IBNU SINA: Now, I Can See The World!

Abstract

Every morning, Hj Mohd Nizam’s daily routine involved stopping at a coffee shop to enjoy a cup of coffee and two half-boiled eggs. In early January 2010, after his usual breakfast, he passed by a row of electrical goods outlets that sold refrigerators and televisions. The encounter triggered several questions in him “Will the customers always buy the appliances?” and “If the outlet does not receive a customer each day, how does the owner survive for decades?”. Hj Mohd Nizam recalls his experience as a salesperson in direct selling and the moments when he recorded the highest network marketing sales. He was devastated by how he failed in business previously, and with his hands held up like a warrior, he found a new spirit to emerge as a business survivor, stating, “Once I had clarity on this being my purpose and outcome, it was time to begin to plan how I could best go about working in that way". A few days later, Hj Mohd Nizam bought a pair of spectacles at one of the shopping malls in Kota Bharu. After wearing them several times, he felt discomfort in his eyes and went to a clinic for an eye test. He was surprised to discover that his eyes were fine while the spectacles prescription he required was reduced from +-1.75D to +-0.50D. Inspired by his observation at the electronic shop, he figured that the shop owner must have constructed an effective marketing strategy to market the products. Thus, he asked himself, “Why don’t I use my experience in direct sales and as a salesperson to try to sell new products?”. He believed that the right strategy could ensure long term product survival in the market either by using the same product marketing strategy or a new strategy for business survival