I was in Phoenix over the weekend at a Network Marketing event with Todd Falcone, Jeffery Combs, Erica Combs and Michael Bernoff, where I met the owner of a Network Marketing company by the name of Michael Wenniger. Wenniger owns Fun Unlimited which is actually being re-branded as I write this. He has a much better name coming out soon. (I’ll get you the new name once I have permission).
Anyways, I spent a few hours hanging out with Mike and talking about his company, a binary compensation plan with health and wellness products. The biggest claim to fame for the company is their Power Pops which are candy that help people lose weight. Chris Angel and Britney Spears have reportedly both used the candy.
The company also has a vitamin lollipop designed for children. Pretty unique products that seem to be priced well, (50 cents to one dollar for the weight loss and vitamin lollipops). They also have a skincare line and a new functional beverage coming out soon and they do not have an autoship requirement in order to get your check.
Now, I mentioned earlier that this company has a binary compensation plan and for those that are not clear on comp plans, a binary has two legs or teams. Typically (not in every case) one of the legs or teams is called the "Power Leg" and is usually built by the leaders within the company, leaving others to focus on the lesser leg.
This type of compensation plan got me to thinking about Orrin Woodward’s former Quixtar group called "The TEAM". Let me say this…I don’t agree with the amount of money that the TEAM charges it’s members for training, but I can not argue with their ability to bring in numbers, especially into a deal as bad as Quixtar.
What I am driving at here is that if the TEAM were to apply their strategy (slightly modified) to a company like the one Mike Wenniger owns, they would tear it up. The binary compensation plan is focused on depth. Mike’s plan also has some matching bonus money that could bring in huge checks.
I’m not trying to broker a deal here, just pointing out that the main problem with the TEAM is probably not the amount of money that they make on training, it was probably the company they chose to affiliate with. If the TEAM were to build a binary with the numbers they bring in, a lot of people would be making money through products moving into the hands of consumers.
Ty, I have enjoyed your articles and believe you are one of the most experienced people in the mlm field. You have studied the companies and have benchmarked the best in different areas. When I look for news in the MLM area I come to your site. thanks, Orrin
You are assuming, of course, that Orrin and co. are actually interested in selling products and not making oodles of money off their downlines' tool purchases, oops, I mean in "leadership develepmont organizations" or whatever the heck they are calling them.
Oops. I meant development not develepmont.
Rara,
Let's say that the TEAM's goal was to simply make "oodles" of money on tools.
1. Why would they leave Quixtar?
2. Customers are a natural byproduct of building a Network Marketing business with a decent product line. In fact, they are practically unavoidable if the product is unique and priced fairly.
Depth building in the Orrin Woodward style is encouraged in binary plans and adapts well to Unilevel plans well.
Quixtar has no leg to stand on if they kicked out TEAM for stacking.
I am more than convinced that the problem with the TEAM was Quixtar.
It's so funny how Quixtar 'terminated' Orrin and other affiliates for "stacking" their IBO's (signing many them up in depth in 1 leg, rather then 1 by 1 in width). It seems to me that "stacking" is just line a binary plan, right? So, why does Quixtar condone it and other MLM companies live by it?
Does this not make sense, or is it just me?
I am not jumping in the middle of the Qstar and Team debate nor do I care. Quixtar has issues and does have the potential to be the best ever MLM. I don't recommend them because they have too much baggage.
But…I don't see how stacking was the issue with Team's case. When you have other teams still doing it and they are in good standards with Quixtar.
Network 21 does
INA stacks
I know BWW and Larry winters in Philippines stacks straight down.
So I don't buy the stacking issue. Heck they even have their own special agreement to stack I have seen the contracts.
Thanks
All the best
Joseph
URAssociation's mentorship approach (which is not followed by all of the teams within URA) of placing a “free IBO” in depth is also a form of stacking. But everyone involved, including the new IBO and the person that ends up being the sponsor, knows what’s going on. That LOA feels that what they are doing is OK in the eyes of Quixtar. Is it?? Who know but I’m sure we will find out soon enough.
Just build Quixtar/Amway like a Binary until both legs are stable. Then build another outside binary then you are a 4 legged emerald. Worst case scenario you are a saphire or platinum.
Thank you Joseph and Miia for your insights in stacking.
I totally agree that it is good for IBOs to have some form of this as they can accelerate how fast they move up the PBS schedule with more depth.
The reason I brought up the stacking was because my upline Ruby told me that's what Quixtar told the Platinum's and above why they were 'kicked out'…
And when I told my upline that I knew that was a bunch of ((bologna)), and that I knew at least the URA and possibly other teams were doing it… all he did was criticize me for 'cross-lining' and 'not focusing on the teaching of my upline, and causing unneeded confusion'…
That kinda ticked me off, and he had a point about the 'unneccessary confusion', but my point to him is this:
Even though we are apart of one of the top 25 sponsoring platinumships in Q* (yup, as represented in the Achieve magazine), and our upline Founders Emerald is using the same techniques, how are we still not breaking that many big pins?
How can Dussault enter EDC Qualification in under, what… 7 years? and my upline just qualified Founders Emerald after being in Amway/Quixtar for over 14 years?
Shouldn't it be in any IBO's interest to seek out the best possible way to build his/her business?
Ok, enough rambling…
IBO's – PLEASE COMMENT ON HOW YOUR TEAM IS USING STACKING TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS FASTER! Enough posts and I'll take the list back to my upline and ask him "Why isn't TEAM w/ Quixtar anymore, again? Hmmm?"
haha
XS guy,
Sorry to hear your dilemma. My exact reason for leaving amongst many others.
