Welcome to our site!
Please review all of the short videos in order to get a complete picture of what the potential is with Reliv. Any questions that you may have after watching the videos, there is a contact form at the bottom of the page. Submit any questions there and I will get back to you ASAP.
This is an independent site, for a Relib distributor
This is an independent site, for a Relib distributor
Why reliv?
The Four Foundational Pillars Of Reliv
THE COMPANY
THE MISSION
THE OPPORTUNITY
HOW DO I MAKE MONEY?
Now You Have Heard About The Company, Now Understand The Strength Of The Industry!
We are a sum total of what we think!
Therefore please accept this free ebook, that will help you to expand your thinking and position you for success. As success is not an accident, it is a result of guidance and effort. Please follow the link below. http://www.turnkeymentors.net/thinkandgrowrich.pdf |
For an in depth study of what the company does not represent, please read on!
Multi-level marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the
sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also
for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a
hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Other terms for MLM include
network marketing and referral marketing.
Most commonly, the sales people sell products
directly to consumers by means of relationship referrals and word
of mouth marketing.Some
people use "direct selling" as a name for MLM, although MLM is only one
type of direct selling, which started centuries ago with peddling.
MLM companies have been a frequent subject of
criticism. Criticism has focused on their similarity to illegal pyramid
schemes, price fixing of products, high initial start-up
costs, emphasis on recruitment of lower-tiered salespeople over actual sales,
encouraging if not requiring salespeople to purchase and use the company's
products, potential exploitation of personal relationships which are used as new
sales and recruiting targets, complex and sometimes exaggerated compensation
schemes, and cult-like techniques which some groups use to enhance their
members' enthusiasm and devotion.
Direct selling, network marketing, and multi-level
marketing
"Network Marketing" and "Multi-level Marketing"
have been described by author Dominique Xardel as being synonymous, and as
methods of direct selling. According to Xardel, "direct
selling" and "network marketing" refer to the distribution system, while the
term "multi-level marketing" describes the compensation plan. Other terms that
are sometimes used to describe multi-level marketing include "word-of-mouth
marketing", "interactive distribution", and "relationship marketing. Some
sources classify multi-level marketing as a form of direct selling rather
than being direct selling.
The Direct Selling Association, an American industry body, reported that in 1990 twenty-five percent of
members used MLM, growing to 77.3 percent in 1999. Companies such as Avon,
Electrolux, Tupperware, and Kirby all originally used single level marketing to
sell their goods and later introduced multi-level compensation plans. By 2009,
94.2% of members were using MLM, accounting for 99.6% of sellers, and 97.1% of
sales. The DSA has approximately 200 members while it is estimated there are over
1000 firms using multi-level marketing in the US alone.
History
It is generally accepted that the first
multi-level marketing plan was introduced in 1945 by the California Vitamin
Company (shortly afterwards to become Nutrilite).
The plan allowed Nutrilite distributors with at least 25 regular customers to
recruit new distributors and draw a 3 percent commission from their sales.
Unlike traditional direct selling, this was an ongoing payment whenever the
customer re-ordered, allowing direct sellers to build a sales organization that
could generate a residual-like income.
Setup
Independent, non-salaried salespeople of
multi-level marketing, referred to as distributors (or associates, independent
business owners, dealers, franchise owners, sales consultants, consultants,
independent agents, etc.), represent the company that produces the products or
provides the services they sell. They are awarded a commission based upon the
volume of product sold through their own sales efforts as well as that of their
downline organization.
Independent distributors develop their organizations by either building an active
customer base, who buy direct from
the company, or by recruiting a downlineof independent distributors who
also build a customer base, thereby expanding the overall organization.
Additionally, distributors can also earn a profit by retailing products they
purchased from the company at wholesale
price
Income levels
Several sources have commented on the income
level of specific MLMs or MLMs in general:
The Times: "The Government investigation claims to have revealed that just 10%
of Amway's agents in Britain make any profit, with less than one in ten selling
a single item of the group's products." Scheibeler, a high level
"Emerald" Amway member: "UK Justice Norris found in 2008 that out of an IBO
[Independent Business Owners] population of 33,000, 'only about 90 made
sufficient incomes to cover the costs of actively building their business.'
