Reputation is everything in the game plan for success.

Behind every successful business is a reputation of excellence. How would you grade yours? Do you know or care? You should.

Your reputation is everything. But what does “reputation” really mean? The CEO and founder of Amazon defines reputation as “what people say about you when you have left the room.” What do people say about your company when you leave the room?

Reputations take years to build but seconds to lose. At AdvoCare, we believe reputation is about everything a company does—from the products it sells, to each marketing campaign and the attitude of every employee. That’s why we place such a strong emphasis on it.
As an award-winning member of the Direct Selling Association, AdvoCare is reputation-driven and truly believes reputation is everything. That’s the reason we go the extra mile to ensure our products not only work, but they are safe through our Scientific & Medical Advisory Board and Informed-Choice certification.

The Key to Sustained Success

A great product is good, but it’s not enough. Consistently building the reputation of your company is a key to sustained success.

Coming into this year we found ourselves in a place of great momentum. Our organization was on fire. Our world-class products and proven marketing plan are a big reason for this. At the same time, we believed that programs, endorsers and events could further awareness in the marketplace and build our reputation in addition to our products and opportunity.

We want people talking about our company. Plain and simple. So we looked for ways to get the conversation started and keep it going. Elevating awareness in this way became a part of our strategy.

We decided to lead with reputation in all aspects of our business. From the face-to-face relationships that are the foundation of direct selling to the limitless number of fans and friends we can reach through social media, people were going to learn the name AdvoCare.

Be Bold—Turn Chances into Opportunities

In December 2009 we took a bold step. By being the title sponsor of the 2009 V100™ Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., AdvoCare was the first-ever direct selling company to sponsor a postseason college bowl game. The game set records for attendance and viewership, and everyone who bought a ticket or tuned in learned more about AdvoCare. This was historic and something we knew would support our vision of being a household name. It was, and still is, a proud moment for us.

As part of our title sponsor efforts, we initiated a tour featuring our award-winning AdvoBus, with stops at college football games across the United States.

We also introduced television commercials that aired during the national broadcast of the game and a campaign featuring our endorsers and two impact products. “I want Spark” and “I want Slam” Web portals were created for these products. Free samples drove people to the AdvoCare website and into our distributor leads program. More than 65,000 leads were generated through the “I want” campaign.

We’ll return as title sponsor for this year’s game, to be played on Monday, Dec. 27, and televised nationally on ESPN2.

In March 2010 we announced New Orleans Quarterback Drew Brees as our first-ever National AdvoCare Spokesperson. To help make a difference, we’ve continued to ally with his foundation—The Brees Dream Foundation.

We also continue to add to our list of high-profile endorsers, which include world-class athletes and professional entertainers. Earlier this year we announced a partnership with Women of Faith. AdvoCare had a presence at events across the nation in the spring and August. This opened the door to a new audience, giving us new opportunity to build our reputation and further our goal to make AdvoCare a household name.

Where else did we look to get the word out and make a difference? Community social responsibility is huge for us. In January we kicked off our fundraising efforts as the Platinum Sponsor for Operation Homefront—a nonprofit organization that supports our troops and their families. People identify with what this organization is trying to achieve. They align with its goals. And, they ally themselves with those who are willing to help.

I tell you about each of these efforts because you, too, can fuel growth by getting involved and being a company who cares, a company with a reputation for giving back.

Real Results

The results of leading with reputation can be intangible,  but I’ll tell you, they are very real.

AdvoCare is proof positive that these efforts can and do matter. We’ve experienced double-digit growth in sales and recruiting compared to the same time frame in the previous year. And, more people know the AdvoCare name today than at any time in our history. We continue to grow today.

So how do you measure the bottom line? The results are apparent in the organization and resonate in your salesforce. When you see a rise in momentum, sales and recruiting, you know. It’s more than numbers—it is momentum, excitement and trust from our field organization that fuels the tremendous growth of AdvoCare.

While we are looking for new and improved ways to turn up the volume, our sales organization is able to remain focused on the basics of our business. While we go look for opportunities to make the company a household name, our distributors can succeed with the fundamentals.

When you build a positive reputation, not only do you build confidence in your field organization, making it that much easier to share the name of your company, but also confidence and respect with your customers.

Our distributors have a better chance for success when they go share AdvoCare with someone who says, “I’ve heard of AdvoCare. Isn’t Drew Brees your spokesperson?” When we’re opening the door for our distributors through brand awareness, they have time to focus on what this business is all about—building relationships.

So, what do you think people say about your company when you leave the room? Would you stake your reputation on it?

After all, reputation is everything.

Richard Wright is President and CEO of AdvoCare International.

Thirty-One Gifts is turning heads for their ability to rack up incredible growth numbers, while maintaining a close-knit family feel.

