Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to take a run at the world of fitness (pun definitely intended) with my Beachbody MLM review. This is an interesting one in that from what I can see, it looks to integrate the world of personal training and fitness into an MLM program. So is Beachbody a MLM worth crunching for in 2020? Let's have a look and find out…
What is MLM?
Multi-level marketing (MLM) programs are the traditional mainstay of the ‘party plan' world of products such as Tupperware, Mary Kay and Amway etc. and, of course within the beauty/cosmetics, supplements and essential oils markets. It is not as prevalent within the fitness industry (although Beachbody could technically be designated as a supplements company) but as MLMs have become more popular in recent times – mainly due to the fact that much of the sales and marketing is now being managed online – companies in other niches are starting to get in on the action.
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The ‘multi level' aspects of MLM come from its hierarchical nature in which you make commissions based not only on those that you sell to, but also the sales of those whom you ‘sign' into membership arrangements as well.
In short, the process works as follows:
- You join the program, either via referral from another person (known as your up line) or directly through their website.
- You promote the products of the company via parties, workshops or online.
- As you make sales, you offer incentives to your customers to sign up as a member of the program (there are different names for this but they all mean the same thing).
- That new member is then placed ‘underneath' you in a hierarchical arrangement (known as your down line).
- You, and a number of levels of your up line, then gain extra commissions for everything they sell as well.
- If they manage to refer their customers into memberships, they also become a member of your down line allowing you to make up line commissions as well.
The number of levels of your up and down lines will vary depending on the program you have joined. Commission rates will also change as your down line grows or contracts and many will also offer other incentives such as total company sales percentages and/or access to membership prizes as your own business grows.
Who are Beachbody?
Beachbody was founded in 1998 by Carl Daikeler and Jon Congdon who claim to have created “the nation's most popular fitness and weight-loss solutions with an unparalleled peer-support system supported by our network of over 350,000 Team Beachbody Coaches”.
Based in California, Beachbody started as a supplements company until 2007, when the introduction of independent “Coach” distributors were introduced (I am assuming under the MLM model) to deliver motivation and accountability to help customers achieve and maintain real results.
What do they Sell?
Ok, so to outline what it is that Beachbody sell, I am going to break this down into three categories: Supplements and Nutrition, Nutrition program and Fitness workouts. Let's check out the highlights here…
Supplements and Nutrition
- Shakeology® Boost: Nutrition Supplements
- Shakeology® Superfood, weightloss and Whey shakes
- Beachbar® Snackbars
- Beachperformance® Protein powder
- Beachperformance® BCAAs
- Beachperformance® Hydration Solutions
- Beachperformance® Creatine
- Collagen Boost powder
Nutrition Programs
Beachbody offers four nutrition programs as follows:
- Ultimate Portion Fix
- 2B Mindset
- 3-Day Refresh
- Beachbody Ultimate Reset
These are subscription based programs centered on the use of Beachbody Nutrition products as well as access to online communities, tools and motivational strategies.
Fitness Programs
As with the nutrition programs, the Beachbody fitness products are subscription based and include the following:
- Your first 30-day supply of product
- 12 months of streaming access to world-class Beachbody programs, including:
- Hundreds of proven workouts
- Step-by-step program guides, program meal plans, workout calendars, expert advice, and more
- Beachbody® Guide to Nutrition
- Shakeology Shaker Cup
- Free Access to Your Own Personal Coach
There are also a few cross selling opportunities here with a small range of Beachbody apparel and accessories (water bottles etc).
MLM Program outline
The Beachbody MLM program calls their members ‘Coaches'. The compensation plan is directly available on their site and once the personal fitness v MLM aspects are stripped away, contains a fairly simple program with a basic retail and downline commission structure. Here are the basics as I have found them…
Base Commission rate: 25% for retail sales – 40% for memberships
Down line commission rates: Standard Unilevel commissions not paid – see Team Cycle Bonus below
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
- Once they are designated as qualified, Coaches are required to generate at least 50PV – 200PV to qualify for commissions – this must come from personal purchases.
Payment terms: Weekly and monthly.
Application required?: Yes, Application form with first purchase
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
Membership enrollment fee – $39.95 then $15.95 monthly
Challenge pack purchase does not appear to be mandatory as far as I can tell however when you join, you are led to a purchase page. Purchase is required at some stage however to qualify for commissions.
Marketing materials provided: Digital Business Starter Kit
As with the most MLM programs, downline commissions and rankings are determined by the total Personal Volume (PV) generated by the Coach and their down line within a calendar month. Most MLM programs manage it this way in that commissions are paid on the points assigned to a product rather than the entire sales total. Beachbody appears to calculate its PV allocations at roughly 1000% of the USD sales price. So for example, if a product retails for $100 which gives it a 100 PV rating (these generally vary from product to product) then the commission is calculated on the whole $100. So if a commission rate for a product is 10% then it will generate a $10.00 payment to the sponsor.
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How can I get paid?
