What If Tex Were Terminated By Amway Global?

Amway Critic and Supporter Tex has a new post up on his site titled, Tex Loses Some Quixtar/Amway Global Upline Support, in which he explains that his IBO City account was recently cancelled by his upline Amway Motivational Organization (AMO), InterNet Services. As David Robison points out, Tex’s IBO City account was a “website replicating template site that provides IBOs with a series of website templates that can be customized with their own business name and “landing” page, so they may send potential IBOs to a website to introduce the recruit not only to Amway Global, but also, to the IBO’s own identity.”

Tex is a study in contrasts, as he is both a supporter and critic of the business. He hates whom he calls the Lying, Cowardly Kingpins (LCK) for running the tool scam yet he finds the tools to be useful and essential for building the business. He also feels that the Amway Global opportunity is a good one but has been sulied by the tool scam. Fixing the tool scam, then, should be the top priority for the corporation. Fix that, and everything would fall in place for future success.

I wonder how Tex’s opinions would change if he were terminated by Amway Global itself for violating rule 2.9 in the Code of Conduct:

2.9. IBO in Good Standing. For the purposes of interpreting and enforcing the Quixtar Rules of Conduct only, the term “good standing,” when used in these Rules, shall refer to an IBO whose conduct does not negatively affect the reputation of Quixtar Inc., its related businesses, or IBOs affiliated with Quixtar and its related entities. This Rule shall not impact anything other than the Rules of conduct, including, but not limited to, Quixtar Business Incentive Programs (QBI).

Tex points to this rule as proof that he is actually on the side of Amway Global. By revealing the tool scam, he wants to show Amway that he’s on their side. Unfortunately, Amway has devised its own way, accreditation, of dealing with kingpins. It remains to be seen whether or not accreditation will curb the excesses of the LCKs, but on paper it is at least a start.

So, my questions for today are:

• What would happen to Tex were he terminated by the corporation?
• Would he feel betrayed by Amway Global for siding once again with the LCKs?
• Would he turn his back on the opportunity and become a full-fledged critic of the business?
• Would he give up railing against the tool scam and do something else with his life?

Knowing When To Quit

I just read this article on MSNBC.com about “knowing when to call it quits in business.” It follows the story of Sandy Tacchino of Fresno, Calif, whose Little Dreamers retail shop recently closed due to bankruptcy. She put everything into the business only to see it fail after just a few years in this weakening economy.

From stage, upline kingpins teach their downline IBOs that their Amway businesses are much better than brick and mortar retail stores or even franchises. There’s little upfront capital involved, and you don’t have employee headaches or other such problems. While this might be true on a superficial level, an Amway business is just like a traditional business in many respects.

For instance, you won’t get paid unless products are sold through your business and your organization. The buy from yourself and teach others to do the same model is not a long-term sustainable business model. Instead of kicking back and watching the profits roll in each month, you’ll be traveling around the country, constantly trying to replace those IBOs than are leaving the business month-after-month. Congratulations, you’ve just replaced one job with another! Having a downline organization is important, but so is selling products to non-IBOs, people outside of the system.

For those who think this is a foreign concept, I have something secret to tell you. Shhh, it’s called retailing!

The article continues by mentioning five warning signs for impending business failure. I’m going to focus on the three that have the most relevant. Have you experienced any of these in your Amway business?

1. LACK OF SLEEP: How many hours per day, week, and month are you devoting to building your business? Has it affected other parts of your family and social life? Are you constantly driving back home at ungodly hours? Do you need to down countless cans of XS Energy just to stay awake? If so, you might be suffering from a lack of sleep caused by your business. If the results justify the lack of sleep, maybe that’s okay. But, if you’re not making much after spending 20 hours a week, then maybe it’s time for a change?
2. CHRONIC CASH FLOW and PAYROLL PROBLEMS: Are you making any money after each month in the business after expenses? What are you doing with the extra money you’re making? If after six to twelve months you’re not making more than you’re putting in, I would say that the business might not be working.

