I can't tell you how many times I've heard the following phrases,
“Nobody on my team is doing anything!”
“They're dropping out as fast as I put them in.”
“Where's all the good people that are willing to work?”
I know all too well how that feels. My first couple years in network marketing were tough ones. I signed up a few, but almost none of them did anything. Over the years of doing this business, I've learned some things about getting people on your network marketing team to do more.
There are things that are 100% in your control that you can start doing today that will have a dramatic impact on how many people on your network marketing team get into action and stay there. I did my Monday Night Call on this subject last night, and was asked to put this list into a blog post. So…here it is.
#1: Be the EXAMPLE of Someone Who is Committed.
If you want your network marketing team to be more committed, they need to see your commitment. You're the example. Set a good one! When you attend events…even if you've seen the same presentation 100's of times, you should be in the front row taking notes. I know a good culture when I see leaders at events I'm speaking all sitting near the front of the room with their journals open, eager to learn and engaged in what's happening. On the other hand, when I see top leaders roaming around the hallways while the event is taking place shows me a culture that's on the verge of being in trouble.
What do you think your network marketing team thinks when they see the top people in the company not even listening to what's going on? I've been at events where I good lip sync what the person is saying because I've seen it so many times, but I still sit in that seat taking notes…not just to set an example, but to learn.
Events are major drivers for your business. They are belief builders. The first event I attended is what locked my belief in about this business model. The more people you can get to events and be engaged and listening, the more success stories you're going to have. It's that simple. Getting more people to events is really as simple as you setting the example by registering early and communicating it to your team. When they see you doing it, they'll do it.
#2: Set the Pace for Everyone Else to Follow.
Along the lines of setting the example, you need to be the person that sets the pace for your team. Think “lead dog” in a dog-sled competition. The speed of the pack can only be as fast as the lead dog. They're again looking to you for leadership. When you work your business, be efficient in what you do, work fast (but not sloppy), be on point, accurate and consistent. This isn't hard. If you want your network marketing team to be recruiting more, getting more customers and being more engaged, they need to see their leader doing it. The more you recruit, the more they will. The more customers they see you gathering, the more they'll do it.
#3: Mentor and Work with your People.
I'm not into babysitting and doing something for someone that they aren't willing to do for themselves. But…I do know this because I can remember it ever so clearly. The first day I started my network marketing career, I was clueless. I didn't know WHAT to do or HOW to do it…and I was completely afraid of this new venture I was in. Fortunately, I had a mentor that was willing to work with me to help me understand HOW it's done.
Don't be afraid to hold their hand and help them figure it out. It's a whole lot better than sending them out to do it on their own. Don't expect a whole lot of activity from your network marketing team if you're simply pointing them in a direction and saying, “Go for it!”
It's a lot like raising kids. You need to demonstrate, teach, show, help and make minor modifications to what they're doing so they can learn the ropes.
#4: Don't Choke People with Too Much Information.
People who are confused or overwhelmed stay paralyzed and unable to move. If you're going to grow a successful and productive network marketing team, your on-boarding process can't be cookie cutter. YES…have systems and processes for people to follow, but understand that everyone is different.
If you loaded me up with a 50-page “Getting Started” document, it would put me into stall mode and I may not even get into motion. Be very careful not to give people too much information as you get them started. Some can handle it…but many will look at it and think, “Wow! That's a lot of information. I don't know if I can do this business.”
The same thing goes for prospects. If you send a prospect 17 different videos, 6 links and 4 audios to go through…it's total overwhelm for them. Keep the information gathering process simple as well…and you'll have a lot more people joining your team.
#5: Free Give Credit Where Credit is Due.
No one can take full credit for building an organization of 45,000 people. Yea…you may have started that whole process that led to such a large team, but you certainly didn't do it alone. It was a combined effort.
Remember this. People love recognition. They love feeling valued and appreciated. Human beings thrive on knowing that what they are doing is being valued by others.