Maybe today would be the day. Jeanie had gotten off work just a little bit earlier, in the hope that the adorable little boutique downtown would still be open, even for a few minutes—that’s all it would take to make her desired purchase. Weeks earlier, she had spotted a cute trinket that would make the perfect gift for her friend, Susan. Now, as she rounded the corner, she held her breath in anticipation, and then nearing the storefront, promptly exhaled a long sigh. With shoulders slumped and more than a little dejected, she made her way slowly back to her parked car. Like her last three attempts to peruse the shelves of the delectable retail store, today would, in fact, not be the day.

It is for working women like Jeanie that Thirty-One Gifts was created seven years ago. Founder and CEO Cindy Monroe was working in corporate America at the time, and she, herself, had experienced the frustration of never getting to visit the corner gift boutiques, because they were always closed before she got home from work. “The goal right from the start was to provide products that were gift-able, ones that previously were only available at exclusive retail shops,” says Scott Monroe, Thirty-One Gifts Chief Branding Officer and Cindy’s proud husband. “As her idea came together, she remembered the success she had with direct selling in college and knew that was the only way to go.” Now, in less than a decade, the young company continues to rack up the accolades, and an entire industry has begun to take notice.

The Culture Club

Ask anyone at Thirty-One Gifts, and a good majority will, no doubt, point to the company’s culture as the No. 1 reason for their involvement—the organization’s driving force, if you will.

“People often ask us if we are a Christian company,” Scott says. “And the answer is that we are a company that was founded by Christian people and run by Christian principles, and our business, therefore, is really an extension of who we are.”

Before joining the Thirty-One Gifts team in early 2007, Scott was a pastor. While it was a big decision to make the career switch, it definitely seemed like the perfect time to do so. Trained as a jazz musician, Scott had become “the music guy” for a few modern churches over the years, and in that role he usually took on the responsibility of marketing for the congregation. From the beginning he supported his wife in her new venture and only wished he could do more to help the business develop and grow. Four years after its inception, Thirty-One Gifts was ready to expand its marketing division, and Scott got the opportunity he was looking for to put his talents to work.

Even at the most basic level, faith plays a major role in the makeup of Thirty-One Gifts. “The name Thirty-One comes from Proverbs 31, which describes the characteristics of a good woman,” Scott says. “She is virtuous and business-minded, always taking care of her family. And our goal in everything we do is to celebrate women, help them achieve their goals and enable them to give great gifts to others at the same time.”

Their mission, indeed, is to celebrate, encourage and reward the consultants in the field, which adds another interesting layer to the culture of Thirty-One Gifts. “We are all about making a positive impact on people’s lives—bettering the human condition—one person at a time,” Scott says. “We have some consultants who were stay-at-home moms, who never saw themselves joining the workforce. But through Thirty-One Gifts, these women have been able to have a career where they can contribute to their family income, and in some cases, even help their family survive and thrive in these tough economic times—all without sacrificing time with their family to do so.”

Business Prowess

It is an elite group that can boast the same level of phenomenal success that Thirty-One Gifts has experienced. However, very few have done so in such a short amount of time. “For the first three years or so, we saw between 300 and 400 percent growth,” Scott says. “And we only had about five or six employees that whole time. Every year since then, we have consistently seen between 200 and 500 percent growth.”

The products, including handbags, totes, children’s items, stationery and home décor, are not really consumables in the traditional sense—Scott says they are somewhere in between. Thirty-One Gifts has secured a great amount of repeat business from customers. “We work hard to keep up with the trends, and to provide our customers with what they tell us they want,” Scott says. “Because of the nature of our gifts, between 60 and 80 percent of our product line is new for every fashion season. We may keep the same body style for several years, but the prints will always be changing, and since we insist on keeping our prices reasonable, our customers can afford to keep coming back.”

The business has mushroomed solely on a grassroots basis, partly because of the word-of-mouth aspect of direct sales and partly by design of the company’s astute leaders. “We have been growing fast all along, but we wanted to make sure our growth didn’t outpace our ability to keep up with the business,” Scott says. “We knew we had a lot to learn about running a successful company, and we wanted to control our growth to ensure we were making the right choices along the way.”

Now they are positioned and ready for that future growth—and, it seems, the future is now. Earlier this year, Thirty-One Gifts moved into a 97,000-square-foot facility, one that houses 450 employees. In 2008, they made the decision to move from the Monroes’ home state of Tennessee to Ohio, largely because of the incredible distribution channels in place to help facilitate business. Additionally, Ohio’s strategic location places it within 500 miles of much of the U.S. population, so for the Thirty-One Gifts leadership team, the move was a no-brainer. Interestingly, even in spite of moving two states away, the company’s first five employees are still with them and going strong.

“We have been fortunate enough to not see the negative impact of the faltering economy,” Scott says. “Instead, we have seen an increase in business and our consultants’ average is well above the industry standard of $350 per party.”

