Rodan And Fields Review: The Truth About Rodan and Fields

Rodan and Fields MLM – The Facts

What’s all the fuss about Rodan and Fields? It feels like everyone wants me to join this MLM! In this Rodan and Fields review we’ll find out if Rodan and Fields is a legitimate opportunity. 

Rodan + Fields is a multi level marketing (MLM) company in the skincare niche.  

In most MLMs, there are two main ways you can earn money:

1. By selling a product that is not sold in retail stores. In order to obtain the product you must order through a consultant, or on a consultant’s website, and
2. By receiving commissions from the sales of your downline (i.e. people you recruit into your network)

What this means is you need to able to sell A LOT of products to people. If you genuinely want to be successful in an MLM company, you want to be recruiting new consultants who are also selling a lot of products. In the latter scenario, as well as selling products, you need to be able to sell the ‘lifestyle opportunity’ as well. 

Let’s take a look at Rodan and Fields.

Some basic information about Rodan and Fields:

• Website: https://www.rodanandfields.com/
• Founded by: Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields
• Founded in: 2000
• Price to join: $45 to $995; plus $24.95 plus taxes per month for a website
• Recommended: Yes, but only if you like MLMs; you understand the model; and you’re experienced in MLM

My Rodan and Fields review will take you through the following sections:

• What is Rodan and Fields and how does Rodan and Fields work?
• How do you get paid with Rodan and Fields?
• Is Rodan and Fields legit?
• My recommended way of making money online

What is Rodan and Fields and how does Rodan and Fields Work?

Rodan and Fields is based in the US and has expanded into Canada and Australia. They employ approximately 700 people, have more than 300,000 enrolled Independent Consultants and over two million Preferred Customers.

Their product line covers some key product lines they refer to as regimens:

• REDEFINE Regimen for the appearance of lines, pores and loss of firmness
• REVERSE Brightening regimen for the appearance of discoloration and uneven skin tone
• REVERSE Lightening regimen for the appearance of stubborn dark marks, patches and age spots
• SOOTHE Regimen for Visible Redness, Dryness + Sensitivity
• UNBLEMISH Regimen for adult acne and the visible signs of aging
• SPOTLESS Regimen for teen and young adult acne
• RECHARGE Regimen for balancing, boosting and defending healthy-looking skin

There is also line of enhancements such as the Enhancements Micro-Dermabrasion Paste, a body lotion and the Active Hydration Bright Eye Complex. There is a small line of Dermacosmetics, which is makeup with skin improving ingredients.

The products, in my view, are quite expensive. They have a high end price point, making this a product that will be out of reach for many people as a skin care ‘go to’ line of products. For example, the ‘R + F Lash Boost Eyelash Serum’ – to get the appearance of lush, longer-looking lashes – is $155.

The first thing that I noticed about Rodan and Fields was the founders. Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields are Stanford trained dermatologists and innovators. They developed Proactiv Solution in 1995 – you know the one that a host of celebrities have endorsed over the years – including Puff Daddy, Alicia Keys, Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber, Lindsay Lohan, Mandy Moore, Vanessa Williams, Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, Kaley Cuoco, Adam Levine and more – which was wildly successful. The most recent celeb/influencer to endorse Proactiv is Kendall Jenner.

So not only are Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields dermatologists, they are entrepreneurs and incredibly smart, highly successful, and impressive business women.

Getting Started As a Rodan and Fields Consultant

There are three key steps to getting started as a Rodan and Fields Consultant.

1. Getting your business kit
2. Setting up your website
3. Leveraging the tools available to you

Let’s take a look at the business kit. There are a few to choose from, ranging in price.

The ‘business portfolio’ is the entry level kit, available for $45. This is the minimum requirement for becoming a Rodan and Fields Consultant. The kit is very light on, and doesn’t even come with any products. You’ll get a product guide and quick start business guide that will help you start your Rodan and Fields business and give you an overview of the product portfolio.

The ‘personal results kit’ is the next level kit, available for $395. The kit includes your choice of regimen, plus add-ons

• Active Hydration Serum
• Active Hydration Body Replenish
• Micro-Dermabrasion Paste
• REDEFINE Multi-Function Eye Cream
• ESSENTIALS Instant Makeup Remover Wipes
• ESSENTIALS Gauze Pads

together with the business basics materials available in the business portfolio kit.

