Cultivation experiences in marketing and sales for NTD

Greetings Master! Greetings fellow practitioners,

Shuyu: I have been working on NTD marketing for nearly two years. Looking back, I am stirred by reflection. I started from knowing nothing at the beginning. I gradually explored a path through. I’ve withstood all sorts of pressures and misunderstandings, endured hardships and taken lightly a lot of suffering. I have been cleansed and purified in Dafa all the way. I feel there is only one thought in my heart. That is to save sentient beings!

At that time when I join NTD, I had a simple motivation. That is to complete my mission in NTD marketing. Master gave me a hint through ordinary people even before my participation that NTD should be marketed to big international companies. Later, I was even surer of that when I read Master’s articles. I realized that Master’s requirements of us are enormous. It’s only because we are constricted by our own notions that we cannot meet Master’s expectations. However, there has been a great deal of controversy on this issue among practitioners.

Youyi: It was February 2010 when I joined the NTD sales team. I had just been through a most painful tribulation at that time. Looking back at my cultivation path, I was determined that I must cultivate myself very diligently and not disappoint Master’s expectations again. From then on, I truly started memorizing Zhuan Falun.

Master says in Fa Teaching Given at the NTDTV Meeting: “If a business is rather large, it will definitely be interested in doing television advertising. But if it is smaller, it’s possible it will only be interested in doing advertising in print media. This should be quite clear. If a restaurant were to use television advertising, for instance, they might feel it’s like bringing out the heavy artillery to kill a mosquito. Whereas larger enterprises have a wider business scope, and the effect that television advertising has befits them. So, when doing advertising you need to think a bit about what kind of commercial entity is suited to your medium.”

I realized that Master has a very high requirement for us, that NTD sales should have a very high starting point and should target big clients selling global advertisements.

Shuyu: As we are to do large projects, the requirements for us are certainly high. I asked myself to put aside my personal things and expand the capacity of my heart. The first thing I focused on was encounters with fellow practitioners. It seems people who have conflicts are always put together. Some fellow practitioners I have to work with are the ones I don’t want to meet. I know it’s something I need to cultivate and improve. I asked myself to put all of these down. The second thing I focused on was studying the Fa well. Since I require myself to be in a very good state when I study the Fa, I went through quite a few Xinxing tests smoothly with a calm heart. If I wasn’t able to pass a test, I would stop everything and start memorizing Zhuan Falun. In some tests that others would not be able to pass, I felt my heart was opened when memorizing the Fa and I could break through the difficulties easily. Along with memorizing the Fa constantly, my main consciousness became stronger and stronger. I felt my righteous thoughts become very powerful, very pure and without any distraction. If the state in which I studied the Fa was not that good, I would develop complaints and my mind would not be calm when sending righteous thoughts. At the time I would stop and study the Fa with a pure mind.

Apart from that, I read Master’s recent articles for one hour every evening. I benefited a lot from this. I thoroughly changed my old thinking. The so-called tribulations are all good things, and remind me to raise my Xinxing. If someone wants to fulfill a great commitment, he or she certainly must bear so much! For those who give me the opportunity to improve my Xinxing, I sincerely thank you!

I understand the old forces want to destroy the people of the world and test Dafa disciples harshly. We are the only hope of the sentient beings in the world. If we do not save them, they have no chance to enter the future. If Dafa disciples don’t cultivate well, we cannot save sentient beings and even we will be weeded out. NTD bears a huge responsibility in saving sentient beings, especially the Chinese people in Mainland China. Thus, doing marketing well is very significant and requires a very high cultivation state.

Youyi: NTD's marketing is very hard to do. First of all, none of us had ever done TV advertising sales so none of us had the knowledge. Secondly, we didn’t know that much about our own television stations. At the beginning we did not even have the most basic information. Thirdly, although I had marketing background, I never did sales. Even worse, I’m very introverted, and do not know how to deal with people. There were internal and external pressures from all sides with a variety of tribulations. Also, fellow practitioners did not understand marketing.

As we studied Master’s recent articles very well every evening, we built up a solid foundation of understanding of the Fa. During any interruption or tribulation, my determination in doing marketing for NTD and in going for international big business has never wavered.

