Sales Focus Inc., the pioneer of sales outsourcing, is named in the Global Business Awards as the Global Leaders in B2B Sales Outsourcing for 2023 by Corporate Vision Magazine.

Sales Focus Inc. Named the Global Leaders in B2B Sales Outsourcing for 2023 in Corporate Vision Magazine's Global Business Awards

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Keep An Eye Out: Pre-Market Movers And Analyst Recommendations

Plintron, the world's largest MVNE / MVNA has continued its growth in Mexico, especially on its new innovative MVNA 'Franchise Model' as

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This plan seeks to bolster national energy security and attract local and international investments, guaranteeing the consistent supply of uninterrupted electricity to the public and business ...

CKPower Shines at European Global Business Awards 2023

Most of the top global technology stocks were affected by ... a leading data and analytics company. Gracio Benher, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, says, “Apple’s stock peaked ...

Global top tech companies lose over $600 billion in Mcap in Q3 2023, finds GlobalData

The International Society of Automation (ISA) ISA99, Industrial Automation and Control Systems Security has approved MLM 38A, “Identifying Control System Cyber Incidents”–why is this important? The International Society of Automation (ISA ...

ISA MLM-38A ‘Identifying Control System Cyber Incidents’ has been issued

Fintel reports that on October 17, 2023, Morgan Stanley maintained coverage of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) with a Equal-Weight recommendation. As of October 5, 2023, the average one ...

Morgan Stanley Maintains International Business Machines (IBM) Equal-Weight Recommendation

Get the most recent info and news about MLM Global Business on HackerNoon, where 10k+ technologists publish stories for 4M+ monthly readers.

Teaching others how to grow their MLM businesses without having to chase their friends and family by harnessing the leverage and power of the internet.

MLM Global Business

We live in a unique time, a time when everything is changing rapidly, thanks to . AI is revolutionizing numerous industries in the market. In this article, we will discuss how multilingual model overcomes language barriers and assists companies in accessing the global market! AI Cohere's But before we will dive in, inviting to build with the latest AI technologies at our ! lablab.ai you AI Hackathons The Challenge Problems and limitations arise when humans and machines attempt to communicate using natural language. These barriers can occur due to differences in linguistic understanding, context, ambiguity, and the limitations of current machine-learning models. Consider an example of a person who wants to order pizza: Human: "I'm craving some pizza. Where's a good place to get one around here?" Machine: "You should try Joe's Pizzeria. It's amazing!" In this scenario, the human expresses a desire for and seeks a recommendation for a good place to get one. However, the machine lacks common ground with the human, meaning it does not possess shared knowledge about the local area, including the availability and quality of pizza establishments. Consequently, the machine responds with a generic suggestion, assuming the human is looking for a general recommendation. pizza The lack of common ground prevents the machine from providing personalized or contextually relevant information. Ideally, a machine equipped with relevant location-based data, user preferences, or access to local reviews could offer more tailored recommendations. Establishing common ground between humans and machines necessitates the machine's ability to leverage shared knowledge, user preferences, or external resources to provide more accurate and contextually appropriate responses. This is where comes in. Cohere’s Multilingual Model How Cohere tackles these challenges For teams working with machine learning, Cohere's Multilingual Model Embed provides a powerful tool for creating text analysis applications. It offers high-performance and accurate embeddings in English as well as over 100 other languages. Its key features include: Build semantic search capability using conversational language Clustering similar topics and discovering thematic trends across a body of text sources Building a recommendation engine to engage users with more relevant content Running topic modeling, semantic search, and recommendations across 100+ languages with just one model Relevance of Multilingual Models Enabling individuals with diverse linguistic backgrounds to transcend language barriers fosters the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and innovations. This, in turn, paves the way for swift advancements in various domains like science and technology, ensuring equitable access to information and opportunities for people across the globe. They have use in many areas: Multilingual Model can help translate text or speech between different languages, making it easier for people to communicate. They can also assist in real-time language conversion during conversations. Translation and Interpretation: This model allows users to search for information in one language and get results in multiple languages, so language barriers don't limit access to information. Finding Information in Different Languages: They can generate articles, reports, or social media posts in different languages. They can also make long texts shorter and easier to understand. Creating and Summarizing Content: Multilingual Model make it possible for chatbots and virtual assistants to help people in different languages, so more people can benefit from their assistance. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants in Multiple Languages: This model can support language learners by providing translations, language exercises, vocabulary help, and grammar correction, making learning more effective for people studying different languages. Language Learning: They can analyze feelings and opinions expressed in different languages, helping organizations track their reputation, customer feedback, and public sentiment on a global scale. Understanding Sentiments and Social Trends: It can improve customer support by enabling multilingual communication, making it easier for customers and support agents to understand each other. Better Customer Support in Different Languages: LLMs can compare cultural aspects, expressions, and sentiments across languages, which is useful for studying different cultures, analyzing markets, and understanding global trends. Cross-cultural Analysis: The model can accurately translate legal and medical documents, making it easier for professionals in these fields to access important information. Translations for Legal and Medical Fields: , a global leader in trustworthy and equitable AI solutions for businesses, has the trust of numerous world-class brands such as , , and . These brands leverage platform to securely and responsibly engage with millions of consumers. With LivePerson, these brands facilitate over a billion conversational interactions each month, which in turn generates a vast and invaluable dataset. platform equips businesses with safety tools and harnesses the potential of generative AI and large language models to drive improved business outcomes. LivePerson HSBC Chipotle Virgin Media LivePerson's Conversational Cloud LivePerson's The impact of conversational solutions, powered by large language models, is immense for customer brands. The utilization of LLMs not only leads to increased customer and employee satisfaction, but it also enables brands to automate a greater number of workflows, reduce operational costs, and optimize resource allocation. By leveraging LLM-powered conversational solutions, brands can redirect their human staff towards higher-value tasks, further enhancing efficiency and maximizing the benefits of AI-driven technologies. LivePerson's Cohere's Summary Cohere's Multilingual Model addresses the challenges of communication barriers between humans and machines by providing a powerful tool for text analysis applications. With high-performance and accurate embeddings available in English and over 100 other languages, Cohere enables teams to build semantic search capabilities, cluster similar topics, and create recommendation engines. This allows businesses to connect and succeed worldwide by engaging users with relevant content and providing contextually appropriate responses in multiple languages. With Cohere's Multilingual Model, businesses can overcome language barriers and tap into global markets more effectively. Big thanks to for writing this article for 💚 Shreya lablab.ai