Looking back, Scott admits his family and their burgeoning business have both come a long way from their humble beginnings at the Monroe home just seven short years ago. “We literally started this company in our own basement,,” Scott says. “We borrowed a small amount of money from family to get started. And at the time, Cindy and a handful of people did all the hard work, recruiting consultants and hosting parties themselves, to get the business off the ground.” Today, Thirty-One Gifts is a completely debt-free company, and proud of the fact that their growth has not been supported by advertising dollars—it’s been organic every step of the way.

Feels Like a Family

If the culture of Thirty-One Gifts is the driving force behind the company’s raging success, then relationships are the fuel that keeps it going. “We have gathered a group of people here who believe strongly in the mission of the company,” Scott says. “They have embraced what we stand for, and you could easily call this a family business.” Beyond the husband and wife team that lead the way, there are a number of couples who work side by side in Thirty-One Gifts.

Scott credits his wife, in large part, for nurturing the relationships that have been the backbone of the company. “Cindy is extremely real and transparent in everything she does. And everyone around her can clearly see that,” Scott says. “She handles the many coaching calls personally, and at our annual conference, with more than 1,500 people in attendance, she is out there on the floor, going from table to table, visiting and talking with the consultants on a one-on-one basis.”

It can be said that even the Thirty-One Gifts product line adds to the company’s close-knit atmosphere, because each gift has a personal touch that makes it special. “Most of our products are monogrammed or personalized for the individual,” Scott says. “It is an element that sets our gifts – and us as a company – apart from others and makes us truly unique.”

Though personal connection is admittedly a tough thing to measure, 33,000 fans on Facebook is pretty impressive. “When we coach our consultants during training sessions, a big push for us is to never just sell a product. That is not why we are here,” Scott says. “Instead, we stress the importance of building relationships with people, whether it is with customers or prospective team members—it makes a more lasting impact. And it is a very teachable skill. When you emphasize relationships with people, the sales will come, but you will have something much more valuable as well.”

It’s not just lip service, either. From the top down, Thirty-One Gifts actually puts their beliefs to the test, even when it involves close friends and colleagues. “Julie Sutton was Cindy’s original business partner, and she decided not long ago to decrease her role with us,” Scott says. “Part of our mission is to give moms more time with their family. So while it was hard to lose Julie on an everyday basis, we absolutely support her decision to put her family first. It’s not just a fancy slogan to us. We are serious about our mission to celebrate, encourage and reward women in whatever they feel called to do.”

Amway’s Corporate Citizenship Program has been around for a long time, even before it was named. Jesse Hertstein, Amway Senior Corporate Citizenship Specialist says, “Before we started calling it Corporate Citizenship, it was just a way we did business—an ethic and value that was baked into the DNA of our company.” Originating as simply helping out in the local community, Corporate Citizenship has now grown into a central, not to mention global, part of the Amway culture that’s been fostered since it was founded by Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel. “When we talk about Amway, we talk about Corporate Citizenship and our charitable initiatives around the world, and it’s just part of the Amway experience, whether you are an employee or a distributor,” Hertstein says.

Encompassing every aspect of Amway, from the way they treat employees to the way they select products to how they take care of the environment and support their local communities, the Corporate Citizenship strategy is a key element to the core of Amway’s business. The numerous Corporate Citizenship initiatives (both global and national) undoubtedly bring value back to the company, in more ways than one. And the most visible, and perhaps most compassionate, component of that value is the One by One Campaign for Children.

One by One

The Amway One by One Campaign officially kicked off in 2003, when Amway decided to focus its diverse sponsorships across the globe into a single topic of need. “We looked at issues that were most important to our company, our distributors and our employees, and we found that children’s issues were what resonated most,” Hertstein says. Rather than building a partnership with a single cause, Amway ambitiously set out to build a wide-sweeping campaign encompassing general children’s issues with an emphasis on helping them achieve, learn and play. Understanding that the needs are different in each region where the company does business, the ways Amway could help are different; therefore, the ways the company would engage distributors and run individual programs would have to be distinctively different. This thoughtful, multifaceted approach was used to construct a unique, global program for children that could be implemented locally.

The global/local program partners with hundreds of nonprofit organizations that provide food, education and shelter to children who are in need. By building local partnerships, Amway and One by One can ensure that they meet the specific needs of local children, both physically and emotionally.

Around the World

“We want Amway to support communities wherever we are,” Hertstein says. And by unleashing the collective generosity and ambition of their distributors, salesforce and employees, the sky is the limit on what can be accomplished.

“There are amazing stories that happen when we connect people with causes,” he says. For example, in Thailand, One by One has supported programs that provide audio books for blind children, who may have never had the opportunity to experience the excitement of listening to an adventure without Amway’s assistance. And in Mexico, Little Bits micronutrients (a vitamin powder sprinkled over food) are provided for undernourished children as part of a much-needed overall health program. Amway is now evaluating other communities that are interested in offering the Little Bits program around the globe.

