Showing someone the solar business opportunity and related solar services is just the beginning. While we do provide all the tools, training & systems they need, it’s up to YOU to provide them encouragement & support – guidance & leadership. While I am still learning myself and will continue to do so for the rest of my life, I would like to give you the information you need to be a great leader.
The basic premise of Leadership is very simple – people will do what you are doing. If you’re building your team, they will build. If you’re promoting the REnU, learning the company mission, and being a positive beacon, they will copy & mimic your actions. You need to look at yourself every day and determine if you are the person you want your team to copy… The most important thing you want to determine at the beginning is if you want to be a Sponsor or a Recruiter.
The following information was written by someone within another company but it seems appropriate for this message. It has been slightly revised to reflect our perspective but there are some great truths here. If you embrace these early on, you will build a powerful solar energy business.
Are you a recruiter? Or are you a sponsor?
-- There is a big difference!
A recruiter is effective at "signing up" people, and then moving on to "sign up" others. The recruiter seems to be in a frantic search to find superstars among the crowd, and their way to "find" them is to "sign them up" and then watch and wait. The recruiter believes in "love ‘em and leave ‘em." He expects the superstars to eventually rise to the top, and the others to eventually quit.
The sponsor has a different attitude. He believes that any person worth sponsoring is worth developing. The sponsor believes in "marrying" the people he sponsors. The recruiter believes in the "one-night-stand."
Being a sponsor is an ongoing, continuing activity. It is this ongoing activity that creates loyalty to the sponsor, and gives the sponsor serious credibility. The recruiter is a traveling salesman; once he has sold you, he is gone. The sponsor is a helper and a teacher who wants you to have the training and tools you need to be successful, and the encouragement to keep plugging away at it through the hard times. There is also a transferable concept here. Your sponsor wants you to be a sponsor. A sponsor develops other sponsors by deliberate, careful help and encouragement. A recruiter expects a born superstar. Superstars are "made," they are not "born." They are "developed." Making a superstar takes training, encouragement, help, patience, and time. It takes being a caring sponsor.
What does it take to become a superstar?
It takes a lot of attitude-type things, such as confidence, commitment, determination, credibility, etc. Where do these "attitude" type things come from? They are learned. They are taught. They are inherited. Here are the stages of the development of a superstar.
1. Learn to be a real sponsor.
2. Develop others who will be real sponsors.
3. Teach them to teach others to be real sponsors.
Solar business success will be found in this: the recruiter is not building a "multi-level" organization, it is all one level (and most of them will quit). The sponsor is building a duplicable system that can run downline through his organization. This builds a powerful downline because it is built deep and strong.
What is the difference between a recruiter and a sponsor?
It is the difference between "hype" and "help." The sponsor’s job begins when you enroll; the recruiter's job is done when you enroll. The goal of the recruiter is to sign up people. The goal of the sponsor is to train leaders. Before asking yourself which you want to be, ask yourself which do you want your upline to be. Remember, you are the upline to other people. The key to success is found in 2 rules:
1. Be a sponsor.
2. Keep being a sponsor.
Here are some tips to make you a Great Sponsor:
* Send a personal email to everyone who joins on your team. Welcome them, give them your contact information and let them know you are available to help them if they want or need it. Don’t hesitate to touch base with your team mates weekly and remind them you’re available. You may also want to share how your own team is growing.
* Set up a group through your email provider. Each time someone new joins beneath you, add them to your Group. That way you only have to send one email to your entire team. Just make sure you put the Group name in BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) so that everyone’s email address doesn’t show up – email courtesy.
* If you would like a more robust email tool, you may contact me or review your Ecopreneur Toolkit for recommended email auto responders.
* The best thing you can do to keep your team growing rapidly is to lead by example. If you are signing up new members, so will they. It’s really pretty simple. If you have tips to share with them, please do. Show that you are an active member of the Ecopreneur community; posting messages in the forums, asking questions, learning, or attending events to broaden your skills. Teach others and you will become better.
* Keep an eye on your entire team through your business back office software. You can send emails directly to people just by clicking on their email address. When someone on your team brings on their first new Ecopreneur, send them an email to congratulate them. As their team starts growing, send them more emails to congratulate them or offer up some resources or tools that you’ve already created to save them time or help them out. Let them know you are aware of their success and encourage them past their failures.
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Now, let’s be realistic about building your solar energy business. All of you will run into signing up people who aren’t really doing anything or doing much marketing & promotion. That’s okay – just know it’s going to happen. They’ve got their business and since it doesn’t cost them anything to have it, there is no reason for them to cancel. So there they sit – receiving training, update messages, as well as all the communications pushed out by the corporate marketing department.
At some point, I bet they will awaken and start seeing the success that you are having and want some of this as well. Since you don’t have to worry about writing them a check every month and they don’t have to worry about qualifying to receive their compensation, your messages will eventually get through to them and they’ll be ready to take advantage of what we are giving them.
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Are you building your business using the Internet?
Are you a Proactive Leader? Are you contacting every person on your team to welcome them and offer help? If you are, you’re definitely on the right track. Even if they never need your help, they know you are there and that they aren’t alone. You should never have anyone in Citizenre to feel alone or that no one is out there ready to help them. Put out the invitations as often as possible and let people reach out when they seek guidance or help.
One of the potential hazards of having an Internet Business is that it can become too impersonal. You never talked to them to get them signed up, so why should you talk to them now? Every member who signs up through the Internet is a person – with real dreams, and a real life, and real reasons for joining. Don’t you want to know who they are, what they do, and how they can help your entire organization? Be a Proactive leader. It will do wonders for your business!
Being a leader is great fun. You will meet many amazing people through my personal journey and will build some great relationships with people you may never have reached “inside” your comfort zone. Step “outside” your comfort zone, contact a stranger and talk to them as a like-minded, concerned Global citizen, and compassionate human.
The stronger your team is, the more secure your future will be, and the greater the impact you will have on our rapid shift to alternative energy sources. You can BE and ARE growing into a solar visionary on a path to really make a difference.
