Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to a take look into the extremely popular supplements market with my PM International MLM Review. The online sale of supplements can be extremely lucrative with many making a good living selling items via online stores and affiliate marketing. Added to this obviously is the array of supplement based multi level marketing programs that are available. So, what is the PM International MLM 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. It is quite prevalent within MLMs as well – mainly due to the fact that much of the sales and marketing is now being managed online.

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 PM International?

With a plan to “take the lead in the international distribution of premium, cutting-edge products for health, fitness, and beauty”, PM International was founded was founded in 1993 by Rolf Sorg. The company is currently ranked 10th and has been recognized as recognized as one the Top 100 Direct Sales companies worldwide.

PM International is based in Luxembourg.

What do they Sell?

As above, PM International work within the supplements market aimed at health,  wellness and beauty. Under their Fitline brand, these products include:

Body Shape

• Meal replacement shakes
• Tea
• Fat burning capsule and gels

Sport Products

• Amino Shakes
• Fitness drinks

Special Needs

• Skin health drinks and capsules
• Joint capsules
• Omega 3 capsules
• Lutein eye drops
• Anti oxidant drinks

Young Care

• Face care creams and foams for young skin

Anti Aging

• Serums and cleansers
• Eye creams
• Cleansing tonics and lotions

Men

• 2 in 1 shower gel

Item costs appear to fall into the low to medium price range of around $30 to $100 per item.

MLM Program outline

The PM International MLM program calls their members ‘Team Partners’ who are part of what appears to be a simple – if not a little confusing to decipher –  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 so here are the basics as I have found them…

Base Commission rate: 20% to 30% based on rank

Down line commission rates: 3 – 5% to 6 levels (level 1 down line is 5% – rank Manager and above)

Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions

To qualify for downline commissions, Team Partners (TPs) are required to meet monthly PV targets of at least 500 per 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

There does appear to be start kit required for purchase at a cost of around $20. There are also specialized welcome packs available at sign up – these do not appear to be mandatory.

Marketing materials provided: Not stated

Within most MLM programs, rankings and commissions are determined by the total personal volume (PV) generated by the TP 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 PM International MLM program, PV looks to be calculated at around 100% of the USD retail sales.

How can I get paid?

Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 6 ways in which TPs can make money when they promote and sell PM International products – the compensation plan does take some reading I will say.

These are fairly straight forward and there are a few of the extra bonuses found in many other MLM arrangements. The 6 payment options for the PM International MLM program are outlined as follows:

1. Retail Income

Retail Income is the difference between the retail price and Team Partner price that a Team Partner will earn from their sales to Customers, which is 20% discount for Team Partner and 30% discount for Manager and above (in case of selling Products with full retail price).

If Team Partners have their monthly Autoship, they will receive an additional 10% discount however this will run at 5% lower for each if the Customers are signed under the Customer Direct Program.

2. Top Retailer Bonus

Once a TP reaches from 2,500 Points to 4,999 Points Personal Sales in a month, they can receive an additional bonus of 3% from their Personal Sales. If they reach 5,000 Points Personal Sales or more, then they can receive up to 5%.

3. Firstline Bonus

TPs who are Team Partner, Manager or above and run their own monthly Autoship you will receive 10% Firstline Bonus from the Personal Sales (less VAT) of all Team Partners.

4. Pool Bonus

A Team Partner and Qualifying Manager can both earn a Pool Bonus for each new Team Partner on their Firstline who purchases 250 Points Pool Sets. A higher payment is made for each new Team Partner on their Firstline purchasing 500 Points Pool Sets.

5. Royalties Bonus

The Royalties Bonus is PM International’s version of the traditional unilevel commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the PM International MLM program, commissions are paid to 6 levels based on the rank of the TP as follows:

TPs must be at rank of Manager and above to qualify for the Royalties Bonus.

6. Management Bonus

Once a TP reaches the rank of Sales Manager and above, they may receive Top-Management Bonus. This consists of an extra percentage ranging from 2 – 20.5% of all downline sales. Totals are displayed in the Royalties Bonus table above.

Car Bonus

As with many MLM programs, PM International also offers a car bonus for higher ranking members as follows:

Ranking structure

PM International, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the PM International 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 TP’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 has a decent array of commission and bonus options.
• 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.
• Compensation plan is a little confusing

How much can you make?

PM International does not provide an income disclosure statement on its website (that I could find) 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 the party plan model. 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 20 – 30% 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 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 (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.

As with many other MLM companies around, there are also a few lawsuits to be found online to do with contaminants in some products and the old pyramid scheme issue. I will let you research that for yourself however if you see fit.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the PM International 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?

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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.