Great news! Dr. Chet Zelasko is now a partner with Amway Global Training. His new role is IBO Knowledge Resource supporting the Nutrilite brand.

Dr. Chet will help IBOs learn more about health, nutrition, and fitness. He is uniquely qualified to do this thanks to his past work with us and a variety of health education organizations. Learn more about his experience here.

We will leverage Dr. Chet’s vast knowledge through consultative services, newsletter articles that include his expert advice, and having him deliver speeches and group presentations. In addition, IBOs can email questions to dr.chet@quixtar.com when they need subject matter expertise, and want to understand the compelling reasons customers might want to supplement. (If you contact Dr. Chet, be sure to include your full name and IBO number.)

Here is an example of how Dr. Chet can help: You may want to discuss the new Nutrilite Glucosamine-7 with a customer who has joint health concerns. Dr. Chet can coach you on the questions to ask that customer, and the solution(s) you might offer.

We feel very fortunate that Dr. Chet is partnering with us, and that you can count on him for information and guidance as you build your Nutrilite business. 

Today we announced that Amway Global will be the Presenting Sponsor of Tina Turner's 2008 North American tour, which kicks off October 1 in Kansas City.

You'll soon see "Amway Global Presents Tina Live in Concert" appearing at the tour web site and in other promotions for the tour.  The complete announcement is available at the Quixtar Newsroom and below. 

This is yet another investment, like our advertising program, in building our brands to support IBO recruiting and retailing efforts. 

The sponsorship is part of a larger Amway Global investment to help raise public awareness of its business, opportunity, and products in North America. The company currently operates as Quixtar North America/Amway Global but is transitioning to the Amway Global name by 2009. To support this brand transition and also build awareness for the company's flagship Nutrilite vitamin and supplement brand and Artistry skin care and cosmetics brands, the company is investing in a multi-million dollar advertising campaign and high-profile sponsorships, such as the Tina Turner tour.

I'm happy to announce that all of the government's claims against Amway UK have been dismissed. This good news allows our business to continue operating in that market and sends a clear message about how we need to be operating in every market. The ruling emphasizes the importance of openness, honesty, and transparency in all we do. It reinforces how critical it is that we enforce our rules and demand high standards of ourselves and everyone who represents this business. And that's what our business transformation here is all about. We are focused on strengthening our product portfolio, brand awareness, compensation plan, and training to help IBOs excel in all aspects of their business. We are committed to making this the very best business opportunity possible and one that every IBO and employee will be proud to be associated with.

For more about the UK ruling, visit the Amway Media Blog.

One of our key objectives is to get out with IBOs more -- whether one-to-one, in smaller groups, or in larger formats where we can focus corporate resources --  to build relationships, strengthen confidence, and help IBOs build stronger, more profitable businesses. Going back in our history, reaching out to the IBOs with product expos was a regular part of our business and the time has come to do it again. So, with apologies to Willie Nelson, I am pleased to relay that Quixtar/Amway Global is going "on the road again" to a city near you with the National Spotlight.  During this two-day event, we will shine a spotlight on products and the business, including interactive demonstrations and activities surrounding Artistry, Nutrilite, XS*, and Ribbon, plus Home Care and Health Tech favorites.

Quixtar/Amway Global Canada kicked off their Pathways To Success events last year and experienced great success in providing attendees with greater belief and confidence in the business, its credibility, and an increased understanding of how to build a balanced business with greater profitability. Knowing a good idea when we see it (OK, steal it!), we've built the National Spotlight events in the US to reach the same results. We are excited to get out and share product information and sales training to help IBOs realize the full potential of their businesses.

National Spotlight is open to all IBOs and their prospects and admission is free. In addition to product booths staffed by experts who can answer questions and provide valuable information, IBOs will be provided opportunities to attend breakout sessions that will focus on selling Ribbon, Artistry, and Nutrilite.  We are especially pleased that the IBOAI Board will participate with a presentation on profitability and building a balanced business. The cities and dates of the National Spotlight events are as follows:

Los Angeles - May 9-10
Greensboro, NC - May 30-31
Orlando - June 6-7
Chicago - July 11-12
San Francisco - August 8-9
Omaha - August 22-23
New York City - August 29-30
Portland, OR - September 12-13
Dallas - October 17-19

Pathways to Success events:

Winnipeg, Manitoba - April 12
Toronto, Ontario - May 30-31
Montreal, Quebec - October 24-25
Calgary, Alberta - November 14-15

Like I said, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to bring the National Spotlight out to the IBOs and it appears IBOs are excited too. In order to gauge interest and help our planning, we are asking IBOs to pre-register and the response so far has been great.  Thanks for reading, and wish us luck!
 

*added 4/29/08, Oops! How could we forget XS? 

What we say about a product - any claim we make about features, benefits, or performance - is more than just marketing.   It's a matter of the reputation of our products, business, and IBOs.  Because of this, we take claims very seriously.
 
