Multi-level marketing (MLM) companies never fail to fascinate us in endorsing their products and services. Nonetheless, they don’t simply sell products. They sell dreams among people in search of opportunities. One of them is 4Life Research. However, can you really make money with 4Life Research?
This question about MLMs is not new as many who tried various opportunities in the industry just ended up in failure. However, despite that, each company continuously shares the carbon copy pledges that promise to help you earn.
Now, we have 4Life Research: another MLM that promises a lucrative way to make money. We will see how true that is as we dig deeper about its products, compensation plan and the opportunity it offers.
The Basics
- Company: 4Life Research
- Founders: David and Bianca Lisonbee
- Products: Health Products
- Website: www.4life.com
- Cost to Join: $146 - $525 Enrollment Pack
In the middle of countless MLM companies focusing on the health niche, 4Life Research tries to elevate itself by promising health benefits among consumers through “scientifically-proven” products.
It started with the vision of a couple named David and Bianca Lisonbee in 1998 when David presented the Transfer Factors pills to his wife and convinced her of its efficacy. The couple then ventured the said product through the help of their relatives and using their own home as a place of meetings to endorse their products.
Now, the product has reached at least 50 countries with more than 100,000 Distributors worldwide. This is through the convincing pitch of the opportunity to make you your own boss.
Apparently, 4Life Research is generating its income through the help of its individual contractors or, as the company calls it, Distributors. This is one of the best options for businesses to distribute their goods as the company’s success would be more certain than venturing with high street stores.
The Distributors of 4Life Research earn through commissions that they could generate from the products that they would be able to sell. The opportunity is further embellished with promising bonuses that Distributors could get through recruitment of other individuals.
Nonetheless, 4Life Research focuses on the sales of its products which would appear as an easy task to any prospects as it already reached various corners of the world.
The claims of the company of its products’ potentials further strengthen its influence in the public. Thanks to its resident doctors and researchers, 4Life Research continuously boasts of the health benefits that one could get by using its products.
The Products
4Life Research employs numbers of doctors and researchers that make up its in-house Research and Development team and fashion the products with various ingredients that the company claims to have huge benefits in an individual’s health.
The company offers a huge variety of health products. As 4Life’s website shows, the products are in various categories like Transfer Factor Immune Support, Targeted Transfer Factor, 4Life Transform, 4Life Essential Oils, Digest4Life, ShapeRite by 4Life, and Enummi Personal Care.
The products claim to support immune system health, burn fat, build muscle mass, and general wellness.
With this, the company boasts its flagship product line, the 4Life Transfer Factor. The company claims that the products “educate your immune cells, supporting your immune system’s ability to recognize, respond to, and remember potential threats.”
One of the distinctive things about the products is the use of cow colostrum or bovine colostrum as an ingredient.
Colostrum is the breast fluid produced by mammals that have recently given birth prior to the breast milk production. It contains high levels of antibodies, which are proteins that fight infections and bacteria and promote immunity and improve gut health. Nonetheless, the ingredient is not ideal for individuals who have allergy reactions to milk.
According to 4Life Research, “many” of its products undergo hundreds of tests to ensure their quality. That said, as the company prides itself with its team of doctors and researchers, it also boasts of its million dollar investment for laboratory equipment and analytical labs to test its own test raw materials and finished goods.
The product even stated that it used to partner with University of Missouri in conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled, 30-day efficacy study on the effectiveness of one of its products.
That said, 4Life Research product seems to possess the essential credentials to market its product in the public. There are even numerous positive reviews regarding the effects of products among its consumers. It includes claims of the products being cancer remedies.
Nonetheless, despite the act of tagging the products being “scientifically proven, 4Life research isn’t making bold claims about the products being preventive medicine for various illnesses as, obviously, it could get the entirety of the business in trouble.
Compensation: Can You Really Make Money With 4Life Research?
This is one of the predictable questions about MLM companies. With this, each one graces its opportunity advertisement with claims of lucrative compensations to lure prospects. 4Life Research is no different to others. As the company cultivates the reputation of its products, it also keeps on enriching the number of its Distributors as they are some of the essential keys to the company’s success.
Nonetheless, joining the opportunity could also cost an individual which is very typical among MLM opportunities.
To join 4Life Research, an individual would be asked to purchase the company’s Enrollment Pack which comes in three options: the Immune IQ Starter Pack ($146), Preferred Customer Basic Enrollment Pack ($250), and Preferred Customer Premium Enrollment Pack ($525).
Besides that, you should also remember that though the company claims there is no need for you to purchase the products monthly to remain as an active Distributor, you should meet a monthly quota to be considered active. Hence, you should make sales or it could cost you your status as an active Distributor.
To remain as an active Distributor, an individual should produce numbers of Life Points (LP or points that are used to calculate your commissions) that would make up your monthly quota or 100 Principal Volume (PV or the total LP produced through your own purchases or your customer’s) a month.
