BusinessToday interviews Muhammad Ramadhan Bin Abdul Malek, one of SK magic’s Top Sales Agents from West Malaysia, on his journey to becoming a leader in the world of direct selling.
The soft-spoken man, dressed in a well-cut suit for our meeting, commands the kind of attention more often seen in larger corporations. Muhammad is not an easy man to pin down, not because he is aloof, but because he is, firstly, engaged with work, and always on the move.
- How long have you been working with SK magic Malaysia?
I have been working with SK magic Malaysia for 1 year and 2 months now.
- Give us your initial thoughts since coming on board with SK magic. What impressed you about SK magic Malaysia and what motivates you to keep going?
I was completely new to SK magic before joining the company. After knowing the fact that SK magic is about helping people live better, healthier lives and helping people be in business for themselves, I found that an amazing thing to be able to be a part of.
The other thing is how important relationships are in this company and industry. Being a people person myself, I just embraced the fact that SK magic was an established company and truly appreciated the vast opportunities provided to me, the advanced technology of the products offered, and most importantly, the unrivaled income structure that is available to sales agents.
What keeps me motivated to be in the company and the industry is definitely my team. I am super proud of how far each and every one of my team members have achieved thus far. Being able to guide and lead a team that has so much potential is something I always look forward to and witnessing the growth every day is what keeps me going until today.
- What do you love the most about the direct selling business model?
What appeals to me most about the direct selling business model is the opportunity to network and, more importantly, the company support offered, particularly from SK magic Malaysia. The back-end support has been very beneficial, especially for me and my team.
Another thing that I love about the direct selling model is the ability to dictate how we do business, how we want to work, how we want to sell and giving customers the choice of how they want to buy. I enjoy the flexibility given by this business model.
- What are some of the most common misconceptions that people have about direct selling?
Many of the myths about our sector are similar to those that our consumers and prospective distributors have. People would often think that direct selling has something to do with pyramid schemes, but I beg to differ.
Many people and new joiners are shocked by the dynamics of our independent sales force once they get beyond these preconceptions and clichés. Many people who enter this profession believe that independent sales forces are like employees to whom you can dictate all of their duties. They are unable to comprehend how difficult it is to inspire a sales team and what it takes to engage them both intellectually and emotionally in the business.
- In your opinion, what do you think is the biggest challenge in the direct selling industry?
Because there are so many companies, we end up bumping into each other. We have lots of cross-pollination that happens, partly because of the Internet. People used to find out about an opportunity from a person. Now people go to the Internet. It will be a challenge to peacefully coexist alongside each other even though the environment is competitive.
- Share with us the pre and post-pandemic journey. So how did you walk through the difficult days?
I haven’t yet joined SK magic during the pre-pandemic phase. I was still working for my former employer, struggling like the majority of Malaysians and looking for another way to generate more income.
I still remembered how difficult it was during the pandemic when everything we do has to be digitalized and I was one of the laggards when it comes to technology. I had to figure out ways to build a new business path online in a short period of time. Sadly, my closest “friends” at that time were my mobile phone and the Internet. Now that I think of it again, I am so glad I managed to pull it through without actually giving up.
Thankfully, I met a friend who works for SK magic Malaysia and he told me about his success story there; I was intrigued and began researching the company online. That’s when I understood that this business is not like its rivals in any way. Despite having strong connections for my previous employer, I ultimately decided that SK magic Malaysia is the best place for me to advance my career and talent.
Now that we are in the post pandemic journey, I am grateful for SK magic Malaysia for providing me endless opportunities to grow. I am happy where I am now and I am looking forward to achieving greater heights here in SK magic Malaysia.
- What attributes (in your opinion) make a great leader?
In my opinion, the attributes that define a great leader are self-discipline, punctuality, determination, and a positive attitude toward hard work.
Leaders are different—some are inspiring leaders, or effective leaders, or engaging leaders, or accessible leaders or—on your best day—a combination of all of that!
Leadership is always situational. Sometimes you have to create something from nothing. Sometimes you have to build on something that is already there. And sometimes you have to restore something that has been lost. Leadership always asks something different of us. Regardless of the situation, I think leadership demands some specific things such as surrounding yourself with the very best people you can find. Create an exciting destination and a clear sense of direction and communicate in ways that make people believe in the possibilities and not fear the barriers. Lastly, show your passion—make it clear that you take the job personally and be exactly who you are.
- What have you learned about your company/ workforce that you didn’t know before Covid-19?
I am very impressed by the curiosity of our people, and our ability to embrace change. We are much more digital than I thought. We have also proven that we are a community of like-minded people and that Togetherness, Spirit and Passion are not just our value words—they are what makes us who we are.
I am also very impressed and grateful for SK magic for having a great monitoring system in place for us to carry out our daily jobs. As we are all working remotely and in dispersed locations, it is beyond important that we keep our eyes close on the sales contributed by each member and take immediate action as soon as we observe an issue in the team. Being in the industry for such a long time, sales monitoring is really one of the most difficult things in a team especially during pre-covid. All the team members are satisfied with the systems created by SK magic.
- What does success look like for you as a leader?
Success to me is marked by a flourishing community. I know I am a great leader when my team members have achieved great success in their career and I am a contributor to their success. If you ask me, I believe in teamwork rather than working in a silo. We move forward together and together we are unstoppable.
- Do you have a proper tactic to turn your prospect into a customer?
To me, educating a customer is the number one tactic to convert a sale. Providing customers important information and sharing success stories to customers could build credibility which then lead to sales conversions. After all, I believe all of us would believe in something that has been tried and tested by other people with good reviews. We must allow the prospect to fully understand the product in order to build great customer lifetime value and satisfaction.
Besides, having strong persuasion skills is also important in helping us to turn a prospect into a customer. I always encourage people not to be too hostile in achieving sales. Build relationships with prospects first and stay connected with them constantly by sharing interesting life stories of other people. Make your prospect feel at ease when communicating with you, and they will eventually believe in you.
- What do we do well as a channel, and where do we need to improve?
As a channel, we give personalization and one-on-one experiences to our customers. The beauty of our channel is giving people the freedom to choose how they want to work, how they want to sell and giving customers the choice of how they want to buy.
Being in the direct selling industry, one of the aspects that I feel need to improve is definitely the ability of our people to socialize. Many people around me or even my team members are afraid to approach people or be approached by people as well. Having great communication and social skills would allow us to better connect with people and eventually, create more sales opportunities and remarkable relationships. After all, building solid relationships with people is the foundation of being a great salesperson.
- What advice do you have for leaders of our channel (direct selling industry) as we move forward?
My advice to other leaders in this direct selling industry is that we should always listen to what our team members have to say and try to help them as much as possible. Always remember how we first started and what kind of leader we wished to have back then.
When it comes to moving forward, there is one thing that makes a difference for our channel. We are the People’s Business. No matter what times we are in, if there is a crisis or not, people always come first. And if you have the trust and good relationships in place, everything else will happen. New tools, new ideas, new products, new successes.
