Melaleuca’s Consumer Direct Marketing is MLM

Melaleuca has a long history of hating the label “MLM”.

I can’t say that I blame them.

They’ve survived while many have died…

They have built their own production infrastructure and contracted with some serious researchers…

They’ve tended to be very restrictive over the years with advertising to protect their name from being part of the advertising hype machine…

In many ways they are what most compansies should want to be.

Maybe the path to success ISN’T a willingness to be lumped in with the rest of the crowd?

Setting yourself part from the crowd is a good thing and Melaleuca may in fact be a great company, but they are still an MLM.

I joined Melaleuca because it’s not mlm.

Here is why Melaleuca is not MLM. Ask 10 people what they hate about MLM and they will say these things….None of which, Melaleuca has:

* I have to keep products in my garage
* I have to keep inventory
* I have to go to those phoney rah rah mlm meetings.
* I have to buy a tape ever week or a book of the month
* If I get someone on my team and they do better than me, they break away. I hate breakaways
* I have to take orders
* I have to do billings and collections

That’s what people hate about mlm. Melaleuca has none of that.

To say that something is an mlm because if someone refers someone and they refer someone spreading out by word of mouth or “levels” as you say, is too broad of an interpretation.

The gospel would then be mlm and nobody says it is.

When people share news about a good restaurant they went too and they in turn refer others to the restaurant we would have to call that mlm but everybody would say thats not mlm.

I think you have broadened the definition to mlm meaning ‘Anything that pays on multiple levels” is mlm and you are in error.

I used to be a real estate agent before I retired, we got paid on different levels. I wasn’t in mlm.

I hope you have the courage to post this information about your error.

Craig
Phd Marketing
Education in California

Craig,

You just described Amway circa 1990, not MLM. If you are in Melaleuca, you are in an MLM.

Most MLM’s today do not share any of the attributes you listed.

- Very few MLM’s have you carry inventory. Most ship directly to the customer.

- Most MLM’s have gone away from rah rah meetings in favor of conference calls.

- Most MLM’s produce MP3 downloadable training material, not tape of the week.

- The breakaway plan is still popular, but many MLM’s do not use this type of compensation. (If you think that you are going to be paid for every cent of volume that moves through your group to infinity, you have fallen for MLM (Melaleuca) hype.

- Most MLM’s offer websites to associates that take the orders. (But here, you are giving the impression that you don’t have to find customers and sell products and we both know that is not true).

- I can’t think of a single MLM today that has it’s associates do billing and collections.

Ty Tribble

I am not associated with Melaleuca. But my question for you is would you classify all insurance companies as MLM. I have many years in the insurance industry in they also pay “commission overrides” on multiple levels.

I agree with Danny and Craig. Also I guess the gospel of Jesus Christ is mlm if Dane Carlsons theory is correct.

He (dane) seems to think that just because you refer someone or you get paid on different commission levels its mlm.

I think folks that are in mlm get lots of rejection because most folks hate mlm. On the internet it is known as MOST LOSE MONEY lol.

So it is only natural I think that Dane would try to classify Melaleuca and other things into what he is doing….he’s doing mlm the other companies are not.

Don’t be fooled…mlm is way different than Melaleuca and insurance companies etc..

Dane be honest please it adds credibility to your blog but we can see how bias you are and it detracts from your credibility.

Tribble with his dribble once again…

I notice that folks that are with Melaleuca say it’s not an mlm but folks that are in mlm always want to make it seem like Melaleuca is mlm.

I think people hate mlm and mlm’ers know that. So they are afraid of Melaleuca as it is not an mlm so they say “Melaleuca is an mlm” when it is not.

Ever notice how NOBODY in Melaleuca agrees its mlm it’s only mlm’ers that say it. I have never met anybody in Melaleuca that will say it is. You think you’d find one person.

That means it is not. Sorry guys you are wrong again. You must be in mlm lol

I agree with folks saying Tribble is dribble. It seems like Tribble is in an mlm and wants to classify good honest companies like Melaleuca into the same bucket his is in.

