Monday, May 16, 2016

Fast-Track to be discontinued June 6th



Yes, Fast-Track is going away, but don’t fret!…because this is actually a very POSITIVE move!
Here’s why:
As mentioned in recent memos, we have been drilling down deep into our data over the past few months to determine why so many brand new affiliates register and then quickly become inactive.
There is significant evidence that Fast-Track plays a major role in overwhelming new affiliates…and overwhelmed affiliates don’t stick around.  Keep in mind that new affiliates are already dealing with a broad, multifaceted program in SFI to begin with.  Now add in E365 and then Fast-Track on top of that too.  Fast-Track, we believe, is “the straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
We have also determined that many perceive Fast-Track to represent a purchase requirement.  It does not, of course, but many mistakenly see it as such and this has caused great numbers of affiliates to be immediately turned off (especially since they were just told that SFI is free and has no purchase requirements).  It would appear that many sponsors have also made this situation worse by applying their own “pressure” to spend money or get a Standing Order–something that sponsors need to be careful about (see this Ask Gery article).
So, as of June 6, 2016, Fast-Track will no longer be a part of the SFI program.
No doubt you have lots of questions.  Following are the questions we are anticipating and the answers to them.  If you don’t see the answer to your question, please join our discussion at the Forum HERE.

Q & A

Q: Why June 6th?
Many people have 20-day extensions for Fast-Track that have just started.  We need to honor these extensions we’ve granted.  Also, much of Fast-Track is being rolled into a powerful, new and improved E365 program (more on this in a moment), and we need a few weeks to finish up these changes to E365.

Q: What happens to all of the Fast-Track benefits previously qualified for?
There were nine Fast-Track benefits.  Here’s the status on each:

  • 250 Bonus VersaPoints
– Discontinued as of June 6th, but being replaced in the new & improved E365 program (more on this in a moment)
  • Monthly Co-Sponsored Affiliates via CSA Rewards program
Discontinued as of June 6th, but these CSAs are planned to be made available later via another action–watch for announcement
  • $20 Signing Bonus (for silver FT), $80 Signing Bonus (for gold FT)
Discontinued as of June 6th, but moving to the new & improved E365 program (more on this in a moment)
  • 30 free entries in the Daily Grand drawing
Discontinued as of June 6th, but being replaced in the new & improved E365 (more on this in a moment) and the new “12 green” bonus entry
  • Fast-Track Bonus Shares
Discontinued, but has been found to have little to no impact on income (see question/answer below)
  • Exclusive Fast-Track Member badge for your home page
If you’ve qualified for Fast-Track by June 6th and, hence, have earned the badge, it’s yours to keep
  • Your name and photo added to our Fast-Track Wall of Fame
If you’ve qualified for Fast-Track by June 6th and, hence, are on the wall, you’ll remain on the wall
  • Fast-Track Member certificate
If you’ve qualified for Fast-Track by June 6th and, hence, have earned the certificate, it’s yours to keep.  Or you may also download it any time between now and June 6th
  • Exclusive Fast-Track Member Lapel Pin
If you’ve already received or ordered the pin (or qualify for it by June 6th), it’s yours to keep 
Q: How is a new E365 going to be better?
First, the $20 and $80 you could have added to your Signing Bonus account for going Fast-Track…will now come through E365 (and without any sales or Standing Order requirements!). Yes, many of your affiliates are now going to be starting in SFI with a $100 Signing Bonus!

We’re also making changes to eliminate elements that caused a lot of confusion for affiliates participating in E365 (e.g. the green line).
We’re also going to be shining a brighter light on E365.  That is, we’re going to be promoting E365 more aggressively to your new affiliates and in new, creative ways.
In short, E365 is going to be better than ever and should substantially increase activity for new affiliates.  And to top it all off, E365 is getting a classy new look (similar to what we recently did with GS3).  We can’t wait to show you the new E365 on June 6th!
Q: Isn’t losing the Bonus Shares going to reduce my income?
Probably not or not a noticeable amount.  We did test runs of commissions earlier this month with and without the Bonus Shares.  Without Fast-Track Bonus Shares, total commissions for thousands of affiliates, approximately 50% of those receiving Fast-Track Bonus Shares, stay the same or go UP.  For the other 50%, total commissions are reduced, but a negligible amount.

Q: If I’m getting 10% more shares of the pool, how can losing 10% have no or little impact on my earnings?
Because it’s a pool and we’re talking about shares of a pool.  The vast majority of those earning shares of the pool are Fast-Track members.  So it has resulted in simply devaluing share values to where it’s nearly a wash without any shares or with 10% more. Many affiliates will actually earn more without the 10% Bonus Shares due to overall shares values being increased by this change.

Q: If the impact of the Bonus Shares is mostly negligible, why not just let everyone who has qualified for Bonus Shares keep them?
The issue is that as we get further down the road, those Bonus Shares will gradually grow into something significant, because no one else will ever be able to qualify for these extra shares.  This would be an unfair advantage to everyone else and keep TripleClicks Executive Pool share values down.  Bottom line: It’s best for all if we retire Bonus Shares now.

Q: Can I or my new affiliates qualify for Fast-Track between now and June 6th?
Yes, however, extensions will become unavailable the closer we get to June 6th.  For example, the 72-hour extension available from sponsors would no longer be available after June 3rd.  Special note:  You/they will only be qualifying for some of the Fast-Track benefits (see information on this above).


Q: So without Fast-Track, should I expect there to be less purchases and Standing Orders with my new affiliates?
We don’t believe so, no.  The fact is, Fast-Track has never produced a particularly large amount of orders.  Meanwhile, having your affiliates focused on E365 can result in sales just as readily  and even MORE because sales produce VP–and VP is what’s needed to win in E365 of course.  In other words, Fast-Track is actually redundant, competes with E365, and, hence, diminishes the E365 contest.  Let’s remove that redundancy, create a clearer path for our new affiliates, and all prosper for it!

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