Plexus Compliance Rules

Plexus Compliance Rules 

Can I belong or recruit to another MLM?*

An Ambassador is prohibited during the term of the Contract from promoting or selling in any Authorized Country any non-Company brand ingestible or topical products, which have the same core intellectual properties as the Plexus. Recruiting Ambassadors to other MLM companies is called cross-company recruiting, or cross-sponsoring, and is strictly forbidden. (Sections 2.E, 2.I.4, 2.K)

Cross Company Recruiting 

What does this policy mean? 

Cross Company Recruiting means recruiting current Ambassadors to another MLM you belong to. If you belong to another MLM, you may not approach another Ambassador to join or purchase product from this MLM, unless they are your Personally Sponsored level 1 Ambassador. Not level 1 through compression. They must be Personally Sponsored level 1. How can you violate this policy? It can be as easy as posting on your Facebook page that you work for Plexus and the other MLM. This action would be viewed as promoting the MLM. The safest thing to do is to NOT post ANYTHING about the other MLM where a Plexus Ambassador can see your other MLM’s information. Even if you have just the MLM’s name would be viewed as violating the Cross Company Recruiting policy. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. 

To clear up any confusion about Cross Sponsorship.....

From Plexus Compliance {Reisha Ragosta}

Cross Sponsorship – It’s confusing because of this. Cross Sponsorship implies recruitment. If this was in person it would be a NON-Issue. Since the majority of Ambassadors use Facebook to recruit it ends up being Cross Sponsorship, or a potential to be. Facebook is about connections, for example we have 1400+ people in this group alone. Average Ambassadors gets facebook friend requests from 100’s of people who are in Plexus but were not directly recruited by them. This is all fine and good. 

However,theoretically----- the moment my Nerium business takes off, I advertise it on my personal page. My personal page has now advertised and potentially cross sponsored to 657 Ambasadors that I did not directly sign up. I have just accidentally cross sponsored without even meaning to! 

So, what I tell people when they are found in violation of Cross Sponsorship, do one of two things. 

One – Keep your businesses separate (Separate Pages) and do not knowingly recruit to ANYONE that you don’t know personally for that separate business using a Facebook page. (Recruit in person, etc.) Two – Consider the potential ramifications of appearing unfocused and eroding your leadership –by splitting your focus on two different companies. Then Lastly--The most important question I get is- 

“ Why not? Where is the harm?”

This is a little harder to explain but easy to understand when it happens to you.

This is the primary reason. 

How hard was it for you to recruit your downline? What if you want to sell a different MLM product but someone else who knows your downline recruits all of them first? You, the Sponsor should reserve the right to recruit your own downline, your contacts, and we as a company respect that right and enforce these policies to protect the integrity of your downline. 

So, that being said. 

No, you cannot have the products together on a Personal Page. You cannot sell products in competition with ours. You cannot sign up people who you did not recruit personally in your Plexus business, from your Plexus Facebook contacts. I hope this helps.

Can we sell on Ebay?*

An Ambassador may not sell or facilitate the sale of Product on Internet websites where an auction or other method is the mode of selling or buying (e.g., eBay, Amazon, Craigslist, etc.). (Section 7.I.7)

*Both cross-sponsoring and Ebay (or similar) sales are very serious violations of the Plexus Policies and Procedures. Plexus has had to suspend/terminate the accounts of several Ambassadors who were in violation of these policies. No matter your rank, violating the Policies and Procedures will result in the suspension or termination of your Plexus Ambassadorship.

Can we post videos from a Plexus event?

There are no policies in place at this time prohibiting ambassadors from posting videos from Plexus events. Posting videos would be viewed as a sales tool and would need to submit details to the Company Compliance Department for approval.

How much time does it take to get an ad approved?

The approval process generally requires a minimum of three (3) weeks to complete. (Section 7.B)

Can I partner up with a non-profit for a fundraiser?

There are no policies in place at this time prohibiting partnering with a non-profit, but would be viewed as a sales tool and would need to submit details to the Company Compliance Department for approval.

Can we have one account for us and one for our business?

The Company's restrictions against multiple Beneficial Interests ensures that (i) all efforts by an Ambassador to build his or her Ambassador Business are focused on a single Ambassadorship and not diluted through the demands of multiple Ambassadorships; and (ii) the Upline receives the full benefit of the Ambassador's efforts. (Section 4.G.3)

What can I have in regards to marketing signs at trade shows?

