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Facebook The German Genealogist since 1979 aka Karl-Michael Sala: "2009: Great year for client genealogy research success! Since just 2008 alone, on Linkedin.com/in/GermanGenealogist, 42 people have endorsed me: clients, coaches, colleagues, companions, genealogists, professor, teacher, teammates, et al. Thanks to my son-in-law, Paul Andrew Johnson, for having introduced me to Linkedin! But there is a clear message that I'll be working more on my own in 2010. I'll still offer a 50% discount for initial research retainers. We did much on-site personal research in 2007-2008 at the Kassel Landeskirchlichen Archiv. Lynell & I extracted countless ancestral family members' data from microfiche of the Evangelical Lutheran church records of German parish registers."

LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET THE HECK OUT OF THE WAY!

4th of July 2008, Independence Day! This is the day that Karl Sala finally declares his independence.

He knows who he is; has performed tremendous--some say near-miraculous--client & personal ancestral research deeds on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, & is, oh, so much more cognizant of what he now needs to do.

OVER THREE DECADES, for various products & services, Karl has tele-marketed to thousands for electronic parts, time-share property, insurance, investments, etc.; knocked on thousands of doors for home security; talked with thousands of prospects for solving their customer service & financial issues.

AT FIDELITY INVESTMENTS, Karl brought in millions of dollars while serving only as a retirement specialist customer service rep.

IN A TRUE SALES POSITION at CrossCheck, a Rohnert Park, California check-guarantee company, with Karl's generally excellent telephone demeanor & tactful follow-up, he made a record-breaking sale (Starving Students Moving Company). However, in other sales positions, statistically speaking, Karl should have racked up more sales. But, why did he not?

NO--you owners & sales managers--it is NOT Karl's pitch that needs tweaking! You have done a great job in helping him to maximize his already great, natural talking-to-people skills. Some say: "It's just a numbers game." Well, NEWS FLASH: the numbers we need to do have markedly increased!

BY THE WAY, please, stop treating your sales rep's like numbers, for they are mostly valued workers who are doing the best they know how. You should be "wining & dining" them!

WITNESSES: The dismal facts about the economy was testified by many, but also yesterday by Karl's head marketing manager of a Las Vegas time-share call center. Based on a comparison to the same quarter of last year, their sales numbers are down at least 25% (but likely more). In the meantime, Karl is earning a token $8/hr. For 3 days' work, he took home $97. Woo-hoo.

TURNOVERS TO CLOSERS: In two different industries with differing marketing methodologies, with a great voice & normal, non-sales-sounding pitch, Karl has "turned over" an average of 1 qualified lead per hour to a seasoned closer.

ACTUAL SALES STATISTICS: Out of those, in 25 time-share attempted closes, ZERO sales have resulted. In home security, over two months, only 1 qualified (cleared credit, did not back out, etc.) sale/week resulted. "Oh, don't worry," the managers & owners keep saying, "You'll get one soon." The closers did just fine, using all their appropriate songs & dances.

RECESSION: Owners & managers want to blame the salespeople for their alleged laziness for lack of sales. Nobody in business & sales wants to admit it, but It is now incumbent upon us to realize the actuality that we are in a serious recession, & take steps to find a

SOLUTION: This does not mandate that we all give up. Instead, it requires some tweaking of the marketing attitude, methods, ways & means--& perhaps also the product &/or service. We must work smarter.

HOT SUN: Karl Sala has capably & without dizziness, worked door-to-door in 115 degree, no-clouds, full-sun, outdoor situations. He has now called & marketed to thousands of depressed, destitute, disinterested, fickle & otherwise negative persons.

THOSE WHO DO NOT LEARN FROM HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO REPEAT IT: Karl will now take these varied sad & wonderful experiences & apply them to ancestry, genealogy & family history research. This means that Karl & Lynell will do genealogy research & genealogy workshops not only in the Phoenix, Arizona area, but also other states (countries?) willing to pay for THE VERY FIRST TWO PEOPLE INTERVIEWED, SELECTED & HIRED FOR ANCESTRY.COM's Expert Research Team! And, for THE GUY who fielded the MAJORITY of the phone calls made from Germany to Ancestry.de, i.e. Ancestry.com's mainland European website!

EUROPEAN SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS: At these proposed group seminars & one-on-one workshops, Karl & Lynell Sala will help people find what they seek; assist them with computerization, online & offline data, onsite & off-site documents, etc. They will thereby develop some private in-home clients & pre-paid consultations.

