Kathy Coover

Kathy, tell me how you first became involved in network marketing. My husband Jim has been involved in the industry for over 30 years and he always saw the possibilities with me, he's encouraged me for years. Because of his inspiration, I started network marketing and went with a nutritional company called PrimeQuest in 1992. I become the top income earner in that company with 90 percent of their volume underneath me and I built 10 separate Diamond legs, even though it had a very difficult compensation plan.

What caused you to choose PrimeQuest?

Actually, I fell in love with a product that really changed my life. I was at the time where I had just had my son and I wanted to stay home and be with him. I was also an entrepreneurial type and never saw myself 'just' being a mom. I was a Dental Hygienist for 18 years; in fact I owned and operated my own dental hygiene center. I was one of the first in California to do that, I hired a dentist and hygienist to work for me.

Kathy, can you give me a little more understanding of what your husband's background is? My husband was co-founder of the Cambridge Diet, which was one of the fastest growing network marketing companies in history. So, I experienced the rise and the decline of that company with him, but I basically just flew around with him in the jet. I never participated in the business, because I never had any weight to lose and couldn't see myself doing that.

When you say you never saw yourself doing that, can you tell me more? When Cambridge came out I had actually just met Jim and I was thrown into a different world. It was a fast growing company and I had just gotten married and that was enough in my life.

Truthfully, I just didn't believe in the industry that much. I had to work on my belief structure. And after I read through some good books I really started to believe in the industry and then I jumped into it.

And you said you had a product experience? Tell us about that. Yes, I experienced a product called Prime One that just brought my energy level up, my focus, my concentration… I felt like a new person. I had had severe stomach problems and this product took all that away, so I got very passionate about the product!

That's when I really started studying the industry, reading books, and when I realized what it was about I got really excited about it. So, I started with one of the founding legs to the company. It was not the easiest experience of my life. The first two years were challenging, but finally I got how to do it right and my income just skyrocketed.

At that point, I helped many of the people in my organization create a phenomenal income.

I fell in love with the industry, because I really felt it was about developing people and helping them succeed, both physically and financially.

I became very, very engulfed in it and it's certainly the best thing I've ever done in my life for personal growth and development.

Kathy, can you speak about what those challenges were for you in the beginning? In the beginning, I couldn't figure out how to get my group to duplicate what I was doing. I went out and signed up 125 people and it was no problem for me, but nobody else could do it. Once I figured out that I was not duplicatable I started creating tools for my team; audio cassette tapes, voice mail recordings, training manuals, and I started doing conference calls and then my group absolutely exploded. The duplication started.

Is there any one thing that you can put your finger on that you can say, 'this is what did it... this is what was responsible for that'? Well, I really believe it was the system I created for my team. I created a recruiting system so my team could duplicate my efforts. I also created a system for training that everyone could plug in to. So, it's really the systems that made my group explode.

How long did you stay with that company? Actually I stayed with that company to the very end. That company was sold and I went with the new company, but I had an integrity issue with the owners, because they took my 10 Diamond legs and chopped them up.

What was the rationale for that? Well, I believe they didn't really 'get' it. They were new at network marketing and they didn't understand. They were being given information by the wrong person and this gentleman said all those legs should go under him and I didn't know they were doing that. They faxed me a new compensation plan and told me what they had done.

My income had already fallen way down to $40,000 a month and after this my income fell to $5000 a month, so I sold my business and walked away from that company and signed a 'non compete'.

I moved away from California to Omaha, Nebraska— quite a contrast— and joined a company called The Tax People. Because it was just being introduced in the Midwest, I grew fast and became the first female Diamond in the company. Again my income just exploded after that first six months. We went into momentum and I was earning a seven-figure income, and I would have stayed with the company if it hadn't been shut down by the Government.

And the reason for that was?

