Southwestern Company‘s Great Recruiters Seminar 2011 was highlighted by several alumni guest appearances.  Our new product Dream Team provided a lot of knowledge and excitement for the attendees. The new online product, named Southwestern Advantage, consists of several elements, each under the development of a separate expert.

Ethan Shen (4 summer bookperson), our Technology Consultant & Project Manager, promoted the new aspects and features of Advantage online.  Its mission: 1) to help young people realize their academic and personal potential and 2) to help Southwestern Company managers double their profits.

David Kong (also a 4 summer bookperson), another of the product’s key developers, walked the students through an overview of how Advantage would integrate and enhance the books.  David’s specialty is SEO and is the creator of both the Redline and FORCE websites.

Haley Price (3 summers) not only is developing a children’s site—complete with videos, blogs and articles to help young students get better at life—but she also delivered an energetic speech Thursday evening to all the attendees.  Haley worked previously at Microsoft and we are excited to have her back at Southwestern Company.

Kate (Walker) Raidt (10 summer book veteran) went on to describe her vision of a parent component to the new online product, which would provide advice on a range of parenting topics.  Her site would also feature a Mom of the Month—someone who is doing an outstanding job with her kids!  Kate also authored the book, The Million Dollar Parent.

If there weren’t enough alumni energy already, GRS culminated with an inspirational talk by former head of the Elite Eagle organization, JT Olson.  JT shared how his training and background helped him with his new project, the Both Hands Foundation.  Both Hands is a non-profit ministry that serves widows in the community and helps raise funds for families who would like to adopt.  JT stressed making a difference and how student managers could have an impact on someone else’s life through their involvement with Southwestern Company.

many of my readers know that i sold books door-to-door for the southwestern company for 3 years while in college.  anyone that knows me personally is also aware that i considered this experience to be one of the most challenging of my life.  it was also remarkably gratifying, humbling, and immensely educating.

ironically, all these years later, i now work at southwestern again.  only this time - in a different capacity.

last week i attended their great recruiters seminar in nashville, tennessee.  since my days on the bookfield, i’ve met many successful businesspeople, physicians, entrepreneurs,  musicians,  lawyers, professors.  you name it… 

but i must say, that spending time with these tenacious and hard-working young book sales men and women … had me exceptionally inspired.

one of 2010′s top salespeople, jenny nut, said the following:   “success is not easy; but it is simple.  keep a positive attitude, believe in yourself, believe in others… find a purpose …  you will never go anywhere if you don’t move your feet.”

this is a 21-year old girl who spent the summer slinging books door-to-door.  getting told “no” more than 40 times a day.  working tirelessly toward a goal which she adamantly considered to be well worth the effort.  this is a person who has the gut and the determination to go after what she wants.  this is also a person who made over $20,000 in 90 days. 

and no, the business is not only about money.  money is not the sole measure of success, here or anywhere for that matter.  but i can testify (based on experience), that if one person makes this much of it through the program – they had an undeniably strong work ethic, a positive and resiliant mental attitude, and a mission to succeed.

so here’s to you, bookpeople.  here’s to  the grit, the gumption, the humility, the fortitude – and all other great things it takes to do this job well. 

you inspire me.

One of the challenges that I encountered when recruiting college students for the Southwestern Company summer program, was conveying to a non-business major how sales experience would benefit them.  Most of us quickly learn once we leave academia that everything is some form of sales.  That statement has been validated every time I talk to a Southwestern alumnus that is not in sales. 

This year at the Southwestern Great Recruiters Seminar (GRS), Whitney Ferré spoke about how valuable her Southwestern experience has been in her everyday life. 

“In my current roles as author, artist, restaurateur, and mother, not a day goes by that I do not draw on the skills I learned both selling books and recruiting a team.  I am constantly having to convince someone about something.  It is ALL sales and it is ALL about how well I can communicate with people.”

Whitney sold books with Southwestern for four summers (1992-95).  She was a top salesman, top recruiter, and a top manager–a triple threat.  Fourteen years after leaving the bookfield, Whitney came back to share how tapping into your right brain can positively impact your success.

“The right brain voice is completely present, while the left brain is thinking past or future. The left brain gets frustrated with specific details, while the right brain looks at the big picture. I think you have to be in your right brain to be open to ‘coincidences’ or trusting that even though you’re not in your comfort zone, that things will be provided for you.”

After leaving Southwestern, Whitney began helping hundreds of people find their creativity as founder of the Creative Fitness Center. The Center first gained national recognition on HGTV.  Today she continues her outreach leading corporate seminars, teaching art classes, and as a creativity expert on television & radio.  Whitney is also an artist, a wife, a mother, and a co-owner of Rumours Wine Bar that builds communities around food, wine, and art.  Whitney recently published her first book, The Artist Within: A Guide to Becoming Creatively Fit (Turner).  In Whitney’s book she discusses the principle of tapping into your right brain in order to use all of your resources in everyday decision-making.

“I had a blast speaking at GRS because I know what it takes to be successful as a recruiter and I have had 14 years since my Southwestern career to gain valuable hindsight that I was excited to share.  I feel all of my experience has led to this moment when I am busy selling and promoting my book.  The message in my book is so important because it proves that our right brains have a powerful voice that we are not hearing, a powerful perspective that we are not seeing and that it has access to valuable mental skills that we are simply not using if we do not access this voice!  My last summer on the bookfield was my “right brain summer”.  I went from 5000 units to 8900 units and from a 35 person team that sold ZILCH to a #3 team.  How?  I accessed the RIGHT side of my mind that did not get caught up in the details or frustrated at individual results.  I was completely tapped in to my vision of selling a TON of books and having a top team.  Because of the strength of my vision and the right brain voice inside my head, I trained my team more effectively and I hit steak EVERY single day on the field.  It did not matter what temporary circumstances tried to trip me up, I knew it was all going to work out and it did!  That is a ‘right brain performance’.”

It seems that the sales experience can benefit the artist and the artist can also positively impact the sales experience. 

Learn more about tapping in to your right brain at creativelyfit.com. 

Whitney was also featured in Her Nashville.  Click here to read the online exclusive. ]]> http://www.southwesternalumniblog.com/southwestern_company/find-your-artist-within-and-find-success/feed/ 2