I understand that you are now ready to go PLATINUM. Well congratulations. I now want you to get a little more serious about what you are doing. There is no question in my mind that this level really separates the successful from the not successful. By statistic and track record less than 10% of those that get to GOLD get to PLATINUM and beyond. There are reasons for this and of course the reason you are doing this with me is to avoid the problems by understanding what ELEMENTS need to be in place. We also want to understand what we must do to get the end result.

In order to make sure we are on the same page I am going to assume that you have done the first two steps. If you bypassed these sections  please go back and make sure that you at least read them over and understand the content. In going Platinum we are going to be spending most of our time helping our 3 front line Silvers who helped in going Gold.

I want you to understand that you are going to be shifting your viewpoint to those below you rather than yourself for all of the run  to Platinum and this will also be expanded. If you have been Gold for some time and you are now deciding to play again then I would for sure have you go back and actually do all the previous steps.    

We are going to approach this the same way as the previous sections, as we will do all the way up the Comp Plan. Oh and by the way. You will not be able to go to the next section until this one is complete and that means that you have attained the Platinum Level. How will I know? Your going to tell me because your going to be pretty darn excited. I’ve been there.

CHECKLIST

                           This is the Going Platinum Checklist. Use this list to make sure you complete each item. When complete sign and date that you understand and or have completed that item and then E-mail when finished. If you are doing this for information only as you are a Platinum and above then you don’t need to e-mail in anything.

1. OVERVIEW_________________________

2. THE PLAN__________________________

3. CALENDAR_________________________

4. TWENTY-ONE CLUB____________________________

5. HOW TO WORK IN YOUR GROUP_________________________

6. DEALING WITH TIME___________________________

7. TARGET OUT PRODUCTION___________________________

8. BUILD ONE LEG AT A TIME______________________________

9. CONFERENCE CALLS_____________________

10. MONTHLY EVALUATION______________________

11. EVENTS__________________________

12. GETTING INTO ACTION_______________________

I,___________________________HAVE COMPLETED ALL 12 ITEMS IN THE GOING PLATINUM CHECKLIST.

            BY_____________________________

            DATE___________________________

                          What is Platinum? The definition in the Comp Plan( see the definition in the Nikken Policy manual), is what needs to be accomplished. However I would still like to expand on this. If you make mistakes at this level, it can cause major problems. We want to, at all costs avoid these mistakes and I will let you know them all, as time goes.

                          Over the years the strongest and most successful distributorships in my organization have one thing in common...Depth. In order to make that happen there was an intense focus on the development of their groups below them. I also found that it was extremely difficult to work with more than two or three groups at a time. Thus I am going to make this statement that the best way to get to Platinum is by creating 3 front line Golds.

                          If you draw out the two ways to reach Platinum you will see that the 3 Gold structure has a minimum of 12 Silvers while the 6 Silver structure has 6. I have also observed that for those that built 6 front line to get to Platinum, lost at least a couple because the up line was too busy breaking new Silvers versus working in depth. When the focus is rank it is sometimes easier to make a Silver than a Gold so we will take the route that is easiest. But this does not mean that we have a true Platinum distributorship.

                           The benefit of Platinum is getting paid to the fourth level. So depending upon how many levels you have developed Leaders on will really determine what kind of a distributorship you have. I have found that when individuals reach a rank that is not what was expected they can easily get deflated and walk away. Building this business the right way is worth it’s weight in gold.

                           We want to start out with the Structure that we want to have happen so when we reach Platinum we will be well on our way to Diamond and beyond. Let’s take a look.

                                                 YOU

          GOLD 1               GOLD  2                   GOLD  3                    NEW  NEW   NEW       SIL  SIL   SIL    SIL          SIL  SIL   SIL             SIL  SIL  SIL

                 SIL            SIL          SIL                       SIL

               SIL                    SIL   SIL

                        As you can see the plan here is to develop 3 front line Golds and then move on to find 3 more to move on to the Diamond level. With this idea in mind you will have a strong distributorship that will grow through the first 3 legs while you move on and create the next three. Plus if you keep the press on with the first three they in turn can move up to Platinum and you will have your diamond with three Platinums.

