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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Laura
This was an interesting article. I have used DoTerra oils for 8 years now only as a wholesale customer and not selling them. These oils have basically eliminated 90% of my over-the-counter medication and have made it easy for me to switch to non-toxic cleaners in my home. The toxic load the average person takes in daily is a lot and over time, our body and soul just can’t handle so much accumulation. I have many personal experiences on the efficacy of really good essential oils and so does my family (my husband works for a biotech company that makes synthetic drugs and he always goes for the oils rather than over-the-counter and most prescribed medication). It would have been nice to know why you don’t particulary believe in essential oils. Although there are many differences between essential oils and western medication, there are a few similarities, one being that each oil can react differently on different individuals…the amount taken to be effective can be different, some similar oils that have certain properties, let’s take for example oils that have calming properties, one oil might work really well on someone but someone else might have better luck with another oil that provides similar results…like lavender or chamomille. I have found that some essential oils work better for me when combined with other oils. It is a trial and error but just because something has not worked once or twice, does not mean that the oil is not good. My intent with my comment is not to bash your idea on MLM companies based on your own research and/or dimininish your own business building information advertising but I had to chime in about the “inefficacy” of really good essential oils because my personal experiences with them have been so powerful. Good luck with all your endeavours and may love, peace and health be with you brother. Peace & Blessings, Laura
Jane
Hi Nathaniell, How much is your 5 day class. I have already spent $1600
on Morrisson’s class and although I got a lot out of it, I am still going no where.
I have a website, my niche is in health and nutrition, I work 2 jobs, and I love my main job. Goal is to quit my 2nd job. For that kind of money, I expected a website be set up, leads, the right products to sell etc. I just want a simple site that promotes quality, affordable products.
Nathaniell
The email class is totally free. You can definitely quit your job with a website, but I recommend fining a narrower niche within the “health” industry.
Deb
I don’t understand how you can clearly tear apart doTERRA and MLMs (Obviously a non believer) then turn around and say, I can help you with that same business by offering affiliate marketing to make your endeavors successful! What i got from this article is hey don’t do that, but hey (or duh as you say) drink my koolaid instead.
Nathaniell
I personally don’t believe in doTERRA, MLM, or essential oils. However, I realize that some people do. There are two parts to the article. One is saying that I don’t recommend you start a business doing essential oils because I don’t really think they work. The other part is admitting that lots of people do believe they work, and if you really want to build your business around them, I can help you do that.
I realize that opinions will differ, so I’m not going to refuse someone the opportunity to build a business about something they care about!
Alfredo
I’ve purchased many oils from dottera and Amazon. Sure with the cheaper ones “peppermint, lemongrass, lemon, ect” sometimes the difference is negligible however if u buy some top dollar oils like frankenscen, myrrh, cypress the difference is clear. Frank is sopposed to be an amber color cheap Amazon versions will give you a bigger bottle buts is diluted as shit and clear as hell. I think logically some oils are easier to make and a cheaper one from Amazon is fine like peppermint that shit grows anywhere so supply isn’t a problem but with frank and other expensive oils the supply is scarce and you really do get what you pay for.
Mark
Very informative site. Some people are arguing the merits of MLM vs Affiliate marketing while others are arguing what company is better than the other.
As far as what oils are better than the others. Much of what makes one essential oil better than others is how the essential oil is extracted.
There are 7 methods of extracting essential oils: Enfleurage, Expressed Oils, Steam Distillation, Solvent Extraction, Fractional Distillation and Percolation, Carbon Dioxide Extraction, and Phytonic Process.
Some essential oils are better extracted using a specific method and some methods are more expensive. When you see essential oils being sold in department stores or on Ebay for what seems like ridiculously low prices, that is because a solvent extraction was probably used. Yes its inexpensive, but do you really want to be inhaling, ingesting or applying an essential oil that has hexane, acetone, di-methylene-chloride and other chemicals added? Plus these chemicals can alter the chemical of the compounds that make up the essential oil.
Some inexpensive essential oils have a carrier oil added, so you are not getting 100% pure essential oil.
The time of year the plant is harvested can also affect the chemical makeup of the essential oil.
And of course how the plant was grown. Many countries use human and animal waste as fertilizer. Many spray insecticides and fertilizers on their plants. Some harvested plants are wild grown. Weather can also affect the chemical makeup of the plants.
Just because a company has a Gas Chromatography test, a Physico-chemical analysis, or a Material Safety Data Sheet on their essential oil, does not mean that the essential oil you are getting is that same essential oil in the report.
So without performing due diligence, a person can not say that this companies essential oils are better than that companies essential oils.
Many of the claims of essential oils is pseudo-science, but there are some that have the scientific evidence to back up the claims. I use vapor rub whenever I have a cold to help with my breathing. Why? because of the eucalyptus in it. And finally, just because an essential oil comes from a plant does not mean that it is safe to use. Ingesting concentrated chemicals or applying them can be dangerous. Drinking too much water can kill you.
As a final note, I am not a fan of pyramid (I mean MLM) schemes.
Keep up the good work!
Picsou
Hi,
Just to mention, there is **ONLY** one (not 7) technique to obtain Essential Oils : which is steam distillation. Other techniques give other products such as concrete, CO2 extracts… Plus, fractional distillation is not an extraction technique but a purification technique.
Please do not spread false knowledge.
Nathaniell
Yeah OK buddy.