Feature Article...
Building a Bridge
I blogged a quick note on October 20th “Why Are You Working With Them?” and Zanna, one of my readers, asked a great question.
In my original blog post I suggested you’re wasting your time if you continue to work with people who say they’re going to….(and fill in the blank) but never actually pull it together to get started. The point is they never get started. We are not talking about what they agreed to do.
I suggested to “bless ‘um and move on.”
Zanna ask about a technique to do that. She also asked how to avoid getting caught in the cycle again when the person actually goes away but only for awhile. They return with the same promises but no action therefore starting the cycle again.
Here’s a great way to move past people who take your time (and their own) but don’t follow through. I call it “building a bridge.” The best way to get clear what this accomplishes is to consider what a bridge does. It allows us to move back and forth over something that otherwise would be difficult to maneuver.
And that’s just exactly what we’re going to do. We’re going to give these people a way to come back to work (the key word there – work). But the bridge will also allow us to disconnect so we can free ourselves up so we can work our business efficiently by working with those who want to build a business and are willing to take the action to do so.
Let’s look at the steps it takes to build this bridge.
-
Compliment them with something that you like or admire about the way they do business or a trait they bring to the table that you think will be good for their business. (e.g. they are a good listener).
-
Then tell them you get that this is probably not the best time for them to build their business, because it’s tough for them to take action right now.
-
But when they’re ready to take action you’ll be right here ready to work with them.
This lets people off the hook and gives them a way to leave feeling good. (That is why you make sure you compliment them first. No one needs to go away feeling bad.)
If they do come back your job is to let them decide what they think is the first thing they need to do in order to move their business forward. Why does letting them decide make a difference?
You’re not telling them what to do. They are deciding what they need to do to move their business forward. Why is this important? What is the first thing a two year old says when you tell them to do something? We all know the answer to this even if we don’t have kids, NO. Does it get better as they get older? How many teenagers do you know that respond well to being told what to do. Ask yourself, do you like being told what to do? Certainly I don’t. That’s why I own a business.
Rather than telling people what to do, coach your people into the most efficient ways to run their business. This way you’ll know what they are about and what they are willing to do and they are much more likely to follow through.
What is a great technique for coaching? Asking questions until the person sees herself clear to her first step. One of the first things I’d suggest you do is coach your new recruit to get store hours in place. If it were me I’d do it immediately after they’d filled out their application and paid their money. Yes I mean immediately. Before we parted and made an appointment to meet again. Then from the beginning their business has a clear time to operate. |
What is the usual outcome of coaching someone to make their own decisions as to how they are going to move their business forward? Typically they’ll take action on what they said they were going to do. Why? Because it’s their idea and that holds a lot more weight than your idea.
The other thing that comes out of this is you’re off the hook to remind and push. It’s their idea what they are going to do and their time line. What I’d do after she decided what her first steps are I’d ask her to look at her calendar (now she has her store hours) and make a time to get the task completed. Then make an appointment for them to call you to check in and debrief about how it all went.
Make sure they understand this is a real appointment. You are blocking time to talk in your calendar and expect them to be there. This is step five of the “5-Steps To Work Less and Make Money in Network Marketing” that are covered in the first two ezine issues. (When you draw boundaries and make things clear keep it in mind that honey often takes you much further than vinegar.)
If they call and didn’t do what they said they were going to do. Build another bridge and let them go again.
If they don’t call at the appointed time let them go. Send a build a bridge email. It might go something like;
Sorry you missed our call. You know (name) you do blah blah really well
and when you’re ready to build your business I’m here to help.
Short and sweet but real and final.
If you apply these techniques it should help you to move on from the professional “I’m gonnas” and keep your business going in the right direction.
|
