Monday, November 24, 2008
Royale Advisory - Christmas Celebration
Our Christmas Celebration will be on Tuesday, Dec. 16 6PM at the Metro Concert Bar.
You are invited to form a 6-12 member choir to join the Royale Christmas Carol Singing Contest with the theme: "Royale Oneness for Christmas is our Wellness".
1st audition is on Dec. 3, 4PM.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
7 Reasons Why Royale Rocks
Royale is now 2 years old and is still growing stronger. In my 10 months in this company, I have witnessed a lot of things. I truly feel that Royale is a very unique company. I heard one guy yesterday say that he thought he was allergic to networking but he felt different when Royale was presented to him, that is why he joined. I felt the same way about the company and I thought I would share some insights on what makes Royale unique. So, as your partner insider, I present to you 7 reasons why our company rocks!
---------------------------------------------------
Reason 1: Our Chairman is a Capable and Willing Traditional Businessman
Most networking companies die in the first year. Some last 2 or 3 years but that's it. One common reason is that they were founded by networkers. This is a sensitive topic since a lot of people are successful networkers. But somehow, I have observed that the networking companies that fall fail because of 2 things: Greed and Inexperience handling money. When company founders experience success and are flushed with cash, they crumble because they are not used to handling tens of millions of pesos.
Bo Sanchez has a term for this: The Psychological Wallet. If you used to handling only thousands of pesos and you are suddenly given millions, chances are you will go back to your comfort zone and will have a hard time adjusting, especially if the transition is sudden. Sudden transitions from small money to big money occur in networks; it's called MOMENTUM. When the momentum stage comes, the company suddenly gets very rich very fast.
In his 2nd year anniversary speech, Mr. Castaneda mentioned his thankfulness that the company's growth has been moderate and controlled so far. This allowed him and management to build the necessary infrastructure to support solid growth in the years ahead. This includes hiring more employees, expanding the leased spaces, building product centers and improving the products.
On the product launch last July 26, his message was simple: DO NOT BE GREEDY. It was a clear reminder to Royale's leaders to stick to what made us successful: clear, transparent leadership and the drive to help others.
Mr. Castaneda owns a lot of successful businesses. He owns Punchline, Laffline and Metro Comedy/ Concert Bars, Nomu Japanese Resto, Blooming face and body center, an STI and a 7-11(his "smallest" business costing 15M to build). He also owns a lending company. He is a financial analyst by profession. And he earns somewhere between 300-500T per night according to the leaders.
I believe Mr. Castaneda is dead serious about making Royale a big success. He has the capacity and willingness to do it. He is in it for the long term and he definitely has the experience in handling money. Royale earned 50M last year and is on track to earn 100M this year.
So my friends, I think we are in good hands here. Let's continue to pray that Mr. Castaneda remains steadfast in his aim to help Pinoys become financially well.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Reason 2: Builders, not Recruiters
There are 2 types of successful networkers: recruiters and builders. Only one of these experience true passive, residual income.
Let's tackle the Recruiter first. This guy is smooth, he talks very well and can sell anything. Once you join his network, he only has one recommendation for your plan of action - invite, invite, invite. Because of his inherent skills, he can build his network very fast. His earnings grow big, fast. But just like a field of cogon grass, they are shallow-rooted and die out at the first test of heat. When his network dies, he jumps ship and joins another network repeating the cycle. His downlines are left high and dry. And most of the time, he is the only one who earned big.
In my opinion, Recruiters are the reason why network marketing has such a stigma in our country. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present Royale to a veteran networker who prided himself in being a leader. I was excited because it meant we will be talking the same language. His first question was: :Will you give downlines in both left and right groups? My internal answer was: This guy is crazy (recruiter, recruiter, recruiter).
Guys like him belong to an old breed of networkers. They want to get rich quick and don't have the patience of building a network of new relationships. For them, networking is a cold-blooded business. Since they are already 'tested', companies should buy their services to seed their networking. They are also known as Junkies, networkers who have no loyalty and jump from ship to ship.
Contrast that to the Builder. Builders take their time to develop the people they sponsor. They believe that Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow. Their plan of action is TRAIN first before DOING. Doc Butch is an example of a Builder. He once told me that networking is like planting Mangoes. There is a cycle: Plant - Nurture - Harvest. People always seem to forget the nurturing part. Recruiters follow the Plant - Harvest scheme (Munggo yun, hindi Mangga).
Builders' networks seem slow at first because each person sponsored, if willing, get to train. But networks like this are deep-rooted and can weather storms. Some people do fall off but here, in this system, a lot of leaders emerge.
And that is the key. Once you train and help enough people, the success follows. They bloom, you bloom with them. That is the forgotten essence of networking and the source of true, long-lasting passive income.
And if you look around Royale, you can't see a lot of old, 'popular' networkers. In fact, some old networkers tried it but found the growth too slow. If you look around the main office, most active members are new blood leaders who have embraced networking as it should be: a legitimate, relationship-centered business. There's nothing quick about it because it takes time to build leaders.
Most of Royale's leaders (Pres Juluis, Doc Butch, Jay, Elmer, Ariel, Maam Grace, Karen etc.) came from a company called I-Gen Portal. It was a networking company that lasted for only about a year before bickering weakened it's foundations (see reason #1). I heard that Royale's leaders were the loyalists to I-Gen. They never wanted to leave their downlines behind until the doors closed on them. I personally asked Doc what his commitment to Royale is and his answer was: "Hanggang padlock ako dito." If he is in for the long haul, I'm also in for the long haul.
Builders - these are the kinds of leaders our company is built on. I know most of you don't know them personally yet. I am hoping that through my blogs and emails you will understand them more and see what I see in them.
On my part, my commitment to you is: Hanggang padlock din ako. Walang iwanan!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reason 3: The Three-Pronged Attack
To start of this article, let me quote a book titled Law of Leverage by Rane Panaligan, a CPA:
"...Micro-franchising, home-based businesses and network marketing are the most viable alternatives and wealth-building mediums to survive the economic world." p.26
This book was first published 2004, 2 years before Royale was formed and yet if you read it, you will find that the 3 alternatives for small and medium enterprises are all present in Royale. This is no coincidence. Our Business Club is a well thought out, 3-pronged approach to present viable businesses for first time entrepreneurs.
We got Franchising, Direct Selling (a home based biz) and Networking options that can be done independently or at the same time.
Some people (members included) have the mistake of labelling Royale as a Networking company. While that is true, I think what they mean is that it is a Networking company ONLY. And that, is definitely NOT TRUE.
How different are we from pure networking companies? I had the pleasure of talking to networkers from AIM Global (networkers of the Alive brand) last friday. After the presentation, I only had one question to them: Can you present your company to cooperatives? Their answer was no, probably not.
Even though networking could be a good business to start, a lot of people have mistaken concepts about it. This is the reason why you cannot bring networking concepts to coops anymore. They hate it. I know because I have presented to many coops already and they always warn me that they dont accept networking opportunities anymore. But...
Take Royale to cooperatives and say this to the cooperative board of directors: We are from Royale Business Club and we would like to partner with your coop in providing livelihood/ micro businesses to your members. Present the RBP WITHOUT presenting the networking. Just the Franchises up to the Finder's Fee and Royalty Income. You will be surprised by the positive reaction of most coops to this.
The reason is most coops earn by lending to members. If the coop becomes a Business Club member and the coop members avail of coop loans to buy Royale franchises, the coop generates 3 incomes: 1. from the business loan interest, 2. from the Finder's Fees, 3. from Royalty Incomes of the franchises.
This is my proof that Royale is a chameleon. You can change the way you present it to suit your audience. A grocery or drugstore owner might be more receptive if you focus on the products. Conservative people might only want to franchise.
My point is this: Just because there is a networking option in the business club, it does not mean ALL members need to network to earn.
This means that what we really have are 3 weapons for income. A good friend of mine, Rolly Pagaspas put it this way: your franchise is a traditional business, your dealership is your distribution business you can do on the side and he calls networking "Sharing The Concept" - a business you can carry inside your pocket.
This is what makes the Royale concept unique. We got all the ingredients to succeed as entrepreneurs.
To end, let me quote from another book - Robert Kiyosaki's Retire Young, Retire Rich (p.295)
"If you are serious about retiring young, begin studying the different types of income, which will allow to become rich without working forever. Some of the other types of income are:
1. Residual income, which is income from a business, such as a network marketing business or a franchise business you own but someone else run...." (underlines are mine)
In short, mag Royale na kayo! We are on the right track.
---------------------------------------------------------
Reasons 4 and 5: Product and Franchise Innovation
This was supposed to be 2 articles but I thought the line of thinking was too similar so I bundled it together.
Product Innovation - When I became part of Royale September 2007, the Glutathione product was in its second revision. It was placed on smaller (and uglier compared to the current) plastic bottles and was soon replaced by blister packs in a box. Those had problems when exposed to heat because the aluminum in the blister pack heated the capsules which turned yellowish-brown.
Royale hired Lollie Sarmiento, and ex-Splash Corporation product developer who recommended most of the improvements in the packaging.
The result was a better plastic bottle package, better labels, Halal approval plus the Angelica endorsement. The rest of the products followed suit.
Now, the best selling Gluta Soap as well as the Kojic soap package was revamped to have plastic instead of the paper packaging. Also, the newest coffee product has packaging that can rival Nescafe or San Mig.
One thing that I like about the company is it's eye for continuous innovation. They never seem to rest, always churning out new ideas on how to make the products more saleable. They are also open to suggestions on how to improve some more.
Franchise Innovation - To sum it up: No Franchise fees, no royalty fees, no renewal fees. Most of Royale's franchises started as unknowns and so they had to innovate to get noticed by the market.
To do this, they removed most of the fees that standard franchising charges and instead offered the franchises as an all-in package. This simplified version was easier to understand for the new micro-business owner and help fuel Royale's franchising success.
However, based on my research into franchising, not charging royalty fees could be a double-edged sword to the franchisor as this severely limits his cash flow. I think that as more and more people know the Royale brands, the franchisors will introduce small royalty fees (e.g. Chickco Country Chicken now charges P1000/ month royalty fees).
At this point, I can see some franchisors already improving their offerings. JCFran has released The Noodle House HongKong Style noodles. While not yet officially a franchise carried by the Royale Business Club, JCFran proves that innovation is at work in their company.
Chickco Country Chicken also has recently hired Francorp to improve its franchise structure and also introduced financing plans for their new franchisees.
