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5/16/12 7:45 PMSouthwestern: Student Entrepreneurs — Direct Selling News

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Training for Success

Training for a Lifetime of Success

Southwestern student dealers start their summer at thecompany’s famous Sales School, learning everything

May 01, 2011Direct Selling News

Company SpotlightSouthwestern: Student Entrepreneursby Barbara Seale

Few college students view summers as the foundation fortheir future. But each year for about 3,000 ambitious youngpeople, that’s exactly what it is. They’re the young adultswho spend their summers running their own businesses asthey sell Southwestern’s educational learning system tofamilies.

They come from more than 340 colleges and universities worldwide. Andeach one of them accepts the challenge to move away from the comforts ofhome, relocate to another state and work 12-hour days six days a week. ASouthwestern summer internship is hard work, but every time studentsknock on a door, they’re opening doors for themselves for the rest of theirlives. They learn life skills and maturity, and just simply make an incomethat few other summer jobs can offer.

Southwestern has offered its summer internship program since 1868, whenthe company’s founder, Rev. J.R. Graves, recognized that jobs were scarcein the Civil War-devastated South. Graves had established his company inNashville, Tenn., in 1855 as Southwestern Publishing House. The companygot its name because, at the time it was founded, middle Tennessee wasconsidered the southwestern United States. Initially the company soldBibles through the mail. But Graves developed a new sales concept. Heselected engaging young Southern men to sell the products door to door.

Since then, many things have changed. Southwestern’s influence hasreached around the world. It has become known for its independent-contractor salesforce of high-achieving college students who run their ownbusinesses. They finance their educations by knocking on doors all summerto sell a family-oriented, integrated learning system made up of educationalbooks, software and a subscription website. And the company’s salesforcehas expanded beyond charming, young Southern gentlemen to include men


Page 1 of 3http://directsellingnews.com/index.php/view/southwestern_student_entrepreneurs

Home News Features Financials Perspectives Exclusives Resources DSN Magazine Vendor Directory Advertise

NewsU.S. NewsWorld NewsExecutive AnnouncementsNews in Brief

FeaturesCover StoryCompany SpotlightYoung Company FocusIndustry with Heart

FinancialsFinancial NewsAcquisitions/MergersCanaccord SummaryCompany ReportsStock Watch

PerspectivesWorking SmartTop DeskPublisher's NoteDSA NewsAcademic

DSN ExclusivesSpecial PublicationsExclusive InterviewsSpecial ReportsDSN Global 100

ResourcesDirect Selling AssociationsEventsDirect Selling Education FoundationRegional ContributorsPersonal DevelopmentDSN e-Store

DSN MagazineOrder Back IssuesSubscribeAdvertise

Vendor Directory

DSN Store | Subscribe to the magazine

Training for Success

Training for a Lifetime of Success

Southwestern student dealers start their summer at thecompany’s famous Sales School, learning everything

May 01, 2011Direct Selling News

Company SpotlightSouthwestern: Student Entrepreneursby Barbara Seale

Few college students view summers as the foundation fortheir future. But each year for about 3,000 ambitious youngpeople, that’s exactly what it is. They’re the young adultswho spend their summers running their own businesses asthey sell Southwestern’s educational learning system tofamilies.

They come from more than 340 colleges and universities worldwide. Andeach one of them accepts the challenge to move away from the comforts ofhome, relocate to another state and work 12-hour days six days a week. ASouthwestern summer internship is hard work, but every time studentsknock on a door, they’re opening doors for themselves for the rest of theirlives. They learn life skills and maturity, and just simply make an incomethat few other summer jobs can offer.

Southwestern has offered its summer internship program since 1868, whenthe company’s founder, Rev. J.R. Graves, recognized that jobs were scarcein the Civil War-devastated South. Graves had established his company inNashville, Tenn., in 1855 as Southwestern Publishing House. The companygot its name because, at the time it was founded, middle Tennessee wasconsidered the southwestern United States. Initially the company soldBibles through the mail. But Graves developed a new sales concept. Heselected engaging young Southern men to sell the products door to door.