I truly believe the reason they got shut down was because the government did not like us informing other people of all the tax deductions you're entitled to when you have a home-based business. It was all legal tax deductions that we were giving, IRS tax code, we had 2000 tax offices all over the United States, but they didn't like it so they came in and shut the company down. So, I saw my organization absolutely crumble before my eyes with checks bouncing everywhere.

At that point I took a six month break while I decided what I was going to do. I did jump in again.

Kathy, before you go to that, how did you feel about all of that? Did that just rock you? Oh yes! I was devastated! I was really excited about what I'd created.

I really think the home-based business industry is the best way for the average person to achieve wealth. It was devastating, horrible, but I pulled myself together.

And how did you do that? I realized that things just happen. I re-focused, took a little time off and spent some time with my family. I had retired Jim from my first success, PrimeQuest, and he had retired from the corporate world. I retired him again from The Tax People and then he totally retired from the industry and did a little consulting. I just think my conviction about the industry was so strong by then that nothing could really get in the way. You just have to pick yourself up and keep charging, keep your focus and vision.

I knew what my vision was, so I went into another company, a travel program, and in six weeks I was the biggest organization there too. Then, unfortunately, September 11th hit and I watched my business crumble again, because it was very hard to talk about travel in the aftermath of that. At that point in my life I did, personally, decide to retire. Jim and I had made enough money, so we moved here, to beautiful Scottsdale, Arizona. My son, Erik, was in high school and wanted to play golf here and it seemed like a great time and place to retire.

As we were moving into our beautiful home, literally as I plugged the phone into the wall, we got a call from John Anderson, who Jim had known for years.

John was actually one of the Ambassadors in the Cambridge Diet program and we had lost track of him. He had become one of the largest private label manufacturer/formulator's in the United States. He was looking for a partner to help create a vehicle for people to achieve health and financial success. John was known as the 'mineral man', he was one of the first people to ever formulate liquid minerals.

So, we met with him and saw his vision and he made us partners in the company. We all got together and started masterminding what this company would be like. We gave John some ideas about toxicity in the world and all these rare diseases popping up like fibro myalgia, Lupus, chronic fatigue, asking him to look at why this was happening. We talked about obesity and why it was at an all time high and John, literally, sat at the table and said, "I've got the product! I know what it is. We're going to create the ultimate cleansing and fat-burning system." He created this cleanse that helps rid the body of impurities and then some phenomenal shakes and that's how the company launched. It was just amazing! We started testing the products and discovered new found health coming to people. Our product really, literally, changes people's lives. Most people are deficient in minerals and John put his minerals in there and then we cleanse the body, releasing a lot of the impurities, and the magic happens. Losing weight, feeling great, having more energy and new found health is just so powerful.

We launched the company March 23, 2002, and it's been growing quickly. We were profitable in our second month and in the first nine months we did $18 million in volume. In the next full year we did $38 million and last year we had over $50 million, and we're on track to see over $65 million in volume this year.

I want to go back to how you got into this. Was there any reluctance on your part? Yes, well there was some. I actually went through a lot of personal growth and development classes during my hiatus. I took a class called the 45 Day Challenge, which was hosted by one of the Tony Robbins trainers who knew me personally pretty well.

I went through this challenge and after I finished, I decided I do have the energy and I do have the passion and I do have the ability to do it one more time, if I can control the company. We were sick and tired of people failing, of corporate greed and stupidity and so Jim and I decided that if we could control the company we would go back and create a huge company, a billion dollar company. Our goal is to create the largest health and wellness nutritional company in the world.

Really, our vision is to create a safe home for people; one they can count on, where they can get passionate about network marketing again, that they can believe in the leadership of the company.

We wanted products that could free people from pain; both physical pain and financial pain. Our dreams are coming true as we speak. We have created a group of amazing people. We have leaders in and coming in to our company that are the cream of the crop. We have people that have never been in network marketing that are earning $1 million a year. Now, in just three years, we're creating millionaires! It's due to the outstanding results of the products and our outstanding compensation plan.

