A Quest From Good To Great – ARIIX’s Slow And Steady Plan For Success

Throughout history, high importance has been placed on the number seven. Seven is said to represent completeness and the aspect of things well done.

Fred Cooper

With Bountiful, Utah-based ARIIX currently celebrating its seventh anniversary, the company must earn a “well done” given its consistent upward momentum. Consider: ARIIX has experienced 249 percent growth the past three years, with six consecutive record years, and has jumped from position 82 to 78 on DSN’s Global 100 in one year.

Although ARIIX is still growing and has yet to reach that proverbial state of “completeness,” it is a real contender in the world of direct sales leadership. Boasting $178 million in annual revenue, with seven strong and impressive brands, a new loyalty travel program, offices and about 85,000 Representatives in 15 countries, ARIIX has come a long way from a startup in 2011.

As the self-proclaimed “The Opportunity Company,” ARIIX has created an impressive array of products and a unique compensation plan. Founder and CEO Fred Cooper explains: “Many companies are a branded house. They are known for one thing. We want to be a house of brands in which you get the best in class of different types of brands that you choose to represent. We also are not married to just products, we’re not married just to services, we have both.” The key to our success is diversity, he believes. “It’s not just, ‘Here, take a product and earn commissions on it,’ but ways to improve yourself in many different dimensions.”

Protecting Its Representatives Is Vital

Deanna Latson, CPO and Founder giving some love at the Next Level World Tour in Lyon, France.

Cooper and five of the other six founders: President Mark Wilson, CFO Jeff Yates, COO Riley Timmer, CIO Wenhan Harry Zhang and CSO Ian Chandler, had worked together at another successful direct selling company prior to creating ARIIX. The seventh partner, Founder and Chief Product Officer Deanna Latson, had no experience in direct selling (more on Deanna’s interesting story later).

“We want to be a house of brands in which you get the best in class of different types of brands that you choose to represent.”

—Fred Cooper, Founder and CEO

Cooper said he initially had no interest in creating his own company; he had a very successful career where he was. However, eventually, he and the other founders felt compelled to leave their positions and create their own company that would respect and protect the rights of its sales force. On this premise, the ARIIX Bill of Rights was born.

“Everyone talks a good game,” says Cooper. “But when it all comes down to it, what you have to really believe is put in writing. What are your contractual rights?” Cooper and his partners felt some companies in the industry did not put their sales force first when changing their policies and procedures. “As a result,” he explains, “we have tried to improve the rights of the Representatives so they feel a little more protected.” Cooper acknowledges ARIIX will change its policies and procedures over time; however, having something in writing gives Representatives a say in how the company changes its policies and compensation plan he adds.

A Plan with a (Successful) View

The ARIIX Activ8 compensation plan allows ARIIX to acquire brands and direct selling companies with different kinds of compensation structures. Founder and Chief Sales Officer Ian Chandler said they realized a new type of compensation plan was needed since most companies offer one of three types of plans: a binary that limits width, a unilevel that limits depth or a matrix that limits both width and depth.

“We basically created a new category of compensation plan tree structure in the industry called the multiline, and it is literally unlimited in width and in depth and that makes it very strategically advantageous for us to be able to take companies and merge into our own, whether they came from a binary, a matrix or a unilevel,” he says. “They don’t have to reposition their structure when we bring the entire organization or tree and merge into ours … We’ve had over 10 companies in the last seven years that we’ve merged into ARIIX—some big, some small.”

Q&A with Fred Cooper

From True Skeptic to Loyal Fan

Now, back to Deanna Latson, Founder and Chief Product Officer. There is no way you can talk to this woman and not enjoy the conversation. She pulls no punches when discussing her initial disdain for the direct selling channel before joining ARIIX. “I was the only female partner, the only one not from the direct selling channel, and to be honest with you, I was more than a little skeptical,” she says. But as an ARIIX owner, she saw an opportunity to create highly beneficial products alongside an R&D team and highly qualified councils with diverse professional backgrounds. This enabled her to go beyond her misgivings about network marketing.

With degrees in nutrition, health communications and a specialty in her master’s in how the media influences women’s body images and food choices, Latson understands what makes—or breaks—a human body. All these experiences eventually led her to professional speaking, and for 17 years she traveled the world espousing the importance of giving the body what it needs and making conscious life-changing choices. “My philosophy for the last 20 years has been, you can do things every day that extend your life and improve your health and you don’t have to be like everybody else,” she says. “I dedicated my life to helping people realize your body is a reflection of how you choose to live every day, and sometimes the smallest of changes can make the hugest of differences.”

Latson and her team’s mission to create products that change lives is supported by the ARIIX Seal of Approval that ensures all its products align with the Banned Substances Control Group, United States Pharmacopeia, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Good Manufacturing Practices. Its seven brands are Nutrifii (supplements), Jouvé (skincare), Puritii (air/water purification), Reviive (cleansing), Priime (essential oil), Slenderiiz (weight loss) and NuCerity (skincare).

Good Steps into Great Leaps

Training and events are integral to ARIIX’s support for its Representatives. “All of our training basically focuses on how do you get your story, how do you share your story in the 21st century, how you’re able to leverage the comp plan,” says Chandler. One tool provided Representatives is The B.O.S. (Business Orientation System), a comprehensive training system that includes an online portal of training videos as well as an orientation kit. September 28-29 ARIIX will hold its Breakthrough Las Vegas convention, which Chandler says will focus on the Representatives’ experiences rather than flashy stage presentations. It will be “jam-packed with different types of venues, excursions, and experiences” and conclude with a poolside black-tie gala.

Charitable giving is never forgotten at ARIIX—company projects include supporting a women’s foundation in China, donating to areas devastated by natural disasters and participating in a worldwide day of service by partnering with an organization called Do Good. Be Kind.

Pick up your print copy of the August 2018 issue in which this article appeared.

While Cooper acknowledges ARIIX has accomplished a great deal in its seven years, he wishes they had taken a slower approach to opening new markets; he wants to be sure every aspect of the business is in place for any future market launches. And he feels they have skills and tools to hone. One phrase he keeps in mind is “The enemy to great is good.” And being just good enough is not where he wants the company to be. “We are good at a lot of things. Not great at things,” he says. One way he hopes to keep the company striving toward greatness is by continuing to build customer loyalty. ARIIX Travel is a good example of the company’s disruptive approach to this concept—for every dollar Representatives invest in their health and in building their businesses, ARIIX gives back Reward Dollars, dollar for dollar, to put toward incentives and rewards for Representatives who qualify. ARIIX also provides a savings program; in 2017, the company distributed an cumulative $8.2 million in savings bonuses to hundreds of Representatives.

With seven “well done” years under their belt, Cooper and his team are now focused on turning their good steps into great leaps. Considering the number eight symbolizes abundance and power and the ability to make decisions—and in China is considered a synonym for prosperity—next year could be quite a ride for ARIIX.