Any material used to advertise would be considered sales tools and must be submitted to the Company Compliance Department for approval before use. (Section 7.B)

Can we put our paychecks online?

Because the success of any Ambassador depends largely on the personal efforts of that Ambassador, the Company prohibits Ambassadors from posting financial gains. (Section 5.A)

What are the rules for medical claims?

An Ambassador may not make any express or implied health or medical claims of any kind relating to any Product except for those claims, if any, that are published in Company literature approved for the country in which the claims are presented. (Section 7.C)

Can we put signs outside our Retail Store?

No Retail Establishment shall display or advertise Company Product(s) or opportunities in a manner that is visible from outside the store. (Section 7.O)

Do we have to submit advertisement for approval?

An Ambassador must submit all Sales Tools to the Company Compliance Department for approval prior to use. (Section 7.B)

What are sales tools?

Any information, material or product created by the Ambassador for Ambassador Business. (Appendix A, Sales Tool)

Can I create my own t-shirts or marketing material?

T-shirts and marketing material are considered Sales Tools and must be submitted to the Company Compliance Department for approval prior to use. (Section 7.D)

Can we have our own website?

No Ambassador may independently design a web site that uses the name, logos, or product descriptions of the Company or otherwise promotes (directly or indirectly) Plexus products or the Plexus opportunity, without the express written consent of the Company. Due to the alteration available with a website, any changes will result in negation of previous approval. (Section 7.K.1)

Can we list prices online?

Selling of Plexus Products on the Internet may only be done on a Company Licensed Websites (Ambassador Replicated Website). (Section 7.L)

What logos can we use?

Ambassador's may not use the Company's trademarks on non-approved Sales Tools. You can find approved graphics in your Resource Center. (Section 7.G.4)

Can we place an ad in the newspaper?

An Ambassador may place a generic business opportunity advertisement in the classified section of a local newspaper, provided the advertisement conforms to all applicable laws and regulations. (Section 7.I.1)

Can we create email addresses with Plexus Slim?

Except as indicated herein, an Ambassador may not use the Company's trademarks or any confusingly similar variation of its trademark, in a business name, e-mail address, Internet domain name or sub-domain name, URL, telephone number, or in any other address or title. (Section 7.G.2)

Can we sell in a Retail store?

No Products, including the display, may be sold on the premises of the Retail Establishment. (Section 7.O)

Can I move to another sponsor if I don't like mine?

Because of the need to maintain the integrity of Downline Organizations, a Sponsor/Placement change may not be feasible and generally will not be allowed; therefore, the Company has complete discretion to allow or disallow any proposed change. (Section 4.A)

How often can I do shows?

Fairs, Swap Meets, Etc.: An Ambassador may sell or promote Products at bazaars, flea markets, fairs, swap meets, tradeshows or other similar gatherings. You may only attend the same or similarly located event four times in a twelve month period. A product discount of 10% may be applied at such events, but it must be declared a "Show Special". (Section 7.I.6)

Can we have a sponsored Facebook page?

Sponsored ads are considered sales tools and must be submitted to the Company Compliance Department for approval. (Section 7.B)

Can we sell products at a price lower than listed?

Product must not be sold lower than the Company's Suggested Retail price plus reasonable shipping and the amount the Company charges for, taxes and handling of the Products. (Section 7.L)

Can we give individual sticks of Slim with Accelerator + as samples?

Ambassador shall not re-label, alter or repackage any Products. (Section 7.D)

What kind of receipts do we have to keep?

An Ambassador certifies with each new Product order that he or she has sold or consumed at least 70% of all Product purchased in prior orders. Each Ambassador that receives Commissions and orders additional Product agrees to retain documentation that demonstrates compliance with this policy, including evidence of Retail Sales, for a period of at least four (4) years. (Section 6.I)

Refunds

What are the rules regarding refunds for direct customer sale? 

A DCT (Direct Customer Transaction) is when a customer purchases product directly from an Ambassador and not through a replicated website. If a customer is unsatisfied with any product, they have up to 60 days to return unused product to the selling Ambassador for a full refund. Because the purchase was made through the Ambassador, it is the responsibility of the Ambassador to refund the Customer. If for some reason you do not want to or are not able to refund the Customer, it’s very important you contact the Compliance Department right away. Once you have refunded your customer, you should contact Plexus Customer Service for authorization. Once authorization is given you will send in the packaging of the refunded product for replacement along with the customer’s name, phone number, email and product they purchased

FTC Receipts

What is the importance of maintaining customer receipts? 

