Solar Energy Business: Avoiding Over Managing Your Team
I’m going to chat a little about something that trips up a lot of new Ecopreneurs. You’ve probably sponsored a few teammates by now…or maybe you’re still working with some prospects. Regardless, it is never too early to learn the business management strategy I’m about to share with you.
Building a successful solar energy business should be based on a team-building philosophy rather than a supervisory or micro-management model. Perhaps the most frequent cause of failure in any home-based business is the mistaken belief that we must micro-manage the people on our teams; our virtual teams that in many cases we seldom if ever get to meet face-to-face. It’s tempting to bring a few Ecopreneurs in and then want to stop and devote all your time to making those few people successful – that’s what we call the Management Trap.
Let us quickly point out that there is a significant difference between managing and supporting the people who are now part of your marketing team. Playing caretaker to your team creates a false codependency; doing for others instead of teaching and encouraging them to do for themselves. The real power comes from leveraging the tools, resources, and knowledge of others then putting in place a self-replicating process that will grow your teams deep and strong.
You may have been in other businesses or corporate America as a manager. These positions require a much more hands on approach. You may have had to lead meetings, or do conference calls, or a myriad of other “business things”. The first thing you have to get into your head is that your business and network marketing is different. Because it is simple and many of the tools are in place that you don’t have to do all those things. It also doesn’t hurt that the solar offering and related business opportunity more or less sell themselves.
All you have to do is teach your teammates to use the systems that have already been created for them. All they have to do is get people to their corporate Website…then let the tools take over from there. The real job of an Ecopreneur is to follow up with prospects, answer outstanding questions or interpret the information that may be in question, and work the process of reserving the REnU systems or Ecopreneur registrations.
But let’s take a closer look at the Management Trap in more detail anyway -- hopefully ensuring it will never be an issue for you.
The Management Trap creates two serious problems for a solar energy business builder. First, it produces weak and lethargic members because someone else is doing their work for them. Second, while managing others, you are losing valuable time that could be more wisely invested in reserving additional REnUs for your customers or helping new Ecopreneurs get up to speed, i.e. building your business even stronger.
Remember, new blood is the lifeline of ANY business. Continually building your prospecting pipeline adds to the vitality and a constant source of tasks & activity to your entire business. If you stop prospecting and referring customers to the REnU solution before you are earning enough to live comfortably, then you lose valuable ground. It comes down to a commitment to keep yourself moving in a consistent manner towards your goals.
Even worse - This is a business of leading by example, the Ecopreneurs on your team will do the same thing – creating even bigger problems for you in the long run. The bigger issue though is that you are setting up the people on your team to not do as well as they could, because they are following your example!
Supporting your growing team, on the other hand, is part of the marketing approach inherent in the Ecopreneur Network. It involves responding to legitimate requests on the part of any and all of your team members, or giving them encouragement when they are feeling down.
I’m going to continue to discuss the differences between creating dependency and reinforcing self-sufficiency. It is critical that you recognize (and the sooner the better!) the difference between productive activity and ineffectual, time-wasting practices.
We want to re-touch upon the importance of business goals again. Have you decided what your solar business goals are? Are you content with just referring 5 REnU customers, zeroing out your utility bill or do you want to take it to the TOP of what the solar business has to offer? Think about it. If you want to go to the TOP, then the information in this email is for you. Even if you think it’s not for you – pay close attention. As you see your solar energy business grow, your dreams will get bigger and bigger as you discover the true potential of what you can accomplish.
Most of us are drawn into this business because we want to be financially successful, we like to help people be part of the solution, and we all individually want to make a difference. That’s great, but it gets pretty tricky when you are trying to understand exactly what “helping” is. Too many of us find it easy to fall into the “Messiah Complex.” You know, we want to save the world – well, at least all the Ecopreneurs we bring in. Because we care about them, we are determined to make sure they succeed. It can easily turn into managing their business for them and not letting them grow into successful business leaders by doing the critical activities themselves.
Here is an irony you will see played out over and over as you build your solar energy business. Those Ecopreneurs who demand the least attention are usually the ones who become the most successful.
It’s easy to sign up a new teammate, and then proceed to do everything for them. You make their phone calls; you print their FRAs; you handle all their computer & login problems for them. They call you every day for simple questions they could get answered by reading the forums or searching the corporate knowledge base. They want to whine and complain about how “I got the – How is this possible question again” or their best friend didn’t come into the business, instead of moving on to the next prospect. They always have an excuse for why their business isn’t working for them. Your response is to work even harder to make sure they succeed. After all, this person really needs you. When you get to the end of each day you wonder why you feel drained and discouraged, instead of rejuvenated by a growing business.
You’ve fallen into the Management Trap. Your biggest challenge will be figuring out who is really going to build their business. To succeed, they must have belief before evidence – passion before product. That is, they have to be able to picture themselves there and feel the emotions of it long before it happens. They have to be willing and eager to do what it takes to succeed. It is unnecessary to fall into a management mode when what we truly need to do as a leader is to teach them how simple the solar business system really is. “Get people to your website!” It really is that simple. The REnU Solar Solution is an easy sell. The market is ready. The World has a critical need for this service.
This very automated training system you are going through now is the same one your new team members may go through – if you decide to do the work to get your systems in place. Reach out and ask me. I’m here to help…to a point. Find the people who are committed to doing what it takes, give them the right tools, and then let them go do it.
Managing is always a temptation. But if you are truly hitting the numbers it takes to succeed, you won’t have time to fall into the Management Trap. You might think it is much easier to work with your existing team than it is to go out and have conversations with new prospects. But because your team will do what they see you doing, you’ll end up with a whole team of people doing this. If you spend most of your time reserving more REnU systems, so will they.
The secret is not managing your organization; rather it is finding leaders who will in turn find other leaders. Generally, leaders must be found; they can’t be created. Many people have untapped leadership skills that aren’t “found” until the timing is right. You just have to keep finding people who are excited about our mission. The leaders will emerge if you introduce them to the systems and resources already in place…then turn them loose to build their own solar energy business.
So what do you do, right now?
* Have conversations and get the business information in the hands of the best people you can.
* Make sure they have completed their Training and know their websites, inside and out.
* Make sure they know how to use the resources available and leverage what's already created.
* Encourage them on a regular basis to push to new heights and to evaluate their goals.
* Go get the next person who will become THEIR next leader.
Just don’t DO for your Team what they must DO for themselves!
