Hey Coastal members and prospects, This is my little advice thread on Coastal. The tips are only my opinions and are not the only way to work Coastal. There are so many great people with so much to share in Coastal so look over the forum and get all the details. 1- Treat Coastal like a business 2- Make a true gameplan and follow it 3- Become a student of the travel industry and learn your product 4- Learn how to advertise 5- Learn to outsource tasks ( use the systems available) In the next 5 weeks I will cover each topic in more depth. If you have specific questions please use the tools in the forum to contact me. Check out these Coastal tools a well. Our feature article in the HBC Magazine [Link removed - Admin] Coastal Proof http://www.coastalproof.com Official Coastal Tools + Training http://www.officialcoastaltools.com http://www.officialcoastaltraining.com Live Conference Call 620 -294 - 3000 pincode 1103# 10pm est Mon-Thurs Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
Quoting: ateamfuntimer1- Treat Coastal like a business 2- Make a true gameplan and follow it 3- Become a student of the travel industry and learn your product 4- Learn how to advertise 5- Learn to outsource tasks ( use the systems available) Gee Adam, I hate to put you on the spot....but we all know that doing a training once is way better than doing it hundreds of times. I'd like to ask you to expand on what you mean by "Make a true Gameplan and stick to it". I'm sure others have questions. Let's keep it on the forum here so we can all benefit. Jay NaPier
Quoting: ateamfuntimerIn the next 5 weeks I will cover each topic in more depth. That should explain the plan. Stay tuned. And Jay im never on the spot as my goal has always been to share as much info as possible. So be on the lookout. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
Treat your Coastal Business as a business. That is rule number one. So many people think well I only spent $1295 and I dont have employees or a storefront so this cant be a real business. Well folks that is as far from the truth as can be. This is the new wave of business. Automation and the internet have changed the way business is done. You need to change your mindset and understand that business is now a global industry and the number one tool is the computer. How can I treat my business as a business? Well first you have to model it after a traditional business. What does that mean you ask? Okay in any business you need a product, our product is travel. Respect that you are part of the 7 trillion dollar industry that it is. When you respect something you treat it correctly. As a business you need to make hours of operation. Marketing strategies need to be implemented. A plan has to be in place. As a serious business owner these things must be your top priority. I look at my business as a billion dollar empire and one day it will pay me that way. I know thats a lofty expectation but hey I shoot for a billion and get a million well ill still be happy. If you have Bentley in your driveway how would you treat it? Well Coastal can be that Bentley. Businesses have budgets so have one for your Coastal business. This is not a hobby. Many people have made 6 figures and some 7 figures in this business. Look at your expenses. See what your assets are as well as what your liabilities are. Understand and learn the business of business. Learn to barter services with other business owners. I cant tell you how many times ive bartered a great trip for a service. Give a printer at a print shop a much needed vacation and get your flyers in exchange. Maybe you can get business cards. I have even bartered trips for ad space as well as to secure rooms for a presentation. You have a business with an unlimited supply of inventory. Use that inventory. I understand how valuable my business is. It's like being the best looking person in the party. You know you have what everyone wants so you are the hunted. Act accordingly. Understand you are important and have something to offer. So many of us get desperate and chase people. We need that next sale so bad we lose our composure. Never be that person. When you are desperate the people feel it and will string you along. You lose all of your posture. Remember you offer a service that everyone loves. You offer it at an incredible price. This is my first tidbit of information on how to treat Coastal as a business. Stay tuned as I share my experiences and help all that are looking at this incredible opportunity. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
Thanks for expanding on this thread Adam...that teaser had me sitting on the edge of my chair!! Your right....What does "Treat your business like a business" mean?? For those who've never heard my testimonials, I've earned more in a month with Coastal than I did as a restaurant franchise owner in a year. To me, treating the business like a business has been more about focusing on what we do. We get paid to "Talk to People" now this can be done in a number of ways. I prefer leads - and not those expensive $5 - $10 leads that we see recommended so often. I had a team member of mine buy some leads from one of those $5-$10 companies and her direct quote was "I get the same results with the coastal budget leads" but without the big expense.. I keep a flexible schedule but I focus 2-4 hours a day on talking to people. Sometimes they call me...sometime I call them. I do this by design. I'm ONLY looking for people who are looking for what I have to offer and they generally call me after the first or second call...it's what I call A CLUE!!! I don't chase leads and I don't follow up with people who don't deserve me time. I keep an endless supply of people to talk with so I never get attached to anyone lead. I meet alot of great people, but remember we have a focus. Marketing is one of the most important parts of what we do. There are a number of ways to do it, but I MUST tell you there's going to be alot of trial and error in the process. I've invested $30,000+ per month in marketing and