Entering the World of LegalShield
LegalShield has been providing affordable legal service plans since 1972. The company is based out of Ada, Oklahoma and operates in all 50 states and several Canadian provinces. LegalShield might be known by many as pre-Paid Legal Services, which was its original name. The company is now a subsidiary of the investment company, MidOcean Partners. LegalShield offers legal services through a network of 8,000 attorneys that are members of 38 law firms across Canada and the United States . Additionally, there are over 50 VIP Service LegalShield independent associates that sell and market the legal service plans. LegalShield also offers identity theft subscription services through its IDShield division.
Throughout its history, LegalShield has maintained a well-respected reputation for customer service and member satisfaction. The company has faced numerous independent reviews, investigative reports, and association evaluations and once again received high remarks by top analysts and associations in the nation.
What is the LegalShield Compensation Plan?
The LegalShield compensation plan is one of the most attractive paid-for and most overwhelming and massively under-played concepts in the network marketing / direct sales industry today. In the beginning, I’ll explain the basic structure of the compensation plan, then later, I’ll go into a bit more detail about how it all works. Overall, this will help to explain what LegalShield compensation plan is all about and who it benefits. In the sections after this one, I’ll explain in more detail, exactly how the compensation plan works.
If you want to build a cash generating, part time or full time opportunity that is based on developing memberships and continuing memberships, you will be hard pressed to create a better vehicle for those goals than what the LegalShield compensation plan has to offer.
The compensation plan consists of four main sections: commissions paid to the member for enrolling new members, commissions paid to the member for continuing the memberships for their members (the remaining 11 months of the membership renewal), commissions paid out to the member for enrolling additional members for the chain of members they have already enrolled and commissions paid to the member for extending and expanding the memberships of the members in their chain.
That’s the bird’s eye overview of the compensation plan. I’ll go into much more detail in the next section. In the next section, I’ll explain layer by layer, how the compensation plan works and how the payments are generated to the various levels of members of the LegalShield opportunity.
How to Earn through the LegalShield Compensation Plan
In addition to the one-time bonus income, which is the bulk of the unilevel commissions paid in LegalShield, associates earn "per subscription" commissions (aka "residuals") on both Personal and Business LegalShield membership sales! Associates can qualify for the highest available subscription commission by selling at least one of each type of membership in a given month. Subscription commissions are paid weekly and can currently be as high as $1.40 for personal memberships and $3.65 for business memberships. (Unlike legal services, where there is a wide spread in the rate paid to attorneys, all LegalShield members pay the same monthly fee for service in any given country). Commissions are paid on all new memberships each month, for that month, for six (6) to twelve (12) months depending on the status of the associate for that month. Residuals are paid each month thereafter on all memberships active as of the last day of the previous month, on every membership through the end of the fifth (5th) year of service. After five years of service, members are still statistically active on a significant percentage of memberships. The number of residual commissions (per subscription) paid on membership service increases over time. Associates also are eligible for monthly "Team Overrides" on the residuals of each of their personally sponsored associates and their teams. Those eking out the monthly Team Override commissions are so few and far between, that it’s easier to note how these commissions are calculated by how rare they are. Suffice it to say, it requires a very deep, very large, and very consistent organization to earn the maximum monthly override commissions—and that’s a good thing if you’re going to be one of those rarity few. These commissions are paid each month on Team Overrides of at least $20. There is no limit on the number of levels down for Team Commissions. Ranking within this component is determined by the percentage commission paid on the residual subscriptions of personally sponsored associates. Qualification for this next category of commission is not based on what is sold, but on the percentage that the associate earns on the subscription sales of his/her personally sponsored associates. Six categories of "winning positions" earn bonuses based on the monthly personal and team commissions earned by the associates in that category (there is a separate Chart 1 and Chart 2 for Personal Commissions and a separate Chart 1 and Chart 2 for Team Commissions). Associates can earn a commission on his/her personally sponsored associates who attend LegalShield’s corporate training events ($10 for a two-day conference or $5 for a one-day event). As associates reach certain junior, senior and executive ranks based on their sequential DVD sales, they qualify to buy company merchandise at discounts up to 50 percent off retail prices and up to 50 percent off of the prices that members pay. These clothing and accessory purchases are delivered directly to the associates. Associates also can earn awards and earn by sponsoring other associates and obtaining DVD production/distribution rights for their own businesses.
