Welcome to my Isagenix review!
Chances are, someone you know invited you to try out Isagenix weight loss products and to make money with it.
You might have heard something along the line of “taking control of your health and making money at the same time“.
Is it as good as it sounds? Or is Isagenix a scam? Let’s find out.
Name: Isagenix
Niche: Health and Wellness
Type: Network Marketing / MLM
Founder: John Anderson, Jim Coover, Kathy Coover
Costs: $29/year + Initial Product Order + Monthly Autoship
Best For: People who are good at recruiting members and face-to-face selling
Isagenix Review Summary
For those of you who want a quick Isagenix review, here you go.
The good news is – Isagenix is not a scam. It is a legit MLM business opportunity that has been around since 2002. It’s possible to make real money if done right.
They have a lot of products, but the main focus is weight loss supplements (which is one of the fastest growing industries).
Here’s the bad news – up to 98% of all Isagenix distributors fail to make a sustainable income. This is not just Isagenix’s problem, it’s common for all MLM companies.
The reason behind the high failure rate is that people join the company without knowing what is required from them.
To succeed, you need to meet a lot of people, do face-to-face selling, follow up with prospects, recruit new members, and coach them to do the same. This is how you expand your sales team and make more commissions.
Most distributors rely on just recruiting family and close friends into their network, which is not sustainable and can sour relationships if handled unprofessionally.
If you prefer to work alone without recruiting anyone, there are much better alternatives out there to make a decent second income.
Word of mouth marketing strategy is widely used in Isagenix, as it is a network marketing company.
The people who start a business with Isagenix are called distributors. They are rewarded when they make a sale or recruit people into the company.
Generally, I’d take the words of a MLM distributor with a grain of salt because there is a conflict of interest.
I’ve met many distributors who are good people that have your best interests in mind, but it’s always good to steer on the safe side when it comes to parting with your money.
You are doing the right thing reading Isagenix reviews and investigating this opportunity thoroughly, because not everyone is suitable for this business model.
When you join Isagenix as a distributor, you are expected to do 3 things:
- Sell products
- Recruit members
- Coach and motivate them to do (1) and (2)
These are the basic premise behind every network marketing company. They sell products and expand their sales force through distributors.
If you don’t like to do face-to-face selling and recruit new distributors, I’d suggest you look into affiliate marketing instead.
It is how I make my 4-figure side income every month using just a laptop, without meeting a single client or recruiting anyone. I learn online at my own pace and work behind my computer.
Of course, everyone has different dispositions, so what works well for me might bore you to death.
It takes hard work to make money no matter which business model you choose. So I’d suggest you select one that suits your personalities.
If you think you have what it takes to thrive with Isagenix, let’s dive straight into our Isagenix review.
Table of Contents:
What Is Isagenix?
Isagenix International LLC is a privately held multi-level-marketing company that sells dietary supplements and personal care products.
They have been around since 2002, advertising themselves as the opportunity to health, wealth and happiness.
With a heavy focus on weight loss management, their flagship product is the 30 Day System that consists of protein shakes, herbal tonic, snacks and supplements.
This system is meant to be a meal replacement weight loss program.
Isagenix 30 Day System
This system does not come cheap, with the suggested retail price of US$378.50 at the time of writing.
From an Isagenix distributor’s point of view, this means that the flagship product won’t be easy to sell.
Most people are not ready to pay big bucks for something they haven’t tried before, so you should expect some resistance when you try to sell this product.
Apart from the 30 Day System, Isagenix also have a lot more products to offer in other categories, such as
- Other weight loss systems.
This includes various snacks, shakes and fat-burning supplement designed to help with weight management.
. - Performance systems.
Consists of the AMPED and IsoLean products which are supposed to support muscle growth and recovery for optimal performance.
. - Vitality and well-being systems.
Includes a myriad of products from joint and pain relief system to brain and sleep support system.
. - Essential oils and diffusers.
Consists of different kinds of essential oils and accessories like diffusers.
. - Personal care and beauty products.
Ranges from body wash, eye cream, youth serum, as well as hand and body cream.
How Effective Are Isagenix Products?
