Are you making this mistake? Where Direct Sales companies go wrong!

Before we get too far, we observed Mental Health Awareness Day this week. Let's all do what we can to support those who deal with it because it's not always up to them. It's not something they choose. Empathy is the word. Ok...

What’s a sure way to turn working with your company into a nightmare for your sales force?

Forcing them to do things in a very specific way. Just in case you don't make it through the whole article, I'll say it now: stop pushing people to build their businesses in one specific cookie cutter way. There's your TL,DR (too long, didn't read).

Now, don’t get me wrong—every company needs a way to teach people to build a business in the absence of good uplines and mentors. But here's the catch: turning those guidelines into rules and forcing them onto your affiliates (the field) can backfire. Big time.

Make Sure You Watch and Learn

Take a look at companies that crush it in this space. What do their top leaders have in common? They all work their business in their own style. They don’t all follow the same cookie-cutter approach. Some lead with the product and some lead with the opportunity. They've each developed their own unique "system" for creating a successful sales organization that moves lots and lots of products or services.

The most effective systems will naturally rise to the top, and that’s the beauty of it—there can be more than one way to achieve high levels of success and create massive sales. Both affiliates and the company have a better chance to win when people are free to find what they are passionate about, something they can push sincerely and intrinsically. In other words simply because they believe in what they are doing.

Lead with Product or Business?

The question of: should we lead with the product or the business? is almost as infamous as "what came first, the chicken or the egg?"

Is there a wrong answer? I don't believe so! No. In building a business, people should focus on what makes them passionate. That's how they can push passed the discouragement and the tough times; by working on something they believe in, their mission. That could be getting people to use the products or service and change their lives by the results of them, or by helping people to build an extra stream of income outside of a job. Both are life changing and worthy causes.

Don't force passionate product lovers to focus on selling a business! Just like you wouldn't force business builders to focus on giving product lectures. It won't work. They are doomed to fail! From personal experience I will give you the following piece of advice:

Figure out what people are good at and then figure out how to maximize it.

It's as simple as that. Anything else outside of this guideline is just risking the flow and the zen of the business.

The Mistake of Forcing and Enforcing "How to".

Although it doesn't happen a lot, I have seen it done: companies try to implement a system to work the business. What we tend to call a Duplication System. While this is not a bad thing, at all, it can be turned into a detrimental situation. As they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Affiliates and Brand Partners: If your company has a duplication system and you have no idea of how to work the business, go ahead and take advantage of it. That's what it's there for.

Corporate Teams: If you have a duplication system, that's great! Put it out there, announce it, train on it and invite people to take advantage of it. However, don't make the mistake of pushing it on your brand partners simply because you have it or you're trying to get your ROI after having paid someone to develop it for you.

Trying to push or force affiliates on the "How To" of building a business is the wrong hill to choose to die on. Besides, it just comes across as narcissistic at best. A control-freak style of leadership at the helm. Strong producers and top leaders will want none of that.

Myths and Reality

Here's a good myth: Companies grow because of its duplication system. Reality: All companies that grow do so because of a clear vision, the right type of leadership, great strategy, good plans, excellent execution, worthy products and good culture–ball park. There are other ingredients we could add, and that's the point: you can't attribute it to one single thing.

Let them do what they do!

Trust me when I say this: Leaders don't need you to come meddling in their strategy. Trust me again, one of the most harmful things you can do to the field is get into your leaders' teams and "fix things". If they are working, excited, active and growing your sales, let them be and let them do what they do!

It is not corporate's job to tell its leaders that they are doing the business incorrectly. You can tell them they are doing something wrong when they are, like making income or health guarantees. However, wrong and incorrect are not the same thing. You may not like what a group is doing because you think it's dumb and it doesn't scale. Guess what? They already proved you wrong. They are a group. Obviously it scales in some way.

Have you built a team bigger or more successful team?

If you've never built a team or a team bigger than those you're trying to "fix", there has to be enough humility present to realize that there may be some things they know that you don't when it comes to building a team.

Until then, just focus on being really good at your job and support their efforts in whatever capacity you decide. Hey, leave them to their own devices if that's what you feel you have to do. Just, please, don't get in their way.

How should we help?

The best way to help is to play our part they way master musicians play their instruments:

• Keep things smooth
• Keep inventory updated
• Direct deposits made on time and
• Keep communications open and constant

Focus on a creating a culture of happy affiliates excited to share!

After hearing from dozens of distributors from different companies this week, one thing was certain: being excited about your company matters.

Some of these people are using traditional approaches, others more online and social media, others are just selling product and acquiring customers. Yet, they all are happy to talk about their company and excited to share about their products.

They are seeing success whatever that means to them and they are loving it. Give me one of those for every 10 trying to drill a system into their heads. I'll win 9/10 times. Let’s not forget that the people who connect with your company on a personal level because of the story they created will pour their heart and soul into sharing their story with passion. That kind of passionate effort will always outperform forced systems.

So, in review:

· Don't Push!

· Let people do what they do.

· Help maximize what they're god at.

I'm always happy to hear your perspective. Leave a comment.