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June 12, 2006
Monday Reader Mail: 80
By QBlog in Reader Mail
Virtually every corporation puts out material to inform and motivate its employees. I routinely receive such content and it's never bothered me in the way that it seems to bother today's Reader Mail author. But then again, I never had to pay for that corporate content. As always, my comments appear in bold.
name: Brian
date: June 7, 2006
message: Just a few things I've noticed recently about Quixtar. I'm sure it's the same for most lines of sponsorship... but the firs thing was
1) price of catalogs.
They make you pay for these right? I've seen the ones my wife gets, and there is a price on them...WHAT business charges you for catalogs? If Macy's charged for a catalog, wouldn't most people jusy refrain from buying things from them? They cost 4 or 5 bucks too...if I recall correctly.
I can't recall if we paid for the catalogs or not. I know when my wife was a Quixtar Member we didn't get charged for the catalogs that came in the mail.
2) The Achieve magazine.
These things are HORRIBLE as far as being a tool to help IBO's, all they do is make the sickness worse. I watched my wife literally tear up while reading the lateset issue (if you haven't seen it, by all means, totally hilarious...Diamond who looks like Sean Penn, made it as a single dad, the business "helped" eventually make he and his wife get along...way too funny)
I don't know if I ever read an Achieve magazine but I've heard it's gone downhill since one of its editors left.
Anyway, I asked her what was so good about the article, and I got the reply something to the effect that, if you KNOW you have something that WORKS, and you've seen it work...it could be the one thing that inspires someone to do something great with their life, then it's totally worth it, and you should want to work harder, and share it with more people.
I would hardly call a check for $14 a month "working"..but it goes back to the mindset, that these diamond success stories, and seeing people they "know" in the magazine all makes them think that they need to work harder. Without having a tape, or a meeting the fire gets re-lit.
The other thing that's odd is that the stories in those magazines seemt o focus on different types of stories, so they can motivate single parents, immigrint families, older people, etc.
It's no secret that a significant portion of Quixtar's growth comes from minorities and immigrants. It would make sense that they'd want to appeal to those demographics.
Comments
Yes, we paid for any catalogs we intended to distribute. We'd get one free for ourselves, but if we intended to share the product line with customers or prospects, we had to buy the catalogs to share. We usually bought them 10-to-the-box.
PW
Back in the day... the big annual catalog, called "Personal Shoppers", was $3 per copy, and if you ordered it directly from the company, you had to get it in packs of 10 ($30 plus shipping) unless your upline Direct was willing to buy packs and sell it to downline in "eaches" at the tool/product pickups (btw, there was a profit in it for the Directs).
Can't wait for some AmQuix bot to retort that $30+ is such a great business tax deduction, but with the catalog's margins being very low and the PV/BV way down when compared to the "core" products, how much catalog sales did one have to generate to cover that $30+ business expense? I know, it's a rhetorical question...
Also, all the unreasonably high AmQuix catalog prices aside for a second, what catalog business could sustain itself by printing its flagship edition only once a year? It may be competitive and enticing for the first 2-3 months (as if!), but then it quickly turns into an overpriced clearing house of the outdated items for the rest of the year. This would've been a simple Marketing 101 discussion anywhere else, but hey, we all know that AmQuix has rewritten that course book :-)
The only major retailer that I know of that charges for a catalog in JCPenney ($5, but that fee is usually waived when you order out of the catalog or you are a JC Penney card holder.
I never had a big issue with paying for catalogs as I saw it as a cost of doing business - does anyone know if Avon (or the like) charges their reps for catalog material?
I'm sure some other MLM company rep will chime in and say that their company never charges for catalogs or anything, but most Direct Sales companies do charge for support materials.
To BB:
Quixtar publishes several editions of catalogs throughout the year...Spring/summer; Fall/Winter and Christmas...All are received free to the IBO and extar copies available to purchase..of course all merchandise in the catalogs are accessable at the website as well, for free.
Dave
We still recieve Quixtar Summer / Spring catalogues. After changing two houses......they love us.
And yeah it's free.
OTH we paid $30 for few flyers that compares other items to Quixtar, e.g. an SA8 = 2.3 tide etc.
They should be free. That was not even a book. Or make a PDF or something, we'll print it. Content on it was quite useful for us, as we could show prospects how Q items could save you money.
Dave Robinson: Why don't you scan it and put it on ur blog if it's allowed and you can figure out my giberrish :D
David, you're right. You can either go to the website for free or, if you are a client, member, prosumer or IBO, the first Choices catalog is free.
BB, I was a marketing major and worked in marketing & sales in Fortune 100 companies and have been extremely impressed with the catalog/brochure layouts & content. You'll not find much that competes!
Yes, with Avon, once a rep gets started, they get a few marketing materials comp'd from their "upline" or sponsor. After that, they have to pay to market their own biz just like any legit biz out there.
Guys, these are marketing materials. If $12.95 for 10 "Switch" catalogs, BB, is too expensive for you, then you should sell retail to make the money to support & grow your own business.
If you're spending your paycheck & losing money doing this business, then you're doing it wrong. Perhaps it's bad leadership that you have (or had) or perhaps it's bad choices on your part.
This biz is nothing but legitimate. The products may or may not be "the best" but they are certainly of top notch quality. They are very competitively priced. No one should ever tell you that you'll find it cheaper EVERY TIME at Quixtar. That's ridiculous. However, overall, you WILL save money AND time!
Guys, stop being petty. If you're going to voice something legit, fine. But don't get on here and waste time being so very petty & cheap.
Sally,
What part of my comment was not "legit" in your view? Aside from my personal opinions and emotions, which QBlog allows all of us to voice in this blog, what facts were exactly not legit: the pack of 10 Personal Shoppers catalogs did not cost $30 plus shipping just a few years ago (and probably a good bit more now)? Directs weren't making profit on selling them in eaches? You wouldn't have to sell a boat-load of stuff to make a $30 net profit? Some cordless phone didn't cost $25-$30 more in the catalog at the time of printing compared to any electronic retailer? and then 6 months later that model wouldn't be completely outdated or sold at a fraction of the cost everywhere else except the AmQuix catalog?
I'll take your word that you are a marketing professional with lots of solid experience in the F100 world, and if you say that these catalogs and brochures are really well done, then it must be so. I'd like to point out, however, that my comment had nothing to do with their presentation, appeal, and composition, though that portion of your answer is strangely directed at me.
I would also like to ask what legal expertise to you possess to bluntly declare that "[t]his biz is nothing but legitimate"? Would you also care enough to elaborate on the seemingly contradictory statement '[t]he products may or may not be "the best" but they are certainly of top notch quality'?