                       The key here is that your first 3 Golds provide you with a group that is beginning to develop Vested Interest. It should be obvious that the plan is the same for everyone. After Silver is Gold and after Gold is Platinum. Therefore everyone's plan is similar.

                      With you spending time helping your 3 front line to get to Gold makes you money in the short term and also in the long term. The more one has going on under them the longer they are going to stay active and involved. In theory you could make millions of dollars as a Platinum. The key is going to be based upon the Vested Interest of your 3 front line.

                     Draw out a 3 leg Platinum distributorship with 290 Leaders doing over a million a month in Volume. This should tell the whole story. I always found that it was easier working with someone else who was working also. Take a good look at this structure as an option to building your Platinum distributorship.

                     Now on the other hand sometimes it just happens that you find 6 to go Silver and or you are close to this now. Then there are some important items to remember. Your future success is going to depend upon the activity below you. Let’s take a look

            YOU

               SIL       SIL       SIL         SIL       SIL         SIL

                     For most who build this way the key becomes depth and activity. As only 10% of those who go Silver, go Gold it is important to understand why. It’s the support system that usually falls apart. You expect the Silver to grow and they don’t for whatever reason. Too much time goes by, they run out of their warm market, life gets in the way, they go broke, something else comes along. There are lot’s of reasons for this to happen.

                     So when you build a SILVER plan out GOLD from the start and stick with them to get the job done, even if is a long time. Now it should be noted that I expect that you have recruited someone who wants to play and is playing!!!! If you don’t have a player and you want this to work you need to go find one.

                    One more point here on your long term plan. By observation there are many Diamonds that are stuck because they only have 3 legs that got them there. You will eventually want six to make it to Royal. So make sure that your plan projects this somewhere along the line.

 3. CALENDAR

                    You are now well prepared in using your calendar. Leadership is based upon the establishment of activities. At this level more than ever your view of your group and activities and events become extremely important. Make sure you have and know what your group has planned and what you plan for the group.Leadership could be said to be the establishment of activity so that production will occur.

4. THE TWENTY-ONE CLUB

                              In Section 3 we went over the idea of the Twenty-one club and the fact that you should establish these with your key front line to help them get to Silver.  Pass on this idea now as your front line work with their key leaders to go to Gold. Your role here will be to assist and participate whenever you can. The more your team is involved with setting up and doing the Twenty-one club activities the bigger your organization will become.

                           One of the realizations I had in building this business was the understanding of the economics of the Comp Plan. Nikken pays out about 60% of the wholesale volume. So for every $100 of volume a potential of $60 will be paid back to the distributor force.

                           Now it is how this is paid out that becomes important to understand. We know that 20% is paid in wholesale rebates and then a potential of 6% for 6 levels or 36% will be paid out for leadership bonus. Heres the key. You want this 36% in your organization, as it in certain terms is the energy that is required to Fuel your business.

                          When you are Silver you can have 12%, Gold 18%, Platinum 24%, Diamond 30% and Royal Diamond 36%. Your future income (residual) will be based upon how many leaders you have in your organization that need to qualify to get their paycheck. Therefore the deeper your organization is the more of the 60% you will have working for you.

                          If you draw out a structure for Platinum, you would want to see activity way below your fourth level. If you get paid to the fourth level then your fourth level leaders will need to have activity below them so they have a need to qualify. I developed a scale for each level to provide future security.

                          Silver       pays 2 levels          develop to the 4th level

                 Gold         pays 3 levels          develop to the 6th level

                 Platinum   pays 4 levels         develop to the 8th level

                 Diamond   pays 5 levels         develop to the 10th level

                 Royal        pays 6 levels         develop to the 12th level.

                        If you want the benefit of the level then in order to get paid those on the bottom level of your pay zone need to have activity below them for the short run and they need to qualify to get paid in the long run. You always want to drive your business below your pay line as this will ensure pay throughout your pay line.

                         There's an old adage which states that you should never reward non production. What’s non production? It really must be defined as non contribution of any kind. We know that there are 3 resources in our business. Time, people, money. If I had a prospect that could provide one of the 3 then that would be a contribution that I could then help.

                        Many times you will find prospects that don’t have the time...right now and they don’t really understand the deal yet. You know that they have money and people that you could utilize to prospect and have product for.

