Momentis Review: Molecular messengers & merchant services

Momentis launched in 2010 and are the network marketing arm of Just Energy, a Canadian-based natural gas and electricity retailer.

Momentis is based out of Texas in the US and is headed up by CEO Andrew McWilliams (below right).

As per McWilliams’ Momentis corporate bio;

Andy is a leading producer in the direct sales industry and one of the industry’s most notable figures.

His 21 years of leadership and expertise have resulted in over $1 billion in sales and hundreds of millions of dollars paid out to independent representatives.

Prior to launching Momentis McWilliams was an affiliate with ACN and LuxuriLife, a purported $3500 a pop recruitment scheme.

Read on for a full review of the Momentis MLM opportunity.

The Momentis Product Line

Momentis’ flagship product line is M Rejuvenate, a

proprietary, proven and patent-protected blend of “molecular messengers” triggers skin cells to act biologically younger.

The M Rejuvenate range contains a day serum, day moisturizer and night renewal cream.

The M Rejuvenate product range is available as a “set” for a “one-time retail price of $175” ($125 on monthly autoship).

Also note that no retail pricing for any Momentis products are provided.

The Momentis Compensation Plan

The Momentis compensation plan pays affiliates to market M Rejuvenate and merchant services and products to retail customers.

Residual commissions are typically paid out via a unilevel compensation structure, with additional performance-based bonuses also available.

Momentis Affiliate Ranks

There are six affiliate ranks within the Momentis compensation plan.

Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:

• Marketing Representative – sign up as a Momentis affiliate for $99
• Qualified Marketing Representative – sign up with a Business affiliate pack or higher and sell three products or services and/or generate 3 customer points
• Senior Director – recruit at least six affiliates (three of which must be Qualified Marketing Representatives) and sell at least ten products or services and/or generate 10 customer points
• Regional Director – maintain Senior Director qualification status and recruit at least three more affiliates, develop at least four Senior Director ranked affiliates across levels 1 to 4 of your unilevel team and sell at least fifteen products or services and/or generate 15 customer points
• National Director – maintain Regional Director qualification status and recruit at least three more affiliates, develop four Regional Director ranked affiliates across level 1 to 5 of your unilevel team and sell at least twenty products or services and/or generate 20 customer points
• International Director – maintain National Director status and recruit at least three more affiliates, develop four National Director ranked affiliates across levels 1 to 6 of your unilevel team and sell at least twenty-five products or services and/or generate 25 customer points

Customer point values for merchant services can be found in the Mechant Services Bonus section below.

Customer point values for M Rejuvenate purchased by recruited affiliates are as follows:

• Business Pack – 4 customer points
• Classic Pack – 6 customer points
• Platinum Pack – 10 customer points
• Power Pack – 14 customer points

Retail Commissions

Momentis affiliates earn a $50 commission for each M Rejuvenate set they sell to a retail customer.

Retail autoship orders pay a $15 commission each month.

Residual commissions are paid out on one-time and autoship retail orders via a unilevel compensation structure.

A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

Momentis cap payable unilevel levels at six, with commissions paid out as follows:

• level 1 (retail sales made by personally recruited affiliates) – $1 per retail product order
• level 2 – $1 per retail product order
• levels 3 and 4 – $2 per retail product order
• levels 5 and 6 – $5 per retail product order

Senior Director and higher ranked Momentis affiliates are able to earn beyond level 6 of their unilevel team as follows:

• Senior Directors earn $1 per retail set sale from level 7 onwards
• Regional Directors earn $6 per retail set sale from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn $4 per retail set sale from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn $2 per retail set sale from level 7 onwards

Affiliate Order Commissions

When recruited affiliates purchase M Rejuvenate sets (one-time or on autoship), commissions are paid out via the same unilevel team structure as retail commissions as follows:

• level 1 (orders placed by personally recruited affiliates) – $1 per order
• level 2 – $1 per order
• levels 3 and 4 – $2 per order
• levels 5 and 6 – $5 per order

Senior Director and higher ranked Momentis affiliates are able to earn beyond level 6 of their unilevel team as follows:

• Senior Directors earn $1 per affiliate set purchase from level 7 onwards
• Regional Directors earn $6 per affiliate set purchase from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn $4 per affiliate set purchase from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn $2 per affiliate set purchase from level 7 onwards

Recruitment Commissions

If a newly recruited Momentis affiliate signs up with an affiliate pack, the affiliate who recruited them is paid a recruitment commission.