Since then, many things have changed. Southwestern’s influence hasreached around the world. It has become known for its independent-contractor salesforce of high-achieving college students who run their ownbusinesses. They finance their educations by knocking on doors all summerto sell a family-oriented, integrated learning system made up of educationalbooks, software and a subscription website. And the company’s salesforcehas expanded beyond charming, young Southern gentlemen to include men


of 3http://directsellingnews.com/index.php/view/southwestern_student_entrepreneurs

company’s famous Sales School, learning everythingthey can absorb about products and the selling processin a week of long days and evenings. But the things theytake from the school and then supplement in the schoolof hard knocks all summer will prepare them for alifetime of success that goes beyond sales.

Southwestern’s stated mission is to be the bestorganization in the world at helping young people todevelop the skills and character they need to achievetheir goals in life. The first step is in Sales School,where they learn skills such as goal setting, self-motivation and record keeping, as well as how to start aconversation with someone who doesn’t know you’recoming. A student dealer’s goal is to make 30 salespresentations each day. It’s an ambitious objective thatrequires mental and physical stamina.

Basically, the Southwestern experience usually turns astudent’s schedule on its head. “In college you study for12 weeks and have a week of exams. It’s the oppositein the book field,” explains Southwestern President DanMoore. “Sales School is designed to replicate the dailyschedule of the person in the field. They start at 8 a.m.,attend classes all day and finish studying and recordkeeping around 9 p.m. It gives them a preview of theirwork schedule and actually conditions them to startworking that hard for six days in a row before they moveinto the book field.”

Moore says he believes people are very resilient whenthey know what’s coming. Sales School gives studentdealers the tools to develop strategies to deal with theunexpected—possibly the most important thing theylearn. He is proud that Southwestern provides skills andexperience that the students’ future employers willdemand.

Moore explains, “Recently the National Association ofColleges and Employers surveyed companies andasked what characteristics they looked for that let theiremployees succeed on the job. Of the Top 10, nonewere related to their academic major. No. 1 wascommunication skills—not just the ability to text theirfriends to ask where’s the party, but communication withsomeone of a different age and background. If youspend the summer talking with 3,000 families across allspectrums, you learn how to get a message across, howto communicate an intangible concept or a key idea. No.2 was usually about initiative and work habits—theability to finish what they start, the ability to work ingroups, flexibility and adaptability.”

The sales field teaches those skills in a way noclassroom could. Employers specifically recognize thevalue of the Southwestern summer experience studentsreceive.

“Employers actually set up their search engines on sitessuch as Monster.com to scan résumés for people whohave a Southwestern background,” Moore says proudly.“That experience teaches character that involvesintegrity, the ability to get up when you’re knockeddown, persistence and doing the right thing even whenno one is watching. When young people are doingbusiness away from home, knocking on doors, theyhave to develop those character skills. Our mission hasalways been to help the student grow and be the bestperson they can be.”

Henry Bedford

Mentoring Millennials

and women of every ethnicity from almost 30 countries.

Impressive Income

Some students work one summer, making between $8,000 and $9,000 ingross profits. But at Southwestern, experience pays. About 25 percent ofstudents return for a second year, and those experienced salespersonsmake about $15,000. In their third year, they average more than $20,000,and by year four, students can average about $25,000 a summer. If they’vespent their school year recruiting other students and building what mostdirect sellers call a downline, then they also earn leadership overrides.

“The first-year student dealers sell and learn the business,” explainsSouthwestern President Dan Moore. “The next year they’ll have the chanceto recruit and lead a team by example, continuing to sell as well. The nextsummer some of those people will return and recruit, and so on. Becauseour company is very seasonal and does most of our business in thesummer months, a student could add a level to their business each year,and residual income builds throughout.”

That kind of income goes a long way toward paying college expenses.Moore says that at graduation the average college student nationwide hasaccumulated about $23,000 in student loan debt, plus $5,000 on creditcards. With Southwestern, they have the opportunity to changethis dramatically.

“It takes a long time for graduates who have not heard about our program toget out from under that load when they take on a full-time job,” Mooreexplains. “It’s always been a mission of Southwestern to help studentsbecome financially independent.”

