Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews for those of you looking to supplement your sea change income with a little Multi Level Marketing (MLM) goodness. Today we delve into the world of CBD and essential oil based products with my HB Naturals MLM Review. The use of CBD Oils is a booming industry and Essential Oils have a long history of MLM based arrangements (some good, some not so much). So let's have a look to see whether HB Naturals can be off assistance to us in these very popular niches…
What is MLM?
Multi-level marketing (MLM) programs are the mainstay of the ‘party plan' world of products such as Tupperware, Mary Kay and Amway etc. and, recently, becoming more and more prevalent within the CBD oils market. One of the reasons for this is that much of the sales and marketing for MLMs is now being managed online – alleviating the need to run parties – and, more importantly, not hassle everybody you know to join (you can of course, but you don't have to).
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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 HB Naturals?
HB Naturals, (or Heart and Body Naturals) is a relatively young company whose purpose is to “share the synergistic Healing Trilogy products formulated with the healing power of plants provided by our creator”.
Based in Wilder, Kentucky, HB Naturals was established by Paula and Ben Scarcella and Alexandria Brighton and still runs as a family owned business with a commitment “to always be authentic, ethical, and transparent, without favoritism, while respecting the invaluable partnership with our Consultants”
What do they Sell?
HB Naturals offers over 200 products aimed, as the name suggests, at providing natural remedies for internal and external use. And although I have come across this site when looking into CBD oil based platforms, they actually have quite a large range of non CBD based remedies as well. Below is a basic list of their range of products (see graphic below for full list)
- Hemp/CBD oil based products
- Essential oils
- Pet Products
- Coffee
- Biominerals
- Personal care products
- Weight loss products
To be honest, based on the products listed, I am not entirely sure whether I would consider this a CBD/Hemp site that sells essential oils as well or vice versa. However, I do see this as an advantage as it will relevant regardless of whether you are in the essential oils niche and looking to break away from the bigger players or the CBD Oils niche looking to add some good cross selling opportunities into your posts. The added weight loss and superfood products also allow you to incorporate other healthy living options to partner with your oils as part of a chemical free living site.
MLM Program outline
The HB Naturals MLM program is known as its Incentive Plan. The base details are as follows:
Base Commission rate: 50% of Commission Value (see below).
Down line commission rates: 5% to seven levels (1st generation (down line level 1) rates 10 – 50%).
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
- Tiered starting at approximately $37.50 per month to qualify for downline commissions and bonuses.
- Nil to earn commissions on straight referral sales only (affiliate marketing arrangement).
Payment terms: Instantly, daily and monthly.
Application required?: Yes, basic personal information only.
Purchase requirements to join: No.
Marketing materials provided: Links to 6 personal HB Naturals Websites.
Click here for more information in regards to the HB Naturals Incentive program
This program is simple to join with personal information only required. Once access is given – which is immediate – you can access the membership area with access to 6 personalised website landing pages to add to your own sites, social media or whatever else you can add a link to. As stated above, there are no initial purchase requirements required at time of purchase. In fact, if you wanted to work with this product under an affiliate marketing type arrangement, you can earn up to 50% commission without ever having to purchase a product at all.
As with the bigger programs, downline commissions and rankings are determined by the total PV that you and those of your down line generate in a calendar month. To qualify for downline commissions within HB Naturals, you will need to purchase a minimum 25PV points worth of product monthly (roughly USD$37). Most MLM programs manage it this way so as to ensure that you are getting sales based results rather than simply signing people up whom don't purchase.
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How can I get paid?
This program promotes 7 ways in which you can make money when you promote and sell their products. These are quite standard for a MLM program of this nature however, as stated before, there is the added bonus of being able to make commissions without the need to purchase . This is actually quite advantageous in the fact that with most MLM programs, new entrants tend to find that they are actually losing money in the initial stages of their journey due to the fact that they must meet minimum monthly purchase requirements to reap any commissions for products that they may have sold – which at the start is normally not nearly enough to cover those costs.
You then get to decide when it is worthwhile making purchases in order to qualify for downline bonuses.
Note: The 50% commission for non-purchasing members is based in the Commission Volume (CV) assigned to the product being sold. This works in a similar fashion to the PV allocations discussed above. From what I can see, 1 CV is earned for approximately each $1.50 spent.
In terms of the other 6 ways to earn money with this program, please see the graphic below:
As above, to qualify for any earnings under options 2 – 7, you will be required to maintain least 25PV of personal purchases per month. For a full explanation in regards to the 7 money making method listed above, please click here.
Ranking structure
The ranking structure for HB Naturals is quite straight forward compared to others with commission qualifications rising based on your total monthly PV, the number of underlings you have within your down line and of course, how much they sell/purchase in a calendar month (measured in CV). Rank requirements are as follows:
As with the bigger programs, rankings are determined by the total PV (for you) and CV (for your downline) generated in a calendar month. As your downline grows, your commission rates can increase as follows:
What else do you get?
On top of the potential earning methods outlined above, HB Naturals also offers a member Appreciation plan. This plan offers extra gifts such as jewelry, cars, and other offerings personally selected by the founders once your total sales reach:
- $5,000
- $10,000
- $50,000
- $100,000
- $250,000
- $500,000
- $1,000,000
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:
- The website is clean and easy to follow.
- You can earn commissions without personal purchase requirements.
- Commission rates for entry level sales are much higher than most other programs.
- Great range of products for a number of niches.
- Information in regards to their MLM program is comprehensive and easy to find.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- No discount for general sales – i.e. no discount for personal purchases
- CV calculation is a little higher than other programs – most run at USD$1 per PV or CV point – HB Naturals is USD$1.5
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in, but in terms of the platform itself, I actually quite like this one. There is plenty of information available ( which trust me, is rarely the case) so if you are passionate about CBD or essential oils and like this brand, then to be honest I cannot see much in there that would cause me to warn you off. The joining process is extremely simple and straight forward and certainly not as complicated as this bigger players in this field. And from a startup point of view, if you are in a position where you can earn commissions without the need to purchase, then there is certainly less financial pressure on you as you start out.
I was also unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment or poor quality products for this site.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the HB Naturals MLM program. I hope it has been of assistance but as usual, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out by commenting below.
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 CBD, essential oils 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.