Jeff Probandt The RAY FRANZ of Amway Pt II

The System

In the context of Amway, the "system" is used to describe non-Amway produced materials that
Amway distributors use to assist them in building their Amway businesses. These materials
include cassette tapes, video tapes, books, seminars, meetings, computer programs, literature, and
the like. These items are also referred to as the
tools which are used to build the business . The

Amway Corporation refers to the system or tools as Business Support Materials (BSM's). So,

from this point forward, any reference to tools, the system, or BSM's will be referring to a

non-Amway produced material or event.

Many credit the Amway distributor Dexter Yager with the creation and organization of the

system as we know it today. As I know it, the story goes something like this. In 1964, Dexter and his

wife Birdie became Amway distributors. After two months, they reached the level of

Direct
Distributor
. Dexter worked hard at building the Amway business, sponsoring many other

distributors, but to his dismay, the distributors were only motivated when he was around.

Basically, after three years of effort, his business was no farther along than it was a month after he

started. I have heard him describe the process of motivating his group as "spinning plates."

This perplexing atmosphere persisted until he came across some tools that could assist him in

training and motivating his group. These materials were motivational recordings and books.

Dexter found that tools could be used to motivate his group when he wasn't around, thus

leveraging his time. From that point, there was no looking back; with the tools, Dexter was able to

build a network of thousands of distributors around the world. Today the Yagers are one of the

largest and most profitable Amway Distributors.

Somewhere along the line (as Dexter would say), Dexter decided it would be a good idea to start

manufacturing the tools himself. Some of the tools that Dexter sold were generic recordings and

books from existing sources (i.e.,

How To Win Friends & Influence People .) The remaining tools

were from successful Amway distributors. Basically, Dexter would put on a training meeting

where he or another distributor would talk about their experiences in the Amway business. These

meetings would be recorded, and from these recordings, Dexter would make tapes and sell them to

his downline organization. This was a way to get the information to those who weren't able to make

it to the meeting. The value of this process is readily apparent.

Wishing to duplicate the Yagers' success, several other high-level distributors began to

manufacture and sell tools to their distributor organizations. However, this was not true for all

Amway distributors; some organizations had a system, and some didn't.

While it is possible to build an organization the size of Dexter's, without a system it would be more

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/system.htm (1 of 3) [6/10/2001 8:15:35 AM]

difficult to do. In fact, I don't know if it has been done. So, is it better to be in an organization with
a system or without one? At the end of this section you can decide for yourself.

Amway and the System in the Early 1980's

The whole tools discussion came to a head in the early 1980's. The catalyst was a less-than
flattering 60 Minutes segment about Amway. This prompted Amway to investigate the tools
and system more thoroughly. To put it lightly, the Amway corporation was less than thrilled with
what it found. Essentially, many of the distributors who produced and sold tools were taking
advantage of their distributors. For some, the primary purpose of tools was no longer to help
Amway distributors build their businesses; rather, tools became a significant source of income
for these distributors. It was not uncommon for some of the higher level distributors to make more
from the tools which they produced for their distributors than from the Amway business itself.
To add insult to injury, the masses of the distributors purchasing these tools were oblivious to the
fact that their money was lining the pockets of the higher-level distributors.
Things were so out of hand that Rich DeVos, co-founder of the Amway Corporation, decided to
step in and have Amway manage the tools business. Basically, distributors would no longer be
allowed to independently produce and sell BSM's. This task would be taken over by Amway.
There would be a set price for tools and there would be Business Volume attached to the tools. For
example, a tape would cost $2.50 and would have 2.50
Business Volume (BV) attached to it.

Forgoing the lengthy explanation, by assigning BV to tools, everyone would be able to profit on the

tools equitably. Amway was set to clean house. For a much more detailed account of this era,

click here

to view an excerpt from the AUS Site.

Present Day

Now, to fast forward to the present day. How have things changed after Amway "cleaned

house?" Unfortunately, THINGS ARE WORSE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE! Amway never

"cleaned house", and I am not exactly sure why. I have a theory, but that is all it is. In order to

explain this theory, I have to take you back to the early beginnings of Rich De DeVos and Jay Van

Andel, the co-founders of Amway.

