Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today We will have a look into a Wellness and Beauty company with my Jeunesse Global MLM Review. This is one of the better known MLM companies who have set out to create one of the most rewarding compensation plans in the direct selling industry.
Let's see if it is as rewarding as they say….
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 Beauty and Supplements markets. 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 Juenesse?
Jeunesse was founded in 2009 by Randy Ray and Wendy Lewis. The company in based in Florida in the United States with contact offices in over 60 countries worldwide. They promote their products as being “backed by science and cutting-edge technology, this family of exclusive lines is created to help you look young, feel young and live young.”
Like many other companies of this type, the site is built around its MLM program with most non product specific information aimed at its program and opportunity to earn as a distributor.
What do they Sell?
I always thought of Juenesse as a company that offers supplements – which they are, but they also provide a very large and decent range of cosmetics and beauty products as well. They see this as a tandem approach via their Youth Enhancement System (Y.E.S) to assist with their look, feel and live young mantra. Their main list of products include:
- Wellness
- Vitamins
- Antioxidants
- Food supplements
- ‘Zen' fitness supplements
- Beauty products
- Moisturisers
- Cleansers
- Masques
- Serums
- Makeup
- Hair Care
There is also a small range of essential oils as well as access to the Zen fitness program. This is a program that combines the use of their fitness supplements with an 8-week weight loss and fitness program covering 3 easy-to-follow phases with expert coaching and ongoing support.
All in all, based on the products alone, there is a great opportunity here to attack this program with a “let's look after you inside and out” approach….
MLM Program outline
The Jeunesse MLM program is called their Financial Rewards program which calls their members Distributors. At first look, it appears to be a fairly stock standard program and commission structure. As mentioned earlier, as with many companies that offer MLM opportunities their website and processes appear to set it up as a network marketing company first, and a marketplace second (they actually make comment to this effect in their company blurb). The compensation plan for this program, whilst a little confusing, is available on their site so let's check out the basics.
Discount: 15 – 40% for Associates (see below)
Base Commission rate: 15 – 40% for Distributors
Down line commission rates: 5 – 20% to 5 levels (1st generation (down line level 1) rates 20% – Jade Executive rank and up only).
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
- Distributors are required to maintain 100 PV per month via their personalised website – this can be personal or customer purchases.
Payment terms: Weekly and monthly.
Application required?: Yes, personal and payment information at time of first purchase
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
- Membership joining cost $19.95 per annum
- New members are known as Associates who qualify for discounts and retail profits but no commissions until they reach the level of Distributor.
To qualify as a distributor, Associates are required to:
- Purchase a starter kit – these range in price from USD$49.95 up to $2299.95
- Accumulate 100 PV within a SmartDelivery Month within one year of purchasing a Starter Kit
Marketing materials provided: Personal website, marketing materials, back office
As with the bigger programs, downline commissions and rankings are determined by the total Personal volume (PV) and Group Volumes (see circle below) generated by the distributor 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. For example, if a product retails for $100 and has a 50PV rating (these generally vary from product to product) then the commission is calculated on the $50 purchase only. So if a commission rate for a product is 20% then it will generate a $10 payment to the sponsor (i.e. 20% of the $50 commissionable amount).
Within the Jeunesse site I was unable to locate any information in regards to how their point system is calculated. PV calculations can however range from 1 point per $1 up to 1 per $1.50 or even $2. Obviously the closer to the dollar mark the calculation the better. In addition, most programs assign minimum PV sales per month – either personally or via customer sales – in order to qualify for commissions (as per above, the tally for this program is 100PV). Payments and rankings are then also calculated based on the total PV of the member, and their downline.
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How can I get paid?
The compensation plan promotes 6 ways in which distributors can make money when they promote and sell products. These are quite standard for a MLM program with commissions erring on the side of a little better than some others I have seen. Let's check them out…
Retail Profits
Retail Profit is the base profit earned by the general day to day retail sales that both Associates and Distributors can make either in person or via their website. There are two main ways here:
- Earn a commission of up to 40% of the purchase value if done so at retail prices (basically the difference between the distributor discount and the retail price).
- Purchase products at the discounted rate and on sell them at retail prices within a shop front, market stall or kiosk – or even the traditional party plan method.
