My name is Ty Tribble and I would like to welcome you to the MLM Blog. I launched this site in 2003 as a journal of my thoughts and opinions on Network Marketing.
While I write about many companies, I am only active in one, if you would like more information about myself or my business, visit my personal web site at TyTribble.com
If you have story ideas, comments or questions, you can contact me at ty (at) tribble (dot) org.
In 1983, Amway founders Rich DeVos and Jay VanAndel hit the easy button. When faced with an opportunity to reign in the tools system by providing company training, they buckled.
"It was time to bring some reasonableness to all of this. We also didn't take it to the Board, by the way, because we didn't really want to put a Board member on the spot. We have Board members who operate pretty big systems. It would have been a kind of an embarrassment to put him in the crossfire; so we just decided not to even discuss it at that level."
The reasonableness was tossed out when Bill Britt and Dexter Yager allegedly held back volume from the Amway company for two months. When faced with doing the right thing or losing their biggest source of volume, DeVos and VanAndel went with the volume. They pushed the easy button.
The easy button made DeVos and VanAndel billions, but cost them something some say is much more dear. Integrity. The DeVos/VanAndel legacy is riddled with broken dreams because they bowed to the whims of Britt and Yager.
I think the easy button also cost them billions. If Amway had taken control of the tools in 1983 and kept their prices under control, there would be no reason anyone in Amway would leave for Xango, Univera LifeSciences, Usana or any other Network Marketing company.
In my opinion, Amway could have dominated. Instead, they spin off as Quixtar in the U.S. and continue the downward spiral, allowing tools to be the largest source of monetary loss for the average IBO, while the same tools are the largest source of income for the Quixtar Diamonds.
Emerald, Greg Franics promotes the new Leadership Team Development CDs:
Buy The Tools - Buy The Tools - Buy The Tools
My favorite quote is:
"looking forward to seeing huge tool orders"
Of course Greg Franics is looking forward to huge tool orders. Cha-ching. He makes money every time one is sold in his downline.
I took a couple of minutes to try out Google Page Creator. My site can be seen here. Information about the new tool below:
Google Page Creator is a free online tool that makes it easy for anyone to create and publish useful, attractive web pages in just minutes.
- No technical knowledge required.
Build high-quality web pages without having to learn HTML or use complex software.
- What you see is what you'll get.
Edit your pages right in your browser, seeing exactly how your finished product will look every step along the way.
- Don't worry about hosting.
Your web pages will live on your own site at http://yourgmailusername.googlepages.com
What I reported back in December is now official. Larry Winters has "earned the right" to have his own tools system.
Here is a portion of a Communikate voicemail message that went out today:
Leadership Team Development Announcement Audio
Britt World Wide tools are no longer available to Larry Winters Team, including this weeks Britt tool orders, that will not be shipped. In place of Britt tools are tools from Winters' Leadership Team Development or LTD.
"Larry and his guys are forward thinkers" but "this weeks tool orders will not be shipped".
The Leadership Team Development group currently has 5 CD's. One CD is coming out via standing order this week and the Leadership Team is encouraging everyone to order the other 4 CD's plus some extras this week.
I have some additional audio that relates the the promotion of the new CD's. You will want to tune in on Monday.
Update: The voice on the Communikate message is Emerald, Greg Franics.
There is a nifty little page on Google that allows you to search blogs called the Google Blog Search Beta. I use this page when I am getting ready to produce my semi-regular feature called Quixtar Blog News aka The Good, Bad and Ugly at the MLM Business Opportunities Weblog.
In doing a search today, I found something curious:
19 Feb 2006 by QBlog I clicked on the link, but neither the post or an explanation as to why the post disappeared was found. |
Follow along with me...
Jody Victor and Billy Florence of the Quixtar IBOA, send Scott Larsen of AmQuix.info a letter about "inaccuracies" on his site. Larsen corrects the information and posts an apology.
The IBOA posts the following on their web site:
Internet critic Scott Larsen has apologized to Jody Victor for reporting false and inaccurate information about Jody, his family and his business, information that has now been withdrawn from Larsen’s Web site. This is a milestone and, we hope, a precedent which Mr. Larsen and other critics will bear in mind in the future.
As you may recall, IBO Leaders Jody Victor and Billy Florence recently sent Mr. Larsen reasonable but strongly worded letters demanding that all of these inaccuracies be withdrawn from Larsen’s Web site and that he cease what appeared to be malicious behavior.