Rich and Jay used to be distributors in another multi-level marketing company called Nutrilite.

One day, Nutrilite decided to change their marketing strategy. Nutrilite decide to make its product

line available to the public, which meant that a customer didn't have to know a Nutrilite

distributor to purchase Nutrilite vitamins. Obviously, this new plan wasn't favorable to Rich and

Jay. This change would be financially devastating to all the Nutrilite distributors. Unable to

dissuade Nutrilite from this course of action, Rich and Jay decided to take some of their

distributors and jump ship.

They decided to form their own company, which would eventually become the Amway

corporation. Ironically, when Rich and Jay set up their corporation, they enacted measures that

would make it difficult for the same thing that happened at Nutrilite to happen again. In other

words, it would be difficult for Amway to enact any major policy changes without the consent of

the distributor organization. This fail-safe mechanism was the

Amway Distributors Association

The System

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/system.htm (2 of 3) [6/10/2001 8:15:35 AM]

(ADA Board.)
The ADA Board, by its own description, is an elected group of distributors who
advise and consult with Amway on all aspects of the business, taking an active role in shaping
Amway's future. For all practical purposes, the ADA Board is a union for distributors.
It is my speculation that the policy change and Rich and Jay's departure were devastating to
Nutrilite. Eventually, Rich and Jay ended up buying Nutrilite.
It is my belief that in the late 1980's Rich and Jay found themselves in the same situation that
Nutrilite had been in earlier. Rich and Jay were getting ready to drastically change the way many
of the Amway distributors conducted business. Do you think Dexter Yager, Jim Dornan, Ron
Puryear, Jody Victor, or Bill Britt (all extremely successful distributors,) wanted anyone telling
them how to run their tool businesses? Remember, a system is what what Dexter believes made the
difference in his business. Further, this change would be financially devastating to many of
Amway's top distributors.
So what would you do, if all of a sudden, after many years of doing business a certain way,
someone was going to tell you what you could or couldn't do? Furthermore, what if these changes
were going to cut your income in half? Would you do what Rich and Jay did to Nutrilite?
It is my opinion that when it came down to actually pulling the trigger, Rich and Jay couldn't do it.
Maybe it was because they didn't want their top distributors coming back a few years later and
buying them out. Maybe it was because cleaning house would have meant starting over after over
twenty years, and they weren't willing to take that risk. Maybe it was because enough top
distributors got together and decided not to approve the change. We will probably never know, but
I think it a safe bet that the answer lie somewhere in this paragraph. Did Rich and Jay make the
right decision? You be the judge. They are routinely listed near the top of the
Forbes 400 index of
wealthy individuals.

The System

##########################

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

Some of the primary themes of the Amway business are financial independence, freedom, and
early retirement. One of the biggest draws to the Amway business is to be your own boss. In most
meetings, corporate politics are routinely lampooned, and the Amway business is touted as the
last bastion of financial independence on earth.
Click here for audio by Crown

Kenny Stewart

and an unknown distributor. Here are some one-liners commonly stated at meetings:

In this business-it's not who you know or who you play golf with-it's how hard you work.
Does your boss tell you when you can go to lunch? Wouldnt it be great if you could decide when and
where you wanted to eat, and could take as long as you wanted?
What kind of commotion would you cause at your work if you called in well? You knowwell boss, I
just dont feel like coming in this week.
Do you really want someone telling you when you can go on vacation? And if you decide to go on
vacation, does your boss make you feel guilty?
At your job-does someone else decide how much money you make, what kind of car you drive, what
kind of house you live in, what kind of jewelry your wife can have?

It is easy for most to relate to these one-liners. However, it is doubtful that this type of nirvana

exists anywhere--especially in the Amway business. In our opinion, the closest an Amway

distributor will get to this utopia is when he first joins the business. This is definitely the

honeymoon period. It is only after you start to develop a downline organization and have something

to lose that your upline will start trying to control you. While this occurs frequently in corporate

America, it isn't supposed to exist once you reach the higher levels in the Amway business. It is

our experience that just the opposite is true.