And don’t forget about the United States. Right here, in our own backyard, Amway is continuing a successful, long-standing partnership with the Easter Seals, raising a breathtaking total of over $30 million for the organization to help individuals with disabilities and their families. And now, Amway’s One by One program is taking on Boys & Girls Clubs of America, combining the fun of gardening with the company’s area of expertise—nutrition. “Community gardening gives kids a hands-on experience with gardening and fresh fruits and vegetables, plus it becomes a fun way to learn about eating healthier,” Hertstein says. Six ‘Positive Sprouts’ community gardens are currently in full bloom in cities around the country, and it’s only the beginning. The community garden model is expected to expand throughout all Boys & Girls Clubs in the United States.

The Snowball Effect

Amway employees are notoriously enthusiastic volunteers. More than half of the employee base participates in the hundreds of volunteer opportunities available each year. From stuffing backpacks with school supplies for local shelters to mentoring children at inner-city schools and raising money for the United Way, there’s always something happening.

“It’s not difficult to get our distributors interested in volunteering,” Hertstein says. “It’s more about finding an outlet and providing the information to them.” He explains that when they have an easy way to participate, they’ll show up and will often surprise you with an overwhelming response. In China, the One by One volunteer network currently has more than 50,000 distributors participating. It is, by far, the largest volunteer group in China. Around the globe, Amway distributors compassionately give blood, work at events (like the Special Olympics), provide disaster relief, teach, mentor and much more.

And employees and distributors do much more that isn’t necessarily organized under the company’s umbrella. Grassroots One by One programs are popping up far and wide, where local volunteers are organizing to help local children on their own time and money. It’s an exciting snowball effect of generosity that can rapidly grow to benefit an entire community, from the volunteers to the children.

Focusing on Children

Amway’s One by One campaign may focus on helping one child at a time, but it all adds up… quickly. By the end of 2009, Amway had helped more than 7 million children around the world. That includes raising more than $112 million and 1.3 million volunteer hours. It may start with one child at a time, one project at a time and one community at a time, but when you step back and look at the global effect, the collective numbers are staggering.

“I’ve had the chance to travel around the world and see some of the programs that are happening,” Hertstein says. “With each program that I visit, there are always kids who just touch my heart.” For example, Hertstein visited a One by One program in Kenya where distributors sponsored immunizations. “This can be the difference between life and death,” he says. “Mothers travel for miles and are so appreciative of the help that they get.”

While visiting schools in China, he observed children who wouldn’t typically have access to high-level education and the arts attending art class taught by one of Amway’s distributors. The distributor drives hours to volunteer at the school. “It’s great to see these kids get access to education and the arts,” Hertstein says. “And it’s all through the help of volunteers.” When asked how recipients show their appreciation, he explained that they are always exceptionally grateful and thankful. “But I think that we get the greater benefit and greater blessing from the work that we do. The thank you isn’t really necessary.”

He explains that it’s always an amazing experience to connect with a child through volunteering, and to connect with employees who you may not have had a chance to interact with. “Employees from different areas, like manufacturing, corporate or research, coming together under the same banner, creates a spirit of camaraderie,” Hertstein says.

Region by Region

How does Amway decide which local programs to support? Simply put, each region decides for itself using four basic criteria—to live, achieve, learn and play. The first criterion, ‘to live,’ refers to the basic needs of life, including food, shelter and medical care. The second criterion, ‘to achieve,’ focuses on special needs, including special arts and events such as the Special Olympics. The third criterion, ‘to learn,’ zeros in on educational programs, while the last—‘to play’—covers recreation and access to the arts and cultural programs as well as building playgrounds.

“We look for programs that are helping underserved children,” Hertstein says. “We know that the needs of children are different everywhere.” Those differences are why each office investigates the local needs as well as the issues that the area’s distributors would like to engage in. They then thoughtfully choose partners and build unique programs. The One by One Campaign for Children is one of the most widespread and successful Amway initiatives. Every region that Amway builds an office builds a One by One program. That’s more than 80 locations and programs!

An Even Brighter Future

Last year was Amway’s 50th anniversary. In celebration of the big 5-0, Amway began ramping up their One by One programs by providing extra funding to offices around the world. With a concentrated effort to create new programs, as well as improve existing ones, more than 25 eager Amway offices around the world are, as we speak, pumping up their charitable campaigns for children. “We’re seeing amazing new programs, generous volunteer engagement and exciting local impact,” Hertstein says. “The stories are just starting to roll in from these new efforts.” By the end of 2010, Amway will see an even greater growth and impact of their One by One programs, as these new efforts take root and build even more momentum. It’s all about making this world a better place, and that starts with our children—one by one.

