by Andrew Miller
Thisweek Newspapers

Greg Van Gompel became a Watkins sales associate about the same time he met his wife, Conni.

It was no coincidence.

On one of their first dates in 1993 Greg invited Connie to his place for a spaghetti dinner.

He was running low on the Watkins hot sauce concentrate his mother had given him, and happened to ask Connie if she knew anyone who sold the products.

She did -- Connie herself was a sales associate for the Winona-based company known for its vanilla extract, cinnamon and black pepper.

"I married into the business,î Greg said. He and Connie, of Savage, use the home-based business to supplement their incomes. Greg's an attorney in Eagan, and Connie is a credit manager in Eden Prairie.

The organizational structure of Watkins is such that when you recruit a new sales associate, you receive a small percentage of every sale they make. Likewise, a percentage of sales you make goes to those above you in the sales chain.

Greg feels the Watkins hierarchy is essentially a win-win situation. Regarding those above him and his wife in the chain, "It's in their interest to make sure we've got a marketing strategy in place,î he said.

Watkins, founded in 1868, traditionally relied on door-to-door sales, as captured in the 2003 made-for-TV movie "Door to Doorî starring William H. Macy as a Watkins cleaning solution salesman with cerebral palsy.

But now the success of the business depends on getting the word out about the products through other channels, Greg said. The key is effective networking.

In addition to belonging to the Suburban Home-Based Business Association in Savage, they network through the Savage Chamber of Commerce, at craft shows, and at Good Tastings, a Watkins-specific product sampling set up by appointment in people's homes.

"For us it's still the old tried and true method of getting people to try the product,î Greg said. "You don't have a storefront people can come and view, [so] you bring the storefront to people.î

One major advantage of having a home-based business is the freedom it allows. "It's something we can do on our own schedule,î Greg said. "The beauty of this is that you can work as much or as little as you want.î

Andrew Miller is at savage.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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