Retail Sales Bonus
The Retail Sales Bonus is an incentive to ‘encourage' newly sponsored associates to purchase a starter pack when they join the program. The payment amount ranges from $25-$250 depending on the package purchased.
Payment amounts are calculated as below:
- 100 – 199 CV = 10%
- 200 – 299 CV = 12%
- 300 CV+ = 15%
Team Commissions
AS with most programs, members of a Distributor's down line are organised into teams (often called ‘legs'). Team Commissions of $35 are paid out to the sponsoring distributor every time one of their legs (or teams) reaches 600 GV and the other reaches 300 GV (known as a commission cycle). Once the first payment is made, the tally is ‘reset' meaning once the 600 and 300 GV targets are reached, another $35 is paid to the up line sponsor.
Distributors must be of Executive rank to qualify for Team Commissions
Matching Bonus
The Matching Bonus is Jeunesse's version of the stock standard Unilevel commission arrangements common to most MLM programs. Commissions are paid down to 7 levels on all generated volume within the downline of the Distributor. Rates are as follows:
Distributors must reach the rank of Jade Executive before the Matching Bonus is triggered.
Distributor Retention Incentive
The Distributor Retention Incentive works in conjunction with the Matching Bonus above and is designed to reward those who have a larger number of distributors in their personally sponsored downline. When a sponsor is able to sell products to five personally enrolled Distributors who are on SmartDelivery in a calendar month, their first-level Matching Bonus increases from 20% to 25%.
If they can sell to 10, then the first level matching bonus increases to 30%
Distributors must reach the rank if Jade Executive before the Matching Bonus is triggered.
Diamond Bonus Pool
The Diamond Bonus Pool is another common MLM payment arrangement where higher ranking distributors can earn a percentage of total company sales CV per quarter. To participate in the Diamond Bonus Pool, distributors must be Diamond Director rank or above and:
- Sell products to ten (10) personally enrolled Distributors who are on SmartDelivery in each month of the quarter.
- Attended two major events in their region and one event in another region during the preceding calendar year.
Share accumulation is as follows:
- One share is awarded for being paid as a Diamond Director for the first time on or before the first day of the quarter.
- One share is awarded per month in the quarter that the distributor is paid as a Diamond Director.
- One share is awarded for every 1,000 Team Commission Cycles achieved during the quarter.
- Up to one share is awarded per quarter for each personally enrolled distributor who is paid as a Diamond Director or above in any month of the quarter.
- One share is awarded each month that a Distributor is paid as a Double Diamond Director or higher.
Ranking structure
As you have probably noticed, the commissions and bonuses paid out above are reliant upon the ‘rank' that distributors are assigned within the Jeunesse MLM program. Within this program, rankings are awarded as follows:
Again, as is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is determined by both the number of members within your down line legs, and the total sales made by those legs 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/discount rates for entry level sales are very good.
- There are two solid product streams to focus on.
- Information in regards to their MLM program is easy to find.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- Earning options for entry level distributors are limited.
- Entry level costs are high.
How much can you make?
Is it one of the most rewarding compensation plans in the industry? To be honest, the figures supplied by Jeunesse within this Income Disclosure statement do not reveal anything to give it an advantage over the others within this niche.
As with most MLM programs, the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is very low. That said, these figures are no worse than any other supplements or beauty based MLM programs.
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in. And my main concern with this program is that there are not as many options here to earn as a new entrant (via fast start incentives etc.) than some of the other programs I have seen. In fact, distributors need to rise at least 2 ranks before they earn the base unilevel commissions that drive most MLM programs – albeit those commissions are quite good at 20 – 30%.
This, added to the fact that entry level costs are quite high might make this one a little tough for those looking to ‘earn a little ‘on the side' without a solid customer base to start with. This is also exaggerated by the fact that I couldn't find any information in regards to the calculation of PV points for the sale of products meaning that commission expectations are hard to measure up front.
The joining process is quite simple however as stated there are some immediate financial requirements via a membership joining fee and start pack requirements which can certainly place a strain on the finances as you start out in the business – especially if recruitment is slow. At the end of the day, unless you have a good solid customer base that you can hit up early to realise the good commission available to the higher ranks, then I would probably be looking elsewhere in this case.
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.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Jeunesse 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, Cosmetics 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.