Todd Falcone: The Kiss of Death in Network Marketing

February 25, 2020
By Team Business For Home

Top Trainer Todd Falcone stated:

I hope that term scares you to death…because it should. It’s why I didn’t use a more pleasant phrase for it. Getting into Management Mode is absolutely the “Kiss of Death in Network Marketing.” It’s the beginning of the end for you. Don’t do it!

I could have easily lessened or lightened the phrase to make it sound more gentle and sweet, but it is absolutely one of the worst things you can do as a network marketer. It is one of the biggest and most costly mistakes people make in this profession. And…unfortunately, it happens all the time.

What exactly IS Management Mode? It’s the moment you go from personally recruiting new reps and acquiring customers to only working with people on your team. That moment where you move away from personal production to overseeing what is going on within your team is absolutely deadly to your business.

I’m not saying that you don’t work with your team. It’s crucial you do so. It’s part of your responsibility as a leader. One of your main roles as a sponsor is providing support, guidance, mentoring and assistance to those individuals that are part of your team. In fact…if you ever take the time to read your Policies and Procedures, you’ll find that providing support to people you sponsor into your business is a written part of that Independent Distributor Agreement you have between you and your company.

Network Marketing is actually quite simple. No…it’s not easy. It’s hard work, requires patience, the willingness to push past your fears, the ability to be resilient and bounce back from setbacks…and a long-term outlook. On a technical scale, it’s pretty simple. We really only do two things:

#1: Get people in. Your role in this profession is to acquire customers…to find people who have a sincere interest in consuming or using the products and services that you market. You acquire real customers, people that are end-users of the products your company markets. And…you find distributors, people just like you who have a desire to build the business. In other words…you recruit people who want to make money by marketing the products your company makes available to the marketplace.

#2: Keep them in. You do everything in your power to help those customers have positive product experiences so they continue to want to buy from you month after month, regardless of whether they’re in your compensation plan or not. You stay connected to them, help them understand how to get the most from your products, and do everything you can to help them to have a favorable product experience. And…when it comes to people that you recruit, you work with them to help them create success.

It’s a combination of both acquisition and retention. We don’t just sign customers up and keep our fingers crossed. We don’t recruit people and toss them up against the wall like a piece of pasta and hope they get to work. We don’t send them on their merry way and say “go get to work and report back to me later”. You need to WORK with your people. Investing time in your new reps and others within your team is a core responsibility we have as leaders.

Let’s roll through an all too common scenario. You get into a network marketing business and start recruiting people and acquiring customers. Your team begins to grow over time and you begin earning more and more money. The demands on your time from your growing organization are naturally puling you in the direction of providing support. That’s normal.

People are calling you with questions, using you for 3-way calls, and introducing you to new people. You’re probably hosting calls, zooms, Facebook Lives and working to support that team. That’s what you should be doing. But…

…many people move completely away from personal production and end up only working with their team. They stop sponsoring. They stop recruiting. They stop finding their own customers. They end up spending all of their time working with the group and completely go away from personal production. That’s the “Kiss of Death in Network Marketing”.

No matter how big your group is, never stop recruiting.
No matter how much you’re earning, always find new people.
No matter how solid you think your business is, keep growing it from the top down.

Even in the most successful companies, people leave. That person you think will be there for life, they may be gone tomorrow. Your sister you sponsored (your blood) who is with you now…she may lose interest and stop working. That team that’s making you $40,000 a month right now that you rely on for your livelihood, they could be gone in an instant.

Never stop recruiting. Never stop acquiring customers. It’s your job. What else is there?

How can you expect your team to be in personal production…out there recruiting new distributors and acquiring customers if their leader isn’t doing it themselves?

Everyone is watching you. Your entire team’s eyes are on you at all times. They’re going to do exactly what they see you doing. People will do some of what you say, but they’ll do more of what you do. If you want to exhibit REAL leadership, you set the pace. You demonstrate through your actions what you want them to be doing.

If I want my team to recruit more, I need to be recruiting more.
If I want my team getting customers, I need to be getting customers.
If I want my team on the leaderboard, I need to be on the leaderboard.
If I want my team to show up for events, I need to be at those events.

I can’t tell you how many people I know and have worked with over the years that fell into management mode and had their entire organization fall apart. Someone gets to a level of success and think, “I’ve made it! It’s time to go play and let the team do it all!”

You can play and enjoy the fruits of your labors, but don’t make the monstrous mistake of stopping the very thing that will help you continue to grow your business.

The best thing you can do is to ALWAYS stay in personal production…while at the same time supporting your team. Regardless of what the demands on your time are for team, you always reserve time for your own personal production. Do not ever allow your team to fully control your time. They’ll figure it out. You don’t need to micro-manage or oversee every little thing they do.

I’ll finish with this. If you don’t heed this warning and you allow yourself to fall into management mode, your business will suffer. You’re very likely to see your check trending downward and volume dissipating. And…if you don’t get back into personal production fast enough, that entire group could fall apart.

It’s simple. Keep acquiring new customers and help them have a favorable product experience. Keep recruiting new reps and developing people. If you make it a point to always stay in personal production, you’ll very likely have a very successful and reliable income in network marketing.

About Todd Falcone

Todd Falcone is a highly respected independent Network Marketing trainer with over 30 years in the profession. He is the author of Fearless Networking, which has now sold over 400,000 copies worldwide in three different languages. His newest release, Leadership Evolution…is a comprehensive leadership development program that teaches people how to become and develop leaders in their organizations. You can learn more about Leadership Evolution right here: https://ToddFalcone.com/leadership

For more information on Todd and how he can help you become a better network marketer, visit: https://ToddFalcone.com