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It’s a Jungle Out There Part 1

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Working Smart

Protecting Your Name on the Internet

Are you protected?
Do you know what dangers lurk on the Internet jungle?

Direct sellers face unique challenges because their salesforces operate outside the controlled office environment and often on the Internet. These challenges include the use of unauthorized distribution channels, such as eBay; employing inaccurate marketing material; and using your intellectual property without permission. Unchecked, these challenges become significant business risks, diluting your brand and creating turmoil within your independent salesforce. The unauthorized use of your intellectual property, as well as unauthorized Internet sales, damages your reputation, erodes the value of your trademarks and, most important, exposes your company to liability. The Internet is a jungle, and this article explains how to protect your company’s brand in the wilds of the Web.

Most direct sellers copyright their advertising materials, recruitment aids and other marketing collateral. Many even include language in their independent contractor agreements that restricts the unauthorized use of their intellectual property. Others include language prohibiting their salesforce from selling their products via non-sponsored Web sites and auction sites, like eBay.

These are important first steps, but they’re not enough to safeguard your brand and intellectual property from unauthorized dealers, rogue salesforce members and unscrupulous individuals seeking to exploit your good name for their profit. The Internet poses a whole-new set of challenges, requiring vigilant monitoring for violations of your distribution agreements and the unauthorized use of your intellectual property. Here are some of the most common problems facing direct selling companies:

Problem No. 1: Infringement of Your Intellectual Property

Anyone armed with a mouse and a word processor can use the “copy” and “paste” functions to copy your marketing materials and copyrighted photographs. A few quick revisions, and your hard work becomes a weapon to steal your sales and customers. These unethical vendors prey on confused consumers.

They use your marketing materials to pass themselves and their products off as yours at much lower prices. In the process, you lose sales. Those lost sales demoralize your distribution network and anger your consumers after they discover they purchased inferior, defective or expired products. Both federal and state law prohibits the use of your copyrighted sales materials by a competitor. The law also restricts competitors from passing off your products as their own. In both cases, however, you must identify and aggressively police such behavior on the Internet to prevent its occurrence.

Problem No. 2: Siphoning Sales by the Use of Metatags and Keywords

Worse yet, some of these same unauthorized dealers leverage your brand, trademarks and reputation to steal your consumers. Consumers routinely use a major Internet search engine, like Google, Yahoo or MSN, to find your Web site among the millions on the Internet. Manipulative Web site designers add metatags or buy keywords to focus search engines to their sites and away from yours. While metatags and keywords were created to make the Internet run more smoothly, some dishonest competitors now use them to hijack your company’s name and trademarks. In such cases, your competitor’s Web site may show up higher on the search results than your own, or they may appear as a “sponsored link,” even when the consumer attempted to reach you.

Fortunately, both federal and state law prevents this type of unfair competition.

Your competitors cannot use your trademarks or claim “affiliation” in a manner that is likely to confuse consumers. Using your trade name and trademarks to divert Internet traffic causes confusion and gives rise to liability under federal and state law. This is true when these dealers attempt to “disclaim” association, and even when no sales result from their illegal behavior. The reason is simple: Potential customers surfing the Internet may be diverted to your competitor’s Web site, never returning to yours.

Problem No. 3: “Liquidators” and Auction Web sites

“Discount liquidators” sell old, expired or discontinued products, often obtained by enticing salesforce members to breach their contractual agreements. Liquidators then sell your products en masse on various auction Web sites, like eBay, again at big discounts and without any warranty. This tarnishes your brand, demoralizes your salesforce and exposes you to liability. The unauthorized products sold on eBay may be expired or used, and may have been put on the market by disgruntled distributors wanting to unload product in violation of their contractual agreements. In all cases, unauthorized sales confuse consumers and demoralize your salesforce. eBay and most other auction Web sites offer programs to help companies police intellectual property violations on the auction sites. These programs are a good first step, but without a comprehensive follow-up strategy, you can become mired in a never-ending game of “whack-a-mole.” Furthermore, the auction site assistance programs will not halt the activity, protect your name and satisfy your salesforce. Fortunately, both federal and state law arms you with the weapons that will. Doing nothing to stop unauthorized Internet sales is not an option. You must protect your brand.