How much of a recruitment commission is paid out is determined by how much the newly recruited affiliate spends on their pack:

• Start Up Pack ($99) – $25
• Business Pack ($349) – $50
• Classic Pack ($499) – $100
• Platinum Pack ($749) – $150
• Power Pack ($999) – $200

Senior Director or higher ranked affiliates earn a residual recruitment commission when an affiliate pack is sold anywhere in their downline:

• the first upline Senior Director found earns $10 on Start Up and Business Packs, $20 on a Classic Pack, $25 on a Platinum Pack and $40 on a Power Pack
• the first upline Regional Director found earns $20 on Start Up Packs, $25 on Business Packs, 50 on Classic Packs, $75 on Platinum Packs and $100 on Power Packs
• the first upline National Director found earns $10 on Start Up and Business Packs, $20 on Classic Packs, $25 on Platinum Packs and $40 on Power Packs
• the first upline International Director found earns $5 on Startup and Business Packs, $10 on Classic Packs, $15 on Platinum Packs and $20 on Power Packs

Residual Recruitment Commission Match

Regional Director and higher Momentis affiliates earn a matching bonus on residual recruitment commissions.

The matching bonus is paid out down three levels of recruitment as follows:

• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) 25% match
• levels 2 and 3 – 10% match

Note that Residual Recruitment Commission Match bonuses are capped at $5000 a month.

Merchant Commissions

Momentis affiliates earn commissions when they sell merchant services to customers.

These commissions are paid out via the same unilevel compensation structure as retail commissions of M Rejuvenate.

To qualify for merchant commissions, a Momentis affiliate must

1. have at least two customers ordering M Rejuvenate on monthly autoship or
2. have at least one retail customer ordering M Rejuvenate on monthly autoship and have one service customer (excludes M-Lifestyle Travel Club, Anova Payments (less than $5001 a month in generated revenue), DirecTV and HughesNet Gen4)

Note that “customers” can be recruited affiliates or retail customers, as defined in the Momentis compensation plan:

Outside customers for earning Recurring Income refers to customers that are outside of your household.

Below are the commission rates available in the Momentis compensation plan cited for this review (note that merchants available may be subject to change):

Xoom Energy

• retail sales = 50%
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 5%
• levels 2 to 4 – 3%
• levels 5 and 6 – 10%
• Regional Directors earn 4% from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 5% from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 7% from level 7 onwards

Note that percentages above are of the commissionable value of the service provided, not a percentage of customer bills.

Just Energy (same parent company as Momentis)

• retail sales = 25 cents per customer service per month
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 15 cents per customer service per month
• level 2 – 15 cents per customer service per month
• levels 3 and 4 – 10 cents per customer service per month
• levels 5 and 6 – 30 cents per customer service per month
• Regional Directors earn 10 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 20 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 30 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards

Energy Management Systems

• retail sales = $20 one-time commission
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – $5 one-time commission
• levels 2 and 3 – $1 one-time commission
• levels 4 and 5 – $2 one-time commission
• level 6 – $3 one-time commission
• Senior Directors earn a one-time commission of $1 from level 7 onwards
• Regional Directors earn a one-time commission of $5 from level 7 onwards
• National and International Directors earn a one-time commission of $2 from level 7 onwards

M-Lifestyle Club (Momentis travel booking engine)

New M-Lifestyle Club membership commissions (one-time):

• retail sales = $10
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – $1.25
• levels 2 to 4 – $1.25
• level 5 – $1.50
• level 6 – $2
• Regional and National Directors earn $2 per membership from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn $1 per membership from level 7 onwards

Residual M-Lifestyle Club commissions (monthly):

• retail sales = $2 per membership
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 50 cents per membership
• levels 2 to 4 – 50 cents per membership
• level 5 – $1 per membership
• level 6 – $2 per membership
• Regional, National and International Directors earn 50 cents per membership from level 7 onward

M-Lifestyle Club travel booking commissions (one-time):

• retail travel bookings – 25%
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 5%
• levels 2 to 4 – 5%
• level 5 – 10%
• level 6 – 15%
• Regional, National and International Directors earn 10% on travel booked from level 7 onward

Note that the percentages above are a percentage of commission rates payable on travel-bookings, not the cost of the travel-bookings themselves.

