Understanding the difference between these two words, that in the Direct Sales or MLM industry are so IMPORTANT, is something that has taken me many years to truly master. On the surface these words seem similar, but there is one VERY DISTINCT DIFFERENCE and that is the concept of MAKING things happen versus HELPING things happen. I had a great conversation with one of my top leaders in my organization this week that reiterates just how important mastering this concept can be for your business. Most leaders in this industry are good at facilitating activity inside their organizations. This means that they are effective at working with their team when things are happening around them, and they are good at helping to organize the activity that is happening NATURALLY. This is one of the reasons why you see so many ups and downs in results from these types of leaders inside their organizations. What is happening is that they are working with the people who want to work, and they are waiting for the activity to happen naturally and organically without FORCING it to happen. It is not that this type of leadership is bad, or wrong in fact it is probably the most common form of leadership especially in newer organizations. New leaders have not yet mastered the skill of “Business Creation.” They think because they are working and they are helping their teams that they are doing everything they should be doing for their organization. However, when all you are doing is facilitating in my opinion all you are doing is furthering activity that would have probably happened on its own. This is the type of activity that is happening because people are new and excited and they are courageous enough to go out there and attempt the things you are teaching them. When the newness wares off and they are faced with challenges, or they begin to struggle then these people will stop working on their own without the push and motivation of a leader who is CREATING business. Here are some things you can do inside your organization to create business that might not take place without your action:
- Make it a goal to create 3 events this week that are not already on the calendar. Creating extra events that are not happening on their own is one of the best ways to create extra business. If you are depending on your people to set up more events, or if you are just running the same schedule week in and week out, you are missing out on a major business creation opportunity.
- Make at least 5 calls a day to people in your organization who you have not spoken to in at least a week. People who have started to fall off the radar and are not communicating with you regularly are probably discouraged or unmotivated. I make these types of calls a regular part of my daily activity. This is one of the areas where you can have the most immediate impact on creating new business. These people would probably NOT be thinking about their business unless you called them, and so this is TRUE business creation.
- Have a business creation call with one of your top people, and talk about the things you can do to help them create new business inside their organization and have them evaluate how much business is happening on its own, versus what they are actually CREATING.
- Start a NEW Market for your team or help a market that has not taken off yet. This can be a different part of town from where you live, or it can be a different city or state. Block off 2-3 hours a week to work specifically on this new market, and try to find some other people in your organization who have contacts in that area. Often times there are other people who would love to work in that new area, but they just don’t have anything to plug into because nothing is happening. By getting something started in that new area you are giving some other people opportunity to take advantage of your activity.
- Schedule a goal setting session with someone who has been stagnating in your organization. Try to remind them about what their long term goals are, and remind them about the bigger picture and what their original goals were when they started. Often just making someone remember why they started this journey in the first place is enough to spark some extra action that would not have happened otherwise.
Take a log of how many EXTRA sales you are CREATING each week. This can be sales results that come as a result of these tips I have described or from extra work you are putting in that comes from GOING out and creating business that is not already happening on its own. It is easy to track the results from the tips I have described so you should be able to calculate the sales that are going to come in from working new markets, adding extra events, and working with people who have not been producing. Be a CREATOR of business and you will see a new type of consistency in your organization and if you follow these tips most likely your team will start to do similar activities which will multiply your efforts.