Seasons

What do you do when your business endeavor is “out of season?”

“Preach the word; be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”  2nd Timothy 4:2

Other sayings:

• “When it’s easy work it easy and when it’s hard work it hard.” Charlie Ragus
• “Circle of Life.”  Charlie Ragus
• “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Joe Kennedy
• The Dip: “It’s easy to be a CEO. What’s hard is getting there.”  Seth Godin (I might add:  “Unless you’re the owners kid or some other person with an inside track!”)  However, it may not be so easy staying there.
  

Seth Godin has a little book called The Dip that I would suggest to new Network Marketing people.  Why?  Because The Dip is coming–it’s just a given!

My wife has a Distributor in Kansas that just sent an email: “We need more training!” That’s often heard in this business and it shouldn’t be a discouragement but a real encouragement. Why? Because this person is in the game and struggling to make it work.

If it was the middle of Winter would you go out and plant your crops or seeds?  Timing is important isn’t it?  You might want to plow the ground out of season (training).  Or, if you’re coaching you might be at the training camp:  “Working on your story!”

In this business we train or teach duplication.  However, our mentors in Tulsa (Todd and Donna) were not duplicatable in many respects in their knowledge of the business, charisma, and the fact that they had a “training center” offered to the Distributors in the area free of charge.  Even so, we were lucky (timing) in that they had achieved Diamond Distributorship (huge momentum) and were at the top of their game when we came into the business.  In fact, the founder requested they run the company if he passed away.

What did I observe and learn about all this NON-duplication?

The “message” is duplicatable and our “example” is duplicatable and “the environment” is duplicatable.

The reason I’ve categorized this article as ‘Building Structure” relates to that last point: “Environment.” Often, people can’t stay in the game because they aren’t duplicating the environment (momentum).  A consistent structure for new people to “plug into” and see the excitement (momentum) and bring other new people “to feel the energy in the room.” This is where new people can come and “ride the wave” and let the momentum (environment) build their business.

It’s not so much that people can’t learn the business they can’t maintain momentum!

Be extremely urgent or diligent “in season” because the dip is coming!

Involvement – Why Ideas Spread

Do you ever get bored with the 24/7 news channels and the way they are structured?

You turn on the TV and there are the same old “players” giving you the news in the same old format with the same old commentators.  After a short period of time you’ve heard just about everything they know–way more than twice.  And so, you click and find someone you can half way stomach for the duration of a show (keep clicking the channels).  Wouldn’t it be great if you could readily “read the audience” and know when they turn off?

Involvement will be a big part of the success of your new MLM business.

Involvement is key to the success of MLM because this is exactly how MLM spreads.  MLM spreads like a virus from cell-to-cell and when involvement stops often the MLM stops.  “People” spread the word about your products.

For whatever reasons, I generally don’t watch certain commentators that “manage” a show because they can’t stop talking.  They run over their guest with their words.  Well, after all it is their show isn’t it?  What if I happened to click through and notice someone else that’s interesting to listen to?  Someone that was allowed to speak without constant interruption.  Perhaps I would listen to the show.

Commentators come and go even if it may take a while.  When you think of yourself as a leader think of yourself as a facilitator.  You are the person that allows the ideas and interaction to smoothly take place.

The people you bring into the business are important and once the commentator favorites (favoritism) wears thin the conversation will stop and your new business will begin to die.

The reason people become “charismatic” is because it’s “not about them” or their favorite few.

Remember, MLM is a conversation taking place (word-of-mouth) and that involves a lot of different people.

Vision Sabotage

You are a Champion!

Attack It–Criticize and Sabotage The Vision, by John Maxwell, The 360 ° Leader:

“Not everyone is going to buy into the vision of an organization, even if it is compelling, and even if the leader does a fantastic job of communicating it. That’s just a fact, and it isn’t always because the people are bad followers. Take a look at the most common reasons people fail to adopt a worthy vision:

THEY DIDN’T HELP CREATE IT. Let’s face it. Most people don’t like change, and whenever someone begins casting a new vision, change is inevitable. I used to think that leaders liked change and followers didn’t. But as I’ve gained maturity, I’ve come to realize that leaders don’t like change any more than followers do–unless, of course, it’s their idea!

