We’ve talked a lot recently about leadership. I mentioned how often we bandy around the term leader to describe people that are most definitely not leaders. So how do you qualify?
I told you that I believe there are four levels of real leadership in Network Marketing. Not the silly stuff they talk about in leadership books, but real leadership where you are influencing and leading a team.
Here’s the very first level. This means someone is a beginning leader in the profession. There are five criteria to qualify. They are:
1) Practices the Core Qualities. (If you’re not familiar with this list, see my How to Build a Multi-Level Money Machine book.) Being Core means you practice ALL TEN qualities. You don’t get to pick and choose the ones you like. This first qualification eliminates 85% of the people in the business.
2) Uses third party tools. The key here is taking your excess personality out of presentations so they are about the opportunity and not you. The reason for this is to foster better duplication on your team. You need to be using a presentation tool that anyone can duplicate.
3) Builds CV circles. This number is different for every company, depending on the extent of your product line. But it should be a benchmark of a minimum qualification of personal use and retail or preferred customers. This eliminates the lottery mentality people and reinforces the importance of having customers. It also builds real volume, which is what builds real businesses.
4) Is in the ticket selling business. This element is key because events are what drive grow and promoting to events is what makes it work. This eliminates the people trying to build the business from behind their computer monitors.
5) Drives depth. Every leader has chased the structure at some point. They personally recruit some people, find some potential and then go down the structure and tap root. They will keep working depth in a line until someone takes it away from them.
Now some very important points…
By the time we have gotten to all five, this has eliminated 99 percent of the people in the business! That’s because even many of the people that are leaders don’t understand these things and create this culture in their team. They are “MLM idiot savants.”
Now I don’t say that to be insulting or mean-spirited. I’m simply trying to describe the phenomenon of many people in our profession who are leading people but can’t really tell you how they do what they do. So they have some success, but can’t duplicate and get others up to their level.
When you become aware of these things, you can then create the infrastructure and training to bake them into your culture. And then you can develop about ten percent of your team into leaders. And that ten percent is sufficient to create a large, growing network.
Notice what we’ve talked about is simply a level one leader. We haven’t even discussed the top three levels. Now the odds are that most of you reading this don’t qualify even for level one – even though you’ve always considered yourself a leader. Or maybe you meet the first five criteria, but realize you’re an idiot savant, because you haven’t been able to quantify what you do and get duplication on your team.
So that takes you to a crossroads…
Number one, you can get your bubble burst, get frustrated, and quit. Or two, you can realize that this awareness can be a HUGE breakthrough for you, and commit to becoming a true leader.
So what do you choose?
-RG
This will be my first post.
You have really hit the mark on this topic.i have been working on becoming a idiot savant*, all jokes aside I would follow certain leadership no matter the company but could not understand why they couldn’t duplicate and the smart answer is most of them don’t know what they did or don’t know how to show people how they did it.so they push, prod, or provoke.to get people to work…. Now I know what level 1 looks like I am ready to commit to achieving it…
We’ve been waiting for you!
-RG
This is a very helpful post Randy, it spells out the steps we have to take in very simple, easy to understand, non-cryptic language!
Greetings Randy,
Of course once again you get to the very heart of what it takes to have long term success in this industry.
To many so called Leaders make it all about Them etc.
True leadership comes first from being a good student.
As you well put it, having a system build is the key. Everyone with the desire to build a successful business can use the same procedures once taught.
A true leader is someone who has brought those that were following him/her to a point that when they look back they too have people following them and so on.
It starts with one but over time if done correctly it can turn into thousands and beyond.
I for one am still focused to do the above over and over and over again.
I believe there is NO great feeling than bringing someone from the point of being a student to that of being a professor.
Be Blessed,
Robert “Buck” Buchholz
Hey Randy,
What can we use if our company doesn’t have a DVD for home meetings? I’m assuming having our business owners do home meeting presentations doesn’t duplicate well. Also, having their sponsor do home meetings wouldn’t work because their sponsor would want to eventually work themselves out of a job. What’s the best way to solve this?
Thanks!
When the company doesn’t have effective tools (and most don’t) then the team has to create them.
-RG
Ok, good looking out Randy. Do you prefer DVDs for home meetings as oppose to power point etc… btw your courses helped me tremendously, i’m a fan for life! Thanks
Yes I think video presentations are the most duplicable.
-RG
Thanks Randy
Excellent article Randy.
To master the craft of Network Marketing you must drill and practice, pracitce and drill and then pracice some more until the basics are second nature. If sports are the perfect metaphor, then you are the Vince Lombardi of Network Marketing!
Thank You!
Thanks alot for this.
I choose to commit myself into becoming a leader.
L
Excellent post Randy, such a pity you dont come to Europe to do your Mega MLM trainings!
“By the time we have gotten to all five, this has eliminated 99 percent of the people in the business! ”
So, does that mean if I sponsored 50 people into my mlm business, I have only found half a leader? And since there is no such thing as a half-person, it means I’ve got zero leader. So, I need to sponsor at least 100 people in the hope of getting just 1 leader?
Now, where did I put my valium?!!
Yes and no, so don’t reach for the Valium just yet. If you understand, practice and teach these principles, you will have about ten percent of your people working in the leadership space. But until you do that, the numbers are pretty daunting.
The real answer is actions never lie. The only real criteria to gauge a true leader is whether they are doing the actions.
-RG
Randy:
I think a lot of people making money in NM know how to do it but they don’t know HOW to teach what they did.
I see it as an engineer that knows how to built a bridge but can’t teach a math course.
thanks,thanks,thanks.
I wish everyone in NM would as honest as you are. I see it as going to Harvard,only 1% of the applicants get accepted but at least admissions let them know.
Very helpfull .
thanks.
Wencel
Great stuff Randy!
So my only question is what exactly does working depth look like?
Is that going down & making calls off a new personal enrollee or downlines warm market list to invite to a presentation or PBR, or to allow them to make the interest generating callsn& only do 3 way calls for them after they’ve made the initial calls while continuing to be a personal example & continuing to enroll personals until then?
I’ve worked with leaders that do & don’t & have seen
I don’t make calls for my people. Some people do, but that isn’t something I do.
-RG
The real answer is actions never lie. The only real criteria to gauge a true leader is whether they are doing the actions.
-RG
….beautifully put by Mister Gage! I am working with a new distributor at the moment who seem to qualify for the “leaders” club….the next few weeks will be critical to see if his ACTIONS are in line with his words! If yes, then him and I will have very exciting times ahead!!
Hi Randy,
another great post ! Thanks for giving so much energy and confidence to not only me but to my team as well!We all learn from you !Cheers!
Till I don`t have much success in th e biz, but I choose the second option. I choose to follow my dream.
Hey Randy
Atrue leader has to be also a good student,someone who can duplicate well, and can motivate others to duplicate and follow him,and develop culture in his team. Everyone who consideres homself a leader can learn the system , to get personal development,and qualifies himself to be a leader.
Randy,
Can a person who has a good size group couple thousand reps or so. Be an leader by industry standards but are really best suited to be a follower since all they did was follow a level 4 or 5 leader who has hundred of thousands of reps. Basically is it wise to say having a lot of people in your group doesnt mean your a real leader it could mean your an excellent follower
This is an excellent post. Outlines what a true leader is. Thanks
This is one of the most insightful posts I’ve read from this site. Thanks for making me understand this level of leadership. I hope you talk about the other levels soon!!