Many Motivations

Like a number of Southwestern executives and employees, Moore startedhis Southwestern career as a college student, selling books door to door.He returned each year until he graduated with honors from HarvardUniversity. His next step was a natural progression—he went to work forSouthwestern. The experience created a deep appreciation for the culturehe now helps lead. He later earned an Honors MBA degree fromthe Vanderbilt University Owen School of Management.

“In my case, my family had financial setbacks when I was in college,” heremembers. “If not for Southwestern, I don’t know what I would have done. Icould continue to sell and build my organization every summer and pay thelion’s share of [costs at] what was a very expensive college.”

Moore had the financial incentive shared by manystudents. His fellow executive, CEO HenryBedford, started selling books the same year whilehe was a student at the University of the South, buthe sought out Southwestern for a different reason.He was looking for adventure.

“Sometimes people who have an adventurous spiritdo well at Southwestern,” Bedford notes. “That wasmy own motivation. I thought it would be fun to do,versus having an hourly wage job. I looked ateverything through the lens of how crazy it was.”

But he adds that, while the company seeks independent high achievers whoshow a sense of discipline, he can never predict who will do well in the bookfield.


Southwestern has found tremendous success through Millennials, peopleunder 30, who have been difficult for most direct sellers to attract. ButSouthwestern has based its business on this specific demographic for 143years (helping students since 1868 finance their education by selling books), so recruiting them is no mystery.

“The people I get to know all have the same fundamentals,” Bedford says. “They show tendencies for independence, motivation andinnovation.”

Bedford recently spent several days in “the book field,” Southwestern’s affectionate name for the communities where its student dealerssell.

“One reason I knocked on doors was to validate some of the conversation Iwas hearing about Millennials, but my experience showed me that peopleare the same,” he explains. “It was fun for me, too, because I could focus ondoing one thing well without a lot of distractions. I didn’t have 140 e-mailscoming at me during the day. It was refreshing.

“One thing I found was that today there’s a sense of [students] wanting tobe part of a mission,” Bedford continues. “I had read that kids today aren’tso interested in jumping on a career track at 21. Instead, there’s a tendencyto want to do something meaningful and helpful. I had already seen that inour young salesforce. I know scores of kids in the Southwestern programwho choose a cause and donate a portion of their profit to it.”

Bedford adds that top earners are rewarded with fun trips to the Caribbean


Page 2 of 3http://directsellingnews.com/index.php/view/southwestern_student_entrepreneurs

company’s famous Sales School, learning everythingthey can absorb about products and the selling processin a week of long days and evenings. But the things theytake from the school and then supplement in the schoolof hard knocks all summer will prepare them for alifetime of success that goes beyond sales.

Southwestern’s stated mission is to be the bestorganization in the world at helping young people todevelop the skills and character they need to achievetheir goals in life. The first step is in Sales School,where they learn skills such as goal setting, self-motivation and record keeping, as well as how to start aconversation with someone who doesn’t know you’recoming. A student dealer’s goal is to make 30 salespresentations each day. It’s an ambitious objective thatrequires mental and physical stamina.

Basically, the Southwestern experience usually turns astudent’s schedule on its head. “In college you study for12 weeks and have a week of exams. It’s the oppositein the book field,” explains Southwestern President DanMoore. “Sales School is designed to replicate the dailyschedule of the person in the field. They start at 8 a.m.,attend classes all day and finish studying and recordkeeping around 9 p.m. It gives them a preview of theirwork schedule and actually conditions them to startworking that hard for six days in a row before they moveinto the book field.”

Moore says he believes people are very resilient whenthey know what’s coming. Sales School gives studentdealers the tools to develop strategies to deal with theunexpected—possibly the most important thing theylearn. He is proud that Southwestern provides skills andexperience that the students’ future employers willdemand.

Moore explains, “Recently the National Association ofColleges and Employers surveyed companies andasked what characteristics they looked for that let theiremployees succeed on the job. Of the Top 10, nonewere related to their academic major. No. 1 wascommunication skills—not just the ability to text theirfriends to ask where’s the party, but communication withsomeone of a different age and background. If youspend the summer talking with 3,000 families across allspectrums, you learn how to get a message across, howto communicate an intangible concept or a key idea. No.2 was usually about initiative and work habits—theability to finish what they start, the ability to work ingroups, flexibility and adaptability.”

