Back in 1992, I decided to supplement my income by selling Amway products and inviting friends or family to be distributors. It did not work out then, I did not dedicate enough time and was easily frustrated (a combo of lack of transport, so called buddies who I allowed to demoralise myself, and even prospects who were professionals that should know better but were rude).
It did not stop George Raizman, he joined the same time as me – he had family in Venezuela, no surprise he is probably Crown Ambassador by now. His “upline” is Tim Foley, an ex-football player from Florida. Back then the first Caribbean Diamonds were from Trinidad.
Diamond is a level achieved when you have six distributors go direct (their volume of business is such that Ada, Michigan deals with those folk DIRECTLY), so long as they remain in the business – your reward is a residual cheque based on the volume of business they produce… Therefore you do not just toss them out the nest, you make sure they glide better than condors or albatrosses, the longer they fly? The higher you ride!
Getting six people to do the same thing independently of each other is a testament to some of the leadership Amway can develop in those who allow it. John Maxwell, the Leadership guru, is a product of it, he was from the Network 21 branch and broke away to form his own company showing how leadership is passed on, this organisation was initially funded off of Amway profits.
In 2002, shortly after I got married, my wife spoke of a breakfast meeting at home – she had a whole wash of coffee and corned-beef has with eggs. The two guys (A tall skinny Bajan and a short stout Canadian) who arrived ignored it and wanted to start talking, LOL! She got mad as she spent early that day fixing the stuff, but the Canadian fellow broke down and grabbed a plate…
After breakfast, they asked a whole pile of questions… Anyhow, they emphasised this is Quixtar but I recognised the products from my old days, I decided to open my mind further and try again.
This was easy since CBC was treating me like crap at the time, long story short they goofed on a video and attempted to blame me but I asked who vetted the tape? So for being logical they took me off of presenting News and I was 8:00 to 5:00 pm which let me host many Quixtar meetings!
I started getting IBO’s as they were called now (Independent Business Owners – the abbreviation was actually similar to mine in the computer system at CBC, so I felt it appropriate), and moreso I actually earned a cheque from sales and also bringing in product for my group! I was very happy…
Too happy.
CBC learned how I was in Quixtar heavily and suddenly wanted me back presenting – doing the Late News, not pre-recorded but live… Which kiboshed Quixtar meetings and soon everything just drifted back like before, since I was stuck doing Late News for 3 years… Don’t mind CBC now records it, which is what I suggested originally but then I was the rebel and they could not make my life easier, eh?
Meanwhile, at the Hilton recently I saw a piece of a ceremony where a former Automotive Art guy went Diamond with IBO’s from St Lucia, St Maarten & Trinidad. Good for him!
Nevertheless, back to the main story – I got familiar with Quixtar rules and regulations, especially when I wanted my own Home Page (now disbanded by Yahoo), and it was like uphill in a Kafka like environment dealing with that arm of Amway.
Dear Ian:First, your site is considered a prospecting web site and would require password protection. Please read on for further information regarding IBO web sites that promote their Quixtar business. When the site is properly passcode protected and completed by you, please submit to our offices (information below).
There are three types of sites that all IBOs may create. One is the Personal Home Page (PHP). This type of site does not require password protection, however, it may not contain prospecting or sales information. PHPs contain personal information, much like the profiles in Achieve. This may be information on how and why the IBO started their Quixtar business. PHPs may be hyperlinked to the Quixtar site, to the IBO’s passcode protected prospecting web site and/or the authorized Line of Sponsorship passcode protected site, but the PHP may not divulge the passwords to enter these sites. The PHP may have email contact to the IBO with terminology such as “Want More Information, Email Me Here.” Should a prospect email him for more information, then the IBO would be able to email the prospect the passcodes to enter the prospecting or Line of Sponsorship site, or ways to utilize Quixtar.com.