Let’s take a look at their flagship product, the Isagenix 30 Day System.
According to Healthline, an authority website that reviews and rates health products, the Isagenix Diet only has a mediocre score of 2.75 out of 5.
While Healthline agrees that the Isagenix Diet will cause weight loss if done correctly, they have also pointed out that is not a good long term solution.
According to them, the Isagenix diet is made up almost entirely of processed and per-packaged food that are high in added sugar.
So it can be a decent short term solution to lose some weight, but it is definitely not sustainable.
It seems like the review from a major review site is not that favorable, but what about customers who buy Isagenix products?
What Do Customers Say About Isagenix?
It’s important to know what other customers say because consumers today are smart enough to Google around and read reviews before they make a big purchase.
If you do a bit of research, you’d realize that the reviews for Isagenix are mostly on the extreme ends.
Most of the feedback revolve around the 30 Day System, which makes sense because it is the most popular product of Isagenix.
On one hand, we have customers who swear by it and claim to have seen various benefits after they take the 30 Day System.
However, I’d advise you to take the overly positive reviews with a grain of salt, especially those that describe effects that are not supposed to be there.
Exercise caution as some of these reviews could very well be written by Isagenix distributors who want to boost their sales.
On the other hand, we have very dissatisfied customers who either don’t see any effects, or experienced negative side effects.
Some of the common Isagenix complaints include starvation and monthly auto-ship requirements that weren’t conveyed by distributors.
No matter what Isagenix distributors say about their product, it should be made clear that none of these products are meant cure your medical problems.
What Do Experts Say About Isagenix Diet?
Isagenix 30 Day System is a meal replacement program designed to lose weight in a short period of time, so don’t buy into irresponsible claims made by self-proclaimed “wellness experts” who are trying to profit from selling the products.
To be honest, I haven’t tried any of the Isagenix meal replacement products before, so I can’t comment on the taste and effectiveness of these products.
This is when we turn to credible sources such as Healthline (linked above) or Choice, an authoritative Australian consumer advocacy website.
These sources do not have a conflict of interest, so they have no reason to over-hype or discredit a product.
According to Choice, there is nothing new about Isagenix. They have interviewed Dr. Tim Crowe from Nutrition and here’s his response:
“It is a supplement diet that is basically very low calorie (VLCD) and these have been around for years.”
– Dr. Tim Crowe
Accredited practicing dietitian and associate professor in Nutrition
It appears that the chief scientific officer with Glycemic Index Foundation doesn’t comment favorably on Isagenix Diet as well.
“You can buy a month’s supply of Optifast for just under $150 per month. This would achieve approximately the same weight loss as Isagenix and you would feel equally good.”
“It’s the replacement of two to three meals with the shakes that makes you lose weight – the supplements are just window dressings”.
– Dr. Alan Barclay
Chief scientific officer with Glycemic Index Foundation
Both of the experts also said that while VLCD meal replacements can work very well in the short term, they can be difficult to sustain long term for weight reduction.
This could pose a problem if you decide to become a Isagenix distributor because you may not get a lot of repeat customers.
For me, I’d rather take the words of nutrition experts over Isagenix distributors who stand to make a profit from your purchase.
Isagenix As A Business Opportunity
For those of you who are looking to make money selling Isagenix products, this section is for you.
We will go over the Isagenix compensation plan briefly, as well as the ways to make money with this business opportunity.
But first, let’s understand the total costs required to get started as a distributor.
How Much Does It Cost to Get Started?
Isagenix has two membership types:
- Customers (and Preferred Customers)
- Associates
Customers and Preferred Customers can purchase Isagenix products at reduced prices for their own consumption, but they can’t resell these products.
If you want to sell Isagenix products, you have to at least become an Isagenix Associate.
An existing Customer can update their status from Customer to Associate at any time within the first 2 years.
Unfortunately, even becoming a Customer is not as straightforward as it should be.
You need to contact the person who introduced you to Isagenix to sign you up as a Customer.
This is very common in network marketing companies, because they need to account for the sponsor tree structure and determine where the commissions should go.
Even so, this cumbersome process leaves something to be desired.