Tribble please stop the dribble

My wife and I WERE in Melaleuca. Notice the word WERE! We were soooo tired of having to toe the “corporate line” by saying we weren’t MLM when we were. We believe in not lying to those who we form business partnerships with. Anyone who is in Melaleuca and denies they are in an MLM are doing themselves and those they serve a huge disservice, and only perpetuate the problems that plague this industry with being deceitful, etc. What also happens, that they’ll NEVER tell you about, is that you have to have corporate’s “blessing” to set up a booth at a fair or expo. What is this blessing? You must be at a certain level or above! We found this out the hard way when we wanted to set up a booth at a local fair, only to be told “No”, well we went to the fair and saw our Senior Director there with her booth! Surprise! The rich get richer at the expense of those below them who are trying hard to build their business. Enough of that! That’s one of the reasons we wanted to start our own business was to be FREE to do business on our terms, but with Melaleuca, that isn’t a possibiilty. Another thing that really bothered us was all the “MOMS groups”, etc that hid behind these generic names to dupe people into visiting their websites and leaving contact information, etc. Then they call back their leads with the news that it is Melaleuca but “we’re not MLM”. Really? You get paid on multiple levels, (MLM Defined!!!) so how do you think you’re not? Besides, if a program or company is sooooo good as you make it out to be, then put the company name out there in your advertising, and let intelligent, informed people research it, and make their own decisions! Anyway, we moved on to a company that’s much more “user-friendly” and actually ENCOURAGES its’ associates to think outside the box! Goodbye lying, hiding behind other names, in denial Melaleuca!

I will stop the dribble when you admit that you are involved in MLM.

Melaleuca has every single attribute of MLM, except the fact that they claim they are not.

If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, has feathers like a duck, flys like a duck and tastes like duck when you cook it, there is a good chance that it’s a duck.

It seems to me like this blog is afraid of Melaleuca. Seems that Melaleuca is big competition for you Mr. Tribble. You must be in an mlm.

Like they say..”Quit your dribble Tribble” Melaleuca is a far better co. than yours.

I checked out your comp plan and Melaleucas and they pay much better.

I think folks can see why you are trying to sway folks from seeing the Melaleuca presentation. Because when they see it you are going to have folks leave your co. for them.

Good luck and blessings however in your business. But cut the dribble tribble

I just want to quickly respond to BRUCE:

Bruce, you say that you and your wife decided to leave Melaleuca simply because you couldn’t set up a booth? Anyone who knows the Melaleuca business well, and indeed, business practice well, will tell you that Melaleuca doesn’t allow lower level ME’s to set up booths, advertise the name etc, simply because it’s too risky!

What if the person (in this case you and your wife), has little or no experience of Melaleuca? It’s kind of like saying you’ll tell everyone to start eating at a new restaurant in town because the food’s so good, yet you’ve never eaten there yourself.

All Melaleuca is doing is ensuring it’s reputation and stability. There’s nothing wrong with this, and it certainly doesn’t mean that ‘the rich get richer and the poor get poorer’. Even Senior Directors and others had to start from the very bottom at one time.

The very fact that you left Melaleuca because you saw this as a hindrance, shows that Melaleuca has already thought this out. You didn’t stick with it and get to a point where they would say ‘OK, sure you can set up a booth.’
Besides that, you CAN set up a booth, table or whatever, anyplace, so long as you’re not using Melaleuca’s name. As many of the products come from other companies - Nicole Miller, EcoSense and others - you are not therefore violating Melaleuca’s policy on advertising.

I have a small display set up in my office, with only Melaleuca informationals at hand, that Melaleuca prints and allows us to display. When I say ‘allows’, I mean ANY Marketing Executive or other member of Melaleuca can display.

Should I be fortunate enough to get to a high enough level where I CAN use the Melaleuca name to attract more business, then it will be from following Melaleuca’s guidelines. Promotion in ANY organisation has to come from following a set of rules and guides to getting there! Melaleuca is no different.

So, as I was saying, I think Melaleuca has proved their point by only allowing certain levels to do booths etc, because you quit already. This means that you didn’t really care too much about the products and helping others to get them to improve their health etc. Now you’ve moved on to another venture - good luck.

I will say one thing though, about MLM, people can pick and pull at the term MLM all day long, but whatever way you look at it, MLM is a good thing. It’s how millions of businesses worldwide operate. Melaleuca DOES have a system that can be viewed as MLM if you want to refer to the payouts. BUT, let’s remember one thing here: EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL DOING MELALEUCA AS A BUSINESS, REGARDLESS OF LEVEL, HAS TO DO EXACTLY THE SAME THING AS EVERYONE ELSE.
So in that respect, it’s most definitely NOT MLM.