can tell you that every form of marketing is not created equal. I bought a convience store several years ago and the main reason the store was for sale is because the previous owner didn't keep regular business hours. This made it so his customers didn't know when he was open or not...so, many of his customers would buy products somewhere else if they didn't know he was open. It's important that you keep regular hours and work consistently on your business as it will allow you to build momentum in your business. Consistent activity is one of the things that has made it possible for me to be a full time, multiple six figure income earner in this business. There are many ways to build the business, but there are also many that do not work....yet, sound so good that people will invest their hard earned money into advertising and marketing, but when you put all your eggs into one basket and the basket breaks...your eggs are broken. I can't tell you how many times I've had people ask me about doing Travel Seminars, and they didn't realize that they'd have to have about $10,000 to do it right. You'll need a hotel room, advertising, projector system, light food, and some help doing the event too! One of the most important things you can do in your business is USE THE PRODUCT!! I'm so surprised how many people have a Coastal Membership, but do not use it. In fact, anyone who is looking at Coastal should ask if the person they are talking to has used the members. Last night on the call Scot mentioned Mercedes Benz. I own 2 of them and I've got to tell you they are a great car. But, just imagine if I'd gone to buy my Mercedes and the salesperson was driving a Ford. Nothing against Ford, but really....You've got to use your product. When I was younger my dad owned pizza franchises. We ate ALOT of pizza. I've had it every way possible...even burnt!! So, DO use your membership...even if you only take a small weekend away. I tell my team members to do it within 90 days of getting started. Jay NaPier Platinum Director Coastal Vacations
This is the second installment of the first segment of my 5 week talk on Coastal. I know that as we have comments from all of our readers on the forum it might get a bit hard to follow so if anyone needs clarification again I suggest using all the options Vishal has made available to contact me. What is a business? A business is where you have a service to offer and you exchange that service for something in return. Now for someone to want your service they must first have a need for what you do. I will refer to that as the "WHY". Now understand for them to give you some sort of 'CURRENCY" your service must be worthy. Would you spend your money on a new car if it didnt look new? Probably not ( some savvy buyers would use that as a opportunity to get a lower price). This exactly what happens when the perceived value of a product is lowered. You get haggling. Have any of you ever tried to haggle the price of a makeover in a beauty salon? Not many do they just pay the posted prices on services. You see they have established themselves as a viable business with a valuable product and you will even wait weeks to get an appointment to pay their price. They treat their business as a business and people act accordingly. I have never had problems with the money issue when it comes to prospects. I saw Coastal for the value is was right in the beginning. 5 cruises for $1295. That's a no-brainer. When I talk to a client I show them the value of the product. When they understand value they are willing to exchange their "CURRENCY" as now they have a big enough "WHY". I treat Coastal like the business it is. When I do that prospects act accordingly. Many of my teammates and associates work Coastal part-time. I give them the salon talk all the time. I assure them if they direct someone through the info and let them know you have specific hours for your business the serious prospects will follow the instructions. It indirectly conveys a few ideas to them. 1- First off they see you are serious as you act professional and have hours of operations. 2- It lets them know they can do they same. So many of us have way too busy lives so the last thing we need is another something to intrude on our lives. Again business owners understand this. Why do you think drive thru fast food stores do so well. Its the convenience. As you show a prospect that this business is an enhancement to their lives and not just an addition you will see your finances and time freedom soar. So step one is TREAT YOUR BUSINESS LIKE A BUSINESS! I appreciate everyone supporting this thread and look forward to some feedback via the contact info options we have. This is one of the ways I plan on giving back to everyone as the Coastal Business has given me and my wife so much. I have a few upcoming free teleseminars that I will be conducting on a variety of topics. YES I DID SAY FREE!!!! Be on the lookout for details but I will let the cat out of the bag and say that one of the topics will be about "How to sort people and not waste time". Also be sure to contact me for my free upcoming newsletter as well. It will be very interactive with lots of good info as well as resources for free tools. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
Quoting: ateamfuntimer let them know you have specific hours for your business the serious prospects will follow the instructions. One thing to keep in mind. When you choose the hours your going to work your business. Your not the only game in town and while you do get to choose when you work....the market place will choose how successful you become. A well liked business that is only open on Friday can be very successful, BUT can also fail. One thing I want to point out Adam...You've got your phone number, and the two links at the bottom of the post. There's no need to post the note about contacting you. Can we eliminate the sales pitch. People who want to call you will. Jay NaPier Platinum Director Coastal Vacations P.S. - One marketing tip. Know when your over marketing.
