2 Easy Networking Skills To Resparking Them ~ and You

Your MLM Team Stalled?

You are not alone.

We join, get a few people in who get a few in, who get a few more it.

It’s going great.

It suddenly stalls.

Why?

We are working just as hard, harder even, putting in more hours, fixing more problems beautifully.  Reps are thanking us.  We know what to do about orders, back-office issues.  We’ve even become pretty good at dealing with personality issues…

But the volume and enrollments are flat.

How can this be?

Very cool book answers the question

Stan Slap’s new book, Bury My Heart at Conference Room B, has the answers.  Even though it’s written about Corp. America management issues, it’s spot on for an MLMer looking to improve their network marketing skills and their leadership abilities.

I knew why groups stalled 10 years ago; learned that one the hard way…way before this book.  but what a great read for people with vision who are honest about their own shortcomings.

Why?

Slap starts with you, and all MLMer’s whose groups ‘hit the wall’ need to start with themselves.

The problem is the same

Believe it or not, the problems companies have and their managers, you know the guys and gals who really serve as the liaison between company and sales force…the ones who ‘drive’ the people who will ‘drive the deal’ big-time, are exactly the same.

The good news the solution is easier to implement in network marketing, much easier.

Why?

A lot of the challenges corporate managers face, we don’t have.

They can get burdened with executive problems, higher-ups passing stuff down on them.  So their passion when they first get moved into management sparks people at first, but as they begin to make a difference and their ‘bosses’ trust them…they give them more responsibility.  That interrupts them doing great work with the field, their passion wanes, thus the title, Bury My Heart at Conference Room B.

The life gets sucked out them. Ouch.

No one does that to us.

That’s good news.

The bad news?

We do it…suck the life out of ourselves, lose our passion…and it duplicates with our emerging stars because…drum roll please…they will watch us and do what we do, especially if we are not calling potential prospects.

Let’s be honest…anyone who says they like prospecting has never really done it.

Problem/Solution and Resparking the Team

The Problem, and why it gets worse:

1. Manager or Leader?  You volunteered for the wrong job!

By the time we wonder why we’ve stalled with all the nice, hard-working people, we’re already so far away from leading and into managing we can’t see that is what has happened.

In corporate America they want people they promote to lead…then they burden them with management stuff.

Not us, not MLM companies and not your upline line.  You.  Me.

We all do it.  We start managing.  So do the handful of emerging leaders.

2. Denial

We complicate it by denying we are doing it.

We defend ourselves and complain about the lack of recruiting.

We can’t see the forest from the trees.

3. Reverse Duplication

Instead of teaching, we do for others.  Ego, wanting to (subconsciously avoid prospecting) help others, giving them a fish instead of teaching them to fish…yadda, yadda yadda…all leads to reverse duplication.

Reverse duplication is your time increasing in administrative nonsense and ‘office politics’ instead of talking to prospects.

The time we put into our business goes up, but the time spent on goal advancing, income-producing activities goes down.

Ut-Oh. 🙁

Add this to denial, and the problem gets worse.

4. We Make It Worse

We turn into do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do managers, pressuring our best people to recruit more…bad move.  We all do it.

Why?  Denial that the problem is us.  We believe if we did not take care of Mary’s missing shipment or Harry’s conflict with Sue, it will all collapse.  Ego.

The Solution and Resparking

1. Be a leader

My group stalling is poor leadership.  It might be great management but managers don’t build big businesses.

Deal with it.

Lead by example.

Stay action focus and be a Boy Scout.

Boy Scout?  Huh?

“Be prepared”

We all stall if we are not prepared.

How?

Store hours.

Put first things first, before emails, Mary’s order, Harry’s conflict with Sue.  Last thing at night make sure you took care of first things first today and prepare to it tomorrow.

Store hours.

Schedule your work and start with the one thing that drives an MLM.  No, not email, social networking or Fantasy Baseball.  Not problems people are having, not anything but helping others and/or yourself recruit new people for your group.

First things first…the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing, and it’s leading by example not administrative stuff or mending fences.  BTW, have you ever noticed most of the fence-mending is between people who are doing NOTHING!  Could be a clue.

Keep the main thing the main thing 80% of your time…and do it first.  Always.

Set aside an hour or two for the ‘stuff’ and take care of it last.

This is a network marketing skills that separates those who ‘almost’ make it and those who make it.

When your ‘store hours’ are done, don’t work.  Love your wife or husband, play catch with the kids…enjoy your life.

2. Connect values recruiting.

Slap’s got a great 4 step plan to do this.  Let me paraphrase him here.

Your group stalls because you’ve lost your passion.

So do this 4 step plan with your self, then with your leaders.

By connecting the primary task to what you really value, you re-ignite your passion.

Step One: Define the Better Place. In leader- speak, the Better Place is called “vision.” What is your vision?  Spend 10 minutes daily thinking about it.  Five before you start your store hours, five when you ‘close’ the store for the day.

Step Two: Back the better with the bitter. To encourage yourself and your people to dream of a Better Place, you must be very clear about the nightmare of their current reality.

Step Three: Give them something for the trip.  Rewarded behavior gets repeated.  Reward yourself and others along the way.  It could be as simple as a round of golf.  Mail handwritten cards about the dream others have to them…and to yourself!

Step Four: Connect it up to recruiting.

What does it look like when all the steps are put together?

It looks like you’ve got something that’s different, sensible and compelling.

And if every conversation ends with scheduling time to do 3-ways to prospects, you are leading.

Link recruiting to their dreams…and yours.

“I want to help you get the kids’ college paid, Harry,” while knowing, (feel it) if you get Harry what he wants, you’ll get what you want.

What it all revolves around is ‘connecting’ what you and others truly value.

Slap has a very cool, fast exercise I’ve just completed with 2 reps…wow…does it work.

FIRST: Make a list, then chop it

• Identify the 10 values that mean the most to you personally.
• Define the meaning of each of the 10 values you’ve chosen.
• Cut your list of 10 values to five.
• Cut your list of five to three.

Second: Think

Consideration – consider the influences.

• There’s an intimate connection between your emotions and your strong opinions about the way things ought to be.
• It’s impossible to separate your emotions from your values because one keeps influencing the other.
• The big question is, what influences both of them?

Third: Be Sure

• Confirm your choice.
• Be honest.
• It is much better to know that those values are not easily open to revision but are, instead, a true representation of your deepest beliefs.

Fourth: Connect

• Connect the moments of truth.
• One of the best ways to confirm your values is to understand where those values came from:
• Understand the moment, or moments, of truth that caused those values to become your personal priorities.

Fifth: Duplicate

• Do this with yourself
• Do it with your team
• Write their values down.
• Link their true values to their vision and to the task of recruiting
• Constantly

This 5-minute exercise works because it drives stalling out and dialing in.  If we re-connect our values and theirs to the task that increases business.

believe

mark januszewski

world’s laziest networker