Covey’s 8th Habit
The idea behind Covey’s 8th Habit is finding our voice. We’ve covered the bases about how to discover it, how to use it to create influence and how to declare intention, but to use our voice to activate our teams and get duplication is the bottom line.
There are just 4 little things we need to do to make that happen and it will drive your team into the sweet spot of duplication faster than anything I have discovered in 20 years.
These are 4 easy to manage disciplines for people who have found their voice.
These disciplines, along with some simple skills, vastly improve the teams ability to focus, express power and execute the top priority, recruiting.
1. Focus on the Wildly Important.
It is the nature of people to focus on one thing at a time and that is not always the one thing that will drive a business – talking to people. The more goals we set of the team, the less likely they will be achieved. Get everyone on the same page, the same goal, and the probability of that one thing getting accomplished goes up dramatically. In networking, people tend to want to do other things instead of contacting prospects which is where the money really is.
Teach and preach this mantra: “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing because it is the main thing.” The main thing is to contact prospects and invite them to review information.
The main thing is the wildly important thing. Focus on this one thing and keep your team focus on recruiting and don’t dilute it with other choices.
2. Create a Compelling Scoreboard
Athletes play differently in a game than in practice; they kick it up a notch. 
If winning was not important, why would they keep score? Winning is important and setting up a scoreboard for people to measure themselves and compete with others works. Offering incentives on a weekly or monthly basis (weekly seems to work better) for new reps and group that grows the most percentage-wise and having the results on a website is compelling.
Successful people tend to be competitive, recognition driven and team orientated. Seeing their name and picture up there is a big thing. Not seeing it up there is also a big thing. It brings out the best in people. Make it fun.
3. Translate Goals Into Specific Actions
The biggest mistake I see people make year in and year out is NOT connecting what someone wants to what they have to do to get it. There is no industry on the planet where what to do, specifically, is so clear.
We don’t need multitasking skills. People do not need to be magicians to build a big business. They just have to do one thing over and over. Simple.
Link talking to prospects to what they want and make sure you help them take inventory every week.
Inventory?
Simple. How many hours did you work last week? How many hours contacting prospects?
Keep this at 80+% and help them make sure that they are making 15 calls per hour – a nice pace for anyone. I aim for 20+ but 15 is a great number.
Breakdown what they need to do weekly into daily tasks.
4. Hold Each Other Accountable – All The Time
Accountability sessions are the only way to bind together the first 3 points.
The key here is understanding you have to be doing what you are asking them to do.
This, again the elegance of our industry, is so easy. No big committee meetings or any of that time-consuming stuff.
This can be done with a simple 60-second laser call where both people say what they are going to do and why and verify what they said they were going to do yesterday.
Might sound like this: “I am making 25 dials today to help get my husband off the road. Yesterday I said I would make 25 calls and I did, got 4 great prospects” The partner then does the same thing.
These 4 tiny steps turn Covey’s 8th Habit, finding our voice into a living force that duplicates.
It was these 4 actions that ended up being the bridge between a great idea and results.
believe
mark januszewski
You’d think if I heard this often enough, I’d get it….I know you’re right…..keep the main thing the main thing!
Great post Mark. Your right, we try to make the art of networking harder than what it really is, keeping it simple and straight forward is the way to go.