Again, Victor and Florence ask Larsen to remove the "innaccuracies", Larsen does, Victor and Florence are happy and the board gloats about this on several sites.
Here is the million dollar question. If Larsen is so willing to remove "innaccuracies" from his web site, what does that say about the content that remains on that site?
For Example:
Barnes and Noble Complains (About Quixtar IBO's)
Quixtar has a new disclaimer and is posting income data five years old.
Since launching this blog, I have had the opportunity to communicate with hundreds of current and former Quixtar IBO's. That communication along with a years worth of studying the industry of Network Marketing has brought me to a conclusion.
I believe that Quixtar, formerly Amway, is the most difficult Network Marketing business to build in North America.
Here are a few reasons:
1. The Amway Reputation
2. The Quixtar Pricing
3. The training and motivational systems that are more concerned with selling books, CD's, and seminars than they are with the profit of their individual participants.
There are dozens of companies out there that provide free training for associates. I am personally with Univera LifeSciences, but there are other good companies.
Before signing up with a Quixtar Team, have a look around and see what else is out there. If you still feel like Quixtar is right for you after looking at a handful of other companies in the industry, I wish you nothing but the best of luck.
The results of the MLM Blog Poll Question No. 1 can be found here.
This poll has 5 possible answers. Scroll using the arrows to see the 5th top secret poll answer.
The Network Marketing world needs a lot more Kim Klaver...
Network Marketing for Women is for someone who wants to market their products without hype or gimmicks. And without sounding like a high pressure salesperson.
It's for someone who does not have lots of confidence, and who may have gotten a few surprise no's from people they know.
Ladies, what if you discovered that the best way to treat your prospective customer (whether you know her or not) that first time is more like flirting than scoring? We women don't expect to jump into the back seat the first night, do we? No matter what the boys hope and angle for. Well, sales is like that.
Treat prospective customers, including friends, like you do the guy on that first date - open the kimono just a little, then step back. Just a hint will do. Would you ruin the mystery (and your edge) by stripping down that first night?
Woman to woman marketing - KimKlaverBlogs.com
The 5 most important books for Network Marketers as listed on my Network Marketing Squidoo Lens:
I have them listed here in the order I would read them.
he direct selling industry contributed $72 billion to the U.S. economy in 2004, according to an economic impact study conducted by Ernst & Young and released today by the Direct Selling Association (DSA).
The $72 billion includes direct, indirect, and induced impacts from $27.8 billion in wages, commissions, bonuses, and other compensation earned by the more than 13.6 million Americans who work in the direct selling industry, as well as impact from sales to customers, production activities, capital investments and tax revenue.
"The economic impact study confirms the ongoing growth of direct selling as a shopping option for millions of American consumers," said Neil Offen, DSA President and CEO. "In ever-increasing numbers, Americans are choosing direct selling because they enjoy personal contact with knowledgeable sales representatives.
Consumers enjoy service, selection and social interaction that's hard to match with other shopping experiences."Direct selling involves the sale of a consumer product or service, person- to-person, away from a fixed retail location.
The industry includes global companies with household names, including Avon, Herbalife, Mary Kay, The Pampered Chef and Tupperware, as well as hundreds of small- and medium-sized businesses.
American Retail Tradition Rises to New Heights: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance
This news from Rich Razgaitis, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Univera LifeSciences:
Univera LifeSciences will undergo a name change to Univera LifeSciences. In addition Univera LifeSciences will be merging with sister company Namyang Aloe.
This name change and merger appear to be in preperation for global expansion to include Australia, Asia and Europe.
The merger will result in Univera LifeSciences' global volume in the $250 million range.
This is from a brand new Univera LifeSciences associate:
First let me say, it's not the business concept that hooked me, cuz honestly I don't understand any of that yet, and I am not a people person or salesman by any stretch, so I am not into the business for that either!
I'm just an achey, tired, fragile, disabled gal who was tired of being achey, tired, and fragile. So, when my Parents gave me the Regenicare & Ageless Xtra and they worked better than any OTC drug or prescription drug I had ever tried - well, I would be a fool not to share that with other folks like me.
It is the products that hooked me for life.
Think about what is happening here. This is real word of mouth at work. If Lori's parents had approached her with a way to make money, do you think she would have become involved? Lori's parents gave her a product "gift" and I suspect that they gave her the gift because they care about her.
Without hundreds (or thousands) of dollars of seminars, books and CDs to train her, Lori pays the gift forward:
This was the first week I have had the opportunity to get out and gift some folks. I was sooooo nervous, though, it made me literally shudder uncontrollably.
