Pallets-to-Profits XS Success Story: Mitzi Wallace

For 26 years, Mitzi Wallace enjoyed being a high school history teacher in southwest Colorado.

But since leaving that educational realm in 2006, the IBO has shifted her focus to helping teach others to develop their own independent businesses. And lately, she's been helping write a new chapter in XS Energy Drink's successful history.

A Founders Platinum three times in her eight-year Quixtar/Amway journey, Wallace has enjoyed a resurgence spurred on by the XS Pallets-to-Profits program.

Over the first six weeks of "leading with XS"—or making contacts by initially sharing XS Energy drinks with prospects—Wallace has added three new personal IBOs and 11 IBOs overall in her organization.

As Wallace trained a new contact about approaching people with XS, he became immediately excited. Since they happened to be at a restaurant, he was able to translate that enthusiasm into action by calling over two servers. He asked them to sample XS, both responded favorably and the soon-to-be IBO, T.J. Wooten, already had two new IBOs on the spot.

Shortly thereafter, Wooten and Wallace bought a pallet. They have since been in the process of moving the cases of Cranberry-Grape, Wild Berry, Tropical and Citrus.

"It's been really good to be able to have that on hand," Wallace said. "I know if you have it, you'll sell it," said Wallace. "The P2P program really brought that home."

Wallace has grown along with XS over the years—she began building her business around the same time that XS emerged quickly as one of the top SKUs in the Amway business.

"I remember distinctly being at a function in Phoenix and the Citrus and Cran-Grape came out," Wallace said. "We were excited then, but I don't think we really knew what we had our hands on."

She credited her upline Emeralds, Mike and Kara Lanctot, with providing an outstanding example via hard work and creative ideas that they share with IBOs in their group. "They don't just tell us what to do—they actually lead the way," said Wallace.

She also lauded the Yager team for creating an environment that fosters developing new ideas on a regular basis.

"What successful team doesn't come up with new ideas?" Wallace said. "I am proud to be part of an organization that places such a high value on being teachable and open to new ideas."

A turning point for Wallace was in July, when she was on a team conference call in which XS co-founder David Vanderveen was a guest. She heard Vanderveen relate the success that others were having by leading with XS.

That approach, rather than the longtime practice of connecting with prospects via the overarching business opportunity, "clicked" with Wallace. She began making contacts more confidently and easily.

"Contacting people about the business can be fumbling or scary or whatever," said Wallace. "Having XS and leading with that has become a super way to contact people. Before when I told people about XS, it was after telling about the business first. This is leading with XS completely, then showing the business plan. That really helped me and my team a lot."

What's striking about Wallace's experience is the immediate impact that new IBOs experience. One young man got registered at a restaurant, bought a case of shots and then, fresh off being taught how to make an XS contact, sold one outside to a server in the parking lot.

The new IBO then went to a birthday party and sold the rest of the case of shots as well as three-quarters of a case of regular XS Energy drinks. "The results my team members have been getting by leading with XS have been outstanding," Wallace said. "It's generating great believability and great confidence."

One lesson that Wallace has learned is that IBOs are likely better off ordering the mixed case version, which features a variety of XS flavors, rather than ordering individual cases of the top four flavors.

"Those black boxes of the mixed case just make such a bigger splash when you're displaying them," she said. "XS is so easy just to be everywhere. We are working on getting leads from events that we're holding. We have one new IBO from one event."

"At another, a diabetic who had tried XS a year ago had been looking for the drink ever since," Wallace added. "After finding us, they bought two cases and then two more. Then they saw the plan and now have plans to become IBOs."

Wallace has coined a phrase to capture the widespread passion that new customers display when first sampling the drink.

"Watch their face and wait for the `Wow,'" she said. "They all say it. Wait for the wow!"

So what’s your Retail Sales story? Got one…please send it to us at success@xsgear.com