Impatiently hitting reload to hear your answers.
Selling out of the catalog helps legitimize your business. Having more real retail shoppers helps keep the business out of the pyramid definition. I think the catalog is a great cheap simple tool that any new IBO can start using to help get more retail clients. It's what's helped me in the beginning.
It's the single best thing you can offer to a new IBO to help get aquainted with the products and get them on a fast start.
I remember getting the huge sears catalog for $4.99 and thumbing through that growing up. Most retail stores that offer catalogs like that often charge a small shipping and handling fee. Look at Cabela's. I get the huge master's catalog(hardcover)paying $6.99 for shipping and handling. I think Quixtar's $2.99 price is very reasonable.
Also, about the free catalogs, what ever catalog you have ordered out of previously, Quixtar will send you a new catalog the following year. I get a free Choices catalog and a free store for more catalog every year.
I agree with Sally, complaining about the price of a catalog? Now that's getting really petty.
BB,
Wow. Somebody's sure on the defensive! Calm down, ok? It's extremely obvious to me that you have not been updated (like in the past 3 years or so) on this business. You are living in the PAST!!!
Your comment about the catalog being "competitive & enticing for the first 2-3 months (as if!)" was what prompted me to target the marketability comment toward you.
I don't know where you've gotten your information about the products being so overpriced and then outdated six months later but all I can think of was that it's from 10-15 years ago! You are soooo way off base! Go to www.quixtar.com. Of course, you'll see retail pricing but it's STILL not way overpriced vs. the stores.
Selling a "boatload" of stuff to cover $30 in marketing expenses???? Are you kidding me??? Sell ONE box of Double X multivitamins at retail and you have a PROFIT of $25.00!!!!!!! Hello?!?!? You need to do your research before spouting off and misleading & misguiding those who are researching this opportunity for their family & their future!!!
BB, the CHOICES catalog (perhaps in the 70's or 80's referred to as the Personal Shopper???) is $5.00 for a pack of 2. Or, $2.50 each. You'd have to purchase 12 catalogs to spend $30.00 on them. They're updated eveery six months. If you don't have clients or new IBO's on your team, then you wouldn't have a need for them, would you? A smart IBO would give their downline their first one then the downline would be told that they would have to purchase any future marketing materials to support their own business! Marketing 101, my friend.
As for the statement about the "products may or may not be the best"...here's exactly what I meant by that statement: It depends on what the consumer is looking for in their products!!! Some find a great deal of value in environmentally safe, non-toxic, 100% guaranteed laundry detergent (that lasts for months) while others find value in a box of shredded paper, clay & other foreign particles mixed with some soap (called laundry detergent in the retail world) at $2.50 for a 20lb. box. It's like the statement "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
Go ahead...reload & fire. However, I'm afraid you're shooting blanks.
WOW! I'm not sure if Sally has the stamina and staying power to be a regular Qblog commenter, but out of the gate, she's looking pretty good.
Dave
Don't know about "stamina and staying power", but it'd be nice if she could put the brainwashing aside and honestly answer the questions instead of skirting around and nitpicking.
Sally definitely has all the reasons in the world to be fired up though! You will learn in the next post (http://www.webraw.com/quixtar/archives/2006/06/what_are_you_joining.php) that her business has been making a steady $600-800 a month, every month, for the last 2.5 years, and she was able to come home to raise her kids because of it. One should ponder, however limited one's intelligent analysis skills may be, the following two issues:
- why has the income been flat for the last 2.5 years? In the network marketing arena this is usually an indicator of poor health of the business (John Crowe's tomato analogy), but there could be exceptions...
- how did $800 a month ($9600 a year) replace the income of a marketing pro/guru with background in Fortune 100 companies?
The system is set up to allow anybody that is affilliated with the busines to sell their products at cutthroat prices.
The system causes this by manipulating pv, bv or putting psychological pressure on their so called ibo's. IBO's are victims.
WAKE UP!!!!!
BB,
I addressed every false "issue" you raised. Straight forward. All others on this site can see that, why can't you?
As far as my income goes, you are starting to cross that first big, hairy toe over the line. I made an avg. of $75,000-90,000 per year. It's true! I didn't ever pay attention to a budget! I ate out all the time, I travelled, etc. I had a pretty darn good life!
However, my husband and I made the committment after we had our first child, to raise our kids ourselves instead of sticking them in a daycare. We decided we would DO WHAT IT TOOK, to do that. You may not know what that mean so I'll explain further...
We CUT OUT any and all unnessesary expenses. We didn't go on big vacations. I went to Great Clips or Cost Cutters for haircuts instead of to the fancy salons I used to frequent. We bought our clothes at consignment shops & garage sales (kids clothes) & clearance racks at Target & Walmart (yuck!!!). We made SACRIFICES and toughed it out on just his income alone! I had quite a bit in savings & other investments...that helped out too.
Then, this opportunity came along and we took advantage of it!
Now, you DARE assume you know why our Quixtar income has remained FLAT?!?!?!?!?!?!? Ooooohhhhh I'd love to meet you in person!!!!!
I'll tell you why....BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT TRIED TO GO DIAMOND.....YET! We have remained CORE. Our income has remained steady due to alot of upfront work in the first year or so & very very little work the past 1 1/2 - 2 years. When we kick it up a notch or two, we fully expect to be Double Eagle then Platinum shortly after. It just makes sense. Do the work, find others who have a dream for a bigger life & are WILLING to do the work, and you WILL SEE RESULTS!!! As promised.
The reasons why we haven't "kicked it up a notch" are, quite frankly, NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.
Now, unless you start "firing back" with intelligent statements & questions...you won't hear from me again.
May our good Lord bless you,
Sally
Sally, honey, you need to lay off that XS drink a little bit... It's getting you way too excited.
I didn't assume anything with regards to your flat business. I simply asked a question, which you, again, dodged. Instead, in your rant you've raised even more reason to suspect that something doesn't add up here: if you have remained CORE, that means you and your husband have been steadily showing the plan at least 3 times a week, among other CORE steps that you must do in order to claim to be CORE. CORE also means growth, not staying flat, by every teaching one would ever hear in the business. It is also the very nature of the network marketing/MLM concept: if you work it and put people in, it has to grow in volume, profit, etc., etc. This is not a sarcastic, smart-ass quip - this is how it's supposed to be. So why has it not worked for you that way?
If you don’t consider this question intelligent enough, then at least please explain what "kick it up a notch or two" means. Please note that I am not asking (and never asked) you to share what seems to be a deeply private and personal subject of why you haven't "kicked it up a notch" personally, but just a generic explanation of what's involved in "kicking it up a notch or two" beyond being the CORE person that you already are.
