Blog Stuck On You

When I was about 12 years old, I had a soccer coach that I will never forget. He was an ex-pro named Steve. I remember a few specific things about that experience as a kid that taught me a lot about Network Marketing.

The first thing I would say is that he always spoke positively of everyone on the team.

Whenever we messed up, he never singled out one player as doing a bad job. Whenever we did great, he always recognized our efforts as a team, that enabled us to win.

There are some coaches that use fear, intimidation and anger to motivate players on the team. Bobby Knight, the former coach of the Indiana Hoosiers basketball team who has won more NCAA Division I men’s basketball games than any other head coach, used this approach for many years.

This approach is also what ultimately got him fired from the job.

My soccer coach Steve used a much different approach. He always saw the talent in every player. This would have been a challenge for most coaches, because our league was such that any one could play. There were no tryouts so every kid got a chance to play.

The administration of the soccer league took a look at player history, and divided the teams in the fairest way they thought possible based on experience, and past success.

When I got to my first practice, I realized that our team was largely lopsided. Every other player, with the exception of a friend who I had played all-stars with in previous years, had never played the game before.

This was a difficult situation for my friend and I, because we played at a level that the rest of the team could not keep up with.

This was a huge learning experience for me, because in our first three games, the team relied only on my friend and I to win. This caused the opposing players to double team us, and ultimately we would lose our first 3 games

Our very next practice is what I relate to as my first Network Marketing Training experience. Coach Steve decided to put in place a system of easily repeatable drills that were simple for everyone to do, regardless of their skill set. Instead of him teaching them to the whole team himself, he wanted my friend and I to show the other players..

At first this annoyed us because we thought they were too easy and boring. However, over the next couple of practices, my teammate’s skills got better and better, and they even looked to my friend and I as leaders. This made the training process easier, and more fun for everyone.

In our fourth game, instead of always passing the ball to my friend and I, the other players learned to leverage all players on the team.

Soon, we had a passing game that was unmatched in the league. We won 9 consecutive games, and made it to the final four of the playoffs. We did not win the championship, but we went further than everyone on the team had originally believed we could.

What can you as a Network Marketing professional learn from Coach Steve?

The first thing is recognition. Noticing the little successes of everyone on your team is one of the best things you can do to be a good leader, and inspire the motivation of your downline.

The second thing is teaching your best and brightest team members to step up, and teach the system to others. There is nothing more important to the long term growth of your Network Marketing business than developing leaders.

Coach Steve taught us easily repeatable processes for success in your mlm company. If you can do the same with your network marketing business, then you are sure to have a long and prosperous Network Marketing career.

Tags: Education, Learning & Training