Raising the Dead

Remember that Bruce Willis movie with the kid that whispered, I see dead people?  I bet you see dead people too.  In your organization.

I was reminded of this today in an email from one of my people.  He has two people that won’t show up at meetings, don’t make invitations and never sponsor anyone.  In fact, they actually don’t do anything.  He was writing to ask how he could make them go to work.

You cannot make people work.  They all are in business for themselves.  You can only control you.  Lead the way and the ones that get it will follow.

Got it!

-RG

18 thoughts on “Raising the Dead

  1. Randy, this is true in that trying to make people do what you WANT them to do rather than what they feel like doing is a waste time. I’ve never found it to work and the person you think you’re helping is sitting there thinking what a hound you are.
    However, you can in a way raise SOME of the dead. And recently I’ve been able to have some success in doing that. My company made some changes recently that I felt the ‘dead’ should know about.
    I prepared a ‘list’ of these changes and asked them to give me a ‘cup of coffee’ for me to sit down and share what exciting changes had taken place.
    I also made sure I had new product on hand for them to see straight away. I was as excited and enthusiastic as I could be and really made sure I hid nothing – the good and the bad.
    Did they all say yes? No way. BUT…I effectively re-sponsored two team members who were initially responsible for large growth in my business but had faded away at some stage in the past.
    So hammering people with the same old ‘orders’ and ‘you-have-to-be-there’s’ won’t cut if for sure. But using exciting things happening in your company as a way of re-energizing the departed…I would always give that a shot.

    1. I would agree that there often are people that show signs of life and you definitely want to reach out to them. But when they show no pulse at all – put a wreath on the coffin and move on.

      -RG

  2. Never waste your time trying to raise the dead. (I’m sure it was a man who said it is easier to give birth than try to raise the dead 🙂 But, it’s true!!!

    We can’t motivate others. We can only inspire and we best do that by our own actions and success. Be there at any time someone is ready to go to work; but don’t waste time WAITING!

    EXPECT Success!

    Jackie Ulmer

  3. Yes….I have learned this….if you drag them in….you will have to drag them through the business…..if they choose to sleep, let them be…. if they reawaken, welcome them back with open arms. Harmony and working with like-minded people on your team is far more productive!!

  4. It takes too much energy to ‘raise the dead’ (cannot be done anyway), the market is big so we just go ahead looking, finding and meeting new people. We will enjoy this better.

    They do not know what they are missing.

    Ain’t it great!

  5. We are a volunteer army! People will only be motivated by their own goals, not yours! If you want to motivate people, talk to them about their ambitions and desires, not yours!
    Lack of confidence and fear of change are hiden demotivators. Give people permission to dream. It takes perseverence & practice but the results are worth it!
    Mike.

  6. It can be quite heartbreaking when you have to explain to people that not everyone gets it (in fact most do not) and they need to stop pestering the same people and go enrol some new ones. That’s where most people give up cause they realise this involves real work and they are so invested in those few people that said yes!

    On the other hand I think we could improve retention rates by being more transparent upfront with presentations that show the real numbers required for some to actually run with it.

  7. This message is mine, i have learn a lot, from the challenge i had with my staff today at the organization. Thanks a lot for everyone there.

    Peter

    Tanzania Arusha

  8. I never really consider anyone dead. I prefer to consider them comatose. The only way they will ever revive is through the infusion of a dream more powerful than their reason for inactivity.

    By reminding people of what they should do, they go deeper into the comatose state. If the same effort is applied to creating a vision and dream, then the chances of survival increases.

    I believe that the majority of people want to change, but to them the risk far outweighs their reason.

    I agree, it is extremely difficult to raise the dead. But, it is not our job to supply the Network Marketing graveyards with fresh candidates.

    Always remember, without vision, people perish. It is our job to believe and build.

  9. You can’t make people do anything they don’t see the benefit of doing. Perhaps, if we took the time to interview people before signing them up we could avoid this frustration. In my opinion, it all beaks down to creating the habits that lead to success. People need to be visionaries in the sense that they can see that the business will work. We can’t do the work for them.

  10. RAISING THE DEAD WILL BE A CHALLENGE,THE ONLY THING ONE CAN DO,IS TO FOCUS ON ADDING THE NEW LIVING PEOPLE IN YOUR ORGANISATION,THE DEAD WILL WAKEUP IF THEY WANT.

  11. Hey Randy,

    Nobody can make other people work. Everyone has his timing,his motivation.
    The dead people those who sits on the fence will raise up only by their oun
    decisin.

  12. Great post! Thanks for the reminder. I’m looking for people like me – I’ve never required encouragement or motivation to do the business. I simply tell myself that some are customers in disguise, some are dstributors, some are leaders, and some are tourists! There’s no way every one can be like me – my quest now is to find 4 – 5 people who can “flow” with me. I’ve already found one person, so I know there are more out there. As for the rest of the people, I just deal with everyone at their respective levels. I don’t know for sure if this is right, but I’ve less of a headache building my business.

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