How Cohere's Multilingual Model is Helping Businesses Connect and Succeed Worldwide

Cómo el modelo multilingüe de Cohere está ayudando a las empresas a conectarse y tener éxito en todo el mundo

Comment le modèle multilingue de Cohere aide les entreprises à se connecter et à réussir dans le monde entier

कैसे कोहेयर का बहुभाषी मॉडल दुनिया भर में व्यवसायों को जुड़ने और सफल होने में मदद कर रहा है

Cohere の多言語モデルが世界中の企業のつながりと成功にどのように役立っているか

Como o modelo multilíngue da Cohere está ajudando as empresas a se conectarem e terem sucesso em todo o mundo

Mô hình đa ngôn ngữ của Cohere đang giúp các doanh nghiệp kết nối và thành công trên toàn thế giới như thế nào

Cohere 的多语言模式如何帮助企业在全球范围内建立联系并取得成功

This isn't yet another post that praises the greatness of technology and its effects on one of the million industries it has been implemented in. It’s about how small but wise applications of technology have remolded their industry to a realm that is accessible even to the ones from the lowest levels of the economy. While people’s skill plays the central role in making a business really happening, bringing about technological innovations can be a catalyst to the aggregate business growth. Especially when it comes to an industry like direct selling, it gives you an edge over the conventional business models. The tech innovations simply do one thing; it tremendously elevates the profitability of the business, while demanding a minimal increase in investment. For any business, and most effective promotion a product could get. What we utilize in direct selling is the same word-of-mouth publicity, in every possible way using technology. With the advent of advanced software platforms that enable us to spread our business into a prodigious network of distributors, direct selling has opened in front of us a tremendous opportunity to profit from. word-of-mouth publicity still stands tall as the best Here are some of the biggest revamping that direct sales could attain with the aid of technology. Again, it’s not to flaunt you with technology, but to show how small changes you make, tremendously foster the direct sales business. Putting it in a simpler way, the advantages have been categorized into three groups of benefits. Business owner Distributors Customers Business Owners If we look back to the history of direct selling, initially products were sold through door-to-door sales. From there, today's direct sales industry stands in a position where a person can single-handedly manage the business right from their home and deliver products to customers around the globe. This wouldn’t have been possible at all without the incorporation of technology in the business. Agree? is undoubtedly the most important tool that enabled direct selling to flourish across borders. It has given rise to a global market that is easily communicable and accessible. The fact that not even a day passes by without a person checking his or her social media platforms, makes it the most active market for the direct sales business. Social media uncluttered the complexity of the recruitment process and made the task easy. Without requiring additional manpower to manage the expanding business, these software platforms allow you to seamlessly organize your network. An added advantage is that from prospecting to marketing, everything comes under its roof, to back your entrepreneurial efforts. Software platforms Direct sales have always been complex with compensation plans that allow business owners to decide their preferred formula for commission payments. The situation was like, even if someone had an innovative compensation plan, it was difficult to put it into practice due to the highly complex nature of calculations involved. Such complications have been wiped off with the advent of digital platforms that can flawlessly handle complex compensation calculations. being the milestone of business advancement of the 21st century has transfigured almost every single industry’s market opportunities. It’s indifferent to the direct sales industry too. Selling the direct sales product through a dedicated e-commerce platform that can be integrated with your direct sales network sees no bounds in expandability. The worldwide logistics network enables you to acquire clients from all over the world without being concerned about the deliverability of the products. Furthermore, such integrations give you an edge over the competitors and will be beneficial for the sustainability of the business. E-commerce Distributors Distributors are the ones who make strides in your direct sales business. No matter how good your product is, if there aren’t efficient distributors who are skilled to make good deals with the downline members, you will be soon out of the game. But no worries, today’s technology has put forward some great tools to help them out in coping up with the changing market conditions. Note that all the tools supportive for the business owners are helpful to the distributors as well since network marketing is all about selling in identical groups of networks that have similar functionality. has never been easy without the help of technology in direct sales. To be able to refine the best potential leads from a plethora of contact bases, technological support is a must-have. From initial pitching to converting them into a quality customer, everything becomes a cakewalk with the help of technology. Prospecting is one of the most heavily invested areas in the direct selling industry. Sometimes, the cost of hosting such training sessions becomes unaffordable and when you have a client base that is far and wide, it's not viable to keep separate sessions at different places all over the world. Thanks to the advent of online meetings. It has aided us to cut short the business expenses. Though the effectiveness of such meetings is questioned, this pandemic time has successfully proven its ability to stand the test of time. Training is yet another important aspect of the direct sales business. Timely and successful delivery of products is vital for the sustainability of sales and retention of customers. Being able to organize these sections from a single space will untangle the intricacies of the supply chain system. Order management Customers Striving for forms the foundation of a successful business journey. But it is equally important for the customers to have a transparent view of your business in order to get all their doubts cleared in the first place. If it wasn't for technology, nothing else would have facilitated the opportunity for the clients in understanding your business in and out. customer satisfaction have successfully been able to replace the conventional brick-and-mortar ones and are better in a way that gives the customer more freedom to explore the products. Time is an important factor in the direct selling business and online stores are super helpful in the way that it helps us save a considerable amount of time. Technologies like Augmented Reality have been able to emulate real-like experiences in product display, making the remarkable. Online stores virtual shopping experience have obviously revolutionized the customer service experience. While it has not been able to replace human proficiency in handling customer queries, it efficiently does the initial customer handling process with ease so that basic support is delivered, which is an important factor that improves . Moreover, it gives one more reason for the customer to stay in your business. Chatbots and virtual assistants customer acquisition and retention is the state-of-the-art advancement in the industry that has given rise to a powerful concept; data-driven customer service. By understanding the user behavior and modeling the customer persona, it is now possible to provide a very personalized experience to the customers. This is yet another factor that nurtures customer satisfaction and keeps them coming back to your business. Customer analytics Taking everything into account No industry has ever been able to survive without innovating in their field of activity. Simultaneously, as technology has advanced in direct selling, people's attitudes and interests towards the industry have also been consistently inclined. If your direct sales business has everything required to qualify as a legitimate business, then never be hesitant to embrace technology to your advantage. Be clear with your goals, be evident with them in your business, and be optimistic with the use of technology. You will never be left behind in the game. Do what it takes to get there!!

