For most direct sales companies, the income disclosure statement (IDS) is the company’s most prominent—and public—presentation of its earnings opportunity. So, ensuring that your IDS reliably and accurately reflects the actual experience of a typical distributor, as borne out in your company’s business intelligence data, should be a top priority for every direct seller.

The Federal Trade Commission believes MLM income disclosures can be misleading. In its recent FTC Staff Report: Multi-level Marketing Income Disclosure Statements, the Commission emphasized that many MLM income disclosures lack clarity and present income data in confusing and ambiguous ways.

One of the most important features of a non-deceptive income claim is that it is supported by unbiased data. And in recent years, the FTC has repeatedly emphasized that representations about income opportunities should reflect the earnings of a typical distributor.