OBTAINER - QNET

07 • 12

5Years
remarkable

Today a reader,
tomorrow a leader.
OBTAINER
Stay informed! Get the latest news from around the world wherever you are,
whenever you want.

Watch our reader´s
Video Greetings
on our YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/obtainermedia
OBTAINER
5 remarkable years of expertise, excellence, innovation & inspiration
in the direct selling and network marketing industry.

This
ISSUE
Dear readers,
Despite the arrival of the summer’s sun
to many regions around the globe, there
is much to cast a dark, grey cloud over the
typical sun, sea, and sand ideal replacing
it with subtle overtones of doom and
gloom: Be it the widely-debated Greek
debt crisis, the turmoil of Spanish banks,
the wavering instability of the Euro, or
the deepening slowdown in China.
Some solace however is granted by
the Direct Selling industry. At a time
when soaring unemployment levels
and fears of financial instability are the
status quo, the Direct Selling industry
is akin to a ray of light allowing people
to get back on their feet and become financially
independent. According to the
Direct Selling Association in the US the
number of full-time Direct Sellers rose
by a full two percent in 2011 coming in
at 11.2 percent. And the US isn’t alone:
The Indian Direct Selling Association
reports the number of Direct Sellers actually
increased by almost five percent
during the onset of the economic downturn
and in China in 2010 turnover from
Direct Selling reached an all time high
of 120 billion CNY (~18.5 billion USD).
Statistics like these should be enough to
put an end to the pessimism doing the
rounds at the moment.
Moving to a company that is and
continues to enjoy unparalleled success
across Asia, Africa and the Middle East;
QNET. Check out this issue’s cover story
for all things QNET. You’ll discover
QNET’s history, its products, tools for
success and be introduced to not only
its founder and visionary Dato’ Vijay
Eswaran, but also its managing director
JR Mayer and managing director of The
V Pathman Senathirajah - both of whom
feature on this issue’s cover.
Sticking with the Asian theme, we
also had the opportunity to interview
the Indian Direct Selling Association
(IDSA). In this insightful interview you
will find out all you ever wanted to know
about the Direct Selling industry in India.
Moving back to Europe and read
all about the proposed mandatory pension
insurance for the self-employed; is
it soon to be a reality in Germany? On
top of this we have a whole host of informative
articles featuring different companies
and products from across the
globe, add to this the very latest international
MLM news and interviews with
leading distributors and you’ve got another
jam-packed edition of OBTAINER
WORLDWIDE.
Let the sun into your life this summer
- even if the rain is pouring down
around you.
Warmest regards, Michael
EDITORIAL
MICHAEL
SANDER
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 5

CONTENT
5 EDITOR´S NOTE
INSIGHT
8 QNET - Trailblazing Direct Selling Giant
and How It Became a World Leader
INDUSTRY INSIDE
26 MARK MACDONALD, MonaVie’s
RVL ® Spokesperson, Welcomed on CNN
28 MONAVIE NV Products Launched in Thailand
30 DSA UK's DSA Industry Agenda Taken to
House of Commons
32 AVON The Company for Women” Gets a
US$500 Million Term Loan
33 DUBLI Christel Kjaer Is DubLi Network's First
Woman Vice-President
36 HERBALIfE Additional Licenses to Operate
in China Ensure Herbalife's Growth
38 NANOLIQ A Strong Breeze From Lake Zurich
42 MELALEUCA Largest Fireworks Show West of
the Mississippi Hosted by Melaleuca
44 QNET Sponsored Marussia F1 Team Speed
Away in Russia
45 SILPADA Celebrates Its 15th Anniversary in
Kansas City
48 UNICITY Making Ripples Across Asia and
Understanding the Benefits of Work and Play
50 fLP Nigeria Shines at Forever Living
Products Last African Rally
52 XANGO “Strong and Surging” in CIS
55 VORWERK Is Tops in Direct Sales
SHORT CUT
56 PM-INTERNATIONAL Family Day 2012 –
Family Values, Enthusiasm and Team Spirit
Undiluted!
84 SOMNIUM NETWORK Let the Games Begin!
96 QNET Amezcua and the Next Level of Wellness
102 fLEXKOM Hits the Ground Running in
E-Commerce and Network Marketing
2012
6 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Josef Mettler, NanoLiQ CEO

FlexKom
Hits the Ground
Running in
E-Commerce and
Network Marketing
102
CONTENT
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 7

CONTENT
CLOSE UP
60 ILHAN DOGAN Opens Reborn Spa in
Mallorca, Spain
66 JULIA KREZDORN Must Have" Product Is
More Than Half the Battle in MLM
72 RICCARDO VIERI AND LUANA SICARI The
‘Smart Way’ for ‘Smart People’
126 BRUNO GRILO & fRANCISCO NUNES Some
Teaching, Some Learning, More Earning!
BACKGROUND
78 TECH TRENDS 2012 A Quick Guide for the
Modern Techie in You!
90 DS IN PERU As Peru's Economy Booms So Does
Direct Selling
112 DSA INDIA India's Direct Selling Association
Talks to OBTAINER
120 MANDATORY PENSION INSURANCE Is It
Causing Panic or Will It Soon Be Reality?
COLUMN
132 SALSABILA AL-HARBI Hocus Pocus, Magic
Happens When You Focus
136 DAVID EL DIB Personal Branding – How Do
I Become a Brand?
140 TIMOTHY WILSON Part 3/3:
Building a Global Organization
144 TORSTEN WILL Reading Minds Can Be So
Easy! Who Has Not Sometimes Wished to Be
Able to Read the Mind of One's Counterpart?
148 ALEXANDER PLATH "Business Etiquette
Regarding Greeting (Part 2) – Who Should
Greet and Welcome Whom?
153 NUNO f. ASSIS Time and Personnel
Management - Does Time Play a Role With
Regard to Personnel Management or Can It
Be Ignored?
158 DANY SZASZ Are Women the Better
Leaders? A Fascinating Question That Will
Immediately Give Rise to Interpretations,
Smirks and Automatic Answers
8 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Ilhan Dogan
Direct Selling Industry in Peru
Chavi Hemath, Secretary General of the IDSA

Experience Results.
I would be happy to take ta take time to talk to you
Experience more
for the same price!
Now 2 x as much zinc
and 3 x as much vitamin D3
International Sales Development
Sascha Gamper
An der Hofweide 17
PM-International AG
67346 Speyer, Germany
Telephone: + 49 6232 296 - 230
isd1@pm-international.de
www.pm-international.com
Simple. Successful.

INSIGHT
10 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

Trailblazing Direct
Selling Giant
QNET
And How It
Became a
World Leader in
Online Direct Selling
Formed in the Philippines in 1998, QNET is one of the largest and
fastest growing direct selling companies on the Internet today.
With a vast range of products, distributors in more than 100
countries, an award winning multi-lingual customer support
team and memberships in professional organizations in different
countries, the QNET story is a remarkable tale of triumph against
all odds. With the Internet as its modality and a diverse range of
high quality products catering to its multinational customers,
QNET continues to grow at a rapid pace.
So who is QNET and why is it one of the fastest growing direct
selling companies in the world today?
INSIGHT
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 11

INSIGHT
From the
Ground Up
Being in the industry 14 years now, QNET is by no means
a newbie to the world of Direct Selling. According to
recent statistics published by the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA) over 50% of all businesses fail within the
first five years. Other studies suggest this statistic is even higher
in Asia and when MLM is added to the mix, you can be sure the
percentage is closer to the 95% mark, or even higher. Founded by
two corporate-savvy innovators in 1998, QNET not only belongs
to the 5% of companies that made it over the initial five-year
12 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
hurdle, it is one of the very few companies that
has quite literally flourished and grown from
day one, positively influencing the global Direct
Selling industry as it grew.
In the first five years in business QNET
grew and developed at a pace many other
Direct Selling companies could only dream
of. Within the first few months of operation,
QNET Founders, Dato’ Vijay Eswaran and
Joseph Bismark opened the company’s
headquarters in the vibrant city of Hong
Kong. Little did they know that by 2002 QNET
would flourish throughout Southeast Asia, land
on the shores of India, the United Arab Emirates,
Indonesia, Thailand, Australia, the United Kingdom
and other countries in Eastern Europe.
The QNET business model was avant-garde at the time
in Asia; it saw the merger of direct selling and multi level
marketing together with a unique range of diverse products
and even boasted an online dimension. The initial QNET
product portfolio consisted of luxury jewelry, watches,
collectible coins and medallions and with that had something
to offer everyone, from end customer to distributor. After
being heralded as one of the first Asian companies to push
network marketing online with the launch of its website,
it was clear QNET, even at this early stage in the dot-com
revolution, realized the importance e-commerce would come
to have in operating a truly global business. Just two years
after it was founded, when most companies struggle to make

adequate turnover and make their mark on the industry,
QNET launched its eStore, which was fully integrated into
the QNET website, and showed no signs of slowing down.
With the opening of its eStore QNET sought to fully embrace
e-commerce and strengthen and foster relationships with its
customers and distributors. Such forward thinking is what has
made the company what it has become today.
During the initial five years QNET also expanded its product
offerings and portfolio. From gaining the official rights to distribute
commemorative coins for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games within
the first few months of opening, QNET went on to create a strategic
alliance with one of the oldest, privately owned mints in Europe,
B.H. Mayer’s Mint in Germany, thus ensuring its products were of
the very highest quality. With the arrival of the 2002 FIFA World
Cup, held in South Korea and Japan, QNET proved itself once again
securing a landmark deal for the official marketing rights to the
2012 FIFA World Cup Korea Japan coin program. This deal was
to set a precedent for the future, which would see QNET become
the official distributor of collectible coins for major international
events including the Olympic Games. Realizing the importance of
INSIGHT
product diversification QNET entered into partnership with one
of the world’s leading providers of products and services in the
travel and leisure industries and launched its QVI brand of holiday
packages, thus further expanding QNET’s product portfolio.
Five years on the market and QNET’s development and growth
was astounding, considering QNET managed to achieve all this
amid the Asian financial crisis which produced a weakened,
depressed economic climate across a large proportion of Asia. The
city of Hong Kong and the Philippines were hit particularly hard
by the crisis, with growth falling to virtually zero percent in the
Philippines and political and economic uncertainty causing key
investors to withdraw from Hong Kong, shrinking the economy in
the region even further. During this period of economic uncertainty
QNET managed to not only expand its range of products, but also
grow and duplicate its business in various areas across the globe
and grow distributorship - this was no mean feat!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 13

From 2003 onwards QNET was unstoppable. New
products in line with consumer trends and wants were
continually launched. One product range launched in
2006 was to cause a stir among customers and distributors
alike; the breakthrough wellness tools from Amezcua. Sales of
the Amezcua range soared and the nanotechnology-based Bio
Disk continues to be one of QNET’s most popular products to
this very day. Diversifying its product offerings, QNET also
branched into the field of consumable products with the addition
of a nutritional supplement line. With such a varied range of
products also offered through the QNET eStore online, at QNET
there truly is something for everybody.
As a Direct Selling company grows it is imperative that the number
of distributors continues to increase year-on-year to drive sales and
increase turnover. Distributors are after all, to a large extent, the
sales force of a Direct Selling company. Again, QNET had nothing
to worry about with this fundamental aspect of its business,
14 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
announcing the number of QNET Independent Representatives
around the world had reached one million in 2005; a figure that
has grown year-on-year ever since. At QNET huge value has always
been placed on helping and supporting IRs build and grow their
own networks, and QNET is always looking for innovative ways of
doing this. In 2005, QNET launched aspIRe magazine for its IRs
bringing all the latest news, innovations, success stories to IRs in
a fresh clean digital magazine. Constant improvements were also
made to QNETs compensation plan culminating in the launch of
QInfinite in 2012. QInfinite, which offers IRs a staggering eight
ways to earn, is most definitely one of the most dynamic and
innovative compensation plans in the Direct Selling industry
and is just another example of how innovative QNET is and how
motivated it is in sending its IRs to (Q)infinity and beyond.
As the years passed by QNET continued to become more
international and more of an international brand. This was
aided by advances in the Internet and QNET’s continuous

QNET'S Amezcua is
designed to balance and
increase your harmony
and energy levels.
updating of its eStore, such as the addition of downloadables
and multilingual support. However, there were other events
which brought QNET into the global limelight. In 2003, QNET
was announced as one of the few authorised distributors of
official coins for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, while in
2004 it was appointed as a licensed distributor of the FIFA
commemorative coin program for 89 countries. This continued
in 2008 when QNET was appointed for the third time as an
official distributor of coin memorabilia for the Beijing 2008
Olympic Games. Furthermore, the company’s venture into
the world of sponsorship had a role to play in increasing the
company’s brand identity on an international level. What started
as sponsorship of the QI-IBF Badminton World Championships
in 2003, eight years later had evolved into a full blown longterm
partnership with Virgin Racing when QNET became the
official Direct Selling Supporter of Virgin Racing for the F1
World Championship. Through such strategic partnerships and
sponsorships, QNET gains access to almost limitless exploitable
commercial potential and massive international exposure. In its
14th year of business QNET can now boast a presence in over 160
countries around the globe with a network of success comprised
of 7 million Independent Representatives. But QNET isn’t just
concerned about its own success, giving back to communities
around the globe is just as important at QNET.
Since the early stages of its inception philanthropy and giving
back to communities have been ideologies that QNET has
embraced and made an integral part of its business. For over
a decade QNET has been supporting charitable activities
around the globe: From substantial donations made to the
Red Cross Foundation in Cambodia in 2005 and the Bahrain
Red Crescent Society in 2007, to supporting major charitable
operations through its corporate social responsibility arm,
the RYTHM Foundation: Some of these operations include
actively supporting relief efforts in Asia following the 2004
Asian tsunami, partaking in providing immediate relief to
various communities in Kazakhstan and arranging for children
from East Jakarta to attend an AFC Champions League match.
In 2009, under QNET’s CSR initiative ‘QNET Pays Forward’
QNET also partnered with World Vision International and
donated US$110,000 to sponsor 121 impoverished children
in 11 countries. This was one of the most far-reaching global
initiatives in the history of World Vision!
Leadership
Within
the Corporation
INSIGHT
The leadership within any organization is paramount.
A business is but a collection of individuals working
towards a common goal, but it is the leadership within a
business that must define, work towards and essentially
ensure this goal is reached.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 15

Founder
and Philanthropic Leader
As the co-founder of a company that has today taken on a life
of its own, Vijay Eswaran while not involved any more in its
day-to-day operations, still provides guidance and mentoring
to the leadership of QNET. He continues to play a prominent
role in the training and development of the distributors as well
as employees of the company.
An economist by training, Eswaran was introduced to Network
Marketing as a student in the UK in the early 80s. He dabbled
in it briefly but didn’t take it very seriously till much later when
he was working in America. He did extremely well during this
stint making more from his network marketing business than
he did from his IT job. Yet, he still didn’t see it as a full time
occupation. He returned to Asia in the early 90s and went back
into traditional corporate employment, where he excelled at
16 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
, Vijay Eswaran
his job and was quickly promoted to the position of a General
Manager. It was here that he experienced the vulnerability of
working for someone else, when while away on a business trip,
the company ownership changed hands and he came back to
find the new owners had brought in their own team and his
position was made redundant. That was a defining moment,
as he realized he wanted to be able to control his life.
That’s when he turned to network marketing as a full time
option and with his founding partner and friend, Joseph
Bismark founded what would eventually become QNET.
Vijay Eswaran is also more than just a successful entrepreneur.
He is a bestselling author, motivational speaker and recognized
as a prominent philanthropist.

Master of
One on One,
Joseph Bismark
The two founders of QNET could not have come from more
different backgrounds. While Vijay Eswaran is an economist,
Joseph Bismark comes from an unusual background having
had no formal education.
He grew up in an ashram, a spiritual hermitage in the remote
mountains in the Philippines and trained in martial arts and
vedic studies. When he eventually returned to the city as a
young man, he worked as a martial arts instructor at a major
university in the Philippines. It was through a common friend
he was introduced to Vijay Eswaran and a life long friendship
was formed. It was only much later into their friendship that
they became business partners; their common spiritual beliefs
and commitment to RYTHM, the corporate philosophy – Raise
Yourself To Help Mankind cementing their partnership.
Bismark is often referred to as the master of One-on-One because
of his ability to influence people during personal interactions.
While he also doesn’t play a role in the every day operations
of QNET anymore, he maintains an active role, building
and maintaining partnerships with businesses, clients and
customers, as well as being a business and philosophical advisor
to the company and its employees.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 17

QNET Managing Director
Mr. JR Mayer
QNET Executive Chairperson
Ms. Donna Imson
The V Managing Director
Mr. Pathman Senathirajah

Pathman Senathirajah, the Network Chief
The V is the training and network management arm of QNET and
Pathman Senathirajah is the Managing Director of this dynamic
organization. Interestingly, he is a lawyer by training who discovered
Network Marketing at the age of 20 and never looked back.
Pathman is a corporate maverick that defied the gravitational pull
of socio-economic deprivation of his youth, and insists on living
by his own rules and has steadily risen to the ranks of one of the
most respected leaders of QNET.
Growing up in a small town had both a positive and negative
influence on young Pathman. While he embraces the morals
and great values of friendship and simplicity he never would
have gotten elsewhere, living in the small town of Teluk Intan
in Malaysia has also caused him to lead a life of complacency.
Donna Imson, a role model
for networking professionals
The Executive Chairperson of QNET, Donna Imson
started her journey in network marketing as a struggling
single mother of 3 in 1993. She is also part of the
founding team of QNET and has today grown to be a
role model for men and women everywhere in the QNET
family of distributors. Her popularity as an accomplished
trainer and public speaker is evident as all her
training programs are filled to capacity and she is inundated
with requests from all over the world from aspiring
entrepreneurs.
Introducing JR Mayer,
a young, vibrant, energetic leader
Originally from Germany, JR Mayer comes from a
family with a long history in the numismatic, jewelry,
and timepiece industry, earning him a place in the QNET
business more than 12 years back. In fact, the “Mayer Mint”
had been renowned in the industry for over 130 years, earning
itself a reputation as a trusted minting company with outstanding
quality for its timeless pieces.
JR became actively involved in his family business while he
was studying for his Post-Graduate Diploma in Business
Administration at the University of Frankfurt, starting off by
“There is a saying in our town that goes – Let Teluk Intan remain a
good memory but go out there and make a difference in the world
– and that’s exactly what I did. Even as a kid, I never saw myself
just sitting behind a desk. Subconsciously I knew I was destined
to see the world and be among people who share my passion for
getting ahead in life and helping others do the same,” he says.
And that he has done, in his role as one of the most charismatic
faces of the company to the network in his role as ‘Chief’ at
QNET’s annual V-Conventions.
INSIGHT
With such a dynamic mix of complementing personalities at the
helm, it is no wonder QNET has experienced unprecedented
success over the years. Another aspect of the business, which has
driven sales, is QNET’s portfolio of exclusive and unique products.
Donna is the driving force behind I’m Alive, a specialized
training program designed to increase involvement and stature
of female professionals in the Direct Selling industry.
She is also featured in the book “The Greatest Networkers in
the World” by John Milton Fogg, and in the “Lotus Code” by
Mark Yanell, one of the pioneers of the networking industry.
A regular at industry conventions she is the voice of QNET
at international MLM forums and is also on the editorial
board of a network marketing publication.
concentrating on the manufacturing and marketing of watches,
jewelry, coins and medallions. He would later take over as
Managing Director of the Mayer Mint, and looked to expanding
the business beyond Germany into other export markets in Africa,
the Middle East, and Asia.
In 2000, QNET and Bernard H. Mayer Mint formed a strategic
alliance, and this was when JR met Dato’ Vijay Eswaran. In
2005, JR Mayer became QNET’s Managing Director and has
since gained a strong reputation as a strong leader, an inspiring
colleague and a determined and true achiever.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 19

The QNET
Product Portfolio
From its origins, QNET has always provided some of the highest
quality products as part of its Direct Selling offering, with jewelry
and collectibles as the core products. Today, the company has
expanded its portfolio into a huge range of different products,
covering a considerable number of different categories. QNET products
have been designed by top researchers, scientists, and are made in some
of the top manufacturing facilities. Now the company’s product portfolio
encompasses a wide range of categories including home care, personal
care, nutrition, and many more.
20 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

Nutrition
Olé Olive Leaf Extract products are exceptionally healthy supple-
ments for a natural lifestyle. The extract contains five times more
antioxidant power than vitamin C, and it is incredibly good at
defending the immune system, with an exceptional impact on
maintaining a healthy and strong cardiovascular system for
a healthy lifestyle.
FibreFit offers through QNET a range of 100 percent
natural and organic soluble fibre products to help boost
the digestive system, supporting absorption of nutrients
into the body. The products are essential supplements
to maintain the daily fibre intake, fortified with calcium,
and probiotics to encourage the growth and activity
of the beneficial bacteria within the digestive system.
From NutriSky, the Swietenia Macrophylla Juice
Premix is a specially formulated supplement
which contains Swietenia Macrophylla bacteria,
which works to enhance vitality and stamina.
This is due to the saponins and flavonoids
working in synergy; natural chemicals
which help promote blood circulation and
boost vitality.
Integrating the most cutting-edge
science and technology, InShape offers
complete weight-management solutions
to suit everyone’s lifestyle. The
products range from core and abdominal
strengthening products and accessories,
to the delicious and nutritious food and drink
supplements, and in-depth digital courses which turn
you into a fitness and nutrition expert.
INSIGHT
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 21

INSIGHT
Personal Care
The Physio Radiance Ultimate Anti-Aging
Skin Care is an excellent range of high
quality, hypoallergenic, unisex skin care
developed to help your skin self-regulate,
self-regenerate and self-repair at the
cellular level. The range is also completely
paraben and preservative free. By utilizing
the smallest antioxidant that penetrates
the skin layers, the patented technology
works to give back the original characteristics
of youthful skin cells.
BioSilver brings a range of products called
the SilverSol Technology Products which
utilize the scientifically proven and exclusively
patented SilverSol Technology in
the BioSilver 22 Gel. The BioSilver 22 Gel
contains antibacterial properties which
sanitize and cleanse to a whole new level.
QVI Club has been a long term partner
with QNET, and as such the range
of offers to QNET customers is vast.
QVI Club brings a selection of vacation
club memberships that provide
members with access to over 2,000
hotels and resorts across the globe.
The QVI Club membership has three
main values that make it especially
attractive to the customer – fun, flexibility,
and long-term value.
For a great range and variety of attractive packages for vacations, Q-breaks is the
offering to look for. Q-breaks offers experiential vacation packages for family fun,
beach breaks, romantic retreats, adrenaline-pumping adventures, exotic cruises,
and heritage tours, to anywhere one desires in the entire world. Q-breaks offers a
variety of the packages, the numerous destinations, and affordable packages to suit
any pocket. It is worth your while to experience a life-changing holiday through
www.q-breaks.com.
22 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Holidays Accessories
The Adiva Divine costume jewelry range
represents enchanting pieces that can be
worn with any outfit. The delightful jewelry
pieces use the highest quality Swarovski Crystals
which bring about a dazzling spectacle of
uniqueness, making any outfit stand out with
ease and flair.

Luxury & Collectibles
The Umayal Collection is made in celebration of the beauty of
nature, and this beauty is highlighted in the fine jewelry pieces of
artfully fashioned silver, ornamented with fine gemstones. The
Umayal Collection is entirely handmade with the utmost care
by skilled craftsmen, ensuring the uniqueness of each piece and
high quality for every piece. The jewelry reflects its inspiration by
emulating nature at its best, designed to appeal to strong, confident
women who place value in individuality and grace.
The Swiss-made Bernard H. Mayer watches and jewelry come from
a lineage over a hundred years old. This knowledge and experience
is put to great effect in the crafting and manufacturing of metals
and gemstones that make up each piece, be it a fine watch or an
exquisite piece of jewelry. The exclusive collection also comes in
a great variety of high quality watches of any style from classic to
contemporary.
The Himalayan Crystal Collection is a standalone brand and a
unique collection - the first and only brand to capture the natural
beauty and energy of Himalayan Crystals. These crystals are
believed to possess energy-conducting abilities which harness the
natural energies around them.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 23

INSIGHT
Home Care
HomePure is the water purifier for your everyday use at home,
incorporating a high quality mechanical seven-filter media
Ultrafiltration (UF) system. What this means is that in each
filter cartridge, seven filter stages are packed in to ensure
nothing but the purest water comes through. That means that
throughout the cartridge, water is filtered, purified, and finally
energized to a standard you would not have realized before.
The AirPure air purifier from QNET will change how much
you appreciate the atmosphere created by clean, fresh air.
Wake up each morning with a breath of fresh air, as the
AirPure air purifier uses the latest in innovative technology
to remove 99.9 percent of particle pollution, particularly
that found in modern city air. The result is pure, clean air
that creates a healthier environment by minimizing air
pollution in our homes.
Weight
Management
QNET brings you a variety of weight-management
solutions that best suit your lifestyle. Integrating the most
cutting-edge science and technology, InShape offers you a
complete weight-management package ranging from core
and abdominal strengthening products and accessories, to
delicious and nutritious food supplements and drinks, to
in-depth digital courses aimed to turn you into a health and
wellness guru. Now you can easily achieve the shape you
have always dreamed of and feel confident about yourself
and take control of your health!
24 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Communications
In-Voice Mini Packs is a telecommunications product that
represents a revolutionary all-in-one and cost-effective solution
to modern living, allowing users to stay conveniently connected
anytime, anywhere. It works through landline, mobile phone,
personal computer and can even be used in a payphone.
Education
QNET offers IRs a unique learning experience in the form of
the Swiss eLearning Institute online education platform. Based
entirely online, it is an easy to use platform which allows users
to study a range of flexible learning courses, teaching valuable
skills to benefit their life or career. Powered and supported by
Switzerland's leading distance-learning business school, the
Swiss eLearning Institute also provides access to an online library,
a database of business texts in the form of ebooks, videos, MP3s,
MP4s, and journals. The Swiss eLearning Institute platform
provides IRs with all the information they could need to get ahead
in the world of Direct Selling and establish their own business.
Boasting a leadership team that is second to none, an innovative range
of high quality products and services, a cutting-edge compensation
plan, a commitment to philanthropy that is rarely seen in the
Direct Selling industry, QNET IRs can rest assured they have all the
prerequisites needed to grow their business, and even more...