If the history of financial services direct seller Primerica were captured in a book, its latest chapter would have opened on April 1.  For Primerica, that wasn’t April Fools’ Day. It was Independence Day—the day of its initial public offering (IPO), one of the most successful Wall Street has ever seen.

It also gave Primerica an opportunity to create a case study in how a top-tier direct seller creates a once-in-a-lifetime special event that celebrates both the company and its salesforce.

The largest financial services marketing organization in North America, Primerica had been a subsidiary of banking behemoth Citigroup and its predecessor companies since the late 1980s. But as banks came under scrutiny during the economic crunch of the last few years and the regulatory climate changed, Citigroup’s organizational structure changed in response. Primerica wasn’t a bank, and its fit within the company became, in the words of Primerica co-CEO John Addison, “a little more challenging.” Primerica’s executives and Citi’s managers began discussing the company’s long-term strategy, seeking the right result for both entities. The process spanned about three years.

“It was obvious to everyone that our business could flourish better as an independent company in the financial services industry, but trying to get that accomplished during the credit meltdown and everything that was going on in the industry and with Wall Street, well, we couldn’t have been trying to do it at a more difficult time if we had chosen it,” Addison says.

For example, at one point a positive transaction was imminent. The next week Lehman Brothers fell and the financing and economic structure fell apart.

In early 2009, Primerica was scheduled to take 1,500 couples on an incentive trip to the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas. The timing corresponded to when Wall Street firms were under great scrutiny for meetings and conventions. Citi made the decision to cancel all incentive trips, including Primerica’s.

“This was a point where it became clear to all parties that a transaction was necessary now. Citi saw this as well as Rick (co-CEO Rick Williams) and I, and we all agreed to push the transaction forward,” says Addison.

Co-CEOs John Addison and Rick Williams on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 1, 2010.

IPO Express

Within a few weeks, discussions about making Primerica a separate entity were under way. Premier private equity firm Warburg Pincus agreed to invest $230 million in Primerica stock. The Primerica IPO train was gaining speed. Addison, Williams and other Primerica executives started their “road show,” making presentations to the world’s top money managers in 14 cities over 11 days. More than 200 institutional investors in five countries participated in more than 65 presentations of the Primerica business model, and 96 percent of them chose to invest, including eight of the 10 largest mutual funds in North America. By the time everything came together and the stock price was being set on March 31, investment bankers were calling it one of the most oversubscribed deals they had ever worked on. On March 31, the night before the bell that opens trading, the IPO price was set at $15.

“We were standing in the pit on April 1, and the price kept going up. It took them 30-plus minutes to open the stock. When it opened, it was at $19.15,” Addison says. “24.6 million shares were sold in the IPO. It was incredibly emotional.”
At most companies in any industry, the rocketing stock price would have meant significant profit for the few company executives who were given the right to purchase shares at the initial price or who received grants of company stock. But Primerica didn’t forget the people that made the company great—its representatives that sell the company’s term life insurance policies and mutual funds, as well as its employees. In connection with the IPO, the company put 5 million shares into the hands of key members of its salesforce.  
“One of the things we fought so hard for in the process was having a significant allocation of equity in the transaction for our salesforce,” Addison says. “We were able to deliver significant amounts of shares that they now own in their company—not a division of another company, but our own company.”

Throughout the process Addison and Williams had kept Primerica’s field salesforce and employees as informed as they legally could. And on Day One of its independence, it invited top earners to New York to be part of the celebration. Even that wasn’t as easy as it sounds.

“You don’t know when an IPO is going to happen until it happens,” Addison says. “You don’t know six months out that this is the date. A lot is driven by market conditions and regulatory approvals. There are many moving parts.”

A Celebration for All

But knowing that the event would happen and feeling strongly that representatives had to be part of it, Primerica had a contest that let them earn their way to New York for a day of celebration. Winners got to see the 30-foot high, 80-foot long Primerica sign on the front of the New York Stock Exchange. About 60 couples and individual representatives—the company’s Million-Dollar Earners—were at the Exchange for presentations and to share the excitement as Addison and Williams hit the gavel for the closing bell. Then 1,000 representatives and their partners attended the evening’s dinner and subsequent IPO celebration in the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom. Primerica held a simulcast of the event to agents’ offices across the country so they could join the celebration and participate in the emotional high of the whole day and all it meant for the company’s future. Stock exchange officials said no other company had ever done an event of that magnitude.

“We wanted to make sure that this was an inclusive, not an exclusive opportunity,” Addison says. “For most companies, ringing the bell is an interesting experience to do for a handful of executives. We wanted to make sure that we transferred that to all stakeholders in our business. Our key leaders were part of that experience. The reality of the future of our business is that we must build and grow our distribution. The people who put themselves on the line every day and live on commissions—we wanted them to be a part of that magical moment.”

