Over on the Speaking of Amway blog there’s been some interesting discussion about what’s the best way to "train" new IBOs. For quite some time I’ve been thinking that perhaps it’s not any "training" per se that may need adjustment, but rather our overall approach to new IBOs. It’s well known from "system" statistics that generally only 2-3% of registered IBOs ever even participate in their training, and the TEAM vs Quixtar case in California revealed that overall only 5% of new IBOs even place an order after they register.
Bridgett makes the case a few times on the Speaking of Amway site that one of the problems is that folk register people as IBOs that never should be registered. I think this is true, but on the other hand past experience tells us that many of the folk you think should be registered don’t do a thing, and some of those folk who you think are a waste of time build big businesses. So who are we to judge?
I think we, as a whole (meaning the corp., system companies, and upline IBOs), do let down new IBOs, and I suspect one reason is the approach many of us have as upline. We are there for new IBOs as "Mentors", when what they really need is a "Personal Coach". Mentors generally act as people who are there for you when you want guidance and advice. You need to approach them. A modern personal coach however, is a different kettle of fish. People spend fortunes hiring personal coaches who will ring them up and virtually harass them if they’re not at the gym. They’re far more proactive in getting their "clients" to get their bums off the sofa and doing something.
Perhaps we need to do the same thing with new IBOs? I suspect we may treat them as "business owners" well before they’re ready to take that mantle. Should we, with their permission of course, be far more proactive with new IBOs? Or does that risk them ending up being ex-IBOs complaining their upline harassed them and told them what to do?
There has to be some middle ground and some useful guidelines to consider. Are you a mentor or a personal coach with your IBOs? At what point does proactivity become harassment? And most importantly, what can we do to help new IBOs get started properly?
Post a comment below or Discuss this post on Amway Talk
…
I am just wanting to know. What is mentorship when you sell a product… Please explain. Either your a qualified John Maxwell or you sell makeup and vitamins!
Selling a product is selling a product. Building a team is building a team. They are different skills and both have their challenges. Both have in common having to deal with rejection and learning to communicate with people.