Plywood Alternative Awful Sales Skills Challenge, Inspired by Mark Cuban

Having sold $12 Million of Storm Stoppers The Plywood Alterative Hurricane Panels, CEO John D. Smith of Orlando thinks his sales skills are AWESOME! Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban disagrees. In a recent re-airing of Shark Tank’s 100th episode on CNBC, Mark Cuban sniped “Your Sales Skills are Awful”.

Turning Mark Cuban’s sour grapes into sweet wine, Mr. Smith created the “Awful Sales Skills Challenge”. Enter Sales Challenge below and be a sales rep for us! Applicants get a sales kit with a logo shirt, Plywood Alternative clipboard, Samples and order forms. Applicants receive 10% of their prepaid Retail/Wholesale Sales and qualify for 3 prizes at the end of the sales year. First prize is $2,011 (the year Mark Cuban joined Shark Tank), Second prize is $1,958 (the year Mark Cuban was born), and Third prize is $56 (Shark Tank companies Mark Cuban has invested in).

Applicant Entry Form Acknowledgement:

By submitting this form, Applicant acknowledges reading the Sales Challenge Rules below and the separate Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook & TikTok Social Media Sales Challenge Rules. Applicant agrees to use their best efforts to secure pre-paid Plywood Alternative retail or wholesale sales orders and submit to Organizer promptly. Once Applicant receives its Plywood Alternative Sales Kit in the mail, Applicant agrees to take a photo wearing the Plywood Alternative Logo Sales Shirt, as shown, and post the photo and statement “I entered the Awful Sales Skills Challenge, Inspired by Mark Cuban!” on their social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Applicant agrees to also email it to Organizer for inclusion on website per Rule #15 below.

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Awful Sales Skills Challenge Rules

