IBOAI Blog

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.

Revenge of the Experts

This article in Newsweek makes some interesting points, in particular that the Internet has become filled with a lot of people who portray themselves as expert sources -- but aren't. 

Rumor re IBO Renewals Without Permission

Frequent blogger Utah shared a rumor apparently appearing on some blogs to the effect that some IBO's businesses were being renewed without their permission.

Like much of what is currently circulating on certain blogs, this is more fiction than fact. The IBOAI Board (which at the time included some of those now affiliated with TEAM), and the Corporation partnered several years ago to make sure that an IBOs' business was protected against all possible negative actions (accidental or planned). Automatically renewing all Silver Producers and above was the jointly agreed upon solution.

ADDITIONALLY, the term "Silver" is clearly being misunderstood when the real issue is with Silver PRODUCERS. The auto-renew agreement applied only to Silver Producers and above.

Anyone can be a silver in a LOS with a 7500 Silver at the bottom. Someone with 2500 PV over a 7500 Silver Producer or doing 7500 by themselves is a Silver Producer. If Mary has 10 PV and sponsors Mel who has 1000 PV and Mel sponsors Elena who has 2500 PV and Elena sponsors you and you have 7500 PV, all four of you are Silvers BUT only you and Elena are Silver Producers.

If ANYONE was auto-renewed in error, the Corporation has told us they will fix it and let them be on their way. We suggest that anyone with concerns along these lines contact Karen O'Neill in Quixtar Business Conduct & Rules. The IBOAI will assist if necessary.

Quixtar Announces Fifth Consecutive Year of Billion-Dollar Sales

Impressive results announced here!

Board Members Speak Out At Achievers

There are some great video clips of IBOAI Board members speaking at Achievers -- Bill Hawkins on the IBOAI partnership with Quixtar / Amway Global, Jim Janz on increased IBO profitability, Joe Markiewicz on the role of the Board, and Scott Holland on stepped-up IBOAI communications. You can find them at the main IBOAI website.

Rumors About the Morrison vs. Amway Corp. Decision

Rumors about the February 6, 2007 decision on the Morrison case have been addressed under Legal Matters.

The Truth About the Morrison vs. Amway Corp. Decision

There are already false rumors online about an appeals court decision in the Morrison v. Amway Corp. case.  The decision, which is not yet final, and could be changed in future court proceedings, does not apply to current arbitration rules, which can't be changed except by mutual agreement of Quixtar and the IBOAI, and it also doesn't apply to disputes that arose after arbitration became part of the IBO contract in 1998.  This ruling therefore should not affect any current case (the Morrison case was more than ten years old).
      
The ruling issued on February 6 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Morrison v. Amway Corp. specifically states only that it applies "to the claims asserted in the instant suit."  The Court's discussion of the claims in Morrison and the arbitration agreement as it existed in 1998 show that the ruling does not apply to the Quixtar-IBOAI arbitration rules as they currently exist, and also does not apply to disputes that arose after the arbitration agreement became part of the IBO contract in 1998.

First, the court (describing the 1998 version of the arbitration rules) stated that "[t]here is no express exemption of the arbitration provisions from Amway's ability to unilaterally modify all rules . . . ."  This is certainly not true of the Quixtar-IBOAI arbitration rules as they exist today and have existed for many years.  Rule 11.5.1 of the Rules of Conduct specifically provides:

       "These Rules shall be amended only by mutual agreement
       between the Corporation [Quixtar] and the IBOA International
       Board."

This language is clear and unequivocal - Quixtar cannot change the Quixtar-IBOAI arbitration agreement without the agreement of the IBOAI Board. Whatever the court believed about Amway's ability to modify the 1998 rules is not true of the present day rules.

Second, the court stressed that the disputes between the Morrison plaintiffs and Amway arose before the arbitration agreement became part of the Amway contract effective January 1, 1998.  This reasoning would not apply to any IBO whose dispute arose after 1998.