Essential Access Network operates in the telemedicine MLM niche. The company is being marketed under “The Shift Is Real” branding.
To keep thing simple, we’ll refer to the company as Essential Access Network in this review.
Essential Access Network provides a suite address in Wyoming on its website.
Further research reveals this address belongs to “Contact Registered Agents”, an incorporation merchant.
Heading up Essential Access Network are co-founders J. Joshua Beistle and Doug Wellens.
J. Joshua Beistle (right) first appeared on BehindMLM in 2013, as President of the JubiRev Ponzi scheme.
Essentially a reload of the notorious Zeek Rewards Ponzi scheme, JubiRev collapsed a few months after launch.
Beistle returned in mid 2014 with BrandOnline365, a short-lived pyramid scheme. We haven’t heard anything since then.
Doug Wellens (right) first appeared on BehindMLM in 2014, as co-founder of Infinite Leverage.
Infinity Leverage was a pyramid scheme attached to a marketing platform.
Infinite Leverage was rebooted in 2015 as Traffic Authority. Traffic Authority was rebooted in 2018 as Finish Line Network.
On his personal Facebook profile, J. Joshua Beistle claims to be residing in Arizona. Doug Wellens’ profile cites him in Georgia.
It appears beyond a possible shell company incorporation, Essential Access Network has no actual physical ties to Wyoming.
Read on for a full review of Essential Access Network’s MLM opportunity.
Essential Access Network’s Products
Essential Access Network market a suite of telemedicine subscription services.
EAN’s doctors and counselors are there when you need them with 24/7 email access to health care specialists including physicians, pharmacists, pediatricians, mental health experts, alternative medicine doctors, dietitians, and more.
Get all your non-urgent medical questions answered efficiently and effectively by top experts with our online system.
Pricing for Essential Access Network’s telemedicine service is as follows:
- Silver monthly – $149 and then $39.99 a month after the first month
- Silver annual – $549 and then $39.99 a month after twelve months
- Gold monthly – $149.99 and then $59.99 a month after the first month
- Gold annual – $699 and then $59.99 a month after twelve months
- Platinum monthly – $149.99 and then $69.99 a month after the first months
- Platinum annual – $799.99 and then $69.99 a month after twelve months
- Diamond monthly – $199.99 and then $99.99 a month after the first month
- Diamond annual – $1299.99 and then $99.99 a month after twelve months
Silver covers one person, Gold covers a dependent, Platinum covers up to seven dependents and Diamond adds “counseling and mental health” services.
Note that Essential Access Network do not disclose who their telemedicine provider is.
Essential Access Network’s Compensation Plan
Essential Access Network affiliates are paid to sell telemedicine subscriptions to retail customers and recruited affiliates.
Essential Access Network Affiliate Ranks
There are eleven affiliate ranks within Essential Access Network’s compensation plan.
Along with their respective qualification criteria, they are as follows:
- Affiliate – sign up as an Essential Access Network affiliate
- Insider – refer 3 affiliates and/or retail customers who have an active telemedicine subscription
- Consultant – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 6 affiliates (split 2/2/2) and monthly GV split 160/160/160
- Builder – maintain three active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 12 affiliates (split 4/4/4) and monthly GV split 320/320/320
- Producer – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 30 affiliates (split 12/12/6) and monthly GV split 960/960/480
- Executive – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 90 affiliates (split 36/36/18) and monthly GV split 2880/2880/1440)
- Vice President – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 300 affiliates (split 120/120/60) and monthly GV split 9600/9600/4800)
- President – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 625 affiliates (split 250/250/125) and monthly GV split 20,000/20,000/10,000)
- Chairman – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 1275 affiliates (split 510/510/255) and monthly GV split 40,800/40,800/20,400)
- Ambassador – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 3250 affiliates (split 1300/1300/650) and monthly GV split 104,000/104,000/52,000)
- Millionaire – maintain 3 active referred subscriptions, generate a total downline of 6250 affiliates (split 2500/2500/1250) and monthly GV split 200,000/200,000/100,000)
Essential Access Network run what they call a “trinary” compensation system.
As far as I can tell this is just a binary compensation structure but with three positions under the top position instead of two.
Above is a regular binary compensation diagram. Essential Access Network’s trinary team has an additional position on the first level (three instead of two depicted).
The team structure expands the same as a binary, by twice as many positions on each subsequent level.
That is to say each of the three first level positions multiply into two positions on the second level, four positions on the third level and so on and so forth.
Essential Access Network affiliates are able to place recruited affiliates in their trinary team.
If after seven days however they haven’t placed a recruited affiliate, the system automatically fills the trinary team from left to right.
GV stands for “Group Volume”. GV is the sum total of sales volume (BV) generated by downline subscription sales to retail customers and recruited affiliates.
The only BV amount provided in Essential Access Network’s compensation plan is a Diamond subscription, equating to 80 BV a month.
Note that in order to count towards total downline requirements, downline affiliates must be on a Diamond subscription (minimum 80 BV).
MLM Commission Qualification
To qualify for MLM commissions an Essential Access Network affiliate must personally sell and maintain three active subscriptions.
These subscriptions can be purchased by retail customers or recruited affiliates.
Note that Essential Access Network’s compensation plan states that;
a minimum of fifty-five (55%) of leg volume requirement must come from non-IBO subscribers (“Retail Plan” customers only).
Fast Start Bonuses
Retail and recruited affiliate subscription Fast Start Bonuses are paid out 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 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.
If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.
Essential Access Network caps payable unilevel team levels at five.
Fast Start Bonuses are tiered as per Essential Access Network’s subscription tiers.
To qualify for a Fast Start Bonus on a subscription tier, an affiliate must have either
- purchase the corresponding tier or a more expensive tier subscription; or
- referred three retail customers and/or affiliates who have purchased the corresponding tier or a more expensive tier subscription.
