|
Rating:
 1/2
Level of Review:
Researched, were not able to try. Rating is based on getting
the right target customer to market the program to.
Overview:
This business consists of a product referral
program. Very simple, nice people.
Product:
Melaleuka (registered trademark) products. You
are selling a membership. The company whose
membership you are selling has household, personal
care, and nutritional products.
Costs: $29
initial membership fee. $12 per year renewal.
Required purchases per month of around $50 (as
quoted in sales conference - cannot verify due to
inaccurate estimation methods used).
Compensation:
You are compensated with a commission on each
sale from people you refer. You are also
compensated on sales of people referred by people
you refer, up to 7 levels deep. Bonuses for
achieving specific sales goals.
Conclusion:
The program involves selling memberships
through Mom's Win (Mom Team, or Mom Execs), for a company that is selling
memberships through referrals from other sources as
well. The advantage to going through Mom's Win (or another
third party company) is
that they provide additional support and sales
assistance.
This program has
five problems that I can see at this
point:
1. The product and
program are not clearly viewable up front. You have
to contact someone, they schedule you to
participate in a conference call, and then you find
out what it is that you are going to be asked to
do. Information dispersal is primarily through
conference call at the start, and many people do
not learn well this way. They do give you access to
product information and pricing once you are past
this step though.
2. You are not
allowed to use the company (Melaleuca) name, or the
product names in advertising.
3. The Melaleuca website has always required higher versions of browsers to run. You cannot access it at all on a Mac or Linux with IE. As a web designer, I have a major problem with "browser specific" sites, because they are like a slap in the face for your potential customers - do it our way, or we don't want your business.
4. The monthly
purchase requirement to stay in the program is
figured on points, not on a dollar amount, and the
point value per product can change while the dollar
amount stays the same or increases. It is difficult
to tell up front how much you are going to have to
pay each month to stay active, and all their
examples use a points=dollars assumption, and that
assumption is not accurate, nor anywhere near
accurate, it takes more than one dollar to equal
one point.
5. The product and
the reseller rights are not differentiated. You
have to purchase the same membership to sell it or
buy it.
It has the
following advantages:
1. Low startup cost
and reasonable materials required. You must have a
home computer and a phone line with conference
calling enabled.
2. Reasonable
income opportunity. Two people we got info from
stated the following income results: 5 months
involvement, two months of real effort, with 3-5
hours a day working, making $188/month; 9 months
involvement, working 5-7 hours a day, making $3000
per month now. Seems like it shows that income can
rapidly increase, and that effort pays off, BUT I
cannot verify their results.
3. You do not
handle product and you do not sell it. Once a customer is referred, you
get a commission on sales to them, but the company
handles the sales process.
4. Good residual
income potential. Company has a 95% repeat order
rate from customers, which benefits you. Your
income is willable, which means you can leave it to
someone else, it does not stop at your death
(though the person you willed it to would have to
purchase a membership to get the income). As long
as you remain an active member, you get residual
income if your customers keep buying, and if the
company tracks purchases with a means other than
cookies.
5. Full money back
guarantees. Membership refunds within first 4
months, products backed by full guarantees,
vitamins backed by 90 day full refund guarantee.
They back up what they sell, and minimize your
risk.
The jury is still
out on the following points: Marketing assistance,
product pricing, product variety and quality,
residual income tracking methods, and actual time
for money results.
This program seems
to work well for some people, not for others. In
many cases it depends on the dedication of the
person participating. We feel this program has some
concerns, such as the amount in purchases required
each month (for our family of nine we would not
normally use half what they require or what they
say the average is for a SMALL family), and the
fact that you cannot advertise outright what it is
that is making the money. But it is one of the
least risky of such programs we have encountered.
If you need a program, work well in a group, and
are committed to actually marketing, it appears to
have the potential to yield a return, but you are
going to get a lot of negative responses before you
ever get one positive one.
Update:
Products are reported to us as being expensive. But
many people whom we know personally recommend them
highly, and would never go back to purchasing
similar products elsewhere. Final conclusion
classes this slightly ahead of Amway and Herbalife,
for lower costs and for products that you really
cannot buy in the grocery store.
I was finally able
to get onto the site, where I was able to download
a price list. Even with the discount, they are more
costly than most, but comparable to other specialty
items. Points vary with the item, some are as good
as 1 point to 1 dollar, some less than half
that.
Here is what a member says:
You are required to purchase 35 pts each month,( between $ 40.00 -
$60.00) if the purchase is made by the 16th of the month 10% is put in
an advantage account for you that you can use when you reach a total of
$20.00. This does not expire, you can save it and use it at anytime.
The reason for the point system is Melaleuca is located in different
countries and you can have partners in your organization ( your Matrix -
7 generations) from any of the different countries. ( Canada, UK, etc.
They are listed on the Melaleuca website.) The money you make is paid
off the points purchased not the price spent on your order. This way it
is fair to everyone given the different money exchange rates for each
country. This is why you might see the change in price and not point
value.
You are correct on prospects not knowing about the "company"
due to us not being able to advertise the name Melaleuca. I personally
do tell them when I first contact them that it is Melaleuca. They sell
your everyday products you use in your home only chemical free. Also, I
tell them that they are required to become customers and that it is a
business not a job. This way I do not waste my time taking them to the
call if they are not interested in the beginning. Some times I will even
take them to Melaleuca's website so that they can see the types of
products offered.
As for the products, the cleaning products are
concentrated, one bottle will make 3 to 4 - 32 oz bottles
depending on which item your buying. Also the quantity need to do the
job is less than the quantity need from your basic store bought brand.
The products might look expensive when you first look but you must keep
this in mind. I do tell the prospect about this before they look at the
website or I will go through the site with them.
We are referral agents for Melaleuca and we help set up your personal
account with them. If you decide to do this business you would be doing
the same. Referring others and setting up accounts. We become a
customer and use the products in our homes, and ask other people to
become a customer and use the products for their own personal use - we
get a discount on the products we use, and we earn a commission on their purchases. We do not sell products, if so, that is a violation of
Melaleuca's terms and conditions.
I do agree that this is not for everyone. You do have to work in order
to create money. It is not a get rich quick scam. If you get in a good
organization where you do have help, you can succeed. The problem with
people dropping out is, they are not making money right off and they can
still go to Walmart or Target and get products and not worry about it.
It makes no difference to them if it has chemicals or not. This is for
people who want a chemical free home, I personally feel that the right
target group ( chemical free - natural ) is the type of person you
would want in your organization. They would still use the products even
if they were not working the business. They will grow their business by
their own product experience and word of mouth in due time.
We get a business report
every month with our checks. It has a tally of points purchased
for each person in your matrix for the month and the year.
It also gives you your up line information, it tells
you at what status everyone is at, and other info I can
not remember off hand. I do not have one here with me.
Just for your info on the keeping track of your organization.
Your
site did not offend me, it is true what you put in your review, I just
wanted to clarify some of the points you stated so you will have a
better picture of how it works.
|