  1. Sales Challenge was created by Smitty’s Only Son Enterprises LLC dba Plywood Alternative (“Organizer”), located in Orlando, Florida.
  2. Sales Challenge is compliant with Florida Statutes 849.094 “Game Promotion in connection with sale of consumer product.”
  3. Sales Challenge is entered by submitting an Entry Form, with a color copy of your driver’s license, to verify age and address. No purchase is necessary.
  4. Sales Challenge runs from June 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022. 3 Sales Challenge winners will be selected and awarded by December 15, 2022.
  5. Sales Challenge features 3 prizes: 1. First Prize is $2,011, which is the Year Mark Cuban joined Shark Tank; 2. Second Prize is $1,958, which is the year Mark Cuban was born. The 3rd Prize is $56, which is the number of companies Mark Cuban has invested in on Shark Tank.  The total value of the Contest’s 3 prizes is $4,025.
  6. Sales Challenge prizes are awarded only if a minimum of 30 applicants is met.
  7. The outcome of the Sales Challenge is determined by the sales skills of each Applicant in closing new prepaid Retail or Wholesale Orders for the Plywood Alternative product, using the below referenced Sales Kit, and submitting them promptly to Organizer via email, text or fax as indicated on the respective Order Forms.
  8. After submission of the Entry Form, each Applicant will receive a Plywood Alternative Sales Kit valued at $75, shipped to them via USPS Priority Mail, containing:
    1. 1 Plywood Alternative logo shirt in XL Royal Blue (1 size fits all);
    2. 1 Plywood Alternative sales clipboard with Applicant’s Name;
    3. 1 Plywood Alternative Lab Test Video DVD;
    4. 1 Plywood Alternative How to Cut Video DVD;
    5. 5 Plywood Alternative product samples, with MSRP Retail & Wholesale Costs;
    6. 5 Retail Order Forms & 5 Wholesale Order Forms 
  9. Applicant is to use their best efforts, along with the supplied Plywood Alternative Sales Kit, to close new Plywood Alternative sales, in the hurricane window protection or lumber markets, or exciting new markets, and promptly submit completed prepaid customer Retail or Wholesale Orders to Organizer.
  10. Wholesale and Retail Order Customer Invoices are pre-paid only, prior to shipping or customer pickup. Applicant understands that Organizer does not extend sales terms/COD to any wholesale customer, no matter their size or prestige as a “big box” retailer with lots of stores. Applicant understands that Organizer does not extend sales terms/COD to any wholesale customer, no matter their size or prestige as a “big box” retailer with lots of stores.  Wholesale and Retail Order Customer Invoices are pre-paid only, prior to shipping or customer pickup.  If a wholesale account is a poor businessperson and cannot pay, or is dishonest and decides not to pay, Organizer will be in a very poor position, as the Inventory would be “owned” by the Wholesaler a long distance away.  The concept of a wholesaler being able to sell a supplier’s inventory from Day 1, but conversely lagging 30, 60 or 90 days to pay supplier for it, is not reasonable.
  11. Organizer accepts credit cards for orders up to $12,000 and company checks in advance for orders thereafter. Organizer does not charge a usage fee for Credit Cards.
  12. Once Applicant submits his first 5 completed Retail or Wholesale orders to Organizer, he or she will receive 10 more product samples and 10 order forms, via U.S. Mail.
  13. In addition to the 3 Prizes described in Rule #5 above, each Applicant will receive a 10% Sales Commission on each of their own completed Retail or Wholesale orders excluding LTL Freight Shipping. Commission will be paid to Applicant within 15 days of the Order’s Completion Date. Completion date is the day the customer receives their Plywood Alternative Retail or Wholesale Order.
  14. 10% Commission check will be mailed with a Commission Database printout. This shows all Applicants names and sales commissions earned, so each Applicant can see how the Sales Challenge is progressing.
  15. Organizer will use “Commission Database” to determine 2 largest selling Applicants. “Largest Selling” is defined as the cumulative total of Retail and Wholesale Orders attributed to each Applicant during the 6 month Sales Challenge Period. On November 30, 2022, the greatest selling 3 Applicants will be deemed the 1st 2nd and 3rd Prize Winners.  The 3 Winners will be notified via email and phone by December 15, 2022 and receive their prize within 30 days via Company Check sent UPS Ground.
  16. All applicants will have the photo they submitted along with their first name and their state of residence listed on this website, on a designated page throughout 2022. Each successful selling applicant will have the option of continuing as a Plywood Alternative sales rep into 2023.
  17. Sales Challenge is open only to United Citizens living in its 50 states and territories (i.e. Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands & Guam), 25 years of age or older.
  18. You must be 25 to enter and verify your address and Date of Birth as earlier than June 1, 1997, by uploading a color copy of a driver’s license to prove your age and state of residence.
  19. Privacy Policy: Sales Challenge Organizer will keep applications on file for a period of 3 years and will keep Application, Driver’s License and Applicant’s info confidential. Applicants’ info will not be shared or sold with anyone and is solely used by Sales Challenge Organizer in administering the Sales Challenge and mailing earned commissions to Applicants.
  20. Applicant agrees to abide by the below Guidelines administered by Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & TikTok. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
  21. Applicant understands and agrees that Sales Challenge is sponsored and funded solely by Smitty’s Only Son Enterprises LLC dba Plywood Alternative, owned by John D. Smith of Orlando. Applicant understands and agrees that no social media platform, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & TikTok has endorsed, sponsored, promoted or advertised this Sales Challenge. Applicant agrees to release and hold harmless from liability all of these social media companies, and any others, related to Applicants’ social media posts, from his or her participation.  Applicant agrees to comply with the Community Guidelines of these social media platforms, as described in detail below, from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & TikTok. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
  22. Applicant understands and agrees that no social media platform, including Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Tik Tok has endorsed, sponsored, promoted or advertised this Sales Challenge. Applicant agrees to release and hold harmless from liability all of these social media companies, and any others, related to Applicants’ social media posts, from his or her participation.  Applicant agrees to comply with the Community Guidelines of these social media platforms, as described in detail below, from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & TikTok.  Failure to do so will result in disqualification.
  23. Applicant understands and agrees that neither Mark Cuban nor the Mark Cuban Companies have sponsored, promoted or endorsed this Sales Challenge.
  24. Applicant understands and agrees that Organizer John D. Smith’s mention of his Plywood Alternative company’s past appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank is made in compliance with its 2014 contract with ABC and Sony Picture Studios.
  25. Once Applicant receives its Plywood Alternative Sales Kit in the mail, Applicant agrees to take a photo wearing the Plywood Alternative Logo Sales Shirt, as shown, and post the photo and statement “I entered the Plywood Alternative Awful Sales Skills Sales Challenge inspired by Mark Cuban!” on their social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Applicant agrees to also email it to Organizer (link to form) for inclusion on website per Rule #15 above.
  26. Applicant agrees to hashtag all its social media postings with #PlywoodAlternativeSalesChallenge.
  27. Applicant agrees to forward all media contact interview requests to Organizer at 407-423-5959.

Thank you for participating!

We hope you close a lot of new sales and make many 10% sales commissions!

Instagram Promotion Guidelines:

(Source: https://help.instagram.com/179379842258600/?helpref=uf_share)

Promotions

  1. If you use Instagram to communicate or administer a contest, you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including:
    • The official rules;
    • Offer terms and eligibility requirements (example: age and residency restrictions); and
    • Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered
  2. You must not inaccurately tag content or encourage users to inaccurately tag content (example: don’t encourage people to tag themselves in photos if they aren’t in the photo).
  3. Promotions on Instagram must include the following:
    • A complete release of Instagram by each entrant or participant.
    • Acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by Instagram.
  4. We will not assist you in the administration of your promotion.

Facebook Promotions on Pages, Groups or Events

Source: https://www.facebook.com/policies_center/pages_groups_events

Promotions on Pages, Groups, and Events

  1. Communicating a Promotion

If you use Facebook to communicate or administer a promotion or contest, you are responsible for the lawful operation of that promotion, including: The official rules; Offer terms and eligibility requirements (ex: age and residency restrictions); and Compliance with applicable rules and regulations governing the promotion and all prizes offered.

2. Required Content

Promotions on Facebook must include the following: A complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant; and acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Facebook.

3. Administration of a Promotion

Promotions may be administered on Pages, Groups, Events, or within apps on Facebook. Personal Timelines and friend connections must not be used to administer promotions (ex: “share on your Timeline to enter” or “share on your friend’s Timeline to get additional entries”, and “tag your friends in this post to enter” are not permitted).