Tell me about the focus you have in terms of training people and educating people to create the kind of culture you want. That's one of my major contributions to the company. I've created all the tools for the company, because I know how important tools are for creating duplication. We have state-of-the-art marketing tools that are very affordable. We've created a dynamic website that is going under a complete revision right now. We also have all of our training and marketing tools right online, so people can just go to the website and find out about Isagenix. I've created what's called Isagenix University, where we bring people into the corporate offices and take them on a tour of our beautiful facility. We have a facility here in Chandler, Arizona on 14 acres, 63,000 sq. ft. and we're ready to break ground on a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility on our campus. So, we bring people here and we train them exactly how to do the business using the systems we've created for their success. Their businesses are duplicating very quickly because of the systems we've put together.

Additionally, I go out all over the continent, and do trainings. I was just in Toronto last week and I'm headed to Manhattan today. I'm on the road all week, training and motivating, and we've created Executive Trainers with the company that are doing exactly the same thing.

What's the nature of your trainings, Kathy? Oh, the basics, and we teach hands on about our products; how to share the products, how to use the tools to share the products.

What kind of tools? We have DVD's that are done by medical professionals, which explain the products, so that distributors don't have to be the expert. All they have to do is plug it in and people understand the product and they just want it. It's working.

Then we teach people how to develop their goals and vision. And we also teach them what their daily method of operation should be and how to go out and talk to people about the products and the business. We teach people how to enroll people and work a system, both a recruiting system and a training system. An additional thing we do at this University training is teach them how to understand the compensation plan. I've created a compensation plan DVD, so all they have to do is plug it in and it explains the compensation plan so everybody gets it.

Can you tell me about the prospecting/recruiting system you teach? What does that look like? Sure, we teach people to approach someone and make an appointment. It's important to have the time where you get their undivided attention. We use the telephone primarily, but sometimes people make these appointments as a home visit.

What are the things that you teach people as ways for them to actually get that commitment from people? Oh, I have people approach their warm market and also go out and talk to new people every single day. We have some people that are running ads and they're building a business that way.

I think it's really important, for business growth, to have the commitment to talk with three new people a day.

There are many modalities for people to use to introduce themselves to others. We have people hand out an audio CD for prospects to listen to the information. If they are talking to someone on the phone we have people 3-way them into a call that has a great, compelling message about Isagenix, including testimonials. Then we have them take people to their website where they watch the 'Have it All' DVD. We were on ABC News and Fox News and that's included in the DVD. Then we have them enroll people right online.

90 percent of our business comes through the Internet.

Do you use the Internet for training people? If so how? Yes we do. We do a lot of training online. In our back office we have training modules where people can go in and be trained by some of the top people in the company. They can choose, 'The first 24 hours' or 'The next 48 hours', like that, and they can also select a module by subject: how to prospect, how to enroll, how to close, how to build value in your organization, that's all online.

We also have the front of the room trainings because there is nothing else like that. That's what really builds the culture of a community.

Say more about that, why is that— more so than online? Because there's nothing like the bonding experience that goes on at the University Trainings. They meet Jim and me, they meet the corporate team and our top leadership, and they get to really see our commitment to them and to the company.

My husband, Jim is now CEO and President. Spending time with each other really builds the passion. When they are with us they really feel our commitment and that gets them very, very passionate and builds their belief. That's key and I don't think you can do everything on the phone and online. I think those are great tools for accessing information and enrolling people.

I truly believe that you need to get in front of people. If you want to have the loyalty and long-term commitment with your distributor force you need to bond with them.

Of course we go on cruises together and we have phenomenal conventions. One of them was at Caesar's Palace in Celine Dion's room; we're going to be back at Mandalee Bay this next year.

Kathy, how much of this is you doing what you saw work before, when you were in the field? That's exactly what I'm doing. I saw all the things that I did that were successful and I just duplicated the model.

Have you made mistakes with this company? Everybody makes mistakes, but what I can say is that if we feel we've made a mistake we immediately rectify it. We have a motto, and this is why people are so committed to us, and out motto is,

"If it's not right for the field, it's not right for the company!"