Jees Louise What is this? Freaky Friday? Full Moon? Can't you people that have issues with each other have the guts to pick up a phone - or use personal E or IM? If this is what Coastal is all about - do I really want in? I was taught that airing dirty laundry - especially in someone else's back yard - is beyond bad manners - and so unprofessional that this is beyond thinking. If this is what / how the "leaders" speak - it sure belittles Coastal big time. Group - being new here - is this the norm? Is this the general rule of how management talks to people?
Hi Bob, You are so right!!! You come in here to learn more about the Coastal product and how we market our business, only to find a lot of bickering. I would like to be the first to apologize to you for any bad behavior. Thanks for joining our discussions and welcome to the Coastal thread!
wapahm wrote: I would like to be the first to apologize to you for any bad behavior.. .......................... Thanks for the thought - not accepted as you have nothing to apologize for. Personally I feel that this Jay person and now this vernon person have very much put Coastal in a bad light - they need to apologize to Coastal - not me. I am not even a member of Coastal. And at this moment wondering what the hell was I thinking when Coastal seemed like a possible career change.
Hello Adam. I am new to the site and looking into becoming a coastal member. I have been doing lots of research about the business oppty as well as the travel package itself. I truly believe that it is good to become a travel member and getting to know the benefits of membership prior to getting into the business side of it. So in my research I came across something that has me stuck. (someone I know had this experience):"While checking out the benefits of using the condo card (access card) looking for condo's and rates using the Point N Click. He found a rate of $575 for a 7 Nite stay at a Cancun Resort. A rather nice one because I've actually stayed here before myself. But when he was about to book it he read the conditions stated. It said he had to pay an addition fee pp/per nite of $120 ea (2) plus $30 per child per nite (2) which seem extremely high as a add on to the $575. It came out to be around $2675.00 w/o airfare or tax's, etc. When he prices the air it became not so great a package deal afterall. Can you shed some light on this. Maybe he misread the conditions of the purchase. Here is what it said, "All units have air-conditioning, TV and telephone. Hotel units OCC: Max 2/Pri 2 have 1 king bed or 2 double beds and 1 bath. MANDATORY ALL INCLUSIVE PROGRAM, 2005 FEES: WEEK 1-16; 51; 53:1 ADULT US$125/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$95 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 17-34; 40-50:1 ADULT US$112/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$82 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 35-39:1 ADULT US$105/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$75 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 52: 1 ADULT US$175/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$145 PER PERSON/DAY 2006 FEES: WEEK 1-4:1 ADULT US$137/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$107 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 5-16; 50:1 ADULT US$150/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$120 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 17-35; 40-49:1 ADULT US$125/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$95 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 36-39:1 ADULT US$120/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$90 PER PERSON/DAY WEEK 51 & 52: 1 ADULT US$194/DAY, 2 ADULTS US$164 PER PERSON/DAY Kids 5-16 years old US$30 PER PERSON/DAY Food, beverages, recreational activities, New visitor fee US$15 per person.2% State lodging tax applies. URGENT INFORMATION! 2 ADULTS $90 PPER/DAY. WEEK 51-52:1 ADULT $194/DAY, 2 ADULTS $164 PPER/DAY. KIDS 5-16 YEARS OLD $30 PPER/DAY NEW VISITOR FEE US$15 PER PERSON. 2% STATE LODGING TAX APPLIES. 2005-08-19GG4 Does anyone read these conditions and still think it's less expensive then going thru the traditional travel sites for hotel/air packages? I'm really close to making a decision to getting involved with the business and becoming a member of coastal myself, but that un nerved me a bit. I would not want people I gave the oppty. to become member's under me to call me with complaints about the packages they tried to book. Thank you for your advice.
