NETWORK MARKETING LEADERS… Inspire Greatness or Cater to Mediocrity, That Is The Question

In 2000 I wrote the article below.  I am so glad everyone got the message LOL.  Many “Leaders” today  have become politically correct WIMPS that listen to their TEAM MEMBERS go on, and on and on about the same challenges they were having six months ago.  They really don’t know how to challenge and inspire people so instead of telling them the truth, they listen to the same people with the same problems until someone comes along with a little better product or comp plan and “raids their downline.”  Wimpy leaders have their downlines raided. True leaders have no fear telling people the truth.

I understand that to some, the word ‘leader’ in network marketing means someone that at some point achieved a certain title or income. However, in the real world leadership means someone who DEVELOPS other leaders and not someone who spends hours on the phone talking to the same people about the same problems they had six months ago.  At some point you have to say, “don’t call me back until you listen to the CD or read the book I mailed you, and then we can talk about this.”  Your time is the most valuable asset you have.  A major mistake network marketing leaders have been making for years is spending too much time with the wrong people and not enough time with the right people.  If the people you have now are not going to take you where you want to go, FIND NEW ONES!

In the late nineties I wrote a booklet called WHY THE MASSES OF NETWORK MARKETERS ARE FRUSTRATED, CONFUSED AND DON’T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THEY ARE DOING.  Since I wrote that booklet, my understanding & realization is that the majority of network marketing  leaders, or those with leadership titles in the comp plan, didn’t need the CD or book.  They didn’t have to personally overcome the challenge of fear of the phone, fear of rejection and the many other challenges most people have to overcome. So they don’t even realize that there are tools and books in the market that really can help that person get over whatever challenge they are facing.

They tell people on their team to “hang in there” hoping they will stay on autoship one more month and the call is ended with no resolve, no game plan, just two good yet clueless people – one with a leadership title and the other who needs someone to listen to their problems. Network marketing is a leadership development business!  How are these two people ever going to move forward from where they are now?

This relationship continues until the “Leader’s downline gets raided”.  Real leadership challenges people and gives them the tools to move forward.  They don’t tolerate stagnation in themselves or their team.  I could talk hours about this subject and have over the years.

LEADERS NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS:  We are less likely to perform at our Peak Potential when we accept Mediocrity (ie. Low Lying fruit.  The hurdles and fears your team members are confronted with are always the same.  The question is, what are you going to do about it?

Another pep talk and crossing your fingers is not a good plan and a waste of everybody’s time!

Make a list of the 10 most common hurdles people reach.  Then put together a list of the top 10 3rd party tools to help people move past those fears and hurdles (Books and CD’s).  Ask your struggling team member to listen to or read the info, and then call you back.  This was the way I approached Leadership Development my entire career.  Just think about this approach.  Doesn’t that save everybody time, emotion, energy and really address the core issues?  Network marketing at its roots is a personal development program with a compensation plan attached.  Just saying…

The sad truth is many leaders need to BE THE ONE that motivates Jane & Joe, and gets them back on track. That’s the real problem – it is in the mirror.  Just because you have a leadership title of Triple Diamond Crown with a Ruby in the Center doesn’t make you a leader.  Motivation is only a temporary fix.  Real leaders get to the core issues, what I call Hurdles, and help people jump those hurdles and progress forward.  Network marketing is not about “getting them in.”  It is about Keeping Them In and helping them move forward!

I hope this gives you something to really think about today.  I have been posting a lot more consistently lately, and that is going to change.  I am going to shoot for one post a week that will really make you think, and probably piss somebody off.  My intention is not to upset, it is to provoke thought.

If you find this type of information valuable, check out the recorded webinar at THE MLM TRAINING CLUB and follow me on periscope @TheMLMMinute.com.

Inspire Greatness

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