With regards to the sacrifices you have made to stay home with the kids, all the kudos to you and your husband for making it happen. There isn't simply a job more important than raising your children. Congratulations!
I did appreciate your honesty in listing all the details that had gone into that sacrifice, but would also like to caution you that your reply to the Worried Mom in the next thread, in the way it was worded, makes a fairly strong representation that it was this business that allowed you to stay home with your kids. Clearly, as we just learned from you, there have been many other financial factors involved, so saying that this business "has made it possible for me to be home raising my own kids" and listing it as the only reason is not quite accurate, wouldn't you agree?
BB,
I'm sure you will assume that I deemed your post intelligent, by way of my simply responding. So be it. Whatever.
BB, the first step of CORE is ONE to TWO plans a week. ONE plan a week would be considered the first step in CORE. "Kicking it up a notch or two" would mean adding 1, 2, 3, 4, 5+ plans to our week. That's it. No big secret.
We HAVE been CORE. That being said, BB, others have not. So, just like what was explained to us in the very beginning when we started, we were going to have to go through a LOT of people. It would take TIME. We were told to stay consistent & focused. We have.
As far as my being able to stay home with my kids...YES, it IS because of this business!!! If we did not have the $600-800.00 per month coming in on a regular basis, I would've been forced to put my kids in daycare & go out & get a job. Especially when my husband was let go (unexpectedly) from his job last year. That's the truth, BB.
Sally, are your downlines profiting too or are they at a loss from being CORE?
Joecool,
What a small-minded, petty kind of question! IF they are CORE AND did what we do, THEN THEY ARE MAKING A PROFIT! Unfortunately, we have found lots of people who are UNWILLING to be CORE!!! They have all kinds of EXCUSES!!! We are still friends with MOST Of them and so we know what they do with their time & money. They know they've made excuses. They even tell us that. All we tell them is that this opp. is here whenever they're ready & willing to do what we teach. No biggie. It's they're lives & financial statements, not ours!!! All we can do is love 'em, support 'em (unless they're being just STUPID) and patient with them.
Why do you all think this business is so expensive??????? It blows my mind!
Anyway, once again, here it is:
Initial signup cost: BASIC Prosumer (like my mom): $45.00 PER YEAR, PEOPLE!!! PER YEAR!!!
IBO/PROSUMER: $65.00 (includes product marketing information, OPTIONAL) ONE TIME PER YEAR!!!
IBO/BUSINESS BUILDER: Under $200.00! That includes the Product Info. Pack ($65.00 worth of products to give as samples or to try themselves) AND it includes the pubs & marketing materials AND it includes the first month of your professional, personal website! ONE TIME!
Website: Under $45.00 per month (OPTIONAL)
Membership: ANNUAL FEE (see above)
Meetings: $7.00 per person!!! GUESTS ARE FREE!!! Also, OPTIONAL!
Standing Order CD's: $2.50 PER CD, for God's sake!!!! And, OPTIONAL
Showing the plan: FREE!!!!
Major Functions, 4 per year: UNDER $200.00 per person FOR AN ENTIRE WEEKEND! We have driven with friends & shared gas expenses & sleeping space for ONE LOUSY NIGHT!!! One function even includes food & hotel. One of the four functions is less than $75.00 per person!!! It's a great date night!
Books: An average of $10.00 PER BOOK!!! OPTIONAL! ONE BOOK PER MONTH!
Retailing: FREE!!!
Working Biz to Biz: Less than $30.00 for Promotional & Marketing Materials for some product lines (gift incentive albums, e-spring system) or FREE for other products!!!!
Personal Use: OMG, NO BRAINER PEOPLE!!! It's called SWITCHING STORES!!! Duh!!!!! If it's WAY more expensive through your own store, then go to the competition! Still, a CHOICE! However, you'll find the basic commodoties to be quite competitively priced & even less expensive!
You make money at this business by creating volume. Volume means, purchasing from your own store, showing others how to SAVE TIME & MONEY by doing the same AND RETAILING. MOST OF THIS IS FREE!!!!!!!
Quit griping & whining & bitching & complaining and go out and do something PRODUCTIVE with your lives!
WHOOPS!!! It looks like we can sign each others' names to posts....not good!
Sorry Joecool!
THE PREVIOUS POST WAS BY SALLY! :-)
Sally, if you are one of the rare groups teaching retail only, then congratulations, but if you are CORE and your group is CORE, it is mathematically impossible for all of your group to all profit without retail sales to offset the cost of tools.
If you are 100 PV and you are CORE (website, KATE, tapes books and functions), then you spend well over $100 and get back $8. It's why quixtar
is a legal pyramid.
Joecool,
The $100 you are "spending" in your own business, you are spending somewhere else anyway. So, technically, that is not counted as a loss. That is the "cost of living". We teach to purchase what you are already purchasing elsewhere. Start there! It's pretty simple, Joecool. Not rocket science.
We average 500-600PV a month on just our own personal use. We are a family of four. We purchase everything from light bulbs to garbage bags to detergent to hairspray to health supplements to tennis shoes to school clothes to tv's to computers, etc. We own our own store! It just makes sense.
By the way, I am always "price comparing" prior to purchasing the product. Most things, we get free shipping on because there is either a promotion or, we've spent enough on that item. Therefore, it makes it either the same price OR, believe it or not, CHEAPER to purchase from our own store.
Here's the bottom line...I will not get into a whole bunch of analysis and nit-picking. We've been making a steady paycheck just by purchasing our basic commodoties & a few other things from our own store. I've saved a TON of time not having to run to the store every other day, especially with kids. YUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are OFFERING this to others. IF THEY ARE WILLING TO DO THE WORK, then they too, will receive a steady paycheck for their efforts! Period! We just got a check back from Quixtar for our June Ditto order. It's all stuff we use on a regular basis. I didn't have to go to the store to get it. The check was for $123.00. That will go in our business account, along with our monthly bonus check, to pay for the upcoming functions. No reason to touch our regular paycheck to build our biz.
As soon as we "show more plans" and/or do more retail & ditto's, our income will increase. No need for expenses to increase anymore as we can now show long distance plans via the internet & phone calls. So, there is your profit! Also, WWDB has meetings all over the nation so you can send downline & prospects to those meetings for further information & to see the success in action.
Again, not rocket science, Joecool.
Sally
Sally,
Can you please elaborate on the $123 check from your own Ditto order? Do you have your own Ditto profile setup to charge retail prices and then redirect the difference to your business account? A lot of groups teach that, and I was just wondering if that's the same with yours.