Introducing
QNET’s Life Site
Marketing Suite
The QNET Life Site is a multipurpose sales and marketing online
tool for QNET IRs. It enables IRs to be completely aware of
everything that is happening within their business, helping them
to maintain control, and to increase productivity and efficiency.
It is a fully integrated package, a fully developed and advanced
product from QNET with a particular specialization in mind, that
allows IRs to keep track of uplines, downlines, emails, networks,
campaigns, marketing campaigns, and much more.
The built-in functionalities include essential tools which would
otherwise come from separate sources, such as an office suite,
calendar, email interface, contact manager, daily schedule, product
orders, marketing tools, support center, and much more besides.
INSIGHT
IRs can also highlight their preferred products within their own
self-contained product pages, allowing them to analyze the
product presentation as customers would see them, as well as how
one would go through the products, overseeing the navigation,
information, and ease of use.
Email marketing campaigns are easily set up, allowing IRs to
advertise their business to many business partners or customers
with prepared emails ready, for each specific type of client.
The tool also includes a training center, where training and
support is offered from QNET to help improve IRs use of the tool,
reducing the delays that would otherwise be caused by having to
find one's own way around a new interface.
From the very start, QNET has been a rapidly progressive
and innovative company showcasing a new dimension within
the network marketing industry. With a huge amount of
experience in direct selling, a wide range of products to offer
clients and distributors alike, the company is certainly one of
the heavyweights in the global Direct Selling industry. With
sponsorship schemes for sports and cultural events across the
globe and its passion for philanthropy, QNET works to not just
provide products to enrich lives but actively helps those in need.
QNET's prestigious and quality product lines, as well as its
platforms and suites for marketing and management, prove that
the company has much to offer. The company has grown beyond
expectations and has proven to be a company to watch out for!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 25

INDUSTRY INSIDE
Mark MacDonald nutritionist, best selling author of Body Confi-
dence and creator of Venice Nutrition Program, appeared live
on CNN's Health Segment this past weekend on spreading the
message of healthy nutrition.
On July 7 2012 at 6.45 pm (ET) he joined Randi Kaye in a discus-
sion that explained why athletes and we need protein in our diet
and the best places to get it in the United States of America. What
led to this important discussion was the worrying trend that was
recently brought up by the Coach of Chinese Women's Volleyball
team which has lost four straight tune-up matches for the London
Olympics as the team is not eating any meat. For the last few
weeks the Chinese Women's Volleyball team has been restricted
to a vegetarian diet. The meat ban has been occasioned by fears
that it may contain clenbuterol, a banned substance (steroid)
used to breed leaner animals.
In response to that, Mark advised viewers that protein is important
for athletes, and for all of us, as it contains nitrogen which
26 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Mark
MacDonald,
MonaVie’s RVL®
Spokesperson
Welcomed on
CNN
is important for our tissues. If meat is taken out of a diet, it will
affect our overall performance and energy levels. The body needs
three main ingredients to function optimally, namely, carbohydrates,
protein and fat. Consequently, after either a heavy workout
or a normal day at work, the body needs nitrogen to recover
its normal levels of energy.
When purchasing meat in the United States, consumers are advised
to read the labels carefully. As many purchasing decisions these
days are determined by financial budgets, Mark advises consumers
to also become more educated about where to shop to fit their pockets,
for example warehouse stores, where they can obtain fantastic
prices and good quality meat which has less nitrates.
On July 8 2012 at 7:30 pm (ET) he joined Don Lemon in a talk
about a new program introduced in Washington DC, where
Doctors are adding vegetable prescriptions to the anti-obesity
arsenal of low income families in the District. Plenty of cities
across the United States and Canada are tackling the problem of

obesity by banning soft-drinks, ditching vending machines and
oily fried foods popular across North America.
The “We Can” program enables the access to fruits and vegetables
essential to health, but often too expensive, by providing a prescrip-
tion for subsidized items from the farmers market. Each of the 35
families participating in the program receives one dollar per family
member per day to spend at a handful of markets around town.
Mark commented that this new program will help these families
learn how to buy healthy food. Most people have been
programmed to think that eating healthy is more expensive when
in reality, it can work out cheaper. He went on to further state
that fruits and vegetables are critical to our health because at
every breath, we humans create free radicals and other poisons
in our bodies. Healthy eating provides antioxidants that combat
these free radicals, protecting our cells and guarding our bodies.
The program is hosted by the Unity Health Care Upper Cardozo
Clinic in Washington DC. It plans to give out US$26,000 worth of
food prescriptions during its first run. The department of health
plans to double that amount in 2013.
In a different event, Bo Van Pelt an athlete-distributor with Mona-
Vie and a former Oklahoma State Star was locked in a duel with
Tiger Woods at the AT&T National which teed off at the Congressio-
nal Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland over the July 1 2012 week-
end. Tiger Woods captured his 74th title, surpassing Jack Nicklaus
for the second-most PGA Tour wins, closing with 2-under 69.
In the match by match play that helped raise TV ratings, Van
Pelt equaled Woods shot for shot. Three times Woods took the
lead till the final round, and each time Van Pelt answered with a
birdie, including one on the Par.4 No.15 to get to 9-under, before
he bogeyed the final three holes.
This was Van Pelts third career second-place finish, owning one
career win where he captured the U.S.. Bank Championship in
Milwaukee three years ago.
INDUSTRY INSIDE
In a telephone interview with the Oklahoman Van Pelt stated
that, “The ultimate goal is to win golf tournaments. But my goal
each week is to put myself in a position to win. I figure the more
times I do that the better chance I'll have to win one.”
MonaVie is a Direct Selling company that has been in business
since 2005 and quickly became a leader in the health and wellness
industry, offering its market health juices made with the
Brazilian Acai Berry and fortified with eighteen fruits which
fight age, give the body a daily dose of defense and moreover,
a healthy heart. In addition to these product lines, it has a line
of Energy Drinks and a weight management solution referred
to as the RVL Premium Weight Solution®. This system gets to
the root of weight management, helping to manage weight the
healthy way. It includes shake mixes, snacks and protein bars.
In 2009 MonaVie was recognized by Inc. 500 as one of the fastest
growing private company in the Food and Beverages sector
in the United States. Its products are distributed in 23 countries
through a network of more than one million independent
distributors. Learn more about healthy weight management the
MonaVie RVL Way with Mark MacDonald: http://www.youtube.
com/watch?v=TRnMm2BwQV4
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 27

INDUSTRY INSIDE
MonaVie in the News
In the recent past, Thailand has had its share of natural disasters
and political turmoil. Nevertheless, despite these occurrences,
the Direct Selling industry is still thriving in this market. Many
consumers believe this method of sales to be a good way to earn
an extra income and sales values have increased year-on-year.
Beauty and personal care products account for the largest contribution
in the direct sales sector.
MonaVie, the company which is known in the industry for
having created over 100 millionaires in the short six years since
its inception, recently expanded its business into Thailand and
celebrated its full-launch on July 1, 2012. Thailand is the first
new market opening in 2012 for MonaVie, which is now officially
open in 23 countries. Its flagship product was the MonaVie
Active Juice, made from a blend of 18 fruit juices which include
the Brazilian Acai berry, known for its high levels of antioxidants
and nutrients.
Coincidentally, MonaVie also launched a new line of skin care
products called MonaVie NV, exclusively for the Thai market,
which were on sale from July 2, 2012. Each one of these products
is designed to defy the marks of time today for healthy, beautiful,
more youthful looking skin tomorrow. This gift of youth is
provided through five products which include a Facial Foam,
Rejuvenating Serum, Day Cream, Revitalizing Cream and Mousse
Shower Scrub.
This advanced skin care line uses revolutionary liposome tech-
nology and pro-collagen peptides to infuse the users skin with
28 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
moisture and combat the signs of aging. These skin care products
are also formulated with natural fruit oils including the Brazilian
Acai, andiroba and inca. Paraben free, they increase elasticity and
brighten the skin.
MonaVie Thailand Southeast Asia Regional office is located in Bang-
kok and Dr. Alex Schauss is its Vice President. Dr. Schauss has many
years of experience in the direct selling industry and will oversee the
development of the business here. He is also a member of the Mona-
Vie Scientific Advisory Board. The Thailand pre-launch was held in
May 2011 and this dynamic team has consistently worked to move
forward to ensure the proper structure, support and long term business
strategy for this market. Thai distributors have responded with
enthusiasm to the products and business opportunity.
I n other MonaVie news MonaVie EMV energy drinks have
been tested by Informed-Choice, a quality assurance program
for sports and nutrition products and confirms that its products
are free from prohibited ingredients. Athletes and other sports

minded people can now drink it with confidence. Nutrition
products and supplements are tested against the WADA prohibited
substance list and all tests are undertaken using ISO17025
accredited methods, which means results are reliable and testing
is of a high quality.
The pleasant tasting energy drink is made from a blend of antioxi-
dant rich fruits including the Brazilian superfruit acai and maqui
and it helps to increase performance, endurance and concentration.
Jeff Graham, Executive VP of Global Product Strategy states
that “MonaVie entered into a collaborative relationship with
Informed-Choice in 2009 as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure
MonaVie products can be safely consumed by professional and
amateur athletes. We are committed to providing you with safe,
efficacious products that are supported by science.”
MonaVie recently also gained its latest Royal Black Diamond
executive members, Calvin and Shannon Becerra, a married
couple from Corona, California.
The couple ventured into the MonaVie company in 2007 but they
claim that getting to this prestigious rank has not always been
easy. “The journey to Royal Black Diamond in MonaVie has been
quite an adventure. I say adventure because it was truly a roller
coaster ride of ups and downs, twists and turns, eventually arriving
at its destination. Although, the ride is not done; we still have
a much bigger adventure in front of us,” says Calvin Becerra. But
the hard work paid off for Becerra when he reached the status of
Black Diamond after his first 8 months in MonaVie, making him
the youngest Black Diamond executive at the age of 27.
The couple credits MonaVie President of North America and
Europe, Randy Schroeder, for helping them get through the ups
and downs of the business. “Randy Schroeder is my mentor, and
I give credit to him for engaging the leaders of my organization in
a process of a proven predictable pattern of activities that resulted
in duplication of these same activities into the deepest depths of
their businesses,” Becerra claims.
INDUSTRY INSIDE
As a final note, the successful couple expressed their gratitude
to the entire management team of MonaVie and to their family
and friends for their unwavering support. Becerra further adds,
“I learned that the grass is always greener where you decide to
water it. I chose to water my lawn at MonaVie. And today it is
ever so ripe with the brightest green colors.”
Calvin and Shannon Becerra truly make a promising addition to
the MonaVie Royal Black Diamond Team.
Staying true to its philosophy of social responsibility, this coming
October 7-14, 2012, a general expedition will be hosted by Mona-
Vie’s the MORE Project in Brazil. This expedition aims to familiarize
participants with the daily life of children living in the slums
or favelas of Brazil. The eight-day mission will consist of site visits
to the various More Project programs throughout the country.
Participants will have a chance to meet all the children sponsored
by the foundation. They will be sharing meals with the kids, along
with book reading sessions and other activities to promote bonding
and camaraderie. The expedition will also include a day trip
to Rio de Janeiro to visit Brazil’s famous beach sites.
MonaVie continues to gain momentum internationally as the
company seeks to change peoples lives for the better!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 29

INDUSTRY INSIDE
During the last decade, the United Kingdom's Economy became
seriously unbalanced and in heavy debt, declining in competitiveness
in comparison to other European Union nations, in terms of
tax rates, regulations, access to finance and planning, making it
difficult to carry on business.
As a consequence, its share of world exports fell and its current
account deficit increased. In its wake, millions of people were left
unemployed. The government's “Plan for Growth” implemented in
June 2010 was designed to support business growth. Its main four
plans of action included creating the most competitive tax system in
the G20, making UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and
grow a business, to encourage investment and exports as a route
30 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
UK’s DSA Industry
Agenda Taken to
House of Commons
to a more balanced economy and lastly, to create a more educated
workforce that is the most flexible in Europe. The Plan for Growth
seems to have started paying off and employment rates increased
with 166,000 new jobs being created during this last quarter. As
at June 2012, unemployment rates fell to 2.61 million from 2.67
million reported in January.
On July 4 2012, Executives of the United Kingdom's Direct Selling
Association along with the industry's leading Chief Executives
attended a reception at the House of Commons hosted by
Conservative Member of Parliament, Brian Binley, Chair of the
All Party Parliamentary Group on Small Business. The key item
on the agenda was to discuss and outline the key priorities that

Everyone is talking
about lia sophia.
You can too. There is hardly a fashion magazine in which
lia sophia is not talked about. It looks as if
the trendy fashion brand from the USA also
developed here into a cult brand. This is exactly
the right time for you to join and get
involved. As a newcomer, as a part timer or
as a DM-professional. Our Compensation
Plan will inspire you just like our jewelry.
Direct Selling was contributing towards the UK Government's
Economic Growth Agenda. Thus far, the industry has contributed
GBP2 billion (~US$3.1 billion) and has become the country's largest
provider of part-time independent earnings, supporting almost
400,000 people.
The Direct Selling Association was founded in 1965 and since
then, has been the recognized trade association for the direct selling
channel of distribution. Today its member companies account
for 59% of the total direct sellers. Among them are ACN Europe,
AMWAY (UK) Ltd, AquaSource (UK) Ltd, Avon Cosmetics Ltd,
Best In Glass, Betterware Limited, Mannatech, Mary Kay, Tiens,
Sunrider, Silpada and many more.
At the event, the DSA and leaders from 50 of the leading companies
called on the Members of Parliament to recognize the vital role the
Email us and we will happily send you all
the info: info@liasophia.de
Or contact us directly via our website at:
www.liasophia.de
industry is playing in supporting people back to work, inspiring
entrepreneurs and creating more businesses. Paul Southworth,
Director General of the DSA commented, “Some people may still
think of direct selling as just ladies and lipstick, but the industry has
come a long way and it is big business here in the UK.” He further
stated that “The event was extremely useful in enabling us discuss
the DSA's priorities with key Members of Parliament and to plan
for the future of the industry, an industry which is closely aligned
with the governments current agenda around encouraging new
businesses and entrepreneurialism. One of the aims of our work
with government is to secure greater awareness and recognition of
the industry, and last night was a great chance to do that.”
Brian Binley MP was delighted to welcome the DSA and its member
companies to The House of Commons. He stated that “ I see this
meeting as an important step in recognizing the role the industry
plays in the country's economy. By getting a clearer understanding
of the work of the Direct Selling Association, I am confident that
we can continue to help it grow and succeed.” Similar to other
countries around the world, direct selling has proved to be an
alternative source of income whenever economic conditions
have been down and it is hoped to continue providing a source
of livelihood for those unfortunate enough to be unemployed.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 31

INDUSTRY INSIDE
Avon
“The Company
for Women”
Gets a US$500
Million Term Loan
Troubled beauty giant Avon Products Inc. rejected Coty's offer
of US$24.75 per share deciding instead that more value would
come after a turnaround. Therefore, to re-position the company
back on the path of growth, Chief Finance Officer Kimberly Ross
during the first quarter of 2012, put in place three operational
and three financial changes.
In addition, on June 29 2012 Avon Products Inc., entered into a
US$500 million Term Loan with Citibank N.A., as Administrative
Agent, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Santander Investment
Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs Bank USA and BBVA Compass
as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Book Runners and the other
lenders party thereto.
Avon Color, ANEW, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon
Naturals and mark., are Avon's well recognized brands. Its other
product lines include fashion and home products. Re-branded
“Avon, The Company for Women” it has become a leading global
company with over US$11 billion in annual revenue with 6.4
million sales representatives marketing Avon's products in more
than 100 countries.
32 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
The company's first quarter for 2012 operating profit, not counting
the costs, was the worst reported in 15 years, with net revenue
at US$26.5 million, compared with US$143.6 million reported
over the same period last year, which is a change of 82%. Financial
analysts indicate that the reality is even more harsh what
with more foreign currency drags. Avon's share price as at July
13 2012 ended at US$15.19. On August 1 2012, Avon plans to
provide a live webcast of its second-quarter starting at 9.00am
Eastern Time and interested investors are invited to log on to
their investor webpage.
With Sheri McCoy, Chief Executive Officer now on board,
management, staff and investors alike are confident that with
her broad leadership experience and skills in managing large
complex global organizations, Avon's future success is secured.

Christel
Kjaer Is
DubLi
Network's
First Woman
Vice-
President
DubLi Network proudly announces that Christel Kjaer recently
attained the position of Vice President. Christel is the first woman
to be promoted to this auspicious position which she achieved in
her first year of joining DubLi Network.
Christel received her well deserved pin and Dubot during the
“DubLi Day Denmark,” a day filled with business presentations,
networking, inspirational speeches from leaders, awards and
recognitions. It was held on July 8, 2012 at the Hotel Comwell
in Middelfart. Christel gave a heartfelt speech wherein she
thanked Villads Vest-Hansen, her upline, for introducing her
to the DubLi Network opportunity and for helping her build
her business. She also thanked her team members, giving them
a great deal of credit for her success. Encouraging them on
to success, she advises each one of them to follow their own
dreams and goals, promising to support them along the way.
DubLi Network is the sales and marketing engine that drives
DubLi.com, which is wholly owned by MediaNet Group Tech-
INDUSTRY INSIDE
nologies Inc,. (MGT). Operating the DubLi brand, MGT strives to
address consumer needs both online and offline through innova-
tive engagement models, as well as virtual shopping experiences.
It also creates business opportunities by helping both large and
small entrepreneurs create micro-distributor organizations by
joining DubLinetwork.com.
Led by Michael Hansen, President and Chief Executive Officer,
MGT recently relaunched in the United States and, as reported
by OBTAINER, plans to apply for a listing on the NASDAQ
Stock Market in the course of this year.
The management of DubLi Network are proud of Christel's
achievements and they wish her entire team more success in
the years ahead and anticipate seeing many more new Vice
Presidents emerging from her team over the next few months.
We at OBTAINER shall be following her progress closely and
shall be reporting on this groups new achievements. Congratulations
Christel!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 33

INDUSTRY INSIDE
Additional
Licenses to
Operate in
China Ensure
Herbalife's
Growth
Despite recent drops in its share price following David Einhorn's
question regarding Herbalife Ltd's distribution system,
(OBTAINER: Sharp Drop In Herbalife Shares After Hedge Fund
Managers Question), Herbalife Ltd recently reported that it
had experienced its best quarter yet in 32 years. This followed
an agreement entered into with Merrill Lynch International to
repurchase US$427.9 million of its common shares.
Herbalife Ltd also recently gained major inroads into China as
it received eight more licenses for it to conduct its direct selling
business in Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Tianjin Municipality,
Heilongjiang Province, Hunan Province, Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, Hainan Province and Anhui Province. Its
first license to operate in China was issued in March 2007 for the
cities of Suzhou and Nanjing in the Jiangsu Province. As at June
2012, Herbalife was operating 68 retail stores in 29 provinces.
Herbalife (China) Health Products Ltd currently has its head
office in Raffles City, a prominent business centre in Shanghai.
It also has a manufacturing plant located in the Suzhou Industrial
Zone, which is its second after the one in the United States.
36 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Products manufactured here and sold in China address weight
control, nutrition and personal care for a healthy lifestyle. All
its health products manufactured in China meet the American
GMP Standard and are sold only after approval by state health
authority. In the first year of its operations, it was ranked among
China's top 50 health products manufacturers.
China's economy continues to boom and had another prosperous
year in 2011 with a reported gross domestic produce of US$7
billion, making it the second largest economy in the world. It also
reported low levels of unemployment, high consumer confidence
and a growing affluent consumer base, who are focusing more
and more on products to enhance their health and longevity.
Industry analysts estimate that business from China will account
for up to 7% of Herbalife's sales this year. These additional
licenses will contribute towards growth, new distributors will
continue to accelerate and expectations are that China may very
well become Herbalife's largest market yet.

Sitetalk makes history:
100 million members in sight
more than twelve
million members
eight million
members
seven million
members
six million
members
five million
members
four million
members
three million
members
two million
members
one million
members
In March of 2011
three weeks
later
two weeks
later
ten days
later
Visit:
www.sitetalk.com
now
nine days
later
seven days
later
five days
later
four days
later
In March the Sitetalk-1BV promotional event was introduced. It was a crazy idea to invest funds into the re-numeration plans of every active “free Sitetalk member”. The only thing
that the Sitetalk members need to do is to register at the social “Network Platform” and use some of the functions for about 10-15 minutes per week. They are not bound to make
any purchases or provide any services; - but this makes the immense growth of the business possible.
Sitetalk also was surprised by its international success and the rapid growth. The member rush was, at times, so strong that orders for the multi dimensioned hard and software
could not be fulfilled.
The second phase of the promotion was started at the end of August. In order to make this possible, international IT-specialists from around the word were called to work 24 hours
a day, seven days a week to quickly install new state of the art systems so that more than 100 million users/members could access this system seamlessly.
SiteTalk will because of this, install a completely updated (system) with improvements and expansions within all functions this summer. You can expect a thrilling (experience).
Thank you for your understanding.
Revolutionized two business areas • Reinvents networking • Reinvents network-marketing
Built a “downline” with millions of members • Frictionless, fast and intelligent • Multifunctional and multi-lingual
now

INDUSTRY INSIDE
NanoLiQ -
A Strong
Breeze From
Lake Zurich
On September 1, 2012 NanoLiQ will begin its
sales offensive with its innovative products –
Nufibra and VitaQPremium. With these, the
ambitious Swiss company brings a breath of
fresh air to the functional food and nutritional
supplement market. NanoLiQ offers an impressive
range of high quality products and also
boasts an impressive marketing plan. The
registration phase has begun for all Networker
who are looking for opportunities and want to
join as a partner right from the start.
38 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Josef Mettler, NanoLiQ CEO
The company, based at Lake Zurich, markets and distributes
products placed within the growth market of functioning
foods and high quality nutritional supplements. In September
NanoLiQ is set to launch with two product lines Nufibra
and VitaQPremium. "We put a lot of energy into preparation
and planning. Our administrative and management
systems’ partners are also chosen with great care. In addition
to our first class products, from September on we will
also offer partners a modern managing system. This will
ensure each of our partners are well equipped to directly
participate in product introductions and sales development
processes,” says Santiago Viguié, a member of senior
management. The NanoLiQ Four Pillar Principle (NanoLiQ
Dynamics) should encourage each partner to build an enduring
and successful future in Direct Selling and MLM.
Over the next four weeks, leading sales directors and company
management will hold intensive discussions with partners

and firstlines who want to get involved in building up the
NanoLiQ distribution network. Located near the financial
center of Zurich, the company’s headquarters offers an ideal
setting for fruitful discussions. Initial meetings with interna-
tional distributors from central and southwest Europe have
been successfully completed and will continue, parallel while
building a distributor structure, within German-speaking
Europe. "We want to fully exploit the potential that exists in the
functional food market,” explains Santiago Viguié; “the oppor-
tunities and possibilities to succeed with high quality products
in this market are better than ever.” Here, the established goals
of NanoLiQ’s quality-oriented management are aligned, in all
directions, in respect towards the people and the products.
Nufibra, a fiber source, is available in many different flavors.
It received the GASTRO VISION award for functional food
products. Through the international Health Claim regula-
tions, it is one of the few foods to bear a certificate as a “source
of fiber.” Therefore, Nufibra is an important and almost indis-
pensable component of a balanced diet. VitaQPremium is a
nutritional supplement containing water-soluble Coenzyme
Q10 and vitamin E. When taken regularly VitaQPremium
supports us in living an active and healthy lifestyle into old
age. The sophisticated and well-tested composition of Coen-
zyme Q10, Vitamin E and many other essential ingredients
make VitaQPremium a necessary companion in our daily -
FAST PACED LIFE.
The NanoLiQ Dynamics principle is above all about the need
to be healthy and the need to maintain wellness. NanoLiQ
products are, therefore, an important component for a more
balanced life. Nufibra is an excellent source of fiber and
VitaQPremium, which is enriched with Q10, optimally comple-
ment each other; one can, therefore, maintain one’s daily
requirements of essential nutrients as well as one’s needed
energy levels. Both products form the basis of the NanoLiQ
Principle which leads to a better quality of life.
Through a peer-seeking marketing plan and high quality
management – according to the Swiss model -, NanoLiQ offers
ideal conditions which each partner can then apply according
to his own ideas. Through its marketing plan, NanoLiQ
provides structure-oriented networkers, self-employed individuals
as well as other professionals with the opportunity of
engaging with and being interested in the products in a sustainable
long-term focused manner. At NanoLiQ, the first steps
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 39

INDUSTRY INSIDE
NanoLiQ values the importance of having
a satisfied lifestyle and recognizes this as
an important pillar in personal success.
Family, friends and the planning of your
own off-time are supported by NanoLiQ
through special incentives, bonuses and
social commitment.
towards achieving financial freedom and personal indepen-
dence already begin during the first stage of the marketing plan.
Annual bonus payments from initial sales and commission that
runs 8 levels deep for large structures and much more besides
are arguments that will speak for the success of NanoLiQ
and its partners.
NanoLiQ supports the build-up and the career development
of its partners by means of the NanoLiQ Competence Acad-
emy (NCA). The respective needs and objectives of NanoLiQ
partners will be supported at all stages. NanoLiQ values the
importance of having a satisfied lifestyle and recognizes this
as an important pillar in personal success. Family, friends and
the planning of your own off-time are supported by NanoLiQ
through special incentives, bonuses and social commitment.
NanoLiQ is obligated to offering innovative products and a
strong marketing plan which will breathe a breath of fresh air
into the Direct Selling and MLM industry.
40 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
The NanoLiQ Marketing & Sales AG is a marketing company
specializing in nutraceutical, cosmeceutical as well as functional
food products. It was founded in 2012 with a mandate to produce
innovative products with high quality standards by means of a
marketing plan based on the Swiss Value Model. The company's
headquarters is located in Pfäffikon at Lake Zurich.