The compensation plan promotes 4 ways in which Coaches can make money when they promote and sell products. These are fairly straight forward however there are not real unilevel commissions or many of the extra bonuses found with some of the others within this niche. The 4 payment options for the Beachbody MLM program are outlined as follows:
Challenge Pack Bonuses & Commissions
Challenge Pack bonuses and Commissions are the base profits earned by the general day to day retail sales that coaches can generate. There are three main ways to earn commissions here:
- Up to 25% of the purchase value of non-pack or individual items if done so at retail prices (basically the difference between the affiliate discount and the retail price).
- Up to 35% of the purchase value of challenge packs.
- Up to 40% of the purchase of ‘Beachbody on Demand' memberships purchased by coaches and/or customers.
Note: Coaches need to maintain a personal purchase volume of 50PV to earn retail profit commissions/payments.
Team Cycle Bonus
The Team Cycle Bonus is technically Beachbody's version of Unilevel commission in that earning are made based on the sales of the Coach's sponsored downline. Commissions are earned as a set amount for every 300 PV that is generated within the downline legs of the Coach. Each set of 300 PV is called a cycle and coaches earn between $14 and $18 per cycle dependent upon rank.
Note: The 300 PV required to generate a cycle payment must be ‘balanced', meaning that it cannot all be generated within the one leg. An example is as below:
Note: This payment is capped monthly dependent upon rank.
Matching Bonus
The Matching Bonus is a common payment type within MLM circles where sponsors are rewarded with bonus commissions and payments based on the downline sales of coaches that they have recruited and nurtured to higher ranks. With the Beachbody program, Coaches earn between 5 and 10% of their downline coaches Team Cycle Bonus as follows:
Star Diamond Bonus
Coaches who reach the rank of 2 Star Diamond and above also qualify for the Star Diamond Bonus. This is another common MLM payment structure where commissions are paid as a percentage of the total company sales for the quarter. In this case, Beachbody sets aside 2% of the total Company TV as follows:
- Pool # 1 – Active and Qualified Two Star Diamond or higher share in this one-half percent (½%) pool
- Pool # 2 – Active and Qualified Five Star Diamond or higher share in this one-half percent (½%) pool
- Pool # 3 – Active and Qualified Ten Star Diamond or higher share in this one-half percent (½%) pool
- Pool # 4 – Active and Qualified Fifteen Star Diamonds share in this one-half percent (½%) pool
Ranking structure
As you have probably noticed, many of the commissions and bonuses paid out above are reliant upon the ‘rank' that you are assigned within the Beachbody MLM program. This ranking structure is fairly straight forward where personal commissions earned rise based on total monthly PV and the number of underlings within the Coach's down line. As is common, the more sponsored Coaches and the higher the total sales volume, the higher the rank. Rank requirements are as follows:
What is good about it?
So, after a good look around the site and looking at all the options I could find, I do like the following:
- Commission/discount rates for entry level sales are good.
- Large array of products and allows for a number of cross promotion opportunities.
- Membership sales give ongoing automatic commissions.
- PV is calculated in a point per dollar basis (i.e. full sales amount).
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- Coaches must reach higher ranks to qualify for some commissions.
- Membership fee to join.
- Ongoing personal purchase requirements.
- Most payment opportunities are capped.
How much can you make?
Beachbody does provide projected income figures on its website and as with most MLM programs, the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is very low. These figures however are not any better or worse than any other MLM I have seen although at 1.5%, those reaching the upper ranks is in the higher range when compared to others.
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in and there is not much that I have seen here to put this program above the many others I have seen.
There are quite a few red flags with this one including capped payments, limited bonuses and earning potential (compare to others) and personal purchase requirements each month. To be honest, if you were interested in trying your luck in the world of supplements and MLM, then there are others within this niche that I would probably consider before this one.
That said, if you are a personal trainer or fitness instructor with a great loyal client base then this could be an opportunity to earn some good commissions via the recommendation of the nice range of supplement and fitness products that Beachbody has to offer. And who knows, you might even find some clients who are interested in becoming ‘coaches' underneath you as well.
I was unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment etc. however there was some negative comments about the quality of products and the MLM program itself – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs or products within this niche. They have however been involved in some legal issues to do with ongoing payment extraction from customers without consent.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Beachbody MLM program. I hope it has been of assistance but as usual, if you have any questions or experience with this program please do not hesitate to reach out by commenting below – especially if any of my information is inaccurate.
Are there any other programs you have been looking at but want to know more about? If so, please comment below and I will do my best to get some details for you.
Do you want further assistance with any of the above or need help to build your own Supplements, Fitness or MLM based website?
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Until next time
Have fun
Paul
Note: If you make a purchase from this page, there is a very good chance that I make a commission from it – these commissions do not increase your sale price.
Beachbody
$39.95 ++Pros
- Commission/discount rates for entry level sales are good.
- Large array of products and allows for a number of cross promotion opportunities.
- Membership sales give ongoing automatic commission.
- PV is calculated in a point per dollar basis.
Cons
- There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- Coaches must reach higher ranks to qualify for some commissions.
- Ongoing personal purchase requirements.
- Membership fee to join.
- Most payment opportunities are capped.