Each time I've stepped forward with my gift for someone - wouldn't ya know it, they responded with a sincere "Oh thank you for thinking of me."
--- Whoa, I didn't see that happening.
I've been asked, "What else do you use yourself?" so I tell them about regenipet for my puppy who is recovering from being run over and about Metagreens and Regenicare and what I used to have for symptoms before I took the products.
Then I hear "Oh, can I try that too?" Here is where someone has to slap my gaping mouth closed, right. I have no business composure, truly, and I just stammered along saying "Yah, whatever you want." and a smile. It's all good.
It is all good, Lori. For the last two and a half years I have been thinking about ways to make Network Marketing comfortable for real people. I thought that if we could make the work to build a Network Marketing business simple, rewarding and real, we could really begin tranforming the industry.
From Seth's Blog:
The reason the typewriter keyboard is in a weird order is that original typewriters jammed, and they needed to rearrange the letters to keep common letters far apart.
The reason we don't have school in the summer is so our kids can help with farmwork. Or because it's too hot and there's no air conditioning...
The reason you spent $7-15 a week on Network Marketing (Quixtar) CDs is because they didn't have MP3s and Podcasts when the training system was first invented.
Why do you do it today?
Challenge the reason.
I stole this idea from Dave Stone over at MLM Today. Great ideas are meant to be stolen and I will do my best to do his idea justice...
dPolls is a pretty cool tool, but I think they need to give us the ability to make the question a little longer. I'm sure you still "get it". The poll will last one week.
I have wanted to put a "subscribe by email" link on the MLM Blog for some time and I finally found one that I like. It's over there, in the left side bar. Squeet will also send you updates on any blog once you subscribe...Squeet is pretty sweet. (har har)
MLM Blog Avertising up for bid on eBay:
The MLM Blog is a daily blog about Network Marketing.
For the winning bidder, we will create an ad to be placed at the very top of our left side panel that will run for one week on our site. This placement is the hottest spot on our blog according to Google.
Bonus # 1: We will also write a feature article about you and your company. The feature article will be seen by over 1,000 unique visitors a day. In the past, featured articles have resulted in thousands of dollars in sales for the individual featured. The featured article will become part of our permanent archives bringing you an incredible amount of exposure.
Bonus # 2: The MLM Blog Podcast is number 1 in iTunes when searching for MLM. We will also do a 5 minute podcast interview with you and feature it on our MLM Podcast.
Stop wasting your time and money buying leads that never produce any results. This type of advertising will produce solid leads that want to know about you and your company.
I don't understand the philosophy of some Network Marketing companies.
Tastefully Simple gets upset when a person goes to one of their parties and blogs about her wonderful experience.
I interview a Cabi Clothing Consultant and in order to make sure she didn't get in trouble, I had to use the following disclaimer:
It is important to point out that this interview is not advertising. I contacted Debra and asked her about her experience because our readers have an interest in CAbi Clothing.
Cabi Clothing even goes as far as making their site invisible to search engines. Have a look, there is really no meaningful text on the web site.
In the last couple of days, I get this one...
News from corporate - if you have a Blog, please remember that we are not able to use words such as (product name), (company name), pictures, logos, etc on blogs as well as personal sites.
I do not want to mention the name because the person is writing a blog for me at the MLM Blog Network. The person has had tremendous results and exposure within a couple of weeks by simply talking about her business to readers.
What in the world is wrong with that?
and
What is the difference between writing the name of the company on a blog vs. saying the name of the company at a meeting?
Anyways, if you are a wild and crazy Network Marketing rebel and would like to author a blog, I offer them for free through the MLM Blog Network. I have one gentlemen who has been blogging through the Network for about 3 weeks and already has sales paying him over $1,000 that he can track directly back to blogging.
To: Qualified Platinums
Dear Quixtar Business Leaders,
It has been brought to our attention that some Quixtar Independent Business Owners are actively soliciting prospective IBOs at Barnes & Noble stores, despite clearly stated store policies prohibiting solicitation by store visitors. This practice must be discontinued as it represents a serious threat to the relationships between Quixtar and Barnes&Noble.com as well as to the reputation of the company and the business opportunity.
Quixtar's Partner Store agreement with Barnes&Noble.com does not extend to the separate business entity that operates Barnes & Noble stores. Quixtar IBOs are obligated to respect the No Solicitation policies of any establishment they visit, regardless of any e-commerce partnership arrangements that exist between that company's web business and Quixtar.