Well-being with heads
The product initiative has begun
The experts for nutraceutical, easy wellfood & cosmeceutical
energize with innovative products and continue with a modern
compensation plan.
Read more information in this issue
or at www.nanoliq.ag.
Opening Sales in Central and
Southwest Europe from Sept. 1st
www.nanoliq.ag

INDUSTRY INSIDE
Largest Fireworks
Show West of the Mississippi
Hosted by Melaleuca
The night sky spluttered into red, green, purple, blue, white and
yellow as fireworks kaboom-ed across the night sky as Americans
celebrated 236th years since the signing of The Declaration of
Independence by the fathers of the United States of America.
Following the Seven Years war between France and Britain,
the British had racked up a huge debt and looked to America, a
colony until the Spring of 1776, to help pay for it, as if it was its
war. Naturally the Americans resisted and instead of compromising,
the “Protectors” in the British Parliament issued oppressive
measures forcing Americans to obey these new laws. Tensions
finally culminated in a shootout between British troops and the
colonialists at Lexington and Concord in 1775.
“The Fourth of July” is the anniversary day of celebrations and
citizens displayed the United States Flag in their homes, families
joined together for picnics and barbecues, held sporting events
such as baseball games, three legged races, swimming and tugof-war
games.
Melaleuca the Direct Selling company that manufactures and
distributes concentrated tea tree products marked this day with
The Annual Melaleuca Freedom Celebration. Now in its 20th
year, The Annual Melaleuca Freedom Celebration attracted over
100,000 people to the shores of the Snake River in Idaho Falls to
witness the largest fireworks show West of the Mississippi. This
year 17,153 shells were packed into the 31 minute production. The
theme and soundtrack was “America's Fight for Freedom” and it
was broadcast live on KLCE Classy 97 FM.
Prior to the show, residents of Idaho Falls were invited to another
Melaleuca exclusive event held at the Shilo Inn, which featured a
family-style buffet dinner, a full hour of performance of patriotic
music from Freedom Symphony and speeches from Idaho's top
elected officials.
42 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
“This show is not only to celebrate our nation’s birthday, but it is
a 31-minute tribute to our soldiers and veterans who have paid
an enormous price so that we can live like we do,” said Melaleuca
CEO Frank VanderSloot. “You will miss the entire meaning of the
show if you do not bring your radio.”
The day ended on a high note throughout The Idaho Falls Green-
belt as residents celebrated their tradition of political freedom and
the audience were entertained with shells that reached over 400
feet high with bright lights reflecting off the surface of Snake River.

PM-International AG
Eine Marke von
PM-International
of Anti Aging
Duo Lift Finish
See it.Feel it.Experience it.
You can find additional information about PM-International
AG, BeautyLine and the business at www.pminternational.com
and www.laurent-cristanel.com
I would be pleased to take time for you and I am available
for a personal conversation
Point of contact:
Alberta Tänny
International
Sales Development
PM-International AG
An der Hofweide 17
67346 Speyer
Telefon: 06232 296 – 230
Email: isd5@pm-international.de

INDUSTRY INSIDE
INDUSTRY INSIDE
QNet Sponsored
Marussia F1
Team Speed
Away in Russia
Excited motorsports fans lined the streets of Kremlin, Moscow
on the weekend of July 14 and 15 2012 for the Moscow City
Racing Event which was a festival of engines and speed. QNet's
sponsored Marussia F1 Team were excited to be here, the home
of Marussia.
Marussia Motors was founded by racing driver Nikolay Fomenko,
brand Strategist Efin Ostrovsky and technology entrepreneur
Andrey Cheglakov who created the first Russian high performance
car company. Their first design was the mid-engined B1
which was followed in the Autumn of 2009 by The Marussia B2
launched at the Frankfurt International Motor Show. In 2010,
Marussia Motors became the first Russian brand to enter the FIA
Formula One World Championship in partnership with Virgin
Racing F1. By the end of 2012, the duo had acquired a majority
stake in the team which is now called the “Marussia F1 Team.”
Charles Pic #25 and the entire “Marussia F1 Team” delivered an
outstanding performance in a Formula One demo car on Sunday
July 15 2012 when Charles hit the streets and wowed the crowd
with a series of demonstrations on a specially configured road
course. He completed a series of exploratory laps, delivering two
3 laps, rounding the day off with some spectacular burnouts.
He stated that “It has been a real experience to come to Russia
for the first time and take part in the Moscow City Racing Event.
For me, having never been to Russia before, this trip was a little
overdue given that I drive for an Anglo-Russian team, but it was
well worth the wait.”
Recent reports also indicate that the first ever Russian Grand
Prix will be held as part of the 2014 F1 Season. The F1 race shall
be held at a circuit in Sochi where the next Winter Olympics are
being held as well. The F1 calendar will in the future have as many
as 23 rounds by 2014.
44 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
And sticking with the sporting theme Hadia Hosny Elsaid, an
Independent Representative at QNet qualified to compete in
this year's London 2012 Olympic Games, a fact that QNet is
very proud of. At 28 years of age, Hadia qualified as the Highest
African/Egyptian women's singles player in the world rankings
during the Olympic qualifying period. Hadia stated "I'm very
excited and I'm looking forward to the Olympic Games. They're
so close now so I want to train as hard as I can to do my best
and represent both Egypt and Africa, as well as the University."
Hadia is a student at the University of Bath in Somerset where
she is studying towards a MSc., in Biosciences. She has been
training with Coach Pete Bush at the University which has an
excellent reputation for both academics and sports.

The London 2012 Summer Olympic Games will be opened by Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on July 27 and shall end on August
12 2012. Badminton shall be played at Wembley Arena in North
West London from July 28 with the finals played on August 3,4
and 5 2012. 172 participants will be competing for medals in five
competitions namely the men's singles, women's singles, men's
doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles.
QNet has been involved in sports sponsorships from motorsports,
football to hockey and badminton. What does direct
selling and sports have in common? An athlete starts out with a
dream to become a champion, a winner! She performs to the best
of her ability and ultimately achieves that coveted gold medal. A
direct seller sets out each day with a dream of a certain lifestyle
and residual income to see him well into retirement. He performs
by recruiting a massive downline and he too ultimately gets those
keys to the condo on the beach he has always dreamed about.
They both have three things in common. Dreams, Performance
and Achievement, which is why QNet considers sports sponsorship
as part of its being. QNet has, over the years, built a solid
and global brand reputation.
With a little over two weeks left before the start of the London
2012 Olympic Games, Hadia is a very busy woman juggling with
training and workout sessions and traveling between different
venues. To keep her energy level high, she has been wearing
QNet's Veloci-Ti Pendant and comments, “I love energy products
… they are always with me on my journeys. I wear my Velocity-Ti
Pendant during Practice.” We at OBTAINER shall be following
Hadia's game and we wish her the best of luck.
INDUSTRY INSIDE
Silpada
Celebrates Its
15th Anniversary
in Kansas City
Silpada Designs celebrated
its 15th Anniversary on
July 19 to 22 2012 at its
2012 National Conference
at the Kansas City Convention
Center. This year’s
theme was “Silpada at 15
– Keep the Party Going”
encouraging representatives
to achieve success at
every stage of their business
journey.
Celebrations opened on July 19 with “The Anniversary Party”
and “The Opening General Session” started on July 20. 4,600
representatives turned up and were inspired to prepare for a
very promising Silpada-ish future, had an opportunity to meet
new business prospects as they looked at the new gorgeous
collection for 2012-2013.
Avon Products Inc acquired all Silpada's assets in July 2012 for
US$650 million, complementing its core beauty and direct selling
business. In spite of the acquisition Bonnie Kelly and Teresa Walsh
the co-founders continue to run the company. Silpada is still a stand
alone business and its existing 33,000 independent sales representatives
are the exclusive sellers of its .925 sterling silver jewelry.
Since its inception in 1997, Silpada Designs has been empowering
thousands of women, building self esteem, forming friendships and
helping them achieve financial freedom. The company’s designs are
sold throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
As it celebrates its 15th birthday, annual revenue has reached more
than US$230 million.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 45

INDUSTRY INSIDE
Unicity Making Ripples Across Asia
and Understanding the Benefits of Work and Play
Direct Selling and Network Marketing as an income generation
method has become more and more popular and esfacpecially
so in Southeast Asia. Unicity International’s Franchise Partners
in Indonesia are glad for the opening of the new office premises
in Jakarta which was officially celebrated on June 29, 2012.
Heart disease has dogged mankind since time immemorial,
but even more so in our modern times. In Indonesia, there are
more and more reported cases of high cholesterol and heart
disease especially in the urban middle classes, most of them
related to diet. According to reports from the World Health
Foundation, heart disease is the number one cause of death in
Indonesia and in other cities around the world.
With Unicity's Bios Life products, manufactured from a blend
of natural ingredients which have provided breakthrough
48 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Jakarta
benefits, the people of Indonesia will have an opportunity to
improve their health. Indonesia has seen significant growth
in the number of Unicity Franchise Partners over the past
few years. There has been high levels of interest in the range
of Unicity Products branded as ‘Bios Life Slim,’ a weight loss
beverage; 'Bios Life Complete,' an excellent product for enhancing
cardiovascular health; 'E – International Sun Care,' a skin
care product; and 'Bios Life E,' which is actually an energy
beverage. Moreover, there are various products for women’s
health, men’s wellness and standard health products.
Unicity International currently has offices in Singapore, Malaysia
and Brunei in Southeast Asia. The new office in Jakarta
is located at Gedung Perkantoran Bidakara 2 Lt. 15 #2Jalan.
Jend. Gatot Subroto Kav. 71-73Kel. Menteng Dalam Kec. Tebet
Jakarta 12870 Telephone: 8379 3358.

Thailand Convention 2012
Sticking with Asia, Unicity International's Franchise Partners
are all excited for the 2012 Global Leadership Convention and
Make Life Better Rewards Trip in Korea! Unicity International's
life-changing global conventions are held every two to
three years, and they offer an opportunity to meet new people
from all corners of the world who have joined Unicity and are
benefiting from professional development programs and from
quality health products.
For the first time, qualifying Franchise Partners from the USA,
Canada, Mexico, Europe, India, Nigeria, Australia and New
Zealand are participating in joint Make Life Better Rewards
Trip, and it is expected to be spectacular. Other Franchise
Partners in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Lao, Indonesia,
Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan are working
very hard so as to qualify and have their entire trip paid for
by Unicity. The JW Marriott in Seoul shall be the host hotel
from September 17 to 20 2012. Activities will include leadership
training sessions and excursions to visit Seoul’s historical
and shopping sites.
Kintex Convention Centre
Mt. Timpanogos
INDUSTRY INSIDE
The 2012 Global Leadership Convention in Korea will run from
September 21 to 22 and will be hosted at the Kintex Convention
Center. Activities planned are general sessions, celebration of
success, entertainment, presentations from Chairman and CEO of
Unicity International Stewart Hughes, cultural activities, celebrations
and opportunities to learn from the most successful leaders.
While preparing for the upcoming convention Unicity's Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer Stewart Hughes together
with Clayton Barton President of the Americas, Europe and
India mixed work and play and hiked and scaled the heights of
Mt. Timpanogos in Utah's Rocky Mountain backcountry.
When Stewart Hughes joined Unicity in 1991, it was a struggling
network marketing company. Vision, Integrity and
Passion are the three virtues that helped him attract a team of
strong leaders who joined him and together, relaunched the
company with “Bios Life” its flagship product. He states that “
I had made promises to thousands of independent distributors
around the world” when asked why he left his position as a top
independent distributor to move to the corporate management
of the company.
The recent hike at Mt. Timpanogos was in preparation of climbing
Mt. Cotopaxi in Ecuador which rises to a height of 19,347 feet
(5,897m), and is one of the world's highest continuously active
volcanoes, set in the Cordillera Central of the Andes. Reaching
the summit or even attaining one's goals in life needs discipline,
training, focus, faith in one's ability and at times pain.
With his three guiding virtues of Vision, Integrity and Passion,
we at OBTAINER shall be watching Stewart Hughes as he
climbs and report to you once he plants a Unicity Flag at the
summit.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 49

Nigeria Shines at Forever Living
Products Last African Rally
Forever Living Product's worldwide super rallies around the
world are usually colorful and punctuated with a lot of song and
dance. The last African Rally held in Sun City South Africa was
no different and it went out with a bang!
Over 4000 people converged at the Super Bowl Arena from
across the expansive continent to celebrate the last rally and the
success of distributors. Nigeria emerged as number one in almost
all the categories. It was also the country with the largest number
of Top 5 Distributors namely Justina and John Ekperigin taking
first place, followed by Kike & David Apeji, Maria and Clement
Idigo came third, Oma and Tony Attah were fourth and fifth was
Gueminy and Veronique Topka from the Ivory Coast. The rally
also recognized the five best performing countries which were
1.Nigeria & Benin, 2.South Africa, 3.East Africa, 4. Ivory Coast &
5.Burkina Faso and Angola.
Chioma Theresa Ajah was the Sonya Competition winner and
you guessed it; she too is a Nigerian. She shall be representing
the continent at the Super Rally in Phoenix, Arizona.
As the saying goes, there is always strength in numbers and the
more people in an organization or group, the better the outcome. Of
the 4,000 who converged in Sun City, 1,600 of them were Nigerians.
Mr. Cornelius Tay, Managing Director of Nigeria and Benin was
humbled by this experience and stated, “Nigeria recorded a number
of firsts in this year’s African Rally. Firstly, Nigeria had the largest
number of attendees. Ours was a huge number; almost 50 percent
of the entire Rally participants were Nigerians. For every two
people, there was a Nigerian. The country was well represented.
Secondly, Nigeria was declared as the number one country in Africa
on the basis of continental sales in the period 2011 / 2012. Nigeria
received the two topmost cheques at the event. The number one
cheque of US$335,000 went to the Ekperigins, and the second
topmost cheque of US$279,000 went to Kikelomo Apeji.”
Rex Maughan, Founder of Forever along with Gregg Maughan,
President and Gary Shreeve, Senior Vice President of Africa also
congratulated the top 10 distributors for 2011 who received an
award on stage. As Forever moves towards the Global Rally, all are
excited and looking forward to meeting at the first event scheduled
to take place in Hawaii in 2013. This event will consolidate all
existing regional rallies into one. The concept behind it is the
encouragement of the entrepreneurial spirit, promoting the idea
that distributors need not settle for their home town, nor country
or region for that matter, when they can conquer the world.

• Revolutionary convergence of two industries:
- a new form of social networking
- innovative network marketing
• Build a Downline with millions
• PEP members
• Easy, quick, intelligent
• Multifunctional, multilingual
A rewarding experience
“I didn’t make money out of inventions like microwave
ovens, cell phones or the internet. I didn’t own shares in
Microsoft and I’m not a dot-com millionaire. To be honest, I
didn’t even know what Web 2.0 was, let alone Web 3.0.
When SiteTalk came along, I made sure I didn’t miss the
boat. What’s your story?”
Go for it:
www.SiteTalk.com
06/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 51

INDUSTRY INSIDE
XANGO “STRONG
AND SURGING” IN CIS
Deep relationships with top networkers throughout the region
produce some of the strongest single market cumulative sales
and sign-ups growth in XANGO’s 10-year history.
Contrary to the unconfirmed reports doing the rounds on various
blogs and unofficial websites, XANGO’s business in the CIS
is booming. Not interested in merely scratching the surface,
OBTAINER dug deeper and contacted XANGO directly to find
out how XANGO's business in the CIS was developing and to help
debunk some of the rumors flying around.
“XANGO is the strongest company we’ve ever seen,” says XANGO
200K Select Vadim Smirnov.
“We love XANGO products and the compensation plan, and it’s
the relationships we treasure most. When we see the growth of the
people within our teams, their success both personal and financial,
that is the thing that motivates and inspires us,” said Smirnov.
Distributor leaders, XANGO Founders and executives are united
52 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
in their commitment and vision for CIS. Since opening CIS in
October 2009, XANGO has experienced strong, sustained growth
in the market driven by leaders who have made the market one
of the hottest in the company’s ten-year history.
Top networking veterans and fast-growing newcomers are building
XANGO’s CIS growth and bringing first-time products and services
to the region. In just three years, XANGO has achieved a dominant
presence throughout the market, doubling sales growth in one year.
“XANGO is the leader in the market in all aspects. We have a
marvelous team of leaders and systems of business development,
which work. XANGO has changed my life completely. I am grateful
to the founders that they created a dream company,” stated
XANGO 200K Select Serguey Savitch.
Leaders point to surging sales trends for 2012 with upcoming
new product launches in the CIS of star XANGO products
Juni personal care line, Glimpse Luminescence line, and weight
management system Favao.

500K Select Oleg Ogromnovy had the following to say: “We like
to know that we are in step with the times and sometimes even
a little ahead. Everything evolves and, with XANGO, we see the
direction for growth. XANGO clearly invests in Distributor development
and gives us the best products in the business.The MLM
industry is the best industry in the world. And when you find the
best company in that industry everything multiplies many times
over: the possibilities, the teams and the income.”
CIS Distributors just completed a three-day leadership event
running from July 14, 15 and 16, 2012 in Kazakhstan that included
team development, training, leadership insights and latest market
news and vision for the future. Daniel Laroque, President, XANGO
Europe, CIS, Africa & Oceania was present and XANGO Founders
Aaron Garrity and Joe Morton delivered messages via webcast.
During the event, CIS leaders especially noted the trust and transparency
the company has built throughout the market:
According to leaders, XANGO Founders and executives are often
in the market to work with Distributors and the company has
expanded CIS distribution centers to ensure top quality service. In
the last three months, XANGO Distributor leaders, Founders and
executives have toured through CIS and Europe and hosted numerous
meetings with one single event drawing over 3,000 attendees.
“We continue to be impressed by the openness and availability
of the XANGO Founders and executive officers – their constant
visits to different regions and countries in CIS market and their
attitude toward Distributors as equal business owners,” said
XANGO 500K Select Galina Ogromnovy.
INDUSTRY INSIDE
“So much depends on who is at the helm and if every leader
inspires people with who they are, then success is inevitable,”
continued Ogromnovy.
Leaders say XANGO products are authorized by CIS authorities
before sale, and are posted online for Distributors to see and have
a certainty that XANGO is being transparent in its product clearance
process. And sign-ups continue to surge with CIS setting one
of the company’s single-month recruitment records.
“CIS is a priority for XANGO and we treasure our relationships
throughout the market,” said XANGO Senior Vice President
Beverly Hollister. “We are committed to every CIS region and
every CIS Distributor.”
“XANGO’s strong relationships with our Distributors are the cornerstone
of our ten-years of business success. Those relationships are
built on trust – XANGO delivers for our Distributors. When we make
promises, we deliver and our Distributors know that about us.”
This paints a very different picture of the XANGO business in
CIS. In recent days manipulative tactics have been employed by
calculating individuals with the sole aim of damaging XANGO's
reputation. After approaching the company directly and talking
with CIS Distributor leaders, it’s clear to see XANGO’s business
in CIS is healthy and growing.
“XANGO’s 10-year record of success sometimes makes us a target.
Leaders in networking know that from experience. The company is
taking legal action to address outright misrepresentations of our business.
We intend to protect what our leaders have built,” said Hollister.
“In fact, we have reports from several Distributors that they have
been approached and coerced to appear in staged protest videos.
Many of the online posts from anonymous sources include videos
staged in 2009 and links to a start-up company event. That is
recruitment at its ugliest and shows us the intention and lack
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 53

INDUSTRY INSIDE
of credibility of these videos and online articles,” said Hollister.
XANGO, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year, now
has 1.5 million distributors in 43 markets and nearly 500 employees
in 27 global offices and 49 warehouse distribution centers
stretching around the globe.
XANGO ”By the Numbers” in CIS
1. Sales of XANGO products in CIS doubled in a single year.
2. Growth trends for 2012 are strong, and will include new product
launches of Juni personal care line, Glimpse Luminescence
line, and weight management system Favao.
3. CIS achieved the strongest single market cumulative sales
growth first three years after opening in XANGO’s 10-year history.
4. Four “Million Dollar Club” earners in CIS who achieved the
rank faster than million dollar earners in any of XANGO’s 43
markets worldwide.
5. CIS sign-ups are trending the highest among XANGO’s 43
global markets. CIS notched one of the record highs in recruitment
for a single month. XANGO has over 1.5 million distributors
worldwide.
6. CIS is one of the leading markets in distributors maximizing
the compensation plan opportunity and buying on 2-case
ADP -- producing some of the highest commission checks in the
company.
7. XANGO launched its new Favao Detox in Russia as a test
market to reward the leaders for tremendous growth and to
address surging demand. It was the first time a product has been
developed and launched outside the U.S.
54 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
8. XANGO 500K Selects Oleg & Galina Ogromnovy have consistently
had one of the highest checks in the company and highest
volume levels. The Ogromnovys are contending to reach unprecedented
ranks like Quantum Premier (750K) and X1 – and receive
the bonuses with those accomplishments.
9. Driven by demand, XANGO opened 11 new distribution
centers allowing for product pickups in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan,
and Mongolia. The company has 49 warehouse distribution
centers and 27 offices around the world.
10. As a reward to the momentum and innovation of leaders,
XANGO made CIS the first market to offer an electronic wallet
payment option, which is now available in South Africa, Hong
Kong, and in the Baltics.
“Our plans for CIS are very clear,” said XANGO Founder,
Chairman of the Board and CEO Aaron Garrity in an exclusive
statement to OBTAINER. “We are working to repeat the feat
of doubling our single-year sales growth and rewarding every
Distributor working to build and dominate the market.
“XANGO has proven through ten years in business that we know
how to build and how to foster individual success for our leaders,”
added Garrity. “CIS is an important home for XANGO and we are
committed to giving our leaders unlimited potential.”
"XANGO prides itself in the way it runs its thriving business.
From our unique corporate culture to customer service to fiscal
responsibility to our global expansion initiatives, there is not a
better-run enterprise. It's no wonder XANGO is recognized by all
as a leader in direct sales,” continued Garrity.
XANGO’s business in the CIS is thriving. Simply turn a blind eye
to unsubstantiated reports and biased reporting. Choose authentic
reporting, choose OBTAINER.

Vorwerk Is Tops in
Direct Sales
If the name Vorwerk is mentioned then
everyone knows which company is being
talked about. Vorwerk has achieved an
impressive brand awareness level of 90%
which is something that other compa-
nies can only dream about. Vorwerk was
founded in 1883 as a carpet manufacturer
and is still today, one of the leading enterprises
in the field of home appliances;
proven by the fact that one in three German
households have a vacuum cleaner with
the brand name "Kobold"- the sales hit for
the enterprise from Wuppertal.
But today, Vorwerk is considerably more
than just a company that succeeded with
"Kobold" and "Thermomix." Vorwerk is
also the national leader in Direct Sales
and when measured internationally the
business group is in third place. "Thermomix"
produces the smallest "kitchen"
in the world , has sold more than 7 million
times and is the fastest growing division
of the company. This kitchen appliance is
sold in Italy, Spain, France and Germany
and more than 100,000 are sold every
year; - more than 6,000 distributors
offer this unit by selling direct. Jafra, a
subsidiary company has a product portfolio
that consists of a cosmetics line; it
is also operating abroad and today has
more than 620,000 distributors; these
consist mainly of women who have sold
more than 569,000 products, thus earning
additional income and gaining independence.
Meanwhile, Vorwerk generates over 84%
of corporate revenues through Direct
Sales, two thirds of this from abroad. In
order to develop new customer segments,
Vorwerk has, over and above this, established
new sales channels; these include,
for example, Online-Shopping and,
in addition, the concept of “Flagship
Stores”. Through these stores, the presence
in large cities will be strengthened;
here customers can test the company’s
products extensively on site and then can
also make appointments with a distributor
that then comes to their home.
Furthermore, Vorwerk also focuses on
product innovation: this includes, for
example, robotic vacuum cleaners that
vacuum automatically and systematically
which have, in numerous tests, achieved
top marks.
This is just one of many examples of the
new, innovative and versatile products that
focus on current customer needs; in addition,
they are oriented towards providing
comfortable and time saving household
solutions. Therefore, they can surely win
new customers and continue the success
story of the enterprise from Germany.

SHORT CUT
PM Family Day 2012
FAMILY VALUES, ENTHUSIASM AND TEAM SPIRIT UNDILUTED!
Together with their families more than 1,500 of PM International AG’s business
partners experienced two days that were more than unforgettable at the second
Family Day in the history of the European direct sales company. Around the
PM Logistics Center Europe and at the “Pretzel Fun Run” with FitLine in Speyer
a program full of highlights created enthusiasm and true to the motto “We are
PM!” friendship, family values and togetherness were to the fore!
56 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

SHORT CUT
Having traveled from far and near, all PM sales partners
and their guests experienced right from the opening
highlight of the Family Day that celebrating together,
pride in successes and shaping the future are very closely linked
at PM: the official opening of the new second administration
building in Speyer was on the program – another impressive
proof of PM’s orientation toward an expanding future and
a visible sign of the success of all of PM’s business partners.
In his opening speech PM’s Founder and Chairman Rolf Sorg
emphasized that this new building is another achievement of all
of PM International AG’s sales partners and all of the company’s
staff that has taken on visible form.
As is to be expected of the PM Family Day as a “large public
festival for everybody,” following the opening ceremony
everything the heart desires was on offer for both the adults
and in particular for the many children. A huge amusement park
provided endless fun for everybody with many attractions made
available by volunteers from the organization “Das Kunterbunte
Kinderzelt” in return for a donation from PM. Thrills and
enormous excitement were provided by a stunt motorcycle
show and, of course, an enormous variety of culinary specialties
were on offer to the guests. An invitation to relax away from the
colorful program was provided by a lounge area with live music
in the idyllic garden of the main administration building.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 57

SHORT CUT
It is a tradition that PM events are linked with charitable
activities – and this was also the case here! A special caliber of
PM charity initiative was displayed by PM business partners in
the “Cakes for a Good Cause” action. More than 85 home-baked
small “works of art” were in great demand. The proceeds from
their sale and PM’s donation for the children’s amusement
park totaling about €6,200 are going to the “Das Kunterbunte
Kinderzelt” organization for a special aid project against child
poverty in Romania – more precisely for the “Kindernestchen”
children’s daycare facility and its development. The total
donations from the First PM Family Day in 2010 were what
made the construction of this day care facility possible.
After this it was proved that the extension of the successful PM
car program to include vehicles with the logo of BeautyLine
cosmetics is steadily finding increasing resonance. Numerous
proud owners of a new “VW BeautyLine UP” received their
brand new city runabouts, which will support further sales
success, to the accompaniment of resounding applause from
the audience.
Indeed, and when the PM family celebrates properly, then it
can get quite late: To round off the fantastic first day a perfectly
choreographed fireworks display accompanied by music
embellished the evening sky above the PM Logistics Center
Europe. The subsequent summer night party with a live band,
dancing and an amazing atmosphere until the early morning
hours was the climax of the day, something nobody will forget!
58 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

SHORT CUT
The Great Pretzel Fun
Run turned into a FitLine
Team sensation!
Fitness and exercise are integral parts of the PM's living
philosophy. So a logical consequence of this was a further highlight
within the framework of the PM Family Day: the “Great Pretzel
Fun Run with FitLine” in Speyer on July 15th, 2012. The PM
family was present with 140 runners wearing a uniform FitLine
sport outfit. The team around PM's Founder and Chairman Rolf
Sorg and his wife Vicki was also accompanied and supported here
by the extreme sports legend and enthusiastic Fitline user Achim
Heukemes. The spectators at the Speyer Pretzel Fun Run were
shown an impressive large picture of the PM family and the “PM
Running Team” also won the Team Cup for the largest cohesive
team in the race. The applause from the people along the course
for the strong performance and the rousingly presented team
spirit of the FitLine runners was huge.
The second PM Family Day showed again clearly the unique spirit
of PM International: in addition to the constantly growing sales
successes friendship, family and togetherness are emphasized in
this direct sales company!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 59

Taking
Things
Easy
Ilhan Dogan
Opens
Reborn Spa in Mallorca
ILHAN Dogan, who for quite some time was one
of the top leaders of a global direct selling beauty and
wellness company and then made a name for himself
primarily through his coaching in the development of
and care for structures, has recently opened the “Reborn
Spa” in the capital of the sunny island of Majorca. Here
“Reborn” isn’t just a name that sounds nice – even more
it expresses the philosophy of the new wellness temple.
CLOSE UP
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 61

CLOSE UP
For Ilhan Dogan success and
wellness go together: “You can
only achieve measurable success
if you take care equally of your
body, your mind and your soul.”
62 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Ilhan Dogan is no stranger to the direct sales industry. The
son of Turkish immigrants began his career as a simple shift
worker in a textile factory and today – 22 years later – he’s
one of the most successful leaders in the network marketing
industry. His latest project is the “Reborn Spa,” which
he’s opened in Palma de Majorca. For his new project Dogan
was able to benefit from his vast experience in the fields of
beauty and wellness. For Ilhan Dogan success and wellness
go together: “You can only achieve measurable success if you
take care equally of your body, your mind and your soul.”
For this reason, it isn’t surprising that Ilhan Dogan has now
fulfilled his personal dream of a place where the revitalization
of the body and the mind take first place. “At a time that
is all too often characterized by stress and a hectic pace it’s
important to have a refuge where you can take things easy and
escape the stress of everyday life.”
Ilhan Dogan has invested €3.5 million in the development of
the Reborn Spa, a project that took just one year to bring to
fruition. More than 500 guests attended the opening, among
them businesspeople, lawyers and celebrities such as Monica
Invancan, Nova Meierhenrich and former Bayern Munich
player Thomas Helmer with his wife Yasmina Filali. At the
moment the Saudi Royal Family is residing at the wellness
temple as VIP guests. In the Reborn Spa highly qualified staff

(beauticians, physiotherapists etc.), who undergo continuous
training, await the guests and ensure through individual treatment
concepts that they will be able to recharge their batteries
and receive new stimulus.
Among the things on offer at the Spa are, for example, beauty
treatment and advice on style. As a top hairdresser Ilhan Dogan
was able to recruit the renowned Parisian stylist Franck Provost.
More than 7 million women (and also men) have placed their
confidence in his skills and ability, among them stars such as
Sharon Stone, Iman, Daryl Hannah and Catherine Deneuve.
In 1977 Franck Provost was voted “Hairdresser of the World“
and as a result his reputation and his salons spread all over the
world. The well-known specialist beautician and make-up artist
Anja Pariti, who has over 25 years of experience in the beauty
field and is also a trained naturopath, offers permanent makeup
at the Reborn Spa from the renowned Long-Time-Liner
Conture Make-up brand. Thousands of satisfied customers
show that these make-up products provide support for everyday
wellness. In addition, Anja Pariti is the founder of the First
German Trade Association for Permanent Make-up and is often
recommended as a beauty expert by many TV stations.
Above and beyond that Reborn works in the field of aesthetic
plastic surgery together with Dr. med. Peter Holzschuh,
CLOSE UP
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 63

CLOSE UP
64 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Consultant Surgeon and Senior Doctor at the OPTIMA Clinic
in Karlsruhe (Germany). Dr. Holzschuh has more than 20 years
of experience in plastic surgery and has worked among other
places in France, Spain, the USA and Brazil. He carries out all
consultations in person and the operations are also exclusively
carried out by him. Dr. Holzschuh also tends to the guests
personally after the operation and, if necessary, he is personally
accessible 24 hours a day.
The comprehensive and varied range of services offered by
the Reborn Spa is rounded off by cosmetic treatments with
aloe vera products as well as by consultations on diet and food
supplements, a body check-up and a fitness program. Facials,
skin rejuvenation, face-lifting, wrinkle treatment, massages,
lymph drainage, hair removal and much more also belong to
the repertoire of the spa. The cosmetic treatments with aloe
vera use only the pure leaf gel and are carried out with products
cultivated by the spa itself. The independent Fresenius
Institute has given the products the rating “Very good.”
“It isn’t just the body that’s the focus of the philosophy
of the Reborn Spa, but rather the relaxation
in your head and the feeling that you’re being
cared for and looked after; this is what you
should experience as our guest,” is the spa’s
mission statement. Not least because of this

the spa offers a quite special VIP service including, for example,
collection in a limousine and the provision of a driver. The
hand-made furniture, the loving details and the harmonious
design round off the wellness experience perfectly.
Notwithstanding the high investments in and the luxurious
fixtures and fittings of the Reborn Spa there’s something on
offer for everybody – both men and women - and that at prices
that are quite reasonable.
The Reborn Spa is in a top-class location right in the middle
of Palma de Majorca, just minutes away from the Cathedral of
Santa Maria de Palma. The Spa is open Monday through Friday
from 9.00 a.m to 8.00 p.m. And on Saturday from 10.00 a.m.
to 8.00 p.m.
Contact:
Reborn Spa
Carrer de la Constitució 1
07001 Palma de Mallorca
Phone: (+34) 971 728 455
Fax: (+34) 971 710 702
e-Mail: info@reborn-spa.com
Homepage: www.reborn-spa.com
CLOSE UP
“It isn’t just the body that’s the focus of
the philosophy of the Reborn Spa, but
rather the relaxation in your head and
the feeling that you’re being cared for
and looked after; this is what you should
experience as our guest,”
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 65

CLOSE UP
A “Must Have” Product Is More Than
Half the Battle in Network Marketing
When Julia Krezdorn Sees Opportunities
She Takes Action and Grabs It
66 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

As a
nutritionist and passionate
networker Julia Krezdorn is always
critical of something new. She looks twice
before being convinced of something. It almost
sounds like a stereotype how the native of Mahlberg and
mother of two came in contact with Network Marketing. “I
came to direct marketing for the first time with Tupperware.
For a housewife this is also, somehow, logical,” she says with a
grin. The motivation at that time was to add, with a side job, a few
Euros to the household budget with a moderately time consuming
effort through a flexible, independent and self- defining activity.
The trained hotel manager and paramedic quickly fell in love with
the concept of “Network Marketing.” Not only because she enjoys
working with people, but rather because she became aware
of the tremendous opportunities offered by this marketing
concept. Daily challenges in being creative to develop new
markets, motivating people to change something in
their lives or achieving ever higher goals are only
a few aspects that, surely, make Network
Marketing one of the most exciting
jobs in the world.
CLOSE UP
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 67

CLOSE UP
68 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
With “Tupperware” the Malberger quickly reached her boundaries. She knew that
there was a lot more potential with MLM. The aim was to find a company where she
could also bring her professional knowledge as a nutrition coach into play. “Then,
three years ago, I got to know a German family business and was extremely happy
with the products,” says Julia. Except for the prevalent stereotypes of some people,
who did not really understand Network Marketing, the two time mother had only
positive experiences. She was very happy with the team’s cohesion, the joint activities
and also the sidelines as well, as, of course, the products and customers.
But, as it is so apply referred to: “Good is not good enough.” After three years with
established German companies and many new experiences, Julia Krezdorn developed
an aptitude for products and companies as well as for their market opportunities. She
knew that there was something out in the network-landscape that will continue to
drive her forward - and she found it. “I have changed. But not because of the products,
these I will continue with. I had always felt very comfortable in a German family busi-
ness and, therefore, I thought about making this decision for a long time and it was
not an easy one. Above all, leaving the team with this in mind was not easy but it was
the right time for my personal development. I shall remain loyal as a customer and
will also continue to recommend the products,” said Julia half crying, half laughing.
She has not regretted the decision. Her intuition was correct and the results showed it
quickly. She began with her “warm” market and she was able to win over close friends
and family members who previously had no interest in MLM. What is different at the
American company? “It is contemporary, innovative, unique, and it is really a lot of
fun. My small but excellent team is developing superbly, and I am already earning
more now than before. In addition, it can be easily re-positioned worldwide in an
unlimited way: You do not need product approvals and lengthy processes. One click
and up you go,” Julia says mysteriously. She loves the unrestricted use of her time
because there is, simply, no pressure on the part of the company, the innovative product
with a future that has very good earnings potential and, especially, the immediate
payment of commissions. She can also live out her slight addiction to luxury because,
in the end, she is a woman and, therefore, likes to go shopping, Julia reveals smirking.
The American company is a member of the “Direct Selling Association” and has been
operating for about 12 months in Germany. Thus, Julia is performing pioneering
work. At this point in time the distribution network is being built up so that every
federal state, every city and every municipality will be a point of contact for customers.
The end user business in the USA is enormous and Julia is sure that it will be also
be this way in Germany. That will - after the construction of the distributor network
is completed - be massively tackled in the coming year.

"Mostly I work
from home using the
PC, Skype and Webinars,”
says Julia. Sounds simple
and it also is. This is
working from home -
“par excellence.”
CLOSE UP

70 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Julia works, both offline and online, for customer and distributor acquisition. Every
evening there is an online presentation at which the Mahlberger invites interested
friends, colleagues and acquaintances. “I have put my shyness aside and speak
directly to people that I’ve only known a short while. I just think that EVERYONE
should have the product and use it,” Julia believes. After each online presentation
she makes a 3way call with the interested person and her sponsor. Thus, utilizing the
power of a third person. She does not hold hotel seminars but uses them when they
arise. “Some of my colleagues do that and, if suitable and if it is around the corner,
then I’ll look in and also take interested parties with me. But mostly I work from
home using the PC, Skype and Webinars,” says Julia. Sounds simple and it also is.
This is working from home - “par excellence.”
Network Marketing is not just a job for Julia but it’s also a hobby. Of course she is not
a workaholic and also enjoys her leisure time with the family, exercises, likes to eat
out and enjoys traveling, as she has been to Italy, France, the USA and Hong Kong.
But, the job is simply enjoyable because she works together in a team. Julia likes to
reveal how it’s done. “One should bear in mind that as one builds the business one
is going to work, ideally, with people for a long period of time and very intensively.
This is easier to do with friends. A colleague of mine always says if you can imagine
this person sitting next to you on the sofa, then it is right,” says Julia. It’s a simple
rule of thumb for being happy in one’s business. But, of course, it does not work
entirely without effort. A certain ambition must already exist, especially in the initial
phase. “It’s a cliché, but so true. Never give up. Even if things sometimes do not
go as planned, go on! One must be willing to learn, have the willingness to change

something in one’s life and do everything you are told to do for at least 12 months
and preferably for 24 months. Then it works like clockwork and one can earn some
money”, explains Julia about the secret of success. This is a very short time to build
a self-sufficient business. Even a hairdresser, a baker and bricklayer needs to study
for three years before he has mastered his craft.
Now is the perfect point in time to enter this American Network Marketing Business.
The foundations have been laid, the seeds have been sown, and the fields have just
been cultivated. In MLM, the “beginners” in a new MLM company are the ones who
bring in the biggest profits when the boom fully strikes. Intrigued? Then just contact
Julia Krezdorn via Facebook, Xing, or LinkedIn. Or contact her directly via Skype
at “julia-krezdorn“ or by mail at krezdorn@live.de. It costs only a little time but it
may be the “secret tip” for the next MLM success story. Then it does not matter if
you later say that no one could have guessed this. Julia guessed it and she is ready
to reveal it to everybody.
“It’s a cliché, but so true.
Never give up. Even if things
sometimes do not go as planned,
go on! One must be willing to learn,
have the willingness to change
something in one’s life and do
everything you are told to do for
at least 12 months and preferably
for 24 months. Then it works like
clockwork and one can
earn some money.”
CLOSE UP

CLOSE UP
The MLM industry has embraced the entire globe and Europe is no
exception. The success story of Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari is true
inspiration for others in this industry. As they set out an example for others,
they see the MLM industry as a platform also meant for ‘smart people’ and
not just those who have failed.
Luana Sicari &
Riccardo Vieri
Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari are two young
entrepreneurs who turned towards the boom-
ing MLM industry for the ample opportunity
and freedom it provides. But to them, MLM is
a gateway to make a global presence. As their work starts
in Italy this coming August, Luana Sicari and Riccardo Vieri
seem content. An inventor as well as a coach, Riccardo Vieri
saw immense promise in the MLM industry. Luana Sicari has
immense expertise in face-to-face marketing, which helped
her understand the nitty-gritty of the industry.
Riccardo’s first ever encounter with the MLM industry was
way back in 1989 through Europartners – a company working
in the automotive domain. When asked about the motivations
behind joining a home business way back in 1989, enthusiastic
Riccardo Vieri recalled his tryst with an eminent international
Amway leader who was on vacation to Italy. Riccardo Vieri
started drawing parallels between the distribution model of
Amway and Europartners. He could not have afforded to miss
out on such a golden opportunity. Within a short span of 3
72 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
months of working for Europartners as a representative, Riccardo
Vieri saw laurels of appreciation coming in and was made
the General Director representing three companies.
Riccardo Vieri has earned impeccable experience in the
network marketing industry. His zeal and skills earned him
the most important qualification rank while he served the
industry as a representative. He has also served a European
multinational network marketing company for 3 years as
General Manager in which he had to manage the entire Western
Europe. He co-founded an Italian network marketing
company and gave 4 years of his life to its success. In his last
experience with Network Marketing, Riccardo hit the highest
European position with an MLM company in the field of telecommunications.
Riccardo and Luana’s search for ‘something nice to do’ apart
from their first business led them to their current company
– Organo Gold. As they say, ‘we had to make a cold shower
to start again the business, after our last run in the network
but we made it.’ Organo Gold is DSA-approved and unique

"We had to make a cold shower to start again the business,
after our last run in the network, but we made it."
CLOSE UP
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 73

CLOSE UP
everyday products and a good pay plan are its USPs. Although
most companies sell good products, their company – Organo
Gold – sells products that are really useful and do not affect
people’s habits and behavior adversely. Taking the example
of a group of any ten people, Riccardo and Luana explain that
only one out of them might take food supplements but all ten
of them have breakfast so the key is to make products that are
consumed by one and all.
Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari’s exposure to the MLM
industry helped them develop a unique system for tracking
records that ‘combines special face-to-face techniques with
some automatic proprietary follow-up model.’ As sponsors,
both Riccardo and Luana spend a lot of time in team building
training. They take a unique approach to self motivation
and they guarantee sure-shot success to those who use this
system. They organize hotel meetings in new cities only when
74 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
three-fourths of the total participants is new. Otherwise, they
work through face-to-face meetings and other media support
to gather new and interesting contacts. They also conduct
full-day trainings once every month and two-day intensive
coaching every three months. In these training sessions, they
explain their unique system to their network besides giving
them the key to emerge as a protagonist in the MLM industry
in their respective countries. These activities also spell
Riccardo’s favourite quote is: “To find me around you do not have to look far, because
for better or for worse in joy and in sorrow, in the exaltation and humiliation,
actually I’m just a little piece of something that is present in many of you.”
immense success for the company. In case of remote training,
Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari take the help of web conferencing
and online presentations. This methodology chiefly
helps those who live far from the cities where trainings and
weekly meetings are generally conducted. However, they do
not rely on telephonic conferences and call them ‘cold system
and old one.’ Their aversion towards talking over phone in
general is also one of the reasons behind the same. In addi-

tion, they send information to the trainees on daily basis.
Their simple and easy internet newsletter magazine is under
production and will be available soon. To establish a close
relationship between retail customers and business partners,
Riccardo and Luana teach their partners to get new customers
every day. Since residual income grows only with sales, due
importance should be given to the latter. Sponsors help in
building the network but it is direct selling to customers that
actually makes the network work and spread the benefits of
the products. Besides classified ads and name lists, they use
direct contact and e-mail marketing to expand their network.
However, they have a strict policy against spam and other
such intrusions. Their no-intrusive policy has enabled them
to build such an effective system.
While talking about the ‘right formula’ to succeed in Europe,
Riccardo Vieri pointed out the mistakes of many big companies
who failed to make a presence in the European market. For a
network marketing company to succeed in Europe it should
have the right mix of smart people including tactical lawyers
and book keepers who not only know the rules but also what
people think and want. Riccardo Vieri could master this art
because of his association with one of the best network marketing
companies and amazing entrepreneurial skills. Riccardo
Vieri and Luana Sicari see a bright future for the MLM distribution
model. The only thing that the companies in this industry
need to do is to follow the legal rules involved in networking
marketing.
When asked by OBTAINER how they would convince a
layman of the benefits of their business opportunity, they
replied in an interesting manner. At first, they will capture the
layman’s attention over a cup of coffee and then ask him if he
has any idea of the power of residual income. Then they will
slowly proceed to giving a clearer picture of the benefits of their
business opportunity.
Both Riccardo and Luana aspire to become a source of inspiration
to others and this is what constantly motivates them.
According to them, the booming MLM industry has dishes for
one and all. It is not just meant for people who have failed
in other fields and who take this as a last resort. The MLM
industry offers loads to ‘smart guys’ as well. As they say, ‘smart
people need smart ways to realize their dreams, especially in
Europe.’ The MLM industry is one such smart way.
To people aspiring to make a career in the MLM industry,
Riccardo and Luana request that they should ‘say the right
thing to the right people’ and should ‘be smart also with the
wrong people.’
CLOSE UP
Riccardo and Luana’s current company, Organo Gold, have
plans for people who need to earn 500 Euro or US Dollars in
a month. All they have to do is to network with at least three
people and buy their unique easy product. The more people,
the higher the chances they will earn much more than just 500
Euro.
Both Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari are married without
children. However, the absence of kids at home is filled by the
presence of three pets – two cats and a dog – that are very much
a part of their family. It is quite interesting to note that both the
partners pursue quite diversified hobbies. While Luana Sicari
likes to read, dive and ride horses; Riccardo is a radio ham.
He ‘loves building new antennas to talk with other radio hams
from all over the world.’ His other hobbies include various
types of sport. He also takes keen interest in self defense. Even
their interest in cars does not match. Luana Sicari is a lover of
Ferrari and Riccardo Vieri simply loves Lamborghini. Riccardo
currently drives a Lexus. Riccardo and Luana have been
to several countries on business purposes but could never find
an opportunity to hit Alaska and Australia. They look forward
to visiting these locations soon.
OBTAINER went ahead to ask them about the three wishes
they would ask for given a chance. The first wish they would ask
for is a big residual income as well as financial freedom so that
they can spend more time with people they love. The second
wish would be an opportunity to travel all across the world and
learn a new lifestyle. The third wish would be to stay for few
minutes with those people whom they loved and are no more.
Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari are deeply inspired by John
Maxwell’s book ‘Failing Forward’ and they recommend others
read it too. Walt Disney has always been their role model for
the reason that he could foresee the future. His comics always
talked about futuristic things that did not exist at the time when
they were being written. According to them, ‘his silence is still
very loud.’ Riccardo’s favourite quote is “to find me around you
do not have to look far, because for better or for worse in joy
and in sorrow, in the exaltation and humiliation, actually I’m
just a little piece of something that is present in many of you.”
Riccardo Vieri and Luana Sicari can be contacted via e-mail
at riccardo.vieri@gmail.com.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 75

This is your chance.
Achim Hickmann

Do you have... dreams, wishes, goals?
Are you... hungry for success,
passionate and a little bit crazy?
Then I’m exactly the person you need. I will help you become successful or even a mil-
lionaire, just like I have done with others before you. If you are ready to put in the hard
work and give above average commitment, then you have the unique opportunity here
and now to break new ground. Follow me on the path to making your dreams and as-
pirations a reality. I am putting together a new success team that is limited to 24 people.
Are you one of these 24? Do you accept the challenge? If you are interested in a co-
operation, please send me detailed information on you to: info@achim-hickmann.de.
Contact:
+49(0)170.4006315
+971(0)50.1597223
info@achim-hickmann.de

LIFESTYLE
BACKGROUND
A Quick Guide for
the Modern Techie in You!
We live
in a world constantly redefined by the
twists and turns of modern technological
innovations. And whether you choose to admit it or not, you’re
constantly on the lookout for that vibrant new gadget, that amazing
new product or that wonderful new trend. let’s face it, we love keeping
up with a society that is in a steady state of evolution! Aside from
the changes brought about by the latest health fads, the trendiest
fashion finds or the newest Youtube sensations, nothing can ever
compare to the power of technology and its ability to usher change.
So, if you feel like you’ve been missing out on the hottest tech trends
of 2012, then it’s time for you to stop living under that rock! Read
on and find out just what these trends are...
78 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

LIFESTYLE
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 79

BACKGROUND
Mobile
businesses
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
80 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
social
sharing
>>>>>>>>>>
This year, you need more than just a
stable, well-maintained website to house
your products and services. Consumers
are taking advantage of the latest mobile
commerce trends and they expect you
to do the same. Do you operate your
business from the comfort of your own
laptop or computer? Well, with the
birth of the smartphone and the tablet,
you can respond to business inquiries
even when you’re on the go. Improve
the online visibility of your site and
your services and launch your business
to new heights! Now you don’t
have to miss another message or
skip a potential customer!
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have no plans
of taking it slow this year. They have devised a new way for you to
remain constantly in-touch with your own social circle. Otherwise
known as “frictionless sharing,” this trend allows you to share
your latest endeavours (from your Tetris Battle scores to your
most recent comments) without lifting a finger or clicking on
anything on your screen. Simply approve the relevant application
and everything you’ve been doing appears on your profile! It’s a
bit like having your very own “News Flash” corner on one side of
your screen. Although some people don’t mind this instant sharing
scheme, a lot of users seem to find this trend a tad unnerving.
Aside from sharing your posts about that awesome new video or
that great weekend photo, this trend has the ability to somehow
limit your sense of privacy. So make the necessary adjustments on
your Social Reader or Spotify to take full advantage
of this new sharing trend!

Video-enabled
coMMunication
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
the groWing
PoWer
oF touch
technologY
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The improvement in bandwidth capacities
and IP networks has made it easier
for large and small businessmen to use
video-enabled communication when
they’re dealing with employees, business
partners and clients. Now, you don’t have
to speak to an imaginary face on your
home phone. You can share ideas, seal
business deals and convince more people
with this highly interactive approach to
internet-based enterprising. And even if
you’re not running your own business,
seeing your loved ones on screen will
definitely make those phone conversations
even more special!
Pretty soon, you may have to kiss your beloved desktop settings
and keyboard goodbye. This year, more and more desktop operating
systems are following the worldwide trend for all things
touchscreen! Now the touchscreen craze won’t be limited to
tablets and mobile devices, your desktop and laptop computers
may be following suit before the year ends. So if you’re having a
hard time functioning without that keyboard or that computer
mouse, you may have to start practicing! Now, you can say that
the future is quite literally in our hands!
Voice
control
aPPs
>>>>>>
BACKGROUND
Some years ago, we only saw voice controlled
gadgets in spy movies or futuristic films. Now,
we’re lucky to live in an age where voice control
is all the rage! Apple introduced the Siri App with
the new iPhone 4S, and yes, multi-tasking will
never be the same again. Now, you can surf the
web, post reminders and send text messages by
voicing out orders on your mobile phone.
Now, you don’t have to speak to an imaginary face on your home phone.
You can share ideas, seal business deals and convince more people
with this highly interactive approach to internet-based enterprising.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 81

BACKGROUND
social
selling
>>>>>>>>>>
energY-saVing
inVentions
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
cable
subscriPtion
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
82 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
If you don’t have enough money to build an actual four-walled store for
your new business venture, why don’t you run an online shop on Facebook
instead? That’s right! Aside from meeting new friends and maintaining
social relationships, you may also introduce your product or your services
on various networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. But
remember, you still need to take full responsibility for your social media
campaigns! So treat your clients with care and manage your ads wisely!
Do you know that you can be a
techie without compromising your
duty to the environment? This year,
many energy-saving innovations are
starting to gain a lot of recognition,
and more and more people are willing
to try them out. Your basic home lighting
and heating devices can be transformed into
energy-efficient systems that will help you save a lot
of money in the long run. At the same time, taking part
in this growing trend may well be your contribution to
saving the environment. So invest in cost-efficient and
earth-friendly technology by following this new trend!
You may think YouTube has finally monopolized the entertainment industry, but
cable television is about to get even. Do you know that cable companies are offering
live TV subscriptions for your mobile phone? Now you can request your favourite
movies and TV shows and view them on your tablet or your phone. Dish Network
and Comcast are two of the pioneering companies for this trend in the US, and the
list may be getting longer this year. So hold on to your cable subscription just in case!

deVice
FleXibilitY
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
online
traFFic
For ideal
locations
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
BACKGROUND
Social networking sites have one more function added to their endless list
of uses. Now you can simply check into a certain restaurant, shop or store
and you end up promoting a location without even knowing it! When you
tag a location on that latest Facebook post, a link can be viewed by any of
your friends and if they find the place interesting enough, then they may
visit it too! So you’re not simply generating online traffic to a website or
a Facebook page, you are actually encouraging people to visit the place
in person!
Slim is in, and it’s not just limited to the latest dieting fads of 2012. Our gadgets are
slimmer, sleeker and several pounds lighter. But this year, they’re becoming much
more flexible too! The new batch of phones and tablets will boast bendable interfaces
that allow you to manipulate them by a simple twist!
From awesome new apps that allow you to make the most of your time, to amazing
online sharing trends that help you keep track of the things that matter, indeed
2012 is filled to the brim with wonderful technological surprises that celebrate our
advancement as a modern global community. And the good news is, we’re bound to
expect even greater things from these trends someday soon!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 83

SHORT CUT
84 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
SOMNIUM Network
"Let the Games Begin!"
This year appears to be completely characterized by games: In June we experienced
the European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine and this summer we
celebrated a special highlight – the Summer Olympics in London. So is seems
almost logical that at the end of October a new networking company will start
up, a company which – you've already guessed – will be offering games, more
precisely online and browser games. In collaboration with SOMNIUM Games,
SOMNIUM Network will launch an innovative and well thought out business
model with a networking structure, a model that is far removed
from conventional product categories. In an in-depth interview
with OBTAINER Stephan Morgenstern (SOMNIUM's Founder,
President and CEO) described what opportunities his
“made in Austria” company will be offering, how far
the preparations for the launch have already
flourished and why the business model
stands out in comparison with many
other companies in
the industry due to
its sustainability
and its uniqueness.