The dominant belief in our organization is that once you reach the Emerald level, most can "retire"

from their "rut job" and pursue building their Amway (and tool) businesses full-time. Over the

years, I have seen the videos and heard tapes describing the retirement parties of many Emeralds

and Diamonds; and that's what everyone is shooting for. I was taught early on, "Three will set you

free!" This means if you help three separate organizations reach the Direct level, you will be an

Emerald and probably making enough to "retire." As the years went by, I watched this come to

pass for several of my colleagues. That is what the environment is like. I liken it to college students

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (1 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]

chasing after a degree. For the most part, they've got tunnel vision and are focused on graduating.
Likewise, most Amway distributors who are actively building the business are focused on
reaching the Emerald level.
To continue with the comparison, getting a college degree and going Emerald are similar in that
once you get there, you look back and realize it took a lot of time, effort, and money to reach your
goal. Once you go Emerald, you are expecting to make enough money to "retire." For many, this is
true. The only catch is a good portion of it comes from the system. Once you find out that Amway
doesn't pay you a whole lot for going Emerald, you feel as if you deserve the money that comes
from the system. To give you an idea, the first year I went Emerald, Amway sent me an Emerald
Bonus check around $2000.00 (that was for the whole year.) One of the first Emerald checks I
received from my upline was over $10,000.00, and that was bonus based on the number of
distributors in my organization who attended
one Major Function!

I might also add that income from the system is considered to be a privilege and not a right. Since

the system money is so secretive, there is nothing in writing that guarantees it or defines conditions

for taking it away. The topic is often discussed at meetings, but we have never seen any formal

documentation besides a price list. Because of this, there is a sense of uncertainty when it comes to

the system money. We are only aware of one instance where an upline withheld an Emerald's

function proceeds when the Emerald didn't attend a function.

From my own experience, three months after I reached the Pearl level, I was told I had to give some

of my new tool money back to my upline because of a "policy change." By the way, where is it that

you go to dispute a policy change with system money? Court is usually prohibitive for obvious

reasons, not to mention even if you do win--you lose. How about the Busness Support Materials

Arbitration Agreement (BSMAA?) That may not be any better.

Click here to find out why.

So, what does this have to do with control? Well, if a vital percentage of your income is from

something considered a privilege and not a right, it is easy to see where one would want to be sure

to stay on the good side of the individuals extending that privilege (In other words, don't rock the

boat!.) Furthermore, this gives the extender of the privilege a decided level of control.

The other carrot that is held out for Directs and above is speaking. Every month, there are training

meetings all over the country. The speakers at these meetings are Directs or above. Now, who do

you think picks the speakers? The upline; they are the ones putting on the meeting. Make no

mistake about it, speaking is a privilege and not a right. Just because you reach a certain pin level,

it doesn't mean you get to go out on the "speaking circuit."

While the income for speaking is not significant until you reach the Emerald level, at the very least

it is a boost to your self-image. You are typically flown in to an area, met at the airport, treated like

a foreign dignitary, and then you get to stand up in front of thousands of people and you get to talk

about how you succeeded. Once the experience is over, you get paid. As you recall, you are paid

based on your level of achievement in Amway. To put things in perspective, if you reach the

Double Diamond level, Amway will pay you a yearly bonus of $20,000.00. If you speak at a Major

Function and you have reached the Double Diamond level anytime in your life, you are paid

$20,000.00 for your appearance that weekend.

Just like in corporate America, the "old boy network" dominates this choice of speakers. Case in

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (2 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]

point: a few years ago, I got a call from an upline who wanted me to put another Emerald in to
speak at a meeting I organized (booked the meeting room and submitted it to the newsletter.) The
reason my upline wanted this Emerald to speak was because he had experienced a recent financial
hardship due to a natural disaster (the Emerald was also his father-in-law.) Somehow, I doubt I
would have received the same consideration if I were experiencing the same type of hardship. Of
course I am aware that this type of thing happens all the time in any type of organization--that's the
reason why people get in the Amway business.
The upline uses an unwritten list of criteria to determine who can and can't speak. Usually, this
standard is so high that no one could meet all the criteria. The reason for this is so if they don't
want you to speak, they can always find something to hang their hat on as to why. Currently our
speaking criteria are:
1) No bad checks to your upline.
2) No instances of crosslining
Click here for audio by Diamond Marc Hellinghausen.
3) Must be a Go-Getter (showing 15+ plans per month.)
4) Must be counseling regularly.
5) You must be personally sponsoring new people.
These criteria were given to us at a Directs retreat at the Pearl/Emerald meeting by Mike
Collinsworth. Mike further stated these criteria were given to him directly from Kenny Stewart. Oh
yes, Mike further stated that even if you are doing all the above, your upline Diamond has the final
say as to whether or not you can speak. Moreover, before speaking for another group you must get
permission from your upline Diamond, because they might have something else in mind for you.
And before you ask someone to speak you must also ask the permission of your upline Diamond.

