May 2006 Online Newsletter
Gordon Brodine's Three Questions
A year
ago I had this good friend named Gordon Brodine (with
his wife Dorothy in Hawaii, summer of 1997).
A year
ago Gordon was starting to get out of breath and he needed more
sleep, but he didn't let on that he was
having
these problems. As we got into the summer, his heart problem came to
the surface and he underwent
open
heart surgery, but his arteries collapsed and he didn't make it
through the recovery stage.
Friendships continue beyond a man's
death and
so do the qualities he leaves behind.
Gordon's advice and ideas are still
with us, and
the very
strong Brodine group now
exceeds 50 Sales Managerships.
Gordon and Gordon are enshrined in
the EcoQuest Hall of Fame!
Gordon was an excellent icebreaker and recruiter. Using
his Nebraska-Texas drawl, he could smile at a person at just the right time and
in just the right way. He might have opened with, "I wonder if you are the
person I'm looking for."
Once the prospect showed some interest he
would lay 3 questions on them...
1. If I could show you how to make $150,000 a year, not
just once but every year for life, would you give me 15 to 30 minutes to
show you the basics of what I've got to offer?
(If
he got an affirmative answer or nod
—
which was most of the time
—
he'd move ahead to question 2.)
2. If you like what you see and if everything checks out to
your satisfaction, do you think you'll be able to follow our proven
techniques—including conference calls, written materials, Success
Institutes, etc.—and not try to reinvent the wheel? (This
question "positions" his thinking!)
3. If you decide to do this, do you have $5,000 to invest to
go into business? (This suggests -1-
a Success Pack; -2-
an Upgrade Pack of technology or consumable products; and -3-
some operating funds.)
Asking these questions would represent a big CHANGE for most recruiters. It is a direct
and powerful way to begin a
recruiting effort that is aimed at recruiting Leaders rather than "just
Dealers." It's probably a BETTER technique than most people use because it
will land bigger and better people.
Typical recruiters prefer to talk about allergies and asthma even though the
company has said for years that this is not permitted. Other recruiters talk
about the money that can be made from selling. These kind of approaches
reflect the recruiter's true source of enthusiasm. They are comfortable
for most people.
But Gordon's questions are powerful and might lead to better long term
results if you can teach yourself to use them.
You can actually write these questions
on a cheat sheet (or on four business cards) and read them to people. You can even start the process
with this statement to a candidate:
"Bill, I'm going through a transition in
my business and trying to learn something new. Will you allow me to read 3
questions to you so I don't get them wrong?"
|
[Opening]
Bill, I'm going through a transition in
my business and trying to learn something new. Will you allow me to read 3
questions to you so I don't get them wrong?
[Opening] I wonder if you are the person I'm looking for? |
[1] If I could show you how to make $150,000 a year, not
just once but every year for life, would you give me 15 to 30 minutes to
show you the basics of what I've got to offer?
|
|
[2] If you like what you see and if everything checks out to
your satisfaction, do you think you'll be able to follow our
proven techniques—including conference calls, written materials,
Success Institutes, etc.—and not try to reinvent the wheel? |
[3] If you decide to do this, do you have $5,000 to invest to
go into business?
[Comment] This isn't a hard and fast requirement. |
|
Bill, do you have 15 minutes right now? Would you be free from
distractions if I go through a booklet with you?
|
Are you free on Saturday morning? I'd like to come over and
spend 30 minutes. I'll bring a booklet and an air purifier so I
can show you some demonstrations. |
|
[A long distance alternative] "Okay, Bill, here's how we will proceed.
I'm sending a booklet by mail. You'll have it in hand within 2 or 3
days. How about if I call back on Tuesday night of next week and we'll spend
20 minutes going through it together?" |
|
Any friend will say yes. Even a lot of strangers will say yes. Prospects on
the phone will say yes. So why not try it?
Most of us have to try something new 10 or 20 times before we start to get
comfortable with it. Here's what you'll find. If you struggle through these
questions 10 times, they will grow on you. They'll start to flow off your
tongue like they're YOUR questions.
