also gain great new insight into the variety of tough cleaning challenges that your customers face, challenges that Amway products are engineered to meet.

Your sincerity and professionalism are also conveyed to customers when you let them know you use Amway products. They know that when you use the products you sell, you'll expressing confidence and pride in those products. Customers respect that confidence and pride and will be even more inclined to buy.

Finally, by using the products yourself, you will motivate the Distributors in your organization to use them, too. As you set the example, they'll follow your lead. And that will be good for their businesses.

It makes good sense, then, to use Amway products before you present them to others. It's good retailing and sponsoring sense on which you can build a strong, successful Amway business.

More writings by Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel:

[1]  The Plan That Works

[2]  Zero to Hero

[3]  An International Passport To Success

[4]  The Amway Sales and Marketing Plan - Positively Superior

[5]  "Reasons" Vs. Facts

[6]  Keep The Plan Simple

[7]  Keep It Simple

[8]  A Business of Your Own

[9]  Basics Build The Successful Amway Business

[10] Amway is a Repeat Business

[11] Customer Service is the Difference

[12] Keep The Customer Coming Back

[13] Selling or Sponsoring: Which is more Important?

[14] Who Will Rise To The Top?

[15] Make Selling Your "HOBBY"

[16] The Facts Of Life

[17] Business Vs. "Busy-ness"