How To Give Your Team CPR
by Willie Brooks

MLM companies and distributors place a major emphasis on sponsoring new members, and rightfully so. Without new members, any business will simply wither and die. With such a heavy focus on recruiting, many network marketers overlook an equally important success factor: distributor retention. It is a well known fact that the longer someone performs specific functions, the more efficient and productive they become.

The key in network marketing is to keep your team members on your team until they reach a high level of proficiency. You work so hard to sponsor new members on your team. Doesn’t it make sense to work just as hard to keep your new members happy … and make them feel they are an important part of the team? Happy distributors are, more often than not, also productive and profitable distributors.

This is why it is so vitally important to give your team CPR – Continuous Positive Reinforcement.  CPR will go a long way towards keeping your team alive and well. CPR is not the only factor in creating and maintaining a dynamic, thriving team, but it is a very important component. The top earners in the industry understand that focusing on the success of your members is crucial in the team building process.

Positive Reinforcement can take many forms. There are many ways to provide CPR to your team.

·        Recognition – It is a well known fact that people will do more for recognition than money. As the saying goes, “Babies cry for it and old men die for it.” Everybody wants, and to varying degrees needs, to be recognized for their accomplishments. For most, recognition is just as important as compensation. 

That’s why medals and trophies are given out in sports. Professional athletes certainly enjoy the money that comes with being part of the inner circle, but most would run through walls for a World Series or Super Bowl championship ring. Do Olympic athletes train for 4+ years for the money? Most Olympic sports don’t even have a professional league to look forward to … these athletes train 7 days a week for the chance to be recognized for their success, in the form of a small gold, silver or bronze medal.

Words of wisdom from respected industry leaders, "Distributors will work for money but they will kill for the spotlight."

Industry leaders follow a very simple formula – The big money is earned from the back of the room. Leaders understand that the spotlight should be focused squarely on their team members … and true leaders make it their mission to point it there. Too many distributors fail because they confuse fame with leadership. Are you interested in becoming a celebrity or creating walk-away residual income for you and your family?

Leaders who build durable teams that stand the test of time, put the recognition spotlight on their people … then gladly stand behind the spotlight applauding the accomplishments of their team. This does not mean you have to be a hermit or a recluse, far from it. Leaders need to remain visible in order to lead. But they also embrace the concept that true leaderships results from celebrating every small step, every success, even every attempt. Recognition is a crucial factor in building your team members’ confidence, self esteem and belief level. 

Recognition raises self esteem. It shows your team members you care about them and value their contribution to the team. There is another old saying, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Show your team you care, prove it with your words and deeds, and they will literally climb mountains for you.

Leaders know that you can’t motivate others, but you can certainly inspire them. Recognition will inspire your team. Sometimes it can be as simple as an “ataboy” or pat on the back. People like to hear that they are doing a good job. The key to effective recognition is that it must be sincere and must be valid. Insincere compliments will come across as, well, insincere and will cause your entire team to question your integrity.

·        Communication – I believe that 99% of the world’s issues stem from poor communication. If people would communicate more openly and effectively, the world would be a much better place. The same is true in the network marketing industry. Always make sure your team members know how much you appreciate them. Let them know your working hours and how they can reach you if they have an urgent situation. Also, it is very important that you set realistic expectations for your level of support. When they call you, should they expect a return call in 30 minutes, 2 hours, or 2 days? Half the battle is being on the same page, with the same expectations.

Make sure your team knows The Golden Rule of MLM Communication – When you’re up, call down. When you’re down, call up. When you are excited about the business, your results, or news from your company, call your team and share your excitement with them. When you’re upset about something, call your sponsor or team leaders to work through it.

·        Accentuate The Positive – We often have to correct mistakes or errors in judgment. Network marketing is a whole new ballgame for many of your new members and they will make plenty of mistakes, just like you did. How do we go about correcting the errors without putting a negative spin on it?

We've learned that The Sandwich Approach works best. Simply stated, always insert the criticism between 2 slices of compliments. Let’s say John is continually forgetting to leave his phone number when leaving messages during 3-way calls with you. The Sandwich Approach works like this. “Say John, I really appreciate you being so conscientious and punctual with our 3-way calls. You are really doing a great job! One thing to watch out for, though. We always want to leave our call back number because the right people will usually call. It’s just a minor thing that may improve our results. Keep up the great work, John.” People are more likely to listen to you when you start and finish with a few words of praise.

·        Stay On The Level – Be very careful no to “talk down to people”! Even while praising a team member, it’s possible to have the exact opposite effect by “talking down to them.” Saying something like, "Andrea, you really did it! I’m so very proud of you!" will likely make Andrea feel very foolish and make you sound like a pre-school teacher.  

Another issue is unintentionally sounding surprised at your team member’s results. “Wow, Jane, 5 new members in a week. I didn’t think you had it in you!” will make Jane question your confidence in her and your ability to lead. All your good intentions can go right out the window with a few poorly chosen words.

Choose your words carefully and always try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Always remember the time tested adage, “It’s not always what you say, often it’s how you say it.“  

That concludes our CPR Class for today. We hope you found some useful information to breathe some new life back in your team.

© 2008 Willie Brooks. All rights reserved.
http://www.YourWealthResources.com

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