Why I Quit Beachbody Coaching {The Truth About Multi-Level Marketing}

This post may contain affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure.

It’s been four years since I quit Beachbody coaching, and I don’t regret it one bit. First I’m going to tell you about my journey and then explain why I quit.

It all began with curiosity…and ended with drinking a lot of Beachbody’s kool-aid (or Shakeology, rather).

Now, I’m all about finding legit ways to make money from home but after being burned twice by multi-level marketing companies, I have made it my mission to share the sober truth about why I’m antiMLM.

Hundreds of women have shared their personal story about how they decided to quit Beachbody coaching for many of the same reasons I did.

Bottom line: if you’re questioning this whole Beachbody coaching thing, you’re in good company, and your feelings are valid.

 

Beachbody Coach Review

One day in 2014, as I was looking through Craigslist (way before Facebook marketplace), I saw an ad for Turbofire. My friend Jocelyn had incredible results from Turbofire a few years ago, and a seller was offering it at a major discount.

I research stuff to death sometimes because I’ve been known to practice extreme frugality.

Jocelyn was now a Team Beachbody Coach, and while I’d seen her posts, I didn’t reach out to her first for help because I didn’t want her to try to sell me.

I called her up that day and said, “I found Turbofire on Craigslist. What can you tell me about it?”

Beachbody Challenge Packs Explained – The Hard Sell

She instantly started telling me about her amazing coaching opportunity and that if I was going to purchase a program, I might as well try Shakeology while I’m at it because it has “changed her life”!

“Well, that sounds amazing,” I said. “But I can’t afford to spend $140 on a challenge pack right now….or ever really…”.

Insert the discount Team Beachbody coach opportunity.

She told me all about how she “doesn’t offer this to everyone” but that I could be amazingly successful in this business! An hour later, I was completing my purchase on a credit card. (Insert face slap)

Related:

• Affordable Shakeology Substitute
• 17 Beachbody Coach Reviews: Why They All Quit (Or Secretly Want To)
• 76 Legit Ways to Make Money on the Side This Year
• Online Personal Training with Lukas Duncan – 81% off

 

For the next 11 months, I worked my ass off marketing, advertising, branding, inviting, offering, helping…all of those things that Beachbody says to do including the 3 vital behaviors.

If you want to be successful as a Beachbody coach (according to Beachbody standard ladder of ascension), you have to follow the 3 vital behaviors below:

 

 

Vital Behavior #1

Invite, Invite, Invite– You are to become friends with as many people as possible that are driven, passionate, goal-oriented so that you can give them the opportunity to help others as a Beachbody Coach in your downline.

Invite at least 2 people every day. The top coaches invite 20-30 people every day. They want you to friend request people you don’t know and send them messages on Facebook, complimenting them and then offering the “opportunity of a lifetime”.

If it sounds creepy, that’s because it definitely is.

I’ve been interviewed by Glamour, Cosmo, and Forbes. They were all writing articles about Beachbody coaches targeting postpartum women and even grieving mothers (after infant loss) on Instagram. It’s truly sick.

If you’re a victim of this shameful targeting, I’d love to tell your story on the blog. Contact me in the comments below and I’ll email you for follow up.

The Sales Pitch

 

Here’s one of my favorites when a customer says it’s too expensive. “I know that the investment may seem high right now. Do you ever grab lunch on the go or drink Starbucks coffee?

I, personally, LOVE the Starbucks! The cost of this meal replacement shake is only $4.33 per shake!

It is chock full of nutritious superfoods, and it costs less than the price of a McDonald’s meal.

Wouldn’t you rather take the first step in making healthier choices and preplan for your success?

I can almost guarantee you won’t stop for that fast food or that Starbucks as often  when you know you’ve got a delicious treat in Shakeology waiting for you at home!”

See what I mean? Smooth, right? Almost as smooth as a Starbucks white mocha!

 

Vital Behavior #2

 

Be Proof the Products Work– I worked out every day (for the most part), started drinking more water, less soda, and here’s the big one…drank Shakeology EVERY DAY.

They’re big on that. You have to drink your Shakeology every day so that you’re a “product of the product” and so that you can encourage others to do the same.

The funny thing is…when all of the coaches are drinking Shakeology and selling Shakeology, guess who makes more money? Beachbody!

I was told when I started that you CAN be a coach without drinking Shakeology, but no one has ever been successful without drinking it because you can’t sell it if you don’t believe in it.

And you don’t believe in it if you don’t drink it. I also started sharing photos of me working out, drinking Shakeology, eating healthy, etc consistently on my Facebook and Instagram pages.

I spammed my friends and family. Every single post was calculated.

How could I get the most likes, shares, and personal messages?

I feel icky just thinking about it. If you’re looking for an affordable Shakeology alternative, check out this post.

You can find my this Shakeology alternative on Amazon.

If you do try it, let me know what you think!

Vital Behavior #3

Personal Development– This is one vital behavior I can actually stand behind! Every person…especially entrepreneurs…should read for at least 15-20 minutes per day. Read the Bible, read self -help books, read about areas you struggle in such as time management, managing people, understanding personalities, etc.