The next level kit is called the ‘core kit’, and is yours for $695. Products in the kit include:

• REDEFINE for the appearance of lines, wrinkles and loss of firmness
• REVERSE BRIGHTENING for the appearance of discoloration and uneven skin tone
• SOOTHE for visible redness, dryness and sensitivity
• UNBLEMISH for adult acne and visible signs of aging
• SPOTLESS for teen and young adult acne
• RECHARGE for balancing, boosting and defending healthy-looking skin
• Lash Boost
• AMP MD Derma-Roller
• REDEFINE Intensive Renewing Serum

together with the business basics materials plus a “Before and Afters” Flip Book and customer mini-magazines.

The top-level kit, described as being for “the ultimate business- builder and serious entrepreneur”, called the ‘ultimate kit’ and is yours for $995. The kit includes:

• REDEFINE for the appearance of lines, wrinkles and loss of firmness
• REVERSE BRIGHTENING for the appearance of discoloration and uneven skin tone
• SOOTHE for visible redness, dryness and sensitivity
• UNBLEMISH for adult acne and visible signs of aging
• SPOTLESS for teen and young adult acne
• RECHARGE for balancing, boosting and defending healthy-looking skin
• Pore Cleansing MD System
• AMP MD Derma-Roller
• Mini Mask Set
• R+F Lash Boost
• Active Hydration Serum
• Active Hydration Body Replenish
• Micro-Dermabrasion Paste
• REDEFINE Intensive Renewing Serum
• REDEFINE Multi-Function Eye Cream
• Radiant Defense Perfecting Liquid in the shade of your choice
• Radiant Defense Liquid Brush
• ESSENTIALS Instant Makeup Remover Wipes (2-pack)
• ESSENTIALS Gauze Pads

An assortment of product sample 10-packs:

• Active Hydration Serum
• Radiant Defense Perfecting Liquid
• Give It A Glow (Micro-Dermabrasion Paste, REDEFINE Intensive Renewing Serum + REDEFINE Lip Renewing Serum)
• Micro-Dermabrasion Paste packets

And a surprise something special from R+F, together with a Wake Up Fabulous Sleep Eye Mask; plus the business basics materials including the “Before and Afters” Flip Book and customer mini-magazines.

Here’s a snapshot comparison of the kits:

Rodan and Fields have a Preferred Customer program. There is a one-time $19.95 fee with a purchase worth $80 or more, and this gives you:

• 10% off the price of products
• Free shipping with orders worth $80 or more
• Products delivered every 60 days – it is reinforced many times that consistency is the key, and you need to keep using the products!

The Preferred Customer program is basically an auto-charge subscription program. You get the same products every 60 days. This is an MLM technique to keep people paying – it’s much more beneficial to have you on an auto charge program that you are less likely to cancel, than you ordering something consistently every 60 days, which people tend to stop doing if they need to consciously make a decision to make a new purchase.

The Rodan and Fields Compensation Plan

With Rodan and Fields, there are a five different ways you can earn.

1. Retail profit – from selling retail product to Retail Customers and to Preferred Customers. Retail Profit is based on the difference between Consultant Price and the Retail or Preferred Customer Price
2. Consultant commissions – from sales to the Consultants and Preferred Customers you sponsor
3. Personal team commissions – on sales made by your Personal Team and Consultants you sponsor
4. Generation commissions – on sales made by the extended organization your Personal Team creates
5. Performance bonuses – for performance achievements

As an Active Consultant, you are eligible to earn Consultant Commissions. You must have a minimum of 100 Sales Volume (SV) for your Consultant Account each calendar month. This can come from your own purchases or purchases made from your retail customers.

As an Active Consultant, two ways you can earn include:

• Consultant Commissions: 10% L1 Commissions on all Commissionable Volume (CV) which includes volume from Customers and Consultants on your L1.
• Retail Profit: From your Retail Customers and Preferred Customers.

Hang on. What is L1? Oh, it’s a lineage that can change as a result of compressions … What? Compressions? The abbreviations and language are starting to bother me and my eye is twitching. 