So…from the standpoint of getting your network marketing team doing more, it's very important to remember to give credit freely.
When you say something directly to your team member about how good of a job you feel they are doing, or how much you appreciate them, or how much you love working with them…it goes a long way in keeping them engaged.
When you take the time to PUBLICLY recognize their efforts or accomplishments, it does an even bigger job of keeping them engaged and moving forward. Think about it. You go into your Facebook Group or Live Training Call and call someone out saying, “Hey Guys…I wanted to give a shout out to John Smith real quick. John hosted his first in-home yesterday and had two new people join his business! Way to go John!!” That kind of stuff WORKS!
On the other hand, if you fail to recognize even the simplest of accomplishments, especially when someone has worked extremely hard to get there, it could very easily put that person on stall mode.
#6: Work ONLY with the Willing.
Your time is valuable…and you should only be investing it in people who are willing to show up. The phrase I first heard over 25 years ago was this:
“Work where you're deserved, not where you're needed.”
It simply means this. Work with the people that deserve your time and attention based on how they are showing up. It's one thing to say something, but it's an entirely different thing when someone does something. Those that DO deserve more time and attention than those that give you lip-service.
Don't permanently write people off who aren't showing up. They may come around in the future. Keep them in the loop, stay in contact with them and make sure they are “in the know”. Just make sure that you're extremely valuable time is invested in those that are willing to take action right now.
#7: Keep the Communication Lines Wide Open.
Relationships live and die by communication. A marriage or friendship that has wide open communication is way more likely to last than one where people don't openly share their thoughts and feelings.
Getting your network marketing team to do more is more likely to happen when you stay in contact and keep the communication lines open. That means one-on-one communication, as well as TEAM communication through conference calls, Zooms, Facebook Groups or whatever other tool you use to stay in communication with your organization.
WARNING: Be keenly aware of what you say and where you say it. Ears are everywhere. Everyone's eyes and ears are on you. Avoid gossip, trash talking, politics or talking negatively about anyone at any time.
THINK. Can you afford to have someone on your team stop working because they heard you talking down about someone else? I don't think so. Some people might think, “Who cares? They haven't done anything yet anyhow!” Here's the thing you have to remember. You never know WHO they can lead you to. And…they may eventually come around and actually engage.
However, if they've seen you down talk someone or do something else that's not altogether positive, that may cause them to tune out of the business completely, eliminating any future possibility of them leading you to someone amazing.
#8: Help People Step Up.
This again goes back to valuing people. When you help someone step up into a greater role of responsibility in your organization, they automatically feel more valued and appreciated. Help them to feel as if they are an ASSET to the team.
Watch your group closely. When someone who has been around for a bit and has shown their commitment to the network marketing team, give them something that helps them step up.
Have them take introductions on a conference call, moderate a group, give their testimonial at an event, help with taking registrations, or a training segment on a call or event.
Some people will NEVER volunteer…even when they are ready. It happened to me. It's how I stepped up…or was encouraged to step up to a higher level. My friend Ben threw me the keys to the office I was working in and said, “Todd…the office is yours. You're going to do the 4-Steps Training tonight. I'm going to open up another office. This one is yours.”
It scared me to death. There were 75 or so people waiting in the room for the next segment of the presentation. I had to do it. Ben left. BUT…he knew I was ready. I was trained on it and had seen that same presentation probably 100 times.
Look for people who are ready and help them step up.
#9: Don't Be a Boss!
Nobody wants a boss in network marketing. So, don't be one. You have your opinions and ways of doing something. You may have systems and processes that you want people to follow. That's good. Just be careful not to boss people around and make them feel as if you're their superior. That's not what they came to network marketing for in the first place.
Let people be themselves. Yes. Get them to follow your systems and processes for building, but let them be who they are.
#10: Get the Team Building and Working Together.