That partnership between the company and its representatives is symbolized in Primerica’s new logo. The three rings—one red, one white and one blue—stand for the representative, the client and the company. And the company’s new slogan, Freedom Lives Here, reflects its continuing commitment to creating financial freedom for its 100,000 licensed sales representatives who assist their clients in meeting their needs for term life insurance, mutual funds and other financial products.  It also reflects its mission to create financial freedom for its clients. As it has from the beginning, Primerica focuses on households with $30,000 to $100,000 of annual income, representing approximately 50 percent of households. That target audience underscores Addison’s favorite phrase: “We’re not a Wall Street company; we’re a Main Street company.” Through its subsidiaries, Primerica currently insures more than 4.3 million lives, and more than 2 million clients maintain investment accounts through the company. In 2009 alone, the company paid $933 million in death claims to its clients, averaging payments of $2.5 million daily.

Staying Power

Headquartered in Duluth, Ga., an Atlanta suburb, the company has 1,700 employees at its home office and 300 more in other locations. It’s a place where people stick around. The tenure of the company’s top 300 officers and directors averages 18 years. Some 10,000 sales representatives have stayed with Primerica for more than 20 years. Both Addison and his co-CEO Rick Williams have spent most of their careers with Primerica and its predecessor companies, and they were named co-CEOs in 1999.
“We’ve developed a very experienced, knowledgeable, talented team,” Addison says. “That can’t be replicated. That’s one of the reasons the market was so receptive. This is all I’ve ever done, and what a great experience it has been. I learned so much from Art Williams.”

Williams—no relation to Rick—was the founder of A.L. Williams & Associates, from which Primerica grew. He forged the concept that fueled the company: Buy term and invest the difference. That idea was the antithesis of what the life insurance industry sold in the 1960s and 70s, but Williams thought it was right for middle-income Americans. So he and 85 other people started the company in 1977. They took the concept of providing financial services to middle-income families and married it with the direct sales business model. A.L. Williams became the largest writer of individual life insurance policies in the United States in 1984, when Williams sold the company to Primerica, which eventually became Citigroup. Williams stayed with the company until 1990.
Throughout the company’s various chapters, that original philosophy has remained. Addison says that the company’s No. 1 goal now is growth in the size of its distribution system—licensed life insurance and securities sales force. Equally important is growth in the cash flow to its salesforce.

“Our goal is to build the number of financially free families in North America,” he says. “By building that, you ensure the future of the company. The success of our stock is inextricably linked to growth in the size of the salesforce and the growth of their incomes.”
As noted by many industry publications, Primerica is the one company that has figured out how to effectively distribute financial products to Main Street families. Primerica’s salesforce is made up of teachers, firefighters, police officers and others who are cornerstones in their community, but whose paychecks don’t reflect it, he says. To become a Primerica representative, new recruits take a different route than they do at most direct selling companies. The first step is to begin the licensing process to sell life insurance. The process varies by state, but once it’s complete, sales representatives earn significant income from each term life insurance sale. On average, that requires 20 to 40 hours of pre-licensing education. Then they must pass the state licensing test.

If the representative also wants to sell mutual funds to help their clients “invest the difference,” additional education and licensing are required. Primerica supports the agent’s efforts through its powerful Primerica Online web system, an intranet that delivers not just company information, but an international field-production leader board that is updated daily. It is also rich in the subjects that help Primerica representatives serve their clients.

At the same time new representatives are pursuing their licenses, they begin field training with someone who shows them how to sell, how the process works and how to build a team.

Sales representatives use the company’s proprietary Financial Needs Analysis (FNA) tool and an educational approach to demonstrate how Primerica products can assist clients in providing financial protection for their families, saving for retirement and managing debt. Primerica’s investment accounts can be established with as little as a $250 lump sum contribution, or a monthly bank draft of $25, both among the lowest thresholds in the industry.

“You don’t make money from Day One, but there’s more compensation in life insurance than in a consumable,” Addison says. And representatives who complete the process reap the rewards. “If you could blink your eyes and have a license, we’d love that. But the reality is that people are paying some price, and being able to accomplish something makes you tougher. It makes you perform better.”

That combination of personal investment and financial payback results in a high number of sales representatives staying with Primerica year after year, working either part time or full time. Virtually all start part time. They run their businesses while continuing other full-time jobs, earning supplemental income from commissions on the sale of term insurance policies that provide more coverage but have lower monthly premiums than whole life policies. And Primerica sells more term policies than any other company in the industry.
“Our flagship product and the cornerstone of our business is and always will be ‘buy term and invest the difference’ term life insurance and investments,” he continues. “Fewer Americans today have life insurance than in 1975. Most sales are to people who have no life insurance, making sure you’re properly protected in case something happens to the family’s primary breadwinner. We’re also looking at additional things to add to our business that add to our role of providing common-sense solutions to Main Street North America.”