Click here for audio

by Diamond Marc Hellinghausen. The point is your upline has control over
who speaks when, where and how often.
By the way, if you build your Amway business as a single there are some organizations that will
not allow you to speak in the same capacity as a husband and wife team does. If you are single, and
wish to speak you must find an Emerald of the opposite sex to speak with. This is the case in the
Stewart organization. Since I went Emerald as a single, I know this all too well. The reason they
will give is that you cant relate to husbands and wives if you are single.
Click here for audio by
Diamond Marc Hellinghausen, "...
I think you're a great teacher, and I think you do a fine job-uh, but
I have a problem in the fact that there's not gonna be somebody you know a partner with you
..." Since

about twenty percent of the people building the business are single we believe this to be ridiculous.

In case you didn't realize it, if you are single this also means that you split the speakers' fee with

someone else.

Just in case you are wondering, our upline doesn't want us to speak right now (more time to work

on the site!) The point of all this is to let you know now how the game is played. If you're good at

corporate politics, you'll be right at home. If you're not, it's probably best you find out now instead

of later. Furthermore, if you like to question things and don't jump through hoops too well--don't

quit your job too soon.

Now that you know how the upline uses the system money to keep the organization, here are some

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (3 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]

other examples of how they try to keep a tight rein on the group.

Crosslining

There is an Amway rule, often referred to by the upline as "rule 4", concerning dealing with
distributors whom you do not personally sponsor. The rule basically states that, as an Amway
Distributor, you cant solicit the sale of non-Amway produced products or services to anyone that
you do not personally sponsor. Thats it! There is no rule about communicating with a crossline
distributor. If you don't believe us, contact Amway and inquire about "crosslining." In contrast,
here is our upline's version of what crosslining is:
1) Speaking to a distributor who is not in your upline or downline about the Amway business.
2) Having a social encounter with a
crossline person, such as lunch. We are told, "If you have the
time to be eating lunch with a crossline person, that time would be best spent with your upline or
downline."
3) Calling a crossline distributor on the phone. We are told only to call our upline.
4) Going to a crossline persons home to visit.

Click here for audio

by Diamond Shelli Hellinghausen. We have been told not to even inquire
about someones family as that is crosslining and can lead to conversations that will "destroy your
business." That was Diamond Nolan Dunlap at a "Go Diamond Weekend". Most people do some
covert "crosslining" by the standard of the upline. They are scared enough or smart enough to hide
it since the repercussions can be socially and financially devastating. Joni and I never ratted out
anyone else for this heinous crime of talking to crossline distributors.
Click here for audio by
Diamond Marc Hellinghausen.

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

##################

A Direct once asked my wife, Joni, what her feelings were on two direct ladies having lunch

together to swap some clothes. Joni said that she thought it was fine and dandy. The direct told

Shelli Hellinghausen who is one of our upline Diamonds. Shelli called Joni and told her, "You are

messing with MY business, and I have a problem with that." Shelli asked Joni, "You understand

why we dont allow that, dont you?"

On another occasion, we needed tickets to a Free Enterprise Function. Joni bought some from a

crossline Emerald who had a distributor in their group who had bought too many tickets and

would be stuck with them (no-they won't buy them back in most situations). Joni then called and

informed the Hellinghausen office, knowing there were bonuses involved for the Diamonds. That

caused a commotion that you wouldnt believe. After which, we were told, "NEVER to call anyone

crossline, and not to buy tickets from them either." The other Emerald was severely lectured as

well. After that same Free Enterprise Function we were chastised for sitting with crossline.

