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[Mark Fuller Contribution Level: 3]

Here are some of the issues with presenting many wellness products as a business opportunity (Note: This is based on my experience of being introduced to these products/services). I have had hundreds of people show me their nutritional wellness products and these issues continue to arise:

1. This MLM/DM product has many competitors in the retail market and the price of DM/MLM product/service is significantly higher than in retail.
2. Distributor fails to distinguish themselves from their competitors.
3. Distributor fails to offer FREE samples to proof how effective they are and how they rate against similar products in the retail market.

I wonder if anyone else has experienced these same issues.

[Nam Do Company: SendOutCards Contribution Level: 2]

The Health Industry is BIG business...be creative...I'm sure you'll find a way to "become the hunted." Think about it...there are cars everywhere...clothing stores...food stores...etc. There's a lot of a lot of kinds of businesses out there...but people still make it. If you're passionate about your industry...separate yourself from the crowd and run with it. You'll be fine!

[Steve Hachey Contribution Level: 2]

Great thread Mark,

Some companies rely on the "first to market" catch phrase and
I would agree with this to a certain degree. Whoever gets on
The market first usually has the edge on winning over the market.

Competition is healthy, it makes your company be accountable
And they will have to have fair pricing as an example.

Some companies will actually give a 60 day money back guarantee
Which is not a bad idea. It tells consumers that we stand behind
Our product.

Some companies will have only 1 standard product which will address
Only certain health concerns. Perhaps you need to look at companies
That have several products that will address individual concerns.
For example, joint care product, antioxidants, skin care, weight loss, etc

A company that has only 1 product better be the first to market otherwise
They will always be playing catch up to the competition.

Hope that this helps
Make it a great day

Steve

[Carolina Millan Contribution Level: 2]

I'm in the wellness industry and I think it's got great potential, especially nowadays with our unhealthy lifestyle. People want to feel that they're doing something good for themselves. And trust me, when the product is good, the price becomes irrelevant. Think about the people you're targeting.

[Jeffrey Taylor Contribution Level: 2]

The Health and Wellness industry is probably the fastest growing and has the most potential. With an aging population more people are becoming more aware of their health and are trying to stay younger and live longer healthy lives.

World renowned economist and best selling author Paul Zane Pilzar calls it the next trillion dollar industry.

I have provided a link to one of my webpages that includes a great video of Paul Zane Pilzar talking about the health and wellness industry and the opportunities it presents. Enjoy the video at http://www.thednaexplosion.com/choices.htm

Everybody have a great day!
jeff

[Brett Slansky Contribution Level: 2]

If you position yourself as a qualified health and wellness specialist who can really help people, you should not have any problems.
Many companies published some amazing claims....yet not too many can back that up, so many people are little concerned.
Just explain your customers why your product is supperior, go and find published studies about the products etc...
When you show that you care, you will be hunted!

Brett

[Judy Mallard Contribution Level: 1]

We are in the Wellness Boom right now
I am a baby boomer and don't want to follow the path of my deceased parents..one to cancer and the other to heart disease...It's all about Prevention today ...Yes, this is a trillion dollar industry and growing. I too have tried many many did I say many nutritional supplements. I have been in the wellness industry now for over 6 years and I've tried most of the pills, the shakes and the powders, and juices and then I found something fun and easy to share..and it works! Wow, what a concept! ...I think that when one finds his or her passion in life, and they are thrilled with what their products will do for a person, then all I can say is that the sky is the limit. There is a lot of information out there for all of us to consume for free...and that's how I found my passion in life. I just googled dark chocolate, and antioxidants as well as the acai berry, ours has both. The information out there is astounding to me!
http://www.ChocolateDrivenLife.com / Free Samples! This is a great site to find many answers. Thank you for all the opinions, offers, and advise that I've seen and commented on, many have been of interest to me. Thanks for allowing me to visit.

[Joe K Contribution Level: 2]

My Friends,
Yes the wellness Industry is the next boom. I believe that we are in the beginning stages of it right now. Statistics are consistently showing that more and more people are suffering from chronic diseases based on our daily diets. Honestly, how many of us are eating properly. America is too fast paced and always on the run trying to get their meals in quick as possible and not really caring what they put in their mouth. Yes it all comes down to you are what you eat....The wellness or prevention of diseases is a major concern, and I have seen corporations actually resorting to wellness programs. I seen earlier in the post that cost is to high compared to retail products, but we have to put our opportunity and retail products into perspective. For example, if I go to the convenient store and buy myself a coffee and a buttered bagel (unhealthy) and I pay about 4 bucks, then I add in the 5 dollar fast food combo and I do that everyday, I'm looking at over $250 bucks per person a month on garbage. I'm not sure how many wellness products go for more than that a month...if they are, then yes maybe it is overpriced. I believe once people realize the amount of money they're already spending on the convenience items, then the cost of a wellness product should be a non-factor. Whether the person wants to be a business builder is another question! ....This is where you have to feel the person out...if they're not interested in a business, DO NOT push it on them, because you may be losing a retail customer, then in turn if they have results, it just may result in a recommendation to that business builder you were looking for.

[JF Grissom Contribution Level: 2]

Free samples may win you customers, but in my experience it has little value in winning over business builders.

This happens with some of my business builders. But it doesn't need to.

If you are giving your business away in the form of samples it is because you
are thinking like a consumer not a business owner.

As a business owner you have to reverse this thought process... consumers want stuff for free
but business owners only offer free stuff if they have some assurance of profit.

