It Works! MLM Review

Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to a take look at another weight loss inspired option with my It Works! MLM Review. Weight loss is a very popular niche in any marketing area including the network marketing world. Whether this be via supplements or fitness programs, there are options to meet all manner of requirements. So, what is It Works! all about? Let's have a look and see…

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 weight loss/supplements markets. And 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 – programs working within niches such as this that are already lucrative, are growing quite quickly as well.

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:

1. You join the program, either via referral from another person (known as your up line) or directly through their website.
2. You promote the products of the company via parties, workshops or online.
3. 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).
4. That new member is then placed ‘underneath' you in a hierarchical arrangement (known as your down line).
5. You, and a number of levels of your up line, then gain extra commissions for everything they sell as well.
6. 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 It Works!?

Working on a foundation “built on bringing innovative products first-to-market”, It Works! was founded in 2001 by Mark and Cindy Pentecost. From there they have continued to grow their product range and in 2008, transitioned to International markets as well. The company then reached its first $100 million annual sales target in 2012.

It Works! is based in Bradenton, Florida in the United States.

What do they Sell?

As above, It Works! offers a large array of products in the weight loss niche based on a range or coffee, teas and other supplements including:

Supplements

• Keto
• Weight Control
• Energy & Endurance
• Vegan
• Post Workout

Coffee

• Keto Coffee
• Keto Coffee Pods
• Skinny Brew coffee

Tea

• Skinny Tea
• Sleepy Tea
• Keto Tea

And as is common with many companies of this type, they also offer a decent range of beauty products as well such as:

• Anti aging creams and serums
• Daily facial care

The site offers purchases via category (weight loss for example) or solution as well as packs and 2 for 3 offers. Item costs appear to fall into the low to medium price range of around $30 to $100 per product keeping it in line with others in this niche such as Plexus Worldwide and Shaklee.

MLM Program outline

The It Works! MLM program calls their members ‘Distributors' who are part of what appears to be fairly modern program aimed at building income via sales, team building and leadership levels. It incorporates a common retail and downline commission structure with a good number of bonus options included. I did not find their compensation plan on their website however it did pop up on a simple web search so here are the basics as I have found them…

Base Commission rate: 40%

Down line commission rates: 2 – 10% to 6 levels (level 1 down line is 10% for ‘Commission Qualified' distributors)

Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions

To qualify for sales and downline commissions, Distributors are required to become Commission Qualified via:

• Processing a minimum 80BV Auto-shipment
• Generate at least 400 Personal Business Volume per month

These can be generated via personal or customer purchases. Base retail commissions can be earned without being Commission Qualified.

Payment terms: Monthly.

Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.

Purchase requirements to join: Yes

Starter kits are purchased at time of enrollment for a cost of $99. Each kit includes:

• 7 Digital Product Sample Mailer Credits (3 single-serve packets per Sample Mailer)
• Personalized It Works! website
• Access to eSuite for real-time reports, customer insights, and more
• A promo code for 10% off It Works! apparel, accessories, or business tools
• Access to tools and apps that allow Distributors to work from their phone anytime, anywhere
• An all-digital starter kit that allows Distributors to start working from home immediately without waiting for anything in the mail!

Note: purchasing a starter kit qualifies a new Distributor as Commission Qualified for their first month.

I did see reference to a $20 monthly fee to cover the cost of a replicated website on other reviews but could not find reference to that on the It Works! website.

Marketing materials provided: As per starter kit above.

Within most MLM programs, rankings and commissions are determined by the total personal business volume (PBV) generated by the Distributor and their down line within a calendar month with points assigned to each product. These point allocations can range from 50 to 100% of the retail price of each product (before tax and shipping) and vary from item to item and currency of sale.

From what I can tell within the It Works! MLM program, BV is calculated at around 80% of the USD retail sales price. This means that if a product is sold for $100 with a BV of 80, then payments are calculated on $80 of the sale cost not the full $100. Hence, then if a downline commission rate is 10% then the payment to the Distributor would total $8 (i.e. 10% of $80).

How can I get paid?

Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 7 ways in which Distributors can make money when they promote and sell It Works! products. These are fairly straight forward and there are a few of the extra bonuses found in many other MLM arrangements. These options are outlined as follows:

1. Distributor Rebate Credit

Distributors who enrol four ‘Loyal Customers within their first 30 days of enrollment will earn $120 in product credit which they can use for themselves, or purchase products to on sell to their retail customers.

Distributors must be Commission Qualified to earn the Distributor Rebate Credit.

2. Fast Start Bonus

The Fast Start Bonus is paid as a $100 payment for those who are able to enrol new Distributors into their downline within their first 30 days. For the sponsoring Distributor to earn the bonus, their new downline members but be Fast Start Bonus qualified via:

• Purchasing a starter kit
• Setting up their 80BV autoship
• Enrolling at least 2 loyal customers.

3. Retails Sales Commission

These are the base commissions earned by the general day to day retail sales that Distributors can generate via parties, popups, social media or online via their personalized website. The commission is effectively the different between the loyal customer price and retail price which is 40%.

Distributors do not need to be Commission Qualified to earn Retail Sales Commissions

4. Management Bonuses

Management Bonuses are the It Works! version of the traditional binary commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the It Works! MLM program, commissions are paid to 6 levels based on the rank of the Distributor as follows:

Commissions are paid on each qualified leg where at least 400 Group Volume (GV) has been generated.

5. Diamond Generation Payout

The Diamond Generation Payout is a commonly utilised network marketing payment option that rewards Distributors for advancing up to the higher ranks within the program. In this case, bonus commission percentages are paid for each generation within a sponsor's downline.

A new generation starts when a downline member also reaches the rank of Diamond or higher as follows:

Payments advance to Double and Triple Diamond bonuses where more personally enrolled downline members also reach Diamond rank.

6. Diamond Bonus

The Diamond Bonus is an extra bonus paid to sponsors who managed to nurture those in their downline to the higher leadership ranks as follows:

7. Loyal Customer Bonus

Any Distributor who can personally enrol and maintain a minimum of 60 Qualified Active Loyal Customers and accumulate 3000 PBV within a calendar month will also receive a Loyal Customer Bonus of $600.

Ranking structure

It Works!, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the It Works! MLM program are as follows (note personal and team sales qualification targets as well):

This is an example only, full outlines of requirements for ranks of Diamond to Ambassador Diamond can be found within the Compensation Plan.

Again, as is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is determined by both the number of members within the Distributor's down line, and the total sales made by those members per month. Ranks can rise and fall based on the ability (or dis-ability) to reach the required member and sales targets.

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 rates for entry level sales are good.
• Program contains a decent number of commissions and bonus options.

What is no so good about it?

There are also some things to be aware of including:

• There are some joining costs.
• Ongoing purchases may be required to earn base commissions

How much can you make?

The It Works! website does provide an income disclosure statement as follows:

Based on this document, it can be safely assumed that the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is very low (less than 1%).

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. However, the program is pretty straight forward with common commission arrangements and the ability to make sales online or in person. So if you are passionate about these products with a large customer list at your disposal and the ability to generate good sales via online processes, then the 40% base commission rates might just appeal here.

Once you have joined, there are not the usual financial pressures of needing to make minimum personal purchases in order to qualify for commissions as long as you can make them within your down line. Although from what I can see, I think if you are going to succeed within this MLM program, you will need to have a good array of demonstration stock on hand (which can be handled by the autoship arrangements). You may also need to bump up your personal purchase quota if customer sales alone are not enough for you to remain ‘Commission Qualified' and qualify for commissions and/or discounts within a particular month.

I was unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment etc. although there were some negative comments about the quality of customer service, recruitment processes, delivery and the MLM program itself – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs or products within this niche.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the It Works! 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 fashion based website?

Are you looking for a comprehensive training platform that can give you step by step training, 24/7 support, tools to develop and host your very own website, ongoing assistance with SEO and social media and access to some of the best affiliate marketing minds on the planet, then click on the following link to read more about Wealthy Affiliate.

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. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.