One of the most powerful things you can do is get the team working together. It builds organizational strength, gets people WAY more active, builds skills faster, and increases confidence in a way that wouldn't otherwise happen by applying this strategy.
Schedule a Team Building Night. Here's how it works. Have some people at your house on a Thursday night for example. Invite some team member over. Have them bring their laptops and their prospect list. From 6pm t0 10pm or whatever you choose, you're all in the same house, under the same roof working your businesses together.
When you have a half dozen people in your home for 4 hours making calls, setting appointments and doing reach outs…everyone is in action!
Imagine if you had pods of people all throughout your network marketing team that are hosting Team Building Nights in cities all around the world. People get more done when applying this strategy…period.
#11: Have Some Fun Together.
Yea…we're running a business. But…as they say, “a team that plays together, stays together.”
Anytime you can add a little fun into the mix and hang out on a personal level with people on your network marketing team, you're deepening and strengthening the bond you have with them. The greater the bond, the more likely you'll hold together…especially when challenges come your way.
#12: Stay Positive When Times are Tough.
Life throws you challenges…and it's when those challenges come that our real self is revealed. How you handle challenge and controversy matters…a lot.
This is Network Marketing 101. Never pour poison downstream. If something is bad, you don't like a decision the company made, or something else rubs you the wrong way, don't be foolish and pour that negativity in your organization. It could literally ruin it overnight.
I've seen it happen time and time again. Careful what you say when times are tough and you're faced with a monstrous challenge.
Here's a great quote from Martin Luther King Jr:
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience,
but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Take that one to the bank!
#13: Run Contests!
You're the leader of your network marketing team. You don't need to wait for the company to run a contest or promotion to incentivize additional activity, you can run your own!
I'd suggest running some type of contest once per quarter. It could be a recruiting contes, a customer acquisition contest or a rank advancement contest.
Here's an Example for a September Promotion:
Whoever sponsors the most people during the month of September will win a MacBook Pro. Second place will receive $500. Third place will win a $250 Amex Gift Card. You have to enroll at least two new members to qualify.
To eliminate individuals not feeling they have any chance to win because they are competing with other people who may be better than them, feel free to add a drawing into the mix. Anyone who simply gets at least two new people will be entered into a drawing. We'll be randomly drawing up to 10 people who will win $100 in cash just for qualifying by enrolling two.
That's the gist of something you could very easily do to incentivize new activity. Just be sure that whatever you are giving away is well within your personal budget. You don't want to promise anything that you can't deliver on.
The biggest backfire you could have would be running a contest and then not delivering on what was promised. That's one way to put your entire group on stall.
#14: Look for Rising Stars and Help Them Rise Even Higher.
At seminars I do, I talk about the whole idea of scouring through your genealogy report “looking for pockets of activity” and attaching yourself to people who you don't know yet who are doing big things. These are major assets on your team that you not only need to be aware of, but deeply connected to from this point forward.
Find people who are doing, who are active, who are building and reach out to them. Introduce yourself and offer your help. Be willing to work with them to help them advance their business to an even higher level.
#15: Show Them that you're Stepping Up your Personal Game.
I'd suggest regularly communicating to your network marketing team the things that you're personally doing to up your game! If you're reading a book that is helping you, share about it. If you attended an event or going through some type of coaching program, let your team know about it. When they see YOU stepping up your personal development game, they're more likely do to it as well.
If you're doing something for yourself, I'd even go as far as bringing other team members along with you for the ride. In fact, I've personally seen quite a bit of success firsthand in one of my own coaching programs I run. I do a 12-week Accountability Program where I've had many network marketing team leaders do it and invite several of their teammates to do it with them.
We recently did one of these and I had a woman with over 20 of her team members doing it with her. She called me back after the program was over raving about how much more growth she had during that quarter…which was directly attributed to having all those people run with her at the same time. There's one coming up in the near future if you're curious. You can see the details about my upcoming A-Team 12-Week Accountability Training Program right here.