Anyway, here’s the costs to sign up as an Isagenix Customer:
If you really want to become an Isagenix distributor, I’d recommend that you sign up as a Preferred Customer with Autoship.
This will bring your annual membership fees down to US$29/year and qualify for better pricing.
After that, you need to place a Qualifying Initial Order to become an active distributor.
Your sponsor will usually recommend you to get started with one of the Introduction Product PAKs (because they get bonuses for this), but this is optional.
The Introduction Product PAKs can easily cost a few hundred dollars each, up to more than $1,000.
The price can be overwhelming for new starters, so I’d recommend that you buy the initial order based on what you are comfortable.
There are a lot of products to choose from and you don’t actually need to purchase one of the PAKs.
However, you will need to maintain at least 100 Personal Volume (PV) each month to stay as an active distributor.
This works out to around US$150 per month.
Total Costs to Become Distributor:
US$29/year (annual membership) + ~US$150/month (monthly PV requirement) + Initial Product Order
Isagenix is Too Costly?
Learn how to build your second income with no money down.
How to Make Money with Isagenix?
Isagenix uses the mantra “You share, they share, repeat” to help their distributors make money.
Based on this method, you share Isagenix with 2 of your family or friends.
They buy from you, and you make retail sales profit from their purchases.
This is “You share“.
Then you encourage them to do the same. They share Isagenix with 2 other people and sell to these people, making commissions in the process.
This is “They share“.
Finally, you repeat this process many times over. Theoretically, the distributors and sales in your team will grow indefinitely, and you can make more and more money from their sales commissions.
This is “Repeat“.
Of course, this is overly simplified and idealistic. It doesn’t take into account the costs involved and the intricacies of recruiting family and friends into your sales team.
But you get the picture. To put it simply, there are 2 main ways to make money with Isagenix:
- Sell products and make retail sales commissions.
- Recruit people under your team and encourage them to do the same. With this you rise in ranks and qualify for more bonuses.
Even though you can make some profits selling Isagenix products, the real money lies in recruiting people and unlocking the bonuses.
This brings us to the compensation plan of Isagenix.
Isagenix Compensation Plan
If you prefer to dig into the details, here’s the complete compensation plan for Isagenix.
There are 5 ranks of achievement in the Isagenix compensation structure:
- Associate
- Consultant
- Manager
- Director
- Executive
Every Isagenix distributor starts off as an Associate. When they recruit 2 new Associates, they are promoted to Consultant.
Do keep in mind that you need to have at least 2 active Associates at any time within the prior 30 days to qualify as a Consultant.
The biggest difference between Associate and Consultant ranks (and above) is the ability to receive Team Bonuses generated from your sales teams.
The higher you rank, the more commission you can unlock.
In most cases, the Team Bonuses (and other bonuses unlocked from having a team that sells consistently) are referred to as passive/residual income.
This is what drives most distributors to recruit members. Recruiting new members and earn commissions from their sales is one of the biggest selling point of MLM compensation plans.
If you operate on your own and only sell products (without recruiting anyone), your earning potential becomes very limited.
Here’s a quick rundown on the commission and bonuses according to Isagenix compensation plan:
- Retail Profits
As an Associate you can order products at wholesale cost (generally 33% off retail) and resell to your customers at retail. You keep the difference.
. - Retail Direct Profits
This is similar to Retail Profits but for products bought directly from your Isagenix Associate website. Isagenix deducts US$4.95 in administrative fees for every transaction.
. - Product Introduction Bonus (Optional)
When you recruit a new Associate, you can offer them a Product Introduction PAK that contains various Isagenix products. You make extra commissions if they take up one of these.
. - Team Bonuses
Available to Consultants and above. You earn bonuses when your team makes certain amount of sales.
. - Executive Matching Team Bonuses
Additional 10% matching bonuses based on the sales volume of your direct referrals.
. - Special Incentives and Other Promotions
This includes the one-time bonuses you get as you advance through the ranks.
Reality Check: How Much Do Isagenix Distributors Make?
We can have a relatively good idea of how much Isagenix Associates make just by looking at their earnings statement.
Suffice it to say that the numbers are not looking good.
Here’s a simple breakdown of Isagenix Associates annual income based on United States income disclosure.