That said, let us now scrutinize 4Life’s compensation plan and decide whether it is capable of delivering you decent income or not.
- Retail Customer Profit
Since you would be selling products coming from 4Life research itself, do expect that you would receive instant profit through the products you would sell.
The Retail Customer Profit is the difference between the wholesale price of 4Life’s product and its retail sale price once you pass it to your Retail Customers.
Though this might be a good thing for Distributors, this causes the products to cost expensively for the consumers to buy.
- Instant Discount
4Life Research encourages its Preferred Customers and Distributors to purchase multiple products at once. By doing it, they are eligible for 25 percent discounts on products that contain more than 100 LP.
However, do remember that Retail Customers are different from Preferred Customers. While Retail Customers purchase products from a Distributor, the latter is enrolled by a Distributor to the company that lets them automatically purchase products monthly through auto ship arrangement.
- Rapid Rewards
Rapid Rewards focuses on the commission Distributors could get from each of the first purchases of their enrolled Preferred Customers.
This happens when a Distributor meets the required 100 LP quota a month. With that, a Distributor would be eligible for a 25 percent commission from the LP of his or her personally enrolled Preferred Customer (First Level).
On the other hand, if his or her personally enrolled Distributors have managed to acquire their own Preferred Customers, that upline Distributor would get 12 percent commission on the first LP of those Second Level Preferred Customers.
The commission for Rapid Rewards ends at 5 percent for the Third Level Preferred Customers.
- My 4Life Profit
Upon enrolling for this opportunity, you would also be given your own replicated website of the company. This is a good thing for Distributors as it would expand their options in producing their sales.
That said, using your own replicated website, you would be eligible to let your customers place their orders online and get your $25 commission.
Nonetheless, do remember that your customers must at least place orders with at least 100 LP for you to get this bonus.
- Builder Bonus
To qualify for this bonus, you need to reach the rank of a Builder or above. By reaching these ranks, you would then be required to meet other requirements like number of Distributor recruits and Preferred Customers and Group Volume (GV or the accumulation of your own PV and your downline’s).
That said, you could receive $50 Builder Bonus (requires two personally enrolled Preferred Customers and three personally recruited active Distributors that would help you generate 600 GV), $200 Builder Bonus (requires two personally enrolled Preferred Customers and three personally recruited active Distributors that would help you generate 600 GV and are meeting the said requirements for the $50 Builder Bonus), and $800 Builder Bonus (requires two personally enrolled Preferred Customers and three personally recruited active Distributors that would help you generate 600 GV and are meeting the said requirements for the $200 Builder Bonus).
- Team Commissions
The commission that you would receive from this comes from the sales of your downline. The depth of level that you would be able to benefit from, on the other hand, depends on your rank.
The Associate rank is eligible for 2 percent commission coming from First Level downline and 25 percent commission from Second Level.
On the other hand, the Builder rank is eligible for First to Second Level commissions with the same percentages as the Associate rank plus a 5 percent commission for the Third Level.
Lastly, the Diamond rank gets the same percentages of commission for First to Third Level and starts his or her own generation with a 6 percent commission.
- Infinity Payout
This continues your perks of receiving commissions from your downline after you reach the Third Level. It starts at the Diamond rank and continues up to Platinum International Diamond rank that enjoys First Level to Tenth Level commissions.
However, and of course, it would require you to meet a lot of qualifications not just to reach the bottom level but so as to reach higher ranks in the organization. The qualifications includes monthly PV, numbers of personally enrolled Preferred Customers and recruited Distributors, monthly LP on first three levels, legs of high ranking Distributors, and monthly Organizational Volume (OV or the accumulation of LP from your personal purchases, customer accounts, and all the Distributors and customers in your downline).
Before enjoying the stated compensations, you should, of course reach specific ranks. That said, here are the succession of ranks at 4Life Research.
- Associate
- Builder
- Diamond
- Presidential Diamond
- International Diamond
- Gold International Diamond
- Platinum International Diamond
How Much Will I Earn at 4Life?
It is an incurable trend among MLM companies to present their opportunities in an idealistic manner. Nonetheless, the truth behind those promises of riches and lucrative life is uncovered by each company’s income disclosure statement (IDS).
Unfortunately, this truth is also a subject to changes as companies often present them with murky details or, if not, in a complex manner.
Now, let us see if the opportunity being offered by 4Life Research would actually help you earn a decent income. Let us have its latest IDS available.
According to 4Life, “80 percent of all distributors received no income at all” based on the IDS it presented in 2016. Though it is a fact that some Distributors only joined the opportunity to purchase products at discounted prices, it is still bothering that only a portion of its vast population earned. Worse, it is even apparent that not this entire remaining 20 percent earned decent earnings.