How Technological Amalgamation With Business Pays Off in Direct Sales Industry

This week, CRV portfolio company Bird for independent operators to manage their own scooter fleets. Bird will sell the scooters and provide access to a marketplace of chargers and mechanics in exchange for a 20% revenue share. We’re incredibly excited about this program, as it allows Bird to quickly expand geographically while giving operators the chance to build a great business on top of a fantastic product. publicly announced a new platform This effort from Bird fits perfectly within a category that we have huge excitement around — the “ .” These platforms give entrepreneurs the opportunity and infrastructure to run a business without the convoluted and expensive process of building a company from scratch. Entrepreneurs also benefit from the brand and budget of the parent company, as well as other value-add services like accounting, legal, and marketing. business in a box The “business in a box” model allows for significant de-risking of product-market fit (which is very hard to achieve!) by providing a proven product to sell. Nearly 55% of small businesses in the U.S. , and 40% of these failures are due to the fact that there’s no market for the product or service. A “business in a box” removes the “idea risk” from a venture, leaving the entrepreneur with geographic and operating risk. fail within the first two years If executed well, these models can be value accretive for both the parent company and the individual operators. The parent company benefits from faster and more capital-efficient geographic growth (no need for market launch or operations teams in each city), lower real estate and inventory risk, and better local execution. The entrepreneur benefits from the ability to be his or her own boss (the American dream!) without having to develop an innovative product and establish a standalone company. The “business in a box” model has taken many shapes over time, but has a long history — franchises (established in the 1800s), multi-level or “network” marketing (1940s), and more recently gig economy platforms. We are excited about the next generation of these companies, which we are calling “ .” These platforms use software and other tech to scale the franchise model, giving operators the ability to run a business built on the product(s) and infrastructure of a parent company without the physical real estate and capital required for traditional franchises. Unlike gig economy platforms, Internet franchises allow operators to truly “own” their business and accumulate equity value over time. Internet franchises We’ll briefly review the history of this space and why we think it’s so important to the economy, before getting into what we are looking for in this “Internet franchise” model. We’d love to meet any founders who are working on something new in this space! You can reach us at saar@crv.com , matt@crv.com , and twins@crv.com . History of the “Business in a Box” Franchising is an ancient business model — it dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe, when nobility sold the rights to operate and collect taxes on their land. Later, explorers were granted franchises by monarchs to establish (and tax) colonies in the 1500s, and pub owners were paid by breweries to exclusively distribute their beer in the 1700s and 1800s. The franchise model moved to the U.S. in the 1850s, after Isaac Singer sold the rights to distribute his sewing machine to salesmen nationwide ( ). Rosenberg Center Over the next century, the franchise model expanded to other industries, from automobiles (General Motors in 1898) to food and beverages (A&W Root Beer in 1924) to cleaning products (Duraclean in 1943). The 1946 Federal Lanham Act, which made it safer to license assets to third parties, and the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act, which resulted in increasing urban sprawl ( ), lit a match under the franchise industry. Between 1950 and 1960, the number of companies with franchise operations increased by almost 10x, and in the 1960s some of the largest franchises (McDonalds, Holiday Inn, KFC) hit the 1,000 store milestone ( ). Shane Franchise Law Of the (by revenue) in 2017, the average company made $5.9B in revenue and had 2,322 open locations. Food and hospitality are the largest franchise categories by far. 100 largest global franchises Around the same time, multi-level marketing companies (MLMs) emerged as a more capital-efficient model that allowed individuals to directly sell products without requiring a physical location. Whereas franchises can cost hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to set up (under $50,000 is viewed as ), entrepreneurs can get involved in an MLM for a few thousand or even a few hundred dollars. The first known U.S. MLM was a company called Nutrilite (1945), a dietary supplement that was licensed by a national distributor and sold door-to-door by 15,000 salesmen. “low cost” A number of Nutrilite distributors branched out to start their own companies (including Amway and Shaklee) when they realized how successful the business model could be. Other companies were soon founded around different categories of products, including Avon (beauty products), Tupperware (kitchen products), and Rodan & Fields (skincare). In the past decade, social media has breathed new life into MLMs, allowing salespeople to market to their network at scale on a continuous basis. Despite around scammy behavior, there are ~1,400 MLMs currently active in the U.S., with nearly 20 million recruited salespeople. significant press The rise of the consumer Internet in the 1990s, followed by the mobile revolution of the 2000s, further lowered the barriers to entry for potential “business in a box” entrepreneurs. Companies like DoorDash, Instacart, and Wag require little more than a car and a smartphone to get started, and some gig economy companies provide training, resources, and a community that mimic some of the better offerings from franchises and MLMs. For example, provides new-driver training, a 24-hour support team, meet-ups for drivers to build a community, and bonuses for new families and drivers referred into the platform. HopSkipDrive Why This Space is Important Franchisees, direct salespeople, and gig economy workers receive a lot less attention than founders of venture-backed companies, but their collective impact on the economy is enormous. By the end of 2017, there were an estimated 3,300 franchisors and 744,000 franchise establishments in the U.S. Franchises directly employed almost 8 million people, represented 10% of non-farm U.S. businesses, and generated $757 billion in output ( ). Some of the largest consumer-facing businesses in the world operate via franchises, including Chevron ($220B market cap), McDonald’s ($142B), and Marriott ($42B). Rosenberg Center Direct sales, of which MLMs contribute an estimated 70%+ of revenue, generated $35 billion of revenue in the U.S. in 2017, with 19 million salespeople. Established direct sales companies like Avon and Amway regularly bring in billions in annual revenue ($5.7B and $8.8B, respectively, in 2017), and even relative newcomers like Jeunesse (founded in 2009) and doTERRA (founded in 2008) make more than $1B each year. MLMs are a global phenomenon — though five of the ten largest MLMs were founded in the U.S., three are from China (Quanjian, Perfect, and Infinitus), one is from Brazil (Natura), and one is from Germany (Vorwerk). The gig economy is difficult to quantify because it’s so large and fragmented, but there’s an gig economy workers in the U.S. (one-third of the working population) who generated in revenue last year. Startups powered by gig economy workers have become some of the most valuable private companies in the world, including Uber ($72B valuation), Lyft ($15B), Instacart ($8B), and DoorDash ($4B). estimated 57M nearly $900B We believe that the economic impact of these