If you’re looking for great reviews, Team National is the MLM for you.
But there’s more to a business opportunity than reviews (especially if they come from people who get paid for recruiting you).
You want a company that respects you, keeps you updated on what’s going on, and gives you full disclosure before and after you join.
Team National (BIGN) is a network marketing company founded in 1997 that offers various discounts for their members. Under parent company National Companies Inc., they’ve been around for over twenty years, and by ’99 they were already doing $8 million in sales… which skyrocketed to $70 million by 2004.
As one of the leading membership MLMs in the world, they’re impressive. Review their website, and they look like a great opportunity…
But we see some big red flags.
FAQ
1. What does Team National sell? Team National is a membership company that sells discounted products we all use everything. Currently, they have products in 20+ industries.
2. What are Team National’s most popular products? Team National Factory Direct gives members as much as a 65% savings on physical items. Other products may include internet service, satellite TV, insurance, travel, business savings, financial services, vehicles, jewelry, and furniture.
3. How much does it cost to join Team National? Team National hasn’t published any information on how to join. They tell you it’s a great opportunity then send you to a form to talk to a distributor. However, the talk in forums suggests it costs about $2,000 to join.
4. Is Team National a scam? No, Team National is a legit business. Among MLM companies, they’re more committed to honesty than most, with strict codes against inflating earnings or time spent working the business. (Gotta like that!) They were named one of the 2018 Direct Selling News Best Place to Work and have been ranked among the Top 100 Direct Selling Companies in the World. They’ve also been featured in the Success From Home magazine and inducted into the BGCB Hall of Fame.
5. What is Team National’s BBB rating? A+
6. How long has Team National been in business? Since 1997
7. What is Team National’s revenue? $719 million
8. How many Team National distributors are there? 523,231
9. What lawsuits have been filed? We weren’t able to find any lawsuits mentioned online. For an MLM that’s been around since 1997, that seems unlikely, which means Team National could be working overtime to remove negative mentions from making it to the website.
The BIGN website is full of videos and instructions that make it clear they aren’t making any promises about the income potential, time it takes to succeed, or healing powers of their products. It’s clear that all of this information is designed to stop lawsuits before they’re even filed. It’s possible that the lack of product information or details about how to join are also part of their anti-litigation strategy. If there’s no information provided, there’s nothing you can hold against them.
10. Comparable companies: QNet, Ariix, Amway
So should you get involved?
Product-wise, this company might be legit. But business opportunity-wise, there are definitely better options out there…
Click here for my #1 recommendation
Either way, here’s the full review on Team National.
Overview
In 2015, the company reached a grand slam total of $548 million in sales. Pretty impressive. They’ve shown consistent and sustainable growth over a long period of time, which is important (and rare) in MLM. [1]
Dick Loehr is their founder — a serious serial entrepreneur who has started and run literally dozens of successful companies.
He actually started his career as a race car driver, which is pretty cool. He went on to own and run a series of successful car dealerships, including one that became one of the largest in Kalamazoo, MI, employing hundreds and generating millions for the auto industry.
He then went on to own and run 9 restaurants in South Florida. [2]
Finally, he developed Team National and, with his years of experience, helped it rise to the top. They’re now ranked 33 on Direct Selling News’s list of top 100 MLMs of 2018. [3]
They’ve even partnered up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is pretty legit considering how often the government likes to crack down on MLM.
Even their Glassdoor ratings are positive, which is rare for any company. They’ve got 4.5 out of 5 stars, and 100% of employees who rated them would recommend them to a friend.
Although, of course, they’d recommend them to a friend, because then they’d get paid…
Ha, anyway, here’s some info on their products and compensation.
Products
So, one major fault in this company is their lack of transparency about what you’ll be selling and how you can get started. You actually can’t get much of any information on their products and services without speaking directly to a Consultant — I guess they really want to sell it to you live.
There’s literally nothing on their website about their products and services other than this tiny paragraph:
“Our product is a membership savings program. Our members use what they want, when they want. It is vast in its savings and of course, is never out of style. Saving money is not a fad. Individuals, families and businesses are always looking for ways to save money.”
It’s all about their business opportunity.
They sell discount memberships, that much is obvious.
These memberships span a huge variety of industries, too, from financial services to rental cars and travel to furniture to communication services. They’ve got a standard and a premium membership.
Just what these memberships entail, in terms of both price and savings, is nowhere to be found. My guess is that means they’re not the greatest — they’re clearly placing all their value on the business opportunity and none on their product.
Compensation Plan
They work on a binary compensation plan with left and right legs (similar to QNet).
You have to lock down two sales to qualify for bonuses, and you have to get two sales every 12 months to remain qualified. That’s not bad compared to monthly minimums.
A standard membership sale is worth 1 point and a premium membership is worth 3.
If you do stay bonus qualified, you get $500 every time you hit 5 points in a pay point on both your left and right leg. When you hit 10 and 10, you get an additional $1,000 bonus.
If you build a team, you’re known as your team’s “host,” and you get a “hosting bonus” of $1,000 when one of your direct recruits reaches a 10 and 10 paypoint.
There are a handful of other bonuses.
Then there’s, of course, compensation through your own sales. You make these sales through the Big N Marketplace, and to participate, you must have your own company website, which will cost you $7/month.
Basically, the Big N Marketplace is a collection of stores where your customers can buy all sorts of things at a discount. But if they buy it under your domain, you get commissions ranging from 0-35%.
Wait…0-35%?
Yeah…a big, vague range. The commission you get on any given purchase depends on the store you’re buying it from. But you’ll know, at least, that you’re making anywhere from what’s basically average (35%) to absolutely nothing. Cool.
Recap
So, the company knows how to grow and stick around.
But their product is super vague and the company can’t even state its real value.
And their compensation plan is way too confusing and vague. It’s really hard to get any kind of idea of what kind of money you’d actually be making… which probably means not much.
Based on their income earnings disclosure for 2017, it is exactly that. 76% are making less than $200 (most probably made nothing).
Look, I’ve been involved with network marketing for over ten years so I know what to look for when you consider a new opportunity.
After reviewing 200+ business opportunities and systems out there, here is the one I would recommend:
