Who Ya Gonna Call?

How many times have we heard from frustrated networkers, "I don't get any support from my upline"? Too often, to be sure. What does this actually mean? This has been especially problematic for me in my business. Here's my perspective on the matter of team support.

Treat others as you wish to be treated.
In years past, I experienced the uplines that would contact me at very dependable intervals. This would typically occur during the last three days of the month. As a courtesy, they would tell me how close I was to the next pay bracket and usually had a few product recommendations that would "put me over". (This is a direct result of programs that rely on a self-consumption business structure to feed the compensation plan.) And, of course, there were the calls inquiring about whether I planned to purchase extra tickets to the next function.
In short order, I grew to resent these calls and even began screening them at the end of the month. I resolved that I would conduct myself differently with my team.

Putting it into practice
Later, when I had moved into a new company, I found it easier to maintain regular communication with others on the team. There was no emphasis placed on trying to drive group volume through the end-of-month chaos. Certainly, I wanted my team to achieve high monthly numbers for their bonus checks but it was to be derived from sales to actual customers. (Customers defined as an end-consumer that does not derive any business benefit in the form of bonus checks or rebates from the purchase of products and/or services.) This enabled me to focus more on the relationships and how I may be able to assist them in a meaningful way to them.

That number is no longer in service
I found myself enjoying a new aspect to my business that I hadn't known in my prior experience. I made a point to make regular connections with those in my team. I would call everyone at least once a month, just to say "Hi" and see how things were going. As my organization grew in size and diversity, this became more challenging to accomplish each month. Suddenly I found that some people were "unreachable" and messages would not be returned. Admittedly, I was becoming troubled when my weekly emails were getting bounced as well.

Harsh realities
I had begun to take this upon myself as though I was failing my team. I began to blame myself for their lack of success. Here's what I came away with from those experiences.

• Give the best you got to those that want it.
• You are not responsible for the success or failure of anyone else.
• You may want it more for people than they want it for themselves.
• Support your team with equal concern for relationships and business matters.
• Suppress your ego when people seek assistance from you.
• You do not have to have all the answers. You just need to know where to help people find them.