I’m very glad to hear about cutting back on the functions. Many people attend the functions and dupe themselves into thinking that they are “doing the business” when, in fact, the only time you are “doing the business” is when you are setting up or servicing a customer, getting a new personal or new in-depth IBO started, or are prospecting for new IBOs or customers. Of course, there are other detail things that must be done also, but, really, how much training and motivation does one need? It is nice, but it can be overdone.

I just long for the day (and I think it is coming) when everybody in the business makes the majority of their income from the business and not from system money.

I believe when a new person is trained to get their 20 to 30 (or more) customers and hit their 400 PV the first few months in the business, I believe that the retention rate will go way up because they are profitable from the start, and they will go Platinum quicker because it will take less people. It takes 150 people @ 50 PV to do 7500 and it takes 19 people @ 400 PV to do 7600. I’ll take the latter because more people want to just buy the products than want to do the business, no matter how much it pays.

I respect your efforts to build a business with a strong retail focus, and limited or no system support. I really do commend you for what your are accomplishing.

I just wanted to point out that the last four Yager Free Enterprise events that I have been to have had a product expo, with training, including the one last weekend. I’ve also been to the Chicago National Spotlight, and I find the Free Enterprise product expos are comparable in scale to the National Spotlight Tours.

During the last few years my support team has been paring down the functions. They’ve stopped supporting “Weekend of the Diamonds”, the major spring Yager event; and they’ve chopped an hour off the monthly weekend functions, and reduced the price from $25 to $15. I find the local weekend functions to be the most valuable. If I could do it over again, I would have skipped this year’s Free Enterprise Celebration. It’s become very heavy on new pin recognition, and I’ve lost interest in having non-English speaking IBOs/ABOs screaming at us. (You can do it!!!! Go Diamond!!!!) I’d rather get information. However, I do congratulate all the French Canadians, Koreans, Central Americans, Poles, and Chinese who received recognition on the Yager stage.

(2) Just 2 Double X customers or 3 Artistry essentials clients a month would pay for a $125 ticket, so it’s not exactly a big expense to cover. If you can’t afford a hotel, sleep in a car or a tent, whatever – or just sell a few more Artistry essentials and Double X

(3) I find one every 3-4 months is necessary for me, if you don’t, then don’t go. Most people don’t go, so clearly folk aren’t “forced” to go and don’t have any major trouble making the decision not to go.

(4) One of their main functions is to provide inspiration to new IBOs and newer IBOs in your group, not training. Training is best done in smaller groups. However, your odds of getting other IBOs to go if you don’t are about zero, and in my experience the people who turn up to the smaller training sessions are the ones who go the bigger functions, not the other way around. If quarter after quarter you have no new IBOs and it’s just you, then your either only interested in the retailing side of things, hence it’s probably not that great a value for you, or you need to reevaluate your entire business.