Here’s a good quote from the article:

After sinking some $400,000 into her business (including $200,000 of her own money), Tacchino faced a classic dilemma for small business: How do you know if you should cut your losses and walk away or continue fighting to hold on to your stake and your dream? Tacchino believed her can-do, go-for-broke optimism would result in an American success story, not a failure.

You may not be losing that much money in your Amway business, but you may be facing a similar dilemma. When do you know when it’s time to quit? Sure, the Amway business works for other people, some whose stories might even be similar to your own. That doesn’t mean, however, that it’s going to work for you just like them! Take what skills you learned during your time as an IBO and use them in another venture. After all, they say variety is the spice of life! Amway is not the be all to end all your upline kingpins say from stage!

The moment of realization for me came after two and a half years in the business. Expenses far outweighed the meager income that I was generating. I could either try harder or I could quit. By choosing failure in the Amway business, I succeeded. Looking back after nearly a decade, I know that I made the right choice.

Happy Friday: Results

It’s Happy Friday again! As you prepare for your weekly team meeting, I ask the following question. Feel free to respond below in the comments section.

IBOs are quick to point out that Amway is ranked way up there in certain product segments. For instance, a commenter recently pointed out that XS Energy was the #2 selling energy drink in North America. I’ve read that Artistry is one of the top-five selling prestige brand of skin care and cosmetics. I’ve seen the ads with medal-winning athletes promoting Nutrilite.

This is all fine and dandy, but my question focuses on you the IBO.

What have your sales been like this past week? This past month?

You can have the best marketing and promotion in the world, but if you are not selling and moving products for your business, you’re wasting your time.

Selling products to retail customers is the fastest way to earn profit. It’s also lends itself to duplication, since everyone is familiar with the concept. I was taught heavily to buy from myself and teach others to do the same, which encourages lack of profitability and more profits for your upline kingpins. If I were an IBO today, I would focus more on selling products than buying products for myself. Yes, you have to know your products, but that doesn’t mean buying 100-300 personal PV of Nutrilite, XS, and Artistry for yourself each and every month!

I’ve been writing Happy Friday posts for the past couple of months now. How has your business developed over those same months? Are you going upwards in profits or downwards in losses? If the losses are mounting, how much longer until you decide that the business is not working for you? There are plenty of other opportunities out there; Amway, despite what you upline may tell you, is not the only way. Remember, the name of the company is not Onlyway!

Comic: XS Gold at Cobra Family Reunion

It’s tough times for everyone these days, bad guys included. I just learned from super, secret sources that the evil terrorist organization, Cobra, has joined forces with the kingpins of the multi-level marketing industry! In this exclusive spy shot, Cobra Commander is shown practicing a speech he’ll be giving to his legions next week at Cobra Family Reunion. Our spy within Cobra will have more dispatches from tehe field in the coming weeks and months!

Search Engine Monday

Here are search engine results for my web site for the past week:

Search engine results for the period from 9/13 to 9/21

As you can see, there has been a lot of interest in XS Gold. The launch was supposed to be last Monday, September 15, but Amway Legal forced Greg Duncan and his XS Gear brethren to postpone the launch until further notice.

We also see some hits for INA’s Applebaum and WWDB’s Kosage. I guess some people are either reminiscing about their past in Amway or have recently run into either Applebaum or Kosage and want to get more information on them.

Happy Friday: Buy vs. Sell

It’s Happy Friday again! As you dust off your suit for tonight’s team meeting. BTW, when was the last time you took your suit to the dry cleaners?

Please don't stock your garage full of products

In the Amway business, there seems to be a product tailored for everybody. You can drink XS Energy, eat Nutrilite bars and vitamins, use LOC and SA8 at home, and buy Ribbon gifts for friends and family.

My question today is how much are you buying for yourself versus selling to others? What if instead of drinking XS Energy, you drank water (not Perfect Water) and sold XS Energy to others? How much would you both (1) save by not self-consuming and (2) earn by selling retail to others? Perform the same exercise with the other products that you purchase on a monthly basis.