businesses will only continue to grow. These companies also provide a societal benefit by offering employment opportunities to those who may not participate in full-time employment elsewhere. Gig economy platforms allow more flexibility in working hours, while MLMs often employ stay-at-home moms who don’t want a traditional job but can monetize their extensive local networks. What We’re Looking For Historically, many franchises have not been venture-backed, as they tend to look more like retail or services businesses in the early days and typically receive debt financing. Direct sales companies have also generally not raised significant venture funding ( and are notable counterexamples), as many have been debt-funded or have had scammy products that are unattractive to VCs. Many gig economy companies have been successful venture-backed companies ( , and we have high hopes for the next iteration of these businesses. Stella & Dot Trumaker we’re proud investors in DoorDash!) We see this new group of “Internet franchises” as combining the scale of marketplaces with the ownership and incentive structure of franchises. We believe that recent developments in global shipping and payments will allow capital-light franchises to achieve greater scale than ever before. When retail franchises were first established a century ago, it took years, if not decades, to scale regional operations. Today, a parent company can relatively quickly and cheaply deliver physical goods, payments, content, and marketing to distributors around the world. We’re starting to see early examples of this - (bike-powered coffee carts), (outdoor classes for kids), (robotic lawn service), (portable hot yoga studios), and (mobile bike repair shops) are just a few. Wheelys Tinkergarten Robin Autopilot Hotpod Yoga Beeline For $8,999 and a monthly $99 “community fee,” entrepreneurs worldwide can start a business selling coffee through a mobile Wheelys café. The company is backed by YC, and has shipped carts to 800 entrepreneurs in 75+ countries. As we look for companies in this space, we’re particularly focused on the following characteristics: Even with help, starting a business is hard and scary. We’re looking for platforms that put a product in the the hands of everyday people and empower them to sell it without needing to hire lawyers, accountants, marketers, and business consultants. One of the reasons McDonald’s franchises have been so successful is that the parent company handles almost all of the infrastructure for franchisees — from the location to the cooking equipment to the menus. The company also provides ongoing training on operational best practices for franchisees, along with marketing support. Abstracts away operational and logistical complexities. . New “businesses in a box” will be competing with established companies that have the benefit of a brand, years of expertise, and (potentially) a bigger budget. We think upstarts are most likely to succeed if they fill a supply shortage — if the level of demand for their product or service is high, it will be easier to draw in early users from incumbents. In the childcare space, * and have found early success by tackling the recent rise of in the U.S., while also giving caregivers (e.g. parents, nurses, former teachers) a way to monetize their expertise. Taps high-quality but under-utilized supply to fill excess demand Wonderschool WeeCare “childcare deserts” *WeeCare technically fits more tightly in the “Internet franchise” category, as all of their daycares carry the full WeeCare name and branding, while Wonderschool operators can choose their own name. We see Wonderschool as more of an infrastructure platform with some distribution (given their online booking tool), while WeeCare provides the full benefits of an Internet franchise. Wonderschool and WeeCare have both chosen launch states where the highest percentage of families are living in a childcare desert — WeeCare is active in Southern California, while Wonderschool is in Northern California and New York. Image courtesy of the Center for American Progress. The franchise model doesn’t make sense for every business. Some companies choose to operate a number of their own stores and franchise others, particularly when they don’t want to take on risk in a new geography. However, certain types of companies benefit from scaling in a decentralized way — particularly if it’s expensive (or risky) to move into new geographies, local expertise is valuable, and transactions are mostly local. In businesses that are operationally complex and have high costs to monitoring employees, the incentive-based franchise system may also produce better results. Bird is a good example of a case where franchising makes sense — the company needs people to place and service vehicles on the ground, and Bird can benefit from market-specific expertise from franchisees about where to deploy scooters and how to work with local governments. Parent company benefits from decentralized scale. Successful franchisors can leverage their scale to provide resources to their franchisees that individual business owners are unable to access. For example, nationwide food franchises (e.g. Subway, Dunkin Donuts) are large enough that they can negotiate favorable terms with suppliers for food and equipment, which is one reason why these franchises often have much lower prices than local restaurants. And while franchisees typically pay national ad fees to the parent company, this gives them access to expert marketers who can execute at a higher level than they could achieve alone. Operator benefits from the company’s scale. One of the biggest complaints about gig economy platforms and MLMs is that it’s incredibly difficult (if not impossible) for employees to advance in the organization and accumulate wealth. Some of these companies, though well-intentioned, snare contractors in with — for example, Uber drivers typically at $17–21k annually if they work 40 hrs/wk. We’re excited about companies that allow individuals to build larger businesses like the traditional franchise model — the Franchise Business Review reports an for owners of $84k, though operators with multiple successful locations . Provides opportunities for economic mobility. stressful work limited economic returns cap out average pre-tax income can make millions Data from lending company Earnest in 2017 showed that the average gig economy worker is still using these platforms as supplementary income (not as a full job replacement). We see big potential for Internet franchise companies to allow more workers to become fully independent with increased income and job stability. The uncapped upside of a franchise also provides financial incentives that are better aligned with performance and effort than the typical gig job. Franchises also provide an opportunity for economic mobility through asset appreciation. A franchisee operating in his or her local market has the ability to build a book of business that is valuable to the parent company, and can later be bought out by the company or sold at a premium to another entrepreneur who wants to operate in the same market. Not all companies that fit within the “Internet franchise” model will require their franchisees to carry the parent company name — some will only provide the back-end infrastructure. However, the are in sectors like food, hospitality, housing, and childcare/education, where consumers build loyalty and trust certain brands to deliver a consistent and safe experience. We therefore expect many of these same sectors to power billion-dollar businesses under the “Internet franchise” model. Brand provides real benefits towards consumer acquisition. largest global franchises Thanks for reading, and we’d love your thoughts and feedback — feel free to email us at , , and , and reach out to us if you’re working on something in this space! saar@crv.com matt@crv.com twins@crv.com -Saar, Matt, Justine, and Olivia