When you do give out free samples it pays to be smart about it right?

If you are selling your companies products, you want to offer a continuity proposition.

Here is how it works:

Offer a free trial, ONLY when your prospect commits to using
the product regularly "IF THEY LIKE IT".

You get their payment information and have them agree to be billed
monthly "IF THEY LIKE IT". If they don't like it they have to take action
to cancel it.

If they won't offer payment information one of two things is happening.
1) Your offer doesn't have a strong enough value proposition.
2) They are dead-beats that are just looking for a freebie.

You can't control scenario 2 so control scenario 1 by improving your
value proposition.

If you are selling your business, your funded proposal needs to have
a continuity offer also. (Like Mike Dillard's Inner Circle Newsletter.
I love it because I see this in my mail box every month,
"WooHoo! Do a little money dance" when I make $11.98 every month
for my leads that have joined it either through magnetic sponsoring
or building on a budget. I don't remember which actually offers the
"Inner Circle News" letter. Sorry I got side-tracked there.)

Say you offer a club or membership that trains new business builders.
Some funded proposals start with a low cost entry. A nuisance fee of
$6 or $9 for processing or sample training material.
(Offer is free but it costs a few bucks to ship it or process it.)

Afterwords they agree to be billed $20 or $40 per month with the option to
cancel at anytime if they don't like it.

If someone pays, it proves they are serious, and in a
position to build. It also proves they see value in your offer.

So what does all this boil down to?

In the end a sample is free ONLY if they will agree to
buy contingent upon liking the product.

If you feel like you need to give your product away,
it means You're Not Building Enough Value for your customer.

There are many ways to create value in the eyes of
your prospect. Have you done your research to figure
out how to build value in your offer?

Claims don't do it... measurable value propositions do it...

A claim looks like this: "You're going to feel Awesome. So good you'll be worried! Better than you have ever felt! EVER! REALLY EVER!!!" (hehe hype hype hype...)

An example of value is different... off the top of my head it might look like this:
If you could lose 100 pounds in the next 30 days is that worth $1000 dollars? (Lots of people have spent WAY over $1000 over the years and not lost 100 pounds.)

How about losing 20 pounds in the next month for $80 with a guarantee that you will love the product or get your money back?

Or something like this:
If you could feel really good right now for $2.00 or $60 for a month.
(The price of a Monster drink or a Red Bull in the US)
Would it be worth your while to feel awesome everyday for only $1.00 a day or $30 for a month?
(The cost of your comparable product.)

See the difference between hype/claims and a value proposition?

When you build enough value in your product offering,
you won't need to give your business away in the form of samples...

Free Samples are only Free to those who deserve it.

Reward only those who deserve not those who need.

Give your products, time, and energy to those who prove
they see the value in what you offer. You will know they see
value when you get payment info.

If you are not comfortable asking for payment. Reavaluate your offer...
Your offer should be seen as THE answer for your customer.

When you demonstrate it is the answer to their problem, your target
customer is happy to commit to you in exchange for a sample.

Best in Business To You!

Sincerely,
JFGrissom

[Michael Brett Company: One-24 Contribution Level: 2]

1. This MLM/DM product has many competitors in the retail market and the price of DM/MLM product/service is significantly higher than in retail

This is absolutely true and is the nature of the beast. The adittional markup on the product s absolutely necessary for your organization to pay out their high level of commisions and bonuses. Yet these companies will tell you that they are a product driven company. This may indeed be true, but their customer is you and your associates who get signed up on autoship so as to ensure that have that almighty PV each month that is necessary to be qualified for commissions and bonuses. There is little hope of establishing a significant, viable retail business with most (not necessarily all) of these health and wealth companies. The only network marketing company that I know of that consintently sells products at price that is competitiive with or lower than national brands is Melaleuca. However, affiliates don't even retail these products. Everbody orders directly from the company. Of course with the proper marketing strategy you can always market to the crowd that consisently has 'more money than brains'. And this crowd is indeed significant.

From the standpoint of being part of the business, just consider the additional mark up on the product(s) that your personally purchase as part of your overhead. It's your royalty or franchise fee so to speak and that fee is a heck of a lot less than you would shell out in the concrete jungle for the opportunity to own a franchise.

2. Distributor fails to distinguish themselves from their competitors.

This is where you are in the drivers seat! You absolutely have to use attraction marketing! You can not let yourself be one of thousands of others with the same corporate replicated website. You are right now sitting in the middle of a gold mine. No where else will you find such a wealth of information and experts that can guide you as right here Just look around. And of course, Mike Dillard is the Master of attraction marketing. If you haven't already purchased Magnetic Sponsoring, get it now! If you scrounge arround hard enough you might even find somebody on this site that might sell it to you.

If you want even more trainining, go to Renegade University and MLMLeadSystemsPro. Sign up for both if your budget will handle it.

3. Distributor fails to offer FREE samples to proof how effective they are and how they rate against similar products in the retail market.

You are marketing nutritional products not prescription drugs. No one is going to be able to drink a couple of ounces of super oxgenated chocolate prune juice with a ORAC value of 183,614 and be cured of anything. Nutrional products work over a period of time, not with one pill or a glass of juice. Doesn't your company back your products with a guarantee? Most do. If your potential customer is not satisfied then they simply return it for a full refund. No risk at all!

p.s. I've been there and done that and it really wasn't much fun going door to door with a $40 bottle of juice.