Problem No. 4: Inaccurate & Misleading Claims about Your Products & Services

Direct sellers must police the Internet for improper and unauthorized statements made by overzealous salesforce members. With thousands of independent sales associates, some are bound to go too far, resulting in marketing material that is at best unapproved, and at worst fraudulent. Although most salesforce members are independent contractors, both federal and state law holds direct sellers liable for false or misleading representations made by salesforce members. If unabated, such statements can expose direct sellers to attorney general investigations, fines and other more serious penalties.

Problem No. 5: Bloggers

You can’t make everybody happy all the time. Whether it is a dissatisfied customer, unhappy salesforce member or disgruntled former employee, Internet blogs have given rise to an unprecedented ability to broadcast any complaint—no matter how petty—directly to the masses. Whether the words bloggers write are ever read or given any credence remains uncertain, but one thing is certain: Their words are out there for everyone to read at any time. As a result, you must crawl the Web daily to monitor what is being said about you—the good and, more important, the bad.

Comprehensive Plan of Attack

Your intellectual property, brand and reputation are your most valuable assets, second only to your relationship with your salesforce and your distribution network. Direct sellers must implement best practices to protect their trademarks, intellectual property and reputation from erosion on the Internet. You need a brand-protection game plan, and aggressively execute it to protect your valuable assets on the Internet.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Glass, china and reputation are easily cracked, and never well-mended.”

In an upcoming article, we’ll walk you through courses of action you can take when faced with a wild situation on the Internet jungle. You have rights! The steps are simple, and when followed, you will see results.

 Eric PinkerTrey CoxChris Schwagmann

Eric Pinker, Trey Cox and Chris Schwegmann are partners with Lynn
Tillotson Pinker & Cox, LLP. For more information, visit
www.lynnllp.com.

Our Defining Moment Is NOW

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When I interview a job candidate, I ask what, to me, is a most telling question: “What has been the defining moment of your life?”

It is, admittedly, not an easy question for many to answer, as an honest response requires some degree of introspection, intimacy and thoughtfulness—all things a candidate may not be prepared for in a job interview. After some hemming and hawing, I usually get one of three answers:

“I think it might be when I [insert some significant professional accomplishment here],” in which the candidate attempts to use the opportunity to sell me on why they are qualified for the position. It doesn’t normally work.

“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.” Here the candidate is unwilling or unable to demonstrate any thoughtfulness deeper than curiosity about the salary for the job. This answer doesn’t usually work, either.

“Well, that’s a tough question. It may have been the time when…,” and the candidate begins to explore their past and how it has shaped the person they are today. The “defining moment” may be personal or professional, but, ultimately, it’s about a moment when the person was challenged emotionally, intellectually or spiritually. Invariably, the person who makes the best impression is the one who seized opportunity out of that defining moment, even when the circumstances were dire.

I think direct sellers are experiencing their “defining moment” right now. In fact, this might be such a moment for an entire generation. As a country, we’re faced with economic challenges unlike those we’ve seen for more than half a century. Yet, for those who are ready to act, now could be the hour of their greatest triumph. For direct sellers with the courage to step out of their comfort zone and spend those extra marketing dollars when dollars are scarce, look for innovative ways to inspire the salesforce, and continue building a balanced business that will ultimately stand the test of time, there is a potential that is almost unlimited, yet out of reach for many others. Direct sellers are perfectly positioned to sell themselves, their products and their opportunity, and provide the spark that can ignite the engine of commerce that pulls us out of the malaise. Our defining moment.

At the Direct Selling Association (DSA), we already see direct sellers beginning to embrace the moment. Some members are reporting upticks in recruitment and sales, as Americans and people around the world look for opportunities outside of the moribund employment market. Press coverage around the country (helped along by the work of your friendly neighborhood trade association) is focusing on direct selling as a way out of the recession, including features on the major networks. Well-known companies specializing in helping people find work (such as CareerBuilder.com and Women for Hire) are working with the DSA to offer companies extra opportunities to help their salesforce members recruit qualified sellers. Even government regulators have modified some recent proposals (remember the FTC’s business opportunity rule?) so as not to burden legitimate direct selling businesses that offer real opportunity to people who need alternatives. Individual companies are beginning to reach out and advertise their direct selling businesses as ways to help the family cope during bad times. (I just watched an impressive, credible infomercial produced by one of our biggest direct sellers that will air through the rest of the year.)