Addison adds that the company’s business opportunity is just as important as its products. He says that recruiting has remained strong, and the company looks forward to drawing huge crowds to its next convention, the first since 2007. It will take place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta on June 15­-18, 2011. Show organizers expect more than 50,000 attendees, generating an economic impact of more than $57.8 million. Primerica’s representatives from all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico attend the convention for professional development and they value it as an investment in their businesses. The return of the convention illustrates the advantages of Primerica’s independence and its confidence in the future.

“One of the things that’s great for us is we are a financial powerhouse with incredibly strong capital ratios,” Addison says. “The fact that we’re now not part of anything, we’re our own company, we can step back and chart our own course, destiny and future—that is a fundamental change for our company. Our mission really hasn’t changed, but our horizon has changed. Our 100 percent focus is on the future of this business. We’re working with our salesforce, our leaders and our home office leaders to chart that course, which we believe is incredibly exciting.”

Fruit of the Loom, Dingo boots, Gitano Jeans—these are just a few of the famous companies that entrepreneur Bill Farley has owned and run. Farley purchased his first company, Anaheim Citrus Products, in 1976. That purchase became the foundation for a series of acquisitions that grew into a multibillion-dollar group of businesses. At its height, Farley Industries was doing approximately $5 billion in sales annually and employed 65,000.

Major Shift

Today, Bill Farley is the sole owner of Zrii LLC, a direct selling company that markets ayurvedic health products. So how did this titan of traditional business make the shift to running a direct selling company?

“I made a conscious decision in the late ’90s to really scale back,&rdqrdquo; Farley said. “So I sold off a group of businesses. Then around 2005 or 2006, some friends of mine suggested that I should have an interest in a multi-level marketing company.”

Farley took his friends’ advice and began looking at network marketing companies. He was impressed with what he learned. “From the point of view of business, it’s a great model to help others,” he said. “Most people do not know how to start a business.” It also allowed him a venue to mentor. He’d been mentoring individuals for years, but with a direct selling company, he could take this to a whole new level. Perhaps most important, Farley could focus on something he was passionate about—health and wellness.

He looked at buying several companies and finally settled on a direct selling company called Body Wise. Farley spent the next couple of years learning direct sales from the inside out. He began looking for ways to really grow Body Wise. Liquid nutritionals caught his attention, and he decided to develop one of his own.

“I went to a good friend of mine, a fellow named Deepak Chopra, who I’d known for 25 years but never done business with,” Farley said. “I met with him and Dr. David Simon, the co-founders of the Chopra Center, and presented my idea to them. Deepak and David had never endorsed a third-party product. But they said to me, ‘We don’t do this, but because of our relationship and our history, and because of the brands you’ve developed, we know you know how to develop a brand.’ ”

Both are medical doctors and trained in ayurveda. Ayurveda is the practice of 5,000-year-old traditional Indian medicine that focuses on the connection of mind, body and spirit. Ayurveda provides an integrated approach to preventing and treating illness through lifestyle interventions and natural therapies.

Drs. Chopra and Simon believed it was imperative they develop a product that had a significant, beneficial result. Dr. Chopra suggested amalaki, the divine fruit of India, reputed to increase energy, promote cellular rejuvenation and enhance immune function. With amalaki as the keystone ingredient, the two doctors worked with a panel of other doctors and Ph.D.s to create a liquid nutritional that combined the wisdom of ayurveda and the latest in scientific research. Zrii was born.

Instead of putting this product into Body Wise, Farley decided to create a whole new company. “I believed we could grow it dramatically. It would be more effort, but I thought it was the best route,” Farley said.

Zrii had its soft launch in 2007. In 2008, the company’s first full year, Zrii achieved sales of more than $40 million.

Growing Pains

In 2009, Zrii began experiencing issues related to its explosive growth. The company was outgrowing its back-office system. As a result, executives decided to do a major overhaul. “Zrii invested over $2 million in new systems,” Farley said.

Vice President of Marketing Andrew Mangeris says it was difficult for Zrii’s distributors, known as “independent executives” (IEs), to wade through the change in systems. “For a period of time, they were flying blind from a communications and a managerial standpoint—knowing where they were to achieve their next ranks and communicating with their downlines through the e-mail system,” Mangeris explained.

The company ultimately decided to move off of its original platform and create one specifically for Zrii. “Now, people are very happy,” Mangeris said. “The new platform can educate and help our distributors manage and build their businesses.”

Enhancements in the compensation plan also caused some frustrations. Most notably, though, in February 2009, several employees of the company walked out, moving to a competing direct seller. Zrii sued and eventually received a nearly half-million-dollar settlement from the other company.
“There were some dishonest employees who made it through the interview curve,” Farley said. “That created some issues that were significant. We had to deal with distortions and misrepresentations. We had to make some changes in the management team.”