The key to any business is to maximize profits and minimize expenses. What’s the bare minimum you need to keep your business at humming along at its greatest efficiency?

Speculation: XS Gold Runs End Around Nutrilite?

XS Gold seems to be a very popular subject to talk about these days. This site hit an all-time high yesterday for visits, with the majority of hits coming from web engine searches for information on XS Gold.

What happens if you grind up some Nutrilite vitamins and dissolve them in a glass of water? From a nutritional standpoint, would that be just as good as swallowing the vitamin? Could you call that product, More Perfect Water?

How about XS Gold?

Tex posted additional information about the upcoming product on one his site:

It is a combination of several types of drinks, has all kinds of vitamins, minerals, adaptogenic herbs, plus various fruit components, including acai mangosteen, blueberry, pomegranate, red grape, and blackberry. Plus, an ingredient called essentra, which can be found at http://www.nutragenesisnutrition.com/essentra.php.com The cost is $27.60 per 12 pack, retail $36/12 pack.

This is in line with everything that I’ve read so far on the topic. It looks like some super-charged, vitamin-filled, MonaVie/Xango-busting concoction in a convenient 8 oz can. Even without seeing the labels to know the exact vitamin and nutritional count, I have the following question:

Can XS Gold be classified as a competitor, replacement, or supplement to Amway’s own Nutrilite vitamins?

IBOFightBack has stated numerous times that Amway’s top two brands are Artistry and Nutrilite. I wonder how XS Gold is going to be positioned from a marketing perspective by All In Energy… err… WWDB … correction… Greg Duncan… oops… XS Energy.

This is all speculation on my part, but I can imagine the marketing for XS Gold going something like this:

“Vitamins on-the-do in a convenient can that you’ve come to know and love from the makers of XS Energy!”

or

“XS Gold is like liquid vitamins for your busy and hectic lifestyle. All the daily vitamins and minerals that you need are right there in one convenient can. Say goodbye to the days when you forget to bring your vitamin container with you to work.”

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. If what I’m saying is true, can you say contradiction and competition? If given the choice between purchasing a month’s supply of XS Gold (one case of 24 cans) versus a month’s worth of Double X (one box), which would Triple Diamond Greg Duncan recommend?

What if one day, XS Energy and Duncan decide that their business is bigger and has more profit potential on its own than being aligned with Amway?¹ What if they decide that they could create a better compensation plan for its members to sell XS Energy and XS Gold instead of Nutrilite vitamins? I can certainly imagine something like this playing out, can you?

After all, look at the Supreme TEAM Leader Orrin Woodward. When he left Amway last year, he had nothing more than his 60,000 member strong TEAM tool business. He had to search “long and hard” to find the “right” MLM opportunity for his group. MonaVie isn’t quite the WalMart of the Internet Woodward promised to his TEAM followers, but what’s the difference between $3 juice versus $40 juice among friends?

Greg Duncan is in a better position than Woodward. He has both, his tool business with WWDB and now an expanded product business with XS Energy, XS Gold and All In Energy.

What dream is Greg Duncan selling? Amway or his own business?²

Think about it.

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¹ That is, of course, if Duncan doesn’t get Amway to purchase XS Energy outright and rebrand XS as Nutrilite Liquid.

² This is America, and Greg Duncan can do whatever he wants with his business. From all accounts, he’s a shrewd businessman. I’m not writing this blog for him but for those IBOs who might find themselves in an untenable position within this business opportunity.

INA Is Now Accredited

On The Truth About Amway, ibofightback reports that my former LOS, InterNet Associates is now an accredited organization with Amway Global. According to the company, Systems must follow these criteria to be approved:

1. Providing a professional development curriculum that includes business-building, product training, and personal development components.
2. Using professional development compensation plans that are transparent, written, and contractual.
3. Engaging in communications that reflect compliance with the IBO Communications Platform.
4. Demonstrating a commitment to best practices and ongoing education
5. Being in good standing and complying with Amway Global’s Rules of Conduct.