But, hey, MLM is NOT a bad thing. The only thing that makes MLM a bad thing are those that lie and cheat when doing it.

As for me, I’ve been with Melaleuca for over 2 years, and whether or not I make a successful business or not, will never change the fact that Melaleuca’s products have made a HUGE difference to my life, my son’s health and our home. I’ll use Melaleuca’s products regardless of whether I can sign up one new customer or one hundred!

Stick with it folks, learn along the way and play by the rules. One day it could be YOU that is telling someone why they can’t set up shop at an expo or other venue.

I too joined Melaleuca after looking at mlm and other things I decided to stay away from mlm.

I like to say mlm stands for Most Lose Money.

Also I got a kick out of how everyone is saying the tribble dribble up top lol. Hillarious

The name calling is cute, albeit not very original. I think I last heard it in the 7th grade.

The facts remain the same. Melaleuca is an MLM. You can rearrange the wording and deceive your prospects all you want, but this blog will continue to tell the truth.

Good luck…

http://mlm.business-opportunities.biz/index.php?s=melaleuca

I agree that Melaleuca is not an mlm. I looked at the business you guys are involved with and you guys are in mlm. You are not a member of Melaleuca.

I don’t even think its legal for you to educate people on Melaleuca. You guys better be careful you could get sued for teaching Melaleuca when you are with another company.

Why don’t you post the name of your company that you are with on this blog? Whats the big secret? I am sure your co. would love to know how you are bad mouthing other companies. Maybe thats why you don’t do that as you don’t want to get in trouble.

Be careful you guys, what you are doing and saying about Melaleuca is, I think,Illegal…you could get this blog taken down if you don’t comply with guidelines.

I suggest you read your blog guidelines.

They don’t allow “Deceiving” information on your blog. Did you read that?

Anyone thinking about signing up with Executive Systems US would be better off saving your money. They will promise you a rotation and will just rotate themselves and their families. It is a major waste of money.

Wow.. This is a very interesting topic about Mela. But I’m kinda pissed about how you think we are deceiving people with the Moms Groups. I’m with MomsWin, and believe me, I get envy from alot of prospects that find out it’s melaleuca and they are already a customer. They WISH they had the online and offline support group to help them build their businesses, so they just settled for being a customer. Heck, so many people with Mela, don’t even work this business online and have much success with it. But we always use the StateFarm and Allstate scenarios with Mela in explaining the concept and presentations. You’re excusing Insurance company agents and real estate agents of being MLM. This has been posted previously, but you’re ignoring that fact.

You set up accounts for people to shop at Mela. You’re paid in many different ways, bonuses, commissions, up to 7 levels. So you are explaining the job of a State Farm Agent. You will have to prove to me why Mela reps are different than Allstate. So if we were called Mela Agents.. that’s cool? Whatever.. you’re not proving anything.

So.. I went to the show and saw Superman Returns. I was so pissed, I thought that movie sucked big monkey balls, and I told all my friends and family not to that lame excuse for a movie, because I never thought it would come to the point of, “It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no.. it’s just my baby daddy!”

I blogged about it in my yahoo360 and Myspace. I had alot of people agree and disagree, but I guarantee I stop people to go see it, and they pass my advice on to the next. That’s how I see this business. I don’t sugar coat it.. that’s just what it is. Running your mouth.

Okay, you’ve all got me confused! I’ve been a Melaleuca Preferred Customer for about a month now; I like the products very much and plan to continue to use them.
But I want to do sell the products to others-not sign them up to be part of the “matrix”. I’m talking something like a small store containing natural products for your home and body.
That’s where my confusion lies-does Mela allow that type of business?

I agree with Ty, Melaleuca is an MLM.

And there is nothing wrong with MLM and many Melaleuca distributors are very proud to be associated as MLM or network marketers.

They are proud of the industry, company, business opportunity etc, knowing it’s all part of an MLM and all of the good distributors from Melaleuca can tell you that shamelessly.

But they choose to use the phrase “Consumer Direct Marketing” and there is nothing wrong with it. But if you speak with their distributors, they use both terms. Only a few distributors absolutely refuse to say that their busines is an MLM.

Network Marketers call MLM a “network marketing” and it’s a great industry.