Before a product is launched, there are dozens of people at Quixtar and Alticor who work on determining what can be said about a product that's accurate, factual, and representative of most people's experience with that product.  Claims substantiation typically involves marketing, research and development, quality assurance, and legal, among other departments.

Rules gets involved when someone is making claims about a product which fall outside of what we've published or provided for use. 

As many of you may know, Quixtar is planning to launch Perfect Empowered Drinking Water^TM, which is being sourced from an outside vendor.   Because this product is manufactured by another company, we rely on the vendor for claims information and substantiation.  But our commitment to ensuring only approved and appropriate claims are used to promote our products remains the same, regardless of the manufacturer. 

Quixtar recently communicated to its IBOs about the need to make only approved and published claims about this product, and outlined that any IBO making exaggerated claims about the product's effectiveness or implying that it can be used for medicinal purposes would be in violation of Quixtar's Rules of Conduct.

IBOs must only use claims and demonstrations which have been approved by Quixtar to promote this product.  This list of approved claims is available at www.drinkperfectwater.com or in the "What's New" section at www.quixtar.com.   We currently are working with the manufacturer on demonstrations and claims and will update the list of claims as we are able to substantiate them. 

As our rules state, if an IBO is found to be making claims that aren't supported in authorized product literature, Quixtar requires the IBO to correct the misinformation and may apply sanctions up to an immediate six month suspension. We also have a Zero Tolerance Policy against unauthorized websites or advertising.

If you would like to promote Perfect Water, but aren't sure if you are doing so correctly, please contact Rules Administration at qbcr.department@quixtar.com or 616-787-6712.  Or, if you become aware of anyone making unauthorized claims about this or any other product offered by Quixtar, please contact Rules at the above e-mail address or phone number.

Today we announced that 2007 was our fifth consecutive year of passing the billion dollar sales mark! Five straight years of billion-dollar plus sales is no small accomplishment and I thank all of the Independent Business Owners whose hard work and dedication make this business opportunity work.

Last year saw a lot of changes for Quixtar and we anticipate even more exciting changes in 2008 as this business transformation moves forward. We look forward to partnering with IBOs to make this business opportunity stronger and more successful than ever before.

You can read the entire Quixtar sales announcement in our newsroom.

Get more details at Alticor Media Blog -- or as much as can be shared at this time as the ruling is under seal.  

I just want to give IBOs a heads-up about something.  As you may know, Quixtar is undertaking an overall business transformation that has as one of its goals, Growth through Innovation.  We want to help create awareness of and demand for our products and help more IBOs make more money sooner.  One of the first things we are doing is adding a rule to help IBOs sell more products to customers.   Detailed information about this new rule will be published and distributed in the February poly-bag (along with the Achieve Magazine). 

The change, effective March 1, 2008, will allow IBOs to sell some Quixtar exclusive brands at temporary health or beauty shows or expos and certain kinds of sporting events.  Up 'til now, we have approved booths for IBOs who wanted to display and maybe let customers sample some products, but we've never allowed the actual sale of the products.  Now, at many events, the display and sale will be allowed.  Imagine that!  The already existing Booth Rule will stay in effect for other kinds of events where we will continue to allow display-only. 

The displays will need to be set up in accordance with Quixtar guidelines and with prior written authorization (we're asking for 30 days' notice) from Quixtar's rules department.  We will provide supporting merchandising material on a CD, so IBOs can print off their own, pre-authorized signage or handouts. 

What kind of sporting events are we talking about?  Marathons, 3-on-3 basketball tournaments, kids soccer tournaments, etc.  Events of a limited duration, so it's not like a concession stand at a high-school football field, but, rather, the kind of event where the IBO can get permission from the event organizer/organization to set up a booth and sell some product on the day/days of the event. 

This rule change was brought to the IBOAI Board, and they recommended adoption. 

We will begin accepting applications for Event Sales March 1.  The application form will be available on quixtar.com or by contacting Customer Support or Rules Administration.  If you have questions, please contact Rules Administration at 616-787-6712  or by email at qbcr.department@quixtar.com. 

The pending Rule:  [Rule 4.3.3.]

4.3.3 Event Sales:  The display and sale of health, beauty and sports nutrition products by IBOs only at temporary (no more than 10 days) health and beauty shows and certain kinds of sporting events (e.g.: bike race, marathon, 3-on-3 basketball tournament) are permitted.  The following information must be received by the Corporation, in writing, 30 days prior to the event, to allow sufficient time to grant approval.  
4.3.3.1.  A written description of the type of event (including date of event).
4.3.3.2.  Name of the specific product(s) to be displayed and sold.
4.3.3.3. A list of specific literature to be used at the booth or for handouts.  Any privately produced material for handouts or display must be sent with the booth request for approval.
4.3.3.4. A signed statement from the Platinum or above IBO accepting responsibility for booth activity and include a list of all names of IBOs staffing the booth.
4.3.3.5 A post-event accounting of total volume sold must be provided to the Corporation by the Platinum if the volume sold is part of the qualifying volume for Silver Producer or above for purposes of verifying 70% Rule compliance.