There are, of course, those who won’t embrace the moment. Perhaps they’ll retreat. They may choose to miss the opportunity. They may not pursue the press, data-gathering, government-
relations, global-expansion, educational and other opportunities that the DSA is helping to provide them. Perhaps they’ll not recognize the moment for what it is—a defining moment.

At a dinner among industry leaders back in October (as the world economic crisis deepened), one of the many dynamic, young direct selling industry CEOs shared her vision with me. Her company is going to pounce, to push its strategic advantage to convince women that direct selling is their way out of the confusion and uncertainty. She understands that now is the time to become even more involved with the image-enhancement, ethics and regulatory programs of the DSAs around the world. She understands that we need to strike now, while the iron is hot, to mold the future of direct selling. Now, while the rest of the business world is caught in the paroxysm of doubt and impossible credit. Now, while more staid business models and industrial behemoths are crumbling. Now, while people are struggling and looking for low-cost ways of earning extra income to keep their families afloat. Now is our moment, our defining moment.

If she were the one being interviewed by me, she would have gotten the job.

MXI Corp: Sweet Success

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Chocolate is inarguably a longtime favorite for sweet snackers. But is it healthy? MXI Corp says yes, backing up its claim with hard science. The very phrase healthy chocolate seems oxymoronic, but MXI insists that their chocolate is not only delicious, but good for you, too.

Healthy Start

MXI Corp was founded in the spring of 2005 by the Brooks family, who actually started in chocolate for retail. Jeanette Brooks, Founder and President of MXI Corp, became pregnant in her 40s and developed gestational diabetes. The family went on a crusade to find good, sugar-free products for Jeanette, who adopted a low-carbohydrate diet, first espoused by Dr. Robert Atkins, to help her through pregnancy. While she could find lots to eat on the diet, she could not find anything to satisfy her sweet tooth.

“We all went on this low-carbohydrate diet, started looking at the products available and realized that there was a need,” says Andrew Brooks, Founder and Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at MXI Corp. “There was something missing—a sweet treat.”

Because of Jeanette’s diabetes, the Brooks retired from their retail business so Jeanette could care for herself and her newborn girl. However, their search for a healthier alternative to commercial sweets continued. In 1999, the family started a chocolate company, Pure De-lite™, which distributed Belgian, low-carbohydrate, sugar-free chocolates, and stayed with the traditional model they knew so well—retail.

MXI’s Reno, Nev., headquarters
MXI’s Reno, Nev., headquarters

The company itself was quite profitable, boasting accounts such as Wal-Mart, Rite Aid and GNC, with sales topping $300 million. But it did not satisfy the need for a healthier alternative, and it taught the family some important lessons.

“We did business with these retail giants, believing that retail was a better option for reintroducing a product,” Andrew says. “But we learned that retail is a very fickle market.”

Not only is retail capricious, but it also doesn’t help others build the lives they truly want to have. “Here’s the reality: You can choose to give 50 cents on the dollar to brokers, wholesalers, shelf stockers and demo companies to market your products, ” Andrew says. “We chose to pay thousands of our business owners to share our products, but it’s the same 50 cents on the dollar.”

According to Andrew, when Dr. Atkins died in 2004, the low-carb diet died with him. “He was the mouthpiece for all of our businesses, and there were dozens of low-carb businesses being driven by one single man, Robert Atkins,” Andrew says.

So the Brooks family began researching dark chocolate and developed a product that was low in carbohydrates and still sweet: a dark chocolate bar. “Dark chocolate is not the chocolate of choice in America,” Andrew says. “In Europe, it’s definitely a favorite chocolate product, but North Americans prefer milk chocolate.” After analyzing the marketplace and listening to consumers, the Brooks family realized that they had created a buzz around their chocolate bar, but not for the reasons they thought. The word-of-mouth held the key to their new company—the health benefits of dark chocolate combined with the açai berry.