FOLLOW-UP WITH PROSPECTS & CLIENTS: Karl, in June 2008, by telephone, went to his genealogy clients & was able to get one $500 retainer in the mail. Karl followed up with a client yesterday who thanked Karl for having followed-up on the client's procrastination. He is allegedly sending the data, documents & dollars. Karl mentioned that he was moving in a week or two, so "could you send the package right away?" Yes, he assured Karl. Mal sehen (we'll see). The point is: call &/or visit the clients & prospects like you did the other people in Las Vegas & across the USA!

MORAL OF THIS BLOG? Go market, sell & service what you love & believe in. Inject some drama, song & dance, but keep your day-job. As Karl's Dad counseled: "Decide what it is you love to do & would perhaps do for no money at all. Then, go & do all you can to earn all you can in that occupation." Karl says: "In this world, without someone selling something, nothing happens."

REALITY CHECK: IF Karl will discipline his efforts & time to actually utilize what he has learned from the business world, work as hard & long for genealogy research & international research workshops as he did for other products & services, he should neither need to seek nor keep the "other" day-job very long.

German Genealogist networks with others who know of his great German genealogy research skills and successes

"Lynell & Karl! Quick! Please help me find my ancestors--before I become one!" --a young Santa Rosa, CA client

"Expensive? No, Ma'am. Expensive is when you spend 30 years just TRYING to find what we often find in ONE DAY!" --Karl Sala

Lynell & Karl Sala's NO FIND? NO FEE! concept is one onto which they have finally grasped. They might accept, reject or counter-offer a customer's $ or barter (trade) offer. The notion had been given to Karl as a challenge over two decades ago by his Orem genealogy friend, Norm Moyes. In the early 1980s, while Karl was a student @ BYU, Norm, Wade Starks & Karl Sala car-pooled to the Family History Library in SLC.

After having proven to themselves (& hundreds of others) that they usually find what people are seeking, Lynell & Karl opted to also offer this NO FIND? NO FEE! as just one option for clients.

Within only four hours of online research, in 2007, Karl Sala found the Polish (Prussian) parish of origin for a client, who agreed in advance that she would compensate Karl $1,000 for that data. Yes, the Trzciel (Tirschtiegel) parish records for the place in question are available on microfilm! It was very difficult to decipher from the Hamburg Passenger List.

The client called back a week later, wishing for Karl to find her target ancestor on the 1880 Census. Within 15 minutes, Karl earned an agreed-upon $100 for that search & find. The client had no qualms about the $, for she had been trying to obtain that data for decades! Naturally, Karl is seeking more clients like this!

Find him/her who is great among you, and let him be your servant (read: leader).
When the Ancestry.com telephone research team was created, Karl Sala was hand-picked & selected as the very first researcher. Who was second? His wife, Lynell! This was because they usually found what the subscribers had been seeking for decades! They preserved or retained many subscribers. As per David Johnston, Ancestry.com manager, Karl also sold "...at least five times as much..." as the #2 salesperson in research revenue.

While assigned to the Ancestry.de project, on the overnight shift, Karl was assigned to take the majority of the phone calls from Germany. Several Germanic subscribers from various European countries commented how nice it was to actually speak with someone to get answers. Karl helped many researchers with their global research questions.

Unfortunately, Ancestry.com opted to forgo both of those projects. Lynell & Karl were then like broken-hearted fish out of water.

Lynell & Karl must now adapt & become more pro-active in their marketing.

Lynell &/or Karl-Michael SALA, USA, UK & European-Germanic, Germany & Prussia Ancestry Family Genealogy HistoriansSince 1979

FOUND THOUSANDS of ancestral family members for HUNDREDS of INTERNATIONAL CLIENTS!

NO FIND? NO FEE! If you cannot find it yourself, then make us a minimum offer of: $100 for USA or UK data, document or image; $250 for US passenger (ARRIVAL) listing data, document or image; $500 for European passenger (DEPARTURE) listing data, document or image; $750 for a Europe (mainland) record of data, document or image!

OR hire us @ $60/hr ($600 retainer requested). We could accept, reject or counter-offer.

410 S SADDLE ST; GILBERT, AZ 85233-6810

PHONEs 1-888-456-7252 (24-hr. TOLL-FREE) karlmsala@msn.com