Distributor Bill of RIGHTS
Draft by Dr. Keith Laggos, Money Makers Monthly
With input by Rod Cook and Mike Sheffield
1. Distributors have a right to own and operate their own independent contractor business. The company and the government should recognize that a distributorship is an independent small business with all of the rights and tax benefits of any independent small business.
2. Distributors' personal business relationships should be honored and protected. Distributors' downlines that are personally sponsored and personal retail customers are part of the distributor's business. No restrictions should be placed on any legitimate business relationship, regardless of a competing company being involved or not. A distributor has the right to expect that the company will protect his personal relationships (personally sponsored distributors and customers) from being approached by the company itself, subsidiaries of the company or any other distributor of the company or of the company's subsidiaries.
3. Product usage by a distributor's personally sponsored downline and customers is considered as retail sales of that distributor and is commissionable for that distributor and his or her upline. The use of the company's products within the sales organization is called "internal consumption." Whether a distributor or a customer receives a discount is immaterial, as in the case that factory or wholesale outlet sales are still considered as retail sales.
4. Distributors have a right to a fair and balanced contract including protection of being terminated without cause. This means that the terms of the contract should protect all parties and provide fair recourse. Distributors invest a lot of effort, time and money to build their business. Companies should not be allowed to terminate a distributorship without cause. When a company terminates a distributorship it often, through the same action, removes the distributor's financial ability to challenge that decision. The company must provide a system for a fair, independent recourse.
5. A distributor is an independent contractor and therefore has a right to use any legitimate method to build and market his or her business. This includes the right to use the company's name as long as the fact that they are an independent contractor is clearly stated.
6. There cannot be any restrictions on the distributor's spouse or family conducting any other legitimate business of their choice. The company has no right to condition their distributors' business based on any third party that is not a signature party to the independent contractor agreement/contract. Such attempts may be illegal.
7. Distributors have a right to sell or will their independent contractor business to any party that would qualify as a distributor under normal conditions. This is an important provision that also helps protect the independent contractor status.
8. Distributors have the right to expect that their company and employees will be honest and treat them courteously and respectfully.
9. Distributors have the right to expect that their company has taken all possible steps to insure that their products meet any and all legal standards, perform as promised, have taken all reasonable steps to protect the proprietorship of the products and that they are shipped on time.
10. Distributors should have the right to join any legitimate association of their choice.
Please Take A Moment To Sign Our Guest Book:
RELIV A DISTRIBUTOR TERMINATOR RECEIVING GRAPES OF WRATH
Stock Down in the Dirt
Reliv International Reports FY09 Q3 Results
Reliv International, Inc., a nutrition and direct selling company, today reported third-quarter net sales of $20.9 million vs. $23.9 million in the same quarter of 2008.
Net income was $324,000 vs. $536,000 in the 2008 third quarter, and earnings per diluted share were $0.03 compared to $0.04 in the same quarter last year for Reliv .
In the United States, net sales totaled $18.3 million compared to $20.8 million in the third quarter of 2008. Net sales outside of the U.S. declined by approximately 14 percent. Excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations, however, the decline in foreign sales was about 5 per
cent.
Reliv also announced that it is reducing its dividend from $0.05 per share to $0.02 per share. For 2009, Reliv's annual dividend will be $0.07 rather than $0.10 per share.
"Despite the decline in our performance compared to last year's third quarter, we saw glimmers of light that we hope will shine brighter as we move into 2010," said Robert L. Montgomery, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We achieved a five percent increase in the number of new distributors along with an increase in the number of orders this quarter over the third quarter of 2008," he said. WHY DID INCOME GO DOWN?
"This year we also reported a sequential increase in net sales from the second quarter to the third quarter for the first time since 2006," Montgomery said. "In addition, the number of orders and the size of the average order are up sequentially." WHY DID INCOME GO DO
WN?
"The highlight of the third quarter was our international conference in St. Louis, where we introduced a new line of products under the Relivables name as well as a number of new business tools for distributors. All have been well received," Montgomery said. WHY DID INCOME GO DOWN?
For the first nine months of 2009, net sales totaled $64.7 million, down about 15 percent compared to the same period last year. U.S. sales decreased approximately 13 percent, while sales outside of the U.S. were down about 27 percent. Excluding foreign currency fluctuations, foreign sales were down 13.5 percent. WHY DID INCOME GO DOWN?
Net income for the first three quarters of this year equaled $1.7 million compared to $2.6 million for the first three quarters of 2008. Diluted earnings per share for the period equaled $0.13, down from diluted earnings per share of $0.17 for the first nine months of last year. WHY DID INCOME GO DOWN?
Reliv generated cash from operating activities of $4.8 million during the first nine months of 2009, an increase of approximately 34 percent over cash generated from operations during the same period last year. Reducing inventory levels was a key factor in the increase.
MLM Watchdog Editorial note: duh, 4.8 million divided by 9 months = a little over $500,000 a month which is barely survival level for an MLM company. That word of mouth marketing does work when you terminate top distributors. Yes it is powerful... to drive your company in the dirt.
"In the fourth quarter, we are continuing a series of special events called the Financial Freedom Tour, launched earlier this year, in which we highlight the Reliv business opportunity. We expect to share the opportunity with a couple of thousand existing and potential distributors between October and November through these events," Montgomer y said.
Dividend reduction
Commenting on the reduction in Reliv's dividend, Steven D. Albright, senior vice president and chief financial officer, said, "This is a difficult decision but we're confident it's the right one for Reliv. With profits down, we can invest the cost savings from the dividend to strengthen our business overall."
Reliv International, Inc., based in Chesterfield, Mo., is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of a proprietary line of nutritional supplements. Reliv supplements address essential daily nutrition, weight loss and targeted solutions such as energy and performance enhancement, digestive health, women's health and anti-aging. Reliv sells its products through an international network marketing system of approximately 68,000 independent distributors. Additional information about Reliv International, Inc. can be obtained on the Web at www.reliv.com
