Interview with Roseann Higgins, for Success Talk Show “The Strip View Live”

TV Interview with Matchmaker Roseann Higgins, Founder of SPIES by TV Talk Show Host/Producer Maria Ngo and Producer/Camera Ray DuGray.
Perfect Business Summit 2010 … inside Palms Casino Resort

Maria/TSVL: Listen up all you single, available, fabulous people. This is the romance headhunter, Roseann.

How are you Roseann?

Roseann/SPIES: I’m better now! I like that introduction! Can you follow me?

Maria/TSVL: Absolutely! Everywhere you go, I’m going to be right behind you.

Well, tell me about this.

Roseann/SPIES: You’re going to like the people you see.

Maria/TSVL: I bet! I bet!

How did you get into the whole matchmaking industry?

Roseann/SPIES: A long time ago, I was going to events and when a guy saw me working a room and going up to the most attractive women there and getting their phone numbers, he’s like: “I want her! I want her on my recruiting team!”

And I’m like, Yah. Like that’s going to happen. Because I was in the Navy and this was not something I would have seen happening as a career opportunity.

But two other guys after that, one had been an Entrepreneur of the Year and he said, “Roseann, you should look into starting your own business.”

So I went and I looked at what they were doing in 58 cities, from Sydney to London, from Juneau to Tampa, in the Midwest from Chicago, you know, Dallas, Tulsa, I wanted to see what New York, LA…what are they all doing?

And they all seem to say, If you’re single, we guarantee we’ve got your guy or your girl. And I thought, I can’t guarantee you’re not going to meet ‘em on an airplane tomorrow.

But I can guarantee if you tell me exactly what you want, I’m going to get as much as I can as close as I can and I’m going to show you photos to make sure you both want to meet each other. And, the biggest thing I learned through my focus groups, do you want to know it?

Maria/TSVL: Yes. (she smiled, as Roseann continued my high energy spew)

Roseann/SPIES: You have to show photos. You have to show, you have to be able to not only show photos, but one girl said, “My girlfriends will never join.”

And I thought, How do I deal with that? What if I could go up and you were single, standing here holding a mike, I notice you’re not wearing a wedding room, and I haven’t looked.

Maria/TSVL: I am married. To the Producer behind the camera.

Roseann/SPIES: Excellent! Excellent! But I haven’t looked, so you know – I didn’t know. But if you were single and somebody that I thought was a fit, I could introduce you without charging you a fee. And if you were dead on, and he was exactly what you wanted? I could introduce you.

So I’ve had 51 people fall in love with their first date.

Maria/TSVL: So essentially, you are the best wingman to have. Right?

Roseann/SPIES: Well, a wingman accompanies you. I go out solo. I’m a soloist.

So, I go out and I go up to five events in a day. Since 1994, I have approached and met 45,000 people and recruited the 7,000 best eligible ones that any guy would stand in line to meet or any girl would want me to stand in line for them to meet.

Maria/TSVL: So give me some advice on this. Tips.

Obviously, the first thing is, you need to find somebody like this who can do the work for you.

But really, when people are looking to find their soulmate or the person that they, you really want to live the rest of their lives with.

What should they be doing? And, you know, you’ve seen the list, like the checklist. Are you this, this, this and this? No. You have eight out of the ten, so I’m not even going to look at you.

So what are some things that people should be doing to attract that person in their life?

Roseann/SPIES: Well, I think that most people just go with what comes up to them. That’s the first mistake is to take whoever that happens to approach them.

I think they should be more keen on who’s around them. And looking to see what opportunities are right in front of them. And also looking through newspapers, magazines to see what events appeal to them because they probably want somebody with some similar interests.

So be proactive. Put on their calendar at least two events a month. I’m going to go to these because I think that the guy I want or the girl I want is going to go there.

Now, if there’s a Fashion Week, you know, all the guys are going to want to go and meet all the attractive girls. But really, is who they want is just a girl who can walk a runway? Probably not.

So, so why don’t we go a little bit deeper into that wish list and see, ok so she’s gotta be attractive and she’s got to be intelligent, so maybe she’s going to be taking college classes at night! Maybe she’s going to be at the athletic club where people pay a membership fee because she has a job.

So, there’s strategic ways to go about finding somebody, if that’s what you’re asking. Um, and to think about…

It’s okay to have a list. I have a four-page questionnaire. I get to know you in a half hour on the phone before you even come into the office and meet you in person and I really go deep into discovering what are you really like.

If my phone rings, how do you react? Are you going to be nice when I introduce you to someone? You know, because my reputation’s on the line.

If two people show up, I want them to both look at each other and go…”Yea-aah.” (Roseann holds two fingers in each hand like mini-people nodding at each other.)

Both girls giggle.

Maria/TSVL: Well, I love this business. And what a fun business you get to be in because you are setting people up to find the person of their dreams.

How great is that?!

Roseann/SPIES: In the movie Message in a Bottle, It’s the one person I was born to love forever. And that’s what she wished for everybody. And that’s what I wish for everybody.

Maria/TSVL: Well, my dreams have come true because I married my dream guy.

Roseann/SPIES: I like him! (Thumbs up!)

Maria/TSVL: What’s his name again. Ray DuGray. That’s his name, right!

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

Roseann/SPIES: Thank you very much. I’ve enjoyed. You’re a great interviewer. And you’ve been interviewing for…nonstop. And then you just like jumped up and down (jumps up and down) when I came up. And I’m like, Oh my God, you’ve got such great energy!

You said, Are you a reader? I’m like, no, I can just tell! Hello!

She’s awesome!

Maria/TSVL: Oh thanks. I just paid her.

Roseann/SPIES: Thank you. Thank you, thank you.