During my short stint in Melaleuca, Ed Bestoso was my favorite Marketing Executive. From what I remember about him, he was very driven, but had a laid back personality and friendly demeanor.
My first exposure to Ed Bestoso was through a Melaleuca tape. I ordered a few of the “success story” tapes with my initial order, so I could learn more about how to build a successful Melaleuca business.
On the tape, he shared his experiences of going bankrupt. Apparently, he tried another network marketing business and failed, before he eventually joined Melaleuca.
He joined Melaleuca in 1991 and built a very large business. To the best of my knowledge, he has the biggest team in the company. His career earnings have now surpassed $40 million.
He launched his Melaleuca business prior to the internet and built his business the old fashioned way, working through his warm market. He held home meetings, one-on-ones, and did phone presentations.
One of the lessons he taught on the tape was the importance of getting started right. He taught each new person to buy 10 kits when they first joined Melaleuca. This would give them a sense of urgency to work through their warm market and find people to enroll quickly.
After 15-years in the industry myself, I think this is a VERY powerful concept. As a sponsor, your job is to help your people get started right and get paid quickly!
I know Ed Bestoso is a very successful Corporate Director VI in Melaleuca (at the time of this writing). I believe he is the top earner in the entire company. More importantly, his team includes many successful Marketing Executives.
According to what I read online, he has more than 100 Executive Directors and above in his team, and he has more than 2,000 Directors. I find those numbers very impressive. Despite having that many key leaders in his team, he maintains a “strong product focus” and has tens of thousands of customers in his team.
To me, Ed Bestoso is the ultimate Melaleuca success story. His Melaleuca business now spans the world. If you’re in the company yourself, you should get to know more about Ed Bestoso and follow his lead. He definitely is the best of the best.
He’s probably one of the most successful leaders in the entire network marketing industry. According to one internet report, he is one of the top 500 earners in the entire network marketing industry.
Ed Bestoso Testimonials
Here are some testimonials that people sent in to me about Ed Bestoso.
“I listened to one of Ed’s training’s recently and he puts it down to 2 things:
1. Get good at presenting Melaleuca – get people dreaming.
2. Enroll them the right way – Ed says (and has stats to show this) that when people join Melaleuca if they join with 10 business kits (membership kits) they have a 50% likelihood of hitting Director (or more) in their first 30 days, they create a story and earn a solid check.
Ed has the biggest Melaleuca business; built all offline by developing leadership – he enrolled less than 50 people to build a corporate director business of over 4,000 customers – bringing in around $40,000 per month in income within his first few years. He now earns around 2 million dollars a year with Melaleuca. Nice stats.” ~ Neil Ashworth
And…
“I second what Neil said. I was just at Ed’s house last night for a meeting and also picked up on something else. Ed has fun!!! If you enjoy what you are doing, that message is going to be conveyed to those whom you talk to about Melaleuca. This is a fun business. Ed is definitely down-to-earth and old-fashioned in his manner. That has worked for him, and it will work for you, too. Just be yourself. Again, HAVE FUN!” ~ Gary Schreck
And…
“When he started Melaleuca, he did not use a computer. He did it the old-fashioned way by getting friends into his business. He was broke at the time and worked all day long. He had success in getting good people right away and that gave him the confidence to work hard and he became very successful. He has a great personality and has helped people who wanted to be a success. The rest is history.” ~ Name Withheld for Privacy
Five Lessons I Learned from Ed Bestoso
Five Lessons I Learned from Ed BestosoHere are a few valuable lessons I learned from Ed Bestoso.
# 1: Join the Right Company at the Right Time
Timing is everything in this industry. Ed joined Melaleuca in the Golden Years, way back in 1991 when Melaleuca was just getting started. Because he joined the company at the right time, he got to experience the “momentum growth” of the company. I’m not saying he didn’t have to work hard to build his business, because he did. But when you join the right company in the early stages, it’s a lot easier to become successful than joining the company after it is saturated.
# 2: Stick With One Company for the Long Haul
Another thing I learned from Ed is that you need to stick with one company for the long haul. Most of the successful people I’ve studied in this industry have been with their current company at least ten years and many of them have been with the same company 20 or more years. It’s hard to achieve success when you jump from company to company every few months or every few years. Find a good company and stick with it for the long haul. Ed has been with the company nearly 30 years now.
