Network Marketing is All About People

Network marketing will always be a business about people. Some cynical recruiters might say it’s just a numbers game.You throw enough mud against the wall knowing that some will stick. A few network marketers view the business that way, and simply ignore prospects who don’t join right away, or who ask a lot of questions. I’m sure glad I’m not in a group with anyone who thinks that way.

Strictly working percentages and not considering the human factor isn’t the way to build a long-lasting and profitable network marketing business. People are not numbers – they’re humans who have dreams and desires just like you do.

Your job is to help them achieve the level of success they desire with their business. Some will desire just a part-time commitment and income to match. Others will aim for a full-time business to get them out of a job or career path that they dislike.

To help your downline associates achieve their goals, you must have a desire to be a mentor, and a willingness to patiently work with them. Sometime your downline associates just don’t grow and build up their business as fast as you think they should. Sometime they’ll start out right, then quit doing the things required to be successful.

Life events and changes sometime get in the way, even for our hardest working downline team members. Just treat each of them as an individual, and work with them to build their business at whatever pace is comfortable for them. Don’t give up if you feel someone moves too slowly. Work with them and encourage them to be the best they can be.

This is an underlying secret, one of the keys to ultimate long-term success in network marketing.

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A Tip for Finding the Up and Coming Leaders in Your MLM Downline

Once you get your MLM business going, you’ll start sponsoring and working with your new downline team. Realistically, we know that everyone you sponsor will not rise above the pack and become a leader. Not everyone you sponsor will really have the inward drive or desire necessary to become a leader in your MLM organization.

So, the question is, how can you figure out who really wants to learn and become a leader in MLM? If you ask your new MLM downline associates “Would you like to become a leader and build your MLM business big?”, most would probably say “YES!” How do you know who is both serious AND ready to lead, and who isn’t?

I heard a good tip once that has stuck with me. Some in your downline will be in “I wish” mode and not quite ready to break out right now, but their time may come later on. 

Here is one simple way to help identify those who are ready to become successful leaders in your group. 

Get your hands on a really good book that teaches principles that are important to success in network marketing and MLM. There are many good choices - ask your upline leaders what they recommend.

Choose a downline associate who has indicated a strong interest in developing a successful MLM business. Ask them to obtain a copy of the book and read it. Tell them you will follow up in a week to discuss how the principles in the book can help them build a profitable business. Be sure you have read and started to apply the principles in the book to your own MLM business.

If your downline associate takes the book are reads it, you may have a future leader on your hands! This is a good indicator that this associate is willling to put in the time and effort necessary to become a leader. Work with this person closely.

If they show little interest in reading the book or put it off, perhaps the time is just not right for them. Don’t give up on them at this point, just understand that people will develop into leaders on their own timetable, not ours.

When I first started in MLM, two classic books were recommended to me. One of them was “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles. First written way back in 1910, this book is considered timeless and I have seen a number of network marketing leaders recommend it to their downline. Another one is the all time classic “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

The principles in these books have stood the test of time, and are good resources for anyone seeking to learn how to make money and enjoy success in MLM and network marketing. Both are available online free (or for a minimal cost) and should be part of everyone’s success library.

Can You Really Motivate Your MLM Downline?

Starting your new MLM business is really exciting. Even if you’re a veteran in the MLM industry, I’m sure you remember how it was.

You go through your group’s MLM training program. You get fired up and sponsor a few people. Then, at some point, you do a reality check. You ask the burning question. Is anyone I sponsored doing anything yet?

Unfortunately, sometime in the early stages of your business, the answer is no. This can really be discouraging, especially when you’re first starting out.

What is motivation? Dictionary.com defines it like this:

the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; “we did not understand his motivation”; “he acted with the best of motives”

True motivation actually comes from within a person. You can try to “motivate” someone, but perhaps it is better thought of as “encouraging” them. When we encourage our downline, it helps their own internal motivation to come alive and get stronger.

Starting and building an MLM business is a voluntary activity (nobody HAS to get up in the morning and do it, unlike they do with a job). Thus, a person’s motivation must be intensely personal. Inspiration to action must come from deep within. There must be a “why” in place that really means something.

So, what can you do to help raise a downline associate’s level of self-motivation to work their business? Assuming they have a desire, but have just been unable to get moving, here is how you can help.

Help them recall why they signed up in the first place. Maybe they had a vague idea - they wanted to “make some extra money”. Once the initial excitement of doing something new has faded, maybe they can’t get fired up enough to move forward with a goal that hazy. Help them discover how much money they’d really like to earn, and what they would do with it that really means something. Help them come up with specific goals for their MLM business that they feel excited about.

What is important to your downline associate? Is it money to pay off some bills, get a new car, or maybe build a dream home someday? Is it a desire to quit a job? Give money to help their church or favorite charity? People often start MLM businesses and other money-making ventures with really good intentions. Help them drill down and find out what is really important, and how building their MLM business can help.

The idea is to help your valuable downline member get past the inertia and light a fire inside that will motivate them to action. Think about your own business, and what your own internal motivations are. Let your downline friend and associate know you care, and are sincerely interested in their success.

Get Your MLM Downline Fired Up!

I’d like to share a secret today that will help you get your MLM downline fired up and motivated to build their business.

First, let’s assume that everyone in your downline (except those who joined just to get products at discount) is motivated to make money. Let’s also assume that you’ve been helping them learn how to work their business.

Would you like to know a little secret that will get your downline team motivated and anxious to move their business forward?

What is lacking so much in network marketing today is real leadership. Good leaders recognize the value of each associate in their group, and give them what all of us are hungry for - praise and recognition. Think about it for a minute - if an upline leader praises your accomplishments and efforts, no matter how small they may seem, doesn’t it help fire you up to do more?

