Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to take a little sniff into the world of all things that smell nice with my Scentsy MLM Review. This is an interesting niche as it uses fragrance as a key component in a number of product areas such as Essential Oils, Beauty and Home Cleaning Products as well as its own range of scented products for the home, car and beyond. So, is Scentsy a MLM worth looking into? Let’s have a look and find out…

Note: I am not a member of the Scentsy MLM Program (and hence make no commissions from any of the links included within this post). The reason for this is that I prefer to write these posts based on what a newbie would be seeing if they were interested in joining – that way I feel I can make a better judgement on what it is that these companies are offering within their programs.

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. 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.

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 Scentsy?

Looking to “fill your life with fragrance“, Scentsy was founded by Heidi and Orville Thompson in May 2004 and has, in their own words, “Grown into an international business opportunity with a culture that feels like family”. Their products are sold entirely via their ‘family’ of independent consultants who work with hosts to share products in the home, coffee shops or via online social media events.

Scentsy is based in Idaho in the U.S. with consultants in many countries around the world.

What do they Sell?

As I touched on above, Scentsy sells a massive range of fragrance inspired products which is too large to list here. Here are the highlights based on the following categories:

Warmers and Wax

• Wax Bars
• Warmers

Diffusers and Oils

• Traditional Diffusers
• Fan Diffusers
• Essential Oils
• Diffuser Pods

Scent Products

• Car Bars
• Room Sprays
• Scent packs and circles
• Fragrance Flowers

Laundry and Clean

• Dryer Disks
• Laundry Liquid
• Home Cleaners and Concentrates
• Dish Soap

Body

• Cream
• Wash
• Hand Cream and Soap
• Lotion
• Bath Soak

Kids

• Scented Soft Toys

Pets/Dog

• Shampoo
• Detangler
• Deodoriser

There are also special and themed collections such as Mother’s day and Valentine’s Day as well as kids interests such as Marvel and Disney. And finally, as an added commission earning option, Scentsy offers a subscription service allowing for monthly ‘Scentsy Box’ purchases.

MLM Program outline

The Scentsy MLM program calls their members ‘Independent Scentsy Consultants’ who are part of what appears to be an extremely simple and perhaps ‘old school’ program with a basic retail and downline commission structure. Their Compensation Plan is freely available on their website so here are the basics as I have found them…

Base Commission rate: 20% (25% once 1000 PRV in sales is reached)

Down line commission rates: 2 – 9% to 9 levels (first level 1 down line is 4%)

Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions

Consultants must reach rank of Lead Consultant with total sales of 1000 PRV to qualify for down line commissions.

To remain active, Consultants must also generate sales resulting in 200 points or more in PRV in at least one month within any consecutive four-month period. These sales can comprise customer or personal sales.

Payment terms: Monthly.

Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.

Purchase requirements to join: Yes

Consultants are required to purchase a starter kit at time of enrollment. The initial outlay for this is $99 and includes products based on the choice of the consultant such as Laundry, Scents, Diffusers etc.

I have seen mention of consultant requirements to set up displays for hostesses as part of the party plan model of the program. I could not however find any purchase requirements so I am making the assumption that this will fit within personal purchase requirements for Consultants (happy to be corrected in comments below of course).

Marketing materials provided: Personalised website and training.

As with the most MLM programs, downline commissions are determined by the total Personal Retail Volume (PRV) generated by the Consultant 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. From what I can tell, Scentsy calculates its PRV points on the actual $USD dollar amount of the sale meaning that if a product costs $20 then it is worth 20 PRV points (shipping costs etc. not included). These points are then adjusted worldwide based on the currency that the sale is completed in.

How can I get paid?

Scentsy calls itself a “party plan company” meaning that products are sold via hostess driven parties either in the home or as a virtual arrangement via FaceBook etc. (which I think may be interesting for a fragrance based product but anyway…). Sales are recorded via the Consultant’s personal website based on the sales made at the party. This process is really 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.

So, based on that knowledge, the compensation plan promotes 2 ways in which Consultants can make money when they promote and sell products via their parties. These are traditional network marketing arrangements with none of the extra bonuses found in many other more modern MLM programs. These are outlined as follows:

Retail Commissions

Retail Commissions are the base commissions earned by Consultants for sales made via their parties/shows. The base rate is 20% and rises to 25% once a lifetime 1000PRV sales target is reached.

Note: These commissions are not earned by ‘Hostesses’ who receive discounts based on sales as a separate process. I will outline those below.

To qualify for the retail commissions, Consultants are required to maintain a PRV of 200 in at least one month within any consecutive four-month period.

Level Bonuses

Level Bonuses are the basic unilevel commissions that are prevalent within most MLM programs. Within the Scentsy MLM program, commissions are paid to 9 levels based on the number of downline sales and PRV reached. Commission payments range from 2 – 9% based on rank as per below:

Consultants must reach rank of Lead Consultant with total sales of 1000 PRV to qualify for down line commissions.

Ranking structure

As with most MLM programs, Scentsy uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments upon. Rankings for the Scentsy MLM program are as follows:

Again, as is common with almost all MLM programs, rank progression is determined by both the number of members within 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.

Hostess Party Bonuses

I mentioned earlier that the role of the Consultants is to recruit ‘Hostesses’ to host their shows. Hostesses do not earn commissions however can be awarded with discounts and free product for their hosting troubles. These are outlined as follows:

Free Product Credit ranges from $20 to $150.

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.
• Good variety of products.
• Individualistic product range.

What is no so good about it?

There are also some things to be aware of including:

• There are not the full array of bonuses that are evident in other programs within this niche.
• All sales can only be made via Shows.
• Some costs to join.

How much can you make?

Scentsy provides an income disclosure statement on its website as follows:

These figures are consistent with most MLM programs in that only a very small percentage (usually less than 1%) reach upper ranks and hence make a living from the commissions paid.

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.

The main red flag for me is the fact that you can only make sales via the hostess run shows when, if compared to others within this niche, really put Consultants behind the 8 ball when it comes to selling opportunities. There are nowhere the near the array of bonus earning options of many other programs and monthly PRV targets are fairly high when compared to the prices of the merchandise. That said, if you love the products, carry a large customer list and are willing to run a lot of old-fashioned MLM party plan style demonstrations, then the 20% commissions rates on base sales might just appeal here.

I was unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment etc. however there was 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.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Scentsy 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.