The spirit of innovation is evident in our products, franchises and IT systems. I am hoping that the company can improve and react fast enough to adapt to the challenges. But as for the past year I have been on board, I could say that the management of Royale never rests with their achievements. They are always pushing forward. And that is always a good sign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
Reason 1: Our Chairman is a Capable and Willing Traditional Businessman
Most networking companies die in the first year. Some last 2 or 3 years but that's it. One common reason is that they were founded by networkers. This is a sensitive topic since a lot of people are successful networkers. But somehow, I have observed that the networking companies that fall fail because of 2 things: Greed and Inexperience handling money. When company founders experience success and are flushed with cash, they crumble because they are not used to handling tens of millions of pesos.
Bo Sanchez has a term for this: The Psychological Wallet. If you used to handling only thousands of pesos and you are suddenly given millions, chances are you will go back to your comfort zone and will have a hard time adjusting, especially if the transition is sudden. Sudden transitions from small money to big money occur in networks; it's called MOMENTUM. When the momentum stage comes, the company suddenly gets very rich very fast.
In his 2nd year anniversary speech, Mr. Castaneda mentioned his thankfulness that the company's growth has been moderate and controlled so far. This allowed him and management to build the necessary infrastructure to support solid growth in the years ahead. This includes hiring more employees, expanding the leased spaces, building product centers and improving the products.
On the product launch last July 26, his message was simple: DO NOT BE GREEDY. It was a clear reminder to Royale's leaders to stick to what made us successful: clear, transparent leadership and the drive to help others.
Mr. Castaneda owns a lot of successful businesses. He owns Punchline, Laffline and Metro Comedy/ Concert Bars, Nomu Japanese Resto, Blooming face and body center, an STI and a 7-11(his "smallest" business costing 15M to build). He also owns a lending company. He is a financial analyst by profession. And he earns somewhere between 300-500T per night according to the leaders.
I believe Mr. Castaneda is dead serious about making Royale a big success. He has the capacity and willingness to do it. He is in it for the long term and he definitely has the experience in handling money. Royale earned 50M last year and is on track to earn 100M this year.
So my friends, I think we are in good hands here. Let's continue to pray that Mr. Castaneda remains steadfast in his aim to help Pinoys become financially well.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Reason 2: Builders, not Recruiters
There are 2 types of successful networkers: recruiters and builders. Only one of these experience true passive, residual income.
Let's tackle the Recruiter first. This guy is smooth, he talks very well and can sell anything. Once you join his network, he only has one recommendation for your plan of action - invite, invite, invite. Because of his inherent skills, he can build his network very fast. His earnings grow big, fast. But just like a field of cogon grass, they are shallow-rooted and die out at the first test of heat. When his network dies, he jumps ship and joins another network repeating the cycle. His downlines are left high and dry. And most of the time, he is the only one who earned big.
In my opinion, Recruiters are the reason why network marketing has such a stigma in our country. Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present Royale to a veteran networker who prided himself in being a leader. I was excited because it meant we will be talking the same language. His first question was: :Will you give downlines in both left and right groups? My internal answer was: This guy is crazy (recruiter, recruiter, recruiter).
Guys like him belong to an old breed of networkers. They want to get rich quick and don't have the patience of building a network of new relationships. For them, networking is a cold-blooded business. Since they are already 'tested', companies should buy their services to seed their networking. They are also known as Junkies, networkers who have no loyalty and jump from ship to ship.
Contrast that to the Builder. Builders take their time to develop the people they sponsor. They believe that Slow is Fast and Fast is Slow. Their plan of action is TRAIN first before DOING. Doc Butch is an example of a Builder. He once told me that networking is like planting Mangoes. There is a cycle: Plant - Nurture - Harvest. People always seem to forget the nurturing part. Recruiters follow the Plant - Harvest scheme (Munggo yun, hindi Mangga).
Builders' networks seem slow at first because each person sponsored, if willing, get to train. But networks like this are deep-rooted and can weather storms. Some people do fall off but here, in this system, a lot of leaders emerge.
And that is the key. Once you train and help enough people, the success follows. They bloom, you bloom with them. That is the forgotten essence of networking and the source of true, long-lasting passive income.
And if you look around Royale, you can't see a lot of old, 'popular' networkers. In fact, some old networkers tried it but found the growth too slow. If you look around the main office, most active members are new blood leaders who have embraced networking as it should be: a legitimate, relationship-centered business. There's nothing quick about it because it takes time to build leaders.
Most of Royale's leaders (Pres Juluis, Doc Butch, Jay, Elmer, Ariel, Maam Grace, Karen etc.) came from a company called I-Gen Portal. It was a networking company that lasted for only about a year before bickering weakened it's foundations (see reason #1). I heard that Royale's leaders were the loyalists to I-Gen. They never wanted to leave their downlines behind until the doors closed on them. I personally asked Doc what his commitment to Royale is and his answer was: "Hanggang padlock ako dito." If he is in for the long haul, I'm also in for the long haul.
Builders - these are the kinds of leaders our company is built on. I know most of you don't know them personally yet. I am hoping that through my blogs and emails you will understand them more and see what I see in them.
On my part, my commitment to you is: Hanggang padlock din ako. Walang iwanan!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reason 3: The Three-Pronged Attack
To start of this article, let me quote a book titled Law of Leverage by Rane Panaligan, a CPA:
"...Micro-franchising, home-based businesses and network marketing are the most viable alternatives and wealth-building mediums to survive the economic world." p.26
This book was first published 2004, 2 years before Royale was formed and yet if you read it, you will find that the 3 alternatives for small and medium enterprises are all present in Royale. This is no coincidence. Our Business Club is a well thought out, 3-pronged approach to present viable businesses for first time entrepreneurs.
We got Franchising, Direct Selling (a home based biz) and Networking options that can be done independently or at the same time.
Some people (members included) have the mistake of labelling Royale as a Networking company. While that is true, I think what they mean is that it is a Networking company ONLY. And that, is definitely NOT TRUE.
How different are we from pure networking companies? I had the pleasure of talking to networkers from AIM Global (networkers of the Alive brand) last friday. After the presentation, I only had one question to them: Can you present your company to cooperatives? Their answer was no, probably not.
Even though networking could be a good business to start, a lot of people have mistaken concepts about it. This is the reason why you cannot bring networking concepts to coops anymore. They hate it. I know because I have presented to many coops already and they always warn me that they dont accept networking opportunities anymore. But...
Take Royale to cooperatives and say this to the cooperative board of directors: We are from Royale Business Club and we would like to partner with your coop in providing livelihood/ micro businesses to your members. Present the RBP WITHOUT presenting the networking. Just the Franchises up to the Finder's Fee and Royalty Income. You will be surprised by the positive reaction of most coops to this.
The reason is most coops earn by lending to members. If the coop becomes a Business Club member and the coop members avail of coop loans to buy Royale franchises, the coop generates 3 incomes: 1. from the business loan interest, 2. from the Finder's Fees, 3. from Royalty Incomes of the franchises.
This is my proof that Royale is a chameleon. You can change the way you present it to suit your audience. A grocery or drugstore owner might be more receptive if you focus on the products. Conservative people might only want to franchise.
My point is this: Just because there is a networking option in the business club, it does not mean ALL members need to network to earn.
This means that what we really have are 3 weapons for income. A good friend of mine, Rolly Pagaspas put it this way: your franchise is a traditional business, your dealership is your distribution business you can do on the side and he calls networking "Sharing The Concept" - a business you can carry inside your pocket.
This is what makes the Royale concept unique. We got all the ingredients to succeed as entrepreneurs.
To end, let me quote from another book - Robert Kiyosaki's Retire Young, Retire Rich (p.295)
"If you are serious about retiring young, begin studying the different types of income, which will allow to become rich without working forever. Some of the other types of income are:
1. Residual income, which is income from a business, such as a network marketing business or a franchise business you own but someone else run...." (underlines are mine)
In short, mag Royale na kayo! We are on the right track.
---------------------------------------------------------
Reasons 4 and 5: Product and Franchise Innovation
This was supposed to be 2 articles but I thought the line of thinking was too similar so I bundled it together.
Product Innovation - When I became part of Royale September 2007, the Glutathione product was in its second revision. It was placed on smaller (and uglier compared to the current) plastic bottles and was soon replaced by blister packs in a box. Those had problems when exposed to heat because the aluminum in the blister pack heated the capsules which turned yellowish-brown.
Royale hired Lollie Sarmiento, and ex-Splash Corporation product developer who recommended most of the improvements in the packaging.
The result was a better plastic bottle package, better labels, Halal approval plus the Angelica endorsement. The rest of the products followed suit.
Now, the best selling Gluta Soap as well as the Kojic soap package was revamped to have plastic instead of the paper packaging. Also, the newest coffee product has packaging that can rival Nescafe or San Mig.
One thing that I like about the company is it's eye for continuous innovation. They never seem to rest, always churning out new ideas on how to make the products more saleable. They are also open to suggestions on how to improve some more.
Franchise Innovation - To sum it up: No Franchise fees, no royalty fees, no renewal fees. Most of Royale's franchises started as unknowns and so they had to innovate to get noticed by the market.
To do this, they removed most of the fees that standard franchising charges and instead offered the franchises as an all-in package. This simplified version was easier to understand for the new micro-business owner and help fuel Royale's franchising success.
However, based on my research into franchising, not charging royalty fees could be a double-edged sword to the franchisor as this severely limits his cash flow. I think that as more and more people know the Royale brands, the franchisors will introduce small royalty fees (e.g. Chickco Country Chicken now charges P1000/ month royalty fees).
At this point, I can see some franchisors already improving their offerings. JCFran has released The Noodle House HongKong Style noodles. While not yet officially a franchise carried by the Royale Business Club, JCFran proves that innovation is at work in their company.
Chickco Country Chicken also has recently hired Francorp to improve its franchise structure and also introduced financing plans for their new franchisees.
The spirit of innovation is evident in our products, franchises and IT systems. I am hoping that the company can improve and react fast enough to adapt to the challenges. But as for the past year I have been on board, I could say that the management of Royale never rests with their achievements. They are always pushing forward. And that is always a good sign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reason 6: The People That You Meet Each Day
The transformation from anti-networking to pro-networking was a hard one for me. I still couldnt believe I lasted this long (1 year on Sep 9!) and yet the longer I stay, the more open-minded I have become.
I have met a lot of curious characters in Royale and I would like to introduce you to some of them.
There's Ate Lorna, the once hardware saleslady who now owns 3 Galaxy Burger carts. She used to be so shy because of her speech impediment but now, looking at her give presentations to many people makes me smile.