Atlantis Games

• retail sales = 50 cents per customer service per month
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 25 cents per customer service per month
• level 2 – 25 cents per customer service per month
• levels 3 and 4 – 10 cents per customer service per month
• levels 5 and 6 – 50 cents per customer service per month
• Regional Directors earn 15 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 25 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 40 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards

Anovia Payments

• retail sales = 50%
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 5%
• levels 2 to 4 – 3%
• levels 5 and 6 – 10%
• Regional Directors earn 4% from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 5% from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 7% from level 7 onwards

Note that percentages above are of monthly revenue generated by referred Anovia Payments customers, not a percentage of customer bills.

Vivint

Membership sale:

• retail membership sale = $75 for 2 months
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – $25 for 2 months
• Regional Directors earn $5 from level 2 onwards
• National Directors earn $7.50 from level 2 onwards
• International Directors earn $10 from level 2 onwards

Monthly recurring commissions:

• retail commissions – $1 for home security, $1.50 for energy management and $2 for full home automation
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 10 cents for home security, 15 cents for energy management and 20 cents for full home automation
• levels 2 to 4 – 5 cents for home security, 10 cents for energy management and 15 cents for full home automation
• levels 5 – 20 cents for home security, 30 cents for energy management and 15 cents for full home automation
• level 6 – 20 cents for home security, 30 cents for energy management and 40 cents for full home automation
• Regional Directors earn 5 cents on home security, 10 cents on energy management and 15 cents on full home automation from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 10 cents on home security, 15 cents on energy management and 20 cents on full home automation from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 15 cents on home security, 20 cents on energy management and 25 cents on full home automation from level 7 onwards

DirecTV

• retail sales = 50 cents per customer service per month
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 25 cents per customer service per month
• level 2 – 25 cents per customer service per month
• levels 3 and 4 – 10 cents per customer service per month
• levels 5 and 6 – 50 cents per customer service per month
• Regional Directors earn 15 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 25 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 40 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards

Dish

New subscriptions (one-time):

• retail sales – $50
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – $10
• Regional Directors earn $5 from level 2 onward
• National Directors earn $10 from level 2 onward
• International Directors earn $15 from level 2 onward

Residual monthly subscription commissions:

• retail sales – $1
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 25 cents
• levels 2 to 4 – 25 cents
• levels 5 and 6 – 75 cents
• Regional Directors earn 25 cents from level 7 onward
• National Directors earn 50 cents from level 7 onward
• International Directors earn 75 cents from level 7 onward

HughesNet Gen4

• retail sales = 50 cents per customer service per month
• level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 25 cents per customer service per month
• level 2 – 25 cents per customer service per month
• levels 3 and 4 – 10 cents per customer service per month
• levels 5 and 6 – 50 cents per customer service per month
• Regional Directors earn 15 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• National Directors earn 25 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards
• International Directors earn 40 cents per customer service per month from level 7 onwards

Merchant Services Bonus

If a Momentis affiliate sells merchant services within a specific time-frame after signing up, they qualify for the following bonuses:

• generate 3 service points within 30 days = $25 bonus
• generate 5 service points within 45 days = $25 bonus
• generate 10 service points within 60 days = $50 bonus
• generate 15 service points within 90 days = $50 bonus
• generate 20 service points within 120 days = $100 bonus

Note that these bonuses are accumulative, with points generated as follows:

• Xoom Gas = 1 elite customer point per month for 24 months
• Xoom Electricity = 1 elite customer point per month for 24 months
• Just Energy Gas – 1 elite customer point per month for life of customer
• Just Energy Electricity – 1 elite customer point per month for life of customer
• Energy Management Systems – 2 elite customer points per month for 12 months
• M-Lifestyle Club – 1 customer point per month for life of customer
• Atlantis Games – 1 elite customer point per month for life of customer
• Anovia Payments (up to $1000 a month in revenue) – 1 customer point a month for life of customer
• Anovia Payments (up to $5000 a month in revenue) – 2 customer points a month for life of customer
• Anovia Payments (over $5000 a month in revenue) – 3 elite customer points a month for life of customer
• Vivint – 2 elite customer points a month for life of customer
• DirecTV – 1 customer point a month for 24 months
• Dish – 2 elite customer points a month for 24 months
• HughesNet – 1 customer point a month for 24 months

Joining Momentis

Basic Momentis affiliate membership is $99.