In June 2005, the founders decided to leave retail for good and join the network marketing industry, focusing solely on healthy chocolate. “We started this journey with the Xoçai™ product,” Andrew says. “The Xo comes from chocolate, and çaí is from the açaí berry, a beautiful berry from Brazil. Unprocessed cacao and açai are the Nos. 1 and 2 antioxidants in the world.”

A Ready Market and Salesforce

Americans consume, on average, 12 pounds of chocolate per person per year, and the United States is 11th in chocolate consumption in the world, with Switzerland weighing in as No. 1. In tough economic times, chocolate intake increases by approximately 35 percent. In 2001, Americans ate 3 billion pounds of chocolate, totaling $13.1 billion in sales revenue.

“You don’t have to talk people into eating chocolate,” Jeanette says. “Chocolate is where it’s at for both health and wealth.”

After an interesting conversation with one of MXI’s main manufacturers in California, the company moved its focus from low-carb to healthy chocolate. “We set a goal that if we could sell $250,000 in healthy chocolate in our Xoçai products through network marketing in the first 60 days, we would give the opportunity to people,” Andrew says. “We said we would go back to our retail accounts and take the products away. At the end of the 60-day period, we sold more than $1.7 million in product.” The company also garnered its first, and founding, distributor, the selfsame manufacturer involved in the original discussion. To MXI’s credit, he remains with the company today.

But no network marketing company becomes successful without its share of pitfalls. MXI Corp faced its biggest challenge early on and learned from it. In an attempt to keep up with other network marketing companies, MXI tried to offer a healthy drink product made from high-antioxidant chocolate and açaí. The company was unable to create the drink without dangerous levels of preservatives—exactly what MXI was trying to avoid. “We couldn’t consider our product ‘healthy’ while adding preservatives,” Jeanette says. MXI’s drink offering was discontinued, and the company wound up paying distributors back for the product—to the tune of approximately $3 million.

For a company in its fourth year of business with $55 million in sales in 2008 alone, it was the right move. MXI Corp is a debt-free company in a 75,000-square-foot facility. “We control our own destiny,” Andrew says. “A lot of pre-launches in network marketing are trying to gather with investors to help capitalize it. We are family-owned—a privately owned and operated company. We do not have any outside debt, no bank loans, no lines of credit. We do not believe in debt, and that’s how we’ve managed our business. Having outside investors truly changes the course of your business, because you’re no longer able to make decisions for your company and its distributors. You have to make decisions based upon investors’ needs, who have different objectives and priorities.”

That ability to put distributors first has resulted in enviable retention rates. “The same 11 people who started with us are still with us,” Jeanette says. MXI Corp now boasts a more than 35 percent retention rate, and that’s just with customers. The company ships out more than 10,000 packages each week, directly to consumers’ doors.

The founders learned from their early mistakes and used those to build their business even more, always maintaining their primary focus on the product. “Hardly a day goes by that dark chocolate isn’t in the news,” Andrew says. “That has been the driving force behind our business. We focus on the product, and it’s been the science that has really driven our company.”

Distributor training centers on tools and simply asking people to try a bite. “We don’t create our consumer,” Andrew says. “What we have to create is awareness. We have to help people understand our philosophy—replacing the bad with the good.”

The company offers distributors Web sites, a magazine and other marketing tools as well as retaining a scientist on staff. “Dr. Steve Warren [a physician] makes sure that the science of what’s being shared is accurate,” Andrew says. “These products are science-based and have information to support them.” The MXI Corp Compliance Department oversees every distributor Web site to keep the company on top of what the salesforce says about the products.

MXI-product

Certified Sweet

Discovered by Mesoamerican cultures more than 3,000 years ago, chocolate, in its purest form, has been used for everything from a fertility drug to currency. The term chocolate is derived from the Aztec word xocolatl, which combines two Aztec terms—xocolli, meaning “bitter,” and atl, which means “water.”

MXI’s focus is on helping consumers trade the bad for the good, enabling them to have their sweets and eat them, too. They zeroed in on the No. 1 one sweet treat—chocolate—and made it guilt-free. The company even places the chocolate’s Brunswick Labs certification and ORAC seal on product packaging. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity, which measures the antioxidant levels in food. Antioxidants’ strength is in their ability to eliminate oxygen-free radicals. A higher ORAC score means that the food is better at helping humans fight diseases.