You WILL absolutely grow as a person when you do this. I downloaded podcasts and started an Audible subscription. I never cared much for reading until I started working on personal development.

Update: I’ve now canceled my Audible for Scribd. It’s cheaper and includes unlimited audiobooks for just $8.99 per month.

Personal Development: Beachbody’s Unofficial Vital Behavior #4

Invest in yourself- Beachbody is ALL about the investment.

You need to attend webinars, live events, team events, and self-help seminars to grow and to be able to be successful in the business. I agree completely that this is important.

I actually attended Beachbody Summit in 2015 in Nashville, and it was a lot of fun!

With so many like-minded individuals with stars in their eyes in the same place learning how to grow their businesses and to help other people, it truly was an awesome time.

I drove to Nashville with two other coaches in my downline, and I put the entire trip on a credit card (including my Summit ticket), which isn’t exactly a good plan when you’re trying to pay off debt. 

 

Beachbody Share a Cart

Recently, Beachbody has come out with a way for coaches to create an order and “share a cart” with customers or new coaches. This was a brilliant marketing technique on Beachbody’s part. Here’s why:

Adding items to your own cart gives you the opportunity to question or second-guess your purchase. The fewer steps you have to complete, the more likely you are to convert. That’s just sales 101.

Be aware of the Beachbody Share a Cart!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cTYr7OUtJs

 

Why I Quit Beachbody Coaching

 

As a person in my own debt snowball journey, trying to pay off debt and save money for my future, I realized something in the past few weeks that was very eye-opening. Beachbody coach or otherwise, I am in business for myself.

I have to think about MY future, MY family, and MY priorities.

I realized that I’ve spent the past 11 months idolizing Beachbody! My spiritual walk has suffered. My family life has suffered.

My kids have had a short-tempered, distracted Mom. My husband has come home to a dirty house because I’ve been consumed by Beachbody!

How is that fair to them? In all actuality, my personality probably led me to obsess over the company more than I had to.

If I had just logged on, sent my invites to challenge groups and coaching opportunity, made new friends and logged off, things may have been different.

But it’s hard to do that when every post you make on Facebook/Instagram has to be calculated and prepared so that it’ll receive several likes/comments/dialogue to keep it at the top of the newsfeed.

I looked at my paychecks in relation to what I’ve invested on Beachbody products such as Shakeology, 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme, Body Beast, Les Mills Combat, Piyo, Summit trip, giveaways, coach fees, club membership, my husband’s account, etc…It was a WASH.

I literally spent everything I made and gave it right back to Beachbody! The original plan was to sign up as a discount coach, and I quickly rank advanced to Diamond but to maintain that rank, I had to spend/invest quite a bit.

This was very eye-opening for me! What I thought was a blessing had turned out to be $0 income (a loss on my income taxes) and had taken so much time away from my TRUE priorities. I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t want to work for free! It really is a brilliant business model.

No investment necessary, but to be successful and hit “success club trip status”, 90 PV per month on HOME DIRECT is required. Shakeology is 90 PV.

Well, that’s convenient.

Related Post-Alert! This post about Why I Quit Coaching prompted hundreds of comments from former coaches and current coaches who secretly wanted to quit. You can read 17 stories from ladies who walked away from Beachbody here.

Is it Worth it?

 

I’m going to upset a LOT of people here, but I’m going to be blunt and honest. If you owe any debt other than your mortgage, you probably can’t afford to be a coach for Beachbody.

 

How Much is Shakeology

If you want to be successful (according to Beachbody), the initial investment is $140-220 for a challenge pack including Shakeology.

Shakeology will be set up on home direct, and you will be shipped a new bag every month at $98 plus tax with your coach discount.

As a customer, the fee for a bag of these “superfoods” will set you back $140 plus tax per month on auto shipment.

Side note:

You don’t need to buy Shakeology. Skip the challenge pack and buy the Beachbody workout programs here. If you’re looking for the accountability of a challenge group, check this out.

I lost 25 pounds with Lukas Duncan’s online personal training, complete with meal plans and fitness programs (updated weekly). Lukas is a former bodybuilder who now trains clients online. No expensive supplements needed. No Shakeology. Just a simple, clean eating meal plan and fitness program.

I’ve partnered with Lukas making it affordable for my readers! In fact, you can get 8 weeks of training for just $38 (less than 1/4 of the cost of a bag of Shakeo).  Use coupon code melissa81.

Beachbody Workouts and Programs Worth Trying (Sans Shakeology)

PIYO:

Chalene Johnson is pretty much one of my favorite motivational people to listen to. Her energy is just amazing. I actually attended a LIVE event and worked out with her once. If you haven’t tried Piyo, it’s an incredible workout and can be modified for any fitness level. Available at a great price here.

Beachbody’s Core de Force:

This one is new, and I actually haven’t tried it. But it looks to be an incredible “beat down”.  This one is on my shortlist due to the martial arts style. I really liked Les Mills Combat, and I think the MMA-style workout helps to distract you from the fact that cardio sucks.

