Why I Love Sales People

My friend Mark Lange had a great piece in yesterday's Christian Science Monitor.

Mark writes that, especially in tough economic times, we all owe a debt of thanks to sales people who keep our economy humming. He is so very right (as usual).

Many of our Legacy Consultants fear being "salesy" above all concerns. Yet it is sales activity that makes both our company and our economy rock.

I join Mark is saluting sales people everywhere . . . especially our Legacy Consultants who make a difference.

Priceless Legacy Promotional Video

This is a new promotional video for Priceless Legacy. It provides a broad overview of our mission with a leaning towards LC recruiting.

National Genealogical Society Conference

Mary Kerr and I just returned from the National Genealogical Society's annual conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.

We exhibited for about three and half days which was, to be frank, too long. The conference could have been accomplished in a day or so. That said, we met some interesting folks and had some very interesting conversations with four of our Legacy Consultants who came by to help us man the booth.

A special thanks to Sara S (Charlotte), C. Larsen (Pinehurst, NC), Dan S. and Jodi M. (Richmond) for stopping by. We enjoyed our time together and learned a lot.

One funny comment heard by an amateur genealogist at our booth after she heard about our offering: "Oh, you deal with the living!" We do indeed.

It struck me how much easier the genealogy industry would have it if people in earlier generations had had the benefit of Priceless Legacy.

Genealogists and Story Tellers

I read a very interesting post on Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy site.

It is a short article by Annie's Ghosts author Steve Luxenberg who explores his foray into the world of genealogy from the perspective of a writer. I particularly like his description of genealogists and story tellers as being like distant cousins who look alike but have differences.

Genealogy for the Rest of Us
A Writer's Guide to Diving into Family History
By Steve Luxenberg,
Author of Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret

I am not a genealogist. I am a storyteller.

The difference? Well, I’ll tell you a story.

In the spring of 2006, I was racing against a loudly-ticking generational clock, trying to find as many living relatives as I possibly could before their advancing age caught up with them. I was hoping that they could shed light on a long-ago family secret, one that my mother had created in the early 1940s and kept throughout her life. She had hidden the existence of a disabled sister who had been institutionalized for 30 years. Mom had died in 1999, her secret more or less intact. I was researching a book on her motivations for keeping the secret, and the consequences to her and those around her.

My working hypothesis: I had relatives I had never met, and I wondered whether their descendants might have some knowledge of my unknown secret aunt. Perhaps a bit of family folklore had traveled down their branch that had never made it down mine.
I had the beginnings of a family tree on my dad's side, courtesy of a cousin who had emailed me a version, but none on my mom's side. So I started to construct one, but got no farther than I had in junior high school, when an enterprising teacher had assigned us to create family trees for a class project. When I had asked Mom back then for the names of my grandmother's parents and siblings, she had just shrugged. That was the old country, she told me, as if that explained everything instead of nothing. Mom, born in the United States, professed no knowledge of my grandparents' early life in Russia or Ukraine or Poland (it was a mystery to me then), or whatever part of Eastern Europe we once called home.

According to a medical record that I had obtained, my grandmother was one of 10 children. I knew none of them. I knew none of their descendants. I just needed one name, and then I could pursue the genealogical trail, perhaps to someone alive, but if not, perhaps to a document, or a photo or some other clue that might lead me deeper into the story of Mom's secret.

Through painstaking work with passenger manifests, I had managed to learn the likely spellings of my grandparents' last names when they left Russia before the first world war. They were born in a small town near the old Austro-Hungarian border, a town that had changed hands several times in the course of the 20th century. Did the town's birth and marriage records still exist? If they did, would they yield the information I needed to trace the living descendants of my grandmother's nine brothers and sisters?

I consulted a genealogist with experience in obtaining records from the archives of Eastern European countries. He gave me a crash course in what I needed to do. The more he explained, the more daunting it sounded -- and the more expensive. He suggested that I purchase every record with any connection to the family names I already knew.

