LiveSmart 360’s BMW Bonus
One of the more indulgent components of LiveSmart 360’s compensation plan is the BMW Bonus.
In effect as you rise up LiveSmart 360’s compensation plan the company will help you to pay off a BMW you purchase on finance.
On paper the BMW Bonus looks good but there are some caveats to think about before running off to your nearest BMW dealer.
Advertising and car requirements
To preserve the image of LiveSmart 360 the BMW Bonus is only available on BMW’s no older then four years. Second hand doesn’t seem to be a problem but the car color must be white or blue.
The color requirement is most likely due to branding that comes as part of the package. In order to qualify for the BMW Bonus you must agree to LiveSmart 360 advertising being placed on your car.
Personally I’ve never found advertising on a car attractive but I can see why LiveSmart 360 require it. For LiveSmart your BMW is an advertising investment. They’re assuming you’ll want to be seen in your BMW and for them it’s relatively cheap company exposure.
I guess running a home business if you’re ok with advertising on your car (which benefits you if you can get people to ask you about it) then it’s not so bad. Bit hard to say how many people will go home and google the ‘LiveSmart 360’ rather then ask you about it though. Not sure if you’re allowed to put your phone number alongside the LiveSmart 360 car branding.
BMW Bonus qualification
The BMW Bonus is unavailable to LiveSmart 360 business associates in their first two months after joining.
After that to qualify you need to purchase a BMW no older then 4 years and it has to be either blue or white. Then you need to send in a form to LiveSmart along with a photo of you and the car and bing badda boom they’ll start paying you.
Payment rates are naturally tied into what level you are in the company’s compensation structure. Here’s the payment rates, paid monthly;
- Silver – $400
- Gold – $800
- Platinum 1 Star – $1000
- Platinum 2 Star – $1200
- Platinum 3 Star – $1600
- Platinum 4 Star – $2000
- Diamond – $2500
LiveSmart 360 will also contribute an initial bonus once off payment of $2000 towards your BMW repayments.
As I said, on paper this looks good enough but how does it translate over into the real world?
Well second hand BMW’s aside, the cheapest new car that BMW offer seems to be the 128i coupe. The 2011 model will set you back $29,150 for the barebones model with no extras or options.
At the Silver level of $400 a month this comes to 72 months of repayments, or 6 years. Now obviously you’re going to want to top this up with some of your own money but at $29,150 probably not too much. Remember you’ve got a business to run.
At the higher levels Platinum 1 Star would take 30 weeks (2.5 years) to pay off the car, Platinum 3 Star 18 months (1.5 years) and Diamond 14 months (1.2 years).
Now keep in mind this is the cheapest new BMW you can buy. If you’ve reached a respectable level in Smartline 360’s compensation plan you’re probably going to want to buy one of BMW’s higher models.
This of course means a longer repayment time. Of course if you’re at a higher level in the compensation plan you’ve probably got more money to throw at the repayments. Or maybe not, businesses cost money to run or if Smartline 360’s payment is enough to cover the monthly minimum you might want to spend your own money elsewhere in your life.
The danger here of course is that will you be with Smartline 360 for this long? I haven’t seen the BMW Bonus form but I assume it has a clause stating that if you leave the company, the car debt is all yours.
I’m not questioning your skills as an entrepreneur or independent business manager but statistically speaking the MLM industry doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to retention.
If you’ve previously been involved in a MLM company how long were you with them for?
LiveSmart 360’s BMW Bonus is something a little bit different when it comes to compensation plans but as always, slow it down and have a think before you commit yourself.
The last thing you want is to be staring down the barrel of a failed business venture in six months time once the LiveSmart launch hype has worn off, alongside a crushing car debt.
Crunch those numbers and then if you think you can make it work, well hey go for it.
Typically the distributors who become successful enough to reach pin levels don’t leave after 6 months.
Also, I agree this wouldn’t work in most start up situations, but after visiting corporate I have no doubt that anyone who achieves success will be with this company for many years.
Everything about them is 1st class and after 22 years in this industry that’s not something I’ve found very often.
If they’ve reached pin level assumedly they’ve got a large enough downline earning them a healthy income… why would they leave at all?
Who achieves success and then leaves a company they’ve achieved it with. Talk about stating the obvious. Of course if you’re currently succesful with a business opportunity you’re going to stick with it. This in no way is a measure of how successful someone may or may not be with LiveSmart 360 however, it’s just a blatantly obvious blanket statement.
Most companies seem to have flashy marketing videos these days however I do agree that the effort put into LiveSmart 360’s PR does seem to be a cut above the rest. They’re certainly pushing the social media interaction side of the business so more power to them for effort.