In the Ambassador Plexus Policies & Procedures, all ambassadors are required to keep customer receipts up to four years. To ensure that all ambassadors adhere to the 70% rule, we will periodically request a copy of your customer receipts for review. This policy is in place to ensure our Ambassadors are not stockpiling and have sold or consumed at least 70% of their stock before reordering. If you have been asked to provide copies of your customer receipts, forward them to the Compliance Department as soon as possible. Please make sure your customer receipts at least contain the customer name, phone number, email and what they purchased. The review of customer receipts is one way for Plexus to ensure our Ambassadors are not violating Federal Trade Commission consumer laws. If you are not keeping customer receipts please do so now. Also, make sure your customers are aware of refund policy. It’s always best if you have the 60 Day Money Back Guarantee written on the receipt. You can find this Refund policy on the corporate website or your replicated website under Products. If you have any other questions please email Compliace@plexusworldwide.com.

Approval Codes 

What is an approval code? 

Many Ambassadors ask us, “How can you tell if a sales tool has been approved by Compliance?” A new Approval Code process has been implemented and will take effect on Monday, February 3rd. Websites, swag, graphic designs, or any other sales tool created by an ambassador requires an approval code from the Compliance Department. This code is required to be displayed on all sales materials whenever possible in order to show approval from Corporate Compliance. Submit your designs, websites, and advertisements to compliance@plexusworldwide.com and a compliance agent will notify you that submission has been received. Smaller ads and graphics will take up to 24-72 business hours for approval. Larger websites or brochures can take anywhere up to 4-6 weeks for approval depending on the length.

Online Retail Sales 

What does this mean? 

Online Retail Sales is the dread sales of Plexus products on sites like Ebay, Amazon, and CrairgsList. It is against policy to sell Plexus products on any site other than you Plexus Replicated Website. Selling Plexus products on these sites devalues our products and causes a “bidding war” mentality. You can post information about the products on Craigslist, you just can't list prices. Just put the link to your replicated website so it directs them to the right place. We hope all Ambassadors will make sure they mention this policy when signing up new Ambassadors. The “I didn’t know” still will cause a three day suspension if found selling Plexus products on sites like these. New Ambassadors seem to be the biggest offenders. What a horrible way to start your Plexus Business. Please help your new Ambassadors, tell them about this policy. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. 

Multi Beneficiary. 

What does this mean? 

Multi Beneficiary means you cannot have more than one Ambassador account, even if the second account is under your company name. You still benefit from that second account. We understand there are husband and wife teams and will have the same bank accounts but both husband and wife must work the business. If only one works both businesses this would be a violation of Multi Beneficiary policy. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. Thank you for taking the time to read our posts. 

Cross Line Recruiting

What does this mean? 

Cross Line Recruiting is actually very easy. You may not approach a Plexus Ambassador to leave their current sponsor and go to another sponsor. Once they have signed up, they will stay with their sponsor for the time they are with Plexus. So what happens if they approach you? Unfortunately this does happen, and ask that you please have them contact the Compliance Department so we can help them with their desire to have a different sponsor. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. 

What is an approval code?

Many Ambassadors ask, “How can you tell if a sales tool has been approved by Compliance?” A new Approval Code process has been implemented and will take effect on Monday, February 3rd. Websites, swag, graphic designs, or any other sales tool created by an ambassador requires an approval code from the Compliance Department. This code is required to be displayed on all sales materials whenever possible in order to show approval from Corporate Compliance. Submit your designs, websites, and advertisements to compliance@plexusworldwide.com and a compliance agent will notify you that submission has been received. Smaller ads and graphics will take up to 24-72 business hours for approval. Larger websites or brochures can take anywhere up to 4-6 weeks for approval depending on the length.

Per Serena Molangi in compliance:

***SPECIAL EBAY AMAZON NOTIFICATION***

We are very happy to announce we have been able to have all the Plexus Slim listings on AMAZON pulled for review. We are working with AMAZON to have the listing pulled perminantly and are also working with EBAY to have those listings pulled also. We will continue to suspend any Ambassador found on Ebay, AMAZON or any other Online Retail Sites selling Plexus products. With adding so many new Ambassadors on this page in the last few weeks, we feel it's important to remind everyone that selling Plexus products on any site other than your replicated website is against policy.

