Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to check out a MLM program that focuses on health and wellness patches and nutritional supplements with my LifeWave MLM Review. This is an extremely popular niche within the MLM market so what is the LifeWave MLM all about? Let's have a look and see what we can find…
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 supplements and beauty/cosmetics 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 – they have really blossomed within the lucrative health and wellness niche as well.
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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 is LifeWave?
LifeWave was founded in 2004 by David Schmidt and has moved forward to help “people all over the world realize their greatest potential”. With a mission to “help people feel better, look younger and lead more joyful lives”, LifeWave provides a range of wellness products designed that deliver:
- More energy and stamina
- Mental acuity
- Better sleep
- Reduced stress
- Improved skin appearance
- Faster wound healing
- An overall feeling of youthful vitality
- Weight loss
- Pain management
LifeWave is based in San Diego, CA in the United States with satellite offices in Ireland, Taiwan, The Philippines and Japan.
What do they Sell?
As mentioned above, LifeWave offers a range of health and wellness products centered mainly on the use of patches including:
- LifeWave X39™ Patches
- Energy Enhancer Patches
- Y-Age Carnosine Patches
- Y-Age Glutathione Patches
- AcuLife Patches
- Y-Age Aeon Patches
- IceWave Patches
- Silent Nights Patches
- SP6 Complete Patches
- Alavida Patches
- Nirvana Patches and supplement
There is also a small range of beauty products as follows
- Alavida Regenerating Trio
- Alavida Nightly Restore Facial Crème
- Alavida Daily Refresh Facial Nectar
Item costs appear to fall into the medium to high price range of around $80 to $150 per box (30 patches) which seems slightly higher than others in this field such as Le-Vel Thrive.
MLM Program outline
The LifeWave MLM program calls their members ‘Distributors' who are part of what appears to be a simple program with a common retail commission structure, fixed binary commission rate and a small number of bonus options included. Their compensation plan is available on their website so here are the basics as I have found them…
Base Commission rate: 30% to 40%
Down line commission rates: Binary commission of $50 for every 990BV ‘cycle' generated
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
To qualify for downline commissions, Distributors are required to maintain a status of ‘Active' via PV targets of at least 55 per month. This appears to be made of personal sales only (which can be on sold to customers if required). Base retail profits earnings however can be earned without the need to meet or maintain sales targets.
Payment terms: Weekly and Monthly.
Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
New Distributors are required to purchase a Starter kits ranging from USD$25 to $1599.95 which includes:
Ongoing purchases are mandatory however the documentation does highlight the opportunity to make sales via direct sales to customers via parties, kiosks etc. allowing on selling of these products.
Marketing materials provided: As per starter kit above.
Within most MLM programs, rankings and commissions are determined by the total personal volume (PV) 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.
In the case of the LifeWave MLM program, PV calculation appears to vary from product to product at around 30 – 60% of the USD retail sales price. Commissions are calculated as Business Volume (BV) which looks to be calculated at around 50%. This means that if a product is sold for $100 with a BV of 50, then payments are calculated on $50 of the sale cost not the full $100.
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How can I get paid?
Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 5 ways in which Distributors can make money when they promote and sell LifeWave items. These are fairly straight forward however tend to work as set payment amounts rather than commission percentages as such. The 5 payment options for the LifeWave MLM program are outlined as follows:
1. Retail Profits
These are the base commissions earned by the general day to day retail sales that Distributors can generate via one of two methods:
- Purchase products at wholesale prices and sell to customers at retail prices.
- Customers order products at retail prices directly from LifeWave via the Distributor's code.
Commission rates range from $20 – $50 per item as per the following table:
Distributors are not required to meet minimum sales targets to qualify for Retail Profits.
2. Product Introduction Bonus
The Product Introduction Bonus (PIB) is a commonly utilised option within many MLM programs designed to encourage starter kit purchases when new distributors are signed to the program. In this case, bonuses are paid to the sponsoring Distributor based on the starter kit purchased as follows:
In addition to this, distributors can also earn upgrade PIBs when a member of their downline purchases a higher ranking starter kit. These include:
To qualify for the PIB (and all further commissions below), Distributors must maintain ‘Active' status via the generation of a minimum of 55PV in purchases per month.
3. Binary Commissions
Binary Commissions are LifeWave's version of the traditional downline commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the LifeWave MLM program however, commissions are paid in increments of $50 based on the rank of the Distributors based on the following triggers:
- Meet the Downline Active Requirement (see graphic below)
- Have a total of 990 BV to cycle – 330 on the profit leg and 660 on the power leg. (The power leg is the one with the most volume, which could possibly change from week to week.)
Note: these commissions are capped as follows:
4. Matching Commission Bonus
This is another commonly utilised MLM bonus option designed to reward Distributors who build strong down line teams. In this case, a Matching Commission is paid on the PIB earned by personally sponsored down line members of the Distributor as follows:
5. Diamond and Platinum PIB
The final bonus within the LifeWave MLM program is paid to those who are able to build higher level ranks within their down line via sales and the purchase of Diamond and Platinum kits. These payments are earned as below:
Ranking structure
LifeWave, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the LifeWave MLM program are as follows (note personal and team sales qualification targets as well):
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.
- Commissions can be earned without the need to meet sales targets.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- There are some joining costs.
- Ongoing purchases are required.
- Some commissions are capped.
- Not the full range of bonus options found within other programs in this niche
How much can you make?
LifeWave does not provide an income disclosure statement on its website however as with most MLM programs, it has to be assumed from the compensation plan that the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is very low (usually 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. That said, the program is pretty straight forward with a small range of commission arrangements and the ability to make sales online or via traditional person to person sales. So if you are passionate about these products with a large customer list at your disposal and the ability to generate good sales via a number of processes, then the base commission rates might just appeal here.
I guess the only real red flag for me here, and one that may even make this one a little more difficult to reach lifestyle sustaining income is that commissions for their main downline binary and matching are capped. This does mean that for those that can manage to make good sales there is the chance that commissions could be lost.
Once you have joined, there are some starter kits costs as well as the need to make minimum personal purchases in order to qualify for commissions although these sales can include stock to on sell under person to person sales processes. And 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. You may also need to bump up your personal purchase quota if customer sales alone are not enough for you to remain ‘Active' 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 and the MLM program itself (and a small legal action from an ex-Distributor who felt that he was scammed under a pyramid scheme arrangement) – 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 LifeWave 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 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.
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See you there
Paul