Thank you in advance for the explanation!
ummm....yup!
The same "difference" you supposedly save at a Walmart or Costco or some other discount store. Most people however, spend that "difference" on impulse buys, creatively placed & marketed by the discount stores. Or, they spend it on the way home for a cup of Starbucks or a Dew & a candy bar. The "difference" never seems to get into their checkbook or savings account.
So, to answer your question DIRECTLY, yes, we teach to put the difference into your checkbook or savings account.
Did you read the part about the pricing being the same or BETTER? That's been our experience here in the Midwest.
Sally, that 100 PB = $270. Most people DO NOT spend that much on consumables each month.
Also, if you promote tapes and functions, that expense is what dooms many people to losses.
Sally,
Thank you for the answer. Yes, I did read the part about "the pricing being the same or BETTER". Personally, I couldn't make the same blanket statement about the pricing, so maybe we'll just have agree to disagree on this.
However, I also read the part about your $123 check going "in our business account, along with our monthly bonus check, to pay for the upcoming functions. No reason to touch our regular paycheck to build our biz." What concerns me about all this is that it seems inconsistent (or at least, needing an explanation) with your previous statement that your $600-800 Quixtar income allowed you to come home from your high-paying marketing job.
So, two more questions, if you would indulge this audience:
1) do you include your retail/wholesale price differential in general (this $123 check being an example for that particular month) in your $600-800 Quixtar income?
2) once you back out that differential (if you do indeed include it in the first place) and also subtract your business costs (functions, etc.) from of your $600-800 Quixtar income, how much is left to go back to your lifestyle (or to your personal account) to allow you to stay home from work?
Sally, you do 500-600 PV personal use per month?
Even if you figure only $2 per 1PV, that's $1000-1200 per month. Wow. That's a LOT of money.
I spend about $500 a month on food, trash bags, light bulbs, detergent, vitamins, etc. For a family of SIX.
Add in the computer, clothes, running shoes, etc, and I'm spending another $2400 per year, or $200 a month.
So I'm paying at least $3600-5000 per year less than you are, possibly closer to $9000 per year (if you average 550 PV a month and pay the average of $2.7/PV)...and I'm feeding and clothing 50% more people.
It's very hard for me to believe that anyone spends that kind of money on trash bags in real life.
Without exceptional retail sales, it is mathematically impossible for "core" IBOs as a whole to profit. The cost of being core eats up all the bonuses and usually will doom the IBO to operating at a loss.
BB,
The $600-800 DOES include the difference from wholesale to retail. AGAIN, as explained in detail earlier, that's the savings we're pocketing that others who shop for consumables at a "discount" store, are not pocketing.
Joecool, you must be a bit younger than me, therefore, a little less experienced in life. You don't think people pay $270.00 per month on consumables??? Are you kidding me??? The AVERAGE for a family of FOUR is $850.00! That's PROVEN by independent, third party market studies.
I did a training session this morning with two college students. We went through a worksheet on what they spend monthly on discretionary things like eating out, popcorn @ movies, candy bars, energy drinks, mochas or lattes, etc. They EACH spend a MINIMUM of $250.00 per month! That's without their girlfriends! One of them is up to at least $400.00 per month when he's in the middle of his basketball season! These are SINGLE COLLEGE students!!! THEY gave me those numbers. NOT the reverse!
Hmmmmm...what should I believe....your OPINION??? Or, the FACTS I see before my eyes every day!?! Take a guess...
By the way CK, it's possible to live on a lot less than even YOU spend. I mean after all...they DO have the $1.00 section at both Target & Walmart. I've lived in government housing and my sister lived on food stamps. I can tell you LOTS of ways to live REAL cheap. Is that your goal???
We currently spend less than what we spent prior to this biz. I used to stop at the store 3-5 times a week (convenience store, discount store, drug store) for "stuff" for the home. Now, I save all those trips. Plus, I save the impulse buys. Say whatever you'd like, that's fact. Most people impulse buy. It's a LOT easier to do in person than online.
Oh yeah Joecool, one more thing...you're wrong. We can, and ARE making a PROFIT being CORE. We know many others who are as well. You see Joecool, business expenses do NOT go up, as income increases. Business expenses should be relatively constant as income increases. The difference is the PROFIT. Business 101.
Have fun mathematically calculating life away in your little corner of the basement! I'll be out positively impacting lives. :-)
Sally
Sorry to tell you, Sally, you are not pocketing "savings," but rather you are playing mind tricks and convincing yourself that is what you are doing. If, (using simple numbers for math purposes), you pay $150 for $100 worth of merchandise, and then get a check for $40, you have not saved $40 at all. You just overspent $10. The person who just spent the $100 will still have $10 in the bank then you, assuming he bought the exact same products. It's a similar mind trick a lot of people play come tax time, if they are getting a refund. It's not extra money they are getting, it is money they should have had over the course of the year that they overpaid in taxes.
As for how much people spend and shopping habits, one thing you neglect, Sally, is the social aspect. My wife and I like going to the mall because there are restaurants there. There is a big bookstore with a coffee shop, and we either plan to meet people, or we run into friends when we go. Of course we don't have to eat out or get coffee, and we could save the money, but again, humans are social creatures, and we enjoy the company.
As for our consumable budget, the majority of it is spent on perishable food, such as milk, meat, fruits, and veggies. These are things we are not going to buy from AmQuix. Our grocery bill (1 child) usually is about $100/week, and we almost never buy non-food items at a grocery store. Other consumables such as soaps, detergents, etc., we either go to Target or Costco, and I would be willing to bet that the items we purchase cost less then what you would buy from AmQuix. It's tough to say how much we spend a month on other consumables (child is still in diapers, and we only go to Costco maybe once every 3-4 months, and it's an expensive trip), but I'd say $300/month is a fair estimate, especially with the baby.
Now, of course there is the impulse buys, but often they are things we do not need at the moment, but will store and use for later. For example, if the laundry detergent is on sale at Target, even if we still have plenty, we'll buy some for later. Other impulse buys, and they are rare for us, are generally a toy for our child, or chocolate for us. And the way I figure, if I spend (again random numbers for ease) $40 at Target on my core products plus another $10 on impulse buys, I'm still ahead of those core products would have cost me $50 at AmQuix. I have more in my basket. Besides, I say enjoy a candy bar now and then. Life's too short not too.
Joecool,
To your comment,
"it is mathematically impossible for "core" IBOs as a whole to profit"
If that were the case then home come there are quite a few IBO's that ARE making it possible?
