Responsible Mentorship in Network Marketing

When and if you choose to embark on the journey into MLM/Network Marketing, what you aren’t told is that as soon as you join a company you become both a student and a teacher all at the same time. That is, if you intend to try to build the business opportunity that comes with being part of whichever company you have chosen to join.

A responsible Sponsor (or upline, as they are commonly known) becomes a mentor for all of those people that they have invited to take part in their particular activity. If you want to do well with what it is that you are involved in, then you should take some time to learn about both the system that your particular activity uses, and the products that it promotes. Without knowledge of these things, you aren’t going to get very far in your efforts to build your team.

Those people whom you will bring to your opportunity are going to rely on you to know what you are talking about, and so you would do well to spend as much time as you can learning how the Network Marketing business model works. You cannot teach what you don’t understand yourself, and this is one of the reasons why people who start in Network Marketing fall away as quickly as they do.

Unfortunately, the whole industry has the wrong image. It’s seen as a way to make money fast, not a school that you join to learn and THEN apply what you have learned. The MLM/Network Marketing industry would do much, much better if it were to promote the concept of it being a training school, where you take on an apprenticeship before actually attempting to do any work. If those who entered the industry were to approach things in this way, then when sharing their opportunity with recruits and new team members it would not have the bad reputation that it has.

From what I know about the industry, to achieve success in MLM is no different to when I was learning to become a proficient dancer. I spent ALOT of money on lessons, and I put way way way more money and time into it than I got out of it in monetary gain, however, I thoroughly enjoyed learning and being able to dance. I went on to become a teacher, but not until I had done alot of training.  I would say to you then, don’t go into Network Marketing thinking that you are going to make alot of money straight away.  Join for the things you will learn first and foremost, and perhaps also too the benefit of being able to buy good products at wholesale prices.  If you like the company and the products, then you’re halfway there.  Expect to join two or three different companies before you get it right, and if you don’t have to do that and things work for you with the first company you join, then that’s a bonus.  But don’t believe the hype, and expect to work hard to get somewhere.

So then, once you start to know what you are doing you’ll begin to recruit others. As a responsible Sponsor/Mentor, your job is to let your prospects know that there is a whole system to learn and a new paradigm of business to understand before they attempt to try to explain it to others. A responsible Sponsor/Mentor would give their recruits something to imitate by showing their recruits how things are done. A responsible Sponsor/Mentor would do most of the talking in conference calls when his or her new recruits are bringing others to the opportunity. A responsible Sponsor/Mentor would offer as much help as was needed to train his or her new recruits to the point where they were able to completely work without the help of their Sponsor, having reached a point where they know what they were talking about and having been trained in the right approach to the whole system of MLM/Network Marketing.

A clever Sponsor/Mentor would also carefully monitor those he or she is working with. Some people will take what you are showing and teaching them, and they will learn and they will apply what they have learned. Some will simply expect you to do all the work for them.  So…. as much as it is your responsibility to be a good mentor to those who become part of your team, it is also their responsibility to apply what you teach them. If they aren’t doing that then they become a drain on you and it would be better not to devote any time to people like this.  They want your energy, for which they don’t want to have to do anything to earn it.  So as much as you must offer to help, you must also guard yourself from being drained for an uneccessary cause, for an ungrateful recipient.

It is important to note that another reason why only 1% of people make it in many businesses, including normal mainstream business as well as Multi-Level/Network Marketing, is that the people who are teaching and inspiring them do not embody all the various traits of the 1% who do.  Let’s use sport as an example. When I was learning to dance, I went to a teacher who had been a world champion when I was learning.  I wanted to learn from the very, very best.  She was able to teach me to a much higher standard than other teachers, because she herself had been there done that, and was living proof that such a level of skill could be achieved.  Not only did she know how to do the steps herself, but she also knew what it took to be able to learn them and duplicate what she was teaching. She did not put up with any student who wouldn’t work at their learning, and who had the wrong attitude.

So, my point is, if you are going to learn from someone, make sure they are the best in the business, and the best people embody a spirit of humility and kindness, and maturity. They are generous of spirit, and they show respect for others. If your Sponsor/Mentor doesn’t have these traits, how can they lead you to success? They can’t. Find a teacher who can help you become someone who embodies the traits of the 1% of all champions.  In business, it’s very much about serving others, so to a large extent you need to embody spiritual principles in order to succeed.  Of course, you can try to succeed in an evil way, but Karma has a habit of catching up with people who do that. The only way to truly succeed is to do so from a godly and holistic perspective.  Whoever is your God, you need to partner with that deity in order to do really well.

The underlying philosophy of a good Multi-Level/Network Marketer should be to look to assist others to reach their goals. And without that philosophy, one might as well pack up and quit immediately.

Anyway, that’s all for now. 🙂