Leadership is the foremost key to success in your business. And, it is a lot easier to develop yourself as a leader than you might think. How do you become an Network Marketing SMMM (Self-Made Multi-Millionaire)? Become a Network Marketing Sales Leader Extraordinaire (NMSLE). How do you become trusted, admired and respected by thousands? Become a NMSLE. How do you contribute to the success of others? Become a NMSLE. How do you maintain your highest integrity and peace of mind? Become a NMSLE. How do you have the most fun and exercise your highest personal power? Become a NMSLE. Simple, right? Maybe not so simple, but leadership is the foremost key to success in your business. And, it is a lot easier to develop yourself as a leader than you might think. Let’s look at what being a NMSLE looks like, smells like and feels like: NULL
Vision. First and foremost NMSLEs have a vision of what they are accomplishing, which has massive payoffs by enticing others to play. The payoffs could be financial, recognition, making a difference or even setting records. The vision provides motivation. Motivation. Vision is merely a means to the end, and the end you are looking for is motivation. With it nothing else matters. Without it nothing else works.
What is motivation? Enthusiasm, courage, energy, persistence, creativity to solve problems and creative interpretations to see the positive outcomes (green lights).
The rest of these attributes are the result of being motivated and being clear (vision) about what is expected of you as an NMSLE. Productivity. Leaders produce results. Above all else, this is what inspires others. You can think you are doing everything you need to be doing (and doing it very well), but if you are not producing the intended results, you are not there yet. NMSLEs fill the pipeline with prospects; enroll others; sell product; advance new leaders; advance with integrity; grow advanced leaders; and earn SMMM income. Listening skills. Leaders listen at a therapeutic level. They listen to what is being said. They listen to what is not being said. They listen to what is intended to be said, but is not said. They listen with a clear mind, a focused intuition and a heart committed to empowering others.
Leaders who listen know a great deal more about what is going on than merely what is being said.
Manage the mood. People have moods and groups have moods. Moods are determined by what people are thinking. So goes the thoughts, goes the moods, goes the actions. A great leader listens to the mood of the group and creates conversations, interpretations and strategies to move the mood. As my friend Janine Avila says, “Happy cows give more milk.” Sharing your vision and its payoffs and recognition for those producing results are the best mood enhancers. Gossip (trash talking about anyone or anything) and lack of action are the most effective mood killers and they usually can be linked to a Mood Monster. Mood Monsters (MM) are cancers that can kill your momentum and your income. Listen for the MMs. Seek them out. Lead them by whatever means necessary to neutralize them or, ideally, exit the scene. Inviting those who undermine the mood to quit or be run out of town is no fun but it is necessary leader work. Recognition. Recognition is critical far beyond mood management. More of your people are striving for recognition than for money, perhaps by a factor of 10 to 1. They will not say so, however, because to say so in our society spells weakness where being “money motivated” is appropriate. Never recognize intentions or lip service or politics. Recognize the appropriate actions.
Recognize results – even the tiniest ones. Especially the tiniest ones.
Coach and be coached. Coaching is asking sensitive questions, making unreasonable requests and offering feedback as to how another “lands in the world.” It creates more success in others than all the training in the world. Coaching leads the player to play at a higher level than they would otherwise play. All NMSLEs have a coaching component to their leadership. “To be or not to be coached.” The downfall of many “almost great” leaders is their unwillingness to be coached. Usually it is the giant ego (the mind mechanism that protects us from our worst fears and insecurities and often drives us to be successful to protect ourselves from others) that got them to where they are. The ego is never willing to be wrong. Egos do not subscribe to coaching. Egos figure out a rationale for why they do not need it. And they are right. The ego does not need coaching. In fact, coaching can be the death of the ego. Egos will do anything; say anything and think anything to keep from dying.
Leaders who subscribe to coaching are leaders that are led by a vision – a vision based in their core values, their gifts and the spiritual theme of their life. This leader can be coached. This leader loves coaching. Success to this leader is more important than being right.
Visibility. The best leaders are the most visible leaders: visible by email, conference call, video conference, etc. Most importantly, leaders are visible in person. Our 50-year-old way of business was built by leaders with the vision and courage to go belly-to-belly with their prospects, their newbies and their leaders. Nothing can, or ever will, take the place of a one-on-one meeting or a live-room-full-of-bodies meeting. This is where spirits can join together and marry into a synergistic force to be reckoned with. Nothing like this ever happened over the phone or email. Leaders travel the width and breadth of their group and lock arms and hearts together in the common cause. Invest. NMSLEs invest a healthy percentage of their monthly income back into their business. They recognize it is a business, not a paycheck. Twenty percent or more is a good target. What do they invest in? Their own coaching, travel and training, recognition, incentives. Lesser leaders leave all this to the company to initiate and fund. NMSLEs see themselves as their own company. They recognize the long-term value of their business. They have a long-range vision. They invest in it with joy and great anticipation of the payoffs. Public speaking. If visibility is vital and visibility happens at live events, who will speak to the people? If you are one of those that have yet to commit yourself to being powerful, humorous, inspirational, educational and just plain ol’ dynamic in front of the room you must ask yourself: “What if everyone was like me? What if no one could lead this meeting powerfully? What if everyone took the easy way out and let others do it?”
NMSLEs act as though there is no one else or there will be no one else someday. They become the “someone else.” They push through the fear and practice, practice, practice until the crowd roars.
Knowledge. Knowledge creates confidence, both in oneself and in those around you. The group needs to count on someone to know the answers. Whether it is the compensation plan, the policies and procedures, product knowledge or the specific mechanics to setting up and promoting an effective meeting. The best leaders know the answer to virtually every question because they have either asked it themselves or imagined someone asking it. The greatest leaders know they must be seen and they must actually be the end-all resource for their group. NMSLEs master it all and they continue to master it every time it evolves, enhances or just changes. Practice, practice, practice. Studies have proven that the greatest of us did not achieve our consistent results from our gifts, talents or genes. We accomplished what we accomplished because we out-prepared and out-practiced our competition.
Th
e best of the best get clear about what must be done. They have a vision for getting it done and they practice with the intention of excellence over and over and over again.
They listen to the tapes not once or twice, but hundreds of times. They rehearse their presentations not once, but as many times as it takes to get it right. If they are not practicing in reality they are practicing in their mind, a thousand times until they know it by heart. For when you know where you are going by heart, you are already in such momentum down your path there is no stopping you. Not even you can stop you now. These are some, certainly not all, of the disciplines of a Network Marketing Sales Leader Extraordinaire. Laying it out is the easy part. Practicing it powerfully is something else, and is reserved for the few with the courage to pursue it.
Those who practice it will make is easier than those who simply try. They will craft all these disciplines and their own core values, gifts and the theme of the life and weave it into an extraordinary vision of their own magnificent leadership.
They will read it over and over. They will rehearse it over and over. They will practice every aspect of it over and over, until they have it down by heart. By then the universe and their respective NWM company will be showering them with a wealth of appreciation. For more of my thoughts on the qualities and possibilities of a successful Network Marketing Sales Leader, order my Advanced Leadership audio cd. – Richard
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Richard is the author of the best-selling books The Four Year Career & Mach2 With Your Hair On Fire.And, he is an Ontological coach and speaker.
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