IMHO, I would have to take a guess that an average family of 4 can reasonably do $400-$600 per month, just in food budget and buying from themselves as a client. It's simple math, look at your receipt the next time you go to the grocery store, and multiply that out by 52. Not hard to figure out how much you could be saving by switching your spending and buying from yourself.
Sally, and Michael,
My wife and I spend $75 to $100 a week for food and other household supplies.
If I bought all my food from amquix, it would not turn out to be 100 PV, and I do not need to buy laundry detergent every week. Again, when I reference IBOs losing money, I am talking about CORE IBOs who attend all the meetings and buy the tapes. It is not possible for a group of them to profit without exceptional retail sales.
And yes, your expenses do go up as you make more money. You are expected to inventory some items, attend more meetings (for higher pins) such as go diamond weekend, and you would also STP for legs in other states, etc.
If you have 10 CORE IBOs in your group, they are spending $150 or more for KATE, S/O, functions. In return they get a rebate for $8 at the end of the month (which is now taxable). A loss of $142. Times ten, your ten CORE IBOs got $80 from Amquix, but spent $1500 in business expenses, a loss of $1420. If your group stresses
"buy from yourself", there is no way the group can profit as a whole.
Quixtar's own numbers: .23 customers per IBO in ditto, or about 1 ditto customer for every 5 IBOs.
Sally>> "The AVERAGE for a family of FOUR is $850.00! That's PROVEN by independent, third party market studies."
Sally, no offense, but either you are being very dishonest, or you are thoroughly deluded. Here's the statistics regarding monthly consumables from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website:
That's $155.42 per month for a family of 2.5 making $54,453 annual income! And that includes "services", which would be the high-dollar haircuts and the nails and stuff for the women.
I think THIS IS THE MAJOR DECEPTION that Quixtar Corp indulges in. When I first heard the "Buy $250 worth of stuff, and teach others to do the same, and we will all have residual income forever" song, my immediate first question was HOW MUCH CONSUMABLES CAN A FAMILY BUY IN A MONTH? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BUYING FOR $250???
The Tools Scam is, I think insult to the injury. But, THIS is where the newbies are being deceived, I think. I am doing some more research into this - I will have a detailed post about this on my blog shortly.
Sally, you worked for a F-100 company, so surely you understand the idea of "Projections", don't you? If your "Projections" are off by nearly 50%, then the number of people you need to recruit would have to be doubled correct? Think about it. If a Wall-Street analyst made a 50% error on his projections, his valuation of a company would be completely out of whack, right? I am assuming you have a graduate degree in Business - and if so, I am sure you have taken at least 1 course in Finance even if you didn't major in Finance, am I right? Surely, you understand "Discounted Cash Flow Analysis". I am doing the legwork right now, on creating a "Discounted Cash Flow Analysis" framework to evalute the AmQuix opprotunity - ala "What value would Wall Street impute to the AmQuix opportunity". You are welcome to visit my blog and take a shot at a rebuttal.
Imagine, if McDonald's Corp. doubled its projections for the average McDonald's store and presented those numbers to a potential franchisee as a realistic/likely scenario.... All hell would break loose!
Strangely enough, Willy was the only other critic who seemed to have noticed this glaring discrepancy - and funnily enough, Insider (A/Q's most well-informed advocate, I'd venture to say) ran and hid when Willy brought up this subject. NOT A PEEP OUT OF HIM, NOT A WORD, JUST EVADED THE ISSUE AND RAN.
"Perceptive",
I will do my best not to make this lengthy, and at the same time, address the issues you raised.
First of all, I have an undergraduate (B.S.) degree in marketing. I did not take ANY finance. Doesn't mean I don't know anything about it....I'm just telling you...I didn't take any formal finance training.
It appears very obvious to me that we are getting numbers from very different places. Thank you for sharing the "facts" you uncovered about average household spending. I assume this is a national statistic. I have NOT done any research PERSONALLY. I want to be honest about that. I HAVE however, witnessed first hand, MANY couples who review what they spend per week & per month, on "discretionary" (maybe even luxury) items. Such as a Starbucks coffee or a mountain dew or a cinnamon roll or bagel or going out to lunch or extra food at the movies, etc. The AVERAGE AMOUNT of those MANY couples has been about $350.00 to $400.00 EACH! That would be approx. $750.00-800.00 per couple. I've even seen couples go as high as $1800.00 on these kinds of items. I think that's crazy! But that's what I've PERSONALLY found!
You mention $155.42 that an average family spends per month on all household goods plus services. I say B.LL.HIT!!! In some poverty stricken areas, yes. I may agree to that. But certainly not where I live! A "high-dollar" haircut & manicure (as you indicated) would be a minimum of $80.00-$150.00!!! ONE TIME!!! If there were other women on this site, I'm sure they'd back me up on this one.
I also added up what I was spending here & there (as I stated in an earlier post) and it was MORE than what I spend today.
Instead of going to Walmart or Target for detergent, bleach, hand soap, shampoo, deoderant, skin care, cosmetics, vitamins & other supplements, I go to my own store!
I DO purchase other things like my kids' bedding, t-shirts & shorts for me, kid's birthday presents (my boys like to help pick them out!), etc. at Walmart, etc.
I totally understand what you are saying about the "social" aspect. In fact, I agree! My gosh, we go shopping. We go out to eat. We go to the movies. We have friends over and NOT talk on and on about our business!!! We HAVE a life! We DON'T run everything by our upline. SOME things, that make sense, yes! But certainly not everything!
And by the way, I DID buy chocolate at Target today! :-)
You're right...there's a balance to life. You need to stop and smell the roses...you don't know how much time you have here on earth. But, instead of being "busy" with our time, we are trying to be "productive".
In summary, Perspective, I guess I've looked at all the evidence I've SEEN and HEARD in PERSON vs. what I read here and the personal evidence FAR outweighs the "negative" I read on here. I just have not personally experienced what you guys have. I will certainly keep tuned though! :-)
To Joecool, no. You don't have to carry inventory anymore. Heard of Ditto? Not sure when you were in, but if it was more than 2-3 years ago, things have changed quite a bit.
Thanks guys and have a blessed weekend!
Sally
All you need to do is to do the math on a direct group. As a whole, they will always collectively lose money, unless they are retailing like crazy.
A direct group is 7500 PV. 100 PV costs about $270. $270 x 75 = $20, 250
a month, or $243, 000 a year. (for products)
7500 PV = about 18, 750 BV. 18, 750 BV = monthly bonus of $4687.50 or $56, 250 for the year, for the entire group.
Let's say the group had a direct distributor who does 100 PV and 74 IBO's who also do 100 PV.
