Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to step into the kitchen with my Pampered Chef MLM Review. The online sale of anything to do with the home can be extremely lucrative with many making a good living selling items via online stores and affiliate marketing.
Added to this obviously is the interest in kitchen ware from cookware to appliances and tools to name a few. So, is Pampered Chef an MLM worth looking at? Let's have a look and find 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 beauty/cosmetics, supplements and essential oils markets. It is not as prevalent within the home products market 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 Pampered Chef?
Pampered Chef was founded in 1980 after Doris Christopher held her first cooking party . With a mission to “provide cooking tools that give people more confidence in the kitchen, recipes that help families enjoy mealtimes together, and a business opportunity that makes the everyday better for our consultants”, Pampered Chef has grown to an international community of more than 65,000 consultants.
Pampered Chef is based in Addison, IL in the United States.
What do they Sell?
As above, Pampered Chef works within the home products market focusing on the kitchen. Their products cover the entire length and breadth of the most important part of the house including:
Cookware
- Baking Dishes
- Baking Pans
- Cast Iron
- Cookie & Sheet Pans
- Dutch Ovens
- Grill
- Grill Pans & Griddles
- Microwave
- Nonstick
- Oven
- Rockcrok
- Sauce Pans & Pots
- Sets
- Skillets & Fry Pans
- Stainless Nonstick
- Stoneware
- Stovetop
Small Appliances
- Air Fryer
- Blenders
- Cooking Blender
- Cordless
- Grilling
- Ice Cream Maker
- Pressure Cooker
Pantry
- Enrichables
- Mixes
- Sauces & Oils
- Seasonings
Kitchen Tools
- Baking Accessories
- Cooking Accessories
- Cutlery
- Food Prep
- Kitchen Tools
- Mixing & Measuring
- Sets
- Specialty Cutting Tools
- Storage
- Utensils
Entertainment
- Barware
- Kids
- Outdoor
- Serveware
Item costs appear to fall into the low to medium price range of around $30 to $100 per item.
MLM Program outline
The Pampered Chef MLM program calls their members ‘Consultants' who are part of what appears to be a simple program with a common retail and downline commission structure and a good number of bonus options included. Their compensation plan is available on their website and within other Pampered Chef reviews so here are the basics as I have found them…
Base Commission rate: 20% to 27%
Down line commission rates: 0.5 – 4% to 3 levels (level 1 down line is 1% – rank Senior Consultant and above)
Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions
To qualify for downline commissions, Consultants are required make sales of at least $200 or more in commissionable sales in a calendar month. This can be made of personal or customer sales. Base 20% 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 ‘launch bundle' ranging in cost from $50 to $250 which includes:
Ongoing purchases are not mandatory however the documentation does highlight the fact that most products are sold via the traditional party plan model meaning some further demonstration stock may be required. Sales can however also be made via the Consultant's personal website.
Marketing materials provided: Launch bundles also include
- Personal website
- Training
- Access to our exclusive virtual party site
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 Pampered Chef MLM program however, it appears that commissions are based on the complete sales price minus tax and shipping.
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How can I get paid?
Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 7 ways in which Consultants can make money when they promote and sell Pampered Chef products. These are outlined within the Pampered Chef commission chart 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 via their personalized website. There are five tiers of personal commissions based on sale volume as follows:
As above, for the base 20% rate however, no minimum sales targets apply.
2. Recruiting Bonus
When a new consultant reaches $1,500 in commissionable sales in his or her first 90 days, their sponsor receives Earn 30 Pampered Chef® dollars.
Sponsoring consultants must be Active to qualify for the Recruiting Bonus. Pampered Chef dollars can be spent on:
- Products purchased at your discount (personal orders).
- Paperwork, supplies, kit enhancement, sample and replacement part orders.
- Registration for Home Office-sponsored events such as Spring Launch or National Conference. (See each event’s details to see if PC dollars can be applied.)
3. Personal Sales Override
Consultants who achieve the rank of Senior consultant or Team leader will receive an extra 1 – 2% commission on personal sales
4. Team Sales Override
Team sales overrides are the Pampered Chef version of tradition downline commissions. Commission rates are as follows:
5. Monthly Activity Bonus
The monthly Activity Bonus rewards a Director with $15 per month for every active Consultant, Senior Consultant, and Team Leader — whether they’re a direct or indirect recruit. Payment amounts are uncapped as per below:
• 10 active Consultants = $150
• 20 active Consultants = $300
• and so on!
6. Leadership Override
Consultants who reach the rank of Director Promotion and above can earn generational bonuses based on the following:
6. 2nd Generation Directors Bonus
The 2nd Generation Directors Bonus is paid as a single amount to consultants who can nurture downline members at the rank of Advanced Director and above as follows:
7. Executive Director Car Allowance
This last bonus is a common option within many MLM programs that rewards those at higher rank with payments towards a car. In thist case, payments are made as follows:
- Executive Director – $500 per month
- Senior Executive Director – $700 per month
- National Executive Director – $900 per month
Ranking structure
Pampered Chef, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the Pampered Chef 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.
- Downline commission rates are quite low,
- Whilst not mandatory, ongoing demonstration purchases are required.
Pampered Chef income disclosure
I was unable to locate a Pampered Chef 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. However, the program is pretty straight forward with common commission arrangements and the ability to make sales online or via cooking parties. So if you are an absolute kitchen nut with a large customer list at your disposal and the ability to generate good sales via online processes, then the 20 – 27% base commission rates might just appeal here.
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 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 – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs or products within this niche. There are however, very mixed reviews in terms of product quality.
Conclusion
So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Pampered Chef 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 homeware 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. This may include sales made via Wealthy Affiliate.