A Momentis affiliate can also sign up with the optional purchase of an affiliate pack:

• Start Up Pack – $99
• Business Pack – $349
• Classic Pack – $499
• Platinum Pack – $749
• Power Pack – $999

These packs come bundled with M Rejuvenate sets and also automatically promote a Momentis affiliate to the Qualified Marketing Representative rank.

Conclusion

To their credit, Momentis’ compensation plan is pretty easy to get your head around for a service-orientated MLM company.

This is in stark contrast to the usual fare, which often brings on a headache trying to understand even the basic gist of the plan.

Despite being owned by Just Energy, the meat and potatoes of the opportunity appears to be the M Rejuvenate product. This is traditional MLM, with it I suspect being the core focus of most Momentis affiliates.

Certainly that is the impression given by the Momentis website, which doesn’t so much as even go into the merchant services available.

I’m not too sure how selling M Rejuvenate as a set goes, with hopefully all three products within the set consumed at a fairly even rate.

Otherwise customers are going to be left with excess, while being required to purchase another set because they’ve run out of one of the three bundled products.

This might be a turn off for retail customers, who instead of purchasing a set would prefer to purchase one of the bundled M Rejuvenate products (I do however appreciate they are intended to be used as a three-part set).

Also personally I’m not really sold on the whole “molecular messengers” marketing pitch. Sounds a bit far-fetched and there’s no supporting information provided on the Momentis website.

The Momentis compensation plan walks a fine line between recruitment and retail sales, with some notable compliance issues.

First and foremost is inventory loading with the affiliate packs. The Power Pack for $999 comes with 14 M Rejuvenate sets, which are supposed to be resold to retail customers.

There’s no mention of any checking as to whether this happens in the Momentis compensation plan though, so as far I can see it’s just a $999 purchase of the Qualified Marketing Representative rank.

The Qualified Marketing Representative rank can be purchased with the Business Pack or higher, which is definitely pay to play.

The recruitment commissions paid out on affiliates who sign up with a pack purchase are also inexcusable. Retail customers aren’t going to be purchasing affiliate packs, so this is clearly chain-recruitment.

Furthermore, Momentis disingenuously claim commissions generated by pack purchases by affiliates constitute retail product sales:

When you promote to Senior Director or above, you are paid Leadership Bonuses on Qualified Marketing Representatives (QMR) who join your organization that are NOT personally sponsored by you based, on their sales of products and/or services.

The purchase of an affiliate pack has nothing to do with selling a product or service to retail customers. It’s an affiliate purchase that generates a commission for recruiting Momentis affiliates and their upline.

That said retail sales of M Rejuvenate and merchant services do have a residual component, which is great to see.

Overall however I suspect there’s more money to be made recruiting $999 pack affiliates than there is selling Momentis products and services to retail customers.

You could make a sizeable income focusing on retail customers, but why bother when you can just market the business opportunity and get paid for recruiting affiliates who purchase a pack?

The whole customer point thing is a bit iffy to, with there being no retail requirements.

A “customer” being defined as someone not living in the same house isn’t good enough. This definition should also exclude recruited affiliates so as to require services both marketed and sold to retail customers.

On the topic of retail service sales, I’m still not sure why anyone would go through Momentis to purchase a third-party merchant service. There doesn’t appear to be any inherent benefit to the retail customer for doing so.

As a prospective Momentis affiliate, a quick check you can do is ask for how many retail customer points your potential upline has generated over the past few months.

Weigh this against their recruited affiliate generated points and you’ll pretty quickly ascertain whether you’ll likely be marketing the business opportunity or products and services to retail customers.

Good luck!