Today’s post focuses primarily on points #2 and #5. What exactly does it mean by having a professional development compensation plan that is transparent, written and contractual? Does this mean the tools business should be out in the open? Nothing that I have read so far implies this, and there has been no evidence that this is the case in any of the accredited organizations to date.

XS Gold: Let the Juice Wars Begin… in at least two weeks!

Keep up on the latest developments on XS Gold in my dedicated XS Gold Category.

September 15 came and went without much fanfare from the land of XS. This announcement was posted on the XS Gold section of the XS web site late Monday. Bold emphasis is mine.

Independent Business Owners and other XS Energy Drink fans will need to wait at least two additional weeks to discover what’s inside the XS Gold case.

Amway Global legal counsel recently requested further clarification on technical points about the drink. Addressing those points will require a delay in the advance-order date, which had originally been scheduled for Sept. 15.

Come back regularly for a variety of exciting XS updates, including the new advance-order date. We apologize for the mounting suspense, and assure you that the Functional Energy and related benefits in every can of XS Gold will have been worth the wait.

Update: Looks like that “official” announcement on XS Gear’s web site is no longer there. I’ll keep the notice above for historical purposes.

As to what exactly is the drink, a commenter posted on my What Is XS Gold: Part II that it’s “a functional drink that has ashwagandha root and essentra with a many superfruits (aka we know what those are).”

I wouldn’t have been surprised if Ashwagandha root wasn’t a synonym for BS¹, but I looked it up on Google. Otherwise known as Withania somnifera, Ashwagandha root is also called Indian ginseng, Winter cherry, Ajagandha, Kanaje Hindi and Samm Al Ferakh.

Essentra appears to be some fancy dietary supplement. Of course, be sure to read the fine print on the Essentra web site:

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

I bet Amway Global is delaying the release of XS Gold because it does not want another redo of the Perfect Water fiasco. They are probably teaching Duncan and his XS minions to make sure that no false claims are made for this drink. However, like the kingpins have done time and time again, they’ll say one thing and do the complete opposite. IBOs, get your MP3 recorders and record what they say on stage about XS Gold! And, if they say that XS Gold will make you healthier, wealthier, and wiser, be sure to give some money to the Dallin Larceny and the Supreme TEAM Leader; I think they’ve trademarked that term!

Let’s look now at pricing. According to the commenter, the retail price for XS Gold will be $3/can and will come in the same 8 oz. container as the existing XS Energy drink. MonaVie comes in a lovely wine bottle holding 25 oz. of Dallin Larceny’s secret juices (sounds delicious, doesn’t it?). The suggested daily serving for MonaVie is four ounces (two ounces, twice daily). At retail, MonaVie costs $39.

For the sake of calculations, let’s assume that one bottle will last a person a week. Thus, a day’s serving of MonaVie will cost between $5.57 to 6.24 whereas a single can of XS Gold will cost just $3. I’m sure Duncan and his minions are going to be touting XS Gold’s “amazing” price and value difference vis-a-vis MonaVie. And, of course, they are going to borrow the line from Pringles and bet to IBOs that they can’t just drink one. Two cans of XS Gold a day? Hmm… negates your price advantage pretty quickly, doesn’t it?

Anyone who can read between the lines of what I’m saying can see that both products are ridiculously expensive when compared to the best alternative: plain water. Water is infinitely cheaper and arguably better for you than either MonaVie or XS. Throw in a slice of lemon and it evens taste better!

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¹ XS BS, I kind of like that name for the drink instead of XS Gold.

What Is XS Gold: Part II

Keep up on the latest developments on XS Gold in my dedicated XS Gold Category.

Today is the day when we find out what the heck XS Gold is all about. For something that is getting all of the WWDB Diamonds hot and heavy, it’s worth nothing that no one outside of the Amquix bubble seems to know or even care about XS Gold. Compare this with other companies (like Apple) where its fans debate endlessly weeks, even months, before every new product announcement.

I read a comment on the YouTube teaser for XS Gold corroborating my prediction that it’s going to be a MonaVie imitation.

