Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When is the next Q&A session by phone, and how I can be part of it?

Join the Director of Sher Success Teams and other prospective leaders for a Q&A call on Thursday, May 9, 2024 at 8 pm EDT or Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 2 pm EDT.
Contact director[at]shersuccessteams[dot]com for the phone number.

What's good about being a Success Teams Leader?

You get to help people go after their dreams. It's creative and fun. You meet the most interesting people in your area and you can make money doing something you enjoy.

What if I'd like to be a leader, but I've never led a group?

If you want to be a leader, you'll receive a SUCCESS TEAMS 8-WEEK WORKSHOP KIT that will run the group for you. All you'll have to do is get them together and turn on the audio MP3 files of Barbara's voice.

I'm already an experienced group leader and/or have other certifications. Why should I become a Registered Success Teams Leader?

Although you're entitled to create and run free informal Success Teams, those who have not applied and been accepted by Barbara Sher Online LLC as Registered Success Team leaders are not permitted to use Barbara's materials, even if you were a member of an official team.

Also, the following applies to leaders running informal teams without our materials:

1) We cannot refer people to you, and you must make it clear to all members you recruit on your own that you are not trained by us or registered with us. The reason: We are morally and possibly legally responsible for people we refer, and only with trained and registered leaders who have signed an agreement to use the methods Barbara designed can we be sure of what goes on in a Success Team.

2) You will not be a part of the ongoing online leader's support system.

3) You will not be listed in our websites as a Success Team Leader.

4) You will not be able to run Success Teams in corporations and other organizations without Barbara's permission. You must also make it clear wherever you run Success Teams that you are self-trained and not registered with our organization.

5) You must credit Barbara Sher for any material you use from her books.

How does the 8-week Success Teams Workshop actually work?

You'll use the materials in the kit to recruit team members and get them together for the eight weekly two-hour meetings. After everyone sits down, they'll be handed their own Success Teams notebook with worksheets. You'll tell them to open to the proper page and you'll turn on the audio of Barbara discussing the learning that will go on at that week's meeting.

The audio MP3 clips will direct every step of the meetings. It will explain what everyone needs to know, tell them which worksheet to use, and give careful instructions for the next step. It will even tell you when to turn it off and on again! (The 8-Week Success Teams Workshop kit has been in use for over 30 years, and it works very well.)

Each week of the 8-week workshop is designed to teach new Success Teams skills to its members so that at the end of the 8 weeks, they can keep having meetings on their own, for as long as they like At the end of the 8 weeks, they'll also have a plan of action, and a number of contacts to follow up. And they'll know how to support each other, and how to avoid the pitfalls that make a team fall apart.

How will I get people to sign up for my Success Teams?

For your practice team, you will invite three or four friends or acquaintances to join you at no charge. The group of you will run an Idea Party, where you will meet others interested in going after their dreams. Idea Parties are a low-risk way for paying members to decide if this is for them. You can run them at any time.

The SUCCESS TEAMS LEADERS KIT includes a 60-second radio commercial which can generate many calls for information. [Click here to hear the commercial]

You'll be given professionally prepared flyers with testimonials about Barbara Sher's Success Teams from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, major newspapers and women's magazines and Fortune 100 companies.

You'll also receive instructions on how, when and where to post these flyers.

You'll get sample ads to place in your local newspaper.

You'll be given instructions on how to get local radio and TV interviews to promote Success Teams and send many phone calls your way.

When I get someone on the phone, what will I say?

Your LEADERS KIT and our online discussion forum will provide you with information on how to handle all questions. Remember, this is not a sales job. We don't want you pressuring anyone to join a Success Team and you don't want people in your Success Team who are reluctant to be there. However, anyone has the right to understand what a Success Teams is before they join one, so you'll have the following options.

1) You can refer them to SherSuccessTeams.com where they can read the real-life success stories, read excerpts from Barbara's books or go to Amazon.com to read reviews and testimonial letters from Success Teams graduates there.

2) You can ask them if they'd like to give you their e-mail address so you can notify them of any open-to-the-public events and Idea Parties you may be running.

3) You can invite them to an informal Question and Answer get-together at a coffeeshop or restaurant.

Before you know it, you'll have people lining up to be in your Success Team. You'll be given complete instructions on how to follow up, how to collect fees, etc.

Then what? How will I know what to do with them at the first meeting?

You won't have to know. You'll play the audio of Barbara's introduction to Success Teams. We'll explain more fully below, but first, listen if you like to the opening words.

After that, Barbara's voice and the workbook will take over.

How is the Workbook used?

It's completely coordinated with Barbara's voice on the audio MP3 files. She'll give instructions on how to proceed, and since her audio instructions are coordinated with the worksheets, a Success Team can theoretically run itself without a leader using these materials. But in most cases, a real-life leader makes a big difference in the team continuing over time and sticking to guidelines.

Will I have to do any selling?