Shuyu: Although Master has made clear several times that our television station should go for relatively large clients, nearly all my fellow practitioners thought that there is no way to get big clients. They want to do small business and earn a bit of cash first. So we encountered lots of resistance right from the beginning. Also because we do not have any experience dealing with big clients, we have to work everything out on our own. There have been several times when I thought I did it wrong. Every time when I was shaken, Master would give me a hint through ordinary people. I would say that Master has pushed me all the way through. However, when I finally got hold of several large companies successfully, I was stuck again. Since NTD Headquarters felt that the situation of the NTD team in the UK is very complicated, they did not have confidence in our righteous thought field. I felt alone and helpless. Furthermore, someone reported us to the headquarters saying that we did not make money for the company and that she didn’t agree with our approach, etc. I felt wronged: how can anyone do large client work that easily? North America is still doing small and medium sized businesses after so many years. How many practitioners could give up everything to insist on doing this? Cooperation is needed while doing small businesses, let alone doing large ones. The environment for NTD in the UK was made into a big mess. I gave up everything to participate in the marketing, and to walk this road. I was very uneasy in my heart.

I asked myself why I was moved. I found a selfish desire to verify and protect myself. I vowed with Master that I wish to get rid of the last bit impurities in my heart. No matter how other people talk about me, if my heart is not calm, surely I still need to improve. With this troubled heart how I could save people? After Fa study one night, I lay in bed thinking: What is the meaning of human life? In my childhood I always thought that my life should be meaningful, that I must live for others. Now didn’t I encounter this great moment to save sentient beings? What couldn’t I let go of? Life is for others, not for me. It is for saving people, only for saving lives. I suddenly felt I can look lightly on all of this.

I then thought about what to do next. I felt it’s actually very simple. It’s because I put business in front of saving sentient beings that I felt difficult. Since it is not easy to contact high-level management of large companies, and it’s usually difficult to find them, I feared it would affect future business if I didn’t do well at any step. In fact, all the people of the world are waiting to be saved, no matter which class or positions they are in. If we do not save them, they have no hope. With this thought in mind, I found it much easier. I quickly made a plan of action.

I discussed with a fellow practitioner that if the headquarters was not yet ready to do big clients, then we should make some adjustment and spend more time on other projects, so as not to waste time. Surprisingly, the vice president in charge of global marketing said to me that Master recently indicated that NTD must do big and medium-sized companies. I thought all this is not accidental. It was because my Xinxing improved, things finally changed. Then I made a few contacts with senior management of some large companies. I wrote every letter with a pure heart, and sent it out with righteous thought. To my surprise, most companies replied, showing their interest in NTD.

In the following week, I signed up for a business seminar. Upon arrival I found the people invited to the event were all senior management of large companies. During the first day of the event, facing senior executives of large companies, I did not know how to conduct myself naturally. I went back home and studied the Fa. Master says in What is a Dafa Disciple: “As long as he is someone you run into, you should save him, regardless of his position or social status, or whether he be the president or a beggar. In the eyes of gods, beings are equal. Social status is just a distinction made in human society.”

I really regretted that I didn't have the righteous thoughts. The next day, on my way to the venue, I thought all the way that I must go save sentient beings, whether they are a big company's CEO or the President of a country. If we do not save them today, they won’t have an opportunity to enter the future. At the event, I greeted and chatted to people naturally, introducing NTD. I then talk about the truth in a very natural way. Eventually I found I was surrounded by a circle of people who were listening to me.

There were two people who were very interested in NTD and asked if we sell television advertising. A marketing Vice President of a large company handed me a business card in his initiative, and asked whether or not we could promote their products on our television programmes. I was surprised because I am not good at communication but all this happened so naturally. I also broke through my weakness, which is that I do not know how to deal with strangers. I was just thinking about saving sentient beings. This thought was really a divine thought. The event's organizers also periodically send some information to me. That is exactly what I need.

Youyi: While doing marketing research in order to figure out the financial structure and purchasing power of the Chinese market, I researched China’s economy, society and media in depth. I felt that Master had arranged everything for us and NTD is unmatchable. What we need to do is just walk on the path arranged by Master.