# 3: Keep the Business Simple
One of the best things I learned from Ed Bestoso is to keep things simple. Everyone on his team uses the same presentation. There is one way to share the business. He encourages people to be coachable and follow the system, rather than go out and reinvent the wheel.
# 4: Good Products at Fair Prices
For a MLM Company to be successful for the long-term, it needs to have good products at fair prices. They must provide a good value, even to people not doing the business. The products don’t have to be the cheapest, or even the best, but they need to work and be priced competitively. That is the only way a company can find and keep customers!
# 5: Find & Develop Leaders
To build a big business and residual income, you need to find and develop leaders. Most people will be customers. That is great. However, you need to keep your eyes and ears open for leaders and potential leaders. Spend time helping them launch their business properly, get plugged in, and achieve quick success.
BONUS TIP: Stay Humble!
Despite his monumental success with Melaleuca, Ed is one of the kindest and most humble leaders in our industry. His success never went to his head. That’s probably what I admire about him the most. He’s a heart-felt, servant driven leader.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Ed Bestoso is the ultimate MLM and Melaleuca Success Story. He is a dynamic leader, great motivator, and amazing sponsor. If you were going to join Melaleuca today, he is the type of sponsor you would want to work with.
On a side note, if you’ve ever worked with Corporate Director VI Ed Bestoso, I would love to hear from you. Please tell us when you met him, how he helped you, and what the experience was like. Just leave a comment below to share your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you.
I’ll end this article with a quote I found on his LinkedIn profile. It sums up his leadership philosophy.
The sign of a great leader is someone who helps his people develop great people. – Ed Bestoso
Disclaimer: Melaleuca is a registered trademark. I am in no way affiliated with the company. Individual results will vary.
My name is Lindell Hall. I would like to cancel my membership with Melaleuca. I’ve been trying to cancel since December and apparently the email is not working can you do me a favor and contact the cancellation department maybe Yanez for Steven or someone able to cancel this membership
I am not affiliated with Melaleuca and cannot help you. Sorry.
He sounds like he is an amazing teacher and knows what he is doing. It is always good to learn from people like this because they have been where you are and want to see you get where they are. His approach sounds promising and the fact that he does it the old fashioned way is very appealing to me.
Ed is the man. If I was going to join the company today, he is the guy I would want as my sponsor.
Nice article… I recently just signed with melaleuca and extremely excited about it… I believe in being coachable and will love to be coached by the best… I wish Ed Bestoso was based in Houston,tx. I desire to grow but not sure my pace can be achieved with my current up line.. Where there is a will, there is a way!!
You don’t need an upline to be successful. Set the pace. Lead from the front. No one else cares about your business as much as you do. Lots of people have become successful with no upline help. If your sponsor can’t help, keep looking upline until you find someone successful.
Your article and replies to it have some serious flaws, because there are NO distributors in Melaleuca, no one sells products, and it is not an MLM company or business model. Also, there is no such thing as “autoship” in Melaleuca. There is a back-up order which should be selected by the customer themselves and only cover enough product points to meet the necessary monthly committment to remain a preferred customer. Also, there are no “sponsors” in Melaleuca. Other than these errors in terminology, I totally agree with you, Ed is a great leader and I have learned a lot by listening to and watching videos and CDs on which he is a featured speaker.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
I guess we will have to respectfully agree to disagree. This is my response to your comments.
Yes, people in Melaleuca sell the products. No, you might not have an inventory, take orders or deliver anything, but if you don’t find people to “buy” the products directly from the company you won’t make a penny. That is called selling!
Melaleuca is MLM. To say it is not is misleading. You get paid on multiple levels and you sponsor people or refer people into the business as customers and business builders, just like any other MLM Company.
Yes, there is an auto-ship requirement. If you make no purchase yourself, you are not eligible for your bonus check.
I spent time in Melaleuca many years ago. I’m saddened that people still think it is not a MLM. They might do things differently than most companies (that I agree with), but they are still MLM.
You might use the term consumer direct marketing, but you get paid (from the volume) of the people you recruit as business builders and customers. Hence, MLM.
It is comments such as yours that can mislead many people who are considering joining Melaleuca. This MLM, yes, it is a MLM, has great products and distributors do sell those products. There is an auto ship program, this I know first hand because my wife’s cousin was receiving a monthly auto ship that I had to help him get stopped.
Please consider before making comments such as this. It is misleading and is a primary reason that many people get attitudes towards network marketing.
