July

Amsoil Action News July 2010

Amsoil President A.J. Amatuzio

As many of you have already seen, a notice is now posted on the AMSOIL website announcing an August 1 price increase on AMSOIL products. This, obviously, is not the direction we wanted to go, but we simply had no choice. Raw material costs have been rising steadily for several months, and although we held out as long as we could, the squeeze became too tight.

We are not alone. Those who follow the lubricant industry closely have seen the long string of price increases other oil companies have imposed. Shell, Valvoline and Petro-Canada raised prices in June in a range of 8 to 10 percent. ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Citgo set price increases of up to 10 percent this month. All of these increases are based on rising raw material costs. In many cases these increases have come on the heels of prior increases imposed by these same companies in January and February. Our single August 1 increase has been limited to 3 to 6 percent. Hopefully, we can remain stable for awhile.

As a final note on pricing issues, all active commercial and retail-on-the-shelf accounts have been notified of the price increase through an email notice and a July Service Line mailing. Additional details can be found on page 18 of this Action News issue.

On a totally different subject, I received a call recently from my granddaughter, Carli, who just completed her second year as a university student in Montana. Carli called to ask my advice. It seems that a few of her friends had been coaching her on vehicle maintenance and cautioned her that if the oil in her crankcase was older than 3,000 miles she had better get it changed. Carli explained that she used AMSOIL motor oil and it didn’t require frequent changes. It was synthetic oil, she said, and was much better than the normal oil most other people use.

Apparently, they didn’t buy that, and Carli needed confirmation from me. She told me she only had a few thousand miles on the oil, and I told her it should be perfectly good to go. I did instruct her, however, to check the oil. If the level was fine and the oil didn’t smell like gas and she couldn’t feel grit when she rubbed the oil between her fingers, there was no need for an oil change. I told her I would send her some additional information. Knowing Carli, she will set her buddies straight on oil change maintenance. She will educate them on the benefits of AMSOIL and create, very likely, some additional AMSOIL customers.

Although my granddaughter is not an AMSOIL Dealer, she did what Dealers have been doing for years. She used the product, recognized a benefit – in this case the convenience of extended drain intervals – and will share the value of that benefit with others.

This brief experience with my granddaughter confi rmed what we have witnessed for years. An individual doesn’t have to be a lubricant professional or a professional salesperson to become a successful AMSOIL Dealer. Our Dealers come from all different backgrounds, walks of life and levels of education. Just look at our “Monthly Leaders” on pages 4 and 5. I don’t believe there is a single one who came from a lubricant background or a professional sales position. The same goes for our Hall of Fame members.

Look at Bill Durand, for example. He retired from a military career, worked his AMSOIL Dealership and became our first Five-Star Regency Platinum Direct Jobber. He had no experience in lubrication, but he learned as he grew his business. Ray Schmit is another. Ray was a tool and die worker by trade before he became a Dealer. Look at him now. A Five-Star Regency Platinum and still going strong.

And take a look at Two-Star Regency Platinum Direct Jobber Harold Hartman. He and his wife Marcile were farmers in Nebraska in 1956 and lost their crops to a hail storm. Harold went on to study electronics and began working for Boeing Aircraft for a salary of $77.50 per week. In 1973, with absolutely no sales or lubrication training, they became AMSOIL Dealers. Together they built an AMSOIL business that allowed them to send their children and grandchildren to private schools, spend three-month vacations in Florida and ultimately invest heavily in real estate. Needless to say, financial concerns don’t exist for Harold.

The lesson to be learned is this: When that negative voice in your head tells you that you lack the experience, knowledge or skill to become successful as an AMSOIL Dealer, don’t listen. Your success is a matter of desire, and that is in your control.