That's a 99.7 percent loss rate for investors."
Newsweek: based on Mona Vie's own 2007 income
disclosure statement "fewer than 1 percent qualified for commissions and of
those, only 10 percent made more than $100 a week."
Business Students Focus on Ethics: "In the USA, the average annual
income from MLM for 90% MLM members is no more than US $5,000, which is far from
being a sufficient means of making a living (San Lian Life Weekly 1998)"
USA Today has had several articles:
"While earning potential varies by company and sales ability, DSA says the median annual income
for those in direct sales is $2,400."
In an October 15, 2010 article, it was stated that documents of a MLM
called Fortune reveal that 30 percent of its representatives make no money and
that 54 percent of the remaining 70 percent only make $93 a month. The article
also states Fortune is under investigation by the Attorneys General of Texas,
Kentucky, North Dakota, and North Carolina with Missouri, South Carolina,
Illinois, and Florida following up complaints against the company.
A February 10, 2011 article stated "It can be very difficult, if not
impossible, for most individuals to make a lot of money through the direct sale
of products to consumers. And big money is what recruiters often allude to in
their pitches."
"Roland Whitsell, a former business professor who spent 40 years
researching and teaching the pitfalls of multilevel marketing": "You'd be
hard-pressed to find anyone making over $1.50 an hour, (t)he primary product is
opportunity. The strongest, most powerful motivational force today is false
hope."
Legality and
legitimacy
USA
MLM businesses operate in all 50 states.
New businesses may use terms such as "affiliate marketing" or "home-based
business franchising". Many pyramid schemes
try to present themselves as legitimate MLM businesses. However, there are
people who hold that allMLMs are essentially pyramid schemes even if
legal.
The United States Federal Trade Commission states "Steer clear of
multilevel marketing plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors.
They're actually illegal pyramid schemes. Why is pyramiding dangerous?
Because plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors inevitably
collapse when no new distributors can be recruited. And when a plan collapses,
most people - except perhaps those at the very top of the pyramid - end up
empty-handed."
In a 2004 Staff Advisory letter to the Direct
Selling Association, the FTC states:
Much has been made of the personal, or internal,
consumption issue in recent years. In fact, the amount of internal consumption
in any multi-level compensation business does not determine whether or not the
FTC will consider the plan a pyramid scheme. The critical question for the FTC
is whether the revenues that primarily support the commissions paid to all
participants are generated from purchases of goods and services that are not
simply incidental to the purchase of the right to participate in a money-making
venture.
The FTC warns "Not all multilevel marketing
plans are legitimate. Some are pyramid schemes. It's best not to get involved in
plans where the money you make is based primarily on the number of distributors
you recruit and your sales to them, rather than on your sales to people outside
the plan who intend to use the products." and states that research is your best
tool, giving eight steps to follow:
1. Find — and study — the company’s track
record
2. Learn about the product
3. Ask questions
4. Understand any restrictions
5. Talk to other distributors
6. Consider using a friend or adviser as a neutral sounding board or for
a gut check
7. Take your time
8. Think about whether this plan suits your talents and
goals
Criticism
The FTC issued a decision, In re Amway Corp., in 1979 in which it indicated that
multi-level marketing was not illegal per se in the United States. However, Amway was
found guilty of price fixing by effectively requiring "independent" distributors to sell at the same fixed
price) and making exaggerated income claims.
