The MLM.com Podcast

Mitch Stowell, Vice President of Commission Consulting at InfoTrax Systems, joins us for this two part episode to discuss the process of fine tuning compensation plans over time. How do you know when it’s time to change your commissions? What do you change? Mitch and Kenny talk over these critical decisions, discussing hard data analysis, commission types, distributor retention, residual income, and build strategy.

Mitch Stowell, Vice President of Commission Consulting at InfoTrax Systems, joins us for this two part episode to discuss the process of fine tuning compensation plans over time. How do you know when it’s time to change your commissions? What do you change? Mitch and Kenny talk over these critical decisions, discussing hard data analysis, commission types, distributor retention, residual income, and build strategy.

Trent Spratling from Kount, an online fraud mitigation company, joins us to talk about the evolving landscape of fraud and the ways that fraudsters target MLMs specifically. If you’re not up with the times, you might be losing good customers and potential distributors in your attempts to block fraud. Trent tells us how Kount uses data points only available in the direct sales space to cut their merchant clients’ fraud rates and boost the capacity of their in-house fraud teams. Listen in to learn more.

Sam Glanzer, Director of Rewards and Recognition at Younique, joins Kenny on this episode of the podcast to talk about promotions, incentives, contests, and rewards. He tells us the right way to design and promote an incentive and some of the wrong ways to do it. Together, Kenny and Sam discuss the need to create harmony between your incentives and their qualifications, between your incentives and your commissions, and between your incentives and your other incentives.

Mindy Lin, co-founder of Damsel in Defense, joins us to talk about their mission to empower, educate, and equip women to protect themselves and their families against sexual assault. Mindy tells us about how Damsel in Defense is helping survivors heal through educating and protecting others, and helping women access the financial independence they need to get out of abusive situations. Mindy’s work shows how multilevel marketing companies can create real, life-changing opportunities and we’re honored that she joined us on the podcast.

Every direct selling company wants to grow fast, but not every company knows how to think ahead and prepare for the inevitable growing pains. Steve Hooper joins us again on this second installment of a two-part episode to talk about the strategic moves you need to make to handle phases of growth and hyper growth. Steve and Kenny talk about how hyper growth affects your infrastructure, your operations, your organization, and your business partners. Specializing in hyper growth management, Steve has worked and consulted with countless companies and is now InfoTrax Systems’ Vice President of Product Management. Listen in for more of the important insights he’s gathered over the years.

In this episode, Kenny is joined by Steve Hooper, Vice President of Product Management for InfoTrax Systems. They talk about managing growth in your business, covering the "10 Commandments of Growth."

Gretchen and Elizabeth Huijskens join us to talk about Trades of Hope—a philanthropic party plan company they founded along with Holly Wehde and Chelsie Antos, to microfinance artisan co-ops operating in impoverished areas. Trades of Hope works with artisan partners around the world (who create jewelry, accessories, and home goods) and compassionate entrepreneurs (who sell those products to earn commissions and help those artisans elevate themselves and their families out of poverty). Gretchen and Elizabeth talk about their history, how they moved from charity work to business—from giving aid to creating opportunities that make a lasting impact—and they show their love for the direct selling and multilevel marketing industry that allowed them to turn a hope into a reality.

How do you get a best-in-class MLM software solution without wasting resources? How do you run a good IT department without losing focus on your products—your core competency? In this episode, we talk to three guests, each from software providers in the direct sales space: Jared Smith, Director of R&D at InfoTrax; Clete Werts, an Enterprise Partner Manager at Avalara; and Darrel Welling, an Executive Vice President at ProPay. We learn about the value of partnering with specialists and the benefits of third-party software platforms. We also dive into Gartner’s way of categorizing software to optimize your decision making.

Moy Chambers, LifeVantage’s Senior Vice President of IT, joins us to share experience from his long history as a software professional in the MLM space. He talks to us about the dramatic changes in software in the recent past and the current landscape of IT solutions for direct sales companies. The biggest factor? APIs—tools that integrate applications (built by as many software companies as you choose to partner with), creating an integrated system that’s seamless for the user. Moy tells us about his approach and offers words of advice to startup network marketing companies.