Opportunities to Dream of.
Income to Dream of.
Lifestyle to Dream of.
Stephan Morgenstern – The Company Founder
Stephan Morgenstern (49) is no stranger to the network marketing industry. The native of
Berlin, who has been living in Salzburg in Austria for a number of years, can look back
on impressive experience in the fields of direct selling and MLM spanning 22 years.
Morgenstern has a reputation for being a man who thinks big, a visionary, and
optimist and a perfectionist – qualities which will also be found again in
his new company SOMNIUM. The idea of setting up his own company
is one he had about a year ago – he summarizes his main motivation
in a few convincing sentences. “I'd simply had enough
of hearing promises from companies again and again,
promises that were then never kept. However,
above all else, I thought that there has to be
a company that's built up in accordance
with EUROPEAN needs.”
So Stephan Morgenstern
took the first
steps and sought
SHORT CUT
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 85

SHORT CUT
“SOMNIUM comes from Latin and means 'dream',” explains
Stephan Morgenstern.
out two partners – Martina Kreutzer and Andrea Karl – who,
in his words, bring “lots of lifeblood and competence” into the
company. Martina Kreutzer will be working as SOMNIUM's
CFO; Andrea Karl will be using her strengths in the field of sales
and distribution. However, what at first remained unclear was
what concrete product was to be on offer. “In April 2012 I was
hiking in the mountains in my new home,” remembers Stephan
Morgenstern. “When hiking, as is well known, you get lots of
fresh air and oxygen into you brain and on this day I felt this
was particularly the case. I had no end of ideas. And then suddenly
this brilliant idea occurred to me: I'll market online and
browser games through my own network marketing company.”
86 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
come to dream of and a lifestyle to dream of.” Now some reader
or other may object that many companies maintain that they
offer conditions to dream of and allegedly enable their partners
to make their dreams come true. So let's take a look at
SOMNIUM's array of products in order to find out whether the
company will be able to keep its promise.
The Products
A current statistic from the Federal Association for Interactive
Entertainment (BIU) shows that in Germany alone 15.5 million
people regularly play online and browser games – worldwide
there are hundreds of millions. On top of that, it's a fact that
The selection will include free online games, premium games
subject to a fee and also educationally worthwhile games particularly
suitable for children. Quite explicitly there will NOT be prize games,
poker or casino games or the like on offer.
As early as June SOMNIUM then began to take on concrete
form. Stephan Morgenstern consulted lawyers and tax advisers
in order to place his new company on a solid legal and
financial foundation. Then in July 2012 followed the official
foundation of Worldwide Online Service GmbH and it was
entered into the Austrian company register. Stephan Morgenstern
represents the company, which will trade under the
name SOMNIUM, as chief executive; his partners are Martina
Kreutzer und Andrea Karl.
SOMNIUM – A New
Company
The very name of the new net-
working company was chosen
with caution and brings the
promise of its benefit to the
point. “SOMNIUM comes
from Latin and means
'dream',” explains Stephan
Morgenstern. “And that is
precisely what we want
to achieve – opportunities
to dream of, an in-
the online games phenomenon
is still really young and so has
a massive potential for growth.
Meanwhile there's a whole series
of providers who run platforms
with online and offline
games – however, SOMNIUM is
the first company to link such a
platform and the network marketing
model. Since the preparation
phase granted the necessary
time and a selection of the games
on offer has been programmed
together with a professional
games developer exclusively
for SOMNIUM, the online

and browser games on offer will be very attractive from the
word go. The selection will include free online games, premium
games subject to a fee and also educationally worthwhile
games particularly suitable for children. Quite explicitly there
will NOT be prize games, poker or casino games or the like on
offer. The games will be bought or leased by SOMNIUM and
hosted on its own servers. It is planned to have the range of
games on offer continually extended and improved by wellknown
games developers.
The games portal itself, which can be personalized and “will
from the very outset be available in German, English and Rus-
sian,” as Morgenstern explains, will be hosted by SOMNIUM
Games – SOMNIUM Network will take care of the network
marketing field and will make various landing pages available.
Here the motto is: simple and clearly laid out. A page will only
have three buttons (“Play for free,” “Premium games” and
“Games and earning money”) and will enable the partners to
access the back-office, which in addition to basic information
will provide many additional possibilities. It will, of course, be
possible to download all the important documents.
Training & Promotional Materials
In addition to the back-office partners will be able to access the
online training center. Here they'll find HD videos that show
them how they can launch their business quickly and build it
up successfully in the course of time. The training takes place
in three simple steps. The first step is the presentation – here
partners learn how they can present the products and the
business to people who are interested. Among other things the
presentation materials include landing pages, videos, draft
advertisements, leaflets and a glossy business magazine. The
second step is induction which conveys the most important
information for a successful launch in the form of HD videos.
Parallel to this there's a starter file as a PDF or Flash file. Since
the induction will as a rule be carried out by the sponsor or
SHORT CUT
the upline but this won't always happen optimally using online
materials alone, SOMNIUM is also making offline materials
available. For this reason the starter file will also be available as
a high-quality print version. The third and last step in the training
with system will consist of further training sessions. In view
of the fact that training and knowledge are more important than
ever today and particularly in network marketing, well trained
partners are a necessity for your own success; SOMNIUM offers
an HD video training center with various emphases. As well as
that, it is planned to hold regular online conferences and webinars.
On this point too, however, reliance won't be placed exclusively
on online training sessions – parallel to these live meetings
will take place in various cities and regions. The online videos
will, additionally, also be available as DVDs or audio CDs.
SOMNIUM places great
emphasis on sound training and
regular training sessions for the
partners.
SOMNIUM places great emphasis on sound training and regular
training sessions for the partners. And even if SOMNIUM
is primarily an online company, Stephan Morgenstern knows
all about the importance of the classical face-to-face approach.
Therefore from the very outset a 24-page glossy magazine will
be available containing all the important information about
the games on offer, network marketing, the remuneration
plan and systematic business development – both online and
offline. On top of that all partners will receive a welcome letter
by mail and will be able to order their own business cards,
leaflets, information materials, DVDs and audio CDs from
SOMNIUM's materials shop.
An additional starting aid is described by Stephan Morgenstern
as follows: “In parallel discussions are already being carried
out with professional address providers. My goal is to offer a
chance to those who have fewer contacts. With manageable investments
in leads or visitors to websites everybody really does
have a chance in this way to build up their own business.”
The Marketing Plan
SOMNIUM offers a dual remuneration plan, which was primar-
ily developed to also enable the “little man” to earn an income
straightaway. Particularly for newcomers starting up is made
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 87

SHORT CUT
easier by the “motivation bonus” and the “games bonus.” This
is a bonus pool from which every qualified partner receives
a monthly share. The only preconditions for benefiting from
both pools are the partners' status as Light, Medium or Premium
Partners and sponsorship of one new partner each all
round. The bonuses also apply for partners who have NOT yet
achieved ANY career level in the marketing plan.
The centerpiece of the remuneration plan is the Dual Bonus,
which – depending on the qualification achieved – makes
it possible to achieve an income of up to €10,000 per week
and business center. On top of that there's a Matching Bonus,
which are remunerated on your partners' income up to five
levels deep on a percentage basis and which can even already
be used by Light Partners. From the third career level partners
can also receive commissions on the turnover of their
stronger teams – this is the Big Team Bonus. The car program
and the many bonuses from the first level onward, e.g. games
consoles, iPads, MacBooks, luxury trips, luxury watches and
lots more, round off the marketing plan.
It's left up to the partners themselves when they present their
commission invoices. Basically this is, however, possible once
a week if the balance is at least €50. If the partners don't present
their own invoice, commission payments are automatically
made on a monthly basis.
Preparation Phase and Launch
“In my 22 years in this industry I've learned a lot. One point
is that the sales partners are the most important thing in a
company,” says Stephan Morgenstern. “And here the FIRST
partners are the most crucial, because, after all, it's from them
that all the others originate. Therefore I've decided that we'll
make a special offer to those who come to our company at
this early point in time, up until October 31, 2012. We're offering
everybody the opportunity to become a World Founder
Member.” Interested partners who register up to October 31,
2012, can also benefit from additional income opportunities.
For WFMs SOMNIUM has established a pool into which 2%
of the company turnover will flow on a monthly basis, money
that will then be shared among the WFMs – for life and it can
also be passed on to your heirs. For participation in this profit
sharing no further preconditions are necessary after the company
launch, i.e. this opportunity is also interesting for those
partners who don't want to be active in sales at a later stage.
All pre-registered partners will be registered in a DUAL TEAM
in ONE line – thus these partners will already have built up a
team in the dual plan when the company is launched.
88 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Since it's only possible to register as a WFM up to October
31, 2012, the number of possible World Founder Members
and thus the number of those involved in profit sharing are
limited. For a start-up fee of €300 every interested partner
can now register as a World Founder Member, or else he can
recruit ten further partners who register for €100 each – in
this case the partner's own start-up fee will be just €100.
Of course, you can also still register with SOMNIUM as a
partner after October 31, 2012. After the official launch there
will be 4 possibilities for launching your business in the
SOMNIUM Network. With €0 as a product retailer, or as a
Light, Medium or Premium Partner for €60, €180 or €420
respectively. All prices always include Austrian turnover tax.
Outlook
Nobody can look into the future – however, the business
model worked out by Stephan Morgenstern and the SOM-
NIUM Network comes across in every respect as being well
thought out and innovative. SOMNIUM is positioning itself
in a booming industry – and this from a dual perspective because
both online games and network marketing are pointing
the way to the future. So that the company will be on a secure
basis from the very outset, SOMNIUM is working together
with renowned marketing experts and with Schulenberg
& Schenk from Hamburg, the leading law firm specializing
in network marketing in Germany. In addition SOMNIUM
is making a flying start internationally from the word go
with a multilingual website and the fact that online games
don't have to go through a protracted approval procedure
makes rapid expansion uncomplicated. In view of the selfexplanatory
products, which already appeal to a huge mass
of customers (with an upward trend), the versatile training
materials and the marketing plan, which make starting up
very easy, it'll probably be extremely easy to realize the goal
represented by the name SOMNIUM: the goal of the young
company is, namely, to create the simplest network marketing
system, one in which sponsoring is as easy as adding a
friend on Facebook.
“SOMNIUM is NOT an opportunity 'to get rich quick'. It is,
however, an excellent opportunity to build up your own company
within a company in a manageable period of time, perhaps
one or two years – and you'll earn money by making
your hobby into your job.”
SOMNIUM wants to make dreams come true – as the company
name already indicates – and it looks as if there's a very
real chance that it'll do so. In this sense: “Let the games begin!”

BACKGROUND
As Peru's
Economy
Booms so Does
Direct Selling

As Peru's
Economy
Booms
So Does
Direct Selling
BACKGROUND
Many Peruvians have started their own businesses and it looks like the direct selling
industry is doing very well there helping to reduce poverty in the land. Peru had been
suffering economic problems for many years, under military rule that restricted imports and
exports to and from the country for many years. However, since 2001, the economy has
been growing by an average of 6 percent per year.

BACKGROUND
Yanbal or Unique was founded by Ferdinand Belmont
40 years ago. They are manufacturers of cosmetics for
men, women, children and babies. This company was
among the first to use the direct sales model, giving hundreds of
women an opportunity to earn a living. Yanbal now has operations
all over Latin America and was later joined by Avon, Natura
and Belcorp.
The industry is governed by the Camara Peruvana de Venta
Directa (CAPEVEDI) or Peruvian Chamber of Direct Selling
and is a member of the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations
(WFDSA). CAPEVEDI, like in many markets, controls
the activities in this industry, helping build the spirit of cooperation
between the companies and the various government
departments, between different companies and among direct
sellers themselves.
The improvement of the Peruvian economy in 2001 onwards
determined that consumers had more disposable income.
Much of this growth has been attributed to increased private
investment after Peru signed trade deals with the United
States, Canada, Singapore, China, Korea and Japan. Peru has
also recently concluded trade talks with the European Free
Trade Association (EFTA) as well as with the US-Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement both concluded in 2009. As a result,
greater trade and investment between the different economies
has been enabled. Talks with neighboring Central American
countries have begun which are expected to further open up
the markets.
From 2001 to 2010, the direct selling industry grew at an average
rate of 24 percent per annum, generating a very important source
of income for more than 350,000 distributors. This growth has
been felt in Lima, the capital city as well as the other towns and
provinces found along the Coast, in the Sierra of the Andes and
the Selva in the Amazon forest.
Cosmetics are performing the best in the industry, making up
26 percent of the market. Nutritional supplements are a close
second at 18 percent and bijouterie are the third most popular
sales item at 13 percent. Other products sold using this method
are houseware, clothes, accessories, lingerie, personal health,
shoes and children's toys.
According to the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations,
the Peruvian Direct Selling industry is estimated to have
generated US$896.4 million in sales in 2009. 95 percent of the
sellers are women and 80 percent of them earn a living from the
industry on a part time basis. The person-to-person sales method
is the most popular.
92 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
In an interesting statistic, industry reports show, 60% of beauty
consultants in the industry do not remain loyal to one brand or
cosmetic company. Instead they opt to sell several brands simultaneously,
in what would appear to be a ploy to earn as much money
as possible, a supposition reinforced in a statement by Javier Rusca,
General Manager at Unique: “This behavior can be explained as the
consultants are seeking to achieve similar incomes to that of the
working wage, i.e. 600 soles (~USD227) a month.”
The Peruvian economy is expected to continue its current growth
trend as is the direct selling sector. Attractive growth opportunities
exist for other categories other than cosmetics, nutrition and
jewelry. Direct selling companies are expected to focus on product
innovation with further segmentation into rural areas and deeper
market penetration by means of strong advertising.

From 2001 to 2010, the direct selling industry
grew at an average rate of 24 percent per
annum, generating a very important source
of income for more than 350,000 distributors.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 93

Offer your busin
Gulf and is perf
We will organiz
opportunities th

Business Meetings in surroundings
ess partners that special setting. Dubai is THE metropolis of the Arabian
ectly suited for extravagant meets & greets.
Dine in the 7 star restaurant of the Burj Al Arab
A VIP sightseeing tour in a Hummer limousine
A visit to the Dubai shopping mall (the biggest shopping centre in the world) with a delicious
meal afterwards in front of the Burj Khalifa
Whisk your guests off on a trip to the desert including a desert style BBQ
Enjoy a helicopter ride over Dubai’s skyscrapers
Party in the 360 Degrees one of the hottest clubs in Dubai (centrally located in the Arabian
Gulf, with a view over Dubai’s stunning skyline)
Experience the Arabian sunset onboard a luxury yacht and admire Dubai’s breathtaking
coastline
e the perfect event for you and your guests. Discover the diverse
at are on offer in the land of 1001 nights and get in touch:
E-Mail: info@sanderconsulting.org
Tel. UAE: +971.(4).801-9264
Tel. Germany: +49.(0)176.810.76883

SHORT CUT

Amezcua and the Next Level of Wellness
Protect Yourself.
Balance Your Energy.
Reduce Your Stress.
Amezcua is a unique Harmonised Energy product line, designed to increase your
every-day harmony and energy levels. On-going research and development allows
Amezcua to provide a growing range of quality wellness products promoting a
balanced lifestyle and an improved mind, body and soul.
SHORT CUT

SHORT CUT
Amezcua’s revolutionary wellness products have become
internationally sought-after and their benefits widely
acclaimed; products such as the Amezcua Bio Disc 2 -- an
all-new design featuring improved efficiency, the versatile
and energy-enhancing Amezcua Lifestyle Set, and everyday
e-smog protection from the Amezcua Chi Pendant and
Amezcua E-Guard. With a focus on boosting the natural
properties of water as well as the human body’s energy
systems, Amezcua products are vital companions to those
who seek a holistic and healthy lifestyle.
The Invisible Danger
of Electromagnetic
Field Radiation
Electromagnetic fields (EMF) of all frequencies represent a fast growing
potentially harmful environmental influence on our bodies, about
which anxiety and speculation are spreading. They are present everywhere
but are invisible to the human eye and their effects are much
worse than you think! All populations are now exposed to varying
degrees of EMF, and the levels continue to increase as technology
permeates more of our day-to-day lives.
Numerous scientific studies and experiments show that increasing
numbers of people are experiencing sensitivity to the electromagnetic field
frequencies emitted by mobile radio-antennas, mobile phones, computers
and television sets. Exposure to a consistent external frequency for

more than a few minutes can cause our body's electrical functionality to be disrupted
and interfere with the body's natural healing process. The body can experience sensi-
tive reactions and display a variety of symptoms, such as insomnia, difficulty in
concentrating, anxiety, irritability, headaches, dizziness and similar responses.
Your Daily
E-Smog Protector
Ever wondered if using your mobile phone, working on your personal computer
or watching television is harmful to your body? The truth is all of these devices
pose a potential threat to your overall energy balance and well-being.
QNET has developed a unique wellness solution, the Amezcua E-Guard, to provide
protection for your body from the harmful effects of electro-smog exposure from
mobile phones, computers, laptops, and televisions. The Amezcua E-Guard will
not only help those affected by electro-sensitivities, but also act as a preventative
measure for your continued protection.
SHORT CUT
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 99

SHORT CUT
Prevention
The ability to maintain a healthy balanced body is a daily concern
for everyone. We are all aware that it takes time and attention to
do so. So why not seek some assistance? The Amezcua E-Guard
can help you not only as protection against current detrimental
electromagnetic radiation, but also as a preventative measure
from future exposure in a world of frequency mayhem!
Protection
Combining two pioneering technologies in one single chip, the
Amezcua E-Guard uses the special characteristics of quartz minerals
which help absorb various radiation patterns, transforming
them into neutralized frequencies that are more compatible with
our biological systems. Additionally, an energetic value is integrated
into the Amezcua E-Guard to subtly transmit positive information
to the body, promoting a means of improved wellness.
Convenience
Electronic goods are unavoidably intertwined
into our lives! It is bizarre to imagine a
world without telephones and computers,
let alone entertainment aids such
as radio antennas and televisions. So
in a world where it is almost impossible
to escape the conveniences of
handy electronic accessories, how can
we protect ourselves? The Amezcua
E-Guard simply attaches to your electronic
devices in an unobtrusive manner,
allowing you to carry them around wherever
you go, giving you convenience and the protection
necessary for a harmonious way of life!
With its easy-to-use design, attaching the Amezcua E-Guard
to your everyday essential electronic devices allows you to take
remedial action by engaging, activating and supporting your own
body’s natural defenses and energy systems. There are seven
E-Guards in total in every Amezcua E-Guard pack. Due to the
varying radiation emissions of different electronic devices, it
is recommended to use one (1) Amezcua E-Guard for a mobile
phone, two (2) Amezcua E-Guards for computers or laptops, and
four (4) Amezcua E-Guards for televisions (small).
100 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Protect
yourself and
your loved
ones wherever
you go!

fLEXKOM BENEFITS oF oNLINE SHoPPING, E-CoMMERCE AND FRANCHISING
FlexKom Hits
the Ground
Running in E-Commerce and Network Marketing
In recent weeks a company of Turkish
origin that is pursuing ambitious goals has
been causing a bit of a stir. FlexKom offers
a business model that links the benefits
of online shopping with e-Commerce
and franchising thus creating a triple
win-win-win situation. Customers can
obtain juicy discounts on their purchases
via the company's shopping platform.
Affiliated retailers who offer their products
in collaboration with FlexKom gain
additional customers in this way. And
interested partners can develop lucrative
additional income and their own business
through FlexKom's business concept.
102 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

SHORT CUT
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 103

SHORT CUT
fLEXKOM BENEFITS oF oNLINE SHoPPING, E-CoMMERCE AND FRANCHISING
At the moment expansion to
Europe is in the preparation
phase – Germany and Austria
have already been opened up.
Which other countries will
follow in the near future, why
the FlexKom business model
is both secure and ingenious
and what is behind the
company's “ENDF” strategy
are all questions to which
Michael Scheibe (CMO)
and Asker Sakinmaz (CEO
Europe) provide the answers
in the following interview.
104 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
OBTAINER: How is FlexKom positioned on the market?
We started up in Turkey in February 2011 and today we
have more than 33,000 trading partners and about 3 million
customers in Turkey. Customer acquisition is our central
point – and it's the retailer who has these customers. We create
a win-win-win situation: The customer receives discounts
at every outlet. The retailers earn money from their customers'
purchases when they make their purchases in other retail
businesses that are Flex-Com partners. And the business
partners earn money when their partners or they themselves
acquire retailers who then have the customers. In Germany
we started up officially in April 2012 and things are going very
well. We're also recruiting many networking professionals
who are enthusiastic about our concept.
OBTAINER: What Is you chief product and who can
use this product? They're everyday necessities that have to
bought on a daily basis – in other words, what could be called
the “must have” products. By that I mean everything the individual
buys and needs on a day-to-day basis.
In addition, we also offer four online services: the FlexShop
(several thousand brand name products with juicy discounts),
the FlexDeal (brand name articles direct from the
producers at sensational prices), FlexHoliday (vacation trips
at reasonable prices) and FlexCall (phone calls worldwide at
prices that are up to 70% cheaper as well as video calls, telephone
conferences, 1 million free text messages and webinar
tools available free of charge within the community).

OBTAINER: Please tell us in detail about the benefits
of the FlexCard. The holder of a FlexKom customer card can
use it to make purchases online and offline. When he does so,
he gets discounts and can even earn money from the purchases
of customers and retailers he's introduced our system to. A
study by the German opinion poll company Emnid shows that
on average Germans have 4.4 cards in theirbillfolds or purses
but, unfortunately, these cards don't offer everything that the
customers wish them to. We've brought all the customers' desires
together into one single system and, in addition, created
the opportunity to earn money through their purchases.
OBTAINER: Where are the products produced or
purchased? We don't produce end products – these are
already in the hands of the retailers and the customers simply
purchase as usual. FlexKom Online is a “global” Internet
shopping portal. So for the business there are no borders
or timezones standing in the way. With the FlexKom business
model it's not a question of selling one single product
but rather of a special sales concept, for which the time has
come: customer-based e-Commerce. This sales concept offers
people all over the world the opportunity to find new partners
simply through online access of one single customer.
OBTAINER: What's special about your remuneration
system compared with other companies in network
marketing or direct sales? A good example of our
lucrative remuneration system is our car plan. With as few
as 39 partners you can be driving an A-Class Mercedes and
SHORT CUT
that without leasing. We hire these cars and the partners get
a voucher and collect their car from our contract partner Europcar.
The FlexKom remuneration plan is as simple as it is
secure. The partners can generate their income in two ways:
firstly purely by recommending products to potential customers
all over the world and secondly by setting up their own
international sales structure.
The concept of passive income sources is practiced in many
industries – in the music and film industries (license fees and
royalties), with insurance agents and investment consultants,
property investors, photographers (picture fees), software designers,
software developers and network operators. By establishing
sales structures, i.e. network marketing, individuals
can develop their own distribution channel which can increase
turnover by investing time, effort and resources. This model
generates bonuses and commissions through the duplication
system.Most people who start off in the networking industry
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 105

fLEXKOM BENEFITS oF oNLINE SHoPPING, E-CoMMERCE AND FRANCHISING
106 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
do so on a part-time basis in their free time and can through
flexible time management generate a corresponding extra income
in this way. The more successful they are at mastering
the business, the earlier they get involved in networking on
a full-time basis. According to statistics produced by leading
experts about 95% of small businesses fail within the first five
years. Here franchisees who use a tried and tested successful
business concept and work according to a company philosophy
and turnover plan have less risk. However, many professionals
from all business fields and walks of life aren't simply
looking for more money; they also cherish the wish to have
more leisure time and independence. What use is it to earn
loads of money if you don't have any opportunity to enjoy it?
So how can you achieve a passive income with FlexKom? The
customer is the basis of our business. On the other hand, the
partners act as guides and for this they receive their passive
income. FlexKom has developed a system where only online
and real trade is practiced and no products of our own are
produced. At www.flexkom.com there are tens of thousands
of everyday necessities, many of them are extremely reasonably
priced brand name products which are marketed through
a modern network of partners. Through the turnover and
the recommendations of every single customer the FlexKom
profits with an active and a passive income. This system is extremely
secure and is supported by the very latest technology
FlexKom offers its customers and partners as well as small and
medium-sized businesses outstanding support in all fields.
We supply our partners with the necessary knowledge and the
corresponding tools in order to become and also remain successful.
Every FlexKom partner can develop an almost endless
number of Flex-Card customers quite simply from his home
office and these will generate turnover both online and offline.
The partner then profits directly from this turnover.
OBTAINER: In which countries does FlexKom have
representatives? What plans are there for the future?
At present we're active in Turkey, Germany and Austria. In
Switzerland, Holland and Belgium we're currently in the preparation
phase. As a rule we need 6 weeks to open up a country.
We don't require any approval for a product as is the case with,
for example, food supplements or financial products. We only
need to translate our website and to adapt the contractual provisions
to suit the particular country.

