Founded in 2003, LifeVantage Corporation is a publicly traded (ticker LFVN) MLM business specializing in scientific anti-aging products using its clinically studied Protandim supplement.
LifeVantage has a very interesting history…
The company’s stock skyrocketed earlier on 2005 after they made public the clinical studies and television specials by ABC, the Today Show and PBS concerning their Protandim product in 2005, The corporation’s stock went through the roof. This early publicity sent their stock up to more than twenty dollars per share but it could not sustain it with no sales to support the hype. During this time Protantim was just obtainable by means of retail channels and it did not do well on the shelves of nutritional stores.
On May, 2009, after more than 6 months of planning and research they ventured into MLM for distribution|After more than 6 months of developing and preparation, in May of 2009. Not surprising to those who know the power of Multi-Level Marketing, LifeVantage sales have dramatically improved and with that their stock price has more than tripled from its lowest point of less than $0.10 in Nov. 2008. Still a bit too early to say, but it looks like network marketing is proving to be a good strategy.
As with all assessment, let’s start off with the easiest area to spot a scam… THE PRODUCT!
Protandim Review – I cannot speak for the product since I’ve not yet tested it speak for the product. What I do know is I am more willing to try it than any other nutritional product I have seen recently due to the extensive clinical studies and peer reviewed studies that was used on it. More than twenty universities have started a number of self funded medical studies on the product in relationship to its relation on anti-aging and disease. Quite a few have been completed and are posted on www.pubmed.gov under Protandim to see.
In contrast to the majority of nutritional merchandise, Protandim is not an antioxidant by supplementation but rather a merchandise that activates the body’s production of its own natural enzymes which the body makes use of to tear down free radicals. Clinical studies appear to prove that it is many times more efficient than taking external antioxidants for this purpose. The LifeVantage corporate website (http://www.lifevantage.com) lists access to all the studies, information and news video releases on their product that explains how it acts and what it does.
What I like most regarding Protandim is the distinctive marketing approach it has…
In constrast to many MLM companies which almost always use the old "try it out (for 30, 60 or 90 days) and see how you feel" script, LifeVantage distributors are able toconfidently exclaim that Protandim is clinically proven to lessen oxidative stress by slowing down the rate of cell aging to that of a 20 year old.
This alone is not enough to build a business on, but it’s a huge introduction for distributors. More often than not the hardest part in shaping a nutritional networking business is getting individuals to check out the product and LifeVantage holds the aces in this area.
I was pleasantly surprised at the price of the product. In an industry where product autoships are almost always above one hundred dollars per month, a one month autoship supply of Protandim for a retail "preferred customer" is only $39! This pricing is way less than the industry norm, thus making it doable to gain loyal retail consumers.
Besides the Protandim product, LifeVantage also has a skin care product called TrueScience which is a skin cream designed with the anti-aging properties of Protandim. What’s striking about the overall product line is its simplicity; just two fundamental products, with one core selling point, and a cost that is truly not expensive.
Ultimately it is going to take a lot more than research and advertising for a product to make it. Protandim will have to make a noticeable impression on the overall health of people taking it, whether it be additional energy, improved sleep, not getting sick as often, etc. There’s not a lot of individuals who will use their splurge on a product monthly based on research alone. If you are reading this article and have actually tried Protandim, please feel free give us comment on the product.
LifeVantage MLM compensation plan
I’m not going to go to the matter of how lucrative the MLM compensation plan is. There is quite a lot of money available in every MLM compensation plan as long as it’s legit. If you hear somebody going on about how their MLM comp plan pays the highest in the business, huge chance something is not right.
Technically speaking LifeVantage uses a unilevel pay plan paying down 9 dynamically compressed levels with the potential for a matching bonus on the 1st 4 levels and a coded bonus for LifeVantage pack qualifiers that allows for bonuses to be earned through unlimited depth. If none of this makes sense to you don’t worry about it.
The most important part about the MLM compensation plan is legal, because it only pays commissions on product sales. LifeVantage has taken an added step to promote the movement of product that I truly like and which does a lot to ensure legitimacy. Like all company, distributors must stay qualified to earn commissions, here in LifeVantage this means 200 PV per month in personal volume. The nice thing is that the volume generated from personal "preferred customers" reduces personal volume requirements for distributors. This means that as a distributor, I can reduce my monthly personal volume requirement down to the minimum of 30 PV if I have enough personal customers consuming product.
Behavior rewarded will be duplicated so when you see a company reward the enrollment of loyal retail "preferred customers" (individuals buying the product, but not does not involve themselves in the business opportunity), you will most likely have a higher customer to distributor ratio. This ratio is one of the most crucial things the attorney general and FTC look at when determining if a company is a pyramid scheme or not.
Company and Leadership of LifeVantage
There are a few notable points of interest about the LifeVantage beyond the short history I have mentioned. The company is a member of the Direct Selling Association (http://www.dsa.org/forms/CompanyFormPublicMembers/view?id=44F6200000362) and the BBB (http://www.bbb.org/denver/business-reviews/health-and-diet-products-retail/lifevantage-corporation-in-littleton-co-90014185). They were implicated in and settled a lawsuit with Zrii. In this lawsuit, they were alleged to have conspired with ex- Zrii management/distributors to breach contracts and switch to companies. It was settled for 400,000 even if the lawsuit asked for damages of 250 million. This type of lawsuit is normal in the network marketing business and in my opinion nothing to be worried about.
As for the leadership behind the company, formerly with Metabolife, David Brown, is the CEO and Dr. Joe McCord, the driving force behind Protandim, is the Director of Science. It is noteworthy that Dr. McCord was the co-discoverer of antioxidant enzymes and their relationship to free radicals in 1968 at Duke University. It is also good to know that LifeVantage has skilled in-house legal counsel with Eric Marchant, who has counseled multi-national hundred million dollar network marketings in the past.
A quick look at the industry and competition…
It is common knowledge that nutrition is the backbone of MLM industry and there is no doubt that the health and wellness industry is growing and will on the rise and will still increase. On the flipside I think at present you have an overload of companies coming into the industry and it is easy to get confused and be lost inside the rubble unless you have something exceptional… I think LifeVantage has just that. With a low product price point and the type of studies and publicity behind Protandim, I think they are suited to thrive in the networking business.
In conclusion…
LifeVantage sells a legitimate product at a price point that real customers can afford and together with a compensation plan that for me solid more sturdy than your standard Multi-Level Marketing. While there is a lot of research and publicity behind this company you still want to be sure your belief is 100% behind it before delving into it. In multilevel marketing, belief in a product is still top priority and you cannot trade whatever amount of research for that. If you’re not willing to give it a year, then better if you don’t give it any other day at all. LifeVantage will work if you work it.