Bird’s new Platform program and the rise of the “business in a box”

148 Stories To Learn About Founder Interview

Getting off something because it doesn’t add value or purpose to us is easy. But making it relevant to us by altering its features could be quite a task. To keep it simple, you have quite a few empty wine bottles waiting to be thrown into the junk. But if you could clean it, throw in some paints, and plant a few indoor plants, it could beautify your home and enhance your aesthetics. Right? Now consider your home is a direct selling business, those bottles are your distributors, and adding paints and plants is giving them the training to enhance their skills. Does that ring a bell? We are all human beings and could be in a state of uncertainty for some reason or the other. It could sometimes be work, family, finances, health, or various other factors that influence our survival and existence. Recently, there has been news of employees being laid off from every sector in huge batches across the world. What could possibly be the reason? Economic instability? Yes. But this instability can neither be called inflation nor cost-cutting. It is a state of stagflation where people lose their job first, and there is a price hike followed by decreased spending resulting in lower economic growth. Quite a dilemma impacting every aspect of an individual’s living! As a direct selling enthusiast, I analyzed the scenario in the network marketing and direct selling sector and came across a few interesting tactics to tackle this situation in the industry. Distributor force being the major backbone of direct selling business, how to efficiently encourage, engage, and utilize them as a resource is what matters the most. How Not to Lose Resources to a Mass Resignation or Layoff The Microsoft shows that 46% of the global workforce is critically evaluating their situation for the long term. Also, 52% of Gen Z and millennials are looking to change employers. So what is the underlying problem? Work Trend Index How do you get your distributors imbibed with what they are doing? Effective Communication A wise man once said, “Good communication is a bridge between confusion and clarity.” How true is that? Every minor to major issue in an organizational set-up starts with ‘miscommunication’ or ‘communication gap’ as we call it. Right from , the most important thing an organization could ensure is that ‘we have got your back’! onboarding a distributor in direct selling Encourage conversations to convey their thoughts, concerns, inconveniences, insecurities, and any other emotions or feelings that need to be shared or attended to. Direct selling is a business that also takes place in the virtual space, and hence, coordination and communication could be a hindrance to building effective workplace relationships. For example, when you ask your manager for something and they say ‘no’ for various reasons over a chat/email, you might feel bad or offended since you are unsure of the tone in which they are saying it. Whereas, if this is over a phone call or a video meeting, you are conversing better, and you will understand the tone and tenor in which they are speaking, letting you clarify the situation better. A direct-selling organization definitely has to have a meticulous communication policy to address issues relating to work or performance. The policy cannot be a bible which is one-and-done, but it would be a continuous process that would require alterations according to changing work scenarios. The policy should also emphasize the mental health and well-being of distributors which is the root that needs to be watered by the direct managers to sprout into leaves and flowers later. Welcome Feedback Randomly ask your team if they would recommend the organization as a place to work for their friends or family. Their replies could be great feedback to understand how they consider working with the brand and whether they are distressed or unhappy with any events or policies. Run distributor surveys with happiness meters rating from smile to scowl on various affairs relating to convenience to complexities in their work and performance. Tracking distributor engagement through surveys and scoring systems is an effective way to analyze how satisfied they are with their work culture, policies, and the environment as a whole. The results could be put to the best use to help distributors fuel their productivity and efficiency. Address bad reviews first. Even though a direct selling business is customer focused, at the organizational level, it has to be distributor-centric to maintain a healthy equilibrium. to ensure that they are heard, and their feedback is valid for the organization; keep them informed on how the company is going to address their concerns. Listen to your workforce Help Them to Help the Organization A well-trained, knowledgeable distributor is an asset that an organization wouldn’t want to miss. Once a distributor is onboard, training them to enhance their skills that are relevant to their designated roles in the organization is critical to help them to help the organization grow. A good distributor can take a direct selling business a long way once they are trained to be an efficient resource. Distributor training has to be fun with a bit of gamification or other techniques and has to be personalized according to each individual’s potential and capability. Training is a great way to make distributors understand that they are valued and so is the reason why the organization is investing its time and resources to train them to be efficient and bring in effective results. Identify when the performance index of a distributor goes down, analyze the data, find out possible reasons, and then help them get out of the situation with timely help. with problem-solving skills is also a crucial element of distributor training. Training a distributor In a direct selling scenario, if a distributor is well trained, the business is sure to scale newer heights overcoming any hurdles that come midway. The End Result? When a kid feels comfortable with you, with the way you handle them, and when you consider their likes and dislikes, the chances of them sticking to you is more. They wouldn’t want to leave you and go off with somebody else simply because they are happy with you. In the same way, a distributor who is highly engaged and encouraged wouldn’t leave an organization for tangible reasons. Even when the company is planning on downsizing, these powerful resources will remain and help the brand to grow efficiently resulting in a higher ROI. These happy bunches are sure to go a few extra miles to keep their customers and the business happy and steady. This could help: Increase productivity Gain higher customer ratings Attain more sales More business profitability Survivor guilt syndrome is a socio-physiological phenomenon that distributors or employees in an organization experience when their peers experience a loss but they do not. The phenomenon is commonly seen post mass resignations and layoffs, which is yet another task to get the distributors back on track. Having to undergo such situations could cost the organization at a large scale in terms of money, time, resources, and productivity. Understanding what each distributor is capable of, how an organization can leverage the best out of them, etc., are the key factors that decide a distributor’s timespan with the organization. Keeping distributors engaged and encouraged has got a huge significance on the brand’s KPIs. With a happy distributor force, the brand is sure to have improved credibility and identity as well.