Can I post my testimony? Can I put my testimony in newspaper?

Unfortunately, you would not be able to attach your Plexus website to a testimony unless it doesn't state any medical claim. For instance if you say Plexus Slim helped with my fibromyalgia, then you would not be able to attached your website. If you say that Plexus Slim helped you lose weight then you can attached your website. Testimonies should be sent to Compliance for a review to ensure they do not state any medical claims. Unfortunately, you would not be able to place a testimony in the newspaper because the newspaper ad should be advertising the business opportunity. Once you have the newspaper ad ready, please submit in the ad for final approval.

Can we advise customers to open capsule (accelerator+, THBV2) and sprinkle in slim??

Per Serena in compliance:

You can’t openly tell anyone to take the product differently. You can however tell people how you take it. This way, you get the information out but not telling people to do it that way.

For example:

I’m sensitive to caffeine and when I took it like this...blah…blah…blah…I was able to take it without having the overload feeling of caffeine.

Can I post Ads/Graphics that state Plexus was created for Diabetics??

The official company website has removed the benefits to diabetics as well as the history of why plexus slim was made.

To ensure we are not making any medical claims per the FDA we have removed it.
Because of this we ask you refrain from using images such as this.
Its outdated information, and currently is no longer compliant.
Its ok to say diabetic Friendly... But we can NOT say diabetic safe.

Can I use the word "plexus" in my email address??

Per compliance: You can use Plexus but cannot use anything that is trademarked. For example, plexus worldwide, plexus slim.

Medical Claims

What NOT to say:

Plexus Slim will eliminate the need for insulin. 

What you CAN say:

Plexus Slim helps regulate blood sugars. 

Income Claims

What NOT to say:

You will make just as much as I do.

What you CAN say:

The Plexus compensation plan has great income opportunities. Would you like to see how you can earn commissions?

Mentioning Children

What NOT to say:

Plexus products are safe for children.

What you CAN say:

The xfactor family chewable is great for children and great tasting too. 

Celebrities

What NOT to do:

You can NOT post a picture of a celebrity and say something like "stay skinny my friend, drink plexus slim." 

What you CAN say:

You can post picture of a Plexus Product and say "Get healthy, Drink Plexus Slim".

Wrong Product Tagline

What NOT to say:

Energizes both physically and mentally but has a picture of the xfactor bottle instead of the biocleanse. (must have the correct product with the correct tagline)

What you CAN say: With picture of the xfactor "Super charges the bodies varies immune activities".

Altering Logo's

No altering the Plexus Slim logo and if you use Plexus Worldwide logo MUST say independent ambassador underneath. 

Am I allowed to post an income testimonial with how much I have made with Plexus?

Income claims can come in many forms. They can be vacations, luxury homes, paying off a loan. The FTC believes that talking about how much you have made should not be mentioned when advertising. Since the post is being used to recruit the FTC would have an issue. The only thing we are allowed to do is talk about the structure of the comp plan. We are not allowed to talk about how much we have made since there is no guarantee of this amount. The only way you can mention income is only if we can prove that a very large amount of our ambassadors make the same. Since we are not able to, we can’t do it. It’s all about substantiation. Since we can’t substantiate that most of our ambassador do make this amount, we can’t mention it.

How to Avoid Making a Medical Claim

How to avoid making a medical claim or unsubstantiated claims:When describing our products, excitement is always welcomed. However, we do need to be responsible when it comes to describing business opportunity and health benefits. We all know that no product will give the desired results 100% of the time, and no business opportunity can truly guarantee financial gain. While many of us have experienced great results with the products, or maybe financial inde...pendence, not everybody will. Using certain words can put you and Plexus in the hot seat with the FDA or FTC. As Ambassadors, it’s your job to talk about the products and the business opportunity. Using the right kind of words can get your message across clearly without making it a medical claim or an unsubstantiated claim. An important piece of information we need to share with you is that you cannot mention conditions that our products are not made for. Here are some examples of non-compliant claims and how you can change or add simple words to make them compliant:“Will Regulate Blood Sugars” is not compliant because “will” makes it seem like you are guaranteeing that the product will work. To make this compliant, change it to “helps regulate blood sugars.” “Plexus Accelerator will keep you from binge eating” is not compliant for the same reason. Change it to “Plexus Accelerator can help control binge eating” and this sentence is now compliant.“Plexus products helped my Fibromyalgia” is a medical claim which is not compliant. No Plexus products are made to help with this issue, and therefore, this statement is not able to be substantiated. Instead of using words like “can”, “will” and “does”, use words such as “may”, “could”, “might”, etc.Next time you are coming up with a new marketing punchline or advertisement, just remember that if it sounds like a guarantee, it’s not compliant.