Looking at it, the high and low income figures presented just represent the highest and lowest earnings that Distributors earned that year. That said, let us focus on the average earnings of the ranks mentioned.
According to a 2016 census, the median US household income in 2016 was $57,617 or $4,763 a month. With that, with the figures presented under the average monthly commission payment, it is obvious that you need to at least reach the rank of International Diamond rank to say that the opportunity is a way to earn a decent income and replace a regular job position.
However, reaching the position would require you to invest a great deal of time as it entails the production of 10 personally recruited Distributors and personally enrolled Preferred Customers, 20, 000 LP in just one month alone and 2 heads of downline Presidential Diamonds.
Lastly, though it is undeniably luring to see an average monthly commission of $167,127 for the rank of Platinum International Diamonds, do remember that the number of Distributors that earned that is no more than one percent.
That said, you know why 4Life Research stopped producing its annual IDS report.
Is This a Pyramid Scheme?
4Life has been in operation for decades now. Nonetheless, why do individuals still express their concerns about diving into this opportunity? Is it a pyramid scheme? Is something wrong about the company itself? No.
Then, what’s the scare about? The problem lies under the entirety of the MLM industry itself that taints the reputation of each company even in their inception period.
Though MLM companies are legal, the way the organization of their individual contractors is arranged puts things in mess. That’s the thing: MLM companies are using pyramid structure. So, what sets an MLM apart from pyramid schemes?
Pyramid schemes generate income for its people using the investment being paid by the recruits. It feeds the pockets of those at the top of the pyramid leaving nothing for those at the bottom.
To continue the scheme, the victims are encouraged to find their own recruits that would be put under them. That way, the victims would have their own chance of becoming the scammers themselves by benefitting from the investments of the unknowing recruits or new victims.
However, with no products or service to be offered to the public and to generate income, the structure would soon face the inevitable end once the flow of recruits depletes.
MLMs are far from that. As you see, MLM companies generate their revenue through the sales of products or services. However, as each one uses the pyramid structure in providing the generality of income among its people, most of the MLM folks earn little to nothing.
In its pyramid structure, the individual contractors that joined the opportunity during its inception period would be placed at the top of the system. On the other hand, those who are just recently recruited would be put at the bottommost part. This is where the problem starts.
In the MLM industry, prospects are lured by the promise of high commission rates. That sounds like a perfect way to earn, doesn’t it? Nonetheless, what most of these people fail to understand is that once they jump into the opportunity, these commissions would come from them.
In this business, those at the top of the structure take portions of earnings of those at the bottom by referring to it as “commission.” As it helps those at the top to earn lucrative compensations, it serves as an agony for those at the bottom as their rightful earnings are being taken away from them.
This is the reason why most MLM individuals earn little to nothing and the answer why MLM opportunities are considered to have a high failure rate.
Weighing Things: Pros and Cons
While you are still thinking whether you should jump into this opportunity or not, let us have a short review of the crucial things that you should ponder about.
Pros
- 4Life Research has been in business for decades now. This ensures you that it is one of the well-established businesses in the industry.
- The company is devoted in doing research in fashioning their products and in further development of its efficacy.
- It would just require you a one-time payment for Enrollment Packs to be considered as a Distributor.
- You can earn commissions down to 10 levels deep.
Cons
- Though 4Life Research is not implying that you are not required to purchase the products yourself to remain as an active Distributor, you will be somehow forced to buy the products yourself to maintain your active status as there is a required LP every month.
- There are more than 100,000 4Life Distributors around the world. That said, it means that it has already saturated the market that would make it hard for you to make your own sales.
- Though the compensation plan of the company seems promising, do realize that the commissions being provided by the company comes from the earnings of Distributors themselves. While it is a wise choice for the company to save some money, it serves as a burden for downline Distributors.
- The IDS of 4Life was honestly projecting ugly figures and now, the company refuses to release the updated figures of its annual IDS. Something’s off about this.
- While you can earn 10 levels deep once you reach the highest rank, it also means that there would be lots of upline ranks waiting for you and your earnings.
- It is an MLM. Though it is legal, opportunities in the MLM industry have high failure rates.
Conclusion: Final Verdict
It is true that 4Life Research has already established its mark in the MLM industry. However, the way it lets its people generate portions of their incomes makes the system questionable. It doesn’t just prove that earning at this opportunity is a tough battle but it also verifies that there would always be losers in its system: the new recruits or in the simplest term -- you.
Nonetheless, as lots of MLM companies say, the earnings you are about to generate depend on the amount of time and dedication you are willing to give. However, are you willing to spend an eternity and wait until you reach the top of its system? Well, I think you shouldn’t.
Thank you for reading this article! I hope that you learned a lot about the opportunity being offered by 4Life Research. Nonetheless, if you are still looking for better ways to earn, we can help you! We have been doing it since 2015! Say goodbye to commission sharing and pestering moments just to find recruits. Click here and know how!