There are two types of chocolate—candy chocolate and functional chocolate. What’s the difference? “It has to do with the cacao bean selection, manufacturing processes and finished goods,” Jeanette says. “Carefully monitoring these components contributes to the ORAC score. All our products carry the Brunswick Labs certification seal, and they’re retested quarterly to ensure accuracy.”

Cacao beans contain the highest levels of antioxidants known to man. But a standard, off-the-shelf chocolate bar is anything but healthy. How can chocolate itself be healthy, but a chocolate bar isn’t? Andrew offers the answer: “Every time you do something to the cacao bean, you alter the antioxidant value, especially alkalization. If you alkalize chocolate, you destroy 70 to 80 percent of its antioxidant value.

“A good example is steaming vegetables. Although they may taste more palatable, you’ve destroyed some of their nutrients.”

Conventional, processed chocolate—the kind that appears in candy bars around the world—contains loads of unhealthy ingredients, including processed sugars, vegetable oils, waxes and fillers. MXI’s products are made from cold-pressed cocoa and freeze-dried açaí berries, protecting the natural antioxidants, and sweetened with raw cane juice crystals.

“We use sweeteners that are all low-glycemic, those that are not going to affect diabetics or those with pre-diabetic conditions,” Andrew says. “We understand the pain that too much sugar is causing in North America in terms of daily diets.”

MXI Corp is currently focusing on another product, Xobiotic Squares, which will be the company’s first probiotic offering, launching in February 2009. One in three Americans suffer from gastrointestinal dysfunction, creating an industry reported to be worth as much as $105 billion annually.

“We are extremely excited about this product,” Andrew says. “We have a major problem with our digestive systems because of our diet. They’re now showing that introducing these good probiotics, good microorganisms, neutralizes damaging bacteria, helping our systems work better. Clinical studies have been able to prove that chocolate is three times more effective in delivering these microorganisms than yogurt or dairy.”

Healthy Future

With its focus on replacing the bad with the good, MXI Corp sees a bright future for the company and its salesforce. “Chocolate is different,” Jeanette says. “It’s a feel-good, emotional product that people do not give up.” With its long history, chocolate will be around for many more years, offering more and more consumers a sweet treat.

“Yesterday, 1 billion people ate chocolate,” Jeanette says. “Today 1 billion people will eat chocolate, and tomorrow 1 billion people will eat chocolate. We don’t have to make up a story; it’s been there for 3,500 years.”

Executive Connection with Jeff Stroud, Co-Founder, President, CEO, Private Quarters

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imageIn this month’s Executive Connection, Direct Selling News Publisher and Editor in Chief John Fleming spoke to Jeff Stroud, Founder and CEO, Private Quarters, about Private Quarters’ consultants, his  vision for the company and much more.

DSN: What is the one thing you enjoy most about being a top executive of Private Quarters?

JS: Seeing the lives of people change and helping people achieve their goals in a way that allows them to have complete freedom. There’s no glass ceiling, no waiting for someone to tell them they’ve got the promotion. They do it themselves. Do they want a promotion? They go out and earn it. They use that freedom to achieve their dreams.

DSN: What has been your greatest challenge since starting this company?

JS: To project and forecast the growth of the sales organization. When you’re running stores, you project growth by saying you’re going to open three stores next year then five the year after that. You have an element of control over it. In this business, consultants just recruit the number of people they want to recruit. You don’t know how many that will be or what direction it will grow, so it’s harder to control growth in that respect. Coming from a retail background, that’s been one of my biggest challenges.

DSN: How would you describe the ideal Private Quarters consultant?

JS: Someone who is open to discovering their full potential. In other words, someone who says, “I think I could be good at this and I want to find out how good I can be. I’m going to go for it!” That kind of person is the gold that comes into the organization. If they’re open to growth, discovering what their full potential is, that’s the first thing. Once they take hold of it and run with it, they can discover how high they can really go.

DSN: How involved are you with Private Quarters’ consultants?