If you are creating any type of promotional material you can not correlate Plexus Slim and any ailments or diseases. So you can not mention Fibromyalgia or diabetes.

What you should be doing is correlating the products with their proposed benefits, i.e. "Plexus Slim has helped me regulate my blood sugar" " The Fast Relief has help sooth my swollen joints"

You can still give a descriptive and informative testimonial without making any medical statements.

Any promotional tools need to be approved through compliance to ensure they comply with FTC and FDA regulations.

Can we post Ads with prices???

After still getting some confusing answers yesterday about posting Ads with prices I finally spoke with Cody in compliance. The New Combo Ad (or any Plexus Ad) can ONLY be shared WITH prices from the Official Plexus Slim facebook page directly. So you can go to Plexus Slim page and click on share option to do so. Because then it directs the person back to the Official Company page. WE are NOT allowed to download any Ad WITH prices and post to our pages. If we do download the Ad we need to crop out the prices and then we may post to our page. So the ruling still stands, we are NOT allowed to post prices. 

 

 

                                                        Spit test info PLEASE READ

 

Cross Company Recruiting Violations

 

We have posted this policy before but with the amount of recent violations, it’s important we talk about this policy and ask for your help.

 

Recently we have seen an overwhelming amount of Cross Company Recruiting violations. Cross Company Recruiting is when an Ambassador who belongs to another MLM recruits other Plexus Ambassadors to join or purchase the products from the other MLM.

 

 The recent violations we have seen are Ambassadors creating private Facebook pages and inviting Plexus Ambassadors to join the page so they can secretly talk about the other MLM. While we do allow Ambassadors to join other MLMs that do not have competing products we do not allow Ambassadors to contact Plexus Ambassadors that are not their level one.

 

Alot of Ambassadors don’t seem to understand the impact this violation has on their downlines. If an Ambassador contacts other Ambassadors in their downline to join the other MLM, their focus will be with the other MLM and not on Plexus. We have seen sales volume go down and Ambassadors no longer reaching the commission amount they once did. If an Ambassador loses focus with their Plexus business, they are not able to provide support or training to their downline and therefore their downline suffers. Also, if the Ambassador and the Ambassadors they recruited are selling the other MLM’s products they are not selling Plexus products and therefore company sales go down. The value of the Plexus Pay Point is based on total company sales. If the sales go down, the point value will go down which will affect every Ambassador company wide.

 

Ambassadors that Cross Company Recruit will take an average of 30 Ambassadors from their downline to the other MLM. Currently the Compliance department is investigating approximately 20 Ambassadors violating this policy. This means we have 600 Ambassadors focusing on another MLM. We talk about how your organization can grow by adding three. You add three, they add three and they add three. You keep going and soon enough you have a large downline. What would happen if we allowed this to happen with Cross Company Recruiting? If an Ambassador wishes to join another MLM that does not have competing product we ask that they do it the right way. Keep the two businesses separate. It is very difficult and see why violations are happening. You cannot mention the other MLM anywhere where other Plexus Ambassadors can see it. Even mentioning that you work for the other MLM on your Facebook page that has Plexus Ambassadors as friends is a violation.

We are asking for every Ambassador to think before joining another MLM. Can you separate the two MLM’s, can you work both MLM’s, can you continue to support your downline if you join another MLM?

 

Compliance department never wants to suspend an Ambassador. It’s always our last option, but if the impact is great to the downline, we must do what is best for the downline. Most of the Ambassadors found violating this policy do not realize the financial impact their actions have on their downline and every other Ambassador company wide. If you have been approached by an Ambassador to join another MLM and they are not your sponsor, this is a violation of the Cross Company Recruiting policy. Please help us and report them. Take a screenshot of the contact and send it to compliance@plexusworldwide.com

We will make every effort to work with the Ambassador so they are doing it the right way.