OBTAINER: What company philosophy do you rep-
resent? Collectively with our partners we will become the
best company for people all over the world: “Teamwork makes
Dreamwork.”
OBTAINER: Which phase is FlexKom in at present?
We've developed a three-phase model for our company's success.
In Europe we're now in Phases 1 or 2 (development of
the network or customer development); that means that we're
now inspiring people we can offer our idea and our online
products to. From October we're going to start with Phase 3,
the further development of FlexKom outlets.
OBTAINER: Why is it interesting for a networker to
start with FlexKom just now? We're interesting for customers
because we merge online and offline business. If the
customers are satisfied, they'll always resort to our FlexKom
card because they get benefits from doing so.
Today consumers want to purchase at extremely cheap prices
both online and when they go shopping or buy services. If they
then get cash refunds on these purchases, that's an unbeatable
argument for the FlexKom discount card system, one
SHORT CUT
that's already working successfully in Turkey. We've been
overwhelmed by the huge interest that the FlexKom business
model has encountered. In addition, very many top-class
leaders have registered, people who would like to change to
FlexKom or have already done so despite having existing top
positions that have mostly been developed over a long period
of time. That isn't something that we could so easily take for
granted, but many of them have confirmed that our prospects
of success are sensational – and it's precisely network marketing
professionals who can, of course, see the income opportunities
linked to it.
OBTAINER: What top-class leaders do you have in
your ranks? Who are your best people and what
have they achieved so far? At the moment we have 9 topclass
leaders who've made it into the President's Team. These
people come from many different areas. They were successful
in the direct sales industry, in the field of classical network
marketing, but some them were also employees previously or
were housewives and mothers up until now.
OBTAINER: How can you get started successfully
with FlexKom? What's the key to success? We use the
"WE USE THE TRIED AND TESTED
ENDF CoNCEPT IN CoMBINATIoN
WITH oNLINE AND oFFLINE
MEETINGS."
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 107

fLEXKOM BENEFITS oF oNLINE SHoPPING, E-CoMMERCE AND FRANCHISING
tried and tested ENDF concept in combination with
online and offline meetings.
OBTAINER: Can you explain your ENDF
strategy in a bit more detail? What's special
about this strategy and what are the advantages
for networkers? ENDF stands for “e-Commerce”,
“networking”, “direct sales” and “franchise.”
Every single one of these points stands for a functioning
concept and we've brought these four concepts
together under one roof.
OBTAINER: How do you support and train
your partners? We lend our support to our partners
on every step of the way. For this we make
available online and offline training sessions, our
own FlexAcademy, internal and external trainers,
daily webinars and brand ambassadors, for example,
Tanju Colak, the former Turkish footballer who was
awarded the European Golden Boot and is therefore
in the same league as Pelé from Brazil or Gerd Müller
from Germany. Commercials were made with him
that have been shown on 5 TV channels in Turkey
and from the fall they'll also be shown on German
television. In addition, we place advertisements in
appropriate specialist magazines.
OBTAINER: How do you see the future of
MLM – in Germany and on a global scale?
Very many bestselling authors write that this is the
model of the future and we agree with this. Just take
a look at the 13 million people in Germany who are
108 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
threatened with poverty in their old age. These people
can obtain discounts on their purchases through
our system and on top of that they can also build up a
successful online and offline business. That can all be
done from their own homes – without the usual investments
involved in setting up your own business.
OBTAINER: What role will FlexKom play in
this? A very significant one! It's our goal to become
the No. 1 in Europe in two years and we're convinced
that we'll succeed in doing that. With our aspiration
to have 200 million customers in 40 countries with
a turnover of just €50 a month we'll be one of the
Top 10 companies in the world as far as turnover is
concerned. That may sound utopian but in Turkey
we're generating an average turnover of more than
€200 a month per card. However, we're only able
to realize this goal because we aren't offering any
classical product but are instead covering the daily
necessities.
OBTAINER: What general advice do you
have for our readers on network marketing?
Take you life into your own hands. Pursue
your dreams, the ones you had at the beginning of
your working life. Trust in your abilities and in our
tried and tested concept. Make your life into a masterpiece
– You only have this one.
OBTAINER: Thank you very much for your time
and the interesting information.

SHORT CUT
"Very many bestselling authors
write that this is the model of the
future and we agree with this.
Just take a look at the 13 million
people in germany who are
threatened with poVerty in their
old age. these people can obtain
discounts on their purchases
through our system and on top
of that they can also build up a
successful online and offline
business."

India’s
Direct Selling Association
INTERVIEW WITH
Ms. Chavi Hemath
Secretary General of the IDSA

Located in South Asia, the democratic republic of India teems with billions
of people from its sunny beaches down south to the snow wrapped
peaks of the north to its thick forests, beautiful temples right up-to cities that
have become information technology hubs of the country.
Though recent rankings have indicated that its economy grew
by 9% making it one of the world's fastest growing economies,
a vast majority of its population still live below the poverty line,
enjoying little if at all any of its economic boom, making this task
one of the major challenges facing the Indian government as it
strives to spread this prosperity to all corners of society in this
culturally vast nation.
The WFDSA recently reported India was among the countries
that stood out in terms of growth, receiving a ranking of number
20 on its list. In 2009, India's Direct Selling industry managed
to generate a total of US$1.06 billion in sales. Today, the number
of foreign Direct Selling companies are 15, with Amway leading.
Others are Avon Beauty and K-Link Health-care products among
others. There are three local companies namely Modicare Ltd,
Altos Enterprises Limited and Hindustan Unilever Network.
OBTAINER had the fortune of interviewing Ms. Chavi Hemath,
the Secretary General of the IDSA, who shared with us how the
Industry is doing as a whole.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 113

BACKGROUND
OBTAINER: India has recently been ranked as one of the larg-
est economies in the world. Can you tell our readers the history of
the India Direct Selling Association? When did it start and what
are the major challenges you have overcome?
IDSA: Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) is an autonomous,
self-regulatory body for the Direct Selling industry in
India. The Association acts as an interface between the industry
and policy-making bodies of the Government facilitating the
cause of Direct Selling sector in India. IDSA was formed with
five companies to protect the ideals and opportunities of Direct
Selling industry in India. The Association was incorporated in
Mumbai in 1996 and moved its registered office to New Delhi in
1998, from where it continues to operate till now.
IDSA has managed to create an environment conducive to the
growth of the Direct Selling industry in India, partnering indus-
try and government alike through advisory and consultative
activities.
OBTAINER: Ponzi and quick money making schemes seem to be
prolific in India, what with the recent case of Speak Asia. What advice
would you give to a person aspiring to be a budding entrepreneur?
114 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
IDSA: We at the IDSA has been concerned over the mushrooming
of dubious and fraudulent money schemes and have been actively
involved in creating knowledge awareness about the differences
between genuine Direct Selling companies and illegitimate pyra-
mid schemes through conducting knowledge forums for press/
media in different city of India.
IDSA clearly differentiates that companies offering remuneration
based on recruitment are a sure indication of their dubious character.
Product sale is a key driver of the right Direct Selling companies.
All genuine Direct Selling companies offer 100% money back
guarantees on product sales and business opportunity whereas a
fraudulent company has no such offer. This should be taken as a
benchmark to patronize schemes being offered.
Direct Selling is a business opportunity and not an investment
opportunity; any company promoting instant financial gains
within a very short duration of investing money is a fraud
company.

Genuine Direct Selling / Multi Level Marketing opportunities have some
unique and distinct features which clearly differentiate them from the
“schemes” who disguise themselves as similar such opportunities.
Some of these distinctive differentiation criteria are:
Genuine Direct Selling Companies Illegitimate Pyramid Schemes
Direct Selling means the marketing of the consumers
generally from home or workplace i.e.
locations away from permanent retail locations. It
is done through explanation & demonstration of
the products by a direct seller.
They offer genuine business opportunities.
Products are supplied to meet genuine demand
and direct sellers are encouraged to hold minimal
inventory and replenish as and when need arises
Rigorous Product & Product Sales Training is
done. Incentives based on sales of products and
sales performance are offered.
Every sales person has to abide by the Industry
Model Code of Ethics.
Pyramid Schemes are illegal scams in which people
at the bottom of the pyramid pay money to a
few people at the top. This is done to advance to
top positions and benefit from payments made
by other people later on.
Pyramid schemes involve products which are
cheap to produce and have no established
market value. New miracle products, exotic cures,
mattresses, online surveys are some of these.
“Front loading” is encouraged. Therefore, products
are thrust upon the direct sellers, irrespective of
their ability to sell the product and the actual
market demand
There is no emphasis on product or product Sales
training. Emphasis merely lies on collection of
money from new recruits.
There exists no Code of Ethics.
The cost of Entry is reasonable. Cost of entry is extremely high.
Plans are entirely performance based. No Plan or Pyramid Plan.
Returns are dependent on motivation of the
direct seller and come slowly
Remuneration is based on sale of goods/services
Recruitment is not compulsory for continuing
the business.
Returns are easy and quick
Remuneration is based on recruitment rather
than on sales
Recruitment is mandatory for continuing business.
Business is by sale of products. Recruitment is optional. Commission based on recruitment.
Remuneration to all distributors is through Direct
Selling Companies only.
Direct Seller joining the business can exit the
business within reasonable time. Investment is
refunded as per the company provisions in the
Initial Contract. Exit policy in place for termination
of contract.
Products have 100% buy-back guarantee to ensure
protection of end-consumer as per company policy.
Remuneration or payments is through members.
There are negligible pay outs by companies.
No refund or exit policy exists.
Products usually do not have a buy-back policy.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 115

BACKGROUND
OBTAINER: What support do you provide the member compa-
nies in way of training and education in-line with the generally
accepted Code of Ethics?
over the years, Direct
Selling has offered
self-employment
opportunities to
a large number of
people, especially
women. The number
of direct sellers in
India has almost
doubled between
2004 and 2009.
IDSA: We believe in utilizing its resources in providing train-
ing to its members to conduct operations ethically, we have
hosted Education Forums for distributors to address the
following key issues:
(a) To address the concerns of the distributors and make them aware
of the genuine Direct Selling and illegitimate pyramid schemes;
(b) To advice the distributors of their rights;
(c) To promote the code of ethics;
(d) To promote the authenticity seal of IDSA.
We also advice our member companies to follow the code of ethics.
116 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
OBTAINER: Andrea Jung, former WFDSA Chairman once said
that “Direct Selling is one of the most vibrant forms of microenterprise
on the planet, transforming not only the lives of individuals,
but also improving communities and driving positive
change in society at large.” To what extent is this the case in
Indian communities?
IDSA: The above statement holds true in the Indian context.
Over the years, Direct Selling has offered self-employment
opportunities to a large number of people, especially women.
The number of direct sellers in India has almost doubled
between 2004 and 2009. In the future, this sector is expected
to offer self employment opportunities not only in urban areas
but also in rural areas. Indirect employment is also generated
in manufacturing and the supply chain, as Direct Selling
companies develop India as a sourcing hub. The Direct Sell

ing industry not only offers an alternative self employment
opportunity but has also contributed in terms of increased
incomes for those who have entered the industry as direct sellers.
According to the Socio Economic Impact Report (SEIR)
done by ICRIER most direct sellers are happy with the quality
of their employment.
Financial independence, development of personal and business
skills, flexible timings and an improved ability to take care of families
are other benefits of Direct Selling. Direct sellers have pointed
out that Direct Selling has helped them to build self-esteem and
confidence and develop their sales skills. It has enabled women
to be financially independent and increased their ability to save.
Direct Selling also provided a safety net during the global slowdown
as a large number of direct sellers joined this sector during
that time.
In fact, the number of Direct Sellers increased by 4.84 per cent
during the slowdown period (2008-2010).
OBTAINER: The MLM industry is currently regulated by the
“Money Circulation Schemes, Prize Chit and Money Circula-
tion Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 which to date, seems inapplicable
in our modern age in governing this sector. This has
led legitimate MLM companies to be confused/lumped with
ponzi schemers which has hurt their business. How far has the
Indian Ministry of Finance gone in enacting new laws to allow
legitimacy in this sector?
IDSA: Direct Selling is governed by a large number of ministries/departments
at the centre, state and local levels. The multiplicity
of regulatory bodies in India has resulted in multiple
regulations governing this sector. The academic study SEIR
by ICRIER finds out that the Prize Chits and Money Circulation
Scheme (Banning) Act, 1978 which is sometimes cited for
regulating this sector, is not applicable to Direct Selling and is
outdated. India should have a comprehensive Act focusing on
banning fraudulent practices such as pyramid schemes. The
Act should have a clear definition of pyramid and other money
circulation schemes and draw a distinction between fraudulent
schemes and legitimate Multi-Level Marketing (including Direct
Selling) but Indian Finance Ministry has so far not taken any
action to come out with a law.
The India Direct Selling Association (IDSA) has laid down a code of
conduct but this is voluntary and is only applicable to IDSA members.
There is need to have a proper regulation in place that lays down
conditions for identification of a legitimate Direct Selling company.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 117

BACKGROUND
India is dominated by
female door-to-door
sales women; but
in recent times, the
number is reducing.
Now the trend is
changing. Men too are
getting involved in it,
especially due to the
opportunity of having
an additional source of
income provided by
this sector.

The turnover of the Indian Direct Selling Industry is expected to be
INR.108,430 billion (US$.1,975,980) in 2014-15 and this growth
would be manifold once there is a regulatory framework governing
the Direct Selling industry in India as it will harness the potential
of the sector and will provide transparency in the functional and
operational aspects of the industry.
There are broadly four areas that need government intervention.
These are:
(a) the provision of a clear definition of Direct Selling;
(b) streamlining of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy;
(c) the enactment of a governing legislation for the sector and;
(d) the establishment of a nodal ministry or single point of contact.
OBTAINER: Which products sell the best in India?
IDSA: Health, comprising of products related to nutrition, wellness
and supplements, is the leading category within the product
landscape of the organized Direct Selling industry. Personal care
& cosmetics follow the sale chart in India.
OBTAINER: The party plan is used successfully by some of the
Direct Selling companies. Which other method is popular in your
markets?
IDSA: Apart from party plan other companies follow person to
person selling and person to group selling.
OBTAINER: In many markets around the world, the Direct Selling
industry is dominated by female door-to-door sales women.
Would you say this is the case in India as well?
IDSA: Yes, India is dominated by female door-to-door sales
women; but in recent times, the number is reducing. Now the
trend is changing. Men too are getting involved in it, especially
due to the opportunity of having an additional source of income
provided by this sector. This is visible from the growing number
of women force joining the sector, as per the annual survey 64%
of the total 3.9 million workforce is women, thereby emerging as
a means for their self empowerment and social progress.
OBTAINER: If dominated by women, what cultural barriers
have existed and what changes to old traditions have taken place
to accommodate this shift?
IDSA: Cultural and family traditions barred Indian women to step
out of their homes and work. Confined to their homes and having
limited access to exposure to the outside world, they seldom had
the opportunity to work and contribute to the family income. It was
BACKGROUND
Besides raising the family income,
it has opened a whole lot of
opportunities for them to explore
and enter new avenues in their lives.
The international training they got
also encouraged them to be leaders
in their own respect.
considered a social taboo and unheard of. But with the changing
social status, women did step out of their houses but a social stigma
was always attached to this move.
With the arrival of the Direct Selling opportunities in India, a
window of opportunity emerged for these women to work from
the confines of their home and the earning generated, reluctantly
pushed them into the market of Direct Selling. Besides raising
the family income, it has opened a whole lot of opportunities
for them to explore and enter new avenues in their lives. The
international training they got also encouraged them to be leaders
in their own respect.
OBTAINER: The majority of MLM companies have a charity
project or practice social corporate responsibility to uplift the
communities where they operate. Which of these projects from
MLM companies would you say have helped the underprivileged
in India the most?
IDSA: Yes, IDSA member companies are aware and conscious
participants of the society always believe in working for the society
and giving back to them.
Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) has become a worldwide
concept. Firms operating in any sector adhere to this practice
not only for commercial interest but to pay back the society
by taking measures like environment protection, health care,
promoting girl child, sponsoring sport activities, child education,
poverty alleviation, maintenance of public places etc.
firms spent in range of 50 to 12,000 man hours/ quarter on
various CSR activities.
The company specific CSR information can be provided by the
member companies only.
South India is reported to be the most vibrant region followed
by the Western region of the sub-continent. This growth
trend is expected to continue, creating more and more business
opportunities, expanding horizons and changing many
peoples lives as this alternative distribution channel becomes
a norm in the society.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 119

BACKGROUND
120 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

Mandatory Pension Insurance
for the Self-Employed
Is It Causing Panic
or Will It Soon
Be Reality?
Currently the rumor mill is seething. Particularly on the
Internet there are news messages circulating about a
comprehensive reform of old age security which state
that, already in the coming year, it will be mandatory for the
self-employed. Consequently this would mean major changes
for the currently 3 million self-employed individuals in Germany
and especially for sales distributors and direct sales distribution
companies. This could, in accordance with such legislation,
require that compulsory charges be placed on their commissions
which will then be paid to the old age security pension fund; - the
mandatory contribution for the statutory pension insurance is
currently 19.9 % of gross income. In other words: If one gives
credit to the rumors then distributors, in the future, will have
almost 20% less income, which is especially detrimental to those
distributors which generate low additional income from their
self-employment activities. There is also talk of a mandatory
payment of € 400.00 per month - regardless of income earned.
If one adds the considerable contribution for health insurance
then this means that monthly fixed costs will be in the vicinity
of € 600.00 per month for self-employed individuals; this is
already a considerable expense for health and old age security
alone which, of course, needs to be earned in the first place.
Such high fixed costs not only threaten the existence of small
business owners and those that are still in the start-up phases
of the business, but also increase, at the same time, the entry
barriers to becoming self-employed. In addition, the form of this
type of private pension will be greatly limited, so that the chosen
BACKGROUND
old age insurance is neither inheritable nor transferable, it cannot
be used as collateral, be sold or be capitalized on;- the retirement
provision must be paid out as retirement income. Alternative
forms of retirement provisions, e.g. real estate or other forms of
capital investments are not acceptable.
The reason for the introduction of the mandatory old age security
reform is to prevent self-employed individuals from being
impoverished in their old age; such possibility exists even though
there are no studies available confirming such a threat. Moreover,
it is being stated that mandatory old age security insurance for the
self-employed already exists in other countries and this German
adaptation of the law satisfies international legal requirements.
We at OBTAINER want to research these rumors and inform
you, as accurately as possible, about the supposed imminent
mandatory pension reform for self-employed individuals. Is it
merely about half-truths and scare tactics or are there basic truths
to the rumors? We have talked about this subject with an Advisor
of the north German old age security system and have received
a fact sheet from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affair
(BMAS) in which the most important aspects of the upcoming
adaption of the pension reforms are summarized.
And so the cat is already out of the bag. Yes - it is currently being
discussed and debated in what form the self-employed will be
required to save for their old age! "In the future all persons that
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 121

The planned mandatory pension
insurance for self-employed will not pass
by without affecting the MLM industry;
this is because even if there is a relatively
large leeway in terms of contributions
to be paid and that there are various
forms of retirement savings available,
retirement planning, in the future, must
be made by the self-employed themselves.

are self-employed will be required to commit to a mandatory
requirement plan," according to BMAS. The new law which is
to be brought into existence shall have the lengthy name of:
"Old Age Pension Insurance Payment Adaptation Law" and is
currently in the consultation phase. The conjecture that it will
already take effect in January 2013 could not be confirmed by the
Advisor of the federal pension system or the BMAS. In addition,
it was stated that the format of the future mandatory pension
insurance for self-employed individuals has not been finalized
and is, as before, still being discussed.
The core of the reform is that self-employed individuals who
belong to professional groups for which currently there is no
pension obligation will be required to provide for their old age.
It must be noted, however, that many autonomous professionals
groups have been paying for many years compulsory statutory
old age insurance dues for self-employed individuals; this
includes, for example: craftsmen, teachers, tutors, caretakers
of children and many others as long as they have been working
for a client and did not employ any individuals who have old
age pension security obligations. The official reason for this is
that these self-employed individuals - when the aforementioned
conditions are met - are then classified as "employee-like selfemployed"
individuals. In addition, there are other occupational
groups which have had to insure themselves, in various different
forms, with regard to statutory old age pensions: these include
artists, writers as well as doctors, lawyers, architects and farmers
etc.; all of the above are subject to mandatory professional and
occupational contributions. Interesting, for the distributor, is also
the following fact: In accordance with a judgment by the Federal
Social Court in 2009, there is a mandatory insurance obligation
for distributors who work only for one client in existence. A
distributor who offers the products of a MLM-enterprise is
therefore, already since 2009, obligated to pay contributions for
the required statutory pension.
But what about contribution payments if a general mandatory
pension requirement takes effect? The above-mentioned
fixed contribution in the amount € 400.00 per month for the
statutory pension insurance is not guaranteed and is based
on speculation. It is much more probable that self-employed
income dependent contributions will apply with regard to
payments to be made for one’s retirement! In addition, the
fact sheet of the BMAS says: "The obligation for pension
contributions will apply up to a basic insurance limit." This
means that self-employed compulsory contributions are to
pay for a basic existence in old age and, therefore, will likely
require a smaller contribution than those employees whose old
age payments generally exceed the minimum requirements. In
addition, self-employed individuals that are near retirement
BACKGROUND
(those over 50) as well as those with sideline jobs or those
earning less than € 400.00 per month will be exempt from the
required mandatory contributions. For those that are already
self-employed and are between the age of 30 and 50 and have
made provisions for their retirement, there are exception and
exemption regulations; however, if "start-up businesses [...]
through their flexible contribution payment opportunities [...]
have sufficiently contributed" remains to be seen.
At this point one aspect should once more be clearly emphasized:
It is NOT intended that all self-employed individuals will be
required to participate in the statutory pension insurance
program in the future. There continues to be a choice between
statutory and private pension plans. The restriction that the
chosen plan for the old age pension will be paid out as a pension
payment is serious;- because capital investments and real estate
investments are not recognized as retirement options.
The planned mandatory pension insurance for self-employed will
not pass by without affecting the MLM industry; this is because
even if there is a relatively large leeway in terms of contributions
to be paid and that there are various forms of retirement savings
available, retirement planning, in the future, must be made by the
self-employed themselves. A distributor, who earns an additional
€ 500.00 or € 1,000 a month, will also have significant additional
expenses and this will, possibly, keep interested parties from
choosing to become self-employed on a part time basis within
the industry. The result would be, in some circumstances, losing
current distributors who only want to obtain a supplementary
income as well as the loss of new potential distributors who are
only interested in MLM as a sideline; therefore, such a type of selfemployment
would then lose its attractiveness and lucrativeness
due to the pension reform.
In conclusion, we from OBTAINER would like to give you, our
readers, the following advice: It cannot currently be determined,
with certainty, in which form and in what time-frame the
mandatory pension insurance obligation for self-employed
individuals will be introduced or what type of exemption
regulations there will be; furthermore many of the concepts are
not yet clear and without further explanation it will be best to
keep in touch with the German Pension Insurance Association
about the details of these potential future obligations with regard
to the pension insurance obligations and their structure.
Of course, we'll keep you up to date with regard to the subject of
"mandatory pension insurance for the self-employed".
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 123

MONAVIERVL
REVEAL YOUR
BEST SELF
MORE NUTRITION. LESS CALORIES.
Whether you want to lose 5 or 75 pounds, maintain a healthy weight, or improve
your overall nutritional well being, the MonaVie RVL Premier Weight Solution is
for you.* Delivering more nutrition per calorie than leading brands, this advanced
system gets to the root of weight management: healthy nutrition.
Packed with a diversity of macro-, micro-, and phytonutrients, MonaVie RVL helps
you manage your weight in a healthy way. Featuring a delicious shake mix,
crave-worthy snack bar, and all natural, metabolism-boosting supplement, this
premier weight solution has everything you need to reach your ideal weight.*
Say goodbye to unwanted pounds and hello to your best self today.
WHAT ARE MACRO-, MICRO-, AND PHYTONUTRIENTS?
•
Macronutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats
• Micronutrients: vitamins and minerals
•
Phytonutrients: antioxidants such as carotenoids,
anthocyanins, and proanthocyanins
www.monavie.com
* When used as a complete system and combined with a sensible diet and regular exercise.

SHORT CUT
126 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

SHORT CLOSE CUT UP
New Face
of Network
Marketing:
Some
Teaching,
Some
Learning,
More
Earning!
ost people perceive network marketing as a means to
make quick money, but there is more to it than meets the
eye. While it gives freedom, flexibility and good fortune,
it also opens new avenues for expansion by teaching the
business to others. For some like Bruno Grilo and Francisco Nunes, network
marketing is more than just a money-making option.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 127

SHORT CLOSE UP
CUT
Bruno Grilo (born March 14, 1974) and Francisco Nunes
(born November 6, 1978) are the perfect examples of
how family ties can be turned into fruitful business
relationships. Brothers-in-law turned business partners, Bruno
and Francisco hail from the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal.
Network marketing helped both of them attain a global status.
As they recall, the chief motive behind joining a home business
was to increase income and double fulfillment — something a
traditional business could never have offered them. Initially,
Bruno and Francisco perceived the MLM industry as only a
part-time work option, and it was only after six months that
they decided to consider it as a full-time business option. Bruno
worked in the power tools business as a sales manager and
Francisco worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative. Now
both love the idea of working full-time in the MLM industry as it
gives them much-desired freedom and satiates their ‘networking
passion’ and helps them make ‘other people grow in life.’
Their journey in the MLM industry began with another company
six years prior. However, with passing time they felt the need
for a ‘long-term company,’ the structure and product of which
match the goals of Bruno and Francisco. In 2009, they hit the
bull’s eye by choosing MonaVie from the lot. For the partners,
choosing MonaVie was ‘one of the best decisions’ they had ever
made in their lives. From the very beginning, both Bruno and
128 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
Francisco had an affinity towards the wellness industry that
MonaVie truly epitomizes.
Unlike many people in the MLM industry who keep on
switching companies, Bruno and Francisco plan to stick with
MonaVie. In fact, they call it their ‘last rodeo.’ Both of them
seem to have fallen in love with MonaVie ‘not only because
of the income, but because of the culture, the heart and the
structure of this company.’ There is a feeling of safety in
MonaVie and you always have the confidence that you can
attract anyone to its ‘great products, great opportunity, great
results, great working system and superior credibility.’
When OBTAINER asked the two business partners about the
USP of MonaVie, they seemed to be all up for it. According to
them what set MonaVie apart are its products, ‘Distributors
are just as excited about the positive experiences with the
products as they are the opportunity, and this helps to improve
retention levels. Distributors share the products that they have
actually used and believe in.’ Price positioning is done carefully
to offer good margin. MonaVie Active and MonaVie RVL are
the two most focused products in Bruno and Francisco’s team.
While MonaVie Active is ‘antioxidant with glucosamine,’
MonaVie RVL is ‘Weight loss/control shake for blood sugar
stabilization.’ In addition, MonaVie offers a ‘great compensation
plan’ and a simple system that anyone can ‘dive in and duplicate.’

