Shaklee was established in 1956 and is often considered one of the founding health and wellness network marketing companies. Health and wellness is a huge field, covering many different types of products and goals. The field is so expansive that many MLMs fall into the health category to some degree or another.
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It isn’t so surprising that there are countless different health MLMs. After all, health is a key concern for many people. There is no single way to improve health either. As a result, customers turn to many different companies for products that might help. Shaklee is one such company.
Shaklee’s long history and decent product range means that it remains a strong competitor and sells products regularly. Shaklee fares surprisingly well in reviews too. It doesn’t attract the same controversy that seems to follow many other health MLMs.
Even so, the competition in the field is substantial. This makes it critical to be certain of the company and your audience before you get involved.
Two Ways To Make Money With Shaklee
Shaklee follows the same old MLM pattern that is seen time and time again. Distributors start by simply selling the products. They can consider recruiting others and building a downline if they want the chance to increase their income further.
This post will cover how these two areas work for Shaklee and what you can expect. I also take a look at the overall picture, which includes whether it is possible to make a sustainable income with Shaklee.
Make Money From Product Sales
The first thing to mention about the products from Shaklee is the sheer number of them. Key categories include the following:
- Nutrition
- Healthy Weight
- Beauty
- Sports
- Green Home
- Shaklee Style (apparel, drinkware, and accessories)
Some of these areas are comprehensive, with dozens of different types of products. Many of these are what you might expect, such as protein shake mixes, protein bars and multivitamin supplements.
The familiarity of the various products has advantages and disadvantages. One benefit is that potential customers will already have a rough idea of what to expect. You’re not trying to sell a completely unfamiliar product.
One serious disadvantage is that there are many such products in the marketplace already. Some of these are less expensive or easier to access. That type of competition can make it more difficult to sell the products.
Thankfully, there are some more unusual items too, like the drink featured in the RX for Health set shown below. Products like this should help with sales.
Everywhere you turn, you hear about a company, a neighbor (maybe even your wife) who is “going green”. Environmental consciousness has become popular, and it’s also a great selling point. This is one area where Shaklee shines.
Shaklee’s skincare line is made from ingredients that are deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration. The cleaning solution and laundry detergent are touted as gentle for people yet effective against dirt. And they are made from biodegradable materials that are also safe for the environment.
One other cool feature is personalized health. This is a tool that Shaklee uses that provides potential customers with personalized recommendations and information about their health. The tool is useful for customers and also provides distributors with a useful angle to get people interested in the company.
Making Sales
Shaklee uses an approach that it calls Price Differential to calculate your commission. Under this system, your commission rate is based on the difference between the price that you pay (Director Price) and the price that your customer pays.
If the customer pays the full retail price, the average difference is around 36%. When customers pay the member price instead, you’re only getting around 16% price differential. This pattern means that your commission rate varies from around 16% to 36%, depending on the type of customer.
This style has another implication too. It means that you need to purchase products first and then sell them to customers (when making in-person sales). I’m not fond of this approach, as it places too much risk on the distributor.
It’s also difficult to optimize your income when you need to buy products first. After all, you don’t know what items customers are going to want and there is a huge product selection to choose from.
Make Money Building A Team
Shaklee’s compensation plan claims that there are nine different income streams. This type of claim is beyond frustrating. In practice, there are just two ways to earn money. One is by selling the products and the other is through your team’s success.
The different ways that Shaklee suggests are mostly bonuses that come from growing your team. For example, there is a Personal Group Bonus, which is achieved by hitting volume targets in your Personal Group.
Shaklee follows a rank-based structure, which is common across MLMs. This approach means that you need to progress up through ranks in the company. Each new rank opens up more chances to earn from your team.
You’ll notice that each rank comes with specific requirements. These requirements increase as you go up the ranks.
This style also means that you cannot just rely on ranks. You also need to grow your team as much as possible, while also making sure team members are successful. Doing so becomes even more important as you go up the ranks because your income ends up strongly dependent on your team.
Joining Shaklee
Joining the company isn’t too expensive. The basic starter kit costs $49.95. It doesn’t contain any products and mostly provides information about getting started with Shaklee.
There is also a Gold Plus PAK and a Super Gold PAK. These cost $599 and $999, respectively. The prices are so high because the kits contain a large selection of products. You also get access to two Shaklee websites for nine months.
The larger packs could potentially earn you more money, as you have the chance to resell the products. Even so, it’s important to be wary. The packs represent a significant investment and you’re buying them before you know how well Shaklee is going to work for you.
Can You Generate Reliable Income With Shaklee?
The Shaklee Review
Products
Business Opportunity
Final Review
It is theoretically possible to make a reliable income with Shaklee. Honestly, this is true for almost every MLM out there. The underlying model does work, it's just that making money isn't nearly as simple as the marketing likes to suggest.
The biggest problem for Shaklee is that you need to purchase products first. It's far to easy to end up out of pocket this way, especially as Shaklee doesn't appear to provide comprehensive training.
To make a decent income, building a team is essential. Doing so really involves having strong social and salesman skills. While some people are natural in this field, most aren't. Do you really want to get involved in a business 'opportunity' that relies on constantly convincing others to join?
I also have one personal problem with the whole MLM model. Being successful takes a lot of time and effort, yet you don't even end up owning your own business. You're basically just working for Shaklee. If anything happens to that company, you could lose your entire income stream.
I would much rather invest my time and money in a business venture that I had control over.
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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Ruder
Yeah you’re very negative about a great product and a healthy lifestyle..furthermore I have been taking Shaklee for over 20 years and it’s the vitamins especially are some of the the best on the planet so yeah it’s kinda sales itself once you try it then an only then will you understand
Nathaniell
If you like Shaklee, great. Drink it and be happy! I just don’t recommend it as a way to earn money, and personally think the quality of product is overhyped and overpriced.
Ralph Williams
Nathaniel
You are definitely misinformed. You need to study your subject a lot better. Stop generalizing ! You are giving false information.There is more than just making money with a business. There is the quality of product and a need. Also good mlm companies produce quality products and stand behind them and there must be a reason the Shaklee Company is almost 65 years old.
You are only giving your opinion and that is all it is.. educate yourself so that you can give a fair and more informed critique of companies that are playing a role in a healthy economy and employing people..
It doesn’t matter what you do in business. It will always take a focused educated approach in any business. Success rate for most business is usually low in most industries and mlm is no different.
Help people find something that works. Take the high road! Talk to people that are successful in their industry and use that formula. Also talk to the companies and find more about them.People who own successful mlm businesses are not necessarily deceitful or misleading. I absolutely sure there are retail. companies out there that are misleading and manipulating their workers and consumers. What I read from your information is misleading. So take your time to investigate and research your subjects. Don’t become part of the fake, bias and misleading information! Again take the high road !!
Nathaniell
Yes, it’s my opinion. Plus, as someone that’s personally interested in health and fitness, I’ve done my own research, and the information on this page is my opinion.