                        The bottom line here is that you want to work with those that want to contribute and participate. It becomes your job to figure out who those folks are. In the future your income will come from 3 areas. Autoship, Qualifying and random sales from inactive people. So you want to develop these three areas along the way.

 7. TARGET OUT YOUR GROUPS PRODUCTION

                                   Remember how you felt in the beginning. It was so nice to have someone who knew what they were doing direct traffic. So keep this in mind as you develop your business. Set the production targets that are realistic to the ability and resources you are dealing with.

                            There’s nothing worse than no guidance here. Also make sure that you don’t overwhelm them by being unrealistic. So back up your targets with a complete breakdown of activities as they relate to the individual and their circumstance.

                             As an example when I was moving from Platinum to Diamond. I needed 8 Silvers under my front line. I had to make a decision to see who on my front line would be up for the task. I had four to choose from so essentially I had a spare. The 3 I decided on did get the job done and it took a total of  8 months, well worth it I must say.

                             Another point here on this subject is that if you have the right person to work with, this whole idea works real well. If you don’t get ACTION as a result of this then you have a problem that needs to be dealt with. Now sometimes and this applies to those that have a down line, your productive person is below your front line. In a case like this there are a number of options and these should be dealt with on a one on one basis with an experienced up line. I will be more than willing to do this with you.

8. BUILD ONE LEG AT A TIME

                                   You will find that as your group starts to grow there will be a large demand for your time. You more than likely found that out, going Gold. For the most part I have rarely seen everyone producing at the same pace. My suggestion here is to pick the one that really is the hottest to get to Gold and then spend the majority of your time here. Get the job done and then move on.

                                    If however, you have another one ready at the same time then obviously you need to divide your time accordingly. It all depends upon the strength of your leaders and the activities you have planned. If your leaders are in the same area then you can do this as most if not all the events will include the entire group. If you have leaders in different areas and you need to travel then this becomes a slight bit more difficult.

9. COMMUNICATION-CONFERENCE CALLS

                                   You will find that when you have a strong leader who wishes to build this business, you will be speaking many times a day. It is not much different than other work environments where people work together. I also found that team calls were very helpful in keeping everyone up to speed.

10. MONTHLY EVALUATION

                                We operate on a monthly calendar for rank and pay. Each new month brings a new Production period. I have found that we all need to evaluate the past or current months activity to set the stage for the new month. Now it’s what and how we evaluate that makes all the difference in the world.

                                 By keeping track of results (statistics) we can get a quick view without much effort and then we can adjust our game plan accordingly. Here are some basic guidelines.

                 NO RESULT- get into action

               DOWN RESULTS- change what you were doing

               SAME RESULTS- promote more

               SLIGHTLY UP RESULTS- don’t change a thing

               STEEPLY UP RESULTS- economize both time and money, most people who have this happen tend to sit back and spend. What you want to do here is put the press on and keep it going up.

                                 The larger the organization the more you must rely on statistics. The reason being is that you have too many places to be at the same time and this type of approach will cut down your time and effort and also it will make you look like a genius.You also want to make sure that your leaders are getting what they want or are at least getting closer to what they want. This will keep the motivation high.

11. EVENTS

                                Events are a key activity to build your business. The local level event such as Wellness Previews and training are a must. As an up and coming Platinum you should make sure that these events are going on. They provide stability for the new comers.

                               I remember when I came back after being away for 3 ½ years. There were no meetings going on. The first thing I did was set up and establish a meeting for the WP and training. This activity gave me a forum and a place for people to come to. There were 4 people at the first meeting but it grew to a point where 150 people would show up on a regular basis.

                              Leadership can be based on the establishment of activity so that production can occur. This meeting helped me go Diamond and Royal Diamond. Now there were two other events that played a significant role. One was the EXPO. This type of event was done once or twice a year and would usually attract out of town speakers and more guests. As it is a one or two day event there is more stuff for the distributor to partake in and learn.

12. GETTING INTO ACTION

                               Getting into action should be easy at this point. Identify your team and then work the program as it relates to those in your organization. It takes as long as it takes and it is all based on doing the activities. When you meet the requirements set out in your plan you will arrive at the level.