The second type of site is a prospecting site. This type of site requires passcode protection as outlined in Bulletin #17 (which is attached for your convenience). There can be no way to contact the IBO on the page requesting a passcode (e-mail, reverse e-mail, telephone number, address, etc.). It is simply “Welcome, please enter passcodes.” Passcode protection of sites helps ensure the one-on-one contact with the prospect which is a mainstay of the IBO Business Plan. You may not have product sales on a prospecting web site.The third type of site is a product promotion web site. This type of site also requires passcode protection. There can be no way to contact the IBO on the page requesting a passcode (e-mail, reverse e-mail, telephone number, address, etc.). It is simply “Welcome, please enter passcodes.” The reproduction of imagery for a product promotion site must meet the guidelines of Bulletin 17.
Meta Tags, when not part of a programming or operational function, are considered national advertising. As such, their use would be contrary to the Rules of Conduct as per Rule 9.8 of the Business Reference Guide (which can be found on the Quixtar web site).
Rule 4.3.2 prohibits the combining of businesses that might offer an advantage to certain IBOs who already own and operate stores and/or web sites that promote a business outside of their Quixtar business. This rule stipulates that “IBOs may not use any broadcast communication methods including … computer communication networks,… the Internet, or any other means by which personal contact is not present to secure Clients and Members or to solicit the sale of products…” As such, this rule insures the future of this opportunity by creating a level playing field for all IBOs.Rule 8.3.11 stipulates that IBOs “Must not present the IBO Plan or solicit participation in the IBO Plan through any broadcast communication methods including… computer communication networks including the Internet, or any other means by which personal contact with a prospect is not present…” IBOs must first establish personalized contact with the prospective IBO before soliciting them for the opportunity.
All web sites must be submitted to the Worldwide Business Support Materials department for review and authorization. You may post your web site under passcode protection while it is being developed and reviewed by wwbsm, however, you may not promote or divulge the passcodes to enter until after the site is authorized. If it is found that the site address and passcodes are being promoted, the IBO becomes subject to zero tolerance. The zero tolerance policy regarding IBO web sites and Personal Home Pages went into effect in July 1999. You may submit the site by emailing us the web site address, passcodes to enter and your IBO number to wwbsm@quixtar.com. Proposed web sites may also be faxed, attached to an e-mail, or downloaded onto a floppy, CD-ROM or zip disk and sent to WWBSM Administration: FAX 616-787-4972, e-mail WWBSM@quixtar.com, or mailed to Quixtar, Inc. PO Box 430, Grand Rapids, Mi 49599-0430, Mail code 78-3Q.
The reproducing or downloading, of others intellectual property (photos/logos/copyright materials, etc.) would require a licensing agreement or authorization from the owner for use in a commercial environment. Used without proper license or authorization there would be trademark/copyright infringement issues.
As to email contact, you must go through the “two-step process” to prospect someone regarding this business opportunity. If you know people from, let’s say, an association, you would be able to email these people, one at a time on an individual basis, from your personal email (not from the association’s or your corporate email address) explain where you know them from and that you are involved in another business opportunity and if they would be interested or want more information to email or call you. If the person emails you back for more information and only if they ask for more information, you would then be able to contact them with prospecting information or passcodes to enter your prospecting web site.I hope this and the attached information helps out. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at wwbsm@quixtar.com.
Business Support Materials
WWBSM@quixtar.com
So why have I blurted a whole pile of trade secrets? I do notice some things have changed with Amway/Quixtar now – they advertise on TV a lot, especially USA Network. They sponsored a Tina Turner concert recently too, but one thing I always understood… You cannot have a store for exclusively Amway Products this defeats the purpose of being an IBO, it gives you an unfair advantage over other IBO’s.
If you already have a shop and you ADD items like Nutrilite, e-Spring or Artistry to your menu then that is okay – so long as you do not highlight it. If you have a bar, then you can use XS Energy Drink as a chaser, but you have to hide the label and let customers ask you what is that?
So you can imagine my surprise when visiting Bmex when I spotted this;-
Now, as far as I know this is a Barbados Manufacturers Exhibition (thus B.M. Ex. or BMEX), yet here it is a local representative who’s touting this overseas product in a manner not congruent with Amway’s Business Plan. The guy was touting e-Spring, Artistry and Nutrilite! I did not go up and ask since I did not want to be recruited again. But I am a little taken aback, as this is not how Amway pushes their franchise or is it? Lemme know…
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