SHORT CLOSE CUT UP
“Never get away of the highway.
Never allow others to steal your
dreams. Never quit!”
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 129

CLOSE UP
MonaVie, in short, helps improve distributors’ skills and builds
confidence in addition to increasing profitability. Founder,
Chairman and CEO Dallin Larsen and MonaVie President of
North America and Europe Randy Schroeder create the right
environment so that you feel ‘you are in the right place.’
Dealing with new partners every single day gives Bruno and
Francisco the opportunity to meet new prospects every single
day and they make a concerted effort to be a good sponsor
to those who are interested. They believe a good sponsor
is someone who can not only connect heart-to-heart with
others, but also inspire them to be leaders and guide them in
developing daily disciplines that will lead to their success. As
Bruno and Francisco put it, they have 4 basic activities to teach
as good sponsors. These are: (1) How to have a never ending
and expanding list of contacts, (2) how to invite properly, (3)
how to make a simple, duplicable presentation, and (4) how
to give a duplicable new distributor orientation. They teach
these activities with the help of the MonaVie Values People
(MVP) tool kit (also available in digital format). In fact, both
Bruno and Francisco praise the MVP tools for their immense
duplicability. They seem to simply love MonaVie for the fact
that it does not require you to create separate tools.
Private business/tasting presentations lay the foundation for
Bruno and Francisco’s business. These presentations involve
distributors and guests where the former share product and
business success stories with guests, and teach them how they,
too, can achieve success by following the system. These more
intimate meetings usually take place in a home. However, Bruno
and Francisco also see great value in having meetings at hotels
and conference centers. These bigger meetings are important
to develop team spirit and belief, boost personal development,
enhance recognition and establish circles that are crucial for
launching new products, strategies, activities and promotions.
For this reason, Bruno and Francisco hold one regional event
every month and two to three national events each year.
Recognizing the potential and need for online presentations,
Bruno and Francisco make it a point to hold online training
presentations exclusively for distributors every week. This way
they can send their message and goal straight to the guests who
are located far away. They prefer Skype or web chat to telephone
conference calls. Of late, Bruno and Francisco have explored
the avenues of social media for making new relationships and
improving skills.
Bruno and Francisco see a bright future for the MLM industry
and its various aspects such as relationship marketing, network
marketing and community commerce. In the times to come, it
130 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
would attract quality people for the simple reason that it is the
epitome of income leverage concept, personal development,
lifestyle, fulfillment, recognition, good people and great products.
The MLM industry truly ensures a bright future. Bruno and
Francisco perceive the network marketing industry as full of
positives. Both of them have derived not only greater freedom
and ‘intensive income growth’ but also better relationship skills,
personal development skills and, above all, essential values for
a more meaningful life. As they pursue their passion today, they
also get to travel around the world. Negatives do not exist at all in
the network marketing industry for Bruno and Francisco. They
believe it’s important to stay positive and disciplined, and to spend
your time and energy with the people who most deserve it.
For the readers of OBTAINER, Bruno Gilo and Francisco
Nunes have some excellent advice: ‘Define who you are today
and who you want to be. Then you will start having more.’ They
believe you should work consistently to drive away any negative
thoughts or influences in your life. Placing discipline above
everything else, Bruno and Francisco say that one should be
sincere with basic productive activities and teach others to
do the same. According to them, ‘Discipline is the highway

to success.’ Anyone would be filled with immense energy
and enthusiasm just by reading these two sentences uttered
by Bruno and Francisco: ‘Never allow others to steal your
dreams. Never quit!’ They also strongly encourage reading
self-development books since they help to develop a correct,
positive mindset.
Bruno and Francisco’s company has opportunities open to all. If
your need is to earn just 500 Euro or US$500, they have devised
a shortcut for the same. Simply plug into the system, study the
MVP tool kit system in the next 48 hours and continue with the
4 basic activities for the coming 90 days. This would help you
‘learn while you work and you will earn while you teach.’ They
give attention to both business partners and retail customers,
or those who are only interested in the products.
When asked what keeps them going amidst such a tight
schedule, both the industrious businessmen replied, ‘Health,
income, fulfillment, growth and contribution.’ Both Bruno and
Francisco are family men and love spending time with friends
and family. Bruno is married with no kids. Francisco has one
kid and is single at the moment. Bruno, in addition, loves
CLOSE UP
“Define who you are today and who
you want to be. Then you will
start having more.”
surfing and triathlons. It’s great to know that both of them are
Mercedes lovers. While Bruno would love to hit the road with
the Mercedes GLK automatic in the future, Francisco is simply
in love with the Mercedes E Cabrio and E Station AMG. Both of
them are also quite adventurous. Their business enabled them
to map the world and to catch a glimpse of Portugal, France,
Poland, Israel, Russia, Brasil, Mexico and Australia. They are
ready to visit any place in the world where they find people
willing to connect with them.
Jim Rohn (aka ‘father of personal development in network
marketing’) and President of North America and Europe Randy
Schroeder — their mentors — continue to influence their lives
positively.
Bruno and Francisco have a deep-rooted belief that ‘Nothing is
free in life.’ You get what you deserve and working for things
you want is a precondition. Only after meeting these conditions
do you get the best out of life.
Bruno Grilo can be reached at brunogrilo.mv@gmail.com.
Francisco Nunes can be reached at francisconunes.mv@gmail.com.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 131

COLUMN
132 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

COLUMN
Hocus
Pocus
Magic Happens
When You Focus
In today’s busy and overly distracted
business world, it’s harder than
ever to be focused and stay focused.
Having a full or part time job,
family obligations, social events and
commitments, even the technology
that is designed to make us more
efficient has become the opposite of
what it was supposed to be, it has
become a major distraction. The
Internet, emails, social media, instant
massage alerts, and cell phones make
focusing on a goal without being
distracted a great challenge.
By Salsabila
Al-Harbi
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 133

COLUMN
In addition to the mentioned distractions the biggest
challenges preventing people from achieving their goals are:
Time pressure, financial pressure, and the balance between
work and home life. Focus helps in linking these challenges so we
can make them work for us not against us. However we need to
determine what it is we should be focusing on to get the results
that we desire. Therefore, we should start with the end in mind,
looking at the big picture, the life you desire.
One of the best ways to achieve your goals is by investing your
time in doing what you are best at, and letting others do what they
are best at. So start by focusing on your natural talents and get
people to help you at what you are not good at, usually those are
the people with a different set of skills than yours.
Focus on setting goals that are aligned with your natural talents
and make sure they are measurable, and achievable. Set a plan
including your long term and short term goals that match your
talents and what you’re brilliant at. A crucial element in setting
and planning goals is the ability to keep your mind focused on
these goals. If you fail to focus you’ll never be able to achieve
results. On the other hand trying to achieve several goals at the
same time that are not aligned together, is one reason that people
lose focus and are not able to achieve the success they dreamt of.
Focus on your goals one at a time.
Having a goal and focusing on it requires crystal clear vision of
where you’re heading and the ability to eliminate all distractions;
the external ones mentioned earlier and the internal ones - yes
the internal distractions, that little voice in your head that gives
you all the excuses why you can’t get to your goal, the one that
tells you that there is no time, it is too late, it is impossible, it’s
not important, and tells you that you have always had obstacles
and you always will have. It is the voice of your mind that resists
change and wants to stick to the habits and beliefs imprinted in
it. Your mind wants things to stay the way they are, it is resisting
change, which requires new behaviors and actions. If you listen
to that inner voice telling you to do it later you will lose focus and
nothing will ever get done. That is how the majority of people lose
track of their goals and give-up on their dreams.
To be able to get your mind to agree to change you first have to
start by sticking to your commitment in spite of all challenges
and obstacles. Change usually comes with a lot of opportunities
in its folds, look for those opportunities, embrace and welcome
the change. Since the only way to improve your life is by
implementing changes, when you resist the change you are
resisting the improvement and saying no to all that life has to
134 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
offer. So remember change comes with opportunities don’t miss
out on the opportunity because of a stubborn mind. “Nothing can
stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his
goal: Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental
attitude.” Thomas Jefferson. To maintain the right mental
attitude you need to focus on the rewards - yes focus is the key
word to help you be consistent in your actions and beliefs to help
you stick to your plan and achieve your goals. Focusing on the
right things is what helps you achieve your goals, which means
focusing on the rewards the reasons behind setting certain goals
and focusing on what you want, not what you don’t want, focusing
on the solutions not the challenges.
Focusing on the rewards means to decide why the goals you set are
important - example: Saying you want a million dollars just to buy
a home and car is not the only reason you want to make a million
dollars, having security, and peace-of mind are more likely the
reasons for setting that goal. Usually when we set the goals we are
searching for the rewards that come with achieving these goals.
When I first joined the Network Marketing business I had no
experience at all I never sold a thing in my life and I am not very
active socially, I usually do things on my own and don’t hang
out with friends a lot. I attended the 1st meeting and saw the
opportunity of financial freedom hitting me in the face, I couldn’t
get a good night’s sleep for three nights all I thought about was the
opportunity and the rewards, I thought of having my own house I
thought of having a better financial status and I thought of success
and the excitement that comes with it. I started the business with
no business background at all. My goal was to reach the top be a
manager and start earning big checks, I made my list and planned
to reach my goal in three months, however no one wanted to join
me for the 1st month and I only had a few customers, I started
to lose the excitement but not the focus I changed my deadline
from three months to nine months and continued to talk to people
every day with a firm belief that I can reach my goal. It was to my
surprise that things just turned around in a few days and what
seemed like a far-to-reach goal was very possible, things started
rolling and I reached my 1st goal and became a manager with an
exciting check within the second month of joining the business.
All I remember was that I never lost focus on what I wanted to
achieve, I was consistent in my actions, and I followed the plan.
Focus at that time resulted in a magical result that I couldn’t have
dreamt of then. So remember magic can happen when you focus,
yes it can be something like hocus-pocus. In conclusion Know
what you want, know why you want it, create your plan, match
it to your talents, be consistent and focus on the rewards; then
magic will happen.

COLUMN
One of the best ways
to achieve your goals
is by investing your
time in doing what
you are best at, and
letting others do what
they are best at.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 135

COLUMN
Personal
Branding
How Do I Become
a Brand?
136 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

THERE
are people in this world whose names we
immediately connect with certain things: Steve
Jobs revolutionized the computer industry. Walt Disney conjures up a
smile on our lips. For many people Lionel Messi is a football god. Oprah
Winfrey, an icon in show business. They all have one thing in common:
People know them for what they do. They are personalities many
people look up to. People whose voice carries great weight.
One of my acquaintances took over his father’s firm a few years
ago and within 4 years he had increased the turnover more than
fifteenfold. Within the shortest time imaginable he managed to
become an eminent authority in his field. He became well-known
far beyond the borders of his own country and today he’s able to
reap the fruits of his labors.
Can it be an advantage in recommendation marketing to be such
a person? Absolutely. But how do you become such an individual?
How do you become well-known? How do you become a recognized
specialist in your field?
The answer is simple: personal branding, the establishment of a
person as a brand. In the still young 21st century we’ve already
experienced many developments. We live in the Information Age,
in the Digital Age. Never has it been so easy to reach so many
people, e.g. through viral marketing. Most people have already
heard of teenage parties which became mass events involving
thousands through Facebook & Co. Through skillful use of these
new media it’s possible today for anybody to become a brand.
COLUMN
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 137

You’ll find the instructions on how to do so here below.
The most important thing is to find out in advance what exactly
you’d like to do in the first place. Becoming a specialist isn’t difficult,
on the other hand, deciding what you want to be a specialist for is
much harder.
What’s really important in developing a brand is to distinguish
between two things: First and foremost, you want to develop your
own brand, not a company’s brand or a brand belonging to somebody
else. So find out who you really are.
1. YOuR OWN BRAND IS AN INvESTMENT. Your own
name or your own brand can live significantly longer than you
will yourself. A company you’ve built up is something you may
sell one day. But if you’ve built up a good brand, people will
continue to follow you. Thus a question will arise again and again:
Why should other people want to get close to you? What do you
symbolize? What do you stand for?
2. SET YOuRSElF A TARGET. A personal brand primarily
expresses how other people see you? What do your customers
think of you? What are your experiences? Steve Jobs was the
inventor of the PC. As early as 1976, when he was 21 years old,
he had the dream that everybody should have a computer. He
gave the PC a mass impact, and during his own lifetime he was
considered to be the man who brought us entertainment into our
homes – whether with Apple or with Pixar.
138 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
3. START A BlOG OR A WEBSITE TO pROMOTE YOuR-
SElF. To start off you need a platform where you can advertise
your opinion, your products and your services. Your own website
or even a blog gives you the freedom to “let off steam” at your own
discretion. You have the opportunity to get in contact with people
all over the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if they want to do
so. You can set up this website like your business premises – just
the way you want it. You can fashion it in accordance with your own
taste. For this purpose there are wonderful solutions for people
without any knowledge of programming.
4. BE uBIquITOuS. If people hear your name, they’ll look
for it. It doesn’t matter whether this happens the first time, the
second time or the thousandth time. So use Facebook & Co.,
too. In recent years the word “omnipresent” has established
itself more and more in our vocabulary and in our thinking.
These days you have to be “ubiquitous.” Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Pinterest and all the other social networks are your
advertising space, just as specialist journals and magazines are.
Other people should be able to find you if they’re interested in
what you do. So you must also show yourself.
5. CONTINuE TO DEvElOp YOuRSElF AND YOuR
BRAND. Standing still means moving backwards. Apple has
constantly brought new products onto the market. Or imagine
you were still working today with Windows 3.1. I often sit up to
14 hours a day in front of a computer in order to refine what I
do and to develop myself more. You have to remain on the ball

all the time and you have to constantly look around for new
opportunities. You always want to keep one step ahead of your
competitors, don’t you?
6. CONTINuE TO EDuCATE AND TRAIN YOuRSElF.
The world is constantly changing. Therefore you also have to
keep up with the times, or the times will pass you by. The
current state of knowledge of the human race is expanding
day by day. Also in your field it’s quite certain that there are
constant innovations. Always be on top of things. Inform yourself
about latest developments as often as possible. You’d like
to be sure that the next great thing in your industry won’t get
past you forcing you to jump onto the bandwagon when all the
carriages have already been occupied.
7. DON’T BE A YES-MAN, FORM YOuR OWN OpIN-
ION INSTEAD. Otherwise you’ll be building up other people’s
brands and not your own. Before you adopt an opinion, consider
whether it’ll fit you and your brand. A false statement made by
you can completely alter the image of your brand.
8. OThER pEOplE hAvE TO BE TAlKING ABOuT
YOu. Get to know new people every day. Contacts are the key
to success. For a successful networker like you that is, of course,
nothing new. Surround yourself with opinion leaders and be
one yourself. You need people with influence around you. Have
you ever heard about being in the right place at the right time?
Sometimes just a little bit of scandal is also sufficient and, bingo,
you’re the topic of discussion. But be careful with this because it
can also backfire.
Another very important point, but one that doesn’t fit in the list,
is something that hardly anybody will tell you. For me it’s the
key to success. No matter which personality I’ve been talking to,
every single one of them has done just this: Work your heart out.
To make your brand well-known, to be ubiquitous all the time,
to be considered a specialist, you have to invest a lot of time.
Perhaps nothing will happen for 6 months or 12 months or
maybe even as long as 18 months. Often people work 80 hours
a week or more and see no success, but suddenly the breakthrough
happens.
In a study Malcolm Gladwell found that professionals train for more
than 10,000 hours to get to the top. It’s a hard road but there’s
hardly anything that feels more beautiful than getting there.
About David El Dib
Born in Vienna in 1976, he grew up in a sheltered environment. His mother was a teacher,
his father an entrepreneur and he learned, from early on, how to think like a business
person. In his childhood there never were opportunities to make significant strides since
their monthly income was just sufficient to make ends meet. While studying economics at
the Vienna Business School he realized that a normal working life did not offer sufficient
options for him. Thus, at the age of 21 he already became self-supporting.
Subsequently he worked as an investment banker for a renowned international
investment house where he advised large corporations and well-to-do clients with
regard to investment matters. An understanding of economics and an interest in his
fellow men made him, at an early age, a sought after interlocutor.
During recent years, he has guided tens of thousands of individuals by means of his
seminars in Europe, the USA, South America and Asia.
David is a globetrotter and keynote speaker. He coaches entrepreneurs and top
executives in areas of personal branding and customer orientation.
COLUMN
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 139

COLUMN
Building
a Global
Organization
*part 3
Join Timothy Wilson in the final instalment of
his three part feature. In this issue Tim takes
us through the final points that are paramount
when building an international business
140 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 06/2012

8.
Begin your global
organization by
starting with your
next-door neighbor.
Finding distributors internationally starts with your neighbor.
Many times a distributor asks if we are in a specific country
because they know someone who knows someone. Additionally,
they may even contemplate booking a ticket and flying halfway
around the world to put someone in the business before they ever
talk to their neighbor.
Oddly enough that is the best place to start. We have all heard
the old six degrees of separation saying, you are only six people
away from any person on the planet.
When building globally and looking for an international distributor,
I find it somewhat like buying a new car. You know how
before you bought the new car you never saw one like it? Amazingly,
after your purchase, everywhere you go you see your car. It
happens the same way in your Direct Selling opportunity.
Focus on the country you want to build. If you have a team,
have all of them focus on the same country for a month.
Everywhere you go, ask the question “Who do you know in
COLUMN
Germany?” You will be shocked how many times you will accidentally
run across someone who is from Germany, knows
someone who lives there now, or who has relationships with
people in Germany.
Your next step is to simply make contact with the prospect. If you
have an active upline you can arrange a three-way call with, do so.
Keep in mind your job is to see if they are open to your expanding
opportunity in Germany. Provide them with a brief overview
of your opportunity. This is part of the contacting and inviting
process and you should strive to perfect this skill set.
If you have a very high quality video, something that is extremely
professional, less than five minutes that highlights your company's
achievements and global expansion, then send that to them
and schedule a follow up within 24 hours.
Your next step is to get them a packet of information on your
company. The physical information will always work best in dealing
with foreign prospects. The weaker the facilitating relationship
the more impressive and professional the packet will need to be.
Social media has also become a large part of sorting through
suspects and finding prospects. This can be a slow process that
requires consistency and an understanding of social media
etiquette. Additionally, you will still need professional skill sets and
or a good working relationship with an upline leader who has them.
There are specific marketing techniques to finding distributors
online and building an online marketing funnel, however that
goes beyond this article.
A good general rule is to look for ways to sponsor people in the
same way you would respond and want to be sponsored.
9. Reverse sponsor
internationally
This has been one of my most effective techniques and works
great when you are already dealing with a single international
distributor or global organization.
I continuously remind my international distributors that they
have an international business too. I ask them who they know in
the US or other countries that are international to them?
I offer to do three way calls on all of my web conferences with
any distributor who will step up and become what we referred
to earlier as a facilitator. I have done very successful three way
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 141

COLUMN
calls where the prospect living in the US was the one doing
the translation.
Often, as a company expands globally, not all products will be
available at the same time in all markets. Reminding your inter-
national distributors they do have all the products the company
offers, they just may not be in their local market, helps them deal
with this fact and overcome their objection that they need this
product or that product.
Reverse sponsoring also tends to create a great amount of appreciation
among international distributors and is a great way to increase
local distributors view of the global Direct Selling opportunity.
10. Utilizing events
Effective events and the use of them in growing your international
markets can be one of the most important catalysts to
creating momentum.
A company must be able to have an event local to the interna-
tional market it wants to grow. There is really no way to compen-
sate for the benefits these events create, and all distributors
should have access to an event about every six months.
Any event should always be an empowering event that teaches,
inspires, and motivates. Anyone attending these events should leave
with a greater sense of what skills are required to become a professional
in the Direct Selling industry, and how to develop them.
Another incredible business building technique is to strive to
always start a new distribution leg at each event and each market
you choose to work.
There is no place more important than an effectively run goal
oriented event to mobilize any organization. And as a leader you
should be with your team at these events.
11. Working with
translators
As you begin to grow a global organization, you will need to connect
with more and more people who may or may not speak your language.
If you enjoy the benefits of being able to speak multiple
languages, you will often find faster acceptance when working
through facilitated relationships.
142 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
I was once on stage with a distributor who proceeded to address
the crowd in six different languages. While this is very impressive,
and is generally very much appreciated by an international
audience, don’t let the fact that you can barely speak one language
slow you down.
A few options you may use that have worked for me are as
follows…
The first option is to use a company executive. However, this
may not be the easiest to coordinate. The further up the lead-
ership ladder you are, or the more you have a connection with
a leader who is actively building internationally, the easier
this will be.
Secondly, if you speak English you will just about always be able
to find someone within the organization who speaks English that
can provide translations. Many times for the added communi-
cation, relationship and training, these individuals are eager to
work with you.
This is my favorite way to do any event because as you build
a relationship with the translator she will be able to translate
longer and more complex statements until she is pretty much
translating paragraphs.
Thirdly, approach language teachers. This is not my most
common practice, but it has proven useful in the past. You also
stand a chance at sponsoring them.
Recently, I was in Paris and was utilizing 11 different translators.
There will always be variables in what they are translating. Keep
this in mind anytime you are speaking to an audience through a
translator. Remember to speak in a rhythm and somewhat slower
than you normally do.
12.
Know what to
avoid and be
aware of
Occasionally, when a company announces their expansion into a new
market, people looking for a sponsorship will contact the leadership.
Many of these individuals will only be seeking upfront support or
payment to bringing their teams into the expanding opportunity.
Always use common sense when being approached for money. If
they have the thousands of distributors ready to enroll and they
promise they are going to hit the top ranks in only a few months
they wouldn’t need any upfront money.

I have never paid anyone a signing bonus. However, if
you do decide to pay anything beyond the compensation,
it should always be incentive based and for a limited time
frame. You will also want to consult your company’s P&Ps
as there can be legal issues with incentives and promotions
in some countries.
Never build in a non-open country without the company’s
knowledge or approval. You will almost always cause issues
for the future of the opportunity in that country.
At all times you must avoid overpromising and what is called
futuring. When you future someone, you are telling him or
her something will be happening in the future both directly
and indirectly. When done indirectly, you simply talk about
what is going to be happening too much. This is a horrible
habit to develop locally and it is even a worse habit to develop
internationally, especially when working through a translator.
Instead of focusing too much on what is going to be happening,
focus on what can be done now and be very clear when
informing about upcoming events.
We are in a business of promotion; however, never promote
what we are not certain of.
Building a growing global organization is one of the most
exhilarating aspects of the Direct Selling industry. There
is no greater feeling than to see someone achieve success
and fulfill his or her dreams while growing and becoming
a professional, except when it happens across cultural lines
and international borders.
Tim’s drive to learn how to invest his time for a return began
early when at the age of 13 his father gave him a watch with a
second hand. After putting it on his wrist his father asked him
to watch the second hand for 60 seconds. Afterwards Tim was
asked what he did with the 60 seconds. When responding “nothing”
his father advised him to never let it happen again.
Becoming involved in a family business at an early age gave Tim
much of the knowledge base for learning to deal with people
and learning how to develop strategic systems. In 1997 Tim met
and developed a personal relationship with Brig and Lita Hart
outside of networking which originated through their sons being
on the same soccer team. With Tim’s understanding of strategic
planning and networking from the outside in, combined
with Brig’s understanding of networking from the inside out
they helped launch the fastest company in US history to hit one
billion dollars in sales and to date has created on average a new
millionaire every 3 ½ to 4 weeks since January 2005.
He has created a system for success “Day One Success” designed
to help people find success in any endeavor from the very first
day. “I want to help people achieve results that change lives and
last a lifetime,” Tim states.
Now Tim enjoys coaching and building people on a global scale.
He is looking for leaders who want him to help them become one
of the next millionaires. Tim has seen over 3,000,000 customers
and distributors come into an organiza tion “Working with
the number of people I have been able to work with has given
me an interesting insight to the process of success in the Direct
Selling industry”.
Tim can be reached directly in the United States
at 336-262-8925. By email TimothyWilson@me.com
06/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 143

Photo: Max Winter
COLUMN
>>> CoLUMN BY
TORSTEN
WILL

Reading
Minds
Can Be
So Easy!
ho has not sometimes
wished to be able to
read the mind of one's
counterpart? Whether
it is in one's private or, especially, in
one's professional life - unsuspected
advantages as well as new dimensions
with regard to effective communications
could open up if one could tap into the
thoughts of one's conversation partner.
If I promise you that this article will
introduce you to the secrets of reading
thoughts then I shall be pretty sure what
you are thinking: Yes, exactly!
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 145

COLUMN
ESTABLISH A
CoNNECTIoN
WITH YoUR CoUNTERPART!
Surely you're thinking now: "I have a connection anyway when
I am speaking with someone!" In truth, however, many people
carry on a conversation without developing a real connection to
one's counterpart. And without a connection mind reading is not
possible. Imagine that the connection between two people is like
a good foundation. Mind-reading is only possible if you open
yourself up to your opponent. Perhaps, you may say: "It would
be better if my counterpart opens up." Sure, but the process of
reading begins, in particular, when you are ready to receive the
signals from the person whom you want to read.
90% oF oUR
CoMMUNICATIoN IS
NoNVERBAL AND
oNLY 10% IS VERBAL!
Reading thoughts begins with recognizing the body language of
others. 90% of our communication takes place without words. This
means: We cannot - not communicate! Even if we say nothing, we
always are expressing something. The art of mind reading, however,
does not consist of interpreting gestures and facial expressions
because folded arms and legs are never absolutely a sure sign for
whatever. It is more about putting yourself into the other person!
REFLECT!
Train yourself to be a reflection. The easiest way to put yourself
into your counterpart is when you reflect him or her. Sit exactly in
the same way, try to breathe at the same pace as your counterpart
and learn to copy gestures and facial expressions. You are afraid
that your counterpart realizes that you are mirroring? Don’t worry
your conversation partner will not notice it consciously, but will
notice it probably subconsciously. And that person may like it
more than you might believe. We people love it when we have
the feeling when someone stands or sits opposite us and is ticking
in the same way as we do. The experience of meeting ourselves
is, for most people, wonderful, just like most of us don't miss an
opportunity to look into a mirror. We simply feel good as our egos
experience recognition and we become a little bit stronger (Forget
the morning look in your bathroom mirror! It's all about brushing
teeth, shaving and fixing one's hair).
146 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
ExPERIENCE IT!
If you now reflect the posture, breathing, gestures, facial expressions,
etc. of your counterpart then allow yourself, for a moment,
to be completely without interpreting, totally spontaneous and
without evaluating. The more you practice this process the more
quickly and clearly you can experience this feeling and, later, even
get a concrete picture. What is important here is that you do not
interpret but really let your mind flow. With some practice you
will get to the point more frequently where you know what your
counterpoint is thinking and feeling.
YoUR INTUITIoN
MUSCLE
IS BEING TRAINED!
Do not be discouraged if it does not work the first time. What
is crucial is that you practice, practice and practice again.
Together with your partner, your friends or your family you can
test it out beautifully and then continue to practice. Simply sit
down face to face and let your practice partner think of something
(as intensively as possible). Ask him or her to take the
optimal sitting position with regard to what was thought about
and allow yourself to be completely immersed by the recollection.
You are beginning to reflect the posture and now simply
say the words which first come into your mind. Sometimes this
can be very confusing especially at the beginning. Do not worry,
each time it gets better and clearer.

