Hey there sea changers, and welcome back to my series of CBD Oil MLM reviews. Today I am going to check out a relatively new, but rapidly growing player within the CBD Oil market with my Zilis CBD Oil MLM Review. CBD Oils and their related products are a booming industry and as they gain more interest and become legalised in more and more countries around the globe, there is a definite market for these products and one definitely worthwhile checking out. So let’s have a look to see whether Zilis can be of assistance to us as we move into this niche…

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, recently, becoming more and more prevalent within the CBD oils market. One of the reasons for this is that much of the sales and marketing for MLMs 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).

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 Zilis?

Zilis was founded in 2015 by Steven and Angie Thompson and is based in Argyle Texas. They outline their missions as wanting to” provide unlimited opportunity for our Ambassadors, while our unique Pay It Forward program impacts those in need at home and abroad”. Zilis is the fastest growing hemp-derived CBD company in the United States.

Zilis promote themselves as a social marketing company and claim to only advertise via word of mouth and the sharing of products via their network of Independent Ambassadors and retail customers.

What do they Sell?

Zilis offers a range of CBD Oil based products using their patented UltraCell technology. Their basis for this is that the human body can usually online ingest 10% of any oil based remedy that it consumes. In short, their UltraCell technology has been developed to allow your body to absorb up to 94% of the product to fully realise its intended benefits. Their product range includes:

• CBD Oil
• Water Soluble Hemp Oil
• Water Soluble CBD Topical
• Weightloss and Dietary Supplements
• CBD Pet Products

They also offer a range of non CBD oil beauty and healthcare products. Unfortunately, pricing cannot be seen without joining their program as a customer.

MLM Program outline

The Zilis MLM program calls their members Ambassadors and from first look, appears to be a fairly stock standard program and commission structure. As with many companies that offer MLM opportunities, their website and processes appear to set it up as a network marketing company first, and a CBD oil selling marketplace second… Let’s check out the basics.

Base Commission rate: Up to 100% (of the Commisional Volume – see below)

Affiliate discount: up to 50%

Down line commission rates: 2% – 5% to 6 levels (1st generation (down line level 1) rates 5%).

Minimum monthly spend to qualify for commissions

• Ambassadors are required to maintain 50 Autoship PV or 75 other PV per month- this can however be made up of personal or customer orders.

Payment terms: Weekly and monthly.

Application required?: Yes, personal and payment information at time of first purchase

Purchase requirements to join: Yes

• Membership joining cost $99 and then $49 per annum.
• New members must then also choose a Join pack as follows:
  • Bronze Starter Pack – $199
  • Silver Starter Pack – $599
  • Gold Starter Pack – $1299

Marketing materials provided: Not really stated apart from a tracking back office and ‘ongoing support’.

As with the bigger programs, downline commissions and rankings are determined by the total Personal volume (PV) that you and your downline generate in a calendar month. To qualify for downline commissions within Zilis, you will need to generate a minimum 75PV points worth of product monthly (roughly USD$150).

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. For example, if a product retails for $100 and has a 50PV rating (these generally vary from product to product) then the commission is calculated on the $50 purchase only. So if a commission rate for a product is 20% then it will generate a $10 payment to the sponsor (i.e. 20% of the $50 commissionable amount). Clear as mud? Hopefully this will become a little clearer as we run through the payment methods.

Note: I was unable to find costs and PVs associated to Zilis individual products on any of their pages or PDF documentation found via online searches – Based on the compensation plan which lists the PV for starter packs, I am making an educated guess that 1 PV is generated for around every $2 spent (give or take) – please do not hesitate to comment below if this is inaccurate.

How can I get paid?

The compensation plan promotes 7 ways in which you can make money when you promote and sell their products plus quite a few bonus options. These are quite standard for a MLM program with commissions on par with many others I have seen. Let’s check them out…

Retail Profit

Retail profit is the base profit earned by referring new customers or ambassadors to the program. There are two main ways here:

• Earn a commission of up to 100% of their purchase PV if done so at retail prices (basically the difference between your ambassador discount and the retail price).
• Purchase products yourself and on sell them at retail prices within your own shop front, market stall or kiosk – the traditional method.

Fast Start Bonus

The Fast Start Bonus is a set payment amount paid to Active Ambassadors every time they enrol a new customer who purchases a starter pack. Payments are as follows:

To qualify for this bonus you must be an Active Ambassador within the period in which the new enrollment occurs. Active is defined as having 50 Autoship PV or 75 other PV in the current or previous monthly period from your own and your retail customer’s orders.

Binary Team

As is common with many MLM programs, as your team grows, your downline members are split into groups often known as legs. The Binary Team commissions is calculated at 20% of new starter packs or upgrades sold by those within your weakest leg. The following criteria apply:

1. Only BV from new Ambassador enrollment packs or upgrades is paid in the binary.
2. A minimum of 300BV on each leg is required to generate a binary commission.

These payments are also capped by rank as follows:

Stored Volume

Stored Volume is a process that allows Ambassadors to carry over up to 1 million Group Volume within their strong leg. For this one, I have taken the explanation straight from the site (as I am a little confused about this one):

Minimum requirements to maintain stored volume are as follows:

Infinity Fast Start

As with the fast Start Bonus, the Inifinity Fast Start is paid to higher ranks whenever a new ambassador is personally added to your down line with a starter pack purchase. Payments are as follows:

To trigger the Infinity Fast Start Payment for their sponsors, new enrolees must have total active Autoship of at least 50 PV during the weekly period in which they have enrolled for IFS bonuses.

