According to a recent post at Orrin Woodward’s blog, the TEAM is lowering tool prices by 1/3 on tools related to building MonaVie.
The most telling (to me) is the following…
MonaVie rewards so lucratively in their pay plan that the MonaVie Executive Policy Council thought it was time to start the virtuous cycle we have been talking about. Lower prices leads to a better education of the new person on business building techniques and principles.
You see, I believe that the profit motive in the tools system is a direct result of one of the worst compensation plans in Network Marketing. Quixtar/Amway diamonds work very hard to get to their level of success and it’s human nature to want to be rewarded equitably for your labor. I wouldn’t be surprised if Orrin made double his Quixtar income with less people doing less volume in his new business. That is not so much a testament to MonaVie (although they are certainly growing!) as it is a condemnation of Quixtar’s plan. Orrin could have picked a number of great companies and accomplished the same goal.
If Quixtar truly rewarded their associates in an equitable fashion, there would be no need for the diamonds to replace supplement their income with an unequitable amount of tool money.
So what came first, the chicken or the egg?
I was in Amway from 1980 to 1996 (and Quixtar from 2003-2006). From my experience, I don't think the compensation plan drove the tool businesses.
Instead, I think the tool businesses started because of a generally poor retention rate that was related to the industry (not just Amway). But the tool system owners suddenly found that the tool income was incredibly profitable for them. Their creation of hero-worshipping followers who were blindly loyal – no questions asked – allowed the Amway corp to get LAZY because they knew their Kingpins were creating a "captive audience" for their products. Then prices started to escalate and the comp plan became less competitive.
How magnanimous of Orrin to cut his tool prices. He is entering a new "market" and wants to capture it. MonAvie doesn't realize (or doesn't care) that Orrin will come in and 'fleece the flock". And so the cycle begins again….Kingpin attaches to a real business for legitimacy and then sucks the life out of it until it staggers.
The tools started out as true training, only later did it become "the business".
I am suggesting that if Amway had a compensation plan that paid like other companies, high level leaders could be more focused on earning their residuals through the product business.
Once the high level distributors realized that the system is way more lucrative then the product business in Amway/Quixtar, they began to make decisions based on "how much can we make on this tool" instead of "how will this tool help my team".
This would not have happened if Amway/Quixtar paid out 40% of their volume in an equitable fashion. Instead, they pay out considerably less than the average company in the industry while the IBOAI sits back and claims that they have the best plan. It would be comical if so many people weren't being taken advantage of.
JimZ, great points.
And on top of that…
I'm really confused that he's only lowering prices on system tools related to building the MonaVie business – the "MonaVie specific tools," as he puts it.
I thought OW was all about character and integrity, and "serving his flock." So how come he's only lowering MonaVie tools and not all system tools. ESPECIALLY the ones related to character and integrity and service to your team. I really thought that was his #1 "vision", at least that's what he always said.
I guess now his priorities are different? No more serving his team, now just making money in MonaVie.
OW, if you lower the prices on your MonaVie tools, you should really lower the prices on your leadership tools too.
Is one more important than the other? Where's your sense of urgency? Do we really need more people selling MonaVie, or do we need better leaders in society?
I do not know if anyone reads this stuff, or if it will even get published (if the webmaster has any courage), but my wife and I entered the "A" world in 1974 after the first gas crisis. I could not sleep!
Soon, after reality set in, we knew we were at a disadvantage because we did not have access to another group's audio cassetts. It was not our fault any more that we we were not eagles; it was our upline who did us wrong. So we believed.
Now, it's 2008. The idea is still amazing- MLM. But after all these years, we have come to realize IT AIN'T THE TOOLS. Put the tools as free downloads on the websites; then there are no excuses.
I "feel" for anyone who has the need to charge for state of the art sales and product training that can be posted at no charge, downloaded, and digested.
If the information is so valuable and enriching, people will go to any lengths to show their thankfulness and appreciation once the information WORKS for them.
But, alas, "tools" are just another STREAM OF INCOME that drains cash which should go to purchasing products. Most people, (most)who are looking, spend money they really do not have learning to BE an EAGLE, when they need to go out and FIND THEM.
Here on the ranch, we have tried to change turkeys into eagles– eagle food, eagle bed, eagle friends, eagle activities…. but they never become eagles.
Just drink the drink, show others, and celebrate freedom! Be brave! IT AIN'T THE TOOLS.
Sincerely waiting to be published,
Pard
Buying tools is really buying two things: emotion (motivation) and information. The cost of the tools is not that far out of line when compared to what people pay for emotion (i.e. Movies, DVD's) and information (Seminars, training) in other arenas.
The problem is that the people who make the tools make so much of the profit from them with usually next to nothing to the people (downline) who are actually selling the tools.
Why not put tools in the bonus plan–whether you buy product, tools, or promotional materials you get volume credit. It creates profit sharing for the little guys who are investing in their business.
Treat them like independent business owners who decide what is best for their business. It's the equivalent of giving a volume discount on promotionals.
Maybe there are regulations against it, or maybe it threatens the status quo. Most of the current tools system doesn't reward someone early for investing in the soft-skills side of their business.
If the tools become more important (profitable) than the products, then, I think, we're having a problem.
I too was in businesses were there were teams who didn't share their tools and made them only available for their own team members. Personally, I believe in giving and sharing because that accomplishes way more than "hogging."
Isn't it that we all work towards a common goal?
Y'all have a very successful day!
Ilka ;o)
Hi everyone!
Some interesting comments here, as some big leaders move to a new opportunity. I would be interested in hearing from some of the posters in this thread who were/are in Amway for a while. I would like to learn about line of sponsorship history for diamonds and above. If you have any memories to share, could you contact me at jimturner70@yahoo.com
Thanks!!