MLM - Network Marketing Blog

MonaVie (and Top Leaders!) Sued By Imagenetix

This story is just breaking...

MLM Company, MonaVie is being sued by Imagenetix Inc. for $2,750,000,000.00 (I believe that is $2.75 Billion!) in a trademark infringement lawsuit.  The scary part of this is the fact that not only is MonaVie being sued, but so are a number of top leaders, including...

Dallin Larsen, Henry Marsh, Randy Larsen, Amy Cowley, John Brigham Hart, Lita Hart, Steven Merritt, Gina Merritt, Corbin Roush, Holly Roush, Charles Kalb, Deborah Kalb, Ronald Prudhomme, Brenda Prudhomme, Edward Aristizabal, Shelly Aristizabal, Brian Cattano, Jill Cattano, Matthew Curtis, Kimberly Curtis, Tina Dupart, Todd Hartog, Angelique Hartog, Rodney Howard-Browne, Adonica Howard-Browne, Mickey Karshner, Victoria Karshner, Jason Lyons, Carrie Lyons, Angel Matos, Grayson Maule, Ken Porter, Robert Robinson, Linda Robinson, Devon Robinson, Todd Smith, Stephanie Smith, Frank Soucinek, Jr, Cynthia Soucinek, Brian Thayer, Jacqueline Thayer, Bo Vanpelt, Carrie Vanpelt, Black Diamond University Inc, Darrell Utterbach, Tracy Utterbach, Joseph Licciardi, Patrice Licciardi, Andre Walton, Penny Walton, James Bellacera, Denise Bellacera, Kelly Bangert, Jillian Bangert, Eric M Gutman, Rebekah Gutman and Does 1 - 10,000, inclusive

Apparently, MonaVie (and it's leaders) has been touting a trademarked ingredient called Celadrin without the permission of the trademark owner.

My opinion:

I have long thought that there was a "culture of overlooking" at MonaVie. The company first caught my attention because of it's associates illegal product claims like "curing cancer". So many of these crazy claims were taking place that it was obviously part of the culture within the company.

Culture and leadership are such a vital part of building a long term Network Marketing business and it appears as though MonaVie CEO, Dallin Larsen has sacrificed some of that for the sake of short term growth.

I will post more details as they roll in.

Advertising Opportunities On The MLM Blog

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You can do an "Advertorial" which is a blog post (like a press release) that will show up here at the MLM Blog and will also have a great chance of showing up at the two other blogs I write, MLM.Business-Opportunities.biz and MultiLeveler.

I have seen top ten Google results for a number of advertorials, this is an excellent way to expose your business.

The second option is a banner ad and then we are also offering a 125 x 125 button ad.

See all of the details: MLM Blog Advertising

PubMed Shows Red Wine Rated Higher Than Acai

A study found on PubMed shows that Pomegranate Juice, Red Wine, Concord Grape Juice, Blueberry Juice and Black Cherry Juice all rated higher than Acai Juice for Antioxidant activity.

This certainly goes contrary to all of the talk about the Acai Berry found in MonaVie.

They study was done at the Center for Human Nutrition which is part of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Here is a link.

Q & A With Mary Kay (Rep)

Here is part of a Q & A with Million Dollar Mary Kay producer, Crisette Ellis...

Freep.com:

She's first lady of the 6,000-member Greater Grace Temple in northwest Detroit, and tools around town in her 2008 pink Cadillac Escalade.

Such is the enviable lifestyle of Crisette Ellis, 44, of Bloomfield Hills -- married 19 years to the church's Bishop Charles H. Ellis III and a leader in her own right with Mary Kay Inc. One of the Texas-based cosmetics organization's 500 national sales directors, she's achieved more than $1 million in career sales commissions.

QUESTION: Would you please tell us about your early years?

ANSWER: I'm a Detroiter who was in the first graduating class at Renaissance High School. My BS degree from Michigan State University is in public affairs management. I thought I would be Miss Corporate America.

Q: What attracted you to Mary Kay?

A: I took maternity leave in 1994 while I was a program control analyst at Ford Motor Co. I was six months pregnant and had a 2-year-old daughter, Kiera, and 20-month-old son, Charles IV. My priorities began to shift. I didn't have enough time with my children, but really wanted an opportunity to use my degree to make my own money. Mary Kay came along at the right time. I could work Mary Kay around my life.

How Rich Will You Be? Find Out With This Quick Quiz...

Ever wondered how rich you will be in the next 10 years?

Take this simple quiz and find out.

Here are my results:

21,172,000
How much money will you be worth?

The Chef's Toolbox Jumps On Idea After Warren Buffett Buys Pampered Chef

The Chefs Toolbox holds the ingredients for success -

Founder David Mills saw a tasty business idea, put it on the front burner, and served up dividends.

Warren Buffett probably doesn’t know it, but without him fast growing Australian kitchenware party plan business The Chefs Toolbox may never have got off the ground.

