“Chasing The Dream” Amway Culture Has Own Vocabulary Glossary Offers Gateway Into Corporate Language

It’s impossible to understand Amway without knowing the language spoken by distributors. Here are a few key terms:

The plan. Amway’s sales and marketing plan.

Showing the circles. Demonstrating the plan to potential recruits using a series of circles representing Amway distributorships.

Sponsor. A distributor who recruits another. Everyone in Amway has a sponsor, to whom he or she turns for advice about the business and other matters - sometimes including personal relationships and finances. Successful distributors sponsor several people, who sponsor still more, until there are hundreds of people beneath the original sponsor.

Dream stealer. Someone who is critical or skeptical of Amway.

Negative. Any person or thing that distracts a distributor from making his or her goal. Television, day jobs and friends are the most common offenders. Also, any product that competes with Amway.

The two- to five-year plan. Amway officials say this is the amount of time it takes a motivated distributor to “go diamond” and be able quit his or her job.

Line. A group of distributors, who are said to be “up line” or “down line” from each other. Each time one distributor in a line buys or sells a product, everyone up line from him gets a cut of the profit.

Going direct. The point at which distributors get their products directly from Amway, rather than from another distributor. It is a significant achievement for an Amway distributor.

Leadership bonus. An award paid to direct distributors who sponsor another direct distributor. The amount varies, but averaged $632 a month in 1993.

Achievement levels. After direct distributor, they are: ruby, pearl, emerald, diamond, executive diamond, double diamond, triple diamond, crown and crown ambassador. Amway distributors are identified by their achievement level.

Basic discount. Difference between wholesale and retail prices, typically about 30 percent. Many distributors do not mark up products, since their success is linked more closely to volume than to sales profit.

BV or “business volume.” Total retail value of products that a distributor sells or buys each month.

PV or “point value.” Points Amway assigns to each product (generally one point for every $2 in retail price).

Performance bonus. Award for selling products worth at least 100 PV to at least 10 customers. The bonus ranges from 3 percent to 25 percent of that month’s business volume. Distributors also get bonuses based on sales of distributors they sponsor.

, DataTimes