Some people will not take this bait and you'll have the option of pitching
them with your old technique. But some people WILL take this
bait...and you might find yourself with a BIG, NEW FISH on the line.
Your ability to talk AFTER the questions will improve, too. The first time
you try this you'll feel like a babbling idiot after a prospect says yes.
You'll have trouble deciding where to go next.
Here's what you must learn to say: "Bill, do you have 15 minutes right now?
Would you be free from distractions if I go through a booklet with you?"
This leads to a Come In Out Of The Rain presentation—another
"change" some readers will have to explore.
The alternative: "Are you free on Saturday morning? I'd like to come over
and spend 30 minutes. I'll bring a booklet and an air purifier I can do some
demonstrations with."
A long distance alternative: "Okay, Bill, here's how we will proceed.
I'm sending a booklet by mail. You'll have it in hand within 2 or 3
days. How about if I call back on Tuesday night of next week and we'll spend
20 minutes going through it together?"
There is room for change in many areas. Do you have written goals? Do you
have a plan for building your EcoQuest business? Are you making efficient
use of your time? Do you have a Leg Chart book (
see
download)? Are you a
subscriber to the Giddens materials? Do you plan each month by mapping out your legs (
see
BMW info)? Are
you putting units out on demo? Do you have units on hand? Have you done an
inventory of your people? Do you know which ones MIGHT be interested in
building a career and which ones definitely are not interested? You'll never
know for sure if you don't ask! Are you continually aware of the events that
are available to help you all across America (
see
schedule)?
Do you go through the events carefully and work to get the word out? Are you
using Chinese Water Torture (
read about CWT in the
Bob Giddens COW)? Are you doing meetings?
Some of you are very effective EcoQuesters in your own right. But how about
your people? Have you managed to pass on your effectiveness to others. The
power of multilevel marketing lies in the leverage (
see Leverage article in the Bob Giddens COW),
not just in your personal ability. Isn't it time to become a stronger and
more effective leader? Have you asked yourself what things you can do
differently to bring about growth in this area? (
see
Leaders Club)
I urge you to visit the articles and downloads in this website on a regular
basis. Just because you've been to the well once, doesn't mean you've tasted
all the water. There may be some additional power in the Leg Chart material
that you haven't discovered yet. Or in the BMW article. Or in this
newsletter. Read these things again. Ask someone to read an article aloud to
you. That person will benefit and you'll hear the material from a
different perspective.
Have you read the Bob Giddens COW and COW II.
This books are powerful. But they contain more than anyone can absorb in a single
sitting. These are STUDY MATERIALS.
If you want to change, you have to be
a student.
The biggest "change questions" you can ask of yourself are in this category:
How can I serve my people better? How can I refine my message so it has more
value? How can I further my own goals and help my people and the company at
the same time? What additional services can I provide? What are my
strengths? What new strengths can I work on? What weakness do I have that I
am not admitting? Or not facing?
"God, help me to change.
I want to change.
Change is good.
I know it is."
Folks, if you want something badly enough you can probably have it. A
halfhearted effort works for a few people...but the man or woman who is
sincere doesn't know the meaning of halfhearted. He or she goes all out. If
this describes you, good changes are definitely coming.
EcoQuest definitely works
—as a product and as a
business opportunity (
read the
New
Prospect Evaluation). In this era of LaundryPure, EcoQuest is
destined for greatness. I want YOU to be on the victory stand at each and
every level. More importantly, I want you to know the joy of having some of
YOUR PEOPLE standing there at your side. No joy in EcoQuest is bigger than
seeing your downliners
—at all levels
—achieve
THEIR goals.
Sincerely yours,
Bob Giddens
Presidential Master Manager
A note on change: Do you know how long I, Bob
Giddens, resisted the notion of building a website? All my computer advisors
told me to do it. I stubbornly said I was "not a computer guy." Well, I'm
still not that type of guy. But I sure love this website. Change is good!