The FTC advises that multi-level marketing
organizations with greater incentives for recruitment than product sales are to
be viewed skeptically. The FTC also warns that the practice of getting
commissions from recruiting new members is outlawed in most states as
"pyramiding". In April 2006, it proposed a Business Opportunity Rule intended to
require all sellers of business opportunities—including MLMs—to provide enough
information to enable prospective buyers to make an informed decision about
their probability of earning money. In March 2008, the FTC removed Network
Marketing (MLM) companies from the proposed Business Opportunity
Rule:
The revised proposal, however, would not reach
multi-level marketing companies or certain companies that may have been swept
inadvertently into scope of the April 2006 proposal. Walter J. Carl stated in a 2004 Western
Journal of Communication article that "MLM organizations have been described
by some as cults (Butterfield, 1985), pyramid schemes (Fitzpatrick &
Reynolds, 1997), or organizations rife with misleading, deceptive, and unethical
behavior (Carter, 1999), such as the questionable use of evangelical discourse
to promote the business (Hopfl & Maddrell, 1996), and the exploitation of
personal relationships for financial gain (Fitzpatrick& Reynolds, 1997)". In
China, volunteers working to rescue people from the schemes have been physically
attacked.
MLM's are also criticized for being unable to fulfill their promises for the majority of participants
due to basic conflicts with Western cultural norms. There are even claims that the success rate for
breaking even or even making money are far worse than other types of businesses:
"The vast majority of MLM’s are recruiting MLM’s, in which participants must
recruit aggressively to profit. Based on available data from the companies
themselves, the loss rate for recruiting MLM’s is approximately 99.9%; i.e.,
99.9% of participants lose money after subtracting all expenses, including
purchases from the company." In part, this is because encouraging recruits to
further "recruit people to compete with [them]" leads to "market
saturation."
Another criticism is that MLM has effectively outlived its usefulness as a legitimate business practice.
The argument is that, in the time when America was a series of relatively small, isolated towns and
rural areas not easily accessible to small companies, MLM was a useful way to
let people know of and buy products or services. But the advent of internet
commerce, with its ability to advertise and sell directly to consumers, has
rendered that model obsolete. Thus, today, nearly all modern MLMs ostensibly
sell vastly overpriced goods and services (if there even is a real product or
service involved at all) as a thin cloak of legitimacy, while their members are
driven to recruit even more people into the MLM, effectively turning these
programs into pyramid schemes.
It is because of this encouraging recruits to
further recruit their competitors, some people have even gone so far as to say
at best modern MLMs are nothing more than legalized pyramid
schemes with
one stating "Multi-level marketing companies have become an accepted and legally
sanctioned form of pyramid scheme in the United States" while
another states "Multi-Level Marketing, a form of Pyramid Scheme, is not
necessarily fraudulent."
In October 2010 it was reported that multilevel
marketing companies were being investigated by a number of state attorneys
general amid allegations that salespeople were primarily paid for recruiting and
that more recent recruits cannot earn anything near what early entrants do.
sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also
for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a
hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Other terms for MLM include
network marketing and referral marketing.
Most commonly, the sales people sell products
directly to consumers by means of relationship referrals and word
of mouth marketing.Some
people use "direct selling" as a name for MLM, although MLM is only one
type of direct selling, which started centuries ago with peddling.
MLM companies have been a frequent subject of
criticism. Criticism has focused on their similarity to illegal pyramid
schemes, price fixing of products, high initial start-up
costs, emphasis on recruitment of lower-tiered salespeople over actual sales,
encouraging if not requiring salespeople to purchase and use the company's
products, potential exploitation of personal relationships which are used as new
sales and recruiting targets, complex and sometimes exaggerated compensation
schemes, and cult-like techniques which some groups use to enhance their
members' enthusiasm and devotion.
Direct selling, network marketing, and multi-level
marketing
"Network Marketing" and "Multi-level Marketing"
have been described by author Dominique Xardel as being synonymous, and as
methods of direct selling. According to Xardel, "direct
selling" and "network marketing" refer to the distribution system, while the
term "multi-level marketing" describes the compensation plan. Other terms that
are sometimes used to describe multi-level marketing include "word-of-mouth
marketing", "interactive distribution", and "relationship marketing. Some
sources classify multi-level marketing as a form of direct selling rather
than being direct selling.
The Direct Selling Association, an American industry body, reported that in 1990 twenty-five percent of
members used MLM, growing to 77.3 percent in 1999. Companies such as Avon,
Electrolux, Tupperware, and Kirby all originally used single level marketing to
sell their goods and later introduced multi-level compensation plans. By 2009,
94.2% of members were using MLM, accounting for 99.6% of sellers, and 97.1% of
sales. The DSA has approximately 200 members while it is estimated there are over
1000 firms using multi-level marketing in the US alone.
