Is there a difference between becoming a Top Producer in your company and a Top Leader? Most say no, of course not. They are wrong, let’s prove it. That is why the majority of six-figure earners ultimately fail and leave the profession.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The network marketing business model has been around since 1932.  I find it horrifying that at this point in history as a collective group, we still haven’t figured out how to make it work.

The network marketing business model should be leading the entrepreneurial awakening that is happening around the world.

How many great people have you seen come into the industry and go full-time that today are not even involved in the profession?

The majority of people who created a full-time income in this profession worked very hard, took thousands of phone calls, worked with hundreds of ungrateful people. The network marketing climb to the top is brutal for 97% of the population. 

But so is the climb in any business.  The difference is network marketing offers a lifestyle beyond any other business model in the world. When you do it right, the positive impact you have on other people is beyond any other profession in the world.

Every day I am more convinced that doing it right is foreign to 99% of the people involved in the profession.  They know that what they are doing is not working, but they don’t know what else to do.  For some strange reason, the profession seems content to repeat the mistakes of the past as long as they are comfortable and those with leadership titles feel like they are working hard. 

Most of us understand that 70% of the population is going to die broke, blaming others for their lack of success, not just financially but in all areas of life, don’t we?  That is a sad, but real truth.  It has nothing to do with lack of opportunity and everything to do with negative programming that they cannot or will not work through.

Those people are not my concern, it is what it is, and I choose not to focus on that which I can do nothing about.  My concern is for those that have worked hard, reached the top, and then leave the profession.

How can this happen?

It is because they never had or were taught what I call The Leadership Development Paradigm Shift.  I have no doubt if you are reading this article right now, and you are not a member of our MLM Training Club the probability is high that you have never had this shift either.

Why the fact that so many six figure earners throw in the towel is not horrifying to gurus, company owners and leaders is something I simply don’t understand.

How can a profession that is built upon the concept of duplication experience so little duplication?   I believe it is because people are more focused on becoming top producers than they are top leaders!

Network marketing is the most challenging, yet the most rewarding business models in the world.  However, I am convinced that we make it much harder than it is for four reasons.

1) Never having what I call “The Leadership Development Paradigm Shift.”

2)  Lack of patience & consistent activity than can be duplicated

3) Lack of “beginning with the end in mind” THOUGHT.

4) The allure of hitting the lottery with the next Big Deal.

Name a business model someone builds from the ground up.

Real Estate Broker
Restaurant Owner
Hair Salon Owner
Insurance Agency

It doesn’t matter.  What percent of people that start at the bottom and build their business to a full-time income are no longer in that business in 5 years?

Most have expanded and added new locations and leaders to their teams, right?   The couple now has 5 Italian Restaurants plus their original location.  We have seen this type of expansion play out over and over for those that “make it” in traditional business.

But not with the network marketing business model!  Five years from the day you hit the magical six-figure income the odds are greater you will be out of the industry than have expanded your team and your income.

Why?

The reason is that people start with the wrong mindset from the beginning of their career!  They are thinking about and taught to become a top producer (income earner) and not about becoming a top leader.  Aren’t top producers and top income earners the same thing Dale?   Not in the real world my friend.  This is a distorted concept that to my knowledge only exist within the network marketing business model.

Oh yes, there is a major difference. Unfortunately, many company leaders and owners reward the wrong short term activities. 

Based upon the actions I have seen over and over throughout the past 35+ years, I am convinced that as a profession we have no idea what the real definition of leadership is.  Yes, that goes for everybody, especially ownership and top producers in the field.  Let me rephrase that yes, of course we know what leadership is, but we think that it is something different as it relates to our industry.

I wrote about this nearly 20 years ago in a booklet titled Why the Masses of Network Marketers are Frustrated, Confused and Don’t have a Clue What they Are Doing.  Honestly, the information covered in this booklet is more valuable for people to grasp today than when it was written. (More info at http://www.MLMMasses.com)

We call people leaders who have reached a specific title in the comp plan.  That person is normally not  a leader.  Most of the time we are talking about a producer who has learned how to rally together a lot of followers. We all know how long this is going to last, don’t we?

MLM GURU/COACH LEADERS

We call gurus leaders because they are making a lot of money.  The real question is how are they making their money?  Extracting as much money as they can from unsuspecting newbies, telling them what they want to hear, is not my definition of leadership.  What do you think?  We all know this is what is really going on. Teaching people to promote the gurus lead platform, or blogging course instead of focusing on growing their real business is a game that has been played for the last several years.  It is one of the reason the profession is on a down hill trend as we talked about in detail in the free online training at:  A CRITICAL MESSAGE TO NETWORK MARKETING PROS.

Brian Tracy said it best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have done research on the words Top Producer and Leaders.

 

The only information I could find online relating to being a top producer came from the real estate profession and those that produce plays, music, etc.

How did this term even become part of the network marketing profession?

Is the goal to really become a top producer, or a well respected, confident leader? 

The only way to become a confident leader is to understand how to systematically develop teams.  Teams are made up of people; people learn systematically as every well-run franchise has documented and proven.  However, as an industry, we continue to search for those that can create a following and gravitate towards those that can teach us how to attract the sheep.   I don’t know about you, but when I was building the last thing I wanted on my team were sheep!  I was looking for cubs I could help become lions.

I guess when you don’t have the systems in place to create lions it is just easier to work with sheep than change into a lion developer, after all, you are “top producer.”

There are multiple definitions and insights on the word leadership, most of which apply in some way within the network marketing profession.

: someone or something that leads others: such as

a.: someone who guides other people

• He acted as our leader [=guide] on the climb.