Getting Paid: Commissions and Bonuses
A central component of the LegalShield compensation plan is the commissions paid to associates based on their personal sales performance and on the sales performance of their downline associates, along with bonuses that are paid solely for team volume not attributable to an associate’s personal efforts.
The standard commission rate as described in your compensation plan is 50% of the net amount paid by a Member for their membership as set forth in your commission table (less any deductions such as referral bonuses, product sales taxes or service fees that may not apply in particular states). Associates purchase memberships in various packages that provide differing levels of service, which is reflected in your commission table. For example, you may receive 50% commission on the net price of the attorneys’ fees for Full and Business Legal Plan memberships, but you will receive only 15% commission on the net price of the attorneys’ fees paid by the associate’s clients for the Basic Legal Plan. This discrepancy in commission rates is designed to provide an incentive to pursue higher-ticket items in selling memberships.
In addition to the standard commissions described above, LegalShield also pays bonuses based on your service volume and other business-building efforts. For example, each quarter, LegalShield reviews each associate’s downline service volume (i.e., contracted attorneys’ fees across the associates’ downline), and pays bonuses according to your compensation plan. Further, if you maintain a certain level of committed monthly earnings, you will qualify for a bonus equal to 7% of your total monthly commission earned from LegalShield, LLC, which achieves out of profit instead of out of sales. Finally, temporary bonuses are available for referring new associates in a given quarter or for referring associates at a certain rank.
Benefits of the LegalShield Compensation Plan
One of the first benefits that LegalShield compensation structure has to offer is the ability for associates to work on their own time. As mentioned earlier, the compensation plan does not mandate associates to meet any sales quotas or performance goals. As a result, when you join LegalShield as an independent associate, you do not have to worry about being terminated for not reaching a specified quota. This means that you can follow your own pace and work when you feel like it without worrying about making a deadline. You can work on the weekends or right after school if that is what you feel comfortable with.
If you are considering a multi-level marketing plan then you will most likely be glad to hear that the LegalShield business structure also has some great scalability elements. With other compensation plans out there , you could find yourself very much alone if you become a top earner who is unable to bring in recruits to build your downline. Top earners in other compensation plans often struggle to find the time to show new associates the ropes of the industry. With LegalShield however, the company provides all of the support that you need in order to build your network. Their support can even include training new associates and leading new sales presentations.
Associates do not have to rely solely on their own co-workers when it comes to qualifying for ranks. Any and all associates that a member brings into the company and subsequently help to stay in the company and flourish, help you to earn bonuses and commissions. While there is always the potential that a recruit may leave the company, many who are brought into LegalShield stay for long and take the company as seriously as their introducer.
Drawbacks & Challenges
While multifaceted, the LegalShield compensation plan is not free of potential challenges and risks. It is important to remember that this is a business structure in which you work and develop teams in order to earn commissions, requiring a substantial investment of time and effort.
The sales process itself can be difficult. LegalShield associates are generally independent contractors who must earn their own business. The network marketing model can create conflicts, between Sales Associates competing for the same clients, for example.
Depending on your sales style, you may find network marketing and affiliate marketing companies more difficult to sell to your clients. The network marketing compensation plan rewards those who network and build teams, but it is also possible that you simply prefer direct sales to individuals or businesses.
The amount of money LegalShield associates make (or do not make) is a frequent source of discussion. From what we have seen an associate should expect to earn more than $100 per week, and less than $200 per week is a problem for many. Sellers earning less than $50 would be losing or giving away too much of the product.
As with all opportunities, careful planning, thorough research and a realistic personal assessment are critical to determining if the LegalShield compensation plan is a good fit for you.
In Summary, is LegalShield for You?
In this article, I have touched on the primary components of the LegalShield compensation plan; how commissions are paid, the bonuses that you can earn and the leadership levels that you can attain. Now let’s get into who should and who shouldn’t join LegalShield.
If your goal is to earn a supplemental income by working part-time hours (about 10-20 per week), then legal shield is a good match for your objectives. It is a simple system and a good "side business" to maintain alongside your full-time career . The compensation plan is straightforward and gives great bonuses when you personally sell the product in bigger bundles to your clients. The product itself is phenomenal and has real benefit and value to the client.
Do not join Legal Shield or any MLM for that matter if you are looking to become an overnight millionaire. It’s just not going to happen. Legal Shield requires consistency and hard work on your part like many businesses do. If you are a motivated individual looking to start a simple, low-risk home-based business that can supplement your full-time career with a part-time effort, then LegalShield may be right for you.