And even ones who do not belong to Melaleuca, other network marketers respect the company because of its achievement, contribution and service they render all because of their network marketing business.

I am always amused by the emotion that the MLM discussion creates. I think that arguing about Ty’s description of a business is quite funny.

The reality is that the emotional responses are caused by fear. Fear that someone might find you out, call you a liar or not be your customer. Or whatever else causes concern.

I think that the real reason that people should be scared is that Multi-Level Marketing has a recognized image problem due to the fact that it is often difficult to distinguish legitimate MLMs from illegal scams such as pyramid or Ponzi schemes. Many pyramid schemes try to present themselves as legitimate MLM businesses

What is interesting is that The Federal Trade Commission advises that: “multi-level marketing organizations can be classified by their compensation schemes, where the MLM has greater incentives for recruitment than product sales� it goes on to say that these organizations are to be viewed sceptically.

As I understand it this is a major difference between Melaleuca and many other home based business opportunities. Melaleuca doesn’t reward its people with large “recruitment incentives�, where as many MLM companies pay out large amounts of money for recruiting new customers or business people. The money for the bonuses often comes directly from the new recruits, who then have to recruit others just to get their money back.

It really makes the payment on many levels argument a little redundant, especially if you consider that most companies pay on multiple levels and this does not make them MLM. (For example the CEO of a Coca Cola does not make the sale, but the whole of “his” organisation gets paid.

In an interesting development earlier this year the FTC 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. (FTC trade regulation rules usually take 1-1/2 to 3 years before a final rule is established).

I wish you all the best in pigeon-holing companies, but it will never ensure that everyone agrees with your point of view.

Frith

This really is pretty humorous and interesting as well as educational for those who may be looking into MLM/Network Marketing as a career path.

I preface my further comments by saying that I did a short stint with Melaleuca in the early 1990’s more out of a help to a friend of mine. I was already associated with another network marketing (a.k.a. “MLM”) company. I liked the Mela products or at least some of them. I have to laugh now as I think back and remember listening to a Mela tape in which one wide eyed distributor was testifying how using the Mela toothpaste and mouth wash resulted in his/her dentist canceling the root canal procedure they were about to have on the follow up visit and all because of the “miracle” of oil.

I have a great respect for VanderSloot’s accomplishments as well as his ethics, business acumen and the many contributions he has made to the network marketing (a.k.a. “MLM”) industry as a result of his being at the helm of Melaleuca. What he has given back to untold thousands of people who joined the ranks of Melaleuca, stayed and left in terms of waking them up to the possibilities of a home based business opportunity, the personal growth, improved health and wellness as well as improved financial wellness is a great credit to the man. Despite what anyone might say about the subtle deceptions that have come down through the corporate pipeline and the ranks of the leadership core, you can not take that away from the man nor the the culture of Melaleuca. The Network Marketing (a.k.a. “MLM”) industry as a whole would do well to take a page out of VanderSloot’s book.

That said, only a fool would deny the corresponding relationship of Melaleuca to Network Marketing (a.k.a. “MLM”) or as I prefer to refer to it, NetWORK Marketing. It takes work people. And no matter how you cut it, there is that nasty “S” word involved, the thing called SALES that seems to also be an aversion to the lips of the overwhelming majority of Mela distributors. Which always amazes me when I hear a married person tell me that they are not a sales person. What an oxymoron?!? lol How quickly they forgot when she was selling him and he was selling her … and if you have children, you are definitely in the sales game 24/7. And of course when they were children, they never tried to sell their parents on why they should have that candy, the bike, the new doll … the car on Friday night (and again on Saturday night?). Oh please spare me the BS already!! lol We are all sales people at any given moment in time. And that includes Mela distributors building an organization/business.

The litany of why they are not MLM (a.k.a. “NetWORK Marketing”) with the detailed list of what Amway use to look like 15+ years ago as proof positive that Mel is not MLM only reinforces the reality that they are drinking the corporate cool-aid. And to understand the roots of this philosophy, one needs to go back to the early days of the “new” Melaleuca circa the late 1980’s - early 1990’s when Frank began to espouse this. Back then part of the cool-aid line was that their goal was to surpass Proctor & Gamble in the personal/household goods arena. What was really happening there when you read between the lines was the very astute Frank VanderSloot recognizing that NetWORK Marketing (a.k.a. “MLM”) was the best business model going forward to build a large and successful distribution company, however that was also the period in time when Amway was starting to unravel in a very public way. And so what Frank was really endeavoring to do was position the company as a more main stream distribution network “just like Proctor & Gamble” … and not at all like Amway (a.k.a. “Quixtar”). And so right he was. And he has never veered one inch off course from the original mantra. and a good thing he didn’t, otherwise he might never have achieved the level of success he has given the mlm environment of the late 1980’s with Amway and Herbalife leading the charge of companies and corporate cultures that were polluting the waters of mlm.