 

c: a powerful person who controls or influences what other people do: a person who leads a group, organization, country, etc.

 

Since 1983 I have been yelling at the top of my voice to anyone that would listen.

You are in the leadership development businessClick To Tweet

Some of you are thinking Dale, who the heck are you?  Why should I be listening to someone talking about leadership when most of the gurus, company leaders, corporate officers, etc. are always talking about me getting three, so mine is free or become a top producer on the leader board, etc.

I understand, I have been at this since 1980 and talking about leadership development since 1983 when I had my personal “Leadership Development Paradigm Shift.”  Many top producers would rather stay comfortable than deal with facts and take on the task of leadership development.   I get it, but I can tell you that the shift has started.  It is far from a movement or rebellion at this point, but that is coming.

George Madiou of The Network Marketing Magazine has started “The 27% Club.”  You see the term 27% being used by more and more people, and the first time this idea was introduced to the profession was in the Masses booklet in the mid-nineties. 

It is what it is.  People are sick of the Fu Fu dust that has been propagated throughout this industry.  They are ready for real leaders teaching real systems based on proven track records and wisdom of the ages principles!

Listen, name a generic teacher, a leader at the top of your company, anyone you believe to be a leader at any capacity in the profession.

Do you have someone in your mind?  Now ask yourself are they a leader or a top producer?

At the top of every company, you find these six types of people who are thought of as leaders.  Please understand, I am not saying they are bad people, they are great people for the most part and would support their team to the point that they will eventually burn out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I talk about these six types of people and get heavy into this secret in the free recorded training here:  www.DaleCalvert.com/lost

 

I have been doing this for 37 years this October.  I don’t have a dog in the hunt. (Opportunity to Promote)   I love the profession, but I hate what it has become.

 

It is horrifying to me that after nearly 75 years the greatest opportunity in the history of the world that gives average people with above average desire the opportunity to create generational wealth is so misunderstood and diluted, NOT BY THOSE OUTSIDE THE INDUSTRY BUT BY THOSE INSIDE IT!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we were developing our team, we developed more 5-6-7 figure earners on our personal team than any generic teacher or trainer in the world today.  So whoever you were just thinking about, I understand more about developing network marketing leaders than they do. Not based upon my words, but my track record. I understand that if you don’t know me that statement sounds very egotistical, but really I say that from 100% humility.  I was a 20 year old kid from a small Kentucky town that had none of the skill sets or mindsets to build a network marketing team. How did I grow an organization to over 60,000 people that did over 100 million dollars in product sales?  Because like you, I was able to systematically learn and teach other average people how to take responsibility and move forward.   I sincerely wish there was another teacher or trainer that I would feel comfortable sending my grand kids to to learn the proper way to build this business, but there isn’t.  It is what it is.  I am not saying generic network marketing coaches are bad people most are wonderful people; there are only a couple of narcissist I am aware of. 

Here is the bottom line. At age 53 I had a couple of heart attacks. At age 55 after a tremendous amount of thought, prayer, and conversation with those I respect I realized that when I started in network marketing as a snot-nosed 20-year-old kid, I was given a gift that 99.999% of network marketing world was never given.

On my full-time job, I had the opportunity to listen to audios on a Walkman for 8 hours daily while working my full-time job. 

If you listened to 2 hours of training every day, it would take you 14 years to consume the same amount of content I was blessed to have consumed during my first three years.

Today I realize it gave me a different perspective, insight, awareness, whatever you choose to call it than most people will ever be given.

I have operated Network Marketing Support Services Inc. since the mid-nineties, but it has never been my focus until August of 2015.  That is when we started conducting our free weekly generic webinars, our weekly podcasts, etc.

Because it was at that time, I understood that I see this profession from a different colored lens than 99% of the population and my track record of developing leaders systematically confirms I UNDERSTAND HOW TO INCREASE an INDIVIDUALS ODDS FOR SUCCESS at a level that most Top Producers really have no interest in understanding.

It is not that they are bad people, or that they don’t want to help and support, they just haven’t traveled the road I have traveled.

Why do I share this?

Because if you have read to this point in the article, then something I have said has resonated with you.  When I said earlier, it is time for disruption, I meant it!  The good news is there are people all over the world that I communicate with that feel the same way and the numbers are going to continue to grow.

In the real world, a Top Producer mentality can never compete with a Top Leader mentality.

I don’t care if you have been around the profession for 40 years, or if you are a newbie, I hope that the concept of Top Producer or Top Leader is something that will stay with you.  From this point on I hope when you hear the word Top Producer you throw up in your mouth a little. 🙂 not really, but I hope you will understand the difference and think my goal is leadership.

If you are the type of person that enjoys challenging yourself and your real upside potential you should subscribe to our podcast. You can learn more by cking here.

If this is your 5^th or 6^th visit to our website and you realize that my content is Fu Fu dust free and you want to learn more about who we are and the awesome leaders and future leaders we work with then www.TheMLMTrainingClub.com is a good place to start.

I appreciate your time, remember the teaching is in the words, but the learning is in the silence.  Take some time and think about Top Producer – Top Leader. My hope and prayer is that you will have “The Leadership Development Paradigm Shift” sooner rather than later.

Every week I talk with people that were on this path 5, 10, 15 years ago and then got sucked into the Fu Fu dust and drank the Attraction Marketing Kool-Aid, which is an entirely different subject that I have talked about in multiple podcasts.

Here is what I know, if you make it in the network marketing profession and achieve your full potential, at some point in your career you will have to return to the Leadership Development Philosophy.  My hope is that you embrace this now to prevent you from wasting years and having the necessity to revisit it later in your career or worse, die the painful death of many six-figure earners and top producers that have gone before you.