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7 Things to Look for in a Network Marketing Leader or Upline
Filed under BusinessOct 2I was recently involved with a network marketing company that at first looked like a good proposition. My upline was helpful at first but then I saw the cracks starting to form as the foundation fell away.
Because I was not getting much help from my immediate upline, I decided to find the most successful person in my immediate upline and work with them. All was going well for a while until I could no longer afford to purchase product on autoship due to illness which caused me to leave work.
Once I told my “power upline” this news, she immediately told me that I was not longer part of the team because I was not serious enough about the business aspect.
I have decided that I would conduct some research and create a list of important attributes that I would look for in an upline from now on.
1 – A true leader encourages and supports
If you upline is more concerned about their position in the company, the awards they will win, the amount of money they will make (from your efforts) or are just purely selfish then have nothing to do with them.
A true leader supports, assists and encourages their team to perform well for their own benefit, not the benefit of the upline leader. They will share stories about potential pitfalls that they may have encountered and how you can avoid them.
The will support you even when you are ill, unemployed or just need some space. They will not just tell you to “piss off and get over it” or “come back when you are serious”.
2 – They must have a positive outlook on life and people
Network marketing is a people business, it is all about relationship selling. It IS NOT a pure business in the more traditional sense where relationships are not quite so important.
If you upline is more interested in making money than helping people with the wonderful products offered by network marketing companies then find someone else to join up with. I don’t care if the person trying to recruit you is a friend, neighbour or worse still, a relative. If they are doing it for the money only then find someone else.
3 – Ensure they have sufficient business and product knowledge
This is important, but not as crucial as having the right intent. Knowing the business and the products only allows them to explain it with ease to others. Not everyone knows everything about a particular business model, product range or compensation plan but your upline should be able to explain the most important aspects of each of these concepts.
4 – The ability to motivate
Knowledge without the ability to inspire or motivate is really boring. Find someone that is a good story-teller, has a nice cheerful personality and can speak in front of a room with ease. There is nothing more painful than sitting in a meeting presented by someone that is nervous, cold, flat and uninspiring.
Having a live-wire as your upline will make doing business with the much more enjoyable the the meetings will fly past quickly.
5 – Consistency is important in a leader.
You upline should hold regular meetings and set goals for you, the team and themselves. If they are not organised and motivated to achieve their goals, it will be much harder for you to do the same.
All network marketing companies have a set of procedures, policies and training modules for a reason. They have shown to be successful for that particular company model or product. If your upline or a leader in your team is constantly trying to reinvent the wheel and make changes to everything then they are more than likely the wrong type of person for network marketing.
Research has shown the entrepreneurs and salepeople are the worst performers in network marketing. Find someone that is stable, consistent and reliable.
6 – They must have a good name in the industry
This extends beyond the current company as a lot of network marketing people hop from company to company. Do a search for the upline or leader on Google, ask around other network marketing companies, ask other people within the current company you are evaluating and best of all, follow you feelings.
The leader that I was having problems with had a bad name with a previous network marketing company and is creating a bad name with the current company. It is alleged that she is downline raiding and building a large team outside of the Policy and Procedures.
7 – You must maintain control
If your upline or team leader is trying to micro-manage your business then this a sign of their own insecurity. People learn at their own rates and a good leader knows this. Unfortunately, the micro-managing leaders try to force you along at THEIR rate, not yours.
If you have kids, you know that telling them what to do will never work, it is the same for you in network marketing.
Conclusion
Just remember, now matter what people say, this is YOUR business and you should treat it like a “real” mainstream business with a few exceptions: have fun, do it at your own pace and make friends with the people in your team.
Follow your feeling and intuition but more importantly, do some research. Research the company, research the product, research the person trying to sign you up (recruit) and research other options. If you are already deciding to join a network marketing company then ultimately, it does not really matter which one you join.
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