JS: Very involved. I’m very close to what they’re thinking and feeling every day. I give out my email address, and I get emails from them all the time. I have a very hands-on approach. We always want to understand our consultants’ issues, problems, and challenges. That’s getting harder because the company is getting bigger, but it’s what I believe in.

DSN: What is your vision for Private Quarters?

JS: It’s a vision about changing people’s lives and allowing them to realize their goals and dreams. It’s been a delightful experience to meet these people and learn who they are and how the company is changing their lives. My vision is to open up the Private Quarters opportunity to more and more people, becoming a household name with our products and way of presenting them. We’ll be the dominant company, known for bed-and-bath products.

DSN: Is there one basic principle which has governed your leadership at Private Quarters?

JS: Believing in the best in people. We all know the story about the teacher who has the class in grade school and doesn’t believe in their abilities and potential. Guess what happens? None of them do well. As opposed to the teacher who comes into that same class and believes in their abilities and potential. Suddenly, those kids who weren’t doing so well before are doing better. A person who is an effective leader or coach expects and believes in their people’s potential. That’s always been my philosophy.

DSN: How do you communicate with your team?

JS: It’s very open door, very casual. Yet we do have discipline. We’re running a business. I communicate very directly with the staff. The staff gets to see the results when they see our national convention. Everyone understands our goals and mission.

DSN: Leaders usually draw on something or someone for inspiration, guidance and direction.  Do you have a hero or heroine?

JS: My dad, without a doubt. He was a man who essentially put everything on the line for what he believed in his business. He ended up doing very well. The values and principles he believed in made his business a success. He has always been a role model to me. Because he is gone now, there are a couple of people who have been almost like a father: Neil Offen and Alan Luce. They helped me understand the direct selling business and helped me every step of the way to make this dream a reality. They helped to shape the way I do business.

DSN: Which other direct selling company or person do you admire the most and why?

JS: Doris Christopher of The Pampered Chef. I’ve read both her books and look up to her in a number of ways. I think she is not only smart and shrewd with a great business sense, but also a terrific human being and a good person. I don’t know her all that well personally, but I really admire her and the way she runs her company.

DSN: What do you see as our industry’s greatest challenge?

JS: Because there are so many companies, we end up bumping into each other. We have lots of cross-pollenization that happens, partly because of the Internet. People used to find out about an opportunity from a person. Now people to go to the Internet. It will be a challenge to peacefully coexist alongside each other even though environment is competitive.

DSN: What is your favorite way to relax?

JS: Going to the Rose Bowl with my son to watch a college football game. I love college football. My family lives about four miles from the Rose Bowl. I went to college at UCLA, which plays home games at Rose Bowl. I love to go there on Saturday afternoon, have a hot dog, watch the game and relax. There’s nothing better.

DSN: When are you happiest?

JS: When I’m giving out the awards at our convention. It’s the most wonderful moment and the highlight of the year from a business perspective. Last year, we presented about 35 of our main awards to express the company’s gratitude for the winner’s achievement.

DSN: What is your favorite travel destination and why?

JS: Mexico. I love the beaches. I’ve been to Cancun, Cabo and other places. I love the whole deal—sipping a margarita with my toes in the sand!

Executive Connection with David and Bianca Lisonbee and Steve Tew, 4Life

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imageIn this month’s Executive Connection, Direct Selling News Publisher and Editor in Chief John Fleming spoke to David and Bianca Lisonbee, CEO and Co-founders, respectively, and Steve Tew, 4Life President, about 4Life’s inspiration, distributors and much more.

JF: What is the one thing you enjoy most about being a top executive of 4Life?

David Lisonbee: My greatest satisfaction comes from seeing people’s lives change for the better.

Bianca Lisonbee: Witnessing the positive changes brought about in people’s lives because of their involvement with the company and its products.

Steve Tew: Being able to travel to different parts of the world to see the positive impact 4Life has made in the lives of people. There is nothing more rewarding than to see a family whose lives have been changed for the better as a result of being a part of 4Life.

JF: What has been your greatest challenge since assuming this position?

David Lisonbee: Any company has significant challenges which can divert attention from the core focus. Keeping focus on what we do best is always a challenge.

