Coming from an HR Management background, I like to think of starting a new team member in my business similar to when we started a new employee in our company.
On their first day, we had a "New Hire Orientation".
The importance of this "New Hire Orientation" is to get your newbies through that initial set-up and familiarization as quickly as possible so they can "get to work" as quickly as possible.
In order to do so, you need to have the following Six ingredients in your initial training/orientation process.
But before I get into that, let me briefly breakdown the 3 types of individuals that will join your team.
It is a little off subject but I believe very important to get your head around and I will tie it in at the end..
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First, you have your 3 'percenters'.
These are the people who say "Get out of my way, I am going to make it happen!" Second, you have 27% of the people who get involved in this industry.
They are hardworking but need direction and leadership.
These 27% are the backbone of the industry.
Third, you have the remaining 70%.
These people just don't get it and never will.
They peak when they enroll.
They will blame EVERYONE and EVERYTHING but THEMSELVES.
It is really the 27% that you will focus the majority of your energy on.
Of course you never know where someone falls until they 'show themselves' and it is possible for someone to transfer from the 70% into the 27% if something changes in their life that ignites that fire.
But the bottom line is don't focus your energy on the 70% who just don't get it because if you do, the frustration of their inactivity can (WILL) "kill" you and your business.
Besides, it's not fair to you and the other 30% anyway.
Okay, with that said, here are the Six ingredients you have should have in place for everyone who joins your team: One: You want the initial training/orientation to separate the "need to know" from the "nice to know".
What do they NEED to know to get to work.
Of course, they'll want to come back to the entire training system over time but it is real easy to get side-tracked and lost in all the information/tools/resources available and delay actually getting started.
So, get them through that initial set-up and training as quickly as possible, into action, and then they can come back and learn as they go.
Two: Get your new team members introduced and plugged into the company, team, network.
This is important because even though you should be their first point of contact, at least initially, by getting them plugged in, it creates a sense of "community" and belonging to something bigger than just the two of you and helps them see the "big picture".
Three: You must have a communication tool in place so that your new team members have access to you for their questions.
The last thing you want is for someone to sit there frustrated with no one to go to.
With all the tools available, it's very easy to leverage your time in this area (i.
e.
skype for example).
Four: Get them started where they're standing on lead generation.
By this, I mean when introducing your newbies to lead generation, don't start someone who is new to the industry and the internet on advanced internet marketing strategies out of the gate.
I don't care how good of a swimmer they are, they are sure to drown.
Instead, have them select 1-2 advertising/marketing/lead generation strategies that they're comfortable with NOW and start there.
Perfect it and then move on.
For example, placing free ads on the internet is a great place to start - gets them acclimated and then once comfortable they can expand from there.
Postcard marketing is another great way to start because it's so simple and will have people calling THEM.
Of course, you should already have resources and training on various methods and not just one or two.
Five: They need an immediate source of leads.
One of the key skills to be developed in Network Marketing is prospecting and recruiting (Learning how to talk to people).
I don't care what lead generation strategies you choose to grow your business, this industry is all about communicating with people and you HAVE to know how to talk to people.
Most of us don't come into this industry with this skill but rather it's learned over time and the only way to really get good at it is to practice, practice, practice.
NOTE: make sure your newbies understand that this is just practice so they're in the right mindset.
The whole point is getting practice so that once they start generating leads, they're effective in their presentation.
Face it, most of us totally stunk at this when we started so that's okay.
It is just part of the learning process.
The number I target is 300.
I want my newbies to talk to 300 people as quickly as possible.
Of course they can enroll people along the way but put that aside for now because their main objective is to practice in order to develop the skills, the posture and to get comfortable.
Six: Get your newbies plugged into and working on Personal Development immediately.
Really this should be number One but...
Personal Development in this industry is Absolutely, Positively ESSENTIAL! AND it is a process NOT an event.
So plug your newbies into your company-sponsored personal development training, your team training, professional mentors, books, CD's, etc.
When bringing on new team members, keep those percentages I talked about above in mind.
Understanding the breakdown will alleviate a lot of the frustration in this industry.
Yes, it is difficult to see potential wasted but it's not enough to want it for someone, THEY have to want it.
So, be available to everyone you bring on board but just like you shouldn't chase people to join your business, don't chase people to build their business.
Be there for when they're ready but don't 'chase them'.
Instead, focus on your own personal growth and being there for those who step up and ask for your help.