Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to take another look into the extremely popular MLM supplements market with my Nature’s Sunshine MLM Review. Supplements are massive within the MLM world with a large number of companies specialising, or including them within their stock portfolios.

So, what is Nature’s Sunshine 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 supplements markets. As mentioned above, this is a huge market for MLM companies and as these programs have become more popular in recent times – mainly due to the fact that much of the sales and marketing is now being managed online – more and more are starting to get in on the action.

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 Nature’s Sunshine?

I cannot find a lot of information on the Nature’s Sunshine in regards to their origins however there is reference to a 1972 beginning where the company’s founders “discovered how a simple herb could heal a nagging health issue and became devoted to sharing the healing power of nature with everyone”.

Since then, they have partnered with naturopathic practitioners, herbalists, and nutritionists to develop over 600 products that are “some of the most powerful and effective available”.

Nature’s Sunshine is based in Lehi, UT in the United States.

What do they Sell?

Ok, so as mentioned above, Nature’s Sunshine offers over 600 health and wellness products aimed at all manner of ailments.

Whilst there are obviously way too many products to list here, their main categories include:

• Antioxidants
• Ayurvedics
• Children’s Health
• Essential Fatty Acids
• Essential Oils
• Gut & Digestive
• Herbs & Botanicals
• Men’s Health
• Probiotics
• Protein Powders
• Skin & Personal Care
• Sports Nutrition
• Super Foods
• Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Vitamins & Minerals
• Weight Management
• Women’s Health

Product costs appear to fall into the low to medium price range of around $30 to $100 per items which brings them into line with others within this market such as Essanté Organics and Usana.

MLM Program outline

The Nature’s Sunshine MLM program calls their members ‘Consultants’ who are part of what appears to be a very simple program with a common retail and downline commission structure and a limited number bonus options included. Their compensation plan is available on their website so here are the basics as I have found them…

Base Commission rate: 25% – 30%

Down line commission rates: 1 – 13% to 5 levels (level 1 down line is 12% – rank Senior Consultant and above)

Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions

To qualify for downline commissions, Consultants are required to meet monthly Group Volume (GV) targets of at least 300 per month. This can be made of personal or customer sales. Base 25% sales commissions however can be earned without the need to meet or maintain sales targets.

Payment terms: Monthly.

Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.

Purchase requirements to join: Yes

New Consultants are required to purchase a Welcome Kit for USD$40.00 which includes:

• Includes Consultant Membership! (annual)
• 25% discount on all orders!
• Receive 2 FREE standard shipments each month!
• Get paid within the hour when you share!

This amount is then paid annually as a membership fee.

Ongoing purchases are not mandatory.

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 Consultant 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 Nature’s Sunshine MLM program, PV is used to calculate downline commissions and rank qualifications. I could not however locate any information on the website as to how these points are calculated. The compensation plan states that PV points are “based on the product’s price and is published on the price list”. I again could not find a price list that listed PV amounts.

How can I get paid?

Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 5 ways in which Consultants can make money when they promote and sell Nature’s Sunshine products. These are fairly straight forward however without many of the extra bonus options found in many other MLM arrangements. The 5 payment options for the Nature’s Sunshine MLM program are outlined as follows:

1. Personal sales commission

These are the base commissions earned by the general day to day retail sales that Consultants can generate via parties, popups, social media or online. This is based on the difference between their 25% discount and the full retail prices that they charge their customers.

Consultants to do need to meet any PV or sales targets to qualify for the 25% retail commissions.

2. Customer/affiliate rewards

This process is designed to mirror affiliate marketing in that Consultants post links on their websites or social media. Whenever a customer buys via this link, the consultant earns 15% commission based on their order. Once the customer purchases once, the down line link is created meaning that ongoing commissions are paid whenever the customer re-purchases.

Consultants to do need to meet any PV or sales targets to qualify for customer/affiliate rewards.

3. Consultant customer sharing

Consultant customer sharing is a bonus paid for all ongoing customer purchases. When a purchase is made, up to 3 people are paid:

1. the person who shared with the customer
2. their first two up line Consultants

These are paid as follows:

Consultants must be at rank of Senior Consultant and above to qualify for consultant customer sharing payments.

4. Downline commissions

Downline Commissions are the traditional unilevel commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the Nature’s Sunshine MLM program, commissions are paid to 5 levels based on the rank of the Consultant as follows:

Consultants must be at rank of Senior Consultant and above to qualify for downline commissions.

5. Retail discounts

Nature’s Sunshine also offers a range of discounts for those who wish to sell their products via retail stores etc. These are as below:

These are based on upfront purchases for ongoing retail sale.

Ranking structure

Nature’s Sunshine, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the Nature’s Sunshine 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 Consultant’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 is simple and easy to follow.
• 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.
• Information in regards to PV calculations for commission earnings is not readily available.
• Not as many bonus options as some other programs.

How much can you make?

Nature’s Sunshine does provide an income disclosure statement on its website as below. It does not however highlight percentages on number of consultants that are working at each rank level (some documentation I found does state that over 55% of its consultant base made some commissions). It has to be assumed from the compensation plan however 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. However, the program is pretty straight forward with common commission arrangements and the ability to make sales online or via retail profit processes. 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 25% base commission rates might just appeal here.

Once you have joined however, 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. 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.

My only real red flag here is around the fact that their PV calculation rates are not readily available. I would highly recommend a little more research here if you plan to join this program.

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

Legal Issues

My research also highlighted a number of legal issues experienced by the company over the period of its operations. These are based on:

• Violating federal securities laws.
• Importation issues into Brazil (due to that country’s reclassification of legalities around certain vitamins etc.).

It should be noted however that the first issue has been resolved and new executive management installed.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Nature’s Sunshine 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. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.