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Okay, here is my other question. Regarding Mia Bella's compensation plan, what specifically is it about this compensation plan that makes it so awesome in comparison to others? Please do not take offense to my question because I'm asking this to learn and to help me choose a company to work with. Here is what I have gathered so far:


1- Positive, most everyone in your group stays "active" since they are COTM members. (But how much CV is it?)


2- Positive, no breakaways. (although I do not fully understand the impact of this in comparison to those that do have this).


3- Low minimums to qualify for overrides.


4- High percentage earned on your own sales. (sounds nice, but in the long run, consider the value of hostess benefits that other companies offer, and thesmall difference in the long run of your own sales versus your organization's...if you sell 2,000 a month which most people probably do not even do...earning 50% versus 40% of many other direct sales companies when you are in a manager position, that is not a huge difference).


10% looks like a huge earnings on your first line members, but taking into consideration this is based on your commissionable sales, for Mia Bella it *actually* means only 5% of retail, then 2.5% of retail on most levels except the sixth.


In a typical "direct sales" compensation plan, this is pretty average from the research I have done....earn 25-40+% on your own sales. Earn 4 to 5% of retail on your personal recruits, plus earn 5% of retail on your group's volume. That means 9% of your personal recruits, 5% of the rest, all levels deep until someone breaks away, then earn 5, 3, or 2% of their entire group's retail volume for the first, second, third generations. (the companies I have compared - Richmont Direct,Celebrations by Lillian Vernon, Once Upon a Family,Taste of Home Entertaining, and Northern Lights at Home). This is generalizing of course because each is a little different. TOHE is 8% basically of RETAIL on your whole group once you get to the top!


In Northern Lights at Home, you earn 35-42.7% on your personal sales, 9.1-11.9% of retail on your personal recruits, and 4.9-7.7% of your group's sales. There are breakaways, then you earn 3, 2, 1% of their whole group but still the sponsoring bonus. In the highest case scenario, this is close to triple what you earn with Mia Bella if you just look at these numbers!


So ultimately I know that yes, I have to consider all the factors, and choose a product I'm passionate about, choose a company with a successful management team and a great sponsor, and still may choose Mia Bella!But really, when you compare, the compensation plan does not look "awesome."


I'm sorry for being so detail oriented but would like some clarification on this. I'm sure I need things explained further and things I'm overlooking, so thanks!


Laura smileys/smiley1.gif

I've got a few I can answer, and others will pipe in where I may have forgotten something:


1. The CV on the COTM is 10% of the entire price - so that would be $4 (10% of $39.95 - $3.995)


2. Breakaways from my understanding is, when one of your recruits has a higher title, they now create a "breakaway" in which you would either havea reduced earning on them, or none at all. I'm sure various companies handle this differently - such as what is the quantity requirement before the breakaway takes place - but either way, they "break away" from your downline.


3. If you have one recruit - you earn from your first level, two recruits - second level, third recruit, third level (etc). Having five recruits enable you to earn on six levels. Once you reach that point, additional variables come into play to enable you to earn though your 8th level and earn from the bonus pool


4. What you may not realize is only the jars and votives have a CV of 50% - the rest of the products vary from 100% of the wholesale price equalling the CV, or the majority of the wholesale price equals the CV. The Bella Bars, for example - my wholesale price is identical to it's CV - 100%. The same for the Bella Buns and the Body Wash - 100%. The Pillars CV is 75% of the wholesale price, the Hand wash CV is just over 65% of the wholesale price. So if you are looking at a CV figure - if your recruit is only selling jars and votives, then yes, the 5% figure is closer to being accurate, however, from personal experience, I sell a variety including those with 100% CV, so my upline would actually have a figure closer to 8% most likely.


Also keep in mind you are comparing a party plan business to one that is not, although many of our distributors do have parties with our products! One can make sales repeatedly month after month with the same customers just with the Candle of the Month.


I did a quick calculation - based it on if you recruited 5 people - and can earn down to 6 levels, and each of them recruited only 2 PER MONTH. Lets say they all sell an"average" of 2 cases of jars per month. Some will sell none, some can sell so much more! This includes their COTM so it's an average CV of 153.95 per month.


1st month (you + 5)- commission 76.98


2nd month (you + 5+ 10)- commission 307.90


3rd month (you + 5 + 10 + 20) - commission 923.70


4th month (you +5 + 10 + 20 + 40)- commission 2463.20


looks good so far? Because you have 5 recruits at this point, means you can earn through to your 6th level. It does to me! I don't need to have a party to sell 2 cases myself although I definitely wouldn't turn it down if someone requested I do a party for them! It just means I sell more cases! smileys/smiley2.gif


I hope this helps you a bit. Keep in mind - in this plan, you can earn a substantial income over time if all you ever do is recruit for the COTM club - never have parties, never do craft shows. Just sell the COTM club. It takes a little bit longer to earn the same as above, but hey, I'd rather earn more - so I do more, and do my best to lead by example! smileys/smiley17.gif

Sandy has done an excellent job addressing your questions and outlining
how our compensation plan works.

I also wanted to add that unlike many party plans, you begin to earn
commission on your downline as soon as you sponsor your first business
partner, and you are not required to continually recruit or maintain high
sales volumes every month to earn residuals.

In all you do, CHOOSE Success!


Edited by: UNcommonScents

4- High percentage earned on your own sales. (sounds nice, but in the long run, consider the value of hostess benefits that other companies offer,
The thing about hostess benefits is they only matter if you plan on doing parties. I know some companies pay for hostess benefits some do not. A lot that do start your commission off at 25% so in a way you are still paying for them. Also think about when you make a sale that is not at a party, would you rather make 25% or 50%?
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So for me there is no real value in another company paying for hostess benefits. Even if I did a party and rewarded my hostess it would cost me barley anything to do so, and I would still profit more than 40%.





and thesmall difference in the long run of your own sales versus your organization's...if you sell 2,000 a month which most people probably do not even do...earning 50% versus 40% of many other direct sales companies when you are in a manager position, that is not a huge difference).



10% is not a huge difference, but how easy is it to get to a manager title with the other companies? I don’t know about the others you are looking at but from my past experiences it’s not easy and it takes time. My last party plan company to get to the fist level you had to have 5 team members and your team had to do 5000 a month to earn something like 5% on their sales. When I was actively sponsoring with them I had 3 team members and each did their first party and that was it! No matter what I tried to do to help it just was not for them.
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That is why I think our comp plan is awesome! You do not have to maintain any sales volume until you get to like the 6 or 7<SUP>th</SUP> level of management, andyou start earning off your very first team member.








Edited by: cinnamonmomof3

Exactly Cinnamon - this is so different from a party plan, and the freedom allows you so many different ways to earn. It's hard to actually make an accurate comparison between the two.