People’s attitudes toward change are different when they help create it. Participation increases ownership. When you’re an owner, you see things differently. You step up. You take better care of whatever it is. If you doubt that, answer this question. When was the last time you waxed a rental car? It just doesn’t happen. People are up on things that they’re in on.

THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND IT. People don’t buy into a vision that they don’t understand. It just doesn’t happen. And just because leaders have cast a vision in a clear and compelling manner, doesn’t mean that their people really understand it. Different kinds and styles of communication don’t connect equally for everybody.

Ken Blanchard once asked Max DePree, author of Leadership Is an Art, what he thought the leader’s role was in an organization. DePree said, ‘You have to act like a third-grade teacher. You have to repeat the vision over and over and over again until the people get it.’ And if a leader is really wise, she communicates it in many ways, in many settings, using many methods.

THEY DON’T AGREE WITH IT. Some people react negatively to a vision because they think it’s impossible to achieve. Others–though it happens much less often–because they think it’s too small. Still others balk because the vision has changed since the time they originally signed on. But more often than not, the real issue has more to do with the leader. If people disagree with the vision, it’s often because they have a problem with the person who cast it. The Law of Buy-In found in the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership says that people buy into the header, then the vision.

If they believe in the leaders, then they embrace what those leaders believe in. Even when their leaders promote a vision that isn’t compelling, the people who have already bought into them continue to support them. However, this variation on the Law of Buy-In is also true: No matter how good the vision is, if people don’t believe in the leader, they will have problems buying in to the vision.“

“You are the message–Every message that people receive is filtered through the messenger who delivers it. If you consider the messenger to be credible, then you believe the message has value” John Maxwell

The End…

You are a Champion!

I have taken you through the “process” and we have achieved MOMENTUM!

What is momentum? If you will look at the word Momentum the key word is MOMENT!

A moment may be a championship game and the Energy is in the Room! Many of us have experienced it and can recognize it when we see it. It is the top of the Pyramid! Wooden called it “Competitive Greatness.”

If you will go back a few articles you will see an article called Pyramid and is just an example of going through a process. Obviously, this was a very successful process for coach John Wooden (it worked for him and his teams). Please understand, there is not just one business model to success otherwise you wouldn’t have what we call “competitors.”

For me, momentum is the outward manifestation (appearance or moment) of the inner man. It’s the example and legacy you leave for others. It’s the lives you have touched with your efforts.

The End is Beginning…

Dr. Myles Munroe in his book The Principles and Power of Vision says this: “When do you start building a house? Is it when you dig the foundation? Essentially, you begin building whenever the idea for the house is conceived. The finished house is still in the unseen; other people pass by the property, and they don’t see it. However, to you, who understand and know what is going to happen, the house is already finished. Digging the foundation is simply the beginning of bringing your purpose to pass.Therefore, after you dig the foundation, and somebody asks you, ‘What are you doing?’ your answer is very definite. You point to the architect’s rendering of the house and say, ‘I am building this.’”

In Network Marketing you are the general contractor of your building. You begin the house and the steps keep you busy all the way through to completion. It starts with your purpose or plan to build. The plan is the three star gold blueprint you will find in these articles.

Begin to build…

“A vision, by itself, is merely a fantasy seeking commitment.” Dick Richards

Tongue Control

You are a Champion!

There is no better topic on becoming a good leader and “keeping” the organization and structure you have established. In just seconds your tongue can tear down months and years of work. In fact, even companies and churches are destroyed because of the lack of tongue control by the leaders. Proverbs 12:18, “There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.”

“The tongue should speak life not death!” Todd Cash.

A rule established by the founder of our company and mentioned in leadership meetings and training is this, “If it is not necessary to say it is necessary not to say.”

“Look, I am fully aware that my public image is–how can I put this?–that of a cantankerous guy who rants up and down the sidelines screaming at people and smashing headsets.  But that’s what you saw on Saturday–although that’s also pretty much how I acted at practice during the week, too.

But what you didn’t see was how we talked to each other during the week–my coaches, my players, my staff.  I’m telling you right now:  You can NOT be a leader unless you like people! You’ve got to spend time with them, so you can know them.  You’ve got to be interested in who they are, what they do away from the job, and how they think.