Janine, this resort is an ALL INCLUSIVE resort, Coastal did not offer an all inclusive resort (as I understand it) until this past month so my ques is, the person who gave you such detailed information about a particular resort FROM the Coastal pkg, is he a director? Personally Janine as a travel agent and in defense of Directors knowing every single detail about each and every resort or condo even I as a travel agent MUST specialize in what country or state etc I will be offering vacations to at a particular destination. There is absolutely no way, unless a potential client or client requests information about a particular property can you know every single detail about that property! And I am speaking now about when you join as a Coastal vacations Director nor would or should anyone expect you to UNLESS you specialze in ALL-INCLUSIVE resorts in Mexico. There are literally hundreds if not thousands of condo's nationally and internationally, why would one Director have to know the specifics of each and every one? So I hope this eases your mind as to how many details you need to know about each and every property in the entire package. Unless you are a travel agent and your client requested you to locate a resort in mexico with details. When you join Coastal your Director should assist you along with Stephanie the BOD product development person who conducts calls mon thru thurs on explaining the package to you. Terri
THIS IS MY ONLY REPLY AS WE GO FORWARD. I THANK ALL THE PROFESSIONAL PEOPLE FOR ACTING IN A PROFESSIONAL MANNER. LETS MAKE THIS THREAD ALL ABOUT COASTAL AS I SHARE MY IDEAS ON IT. TREAT YOUR BUSINESS LIKE A BUSINESS Treating your business as a business means learning to adapt. New technology is always coming out and we must be able to embrace it. Look at traditional businesses like fast food. With the big push on health many restaurants now have meals that are much better for our bodies. They have adapted. Do you do the same? Email marketing is forever changing. Phone calling is changing. B2B presentations are different than when I got in sales. You must learn to adapt. This is the hardest part of any business. To learn how to embrace change and implement it without slowing down production can be hard to juggle. Take Contact Talk. I dont have the program but have been talking to many that have it. The going thing is that it takes some time to learn it. Many are faster learners than others so the slower learners will be taking time away from other business activities to get the jist of the program. That time can result in slower production. So you have to learn to weigh implementing new technology. My usual method is to have new technology overlap with my older technoogy. By this I mean test out new stuff before you do away with the old way. As you will continue to see I will always give examples of traditional business. It seems to me with all the downsizing and outsourcing of jobs that some day home based business will be traditional business. The good thing is the same principles always work. Give people good service for a fair price. Buy merchandise at wholesale and sell retail. Give customers what they want. I know that as you change your mindset about business you will see incredible result. In fact I feel sorry for many business owners I meet. There is a meat market in my town that my wife and I frequent. As we go there often we have gotten friendly with the owner and the fact we are business owners as well has come up. As we talked about us being in travel his eyes lit up. We asked where he would like to go and when and his response was ill be going on vacation in about 2 years from now. I asked why so long and he explained that he has no one he can trust to run the business in his absence. Thats is painful. Here is someone living the so called american dream that cant even enjoy the fruits of is labor. I am so happy we are in the industry we are in. I get up when I want, go to bed when I want and live the lifestyle I want. What better life could I ask for. I get to interact with so many incredible people and learn as I go. If you want the best life you can have then get in a home based business like Coastal and treat it like a business and get ready for amazing rewards and blessings. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
When staying in all inclusive resorts in Mexico especially, one will need to pay for their food or the all inclusive fee to stay there. You are only paying for the condo with Coastal. So yes, you pay the all inclusive fee and in my experiences, paying the all inclusives and the condo fee through Coastal still beats full price everywhere else. If you save $500 well, that's huge. I stayed at Velas Vallarta in May of this year in Puerto Vallarta, and because I am a CEO of a large travel company, I negotiated FREE stay in the condo in a 3 bedroom and just paid $115 each day for my food and drinks. I probably ate and drank $150 worth each day too! As was stated, if you do choose an ALL INCLUSIVE resort through the vendors you'll pay the all inclusive fee for the week, when you check in and I feel it's fair and worth it.