History
It is generally accepted that the first
multi-level marketing plan was introduced in 1945 by the California Vitamin
Company (shortly afterwards to become Nutrilite).
The plan allowed Nutrilite distributors with at least 25 regular customers to
recruit new distributors and draw a 3 percent commission from their sales.
Unlike traditional direct selling, this was an ongoing payment whenever the
customer re-ordered, allowing direct sellers to build a sales organization that
could generate a residual-like income.
Setup
Independent, non-salaried salespeople of
multi-level marketing, referred to as distributors (or associates, independent
business owners, dealers, franchise owners, sales consultants, consultants,
independent agents, etc.), represent the company that produces the products or
provides the services they sell. They are awarded a commission based upon the
volume of product sold through their own sales efforts as well as that of their
downline organization.
Independent distributors develop their organizations by either building an active
customer base, who buy direct from
the company, or by recruiting a downlineof independent distributors who
also build a customer base, thereby expanding the overall organization.
Additionally, distributors can also earn a profit by retailing products they
purchased from the company at wholesale
price
Income levels
Several sources have commented on the income
level of specific MLMs or MLMs in general:
The Times: "The Government investigation claims to have revealed that just 10%
of Amway's agents in Britain make any profit, with less than one in ten selling
a single item of the group's products." Scheibeler, a high level
"Emerald" Amway member: "UK Justice Norris found in 2008 that out of an IBO
[Independent Business Owners] population of 33,000, 'only about 90 made
sufficient incomes to cover the costs of actively building their business.'
That's a 99.7 percent loss rate for investors."
Newsweek: based on Mona Vie's own 2007 income
disclosure statement "fewer than 1 percent qualified for commissions and of
those, only 10 percent made more than $100 a week."
Business Students Focus on Ethics: "In the USA, the average annual
income from MLM for 90% MLM members is no more than US $5,000, which is far from
being a sufficient means of making a living (San Lian Life Weekly 1998)"
USA Today has had several articles:
"While earning potential varies by company and sales ability, DSA says the median annual income
for those in direct sales is $2,400."
In an October 15, 2010 article, it was stated that documents of a MLM
called Fortune reveal that 30 percent of its representatives make no money and
that 54 percent of the remaining 70 percent only make $93 a month. The article
also states Fortune is under investigation by the Attorneys General of Texas,
Kentucky, North Dakota, and North Carolina with Missouri, South Carolina,
Illinois, and Florida following up complaints against the company.
A February 10, 2011 article stated "It can be very difficult, if not
impossible, for most individuals to make a lot of money through the direct sale
of products to consumers. And big money is what recruiters often allude to in
their pitches."
"Roland Whitsell, a former business professor who spent 40 years
researching and teaching the pitfalls of multilevel marketing": "You'd be
hard-pressed to find anyone making over $1.50 an hour, (t)he primary product is
opportunity. The strongest, most powerful motivational force today is false
hope."
Legality and
legitimacy
USA
MLM businesses operate in all 50 states.
New businesses may use terms such as "affiliate marketing" or "home-based
business franchising". Many pyramid schemes
try to present themselves as legitimate MLM businesses. However, there are
people who hold that allMLMs are essentially pyramid schemes even if
legal.
The United States Federal Trade Commission states "Steer clear of
multilevel marketing plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors.
They're actually illegal pyramid schemes. Why is pyramiding dangerous?
Because plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors inevitably
collapse when no new distributors can be recruited. And when a plan collapses,
most people - except perhaps those at the very top of the pyramid - end up
empty-handed."
In a 2004 Staff Advisory letter to the Direct
Selling Association, the FTC states:
Much has been made of the personal, or internal,
consumption issue in recent years. In fact, the amount of internal consumption
in any multi-level compensation business does not determine whether or not the
FTC will consider the plan a pyramid scheme. The critical question for the FTC
is whether the revenues that primarily support the commissions paid to all
participants are generated from purchases of goods and services that are not
simply incidental to the purchase of the right to participate in a money-making
venture.