If Ate Lorna had a speech impediment, Abe's got it worse. Abe stutters and can't say anything straight. Hearing Abe stutter his way to a testimony in the PEC about how he got his cheque gave me pause. How can a guy who talks like Abe gather the guts to present - and succeed?
There's Ate Darly, ang Reyna ng Benta. She's a sweet 50 something year old government employee who likes to grab my elbow when she talks to me. Who whould know this lady earns 6 figures a month selling soap? :-)
Doc Butch just bought his dream car, a BMW Z4. He was already rich before he started networking. But looking at him work puts me to shame. I have seen this guy take 'lunch' at 7PM and for the past year, has seen him work to exhaustion. He owns 3 businesses but still works like a blue-collar worker.
Tony is one of the top 3 Distributors for Smart in Cavite. He turns over at least 30M worth of load each month, became a millionaire through Smart at the age of 22 (he made his first million in 3 months swapping sim packs back then). But he is one of the most humble guys I have ever met. He is also one of the leaders of Royale's Dream Team.
And you partners, I have enjoyed meeting and working with each and everyone of you. Meeting you really expanded my heart and mind.
Networking is a hard business because you deal with people but it's also a great business because of great people.
One thing that has cemented itself into my philosophies for the past year is that you make your own destiny. The people I have met didnt meet success in their first try. They too were rejected just like the rest. They were just mentally tougher.
I am now sure that God wants us to be prosperous. But we have to give something from our end. As Jay Ocampo says: God is a Multiplier. In the story of Elijah, the prophet asked the widow what she has left in her possession. She said she had some oil left. Elijah told her to borrow jars from her neighbors and from what little oil that was left, God multiplied it til all the jars were full.
Being with people like Abe the stutterer cements my belief that God indeed is a Multiplier. Abe took what little he has and gave it his all and he has success to show for it.
Looking at him makes me look at myself and find those little drops of oil that He can multiply. The people we meet makes us reflect on ourselves. Hopefully, they will continue to reflect what's good in all of us.
------------------------------------------------------------
Reason 7: Entrepreneurship 101
People who dismiss Royale as just a networking company miss an important point. Royale offers a chance for you to hone your business skills, especially those who don't have any business experience. Let me elaborate.
Networking = Traditional business? - I have been in the 'traditional' business of laundry and dry cleaning for 5 1/2 years now. The skills I needed to survive that long were: mental toughness, belief in one's self, marketing and basic math. I always say to my partners that business is just a reflection of you. Whatever your core beliefs are, they show up in your business. If you think 'pang small time ka lang' then you will never go big time.
What does this have to do with networking and Royale? Well, for one, it takes much much more mental toughness to build your own network than to build your own small business. The reason is, you expose yourself to more chances of rejection in networking compared to just being in your shop.
The same thing goes for marketing and belief in yourself. As I see it, networking is a springboard for people to develop critical business skills.
Businesses within the business - Another good thing about Royale is that there are opportunities that abound inside the club to do you own business. Consider this: you are a member of a club that contains THOUSANDS of business-minded people. What do they need???
1. Can you print marketing materials on tarpaulin and flyers and resell these to business club members?
2. Can you look for potential locations for franchises and make your own survey and sell these for a fee to potential franchisees?
3. Can you offer your own specialty entrepreneurship trainings to franchisees? How about technology-enhanced services on the web? Or the mobile phone???
4. How about if you talk to franchisors and offer logistical support in the provinces. You can act as the hub where they drop off their supplies and you deliver to franchisees in that province.
These are just ideas I got off the top of my head and of course we will need to really scrutinize the details but there's a lot of stuff we can cook up if we just get creative.
The thing is, Royale is all about creating the entrepreneur in you. Open your eyes and see that it's not just about networking. It's a goldmine of opportunities to practice business.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Royale Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
May 17, 2008 at Crossroads 77:
Thousands of members celebrated the business club's 2nd anniversary. It was a joyous occasion with lots memorable and enjoyable moments. Among them:
The Prayer - I very rarely hear applause after a prayer. This one gave me goose bumps. It was unrehearsed but went straight to our hearts. I guess a lot of us felt it because a lot of us clapped. We clapped for our Ultimate Upline - God.
The Chairman Speaks - it was clear that he enjoyed the day as much as the members did. The usually reserved Mr. C spoke with vigour about Royale's plans for the future. What resonated to me during his talk was that he was thankful that Royale did NOT grow that fast which was the reason why the team was able to manage the foundation solidly instead of being rushed. Spoken like a true businessman.
Senate President Manny Villar is the Keynote Speaker - I'd like to blog more about this later. But one thing I am sure of is that if he runs for President, I'm voting for him.
3 Guys buy BMW's - I personally knew all three of them. But I was brought to tears during Jay's story. To most people, Jay is the comedian of the Phoenix Leaders. But nobody really expected his story to be so sad (but Jay, even if he was crying still managed to joke about it). Many times, he said he had to meet clients at a fastfood restaurant. One time, he waited til his client had ordered before he went inside so that he wouldn't be forced to buy food because he had no money and worse, he was hungry. So when his client invited him to eat, he said no thanks he was full. But suddenly, his stomach growled and the client asked: "Akala ko ba, busog ka?" Jay's reply: "Opo, acidic lang po ako."
He also told the story about being a safety shoe salesman and having his delivery of shoes scatter all over the bus when the driver braked hard. People were laughing at him and he felt so sorry for himself.
He tried so hard to succeed in Royale. His code was NO EMOTIONS when he was rejected. His reason was simple, he had no time to be offended, he had a family to feed.
I know Jay. I know he has a strong faith in God and in people. He showed his love for his wife by calling her to the stage.
I couldn't be more proud of a triumph of a friend and a good person. Mabuhay ka, Jay!
Anton Diva is a Guy - Now, for some comic relief. This guy sang like Regine Velasquez. He really sounded and looked like a woman. So when he said, in a deep, deep voice after singing: "Wala ba kayong mga kamay?" everyone laughed. He even invited another guy on stage and sang to him and teased him with a dare for a nose to nose. I kept shouting: "Dude, lalaki yan, don't forget!!!!" because the guy seemed to forget.
Pres Juluis presented the upcoming products - Man! we are in for a good year. There were a lot of exciting updates. An anti-ageing cream, an 8-in-1 coffee to be manufactured by Kraft (makers of the Maxwell House brand), a supplement for diabetics, new improved packaging for the best-selling Gluta and Kojic soaps, Fit and Trim will be redesigned and renamed to FitShape, Fiberich - a fiber supplement for the colon. These will be launched by July 26, 2008.
Plus, more effort will be focused now in advertising in the tri-media of TV, Radio and Print so that Royale Wellness and Royale Beauty will become household brands.
Pres urged us again to clap for God. I clapped til my hands hurt.
All in all, it was a good anniversary celebration. According to Pres, 2 years pa lang tayo, umpisa pa lang to!
God Bless!
Thousands of members celebrated the business club's 2nd anniversary. It was a joyous occasion with lots memorable and enjoyable moments. Among them:
The Prayer - I very rarely hear applause after a prayer. This one gave me goose bumps. It was unrehearsed but went straight to our hearts. I guess a lot of us felt it because a lot of us clapped. We clapped for our Ultimate Upline - God.
The Chairman Speaks - it was clear that he enjoyed the day as much as the members did. The usually reserved Mr. C spoke with vigour about Royale's plans for the future. What resonated to me during his talk was that he was thankful that Royale did NOT grow that fast which was the reason why the team was able to manage the foundation solidly instead of being rushed. Spoken like a true businessman.
Senate President Manny Villar is the Keynote Speaker - I'd like to blog more about this later. But one thing I am sure of is that if he runs for President, I'm voting for him.
3 Guys buy BMW's - I personally knew all three of them. But I was brought to tears during Jay's story. To most people, Jay is the comedian of the Phoenix Leaders. But nobody really expected his story to be so sad (but Jay, even if he was crying still managed to joke about it). Many times, he said he had to meet clients at a fastfood restaurant. One time, he waited til his client had ordered before he went inside so that he wouldn't be forced to buy food because he had no money and worse, he was hungry. So when his client invited him to eat, he said no thanks he was full. But suddenly, his stomach growled and the client asked: "Akala ko ba, busog ka?" Jay's reply: "Opo, acidic lang po ako."
He also told the story about being a safety shoe salesman and having his delivery of shoes scatter all over the bus when the driver braked hard. People were laughing at him and he felt so sorry for himself.
He tried so hard to succeed in Royale. His code was NO EMOTIONS when he was rejected. His reason was simple, he had no time to be offended, he had a family to feed.
I know Jay. I know he has a strong faith in God and in people. He showed his love for his wife by calling her to the stage.
I couldn't be more proud of a triumph of a friend and a good person. Mabuhay ka, Jay!
Anton Diva is a Guy - Now, for some comic relief. This guy sang like Regine Velasquez. He really sounded and looked like a woman. So when he said, in a deep, deep voice after singing: "Wala ba kayong mga kamay?" everyone laughed. He even invited another guy on stage and sang to him and teased him with a dare for a nose to nose. I kept shouting: "Dude, lalaki yan, don't forget!!!!" because the guy seemed to forget.
Pres Juluis presented the upcoming products - Man! we are in for a good year. There were a lot of exciting updates. An anti-ageing cream, an 8-in-1 coffee to be manufactured by Kraft (makers of the Maxwell House brand), a supplement for diabetics, new improved packaging for the best-selling Gluta and Kojic soaps, Fit and Trim will be redesigned and renamed to FitShape, Fiberich - a fiber supplement for the colon. These will be launched by July 26, 2008.
Plus, more effort will be focused now in advertising in the tri-media of TV, Radio and Print so that Royale Wellness and Royale Beauty will become household brands.
Pres urged us again to clap for God. I clapped til my hands hurt.
All in all, it was a good anniversary celebration. According to Pres, 2 years pa lang tayo, umpisa pa lang to!
God Bless!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Six Suggestions When Hiring Your First Employee
Now that some of you have already committed to owning a franchise, I’d like to offer some practical suggestions in hiring employees that will not only make the work easier for you, they’ll help grow your business.
Charm and I have had some good and bad experiences in the hiring process. We have hired keepers and we have also hired pilferers and thieves. Hiring should not be guess work and I am hoping that by sharing what we have learned, you can hire good employees to man your franchises.
In hiring, I now follow a rule I learned from a book: Hire Slowly but Fire Quickly.