After 14 years as an investment banker, David Mills was casting about for a business idea when he saw that famed investor Buffett had recently purchased The Pampered Chef business in the US. Just four months later, The Chefs Toolbox was born.

“I was looking for a business and saw that The Pampered Chef had been bought by Warren Buffett and I thought ‘if it’s good enough for him, it could work for us’, and away we went,” Mills says.

Five years later, his punt on Buffett’s buy – and a whole lot of his own hard work – is starting to pay dividends. With a network of just over 400 consultants across Australia, The Chefs Toolbox achieved revenue growth of just over 60% to more than $4.7 million in 2006-07 and looks set to surpass $7 million this financial year.

AmwayBlog.com Looking For An Author

The AmwayBlog.com site is looking for an author (or two) to contribute news, rumors, opinions and interesting content.

If you are interested in Amway and always wanted to be a blogger, now is your chance.

Contact: mlmblog@mlmblog.net

USANA Ordered To Pay Critic $142,510

Utah Network Marketing company, USANA was ordered to pay convicted felon and critic, Barry Minkow $142,510 after U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled on March 3 that USANA violated California's anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) law.

Salt Lake City federal Magistrate Samuel Alba ordered USANA to pay $142,510 in attorney fees to Minkow and his Fraud Discovery Institute.

USANA has dropped charges of defamation but still has a charge of securities manipulation pending.

Barry Minkow served eight years in prison for stock fraud before (ironically) founding his Fraud Discovery Institute.

Is MonaVie A Unique Product?

In my soon to be released book on The 5 Key Essentials In Picking A Network Marketing Company, I talk about products. Having a unique product is vital for long term success in Network Marketing.  That point apparently rubbed a MonaVie representative the wrong way.

After I offered my opinion about MonaVie, I was told that I didn't know anything and that no product compares with MonaVie in the marketplace which lead me do a little research where I found a comparison of MonaVie with a product called Perfect Acai. 

I have no affiliation with Perfect Acai (or MonaVie), but I thought the information presented was interesting:

From PowerSupplements:

How much Acai is in your product?

PERFECT ACAI™: Perfect Acai contains 1,000mg (1 gram) of 100% freeze dried Sambazon Organic Acai per serving. There are 60 servings in a bottle. Most clients do 2 servings a day, so they get 2 grams of Acai per day and 1 bottle last 30 days.

MonaVie™ Juice: Unknown. Monavie is a proprietary blend of 19 fruits and there is no way to know how much Acai is in each serving.

What is the source of your Acai?

PERFECT ACAI™: Perfect Acai exclusively uses Sambazon 100% Freeze Dried Organic Acai. Sambazon Acai is Fairly Traded. Sambazon Acai is certified organic and is a member of the Fair Trade Federation.

MonaVie™ Juice: Unknown. A review of the Monavie website and promotional material does not state where they purchase their Acai from.

What is the price per serving of your product?

PERFECT ACAI™: One serving is 2 capsules and there are 120 capsules in a bottle. One bottle is $39.95 and if you buy 3 bottles the price drops down to $29.95 a bottle. One serving of Perfect Acai will cost between 50 and 67 cents.

MonaVie™ Juice: One bottle of Monavie juice is 25.35 ounces and cost about $45. One serving is 2 ounces. The cost per serving of the Monavie juice is about $3.55.

To be fair, MonaVie has other juices plus the active version contains glucosamine.  In my research I also found dozens of comparable Acai liquid products, similar to MonaVie.  You can see these on Google.

Guest Blogger: Anders Gustavsson On Accelerated Learning

Anders Gustavsson is the man behind MLM - The Game, an interactive Network Marketing game that is meant to be a training tool and learning experience. 

The following is part 1 of a 3 part series by Ander's on the subject of:

Effective Network Marketing Training Uses Accelerated Learning

Books, seminars, and many trainers often rely on listening and memorization as their main method for their audience to retain information. People learn while they are there, and some may take hand written notes with them home. Unless this information is reviewed several times using the various methods to stimulate the different senses, it will often be forgotten unless it is immediately applied in the real world.

Network Marketing is largely about effectively teaching people to duplicate your efforts.  The teaching style of only listening and memorizing is out dated, boring, and is not the most efficient way to learn.

When you are training your downline your lessons will be much better remembered if you create accelerated learning environments that will interest a broad range of people. Accelerated learning practices don't just tell you the information; they engage trainees in the process. While involved this way, people will learn with multiple senses.

These are some of the main effects of Accelerated Learning;

1) Both sides of the brain are being used simultaneously making it much easier to remember and truly understand new materials.

2) There is interaction with others which not only elevates the energy and blood flow to the brain but also offers even better memory retention.  This also creates a positive mental attitude which further contributes to learning.

Have any ideas as to how you can use or create any creative accelerated learning techniques

If so, please comment below.

In part 2, I will share information about the learning process, and in part 3 we will wrap up with many ideas for you to utilize and test.

Anders Gustavsson
President
Infinite Synergy, Creators of MLM The Game
http://www.mlmthegame.com

Xango Uncensored Now Live

Xango Uncensored, the latest site in the MLM Uncensored family is now live.

