The Ministry Of Trade Wants To Remove Negative MLM Image By Cooperating With AP2LI

Minister of Trade, Agus Suparmanto. (Photo: Twitter @Mendag)

JAKARTA - Direct selling is one of the business sectors that can keep the wheels of the economy in Indonesia moving amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the Ministry of Trade engaged the Indonesian Direct Selling Companies Association (AP2LI) to boost education and literacy about direct selling business.

The Minister of Trade, Agus Suparmanto, said this was reflected in the results of a survey which showed that currently there are a number of obstacles faced in running a direct selling business. The biggest obstacle is the negative public view of the direct selling business.

"The Ministry of Trade is working with associations in the field of direct selling and related government agencies to actively promote the direct selling industry by increasing education and literacy about direct selling or MLM so that the image of the direct selling business in the eyes of the public can be better, so that it can increase sales. , "he said, in Jakarta, Thursday, October 29.

According to Agus, one of the causes for the emergence of a negative view of direct business is the existence of various program offers that violate regulations. In fact, direct selling or multi level marketing (MLM) has the uniqueness and strength of the business sector which lies in the business system by relying on the marketing network of its business partners.

In this period of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Agus, the direct selling business sector made a significant contribution to the national economy. For this reason, the Ministry of Trade is committed to supporting this business sector so that the economy continues to run and recovers.

"The concept of the direct selling business is an advantage because direct selling has fixed customers who are currently relatively difficult to build," he explained.

Based on the annual activity reports of 147 companies in 2019, Indonesian direct sales companies managed to record sales transactions of Rp. 14.7 trillion, involving 5.3 million business partners.

In addition to providing economic benefits for business partners, the direct sales sector also contributes to maintaining the sustainability of domestic producers' businesses. As much as 51.86 percent of the types of products sold were domestic products.

According to Agus, the results of a survey conducted by the Ministry of Trade show that direct selling efforts can be useful as a means for students to hone a strong entrepreneurial mentality.

Agus said that the growing development of digital technology has also changed the sales strategy in the direct selling business sector. Now, sales can be made easily through various digital media. Through the adoption of the use of the internet and information technology, direct selling companies can connect more closely with their business partners and help their business partners plan and achieve the promised profits.

"We believe that direct salespeople who have a persistent and resilient character will be able to take advantage of these technological advances to innovate and adapt in sales," he said.