The FTC warns "Not all multilevel marketing
plans are legitimate. Some are pyramid schemes. It's best not to get involved in
plans where the money you make is based primarily on the number of distributors
you recruit and your sales to them, rather than on your sales to people outside
the plan who intend to use the products." and states that research is your best
tool, giving eight steps to follow:
1. Find — and study — the company’s track
record
2. Learn about the product
3. Ask questions
4. Understand any restrictions
5. Talk to other distributors
6. Consider using a friend or adviser as a neutral sounding board or for
a gut check
7. Take your time
8. Think about whether this plan suits your talents and
goals
Criticism
The FTC issued a decision, In re Amway Corp., in 1979 in which it indicated that
multi-level marketing was not illegal per se in the United States. However, Amway was
found guilty of price fixing by effectively requiring "independent" distributors to sell at the same fixed
price) and making exaggerated income claims.
The FTC advises that multi-level marketing
organizations with greater incentives for recruitment than product sales are to
be viewed skeptically. The FTC also warns that the practice of getting
commissions from recruiting new members is outlawed in most states as
"pyramiding". In April 2006, it proposed a Business Opportunity Rule intended to
require all sellers of business opportunities—including MLMs—to provide enough
information to enable prospective buyers to make an informed decision about
their probability of earning money. In March 2008, the FTC removed Network
Marketing (MLM) companies from the proposed Business Opportunity
Rule:
The revised proposal, however, would not reach
multi-level marketing companies or certain companies that may have been swept
inadvertently into scope of the April 2006 proposal. Walter J. Carl stated in a 2004 Western
Journal of Communication article that "MLM organizations have been described
by some as cults (Butterfield, 1985), pyramid schemes (Fitzpatrick &
Reynolds, 1997), or organizations rife with misleading, deceptive, and unethical
behavior (Carter, 1999), such as the questionable use of evangelical discourse
to promote the business (Hopfl & Maddrell, 1996), and the exploitation of
personal relationships for financial gain (Fitzpatrick& Reynolds, 1997)". In
China, volunteers working to rescue people from the schemes have been physically
attacked.
MLM's are also criticized for being unable to fulfill their promises for the majority of participants
due to basic conflicts with Western cultural norms. There are even claims that the success rate for
breaking even or even making money are far worse than other types of businesses:
"The vast majority of MLM’s are recruiting MLM’s, in which participants must
recruit aggressively to profit. Based on available data from the companies
themselves, the loss rate for recruiting MLM’s is approximately 99.9%; i.e.,
99.9% of participants lose money after subtracting all expenses, including
purchases from the company." In part, this is because encouraging recruits to
further "recruit people to compete with [them]" leads to "market
saturation."
Another criticism is that MLM has effectively outlived its usefulness as a legitimate business practice.
The argument is that, in the time when America was a series of relatively small, isolated towns and
rural areas not easily accessible to small companies, MLM was a useful way to
let people know of and buy products or services. But the advent of internet
commerce, with its ability to advertise and sell directly to consumers, has
rendered that model obsolete. Thus, today, nearly all modern MLMs ostensibly
sell vastly overpriced goods and services (if there even is a real product or
service involved at all) as a thin cloak of legitimacy, while their members are
driven to recruit even more people into the MLM, effectively turning these
programs into pyramid schemes.
It is because of this encouraging recruits to
further recruit their competitors, some people have even gone so far as to say
at best modern MLMs are nothing more than legalized pyramid
schemes with
one stating "Multi-level marketing companies have become an accepted and legally
sanctioned form of pyramid scheme in the United States" while
another states "Multi-Level Marketing, a form of Pyramid Scheme, is not
necessarily fraudulent."
In October 2010 it was reported that multilevel
marketing companies were being investigated by a number of state attorneys
general amid allegations that salespeople were primarily paid for recruiting and
that more recent recruits cannot earn anything near what early entrants do.
