Creating a Culture in Network Marketing and Direct Sales
Network Marketing is an incredible industry. It creates multiple 5, 6, and 7 figure earners every year. And, to attain this level of success does require work. In addition, it requires building a team of people who share the same vision. The key is — people. We are a relationship business, and growth is inevitable by creating a culture in your teams and your business.
Team culture is generally set based on a couple of different things;
- Your company’s mission and values
- The leadership
Understanding this, leadership skills and cultivating a supportive and motivational team culture are essential elements for success. And this is not only specific to network marketing and direct sales — but business in its entirety. But unfortunately, not everyone can be or wants to become a leader.
Anything that requires you to learn processes requires practice, personal and professional development, and a solid commitment to learning and motivating others are all considered leadership skills.
The Role of the Company Culture
Company culture is the personality of a company. It defines the environment in which people work – and spend time. Company culture includes various elements, including work environments, company mission, values, ethics, expectations, and goals.
For example, most network marketing companies possess a team-based culture with participation on all levels, while other business models have a more traditional and formal management style.
Google is an example of an organization with evident company culture. And although this isn’t a network marketing business – the culture is one to strive for.
According to its website, the company still feels like a small company with an informal atmosphere, even though it has grown immensely. At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office cafe, sitting at whatever table has an opening and enjoying conversations with ‘Googlers’ from different teams.
Every person is a contributor.
They have successfully been creating a culture in that environment for years. And have been able to maintain this as well. So much so that their retention rates of employees are among one the best in the corporate world.
So, you might be wondering what Google has to do with you and your team.
The answer?
Simple. Creating a culture where people want to stay is almost as important as recruiting new people. Now yes, recruiting into your business should be a consistent piece of your income-producing activities — but consider this, how much more powerful would it be to build a team that stays with you for years.
Creating Culture Leads to Retention
The best part about this is that it applies to customers too. We need to consider this; although most people join a network marketing or direct sales business for the extra income, they also participate in inclusivity. As human beings, we like to belong. We want to feel a part of something. Joining a business for social reasons is a close second to income.
When we look at companies like (and not limited to);
- Mary Kay Cosmetics
- Younique
- Monat
- Scentsy
… and others, they have created a sense of sister (brother) hood.
Their sense of belonging and inclusivity is paramount. They have created a culture where they spend time building businesses together, doing trade shows, supporting each other’s posts, etc. Before I say, much more creating culture can happen in every industry – and should happen in every team when we look at the health and wellness arena, fitness professionals, financial and cryptocurrency businesses, makeup, skincare, and all things in between.
The culture may appear slightly different, but the emotional attachment is the same.
People thrive off emotions. Arguably, there are some debates about why direct sales, for example, is female-dominated – because they believe in making connections. Not that men don’t, but we might agree it is on different levels and/or not the majority.
Creating a culture where people feel good – is a place they want to join, stay, and buy from. Customers should also be included in whatever capacity of this culture. We know that our best customers often become our best distributors – but more importantly, customers will spend money where they leave feeling good.
Almost like, customer service.
Think of the last time you were in a store, and the sales representative was good to you. Whether this was a Target or Publix, Walmart or Macy’s — the next time you shop, the emotions of how you left feeling on the last occasions are still there. And, if they were good, you would probably be more inclined to return.
This isn’t any different than the culture you create for your customers. Some distributors have chosen to use Facebook Groups or VIP Groups tools. This is an excellent way, when done correctly, to engage customers, share specials, giveaways, etc.
Strong Team Culture Creates New Leaders
‘Envision how the new team member is likely to grow and can in the near future take on substantially more of the team training responsibilities’ Pauli Kalungi.
Creating a strong culture will help you find people with a burning passion for success. Encouraging that fire to heat up so you can achieve aspirations and dreams must be part of it. This starts as soon as someone joins your business, your team. It is possible that your business partner joined you because of the culture they witnessed or experienced.
Empowering new team members to become proactive in growing their business allows them to add value to the team, their business and the company in unique ways. As part of creating culture, encourage your new team members to take the reigns of their business.
A system should be part of your culture. We often see the ‘Getting Started Checklists‘ or tools of that nature. Plugin with your leadership team and use their resources – this is not a place to reinvent the wheel but a place to join in on what is working – the right way. Creating a strong culture is also imperative to duplication within your team.
The ‘Customer Culture’
It starts with the ‘value proposition‘ of the product or service. Is the product valuable enough in its actual results to be worth the price charged? And this has nothing to do with the first sale. Marketing hype can create first sales. But instead, we’re talking about offering customers an experience that they are willing to pay for over and over for years – in some cases, decades.
A strong customer-based business will allow you to build an empire that could last forever.
Creating a customer culture is to educate, educate and educate some more. And serve, serve, serve the customer. For example, people declare they love a product after having a positive experience. But what about months later? Educating your customer about the context and the need for the product, giving them continued credibility and endorsements (not spammy!!), and showing them how much you value and appreciate them will keep them coming back.
Always love on people.
The word ‘culture’ derives from a French term, which derives from the Latin ‘colere,’ which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to actively fostering growth.
Bottom line, creating a culture in your network marketing business is essential, but it is also crucial to the long-term success of your teams, customers and business.
Leave a comment below on some things your team does to create a culture and ultimately foster its growth.
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