Worried that I would be overwhelmed with information, I asked whether it would be better to start with the smattering of the records that seemed most relevant. "I'm not a genealogist," I told him. "I'm not trying to build a family tree. I'm writing a book, and I'm trying to find out the things that will help me tell the story."
His genealogical ears couldn't believe what I had just said. "How could you not want to know it all?" he said, his voice reflecting his amazement. "How could you pass up the opportunity?"

I felt sheepish. "I'm interested, of course," I finally said. "But right now, the story is what I'm after."

Genealogists and writers are like distant cousins: They resemble each other, but it's easy to tell them apart. I'm in awe of the discipline that genealogists bring to their craft. I admire their dedication to a well-understood (if unwritten) set of rules for pursuing, finding, sifting, confirming and verifying information, before they connect the dotted lines between a ggf (great-grandfather, in genealogist parlance) and a second cousin once removed. As a writer, however, I'm wary of becoming a member of their club.

No need to be daunted, however. Genealogists are a welcoming bunch. They not only love company, they invite anyone to join their growing numbers, and millions have taken trips down the genealogical trail. The sudden accessibility of information online, such as census and immigration records, has made it possible for anyone to make a stab at researching their family origins, often without leaving the comfort of their living room. Amateurs like me vastly outnumber the professionals. Ancestry.com, which calls itself "the No. 1 source for online family history information," claims nearly 1 million paying subscribers and says that online visitors have created more than six million family trees since that feature was introduced three years ago.
You won't find mine there. My tree, with more broken branches than sturdy ones, exists only on paper, two pages taped together to accommodate the bits and pieces I had collected. I constructed it as an aid for interviewing a long-lost cousin, and then kept it on my desk as I wrote my book.

It was a huge help, a reference that I used so often that it became a bit tattered. Some day, I'll go back to it. I'll try to flesh out a few of the bare branches. I might even take a risk, and order some of those records from Eastern Europe. I'm curious, after all.

But not just yet. I have to finish this new story I'm working on.
©2009 Steve Luxenberg, author of Annie's Ghosts: A Journey Into a Family Secret

Author Bio
Steve Luxenberg has been a senior editor with the Washington Post for twenty-two years, overseeing reporting that has won numerous awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes for explanatory journalism. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more information please visit www.steveluxenberg.com

The Life Story as a Decluttering Tool

Priceless Legacy exhibited for two days in Orlando at the National Association of Professional Organizers' annual conference.

This group of mostly women was a serious bunch of professionals. Although most seemed to suppress the urge to tidy up our booth or lecture us on time management, I was very impressed by the professional caliber of these people. Each PO practices a wide range of specific disciplines from residential (closet, kitchen, attic and garage) to commercial (office, warehouse, business process consulting). Most are very tactile and physical but some where more intangible in their orientation (time management and efficiency).

Of the hundreds that stopped by our booth, all were impressed by the quality of our life story packages. Some signed up as LCs on the spot and about 60 others indicated a strong interest in joining our cause.

The "buzz" of the show was the growing market for senior services. Senior move management in particular was of great interest to the attendees. Many see the Priceless Legacy Life Story as the perfect "decluttering" tool to organize the many photos and documents that are often carelessly stored at a senior house. By combining the best of these items in the context of a life story narrative, the senior, and his or her family, are able to enjoy their reminiscence without moving boxes, unpacking albums and accumulating "stuff." Of course, these ladies are also daughters themselves and many expressed the usual regret over not having made a Life Story or expectation over their need to do so.

We really do learn something new every day!

Marketing Wisdom from "Restored Stories" in Oregon

Brina Bolanz, an experienced personal historian in the Portland Oregon area posted a comment to the ListServ of the Association of Personal Historians that I thought was as clear and simple a description of the action steps for a marketing plan for a PH or and LC as I have seen in a while. This is what I refer to as telling your story and exhibiting your passion. Thanks to Brina for letting me print it here.