Just had a preliminary taste of the new XS Gold–it’s gonna be a strong competitor to Mona Vie and Xango. Can’t wait for “functional energy” to hit the streets!

Written a week ago, the comment lends more credence to the thought that XS Gold will be positioned to compete head-to-head with MonaVie and Xango.

Maybe Dean is suprised there's nothing in the case?

Whatever it is, XS and the kingpins that promote it are going to say that XS Gold is going to help you explode your business in the next six months. Haven’t we heard all this before? Magna Bloc, Perfect Water, XS Energy! It’s the same old thing coming from the same old uplines. At the end of the day, these business owners have come up with a new product and a marketing plan to make you buy stuff that you really don’t need. Sadly, many IBOs are going to think this product is the second coming and will eat… or drink it all up… hook line and sinker.

This site is getting a lot of hits from search engines from people looking for information about XS Gold. IBOs, be sure to read the other articles on my site for another view on the Amway/Quixtar opportunity.

Update 14:09 PDT: A poster on AmwayTalk says he spoke with XS Customer Service, and they responded with:

I just called customer service and they said there is some kind of challenge with getting it on the website. Should be resolved in a couple of days.

That sounds a lot like spin to me. Anyhow, the business day is almost over. Maybe we’ll see something after hours. That is the time when most IBOs seem to be building the business, no?

Humor: Orrin Woodward Tries To Justify His Status As A Legitimate Network Marketer, Proves Otherwise

Since Supreme TEAM Leader Orrin Woodward is not allowing comments on some of his more substantive blog posts, I must take the opportunity to translate them here on this site. While this post is provided for humorous purposes for critics of MLMs, MonaVie, and TEAM, it’s meant to taken somewhat seriously by anyone building an MLM. Orrin does make some good points here; I just contend that they don’t necessarily apply to his business nor MonaVie.

Without further ado, the Supreme TEAM Leader in his own “true” words:

How do you separate a legitimate Network Marketing company from the various scams that develop from time to time? The discussion today is centered on the difference between legitimate network marketing companies and the illegitimate companies that attempt to fly under the network marketing banner.

Here I will tell you why Amway, a place where I spent fourteen of my fifteen MLM years, is an illegitimate Network Marketing company.

It is possible to have a legitimate company where distributors are building in an illegitimate way.

I would know. It takes one to know one!

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but merely my opinions from spending 15 plus years in the industry.

I am not a lawyer. I just play one on stage. BTW, I’m speaking at the MonaVie Believe conference next week in Utah. Y’all should all come out to hear me say the same stories I’ve been telling for the past fifteen years: Lung Busters, Nobodies Can Become Somebodies, The Seven Beliefs, Tools and Integrity, and…

The Law of Networking.

Like I said, I am not a lawyer, but I do a darn good impression of one on stage!

Let me share the 5 key principles that make up a legitimate company in my opinion.

I know I should not be bashing my former MLM, Amway, in which I spent fourteen years amassing my million-person… err… 60,000, TEAM Army, but here goes anyway!

1. A legitimate product that has true end users, not just consumption from people interested in making money from the compensation plan. — The FTC clearly ruled that the product should have true customer demand whether there was a pay plan or not. A simple test would be to determine if you love the product enough to use whether you were compensated or not. This ensures the value proposition of the product is right so that the networking company does not mark the price up outside of the value range. This protects the distributors and customers against a company interested in enhancing their own profits to the detriment of their distributors. If the product has no demand outside of the network, then you are probably entering the danger zone.

We have a product here at MonaVie that costs $40/bottle. Our recommended daily dosage of our super-super acai berry juice (made from concentrate) is 2oz twice a day¹. That comes out to roughly one bottle a week per person. If you have a family of four, that means one case per month per person, or four cases a month. One case costs about $150, so your monthly expenditures on my fruit juice concentrate for your typical family of four is $600, or $7,200 a year.

Now, I know that you can buy fruit juice made from concentrate for about $3 bottle. An entire year’s supply for your family of four would in comparison be only around $600, but let’s not debate the math here. My pal, Dallin Larceny is not jacking up the price of MonaVie by 1200% here. If you read my interpretation of the MonaVie Income Disclosure Statement, he’s paying out 50% of revenue, which means Dallin’s only marking up his juice by 600%! That’s a fair deal, no?

