Connect quickly with your team online via built-in instant messaging at the SFI Affiliate Center. Just look for the yellow SFIM bubbles--on your Genealogy, on the homepage Movers tab, on your Upline Team page--and now below your team member's photo within the Affiliate Snapshots.

If the bubble is gray, the person is not online and logged into the Affiliate Center at the moment. If the bubble is YELLOW, however, that person's now online--and you can initiate a conversation with them instantly by clicking the yellow bubble!

On their end, a pulsating "SFIM" icon will appear in the header (of the Affiliate Center). Clicking this icon lets them join in a live instant messaging conversation with you if they wish.

Here are three tips for using SFIM:

1. The easiest way to see who's online right now is to go to your Genealogy and choose the "Online" filter. Select Online = Yes, then click the "filter" button. You'll see a listing of everyone in your downline currently online at the Affiliate Center. Initiate conversations by clicking the yellow bubbles beside their names. If no names appear, no one in your downline is currently visiting the Affiliate Center, but you can, of course, try again later.

2. If you're chatting with a person who's primary language is different than your own, keep Google Translate open in a another window browser so you can cut and paste text as needed to translate your conversation.

3. When you're initiating contact with downline members, focus on how you can help them. Use SFIM to support and assist your downline, and you will build a stronger, more profitable group.

We've just added a nifty new tool to help you identify potential future stars in your affiliate team.

We call them Profile Scores. Here's how it works: Using the responses your affiliates give to the questions on the Affiliate Profile, we've assigned a point value to each response that help identify affiliates who have set high goals, and/or have committed to investing significant time or money into their new business, and/or are experienced in network marketing or Internet marketing, and/or have past leadership experience, and so on. These point values are all added altogether to create the affiliate's Profile Score.

How do you use this new tool? In short, Profile Scores allow you to, at a glance, get an idea of what kind of affiliate new PSAs are going to be. Please keep in mind that whatever the score is, it's just a number that is based on their Affiliate Profile responses. A high score by no means guarantees a future Platinum Team Leader. Likewise, a low score does not necessarily portend an affiliate who is going to go nowhere. High or low, ALL of your affiliates should be greeted with enthusiasm and strong support! E365, VersaPoints, My Movers, etc. will, in the weeks that follow, reveal the true story.

Where are Profile Scores located? You will find them now in the notifications you receive by email whenever one of your PSAs completes their Affiliate Profile. Soon we will also be adding Profile Scores to the Affiliate Manager and also to the Genealogy where you'll be able to filter and sort on this new field.

A new award badge has just landed at the Affiliate Center for SFI affiliates who make the VersaPoints Top 300 Leaderboard. Appear just once on this board, and you'll win your own VP300 badge. NOTE: All Affiliates who have EVER appeared on the VP Top 300 will automatically receive a badge as well!

Your SFI affiliates and upline will see your VP300 badge when accessing your Affiliate Manager page or your Affiliate Snapshot (accessible by clicking your name on the VP Leaderboard, Genealogy, the SFI Scoreboard, and more.)

This badge tells the world that you "walk the talk" of growing a successful SFI business. Reference it to toot your horn to your team members and encourage them to duplicate your business methods to acheive success for their OWN businesses!

For the first five days of every month, you can now extend the affiliateship of any PSAs (personally sponsored affiliates) in your group who have fallen below the 500 VP in 60 days minimum.

In other words, we are now giving you, the sponsor, the final say. If you believe someone has shown a reason to retain their affiliateship, you can now grant this. Here's how:

1. Go to your Genealogy.
2. Click the SFI ID number of anyone who is displaying the red "<500" flag
3. On the Affiliate Manager page you will see a "1-Month Extension" link in the top, right corner. Click this link to extend their affiliateship for another month.

That's it. They will not be purged this month and they will have the rest of the month to get above the minimum activity requirement again.

Can you do this more than one month? Yes, currently there's no limit. However, we do not recommend indefinite extensions. If you feel extensions are merited, of course feel free to grant extensions, but if not, it's best to allow them to be purged.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Because we are just getting this in place today (on the 5th), we are going to give everyone–this one month only–two extra days. That is, you have until the end of Wednesday, April 7th, to grant your extensions for this month.