Amway’s number one salesperson: 68-year-old Taiwanese aunt Chen Wanfen, she is a primary school teacher and a star salesperson.

Holly Chen was a first-grade primary school teacher. She was less than 1.6 meters tall and liked to wear sequined clothes. Just by looking at it, you wouldn't know that this 68-year-old grandma is one of the best salespeople on the planet. Late that night in January, about 1,100 people stood up to welcome Chen Wanfen in a crowded casino ballroom. Under the flash of the camera, she strode onto the stage wearing black shiny leather boots.

When she started talking about her late mother, the atmosphere suddenly changed. Soon she was in tears. Amway star Chen Wanfen Chen Wanfen later said that the most powerful weapon is to move others emotionally; if you send a signal of love, you will also receive a signal of love. She spoke Mandarin throughout the interview. Chen Wanfen is one of the most important figures in this emotional business.

After 30 years of hard work, she and her husband have become the number one distributors of Amway Corp. in the world, commanding a commission-based sales force of approximately 300,000 people. As old members continue to recruit new members, the network has spread from Chen Wanfen's home base in Taiwan, across Hong Kong and mainland China, and has reached Chinese immigrant communities in the United States, France, Spain and Russia. They named this multi-tiered system "Extraordinary".

Since 2009, the "Extraordinary" system has expanded by more than 30% every year. Today, one out of every 10 Amway salespeople is mentored by Chen Wanfen, and she will receive a commission in the process. According to a direct selling magazine, Chen Wanfen's total annual income is estimated at US$8 million. She told the audience in Las Vegas, "I don't even know how much money I make." The audience in the audience belonged to the American branch of the Extraordinary System. It turns out that these are good days for Amway.

Amway is headquartered in Michigan, USA, and sells its own brand of cosmetics and daily necessities. In the context of the economic recession in developed countries, many people have become part-time salespeople for Amway. Growth is far greater in Latin America and Asia as emerging consumers in these regions seek to earn extra money. Today 90% of Amway's sales come from outside the United States.

Chen Wanfen was once a primary school teacher. Now, she and her husband are the world's number one distributors of Amway Corp., commanding a sales force of approximately 300,000 people. What turned a Taiwanese aunt into a sales star?

"Wall Street Journal" Dennis Berman had a close encounter with Chen Wanfen at the Amway Conference in Las Vegas. Amway is a closely held company. A person familiar with the matter said the company's sales revenue exceeded US$10 billion for the first time last year, an increase of more than 10% from 2010. The current economic situation has also given Amway its long-controversial direct sales model unexpected support.

Companies across all industries are rushing to use Facebook to connect directly with customers. Now they are experimenting with how to turn these connected groups into a shadow sales force. One specific way is to pay an introduction fee. So, in Las Vegas, amid the buzz of Mandarin and Chen Wanfen's exhortations about the value of making friends, people began to painfully realize that perhaps the future of business is like an Amway-style rally. It's a carefully planned ceremony, deliberately designed to arouse people's desire.

The lights were dimmed and a video showed Chen Wanfen and her husband, Barry Chi, riding in a red Cadillac convertible during a parade in his honor. In another video, Chen Wanfen, known as one of Chanel's 50 top customers, stepped off a private jet. Other videos show her leading large rallies across Asia, including one in Taiwan last fall that packed a 21,000-seat stadium.

Her 11 years of experience as a primary school teacher makes Chen Wanfen sound both stern and kind when she speaks. Her followers call her "teacher." Her job is to translate their desires into action. There is nothing glamorous about the lives of most Amway sales reps. According to data from Amway, the average monthly gross income (not net income) of North American salespeople is about US$200. Amway has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for $155 million.

In the lawsuit, former U.S. sales representatives accused Amway of using fraud to mislead them about profits. Amway denies wrongdoing but has pledged to change the way it does business, focusing less on recruiting new salespeople and more on actually selling products. Even if Chen Wanfen had such doubts, she would have eliminated them long ago. She said, I have always thought that Amway is a system designed by God, specially designed for me.

Success begins with simple belief. She said that when you do Amway, of course you will change your mentality and attitude, and your results will definitely change accordingly. Canadian dealer Paul Chen, who was sitting near the front of the Las Vegas rally, got the message. He said the key step is to open your mind, forget your past, your career, your job... come here to study.

Chen Wanfen likes to tell simple stories and truths, and participants sincerely write down what she says. Her hours-long speech was mesmerizing, peppered with specific moments and improvisations, ranging from Columbus and the Egyptian pyramids to the Great Wall and Bill Gates. She favors the life story of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, describing how he endeared himself to people while serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild.

She said that we should improve ourselves and become givers. A large part of her speech was also about her own story. Life in her hometown fishing village was extremely difficult, and even rice porridge was a luxury. Eventually she transitioned from teaching to selling Amway products. It's where she thrived, finding potential clients at the casino tables and among people waiting in line to use the bathroom (talk to the people behind you in line, not in front of you, she advises) people).

The United States opened its doors to her in 1986, when she appeared on a Chinese-language TV show in Houston for an interview. One of her former students recognized her, and the resulting network formed the American branch of Extraordinary. When direct sales were approved in mainland China in 1995, Chen Wanfen said that the first time she established contact with someone was when she asked others to recommend restaurants on the street.

That's how we became friends, she said, and then we told him about our business. Chen Wanfen's eyes scanned this ballroom in Las Vegas, demonstrating her concept of "moving people with emotion". The crowd in the audience accepted it without any doubt. You have to understand people on the inside, not on the outside, she said. You have to understand their hearts.