2. Protection against inventory loadings. — No one should be hitting new levels in the networking field by buying products and loading them into your garage or basement. If the networking company or field leaders are encouraging massive product loading – they are entering into the illegitimate zone. A good product ought to have real demand that allows distributors to hit new level through the normal building of the business. If all of the pin winners have loads of product sitting in inventory, then you are probably entering the danger zone.

Now, if you are serious about building the business, I recommend to all of my downline to buy at least 3, 6, or… if you are really serious, 12 cases to get started. I know that’s a lot of cases, and I realize you don’t have much space in your house to store them. Shhh… just put them in the basement or garage and we won’t tell anyone about that, okay?

3. No heavy pay to play requirements. — The entrance fee should not be exorbitant where the main incomes are being made from “headhunting fees”. If it cost thousands of dollars to get started, you are probably entering into the danger zone.

Like I said in point #2, if you’re serious about building the business, you need to buy 12 cases of MonaVie and get on my 100% guaranteed success TEAM System. Cost to join? Let’s see… 12 cases of MonaVie = roughly $1600. My TEAM Training System… or about $50/month. Let’s just call it $1650 to get started… again, if you are serious!

4. Keep the main business the main business. – Training and sales aids are critical and necessary to the building of a stable and profitable community. Without proper training and leadership, a community will not hold together in the long run. There may be profits created through the proper use of training materials. A legitimate enterprise will share those profits with the field leaders in a fair and equitable way. If the profits from the training become higher than the profits from the business, then you are probably entering the danger zone. A good rule of thumb would be that profits from training ought to be around half of what you make from the network marketing company.

Let me explain to you the power of duplication and multiplication. I don’t care if you are in my downline or not. As long as you are buying my tapes, CDs, and attending my functions, you’re all a part of my TEAM and I love you for that.

You see, when I was in Amway, my main business was my TEAM. Now, I know that Dallin Larceny and I have this agreement whereby I can only make a half of my money from tools, but what’s the difference between $6 and $12 million dollars between friends? Shh… don’t tell anyone I told you this, but Dallin said that he’d thrown in a jet or Lamborghini for free if I hit Imperial Black Diamond this year!

5. No hidden non-competes or other anti-competitive practices in the contract – A legitimate company understands that people should be free to join or leave depending on whether the network marketing company satisfies the distributors and customers. If they do not satisfy the customers, why would people stay with their failing enterprise? To force people to stay in a business where they are not getting the results they desire in their life is not free enterprise and is not good for an industry that claims distributors are “independent” and “owners” of their own business. Why would a legitimate company require fences to ensure the community stays in their business? If there are legal fences in place to force people to stay in the network marketing company’s business then they probably are entering the danger zone.

Those $%!%! at Amway tried to lock me in for another fifteen years, and I didn’t want any of it. Those pyramid schemers over in Ada are horrible. Now, I know that I was a part of what I’m calling an illegitimate MLM for fourteen years, but I was a fricking shining white knight during my entire time there. I swear on Bill Britt’s bible that what I’m telling you is the truth!

I love the MonaVie Team because the way we build the MonaVie business is in line with the proper use of all five principles! The MonaVie Team’s goal is to build a million people community through serving our distributors and customers. Anyone is free to come or go based upon our ability to serve them. We are building a TEAM where Together Everyone Achieves More. How many true teams have you been part of in your life?

Join us for the opportunity to spend $7,200 a year on fruit juice made from concentrate and at least $1200 on my tapes/tools/functions. I guarantee² you that after fifteen years on my TEAM, your $126,000 investment on fruit juice³ and motivation will have been worth it!

The MonaVie Team has some of the best leaders in the country and is Having Fun, Making Money and Making a Difference!

99% of my leaders came from Amway, an illegitimate network marketing company.