BRING YoURSELF INTo
A GooD BALANCE!
You will experience that you can grasp the thoughts and feelings of
others all the more easily the more balanced you are. Mind-reading
it is similar to talking on a cell phone. If interferences complicate
the conversation then the conversation becomes more difficult. And
when you are speeding at 220 on the highway then your heedfulness
is also rather limited. If you want to effectively, in the future,
grasp the thoughts of your counterpart then you should not have
any distractions and especially not emotional ones. Distractions
will cause you to be tempted to interpret. Let us remember our
lessons at school: Interpretations without documented quotes can
go awry! Therefore, you'll need to rely solely on the signals from
your counterpart and see your counterpart from a new perspective.
IF YoU SoMETIMES GET INTo
A DEAD ZoNE…
Sometimes it happens that we do not, at all, find access to other
people. Here it is advisable to simply take a break. Change the
subject or just go to the bathroom. Bring yourself back into a
good balance. The stronger your own constitution and your own
state of mind, the more you will succeed in reading the thoughts
of other people. Leave your own experiences or emotions from
previous conversations or other appointments either in the elevator,
in front of the door or in the car. Consider: You also communicate
non-verbally 90% of the time and, therefore, are sending
perpetual signals to your opponent. And as my grandmother used
to say: "Torsten, whatever you give, you get back!" And "how you
call into the forest so it will also echo!” You need to take care that
you don't read yourself because your counterpart is reading you.
SELF-AWARENESS
IN FRoNT oF THE MIRRoR!
We always have an effect! How? Well, we can find this out best
when we look closely and observe ourselves. What signals do you
send! Are you a friendly type and have a smile on your face, or
can one already see from afar that currently, it's more likely, that
there is low tide in the household budget? As Shakespeare so aptly
said: "The world's a stage and we are its actors.” I would like to
supplement this statement with the following question: And what
role do you play? Not that I have just read your thoughts! But I'm
sure, that especially with you, more is possible, right? Perhaps, in
the future, the thoughts of others will be of help to you!
Sincerely, Torsten Will
COLUMN
TORSTEN
WILL
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 147

COLUMN
THe FirsT iMPression
ALEXANDER PLATH
148 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
“Over and Over and Over Again”
Business Etiquette
Regarding Greeting
Who Should Greet and Welcome Whom?
IN THE
first part of this series we took
quite a close look at what “system”
in the field of manners would help to decide who
should behave in which way to whom: what I called the
“coronet concept.”
And we already used the coronet concept to decide who should greet whom and who
should “welcome” whom. You remember: “Greeting is the verbal part, the bit where
you “offer somebody the time of day.” “Welcoming” is the “physical” part, i.e. offering
to shake hands.
Our example the last time was the following:
“At a public conference you (as CEO of your company) meet the purchasing manager of
your customer. So he or she is wearing the coronet (as representative of your customer)
and you greet him or her. Then he or she decides whether to shake hands or not.”
Let’s take another example:
2

“The female sales manager of a company receives the male
purchasing manager of a customer company in her office. Who
offers the verbal greeting and who offers to shake hands?”
Often I hear people say that it’s the sales manager who offers
her hand to the purchasing manager because, after all, she’s the
lady. That she’s a lady is without any doubt correct, but that isn’t
the reason for this sequence of verbal greeting and offering to
shake hands.
Because in business life no differentiation is made between ladies
and gentlemen anymore because this would be in contradiction
to sexual equality in the professional sphere. So the fact that the
sales manager is a woman plays no role at all.
Nevertheless, the answer is correct, but for quite a different
reason. In this case what is called the “host rule” is the one that
counts.
The host rule says the the “host” should offer his or her hand to
welcome the guest – i.e. in this case the sales manager since she
is receiving a visit from the purchasing manager at her premises.
By the way, the host rule also applies when saying goodbye.
COLUMN
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 149

COLUMN
There are the following exceptions to the host rule:
1. Retail trade and service providers
Shop assistants in the retail trade and service providers do not
welcome their customers with a handshake – unless the customer
signals that he or she wishes to shake hands. This also applies to
saying goodbye.
2. Doctors and in hospitals
In both cases it is uncommon to welcome people with a hand-
shake because germs are often transmitted through physical
contact.
In our example neither is the case – so:
l as the customer the purchasing manager is wearing the coronet
and is therefore greeted first by the sales manager.
l at the same time on the basis of the host rule the sales manager
offers him her hand to welcome him.
And what do things look like in private life? Basically the recommendations
are just the same – except that the coronet is “allocated”
on a different basis.
150 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
In private life the first differentiation is “ladies first,” so the
gentleman greets the lady and the lady decides whether she’d
like to offer him her hand.
But please be careful in the case of differentiation by age. The
recommendation of the AUI is that “old before young” as the
basis for allocating the coronet should only apply where the age
difference is at least one generation (approx. 20 years). At a time
when people spend a lot of money to appear younger you could
really put your foot in it through your attempt to be polite!
Similarly the host rule applies here, too. When you receive guests
at home, you offer them your hand to welcome them although it’s
the guest who wears the coronet.
Incidentally, the AUI recommends that both women and men
should remove their gloves when shaking hands. This gesture
goes back historically to the fact that, when a knight removed
his gauntlet, he was signaling that he had come with peaceful
intentions.
The “hierarchy of coronets” also determines who should be
greeted first and who should be welcomed – always in the order
determined by the “size” of the coronet.
If the sales manager in the above example is receiving the chair-
person, the purchasing manager and the chairperson’s assis-
tant from the customer company, then she will also greet (and
welcome) them in exactly this order because the “size” of the
coronet depends on the hierarchy in the customer company.
I look forward to receiving your questions about manners and
business etiquette. You can reach me by e-mail at plath@alexan-
derplath.com or on the Facebook page DER ERSTE EINDRUCK
(www.facebook.com/DerErsteEindruck) – in German.
Yours,
Alexander Plath

“in you must burn
what you want to
ignite in others.”
(www.facebook.com/DerErsteEindruck)
COLUMN
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 151

NUNO F. ASSIS
Time and
Personnel
Management
Dear Readers,
over the last few weeks we have asked, together, how time and
personnel management are related? Does time play a role with
regard to personnel leadership or can it be ignored? Don’t bosses
of large and small companies have enough other things to do and
should one not expect employees to use their experience and their
knowledge to work, generally, independently?
In our fast-paced society time is always a greater good and,
therefore, should be used accordingly. However, often the wrong
priorities are set which can have a negative impact on teamwork
within an operation and, secondarily, it can also have a nega-
tive influence on the business in general. Even the best and most
experienced staff requires, especially in their start-up phase of
their activities when new or changed tasks are set, comprehensive
guidelines. For this reason, personnel leadership should always,
implicitly, invest in time. Only then is a smooth progression of
events assured.
COLUMN
Unfortunately, the reality is different: Many companies and hiring
managers neglect leadership and not infrequently it is blamed on
the lack of competence of the co-worker or the employee when
things do not work out the way they should. A new way of thinking
is required: There is an urgent need for personnel management
to devote the necessary time. The investment will pay off
but it is not easy to take this step because it often means very
intensive re-orientation with regard to scheduling and managing
staff.
Personnel management cannot, across the board, be divided into
a time saving or time consuming activity. You should not
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 153

COLUMN
praise your staff and employees for every job well done and take
them by the hand like small children. This is just as wrong a
strategy as is when one allows the work process to be handled
by the staff or employees alone because you do not have time
for personnel management or prefer to invest your time in other
things. Important is, as always, a balance that ensures that you
take your staff by the hand and guide them in a way that the staff
and employees can still work independently and when questions
or problems develop they can come to you and find a competent
discussion partner. Often these things are taken for granted in
many companies, however, they should not be. The reason for
this may be a good order entry situation or the fact that there
are not enough individuals who can perform tasks quickly and
independently. There are also companies that are structured in
a simply bad way and where personnel management has played
up to now no significant role. If such a company has to change
or has to change its strategy then this is often associated with a
considerable amount of effort. Sometimes resentment or disputes
with colleagues can make management believe that restructuring
is not necessary and, therefore, they want to keep the old
proven system in place and do not want to change it. Here a lot
of convincing needs to be done but that will, in most cases, be
crowned with success. Good administration of time in the area of
personnel management has never hurt a business and will, also
in the future, count as one of the factors responsible for a smooth
flow of processes within businesses and enterprises.
Many managers are well aware of the problem but they say
that, next to their regular task, there is little time left over for
personnel management. They have to deal primarily with the
company’s goals, which are continually re-defined differently by
bosses. In addition, budgets are continually cut at many companies
that do not run well. Nevertheless, all requirements are to be
met. With these tasks, many managers are working at full capacity
and there remains no time for goal discussions with staff or
time for individual personal development. These facts show that
changes should come from the very top. Managers and business
owners need to rethink. This task should not be left solely to the
managers.
There are several ways in which good time management can
successfully be organized. Each path requires, of course, a sufficient
amount of time; if you have not initially considered this
then you must now allow extra time in order to complete the
work processes.
First and foremost, with regard to personnel management, you
need to have open and fair dealings with each other. You must
have an open ear for your staff and then take the time to discuss
and solve problems. You should, of course, not be a psycholo-
154 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
gist for your employees. Limit the things you discuss with your
staff to work issues and do not discuss personal problems. This
is sometimes a difficult balancing act. There are major life events
such as the birth of a child, the death of a person, separation
from a partner or financial difficulties that may affect the performance
of staff to which, of course, you need to respond. You
need to decide according to your judgment what is important
and what is not. Do not ignore serious problems and do not give
unimportant things a lot of room. In this way you’ll become a
person of trust to your staff and then also be able to motivate
them and utilize them according to their performance capability.
You should make it your task to have regular meetings with
your staff for purposes of goal discussions. In this way you shall
find out who has increased potential for better performance and
who is overextended with regard to their assigned tasks. Underor
over-achieving on a permanent basis is not a good operating
situation. Get to know your employees, their goals and abilities
in order to find the optimal work situation for each individual
worker within the company. With a high degree of satisfaction
and the opportunity to solve their assigned task well, the staff will
perform optimally for your business.
During targeted discussions you can find out if it is sensible
to promote an employee in order to give him, in the future,
higher levels of responsibility. A promotion should be agreeable
to both sides. There are employees who are satisfied with the
tasks assigned to them. This, you should accept. Find out which
workers and employees are willing to take on more responsibility
and are also willing to undergo additional training. The investment
in a qualified employee is worthwhile because you do not
have to, additionally, break-in a new employee for new tasks. The
result is positive time management for you and, concurrently,
the employee has the opportunity to perform better and, therefore,
can also expect to receive a higher income in the conceivable
future.
Part of successful personnel management is that the tasks that
everyone is supposed to do are clearly defined and localized. State
clearly what you expect from your staff and make references to
quantity and quality standards. Specify deadlines that must be
adhered to. If the employees know the processes, in the business
for which they work, then they can be more easily integrated
into them. You can provide details on a regular basis or when
something changes with regard to processes. In any case, it is
important that your staff knows them because only then can they
show understanding and preparedness for something that needs
to be done quickly which sometimes may require overtime. Take
your time, therefore, to explain the business operations and make
the context of their tasks within the daily work process clear. It is
also important that you tell them, in advance, what controls are

planned. The work must be controlled but each employee will
be able to understand this if he does not feel observed or caught
unaware. Ensure a fair assessment with regard to the controls
and make the appropriate measurement criteria known so that
employees can adjust to them.
A very important tool of personnel management is to provide
instructions about how outsiders should conduct themselves
with outsiders about internal business information. This
concerns the obligation with regard to confidentiality about
manufacturing processes of products as well as the dissemination
of important internal information to the outside. This
should be avoided in most cases, but it becomes particularly
important when staffers attend conferences or negotiations
where they come into contact with employees from other
companies; here it is important that you specify exactly what
can be passed on and what not. If the employee is too secretive
then no exchange of ideas can take place and, therefore, you
should not issue a general statement about what cannot be
said but rather define a clear line. Also discuss, with of your
staff, permissible behavior in their private lives. It is especially
important that the employees are educated about this
when your business is active in a field where no information is
allowed to get to the outside.
Another important aspect is that there is a good business
climate and a pleasant working atmosphere with regard
to social interaction among employees. Especially in production
environments where there are not only highly qualified
employees but, in addition, where there are also temporary
workers and contract workers from different walks of life present;
it is very important that you talk about your expectations,
about how they should work together and how they should
conduct themselves. Every employee should ensure that he and
his colleagues promote and support the work process and do
not hinder it. Use sufficient time to explain, especially with
new hires, how you expect the cooperative work process to be.
Assign qualified colleagues to be the contact persons to take
care of problems directly that develop during the daily work
processes or they should contact you or another colleague. Well
organized employees are especially important when things do
not work out as planned. For this reason you should have the
employee leadership take this point to heart and not deal with
an issue at the last moment when one is pressed for time. Any
disruption in the production process can lead to chaos if the
employees are not properly organized. The time saved, if you
decline to make this point about employee leadership, can in
cases of emergency double or triple in a negative way because
every production stop is expensive and can only be recaptured
through overtime or the shifting of delivery deadlines.
Allow time for criticism. You should know how to formulate
criticism, but you should also be able to take criticism yourself.
Criticism is important for fusing company and employees
and it is also important for personal growth development. It
is a sensitive issue because if frustration accumulates or if you
have moments of anger with regard to employees then the situation
can also escalate. The following shows the result of this
important pillar of employee leadership: if you are open and
if you built a trusting relationship with your employees then
you would be able to give criticism easier and you would also
be able to process it easier.
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 155

COLUMN
Encourage the ability to criticize and, in addition, also encour-
age their willingness to learn. Most businesses have to adapt
to new requirements on a regular basis. Production processes
change and sometimes even the entire structure of a company
also changes. Not only do you have to adapt but your staff has
to as well; they have to learn new processes and then re-famil-
iarize themselves with the work. One can expect that you will
perform these tasks conscientiously but your employees must
also have the opportunity to fulfill this task.
This can only be realized if they are thoroughly indoctrinated
into their new or modified work areas. This takes time, of
course, but without this investment in time it will not be possi-
ble to implement the new or modified structures. Therefore,
you need to plan sufficient time when implementing an organizational
transformation with regard to employee management
and guidance and, in addition, you need to give yourself
sufficient room to adapt to the new tasks.
156 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
praise is just as important as is criticism when it comes
to personnel management. Your workers and employees should
know when they have done something right. In times of stress or
when there are many orders on hand, additional work or overtime
is required and then it can be a good opportunity to pay
tribute to your employees’ excellent work. This can be done by
special monetary incentives, by gifts or simply through words.
Ask your employees to choose whether they wish to be paid
for their overtime or be allowed to have time off. This too is a
form of recognition because your employees have completed
additional work and with that they also have invested additional
time into your business and now they should be able
to determine themselves if this can be compensated through
additional furlough or by monetary means.
If you have established a relationship of trust with your employees
then you can ask them that they contact you immediately
in case of problems and you can also assume that this will be

adhered to. If something is not running properly then it is, in
most cases, helpful that you know about it as soon as possible.
Then you can intervene and have, in most cases, the ability to
limit the damage. Your employees should know that they can
always turn to you and they should know that this is necessary
when they can no longer make any progress. Hours of guessing
can cause an unnecessary postponement or loss of production
and, consequently, this may be more serious than the time
that you would need to invest in order to correct a mistake
or to solve a problem in the first place. In this case it pays to
have close contact with your staff which then, in addition, gives
them continuously the feeling that they are competent contact
partners for you.
This does not, however, mean that you have to re-check every
individual’s work. Your employees need to learn to distinguish
between important and unimportant things. You should decide
yourself about which mistakes or problems you want to be
informed about and for which ones it is necessary for you to,
personally, find a solution. Before you are to be contacted the
employee should do a self-test by finding problems or mistakes
and, in addition, he should see if he acted in accordance with
specified instructions. You cannot control every single process
and scan over every single piece of work in order to find errors.
This is not your job but it is what the employee is paid for. To be
accessible for discussions and to offer one’s help is as important
as setting guidelines. Be consistent from the beginning, because
only this will you ensure that your employees work independently,
that they do a good job and that they know when your
help is really needed.
Good leadership takes time and you must really invest
time in this. However, it is not so that personnel management
has grown over your head. Develop a system, with regard to the
attitude of the employee, where you take the mentioned points
into account. Try to build a relationship of trust but still keep
the necessary distance. It is better if you separate professional
and private issues from each other. You can then appear more
confident and formulate your ideas better and are then also
better able to enforce them.
If you recognized that leadership is too lax or non-existent
because you have not invested enough time then you should
change your structure. This is, depending on the size and
number of employees, a considerable effort. If your staff has
understood, however, what is at stake then you will, with the
time that you invest into personnel management, gain more
time. This is the result of good working relationships and will
subsequently provide for a smooth operation; this applies
to days when everything works well but, especially, to those
days that are burdened by problems or mistakes. Only then it
becomes clear whether the work relationships are working well,
and if so, you will then benefit from quick solutions to problems
and a rapid resumption of normal processes.
Give your personnel management processes the necessary
space, and if necessary, push back other things. Take the time
to get to know your staff and find out which employees are
best suited for a particular work assignment. If everyone has
an optimal task assigned to them and is also given an optimal
work environment then the work can be carried out efficiently
and will be consistent with a high success rate. Also keep in
mind that it is difficult to find good employees and hold on to
those that you have. Also in this case, a solid trusting relationship
is very important.
Sincerely, Your Coach Nuno F. Assis
http://www.nunoassis.com
COLUMN
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 157

COLUMN
158 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012

Are Women
the Better
Leaders?
A fascinating question that will, I'm sure,
immediately give rise to interpretations,
smirks and automatic answers. :-)
But before devoting ourselves in detail to this
question, we should first take a closer look
at what a company where women occupy
leading positions actually looks like.
COLUMN
3/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 159
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 159

COLUMN
There are companies where the qualities of female leaders
are not only exceptionally highly regarded but are also
encouraged, promoted and strengthened.
If about 50% of the positions right at the top of a company are held
by women, then you can assume the female qualities are greatly
appreciated there. It also means that in this company the qualities
of the male and the female principles are very well balanced,
something that can be very healthy for a company. This will be
noticeable in all aspects of the company and has a positive effect
on the atmosphere within this company.
If, however, there are hardly any women and instead primarily
men are to be found on the executive level, you can in good
conscience assume that things have been made or are still being
made very difficult for women. Of course, it may also mean
that the company hasn't proved appealing to any women yet –
however, this is rather unlikely if the company has already been
present on the market for quite some time.
So if the upper ranks are primarily overrun by men, then as a
rule this means that a very strong, single-minded energy is dominant,
one that is also, in part at least, rigid, stiff, dominant and
inflexible. This also has an effect on the atmosphere within the
company. It's clearly tangible in everything you want to create
here as a woman. Here you'll need what is quite rightly described
as a “thick skin.”
A lot will have to bounce off you, otherwise it may under certain
circumstances mess you up. So take a look at the TOP positions
in a company – both in sales and distribution and in the back
office – and you'll be able to recognize relatively quickly what the
overall atmosphere is like.
If a company has had an exclusively male leadership for too
long and if you want to change this, then it's a good idea to
systematically support women so that they can reach leading
positions. Otherwise the reproach will quickly surface: Here
there's only place for men. ;-) There are companies that also
promote women – when criticism has made itself heard loud
enough.
So in such companies the question whether women are the best
leaders would be out of place because women may not even be
regarded as desirable there.
If, nevertheless, you decide as a woman to invest your energy in
such a company, be aware what will be required of you in order
to persevere and become successful there.
160 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 07/2012
TIP:
Try – if possible to systematically support several women
in your team. If you have few women in your team, look for
female colleagues in your sidelines/crosslines so that you
can mutually motivate one another. Then you'll be providing
mutual support for one another
However, this will only work if you push competitive thinking
aside a bit and join forces. If this isn't feasible, then concentrate
just on yourself and your team and “Go your own way”
– no matter what others say.
DRAW YOUR
STRENGTH FROM IT!
However, there are also Direct Selling companies that have a
completely female orientation. A good example of this is Mary
Kay. There perhaps it would be better if we were to ask about
the men. ;-)
But are women now the better leaders? And if so, why?
Basically I believe that both sexes – both women and men – have
their own special merits and strengths.
While men tend to be dominant, single-minded and some of
them are also sometimes prepared to stop at nothing, in general
women are, unfortunately, among those who are TOO nice, kind,
patient and understanding with a certain penchant towards the
well-known “Mother Teresa syndrome.”
Women then wonder why men get on in their career and they
themselves don't. The reason for this may be that women look
out for people too much and have too much understanding for
others. Another reason may also be that all too often they hold

their tongues when it would be better for them to open their
mouths and give their opinion. Or that they accept criticism from
people who want to keep them down and don't support them as
much as they deserve.
ladies – have the courage not to be understanding
about everything or not just to be the one who is always nice
and kind. If you really want to be nice – then please be nice to
YOuRself, too.
how often have you shown more understanding for
your team partners, your colleagues and their situations
than for yourself?
What have you gotten out of this?
Men wouldn't put up with a lot of what women put up with and
listen to. In this way they reserve their energies for getting on.
While doing so, however, it may happen that in this manner they
lose people and team partners who they'd certainly have held on
to with female qualities. However, in combination – as a couple
– male and female talents can be a major force.
This is one reason why so many couples make it to the top in
MLM. While the men use their qualities and race forwards, the
women are also able to use their qualities to stabilize what has
been achieved. The woman is often the one who holds everything
together in a team.
In addition, for a woman it's often frustrating to
work alone and it's not rare that she then loses
heart. I'm speaking about us, the really normal
women, women who are happy to be women, but
who'd also like to register professional successes
without standing in the shadow of their husbands.
So what is to be done, ladies?
Today I'd like to encourage you, if you're conducting
business alone, to go your own way. Learn
something more and take a leaf from a man’s book
occasionally. Be prepared sometimes to do things
differently than you've done them up to now.
Nevertheless, remain true to yourself and go your
own way so that you feel good doing so.
Separate yourself consistently from all people who aren't
doing you any good – no matter whether it's because they're envious,
because they want to keep you down or they'd like to keep
you in line with their way of doing things.
Not everybody will understand you if you take this path. You'll
have opponents if you dare to say what you don't like or what you
feel is unfair. But in the long term things will go better for
you – and that's what it's all about in the final analysis.
Whether men or women are now the better leaders is a question
we'll leave open at this point in time. I believe we can all learn
from one another. Both men and women have their strengths
and weaknesses. But together as a concentrated force within a
company they can indeed move mountains.
For you ladies I've sought out two beautiful quotations that I'd
very much like to share with you. The first is from Albert Einstein
and the origin of the second is unknown.
I wish you the courage to follow your own path.
Yours,
Dany
www.danielaszasz.com
COLUMN
07/2012 OBTAINER WORLDWIDE 161

OBTAINER MEDIA
P.O. Box 212880 • Dubai, U.A.E.
OBTAINER MEDIA GROUP - a company of
OBTAINER Media Limited, Providence, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles
Editorial
OBTAINER MEDIA, P.O Box 212880, Dubai, U.A.E.
Phone: +971.(4).801-9264
E-mail: mail@obtainer-media.com
Pressemitteilungen an die deutsche Redaktion: redaktion@obtainer-media.com
For editorial comments please e-mail us at: editorial@obtainer-media.com
Editor-in-Chief: Michael Sander
Print-on-Demand/Content Licensing
OBTAINER MEDIA
Customer Service • P.O Box 212880 • Dubai, U.A.E.
Phone: 00971.(4).801-9264 • E-mail: service@obtainer-media.com
Advertising / Public Relations
OBTAINER MEDIA • P.O Box 212880 • Dubai, U.A.E.
Phone: +971.(4).801-9264,
To advertise, please call: +971(0)50.9551326
For information on all advertising and fees, please call: +971(0)50.9551326,
or email us at: sales@obtainer-media.com
COPYRIGHT © 2012 BY OBTAINER MEDIA. All rights reserved. OBTAINER MEDIA IS PUBLISHED 12 TIMES A YEAR, MONTHLY, BY
OBTAINER MEDIA, P.O. BOX 212880, DUBAI, V.A.E. MATERIAL IN THIS PUBLICATION MUST NOT BE STORED OR REPRODUCED IN ANY
FORM WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION. REQUESTS FOR PERMISSION SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO SERVICE@OBTAINER-MEDIA.COM.
OBTAINER WORLDWIDE OFFERS YOU THE PLATFORM YOU NEED TO REACH A GLOBAL NETWORK
OF MARKETING PROFESSIONALS. OUR MISSION IS TO INFORM YOU AND INSPIRE THE READERS
TO MAKE SMARTER DECISIONS IN THEIR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LIVES. WE OFFER THE
ACTIONABLE INSIGHT AFFLUENT PROFESSIONALS NEED AT EVERY STAGE IN THEIR CAREER -
WHENEVER, WHEREVER, AND HOWEVER THEY WANT IT. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO EXPLORE THESE
PLENTIFUL OPPORTUNITIES WITH US AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU IN THE FUTURE!

© 2009 All rights reserved worldwide.