Heather wrote: "I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share how they went about starting up their 'personal history' business (specifically those who write personal histories)."

I got my first tiny client by handing out my card at a garage sale.
Seriously. I got my first big one because an old jr. high school classmate found me on Facebook, and a few months later his dad wanted someone who could help him with his book, and he thought of me.

As for finding clients, I'd say mine those "friends and family" first off.
They'll be kind and you'll get great samples of your work.

I haven't been in business long, but in my opinion it is so much about word of mouth & trust. Ads don't work.

Hand out your card freely, talk about what you do to everyone you meet/know.
Find out if there are senior-oriented business networking groups in your town - if you meet others who work with your potential clients, you can let other people's marketing work for you, too. Make sure they know who you are so if their clients ask about such services, they know who to call. Do your best to refer people to them, and make sure they tell 'em who sent 'em.

Offer to give talks on preserving story at places that have your target market (i.e. older adults who can afford it, in general).

Offer to write articles for small local papers, or group newsletters, etc.

If the price is okay, have a booth at smaller conventions or conferences, if the market is right (someone was asking about that earlier). I target genealogists, heritage preservation groups, and retirement facilities right now. I'm having a table this weekend a genealogists' conference. It's $50, but it's right here in Portland -- I'll see if it pays off. In any case, I get to sit in on the conference, which is about tracing German relatives (my dad's side is German), so I'll learn something from my money anyway!

Go to other larger events/exhibitions as an attendee, and walk around with your bag of samples and biz cards and introduce yourself to everyone -- much cheaper than a $300 booth. :)

Great stuff, Brina. Thanks.

Eat That Frog: Strop Procrastinating

I just read an interesting abstract of a book by Brian Tracy named Eat That Frog. The following is from a GetAbstract:

If you want to gain control of your life, change the way you work.
• Action is the key to accomplishment.
• People who do better do things differently. They do the right things right.
• Eating the frog means identifying your most important task and tackling it with
single-minded focus until it is completed.
• Launch directly into your most important tasks.
• Your ability to focus on your most important task will determine your success.
• People fail because they aren’t absolutely clear about their goals.
• The best rule for success is to think on paper. Write down your goals.
• Every night, make a list of what you want to accomplish the next day. Have a
master list, a monthly list, a weekly list and a daily list.
• Identify the one skill that, if you developed it, would have the biggest impact on your career.

Good advice for Legacy Consultants or any people who want to get things done and make a difference.

Success is Dependent on Your Willingness

I thought this an insightful mention on my daily "Success Factory" newsletter.

Success is not dependent on your ability to do this business well, but your willingness to do it regularly.

Remember the first time you gave a newborn baby a bath? You were probably VERY nervous and very scared. But each time you did it, you got better at it, didn’t you? Well, the more you do your business, the better you’ll get at it and the more success you will experience!

As the father of four, this analogy certainly resonates with me.

Just in Time Training

One of the challenges of executing the Priceless Legacy vision is the determination of the correct level of training for our Legacy Consultants. On one level, what we do is rather straightforward, we interview subjects, help organize their photos and then manage the draft approval process of the Life Story. Easy, right?

Well, yes, actually!

The entire premise of Priceless Legacy is that we can train regular people (whose hearts are in the right place, so to speak) to administer the steps necessary to complete a Life Story of high quality. The process we follow guides the Legacy Consultant through each step with specific directions when needed. I use the phrase Just In Time Training.

I fear sometimes that in our desire to be thorough we over complicate the our description of the process. Of course any method of mass customization manages some complexity, but we have to have the confidence that if we follow the steps, the results are always extraordinary.

Sorting Not Selling

"Selling" is still the "S - Word" for too many Legacy Consultants. Images of used car salesmen and "pushy" network marketers help us define who we do not want to be.

I suggest that if the word "Selling" has too much baggage for you, it is time to consider the word "sorting" instead. Think about it. You already know and believe that life story preservation is important and vital for families, individuals and communities. You would not be a Legacy Consultant otherwise.

