Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to have a look into a company that specialises in all things home cleaning with my Norwex MLM Review. As with others such as Enjo, Norwex focuses on microfiber technology to create a series of environmentally friendly home cleaning options. So if this is a niche that you are interested in, is Norwex a MLM program worth checking into? Let's have a look and find out…
What is MLM?
Multi-level marketing (MLM) programs are the traditional mainstay of the ‘party plan' world of products such as Avon, Mary Kay and Amway etc. and, of course within home wares markets via the likes of Tupperware. It is not as prevalent within this industry as some of the others but 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 – companies in other niches are starting to get in on the action.
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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 Norwex?
Norwex was founded in 1994 when founder Bjørn Nicolaisen was introduced to a “miraculous cloth that could effectively clean a very dirty windshield using microfiber and water”. From that point forward he has focused on chemical free cleaning with environmentally sound processes in every part of Norwex operations.
The company has expanded operations into a number of countries around the globe with a mission to “Improve quality of life by radically reducing chemicals in our homes”.
What do they Sell?
What started out as single “little red cloth” has grown into a nice array of products across a number of lines including chemical free, environmentally sustainable cleaning fluids and personal care. Their category lists are as follows:
Microfiber
- Cleaning
- Sheets
- Floor
- Body Towels
Household
- Bath
- Laundry
- Kitchen
- Odor Control
Personal Care
- Body
- Face
Family
- Sports
- Pets
- Kids
- Car
MLM Program outline
The Norwex MLM program calls their members ‘Independent Sales Consultants' who are part of what appears to be a fairly straight forward and standard program with base commissions and a few bonuses thrown in for good measure. Their compensation plan, whilst not readily available on their website (that I could see), was found via a simple online search so let's check out the basics below…
Base Commission rate: 35% on all products sold.
Down line commission rates: 0.5 – 5% to five levels (first level down is 3% for personal recruits – Team Coordinator Rank and higher)
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions:
To qualify for commissions, Consultants must be ‘Active' via the generation of $250 or more worth of sales within a rolling
three-month calendar cycle.
Payment terms: Monthly
Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.
Purchase requirements to join: Yes
New Consultants are required to purchase a Starter Kit for $9.99.
There is mention of a ‘Party Starter Kit' which is $200 (unless $2000 in retail sales is generated in within the first 90 days of program enrollment).
Marketing materials provided: Business Starter kits, Training, Back Office
Unlike most other MLM programs, commissions are calculated on the actual sales dollar amount rather than a point systems based on the product types. This means that if a product is sold for $100 and the commission rate is 35% then the amount earned is $35 – this does not include shipping and taxes.
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How can I get paid?
From what I can tell from the information available, the main way of earning here is still via the good old party plan model – although customers can ‘shop with a consultant' via the website where I am assuming commissions can be earned on the sales made via this process as well. The promoted demonstration processes however really are a throw back to the good old party plan days in that a Consultant needs to convince someone to hold a party and invite their friends – one of whom is convinced to hold the next one and so on (hence the name ‘Network' in Network Marketing).
The compensation plan outlines 5 ways that Consultants can earn money via this program. Let's check them out as follows:
1. Retail Commissions
Sales Commissions are the base commissions earned by the Consultants for products sold at retail prices. The base rate is 35% and these are generated via the sales made at demo parties or online.
Note: These commissions are not earned by ‘Hosts' who receive discounts based on sales as a separate process. I will outline those below.
There are no minimum sales targets required to earn Retail Commissions however Consultants must maintain their ‘Active' status as outlined above.
2. Free Product
Consultants who are able to recruit a new Qualified Personal Recruit will receive $300 in free product. This is available for every new recruit added to their downline.
A ‘Qualified Personal Recruit' is a Consultant personally recruited by the Sponsor who generates $2,000 retail sales in
90 days.
3. Personal Recruit Commissions
Personal Recruit Commissions (PRC) are a version of the basic unilevel commission options that are prevalent within most MLM programs. Within the Norwex MLM program, PRC commissions range from 0.5 – 3% up to 5 levels dependent upon rank starting at Team Coordinator Rank and paid against sales of those personally recruited by the Consultant (as the name suggests).
Note: The compensation plan does not show these commissions in table form – they are however shown within the outline of each rank so I have added an example for the top Senior Vice President Sales Leader Rank below:
To qualify for PRC, Consultants must be Active as well as meet minimum personal sales targets (comprising personal and customer purchases) each month – these start at $250 and rise according to rank.
4. Group Sale Commissions
Group Sales Commissions (GSC) are a second structure of commissions that are paid against downline sales of those who were not personally recruited by the Consultant – i.e. those who were recruited by other Consultants within the down line.
GSC commissions are paid at a flat rate of 5% with the same qualifying criteria as PRC above.
5. Monthly Car Bonus
As is common with many other MLM Program structures, those that reach the higher levels in rank can qualify for a Car Bonus where payments are made again the purchase or lease of the car by the Consultant. In this case, those that reach the rank of Vice President Sales Leader and above earn a $500 monthly payment for this purpose.
Ranking structure
Most MLM programs use ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rank progression is usually determined by both the number of members within a Sponsor's down line, and the total sales made per month. Ranks can rise and fall based on the ability (or dis-ability) to reach the required member and sales targets.
Ranks within the Norwex MLM Program are named as follows:
As with Unilevel commissions, the Compensation Plan does not contain a tabelised outline of the qualifications required to reach each rank within the program. It does however display them under each individual rank list so I have listed as an example the lowest and highest rank requirements below:
Host Rewards
I mentioned earlier that the role of the Consultants is to recruit hosts for their demos and parties. Hosts do not earn commissions however can be awarded with discounts and free product for their hosting troubles. In the case of Norwex, Hosts can earn free products and discounts based both on the number of guests who purchase and their sales totals as follows:
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 quite good.
- There is a good market for environmentally friendly and sustainable products.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- There is not appear to be the full array of bonuses that are evident in some other programs.
- Unilevel and down line commissions are quite low.
How much can you make?
I was unable to locate projected income figures on the Norwex website however there is an income estimate based on the number of parties that a Consultant can run. These figures are as follows:
Based on the table above, it can be assumed that as with most MLM programs, the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is usually very low.
My final thoughts
Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in and if I am being honest, there is not much here to make me think that this program contains anything to give it a boost amongst any other. That said, there is ample opportunity to earn if you can attract and nurture a down line so if you are passionate about eco-friendly MLM programs, or like this brand, then I cannot see much in there that would cause me to warn you off.
The joining process is quite simple and immediate financial requirements (via a membership joining fee) are very low. Also, 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 to be honest, I think if you are going to succeed in any MLM program, you will need to be intricately aware of the products you are promoting – meaning I think some purchases may be necessary – especially if customer purchases alone are not enough to generate ‘Active’ status or maintain rank.
There are some negative reviews in terms of product use (mainly around their use on cars) as well as some complaints about the MLM program itself in terms of refunds and non-payment of commissions – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Norwex 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 online business?
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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.