Bianca Lisonbee: I think the biggest challenge came that first year when we were just getting started. We started with an amazing product, a big dream and no distributors! Those are the times that reveal just how much you believe in what you are doing. It is good to always think back on those times because it helps to keep us grateful for all those who have contributed to 4Life’s success and to remember that success, in this industry especially, is a team effort. It is also a good thing to remember how we got started because it is also the way that most distributors start their business. They have to build their organizations the same way we did—one person at a time.

Steve Tew: There is nothing more difficult than trying to keep up with our distributors and their desire to share the 4Life opportunity with people around the world. In just 10 short years, we have opened offices in 14 countries around the world which has provided some extremely unique challenges, as well as rewards.

JF: How would you describe the ideal 4Life distributor?

David Lisonbee: 4Life’s most successful distributors embrace the mission of “Together, Building People” by understanding they are only successful if others are successful.

Bianca Lisonbee: Enthusiastic about making a difference in people’s lives, visionary in seeing the unlimited potential they have as pioneers in the Transferceutical sciences and tireless in their efforts to achieve their goals.

Steve Tew: The ideal 4Life distributor is an individual whose values and goals are aligned with ours in terms of integrity, enthusiasm for the product and opportunity and who especially wants to help others share in this success.

JF: How involved are you with 4Life distributors?

David Lisonbee: We love our association with distributors and look forward being with them at as many events as possible.

Bianca Lisonbee: I feel very connected to the distributors by way of communication through writing, phone calls, trips, and speaking at events—and of course David and I get to dance with them at convention!

Steve Tew: I regularly speak with our distributors about specific challenges and opportunities before them. I also travel to many countries around the world to participate in meetings and events.

JF: What is your vision for 4Life?

David Lisonbee: We will continue to take the mission of 4Life to the world until everyone knows of the benefits of 4Life’s Transferceutical Science.

Bianca Lisonbee: 4Life will continue to establish itself as the company with the most cutting edge science behind its products, the most lucrative opportunity for financial success and distributors who are dedicated to building people. I believe the benefits of 4Life Transfer Factor and our work in the Transferceutical Sciences will become well known throughout the world.

Steve Tew: My vision is to continue to follow the path we are on by continuing to spread the 4Life opportunity around the world with those who share our dreams and our values.

JF: What is the most difficult decision you’ve had to make at 4Life?

David Lisonbee: When I understood the power of transfer factors, we had to decide to move forward and bring this product to market. That takes an incredible amount of commitment. Still, I knew the sacrifice would be worth the effort because of this amazing memory molecule’s impact on people around the world.

Bianca Lisonbee: When we were just getting started, someone suggested that we should make a “deal” with an experienced networker in the industry to help us recruit more distributors at a faster rate. We made a conscious decision not to do this. We wanted to grow a culture of distributors who were with us because they shared the vision and dream of what we were doing. Because of that decision, today we now have a very passionate group of distributors who share in our task of taking transfer to the world and or mission of “Together, Building People.”

Steve Tew: I don’t know that there is a single decision that stands out as being the most difficult decision, but one of the most challenging aspects of my job is to decide where to allocate company resources, especially as it relates to opening new markets. This is especially difficult when thinking about the impact such a decision has on the lives of people in these various markets.

JF: Is there one basic principle which has governed your leadership at 4Life?

David Lisonbee: We are in the business of building people, whether in our offices or in the field. Everything we do is focused on improving people.

Bianca Lisonbee: We believe that you need to figure out what you do best—recognize what you have to offer that no one else can, and then offer it with great passion, integrity, and love.

Steve Tew: The underlying philosophy I try to instill into our organization is to be the very best at providing the utmost in service and support to our distributors. Thus, characteristics like dedication, commitment and integrity become fundamental principles of the company.

JF: How do you communicate with your team?

David Lisonbee: We meet regularly as a management team. Our discussions are open and honest and of course lots of emails, text messages and cell phone calls.

Bianca Lisonbee: Lots of good open discussions on a regular basis, both one-on-one and in meetings. Oh yes: plenty of emails, too!

JF: Leaders usually draw on something or someone for inspiration, guidance and direction. Do you have a hero or heroine?

