doTERRA is one of the most famous essential oil MLMs out there, with products that continue to be popular. The oils are promoted as being high quality, to the point that they may offer health benefits, while also smelling nice.
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While I’m not personally convinced about the benefits of essential oils, I do enjoy the scents myself. It’s also true that some smells do have the potential to help people relax and de-stress, or to energize them, depending on the smell that is chosen.
Regardless of my own opinion, many people buy essential oils regularly. There’s certainly a market there that you can target. The question is whether you can make money. More specifically, is doTERRA a good way to take advantage of this field. After all, the oils from doTERRA aren’t cheap.
Two Ways To Make Money With doTERRA
There are two distinct ways to earn with doTERRA. The first, and most obvious, is to sell the products. While you’re unlikely to make a lot of money this way, product sales can be a way to earn a little extra income or to offset your own purchases.
The other angle is to recruit others and build a team. Team building is a more complex process, especially as you need to recruit people, manage your team, and still make sales. Still, the income potential is higher.
In this post, I examine both of these areas in-depth, then consider whether doTERRA is realistic as a regular source of income.
Make Money From Product Sales
doTERRA’s main product angle is essential oils. This includes single oils and a variety of blends. The price varies considerably depending on the specific oil or blend. The list below highlights just a handful of examples.
- Citrus Bliss: $24.00 retail
- AromaTouch: $37.33 retail
- Deep Blue: $44.00 retail
- Deep Blue Roll On: $78.67 retail
- TerraShield: $14.00 retail
- Blue Tansy: $133.33 retail
- Lavender: $30.67
- Lemon: $14.67
The variation seems to be linked to the specific essential oils used. This isn’t too surprising, as some plants will be rarer or more expensive than others. There may also be complexities in sourcing them or in the extraction process.
Even so, doTERRA oils do tend to be more expensive than similar oils that don’t come from an MLM. I’ll come back to the significance of the price difference a little later on.
The selection doesn’t stop there. DoTERRA has various other items, including personal care products, supplements, accessories, and diffusers. Most are linked to essential oils in some way or another. The variety may help sales, but honestly, most of the products will only appeal to people who are already interested in essential oils.
Essential Oils Sell!
Despite the fact that I don’t personally believe in the ‘healing power’ of essential oils, I do actually use them in my house! Surprising, right?
I enjoy the different smells and prefer them to using candles which can be a fire hazard and often have too strong of a smell. I don’t use this particular company’s products, but I do see how they can be useful, and actually fun to collect and try. My favorites so far are lavender and peppermint, but some of the blends sound really interesting!
Blending oils? Sounds super fun too!
What that means is that if I, a skeptic, actually buy this stuff, that there’s going to be a pretty good size market out there to potentially purchase your products. “Natural healing” is a highly debated and popular topic online as well. What’s more, interest in essential oils has remained fairly consistent for the last few years
Another thing I like about doTerra’s products is that people really understand and can make use of them. So many times with ‘health and wellness’ MLMs, you find that the products themselves are hard to understand. I just reviewed another product with a healing patch that clearly had no health benefits other than a placebo.
These oils are easy to understand for the average consumer. They smell good. Some help you relax, some help you focus, and others have other things they do.
I also know that some people are making money with this program. Of course, these folks tend to be very dynamic sellers and natural leaders. They have large teams that they motivate to go out and recruit and sell.
So there are people actually earning good money with doTerra, but I personally believe they are in the minority. I also believe that the majority of people earning with this company are not earning full-time incomes – and are either breaking even or barely turning a profit.
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The Challenge of Becoming A Seller
Actually selling products is one of the most challenging aspects of any company like this and with doTERRA, it’s harder than most other companies. For example, companies like Avon and Amway sell a range of different products that appeal to a wide audience, but that’s not the case with doTERRA.
Instead, the majority of doTERRA’s product line is related to essential oils in some way or another. This really limits the potential audience to only people that currently use the oils or are interested in trying.
To make matters worse, you still have to contend with competition from other distributors and from other places that sell essential oils (and there are a lot of companies doing this).
When comparing the same type of oil, it’s clear that you can get similar products on Amazon at a deep discount. Some of this price difference is due to the MLM model. Companies like DoTERRA have to pay their consultants and this cost gets passed onto their customers.
Is there a product-based reason for the difference? That depends on who you ask. DoTERRA representatives would say that doTERRA oils are of higher quality, but doTERRA provides little proof that this is the case.
