Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today I wanted to discuss another well-known program within the beauty and cosmetics products space with my Nu Skin MLM Review. Like many within this niche, there is also a good range of supplement and nutritional items as well making it a good potential site to look into. The founders promote the company as one with “all of the good, none of the bad” and a generous business opportunity that would attract high-calibre salespeople. So with that in mind is Nu Skin MLM worth a look? Let's check it out and see what we can find…
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, of course within the beauty/cosmetics market. MLMs have become a little more popular lately, mainly due to the fact that much of the sales and marketing 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 Nu Skin?
Nu Skin was founded in 1984 by Blake Roney, Sandie Tillotson, and Steve Lund who have grown it to become a company “differentiated by its ability to demonstrate that they truly have the best people, product, culture, and opportunity in the direct sales, skin care, and wellness industries”.
The company is based in Provo, Utah in the united states.
What do they Sell?
As I mentioned above, Nu Skin started as a beauty and cosmetics company with a large range of products in this area and have also expanded out to a decent range of nutritional/health and well-being offerings as well. One of their main offerings however, and one that may differentiate them from some of the others is their ageLOC series of electronic beauty devices. There is a so much there that for the purposes of this post, I will list the main categories only:
- ageLOC Electronic Devices
- Spa Systems
- Tru Face Targeted Treatments
- Nu Skin 180 Anti-Aging
- Nutricentials
- Nu Skin Clear Action
- Tri-Phasic White
- Peels, Masks & Scrubs
- Moisturizers
- Men's Care
- Body Care
- Epoch
- Oral Care
- Hair Care
- Sun Protection
- Cosmetics
Like many other companies within this niche, they have also branched out with a fairly large range of nutrition supplements. Their products here include:
- Vitamins and Minerals
- ageLOC Vitality
- TR90 Weight Management
- g3 Juice
- Energy & Stamina
- Heart Health
- Cell Protection
- Immune Support
- Men's Health
- Women's Health
- Memory Support
- Bone & Joint Health
- Digestive Health
- Mood Support
- Specialized Needs
MLM Program outline
The Nu Skin MLM program is called the Velocity Program and their members Brand Affiliates. The compensation plan is available on their site but to be honest, it is quite confusing and does take a little solid reading to understand – in fact, I am still not sure that I have it all right (it should be noted here that I always only take information from the company pages themselves as I want to reflect what a potential member would see). But that said, based on my understanding, it is a fairly simple program a basic retail and downline commission structure – once you get your head around the ‘building blocks'. Anyway, here are the basics as I have found them…
Discount: 5 – 20% for Consultants
Base Commission rate: 5 – 20% (based on retail sales on discounts above)
Down line commission rates: 5 – 40% based on Blocks generated – see below
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
- Once they are designated as qualified, Brand Representatives are required to Generate at least 4 Building blocks per Month (2000 Sales Volume (SV) per month – this can be personal or customer purchases.
Payment terms: Daily, Weekly and monthly.
Application required?: Yes, Application form with personal and business information
Purchase requirements to join: No
Special starter kits are available but not mandatory (as far as I could tell)
Marketing materials provided: Personal website, app, marketing materials, back office
As with the bigger programs, downline commissions and rankings are determined by the total Sales Volume (SV) generated by the Affiliate 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. So for example, if a product retails for $100 which gives it a 50 SV rating (these generally vary from product to product) then the commission is calculated on $50 only. So if a commission rate for a product is 10% then it will generate a $5.00 payment to the sponsor (i.e. 10% of the $50 commissionable amount).
Note: I was not able to find any information as to how Nu Skin calculate their sales volume assignments.
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How can I get paid?
The compensation plan promotes 5 ways in which Brand Affiliates can make money when they promote and sell products. These are quite standard for a MLM program however these methods are split into three categories, each with their own qualifying requirements:
- Share
- Build
- Lead
Let's check them out…
Share
Share is the first level in the three-pronged compensation plan and is the most straight forward of them as well. There are three ways that members can earn here:
Retail Profit
Retail Profit the base profits earned by the general day to day retail sales that consultants can make either in person or via their website. There are two main ways here:
- Earn a commission of up to 20% of the purchase value if done so at retail prices (basically the difference between the affiliate 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.
Retailing Bonus
The Retailing Bonus is paid similar to above when a personally introduced member purchases directly from Nu Skin at retail prices rather than via their sponsoring affiliates. The payment is the difference between the member and retail prices.
Share Bonus
The Sharing Bonus is a payment that generally ranges between 5% to 20% on products purchased by an affiliate's registered customers (but not Brand Representatives) directly from Nu Skin.
There are no minimum purchases or sales volume requirements to earn any payments within the Share aspects of the Nu Skin Compensation Plan.
Build
The Build section of the Compensation plan requires Brand Affiliates to qualify as Brand Representatives via:
- The referral of new Brand Affiliates or Representatives
- The achievement of Sales Volume (SV) targets.
Qualification is identified via the accumulation of Building and Sharing Blocks as per below:
Qualification as a Brand Representative can take place over 1, or a number of months until the required number of blocks (i.e. ongoing referral of new affiliates and increased sales) is achieved. An example of this is as below:
Building Bonus
Once qualification has been achieved, then the newly crowned Brand Representative can earn extra commissions via the Building Bonus. This is a scaling bonus that starts at 5% on the Sales Value (SV) of the Representative's first Building Block and stretches all the way up to 40% on their 16th Building Block and beyond.
Commissions are paid on the SV of each individual Building Block.
Lead
As Brand Representatives start to build their down line, they can enter the Lead section of the compensation plan where they qualify for Lead Bonus Commissions based on their rank. As is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is determined by both the number of members within the representative's 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. Rankings within the Nu Skin Velocity program are as follows:
Lead Bonus
As Brand Representatives progress through their Ranks as above, they then qualify for the Lead Bonus. This mirrors the stock standard Unilevel commission arrangements common to most MLM programs. Commissions are paid down to 6 levels on all generated volume within the downline of the Representative as follows:
As with most programs, the higher the rank, the more commissions are paid.
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 good.
- No entry costs.
- No ongoing monthly sales requirements for new entrants.
What is no so good about it?
There are also some things to be aware of including:
- The compensation plan is extremely confusing.
- There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- Monthly sales volume targets for Ranking Distributors are quite high.
How much can you make?
To be honest, the figures supplied by Nu Skin within its 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 cosmetics or beauty based MLM programs.
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 make this any more of a “generous business opportunity” than many others I have seen.
What I do like is the fact that there no entry level costs and Brand Affiliates can make commissions and profits without the need to purchase or meet monthly sales volume targets. This means that they can get their business off the ground without any of the initial out-of-pocket costs that can strain the finances at this time. Although if I am being honest – I think that to be successful in any MLM program, you will need to have a good understanding of the products, hence personal sales are necessary.
The qualification process for higher ranks however are a little (or a lot) convoluted and monthly sales volume requirements are quite high. At the end of the day, whilst this does appear to be a program very much aimed at new members there is nothing here that would make me tell you to avoid it, however I do feel that other programs within this niche might offer a little more in terms of earning capacity, especially for higher ranking consultants.
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.
They have also had a few legal issues over the years in relation to promises over the outcomes of their product use which might be worth a little research into if this is a program you were interested in joining.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Nu Skin 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.
Nu Skin MLM
0.00Pros
- Commission/discount rates for entry level sales are good.
- No entry costs.
- No ongoing monthly sales requirements for new entrants.
Cons
- The compensation plan is extremely confusing.
- There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
- Monthly sales volume targets for Ranking Distributors are quite high.