Jacky L. asked me this question.

Tim, I just don’t get it! I’m with a great company with incredible products. I’ve sponsored 6 people and they don’t do ANYTHING! What do you suggest?

Thank you for your question Jacky. I can feel your frustration. In the beginning all you want to do is “sponsor” someone – anyone! You work really hard to learn to be effective in your communication and finally someone says, “Yes.” Actually, this is where the “work” truly begins in MLM. In most other professions the hardest part is just getting someone to buy or to sign the contract. Not in MLM.To get your newly sponsored people to work the business it takes patience and determination.

If you’ve listened closely to Brilliant Compensation you’ll hear me state, “Wealth comes to those patient enough to train others.” I remember very well as I was writing that statement that I tried several other words in the phrase, like “willing to train others,” “disciplined to train others,” “efficient enough to train others.” None of them really fit what I was trying to communicate. Around that time I received a phone call from a down line member and they asked me a question – that I had answered for them many times before. But I answered them like it was the first time I had ever given them the answer. They heard it like it was the first time too.

After getting off the phone it hit me that “patience” above all else is what it takes to effectively train someone. I remember when I was house training my new puppy I had to remember that it’s patience above all else again! Being frustrated at the puppy accomplishes absolutely nothing. Patience is it.

BUT, to correctly train someone you have to train them on the RIGHT things and in the right SEQUENCE.

Sequence of course is the order in which you train them on specific parts. Skipping parts of the training with the new person you sponsor will affect your entire organization.

As I mentioned in last month’s question about Game Plan you have to have a plan – but you also have to have a game plan for the people you sponsor.

The reason I stress using the Pocket Tracker so much is because it lists each item your downline needs to be able to do – in the correct sequence. Here’s the list of each item:

1. Goals
2. Self Training
3. Promotion
4. Dial the phone
5. Connect with a prospect
6. Set an appointment
7. Do a presentation
8. Get a customer
9. Get a distributor
10. Train a distributor

What do you train a distributor to do? Start at #1.

Hopefully you can immediately see that if YOU DON’T do or CAN’T do any of those items – you will fail at training your down line to do them!

So the FIRST person you must learn to have patience with is you :)

The other thing that is important is that using the right amount of assertiveness (one of the Communication Qualities in Professional Inviter) is very important when prospecting…and it’s equally important when training your down line. The moment your downline feels you are frustrated with them, they will back away from you and will no longer tell you what they can’t do.

Jacky, it really is keeping in mind that the people you sponsored came into the business to change something about their life. So if they’re not doing the business I’d bet my own paycheck that it’s because there’s something they can’t do. Even if they tell you “now” they just don’t want to do the business anymore. Just prior to that decision there was something they didn’t know how to do and they got the idea they couldn’t learn it.

So from the moment they sign up you have to be watching over them to pick up the moment doubt begins to enter their mind. This you must fix immediately before they get the next thought – I can’t learn it…which leads to “I don’t want to do it.” By the way, when someone is NOT DOING IT – they may have already gotten the thought that they can’t do it.

The way you find out what they can’t do is hand them Pocket Tracker (send it to them if long distance) and start at item one and ensure they can and have written their goals. Then move to item two and ensure they know what they need to be Self Training themselves on. Then move to item three and make sure they have people to promote to (warm market, leads, ads, etc.). Then make sure they can (and do) dial the phone. The CD that comes with Pocket Tracker explains each item in detail.

So you have to be patient enough to walk them through each step of the Pocket Tracker using the right amount of assertiveness and ensuring they are progressing through it and CAN DO each item. Otherwise, you’ll have to be training everyone in their downline!

I hope this helps you Jacky,

Tim Sales

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