21 Day Fix:

This one taught me a lot about portion control. The workouts are great and quick, too. But the real golden nugget is in the nutrition plan. You can order Autumn Calabrese’s cookbook Fixate here.

Beachbody On Demand – Beachbody’s ‘Netflix’ of Workout Programs

Your monthly coach fee is $15.95, and if you want access to Beachbody On Demand (and to receive leads from the company), you’ll pay an additional $40/quarter for a club membership.

They’ll teach you to sign up your spouse as a coach as quickly as possible so that you can get all of the benefits of rank advancing quicker and earning more money in team cycle bonuses as each of you rank advance.

That’ll cost you an additional $50 per month minimum in purchases (50 pv required to stay an active coach) and an additional $15.95 business service fee. Grand total per month comes out to about $195.

Let me put this disclaimer out there: each person’s success is dependent on his or her effort and ability to help others while providing value. I would agree with that.

But tell me this…When others tell me they can’t afford Shakeology, how can I (with a clean conscious) overcome that objection without being hypocritical? I’m still working on my own debt snowball.

“It’s only $4.33 per day for a meal. If you ever eat out or drink Starbucks, surely you spend more than that”. <—How can I justify $4.33/day for one person in my family of five?

The answer is simple. I can’t. And I don’t say the words “I can’t” often, but seriously….life is all about choices. And I choose my family and my integrity.

 

 

Beachbody Customer Service SUCKS

They don’t make it easy to quit coaching. Initially, when I tried to cancel my Beachbody coaching account, I filled out the form, emailed it to Beachbody coach relations, and two months later, I was still being charged the monthly coach fee.

I had to send the form twice before they finally got it together and canceled my coaching account.

 

Multi-Level Marketing Benefits the Company…Not the Coaches or Distributors

This comes as no surprise. Instead of paying a company like GNC to market their goods, they pay “coaches” but first require them to “be a product of the product” and then recruit and sell to others.

I can’t knock that business plan. Kudos to you, Carl! (For those who don’t know, Carl is the CEO of Beachbody).

If Shakeology wasn’t the bread and butter of the company and/or was more affordable, I might feel differently about this situation.

But it is just TOO expensive for me to try to coerce people who are already in debt and struggling financially that they can afford a $130 liquid meal.

Adding a shake into your grocery budget that accounts for a MAJOR portion of it just doesn’t seem right.

There is NO replacement for real, whole foods.

Shakeology is a wonderful product, but you can live without it.  You can lose weight without it. You can be healthy without it.

Remember…I’m only talking about Beachbody as a business opportunity for ME or others that are looking for extra income or a second job to make ends meet or pay off debt faster.

Beachbody has INCREDIBLE products and programs that I truly believe in. If I had not started 21 Day Fix, I wouldn’t have learned the importance of portion control and exercise.

After sharing my story, as expected, most of the Beachbody team I was a part of has removed me from their lives.

If you have one takeaway from my story of why I quit Beachbody coaching, remember this: Faith and family are life. Everything else is secondary. This was a tough lesson for me but one I am so happy to share with others.

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope that I’ve shared something of value to you today.

If you’re on the fence about being a Beachbody coach or you’re a coach that is questioning things and want to talk more, I’d love to chat! If you started coaching as a way to make money from home, this entire blog is going to help you save more money, pay off your debt, and create a life you love.

Beachbody FAQ Wrap-Up

How much does it cost to be a Beachbody Coach? $15.95 per month, plus a minimum of $100 per month in Shakeology auto-shipments.

Can Beachbody coaches earn a six-figure income? The truth is very few coaches earn a full-time six-figure income from coaching. The statistic is that the top 1% of coaches earn 99% of the income. So while it is possible, it’s highly unlikely.

Can you just do the workouts without the Shakeology? Yes. Buy the workouts from Amazon, and you may be able to avoid being prospected by a coach.

What do you suggest instead of Beachbody for losing weight? Lukas Duncan’s 8-week transformation is a great place to start on a budget. Or you can save 81% off of any of his plans (up to a year of training) using the coupon code melissa81.

Bottom Line:

If you know someone thinking about or actively engaged in a multi-level marketing company, please share this post with them!

It’s not only for Beachbody coaches! The basic principals are the same with all MLMs.

Based on many of the comments below, you’ll notice so many coaches struggling with the decision of whether to quit Beachbody or continue supporting the company as well as their upline.

You likely signed up for Beachbody as a way to make extra money from home and/or to be your own boss.

The best thing I could have ever done is to start this blog. While it started as a place where I could share this story about why I quit Beachbody coaching and became antiMLM, I replaced my full-time banking income with it!

If you’re curious about how to get started, check out this post on How to Start a WordPress Blog. I’ve had some incredible income, and I didn’t even have to peddle shakes or sell anything at all!

Other Articles You May Like:

• Blog Income Reports (with Traffic Stats) Perfection Hangover
• 2019 Blog Year in Review and 2020 Forecast: $28,000+ income
• Free Keyword Research Tools for Bloggers on a Budget
• 23 Best Work From Home Jobs to Make Extra Money
• 76 Legit Ways to Make Money on the Side This Year