To those of you reading here from Mel, I wish you great success in your endeavors! Don’t be embarrassed by the fact that you are in NetWORK Marketing (a.k.a. “MLM), because it’s a great industry and a terrific business model … but then you already know that. Go and do greatly and help a lot of people along the way! To the rest of my fellow NetWORK Marketers I say go and do likewise. This game of semantics is just that, a game of semantics.

Best regards,
Jeff

I guess I just found out that while I work for a Newspaper, I actually work for a MLM company!
You may be asking huh? but listen ..

With the mental picture I just had painted for me. You see, I go out and sell ads, this in turn makes the circulation department have to sell the papers to the consumer and the ads I sell get out and people shop from the business owners and pay my boss very kindly for the exchanged business.

I get paid commision, my boss gets paid and the Owner of the Newspaper gets paid “Very” kindly! I guess it all goes up the chain and we are selling Newspapers, Collecting Money, Delivering the Goods and the pay goes “upline”.

I am SOOO exaperated however at reading everyone’s “idea” what a MLM really is.

You see, Multi-Level-Marketing started years ago before a company we all know as “Amway” was even hitting the charts of Beware lists. Although it (Amway) can be given the credit for the term “Scam” they did have many people that will defend the company, products and ethics.

Now we have all heard of “Quixtar” formally known as Amway and they wont tell you that (it’s Amway) until you attend one of the “Company” meetings. Because we all know of that same beware list from years ago. It is in the History books and shall be for years to come.
While the Amway founding family has done much good in it’s native state of Michigan with Children’s Hospital and more. Many people world wide have been effected in a negative financial way.

Before Amway, remember the guys that knocked on Grandma’s door selling Toilet Brushes and kitchen gadgets? You might be too young or not have a history telling family like me .. but that guy was LOVED by all the ladies. He supplied to their door products they needed without them having to stop their busy day to walk to the store or not complete the house cleaning that day .. (which in the day was never heard of) ahh.. times have changed.

The same goes for ANY home based business. You see, when you are in business for yourself .. there is ALWAYS some type of risk.
You are at the risk that you won’t get up and do the work. Working from home is not for everyone and when you are self employed and don’t have the self drive it takes, no matter WHAT kind of business you are in, you are setting yourself up for failure.

If you don’t show up for your time clock job, you don’t get paid. The same theory hold true for any home business. You don’t build your business, you don’t get paid!

The bottom line is everyone needs to look in the Mirror. It doesn’t matter if it is Amway, Herbal Life, Mary Kay or CDM company like Melaleuca, what ability do “you” have? Look at your work at the end of the day and would you hire yourself or fire yourself. There are to many whiners out there that can’t except their own failures and push blame on the company for their lack to succeed.

However, with the company in topic (Melaleuca) you can ship back a product if you don’t like it within 60 days! Hum .. Sam’s club wouldn’t give me the same favor of a unlike product, would they? How about if a month later, I decide that I don’t want to shop there anymore .. Would Sam’s Club refund my membership fee? Let me check … Well, the person on the line say’s the membership fee is non-refundable. I guess that means NO!

I see the same characteristics in the work field. Blame the boss when your sales are down. It doesn’t count that you took most of the week off?

From History’s example, I don’t see Melaleuca as the “typical” MLM company. They call themselves CDM, which I do see that Consumers Shop from them Direct, they collect the payment and ship it to the consumer direct. (JC PENNY DOES TOO)
I would have to argue the logistics with the person that just plain says, there are products, commision YEP, MUST BE MLM.
Kind of like you sittin’ in the hen house overnight, YEP, MUST BE A HEN.

Come on folks, get to thinkin for yer self. .. I seen good remarks on the BBB site about them. A couple good articles in Prevention Magazine about the products.
Hum … It doesn’t smell like a MLM …
Maybe there are some good things in the world?!