I'm that person in the company. I've been in the field. A lot of the people at corporate, they have all been in network marketing, but they haven't been in the field. I bring that aspect to the decision-making level. I know what's right for the field and what's wrong for the field and that's what I bring to the table.

Kathy, tell me, what have been the best things about network marketing for you? The best thing about network marketing, for me personally, has been the relationships that I've made with the people that I've met and the lives that I've touched. I really want to make a difference in people, I want to bring the skills I've learned and share them to help others become successful in network marketing. I know that I have that ability. I have the ability to bond and share my excitement and expertise and I truly believe that the company has been successful because of that.

For me it's been about personal growth and development. My biggest fear in life was about speaking in front of the room. My second biggest fear was explaining a compensation plan, and now I'm very passionate about talking about the compensation plan to the point where I created the marketing tool that explains it and people have fallen in love with it.

So, it's been about making a difference in people's lives and personal growth and development. And also, another 'best', is impacting world health. I truly believe that with Isagenix we are impacting world health. We are changing people's lives.

That's what really drives me; it's the stories, the thousands and thousands of people that have new found health.

Because let's face it, we live in a toxic world, our soil's depleted and the world needs our product.

How has this changed you from being that 'reluctant to get involved' person to being a co-founder of a company? I think it's helped me convey the message to other people, because as I speak in front of 300, 500, or 1000 people, there are so many people out there that don't have the belief in network marketing and after they are done with one of our presentations they do believe. We make them understand the possibilities and that there is nothing better that they can do with their lives. It's free enterprise at its best. It's a way of affecting a lot of people's health and wealth.

What do you see for the future of this industry?

I truly believe that what we will be a role model for the industry. That's what Jim and I want to do, we want to give back to the industry so people have that belief.

There really are a lot of good companies out there and I truly believe we will continue to prevail and be one of the strongest industries out there— as long as we keep the integrity up.

That is one of our goals, to have a company with integrity, that people can count on, because it's the companies like that— and I'm grateful there are many of them— which will absolutely explode the industry. More and more people are turning to network marketing because they need more income. They can not make it without. Even when I was growing up, my mother never worked and now it takes two people to support a family. Network marketing is definitely coming of age.

Kathy Coover is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Isagenix international, which she co-founded in March of 2002 with her husband, Jim Coover and John Anderson. Kathy and Jim currently live in Scottsdale, AZ with their son, Erik, 18, overseeing their company of 60,000 active distributors and 1400 new people coming in each week.

ATTACHMENT COACHING | PARTNERSHIP | PROFESSIONAL GROWTH | TRAINING Finding passion in your business There are three things every successful network marketing leader shares (and shares with their people): A passionate, unshakable belief in the company— the products, people and plan; belief in the industry; and, belief in themselves. Add 'plan to your passion' and you become unstoppable. by Kathy Coover 2117 words | 9 pages AUDIO PROSPECTING | RECRUITING | TRAINING | SKILLS Kathy Coover Kathy is a nationally recognized and respected field leader and trainer in the direct sales industry. Since joining the industry 12 years ago, she has become a top money earner in three separate companies and generated millions in income. Her training and support systems have helped tens of thousands of entrepreneurs achieve new levels of success. as downloadable MP3s Prospecting and Recruiting Talking to people and bringing people into the business is the life's blood of network marketing. 70 to 80 percent of your and your team's time needs to be spent talking to new people. Kathy shows you a number of comfortable ways to successfully approach new people. 23:52 minutes 10 Name Quick Start How to build depth in your team and how to master referrals. Creating an unlimited source of leads is one of the keys to building a long-term residual business. 11:06 minutes Your 30 Day Challenge to Success Duplication is the key to building a massive income. Here's how to create the energy, excitement and passion and how to be consistent talking to new people and working with your team members. Plus a simple way to introduce both your product and business opportunity with credibility. 27:54 minutes