4. Assisting Promotions

Facebook will not assist you in the administration of your promotion.

Guidelines for Promotions on Twitter

Source: https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-contest-rules

Businesses, organizations, and even some creative individuals have hosted contests and sweepstakes through their Twitter profile. Here are some simple guidelines to follow to ensure your contest doesn’t ask anyone to violate any of Twitter’s rules or guidelines:

Discourage the creation of multiple accounts

If people create a lot of accounts in order to enter a contest more than once, they’re liable to get all of their accounts suspended. Please be sure to include a rule stating that anyone found to use multiple accounts to enter will be ineligible.

Discourage posting the same Tweet repeatedly

Posting duplicate, or near duplicate, updates or links is a violation of the Twitter Rules and jeopardizes search quality.  Encouraging duplicate updates like “whoever Retweets this the most wins” could cause people to be automatically filtered out of Twitter search. We recommend setting clear contest rules stating that multiple entries in a single day will not be accepted.

Ask people to mention you in their social media postings

When it comes to picking a winner, you’ll want to see all the contestants. If the updates mention you, you’ll be able to see all the updates in your Notifications timeline.

Applicable laws and regulations

Please ensure that they comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Compliance with such laws and regulations is your responsibility.

YouTube’s contest policies and guidelines

Source: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1620498?hl=en

All contests run on YouTube or that use YouTube are subject to the below rules. In addition, your contest cannot be run or conducted in a way that conflicts with our Privacy Policy. The content also cannot conflict with YouTube’s Terms of Service or Community Guidelines.

YouTube does not allow contests to be run through ad units. If the contest conforms with the below rules, you can use contests through your content on the platform.

General Restrictions and Requirements:

  1. You are solely responsible for your contest.
  2. Your contest on YouTube must comply with all relevant federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations, including U.S. sanctions.
  3. Your contest cannot infringe upon or encourage the infringement of any third-party rights or the participation in any unlawful activity.
  4. You cannot ask the viewer to give all rights for, or transfer the ownership of, their entry to you.
  5. Your contest must be free of charge to enter (don’t forget to check your local lottery laws!).
  6. You and any third-party may not manipulate metrics on the YouTube service to misrepresent genuine viewer engagement with the YouTube service. These metrics include numbers of views, likes, dislikes, or subscribers.
  7. You cannot associate or affiliate YouTube with your contest without YouTube’s prior written consent. This rule prohibits, among other examples, expressly stating or doing anything that suggests that YouTube is involved with or has endorsed your contest in any way.

Your Official Contest Rules:

  1. You must have a set of “Official Rules” which:
    a. include links to the YouTube Community Guidelines and indicate entries that don’t comply will be disqualified.
    b. state all disclosures required by all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations, including U.S. sanctions.
    c. are wholly compliant and consistent with the YouTube Terms of Service.
  2. Your contest must be conducted, and all prizes awarded as outlined in your Official Rules.
  3. You’re responsible for your rules and all aspects of your contest administration.
  4. Your rules must clearly state that YouTube is not a sponsor of your contest and require viewers to release YouTube from any liability related to your contest.
  5. You must include a legally compliant privacy notice in your Official Rules. This notice explains how you’ll use any personal data you collect for the contest and adhere to that use.

TikTok monetization and advertising policies

Source: https://support.tiktok.com/en/business-and-creator/creator-and-business-accounts

How to Run a Legal TikTok Contest or Sweepstakes

Source: http://www.mardenkane.com/articles/how-to-run-a-legal-tiktok-contest-or-sweepstakes.html

TikTok recently posted advertising guidelines for the US and EU, which don’t give a lot of guidance about contest guidelines, but that doesn’t mean that there are no rules to follow. To keep your TikTok Contest legal you should adhere to these seven basic recommendations for running a promotion on TikTok:

  1. Use a unique hashtag to track entries. The best way to track entries for a TikTok contest is by using a unique hashtag.
  2. Include contest rules. Official rules are one of the few things the TikTok ad guidelines specify that you need. A good set of rules will outline who can enter, how to enter, what the prizes will be, and when the promotion ends. It should also provide a way to enter without requiring a purchase. You must include in your rules an acknowledgement that the promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, TikTok.
  3. Watch out for copyright infringement. You can’t require or allow a contestant in your TikTok video contest to use music, photos, brand logos or any other copyrighted material to produce their video entry.
  4. Give away great prizes. Before you run a TikTok contest or sweepstakes, consider what types of prizes your audience will want to win. Great prizes will always garner more interest. However, keep in mind that in the US, prizes over a $600 retail value have IRS filing requirements (Form 1099) for winners.
  5. Follow laws and social guidelines. Each state and social platform has unique laws and guidelines for sweepstakes and giveaways. Please follow them all.
  6. Keep the entry dates and duration reasonable.
  7. If your contest involves judging TikTok videos, you should limit the length of each video. You don’t want to watch 100—60 minute videos. A 3 minute or less video is enough time to evaluate the quality of a contestant.