Is Your Network Marketing Business Gummed Up?
Your network marketing business is meant to operate like a finely tuned, high output machine. Unfortunately, there are times when just the opposite occurs and your network marketing business gets bogged down. Once the business is bogged down, the output gets substantially reduced. Often times the reduction in output is also evidenced by a reduction in income as well.
To illustrate my point today I want to use the example of my children’s candy machine. About a year ago, I decided that I needed to teach my two youngest children (ages 8 and 12 at the time) about these basic business principles:
- Making your money work for you
- Cash flow
- Owning your own business
Things That Could Gum Up Your Network Marketing Business
So why am I telling you this story and what does it have to do with your network marketing business. The reality is that just like any other business, a network marketing business can be brought to an absolute standstill by internal issues that get out of hand. The Skittles® in my kid’s candy machine in and of themselves were not the problem. This variety of candy had been earning them money for months. Sitting next to an exterior entrance in the hot July heat and humidity were the culprit. When exposed to those elements, the Skittles® became the picture you see above.
Some of the biggest log jams in our business occur in much the same fashion. One very common example comes from the use of technology to promote your network marketing business. Instead of merely teaching the skill set, the network marketer ends up spending all of their time playing “tech support” for others who are struggling to grasp the technical side of the skill. So now instead of spending 4 hours talking to prospects about their business, they are spending those four hours trying to coach Joe on how to create an image banner in HTML. While they may be helping Joe to become more technically savvy, they are taking themselves and Joe away from the real business building activities.
Another scenario that often gums up your network marketing business is training overload. Good companies and systems strive to offer continual training and personal development opportunities. The material they present in these training sessions is top notch and very worthwhile. Unfortunately many network marketers feel compelled to be on each and every training that is presented. In the end they become information junkies, with their heads full of knowledge even though their feet are stationary. The other picture of this is the marketer who is trying to do every single thing they have learned, becoming ineffective in all of them.
Freeing Up Your Network Marketing Business
The key to freeing up my children’s candy machine was the removal of the individual components, taking the time to scrape, soak and thoroughly scrub each one. The second part of this process is preventative in nature. The kids are going to choose another option that is less climate sensitive. The process for freeing up your network marketing business is somewhat similar.
When you see that your business is gummed up, it is important that you identify the reasons. The easiest way to identify these things is to look at your business component by component. When you identify an area that is bogged down, it is time to retool that area. For example, if you are spending too much time being the “tech support” person for your team, then locate a third party that you can direct those question to, or create a video series that will walk people through that process. By taking this step you will free up your time. In the example of the training overload, you would simply develop a training schedule for yourself that provides you adequate training while leaving the majority of your time for business building. You could also choose to take advantage of recorded training that could be adapted to your schedule.
When your network marketing business is running smoothly, the benefits can be enormous; however, you must be diligent to ensure that your business does not get gummed up over time.