I find this rule very practical. In one instance, we did not fire an employee quick enough which was why that employee was able to pilfer more than she should have. Some other things to consider:
Give an IQ Test – not to hire geniuses but to look at the distribution of your applicants’ intelligence levels. There are IQ tests you can get from books. Make sure that the IQ test is general in nature and not focused on just one section like math or spatial reasoning (but it depends on what you are hiring for, I’m assuming this is for a food cart only). From my experience, applicants in the average IQ range turn out ok. I try not to hire those at the bottom and I always look for smart people because smart people with good hearts are simply put, the best there is (more on good hearts later). Also, let them do math without calculators because there will be a lot of addition and subtraction during store operations. Just the basic, no algebra stuff.
Look at the resume’s and biodata – and look for applicants who care about their applications. I don’t even read incomplete biodatas, those without specific dates. If they don’t care enough to fill up information correctly, then they are not worth hiring. Also, look at how long they have served in their jobs. Good employees usually last longer than 1 year at a certain job. While there may be a lot of contractual lately (jobs lasting 5-6 months), try to see if they have been renewed which is a good sign. Also, look for and ask about gaps in between jobs. Why were there gaps? Was it because they found it hard to look for jobs or because of other stuff? If other employers turned them down, ask them why. Also, require NBI and local police clearances always. Baka si Osama yang na-hire mo, eh di mayaman ka na.
Interview properly – In an interview, my goal is to make the interviewee feel at home and comfortable. I am not that particular about questions that they can make perfect answers to. I ask them stuff about employment, usually about their last job. But I also ask them about their daily routines. For example: A kid I interviewed watched a lot of TV which for me was a red flag. When I asked this kid to do an OJT, I was right, she wasn’t able to focus and got bored easily. Don’t just ask questions, get to know the person. Look at the person in the eye when talking, honest people usually can look right back. Look at their body language, are they too tense? You need calm people who can take customer complaints in stride.
Always do a hands-on test – IQ’s and good interviews do not compare to the information that you get when the person is actually on the job. You will see how fast they learn, how they interact with customers and other employees and most important of all, you will see who has initiative. A lot of good interviewers fall flat when it comes to initiative. In fact, more than 70% of potential candidates after testing and interviewing seem not so good after all once you tried them out. Try outs can usually last 1 to 2 days.
Some stuff I have observed – these are not meant to be generalizations, these are just based on my experiences. Feel free to test them.
1. Single moms are hard workers. I salute single moms, some of my most hardworking employees are single mothers.
2. Women generally are more diligent than men. Ewan ko ba.
3. Employees below 25 years are just too young. Some of them are good but they could be diamonds in the rough, but you have to spend some time polishing them. They have too many distractions going on.
4. Employees above 40 could be so hard wired already. In short matitigas na rin ang ulo. May sariling style na. Ayaw paturo.
5. Employees who respond to your text messages to confirm appointments are good candidates. You need guys who are responsive to you as their boss.
6. Look for leadership experience in college and in work.
And.. fire quickly - If you find your employee stealing or doing something that erodes your trust, replace him quickly. If there is suspicion, act quickly and investigate. Always be ready to lose an employee. DO NOT BE DEPENDENT on one single employee. Know the ins and outs of your business so that you will not be crippled if you lose a key employee.That’s it for now. I hope I was able to help those who are already planning to operate their carts. More blogs to come!
God Bless!
Caloy
Friday, February 29, 2008
5 Stages of Truly Successful Networking
Even though networking is hard to do, it’s potential as a business remains attractive to people who want to start up a good business with little start up capital.
We usually hear about the ‘extraordinary’ earnings of some people in network marketing. I previously thought it was all hype until I joined Royale last September 2007. When I joined, the biggest weekly check earned was just around P100,000 (in one week). Now, the record check is P390,000 for 1 week’s earnings held by Ariel De Leon.
These earnings may seem insane for most people, myself included ( I admit, these figures are still way, way above my “psychological wallet “) but I quickly found out among those used to networking that these are actually normal and expected.
I have no questions why network marketing can pay so big. The mechanism of removing middlemen from distribution generates big profits for a networking company (as much as 70% of the prices of goods go to middlemen such as supermarkets etc.). The profits are then distributed instead to the consumer-members.
But to learn about the income in networking is one thing. Trying to earn the big income from network marketing is another story. In the months that I have been doing this business, I did nothing but observe the top earners. At first I could see some obvious traits that separate them from most people but I suspected there was a deeper secret to doing this business. Based on inputs from the Phoenix leaders and other successful networkers, I now know there is. Here is what I have learned so far:
Stage 1 – Before You Join
Choose a good company – one where you can be comfortable endorsing the product because after all, you’ll be sponsoring friends and most of those who will join do so because they trust you.
Know who runs the show – I learned that a lot of network marketing companies fold because the owners and founders themselves are not used to earning millions. Some go corrupt while others just melt from the challenge. Make sure the owner knows how to do business.
Know the Uplines – Uplines are your guide. If the top earners in your company are no longer accessible, you might as well forget it. One reason I joined Royale was the attitude of the Phoenix leaders, particularly Doc Butch. Now, 5 months in, he treats my new downlines like old friends and it’s a great plus to have someone of that calibre mentor you and your team.
Stage 2 – Just after Joining
Decide – Most people get burned in this business because they skip this first step which for me is the most important of all. In Paolo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist, someone said to Santiago, a boy searching for a lost treasure that ‘if you really want it, the universe will conspire to help you”. There is something about being 100% decided to do networking, it helps you through the toughest part which is unfortunately the first part.
Know What to Expect – If you were a boxer in a 12-round match and your coach told you that your opponent will land jabs from the 1st to the 9th round and that you would get hurt but won’t be knocked out and that if you are still standing you’ll land some big blows from the 10th to the 12th and will win the match, will you follow the fight plan and still fight?
The nature of network marketing follows time compounding in which the longer you stay in, the better it gets (assuming you ARE pouring effort building your network). You usually don’t feel the effects of good income until around 6 months of doing the business. But when you start earning substantially, the income increases pretty fast. You just have to ride the challenge of the first few months and keep punching.
Build Your Foundation – When starting, it is advisable not to do anything yet. The first step should be to learn how to do the business – TRAIN. Some view it as a waste of time but leaders view it as a building your foundation. Training does not have to be formal. It could be as simple as meeting your upline often (1x/wk) and letting him or her guide you what to do.
Build your presentation materials. Attend good presentations all the time. Absorb everything first because you will need every ounce of information you get to build your people network.
Dedicate Your Effort – This business really needs mental toughness and perseverance. I discovered a secret that keeps me going: It helps if you dedicate the effort for someone or something that will move you to action no matter what the circumstances are. I carry a picture of my son always and when I feel down, I simply look at it and remember that I dedicate this effort to him, it works like a charm every time.
Stage 3 – Planting Your Seeds
Make Inviting a Habit – At this stage, think like a balut vendor. Balut vendors don’t just focus on one street or worse focus on one house! They go around the neighbourhood inviting people to buy balut. If one of your friends doesn’t want to listen to you, don’t force it, go to the next friend.
I have learned to always keep a brochure or pamphlet with me wherever I go. I’m always ready to invite whenever an opportunity arises. Sow your seeds all the time. I have had people whom I invited months ago join just recently. It turns out, some people take a long time to think and decide about doing something so just be patient and invite, invite, invite. Make it a habit.
“Keep on sowing your seeds, for you never know which will grow – perhaps all will” – Albert Einstein
Learn How to Present – Although invitation is the first step, networking is a business of presentation. Presenting the business is the single most important skill you need to really experience the potential of this business.
If you are a carpenter, you need a hammer. In networking, you need your clearbook. Some may think it is ‘baduy’ but I wonder how baduy earning 50T per week is. I’d rather be baduy and be financially free than ‘may dating pero walang datung’. Presenting is so much easier if you believe in what you are doing. This is why the first 2 stages of deciding, committing and building your foundation is so important.
You Will Be Rejected – This is the one guarantee you can count on. If network marketing has a tagline it should be: Do You Want to Earn a Million per Week? Then Get Ready to Be Rejected!!!! If you do not experience getting rejected doing this business, then you are doing something wrong. Prepare for it, expect it but don’t store it.Throw rejection away! For me this used to be the hardest part, I just couldn’t shake it off that easily. Getting insulted in the middle of a presentation is no joke. Now, when I get rejected or when people make me feel bad about this business, I just shake it off and pray. My decision to see this through is greater than any rejection thrown at me. Rejection simply means you can still improve. Remember, when you are rejected, just shake it off, vitamins lang yan.
“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” - Bo Bennett
At this stage, do not expect a check.
Stage 4 – Nurturing Stage
Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow – Every time you sponsor someone, slow down. Being an upline is a big responsibility. You have to make sure your new downline knows what to do. Focus on each new member first and make sure they make the proper first steps. I have learned to sit down with each new downline and understand their goals and make them understand what they are going to be facing. Make them understand the real nature of the business, not just the rewards but also the challenges. Some guys can sponsor hundreds of direct referrals, earn big and then later on get confused why the big income does not come. Teaching downlines know how to do the business may be slow at first but this system pays dividends in the long run.
Increase Your Knowledge – When you become the upline, you become the source of energy, motivation and knowledge. This is where your long trainings come in handy. Read books on leadership, motivation, business and product knowledge. Ask your uplines if you don’t know.
Follow the 80-20 Rule – Look for downlines who are interested in the business and show commitment. Spend 80% of your time with these downlines. From a business and management perspective, you gain more by developing your performers. At this stage, your potential leaders will already start to emerge. Spend 20% of your time on the other downlines because you’ll never know when they will start to move.
Own the Business – One common pitfall I saw was the over reliance of people on their uplines. They let their uplines present and caddy them all the time. The top earners and fast rising stars are usually independent and treat their uplines like partners. These guys go their own way and treat the business like it’s their own business. Uplines are a great help especially if they are accessible but the absence of uplines shouldn’t be a reason for you to not do the business. Only you can be accountable for your success.
Look for Leaders – Leaders are one of a kind. These are the type of people who do not need any help yet perform greatly, show commitment and are always hungry for more. Leaders don’t emerge right away. According to the uplines, in the Royale Cavite group, it took six months for the first true leaders to really emerge. In a binary system, you only need 1 leader per side to really grow your network. One sign that you may have a leader is that your downline does not consult you but moves on his or her own doing the business. Don’t leave it at that, show your support.
[Here is the catch: It takes one to know one. Which means in order to have a great network, you need to have at least one leader per side of a binary. In order to find the leaders, you have to know what leaders are. In order to know what leaders are, you have to be one yourself.]
