Main by Instance. Residing the American Dream
The DSN Lifetime Achievement Award will not be given out yearly. It’s reserved for the true legends of direct promoting—these time-tested titans which have formed the channel and impressed its management for many years. The third-ever recipient of this prestigious award is Rudy Revak, the craftsman behind a number of extremely profitable corporations together with Symmetry and Xyngular.
Rudy Revak’s launch into the direct promoting trade started with a chilly name from a complete stranger.
A German refugee, Revak was raised on a rooster farm in New Jersey, the place his dad and mom, Hungarian and Romanian refugees themselves, fled after the warfare. Revak was attending college on the GI Invoice after coming back from Vietnam and dealing full-time in retail when he acquired a cellphone name inviting him to a enterprise presentation that might finally change his life.
Revak drove 60 miles to attend that assembly and watched as the person within the entrance of the room wrote “$30,000” on the board. Revak remembers the person went on to attract circles and squares, explaining reductions and construct a enterprise, however it was all a blur.
“I didn’t perceive any of it,” Revak shared. “I used to be simply targeted on the $30,000. If they may present me make that—I used to be in.”
Whereas Revak was determined for alternative, this one got here with a catch—and never a small one: buy-in would price him $3,217. “I used to be 23. I had no cash, and my household had no cash, however I used to be excited.”
Revak’s enthusiasm was catching, and his father noticed the potential. “They’re exhibiting you work good, not arduous,” Revak remembered his father explaining. However $3,217 was out of the query. Nobody in his household had that sum of money mendacity round.
A couple of days later, Revak’s father handed him a verify to cowl the buy-in prices. He had gone to the financial institution with out his son’s data and leveraged his house and farm to borrow the cash. “When he introduced me that verify, he advised me, ‘I need you to have the prospect that I by no means had.’”
The Braveness to Strive
Revak’s buy-in purchased him a basement filled with cleaning soap, which, he admits, didn’t make for fast success. However a mix of his German work ethic and mentorship by pure salesmen, like Marty Day, Invoice Bailey and Jim Rohn, gave him the increase he wanted.
Revak was promoted to space coordinator in Maryland, the place he turned one of many prime 5 space coordinators within the nation. Enterprise was booming. Earlier than his subsequent promotion, the corporate’s management requested him if he could be prepared to go to Germany as an assistant vice chairman—a leap over his scheduled promotion—the place his crew and total revenues grew as effectively.
Revak shortly turned the corporate’s go-to chief. After Germany, he helped develop markets in Sweden, Finland, Italy, Spain and Mexico. Throughout a management stint in Canada, he was launched to what would grow to be the muse for later ventures: dietary supplementation.
In 1995, Rudy launched his personal firm, Symmetry, a well being and wellness group, then Xyngular in 2009, an organization primarily based on a single-line compensation plan and single product, which he ultimately merged into one firm. Revak then led the acquisition and rebranding of PUREhaven in 2016.
“I’ve at all times had the braveness to strive,” he shared. “I needed to be taught the enterprise; talk with individuals; and promote. I needed to overcome the concern of speaking to individuals. Folks becoming a member of at this time have the identical fears.”
4 Pillars of Success
As he appears again over his profession, Revak can level to 4 core beliefs and behaviors which have helped propel him to many years of success.
1 / Exhausting Work
Rising up on a rooster farm, Revak discovered early on that arduous work was important. When the rooster feeder broke, he remembers his father telling him to go work out repair it. Figuring out work arduous—even while you don’t really feel as much as the problem—was his first key to success.
2 / Perception
There are many alternatives for at this time’s direct sellers to really feel down about themselves, and Revak has watched because the world has grow to be accustomed to placing individuals down and telling them what they’ll’t accomplish.
“Folks have a tough time believing in themselves,” he defined. “They suppose it takes a particular individual to do unusual issues, however it doesn’t. It’s simply atypical individuals who do probably the most unbelievable, distinctive issues on this world.”
3 / Perspective
Folks don’t purchase your merchandise; they purchase you. This mantra has been integral for Revak as he has led and constructed groups the world over. When direct sellers are energized by their mission, the individuals they’re speaking to can’t assist however be a part of them. He believes individuals comply with emotions over information, so enthusiasm is important.
4 / Persistence
That is the place Revak believes the magic is discovered. Over breakfast early in his profession, Revak recollects a mentor asking him why his gross sales had been dismal. After rattling off excuses, his mentor handed him ten paper clips to maintain in his left pocket. Each time he talked to an individual, the mentor instructed him, he may transfer a paperclip to his proper pocket. On the finish of the day, he had higher have moved all ten.
“It bought me into the exercise of what I wanted to do,” Revak remembered. “All of the sudden, I didn’t care about ‘sure’ or ‘no.’ My objective was to maneuver these paperclips. On this trade, if you will get individuals persistently working their enterprise and sharing the message, in the end they’ll discover others who will be a part of them.”
Dedicated for Life
Revak remains to be extremely engaged within the trade as a mentor and chief. In his spare time, he flies his small airplane, rides bikes and drives race automobiles. To Revak, age isn’t a very good motive to cease doing what he enjoys.
He lives within the Houston space along with his supportive spouse, Pam. His son, Brandon and spouse Michelle, reside simply 10 homes away. Revak feels lucky to reside so near his three grandchildren who’re the lights of his life.
“I’ve beloved this trade for all these years. I’m nonetheless in it as a result of I adore it—not only for what it has achieved for me, however for what it continues to do for therefore many individuals. It gives the chance for individuals to achieve their desires. Folks will ask me after I’m going to retire, and I say, ‘From what? I like what I do.’ This trade has modified my entire life. I’d do it once more, 100 %.”
DSN congratulates Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Rudy Revak. Thanks for over 50 years of excellence, integrity, management and imaginative and prescient.
From the June 2023 concern of Direct Promoting Information journal.
