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About MeFROM: Jay Graves You might want to learn something about me before subscribing to my free newsletter. That's why I created this page. My name is Jay Graves. I first became an opportunity seeker after returning home from college in the early 80's. In those days mail order MLM was popular. Like many opportunity seekers I joined Amway, went to meetings and pitched household products (and the opportunity) to anybody who came within three feet of me. That was awkward for me because I am generally an introverted person. By the late 80's I turned my attention to real estate investing. I joined my local real estate investors association and bought and sold one property. I was especially impressed with one real estate guru because he combined "the profession called selling" with flipping properties. As a result I became a student of a sales trainer named Tom Hopkins. I had to know if I could make it in sales. So, in 1990, with a newborn daughter and my wife at home I took a job as an advertising sales rep. I went from a good paying job as a computer operator to a sales position that paid 100% commission (no salary plus commission). I had to buy our benefits. Obviously I was not averse to taking risks if I thought the payoff would be worth it. When you push your limits and step outside your comfort zone it always feels uncomfortable at first. I didn't sleep well for the first few days as a sales rep. Once I had sold one ad per day for five consecutive days I began to sleep better. I went on to become "rookie of the year" in 1990 in my sales office. In this position I learned I didn't have to be a hard sell salesman if I had the right product and qualified my appointments. I actually didn't go on many appointments I was offered because they had a lower probability of success. By going on the right appointments with people who could make a decision, I did NOT have to use "one-call-close" high pressure techniques. The numbers just worked in my favor (approximately 50% of appointments resulting in sales). Eventually the entrepreneurial bug caught me and I started my own advertising sales business from home. I signed contracts with independently owned stores in the suburbs and sold display advertising in their stores in return for a percentage of the ad revenues. If you were a chiropractor would you want to advertise in a nearby pharmacy? If you owned a pizzeria would you want to advertise in a nearby video store? Of course! I did the graphic work myself on an old Mac. I enjoyed doing that for a few years but eventually became bored. That's when I began to travel the country training others on how to start and operate their own home-based advertising business. The skills I learned during these years have made me an excellent coach today. I helped my clients to become successful entrepreneurs without having to sell (selling begins when someone says "no"). I taught my clients to succeed by being very selective about their appointments and NOT trying to overcome objections - that would be selling and my clients didn't want to do that. After being a one person business for years I missed working within a group. So, in 1998, I took a J.O.B. with a leading financial services firm in Boston whose name you would recognize. I intended this to be temporary. I enjoyed working within a team although the compensation was not what I was accustomed to. But I enjoyed the comerederie of working with a crazy group of people. So I stayed with that firm for many years and eventually became Quality Manager of their call center. Events at that firm eventually motivated me to return to working for myself. The corporate world was an interesting experiment but it clearly is not the best place to grow compared to being an entrepreneur. In the corporate world our growth is in the hands of others too much. So it feels good to be working for myself again. I've come full circle. Live and learn. Now I realize that working for myself from the comfort of home is where I am meant to be. Another reason I returned to working for myself is promotional techniques have evolved so much! I no longer have to make outbound calls to set appointments and generate sales thanks to the concept of "attraction marketing" and voice broadcast advertising (and the Internet is all grown up now). Now my prospective students or clients CALL ME. My sales skills are no longer necessary. In fact I feel my sales skills and experience work against me! Too often I find myself explaining my program to prospects that call me. In the automated programs I'm involved with, I do NOT have to do any explaining or selling (I'm workng on this ;-). Making a living from the comfort of home using the Internet doesn't have to be complicated, expensive or take a long time if you know what I've learned. Subscribe to my FREE newsletter and you'll wonder why I offer this information for free. I'm sure my free newsletters can help you and substantially reduce your learning curve.
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