The Direct pays out $592 ($8 x 74) and keeps $55, 658 for the year, plus a one time bonus of $10K. Over $65K is pretty good.
Now lets say these are all CORE IBO's dedicated to the cause. They spend about $250 each month for tapes, cd's functions, voicemail, website. (Not including gas, child care) So monthly expenses for the group is $18,750 a month or $225, 000 a year in expenses and the group income is just over $65, 000 for a loss of $160, 000.
Isn’t quixtar a great deal?
Joecool,
Ok. Ok. You win. Whatever. You wore me out with all your analyzing & nitpicking & mathematics...whew!
Oh, by the way...
Kate is $32.00 per month (rounding UP)
Website is $41.00 per month (rounding UP)- this is sooooo cheap!!!!!!
Meetings are $7.00 each (1-2 per month MAYBE!)
Standing Order CD's are $15.00 for the month
A book is about $10.00 for the month
Joecool, that's a total of $105.00 for the month. IF there is a MAJOR function, add approx. $300.00-500.00 to that. Remember, the functions are only 4 times per year.
Our monthly check(s) have been anywhere from $600.00 to over 800.00. We have paid out less than $100.00 in bonuses (maybe less than $50.00). Why? BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING!!!!!!
By the way, the example you gave in your previous post was so in la-la land and not realistic at all. It's an extremely generalized example.
What is your point on this site, Joecool? Or any of these sites? Did you once own your own Quixtar franchise? If so, how long did you "try" it? I would venture to say that you could not (or would not) stick it out. I would venture even further to guess that you were burnt. So, now you're pissed and you're pissing all over everyone else.
Well, stop it kid. Go do something GOOD with your life! Find a church. Get involved. HELP someone! We are!
Once again, thanks for all your genius mathematical thoughts...I'm going to go "show the plan"! :-)
Sally
I like your attempted cheap shot, there, Sally, about welfare housing and food stamps. Word up - you are NOT living more cheaply by sucking at the teat of the government, you're just shifting the burden to someone else. To people like me and my family, who earn a very solid middle class income, but choose to live beneath their means (but pay taxes so YOU can live in housing that I paid for).
Instead of Cash Flow Quadrant or RDPD, I suggest you read 'The Millionaire Next Door'.
My goal is not to live 'real cheap', it's to spend my money on things of value while still saving money...the interest we earn on the money we didn't spend on stupid crap like Starbucks lattes or Khaveccinos (or on buying detergent when it's most convenient, instead of stocking up when it's half price) is true residual income, not made up income through creative accounting (overspending and then getting a rebate and counting it as profit).
oooooooohhhhhhhhh........struck a cord, did I, CK????
The "tone" of your message sounds a bit bitter....a former IBO who "got burnt" by the SYSTEM, I'm sure. Got "scamed", did you? Sorry 'bout that. :-(
I believe YOU are the one who is self-justifying your lifestyle while living in self-denial.
That's ok.
You know CK, this opportunity and lifestyle is not for everyone. But don't bash it with false information just because you did not do well with it.
Good day.
Sally
Sorry, nice try again. Have not ever adn will not ever be part of this nonsense.
Bitter that it takes advantage of people who can't afford to be taken advantage of though.
Care to provde a link to any of the false information I allegedly provided?
I thought not.
CK,
What in the world are you doing on this site? What has it got to do with YOU? You have never, nor will ever be part of this business opportunity.
Fine!
I won't ever be a World Wide Wrestler but I don't go on a site to bash the acting on it! ha!
You don't even know what you're talking about! I'm sparring with someone who's never boxed!
Just go spend some valuable time with your family before you have to go back to the 9-5'er.
Oh, Sally, you poor thing. Have you asked yourself why you are so heavily emotionally invested in this?
Sally writes: "I won't ever be a World Wide Wrestler but I don't go on a site to bash the acting on it! ha!"
CK writes: Ha? How old did you say you are? Doesn't it scare you that in defending this 'business' your writing and apparently your thought process quickly devolves to "Ha!"?
It should. Unless this is your typical method of dealing with conflict in your life, but then that would be cause for a different kind of alarm.
I don't need to have participated in the Mob to have a pretty good grasp of how it works, and one needn't have participated in AmQuix to understand how that works, either.
Unless, of course, it's the EMOTIONAL experience to which you refer, but then that wouldn't exactly be a business, now would it? But as far as raw numbers and business models go, one needn't be involved to understand.
But I need to remind myself that to those who are heavily involved, the facts don't count.
The fact is that if, indeed, you 'came home from your JOB' on your $600-$800 amquix income, which includes the money you overpaid on product and got kicked back to you through the Enron-style accounting methods taught in your LOS, and less the amount you're spending being CORE (by your figures, about $200/month with the quarterly functions), then you have succeeded in replacing your income on only about 300-500 net profit.
What did you do before this that you only earned $300-$500 per month?
It doesn't add up.
Additionally, if you really are doing as much PV as you claim, then you must have income from elsewhere, presumably your husband, to have gotten into a lifestyle that involves spending anywhere from $1000-$1600 ($2-$2.7/PV times 500-600 PV/month) per month on consumables for a family of 4, NOT including your trips to Target for chocolate and whatever else you bought there.
If you really have that kind of disposable income, and if you really were able to replace YOUR income on only $300-$500/month profit, why didn't you just spend a little less and stay home from the outset, if that was really a priority to you?
It doesn't add up.
And that's why I'm involved. Too many friends and loved ones have gotten sucked into this nonsense, and it's ruined people financially. Why?
BECAUSE IT DOESN'T ADD UP.
The facts DO count if one's goal is to run a profitable business.
Just because someone doesn't have direct experience, does not mean they do not know what they are talking about. How could anyone become a modern-day expert on the American Civil War? It happened over 140 years ago, yet there are plenty of people I've met whom I would call Civil War experts. Just because CK was never an IBO, does not mean you should dismiss what she is saying.
And it doesn't add up. If we average out what you are paying tools, Sally, it is about $200/month ($100 reoccuring monthly plus 4 functions at $300 each = $200/month). Even if you have no other business expenses (which is doubtful), your profits are only $400 - $600/month. In contrast, if you got a part time job, minimum wage, and worked only 20 hours/week, you would be making about $400/month!
Like CK says, it just doesn't add up.
