Follow The Leader

Teach Educate Train Mentor Lead Which word is more powerful? Which one would people who are looking for a business opportunity respond to the most? Do we want to be taught, or be educated? (sounds too much like going back to school) Would we like to be trained? (like a new puppy or the new guy at work)? Would we like to find a mentor, who knows more about what we want to do, and who will willingly share that information? Sounds better. Or is a mentor, with the ability to lead us towards success what we really need? Strong leadership. It's so rare that most people think it's for the "rest" of the world. How do we convince "regular" people, that leadership skills are not out of their reach? A good place to start is with who you allow to lead YOU. Who are you following? Who are you learning leadership skills from? And is s/he really worth following? To be a good leader, you must become a good follower first. But take care who you follow because if they're a poor leader, or a non-leader, you are in an uphill battle, on a slippery slope. How do you know when you've found someone worth following? Many people join a company for the awesome product line, or one-of-a-kind service that makes even the worst leaders/sponsors seem great. If you are in a business just because you love the products, you may or may not make it. (and if you do make it, the company may or may not...more on this below.) This is one of the drawbacks of mlm. People fall in love with a product, or the idea of a product, rather than make a rational decision to go into business with the company, and with the person representing the company. I speak only from experience:-) The easiest thing to do, when things get tight - usually around Christmas for me:-) is to put your business "on hold." It's easy because you begin to realize you don't need or really want any of the products you've been buying, anyway. It was all for the potential to make money, and that can become demoralizing in a very short time - and easy to set aside, when you need that money for something else. This is one of the best reasons to look for a company that offers "everyday" consumable products that don't look like luxury items when/if money gets tight. This is why you hear many successful mlm leaders telling you the product really doesn't matter. Which sounds like a paradox, because without a product, you have no business! So you must choose a company (your supplier) that is on solid financial ground, but here is the part that you need to pay close attention to: Look for a sponsor, AND a solid company - NOT just a product to sell (or get emotional about:-). Most mlm'rs get sucked into a company by a fast-talking sponsor who paints a rosy picture of the financial freedom he or she has or will have in 6 months. How their product is the only one of it's kind, and how everybody needs it! Yeah, right:-) That's lovely - but unrealistic. The hardest part of mlm is to put our feelings on the back burner, while we look objectively at an opportunity. This is hard because SO many people are out their "selling the dream" like so much snake oil - hoping that they will sign-up a real "go-getter" on whose coattails they can rise to the top. You don't need anyone's coattails, if you join with someone who has a taken the time to develop a system that, IF you work it, and stick with it (we are talking about months here, possibly a year or longer) you will begin to see the financial rewards that we all are seeking. And I'm not talking about a system that you are asked to pay for. This type of behavior is what got Amway into the trouble we have all heard way too much about! Look for a system that you can plug into for free - and a company that can justify their sing-up fee, which should be minimal. This is the way it should be. You should NOT be spending any money on marketing materials and training tapes - the profits of which are lining your uplines pockets. Once you find that sort of sponsor, what I've taken to calling the Smart Sponsor type, you have found someone worth emulating. And with their guidance, you can confidently go to work on developing your own leadership skills, which in time become the backbone of your business. You can make it in mlm, but not alone - hence the time-worn line we've all heard too many times: "Be in business FOR yourself, but not BY yourself." It's a powerful statement, but you need to look for someone who knows what it REALLY means, and can lead you to an understanding you will be able to share with the people you bring into your business. So look for a sponsor, and a solid company - not a product or service that promises to save the world. MLM is a business, and without a sound company behind you, you risk losing everything you've built if that company fails for ANY one of a hundred different reasons. Good products/services are a dime a dozen, but a sponsor with leadership ability is worth his or her weight in gold. And a company on a solid foundation is not an option - it's a must if you value your time. You can't afford to build a business and have it come crashing down because the company you represent goes out of business. This happens to people every day. Here is a terrific quote on leadership. "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." - Antoine de Saint Exupery Yes, you need to have and cultivate, in yourself and others, that yearning for the success that you could have in mlm. But remember that success cannot become reality without your gathering, working, following, and finally, your leading others to do the same. Everything has a process. It's only overwhelming if you think you must do it all now, or do it all alone. With the right leader, your mlm dreams can be crafted into a reality worth every second you spend developing the leader within you. So take care who you follow. And the company you represent.