If you do not like people, you will not take the time to get to know them, and if you don’t get to know them, you will have no idea what scares them, what inspires them, what motivates them.  If you don’t listen to what your people have to say, you will not know when they have a problem with you–and you will not know when you have a problem with them, either.

My players listened to me for one very simple reason:  I listened to them!

Without that, they really have no reason to respect you, and they will not follow you.  Because they know you really don’t care.“  Bo Schembechler, Michigan Wolverines

99.9% of the time if we have a failure in life it is going to be because we don’t have the wisdom to keep silent. Of course, this will be harder for some personality types than others. I remember a high school coach being asked by a student why he had a black eye and this was his response: “I was talking when I should have been listening.”

Always think about this when you speak: “What is the reason for this comment and what “great thing” will it accomplish.” Well, you say: “Talk about going overboard!” No, there is a time to speak and this is so important that I am adding double emphasis. See my article Born on Third Base regarding (20) Habits we need to stop.

If you become a leader in any organization you will start to become aware of the “dirty laundry.” This goes triple if you are part of the core of a church. Why do I make that comment? No matter how dedicated and how hard we may strive at being better in life there will be failure (sometimes big failures). All organizations struggle with this daily.

It’s important to know about the rumbling in your organization and this is different from gossip or language that tears down the structure. We have to have an open door of communication but there should be rules. Also, if you want to be kept in the loop and informed be sure and be known as a person that keeps confidence and controls the tongue. My wife and I were in a leadership meeting and a VP, no longer in the company, was sharing some comments about another leader. The problem with the comments was this: “We know that leader better than them and the comments were not welcome.” By a few choice and polite words my wife let the person know that these comments were not welcome. That particular leader, being talked about, was a major reason that the company had its success and was well respected and liked by many. This tears down what has already been established so why is it being said?

Stay out of the personal affairs and problems of your Distributors! You are not their Doctor, etc. This is a business. A friend can ask for help and that’s OK. A good example comes to my mind right now. My wife, and a downline Distributor in another state, decided they needed to deal with a personal problem that was hurting the business. An upline Sponsor was suing one of her downline Sponsors and this person was a serious producer. We were thinking that this situation was really bad for business and needed to be addressed. That was a mistake, because the person was suing for a real reason and the person we were trying to protect wasn’t worth protecting and no longer in the business. Think long and hard about meddling in someones affairs. Also, you might want to go with the core values instead of the money.

Know your audience! Rick Warren, “At Saddleback Church we do not expect unbelievers to act like believers until they are. We do not expect visitors in the crowd to act like members of the congregation. We expect very little from the seeker who is investigating the claims of Christ. We simply say, as Jesus did in his first encounter with the disciples, “Come and see!” We invite unbelievers to check us out, to see for themselves what the church is all about.”

“It’s not about lowering standards or watering-down the message
but starting where people are.”

Promotion versus Training:

The art of promotion is a big factor in the creation of our goal (momentum). Serious training is done with the “core” group, or a session called TRAINING. This is not for the person who knows nothing about the business or the product. THIS IS A PROCESS!

If you are trying to sell someone on the products or the business why would you have someone as a speaker who doesn’t even know how to make that discernment or pick a topic? A good leader controls the meeting! Remember, “Organizing, Directing, and Controlling?”

Layers of Conviction

You are a Champion!

We call follow-up and continuing someone through the process Layers of Conviction or Layering.

Have you ever built a house as a general contractor? My wife and I have and it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, it was long process with many logical steps. I’m going to give you several examples in this article to make my point.

Selling people some products or recruiting people into the business is one thing. Taking people through a process is a whole different game that will require a lot of layering.

What’s Layering and how many Layers?

It all depends. Why? If I’m selling you a bar of soap it doesn’t take much layering. You have probably experienced soap before and have probably even taken a bath or two. When you buy my soap you will either like it, and buy it again, or you won’t like it and move on to another product. If I am a marketer of soap I may want to understand why you moved on. If I am a retail clerk in the store or selling on the Internet I could really care less. Unfortunately, a lot of so-called Network Marketers are like the clerk in the store. They will sell enough soap until it sticks to someone (repeat customer or a somehow business builder). If that’s what I was being “paid” to do that’s what I would do too.