However, doing sales is a process of cultivation, a process of purifying myself continuously. For some time, I was very attached to my research on China’s economy. When in conversation with a client, I always liked to talk about China’s economy and the CCP’s destiny of collapse. Later, I gradually realized that I may look too heavily on the Chinese Communist regime?!

I thought no matter how clear a statement I could make on the Chinese economy, it’s still a matter in the human society, indicating my cultivation state was still an ordinary person. If I don’t thoroughly tell the truth about Dafa, even though the client did business with us, his good side had still not emerged and so he may not be saved.

Gradually, I put saving sentient beings in the first place, without being attached to business. Every time before meeting clients, I would think I just come to save you. I felt vividly that all sentient beings come for the Fa. After listening to the truth, a lot of people said to me solemnly: “Please keep in touch with me, we will work together in the future!

On one occasion, I attended a business party. I talked about the truth to people one after another with confidence. Although those companies were all small companies and it seemed there was no business opportunity for me, I was happy indeed. Since I told them the truth, my heart was at ease. I did not expect it when a week later a company contacted me and wanted to be a global partner of NTD.

Some time ago, I went to a large-scale industry exhibition. I told the truth to people booth after a booth, no matter whether it was the CEO or ordinary staff, Western or Chinese people. By the end of the day, there were quite a few people who said they wanted to learn Falun Gong. No one was in fear of the Chinese communist regime. At a company that does big business in China, my thought was righteous when facing their Chinese employee. I told her that NTD is an independent TV station, rather than the state-run media controlled by the CCP. She said immediately that her bosses must talk to me and introduced us. The CEO and the managing director expressed that meeting with me was the most exciting thing that had happened for months and they looked forward to working with us.

According to previous experience and our thinking, Western companies are reluctant to offend the Chinese Communists and do not dare to work together with independent media like ours. Now I realized that the Western companies who have entered China are actually disgusted by the outrageous, greedy official media. They pay respects to and regard independent Chinese media as a treasure. Of course, there's still a distance ahead of me, since we all started from knowing nothing. There is a learning process. We are used to small businesses and do not know how to work with large companies. But I believe it’s not far any more.

Shuyu: Every time when I did not know what to do, I always memorized Zhuan Falun with a pure heart. I would finally get inspiration naturally, and know how to deal with people in different classes. In every step forward, when I memorized the Fa, the situation became clearer and clearer. Now I felt there is only one pure mind in my heart: saving sentient beings. I truly felt that real compassion is selfless, profound, constant and would not be tempted by ordinary people.

Youyi: For sales, overcoming passive emotions is very important. Especially in the start-up stage, one often gets a lot of refusals. It can knock your confidence when you run into a wall. Most of the time in this task, I was lonely and helpless. When facing refusals, difficulties or fellow practitioners’ misunderstandings, or even when someone sabotaged me out of human notions, it was not easy to stick to what I was doing. It was by memorizing Zhuan Falun that I went through all the difficulties. Whether in tribulations or a bad cultivation state, I shut the door and memorized the fa, sometimes for a dozen hours. Gradually, my righteous thoughts became stronger and stronger; my heart became more and more stable.

However, sometimes I still feel indignant, and get angry when I think about someone. I still have many other areas that I haven’t cultivated well. When they surface they are still prominent. In my experience the best solution is to memorize the Fa. It was by memorizing the Fa that some of my deep-rooted attachments that had been around for many years gradually dissolved. In my future cultivation, I will strive to study the Fa well, look inward and purify myself more and more. With my righteous thoughts getting stronger and stronger, I will strive to save more sentient beings, and walk well the path for NTD sales.

Shuyu: Master says in What is a Dafa disciple: “The only path that lies before you, the disciples of Dafa, is one of real cultivation. There is no other path.” My fellow practitioners, we want to assist Master in Fa-rectification and save sentient beings. What lies ahead of us is to truly cultivate ourselves. There is no shortcut, no other path.

Thank you, great Master! Thank you, my dear fellow practitioners!