IBOAI Blog

Your Contribution Through Quixtar Can Help Earthquake Victims in China

We know many of you are concerned for the victims of the recent earthquake in China and are seeking ways to help ease the suffering of those who've been affected by this terrible disaster. Quixtar invites all Quixtar North America/Amway Global Independent Business Owners (IBOs) to provide help by contributing to the American Red Cross  through Quixtar.com. The American Red Cross is working in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in providing relief services and financial support to those affected by the earthquake. At a time like this, it seems like no contribution could ever be enough, but together we can do our part to help those affected by this tragedy.

Every year, IBOs give hundreds of thousands of dollars and tens of thousands of hours to help those in need: U.S. Dream Academy, Easter Seals, local charities, and now the victims of disaster in China.

[Source: One by One blog at Opportunity Zone]

IBOAI News on National Spotlight Tour in LA

More National Spotlight Tour and Pathways to Success events are on the way. Read about the blowout out west when 22,000 greeted the IBOAI at the National Spotlight Tour in Los Angeles and see the excitement that's coming. Tell us what you think.

IBOAI News on Nutrilite ROC20 Launch

New Nutrilite® ROC20 Antioxidant Enhanced Drink Mix is creating quite a stir. When water tastes good, you’ll drink more, helping you stay better hydrated. Learn about it on the IBOAI website, discuss it here!

Rumor About Olympic Advertising Program Stopping

There is a rumor that the advertising for all our Olympic athletes – Team Nutrilite – is stopping because the athletes don't want to be associated with the name Amway. Not true. Actually, because of Olympic guidelines, there will be a temporary “blackout” of advertising and marketing materials for all athletes competing in the Olympic Games who represent companies or products not officially sponsoring the Olympics. It isn’t just Team Nutrilite and it has nothing to do with the Amway name. The Team Nutrilite advertising and promotion program will resume as soon as the 2008 Olympic Games finish.

Quixtar/ Amway Global provides this explanation:

Advertising Blackout for Olympic Athlete Endorsers
In support of our global Nutrilite business, endorsement agreements have been arranged with several athletes who will be participating in the Olympic Games in Beijing. Due to guidelines established by the governing body of the Olympic Games, advertising and marketing materials featuring these athletes cannot be distributed or broadcast while the games are in progress August 8-24. Doing so could potentially result in the disqualification of these Team Nutrilite athletes from competition.

We do not wish to hinder the success of Team Nutrilite, so we will honor this Olympic blackout period and seek the cooperation of our Independent Business Owners to do the same. In fact, to ensure we are honoring this requirement, our blackout period will begin July 28 and continue through the end of the Olympic Games.  This requirement is the only reason for the short-term discontinuation of any programs featuring these athletes.

Also see our article on the IBOAI website, "Team Nutrilite Advertising and Marketing Materials to Temporarily Undergo Olympic Blackout."

IBOAI Article on Amway UK Case Dismissal

Read the new article at the IBOAI website about the UK dismissal of claims against Amway UK called “UK Case Against Amway UK Dismissed.” That website isn’t a blog, so you can’t comment there, but you sure can here!

Your Enthusiasm for Perfect Water Beats Predictions and Deliveries

You’ve overshot the predictions! While forecasting sales of a new product is far from a perfect science, Perfect Empowered Water has proved especially difficult to predict, thanks to your unbridled enthusiasm. You can be proud of the pace you’ve set for this exciting new product – well done!

However, IBO enthusiasm for Perfect Water is so high, although Ada worked hard to make the best predictions, you blew their best efforts to anticipate demand totally out of the water. For that reason, delivery of product is behind. Quixtar has posted an announcement in its What’s New section about delivery expectations. In case you missed it, here’s what they’re saying back in Ada:

1. Perfect Empowered Drinking Water™ orders placed in April will be delivered by the end of May. Truckloads of this product are moving through our service centers each day, and while we cannot promise a specific delivery date, these orders are being fulfilled in expedited fashion.
2. Orders for Perfect Water placed thus far in May will ship by the first week of June.
3. We do not expect long-term challenges with timely shipments of Perfect Water, as we are currently manufacturing to exceed future demand.

The good news is, delivery will soon catch up with demand and your enthusiasm is going to mean continued high sales and big profits. We think we all agree, we’ve got a winner here!

Ads Build Awareness, Build Leads, Build Orders, Build Profits – for IBOs!

Quixtar’s recent announcement about its new customer awareness ad campaign has begun to create buzz. Many IBOs are excited about it, some aren’t so sure. If the ads send new customers to the Quixtar site, what happens to the profits that would have gone to an IBO if the customer had used an IBO number? If a new customer contacts Quixtar, who will get the lead?

