CONVERSATIONS WITH DOMAIN EXPERTS

Read about the redefining tips from the Indian Direct Selling Industry Veterans for effective development of core values for your business

Dronacharya Chakraborty

23+ Years of solid work experience with international corporates holding prestigious positions such as PM International, Herbalife International & Avon. Extensive experience one successfully consulting start-ups and stakeholders.

Q&A Share the importance of training to excel in our Direct Selling Industry?

The direct selling industry is like any other industry where one has to get trained when he/she gets onboarded and keep upskilling one’s skills to keep up pace with the ever-evolving market. It is the responsibility of the organisation as well as the individual to be trained properly to perform the task at hand. To ensure that the direct sellers are successful in their careers, it is very important that the direct selling company has a proper induction plan for every new customer/distributor in the company, its legacy, product and its usage. It is the responsibility of the company and the upline sponsor to ensure that customized training is imparted to specific individuals for better performance. A new distributor would need more training on customer acquisition hence a need for more emphasis on product training and query handling. Similarly, a veteran would need more training on team management and organisation growth planning. In the process, one must not forget that it is imperative to enhance the skills as you grow the business and also understand that what worked yesterday might not work today as the market dynamics keep changing quickly, especially in the case of a direct seller’s daily method of operation as that’s what keeps the clock ticking for all involved. Above all keep it simple, remember we are in the business of duplication.

“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge, wish for more wisdom”,Jim Rohn.

Q&A What qualities should a leader possess to become an exceptional trainer in a Direct Selling Company?

A leader is a soul of a successful Direct Selling Organisation. He / She should possess the following mentioned traits:

Product User

 Product and Business Knowledge

 Customer Oriented

 Personal Goal Setting

 Good Communicator and Public Speaker

 Trustworthiness

 Persistence

 Business ethics and morals

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”,John Maxwell.

  Q&A Why is goal setting training considered to be one of the most important modules that impacts the management of a company?

As we understand that all direct sellers are independent and not bound to any performance obligations, most of the time the independence is mistaken as freedom and thus they might suffer exponentially by no direction. In order to support the distributors to achieve their career goals by means of the organisation, it becomes very important for the management to have regular goal setting trainings for all direct sellers who have accomplished a certain level of expertise. This takes them one step forward and identifies them as a potential long-term leader. Let’s understand it’s importance, this is the time when the career objectives of the individual are set and a game plan is being customised for him/her to achieve to progress in their direct selling career. More than just setting a goal, it is critical to monitor and support the individual to achieve these milestones, thus making success stories for others to follow and be inspired from. This inturn helps the management of any direct selling entity to plan and execute better.

Q&A What suggestions would you provide to the young direct sellers who have entered their career in direct selling with enthusiasm?

To all my young direct sellers who are enthusiastic to start their path with direct selling please understand that career is a journey, not a destination. Each individual has a unique journey and thus the pace of their journeys may vary too. It is important not to get worried and distracted looking at his / her peers who might be moving up the ladder faster. What matters is that you keep moving with a positive mind state. With every single step you take, you move ahead in building your career towards your dreams. Plan your career initially with small targets and gradually towards the bigger ones. Aim for what you wish in the next one, three, five years and not just a month or so. The key is to treat yourself as a seed and nurture it properly to become a full-grown tree; the ingredients of which would be product usage, customer care, product and business knowledge, team management skills, regular training, reading subject related matter and so on and so forth. As you progress the list keeps getting longer and you keep growing. Any direct seller who takes it as a sprint run is always short lived and whoever has taken it as a marathon has always succeeded, come what may.

“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight”,Jim Rohn