So if you value our message (that life story preservation is important and urgent) and our product (the Life Story package that makes life story preservation easy and affordable), it stands to reason that others will too. After all, you are not the only person to love and respect your parents or grandparents.

Your task therefore is to "sort through" people to find those for whom our message and product resonate and make sense. You can not "cram" this idea down an unwilling throat. So don't waste your time psyching yourself out that you will somehow unethically "fool" or "push" someone into buying a Life Story Package. It has not yet been done. Besides, there are far too many strong prospects out there to worry about those for whom this is not a fit.

By displaying your passion for the mission and product, you will attract those who want to learn more. You will be solving problems and giving a gift. Is this selling? Well, I don't really care what you call it. It is "sorting" for sure. A lot of people NEED Priceless Legacy and the message of life story and lesson preservation. You are in a position to sort through the hundreds and thousands of people in your circles to find those you can help. Don't let an obsession over terminology stand in your way.

Drawing Out Wisdom From Parents

A very wise and insightful piece as in the New York Times a few days ago. Thanks to Legacy Consultant Jody Murphy for bringing it to my attention. Writer Anne Roark describes the major insights from Henry Alford's new book How to Live: A Search for Wisdom From Old People.

The article articulates the satisfactions that accrue to all who undertake the preservation of life stories and lessons. It even has some handy "how to advice" on managing interviews.

A final word if you’re still reluctant to start the interviewing. Mr. Alford says that people are “repositories of knowledge” and the elderly “the keepers of wisdom,” and he cites an old African saying: “The death of an old person is like the burning of a library.” Many people have complicated relationships with parents, but all of us love libraries.

Getting excited, staying motivated and making money

An insightful piece from the Success Factory. I assume it was written by Theresa Garrison.

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a lady who was a relatively new party plan consultant. I listened as she spoke flatly and unenthusiastically about her new business venture that was not going as well as expected. Her initial efforts to book parties seemed fruitless. Add to that the initial out-of-pocket expenses required for purchasing her kit and a few business supplies and her initial excitement at the prospect of being her own boss was quickly waning. Frankly, she really sounded as though she was ready to throw in the towel… already.

In the past several decades, we have morphed into a society that expects instant gratification. By just the push of a button we have the ability to instantly communicate with family and friends via our PC’s and cell phones, we can have a ready-to-eat delicious meal in just seconds with the help of our microwave. We can shop online and put together a great outfit or order that book we just heard about on Oprah this morning and it will be on our doorstep tomorrow.

So, it is no wonder that to some, cash outflow plus hard work with no immediate return equals drudgery and frustration.

Do you have what it takes to be a smart business person – one who can manage her finances in a way that makes you truly profitable? Are you a natural born leader, someone with vision who can see past the challenges in order to achieve their goal?

Did you know that only 3% of people write down their goals? Interestingly enough, 3% of the population are millionaires. Hmmm, do you see the correlation?

I think that it is safe to say that there are some people who are natural born leaders and naturally good at the details of finances and managing their business in a cost effective way. This is how God wired them from the time they were first created. For the majority of us, however, this is learned behavior

Family Service Incentive Program

Priceless Legacy encourages LCs to purchase Life Stories for the enjoyment of their own families or close friends. It is assumed and intended, but not required, that the incentive Life Story Package be used for family purposes. Therefore the company offers two special incentives:

Choice I

If an LC sells one Life Story (“A”) within 30 days of enrollment at full price, he or she may purchase a second Life Story package (“B”) for $499.

Choice II

If an LC sells two Life Stories (“A1” and “A2”) within 60 days of enrollment at full normal price, he or she may purchase a third Life Story package (“B”) for $299.
a. No commission or compensation is paid to the LC for the “incentive” or “B” Life Story
b. The “incentive” Life Story (“B”) pays commission to team on a face value basis (that is a percentage per the comp plan of the actual cost of that Life Story (e.g. $499 or $299).
c. The “incentive” Life Story must be completed within 120 days of enrollment.

