How to Lead - by Eric Worre

Being a strong leader is one of the most important skills of a Network Marketer.  And leadership starts in the prospecting.  Too many people think that they don’t have to be a leader until they have a team to lead.  That’s just not true.  You have to be a leader first, or at least exhibit some of the qualities of a leader, while prospecting at the very beginning or you’re not going to get the success you want or attract the right people to your organization.

You can’t say that you’re going to build an organization, and then become a leader.  People follow leaders.  So, you have to show your prospects that you are a leader.

But does that mean you won’t succeed in Network Marketing unless you are already this strong, influential leader?

No! Leaders have to learn and practice in order to gain the skills needed to be effective and attractive. These skills need to be learned early on if you want your business to see some real growth.

Once you practise the skills needed for leadership, your team will grow with your leadership.

So, here are some qualities that you can learn and practise in order to become a stronger leader and that you can teach to your downline so that they become leaders as well.

Leadership Philosophy

What is your philosophy?  Is it all about you, your success, your paycheck, your rank advancement, your freedom?  Or is it about a cause bigger than you?

Or are you focused on freedom for others, doing something right, or spreading the message of how your products and services could help change lives?

Take the focus off of you.

This will make a huge difference in your leadership because when your philosophy is about something bigger than you, then your prospects will be more likely to rally around you.

Have a Vision

Leaders have Vision. What is your vision for your organization?  What goals do you want to accomplish, and what are your reasons for doing this?

If your vision is just about getting the money, paying the bills, or surviving, you’re not going to get a lot of people excited about it.  But if your vision is aligned with your philosophy where you are envisioning something that you and your prospects together can make something huge, then you will get people excited to join you.

So, spend some time thinking about what your vision is for what you’re trying to build in your Network Marketing business.  And get that vision clear in your mind.  Know exactly what it will look like.  Then get excited about it.  Become so excited about your vision that you can’t wait to tell that story to someone else.

Your vision is critical because when you focus on that, recruiting becomes less about getting people and more about achieving the vision.  

When you focus on the bigger dream, all of those small things like getting the cheques or advancing in rank, will happen automatically.

Share Your Vision

Now, you could have the greatest vision ever, but it doesn’t matter if people don’t know about it.  As a leader, you have to be able to articulate your vision.  This is why it is important to have a story to share with your prospects.

Tell the story of determining your vision and striving for it.  Or find someone else’s story to tell.  But articulate your vision through a story.

Your story shares your vision, so you’ve got to get people excited about it.

But don’t just figure out your story and then fumble through articulating it.  Find someone to practice telling your story to.  Tell it to them, get their feedback, tweak the story, and repeat.  Be the best at telling your story.  Get it to the point where anytime you tell your story, people get so excited that they take action.

Be Competent

It’s hard to be a good leader if you’re not competent.

You need strong reasons, a vision, and the ability to articulate that vision.  Understand that most learning comes from the doing.

You need to go out there, go to work, and do the activities.  By doing that, you will learn the things necessary to be a leader.

At some point, you have to have a certain level of competence.  You have to reach a level where you can lead, train, present, or whatever skill that you want to become known for.  Building up your competence gives people faith in you, and they feel they can follow you safely.

This is why personal development is so important.  When you strengthen your own skills, become competent in the skills, it gives prospects the confidence to follow a leader who knows what they are doing.

Lead by Example

And last, but most certainly not least, you have to lead by example. This is a must. How can you expect people to trust and follow you if you’re not willing to do the same things you ask them to do?

If you want to be a great leader, you need to do the things you’re asking other people to do first. And then after you do it, you can show your team how to do it.

Walk your talk.  Do it first, and then show others the way. Duplicate.

Adapted from an article by Eric Worre, https://networkmarketingpro.com/