What Kleeneze can do for you!

It's hard to believe that what is now a multi-million pound company was actually the birthchild of a man named Harry Crook who just wanted to make a living by selling his unique wire brushes to the public. He established Kleeneze in Bristol in 1923, and just five years later was able to boast a massive two hundred branches worldwide. With such success already under its belt, Kleeneze eventually expanded to include other popular household products such as polish, talcum powder and even toothpaste and now offers more than 300 products in its range of catalogues!

The 'main' catalogue offers products across a broad range of categories which include homecare, laundry, kitchen, bed & bath, car care and DIY. However, this comprehensive catalogue is also supplemented by the 'Health and Beauty' catalogue which contains cosmetics, toiletries and other items related to personal care. Thanks to the advances of the Internet, these catalogues can even be viewed online at http://www.main-book.co.uk and http://www.health-and-beauty-book.co.uk

Furthermore, throughout the year additional catalogues are released to top-up the fantastic range already offered by Kleeneze. These catalogues include:

- Greeneze: A range of ecological, energy-efficient products.
- Outdoor Life: A rane of products for use in the garden and outdoors.
- A Chrismas brochure: Great value gift ideas, decorations and stocking-fillers.
- Sale catalogues: End of line bargains!

Kleeneze was one of the first companies in the United Kingdom to recognise the significance of the home-shopping phenomenon that took off in the 1980s. Because of this unique, innovative combination of Direct Sales and Network Marketing, people have been given a new opportunity and a chance to change their lives with the help of Kleeneze.

They now have the opportunity to:

- become self-employed, Independent Kleeneze distributors who are able to distribute the entire range of Kleeneze catalogues door-to-door in exchange for a proportion of the profits that any orders generated produce.

- further their income by showing other people how to do the same and develop a team of Kleeneze distributors.

Nowadays, when companies such as 'Avon', 'Kleeneze' or 'Betterware' are mentionned, the phrase that tends to pop into peoples' mind is "Pyramid Scheme". However, very few of these people actually know or understand what a Pyramid Scheme is.

In reality, Kleeneze is a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) Strategy - a business marketing plan in which those involved are rewarded, not only based upon the success of their own sales, but also based upon the sales of the people that they have introduced to the business - their downline.

It would seem to me that the only thing that these two types of business have in common is their structure. Certainly, when written down on paper both strategies produce a hierarchy in the shape of a Pyramid. However, the way in which these two schemes operate is entirely different.

These are some of the key features that might mark a Pyramid Scheme:

1.) Revenue is earned simply through the act of recruiting more members,
2.) Very few, if any, sales to end consumers are produced,
3.) Members are required to pay a high joining fee,
4.) Members are encouraged to hold large amounts of stock, which can be difficult to shift and therefore costly to the member who may have to sell it at lower than cost-price,
AND
5.) There is a no-refund policy.

This couldn't be more different from the way in which Kleeneze functions and, in fact, Kleeneze is one of the founding members of the Direct Selling Association (DSA) - one of the bodies which helped to ensure that the Government ended the legality of Pyramid Schemes. Such schemes are now considered to be fraudulant scam, and in Kleeneze, which is a lawful MLM opportunity, the following takes place:

1.) The business opportunity is predominantly based on the sale of quality goods to end consumers. Once such a sale is made, a reasonable proportion of the profit is then passed on to the distributor - between 21% and 45%.

2.) Distributors are encouraged not to hold on to any stock that has not been ordered and paid for by an end-consumer. Furthermore, if stock is unwanted or damaged then it can be returned to Kleeneze for a full refund or a replacement.

3.) Kleeneze has a very minimal start-up cost, which covers sales aids and training materials. There is no inventory investment. Furthermore, there are currently incentives in place which mean that a distributor can reclaim their start-up costs and earn free catalogues and sales aids by hitting minimal targets in their first mont. Additionally, Kleeneze even offers a money-back guarantee on its business opportunity. If you try Kleeneze and decide its not for you then you can simply return your catalogues for a full refund within the first couple of weeks.

4.) Kleeneze distributors are not paid any money for simply mass-recruiting their downline. In order for a Kleeneze distributor to earn money from the sales of their downline, their downline must also be making money. Furthemore, these bonuses are paid from Kleeneze each month for helping the downline to succeed - its almost like a payment for traning the downline successfully.

My research into Kleeneze has led me to decide that there are two different types of benefit with Kleeneze. First of all, there are immediate benefits that are pretty much guaranteed:

1.) Anybody is able to join Kleeneze

Kleeneze does not discriminate against people because of their age*, gender, race or even sexuality. You are never too old to join Kleeneze, and there is no lengthy application process to fulfill or awkward interviews to pass. Furthermore, there are no qualifications needed to become a Kleeneze distributor and you do not need any previous experience as all training is provided on the job.

* Legally you must be over the age 18 to join as your sales will be forming contracts with your customers and you will also be dealing with credit.

2.) Distributors can earn an immediate income

Part-time distributors, working between 10 and 15 hours a week, can expect to earn between £150 and £300 in their first 4 weeks which means that even once you have deducted the joining fees you will have still made a profit.