IBOs are permitted to meet known prospects at the cafes within Barnes & Noble stores, as this does not violate the non-solicitation policy. Actively handing out brochures or approaching others within the store to strike up conversations that lead to a business pitch, however, does violate the policy and this practice needs to be discontinued as it is a rules violation and endangers our relationship with this well-respected national chain.
A poll conducted by Barnes & Noble of the managers of its more than 700 stores identified Quixtar IBOs as the most frequent violator of this store policy, with no other company-related group in second. This does not reflect well on the company nor on IBOs in general, and colors people's attitudes and receptivity to the opportunity we offer.
Barnes & Noble stores have been alerted to Quixtar's policies and rules. Store managers have been asked to refer all offenders to Quixtar Business Rules & Conduct. IBOs that break these rules will be disciplined. Please ask your groups to respect Barnes and Noble's policies as well as Quixtar's Rules of Conduct. If you have questions on this issue, please contact your Sales Advisor.
Our reputation is built on everything all of us do and say, all the time. Acting responsibly helps protect your reputation and businesses and the future for all IBOs. We appreciate your leadership and your efforts to help stop this form of prospecting.
Jim Payne
Managing Director
Quixtar Inc.
MLM genealogy leads are the names of people from an MLM company that is no longer in business. Previous MLM independent distributors know that to build a large and successful "downline" ? the network of distributors recruited by a business owner ? they need fellow networkers to help them build their business.
As with any other type of business, successful MLM business owners rely on their contacts to help their business grow. People involved in MLM ventures often stick together. If one person joins a new network, he or she might persuade others in similar situations to join the network as well. By simply working the MLM genealogy leads, an MLM business owner has the potential to create a rather large network.
Genealogy leads can be acquired through contacts within the MLM company that dissolved, or a list can be purchased from a third party company. With MLM genealogy leads, it is important that the business owner check the leads list against the Do Not Call (DNC) Registry to ensure that the list is updated regularly and that the leads remain fresh.
If building your own steady stream of long term traffic for your lead generation campaign is something that would interest you then you'd better pay attention to the articles in this short e-course.
Online marketing has proven itself to be a great marketing medium for anyone looking to generate their own real time targeted leads. The problem for most network marketers trying to generate leads online is where they are going to advertise and how they are going to drive traffic to their lead capture pages.
There are so many options to advertise online and everything seems like you need a degree to use effectively!If you want to start out small but gradually build up your traffic streams then the method covered in this short series may be for you.
Billions of websites are afloat in the online world and webmasters don't always have the time to continually write new and fresh content that would be of interest to their visitors. This is why many webmasters now rely heavily on article directories to pickup fresh web content.
MLM Lead Generation Blog - Lead Generation For Network Marketers
technorati tags: bizopblog, mlm, leads, network marketing, Ty Tribble,
I have given this little tip to dozens of people on my team, but I don't think I have ever put it on this blog, so here you go...
Most Network Marketing companies offer some sort of replicated web sites these days. Prices for these sites usually range from free to $20 a month. Most of the replicated web sites come with a very long URL, such as: http://tribblet.oasislifesciences.net/
Imagine trying to give out that URL to someone over the phone. A simple solution is to register a new domain at www.godaddy.com and have it forwarded on to your replicated web site. For example, www.tytribble.com is forwarded on to http://tribblet.oasislifesciences.net/. tytribble.com is easier to put on a business card and easier for people to remember . In addition, if the company changes the URL of your site, you can easily forword you new domain to the new URL without losing any of your links or replacing any business cards.
If you have no idea where to start with Serch Engine Optimization, simply start a blog and write (daily) about the topic that you want optimized. You might be surprised at the results.
While the basics of Search Engine Optimization or SEO are pretty much textbook, it isn't the textbooks that you're competing with, it's the competition ... who within the most competative markets make it almost impossible to get to that search engine position of being number one. Discovering the Truth about Search Engine Optimization will require an analysis of every factor of optimization.
Professional SEO
Profession Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is more than simply understanding the goal of a website. The real SEO Professional, or real 'Search Engine Optimizer', will do extensive query-based keyword research because they know professional optimization needs a strong keyword foundation.
SEO professionals ask the all important question ... Who is the "target audience" or the "target market" ... and then, they work to create a website that brings their content to that audience through the search engines.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) involves:
- Optimizing every page's page titles, meta tags, attributes, anchor text and more.