The sales field teaches those skills in a way noclassroom could. Employers specifically recognize thevalue of the Southwestern summer experience studentsreceive.

“Employers actually set up their search engines on sitessuch as Monster.com to scan résumés for people whohave a Southwestern background,” Moore says proudly.“That experience teaches character that involvesintegrity, the ability to get up when you’re knockeddown, persistence and doing the right thing even whenno one is watching. When young people are doingbusiness away from home, knocking on doors, theyhave to develop those character skills. Our mission hasalways been to help the student grow and be the bestperson they can be.”

Henry Bedford


and women of every ethnicity from almost 30 countries.

Impressive Income

Some students work one summer, making between $8,000 and $9,000 ingross profits. But at Southwestern, experience pays. About 25 percent ofstudents return for a second year, and those experienced salespersonsmake about $15,000. In their third year, they average more than $20,000,and by year four, students can average about $25,000 a summer. If they’vespent their school year recruiting other students and building what mostdirect sellers call a downline, then they also earn leadership overrides.

“The first-year student dealers sell and learn the business,” explainsSouthwestern President Dan Moore. “The next year they’ll have the chanceto recruit and lead a team by example, continuing to sell as well. The nextsummer some of those people will return and recruit, and so on. Becauseour company is very seasonal and does most of our business in thesummer months, a student could add a level to their business each year,and residual income builds throughout.”

That kind of income goes a long way toward paying college expenses.Moore says that at graduation the average college student nationwide hasaccumulated about $23,000 in student loan debt, plus $5,000 on creditcards. With Southwestern, they have the opportunity to changethis dramatically.

“It takes a long time for graduates who have not heard about our program toget out from under that load when they take on a full-time job,” Mooreexplains. “It’s always been a mission of Southwestern to help studentsbecome financially independent.”

Many Motivations

Like a number of Southwestern executives and employees, Moore startedhis Southwestern career as a college student, selling books door to door.He returned each year until he graduated with honors from HarvardUniversity. His next step was a natural progression—he went to work forSouthwestern. The experience created a deep appreciation for the culturehe now helps lead. He later earned an Honors MBA degree fromthe Vanderbilt University Owen School of Management.

“In my case, my family had financial setbacks when I was in college,” heremembers. “If not for Southwestern, I don’t know what I would have done. Icould continue to sell and build my organization every summer and pay thelion’s share of [costs at] what was a very expensive college.”

Moore had the financial incentive shared by manystudents. His fellow executive, CEO HenryBedford, started selling books the same year whilehe was a student at the University of the South, buthe sought out Southwestern for a different reason.He was looking for adventure.

“Sometimes people who have an adventurous spiritdo well at Southwestern,” Bedford notes. “That wasmy own motivation. I thought it would be fun to do,versus having an hourly wage job. I looked ateverything through the lens of how crazy it was.”

But he adds that, while the company seeks independent high achievers whoshow a sense of discipline, he can never predict who will do well in the bookfield.


Southwestern has found tremendous success through Millennials, peopleunder 30, who have been difficult for most direct sellers to attract. ButSouthwestern has based its business on this specific demographic for 143years (helping students since 1868 finance their education by selling books), so recruiting them is no mystery.

“The people I get to know all have the same fundamentals,” Bedford says. “They show tendencies for independence, motivation andinnovation.”

Bedford recently spent several days in “the book field,” Southwestern’s affectionate name for the communities where its student dealerssell.

“One reason I knocked on doors was to validate some of the conversation Iwas hearing about Millennials, but my experience showed me that peopleare the same,” he explains. “It was fun for me, too, because I could focus ondoing one thing well without a lot of distractions. I didn’t have 140 e-mailscoming at me during the day. It was refreshing.

“One thing I found was that today there’s a sense of [students] wanting tobe part of a mission,” Bedford continues. “I had read that kids today aren’tso interested in jumping on a career track at 21. Instead, there’s a tendencyto want to do something meaningful and helpful. I had already seen that inour young salesforce. I know scores of kids in the Southwestern programwho choose a cause and donate a portion of their profit to it.”

Bedford adds that top earners are rewarded with fun trips to the Caribbean

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