You can help build a stronger, more motivated MLM downline team by doing two things.

• recognize and praise those who are moving forward and having success
• encourage those who are struggling, but sincerely trying to get things going

When a downline associate sponsors someone, give them a call and congratulate them. People really appreciate this and like to be noticed. Always remember - while they are in business to make money for themselves, they also realize that YOU will make money from their efforts as well. This is why supporting and acknowledging them is so important. 

When a new downline associate seems to be struggling, look for a reason to praise their efforts. Just a call to offer help and encouragement goes a long way.

Create an email newsletter you can send to everyone once a month. List top achievers in sponsoring, sales, and any other category you want. People enjoy being recognized where others can see what they’ve achieved.

There is a lot you can do to motivate and encourage your MLM downline. Remember, no matter how much technology is developed and implemented, MLM is still a people business and a personal touch is vital to success.

Leaders - What to Teach Your Downline First

Network marketing leaders - when your new downline associates first come on board, they are enthusiastic and ready to go. It is up to you to provide them with guidance and leadership.

If they are new to network marketing (or had little success in past ventures), encourage them to learn the basics first. It is important for them to learn how to prospect and sponsor before venturing into unknown waters (such as building a business online).

Going online is considered by many the way to go these days. Many new network marketers come in and immediately want to build their business online. I think building a business online is great, because you can contact many more potential prospects over time. However, I have some reservations about trying to get started online right away.

I recommend that new network marketers learn the business locally by working with prospects they already know (the “warm market”). This allows them to work on presentation skills and sponsoring in an environment where they will get valuable feedback. Warm market friends and contacts are likely to offer constructive and helpful comments, and ask many questions that the new networker needs to learn how to answer.

Once they have the basics down and have successfully sponsored a few local distributors, then the time is right to move online. They will be much better prepared at this point.

Consider the advantages of having new associates start out with their warm market.

• They can more easily make a connection and a presentation with someone they know
• Their prospect knows them, or was referred to them by a friend, and will be open to listening
• They will have actual products that the prospect can see and possibly try - a huge advantage
• Their prospect, being a friend, will likely ask questions and offer feedback that others won’t

The bottom line is that networker marketers working online will still need to talk to their prospects and go through essentially the same steps they would with a local prospect. To be best prepared for online sponsoring, it is better that they learn the fundamentals locally in their warm market first.

Avoid Dwelling on Your MLM Prospects

It often happens, especially when you are new to MLM and network marketing. You are really excited and anxious to start sponsoring…and you find a few prospects.

Suddenly, you begin to feel like you MUST sponsor these prospects. You don’t have many to fall back on, so the importance of sponsoring each one is magnified.

I have a downline associate who became very disappointed when a promising prospect decided to delete themselves from our followup system. To say the least, this associate was crushed because she had put so much emphasis on sponsoring this particular individual.

After speaking with her, I wrote this brief email to summarize what we talked about.

Hi Michelle,

I understand how badly you wanted to sponsor Mr. Johnson. I know you are disappointed because he told you he would be joining as soon as he received his tax rebate check. It seems strange that he deleted himself from our followup system a week later.

Many times, we have prospects who are really not ready to start a home business. They might be looking more for a guaranteed income (like a part time job). They may need money now and can’t wait to build up an income. Sometime, they feel bad about telling you “no”, so they come up with an excuse to wait until later. Then, they either delete themselves as Mr. Johnson did, or simply refuse to answer your phone calls or emails any longer.

Please remember that your business does not depend on any one person. While you don’t have that many prospects in your pipeline right now, your goal is to work consistently and diligently each day to increase this number. Once you have a good number of prospects who are receiving followups, you will find that you start sponsoring people on a regular basis. Until then, I know it is hard not to focus on sponsoring each individual, sort of in a “life or death” sense. Don’t worry, it will get much easier. Just focus on introducing your business to others, and everything will fall into place.

Talk to you soon,

Eldon

Encourage and Support Your Downline Associates - Three Quick Tips

Have you encouraged your downline associates lately? Because network marketers are so motivated to recruit and sponsor, it is easy to slip and forget to give attention to your most valuable assets - the people who are already on your team. It is important to contact them from time to time and offer encouragement. Recognition. Nobody likes to sign up and be left all alone.

Independent and Motivated

Some of your downline members may seem very self-motivated and, frankly, not much in need of your attention. The fact is, though, even the most motivated and independent business builder on your team needs to know you appreciate them. They need to know that you recognize their achievement and are standing behind them completely. Everyone appreciates recognition.

Encouraging Your Group

Here are three simple, easy ways to support and encourage your group.

1) Pick up the phone and call them. In our fast-paced world, more and more network marketers are trying to go electronic. By “go electronic”, I mean using email as virtually the only means of communication. Or, using autoresponder sequences as your primary training tool.

I believe it means more in this day and time to receive a personal phone call than ever before. So many won’t bother to do this. You can make a difference in your group if you take time for personal communication. A phone call just to say “hello” and offer your time to help with their business is priceless.

2) Consider publishing a regular newsletter that goes to everyone in your group. In your newsletter, talk about what’s new and offer business building tips. Most important - establish some sort of recognition for the achievers in your downline.

You can have a “Top 10 in Personal Sponsoring” for the month, and other achievement categories as well. You can welcome each new member of your downline by name. Granted, this is a lot of work, but can be an excellent way to keep in touch - particularly when you have a larger group.

3) Watch for activity that shows an associate (especially someone who is new) is doing the right things. When you see that one of your downline people has just sponsored someone, pick up the phone and congratulate them. Offer your support. This tells them you are noticing them - and it goes a long way toward encouraging them to keep on rolling.

This is the key. Don’t forget to encourage and recognize your downline associates for their achievements. Even the little things. It will make a big difference in your business.