MLM Uncensored is the next generation of the MLM Blog Network, allowing the readers to "be the blogger".  If you always wanted to post your opinions or advertise your business with a blog but didn't feel techy enough top pull off your own blog, you can be the star blogger at any of these MLM Uncensored sites:

Amway Uncensored

Arbonne Uncensored

Body Alive Uncensored - Number 3 on Google

Isagenix Uncensored

MonaVie Uncensored - Number 11 On Google

Zrii Uncensored - Number 5 On Google

Body Alive, MonaVie and Zrii were the first MLM Uncensored sites to be developed and you can see the results so far.

Illegal Nutrilite Claims At AmwayProductInfo.com?

I just found something other than MonaVie and Orrin Woodward to occupy Amway attorneys for a while...

AmwayProductInfo.com

The Amway Product Info site does a little dance with illegal disease claims and Nutrilite products...a dance that Amway (or any Network Marketing company) does not want to participate in.

These types of claims are not good for the industry and often lead to companies becoming over-zealous when it comes to controlling information on the Internet.  This is one of the reasons why you don't see any MonaVie web sites except those run by their highest level associates.

I set the over/under for the Amway Product Info site to come down at 3 days.

Update: A reader mentioned that the person who authors the AmwayProductInfo.com site may not reside in the U.S. so the claims being made may not be illegal and I should mention that there is a fine line that the site is walking. Having said that, Nutrilite and Amway are based in the U.S. and I suspect that the line the site is walking is not one that Amway wants to walk.

Xango Launches 1 Oz. Xango Single

XanGo, LLC Chief Marketing Officer John Digles announced the creation of a new one-ounce, single-serving package of XanGo® Juice, which will be marketed under the brand name XanGo® Single. The XanGo Single is now available in the United States and is being introduced in Canada and Mexico, two of XanGo’s largest international markets, later this month.

“The XanGo Single meets a growing distributor demand for convenient, travel-size versions of the globally popular XanGo Juice,” Digles said. “As distributors work to build their businesses, we’re pleased to offer a sample size of their most effective sales tool: the enticing flavor of XanGo Juice.”

The XanGo Single uses XanGo Juice’s proprietary puree formula of the whole mangosteen fruit, from its dark, reddish purple nutrient-dense rind to the white fleshy pulp – through which all of the mangosteen health benefits are delivered as nature intended. Each serving has only 13 calories and contains 3.2 grams of total carbohydrates as well as 2.7 grams of sugars. The XanGo Single is sold by the case with three boxes, each containing 30 one-ounce packs.

“It’s XanGo Juice in a size ideal for travel and for networking,” Digles said. “The XanGo Single meets the Federal Aviation Administration’s regulations that liquids, gels and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers for airplane travel.”

About XanGo

XanGo, LLC is a recognized category creator as the first company to market a premium mangosteen beverage, XanGo® Juice, to consumers worldwide. A delicious daily dietary supplement, XanGo Juice harnesses the nutritional attributes of the whole mangosteen fruit through a proprietary formula. Based in Utah, XanGo is privately-owned and powered by a global network of independent distributors. XanGo's expansive operations include the United States and numerous international markets such as Canada, Mexico, Japan, Germany and Malaysia. For more information on XanGo and XanGo Juice, visit www.xango.com. Copyright XanGo, LLC. All rights reserved.

Herbalife President Admits Lieing In Biography

Los Angeles Business Journal Online - business news and information for Los Angeles California

Herbalife Ltd. said late Thursday that its president and chief operating officer, Gregory Probert, has confirmed he didn't complete his MBA degree as stated in his biography.

The admission was prompted by an inquiry from The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles-based supplement manufacturer and marketer said.

The company said administrators at California State University, Los Angeles confirmed that Probert was enrolled in its business graduate program in the 1980s but didn't complete his degree.

Who's Hotter? Xocai vs. Waiora

Time once again for Who's Hotter in in Network Marketing.  This edition pits Xocai vs Waiora.

The first graph shows current search trends traffic from Google.  In other words, how many people are searching for the terms Xocai (in blue) and Waiora (in red).

As you can see, Waiora is not even on the chart, leading us to believe that more people are searching for Xocai than Waiora.  This is usually an indicator of who is sparking more interest in the industry.

Secondly, we look at Alexa rankings which show the approximate traffic on the main web site of the company.  In this case, mxicorp.com for Xocai and Waiora.com for Waiora.

The companies appear close in the graph (you can click on either graph to see a larger image) because the graph shows day to day numbers and the companies are very close when you look at day to day traffic, but the actual ranking numbers (smaller numbers is better) are Waiora - 131,196 and 198,527 for Xocai (3 month average).

Waiora is the clear leader in site traffic over the last three months, but the companies are neck and neck on a daily basis at this time.

Based on the lack of Google searches for Waiora and the closeness of the site traffic, I estimate that Xocai is a hotter company than Waiora at the time of this posting.