There is a lot of misinformation circulating about e-commerce-based direct-seller QNET. “This is unfortunately due to the lack of understanding of the direct-selling business in many parts of the world,” says Malou Caluza, CEO of QNET. “While direct selling is more than a century old, it is still in the very early stages in many emerging economies and hence, not properly understood. Many people assume QNET is some sort of a scam and are wary of it.”
According to a company statement, “Since its inception 23 years ago, QNET has welcomed millions of distributors of its products and services, known as independent representatives, in more than 25 countries globally into its business. Every care and training is undertaken to ensure that our independent representatives personally commit to our strict code of conduct and policies and procedures.”
QNET Established a Two-Pronged Approach to Address These False Claims
To combat incidents involving scam allegations, QNET’s top priority is increased education and raising awareness about direct sales. “We focus on educating independent representatives and the general public about the difference between legitimate direct-selling businesses and illegal pyramid schemes,” says Caluza. A pyramid scheme business model is built on constantly recruiting new people to make a significant initial investment. In contrast, a direct-sales company, such as QNET, only pays the commission when products are sold.
A second reason for confusion, according to Caluza, is “bad apples” who sign up as distributors for the direct-sales company and misrepresent the QNET name. “They make exaggerated claims about the business or QNET products that are simply not true and not endorsed by QNET,” Caluza explains. “The damage caused by the actions of such people is extensive.”
QNET takes a proactive approach to stop the spread of false scam information. “We have established the QNET Pro Initiative, which focuses on training and education for our network for building the QNET business in a legal, professional, and ethical manner,” says Caluza. “The second is through our Network Compliance Department. This team focuses on investigating all complaints we receive from the field about any violations of our policies and procedures. The Network Compliance Department also enforces penalties on those who misuse the QNET name and harm our reputation.”
The Network Compliance Department is responsible for investigating all complaints and claims against QNET independent representatives. It takes appropriate action based on the findings of its investigation.
Distributors Must Learn QNET’s Ethical Policies and Procedures
One of the first steps to becoming an independent representative at QNET is to understand the comprehensive policies and procedures document, which provides guidelines for ethically conducting business. QNET utilizes various marketing tools, including magazines, newsletters, videos, product profiles, and digital content, to help independent representatives honestly and effectively promote QNET’s products.
QNET conducts regular training sessions in different countries to educate independent representatives on QNET’s compensation plan and business model and the importance of ethical and professional marketing. QNET distributors must adhere to ethical and professional guidelines. Independent representatives who stray from the guidelines face serious consequences. Disciplinary actions range from having to show cause to the complaints leveled, to financial penalties, suspension and even termination.
At QNET, there is a zero-tolerance policy for any misrepresentation or unethical practices. Last year over 700 independent representatives were found to have violated QNET’s policies or procedures and were terminated from the business.
The Truth About Why QNET Is Not a Scam
“QNET has been around for more than two decades. How many scam companies manage to survive this long?” asks Caluza. “We have hundreds of success stories from people who have transformed their lives with QNET and have won several awards for our work. We are a very transparent company. Everything you want to know about QNET is available on our website and our social media. If the company aimed to be a scam, why would we want to go to so much trouble to engage with and invest in our independent representatives and our communities? People can make up their minds after they have had a chance to review both sides of the story.”
Taking the time to get properly educated and ethically build a business is a surefire way for independent representatives to see success at QNET. “By no means will that be easy to accomplish in the beginning,” says Caluza. “But once a distributor has put in the work and diligently followed the best practices that QNET trains in them, the results will be rewarding. It may take time, but it will be worth the wait. We aim to empower aspiring entrepreneurs to become professional CEOs of their business.”
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