No. Great team leaders sincerely want to help people. While they can sell people on themselves with utter sincerity, they may not be great salespeople in any other way. You'll be given all the materials and methods you need (see above) to get people to call you or come together for a Question & Answer get-together. If people are still uncertain, you will never try to convince them. Even if you are a great salesperson, I don't want you to apply the slightest pressure to persuade people to commit to a Success Team.

In the long run, your teams will be far more successful if they're made up of people who want very much to be there. For those who remain uncertain, ask them if they want to be notified of other informal get-togethers, send them to the ShersSuccessTeams.com site or to the local bookstore to look at Sher's books and let them decide if they like her approach. Tell them to call you if they want any further information. And let them go.

You'll be left with exactly the kinds of people you want to work with, interested, cooperative, self-starting and most likely to stick with the team after your 8-week involvement with them is over.

What happens after each 8-week workshop is completed?

As soon as they "graduate," the Success Team members will run their team on their own for as long as they want to.

You should stay in touch with them, keep up with their progress and invite them to Idea Parties given by your next Success Teams. You might also consider having a big Idea Party once or twice a year where everyone comes together. We'll give you instructions on how to assemble and run it. And you should encourage them to share any successes, large or small, with you and with their online support list.

Once they're independent, the teams may find that they need your help every now and then to get them back on track. Success Teams create friendships, and it's not always easy to hang on to the focus and structure on their own. When you come in to help, you may charge a fee per member for a "Team Clinic."

How long does the Success Teams Leader training take?

Your Success Teams are your training. Training begins at once and never ends, as any experienced Success Teams leader will tell you. (That's why being a leader never loses its fascination!)

Any difficulties you encounter or questions you need answered will be taken care of by Barbara and/or experienced Success Team leaders as they come up, by the online discussion forum you'll be a part of, or by email.

How much does it cost to become a Success Teams Leader?

All of the details about your 8-Week Workshop Kit can be found here.

What about running Success Teams after the first one?

As soon as you've run one Success Team, you will be permitted to copy all the workbooks and other materials from the 8-Week Workshop Kit — everything but the audio MP3 files — and use them to run as many 8-Week Success Team Workshops as you wish. You can use the names you've gotten from our newsletter announcements of upcoming teams. You are also are encouraged to continue to put up fliers, use the radio commercials and the other methods outlined in the kit to continue to make people aware of existence of Success Teams and to generate one Success Team after another. Some facilitators find that they have 2 or 3 Success Teams running at once when they continue to use the materials they were given.

Also, since the seventh week of every team is an Idea Party thrown for the benefit of the Success Team members and attended by as many as 20 non-members (friends and acquaintances invited by the members) every 8-Week Success Teams Workshop will introduce many new people to the magic of Success Teams. You'll have signup sheets available for them and you'll find a number of them wanting to sign up for the next available Success Team.

Can I run teams using Skype, Google Hangouts, webinars, teleconferencing or the like?

The first three meetings and the seventh (the team's Idea Party) must be in person. You may use technology for any of the other four meetings.

After you have run at least two teams in person for people in your area, you may request to join the team of leaders who provide Success Teams by phone for road warriors and those in areas with no leaders. We strongly discourage competing with other leaders for team members and run this program accordingly.

For team meetings, we never require high bandwidth internet access, which is often not available to our members who live in rural areas or must travel for work, but we welcome the use of Skype and other internet phone services to call in and the use of video between meetings by team members who have access to them.

Can I train other leaders to work for me?

No. All leaders permitted to use the copyrighted materials in the kit are screened and overseen by Barbara Sher Online LLC.

How much money can I make as a Success Teams Facilitator?

Since we don't want you to ever do a "hard sell" to bring people in to Success Teams and we won't allow you to train others in a pyramid or multi-level-marketing structure, you'll never get rich running Success Teams.

You'll have permission to reproduce and use all the materials and to reproduce the workbooks to run as many teams as you like. Some people run 5 or more Success Teams a year.

Success Teams have 5 or 6 members, and the rate we suggest leaders charge each team member for the 8-week program is $250-$600, depending on what feels right in their area.

How many teams must I run each year to remain a leader?

The people in your area need support, and it must be available to them. That means they're entitled to a local leader who is willing to continue to make them aware of Success Teams and give them opportunities to sign up for a Success Team experience. If you find that you don't have the time to sustain the level of involvement that will create at least two Success Teams a year, we ask that you let us know, and we will take your contact info off the web. You will still be a leader in good standing and can return when it fits into your schedule better.

Can I lose my right to use the kit any other way?

Yes. Because people's dreams and self-confidence can be in the hands of a Success Teams leader, only the most supportive and effective leaders should be running Success Teams. If at any time this doesn't describe you, you'll be notified and someone else will be selected. After one year, you can apply to be returned to the program.

Can I run free teams for schools, shelters, etc., without purchasing the kit?

We will almost always give you permission to do that. Since you won't be paying for the materials or online assistance, but you will be receiving them, the answer will depend on how much help we have available. We will need a letter from your sponsor, who will provide meeting space and workbook copying.

How It Works I Materials I To Apply