I would agree that Melaleuca does run a somewhat different operation than many MLMs, but it is still an MLM. I would ask you to please define how it isn’t. Thank you.
I agree with you Greg. I’ve had a lot of reps from Melaleuca tell me it’s not MLM. To that I say baloney. I think it’s a great company, but I don’t understand why people want to lie or mislead their prospects.
How can I join Eds team. I was a preferred but I did not like my direct upline and would like to switch. I am able to now as I dropped out for 6 months and would like someone to call me 336-705-8959 so I can join Eds group
Neil,
Hopefully, someone from his team, or Ed himself, will see this page and contact you.
Thanks,
Chuck
They did and I am on Team Bestoso
I am on Ed Bestoso’s team. I also work with Executive Director II Karen Caprino-Berg and Senior Director V Angie Moller. We are in the Indianapolis area. You are going to want to find someone in your area so you can attend regional training and participate in incentive programs locally (optional only). Of course you can do this business long distance, but it’s much more effective to have your enroller/mentor be someone who is in your local area. My enroller, Angie, has assisted me with about half of my presentations – mostly in persons. If she weren’t with me for 3 presentations, I would not have enrolled an owner of a chain of hair salons, a major nonprofit in my area, and an executive VP for a major marketing company. My advice: find someone locally. Call Melaleuca corporate and they can get you in contact with people who would be a good fit for you. That way, you get to “interview” them, not the other way around. 🙂
That’s really neat that you get to work with Ed. I’m sure it’s a lot of fun.
In reply to your comment about having a local sponsor, I’d add this:
Having a local sponsor is good in some ways, but I’ve found that long distance people perform best because they are forced to take ownership of their business and not rely on someone else. Just my two cents.
Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve been part of Ed’s team for many years now. This guy is nothing short of a class act. He is a true professional and he really cares about the people on his Melaleuca team. In 20+ years with the company, he hasn’t deviated. He stays steadfast and focused. He still builds his business offline, even with the popularity of the internet. He is accessible, kind and helpful. I feel honored to be on his team.
Amy,
Consider yourself lucky to work with Ed Bestoso. This guy is a legend in the industry. Best of all, his has a big heart and is a very humble guy. I would love to work with him personally, but we are in different companies.
Melaleuca is such a great company and they have a great business model. My dad and my stepmom worked with the company for years when I was younger. They were able to achieve a great level of success and financial stability off of their earnings. As a result of my early exposure I still use many of the products in my home as an adult and even did a brief stint with them as a seller.
Good for you, Amy. I also did some time in Melaleuca and really liked the products. I just didn’t like the compensation plan or internet marketing policies.
As far as Ed Bestoso is concerned, he is my favorite success story with Melaleuca. He is such a humble and down to earth guy. And he’s a great leader.
Chuck
From what I have found Chuck, Melaleuca does have great products. I did find I did not care for how a certain gentleman who is mentally challenged was treated by the company and a distributor. It was quite evident that Manuel was incompetent and they took advantage and put him on an auto ship that would cover a family of 8–for 1 man. When I saw all the boxes and boxes of Melaleuca products, I promptly went with him to the office in Carolina, Puerto Rico. It was a battle getting the auto ship stopped. I vowed at that point I would never do business with Melaleuca because of that.
Hi Greg – As a Melaleuca Marketing Executive, I want to express my heart-felt apology to your gentleman friend on how his customer experience went. My customers are the most precious commodities in my business. They are human beings first and foremost. I have had customers who have cancelled their memberships. Not all companies are a good fit for everyone. A few of my customers downgraded their membership to be a direct customer which allows them to purchase whenever they wish without a back up order that is auto shipped. I encourage you to continue to help your friend. I’m sure Chuck or myself could help you in any other way. I totally understand your issues with enrollment. Unfortunately with any business model (even with the best of companies), some customers will either be hurt indirectly, directly or both. Melaleuca tries to mitigate errors and difficulties as much as possible. Again, on behalf of everyone associated with Melaleuca, we apologize for the inconvenience your friend went through.
Jason, I greatly appreciate that comment and it has made me rethink my perspective. I do know that no matter the business, be it Melaleuca, Walmart, or the local McDonalds, there are always going to be workers who do things wrong or do not consider the customer.
As I stated, I do like Melaleuca products. I have found the vitamins tremendous. I will reconsider my thoughts and if Manuel feels he needs more products, I will contact you. Thank you.