<< back     Evangelist spreads word of health By Amy S. Blough Baptist evangelist Stanley C. Harris D.D. wants to talk about spiritual and physical health to anyone who will listen. For the past 20 years, he has traveled across the country, trying to persuade his audience about spiritual things. With an eighth-degree black belt in karate, Harris gets his point across by kicking pieces of wood to splinters. “It’s a unique combination,” Harris said. “People usually listen pretty well when you break stuff.” For almost a year, the Harrisburg resident has had an additional mission; to convince people to buy air purifiers, water purifiers and other products from EcoQuest International, a 15-year-old network marketing company based in Greeneville, Tenn. It also sells household cleansers, heaters, bedding covers, vitamins, herbal supplements and ceiling fans. After Harris did some research on EcoQuest, he found that he and EcoQuest are communicating a similar message about physical health: the importance of pure water and air. EcoQuest handles marketing for Alpine Industries, a Greeneville, Tenn.-based manufacturer of the ozone-based air and water purification systems. EcoQuest spun off from Alpine in January. In 1998, Inc. Magazine’s list of 500 fastest-growing private companies ranked Alpine Industries 84th. EcoQuest has about 420,000 dealers across the country. Harris described EcoQuest as a network marketing company. The Federal Trade Commission defines network marketing companies, also called multilevel marketing or matrix marketing companies, as organizations that sell goods or services through distributors. Commissions are made based on a person’s sales and the sales of people they recruit into the program. Harris’ sales technique is to convince people to try the products for three to five days in their home before they buy. The products are not medical devices. “I don’t like salesmen,” Harris said. “I think a salesman is someone who gets someone to buy something to benefit him [the salesman]. I just like helping people. I help people spiritually, and with the health seminar physically, and now I can help them financially.” “I enjoy not having to talk people into it,” he added. For 20 years before becoming a dealer for EcoQuest, Harris was a Baptist evangelist, often traveling 320 days out of the year, from church to church, to make his presentations. Because of the travel, Harris started having stress-related health problems, and began looking for a way he could stay at home with his family more often. About 11 months ago, while speaking and performing a karate demonstration at a convention in California, Harris was told about EcoQuest’s air purifier, and given one to try out in his hotel room. Within two hours, it removed the cigarette smell in his room. He was interested in buying it, and was told it cost $659, but would cost him $415, if he would sign up as an EcoQuest dealer and pay $35. He did, and now he travels less frequently, about 200 days a year, incorporating EcoQuest information into his karate presentations. EcoQuest offers its dealers trips to international places, after they reach 15,000 “business volume points.” Each items is worth a certain number of points. If they reach 15,000 points within six consecutive months, they are given the title of sales manager, and given money to lease a car. EcoQuest reimburses them up to $800 per month, or an amount up to 125 percent of the car’s value. Within six months after he started, Harris became a sales manager, and earned a car, a Lincoln Navigator. The company reimburses him $800 a month to lease the car. He pays nothing for the Lincoln Navigator. Harris’s title is coordinating sales manager, and he supervises four sales managers and 500 distributors across the country. One hundred of his distributors are pastors, and he says four of these pastors have been able to quit their second jobs as a result of their EcoQuest work. Harris has made as much at $10,800 per month. He makes his money mostly from training other people to work under him to sell the air and water purification machines. Harris’ mission is to contact ministers in poorer churches, who aren't’ paid much, but can use the money they make in EcoQuest to supplement their earnings. “A lot of guys…would start inner-city churches. The church does its best, but doesn’t make any money. The goal is to get 40 different preachers into the program so they can quit their (second) jobs and do ministry full time.” One of his pastor/distributors is Oliver Lee, minister of a church in Allentown, and landlord of some apartments in that city. Harris came to Lee’s church to do a karate/health presentation. “ I knew him, I didn’t know what he did,” said Lee. “he told me about this air machine, how it would kill mold and bacteria.” Lee said he was remodeling his home at the time, and was having trouble with moisture getting into his family room, which caused mold to grow. Lee used a humidifier, but that dried the air. The air machine kept the air moist, but kept the mold from growing. After this experience, Lee started selling EcoQuest products, and usually makes about $1,400 each month, selling the air and water purifiers or other products part-time. Harris also focuses on attracting other people from the African-American community to sell EcoQuest products. If his audience is mostly athletic people, he emphasizes his karate. If ministers are in the group, he emphasizes Bible verses relating to business and prosperity. Every Tuesday night (9:25-10:00 PM ET), he sets up a conference call (1-580-431-8000 code #6759) to encourage his African-American distributors. “ I see a lot of African Americans interested in working for themselves. I see a great opportunity for minorities to start their own businesses,” Harris said.     << back

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