Fueling Distributor Efficiency in Direct Selling When the Layoff Fever Is at Its Highest!

¡Alimentando la eficiencia de los distribuidores en la venta directa cuando la fiebre de los despidos está en su punto más alto!

Alimenter l'efficacité des distributeurs dans la vente directe lorsque la fièvre des licenciements est à son plus haut !

डायरेक्ट सेलिंग में डिस्ट्रीब्यूटर दक्षता को बढ़ावा देना जब छंटनी का बुखार अपने उच्चतम स्तर पर हो!

レイオフ フィーバーが最高潮に達したときの直接販売でディストリビューターの効率を向上させます。

Alimentando a eficiência do distribuidor na venda direta quando a febre de demissões está no auge!

Thúc đẩy hiệu quả của nhà phân phối trong bán hàng trực tiếp khi cơn sốt sa thải đang ở mức cao nhất!

在裁员热潮达到顶峰时提高直销经销商的效率！

As an entrepreneur, it’s very easy to get caught up in the endless flow of day-to-day tasks. If you’re anything like me, no matter how much you get done in a day, your to-do list keeps filling up. This is one of the great things I love about being an entrepreneur. However, it can also lead to a lack of focus on the ‘big picture’, as well as not having a plan for the future. It’s important to remember that as an entrepreneur, your business is your baby. It’s something that you’ve nurtured and grown from the ground up, and you want to see it thrive in the long term. This is where planning for the future comes into play. If we’ve learned anything these past few years, it’s that the future is uncertain, and no one can ever predict what will happen. This is why it’s of vital importance to plan for the future because it gives you a sense of direction and purpose, and helps you navigate the uncertainty. It gives you a roadmap to follow and helps you stay on track. Planning for the future also helps to keep you motivated, as you can see the progress you’re making and how far you’ve come. In my , we talked a lot about how a 50 billion dollar organization has changed through covid, how to consistently find the best talent, and how to leverage your team for success. We also discussed how important planning for the future is as an entrepreneur. recent talk with Adam Weissenberg of Deloitte In this newsletter, I want to explore this idea further and really dive deep into how to effectively plan for your future as an entrepreneur. I will give you exercises and strategies to develop a bulletproof plan, as well as discuss the key areas you need to consider when it comes to developing your plan. Let’s get into it! How To Develop an Effective Plan for the Future Planning for the future matters because not only will it help you to navigate devastating world events when they occur, but also because it will make your business run smoother and more efficiently. There are a few things to consider when developing your effective plan, and it all starts with your goals. Goal Setting 101 Setting goals is an important step in planning for the future as an entrepreneur. It helps to provide focus and direction for your business and gives you something to work towards. Having proper goals will make your work much more efficient and streamlined, as they serve as a guiding light for us in all of our decision-making. Once we take the time to set effective goals in place, they do the rest of the work for us. There are three types of goals that every entrepreneur should have. These can be broken down into three categories, long-term, medium-term, and short-term. I like to use a modified version of an outline from which includes a massive life mission, high-hard goals, and daily goals. Steven Kotler’s book “The Art of Impossible” 1. Massive Life Mission The first step to setting proper goals is to set the big, guiding light at the end of the tunnel. You need to know why you are setting all of these goals in the first place. What is it that you are working towards? What is your life mission? What do you want to be remembered for? These are all the questions you need to ask yourself that will help you with step one, which is setting your massive life mission. Your massive life mission (MLM) is a long-term goal that is both ambitious and meaningful, and that also has the potential to transform the world in a significant way. MLMs should be inspiring and motivating, and they should provide a sense of purpose and direction for your work. Your massive life mission is the mission statement for your life, and it should be the guiding factor for every other goal that you set. 2. High-Hard Goals The next step is to break down this MLM into what we will call high-hard goals. These are specific, measurable, and time-bound objectives that are challenging to achieve, but that are necessary in order to reach your MLM. High-hard goals are the sub-steps that will allow you to achieve your MLM. Setting an MLM and working towards high-hard goals can help you to drive innovation, increase productivity and achieve success. By focusing on a , you can motivate yourself to work towards something bigger than yourself and to achieve things that may seem impossible at first. long-term, meaningful goal For example, if your MLM is to eliminate world hunger (ambitious, inspiring, and transformational), then your high-hard goal could be to increase food production by 50% within 10 years (specific, measurable, and time-bound). 3. Daily Goals These high-hard goals might take years to achieve, so they must be broken down into actionable daily steps that you can take to get there. Your MLM and high-hard goals are the horizon you are pointing towards, and the daily goals are the single steps that will take you there. Breaking them down will help to make the goal feel more attainable, and it will also help to keep you motivated and on track. It also makes it easier to measure your progress, to ensure you are getting where you want to go. To set a proper daily goal, first Identify the key tasks or actions that need to be completed in order to achieve your high-hard goal. These might be specific tasks or milestones that will help you to make progress toward your goal. Then prioritize these tasks based on their importance and the time and resources required to complete them. This can help you to focus your efforts on the most important tasks first. By breaking down your high-hard goals into clear daily goals, you can make progress toward your long-term objectives in a more manageable and focused way. This can help to keep you motivated and on track, and can increase your chances of achieving your goals. SMART Goals Now that you have the outline for setting goals, we need to make sure you are setting your goals properly. This comes down to using SMART goals. Smart stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. For a goal to be effective and work as intended, it needs to have all five of these aspects. For example, instead of setting a goal of “I want to grow my business this year,” set a goal of "I want to increase website traffic by 20% in the next quarter by implementing a social media marketing campaign and improving search engine optimization (SEO)." Areas of Focus When Planning for the Future There are a few key areas you must prioritize when you are building your plan for the future. Since you now know how to set proper goals and break them down into actionable steps, you must know what areas to focus this goal-setting in. It’s important to understand your financial situation and plan accordingly. Make sure to set aside enough money to cover expenses and plan for any unexpected costs. Additionally, make sure that you have enough funds to invest in areas that will help your business grow. Finances: Plan for future growth by investing in areas that will help your business grow. This could include hiring additional staff, expanding your product offering, or investing in technology or marketing. Always be projecting your business’s capabilities and needs into the future, and plan accordingly. Growth: Networking is an important part of any successful business. Make sure that you are actively networking with other entrepreneurs and building relationships that will help you in the future. Creating a plan for how you will grow and nurture your network is crucial. Networking: Plan for the future of your business by laying out a solid marketing strategy. This might involve a detailed plan for increasing brand awareness, generating leads, or improving customer satisfaction. Marketing: Ensure that your business is keeping up with the competition by planning for the future of its operations. This might include streamlining processes, improving efficiency, or expanding into a new market. Operational: It’s important to be open to change and adaptable to different situations. The business world is constantly evolving and things can change quickly. Being flexible and willing to change direction when needed will help you stay ahead of the curve. Flexibility: Planning for the inevitable curveballs that will get thrown at you due to climate events, political events, or world disasters is crucial to a successful long-term career. Be Proactive One of the most important ways you can plan for your future as an entrepreneur is by being proactive. in your business means looking for potential risks and challenges that may arise in the future, and finding ways to mitigate them. It also involves seeking out new opportunities for growth and innovation. Being proactive Being proactive means you don’t wait for problems to arise and simply react to them; instead, you actively spend your time planning, preparing, and executing new strategies that will prevent problems. By being proactive, you can stay ahead of the game and position your business for success in the long term. Here are some ways you can be proactive as an entrepreneur: Stay up to date with industry trends and developments, and be aware of potential risks or challenges that may arise. This can help you to be prepared for any changes or disruptions that may impact your business. Monitor industry trends and developments: Keep a pulse on your customers’ needs and preferences, and anticipate changes in the market. This can help you to stay ahead of the competition and position your business as a leader in your industry. Anticipate customer needs: Don’t be afraid to experiment and test new ideas. This can help you to stay innovative and find new growth opportunities. Experiment and test new ideas: Seek out partnerships and collaborations that can help you to expand your reach and grow your business. Look for partnerships and collaborations: Wrap Up Planning for the future as an entrepreneur is no easy task. It requires focus, discipline, and a lot of hard work. But in the end, I guarantee it will be worth it. Having a solid plan for the future in place will help you to stay on track to achieving your goals. It will give you the clarity and focus you need to make the best decisions for your business. It will also help you to navigate the challenging and unpredictable global events that will inevitably occur. So take the time to set up proper goals, break them down into actionable steps, focus on the key areas, be proactive and start planning for your future today. If you want to hear more about this, check out . my conversation with Adam If you enjoyed this article, I’d love to hear from you. Reply to this or at me and I'll do my best to get back to everyone! email tweet @ScottDClary Also Published Here

