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November 21, 2006
Being CORE
By Truth in A/QMOs
Being involved in a motivational organization of Quixtar the chances are good one will hear about "Being CORE". When I was in BWW this simply meant doing the 9 CORE steps each and every month without fail. Now first of all this actually makes sense (I know bear with me) on some levels. I think in any business there are going to be CORE duties that one will have to do on a regular basis to be successful. The problem I have with the current 9 steps is that I am not sure if they are all about helping someone to have a successful business or if they are a bu$ine$$ in themselves.
For instance 5 of the 9 steps involve the IBO spending money to complete those steps with the money from 4 of those steps going directly into upline's pockets. When one adds up the cost of being core against the average income of an IBO you can see things get expensive pretty quick.
However, I think I have come up with a way to find out what CORE is really all about. Two steps in the CORE plan talk about listening to a tape a day and reading for at least 15 minutes a day. Many IBOs can relate these steps to Standing Order Tape (SOT) or Book Of the Month (BOM). My question however would be do you really need to be on SOT and BOM to be CORE? The steps simply say to listen to a tape a day and read for 15 minutes a day. So what if I am buying my own books from my partner store Barnes & Noble (because one of the CORE steps is all about product loyalty) that I feel will help me and am reading at least 15 minutes a day? Does that still make me a CORE IBO, or do I need to be buying and reading the BOM to be CORE? How about tapes? What if I decide Zig Ziglar, or Tony Robbins is more my style and decide to listen to those tapes everyday instead of the SOT? Am I still a CORE IBO, or do I need to be buying and listening only to the SOT to be CORE?
If you are an Eagle in the business and you decide to drop SOT and BOM and get your tapes and books from another source, you would still be doing the steps, but do you think you will get approved for your reserved seat at the next function? Personally, I wouldn't bet on it. If the true motivation of the 9 CORE steps (by the way recently updated from 8 CORE steps when Communikate came along, yet another tool upline makes money off of somehow became vital to downline business) is to help build a big business then I don't think it should matter where you get your tapes and books from. But I would suppose if the 9 CORE steps is a good way to get downline excited about stuffing money in their upline's pocket.....well then I think the program has achieved great success.
November 17, 2006
DeVos Loss, Amway's Gain
By David Robison in Amway
Interesting headline from a quote by Alticor spokesman, Rob Zeiger, "This has been nothing but a positive for our company."
From the article:The Grand Rapids Press titles it "Election,'nothing but a positive'".
"Alticor Inc. was dragged into the governor's race when Dick DeVos, its former chief executive and son of the founder, threw in his hat for the state's top job.
And for the first time, the company fought back to protect its image and that of its subsidiaries, including Amway, with a series of commercials and blistering rebuttals to Democratic charges it shipped jobs overseas.
The shift was major for the company, which in the past quietly took lumps from critics, preferring to suffer in solitude rather than risk the spotlight.
Just because the general election is over, don't expect Alticor Inc. to crawl back into its shell."
Zeiger goes on to explain, "It reintroduced us to a lot of people. It also showed us how much farther we have to go."
The article says that after the "I Am Amway" ads began to run; Alticor employees asked why the campaign had not ran 20 years ago. As an IBO, I agree. Luckily, Alticor plans to continue running the ads through the end of the year, as well as the new Quixtar ads appearing on TV and magazines.
Further in the article, Zeiger says,
..."We are also taking some of the lessons that we learned, to talk to our colleagues in other parts of the world,"
He said the lack of information that came out of the company before the election wasn't because of "bad intention."
"It was partially because we are a private company, and we were happy to stay out of the limelight," Zeiger said. "Part of it was that product advertising and advertising to attract distributors were not always seen as effective for us. We're rethinking that."
Zeiger said the company didn't realize the importance of getting its message out.
The company also launched a blog to respond to criticism.
It's a real blog, complete with comments and I have to say it's pretty good reading and one of the writers is pretty funny.
The article also quotes Bill McKendry, founder and chief creative officer of Grand Rapids advertising agency, Hanon McKendry.
