I must admit that when it was decided that this year's Regional Leadership Conference will take place on a cruise, I was a little disappointed. I am only telling you this, since it turned out much better then I expected and you really should keep reading… After months of preparations, 270 IBOs from Hungary, Western Europe, Israel, Russia and Eastern Europe reported to the dock of the cruise ship "Navigator of the Seas" in Barcelona, on a rainy noon hour of May 10, 2008. When we saw the 15-storey (above water) structure that was about to sail us, we were astonished, and seeing the enormous ship made us unbelievably curious and filled with anticipation for things to come.
After our passports were checked, we entered the ship, and I felt like a little boy that has to see it all without missing a thing. I found myself wandering among the luxurious mall, the theater halls, and the basketball and softball courts. I couldn't miss the amazing gym and dining rooms, the ice skating rink, the children's deck and much more, until we were called to attend the luxurious dinner and were already on our way to our first port stop in Marseille.
On the first night, Dr. and Mrs. Chen hosted a private dinner with 6 IBOs from Western Europe. During dinner, the Chens took the opportunity to teach and train the attending IBOs and emphasize important points about business building and how Sunrider has developed a unique and innovative model for building a franchise-like business for the benefit of its IBOs.
On the next day we woke up to the sound of the announcer welcoming us to Marseille, a typical port city full of seafood restaurants and coffee shops. After a big breakfast, we went on a short tour of the city and visited its fascinating fish market (the smell was certainly not fascinating…). Watching a live octopus trying to sneak away from the display shelf it was placed on, and the fish merchant forcing it back into place was definitely a unique experience.
That afternoon we were already on our way to Sardinia. On the ship, the last preparations for dinner were already being made, and the chamber men gave us wonderful service and cleaned our rooms for the evening. One of the Israeli IBOs met me on my way to dinner and she asked me wonderingly, "Why do we deserve all this? And without paying for it…"*
On the second evening, the Chens had dinner with six Israeli IBOs and, of course, used the time between courses to train and teach the participants.
The Western European and Hungarian IBOs started their third day attending training sessions, in small 30-people groups. During the sessions Dr. Chen emphasized the importance of the 4-points approach meeting and 6-points opportunity meeting. Dr. Chen also stressed how crucial it is that all IBOs use the same terms and send out the same message.
After the Chen's training, the groups dispersed, and we all went to shore in Cagliari, the capital city of the Italian island of Sardinia. In spite of the slightly bleak weather, we went to tour the city with an Israeli tour guide that lives there. Our guide took us to the "Elephant Tower," from which we had a beautiful view of the entire city and port, and to the largest local church. We finished our tour with a taste of excellent Italian ice cream and went back on the ship. One thing that truly amazed me during the tour is that although over 3,000 tourists came to the city on our ship, local businessmen still closed their businesses in the afternoon, for their famous siesta. We left Sardinia and set sail towards Sicily.
That night, after another luxurious dinner, which the Chens shared with 6 Hungarian IBOs, we all watched a spectacular ice-skating show, which generated heavy applause from the amazed audience.
We arrived in Palermo early on the fourth morning and went on a long tour day. Most of the Israeli group went sightseeing together. Palermo is beautiful; it has modern shopping squares as well as a lovely old city, and the people of Palermo are very welcoming and hospitable.
The Vucciria open market place was impossible to miss; we were pulled in by the wonderful smell from the food stands, the fresh fruit and vegetables, the Italian cheese delicatessens, with cheeses you can smell from a mile away, and of course, the daily masterpiece of the market—a freshly caught swordfish put on display.
After an exhausting 7-hour tour, we went back on the ship, and I met another IBO. She told me that she met a friend from Israel on the ship, and when her friend asked her what she was doing there, she answered that she earned a full-expense-paid cruise, working with Sunrider.* Her friend could not believe her ears. She said she always heard about Sunrider, but she never thought the stories were true. That woman joined Sunrider and became an IBO that night.
On the fourth evening the Chens had dinner with 5 IBOs from Eastern Europe. The Chens emphasized to the participants the great earning potential of the Sunrider business, and told them that many people have already achieved their optimal goals working with Sunrider.
We spent the fifth day, during which most of the training meetings were held, sailing back to Barcelona. That morning, Israeli and Eastern European IBOs met with Dr. and Mrs. Chen in small groups, for an almost personal training. During the meetings, the Chens emphasized how important it is to train your downline and teach them how to talk instead of just letting them listen to you. The Chens said it is important to correct your downline while they are talking, in order to help them present the 4-point approach and 6-point opportunity meeting fluently and professionally. The Chens encouraged everyone to keep training to make their approach believable.
At noon, the Chens held a general session for all 270 participating IBOs, during which they stressed the importance of duplication. Dr. Chen said recruiting 10 IBOs a month is not enough, you have to teach them how to duplicate your actions, so they can recruit 10 more people per month themselves.
At the end of the training session, Mrs. Chen asked several IBOs from different countries to come on stage and answer questions about subjects learned during the convention.
In conclusion I would like to say this was an amazing experience for me, one that I will no doubt repeat with my family.
At the end of the fifth day, the Israeli and Eastern European groups had a meeting to sum up the convention, and all IBOs said they had an extraordinary experience, an experience that they could only have thanks to Sunrider.* Some of our IBOs even asked to stay on the ship for its next cruise…
Sincerely,
Oved Levi
Director of Regional Operations
Sunrider Israel and Eastern Europe
*The earnings stated are not necessarily representative or typical of the earnings Sunrider Independent Business Owners 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. As with any other independent business, success results only from dedicated sales efforts, hard work, diligence, and leadership.