- Theming of the primary domain, sub-domains and supporting web properties (such as blogs, forums and companion websites).
- Content is king ... and paramount to good optimization.
- Search engine friendly GUI navigation (internal linking strategy).
- A must have 'inbound link' building strategy (external links coming in).
Although all types of people have become successful in the Internet economy, there are a few traits that many successful entrepreneurs have in common. Like other entrepreneurs, Internet entrepreneurs tend to be risk-takers. They jump at opportunities (calculated risks, not reckless gambles). If you prefer the security of a weekly paycheck, benefits and vacation days, this arena may not be the right one for you.
Many successful Internet entrepreneurs are also well-connected in the industry or have an idea how to become so. The stereotype of the geeky computer guy, all alone in a back room for days on end, doesn't apply here. You'll have to be able to ask the right questions of the right people to get the information you need, and you'll need to be able to communicate all of your wonderful technological ideas to the outside world.
Even if you are involved with WWDB, it's not as bad as it could be...
Ice Storm in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
A couple of weeks ago, I posed the following question:
I am wondering...how many Diamonds did BWW, WWDB and the TEAM break in December? Anyone?
Here is the recent answer I got from Michael aka "webbmentor", a WWDB associate who runs a blog called Instant Franchise:
Hmmmm. Interesting. Michael claims that all of these Diamonds are new. Yet, I was personally at the F.E.D. (convention) in the 90's when Golden, Harstad and Harimoto went Diamond, 1996, 1993 and 1994 respectively. Grosball and Kummer went Diamond in 2002-3. You can confirm the dates by looking here. As far as Korea goes, they are not in Quixtar, they are in Amway and if they are breaking Diamonds by the hundreds, it does not seem to be rubbing off on their American counter-parts.
I would like to say that I don't get it, that I can't understand how someone in WWDB could be so confused, except that I completely get it. They want you confused.
WWDB has broken 5 new qualified Diamonds in the last 10 years, and not a single one of them got started after 1995, in fact all WWDB Diamonds were at least at the Emerald level in 1995. In other words, not a single person that was not an Emerald in 1995 has attained the Diamond level in the World Wide Group, ever.
Are you still fired up?
The food was good and the speakers were excellent. Kenny, Bud and Becca were recognized as new Gold Executives in Univera LifeSciences. Gold Executives earn an average of $1900 a month.
Pictures were taken by Bud and Kenny. More to come soon.
(from left to right Becca, Kenny, Me and Richelle. Click the picture to enlarge)
My Squidoo lens about Network Marketing has cracked the top 10, (# 8 yesterday, # 10 today).
If you haven't heard of or don't get Squidoo yet, think about looking at a subject (Network Marketing) through another person's (mine) point of view. As if you were looking through my "lens".
"It's a place where smarties like you flaunt your expertise and benefit from that of others--think Friendster meets Wikipedia."
- Daily Candy
Here are a few of my other lenses:
and would you believe....Physics?
Can any of you prove what is continually hyped on your web sites and in your meetings about ORAC value in the Acai berry?
"ORAC value (a measure of its antioxidant properties), is higher than any other edible berry on the planet"
Can you produce an independent study?
No, Oprah does not count.
I am happy to report that the banner is back up and functioning properly.
I am also back from a short trip, but sadly, my kids and I are not functioning properly. We are all sick. I am trying to get a little bit of work done, but my focus is not that great at the moment. I have much to tell you but it will have to wait until Tuesday (I hope).
For some reason my banner is not showing up. I have sent an email to Typepad, (my blog host), for help. This is indeed the original MLM Blog, you just don't get to see the nifty banner that says all that.
Update: The banner seems to be back. I have had pretty good luck with Typepad. I know hey have had some server issues, but count me lucky.
Update 2 (Electric Booglaloo): It's gone again replaced by a new banner "Image Not Available".
« January 2006 | Main | March 2006 »
Ty,
Actually there were 5 new diamonds
5 WWDB new diamonds (Quixtar only FYI)
Hal and Ann golden
http://golden.wwdb.biz/
Jim and Julie Harstad
http://harstad.wwdb.biz/
Bob and Shelly Kummer
http://kummer.wwdb.biz/
Scott and Chris Harimoto
http://harimoto.wwdb.biz/
Ed and Karen Grosboll
http://grosboll.wwdb.biz/
There are several hundred new korean affiliated WWDB diamonds- but those are tied into Leonard and Ester Kim
http://kim.wwdb.biz/