God Bless, Orrin Woodward

God Bless Me, Orrin Woodward

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¹ It’s been pointed out that MonaVie is not entirely made from concentrate. For instance, the acai is made from freeze-dried acai powder (not from concentrate). However, the label does say that 15 of the fruits are made from concentrate and the remaining 3 from fruit purees. That’s still a lot of concentrate being used!

Here’s the official description from a MonaVie bottle label: “100% juice blend of freeze-dried acai powder and whole fruit juice with 15 fruit juices from concentrates and 3 fruit purees.”

² Results may vary from person to person. Everything in this post should be taken with a grain of salt. Orrin Woodward is not liable if you never make any money from MonaVie nor TEAM.

³ Here is a photo of the label from a MonaVie Active bottle.

Happy Friday: Telephone Game

Has the week gone by that quickly? It’s time for Happy Friday again. As you get ready to suit up and attend your weekly team meeting, think about the following question:

How are messages from the corporation communicated to you?

If you answered from my upline. Ask yourself this next question.

How did you upline hear about the news?

Your upline’s upline? Next question.

How did your upline’s upline hear about the news?

Your upline’s upline’s upline Diamond?

And so we go on. Does this sound familiar to you? It’s the standard way many corporate companies handle communication! From the CEO down to the vice presidents down to the managers and finally to the rank-and-file employees. And to think some IBOs and kingpins like to poo-poo working in a company.

That said, Amway Global is starting to communicate to all IBOs at the same time, either though email messages or on their web sites. I think this is a great way to flatten the organization structure and to reduce the adverse effects of the telephone game. For far too long, I felt that the upline kingpins wielded too much power in the information flow to the IBOs. It’s good to see Amway Global taking more ownership in communicating with its contracted sales force.

Believe: The MonaVie Conference

I saw this on the MonaVie Scam post I mentioned a few days ago. Next week, MonaVie is holding its 4th Annual International Convention. The theme of this year’s conference? Believe.

Uh, wasn’t there a mockumentary on the multilevel marketing industry with the same name?

Check out the wording on MonaVie’s web site for the event:

BELIEVE. It’s a simple action, but only the most extraordinary people can do it. Some of the greatest events and movements in history began with individuals who believed they could make a difference.
…
International Convention is an event you don’t want to miss. This year every aspect of Convention is geared toward the power of believing.
…
We are MonaVie, and we BELIEVE.

MonaVie wants you to believe that you can become a Supreme Believer… err… Presidential Imperial Diamond because belief will keep you buying bottle after bottle, case after case of $40 juice concentrate. Belief guides the actions of many people in the MLM industry. Propping up a distributor’s belief is key to ensure that they stay in the System and continue to purchase products month after month.

My question for today is what is belief without results?

I wonder if they will get Graham Russell from Air Supply to sing the Believe theme song from the movie. It was pretty catchy!

Cobra Commander Was My Upline

I loved reading GI:Joe comic books as a kid. At the time, I was more interested in the scenes with guns blazing and bullets flying than the ones filled with dialogue. Looking back, however, I wish I had read some of the issues more carefully; contained within the pages of GI:Joe was a premonition of my future with Amway… and Cobra?!?

Check out the photo to the right from issue #38 of GI:Joe!

Cobra Commander’s bio and background have changed over the years, but a few facts remain consistent. At one point in his life, he become involved in pyramid schemes, selling cleaning products and magazines:

The rise of COBRA began with one man. Bitter about a lifetime of failures, resentful of those who wielded power, he began a systematic revenge against the world that he believed had wronged him. He started as a small-time salesman, traveling from town to town, holding meetings in which he recruited people as disillusioned with their lives as he was with his own. His face masked by a hood, he spoke with sibilant persuasion of his twisted vision for a new global empire. A few dozen people joined him, then several dozen more. And then, his dazzling lies mesmerized the entire town of Springfield, which became the birthplace of the evil COBRA organization.