At this stage, expect small checks.
Stage 5 – Harvesting
At this stage you should have a pretty substantial network (at least 60 downlines). Here is what you should be doing to grow the network:
Develop Your Leaders – Meet them often. Learn to motivate them. The real leaders will probably surpass you in skills and it’s ok, let them grow. Most of your time should be spent chatting with them. But since actions speak louder than words, you need to be a good example.
Remember the FOLLOW UPLINE rule. Your downlines follow whatever positive habit you do and will magnify whatever negative habits you do.
But even if your upline is such a bad example, try not to follow that upline. Instead, follow your upline’s upline until you see someone you can emulate.
Enhance Your Skills – By now you should be able to present to a big crowd of 50 or more people. You should be the master of the MAM (Meeting After Meeting )and of Closing. You should radiate the confidence because more and more people will be looking up to you and following what you do.
Learn to Motivate – In the Phoenix Group, the leaders who know how to motivate best are also the top earners. You have now become the lighthouse of your group and there is no shying away from the limelight anymore. You cannot earn P100T per week while staying unknown and incognito. At this stage, the spotlight is on you, you might as well learn to shine.
At this stage, expect big checks that will continue to increase.
I really, really hope I helped in making you understand what network marketing really is. They call this the GET RICH SURE not the get rich quick business. I also hope that the Royale Business Club can help in making network marketing respectable again. It’s so sad to see a lot of our kababayans suffer financially when there is a very rewarding business they could do here.
Til next time!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
The One Thing that Makes Networking a Powerful Business
If you are looking to be financially free in a short amount of time you should definitely consider network marketing as a business. It’s because of one reason only: LEVERAGE.
No other business can compare to Network Marketing’s use of the Law of Leverage.
Before proceeding, let me explain what leverage is. Rane Panaligan, in his book Law of Leverage says:
“The word leverage came from the French word ‘levier’ which simply means to raise or elevate; to lessen the burden...to give a minimum input that achieves maximum results; to multiply time, effort and money...or the ability to gain more with less effort.”
A simple example of the use of leverage would be a door knob. You exert almost no effort turning door knobs because the knob is designed to multiply the force you exert in turning so that the mechanism opens without effort. Another example is the tire wrench. Have you ever seen bus drivers replace flat tires on their buses? They use very long poles to turn the bolts because if they use a simple wrench, they would not be able to maximize their force. Even if they don’t know it, they have just used leverage.
Simply stated, leverage makes life easier because it multiplies your effort.
You can use the law of leverage in personal finance as well. In fact, whatever you do be it employment or business, you can use it to your advantage.
Leverage in Employment – Leverage exists not only in business, it also exists in employment. People who have staff doing some of their work for them (we call them bosses) use their staff’s time to produce more. The staff can also employ leverage through the use of technology (cellphones, computers, equipment) to do part of the work for them. But the use of leverage in employment is limited.
For example: Most people who have no staff work 8 hours per day. It would be very hard to increase this to 12 productive hours per day. And the highest that person can go is 24 hours of work per day.
Leverage in Business – Most businesses can add to the 24 productive hours through the leverage provided by the owner’s employees. The more employees the business has, the more productive hours are generated.
For example, a businessman employs 4 employees working 8 hours per day. He can now count a total of 32 (8 hours x 4 people) productive hours towards his business and has now surpassed the limit of 24 hours he can spend if he did it all by himself. Robert Kiyosaki calls this the leverage of OPT or Other People’s Time.
Leverage in Networking – When it comes to the use of leverage, there is no other business that optimizes the law better than the business of network marketing.
For example:
If you spend 8 hours doing network marketing and you have no downlines, you get 8 productive hours.
[YOU = 8 HOURS]
If you have 2 downlines doing 4 hours per day, you get an additional 8 hours of productive work that benefits you and you raise the total productive hours of your network to 16.
[YOU (8 hours) + 2 downlines (4 hours each) = 16 HOURS]
If your downlines have 2 downlines each working 4 hours per day, you have now 4 more people X 4 hours resulting to another 16 productive hours. You now have a total of 32 productive hours and you have already surpassed the maximum limit of 24 hours you can use if you are simply doing a business all by yourself.
[YOU( 8 hours) + 2 downlines (4 hours each) + 4 downlines’ downlines (4 hours each) = 32 HOURS]
Now imagine having a network of 100 people spending only 1 hour per day doing the networking business. That’s 100 productive hours per day which directly benefits the network marketer businessman.
What happens if your network reaches 1000 people doing 1 hour of productive business per day?
On top of this, networking has a built-in mechanism that eventually turn it into a beast of a business if you are serious about it: The Network Grows Exponentially.
I thought I understood the power of the Law of Leverage when I read Rich Dad Poor Dad (by Robert Kiyosaki) but I never saw it in the light of network marketing. I now understood why some people earned millions doing this business.
Also, comparing network marketing with my traditional business, I saw that in my traditional business only one guy can use the law of leverage – me, because I own the business. In network marketing, everyone has the opportunity to use leverage if they just choose to. It is not an employer – employee relationship. It’s more like a business partnership. But here, instead of having just a couple of business partners, you can have hundreds, even thousands of business partners.
For those without enough capital to start a business, I can recommend only 1 thing: Start your own network marketing business with a reputable company. People always say “Sipag at Tiyaga lang Yan”. Kalokohan. My uncle is a farmer and he possesses all the sipag at tiyaga a man can have but he never seem to find the financial freedom he deserves. There is a missing ingredient to sipag at tiyaga.
It’s Sipag + Tiyaga + Strategy. And one strategy that is sure to work with Sipag at Tiyaga is employing the Law of Leverage. Parang kare-kare at bagoong yan, they go together.
My wife and now own 2 businesses. Our laundry business, has now a total of 150 productive hours per day after a span of 5 years of operations. Our network marketing business in Royale now has about 50 productive hours per day after 5 months. Both businesses took a lot of hard work to put up. And both businesses are very rewarding. But I must admit that the network marketing business has some characteristics that make it unique and exciting, thanks to the leverage.
One of the top earners in Royale said he has around 3000 people in his network. If those people just worked 1 hour per day, that would give him 3000 productive hours per day. That is like accomplishing in one day what an 8-hour per day person accomplishes in 1 year!
Network Marketing is a great business. And it is one of a kind when it comes to using the LAW OF LEVERAGE. If you have the right company to build a network for and if you know the right approach to building your network, it could become financially satisfying after a couple of years. Knowing this and setting my goal in accelerating my financial freedom, I think I can now accept being called a networker.
Next Blog: How to Really Succeed in Networking.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
I Hate Network Marketing
I used to hate network marketing.
I remember a lady going to our apartment asking if she could explain her networking business concept to my staff. I gave her permission but I stayed in the bedroom the whole time because I knew her real target was me and my wife.
Network marketing carries a negative connotation to it. And for good reason too. Most network marketing companies often hype up their motivational spills just to entice members to continue doing the business. It often ends up catastrophically because the business concept that is being hyped is at best questionable. I did some research into this type of business and here are some objections I usually hear:
1. The business concept involves selling some exotic product with exotic qualities. The main drawback of which is after a while, you begin to wonder what you are selling in the first place. In my research of networking companies, I recently attended a company selling some sort of green liquid which reportedly came from plants and was manufactured in Malaysia. It supposedly cures a lot of illnesses but I could not see any BFAD accreditation on its markings. As the guests tried the drink, I begin to wonder how in the world are you supposed to sell stuff like this? I don’t think I can. Mas maganda pa mag-aral na lang ng magik, kikita pa ako.
2. The hype is stronger than the product. At another seminar I attended, I found out that you have to shell out approximately P1,200 for a membership ID and a catalog. Wow, that is some expensive ID! But the members were going crazy about the compensation plan because trainors were hyping the product with technical terms (I heard polysaccharide being mentioned - di ba asukal lang yun?). I found out that a lot of members shelled out P10T-90T to buy products they could not sell outside. Tsk.
3. The focus is on the compensation, not the product. One networker came to our shop one day and pretended to ask about Royale. I found out his real intention was to sell me how much better the compensation plan his company has compared to Royale and proceeded to show me dollar signs everywhere. I told him politely that there is so much more than money in the networking business. There should be integrity too, but I don’t think he got my point. His company is now closed.
This and other horror stories are so rampant that people tend to bundle up all networking companies together and throw them in the fires of hell. I used to think that way too.
But 5 months ago, I was exposed to another type of network marketing by a businessman who was also into networking. Among his businesses: owns dental clinics, a tilapia fish pond, a canteen, an auto detailing and distributes Republic Cement. And naturally my first question was:
Bakit? Bakit ka pa nagnenetwork, nasisiraan ka na ba ng bait?
I got so curious, I researched. And the more I found out about the good parts of this business, the more I wanted to learn about it.
At naging networker na nga rin po ako.
Yup, even it meant going against the tide.
It was terrible! The prejudice against this type of business if overwhelming that people who are not prepared to do it awakes to a shock every time they try to do it.
I am often asked, why? Why did I do network marketing when I knew what I was going into? Why not just stay content with my other business and have my peace? “Akala ko allergic ka dyan??”
Well, simple lang at maganda ang sagot. Promise.
But I am out of time so I will write it in my next blog soon! Stay tuned!Friday, February 22, 2008
The Art of Presenting
Presenting is the lifeblood of any word of mouth marketing business. As those that are already ‘veterans’ in this business say: YOU ARE NOT IN BUSINESS UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW TO PRESENT.
That is easier said than done. Because according to statistics, the fear of public speech ranks second only to the fear of death.
There are ways to prepare for public presentations. The first step is to go 1 on 1. 1 on 1 talks are easier to manage because it is not that structured. And you can change your style according to who you are talking to. There are concrete ways to being effective in 1 on 1 presentations.
1. Don’t start right away – Take time to know the person you are talking to. What is his background? What are his priorities? What is his opinion about entrepreneurship? The more you know about the person, the more you can relate the presentation to his experiences. Spend time to chit chat because this is sometimes your one and only chance to do your research and increase your chance that can relate to what you are talking about. Of course, if you are talking to your best friend, then I assume you know the ins and outs of his outlook and attitude and you can fire away faster.
2. Sell a Solution – The real objective of your talk is not to sell a product or a company. Your one and only objective is to SELL A SOLUTION. This is why it is so important to have small talk before you begin the actual business presentation so that you will be able to identify problems. Be careful not to sell a solution which is not needed. I remember talking to a loading dealer encouraging her to add on to her income through franchises. But because I did not do my research, it was too late to find out she was one of the few who are content with what they earn. Needless to say, I did not close the deal. Remember, people do not buy things, they buy solutions to their problems.