Like many MLM compensation plans, the Rodan and Fields compensation plan hurt my head. Ugh, why are they all so awful?

I don’t want to try to understand this and there’s no way I can make it more understandable for you, so click here if you’d like to see the full compensation plan.

Is Rodan and Fields A Scam or Legit? It’s LEGIT! But…

MLM is a legitimate business model and Rodan and Fields is no different. Whilst it isn’t for everyone, you can earn money. It’s possibly, but it isn’t likely. It is all about moving as much product as possible for maximum income, and recruiting others to do the same. 

What you need to need to know is that the odds are heavily stacked against you. So why would anyone invest so much time and money into a company when they will most likely fail? The reason is that MLM companies will try to convince you that you are the exception, and that failing will be your fault. They will point to a person making $1m+ per year, and say well if they can, you can. You aren’t trying hard enough.

Let’s take a look at how much Rodan and Fields consultants actually earn. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Rodan and Fields openly publish this information on their website, together with the compensation plan. In my experience with MLMs, they are the exception when it comes to being open and transparent with their consultant income reports and details of compensation plans. 

Here is a summary of the 2018 income disclosure statement:

What we see here refers to the distribution of income amongst consultants who are actually paid. I’ll come back to that in a moment.

With Rodan and Fields, you cannot earn income from sponsoring or recruiting team members. With many MLMs, they rely on this model. Usually, if someone signs up and buys a kit, you’ll receive some form of commission or reward for that, meaning that many consultants push the sale of the starter kit rather than the products. This isn’t the case with Rodan and Fields. I have to say I think this is a wonderful thing – this seems to be more about the products than selling the business kit. Hopefully, when people buy a business kit they are doing it for the right reasons and haven’t been oversold the ‘lifestyle opportunity’. Anyway, back to the analysis of income.

Over the 2018 year, Rodan and Fields had 411,651 enrolled consultants; 222,664 (54%) were paid consultants who received payment in at least one month for sales that occurred during 2018; and 188,987 (46%) were consultants who received the benefit of discounted prices, but did not earn any compensation from Rodan and Fields. So, what you’re seeing in the summary table only represents 54% of the total number of consultants who purchased a business kit.

Of the 54% of consultants who actually got paid, 61.3% of them earned an average of $325 per annum – an average of $27 per month. I’m guessing that this group also purchased products throughout that period and would have experienced a net loss overall.

The next tier of paid consultants (28.9%) averaged $2,342 per annum, an average of $195 per month. Again, when you consider that they are also likely to be purchasing products, it doesn’t leave with much but loose change. As you can see, the numbers just get smaller from there.

Even if we take the fifth tier – which only 0.7% of paid consultants ever reach, they are still only averaging $34,209 per year. Whilst this is reasonably OK, it means that a very tiny portion will only ever make it to this level, and you’re not striking it rich on this level.

So whilst there are a few people who are making loads of money with Rodan and Fields, the statistics suggest that you won’t. Click here for the full income disclosure statement.

These statistics are in line with research that has been conducted into MLMs, and it’s important that you’re aware of it if you’re considering joining Rodan and Fields, or any MLM for that matter. 

Jon Taylor PhD, in “The Case For (and Against) Multi-level Marketing” published by the FTC, researched MLMs and his research found:

• In the first year of operation, a minimum of 50% of representatives drop-out.
• After five years of operation, a minimum of 90% of representatives have left the company.
• By year 10, only those at or near the top have not dropped out – approximately 95% of representatives have dropped out by then.

There’s a reason why people are leaving MLMs and moving towards a more sustainable online that is inexpensive and actually works. Read my post “MLM vs Affiliate Marketing” to find out why Affiliate Marketing beats MLM hands down.

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The platform I use is perfect for anyone who wants to find a way to earn money online. You don’t need experience, and you don’t need to be technical. You will be taught everything you need to know.  

One of the best things about it – you don’t need to sell anything to your friends and family! In fact, you don’t need to tell anybody about it. How you manage your business is completely up to you. There’s no expensive starter kit required. In fact, you can start out for free to see if you think it’s something that will work for you.

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