However, what I am interested in is residual income and not just to sell you on the products or the opportunity. If I wasn’t interested in residual income (please believe me) I wouldn’t be doing Network Marketing! I want to live in this building a long time “rent free.”

In my opinion, Network Marketing is more along the line of looking for a spouse, learning to play “a good game” of golf, or building a house. I’ve already talked about building a house so let’s look at dating with the idea of getting married.

I ask you out on a first date and of course I put my best foot forward. I’m saying and doing all the right things so that you will be impressed with what a wonderful person I am. And so, the evening goes very well and we get to the front porch. You think, yes I might kiss this guy good night (come on, please humor me I haven’t dated in several decades). Instead, I ask you a question: “Will you marry me and promise to live with me until death do us part?” And of course, you say: “YES!” Sound logical? Perhaps I’ve missed a few layers of conviction? And so, my good looking friend Tom comes along and she says, “I think I like Tom better–goodbye!” What’s missing here? What do I not understand about this woman? It’s called “CONVICTION” and “RELATIONSHIP” and “COMMITMENT” and it takes a lot of “LAYERING.” Do I even want to be with this woman?

So much for women, so now I move on to the game of golf. I go out with a golf pro and start getting some great tips. He thinks its time for me to play a round of golf and using the tips he’s given me: “I SHOT MY FIRST GAME OF PAR GOLF!” Yeah, right. It’s such an easy game.

I sell you some nutritional products and you lose (9) LBS–that’s one layer.

When you think about Network Marketing think about this: “If it was easy everyone would be doing it, earning residual income, and making $1 million a year.” You should be glad it’s not easy because the potential for serious income is serious. Time, practice, and layers of conviction may get you there someday.

“Methods (techniques) are many, principles (fundamentals) are few; methods change often, principles never do.”

The Purpose Driven Event

You are a Champion!

When you read the title I bet you thought that I would talk about how to hold a large group meeting in some Hotel. Well, you are wrong. There is a time and place for large group meetings to further momentum (big picture events with heavy hitters, etc.). Often a fast moving recruit gets way ahead of themselves and decides it is time for a large group meeting (only to experience no shows, small crowds, and disappointment). We’ve all been there and done that. Structure and organization “is not” about Hotel Meetings!

Unfortunately, a lot of people can’t “stick and stay” in the business because they have used large group meetings as a crutch to avoid the real work they need to do. A meeting is the outward manifestation of a lot of work that has already taken place. Large group meetings are like trade shows (not duplicable).

A Purpose Driven Event is about building the business (not a school to become a motivational speaker). The real work is done before attending a large group meeting–otherwise you will be attending the large meeting by yourself.

One thing you can learn from small show meetings–who is committed to make this thing work. The “right” people are in the room!

Purpose Driven Events are about equipping people to do the work. As Rick Warren comments in his book (1995), The Purpose Driven Church,“A church’s health is measured by its sending capacity, not its seating capacity.“

Rick said, “I’m often asked, ‘How big can a church grown without a building?’ The answer is, ‘I don’t know!’ Saddleback met for fifteen years and grew to 10,000 attenders without our own building, so I know it’s possible to grow to at least 10,000! A building, or lack of a building, should never be allowed to become a barrier to a wave of growth, People are far more important than property.

…Our sanity and survival depended upon developing a workable process to turn seekers into saints, turn consumers into contributors, turn members into ministers, and turn an audience into an army.”

It’s interesting to me today that religious people have turned their religion into a building or a place when the bible says in 1 Cor. 3:9, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry (cultivation of ground or soil), ye are God’s building.”

Have you ever looked at a piece of property or a place as a barrier to doing a lot of business instead of a convenience? In retail businesses that’s called a bad location (LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!). Don’t tie your business down to a “brick and mortar” location because Network Marketing is not about physical things (locations are a convenience). It’s about people. We have business builders all over the country (no geographical territory).

