Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of MLM reviews. Today we are going to look into the world of online communications with my Talk Fusion MLM Review. Admittedly this is an area that I had never considered as one that would be found within the MLM industry however with the ongoing movement towards working from home and electronic communications, it is probably not surprising to see at least one pop up. So, what is the Talk Fusion MLM all about? Let’s have a look and see…

Note: I am not a member of the Talk Fusion 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. As mentioned above, it is not commonly thought of within the online communications industry 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

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.

What is Talk Fusion?

With the need to send a video within an email and being told it couldn’t be done, Talk Fusion was founded in 2004 by Bob Reina with the invention of technology that could. Since then, it has grown to include a number of online communications solutions with a mantra “dedicated to changing lives by marketing our products person-to-person in over 140 countries.”

Talk Fusion is based in Tampa, FL in the United States.

What do they Sell?

Talk Fusion’s range of products cover a number of online communications aspects and needs including:

• Video Email
• Video Newsletters
• Live Meetings
• Video Chat
• Sign-up Forms

All products are developed utilising WebRTC (Real-Time Communications) technology allowing users to communicate directly through the web browser. Pricing is as follows:

MLM Program outline

The Talk Fusion MLM program calls their members ‘Associates’ who are part of what appears to be a simple program with a common retail and downline commission structure and a number of bonus options included. Their compensation plan is available via a simple online search so here are the basics as I have found them…

Base Commission rate: 10%

Down line commission rates: 2.5 – 10% to 10 levels (level 1 down line is 10% – rank Gold and above)

Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions

To qualify for downline commissions, Associates are required to meet monthly SV targets of at least 500 per month. Base 10% sales commissions however can be earned without the need to meet or maintain sales targets.

Payment terms: Instantly and Monthly.

Application required?: Yes, Application form on website.

Purchase requirements to join:

From what I can tell, the purchase of a product package is not mandatory but highly recommended – which makes sense in that if you generally need to know how a product works to sell it.

Marketing materials provided: Not Stated

Within most MLM programs, rankings and commissions are determined by the total sales volume (SV) generated by the Stylist 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 Talk Fusion MLM program, SV is calculated as follows:

How can I get paid?

Ok, so from what I can garner from the compensation plan, there are 6 ways in which Associates can make money when they promote and sell any of the three Talk Fusion packages. These are fairly straight forward and there are a few of the extra bonuses found in many other MLM arrangements as well. As is common with many MLM programs, the compensation plan splits these into three segments as follows:

The 6 payment options for the Talk Fusion MLM program are outlined as follows:

1. Fast Start Bonuses

Fast Start Bonuses are the base commissions earned by the general day to day retail sales that Associates can generate on

personal enrolments. Payments are calculated and paid instantly based on the package sold as follows:

As above, to qualify for the 10% Fast Start Bonuses, Associates are not required to meet minimum sales targets

2. Team Commissions

This next option, Team Commissions, is the first step in the level 2 segment of the compensation plan based around building a team. In this case, Associates can double their base commissions from 10% to 20% by:

1. Reaching the Rank of 2 Star

2. Generate 400-400 PSV (Personal Sales Volume)

For the second option, Associates must have 400 PSV in both teams (down line legs) and 25 monthly PSV in both teams.

3. Mega Matching Bonuses

Now we move straight into the Leadership segment of the compensation plan starting with the Mega Matching Bonuses. The Mega Matching Bonuses are Talk Fusion’s version of the traditional unilevel commission structures prevalent within many MLM programs. Within the Talk Fusion MLM program, commissions are paid to 10 levels based on the rank of the Associate as follows:

Associates must be at rank of Gold and above to qualify for the Mega Matching Bonuses.

4. Mercedes Car Bonus

The Mercedes Car Bonus is a commonly utilised network marketing payment option that rewards Associates for advancing up to the higher ranks within the program. In this case, Associates who maintain the rank of Diamond or higher for

four consecutive weeks will receive a $1,000 USD car bonus towards the payment of a base model Iridium Silver C

Class Mercedes-Benz, up to the full value of the car or a 36-month lease term, whichever comes first.

5. Rolex Watches

Associates who reach the rank of Diamond Elite and maintain it for a minimum of two consecutive weeks are also awarded with Rolex Watches.

6. Recognition Rings

Designed to reward Associates for sales achievement throughout the year, white gold and diamond rings are awarded annually to those who have hit the following specific lifetime earnings milestones:

• $250,000 USD
• $500,000 USD
• $1,000,000 USD

Ranking structure

Talk Fusion, as with most MLM programs, uses ranking structures on which to base commission payments and other bonuses upon. Rankings for the Talk Fusion 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 Assocaite’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:

• Limited product bundles.
• High competition market.
• Functionality offer available for free elsewhere.

How much can you make?

Talk Fusion does provide an income disclosure statement within its Compensation Plan as follows:

As with most MLM programs, it is evident that the percentage of members making the upper rank levels – and hence earning a living – is very low (in this case less than 0.05%).

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. So if you are an absolute technical nut with a large customer list at your disposal and the ability to generate good sales via online processes, then the 10 – 20% base commission rates might just appeal here.

However, my one major concern here is that I fell that this company is situated in a market with a high saturation of competitors and cheaper options – especially in recent times where programs such as Zoom, Skype, Canva and even Gmail contain much of the functionality provided here for free.

To that end, I would strongly recommend undertaking some decent research into how this product can stand out amongst the crowd prior to signing up.

Reviews

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 in general.

The company has also been involved in a number of class action lawsuits in regards to it being considered a pyramid scheme. This is also common to many MLM programs however again, I would recommend some more research being undertaken prior to commitment here.

Conclusion

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

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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.