3. Be Excited! – In college, I used to really get bored with my Physics classes. Physics was one of my favourite subjects but I could not bear to listen to a boring lecture for 1 hour, my mind was flying after 5 minutes. No matter how structured and arranged the presentation is, if your audience does not sense any excitement, you will lose their interest. In fact, based on my own experience, people are more interested in listening if you are excited and enthusiastic about your talk.
4. Pick the right time and place – Do not present at your guest’s office or home. Do not present during lunch break. There are too many distractions (kids, telephones, co-workers) for it to be effective. Do not present during reunions, parties, gimmicks and outings. As for big groups, do not present in general assemblies where there are other topics because your topic will be forgotten.
Choose a neutral place like a coffee shop and make your guest sit facing a wall if possible to avoid distractions. If presenting to a group make sure that the group understands that it will be a talk about business so they will know what to expect.
5. Look Successful – People are always judging others by the way they look. Use this to your advantage by dressing 1 level higher than the person you are talking to. No T-shirts and shorts please! If the person you are talking to will be wearing a polo, wear a long sleeved polo and tie if possible.
6. Use visual aids – Since presenting is your business then visual aids are your tools. Imagine if a person told you a business concept without any visuals. Or imagine describing the Red Ninja cart without pictures. It would be very, very hard.
7. Watch out for positive feedback – Based on my experience, people always begin with crossed arms, a sign that they have a closed or doubting mind. I just keep on presenting until I see some positive signs like uncrossing of the arms, raising questions or going nearer my presentation materials. You have to watch out when this happens because it means you said something that interested them. When you figure out what caught their attention, it is a likely sign that you have found the solution you should sell.
8. Make the presentation personal – People want to know who they are talking to. If you are talking to a complete stranger, you should share your personal stories. This helps them understand you more. The more they know you, they more they’ll trust you. Stories have a way of getting people to relax. If you can tell jokes, it’s much, much more effective. But if you can’t it’s better to just stick to stories. J
9. Practice, practice, practice – Your first presentation won’t be very good, this I can promise. But it is in this 1st presentation where you will learn 90% of your mistakes. If you correct those, your second one will be so much better. Keep on going until you hit your 5th presentation. By this time, you will have developed your own style. By the time you get to your 10th presentation, it will be as easy. 1 on 1’s will practice you for small group presentations. Small group presentations will prepare you for large group presentations.
I’m hoping that these tips will help you do this business and other businesses you might be starting. If you really are nervous, try to start with someone close to you, just to get the 1st one out of your system. I assure you, things will get better as you go.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Why You Should Consider Network Marketing as a Business - Part1
Quick, tell me what comes to mind if I say this word: NETWORKING.
If I have been asked 6 months ago, I would have replied: SCAM! PYRAMIDING! FLY BY NIGHT! But if you asked me today, I would reply differently.
I no longer can trace why such a black eye exists for networking. But I suspect it’s largely because 1. It has been abused by illegal companies using MLM-like compensation plans for illegal purposes (e.g. Franc Swiss) and 2. People tried it, didn’t succeed, licked their wounds and added to the horror stories.
When I heard about Royale last May 07, I just raised my eyebrows, decided it was a scam and forgot about it.
5 months and a lot of text messages from Ellen (my sponsor) later, I was ‘forced’ to attend Doc Butch’s business presentation and 3 days later, I was a member.
It didn’t happen that fast. Before I became a member I noticed a few things:
1.Ellen seemed to be on fire. I see her on the bus going to Quezon City after her shift, she literally gets no sleep. But she seems to be always excited. Either she was on drugs or something else was going on. When I talk to her, I had the certainty she is going to succeed in whatever she was into. I seldom meet people as driven as her and I am always intrigued when I do.
2.Doc Butch is already wealthy. Not from networking but from his other businesses. I could not think of any reason why he would subject himself to the humiliation of being a networker.
3.The income they were generating was pretty impressive, even from a business standpoint. I thought if they could do it part time, why not me? I needed a challenge.
From the time I became a member, I researched about this business. And the more I know about it, the more I appreciate it. Here are a few things I have unearthed I would like to share to you.
HOW CREDIBLE IS NETWORK MARKETING?
For this part, I would like to quote Josiah Go verbatim. Josiah Go is a well known entrepreneur coach and teaches marketing in both La Salle and Ateneo De Manila Universities. He has written many marketing books. In one book titled Build, Grow and Sustain Your NETWORK MARKETING Distributor Business (picture at the top), he wrote specifically about Network Marketing.
“Let me start with some schools that have been teaching network marketing – University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Houston in the United States. In Asia, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) would regularly include it as one of their topics in their 2-week Marketing Strategy Course but the first known university in Asia that offered network marketing is located in the Philippines – the Ateneo de Manila University. They opened network marketing as a full semester 3-unit course in June 1999.” P.30
Wow. A full semester just for network marketing? That simply means, there is a lot more to learn about this business. And if AIM is teaching it, it tells us a lot about the credibility of using network marketing as a marketing strategy.
But why do network marketing at all?
Network marketing is a form of advertising. Instead of using the radio, TV or print, companies rely on word of mouth. They rely on people to spread the buzz about a product or company. Instead of spending on radio, TV or print advertising, they use the money to compensate people who do the advertising for them. Word of mouth advertising is no slouch either.
In Neilsen’s survey titled: Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool released October 2007, word of mouth trumps all other form of advertising. To quote:
“New York October 1, 2007- Despite an ever-expanding array of advertising platforms and sources, consumers around the world still place their highest levels of trust in other consumers, according to a recent global Nielsen Internet survey.
Conducted twice-a-year among 26,486 internet users in 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East, Nielsen most recently surveyed consumers on their attitudes toward thirteen types of advertising - from conventional newspaper and television ads to branded web sites and consumer-generated content.
"Advertisers around the world are able to reach consumers across an increasingly diverse range of media platforms," said David McCallum, the global managing director for Nielsen's Customized Research Services. "Even so, the recommendation of someone else remains the most trusted sources of information when consumers decide which products and services to buy...” source: http://www.nielsen.com/media/2007/pr_071001.html
NETWORK MARKETING VS PYRAMIDING
Because of the similarities of compensation plans used by legal network marketing companies and illegal pyramiding companies, it is no surprise people mistake one for the other. The illegal companies were quite good in blurring the boundaries between them and the legal companies. Some can even get SEC registrations!
There are multiple compensation schemes developed by network marketing companies. When Forever Living first became a hit, we were introduced to Stairstep Plans. Companies like GoldQuest introduced and popularized the Binary plan which was much more simple to understand. And there lies the rub.
Because of the popularity and simplicity of the Binary plan (Left, Right; Group A, Group B, etc.), most pyramiding companies also used it as their marketing plan of choice.
How do we distinguish pyramids from legal companies? There are hard and fast rules but there are some points you can check. Pyramiding companies usually:
1. Have no products. They just have some form of ‘membership’ or investment fee but you get nothing in return. Some pyramids do have products, but they are sold way, way above the price they sell outside. An example of this scam was the Prepaid Cards being sold at an absurd P12,000++ !
2. They promise BIG RETURNS WITHOUT ANY FORM OF WORK. You just sit back and let them do the work for you which is pretty tempting for most guys. Aside from big returns, they also promise FAST Returns on Investments.
People do make big money in legitimate network marketing businesses. But they do it through hard, consistent work selling the products and building their network of distributors.
WHY SHOULD I BOTHER WITH NETWORK MARKETING?
In business, you usually have 2 major components: Your Money and Your Sweat. Your sweat equity is the effort you pour into the business for it to succeed. I remember our first months in the laundry business. My wife and I did everything from washing, ironing, folding and packing to deliveries! I understood the importance of sweat equity back then. We poured our hearts out without taking anything back as salaries yet.
Some companies can succeed with minimal sweat equity and lots of money. Some businesses can grow big with little cash but lots of sweat equity and network marketing is one of them.
Robert Kiyosaki, in his book: Business School for People Who Like Helping other People (picture also at the top of this blog) lists the advantages of Network Marketing as a business:
1. It is a democratic business. Anyone from any and all walks of life CAN succeed in this business. No credentials needed.
2. It offers real life business education by requiring the distributor to learn street smart selling techniques (as opposed to learning in the classroom) before the person can succeed.
3. It is a business that pulls people up, not push people down. In networking, you can’t succeed if you do not help people understand the business.
4. Network Marketing uses the power of networks, just like any big business (internet, banks, gas stations etc.). Your success ultimately depends on how big you can grow your people network.
And a lot more values which separates it from most traditional businesses in its character.
Knowing these facts helped me understand this business more. And the more I understood, the more I appreciated it.
I hope this blog helped you understand some of the most common misunderstood aspects of this business. Since this is a business option in Royale, I’m hoping to write a multi-part blog to help you learn some of the techniques top networkers use in their success.
Till next time!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
7 Ways to Help a Franchisee Succeed
My friend Edwin and I met up last night to have a chat and visit a nearby Royale Business Club franchise. But when we arrived at the place, the cart was no longer there and in place a pawnshop was being constructed. We don't know what happened to it, it could have moved somewhere else but it really got me thinking about the possibility of losing a business.
I know this possibility is something very real in people's minds. I get asked quite a lot how much risk these franchises pose and if they are sure investments.
While I could not think of any surefire, fail-proof businesses, there are some things we can do to help small businesses take root and survive the first critical months. Some of these come from my experience, some come from business books I've read.
Here are some I would like to share to you.
1. Conduct a Survey
Before we started our laundry/dry cleaning business, my wife Charm made a simple questionnaire about customer preferences regarding laundry. I was surprised by the results but found out later on that they were indeed true. This simple questionnaire could be done for any small business. You can ask your target market if they would consider purchasing your product for the prices the franchisor has set. If you are considering food, you can ask your customers what time of the day they eat your product or if they eat it at all. This survey would give some supporting data on whether your hunch is correct. If you don't have any hunches, you should definitely conduct a survey.
2.Spread the Word
If your business has started, it's not enough to just operate it. You have to spread the word, tell people you exist. I remember the time when we walked house to house, knocking on doors to give away flyers, telling the people we exist. We chatted with potential customers and 80% of them tried us out. Another time, we hired students to hand out flyers for us, this time only about 2% responded. Try streamers, samples, stickers and other affordable marketing strategies to get people to know you. A good book that really helps in this type of marketing is Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson.
