How to make money online! That’s the question I began asking back in 2010. I was sitting at our beach house on a Saturday morning in late January, and I was witnessing the beginning of the explosion of online marketing. I came across a Facebook ad that started me on a journey with a company called iLearning Global. The signature product of iLearning was high-definition, content rich video segments that lasted seven to ten minutes. Customers had two options: the premium product that cost $100 per month or the premium plus edge platform which sold for $179 per month. iLearning Global came to market advertising that it offered the most advanced High Definition streaming technology to date and a viewing experience that surpassed the quality of other online portals. Members had access to the largest online personal development library with multiple hundreds of copyrighted high definition videos, audio programs, ebooks, and more.
iLearning utilized the direct sales business model to market and grow the company. Author and world-renowned speaker Brian Tracy joined the founders and original executive team as the iLearning Global Chief Learning Officer. Dozens of the world’s top speakers, authors, and trainers also came on board to create a well-respected online faculty. When I saw the business model and the leaders associated with it, I thought to myself, “This can’t fail.”
Well, the company that officially launched in March of 2008 officially closed their doors in March of 2010, They cited a lack of a competitive edge because what the company was selling for $100 or $179 per month was freely available through other online video platforms like Youtube.
I can remember getting the notification via email. I was sitting in the Saltwater Grill down in Panama City, and I received this email from corporate stating that they were terminating the MLM distribution model. Here is the copy of the email that I received that evening.
Dear Mastermind Marketers,
Over the past two years iLearningGlobal has passionately pursued our vision of taking transformational training and development to the world. With integrity as our core value we have worked around the clock to ensure we deliver maximum value and the ultimate experience for our customers and marketers. We have delivered significant changes to increase marketer rewards from the compensation plan and improved the quality of the product and overall user experience.
Much has changed in the marketplace during the past two years. When we began, streaming HD quality video was a unique and distinct advantage, public perception of online video training and higher end pricing was the norm, speakers continued to protect most of their content and the global economy was still perceived as strong.
While we have continued our quest to be the cutting-edge leader in our industry, we find ourselves facing a vastly different environment. HD video streaming is more common, authors and speakers are giving away a great deal of content, online communities are low-cost or no-cost and discretionary spending is at a record low. All of this has challenged our pricing structure, particularly under our network marketing model.
We have taken great pride in being able to offer so much for so little and yet we find ourselves struggling to remain competitive and congruent in our value. Functioning within a network marketing model makes pricing and value changes difficult due to the compensation plan.
We remain committed to our goals and have worked around the clock to tweak and refine who we are and what we do in order to reach critical mass and the all important momentum phase. Every change we have made has been based on solid research, a committed Board of Directors, faculty members and the finest experts we could access. Without the critical mass, momentum and leaders emerging who can create and sustain a culture, our goals have remained elusive. The current market has compromised our pricing model for long-term strength and stability.
While giving the networking model every possible chance to survive and thrive, it simply is not working as a value either for customers or for marketers. The Board of Directors has determined that the best way for the corporation to achieve its goals of delivering transformational training to the world is to move to a more traditional retail and corporate sales model.
Per the Marketer agreement terms and conditions section five (5) and Policy and Procedures section 11.4, we are providing a 30-day notification of the termination of the network marketing model.
Well, within a few weeks, iLearning was gone. What sustained iLearning were those ambassadors. Those reps in the field who believed in the product are who sustained iLearning. With no network of distributors, iLearning was not able to survive.
Advocare is going through something very similar. I am not suggesting that Advocare will disappear just as iLearning did. Advocare is a recognized brand in the market. I, personally, will continue to buy their products. Heck, football and Advocare go hand in hand. Drew Brees is a spokesperson. My Auburn friends are looking forward to the Advocare Classic scheduled for August 31, 2019. But, I am wondering how much damage has been done to the Advocare brand when they shut down their direct sales business model. Can the company survive without their network of 100,000 representatives who were, in essence, the public relations for the company?
iLearning had some pretty amazing powerhouses representing their company, and they were not able to survive their change in the distribution model. Maybe Advocare will be totally different. Only time will tell.
More to come!
Bill