Besides, the difference between the retail and the wholesale price is a good indication that doTERRA has a high-profit margin (it isn’t really a wholesale price anyway, as distributors don’t purchase in wholesale quantities).
Even if you aren’t impressed with the oils on Amazon, I would argue that there are other high-quality brands out there that don’t charge nearly as much as doTERRA. Simply looking for ones that aren’t MLMs would be a good place to start.
In the end, it doesn’t matter whether or not doTERRA oils are better than the competition. What matters is whether your customers think that they are. You will need to provide very good reasons for why they should pay such high prices for small containers of oil.
Making Sales
DoTERRA primarily uses a reselling model for sales. Under this approach, distributors purchase products first and then sell them to customers. Their income is the difference between the wholesale price and what they sell the oils for.
Distributors are able to choose the price that they sell the oils at, so the commission rate can vary. For distributors that sell at the suggested retail price, the commission rate will often end up at around 25%
One limitation here is that customers can see the retail and wholesale prices on the doTERRA website. Because of this, some may be resistant to paying the full retail price from a distributor.
Make Money Building A Team
The team building idea sounds simple. You’re getting other people to join the company and you then earn from the sales that they make. Of course, there’s much more to it than that.
For doTERRA, the team aspect uses a system called Power of 3. This is based on the idea of each person recruiting three others.
That graphic looks really sweet, but most people grossly underestimate how difficult it is to pitch a ‘business opportunity’ to people. Most folks are happy with their 9-5 job, or if they are not happy, they are too scared (or lazy) to do anything different. It takes a very unique and motivated individual to seek out and try business opportunities.
Because of this, the hard truth is that most of your friends, family, and coworkers are simply not going to want to join your team. Some might – but of those that actually do bite, only a small percentage will contribute to your monthly income.
What’s more, you’re not just trying to get people on your team. Making a decent income with doTERRA means that you need to progress through the company’s ranks. Doing so is where you get most bonuses.
The image below shows the beginnings of this system (the first five ranks). There are another seven ranks after this point.
New ranks give you the chance to earn from deeper levels in your downline. The percentages that you earn increase too. Of course, the requirements to progress up the ranks also grow. These get difficult fast.
You might notice something else interesting about the system. With doTERRA, you get higher percentage payments for the deeper levels in your downline. This is another reason for ensuring that the people in your downline recruit others.
But, as we’ve already discussed, recruitment is no easy feat. Most MLM members struggle to get the team size, performance, and structure that they need to progress very far at all.
Can You Generate Reliable Income With doTERRA?
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Theoretically, multi-level earning possibilities are great and can produce a reliable income. This is certainly true for doTERRA, as the oils do sell and the company has been going strong for many years now.
But practically speaking, such approaches rarely pan out to be ideal.
The vast majority of doTERRA members just do straight selling of the oils (no recruiting) and do not make full-time incomes doing it. If that sounds fine to you, then this may be a good opportunity for you to try! However, for me and for many others, we will only settle for a full time, reliable income.
So how do you become a 'super seller' or top recruiter within the company? You need to look beyond your closest connections and stop looking at family/friends as potential sales targets.
One of the most critical approaches is finding ways to expand the people that you're marketing to. This includes finding people who are actually interested in essential oils, rather than trying to get newbies on the bandwagon. There are tools for doing so and the online environment can be a powerful approach. Even so, you need to take the time to plan and consider whether doTERRA is right for you.
MLM Critic & Author: Nathaniell
What's up ladies and dudes! Great to finally meet you, and I hope you enjoyed this post. I have to be honest though. I'm not a big fan of MLM. Tried it. Hated it.
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Alisa
I just want to give a little advice to the author. This is my honest input for you. The article comes across as way to “attacking”. You also seem very close minded in your comments. Several DoTERRA supporters have given their opinions and you either attack them in your reply or reply to those that agree with you attaching the supporters…it makes your opinion less credible not to mention I don’t feel like you have truly given DoTERRA a fair shot nor tried enough of the other oils. Sounds like you’ve only used 2. I would challenge you to use some of their other oils THE WAY THEY ARE INTENDED AND FOR THEIR LABELED PURPOSE and then use some of those cheaper brands for a while and tell me you don’t notice a difference. I bet you do….
Nathaniell
It sounds like you didn’t even read the page here. Yes, I’m on the defensive because doTERRA zombies can’t take any criticism. YES, you can make money with it. I explicitly stated that. NO, their essential oils are not any better than cheaper ones on the market.