We fight complexity but some times we need to get a bit creative. If an LCs desire to obtain a Life Story for a loved one drives them to do one or two other Life Stories, then all the better!

Lucky in Life

Tom Gilbert writes an informative blog and enewsletter called Your-Life-Your-Story. He is also a Priceless Legacy Consultant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I always enjoy his writing, but I particularly enjoyed a piece from this month's newsletter called Lucky in Life.

Have you ever noticed that some people just seem to be lucky in life? They have great success in work and love. Good things just come to them. It’s almost like they are a magnet attracting good fortune.

On the flipside there are those who can’t seem to catch a break. They suffer setbacks and difficulties. Their life is like the line in the blues song, Born Under a Bad Sign, “if it wasn’t for bad luck I wouldn’t have no luck at all”.

While it appears that some people are born lucky while others are cursed the truth is that most people have good and bad experiences. What really matters is how we respond to these life situations. We can’t go through life without taking some responsibility for our actions. And if we are aware, grateful for each day, respectful of others and willing to be part of life – living it to the fullest – we’ll find we have “luck in life”.

I’m convinced that capturing our life stories – writing them down or recording them in some fashion – is beneficial. It helps us make sense of our lives, gain perspective, pass on valuable family history and I think it is even good for your health. A recent study conducted by Emory University documents how teenage children had lower rates of depression, anxiety and anger when they were able to retell family stories passed down to them by their parents (see the story by Sue Shellenbarger in the Wall Street Journal).

Give yourself a lucky break. Do something about capturing your life story. There are many ways to do it – see How to Tell Your Story for a few suggestions.

Insightful thoughts during otherwise troubled times . . .

Aging in America Huge Success

Priceless Legacy Chief Operating Officer, Bruce Cramer, and I spent the last three days in Las Vegas. No time for the tables, however, because we were hard at work manning our booth at the American Society on Aging and National Council on Aging's "Aging in America Conference."

Although our feet and backs are tired, it was a great show. We had no fewer two hundred of the three thousand attendees stopped by to check us out (the company that it :) ).

The feedback was uniformly positive. Many of the "senior industry" attendees were eager to learn more about becoming Legacy Consultants. Others were "window shopping" for their own parents. Everyone endorsed the need for life story preservation services. Indeed, I may need to have my ego brought down a notch because I have never had a three day period where so many strangers declared me "brilliant" for founding this company at this time. I explained to all of them that no degree of "brilliance" would have impact on people's lives if we do not attract and retain the right Legacy Consultants through the country.

I will blog more about this topic over the coming days. For now, American Airlines is calling . . .

Legacy Workshops are Effective

Along with a different Legacy Consultant at each, I spoke with two different groups at independent senior living residences on Saturday. At both we conducted Legacy Workshops just like we advocate in the training in the Priceless Legacy Resource Center.

Both Executive directors where very happy to have us in to address the groups and both groups where dynamic and engaged. We started with group discussions about the residents' own grandparents and then talked about how life story capture and preservation was critical, if nothing else, out of respect to those ancestors. For once the seniors agreed that they cherished the stories of their own grandparents and parents, they were rhetorically unable to make the case that their own stories were not worthy of preservation. We then talked about how life story preservation was a gift to the subject, the family and the community.

I would predict that at least half of the 25 seniors or so who attended these workshops will do life stories with us and the others will do something on their own. Mission accomplished!

It was time well spent and I suggest that all Legacy Consultants reach out to local senior groups to schedule Legacy Workshops. They work and they are fun.

Talented Legacy Consultants!

Our Legacy Consultants have all sorts of talent. Check out Shane Whalen of Dallas. He is (obviously) an accomplished musician.

Shane has completed one Life Story with two more ordered and in the works. Good job all around Shane!