Deloitte's Adam Weissenberg  Talks About Planning for the Future as an Entrepreneur

We tend to change something only when it is broken. Otherwise, we are reluctant cause we think that it is doing well so why change? This could be the case with businesses too. You see your company doing good and hence when someone makes a suggestion to alter something or make an amendment, there could always be a tiff. With businesses like direct selling, digital transformation cannot happen overnight—it could be an evolution that gradually transfigures your business's entire thought processes and functioning. Understanding Digital Transformation Digital transformation integrates the most sophisticated digital technologies into your business to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Definitely not simple as it sounds, it is an elaborate, intricate and expensive affair that could remake your entire company culture, customer experience, business models, and technology stack. According to the , $100 trillion will be added to the world economy through digital transformation by 2025. Also, interactions driven by platforms are expected to enable roughly two-thirds of the $100 trillion value at stake from digitalization. World Economic Forum Reinvent the Direct Selling Arena It is imperative to upgrade to state-of-the-art digital technology as you ascend with your business. Digital transformation could encompass and all of its areas, especially with the way you operate and the values you deliver to your customers. integrating digital technology into the direct selling business To enable transformation, there has to be a clear-cut understanding of where your business currently stands, where you want to take it, and what resources would be needed to get there. The process can help you revamp your business models using e-commerce and electronic delivery and thus improve customer experience by delivering the best of features and services. So where do you think you should start? Automating your business through artificial intelligence and automation would be step one to creating a better workflow that can simplify your operating models, increase productivity and deliver better services to your customers. Adapting to the change is as crucial as implementing the change. Legacy technology needs to be modernized to run on modern infrastructure and engage with the latest applications. It adds system and process resilience and incorporates data from your leads and prospects. A deeper understanding of market trends, competitions, customer behaviors, and expectations through various digital technologies can help create products, services, or devices faster according to the need of the hour. business is the stepping stone to your digital transformation journey. Putting together your business activities like lead generation, recruiting, promotional and selling activities under a digital umbrella is how you make way for the transformation. This could help build businesses with cost-effective solutions and strategies and compete with multi-million dollar enterprises thus creating a business metamorphosis. Integrating e-commerce into a direct selling Digital transformation could thus pave way for your direct selling business to acquire the vast array of solutions and services from your direct selling ecosystem, industry solutions leaders, and multiple cloud service providers. What’s Trending? Like George Westerman said, “When digital transformation is done right, it’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when done wrong, all you have is a really fast caterpillar.” Digital transformation isn’t an alteration that could happen overnight. Especially with an industry like direct selling that is susceptible and quickly heeds to changes, investing in sophisticated digital infrastructure and not knowing how to utilize it wouldn’t help your business attain transformation. Even after transforming your business digitally, it is important to follow up with changing trends that happen often. The leading digital transformation trends are: - With the hybrid pattern of work setting in, organizations have invested heavily in cloud and collaborative services. It is cost-efficient that doesn’t cost companies to purchase hardware and software. Integrating this into your system would benefit your business for its security, reliability and productivity. Cloud computing -  Incorporating these into your business will help you draw conclusions from the humongous set of data your company has. Putting it together with AI will help you improve your customer experience and overall business performance. Data and Artificial Intelligence - Automating your business with state-of-the-art technologies like AI, RPA, ML and NLP would help effectively implement strategies and business processes for significant growth. Hyperautomation - According to , global investment in digital transformation is expected to be twice more by 2025 growing by 2.8 trillion U.S dollars. Hence, it is important to be aware and invest wisely in digital defense mechanisms too to safeguard customer information and build brand identity too. Cybersecurity Statista Way Forward With Digital Transformation The future is definitely online. With virtual experiences taking over everything from schools to work to households, digital transformation is definitely a revolution to look forward to. While many direct selling companies have already gotten into the wagon, active implementation and its results are for sure to take time. However, various surveys show more than 51% of the customers and in-person purchases and selling, powerful and intuitive tools are inevitable for a seamless customer experience and hassle-free, secure transactions. prefer ‘online’ over traditional With multiple risks that the industry and its distributors are poised to face in the coming years, having a sound digital backup is significant in every way. One cannot delegate digital transformation to your organization, but it has to be adopted and embraced by every employee from the top down for it to be effective and add value to the company.