And ABSOLUTELY, in order to make good money in a competitive arena you need to expand beyond “parties” where you tell your friends about how lavender oil can cure this or that.
If you plan to make money with doTERRA, it’s going to take a lot more thinking and effort than just telling everyone it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread and anyone who says something negative about it is totally wrong because they didn’t do enough research.
Personally, I don’t care if my opinion comes across as “true” or “false”. I’m wrote this to help people make money with essential oils. Whether or not they use doTERRA as the main driver of their sales or another company, doesn’t matter to me. I don’t sell essential oils, and have nothing invested in whether or not someone promotes them, uses them, or gets benefits from them. If you want to make money from them, straight-up network marketing is not the way to go IMO.
Do I have a strong opinion about this? Yes I do.
James
You have No Clue what you are talking about. Your limited research has gotten you to this non sense opinion of yours about mlm.
I challenge you to really know and do mlm first and then and only then you will know about true mlm.
Nathaniell
“You just don’t understand”. Sounds like a real MLM guy here. The fact is that most people that try MLM fail. The only ones that are “successful” are the ones that recruit.
So how can you, as a recruiter, truly pitch any business opportunity when the only folks that are successful are not selling the products, but creating more distributors?
I am not commenting on the quality of doTERRA here. Their products may be great. But if you can’t make money by selling products alone, then it’s a bunk biz op. I’m just saying that if you’re a recruiter, keep an eye on your new IBOs and see who’s making money selling product, and see who’s making money finding new distributors. That may give you an indication of how good of a biz op doTERRA really is.
Kara
I have been a wellness for three years. I have had a great experience with doTERRA. Every time I have called in to the customer service, they have been extremely polite and helpful. The beauty of their company is you can make it what you want it to be. Everyone enrolls for the same fee whether you want to only be a consumer or you want to build a business. You don’t have to buy a kit or keep tons of product in order to sell. Most people enroll just to get the wholesale price but later on decide they would like to try to work it as a business. No problem … No extra fees.
As for live chat, it is a button that’s available in your online office after you enroll, but anyone who has questions can certainly call their main number, whether you have a membership or not. The agents on live chat and on customer service will answer ANY questions regarding Doterra i.e. products, the compensation plan, fix errors on your order, send new product if yours is damaged in the mail. I have had nothing but great results from contacting them both ways and even through email.
Something everyone needs to remember is that doterra has only been in existence since 2008. And yet in these 8 years they have steadily grown, have offices in many other countries, and in 2015 reached over 2 million members. The 2015 convention had to be held in two separate facilities because there are so many members who want to attend. So basically there were two exactly the same conventions going on at once.
Those who try to say you can’t make money either haven’t tried hard enough or long enough. Doterra does not claim to be a get rich quick company. In fact, I’ve heard it said many times over that it will be what you make it and will take some effort. Everyone’s business grows at a different speed considering all the different factors. You don’t have to have a lot of contacts to build the business … Just start MAKING contacts. Participate in vendor events, start sharing doTERRA’s facebook posts on your own timeline, create a separate facebook page just for your doterra business where people will “like” it because they want to know more. Use Twitter and Instagram. And most of all, share samples of the oils. It takes time, patience and perseverance. Tell me … What business can you start where you will begin making money hand over fist with little effort? Nothing legal, I’m sure!
Doterra may not have everything in order yet like some people want. They may not have all the products yet that other essential oil companies have, but they continue to add more and more each year. Also, people need to research their Helping Hands program and Co-Impact Sourcing that they are involved in around the world. They have literally impacted entire communities around the world in the areas where they source their oil. Research it … I think you’ll be impressed at the things they have accomplished. I won’t go in to it because my post has already been too long. But Google it. I agree with another commenter … You need to take a closer, updated look at doTerra. Over 2 million members tells me that you’re looking at a great company with great products that actually do work!
Sasha
I know this is an older post, but I’ve been a doTerra Wellness Advocate for a year now. The team that i am on offers free classes/education on the oils and how to use them properly. They even bring in the the founders and vice presidents of the company yearly for more teaching. They hold a convention once a year in Utah that have the founders there. My team even offers how to rank advance classes as well. We do local classes, travel, and do online. I’m able to contact my upline and get private coaching for free. On your website, you can click contact doterra and a Live Chat button appears. I have done that. I have been very blessed for being on the team I’m on. I love doTerra and you can try products for free by handing out samples.