Why would I even mention a religious book and Network Marketing? Because the principles are the same. You may be agnostic or atheist so would you avoid learning from someone who started a church in his home and took it to over 10,000 by the time he wrote this book? These church members are not employees just like Network Marketers are not employees. There is a “core” (center) of committed people as you build your business. In any building there are load bearing pillars that support the building. Leaders go all the way from the top of the building to bedrock (and they rise up out of the bedrock–not the other way around).

That’s why we call many “stars” in the business Flashes in the Pan. They have built it from the top down through impending events and publicity (PR).  Your sponsor may be a rock star but that may not do much for your success in the long run. Don’t get me wrong because I’m talking about building strong. Momentum, large impending events, and PR is the flip side (manifestation) of what I’m talking about (first things first).

In my opinion, Network Marketing is about becoming a mentor to the right people, and that’s the purpose of training and mentoring someone through the process. That’s the structure and the organization I’m talking about. Want to learn how to become a successful minister? Learn Network Marketing.

If you can’t look up and see people doing the business without you after a short period of time then your business is in big trouble.

Creating Heat

You are a Champion!

If you want to start a fire light a match! It’s a cold winter day in our structure (building) and we need some warmth.

One of the main reasons that we start to add structure (organization) to what we do is to create momentum. Momentum is our goal. Why? Because it helps take us to the next level and makes the work easier and fun. When we say light a match it’s the realization that changing momentum or maintaining momentum often comes from small beginnings. Building our business foundation is a beginning.

John Maxwell said this in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: “It takes a leader to create momentum. Followers catch it. And managers are able to continue it once it has begun. But creating it requires someone who can motivate others, not who needs to be motivated. Harry Truman once said, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.’ But for leaders, that statement should be changed to read, ‘If you can’t make some heat, get out of the kitchen.’”

The first thing needed to go to the next level is the recognition that to keep the fire from going out we must create momentum. Unfortunately, this is easy to tell because a leader has followers. No excuses!

If things aren’t going as planned we need to regroup (get out of the kitchen)! We can’t wait for two years to change and create momentum because it’s worse than starting from zero (demoralizing). A close cousin to momentum is the word “morale.”

Peter Drucker wrote a chapter “The Spirit of Performance” in his book, MANAGEMENT, Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices:

“The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things.

No organization can depend on genius; the supply is always scarce and unreliable. It is the test of an organization to make ordinary human beings perform better than they seem capable of, to bring out whatever strength there is in its members, and to use each man’s strength to help all the other members perform. It is the task of organization at the same time to neutralize the individual weaknesses of its members. the test of an organization is the spirit of performance.

The spirit of performance requires that there be full scope for individual excellence. The focus must be on the strengths of a man–on what he can do rather than on what he cannot do.

“Morale” in an organization does not mean that “people get along together”; the test is performance, not conformance. Human relations that are not grounded in the satisfaction of good performance in work are actually poor human relations and result in a mean spirit. And there is no greater indictment of an organization than that the strength and ability of the outstanding man become a threat to the group and his performance a source of difficulty, frustration, and discouragement for the others.”

Often, the hardest part in leadership is realizing that it is time for us to step aside and let others take the lead (that we are not up to the challenge).

The reason that this is the next article in this category is to emphasize that “Performance is our goal” so that it makes growth easier to achieve. The “batting average” is tracked and recorded (Recruiting growth and Net Sales).

Often to “get along” we “go along” with a direction, leaders, and practices that are not conducive to our success. This is often not the best course of action for any of us. There are proper ways to make our feelings known when things aren’t going as they should go, and learning how to address our problems is a part of learning how to lead.

Healthy organizations are built on a process, not on personalities (that means we can learn how to do this). Once you have momentum and lose it you will try “extra hard” not to lose it again!

It’s Not Just Retailing or Selling

You are a Champion!

Many people are good at selling, and even do it for a living, and miss out on being good at Network Marketing.

What do retailers do?