Multi Level Marketing refers to multiple levels of distribution.

All MLMs have multiple levels of distribution. Melaleuca’s Consumer Direct Marketing does not.

I have no problem whatsoever getting paid on 7 generations or levels of customers month after month, of course, if I don’t have to service any of those accounts.

For anyone to try and confuse others by using multiple levels of distribution as the same thing as multiple levels of compensation is really infantile and a waste of everyone’s time.
You have no case Mr. Tribble and Ms. Carlson.

OK, let’s pretend that MLM refers to multiple levels of distribution.

Then Amway, Quixtar, Nuskin, Arbonne, Xango, MonaVie, Univera, Agel, and just about every other MLM on the planet can now be called Consumer Direct Marketing.

All of these companies (and more) ship directly to the end user (customers). No one carries any inventory.

I guess if someone was to go along with Ty and Danes logic of ‘Here is a fact: Melaleauca pays on Mutiple Levels, therefore by definition, Melaleuca is MLM.’ That must make every company out there that employs anyone MLM.

I own a traditional business and employ people, so I get paid on multiple levels. I must be an MLM compny then…wrong Ty and Dane and anyone else who goes along with that crazy logic.

I just have to say to everyone that says Melaleuca is MLM just because of how they pay - if you are trying to save people from being deceived, you might want to think about a better excuse.

All of the people that say Melaleuca is MLM say they have all the same characteristics or attributes of an MLM. PROVE IT! The only answer I want to hear from any of you is a list of these characteristics that makes Melaleuca an MLM. No matter what characteristics anyone say they are not mlm give you you are ignoring. So, if you know so much about what Melaleuca is explain to us why, without giving simple excuses, give us a list of those characteristics that you say make Melaleuca just like every other MLM.

OH, Ty, as for your comment…

“OK, let’s pretend that MLM refers to multiple levels of distribution.
Then Amway, Quixtar, Nuskin, Arbonne, Xango, MonaVie, Univera, Agel, and just about every other MLM on the planet can now be called Consumer Direct Marketing.”

Are You Kidding?!?! This just proves that you have no idea what MLM is and that you know even less about what Consumer Direct Marketing is. You may want to be careful, Your ignorance is showing!

LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY! Melaleuca not MLM, oh so funny!

They are, embrace it already!

Or just come to Shaklee! We love our MLM company, we can shout the name SHAKLEE from the rooftops, we have been in business over 50 years, we can do internet marketing, and our products work!

Mela not MLM, lolololololololololololololol.

I too have struggled with the question “Is Melaleuca an MLM?” The short answer is - it depends upon how YOU define MLM. In our culture we usually determine what words mean by the dictionary. My dictionary does not help with the technical part so I assume court decisions are the next definitive statement. Is there someone out there who can distill the legalese and give us a plain English description of MLM? If we can agree on a definition, the emotional discussion can be laid to rest.

I was once in Melaleuca and for me, this is simply smoke and mirrors. My upline admitted that it is an MLM but gave me language to use to dance around this issue. That got me to wondering just what other issues they had language to get around. If it looks like a dog, walks like a dog, barks like a dog, and has a litter of puppies, guess what…it’s a dog.

I had to find a company that is proud of this method of distribution. MLM is a great way to introduce and promote products in the marketplace.

Is everybody retarded!! So what if it’s an MLM or a flipping flying Unicorn! Label it what you want….ok now what. So what. What does it really mean at the end of the day because YOU say it’s an MLM. Ok….so Damn, I mean are people really this stupid.

I am deeply concerned as to why people are all in a huff over whether or not Melaleuca should be considered a MLM. Who cares? Here’s my viewpoint:

1. I started using the products due to health problems with both my youngest son and myself. ALL of them (daily headaches, asthma, nausea, dizziness, rashes, etc.) improved. Most of them disappeared all together.

2. I was burned once using a household chemical when I was cleaning my bathroom. I now stand in my tub NAKED and clean with Melaleuca’s Tub & Tile and do not suffer from burns or inhalation problems. You can’t say that about most store-bought brands.

3. It is a FACT there are toxins in our household which are considered to be very dangerous for humans and animals. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, “After analyzing 2,983 chemicals used in personal care products, 884 were found to be toxic.”

