"While many companies and representatives are very successful with this type of business model, we just wanted to create a little different concept in the industry. What we do that is different is show people how to save money that they are already spending."
-Mel Gill, CEO of Team Effort International

Npros: When did Team Effort International open for business ?

Mel Gill: We opened our doors on October 30, 2002.

Npros: What do you feel makes Team Effort International unique in the network marketing industry ?

Mel Gill: When we started this company our goal was to create a very unique business model that would allow the representatives to be able to share in the corporate profits, and we wanted to do this without having to take the company public. As a result, what we created is a privately-held, debt-free corporation where the normal money allocated for big executive salaries and the usual corporate profits are re-directed back into the field in the form of profit-sharing bonuses. The ownership and management are paid as representatives, they receive no salaries or bonuses. Since they all earn their income as representatives, the result is a company and revolutionary pay plan designed for the representatives.

Npros: Can you describe the company products, services and benefits ?

Mel Gill: We market consumer savings services all under one umbrella. With everyone being concerned about the economy, everyone is asking "how can I keep more of what I earn?" We feel one of the easiest solutions to helping you keep more of what you earn is to save money that you are already spending. Our representatives make money by helping others save money.

We have cost-saving services where the consumer can save money in many different areas such as travel, leisure and entertainment, dining out at restaurants, going to the movies, online shopping with discounts as well as substantial rebates at the most popular name -brand merchants, computer software, a tax reduction program, significant savings on healthcare benefits, physician visits, prescriptions, vision and dental, a legal services plan, home loans, and much more. We have no competition with our savings plans.

There are companies -- both in the network marketing industry as well as outside !the industry -- that specialize in one or another savings plan, but we are the only company that has successfully packaged a range of savings products and services that cross all age and income brackets. These are products and services that have mass appeal.

Npros: Can you elaborate on what makes marketing these consumer savings services different or unique in the network marketing industry ?

Mel Gill: We wanted to provide a business model for our representatives to be able to market products and services that required no selling on their part; products and services that just made sense and sold themselves. While many network marketing companies have wonderful, high quality products or services; there is an education process on why someone should take their money and spend it on those products.

In most network marketing companies, because of their product lines, you have to get the retail customer as well as the representative to spend money on something that they may not already be spending money on, so there is a little selling and educating involved, you've got to educate them on why your products or services are great and once you've done that, then you need to have them open their checkbook to buy those products or services.

While many companies and representatives are very successful with this type of business model, we just wanted to create a little different concept in the industry. What we do that is different is show people how to save money that they are already spending. There is no need to sell or convince anyone on saving money; it really is a no-brainer. The prospects say "this just makes sense."

Npros: What do you feel about the future of network marketing with the Internet?

Mel Gill: I believe it is a perfect marriage. It really has leveled the playing field and allows a representative to become successful a lot faster and with a lot of leverage. When I started in this industry 14 years ago, everything was done offline, and building your organization was labor intensive. To open new countries and support my international organizations, I had to spend a lot of money and time traveling as well as very high phone bills.

Today, because of all the technological advancements, I can do a Web cast, hold a web conference, stay in touch via email and communicate using instant messaging. It is definitely a lot easier for a representative of a network marketing company to build a national and international organization; and with the way the internet and technology keeps moving, it is only going to get better.

Npros: Can you give us some insight on how are you using the internet and technology for marketing?

Mel Gill: We have had our programmers develop an in-house marketing system, called the Team Effort Success System, This system, which is an online business building system, makes it easy for reps who are very part time to still be able to build a large organization. By having it in house, it gives everyone access to it, not just if you're in a particular downline organization.

The Team Effort Success System does a lot of the preliminary work of developing pre-screened prospects, not just leads, qualifying those prospects, presenting information, following up, and more. We have also contracted with a professional online marketing and advertising firm to bring us pre-qualified prospects who have already been exposed to Team Effort. By doing so, our representatives do not have to waste time with tire kickers or people who are not serious. This also allows them the option of working with an unlimited number of prospects to market to, not just having to rely on speaking to friends and family in order to build their business.

Our representatives only speak with people who are contacting them for more information on Team Effort. Having a system like this in place, that is company developed and sponsored, makes it very simple and easy for the prospect to see how they themselves can build the business when they join. Over my 14 years of building organizations in the cold market, I found that the two biggest questions prospects would always ask are, "is it real ?" and "can I do it?". Once they are sold on the company, they then have to be sold on whether or not they can do this. It really helps to have a system in place that the masses can duplicate; after all, systems are duplicable, people are not. We are approaching our one year anniversary and I feel we have not even scratched the surface yet with our unique business model combined with this system.

Thanks to Mel Gill, CEO of Team Effort International for responding to our interview queries.
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