This is the fourth installment of the first segment on Treating Your Business Like a Business In treating your business as a business you have to learn to think like a business owner. I like to model myself after the big boys in the industry. Walmart is a business I study alot. I hate going into the store but to be honest they have everything. They have learned how to be everything to everyone. Their shelves have all the new products at the best prices. How do they do that? Supply and demand. They buy wholesale and sell retail. They have the most supply for the products that are in the most demand. That is a recipe for success. By modeling myself like Walmart I treat any opportunity the same way. I always want to buy at wholesale and sell retail. I also want to market a product that the demand is high and I have a big supply of. That means that Coastal fits the criteria. And by deduction if I treat Coastal like a business I will be paid that way. Its all in the mindset and following certain business principles. There are business principles that work in any business. When we learn these principles and apply them everything goes well. I want you to ask yourself a question. When you talk about your business to others do you act like it's a small mom and pop operation or do you look at it as a major corporation? This is an important question. If you look at your business as a business others will treat you and it accordingly. Change your mindset and change your results. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
This is the fifth installment of my first segment on Treating your business like a business. Treating your business like a business means treating your customers as customers as well. This is a tough thing for many. In this day and time the going thing is the customer is always right. I totally disagree. The business owner is always right. You have the right to work with who you desire to work with. If you dont like a customer then dont do business with them. We are in the 7 trillion dollar travel industry. There will always be customers. Always keep your posture. Now with us being in a home based business many of us feel that we owe everything to a new associate. Thats a myth we should squash. The new associate is getting the worlds best travel package for the price they pay. Let's look at it this way. Right before my wife and I joined Coastal she went on a cruise that cost $1000. That was just for her. So when I saw 5 cruises for $1295 saw the value. Your new associate is getting a great value for their money. Plus every group I have come across in Coastal has all the training they need to do this business. You should just be their guide and mentor. I believe our thinking is skewed when it comes to what our director owes us in this business. Now the director should be a guide but lets take an example and compare some stuff. Many people go to college and pay 10's of thousands of dollars to be educated. Now even after paying all that money they are still required to work arent they? So why when you pay $1295 to your director and get a travel package worth well over 15k do we get mad at our director if they dont hold our hands? We have to take responsibility for our own businesses. If we start to look at our business in a different light and begin to act accordingly I assure you that you will reap the benefts. This concludes the first segment of my thoughts on Coastal. I appreciate all that have been looking in. Be on the lookout as tomorrow I begin to expand upon how to set up a gameplan and implement it. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
Adam, Great point. We are responsible to our team, but not responsible for our team. I do daily trainings with my team and it's upto THEM to attend, if they don't...the miss they training. I've found that holding the hand of your team does nothing for their success. It's like like when you were a kid and your parents would help you ride a bike...you had to eventually learn to balance the bike and ride on your own. This doesn't mean that you disconnect from your team, it simply means that your team must be active to get results. Jay NaPier
MAKE A TRUE GAMEPLAN AND STICK TO IT What is a gameplan for Coastal Vacations? Coastal is in my opinion a business in a box. Many of us make this business way too difficult. Let's take the facts. Travel is a 7 trillion dollar industry. People love travel. They spend so much hard of their hard earned money on getting away for those magical 2 weeks a year. 90% of the business is automated. We have websites, trainings, live calls, directors and forums. Everything you need to run your business is right at your fingertips. Where we go wrong is not putting together the right gameplan to follow. Now many put this job on their director but to be honest it's on you as your own boss to make the right gameplan. Your director can guide you but its up to you to find the right way to run your venture. Let me start with a story. When we started this business my wife and I made a gameplan. We took a week off to put this plan into effect. Our first step was to evaluate our strengths. In any business venture you have to accentuate your good points. Both of us are good with people so we understood that getting in front of people would be good for us. Next we looked at my wife's strengths on the phone. We knew that if we got her on the phone with people many would join our organization. These were big strengths of ours so we had to make them stand out. Here are some things you need to evaluate about yourself as you make your gameplan. 1- How much time do you have to put into your business? 2- How will you break that time up? 3- How are you going to advertise? 4- What budget do you have to advertise? 5- How do I use my strengths to my advantage? 6- How do downplay my weaknesses? Think of it this way. If you have phone-phobia why would you just buy leads? You are wasting your time and money. Maybe you need to better use that time to be in front of people or maybe buying other forms of advertising. Another thing people make a mistake in is spending their time on the wrong task. So many spend crucial time on training when they should be doing other activities. Training is crucial but id rather do an income producing activity if at all possible. The goal in business is to make money and income producing activities always should have a high ranking in what to do next. Stay tuned for the next five days as I go over the points in making a gameplan and sticking to it. I hope that many of you will get something from the experiences that have been through. Adam Frederick 302 476 2753