Provided the above qualification criteria is met, Fast Start Bonuses are paid out across five unilevel team levels as follows:
Monthly Subscriptions
- Silver, Gold and Platinum monthly subscriptions – $10 on level 1, $5 on level 2, $4 on levels 3 and 4 and $2 on level 5
- Diamond monthly subscription – $20 on level 1, $10 on level 2, $8 on levels 3 and 4 and $4 on level 5
Annual Subscriptions
- Silver annual subscription – $20 on level 1, $10 on level 2, $8 on levels 3 and 4 and $4 on level 5
- Gold and Platinum annual subscriptions – $50 on level 1, $25 on level 2, $10 on levels 3 and 4 and $5 on level 5
- Diamond annual subscription – $100 on level 1, $50 on level 2, $20 on levels 3 and 4 and $10 on level 5
Residual Commissions
Essential Access Network affiliates earn a weekly commission tied to rank:
- qualify as a Consultant and receive $25 a month
- qualify as a Builder and receive $125 a month
- qualify as a Producer and receive $250 a month
- qualify as an Executive and receive $500 a month
- qualify as a Vice President and receive $1000 a month
- qualify as a President and receive $2000 a month
- qualify as a Chairman and receive $5000 a month
- qualify as an Ambassador and receive $10,000 a month
- qualify as a Millionaire and receive $20,000 a month
Powerline Challenge
When an Essential Access Network affiliate signs up, they are placed in a “powerline”.
The powerline is essentially a straight-line queue of affiliates, sorted based on when they signed up.
The Powerline Challenge runs for twenty-eight days from the date an Essential Access Network affiliate sign up.
During that twenty-eight days subscription sales volume is tracked under their powerline position.
That is any subscription sales volume generated by affiliates who join after them over the twenty-eight day challenge period, counts towards their Powerline Bonus qualification.
Powerline Bonus qualification criteria is as follows:
- generate 1200 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $100 and the Consultant rank
- generate 2400 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $200 and the Builder rank
- generate 6000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $500 and Producer rank
- generate 18,000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $1000 and the Executive rank
- generate 60,000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $3000 and the Vice President rank
- generate 125,000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $7500 and the President rank
- generate 255,000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $15,000 and the Chairman rank
- generate 650,000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $50,000 and the Ambassador rank
- generate 1,000,000 GV in Powerline Bonus volume and receive $100,000 and the Millionaire rank
Note that rank promotion is temporary, pending ongoing qualification of required rank requirements (see “Essential Access Network Affiliate Ranks” above).
In order to be paid the $3000 (Executive) and higher Powerline Bonuses, qualifying Essential Access Network affiliates must rank-qualify for forty-five days.
Joining Essential Access Network
Essential Access Network affiliate membership is $50 annual and $19.99 monthly fee.
Conclusion
Considering Essential Access Network touts the “combined 40+ years experience as distributors / marketers / system owners / product developers / and all around Internet Marketing coaches and trainers” of its founders, its compliance issues are concerning.
For starters, Essential Access Network’s subscription offering appears to be anti-consumer.
That is if you can make sense of the company’s refund policy.
Essential Access Network’s purchase agreement states;
WHEN YOU COMPLETE YOUR PURCHASE, YOU, THE BUYER, ARE CLAIMING THAT YOU HAVE READ, ACCEPTED, AND FULLY UNDERSTAND THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.
WHICH INCLUDES A ZERO REFUND POLICY. THAT IS NO REFUNDS ARE OFFERED.
Meanwhile the company’s refund policy states;
Essential Access Network offers a twenty-eight (28) day satisfaction guarantee refund on all initial subscription fees paid to the company.
All subsequent subscription fees are nonrefundable after twenty-eight (28) days.
Products, and the information contained in the Essential Access Network product line are considered by the company to be non-refundable.
But when you’re actually signing up as a customer, you’re hit with the following;
ALL Purchases are FINAL and NO REFUNDS or CHARGEBACKS are allowed after the 14 day refund policy.
Any attempts to acquire a refund or chargeback after the 14 day refund policy constitute theft and fraud, and are grounds for legal ACTION.
Varying “no refunds” policies aside, it appears if you aren’t happy with Essential Access Network’s undisclosed telemedicine merchant provider, you’re on your own.
Begging the question: Why on Earth would you sign up for this as a retail customer?
While Essential Access Network’s compensation plan is heavily geared towards affiliate recruitment (on the presumption they have a Diamond subscription), the following clause exists:
A minimum of fifty-five (55%) of leg volume requirement must come from non-IBO subscribers (“Retail Plan” customers only).
Is that actually enforced? No idea.
If it is, then give the Essential Access Network’s anti-consumer refund policy, I’m not sure how most affiliates are going to qualify for commissions.
No refunds telemedicine subscriptions are a hard-sell. Especially in the midst of a pandemic where competition has ramped up due to social distancing.
That said, if the 55% of every trinary leg must be retail subscription volume rule is being enforced, then great! You don’t have to worry about Essential Access Network being a pyramid scheme.
If the rule is unenforced pseudo-compliance, what you want to establish with your potential upline is whether two of the three required subscriptions they need to qualify for commissions are retail subscriptions.
This conversation can be started by enquiring how many active subscriptions the upline currently has. Then follow-up with how many of those active subscriptions are held by non-affiliates (retail customers).
Take any hesitation to answer as an attempt to hide there being little to no retail subscription sales.
Given the history of Essential Access Network’s co-founders, as detailed over the years on BehindMLM, I’m not willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
If the refund policy can be all over the place I have no reason to believe the 55% retail leg volume rule is being enforced.
Approach with caution.