3. Deliver
Customers, especially us Pinoys love convenience. It's surprising to note that when you eat in the US or even Hong Kong fast food restos, you are expected to clean up your waste and throw it in the wastebasket. But not here. Here, we got guys cleaning up after us (isn't that cool?). Even if it's just a food cart, delivering the food to offices during lunch can be an effective idea. It expands your market and it beats your competitors who don't deliver.
4. Minimize Expenses
When starting out a new business, cash flow is very important. You can be profitable but still not make it because your cash is not returned (flowed) back fast enough for you to pay for your expenses. This is why cash flow protection is vital. To help you with this, you need to protect your cash vigilantly by minimizing expenses. Just like day to day spending, expenses can really pile up fast in a small business. It's important to separate personal spending from business expense so the business can be sustained by it's own profit and cash flow.
5. (Repeat) Customer is King
Hire someone who can chat with customers well. There is greater chance of success if your customers return for repeat business. And every business is a relationship-based business, even food. I think one of the reasons why Country Chicken is one of the best-selling cart in the RBC main office is Ate Bing, the saleslady. For me, she has one of the best attitudes among those in charge of the carts and she makes a lot of friends who buy from her constantly.
6. Act and React
Once the business is set up, continue making observations about your customers, location and competitors. The more you understand, the better your can fine tune your operations. If your location is not the best, maybe you can request for a transfer to a better place. If a competitor sets up nearby, here is where your customer service should come handy. Contrary to popular opinion, a business is a living, breathing entity and sometimes we need to constantly change the situation for it to succeed.
7. Treat it like a Child
My wife and I constantly refer to our first business, Suds, as our first 'child'. No kidding, it gave us lots of sleepless nights and challenges just like changing nappies for Eli, my son. But it has now reached a point where we could leave it for some time without thinking about it too much. I remember a friend who asked me how to set up a laundry shop and I asked him back who's going to take care of it. His reply was "Gusto ko, remote control lang". Ouch. I told him to forget about it. I don't think any rookie entrepreneur should ever leave his business at the control of others, it's a potential recipe for disaster. Be hands on at least until you get the hang of it. That way, you'll know if something fishy is going on when you leave it. You'll also get to know the biz like a person. And you'll know when it's demanding growth already. Someday, all the hard work will pay off and the business will take care of you.
Good Day!
I know this possibility is something very real in people's minds. I get asked quite a lot how much risk these franchises pose and if they are sure investments.
While I could not think of any surefire, fail-proof businesses, there are some things we can do to help small businesses take root and survive the first critical months. Some of these come from my experience, some come from business books I've read.
Here are some I would like to share to you.
1. Conduct a Survey
Before we started our laundry/dry cleaning business, my wife Charm made a simple questionnaire about customer preferences regarding laundry. I was surprised by the results but found out later on that they were indeed true. This simple questionnaire could be done for any small business. You can ask your target market if they would consider purchasing your product for the prices the franchisor has set. If you are considering food, you can ask your customers what time of the day they eat your product or if they eat it at all. This survey would give some supporting data on whether your hunch is correct. If you don't have any hunches, you should definitely conduct a survey.
2.Spread the Word
If your business has started, it's not enough to just operate it. You have to spread the word, tell people you exist. I remember the time when we walked house to house, knocking on doors to give away flyers, telling the people we exist. We chatted with potential customers and 80% of them tried us out. Another time, we hired students to hand out flyers for us, this time only about 2% responded. Try streamers, samples, stickers and other affordable marketing strategies to get people to know you. A good book that really helps in this type of marketing is Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson.
3. Deliver
Customers, especially us Pinoys love convenience. It's surprising to note that when you eat in the US or even Hong Kong fast food restos, you are expected to clean up your waste and throw it in the wastebasket. But not here. Here, we got guys cleaning up after us (isn't that cool?). Even if it's just a food cart, delivering the food to offices during lunch can be an effective idea. It expands your market and it beats your competitors who don't deliver.
4. Minimize Expenses
When starting out a new business, cash flow is very important. You can be profitable but still not make it because your cash is not returned (flowed) back fast enough for you to pay for your expenses. This is why cash flow protection is vital. To help you with this, you need to protect your cash vigilantly by minimizing expenses. Just like day to day spending, expenses can really pile up fast in a small business. It's important to separate personal spending from business expense so the business can be sustained by it's own profit and cash flow.
5. (Repeat) Customer is King
Hire someone who can chat with customers well. There is greater chance of success if your customers return for repeat business. And every business is a relationship-based business, even food. I think one of the reasons why Country Chicken is one of the best-selling cart in the RBC main office is Ate Bing, the saleslady. For me, she has one of the best attitudes among those in charge of the carts and she makes a lot of friends who buy from her constantly.
6. Act and React
Once the business is set up, continue making observations about your customers, location and competitors. The more you understand, the better your can fine tune your operations. If your location is not the best, maybe you can request for a transfer to a better place. If a competitor sets up nearby, here is where your customer service should come handy. Contrary to popular opinion, a business is a living, breathing entity and sometimes we need to constantly change the situation for it to succeed.
7. Treat it like a Child
My wife and I constantly refer to our first business, Suds, as our first 'child'. No kidding, it gave us lots of sleepless nights and challenges just like changing nappies for Eli, my son. But it has now reached a point where we could leave it for some time without thinking about it too much. I remember a friend who asked me how to set up a laundry shop and I asked him back who's going to take care of it. His reply was "Gusto ko, remote control lang". Ouch. I told him to forget about it. I don't think any rookie entrepreneur should ever leave his business at the control of others, it's a potential recipe for disaster. Be hands on at least until you get the hang of it. That way, you'll know if something fishy is going on when you leave it. You'll also get to know the biz like a person. And you'll know when it's demanding growth already. Someday, all the hard work will pay off and the business will take care of you.
Good Day!
Monday, January 28, 2008
News and Updates
Jan 15, 2008
JC Fran featured in Jan-Feb issue of Entrepreneur magazine
One of Royale Business Club's franchisors, JC Fran Corp, was featured in the latest issue of Entrepreneur magazine. The article outlines JC Fran's philosophy of quality which resulted to a growth of 50 carts nationwide in just 20 months.
Jan 22, 2008
Royale VP Mar Mapala Interviewed in One Morning Show
Jan 27, 2008
Royale VP Mar Mapala and Franchisors (Galaxy Burger, TinyVille and First Blend Corp) appear in channel 4's The Young Once show.
Jan 28, 2008
Royale Business Club International Inc. to be featured today on IBC 13's 430PM news.
Feb 5, 2008
Product Centers to open in Dasmarinas (March 08) and Davao (June 08)! - It was announced in the Leaders' Meeting last Jan 31, 2008. The Dasma Product Center will be located either at Dasmarinas Highway or at Robinson's Pala-pala. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Strategy Session - Become a Stockist
Stockists versus Franchising
I have been asked may times which is a better option, becoming a stockist or becoming a franchisee. Before I understood the incentives, I thought that they should have been pretty even.
But given the incentives now, I would have to say becoming a stockist would give you better odds at better income.
For those not familiar with the term, a stockist is basically a Royale member who pays an additional 50T and gets 50T worth of Royale products. The stockists have bigger discounts than regular members and can thus sell to regular members for a profit. They can also sell to non-members.
For example: Royale sells the L-GlutaPower product for P1400 to non-members, P700 to members and P560 to Stockists.
Stockists have a number of advantages over regular franchisees:
1. They are mobile - they are not tied to a single location.
2. They require lower capital - only 50T to become a stockist.
3. They have a captured market in the form of Royale members in their area.
4. Most importantly, becoming a stockist increases your chance to partake in the profit sharing.
The Profit Sharing Program
Please make sure you read the incentives blog before you proceed. You can read it here.
First off: Please understand that each time you buy Royale in-house products, you get points. For example for L-GlutaPower, you get 275 points for the regular bottle and 375 for the L-GlutaPower700.
In order to be part of the Royale profit sharing program (PSP) requires two things:
1. You should consistently purchase products to maintain points on a monthly basis.
AND
2.You should have 2 direct referrals that also maintain a certain level of points monthly.
Let's tackle the first condition first: You should consistently purchase products to maintain points on a monthly basis.
If you read and understood the incentives article, you will find that maintaining the required number of monthly points could be pretty hard if you just use it for personal consumption. For example, for the lowest level (PSP level 1), you are required to maintain 3500 points/month. That translates to purchasing around 13 bottles of L-GlutaPower per month or around 10 bottles of L-GlutaPower700/ month. Unless you are a 'gluta junkie', you can never consume that much.
Here is where stockists have an advantage. They buy more products from Royale (and thus have more points) because they sell the products. 13 bottles of gluta for a stockist is very achievable.
Now for the second condition: You should have 2 direct referrals that also maintain a certain level of points monthly.
At first glance, this looks hard because you now have to make sure two other people are 'gluta junkies' otherwise you don't meet the profit sharing conditions!
Don't worry, I have talked to some friends and I learned that there are certain techniques you can use to achieve this. Here are some of them:
Tips and Techniques
1. Cultivate a circle of sellers and ask your direct referrals to do the same. - Here's how it goes. Say you talk to Inday, Tata, Baby, your neighbors who are not Royale members and who might not have enough money to become members themselves. Tell them you will give them discounts on Royale products. Your goal is to cultivate distributors. You sell them the products cheaper than the Standard Retail Price so that they can sell it to others. You buy more products, you get more points. Teach your direct referral to do the same.
2. Become a stockist, cultivate a circle of sellers and get a triple head - This concept is basically the same as above. The difference is that by becoming a stockist, you have a bigger discount and thus have a higher profit margin. Also, instead of depending on your other direct referrals to maintain points, you make your other 2 heads your direct referrals and distribute points to them for maintenance.
For example: Pedro is a stockist and has a triple head. His 1st head buys products enough for 6500 points per month. He assigns the 3500 points to the 1st head and gives 1500 points each to his other heads. Voila! Now you dont have to depend on your other direct referrals to maintain points. You have the control.
Another Tip: If you buy products worth 10,000 points this month. You can opt to use just a certain number of points for this month and 'reserve' the remaining points for the next months.
More Tips
1. Tap doctors and their networks. Some doctors actually prescribe glutathione to some patients.
2. Contact friends who are active in direct selling companies such as Avon, Natasha, Dakki etc. They might be willing to sell the products for you for the profit. They get some of the money, you get the points. Example: You sell L-Gluta for just P850 instead of P1400. They think it's a deal. You make P150 (for regular members) but get the complete points.
