When it comes to sales, companies tend to invest in new marketing strategies, tools, mediums and so on, but only a few organisations actually believe and invest in their people.
Coway, the company that aims to bring life-changing experiences to all, from their employees, to the consumers as well as to the environment, is a company that has stunned us with their success stories all along.
Three of Coway’s Sales General Managers (GM) share their journey and achievements even through the Covid-19 pandemic with BusinessToday, to emphasise how Coway stands by its brand direction, Change Your Life.
As the saying goes, the first impression is the best impression. GM Mohd Ikbal Bin Hassan shares his first encounter that made him join Coway.
“Wallace, now the Senior Sales General Manager of Coway Malaysia, approached me to join Coway many years ago. To my surprise, he even went the extra mile to help me close three sales in just one day and from there I had earned a commission of more than RM2,000. This was almost my one-month salary in another company. I had multiple jobs at that time, trying to make a better living.
I was so touched by his determination and sincerity, as well as the great opportunity in Coway. That was when I decided to quit the other jobs and be a full-time Coway Health Planner (sales agent),” Ikbal says.
Jimmy Ooi Chen Beng the GM taking care of East Malaysia market on the other hand says Coway has improved his overall quality of life. He is also very delighted that he is able to help so many people to lead a better life, either his customers or teammates in terms of healthier lifestyle or enhanced financial ability. Their transformations have encouraged him to continue his passion in Coway.
“We are stronger together, we will achieve success together. It is very important to let the team know that the company values them, the sense of recognition and achievement will boost the team’s overall morale,” Jimmy adds.
Fellow colleague, GM Saiful Izam Bin Shuib expresses “In the beginning, I joined Coway to clear off my high credit card debt which made me not eligible to get any loan, and I wanted to get back to a normal life. I was happy about the payout as I
managed to close six sales in my first month in Coway. All my debts were cleared in a very short period.
I saw the potential of the company, there were so many possibilities. Coway encouraged me to have my dreams, so I decided to stay and turned my dreams into reality one-by-one. Another captivating part of Coway is its company culture, which emphasises on growing and empowering its people, it is a people company.”
Challenges faced
As quoted by the Sales Acceleration Specialist, Jeb Blount, there is no easy button in sales. Prospecting is hard, emotionally draining work, and it is the price you have to pay to earn a high income.
Although now the GMs are earning well, they have climbed the success ladder with their own set of struggles.
“The higher the position, the more responsibilities we need to bear. We have to educate the team, maintain or elevate their performances. As our manpower grows year after year, we now have more than 10,000 Health Planners nationwide.
We have to help them formulate strategies to gain more sales, and explore new markets. I am glad that now it is all sorted out, it is more systematic now, everyone knows their tasks and responsibilities,” Ikbal points out.
On the other hand, Coway started to expand its businesses to Sabah and Sarawak in 2010. Considered the pioneer to open up the East Malaysia market, nobody knew Coway at that time, Jimmy and the team had to put in extra efforts to explain to customers about the brand. Fortunately, with patience and unyielding determination, Coway now has more than six offices and presence in more than 17 malls across Sabah and Sarawak.
Business during the pandemic
Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, almost all sales activities and operations have become virtual. Nevertheless, with the support, thorough plan and solid direction from higher management and all departments, they are able to overcome it.
“Hard times are the best learning stages in life. Coway has always emphasised on mutual consensus. We contributed our insights to help the management make more precise decisions,” Ikbal says.
“In the beginning, everyone was quite shocked, the pandemic has affected all the aspects of our lives and current routine, including our job and businesses. For the sales team, the pandemic has imposed a lot of restrictions, and we realised that we need to quickly adapt to the new routine.
Coway acted very quickly, formulated a plan, strategies and support for each department to ensure that Coway stayed relevant in the market even during this unexpected period,” Saiful explains.
He adds that Coway believes health quality is always an important aspect in everyone’s life, they hold on to this direction firmly and move forward aggressively to help the public to enhance their health and wellness.
“At first, we did not really push our Health Planners to do sales as we fully understood the pressure each Health Planner was facing at that time. We conducted many online meetings or motivational talks about the opportunities that the pandemic might bring.
We kept in touch with the team very closely, get to know about their situations as this is very important in retaining them. Our strategy is to connect, support and align with our team,” Saiful explains.
“We changed the focus of our promotional strategies and approached customers through online platforms. We also reminded our Health Planners to keep in touch and maintain connections with the customers.
When the MCO was lifted, the majority of the sales came from online platforms and also the relationships built previously. Now, we are constantly improving both our online and offline platforms to reach the customers. As not everyone or everywhere
is convenient for online channels,” Jimmy says.
Coway’s contribution
Ikbal has learnt a lot from Coway as the company taught him to be sincere to his job, to respect his goals, and love his teammates.
“This is my biggest recipe to achieve success in Coway and in life,” he confesses.
He further adds, “When you are able to help others to succeed, this is the biggest investment. You will not only get monetary returns but more importantly their respect and love as well.”
Many people have been affected in terms of employment due to the pandemic, and many have opted to become dropshippers or have online-based businesses.
“Coway is still recruiting, the company offers flexible working hours for the Health Planners, the well-rounded payout system generates stable and fruitful income, and it has a good career path,” Jimmy says.
Furthermore, Coway continuously creates meaningful connections with customers by providing complimentary disinfection services and other value-added services. These initiatives under the Rasa Sayang Campaign has helped countless customers enhance their overall hygiene at home, keeping them safe and healthy throughout this challenging period. We still provide these services until now to give our customers a peace of mind.
Speaking about Coway’s contribution, Saiful justifies that Coway has achieved many recognitions and awards since its establishment in Malaysia in 2006. He is also very grateful that Coway did not undergo downsizing during the pandemic.
“We are on track for continuous growth, I believe Coway will be a hub of changing people’s lives. A centre of excellence where all elites gather,” he strongly feels.
