Ten Things I Wish I'd Known As Leader in Direct Sales

***MAJOR DISCLAIMER***
This post is strictly related to my own personal experiences as a leader and does not in any way reflect anyone else's leadership style. My hope is not to make anyone feel bad, but only to help any who struggle in this area.


My crystal ball wish: The ten things I wish I'd known...

1. People are not always going to be motivated or inspired by the flaunting of our victories, trips, and successes. These things can, of course, be highly motivating, but there is a big difference between peppering with the occasional picture or post, and flooding people's newsfeeds. Done too often, this can be quite disheartening and unmotivating to people, especially during convention time. Take care to create an environment of sharing the benefits of the business, without alienating people who feel like they work just as hard as you and may not be where you're at yet. 

2. Don't expect incentives to fuel your team forever. People can only work for incentives for so long before it is evident the incentives don't do much to reflect their hard work. Incentives are definitely a good thing, but choose them wisely, and don't get into the bad habit of spending too much money and time on them, or begin to rely on them as your only means of inspiring your team. There are better ways to inspire people in the long term.

3. Don't bulk message your downline as your primary method of getting in touch with them. This can be an effective tool for getting information out to your team, but it is rarely motivating and can start to feel impersonal, and pressuring to some. I suggest having a group forum that you use for getting info out about meetings, events, company information, etc., and/ or inspirational posts; but as a tool for motivating and praising team members or using too often as a "check in," bulk messaging can backfire quickly.

4. Don't start treating your team members as people who work for you. They do not work for you, they work WITH you. Remember, though you rely on these people to keep your business thriving, they are also people who have jobs, families, obligations, bills to pay, and mouths to feed, just like you, and their time is just as valuable as yours. You took great care to present them with an opportunity you hoped would change their lives for the better, you did not make them interview for it, and they do not punch a time clock for you. There is truly no "I" in team.

5. If you want to keep the friends you had before direct sales, think it through before "recruiting" them to your team. I have seen friendships since high school end over direct sales. Remember to treat everyone like they are as important to you as your very best friend, but when it comes to asking your very best friend to join your team, be careful they don't ever feel like the business is more important to you than they are.

6. If you want to keep the friends you made during your time in direct sales, find other common ground besides direct sales. Trust me on this, once you leave a business, be prepared to leave all but a select few of your new friends behind too. It's nobody's fault, it's often just lack of common ground beyond direct sales.

7. If you invest very little of your time in your team, they will likely invest very little time in their business. This is a difficult line to teeter because you don't want to pressure your team, but you don't want to leave them to sink or swim either. I wish I had the perfect solution for this issue, but the best thing to do, if you're unsure, is to just ask each individual team member what motivates and inspires them. Do they respond better to incentives, recognition, phone calls, one on one meetings? Find out what it is and write down a little profile on each person if you have to, but learn it and apply it.

8. Don't expect to magically know how to lead overnight. The day you officially become a leader isn't the day you know how to lead. It's only the beginning of your long journey of learning through trial and error. Learn from others. What other leaders do isn't always going to be right for you, but it's great to have the experiences of others to help shape you in the what-to-do and what-not-to-do aspects of leadership.

9. Be sure you want to BE a leader and that you are 100% committed to it before you actually commit to it. There's nothing worse than getting neck deep into leadership and feeling like you just don't want it. And it's not fair to those you lead, if you cannot commit to leading them. More often than not, your team's flame will die out soon after yours does.

10. Don't ever tell anyone they didn't want it "badly enough" after a failed attempt at their business. Some people can follow the training and business model to a T, and it will not work the same for everyone. Telling someone they didn't want it badly enough, even if it is true, is in no way encouraging to them on any level. Only if you want to make someone feel horrible about their efforts, should you ever say something like that to them.

In conclusion, it is easier to mess up leadership than it is to be spectacular at it. That's not to say there aren't tons and tons of amazing leaders out there, of course there are. I know many! But the common mistakes leaders make, especially new leaders, can really stress a team out and turn people away from the business forever, and that's not what we want. We want to INSPIRE and change people's lives for the better. 

My best advice in avoiding the major pitfalls of direct sales leadership is to take some serious time in developing your own method of leadership. Get together with your leader, or a leader who aligns nicely with how you see yourself leading, and get some advice from them. Talk to your team members too, you'd be surprised how much insight you can get from people who aren't already in leadership positions. Make sure you are prepared for the ups and downs, because there will be plenty, and be sure to give yourself a break too. We're only human, we all make mistakes. Trust me, I've made plenty, and will continue to do so. 

Always lead with honesty, integrity, and an open heart, and you can't go wrong.