Percentage of Associates | Annual Revenue |
---|---|
Bottom 79% | $0 |
Next 10.5% | $0 to $254 |
Next 8.4% | $254 to $2,822 |
Next 1.89% | $2,822 to $37,404 |
Top 0.21% | $37,404 and above |
Here’s an excellent analysis of Isagenix earnings statement, do read up if you’re interested.
It is alarming that up to 98% of Isagenix distributors make less than $235/month. Keep in mind that these figures are before expenses.
As mentioned before, there are multiple expenses involved with being an Isagenix distributor.
You are expected to pay up your annual fees, satisfy monthly PV requirements, attend trainings and conferences (which cost money), and pay for travel expenses.
Not to mention the time and effort spent trying to make your business work.
Why Do Most Isagenix Distributors Fail to Make Money?
To put it bluntly, nobody joins an MLM opportunity to make money for the company.
Everyone joined at some point with just a single goal – to make more money for themselves and the people they care for. That’s the whole point of it, isn’t it?
However, the odds are heavily stacked against you if you become an Isagenix distributor without the right expectations and skill set.
Try asking someone who earns a commission when they make a sale at store (e.g. cosmetic shops). They’ll tell you it’s more difficult than it seems to close a deal.
In these cases, the customers in the shops are already interested in the products they are offering.
Now imagine how hard it will be to convince people to want your product in the first place.
This is the reality faced by most Isagenix distributors. They are selling products to cold traffic – people who are not looking for these products.
That’s why most distributors end up selling to people around them, who purchase the products just to support their friends or family members.
As you can probably imagine, this is not a sustainable strategy.
This is also why people end up losing family and friends over a MLM company.
Selling products is just the first step. After you succeed in selling, you must recruit members and advance in ranks to expand your earning potential.
No matter what, you will need to recruit and train new distributors at some point.
Do you have the right skills and target audience to do so?
If you don’t, you are just wasting your time and money.
Are You Cut Out To Be An Isagenix Distributor?
The money lies in recruiting members, and to recruit a lot of members at that. It’s the reality of MLM – the big money resides in recruiting a large following of members and keep motivating them to make sales.
Let’s do a bit of self-reflection on whether you are cut out for the network marketing business model:
- Do you enjoy talking to people and introducing MLM opportunities to others? Can you take rejections with a smile and keep on pushing forward?
- Apart from your family and friends, do you have other ways of approaching new prospects? Don’t make the classic mistake of losing family and friends over an MLM company.
- Are you ready to attend weekly or monthly meetings with your team and sponsor? Joining an MLM team is a commitment. You are expected to recruit new members and make sales, or you are a liability.
If your answers to all three questions above is a unanimous “YES!”, then you might just have what it takes to thrive in Isagenix and make it to the top 2%.
I have been involved in MLMs before, and unfortunately, these were the top 3 reasons why I quit and looked elsewhere.
How I Make A Sustainable Income
If your answer to any of the questions above is a definite NO, you are probably not cut out to be a network marketer.
Fortunately, there are other avenues to make sustainable side income at home. One such methods is called affiliate marketing.
In affiliate marketing, you make a commission when you introduce relevant products and services to people who need it.
Most importantly, there is no need to recruit members, join sales teams, or even do face-to-face selling.
I’ve been doing affiliate marketing in the past 2 years and I have never had to answer to anyone, or meet any customer for that matter.
If you want to know how I got started, read about my story and learn from my failures. I also document how I made my first profit online, and how I made it into a consistent income stream.
If you are interested to get your hands on the same opportunities, I have a great recommendation to get you started.
Check Out My Top Recommendation and My Results Here
Do note that the article above contains affiliate links, and I’ll make a commission (at no extra costs to you) if you find any of the products useful and buy them.
This is how I make money with affiliate marketing, after all – by introducing people in need (such as you) to relevant and value-adding services (e.g. training to make money from affiliate marketing).
I hope this in-depth Isagenix review has been useful to you. Do leave a comment if you have any questions or MLM experience to share, I’d love to hear about it!
Bill
Thanks for the review on Isagenix.