4. Because I FIRMLY believe in using products that are healthier for my family, my home, and the environment, I have no problem referring people to this great company as customers. Some of those people who start off as customers (like me) end up as business builders too…many because they just can’t help but tell people about these fantastic products.

5. The business side of Melaleuca is about getting customers - and you are ONLY paid on the PRODUCTS purchased by your customers (yes, even in your downlines). You are NEVER paid on signing someone up to do the business. Think about it. Who wouldn’t like the idea of referring a customer ONCE and then receiving commission checks month-after-month on the products your customer purchases?

6. I’d much rather a company PAID ME to advertise their products than paid the television stations who then subject me to commercials about products I have no interest in. Who wouldn’t want to see some of the money they spend on necessary products go right back into their pocket from simply referring someone? If someone as no interest in safe, eco-friendly products, I respect them and don’t discuss it.

7. As for Melaleuca’s requirement that we not use their company name in advertising - well that makes perfect sense - if it were MY company, I wouldn’t allow just anyone to to market my company however they feel. That would be ridiculous and risky - and it could be a fatal policy to a company if their reputation is damaged by such advertising. I’m sure McDonald’s would sue you if you tried to advertise their company without their permission.

8. Melaleuca really stands behind their mission statement, “Enhancing the lives of those we touch by helping people reach their goals.” Whether someone’s goal is to improve their health, get the toxins out of their home, improve their financial situation, or all of the above - Melaleuca offers everyone a way to achieve their goals. I think I’m safe in saying here that only Melaleuca customers can attest to this too. If you haven’t been a customer, you don’t know.

So with all this in mind, I don’t know why anyone even cares if it’s MLM or not. MLM does not automatically mean you’re going to get hurt, so please don’t badmouth a company unless you’ve had a first-hand negative experience with them. I personally have never had a negative experience with Melaleuca and everyone I know who uses the products LOVES them. Most of the people I find that have bad-mouthed this company really didn’t understand the company in the first place and only cared about making a quick buck - not making customers for life.

Great post Eva. Who really cares if Melaleuca is a MLM (and I think it is.)

You do have to get off your you-know-what and work to sell Melaleuca products otherwise you won’t earn money. You don’t get paid by someone you work for, you get paid for products people buy and they have to know about the product, therefore marketing is necessary, especially if they buy from you.

http://mlmbreakthrough.com

Diane Voisley

I haved just printed your presentation for New Horizons. On pages 21-24 your explanation of your comp plan is that of any mlm company out there. The arguement here is that you are miss representing your business to future customers by clouding the facts. One you are selling on one form or another and how you get paid is on mu;ltiple levels of compensation.
By your company clouding the facts you are futher adding to the distrust of the mlm industry. On page 23 of your New Horizon presentation How Melaleuca Shares Revenue column number two row two states Develop 1 Director. Row three says Develop 2 Directors and so on.
Page 24 Senior Director develop 5+ personal directors.
Looks like mlm to me.
http://www.miniofficeoutlets.com/pages/autoresponder/subscribe/evaluate.htm

Go to this web site and click on brilliant compensation and watch the presentation this will explain exactly what a mlm company is.
This is a generic presentation and does not list any companies it is just an explanation of mlm.
Part of the presentation is given by a Phd from Chicago University.
You are mlm live with it. Stop making the mlm business looking bad by being less than truthful to the people you encounter. Your actions reflect the whole industry.

I was with Mela and was told how to skirt the MLM issue. I left because I didn’t like telling a half truth.

MLMwatchdog just posted this as of March 30, 2008.
MELALEUCA GETS LAW PASSED IN IDAHO
MELALEUCA HANDCUFFS TOP DISTRIBUTORS WITH NON-COMPETE LAW

http://www.mlmwatchdog.com/mlm_melaleuca_non_compete_lawsuits.html

Melaleuca pays in levels, that is the only similarity to MLM.

I am surprised that you do not know that roots of MLM.
MLM came from multiple levels of distribution.
Not multiple levels of compensation, everything about compensation in all business is paid on some type of a level of pay system.
On the othe hand MLM has the perception of something that could hurt people or get them to invest time and money in a product or service that is not of fair value or makes false claims.
The name MLM also attracts money games that take advantage of people.
I think any good company should stay away from the term MLM as they would be putting them-selves in that same bucket.