Criticizing you because you found a better way before they could. They have some serious pride issues in Amway camp.
I offered up stacking also when I first started and was told that is stupid and blah blah blah and we don't do that.
You have options.
1. Do it and forget them. It's your business.
2.Contact me about what I am doing and having success with now. 3 legs to diamond. Our comp plan blows Amway's away and we don't have control issues.
I would say forget your upline and come join an opportunity that is going to pay you and others for their time spent without all the expenses.
I use the same method the Dussualt's use in my company. I teach find 3 and give away distributors to those who's leadership you know is inline with mine or theirs. I don't give away anyone to anybody. But I do reward and teach to reward those who deserve it.
Let's chat soon.
Thanks
Joseph Lowe
Just keep in mind that Dussault did not go diamond by stacking. He did it the correct way by building 20+ legs until he found 6 that wanted to go over. I think the only reason that he is doing it now is for the FAA points so he can push his sponsor to CAM. Teams are now leaving URA because of the new direction they are teaching.
On the LTD team, there new diamonds did it in 5 years with out stacking. They did it with good old fashion hard work.
Run the numbers on going platinum and emerald when you stack. Just at the platinum level, you are giving up over $1,000 a month in PBS money. Also, If you are only building three legs and then break a down line platinum, if you don’t have 2500 PBS outside of that business, you pass up the 4% bonus.
I think the big issue with TEAM being involved with another MLM is that it would be very hard for them to utilize the "you don't have to sell anything" tactic that they have used so far. This is why it was so easy for them to recruit. One of the first things they stressed, at ALL their meetings, was that you don't have to sell anything, the business was not "product driven" it was "people driven". How is this going to go down with another MLM?
So, Ty, you are saying that TEAM would in fact have to change their tactics and make it clear that the business is product driven. That to be in the business, you would have to be selling a product and would have to maintain a certain level of volume from customers.
This is interesting to me because, like I stated above, so far they have stressed that the business is not about selling products to people. That you can succeed just by maintaining a volume that is based on your own household consumption. But this is not the case anymore? Just to be clear, whatever they decide to do, it will be a product driven business? You are right Quixtar products were over-priced, which made it all the more easy to sign-up because there was a constant reminder from TEAM that you didn't have to sell any products, which would have been very difficult.
I'm just wondering if this is another one of the many things that's going to be changing for TEAM.
Either way, I'm sure that a majority of TEAM builders would like to know if one of the main principles of the business (not a leadership principle, but an actual "this is why we're different" principle) was going to be changing. From all the chatter I hear, no one suspects that the business is now going to be product driven. I think everyone still assumes that it will work very similarly to the way it did with Quixtar – make money buying what you're already buying for yourself while taking advantage of e-commerce trends. I've even heard them talk about some of the new "partner stores" that TEAM will be affiliated with.
Apparently the new way of business is supposed to be unveiled in early to mid-February. That's only a couple of weeks away.
What is in store for TEAM? What are they going to be doing? Everyone is wondering. Is it going to be just shopping on the internet, which I know for a fact a majority of TEAM builders still think. Or, is it going to be a new product driven MLM? From what I've read on the internet, that seems to be what's going on.
Two very conflicting scenarios….
If the product is good and priced fairly, real customers will come as a result of building your business and handing out samples of your products. If the products are priced too high (like Quixtar), customers are hard to come by.
I suspect that they have been talking it already. Honestly, it's not a big deal. I never go out of my way to "sell" products, yet I have dozens of customers.
Find a unique (preferably patented} product and allow the product to sell itself by handing out samples.
Where is he buying his product from now?
Well, Ty, you called it. Looks like Woodward, Brady and Marks are going to be going after the MonaVie opportunity. This comes as a schock to the majority of TEAM builders who had been hearing that the new shopping portal that TEAM would be using would be announced soon. No shopping portal, just another MLM. On Woodward's blog, he is stating that he won't actually be able to start this new opportunity until late March because somehow his injunction has been extended. Not sure when Brady, Marks or any of the other TEAM leaders are going to start.
It's worth mentioning, when asked in the comments section if TEAM builders are going to be joining MonaVie in the same order as they are placed on TEAM, Woodward's response included things like:
"I am sure if we went to Team and asked them to set up meetings or set up seminars, they would do it. What Team does outside of our new venture is for the Team management to decide," and "We will start our own opens that are not Team opens, but our new company when the time is right."
Is he distancing himself from TEAM? On the TEAM business homepage, there is an announcement for a "featured guest speaker" at the next Leadership convention. One has to wonder if any of the old TEAM leaders will be there speaking…
Definitely check out his blog and this new announcement. The comments are worth checking out too, just to get an idea of what people's responses are. Mostly positive, because they love their leader. Some even compare him to Jesus Christ.
I suspect that MonaVie is part of a larger plan. Just a guess.
Very nicely written article. I am a member of TEAM. Many people don't understand that TEAM is not Quixtar. TEAM is a leadership development company who have in the past and currently conduct legitimate business with network marketing companies offering a "product". TEAM never was Quixtar and it will never be Monavie. We simply are a leadership development business who happens to be really good at building communities of people. I feel badly for those of you who can't wrap your heads around what we do. In everything good, someone's got to find the bad. I'm a better person all around for the experience I've gained from TEAM. There is word that the leadership tools are being decreased by 60-70%. That would be nice, but the original price for their tools are well worth the investment in to my future.
Ty, I remember you were engaged in two-team compensation plan debates/discussions before and you always violently frowned upon non-unilevel payplan biz opps.
How/what clicked in place… & got you aligning more & more with True Modern Day business building strategies???
Perhaps you blogged on this "revelation" before. Care to reply / post that blog link???