During my over 8 years supporting and coaching direct sales leaders and leaders in network marketing, I found that all leaders struggle with their team business. I struggled with all the same things at the beginning of my leadership career too.
Five Things I’ve Learned About Direct Sales Leaders
1. All leaders wish to become better leaders.
No matter who I work with, the themes I see coming up with EVERYONE is that they all wished they were doing more! However, they didn’t know what activities to focus on to produce the most activity. They feel they don’t know enough to be a leader (or an even better leader). They think they should know more about sales, recruiting, coaching and the business itself. Because of this, they felt little confidence in their ability to support a team member. In most cases this has stopped them from continuing to grow their team.
2. Many leaders feel they don’t have enough time to manage both their personal and team business.
Finding this balance can be very elusive and overwhelming. At times their personal business is low if they spend too much time on their team and vice versa. The thing is – there are ways to do it that don’t need to be complicated but they aren’t always intuitive so you need to learn how to prioritize and what to prioritize.
3. Many leaders don’t know what to do to support and nurture their team.
They know they should support their team but don’t know exactly what to do to support a new team member, an emerging leader and an executive leader with a large team and how all are different. Knowing what the priorities, fears, and skills needed are for each group helps leaders know where to start and how to create systems that make their team feel like they’re a part of something that is there to help them and move them through the steps of growing a business.
4. Leaders wish they knew how to motivate their team.
They are concerned that they can’t get their team motivated to engage and perform. They see what they are doing as falling flat and get discouraged and don’t know what to try next. There are many strategies out there to motivate a team. Learning what to try, how to evaluate and pivot based on responses and growing a motivated team that gets results is something that takes practice and skill.
5. Everyone wishes they could make more money.
One of the reasons for building a team is to make more money. Maybe they want to work less, have more flexibility, leave a job that doesn’t serve them, have more time and provide more for their families. Building a team is the answer but the money isn’t happening – they are spinning their wheels and they don’t know where to focus to actually see the financial results they wanted.
Why am I sharing all of these things with you about what I saw leaders struggling with and wishing they had more help with? Because I want you to know you’re not alone! Whether you have a team of 1, 20, or 1000, making $100. $1000 or $100,000 everyone needs support and help growing to the next level. So don’t get discouraged. Talk to a leader in your company, talk to a friend who gets what it’s like to do what you do, or talk to a coach like me and get the support you need to grow and flourish. You’ve got this – I know because I’ve seen leaders reach amazing success and I know you can too!
Contact me to find out more about my new “Leader Boost” Program, sign up to get my free e-book on how to coach your new consultant off to a successful start and/or to book your FREE 30 minute Discovery Session to see if you’d like to work together to help you achieve the success you desire in your direct sales/network marketing team business.
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