Team Building Is A Choice Not A Requirement

Congratulations! Suzie Someone has joined your team! Let's give them a million tasks to do in your first training session and never speak to them again! Doesn't that sound fun? Sometimes we get so excited that we want to give our new team members everything we've learned in our entire career with direct sales as soon as they join. But let's face it, it would take more than a miracle to absorb that much information in one sitting.

Believe it or not, a lot of what you've learned has come from experience and has turned into second nature. Now don't get me wrong.  When you first made the decision to venture into direct sales you most likely had a sponsor or leader that taught you everything you needed to survive in the big world of party planning. But a lot of consultants aren't so fortunate. Some never hear from their sponsor at all. I was fortunate enough to have an amazing mentor when I joined my very first direct sales company. She walked me through the overall concept of how the back office worked and how parties flowed. She was available all day and most nights. I knew she was only a phone call or text message away. She never shoved it down my throat. But always let me know that she was there should I ever need anything. We became great friends and still keep in touch to this day. Not everyone is able to make themselves as available as that. But I do recommend that if you choose to build a team, you understand the basics of your business before jumping into the deep end. Team building is great for so many reasons, but if you jump into it too fast you may be setting yourself, and your new recruit, up for failure. Words get around in a small town. And direct sales, my friend, is a a very small town. The last thing you want is for your downline, past and present, telling others that you don't take the time to mentor your team. In return, causing you to lose potential team members and the residual income that everyone is after.

Building a team is a selfless act. It involves one on one coaching as well as team training. It should involve weekly contact and follow ups. Just as you most likely did when you were trying to recruit them. They should continue to get that same personal attention. Otherwise, they may look at it as false advertising. I also had the experience of joining another company and never hearing a peep from my sponsor. I felt mostly to blame because I did not do my research first and then contact them. But either way the first rule is REACH OUT! If you get an unexpected recruit and have no interest in growing your team. You may consider asking your sponsor to mentor her. Or even asking if that person can be placed under your sponsor instead of you. You have to do what's best for you as well as the team.

Team building is a choice, not a requirement. Always remember that.