David Lisonbee: My parents have set a wonderful example for me. My father taught me the value of work and my mother, as a writer and practitioner in natural health, instilled in me the desire to pursue research in this area.

Bianca Lisonbee: My parents and grandparents set a great example for me. My grandparents immigrated to America from Italy. They had heard that in America the streets were paved with gold. Well, when they got to New Orleans they found out that not only were the streets not paved in gold, but that in many places they didn’t even have streets, but only Mississippi mud! But they rolled up their sleeves and got to work. My grandfather started The Central Grocery in the French Quarter which has become a New Orleans landmark. The sandwich he invented, The Muffaletta was recently voted on the Today Show as one of the five best sandwiches in America. They taught me that one of the greatest things you can give someone is an opportunity – a chance. They didn’t expect a handout, but they were so grateful for an opportunity to better their lives and the lives of others. And isn’t that what this industry is all about?

I also learned from my parents that you need to pursue your dreams even in the face of adversity. My mother gave birth to me on board a ship in the middle of two hurricane strength storms while she and my father were coming to America from Italy. She named me “Bianca” after part of the ship’s name, the Conte Biancamano. My father, who was an obstetrician and could have been of great help to her, was so deathly seasick he was of no use at all! A young steward had to read a first aid manual on how to deliver a baby. My Mother said that even though she had visions of having to get into a lifeboat with her new baby, she felt in her heart that all would be well and that they were meant to come to America. Although my parents and grandparents have passed on, their courage and work-ethic continue to inspire me.

Steve Tew: Abraham Lincoln, but probably not for the same reasons that would normally be thought of. He was able to take people with completely opposing points of view, utilize their various talents and take the best from each of them to accomplish his objectives.

JF: Which other direct selling company or person do you admire the most and why?

David Lisonbee: Companies like Avon, Mary Kay, NuSkin and others have brought a dignity to the industry that I very much appreciate.

Bianca Lisonbee: I appreciate the fact that Nature’s Sunshine was such a pioneer in being the first company to encapsulate herbs.  We all owe them a lot. I also admire the great things that NuSkin is doing with their humanitarian efforts in feeding children.

JF: What do you see as our industry’s greatest challenge?

David Lisonbee: To properly communicate the beauty and advantages of this wonderfully efficient and productive channel we call Direct Selling.

Bianca Lisonbee: Probably negative stereotypes. Because there have been some bad players in this industry I think some people continue to have a perception that this is all about get- rich -quick schemes, and that is unfortunate. At its worst I guess this business model can be abused that way, but at its best, I know of no better business model where so many people can benefit from bringing a product to the marketplace than in network marketing. I have seen the lives of people, many who live in third world countries, dramatically changed for the better through our industry. These are people who would have had no other opportunity for this kind of success. I think that people are beginning to see this business model as a wonderful form of mirco-franchising in which someone can start their own business with very little initial risk or investment. All they really need is a great company and a desire to share their story with people.

Steve Tew: One of the biggest challenges we face on a worldwide basis is the regulatory environment we are currently facing. We face significant challenges that could pose a serious threat to our industry relating to product regulations, product claims, product registrations, direct selling regulations, etc.

JF: What is your favorite way to relax?

David Lisonbee: I enjoy a good round of golf.

Bianca Lisonbee: I like to cook up something to eat, probably something Italian, put on some music, and sit around a table laughing and talking and eating with family and friends. I also love to curl up with a good book.

Steve Tew: The best way for me to relax is to get out on the golf course for a few hours.

JF: When are you happiest?

David Lisonbee: When I am with my wife and children and grandchildren, and when I see my children making good life choices.

Bianca Lisonbee: When my thoughts and actions are most aligned with my personal values and convictions.

Steve Tew: The thing that brings me the greatest happiness is seeing my children achieve their goals and reach their personal dreams.

JF: What is your favorite travel destination and why?

David Lisonbee: Italy. That is where my wife is from. I love the country as well as its history.

Bianca Lisonbee: Home! Because as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz stated, “There’s no place like it!”

Steve Tew: My favorite destination is Europe, specifically Germany. I have had the opportunity to live in Germany six years of my life and I truly enjoy returning there.