Click here for audio

by Diamonds Marc & Shelli Hellinghausen.
Some time last year, we received a call from Rick Maxwell. He told us he wanted to discuss a
crosslining issue. We asked him to tell us what it was. He told us that if we didnt sit down he would
take us before the ADA Board. Jeff said, "ok, fine!" We havent heard anything back from him.
That was about two years ago.
Click here for audio by Diamond, Rick Maxwell. The reason we
never heard from him again was that we hadn't broken any Amway rule. This was an empty
threat.
Here is some irony from a Book of the Month which was sold to most of the distributors in Kenny

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (5 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]

Stewart's organization and probably others:
The following quotes are from
American Victory--The Real Story of Today's Amway by Shad

Helmstetter, Ph.D. which was a Stewart Book of the Month.

(excerpts From chapter 7) "Most jobs don't give you independence; they restrict you to someone

else's time line on what you should be doing with your life."

"Most jobs don't give you

control over your own future ; they give you nothing more than the

opportunity to serve someone

else --someone else who is in control of your life."

"Most jobs don't help you grow daily, day after day; they define you instead as some number or

classification--and expect

you to fit their mold."

"Defeat the

fear of work by always remembering that when you are building your Amway

business,

work really means freedom ."

(excerpts from chapter 9) "If you want your Amway business to be the kind of business that's

bigger than any other job you could ever have, then you have to make building your Amway

business

more important than your job . If you do, you'll end up with an incredible business . If you

don't, you'll end up with your

job . MAKE YOUR Amway BUSINESS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN YOUR JOB
--AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS TO EVERY PRESENTATION YOU

MAKE."

Sometimes the threats seem implied.

Click here for audio by Diamonds Marc & Shelli
Hellinghausen. Much of these issues, to us, seem to fall under the category of employer-employee
relationship. But we are our own boss- right!? If you want to financially and socially equal you may
be better off not crosslining- at least until you go Diamond.
Click here for audio by Diamond
Marc Hellinghausen,
"There's a little deal that goes around that says Diamonds are the worst
crossliners-and there's some truth to that-and they come-you can't imagine how many of 'em come and
ask me stuff."

On many occasions, we have learned about double standards from cross-line distributors. Oddly

enough, if we questioned the upline about these double standards, the majority of the discussion

was about crossliningand why it is wrong. "Now you see what happens when you crossline?"

This is definitely a control issue. Crosslining often leads to questioningand questioning is looked

down upon. If you dont believe us, ask around.

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

######################

Counseling

Here is another area that seems out of control to us. Here are some choice audio cuts to prepare you
for this topic.

Click here for audio by Diamond, Shelli Hellinghausen. Remember, if you dont
counsel on a regular basis you are not eligible to speak, and are looked upon as a rebel. Click

here for audio by Diamonds Marc & Shelli Hellinghausen, "...When you start making up your own
definitions, then you start getting in trouble." Click here for audio by Jeff Probandt, "As far
as-you know-wanting people to counsel with me-that- it doesn't matter- it doesn't make a bit of
difference to me if they do or not...I respect their decision as an independent business owner to decide
who they want to counsel with for their own best interests...I'm not demanding anybody do anything- I
let'em do what they want to do because I think if they have the ownership and they think they're doing
what's right for their business they're gonna work a lot harder building their business."

So what do they consider a regular basis? Mike Collinsworth told us he has never seen anyone

succeed in this business that doesnt counsel on a regular basis (we weren't sure if this was a

reference to system money). Marc Hellinghausen tells us he counsels with Mike about every plan he
shows . Rick Maxwell says that if Ron Rummel told him to go stand on the highway with a sign in

his hand he would do it without question. While that may be fine for Rick, we just don't believe

those who wouldn't should be considered disloyal. Click here for audio by Emerald Phyllis
Speck, "We never questioned-if something came down that we were needing to go to or promote-we
did it- we didn't ask why...So you need to take that kind of attitude."