Sally,
I was an IBO for about a year and my highest pin level was 4000. At my upline's advice, I bought standing order, attended all meetings and functions, bought the books, drove the miles, and even bought 5-7 EXTRA tapes each week because my upline said no one could succeed with doing tehse CORE steps. My expense easily exceeded $250 a month when you added in the cost of Major functions. I quit because at 4000, I made no money and my upline was unethical. (I live in Hawaii, airfare for major functions is very expensive)
Even in your bare bones analysis of $105 a month for tools, that IBO still LOST money. Spend $105 on tools, get a rebate for $8, a net loss of $97!
Hey but if you can get 75 guys to lose $97 a month and think they are successful, guess what you are a platinum.
Even with that conservative estinate of $105 for tools, a direct group still comes out with a loss when you add up their quixtar bonuses versus their business expenses and your bare bones estimate doesn't include gas money and babysitting fees!
You are teaching people to buy from themselves, lose money and get other suckers to copy
CK,
You are a woman??????? DMM refers to you as a woman. I assumed by your illogical & non-sensical postings, that you were a guy. Wow. Too bad.
CK, the "ha!" refers to a chuckle or laugh. I was kind of laughing at the example I gave. It made as much sense as you commenting on this business. Not sure what you thought I was doing there but hope that clarifies it for you.
CK & DMM, here's how it adds up: When I was working full time, I paid approx. $1500.00 per month on a nanny for my oldest child. I also paid for gas to and from work each day, plus gas to customer visits, seminars, etc. I also paid for lunch & sometimes breakfast every day as I would be working at those times. Rarely, I had a customer lunch that the company pay for.
I also had a hefty monthly drycleaning bill because I wore nice dress suits & dresses to work each day. I also went to a high end salon & had my nails done, my hair done & colored. And, I never thought twice about purchasing something or going out to eat because I made very good money (which I worked extremely hard to EARN).
I've already listed the personal sacrifices we've (especially me personally) made for me to be able to raise my own kids and not stick them in "kiddy jail". I quit my job hastily, I admitted that!!! Over and over, in fact. We (mainly, me) had to drastically adjust our lifestyle. We cut out unnecessary spending & purchases, no vacations for a few years, shopped clearance & consignment plus garage sales. Went to Great Clips instead of a high end salon. Colored out of a box. Cut off all my nails (had a new baby by that time). Saved on clothing, dry cleaning, childcare, gas, personal, eating out, stopping at the store every other day & instead of buying what I went in for, I bought a few extra things (like 90% of the population out there) and many other miscellaneous expenses that went along with my being a working mom.
DOES THAT HELP YOU UNDERSTAND NOW?????
We realized we needed extra money. My hubby, at that time, earned less than I was earning. That's why it was a hasty move on our part. However, we did what we had to do to make it happen.
DMM, I DID look at going to work again, part time. But, quite frankly, we were ready to live in a studio apartment instead of sticking our kids in daycare, even if only for a short while. Our kids were (and are) our priority, over our financial "status".
DMM, to directly address the example you gave, I am "working" (if you can call it that) our business MAYBE 5-8 hours a week & making a RESIDUAL $400-600.00 a month in PROFIT. WHY IN THE WORLD would I get a part time job at 20 hours a week (non-negotiable, I might add) & stick my kids in daycare, which I then have to fork over MOST of my paycheck for and make LESS than what I make now??? That doesn't even make sense! That last paragraph you wrote was one for our side, by the way. Thanks! ;-)
Joecool, I don't even understand WHERE you are getting the info. you're getting. I don't follow your "thought process", if you want to call it that. WHAT IBO made only $8.00? In WHAT scenario?
As far as paying for babysitters, I really meant it when I previously stated we barely had enough to pay our mortgage each month. My husband would go to meetings and/or STP and I would stay with the kids. OR, we would have the couple or family or single to OUR home to STP. OR, I'd "swap" sitting times with a friend. They'd watch ours then we'd watch theirs for an evening. I've done that with downline!!! OR, if I'm lucky enough, we'd have family watch them like for a weekend seminar. One time, we purchased ONE ticket for a function and we SHARED it. My hubby went one day while I watched the kids & I went the next day while HE watched the kids.
If my upline TOLD ME that I had to purchase extra tools "because that equates success" and he/she REALLY understood our situation, I'd IGNORE HIM OR HER!!! I'd look to another upline until I found someone who UNDERSTOOD OUR SITUATION AND HAD COMMON SENSE! Or, we'd work it OURSELVES because the business model just MAKES SENSE!
Joecool, WHERE WAS YOUR SPINE??? YOUR COMMON SENSE??? If you cannot pay for it, either SAVE & PREPARE FOR IT, EARN enough to go (ie: sell RETAIL), SELL something (like on Ebay!) or DON'T GO!!! YOU WERE NEVER FORCED OR COERCED! IT WAS YOUR OWN LACK OF COMMON SENSE AND BLIND THINKING THAT LED YOU TO WHERE YOU ENDED UP.
Obviously, I am passionate about that. I truly believe, NOW MORE THAN EVER BEFORE (after reading these posts & other blog sites), that MOST of the critbots did not give this opportunity enough time, did not do the WORK (CORE), were VERY FOOLISH with their time & money (just because their upline told them to!), or happened to meet a very unethical person & followed their advice. Other reasons: don't believe in themselves, don't believe it's true, believes others' fairy tales such as people with NO EXPERIENCE with this biz - like CK!)
And there you have it. 98% of the people in the world (mostly U.S.) will not succeed in this business due to the above reasons.
That's been my personal experience and that's my firm belief.
Sally.
Sally, no group can be comprised with only big pins. Many groups have IBOs who do ONLY their 100 PV. Does that not net them about $8 in rebates?
Ok so you buy from yourself, do your 100 PV, get your $8 rebate. But you are CORE, you have KATE, Standing order, functions, open meetings, gas, babaysitter expenses. Don't these
expenses exceed $8 a month? All these IBOs lose money. And in any group, there will be more of these 100 PV IBOs than emeralds- therefore they all lose money. What don't you understand about that?
Here you go Sally:
All you need to do is to do the math on a direct group. As a whole, they will always collectively lose money, unless they are retailing like crazy.
A direct group is 7500 PV. 100 PV costs about $270. $270 x 75 = $20, 250
a month, or $243, 000 a year. (for products)
7500 PV = about 18, 750 BV. 18, 750 BV = monthly bonus of $4687.50 or $56, 250 for the year, for the entire group.
Let's say the group had a direct distributor who does 100 PV and 74 IBO's who also do 100 PV.
The Direct pays out $592 ($8 x 74) and keeps $55, 658 for the year, plus a one time bonus of $10K. Over $65K is pretty good.
