Business Tips from Successful IBOs

Read helpful business tips from two successful Canada IBOs...you'll find great ideas!

Sheryl Fitzharris and Tim Bullinger
South Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Silver Master Business Leaders

Sheryl:

I make it a point at the end of every presentation to set clear expectations by asking my guests where they see themselves starting in Sunrider: as a business builder or consumer. If they say business builder, I walk them through the business plan and then I ask them what they are willing to do in terms of time commitment and effort to build their business. 

A dear friend of mine, whom I introduced to Sunrider many years ago, told me he just wanted to be a product consumer. Many years later, this friend’s coworker saw the Sunrider® Shaker Bottle at their office and asked what was inside. After explaining it was Fortune Delight® and that he felt great, the coworker became excited about the products, making my friend excited to build the business! Timing is everything. This proves we are in the relationship-building business, and when a long-time customer wants to start building the business, you’ll be right there to help.

Life will always change, but you have to be adaptable. If you love what you do, you adapt and move forward.

What we wanted for a long time was affordability. Realizing that the cost of living has gone up for everything, Sunrider drastically reduced product prices in order to make the products available to a larger audience. I also tell people that Sunrider doesn’t make much money on the SunBars, but still sells this wonderfully delicious, reformulated product so people can enjoy them. 

People Sheryl and Tim haven’t heard from in years are contacting them about the reduced prices—people are excited! For people whose Sunrider business is sluggish, Sheryl tells them to fall in love with their business all over again, and sell that love.

Ray and Trish Holder
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Golden Group Business Leader

Ray educates about the value of Sunrider® products, advocating switching brands to Sunrider to get toxins out of your home and products in that are safe for your children. He is excited about the reduced product prices, because it’s easier to promote the products in terms of quality and value.

Ray:

The plan is easier to explain. Focus on the value. Talk about what other companies put in their products and it makes our job easier.


Our customers use the money they save (because of the reduced pricing) to try new products they always wanted to try, but didn’t have the money to do so. They want more products because we’ve always taught our group about the value of the foods.

Ray identifies consumers when a new person talks about the products or health issues, and finds business builders at trade shows, home shows, and health shows, where Ray participates as an exhibitor. When crowds die down, Ray visits other booths and swaps information. He gives samples of SunBreeze® Oil and shares the income opportunity. If interested, he asks them to fill out a form regarding what they were interested in. No later than 24-48 hours afterward, he follows-up and schedules a one-on-one meeting. If they’re married, he tries to coordinate the meeting so that both spouses are there. Face time is very important, so Ray is very flexible about the meeting place. He prepares samples of Calli®, and SunSmile® Fruit & Vegetable Rinse, but keeps the demos simple and short.

He then explains that he and Trish have been with Sunrider for 21 years, Sunrider is located in over 40 countries, and has been in business for over 28 years. If there is time, they use a laptop to show Sunrider’s introduction video. If going into an in-depth presentation, they will walk them through the tools on the corporate website. They also hold regular meetings every two weeks and occasional product fairs. When they hold Kandesn® meetings, they use their camera to take before and after photos for guests that want to see the amazing results of their makeover.

In terms of building a business with Sunrider, Ray asks his guests what their needs are and what a comfortable time commitment would be. He finds most people just need another $500-$1,000 to make ends meet and he lets them know that’s not a stretch to achieve.*

Timing is also important. Ray’s sister-in-law joined Sunrider in 1994 but her husband didn’t help build their Sunrider business until after the recent cruise when his eyes were opened to Sunrider’s amazing income opportunity. In 16 years, he never offered a testimony in a Sunrider meeting, until after this recent trip, and now he is building the business alongside his wife!

The new business plan is also easier to present to young people, because it’s easy to explain and show them how to earn money.

*The earnings stated above are not necessarily representative or typical of the earnings Sunrider Independent Business Owners (IBOs) can or will earn through participation in the Sunrider Compensation Plan. These statements should not be considered as guarantees or projections of your actual earnings or profits. The average annual income of Sunrider’s active IBOs was $2,925 in 2009. An active IBO is an IBO who has purchased 50 SV or more in 2009. As with any other independent business, success results only from dedicated sales efforts, hard work, diligence, and leadership.

Simply the Best Seat in the House

As a Sunrider employee, it’s always a pleasure and a privilege to have the chance to listen to Dr. Tei-Fu and Dr. Oi-Lin Chen in person, something that normally I only get to do once a year during Grand Convention when I work onsite and attend various events. So I was excited when I was asked to attend a special meeting held at SR HQ last Thursday. The meeting involved North American Business Leaders and Drs. Chen getting together to discuss various business matters, and as Dr. Chen said, “to improve communication and get everyone on the same page.”

For the meeting, I was asked by my manager, Wendy Teng, to take notes for future articles; but during the course of the meeting I found it difficult to do, as I’d become so engrossed in what the Chens were saying that I’d sometimes forget to put pen to paper.

Dr. Chen has always impressed me with his charisma and confident yet engaging personality. He’s a business visionary who’s able to infuse his talks with a down-to-earth practicality and a natural sense of humor, making any topic accessible and entertaining (even the stuff dealing with calculation formulas!). It doesn’t matter what country or culture you come from—when Dr. Chen speaks, you want to listen. I can see how people around the world have been attracted to Sunrider with such a dynamic spokesperson and leader at the helm.

What struck a chord with me at this particular meeting was Dr. Chen’s message about the importance of having the “courage to change.” He gave examples how great leaders throughout history had the courage to change, to get out of their comfort zones, and make tough, sometimes unpopular decisions that paved the way for innovation and growth. Dr. Chen not only initiates change, but also embraces it when he believes it’ll benefit the lives of Sunriders. Having the courage and dexterity to adapt to changing circumstances and the willingness to learn from experience, and even from other companies, are attributes of his that I think have contributed to Sunrider’s continuous growth and success spanning over 25 years.

Mrs. Chen always amazes me with her boundless energy and incisive intellect. She’s always ready for any question an attendee might throw at her. And her ability to orchestrate a meeting, to say nothing of Grand Conventions and her global company, is remarkable. She’s the ultimate multi-tasker in my book.

At the meeting I saw how she’s able to cultivate success in business builders through her organized presentation of the Sunrider marketing plan and by sharing her expert business advice; but most of all I think she helps people maximize their potential through serving as an inspirational role model. Sure, Sunrider provides lots of excellent materials and marketing tools that provide guidance and the blueprints for success, but through experiencing Mrs. Chen, you get a real-life example of how to challenge yourself and go after your goals.

Attending the meeting also gave me the chance to meet some of the Business Leaders and to see them in action (Mrs. Chen sometimes likes to put people in the hot seat, in a good-natured way). Watching the leaders made me realize that although there was an undeniable diversity of backgrounds, ages, and personalities, there was a common denominator that made them all distinctly “Sunriders”—they all exuded an almost tangible passion for the Sunrider business. Hearing them tell their incredible success stories almost made me feel like switching from working at Sunrider to working in Sunrider, as an IBO. For the time being though, I like using the SR gym and working in the great environment at SR HQ too much to change just yet.

Thanks for your time; I need to sign off now to see if I can make sense of my meeting notes.

Bob Seawright

Marketing Dept.

Sunrider Corporate Office