Nathaniell
I know that people love essential oils and are passionate about their uses. If you feel that doTERRA is helping you develop that passion, great! For me, I would rather be building a business independent of a specific brand, but that’s just me.
Toni
I am a Doterra wellness advocate. I signed up because I was sick of paying full price for my oils, and now I am able to get cheaper prices being a wellness advocate. I have sold some products to family and friends. I do not intend to try to make money by selling the products- although if I did that would be great! I think trying to sell Doterra and get a good income would be very difficult. I have been selling the products for 5 or so months now and i still do not understand the website or “my office”.. I’m honestly not even sure what to do in order to make commission on any of the sales. But overall i LOVE the products and enjoy making my own prpducts with my oils!
Nathaniell
What do you think makes doTERRA oils better than other brands that you can get online for cheaper?
Lavonne
Toni: You need to contact the person who signed you up to ask about your website and how the office works. I only joined 5 months ago and have 1 customer and 2 new wellness Advocates because I want to succeed in the business. I talk about it to anyone, respond to posts on Facebook about conditions people and how doTERRA may help, etc. If you are in/near VA I would be happy to go over it with you.
Nathaniell
Facebook spamming at its finest!
Valentine
I read this blog post with interest. I too am a Wellness Advocate for doTERRA. One thing that strikes me with all of you Wellness Advocates who have responded is that you have a wrong idea of what MLM means. You can absolutely make money with doTERRA. I was in a completely different job before joining, no previous business experience. I was a performer and a music teacher. The first four months I made only about $1400. The next 10 months I made $12,000. It is growing slowly, but it is growing.
Some of Nathaniell’s criticism is true.
Your success does depend on you being able to motivate your team, and make duplication as simple as possible. It also depends on your own skill and determination. However, I am just stumped at all of you who complain that there isn’t enough help out there. There is google and your own research.
In fact, a bigger problem I found was that at first there was too much information out there, and it took me a while to sort through it. However when you enroll doTERRA sends you an email with a link to all their sites where you can get very detailed training info.
Also, the whole bugging your friends and family idea, makes me think you don’t know what real network marketing is. There are 3 types of people who join an MLM hoping to make money. 1) Posers: they just hope they sign up 3 big people who then make all the money for them, kind of like a lottery ticket 2) Amateurs: who move on to bug their friends and family, hoping to make it big, but refusing to learn the proper skills and annoying the heck out of everyone with their unprofessional pushiness, and then 3) Professionals: these people understand that being successful in MLM and network marketing (and any profession really) requires studying the necessary skills, hard work, dedication, and usually, asking someone who has done it successfully how they did it and then copying them. It is never ever a get rich quick scheme. If they are telling you it is get rich quick, either smile and walk away, or suggest they read the book Go Pro, by Eric Worre.
You can absolutely build a financial pipeline, but it takes dedication, vision, and determination and most of all, not quitting. The first two years are simply hard, no matter how you slice it. You reinvest most of what you make (like any entrepreneur starting a business). If you can stick it out, and if you are dedicated to learning the skills and practicing them, then your income can grow. The reason more people are not making a bigger income, is because they don’t bother learning to do it right, and they give up, for lack of results.
Danielle
Hey Toni you should ask whoever enrolled you for some help with understanding all that stuff and help you feel comfortable using the website etc
Catlyn
This is the story with this and one too many merchants or “affiliate programs”.
I have yet to make over a few hundred dollars (combined) in a year period with ANY affiliate.
I am right now in the process of stripping my site from merchants who are a big fraud. Ranging from health stores, to barton publishers, healing natural oils (amoils), amazon, and pretty much every other merchant.
It is all a big fat scam. Anyone who tells you that you’ll make money with affiliate marketing right away, or from ‘certain” retail stores is lying through their teeth. It isn’t much different than the pyramid scam.
I am even going to say that they throw you a sale or two now and then to get you motivated, then no sales for months or years.
They are the only ones that make the money. Not you. Ever! At least nothing that will support you and your family.
When you are about to get your commissions there is always some type of BS as to why you can’t get paid. Stay away from company’s like this. Do your research with “other affiliates” and see if they actually get paid.
Not worth the time and effort. Trust me!
Anyone who argues that these networks make you money are paid for by the companies PERIOD! Amazon? Don’t get me started. They change the policies constantly so when you think you have it all figure out you won’t get your commissions. That is the biggest offender!
Nathaniell
I’ve personally never had any issues getting paid by Amazon.