3. Supply to pharmacies. Our products are BFAD Food Registered and could be displayed and sold in pharmacies.
4. Tap the OFW market, especially Filipinos in Japan and HongKong. I heard they are avid consumers of our products.
As with other business opportunities, you have to act fast. The faster you establish your 'sellers circle' the better. Remember: your profit sharing depends on the number of months you consistently maintain your points. If you break your maintenance just for 1 month, your hard work will be erased.
If you are interested in this business scheme, contact me for more details. I'll be glad to help.
Good luck and God bless!
I have been asked may times which is a better option, becoming a stockist or becoming a franchisee. Before I understood the incentives, I thought that they should have been pretty even.
But given the incentives now, I would have to say becoming a stockist would give you better odds at better income.
For those not familiar with the term, a stockist is basically a Royale member who pays an additional 50T and gets 50T worth of Royale products. The stockists have bigger discounts than regular members and can thus sell to regular members for a profit. They can also sell to non-members.
For example: Royale sells the L-GlutaPower product for P1400 to non-members, P700 to members and P560 to Stockists.
Stockists have a number of advantages over regular franchisees:
1. They are mobile - they are not tied to a single location.
2. They require lower capital - only 50T to become a stockist.
3. They have a captured market in the form of Royale members in their area.
4. Most importantly, becoming a stockist increases your chance to partake in the profit sharing.
The Profit Sharing Program
Please make sure you read the incentives blog before you proceed. You can read it here.
First off: Please understand that each time you buy Royale in-house products, you get points. For example for L-GlutaPower, you get 275 points for the regular bottle and 375 for the L-GlutaPower700.
In order to be part of the Royale profit sharing program (PSP) requires two things:
1. You should consistently purchase products to maintain points on a monthly basis.
AND
2.You should have 2 direct referrals that also maintain a certain level of points monthly.
Let's tackle the first condition first: You should consistently purchase products to maintain points on a monthly basis.
If you read and understood the incentives article, you will find that maintaining the required number of monthly points could be pretty hard if you just use it for personal consumption. For example, for the lowest level (PSP level 1), you are required to maintain 3500 points/month. That translates to purchasing around 13 bottles of L-GlutaPower per month or around 10 bottles of L-GlutaPower700/ month. Unless you are a 'gluta junkie', you can never consume that much.
Here is where stockists have an advantage. They buy more products from Royale (and thus have more points) because they sell the products. 13 bottles of gluta for a stockist is very achievable.
Now for the second condition: You should have 2 direct referrals that also maintain a certain level of points monthly.
At first glance, this looks hard because you now have to make sure two other people are 'gluta junkies' otherwise you don't meet the profit sharing conditions!
Don't worry, I have talked to some friends and I learned that there are certain techniques you can use to achieve this. Here are some of them:
Tips and Techniques
1. Cultivate a circle of sellers and ask your direct referrals to do the same. - Here's how it goes. Say you talk to Inday, Tata, Baby, your neighbors who are not Royale members and who might not have enough money to become members themselves. Tell them you will give them discounts on Royale products. Your goal is to cultivate distributors. You sell them the products cheaper than the Standard Retail Price so that they can sell it to others. You buy more products, you get more points. Teach your direct referral to do the same.
2. Become a stockist, cultivate a circle of sellers and get a triple head - This concept is basically the same as above. The difference is that by becoming a stockist, you have a bigger discount and thus have a higher profit margin. Also, instead of depending on your other direct referrals to maintain points, you make your other 2 heads your direct referrals and distribute points to them for maintenance.
For example: Pedro is a stockist and has a triple head. His 1st head buys products enough for 6500 points per month. He assigns the 3500 points to the 1st head and gives 1500 points each to his other heads. Voila! Now you dont have to depend on your other direct referrals to maintain points. You have the control.
Another Tip: If you buy products worth 10,000 points this month. You can opt to use just a certain number of points for this month and 'reserve' the remaining points for the next months.
More Tips
1. Tap doctors and their networks. Some doctors actually prescribe glutathione to some patients.
2. Contact friends who are active in direct selling companies such as Avon, Natasha, Dakki etc. They might be willing to sell the products for you for the profit. They get some of the money, you get the points. Example: You sell L-Gluta for just P850 instead of P1400. They think it's a deal. You make P150 (for regular members) but get the complete points.
3. Supply to pharmacies. Our products are BFAD Food Registered and could be displayed and sold in pharmacies.
4. Tap the OFW market, especially Filipinos in Japan and HongKong. I heard they are avid consumers of our products.
As with other business opportunities, you have to act fast. The faster you establish your 'sellers circle' the better. Remember: your profit sharing depends on the number of months you consistently maintain your points. If you break your maintenance just for 1 month, your hard work will be erased.
If you are interested in this business scheme, contact me for more details. I'll be glad to help.
Good luck and God bless!
Royale's 2008 Incentives
Royale introduced a lot of incentives for 2008. From just local travels to Tagaytay and Subic last 2007, we now have local and international travel, a chance to purchase a new car or house and profit sharing. The incentives were also designed so that new members could compete with old members (unlike the questionable category of just “top earners” before).
Disclaimer: This is not meant to explain all (too much details). Please visit the Royale Office or get in touch with me for more details.
There are 4 main incentives:
The Profit Sharing Program
International and Local Travel
Special Incentive Program
2008 End of Year Raffle
Some clarifications/ definitions before we start:
Personal Points – when you buy Royale Wellness and Beauty products, you get points. See catalogue for corresponding points for each product.
Network Points – You also earn a percentage of the points from the consumption of the people in your network.
Group Points – Sum of member’s personal and network points.
Corpo Accounts – Accounts with more than one person as an owner. Example: Phoenix Corpo is owned by 9 of our Phoenix leaders.
I’ll start with the simplest program
I. 2008 End of Year Raffle
What Can I Win?
i. Grand Prize - 50% down payment on a brand new Honda Civic
ii. 1st Prize – 30% down payment on a brand new Innova
iii. 2nd Prize – 20% down payment on a brand new Avanza
iv. 3rd Price – a brand new Nokia Communicator
b. How do I Qualify? – Get raffle tickets if you become or sponsor/ refer a new member (2008 new accounts only), buy a franchise, buy 1000 worth of Royale products, become or sponsor a mobile stockist or product center (you get lots of tickets if you sponsor or become a product center owner).
II. Special Incentive Program
What Can I Win?
i. Level 1 – P200,000 towards the purchase of a new car or house and lot
ii. Level 2 – P300,000 towards the purchase of a new car or house and lot
How do I Qualify?
i. Level 1 – Have 350 Pairs in your Binary Network in 365 days after you join (new, 2008 accounts only).
ii. Level 2 – Have 700 Pairs in your Binary Network 2 years after you join (new, 2008 accounts only)
iii. If you reached level 1 and level 2, you only get P100T once you reach level 2.
Did you Know? – You actually have 2 networks working for you in Royale? One is your Binary ‘pairing’ network. The other, less famous one is your Unilevel Network. But I doubt it’s going to stay ‘less famous’ for long. Watch out for my article about your existing (yes, it is already existing) Unilevel network and how to take advantage of it.
III. International and Local Travel Incentive
a. Local Travel (Jan 01 to June 30, 2008 period)
Where do I Get to Go? – Either Palawan, Boracay or Bohol.
How do I Qualify?
1. Be a Top 10 Earner – Only personal, no corpo accounts are eligible. Must have at least 6 direct referrals. Must have 9000 personal points within the period.
2. Be a Top 10 Direct Referrer – No corpo accounts. Must have at least 30 Direct Referrals for the period. Must have at least P100T income within the period. Must have 9000 personal points within the period.
b. International Travel
Where do I Get to Go? – If Royale meets the 80M income mark (which we are on target for), we will be going to either Hawaii, Australia (on a tour that includes the Great Barrier Reef), Dubai (on a Safari), or 3 European countries.
How do I Qualify?
1. Be a Top 10 Earner for the Year – No corpo accounts. Must have 12 direct referrals, must have 18,000 personal points for the year.
2. Be a Top 3 Rookie of the Year – no corpo accounts, must be a new member joining in 2008, must have at least 12 direct referrals, must have at least 250T income and have 18,000 personal points for the calendar year. (Kayang kaya niyo to)
3. Top 3 Mobile Stockist/ Product Center – must have 1M of products purchased, must have 18,000 personal points,
4. Top 3 Unilevel Earners
5. Top 1 in Personal Sales for Royale In-house products
IV. Royale Profit Sharing Program – In a nutshell, it is a profit sharing program for people who consistently push Royale’s product through personal consumption or through selling to others.
Note: This program actually use formulas which I will conveniently leave out. But please make sure you get the details if you are interested.
What Do I Get? – you get to share 10% of Royale’s NET income with the other members who qualified for the profit sharing.
How Much are We Talking About? – Royale’s Net Income last year was at least 50M according to our president. I’m pretty sure this year will be bigger, but assuming it’s the same, we are talking about 5M divided by a few people.
How do I Qualify? – There are 3 levels of qualifications. Level 3 will have the highest income among the 3.
i. Level 1 – Maintain 3500 personal points/ month. Have 2 direct referrals who maintain 1500 points/ month.
ii. Level 2 – Gets 2x as much group points as a level 1. Maintain 5,000 personal points/ month. Has 2 direct referrals who are level 1s or has 4 direct referrals who maintain 1500 points/ month.
iii. Level 3 – Gets 3x as much group points compared to a level 1. Maintains 10,000 personal points/ month. Has 2 direct referrals who are level 2s. Or has 4 direct referrals who are level 1s. Or has 8 direct referrals who maintain 1500 points/ month.
Ano daw Yun? – Nakakalito ba? Ok, let’s backtrack. In summary, you have to be a consistent Royale product purchaser and must have direct referrals who are the same (consistent Royale product purchasers). You and your direct referrals must maintain certain monthly product points.
i. Case 1 – What if you meet the monthly product points but do not have direct referrals who meet the criteria? Answer: Sorry, you don’t qualify.
ii. Case 2 – What if you are a Level 2 and have direct referrals who are level 3’s? Answer: That’s good for you, you get a level 2 profit share. But if this happens to you, you should plan to be a level 3 to increase your share.
iii. Case 3 – What if you and your referrals consistently maintain points from Jan – Mar, did not meet the criteria Apr – June and then came back and met the criteria from July to December? Answer: Since one of the key criterion is you have to be CONSISTENT, once you drop off a single month, your record gets wiped off. But since in this case, since you were consistent again from July to December, you get 6/12 prorated profit sharing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)