PRICELESS LEGACY COMPANY OFFERS MISSION, MEANING AND MONEY JUST WHEN WE NEED ALL THREE

This is a press release that we are presenting to selected media outlets to help tell our story:

A new company dedicated to helping older people preserve their life stories seeks to train and deploy up to 700,000 part-time workers throughout the country.

Dallas, Texas – March 12, 2009 - The Priceless Legacy Company launched just as the world was falling apart in the fall of 2008. Far from seeing the economic climate as an impediment to survival and growth, the young company sees much to drive optimism and hope for the future.

Priceless Legacy is dedicated to helping older people preserve their life stories for the benefit of this and future generations. The company publishes beautiful Life Story packages that include hardcover color books and audio/visual DVDs. The company is deploying work-from-home part-time Legacy Consultants who sell the engagements, interview the subjects, organize their photos and manage the draft review process. Priceless Legacy has devised a custom publishing system that creates a one-of-a-kind personal biography that is not dependent on the writing skill or interest of the subject.

With over four people dying in America every minute, we have a need to capture the stories of at least 2.4 million people per year. If we assume three stories per Legacy Consultant, we need to find, train and deploy 700,000 or more!

Consider:

1. Demographics are destiny; the recession is only temporary. 55 million seniors today will grow to 75 million over the next ten years.
2. The harsh economic climate has forced people to focus on the important things in life: family, heritage, love and mutual support. The company says: “Honor now. Remember forever."
3. More people are looking for part-time work from home or moonlighting opportunities to hedge or replace their full-time jobs.
4. While people seek economic security, they also yearn for work with meaning and purpose.
5. The “Silent Generation” has so much to teach younger people about resiliency and staying power.
6. Great companies have been launched in uncertain economic times. Especially those with an enduring social mission.

Almost everyone has had the experience of either regret at not having taken the steps to preserve a life story or the strong sense that it should be done and they don’t know how to get started and finished. Using our process, our Legacy Consultants can help anyone preserve the life stories of their loved ones while there is still time to do it.


About The Priceless Legacy Company (www.pricelesslegacy.com)

Based in Dallas, Texas, The Priceless Legacy Company is a privately held custom book publishing company dedicated to helping people preserve their life legacies for the benefit of future generations. The company connects with people through its fast expanding network of Legacy Consultants. Currently active in twelve states, PLC’s Legacy Consultants help people record their life stories. Services include interviewing, photo organizing and scanning and the production of beautiful heirloom quality Life Story books.

Idaho Falls Conference

Priceless Legacy Chief Operating Office Bruce Cramer and I traveled to Idaho Falls, Idaho last week to consult with two industry leading direct sales experts at Launch Smart.

We covered a wide range of topics and learned a great deal about a variety of issues and I will summarize some major points here. In general, both Dave Taylor and Terrel Transtrum were highly complimentary about Priceless Legacy's mission, initial execution and progress to date.

Specific areas that we need to do more work are:

1. Clearly defining the "Success Cycle" for new Legacy Consultants. - this means laying out in very clear terms what the three or four key steps that must be taken by the LC in their first two weeks after sign up to have success and make progress. We have done this to some degree but it is obvious that we must be more clear.

2. Getting more Legacy Consultants through their first Life Story quicker after sign up. Again, we have been encouraging LCs to "jump in with both feet," but not everyone is getting that message. We will develop incentives and other programs to speed this process.

3. New products beyond the Life Story and Couple's Life Story. This has always been part of the plan but we will accelerate the introduction of Audio Only, Photo Only, Life Lesson and maybe Heirloom Inventory products.

These are high level summaries but the important take-away is that we are deadly serious about our mission and our drive for success.

Oh, and as of this week, we'll have 50 Legacy Consultants in twelve states. Too bad there is no time to rest.

The Biographer's Craft

My letter to the Editor was featured in the March newsletter of The Biographer's Craft.

It has already generated many interesting inquiries from high quality Legacy Consultant candidates.