"Amway has a history of overcoming the odds," he said. "They just need to get out and manage their image and brand more. It's like politics: If you let the other side define who you are, you are not going to get the results you want."
McKendry said Alticor is a great company and a great employer, but questioned the title of its advertising campaign.
Running an "I Am Amway" campaign after abandoning the Amway name in the U.S. in favor of Alticor and Quixtar, "adds to the confusion," he said. "If they say they are not Amway anymore, and then try to build the Quixtar and Alticor brands, why are they coming out with an "I Am Amway" campaign?"
In my opinion, McKendry should already know the answer to this question for two reasons.
First, If you followed the Devos-Granholm race, then you know that DeVos was tagged as "the Amway guy" early in the race; not the Alticor guy or the Quixtar guy.
Second, if you live in a close knit community or small town, then you know that the place that changed its name 15 years ago is still called by its original name by the locals.
Alticor attacked the issue as it was presented to them; as an "Amway" issue. They fought hard to prevent the attacks against DeVos, the Amway guy" from being attacks against "Amway" the company, even if the name had changed.
To me, and my biased IBO view, I'd say that Alticor, Amway, and Quixtar are taking to heart all the comments on blogs like these, and really striving for a change. From their Accreditation Program; to an end to shying away from the Press; it looks like some transparency is starting to breakthrough the opaque-ness, that was Alticor.
Heck, even Kia over at The Real Quixtar Blog is redesigning his blog to add comments, trackbacks, and RSS feeds. And Beth Dornan, (be still, my beating heart) is moving her blog to a dedicated website.
Maybe, just maybe, DeVos' loss will be Quixtar and Amway IBOs' gain, as well.
November 11, 2006
Veteran's Day
By Truth in Miscellaneous
As a veteran this day certainly holds meaning for me, however it should hold meaning for everyone. It should hold a meaning of thanks and gratitude to those who served and those who died fighting for freedom. Gratitude to those who served and to those who died fighting for your right to speak out, your right to dissent, your right to pursue your own passion and pursue your own happiness. Whether you agree with the wars these soldiers fought in is irrelevant. Soldiers do not make distinctions about what war they get to fight and which ones they don't. They volunteer to fight when their country calls them to it.
When you see a veteran say thanks. Thanks that you are free to dissent and express how you feel. Thanks that you are free to make your own path in life, and thanks that for more then 230 years brave men and women have been serving, fighting, and dying to keep you and your family free from tyranny. If you are a veteran I say thank you to you and to all of those who have gone before us.
November 10, 2006
The Plan: A Blast From The Past
By David Robison in Quixtar
Everybody misses good ole Qblog when the rest of us, guest bloggers, post our thoughts, experiences and news about Quixtar here at Ye Olde Quixtar Blog. I miss him more than the rest of you, because I have to write something that stands up to his caliber of writing.
This week, I've decided not to match his caliber, but to repeat his caliber.
You may not know this, but when the man suggests to you to read his Archives, that there's some good stuff there; especially in the early days of this blog.
Even way back then, when Qblog was still a card-carrying member of Quixtar, he was making some excellent observations about the business.
How would Qblog show the Quixtar Plan?
"...Nope, there is no "one way" to show the plan but there are some tips and guidelines you are supposed to follow. Anyway, here's my criticisms of the plan but keep in mind I'm no expert and I know that the plan I'm being critical of works, I just can't figure out why or at least I think it could work even better:
1. It's too long. Shorten that plan up. 30 minutes is almost too long but should be the absolute maximum time. Not 1.5 - 2 hours.
2. Be honest and candid. When someone asks a question be ready with an answer that at least seems like you aren't trying to hide anything.
3. Don't ridicule 401ks or the stock market. You'll end up looking like a fool one day. You couldn't be so critical of those things 3 years ago and you won't be able to again one day. Why? Well, it's what everyone is striving for in Quixtar anyway. To be an investor.
4. Quit asking people if they've ever heard of Wal-Mart when you do the Wal-Mart part of the plan. Yes, everyone has heard of Wal-Mart. Everyone shops at Wal-Mart. Why not ask them if they've heard of food or air? Whatever.