Digital Transformation - Tomorrow is at your Fingertips!

Welcome to Hacker Noon Interview Series! See all other Interviews . Good-Company here HackerNoon Reporter: Please tell us briefly about your  background. I am Sajin Rajan, a tech enthusiast and an avid traveler who loves to explore the world for the opportunities it offers. When I opted for a Master’s in Business Administration, I had clear thoughts about my future but little did I know that the traveler in me would give me the opportunity to complete myself as an entrepreneur. Wrapping up my studies, gave wings to the traveler in me. It was during one such travel that the idea of Epixel got into me. What's your company called? And in a sentence or two, what does it do? We’re . Epixel MLM Software We are committed to developing software solutions for direct selling and related industries. After we got into the industry, our commitment has only multiplied. We often go out of our realm to help direct selling entrepreneurs realize their dreams practically and swiftly. I said ‘out of our realm’ because rather than concentrating our efforts on building direct selling solutions, we always take the extra mile to reach out to the problems faced by the community in dealing with the competitions and perpetrators. We realize this by connecting with industry experts leveraging their experience with ours to design practical solutions with the help of technology and content education. What is the origin story? The idea of Epixel—how it got into me is quite an interesting story. During one of my dream trips, I happened to pass by a trade fair. With a dormant entrepreneur inside me, I decided to enter the fair. I heard a smart-looking young fellow talking on and on about the hardships he was facing in his career. How the lack of technological support had been affecting the industry and how hard it has thwarted their growth. The bulb flashed and Epixel started. While not being a techie hampered the idea a bit, two of my co-founders, Dhanesh and Noufal, gave wings to my dreams. They complete me at Epixel. What do you love about your team? We have a dedicated group of young minds who were with us right from the start—the builders of our success. They are very much keen on transforming Epixel into a global brand. Give them an idea and you will see them come up with out-of-the-box strategies to keep it working. I am sure, they will never stop innovating. If you weren’t working at your company, what would you be doing? Obviously, for the most part, I will be traveling. I do not enjoy sitting at a desk from 9 to 5. I love taking up a versatile set of responsibilities that would keep me active, engaged, challenged, and motivated, all at the same time. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your core metrics? We have one exclusive metric that measures our success and everything we are doing. And that is customer satisfaction. We cannot go past that. We want to make sure they stay satisfied and comfortable while we help them build their business. Success follows with smiling customers is what we believe. What’s most exciting about your company traction to date? When we started we only had the confidence of living on our idea. But through the years we have worked up to earn the title of . We also won the Expert’s choice award. software with the best usability and support All these add fuel to our journey of realizing our commitments to the industry and its entrepreneurs. What technologies are you currently most excited about, and most worried about? And why? Moving into the future, artificial intelligence and machine learning—the most exciting and innovative technology concepts—are what we are working on. Blending them to create a unique value proposition for our customers is what we really look forward to. We are excited about training our team to make the best out of this technological landscape. What drew you to get published on HackerNoon? What do you like most about our platform? The beauty of your platform lies in the diversity of topics and experiences covered. I personally enjoy reading the experiences shared by others; stories of life are undoubtedly the best ones to read and learn from. Your platform serves as the best and one of its kind to compile the essence of life and technology—the intertwined relationship of the two— giving readers a fresh experience. What advice would you give to the 21-year-old version of yourself? Never stop your passion for anything else in your life. Be passionate about everything you do in your life. What is something surprising you've learned this year that your contemporaries would benefit from knowing? We all have been through this together and that has taught us and self-revealed so many interesting things about life and the world, in general. Never compromise on anything even when the world throws a hundred hardships at you. Be strong move strong.

MLM GLOBAL BUSINESS

ihub.global

51-200 employees

Since 2020

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MLM GLOBAL BUSINESS

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MLM GLOBAL BUSINESS

ihub.global

51-200 employees

Since 2020

COMPANY RANKING

MLM GLOBAL BUSINESS

EVERGREEN INDEX #6386

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