Cobra Commander soon had followers who agreed with everything he said, which only served to pump up his ego and fill the coffers of his front company, Arbco (a clever anagram of Cobra). From GI:Joe #10, Cobra Commander explains his motivation for creating Cobra:

“I’m not going to be ground under the wheels of big government!… I’m going to create an underground organization that will bypass government restrictions, and garner power through terrorism and extortion!… I won’t stop until my organization coils around the whole world like a giant cobra!”

Oh, how I wish I had learned what I was really getting myself in when I signed on the dotted line in 1997! I thought I was getting into a good, old honest business with the potential to help people’s lives and make some money for myself. Little did I know I was being brainwashed to serve the wishes and goals of Cobra Commander himself!

Notice how in GI:Joe that Cobra Commander’s main henchman are always the same people? Dr. Mindbender, Destro, Zartan, Major Bludd, the Baroness, FireFly, and Tomax and Xamot! With few exceptions, they never seem to die and keep coming back to haunt the GI:Joe team time and time again. On the other hand, the rank and file Cobra Vipers all look the same, wearing masks to conceal their identities. Crimson Guardsmen operated in secretly yet in plain sight, holding various high-level political and business positions around the world. Some even had families to give them further legitimacy as they gained more influence and power for Cobra.

Sound familiar? Look on stage at your next function. It’s invariably the same people year after year in your Amway Motivational Organization (AMO). Beneath the mask, Cobra Commander could be anyone: Jim Floor, Orrin Woodward, Greg Duncan, or Dean Kosage. The downline Diamonds? There’s your Cobra High Command. You in the audience? Vipers!

Are you being taught real business practices, or skills to help you support Amway Global at all costs as a Crimson Guardsmen? Is Zartan really teaching you prospecting skills or how to be a master of disguise and deception?

IBOs wake up to the truth! Tear off your helmet and break free from the programming of Cobra-Amway!

What Is XS Gold: Part I

Keep up on the latest developments on XS Gold in my dedicated XS Gold Category.

Whenever new products were introduced in the business, there was a great amount of buzz. Diamonds would say on stage that, “this is going to explode your business to newer and higher levels!” I remember Magna Bloc being touted as the thing that would cure your headaches, ease your joints, and do host of wonderful things to your body. I bought some of these and I have another name for them, expensive wristband, elbow pad, and knee pad. Can you even buy Magna Bloc products from Amway anymore? A quick search reveals a reference to a discontinued product, Magna Bloc Double-Sided Adhesive Pads (E8928).

Lately, I’ve been reading a few reports of a new drink coming out from XS, XS Gold. As readers may already know, XS is run in part by WWDB Triple Diamond Greg Duncan, whom I’ve written about several times in the past, and they provide the exclusive energy drink for Amway Global IBOs.

A big unveiling of XS Gold is happening on September 15, 2008. To date, I’ve found only a scant few hints about the product, but here’s what I’ve been able to piece together from people presumably in the know.

XS Gold is NOT A NEW FLAVOR. IT IS A WHOLE NEW DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL DRINK.

and

It has every berry and antioxident someone would want. So excited for it to come out. One more thing to make money with. Thank you.

If I were a betting man, I would now place a big bet that WWDB Executive Diamond Dean Kosage, contrary to my humor post, is not moving to MonaVie anytime soon.

Why not?

Cause my guess is that XS Gold will be a direct competitor to MonaVie.

Berries and antioxidants? A new functional drink competing with other functional drinks in the market? Yes, methinks Amway Global’s got their new product to compete head to head with the Supreme TEAM Leader, Orrin Woodward and Dallin “Larceny” Larsen.

Will this stem the flow of ex-Amway IBOs going to MonaVie? They may have a competing product, but what about a comparable compensation plan? Amway says it has the best compensation plan in the industry, while Woodward keeps touting that it’s MonaVie which has the best. Now, they can add to the argument which super-charged berry and antioxidant drink is the best. I wonder how much they will charge for the drink. $40/bottle? Retail? IBO Price? What’s the PV/BV on XS Gold?

As for me, I think I’ll sit on the sidelines and watch the show and fireworks.

Update: Quixtar Is A Cult Intervention offers his take on XS Gold on his web site.