3.) The hours are very flexible

Kleeneze distributors have no set restrictions to follow with regard to their working hours. Indeed, you can choose to work just mornings, afternoons, evenings, weekends or a combination of the four. Furthermore, you can vary the number of hours you want to do according to your other plans. For example, a mother might do more hours in term-time than in the school holidays, whilst a student might do more hours in the holidays than in term-time.

4.) Be your own boss

With Kleeneze, you are self-employed, you are your own boss, and you will have nobody to answer to. No more nagging!

5.) Unrivalled support

I have often come across distributors that have told me that they are "In business by themselves, but never for themselves." and after my research i'd have to say that I am inclined to agree.

You can access your account 24/7 via the Kleeneze website and from this service you can pay your balance, place an order, check when your delivery is due, organise returns, sign up a new distributor and even see how your entire team is doing.

Furthermore, if you prefer to talk to a real person then there is a service centre that is open until 8pm most days of the week until 8pm and this is just a quick phone call away. The service you'll receive from these guys is second to none!

Finally, it is very common within Kleeneze for distributors to take charge and organise their own business opportunity meetings - where there will be a presentation for people interested in the business, training sessions - where more experienced distributors share their experience and knowledge and sizzles - where distributors get together to discuss how things are going both inside and outside of the business.

As well as the immediate benefits of joining Kleeneze, my research has shown that there are also some long-term benefits for distributors.

1.) Earn a substantial income

Hundreds of distributors have already begun to earn enough money as a Kleeneze distributor to leave their full-time job and earn the same amount of money, or more working part-time with Kleeneze.

2.) Incentives

For reaching certain levels and targets, Kleeneze reward their distributors with incentives such as free catalogues, monetary rewards, cars and all expenses paid foreign travel. It might interest you to know that around half of the distributorships that Kleeneze send abroad each year have been with the company for less than a year!

Indeed, in the last three years Kleeneze has paid back just over half its profits into the distributor network in bonus' and incentives. Do you know of any other company that rewards its employees so highly?

3.) You can build a residual income

The geometric progression of the distributor network means that eventually your downline will carry on growing without your input. This exponential growth will mean that your income will increase without any extra effort from yourself and eventually your royalties can become so high that you don't even need to drop catalogues anymore!

Continuing my research, and in the interests of creating a balanced argument, I set about trying to find the negatives of becoming a Kleeneze representative and this is what I decided:

1.) Earnings can fluctuate

Kleeneze distributors work on commision which means that if there is a drop in sales, there will also be a drop in earnings. Summer months can be quite poor owing to the fact that people are away on holiday, saving money or don't have time to browse catalogues. Nevertheless, this seems to be made up over Christmas as many distributors notice a sudden increase in earnings that lasts throughout this period.

2.) Building a downline

Building a downline can be tiresome work because the best distributors speak to family, friends and anybody that they possibly can all about the opportunity Kleeneze have on offer. Some people do choose to pay for advertising. However, this should be thought about with caution as there is no guarantee of a return on your costs. The Kleeneze business manual says that if you're thinking of advertising you should exhaust free methods first.

3.) Sales Aids

You will need to keep purchasing sales aids such as catalogues, order forms and catalogue bags. Catalogues go out of date every few months and you will find that you will lose catalogues when you are first starting out and finding your customers. You can expect to lose 10% of your catalogues each drop. However, your profits should more than cover the cost of replacements.

4.) If you dont work, you don't earn

With no boss to nag at you its easy to get demotivated and to procrastinate. However, this will lead to a reduction in your earnings so its important to keep motivated and treat Kleeneze as you would any other job.

Furthermore, if you haven't yet built up a residual income and are unable to put your catalogues out because of un unexpected circumstance such as sickness or sickness then you will struggle to find money as you will not be entitled to any sick pay from Kleeneze because you are classed as self-employed.

5.) There are extra costs that are not included in your registration.

If you want Internet Access then you will need to pay a £7.50 charge every 4 weeks, and there is a minimum order of £250 to qualify for free parcelforce delivery. If you do not meet the minimum order charge then you'll be charged £12.00 for orders under £100 and £6.00 for orders between £100 and £250.

If you choose not to have Internet Access then you'll need to fax your orders, or mail your orders, to Kleeneze which is a lot slower and less reliable.

Kleeneze is not a get rick quick scheme, and people who join it expecting to earn thousands in the first month are going to be very disappointed. However, after weighing up the pros and the cons of the business, I have decided that I find Kleeneze to be a worthwhile opportunity.

If people treat Kleeneze with the hard-work that it deserves then I feel that there is a lot of money to be made. However, it is important that you repeatedly and consistantly put your catalogues out and keep a steady supply of catalogues.

If you do things right then even after deductions for petrol, catalogues, stationary, postage and the internet charge, you should make a generous profit each month which should increase steadily once you find your customers!

If you'd like more information on the Kleeneze opportunity then please feel free to visit:

http://www.eze2earn.tk - The team website of a young professional couple (both distributors) that have been helping me with my research. They have compiled lots of information about joining including how much it costs and more information about the payment structure and the catalogue distribution.

http://www.kleeneze.co.uk - The official Kleeneze website. Please note, you cannot register with Kleeneze directly - they will pass your details to a distributor.