Despite the challenges of the past year, Zrii is on an upward swing. “We have a very full new management team,” Farley said. “We introduced a new weight-loss product, NutriiVeda. Now everything has been stable for months—the comp plan change, the system change, the management change—and we’re seeing a renaissance.”

Currently, Zrii is experiencing 5 to 10 percent growth each month. The company has no debt. “As a result, a lot of new people are looking at the company and saying, ‘Wow, this is a pretty powerful package,’ ” Farley said.

New Products, New Directions

Since launching NutriiVeda in September 2009, the company’s new weight-loss product accounts for a significant amount of the company’s growth.

“NutriiVeda is the first product of its kind to include unique ayurvedic botanicals, including gymnema and guggul which help balance blood sugar levels and support metabolism,” Mangeris said. “We’ve had incredible success with it. We’ve had about 20 people lose over 70 pounds already.”
The company’s advertising campaign for NutriiVeda has been highly effective. “We’ve created a very visual campaign using before and after pictures, which are extremely powerful,” Mangeris said.

NutriiVeda’s success has also been spurred on by the NutriiVeda challenge—a program where customers can track their weight loss and are eligible for rewards ranging from $250 to a grand prize of $5,000, all based on how much they lost.

The field chooses the grand prize winners by texting in their votes at large meetings after the finalists’ stories are told from the platform. “It takes any objective voting out of it and places the choice in the lap of the field,” said Jayson Arfmann, Vice President of Sales. “It’s one example of the way we listen to our IEs.”

Mangeris notes that Zrii’s IEs skew a little to the young side, which has influenced the company’s direction, especially in terms of technology. “We’re generally a younger management team,” Mangeris said. “Because our distributor base is younger, they’re a little more into technology. We want people who understand social media and technology to help them build their businesses.”

“We have a company blog,” Mangeris said. “You can find us on Twitter and Facebook. We post announcements and communications through our back office. Our communications manager does a phenomenal job of maintaining over a dozen different social media sites.”

Additionally, in June, the company rolled out a new way to pay IEs using a Zrii-branded Visa debit card. “The cards make it possible for IEs to get their funds immediately,” Mangeris said. “They can transfer it for free to whatever checking account they want. We’ve already had about 80 percent sign up. It also serves as a prospecting tool. It’s a very striking card—black or red, depending on your pin level, with the Zrii logo. When an independent executive pulls it out to pay, it’s a way to start up a conversation about Zrii.”

Individualized Training

The company doesn’t stop with merely helping its salesforce start a discussion; Zrii teaches its people how to continue the conversation through detailed training that extends beyond webinars, conference calls and conventions.

“We travel out and team up with our IEs. We meet them face to face and do one-on-ones. We go through their numbers with them and strategize to help them take it to the next level,” Arfmann said. “It’s a mentoring and coaching philosophy on our end. We’re basically accountability partners in helping them reach their goals.”

This energy isn’t primarily directed toward top leaders. Arfmann and his sales team look for key indicators to help them quickly identify IEs who want to work the business.

“Maybe they’re coming in brand-new, and they make our top enroller list. Or they’re a brand-new advancement. We look at the top check earners of the brand-new businesses,” Arfmann said. “Sometimes we hear [about promising IEs] from our key leaders. There are lots of different ways we qualify somebody for coaching and mentoring.”

Arfmann said Zrii’s sales team is constantly looking for ways to better support its IEs. “We already have stuff planned out for the next year,” he said. “This year, we’ll be rolling out things that will make it easier for our IEs to build a business and retain customers long-term.”

Growing and Prospering

The company’s commitment to its IEs extends beyond training to the corporate level. Zrii is a Sanskrit word that means “light, luster, splendor and prosperity”—and the company’s management team is working overtime to make Zrii into a company that lives up to its name.

Internationally, Zrii has already launched in Mexico and Canada. Currently, the company is in prelaunch in Colombia and anticipates a prelaunch in Israel in the next several months. “In the next six to 12 months our objective is to become a $100 million business, and in the next five years or so to become a $1 billion company serving the continents of Asia, Europe and South America,” Farley said.

More products are in the works, too. “We view Zrii as a brand and not a one- or two-product company,” Farley said. “We’re working on new formulations and new products that connect to ayurveda. They must also be true to what the Zrii brand stands for—very healthy products that have a Western and Eastern grounding—products that have a beneficial effect.

“One of the phrases we use at Zrii is, ‘We want to slim your waistlines and fatten your wallets.’ At Zrii, a healthier lifestyle doesn’t just mean taking a nutritional drink and weight-management product.”

The desire to help teach others the overall connection between mind, body, spirit and financial and physical health keeps Farley going. “Nothing is easy in life, but network marketing is powerful,” he said. “I feel passionate about teaching others and encouraging them. I’m interested in helping others learn the secrets of earning money.”