5. Don't tell me how much a Diamond or silver or whatever earns if, when I ask you how much you earn, you dodge the question. Be candid. If you're going to volunteer how much others in the business earn then tell everyone how much you earn. Because, ya know, you're standing right there and those diamonds aren't.
That's all I got now. Do this and you'll have a better plan...Or not."
These 5 suggestions stand the test of time; still good advice.
I would stress that today, if your plan was longer than 30 minutes, and you aren't getting interested questions, you are talking to much.
Always answer questions truthfully, there's no need to hide anything. If you don't have an answer; promise to get one.
Wal-mart is a retail store. Discuss the plan as it pertains to operating a Direct Sales business. Discuss THAT industry. Inform the prospect about the nature of Direct Sales and it's niche market.
Show the Plan and emphasize the income potential of the plan. Show the prospect how the plan works with retailing and recruiting. Any bravado about a Diamond's income is unnecessary.
Nope, there is no "one way" to show the plan, but you could do a lot worse than the "Qblog way"
November 8, 2006
DeVos Governor Race
By Truth in Quixtar
With 11% of precincts reporting Fox News has called the race for Governor of Michigan for Jennifer Granholm, ending Dick DeVos's run for governor of the state.
How much impact do you think the "Amway factor" played in this race?
November 6, 2006
Long Overdue
By QBlog in Blog News
Hi folks. You remember me? I'm the guy that introduced Quixtar to blogging nearly four years ago.
This Wednesday, November 8, 2006, marks the four year anniversary of the Quixtar BLOG and my goodness how things have changed.
But I'm not writing to reminisce about the last four years, I'm writing about the future. You know, that sparkly-hopeful thing the dreamers talk about in wistful tones while smiling blankly and muttering lines from Hallmark cards.
I'm kidding. Not THAT future! I'm really writing about the future where we all have jet packs, bionic legs, flying cars and microchips in our brains and everyone who's anyone wears matching unitards.
Ack! Again I kid. Sorry, it's just that the jokes keep coming.
Seriously
Ok, now I just inserted a "seriously" sub-heading so I MUST comply. The future I'm writing about is with regards to this blog. Now do I have your attention? Good.
As the observant have noticed, I haven't been writing much on the Quixtar BLOG lately. As I stated back in June, some things have changed in my life and I've had to move the Quixtar BLOG down on my priority list. I'd hoped that others (Drew, Preston and Tom) would pick up the pace while I lagged but... well... that hasn't really happened. In fact, Tom's now moved on to other things and David Robison has graciously stepped in.
However, there's just not been a lot of posting activity on the blog of late and I feel bad about that. I'm not complaining about any of the other Quixtar BLOG authors, in fact I thank them for the time and energy they've given to this blog, but I'm just acknowledging that this blog hasn't developed quite the way I'd hoped it would since I scaled back my involvement.
What To Do?
So about the future. This blog will continue. David, Drew and Preston all will continue to post when they have something to post about and I'll pop in when I can. Sometimes I will have more time. Other times I'll have less time. I just want you to know that I'm not abandoning this blog and I appreciate all who've continued to visit and contribute over the years.
And the Forum will continue. And so will the wiki. The QBlog Radio will remain but I won't be having new shows regularly. The old shows are pretty good so be sure to check them out.
And I do have a long list of posts to get to and I will try to fit them in when I can. There's a pretty cool one just about ready to publish on January first. I won't say who it's about but if you check your calendars and Quixtar's rule 6.5 then you may be able to figure it out.
Thanks!
So, thanks for stopping by and sorry there's not more "recent" stuff to offer. Wish I could promise more was coming soon but I'll settle for "some is coming sometime."
November 4, 2006
MarkerMan Productions Receives Accreditation
By David Robison in A/QMOs
The Truth About Quixtar website announced on November 4th; MarkerMan Productions, a Quixtar Professional Development Program, (or Motivational Organization) has received accreditation under the Quixtar Accreditation Program.
MarkerMan Productions is led by Crown Direct Jody Victor.
This marks the third Motivational Organization to receive the distinction of Accreditation.
Efinity and Team 5K were granted the honor earlier this year.