Eagles Will Fly

• July 1st, 2008
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“Eagles will fly and chickens will peck forever.” This is a Mary Kayism. Tonight I’m writing a little bit about managing a team. It was our kick-off meeting for the new sales year this evening and I am so happy I went! We trained on the career path and how commissions work. It was good to have the information. I was more impressed with some of the advice we were given. The question came up about motivating your team or unit to sell. The answer was surprising.

The answer was not a “how to” on motivational speaking. Rather, it was to lead by example. Basically, it doesn’t matter how great of a motivator you are, if someone doesn’t want to be motivated, they won’t be. It goes back to that adage we often hear, “if you drag her in; you’ll be dragging her all the way.” Nobody wants a drag! The people who want to work will work. They will have questions. It is best to be working one’s own business and gaining experience than it is to motivate while working less. Also, motivating people into the ground who aren’t that into it anyway, will be quite draining on the motivator.

Here is another thing that was talked about that may come as a surprise. Of course, it was no surprise to me because we are trained this way weekly. I digress. We discussed the fact that 1/3 of the people on your team are on their way out. This is why motivation is somewhat irrelevant. It helps those who are already wanting to work, but if someone doesn’t want to do this, they won’t. It’s that simple. This is why it is best to work closely with the workers. Now, I’m not saying to ignore people if they become inactive. They can still be contacted like the rest of the unit. There just is no need to be talking to them about big goals if they aren’t coming to you first.

Note to consultants here: if you are inactive, your director may not be as closely in touch with you as you are used to. Be aware of this. If you become inactive, but want to work to become active; tell your director or recruiter!

When I work with my team, I listen to what they tell me they want from the business. It goes back to that listening thing again, doesn’t it? Listen to your people. Work with them. The workers will work and those who don’t want to do this will not. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s statistics. It’s human nature. It’s sales. It’s direct sales.

So, what’s the moral of this story? Simple. Keep working yourself to build! The key is to always be building because someone is always going to be leaving. That’s the nature of the game. Think about where you work. How many people are there more than 5 years? How many have been there 10 years? How many stay through retirement? People will stay with something or leave. Our business is no different. Sometimes the turnover rate is a little faster (although I’ve seen people walk off my day job in less than a month’s time). By building your own business you are setting an example and showing your team how you work. You can give them advice. They can try it or not. It might work for them it might not. If we’re working, we can at least have some credibility.

Tags: Direct Sales, Leadership, MLM, Network Marketing, People Management, Team Maintenance