Here is what we know: “Guest shoppers” have been able to buy directly from Quixtar for years, at least since 1999, and Quixtar has used various methods to give the PV/BV and profit to IBOs. Sales this way have always been very low, however. Despite rumors to the contrary, Quixtar has never taken our customers away or replaced IBOs.  Quixtar doesn’t have a way to handle new customers except to pass them on to IBOs. Up until now, Quixtar would hand them over to a pool of nearby Platinums, but now — following consultation with the IBOAI — they’ve widened the pool to nearby Gold Producers in the expanded Customer Leads Program.

Customer Leads
There are two kinds of customer leads:

• One is the new customer who doesn’t know anything about the business and doesn’t know an IBO. Quixtar gives that person’s contact information to a nearby Gold Producer and if that Gold Producer has given Quixtar permission, Quixtar gives the customer the Gold Producer’s contact information, improving the potential that contact will be made. See criteria.
• The second kind of lead is the consumer who wants to order product but for whatever reason wants no contact with an IBO and chooses to purchase the products anonymously. Quixtar could have turned down the order, but everyone loses out that way. Instead, under the new arrangement, Quixtar will take the order and distribute the profits among IBOs. See criteria.

Profit Distribution
The IBOAI Board has complete faith and confidence that the primary goal of the ads is to increase sales by IBOs and to encourage new IBOs to join a business that benefits from national advertising. Quixtar believes the new ad program will generate a lot of new interest and we are confident that Quixtar will pass on any and all profits to the pool of IBOs no matter how large or small. Their plan is to put the PV/BV and profit into a pot or fund and share it with all IBOs who meet the guest shopper criteria, paying it twice a year.

The buzz will continue but we hope the uncertainty won’t. From what we know and from Quixtar’s history, this new ad program is all about building awareness to build leads to build orders to build profits – for IBOs!

IBOAI Board of Directors Calls MonaVie Initiative a Publicity Stunt

(this press release just issued)

Grand Rapids, MI -- April 3, 2008 -- The Board of Directors of the Independent Business Owners Association International (http://www.iboai.com), the primary advocacy organization representing hundreds of thousands of independent business owners (IBOs) powered by Quixtar/Amway Global (http://www.quixtar.com), today issued this statement in response to an initiative announced by MonaVie, a direct selling organization that competes with Quixtar/Amway Global.

"The so-called ‘Global Free Agent Initiative’ announced by MonaVie on April 2 is, we believe, nothing more than a publicity stunt, as they cannot actually expect to overturn scores of Court rulings that support the concept of short-term non-compete agreements for independent contractors.  Independent contractors in direct-selling organizations such as Quixtar/Amway Global possess unique knowledge and networks that they have built with the extensive support of their parent organization.  The parent organization, and other independent contractors who do not wish to change their affiliation, deserve a degree of protection when any individual wishes to resign or is terminated from his business.

"There is also no coincidence in the timing of MonaVie’s announcement, coming on the heels of their being joined, with great fanfare, by terminated Quixtar/Amway Global distributor Orrin Woodward.  Woodward, along with certain associates, is already the focus of a lawsuit alleging that he has encouraged thousands of independent contractors to violate their non-compete agreements in order to join with him at MonaVie and in his other business enterprises.  MonaVie is also the target of a similar complaint.   Starting with the day of his termination, Woodward has orchestrated an Internet-centered propaganda campaign which has hurt those to whom he was previously loyal, including thousands of Quixtar/Amway Global independent business owners. 

"It is no coincidence, we believe, that MonaVie is not a member of DSA, the Direct Selling Association (www.dsa.org), and will likely never be while they take this stance in favor of improper and damaging behavior.  We are sure that the DSA itself and Quixtar/Amway Global, the company to whom our independent business owners are contracted, will make their own statements on this matter, but we felt it was critical for us to speak up quickly, and forcefully, so that our marketplace understands what is really happening.  We are not going to let MonaVie, or Mr. Woodward, pull the wool over anyone’s eyes."

April Fool's Joke About Jim Dornan

There's an April Fool's Joke -- that isn't, at first, obviously a joke -- at another website saying that IBOAI Board member Jim Dornan is now selling Mona Vie.  Since we know some folks won't read far enough on that website to find out it's a joke, we wanted to be absolutely clear that the statement isn't true.

IBOAI Article on Perfect Water

There's a new article at the IBOAI website about Perfect Water called "IBOAI Shares Quixtar/Amway Global Guidelines on Perfect Water Claims."

That website is not a blog, so you can't comment there, but you sure can here!

Postscript: Gary VanderVen, the head of Quixtar Rules, talks more about Perfect Water claims at the Adatudes Blog.