QNET “People are our greatest asset”

To QNET, a global direct selling company, investing in its customers, otherwise known as Independent Representatives (IR), is the most important part of its business. This is why the company, which has about 5 million IRs worldwide, has a very strong focus on training and development programs that empower its IRs with the skills and tools necessary to succeed not just in business but also to help develop themselves at a personal level. QNET partners with an exclusive training and network management company that has perfected the ‘Training-the-Trainer’ model which encourages the participants to duplicate these trainings for their own teams in their own languages. While the business trainings focus on QNET’s compensation plan, business model, products and, most importantly, the importance of ethical and professional marketing, it is the non-business training programs that are the most popular and have the maximum impact. "We are a people business. Our success depends on the success of our people. We truly care about the personal growth of our IRs because we are not only helping them change their financial circumstances, but also helping them become better human beings. What better legacy can we leave behind? This is what sets QNET apart from other direct selling companies," explained Mr JR Mayer, QNET Managing Director. Topics covered under the personal development trainings include Adapting to Change, Overcoming Challenges and Rejections, Building and Nurturing Relationships, Effective Communication and even, Personal Grooming.Dr Hossam Ibrahim is a QNET IR who is in a team called Pathfinders in Egypt and continues to attend several trainings in a year, because he finds that they have helped him grow as a person. “Some of the most useful topics I’ve been trained on by QNET are Working Well in Teams and Achieving Your Dreams. These benefit me, not just professionally as they motivate me to work harder, but also personally as they help change my mindset into that of a positive, more open one,” said Dr Hossam, who also affirmed that these trainings have helped him increase sales for his team.“Network Marketing is all about building and maintaining relationships. Without character development, you will never achieve good results as a networker,” he continued.  Ghada Hamdan, an IR from Alexandria who started her team, Diamonds, about two years ago, reiterates Dr Hossam’s thoughts. “Character development is extremely important because Network Marketing is a people business. In order to succeed, I don't need sales training like in a traditional sales job. Instead I need to learn how to interact with people in a more effective way. The two main things we focus on in our capacity building camps, for example, are overcoming fear and quelling the ego. These help the team gain self-confidence without pride and definitely makes one a better person,” said Ghada. With the care placed on the efficacy of their training and development programme, QNET has got it down to a science. Trainings are customised and tiered to various levels of its IRs. For example, there are special camps meant for IRs who have been in the business for a longer period. What’s discussed there would be different from a seminar more focused on a new IR. These trainings are also tailored to geographical locations.These trainings range from small-scale seminars on the business model, to specialised trainings to address specific topics of interest. Due to the Train-the Trainer model, these programs are effectively held all over the world throughout the year and customised by the facilitators to suit the local requirements. The culmination of these round-the-year trainings is an annual global convention in Asia which sees the convergence of approximately 10,000 QNET IRs from more than 50 different countries for an intensive 5-day event which includes trainings, product presentations, launches, exhibitions and entertainment. Named the V-Convention, this event is a chance for IRs to network and discuss issues and innovations, as a result helping to further the industry. “Recently, a lot of the teams in Egypt have started organising their own trainings, in line with QNET’s rules and regulations, an example of them taking ownership of their businesses. It’s a great testament to the success of our duplication method,” said Mr Mayer.This has been especially successful in Egypt. Team Faith, one of the largest networking groups of QNET in Egypt held their team convention in February last year that attracted nearly 30,000 IRs!Haysam Obbeya, a Cairo resident who is part of Team Faith, explained that he and his team attend up to 100 trainings collectively per year, including those conducted by his own team. "The main source of trainings is QNET and our uplines, people who have achieved a tremendous amount of success in Network Marketing. Attending these trainings, we get to learn from their success. After that, it's all about putting to use what we've learned. Over time and with experience of our own, we are able to conduct these trainings and tell our stories," said Haysam.Haysam also reiterated the personal benefits, “Network marketing is about influencing others, and a majority of the trainings mainly focus on building a strong character so that the individual can lead and inspire others to achieve their goals and dreams.”Through its training arm, QNET provides a multitude of tools to enhance and support these programs through videos, books, magazines and digital apps. New ideas are always being conceptualised so that the company can fully meet the needs of its highly diverse and evolving IRs.“We are building customers for life. Our relationship with our IRs is not just a commercial transaction. We care about them and invest in them because ultimately, people are our greatest assets. Together, we can take the business to greater heights," said Mr Mayer.
These trainings have resulted in increased sales of about 20% in the markets they are conducted in.