Now lets say these are all CORE IBO's dedicated to the cause. They spend about $250 each month for tapes, cd's functions, voicemail, website. (Not including gas, child care) So monthly expenses for the group is $18,750 a month or $225, 000 a year in expenses and the group income is just over $65, 000 for a loss of $160, 000.
Isn’t quixtar a great deal?
Sally,
Since there was no "Ha!" by that idiotic, sexist, and incredibly offensive statement you made in the first sentence of your last post, I have to assume that you actually meant it. You just lost that last, precious microgram of credibility if you ever had one. I only wish that all men and women in your downline could see it. But you do make a good stereotypical representative of your business for the rest of us.
Ok, Sally.
First you accuse me of posting false information, but failed to provide the link or quote to it when challenged. You did manage to provide what, in your mind, is a justification of following your wrestling analogy with 'ha', so I know that you read my post asking you to provide the substantiation for your claim.
Care to do so now?
Then you write that my posts are illogical and non-sensical. Care to provide THAT link or quote? And no, a different conclusion than yours hardly qualifies. But you do know the difference, don't you?
Maybe not.
THEN, you proceeded to insult half the population by insinuating quite clearly that any illogic (in your mind) must come from a man.
Does your husband know that you think so poorly of his gender?
After that, you insinuated that I am a liar, because I am posting 'fairy tales'.
You have repeatedly resorted to character and intelligence assisination in your attempt to justify your opinions without even referencing your source.
This is generally the last resort of an indefinsible postition.
Which is doubly laughable, since the tone and structure of your posts would indicate that you are in no position to question my intelligence.
If you are truly interested in my 'experience' with this business, you can read it in the member profile section of the forums.
I doubt it matters to you, though, because my experience has been that to those sold out to this 'business', THE FACTS DON'T COUNT.
To CK, DMM, Joecool & BB,
I am embarassed about my previous post. At least, most of it. It was a very emotional response as a result of a highly stressful day (kids). The emotion of the response actually had little to do with the postings on this site.
I do not think that most men write in an illogical, non-sensical way. I will ask your forgiveness for that statement as it was an absurd statement and does not accurately represent my true opinions. I have a great deal of respect for my husband and alot of men that I know.
You are right. If those are my true feelings, I should not be in a position of leadership & mentorship to others. As hopefully all of you are, I am constantly working on how to be the best wife, mom, friend, daughter, sister, etc. that I can be.
Joecool, as far as the numbers go, I do see what you are trying to get at. However, I do need to make a very valid point. IF indeed, you have people who are 100% CORE and truly "dedicated to the cause" as you would say, then it is inevitable that their PV would increase. Because within CORE, is sharing this opportunity with others (STP) a minimum of once per week. If you are indeed doing that, then because it is proven that numbers are numbers and 1/4 to 1/3 of the people you share this opportunity with, will also be interested in saving time & money and will purchase perhaps shampoo & a case of XS each month. That PV rolls up, as you know.
I do realize that there will ALWAYS be someone just starting out. It does NOT have to mean they are losing money. And the people who are "new" can easily bypass & exceed the others in their line of sponsorship who have been involved longer.
I don't know what your previous upline taught. I do know our upline ENCOURAGE the support & training materials to help one grow personally & professionally. However, they do NOT recommend these things at the RISK of putting food on the table or making your mortgage payment. I have NEVER heard that encouraged from any of my upline nor from any tape, cd, book or speaker on stage. That has simply been my experience.
When we've encountered people who literally, cannot afford cd's, functions, etc. We tell them, that's fine. We'll work WITH THEM SIDE BY SIDE on the retail side so they can EARN the profit and PV. We coach & mentor them to be RESPONSIBLE with their money & to pay their immediate bills FIRST and to live WITHIN or BELOW their means. We also coach & mentor them to be the very BEST employee they can be!
I actually sit down with people to review the prices of our basic, consumable commodoties like laundry supplies, bathroom supplies, kitchen supplies, cleaning supplies, vitamins, etc. 95% of the time, when comparing APPLES TO APPLES, we will be the SAME or LESS in price.
Now, as far as people taking us up on our offers to sit and go through the numbers and/or go out and retail with them? Ha! That's where the challenge is. A lot of them have not been WILLING to do so!
Therefore, instead of "hounding" them (like one of our upline we do NOT mentor with), we keep in touch, stay friends and move on to others who WANT to have more time and money.
Thanks to all of you for listening. Again, I apologize for my previous emotional, somewhat irrational ramblings.
God bless you all,
Sally
Sally, it takes a big person to admit to a mistake. I hold you in high esteem for doing so.
Sally, I believe your experience, but my upline and apparently many others are abusive and would "advise" downline to skip meals or house payments to buy tools. That was my experience in WWDB. So for a prospect reading this, how do they know who's ethical or not?
Thanks for the kind words, CK.
Joecool, it's quite a dilemma, isn't it? Because of course, most IBO's will put on their best face for the "prospect" or client. We all do it in everything in life. So, it's a tough situation the prospect finds themselves in.
Here's all I can contribute as an answer: I know what WE do. We ALWAYS tell people to do their homework! We tell them to research (both on and off the internet as there are both valid & bogus sites on the internet). We only want people who are basing their decisions on intelligent information gathering.
Yes, part of informing them, is discussing CORE (what we call the proven recipe) and as part of CORE, tools. We do let them know that the cd's primarily come from other couples sharing their stories, tips & advice on how to "build the business". We do discuss pricing of these items.
Now, if it's a potential retail client or IBO prosumer, then we'll not go into all the details of CORE. We will focus ONLY on products - quality, price & convenience.
In the end, the decision is up to them. It's our job to share, educate & inform.
I do apologize again Joecool, for any derogatory statements I made to or about you. I don't know your story. Just as you don't know mine. I do believe that unfortunately, you were "under" someone who was misguiding you. I realize that happens. It's sad & makes it much more difficult for those of us who are working so hard to build this with balance & with integrity.
Thanks,
Sally
Hey Sally, no problem.
If you lead people to do reearch before joining then I have no problem with that. The prospect is making an informed decision, and that's cool.
What's scary is the deception and misinformation that is fed to many prospects. As you can see, my upline was ruthless, even advised a couple to skip house payments to attend a major function. That couple lost their home and went bankrupt. Yes, they had a choice but they were following their
trusted upline who would never purposely lead them astray.
Sally,
Thank you for your note re: the gender comment. I'm glad the discussion is back to a higher ground.
Your first catalog as an IBO or member are free, you need to pay for others. These are to give to your clients. Stll does not make sense, though, but it is abother way to make money on the IBO's. Not a whole lot about Quixtar really makes sense and that is not a good thing!
Posted by: xanadustc | June 12, 2006 1:04 PM