• They talk to people
• They introduce products or services and overcome objections
• They close the sale

Some people have serious ability in doing this part of the business. In fact, if you can make a “full time” income just retailing, and are good at doing it, you might consider just doing that because Network Marketing takes a different set of skills. I suspect you could find a business model (Job with benefits) that fits that activity even better than Network Marketing. Why? Because the compensation plan is designed for those with the serious ability to build an organization. If it doesn’t your are not in a Network Marketing Company and need to start looking for a company that allows you to earn residual income. If your company changes your plan to retailing you need to leave (unless you like having a J-O-B without any benefits)! I hate to say this word (for fear of being castigated) but it takes some good management skills to be good at Network Marketing (high level).

However, it’s really not that simple because managers have “positional” authority. In Network Marketing you have no authority and you will become seriously frustrated until you also develop some leadership skills. Why? Because you can’t do it alone and you will have to delegate some responsibilities to do it at high level. The first time you cuss out your Distributors (like many managers do because they have the ability to fire you) you are going to be out of the business. Plus, I hope some big dude punches your lights out for being a poor excuse for a human being.

Please note: you should be able to get to three star legs working part-time, or making a full time income in many jobs, without going to the next level in Network Marketing (Major Leagues). Look for a company who has a compensation plan geared to those objectives.

What does all this mean? It means you are going to have to read a lot and become a serious student of management and leadership. Also, you are going to get good at the Art of Promotion (that’s not easy either). If you can’t do this the people below you will, and they will block your “leadership” bonuses or compensation.

Network Marketing is a “self development” course and by the time you get to a high level you are going to see some major personal changes in your life. Also, the skill set required to do the business will have to become second nature (like driving a car). In the business we call that “Being Teachable.”  When people are full of pride they are unteachable: They think they know it all. 

Our goal is to learn as much as we can, from as many people as we can, as often as we can!

Building Up

You are a Champion!

In building the blueprint (foundation or going deep) we are in the learning stage. We are talking to people, finding good leaders, getting products in peoples mouths, and “working down” through their warm markets. We talked briefly about building the foundation in the article called “Ground Zero.” Do this (4) times in our company and you achieve the highest pin level.

Building the structure (going up or what is called “wide” in the industry) comes with a mature understanding of Network Marketing and how to develop an organization. Frankly, most Network Marketers (and a lot of start-up Network Marketing companies) do not make it to this stage of development. I certainly include a lot of “fast track” Distributors who earn early success in that comment (observation).

Some will tell you that they can go wide and build momentum in their organization. In actuality, these people are good at recruiting or retailing on the first few levels and “churning” recruits. You don’t see real depth in their organization. It’s often a house of cards. If you take away the structure, that others have built, many so-called heavy hitters (recruiters) are in big trouble because they depended heavily on that “borrowed” structure to build their business. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t build the structure that creates momentum and they don’t know how to build it on their own (or don’t have enough desire). They took their recruits to the structured impending events built by other Distributors in the organization. That’s what drove or continues to drive their momentum.

Why is it that many people can build one or two legs and never get past that point? They can’t get the twelve legs to reach the Diamond level (top level) in the organization. In my opinion, it is because the ability to organize activity is missing. It’s that old “Peter Principle” if you remember that term from your management courses in school. Being promoted to the level of your incompetence. It’s going from the Purpose of the Individual(s) to the Purpose of the Organization or group!

It’s organizing, directing, and controlling the “group” activity. Please understand, someone has to do this and if it’s not you it has to be someone else. And so, if you don’t have this ability you “have to” link up with someone who can and “draft” off of them. Or try to develop it yourself over time in order to keep your business momentum. In the business, we call this the Art of Promotion.

Let’s be upfront, most people will never get to this point in the industry because statistics are against them. We are talking about a very small percentage of Distributors. Fortunately for the good Network Marketing companies, most of their Distributors are good customers and love the products or services. They dabble in the business and share the products with their friends (some people are good at sales and cold market too) and still just dabble (retail) in the business. And so, this section may not be for you. It really depends on your desire to get serious about this as a full time business.

Don’t be misled by people who are not in Network Marketing. You can still make good money recruiting and retailing and never get to this level of the game. It’s a lot like going through little league, the minor leagues, and into the major leagues. You may never make it to the major leagues but you can be successful at playing the game.

Go Down through the warm market first and get three star legs (build a solid foundation). Get good at the basics and go with the momentum built by top Distributors and the Company. Pick out the best Distributors (watch and learn).