Generational Bonus

The Generational Bonus is Zilis’ version of 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 Ambassador. Rates are as follows:

Note: Joining packs purchases are not included in Generational Bonus calculations as they have already been accounted for within the infinity fast Start Bonus above.

Infinity Residual Bonus

As ambassadors transgress to the higher ranks, they then become eligible for the infinity matching bonus. This is an extra commission of up to 9% based on the total sales volume of their down line. Commissions are as follows:

Note: Joining packs purchases are not included in Generational Bonus calculations as they have already been accounted for within the infinity fast Start Bonus above.

Infinity Matching Bonus

Infinity Matching Bonuses are designed to reward you for nurturing your own personally enrolled ambassadors to the higher ranks within the program. Once your personally enrolled ambassador reaches the rank of Area or higher, you receive the following percentage commissions based on the total sales of their down lines. Commission rates are as follows:

To qualify, the sponsored Ambassador must reach the required ranks within 12 months of joining the program.

Ranking structure

As you have probably noticed, the commissions and bonuses paid out above are reliant upon the ‘rank’ that you are assigned within the Zilis affiliate program. This ranking structure is quite straight forward with commission qualifications rising based on your total monthly PV, the number of underlings you have within your down line and of course, how much they sell/purchase in a calendar month. Rank requirements are as follows:

As with most programs, rankings are determined by the total Group Sales Volume that you and your down line generate in a calendar month. As your down line grows, your commission rates increase as outlined earlier within this post.

What else do you get?

On top of the potential earning methods outlined above, Zilis also offers a couple of bonus plans for those who achieve higher rankings within the program. These include:

Blessing Bonus

The Blessing Bonus is a program run by Zilis that allows its ambassadors to give back to the community as part of the ‘pay-it-forward’ commitment. Once they achieve a rank of City, Zilis will pay $100 per month up to $500 per month based on rank. This money can be kept, or as intended, donated to a non-profit organisation of your choice.

Health Care Bonus

Zilis promotes this bonus as allowing its higher ranked ambassadors to overcome one of the hurdles to leaving traditional employment and working with them full time – health insurance. As Ambassadors reach a rank of Regional and higher, they become eligible for health insurance premiums up to $1500. Payment structures are as follows:

Jeep Bonus

Once Ambassadors reach and maintain a rank of Area and above, they become eligible to receive a loan or lease payment towards a Jeep Wrangler or Grand Cherokee. Payment thresholds are as follows:

Note: Those that do not wish to purchase/lease a Jeep can opt for a cash payment of 50% of the Jeep payment amount

Global Bonus Pool

Another common payment bonus within MLM programs is the Global Bonus Pool. Regional ranked Ambassadors and above qualify for quarterly revenue sharing of 2% or the total company generated sales volume. Shares paid are determined in direct proportion to the overall contribution of your sponsor tree team as well as rank.

Ambassadors must qualify two out of three calendar months at each rank per calendar quarter to earn shares.

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 much higher than most other programs.
• CBD oil based products are a booming niche.
• Most Information in regards to their MLM program is comprehensive and easy to find.
• They have a large range of commission and bonus earning options.

What is no so good about it?

There are also some things to be aware of including:

• Costs and PV calculations are not generally displayed.
• BV calculation is a little higher than other programs – most run at USD$1 per PV point – Zilis is around USD$2.
• Entry level costs are quite high.

How much can you make?

Zilis does not provide any income average income tables for its program (reasons outlined in graphic below). As with most MLM programs however, the percentage of members making the upper rank levels is very low. Below is a blurb from the Zilis site itself:

My final thoughts

Look, MLM is not an easy platform to make money in. That said, the Zilis program does seems to be on par with most others within this niche (such as HB Naturals and Hempworx) with ample opportunity to earn if you can attract and nurture a down line. There is plenty of information available in regards to the commission and bonus structure so if you are passionate about CBD oils and like this brand, then to be honest I cannot see much in there that would cause me to earn you off.

The only real red flag for me is the inability to locate accurate pricing and PV information. The joining process is quite simple however there are some immediate financial requirements via a membership joining fee and joining kit requirements. Once you have joined, there are not the usual financial pressures of needing to make minimum purchases in order to qualify for commissions as long as you can make them within your downline. Although to be honest, I think if you are going to succeed in any MLM program, you will need to be intricately aware of the products you are promoting – meaning I think some purchases will be necessary.

I was unable to locate any negative reviews in terms of non-payment or poor quality products for this site however there was some negative comments about the MLM program itself – although it was not really anything that is uncommon in regards to MLM programs.

CBD oil legalities

Finally, before you rush of into this program, I would advise that you do some solid research into the market in which you plan to promote these products. For example, where I live in Australia, the sale of CBD oil is still under debate with no clear guidelines (at time of writing). I can however promote into the U.S. (some states) via online methods. For this reason, you may even want to start by looking into affiliate marketing rather than committing to an MLM program in short term.

Conclusion

So there you have it, my honest review and appraisal of the Zilis 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 CBD oils 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.