Just as XS is a powerful tool to introduce people to the Quixtar business, it is also a compelling calling card to introduce others to your “day job” as well.

Consider the following account that Mike Rinehart, a Ruby IBO from Omaha, Nebraska, shared with us in April 2008:

About three years ago, as I was thinking about how to share information about the agri-chemical supplies I offer through Quixtar business-to-business sales, I decided to start bringing XS Energy Drinks on appointments.

I sell soil conditioner, seed coater, fuel additive and foliar fertilizer to farmers throughout most of Nebraska. They are spread across a wide area—a full 500 miles from east to west, and north to south from just south of the South Dakota border to just north of the Kansas border.

So, obviously, I need to make each visit count, even when farmers are so busy that they hardly have time to give me a wave from their tractor.

When it’s time to plant and when it’s time to harvest, farmers’ eyes kind of glaze over. They’ve got to get to work in a small window of time. It’s not uncommon for them to work 18 to 20 hours a day, four to six weeks at a time.

When I check in on them, I always bring energy drinks in my XS cooler. It’s a great advertising billboard. The farmer could be on a combine half a mile away, coming at me, and they’ll stop that big piece of equipment. If I didn’t have that energy drink on me, they’d wave and just keep going.

You don’t have to be young and hip and live in Chicago and go to a health club to enjoy the energy drink. You can be 70 years old and be a farmer and like ‘em.

The impact has been huge on my business—I’ve never had anything else like it. The important thing is to have farmers remember me, and XS is a unique, unforgettable calling card. It’s a great door-opener that breaks the ice. I’m not just there and gone—we each have a drink as we visit with one another.

There’s one farmer who is 3 ½ hours away. I was on the phone with him, letting him know that I’d be in his area in two days, and he said, `Yeah, come on out. I’ll be here. But if you don’t bring a case of the energy drink with you, don’t even come onto the place.’

Another time, a farmer told me, `Be sure to bring that energy drink. The boys are really thirsty.’

I also make sure to get the drink into the hands of their wives, since they make so many of the shopping decisions. Instead of giving just one can, I give two and I’ll say, `You’ve got to take one of these Cran-Grapes and give it to your wife—she’ll love it. It’s my wife’s absolute favorite.’

How much business have I done because of XS? I couldn’t put an exact dollar value on it, but there is 333 PV on a barrel of soil conditioner. Just last month, one farmer alone ordered 17 barrels of our soil conditioner. That’s a $12,800 order, and more than 5,600 PV. How many boxes of soap do you have to sell to get that much PV?