It was really thorough and helped me make up my mind about becoming a distributor for them.
You really did the research. I am glad I came and read your post first.
I have tried other MLM’s in the past without much success.
I know of people that have tried MLM and their family tries to avoid them because they are always trying to sell them something. The products were very expensive too.
Bill
Edward
Most MLM company products are expensive because they have to account for the commissions.
The only way to pay commissions for distributors (and generations of distributors before them) is to inflate the product prices.
Unfortunately this makes the products less competitive and harder to sell.
Dave
This is a wonderful, in-depth review of Isagenix – an MLM opportunity.
It has been around since 2002 so it is not a scam – but, and this is a big but, the average person cannot make money with this program.
In fact, your article indicates that 90%+ people makes less than $255 a YEAR – that would not even pay for expenses of product you have to buy and other expenses.
I have been in MLM opportunities before – none of them worked out for me.
The products are over-priced; you could buy a similar product on-line for much, much less;
People who you do somehow get into your downline usually drop out because they can’t or won’t sell;
Your “family and friends” become ex-friends because they are overpaying for a product they feel pressured into buying;
It sounds so good on their Web page – but I have not found one MLM where the average person can make money. The average person does want to sell items to strangers and you quickly run out of “friends and family.”
Thank you for your excellent review.
Edward
Well, none of the MLM opportunities worked out for me too.
The products are often overpriced because they have to pay commissions to the distributors – and to make things worse these commissions often span multiple generations deep.
Which means the company will have to inflate the price a lot just cover these commissions.
zuchii
Thanks for the in depth review and analysis now we know what it requires to succeed in Isagenix business. However considering the low success rate of members of the company, are there company procedures geared towards simplifying the processes ?
MLM businesses are becoming more and more difficult cause it seems people are no longer interested to the business model due to past experiences.
Edward
The company “procedures” to simply the process is what they call the system.
Basically you as a distributor should come up with a name list, then you start contacting these people and talk to them and try to get them to buy products or join as a distributor.
Not the easiest task out there considering most people don’t like getting badgered.
Stella
Hi,
I heard about Isagenix from a friend who swapped from Forever Living Products I do not know how she is getting on though.
Personally, I do not like powdered protein supplements even if they are a top brand However, I do like the supplements that go with weightloss products.
You have shed light on Isagenix, but it is quite a young company From what you have written, the marketing plan is one where people are not being coached properly Hence the high failure rate.
If the plan is well explained and duplicated easily, people will stay and develop faster.
We live to learn!
Edward
Hey Stella, thanks for dropping by!
Yeah, a lot of people join without fully understanding what MLM is all about. That’s partly due to the non-discriminating recruiting process – most Isagenix distributors just try to recruit anyone they can get into the company and hope these recruits make sales.
Well I can only say this is definitely not an effective method. Most recruits just drop out after realizing the work they need to put in.
Babsie Wagner
A friend of mine approached me about the Isagenix opportunity, and yes, I agree, it is for people who are good at sales, face-to-face, and you have to be willing to “bug” your friends and family. That’s the hard part. Make a list of 100 of your top people and call them all. I really didn’t want to do that.
So you recommend, instead of MLM, going with an affiliate marketing website? I believe that is a better route for someone like me who doesn’t do well with face-to-face selling. Marketing online is something I find much more enjoyable.
Thank you for your honest review. I really appreciate it.
Edward
Exactly, I was asked to come up with a name list too and I really didn’t want to do that. It just doesn’t go well with my own principles.
Yeah, if you are the same as me I’d suggest that you get into affiliate marketing instead.
Nowadays I sit behind my computer and focus on producing quality content that help people. Those that find my stuffs helpful buy what I recommend and I get a slice of the profits.
This model works a lot better with me, and most probably with you too.
stefan
I’m sorry to see that isagenix is again an MLM that doesn’t really offer a big chance to earn money worth the effort.
I like health and wellness products, I like affiliate marketing and I could even join a MLM program but with the price isagenix charges just to join, just to be able to help them sell their product, is too much.
I don’t understand why I should do all the work, sell products, keep in touch with customers and recruits AND pay money to be allowed to do that.
Thanks for revealing the details.