Here are some areas where it is "recommended" you counsel with your upline on:

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (7 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]
1) What kind of car to buy, and when. Kenny Stewart wants you have a Cadillac as your first car.
When asked about this by another a distributor in our group, Marc Hellinghausen said, "Were
trying to talk to Kenny about that so hell approve a Lexus instead of a Cadillac." Another
Emerald was told by Rick Maxwell, "Buying a car without counseling is the kiss of death." In
counseling about a car purchase, you would tell them the financing information, including how
much youre putting down, etc. They would offer advice and approval or non-approval. You are
looked down on if you buy a car without first asking.
2) Jewelry. There are some distributors who acquired nice jewelry, cars, etc. prior to starting their
Amway business. They are encouraged by their upline not to wear the jewelry or drive the car
because it will inhibit their uplines ability to effectively work in their groupthus hurting their
business. Furthermore, they shouldnt use it because the car, jewelry, etc. was not purchased with
money from the Amway business. This is unbelievable but true. What may be even more
unbelievable is that people go along with these rules. I guess in some cases theyre afraid not to. My
wife Joni was sitting next to a crossline Emerald, Debbie Drury, at an Emerald meeting at a Major
Function. Debbie was wearing a five carat diamond ring. Joni noticed it and asked her if it was
new. Debbie told Joni that she had acquired it years before she and her husband got into Amway.
Joni asked her why she never wore it. Debbie replied that her upline wouldn't let her wear it
because only Diamonds should have that kind of jewelry. The same held true for Debbie's
presidential Rolex. Only Amway Diamonds should wear things like that. Amazing, isn't it. My
wife asked all of our upline Diamond ladies what kind of watch she should get right after we got
married. Joni was told not to spend any more than $300. It so happens my wife found a perfectly
terrific watch for less than $200. That may be one of the only times we ever earned a brownie point
for counseling! I can assure you it was an accident as my wife would have gotten whatever we
decided to get.
The following quotes are from American Victory--The Real Story of Today's Amway by Shad

Helmstetter, Ph.D. which was a Stewart Book of the Month.

"You have, right now, something in your home that is more threatening to you than anything the

outside world could send to defeat you. It is not your friend. It is probably your greatest enemy.

Its name is television . And it is trying to destroy you , your family , and your business ."

(from p. 200 from a list of reasons to be in the Amway business and stay in the Amway

business) "Associate with people who share your beliefs and values."

Some of us in the business have coined a phrase, which is, "drinking the Kool-Aid". In case you

dont get the reference it comes from good old Jim Jones who was the leader of a large cult . There

seems to be a large desire on the part of many to follow someone without question. Im no

psychologist, and I cant explain it, although I can see it all around me. In certain Amway groups,

I have heard this cult issue being explained away by stating, "This isnt a cult because in a cult

people do what you tell them to do." It is explained away by pointing out that not everyone

participates in the cult thinking. Im sure not everyone in the Jim Jones church went over to

Guyana. Im sure not everyone at the compound in Waco agreed when Koresh announced he alone

was permitted to sleep with their wives. In Amway, not everyone who is told to go to a function

does so; not everyone who goes to a function keeps going; however, there is a large group of

distributors who seem to do exactly what they are told without question.

The upline will tell you that there is no danger in counseling because, "We would never tell you

