SOUTHWESTERN ADVANTAGE: 154 YEARS OF BUILDING ENTREPRENEURS AND LEADERS By Trey Campbell, Director of Communications, Southwestern
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ords can be powerful motivators. When used with a positive approach, words can inspire, persuade, and encourage. For generations, a quote has both roused and rallied the entrepreneurial spirit of young people from around the world. Proudly displayed in the halls of Southwestern Advantage in Nashville, Tenn., it states, “A great leader is a great recruiter.” A seemingly simple statement, but behind those seven words, a company culture has been established that’s transformed the lives of generation after generation of college students. Southwestern Advantage is not only the oldest direct selling company in the US, but it is also the longest-running entrepreneurial program for college students. The direct selling industry has long been a pioneer of the entrepreneurial pursuit. Recruiting—or teambuilding—plays a prominent role in the quest for personal growth and professional progress. In addition, for those rapt with the thought of running their own businesses, having a side hustle to help make extra money, or even seeking to develop life skills that sales and team-building can teach, direct selling can be a gateway to goals. Southwestern Advantage has bred leaders who, in turn, recruit others they see potential in and train them to be leaders in not just sales but life. At a recent seminar, our CEO Dustin Hillis recalled a conversation he had with former Chairman of the Board Spencer Hays, in which Hays shared some wisdom gained from a lifetime of direct selling. Hays told him
Southwestern Advantage is not only the oldest direct selling company in the US, but it is also the longest-running entrepreneurial program for college students. a little secret: “Southwestern Advantage is not a sales company. It’s a recruiting company. Recruiting built the business, and it is the foundation of the business. The company’s success is based on the talent we locate, engage, and train to be the company’s next level of leadership. Great leaders find other people to develop into great leaders.” Southwestern Advantage happens to do this through the direct selling business model. Sales is a means to an end. People are our product. Starting in 1868, countless numbers of college students have knocked on countless more doors. This was the year that Reverend J.R. Graves, who operated a mailorder business selling Bibles, books, and religious tracts, noticed an uncertain, challenging situation. Graves’s observations fixated on how students were having trouble paying for their education in the late 1860s. His solution? Start a business where the students could sell the products he published to families using the dsa-dsj.org
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