Home based business opportunities that take advantage of the high-growth deregulated energy industry are starting to pop up everywhere; so if you want to ride this income wave, are you better off getting involved with a dedicated energy company or a multi-product, multi-industry company like 5Linx? It’s a difficult question because the companies are so different. In fact, the only way they are similar is that they both have energy product offerings. But even on this, the differences are very, very significant. The following information is intended to help you determine which company will provide the better opportunity and be a better fit for YOU! 
5Linx Considerations vs. Other Opportunities in Energy
5Linx and every network marketing company offer the opportunity for independent representatives to be in business for themselves and get paid on generating customers and building teams of representatives that acquire customers. In energy, the focus is on building a meaningful residual income based on the monthly bills of customers. So if you are interested in residual income, the key to your success is your ability to acquire customers and to easily recruit reps who acquire customers. It goes without saying that the more reps you have and the more customers you have, the more you will earn. As you evaluate the businesses you need to be asking yourself which business makes it easier to build a huge business?
5Linx vs. Other Energy Companies: The Product Offerings
Building a huge customer base is tied to the customer’s need and interest in the product offerings. 5Linx launched as a telecommunications company and then expanded into other products and services. It’s product line-up includes a smorgasbord of offerings that the company describes as “essential products that people use every day”: VOIP digital phone service, video phones, mobile phones and plans, home security, satellite TV, high speed internet, identity theft protection and …energy plans.
I don’t know about you, but I do NOT use VOIP, a video phone, home security or identity theft protection. I DO use high speed internet, satellite TV and mobile phone service, but I am very happy with my service plans and in fact am under contract with some of my providers that would make it impractical to switch. I’m not actually in the market for those other products and I personally feel that I would have a very hard time finding customers for those products. 5Linx also positions it’s opportunity as “you get paid for purchasing and using products you already use.” So maybe the real key with 5Linx is that reps are the primary customers? If so, you need to be a VERY talented recruiter to build a large business.
The energy company that I am involved with is singularly focused on ONE product segment, energy, that in fact EVERYONE does use. The customer proposition is very simple. You can save money on your utility bill by choosing North American Power as your supplier. You don’t need to break a contract to switch, there is no equipment that needs to be purchased, and no service call. 5Linx also now offers “energy,” but there is a major difference in the offering that needs to be clarified. 5Linx is NOT an energy supplier. 5Linx has forged a marketing relationship with an energy brokerage company, Diversegy, that interfaces with multiple suppliers to help customers “shop for savings.” What that means is that 5Linx is actually 2 generations removed from the actual energy supplier who controls the pricing and serves the actual end customers. This affects pricing!
Just for kicks, I went through the 5Linx website to see what kind of rate offers they had for a residential electric customer in New Jersey. 5Linx did not offer options like I expected. There was one rate quoted, and it was 27% higher than the rate that one of the licensed energy suppliers in New Jersey was offering the same customer. I also need to point out that the customer had to enter all of their personal information into a lead capture page on the 5Linx website to obtain the pricing information. That can be a major barrier.
5Linx vs. Other Opportuntities: BusinessCosts
There is NO cost to join the North American Power business and no fee for a rep’s customer and business websites or Back Office. The only requirement to qualify as rep, is that an individual needs one customer. A rep can qualify with their own electric account or that of someone else who wants to become a North American power customer. What this means is that North American Power reps are able to start earning a profit on their business immediately, while they also start saving on their own electric bill. It also means that it is really easy to recruit reps into North American Power because there is no investment.
There is a $249 fee to join 5Linx. There is also a $49.95 monthly fee for the 5Linx virtual office and training. In addition, reps need 4 customer points to become “qualified,” which puts significant pressure on reps to subscribe themselves to different 5Linxs services, which may carry an additional financial liability.
5Linx vs. Other Opportunities: Comp Plans
I personally prefer a compensation plan that is extremely straight forward and enticing.
The 5Linx plan is complicated to figure out because every service has a different commission value and the percentage that the rep earns is tied to the rep’s promotional rank. There are a ton of bonuses, but many are contingent on the rep’s ranking and the rep’s ability to meet new customer acquisition requirements each month. Fast start bonuses are designed to help a new rep quickly earn back their upfront investment. I have to admit that the 5Linx comp plan had my head spinning. While the numbers looked exciting, the bottom line is that the earning potential is tied to how big a rep and customer base you are able to build, sustain and continue to grow.
If you want to know more about profting from energy opportunities, Click Here.
To Your Success!
Courtney Day
Area Director, North American Power
Independent Representative
203-541-0961
P.S.: If Your Upline Does Not Have a Step-By-Step Blueprint For Success, Check This Out (Unless You Already Have Too Many Leads) – Click here for Instant Access
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