Have you fallen into the Management Trap in your MLM business?

Ok, so you finally have a couple GREAT people in your downline who are just going to ROCK the business.  Or maybe you’ve found somebody that really NEEDS this opportunity (perhaps a close friend or family member.) What do you do now?  Well, if you’re doing everything for them, including building their business for them, you have just fallen into the management trap.  Chapter 2 in “Your First Year in Network Marketing” by Mark and Rene Reid Yarnell talks about all the reasons why you need to create self-sufficiency rather than dependency by your distributors.

I know I have been guilty of this.  I am a professional salesperson and I’m totally passionate about my business and my product.  Because I’m usually not dealing with people with the depth of my sales experience, I have often felt obligated to do the trainings, show the plans, recommend the books and websites, and spend all the time in the world leading my team.  It hasn’t helped.  The Yarnell’s point out the “The Management Trap creates two serious problems for a business builder.  First, it produces weak and lethargic distributors because someone else is doing their work for them.  Second, while managing others, that networker loses valuable time that could be more wisely invested in prospecting and recruting new frontline distributors.”  Wow, that was a smack upside the head for me.  I had gotten into management mode, and I can tell you from experience, it’s definitely NOT helpful (or profitable.)

The thing is, the recruits that need the most help are the ones that generally have the least chance of success. If you devote countless hours to help make your recruits successful, you are setting them for for disaster.  When you volunteer to make the calls and show all the plans for your distributors – even if you know they do an absolutely TERRIBLE job when they do it themselves – you are setting yourself and the rest of your team up for failure.  After all, if you are spending time unproductively with people that can’t or won’t do it on their own, aren’t you taking your valuable time away from the very people that need your support? 

When you are lucky enough to find a recruit that doesn’t call you every day because they are way too busy doing it on their own, be thankful!  Of course, you want to be there for them when they need you, and you want to make sure what they are doing is duplicatable and goes with the system that you have in place, but if they are willing to get off their butts, recruit like crazy and make a lot of mistakes on their own – bless them!  Those people are few and far between!

Network marketing is simple, but it’s NOT easy.  Many networkers tend to minimize the amount of time and effort a new distributor will have to invest into their business before becoming successful.  They compound the problem by volunteering to build a downline for their new distributors.  After all, they don’t want let them know there’s actually work involved and potentially scare the newbie away.  Again, big mistake.  Just as you have accepted the amount of work it takes to be successful, it’s only fair to yourself and your distributors that you share that information with them.  Complete honesty up front can save a LOT of frustration and headaches in the long run.

Babysitting is something that I did for a living when I was 13 or 14 years old.  I have to keep reminding myself that I am far too old to go back into that mode again.  (ok, I’m not THAT old, but you get my point.)  It’s unfortunate, but often leaders who have built large, successful downlines, or they find a “hot prospect,”  tend to start managing their downline.  Think about it, once you stop doing everything for your team, expecting them to miraculously pick up the ball and start running for the goal on their own, they will have no idea what to do.  They will get frustrated, confused, mad at you, and when they quit, they are the very ones that talk about the “scam” that they were lured in to but their former friend – YOU.

Look for people that can see the end result.  Look for those who have a strong “why.”  Look for those that pester the heck out of you at the beginning to find out as much information as they can, and then they turn around and start doing it on their own.  It’s important to SUPPORT your team.  That way, if they go off track, you’ll be there to put them back on the road.  If you’re MANAGING your team, you might as well just go back into a corporate management job.  There are a lot fewer headaches!

Success comes to people who put in the effort on their own and they look for others who also will put in the effort on their own.  Only do unto others that which you can train them to do unto others.

Have fun,

Lisa