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (8 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]
anything that would hurt your business! If we tell you something that hurts your business, we are
just hurting our own." Thats not always a good thing! If your daughters graduation fell on the
same weekend as a Major Function, which activity is the most profitable for your business? Just
because an activy is profitable, it doesn't mean it is always the right choice (J. Paul Getty can tell
you about that.) There are several tapes titled, "He Who Shows The Plan The Most Wins." We take
exception to this.
There was a time when we fell into some of the thinking we have described. That is an
embarrassment to us now. It is also difficult to explain, but in our defense, they are darn good at
what they do. If you are looking for freedom, financial or otherwise, we would encourage you to
think twice when considering the Amway experience. It is our observation that the Diamonds are
the hardest working people we have ever known. Joni had lunch with Melanie Rummel at her
house about two years ago. When Joni arrived Melanie was apparently very ill. She had been
throwing up all morning. Joni told Melanie she should have called her to reschedule. Melanie
replied, "Oh honey, if I cancelled today I couldnt have seen you for months- I am completely
booked." This is how they seem to live. Doesnt sound like retirement to me.
Cherry Picking
Our most recent personal experience that fits into this category of control comes out of the
Philippines: We will let you decide what may have happened here.
When new markets (countries, territories) open up for Amway, there is usually a period of
confusion while everyone tries to figure out what the rules are as they are all different. Then, we
decide if we want to get involved in the new foreign market. There is usually someone from the US
that goes to the country to oversee the initial sign up period. The Philippines opened in the summer
of 1997. A crossline friend of ours and Pearl, Paul Dabney, decided to go over and set it up.
Everyone who wanted to be involved gave him their check for $85.00 and Paul signed them up
when he got there. We also had the option of giving Paul names and numbers of Philippine
prospects. We did that as well. We have upline Diamonds, Rummel and Maxwell, who decided they
did not want to be included. They probably had other markets they were working in and didn't
want to spread themselves too thin.
Paul had filed a "pre market" sheet which included information on how he planned to structure the
names from the US he had received who wanted to get in. This was filed with the Amway Corp.
Paul structured his pre market sheet so that we, Jeff & Joni Probandt, were at the head of a line of
sponsorship that included Collinsworth, Hellinghausen and Vallee. He then went to the Philippines,
had lots of meetings and added lots of new people to our Philippines business. This may sound
strange, but it is the norm when starting a new market.
When Paul got back, he called us and informed us of the success of his trip and the condition of our
Philippines organization. We thanked him profusely. Then a few weeks later funny things started
to happen. Paul started calling and even coming over for visits. He told us the upline was trying to
cut us out of the Line of Sponsorship we were a part of in the Philippines. He said the pressure had
been incredible. He was very upset with them, to put it mildly. Paul faxed us some correspondence
that Ron Rummel sent to him:

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

###########################

Here is a memo which is probably self explanatory. Ron Makes it clear that he wants Probandt (us) to
be moved from where we are in the Line of Sponsorship. Note here that one of Ron's suggestions is to
move us in between "Cruz" and "Jose". This would take us from having lots of people in our group
including Hellinghausen and Collinsworth to having one person in our group, Jose.
This was when we began to realize that we may be in danger of being removed from the current
line of sponsorship. We called Distributor Relations and were told not to worry because Ron
Rummel or whoever could not move us or anyone in our organization without our signature.

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (10 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]
Then, we called Distributor Relations a month or so later to see if the upline had tried to move us.
During a conversation with International Inquiries, we discovered the Line of Sponsorship was a
bit different from what we had initially been told. Here is the way it is now: Note this is exactly how
Ron Rummel had asked that it be changed. We will let you, the reader, draw your own
conclusions...
This is difficult to read but note we are now right in between Cruz and Jose just as Ron Rummel
requested. We never signed anything giving permission to move us or anyone in our group.
Oh, you may also have noticed the appearance of Rummel and Maxwell on the printout. As you
may remember, they had decided not to become involved in the Philippines. Well, it seems that
after they saw the results from the initial sign-up, they decided to add themselves to the line of
sponsorship--at the top, of course. They would probably say they want to maintain the same order

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

http://www.best.com/~cobra/amway/probandt/yourownboss.htm (11 of 12) [6/10/2001 8:18:16 AM]
as in the US. They didn't have that same concern before Paul went to the Philippines. It must be
nice to be able to add yourself in there after the fact. Oh, a direct leg in the Philippines counts as a
direct leg here in the US if you have two direct legs here in the US already. This could help in

re-qualification as- let's say- Diamond here in the US. I don't think that would effect a Diamond's

income very much if they have already gone Diamond in the past. This is due to the phenomenon in

the system where once you go- you always get the Diamond system bonuses. BUT, Diamonds like to

re-qualify as Diamonds because then they get to go to Diamond Club in Hawaii. Diamond Club is a

trip paid for by Amway. It is undoubtedly embarrassing for them when they don't re-qualify and

don't get to go. Speaking from Emerald Club experience (Achievers) for the past six years that I

have attended Achievers, there is always talk about who is and isn't here this year. In other words,

who didn't re-qualify. I think the foreign markets are a boost to many Diamonds by helping them

re-qualify and even move on to higher levels.

Does any of this have that familiar ring called corporate politics? Isn't it ironic? Click here to learn

about Politics & Religion in the Amway business.

So, You Want To Be Your Own Boss?

Jeff Probandt The RAY FRANZ of Amway Pt II

JT

Satanus

Share this