Being a Great MLM Sponsor will Improve the Retention of Your Downline

There is a difference between a good mlm sponsor and an average one.

If you are a average sponsor, you will lead your downline in the right direction to get help. However, a good MLM sponsor (upline) is one of the best things you can do for the success of your business. It can increase the retention rate of the members in your downline. A good sponsor (upline) will lead you all the way to success and walk your journey with you as if you both shared the same goals.

No matter how good your company is, how motivated your downline is, and no matter how good the products are, if you're not giving your downline the PROPER support that they need to reach their goals, it’s only a matter of time before they quit.

Bring out the best in your downline and maximize the potential

of your business you need to be a good MLM Sponsor (not just average)

Qualities of a Bad MLM Sponsor

Even though your sponsor can point you in the right direction for success by

Introducing you to uplines
Keeping you aware of trainings dates
Business building activities
Team meetings that are coming up

. . . They can still be a bad mlm sponsor by the following reasons.

Not Knowledgeable

Actually if someone owns a business or takes ownership responsibility in the business, it is in their best interest to know the product, know the business, and know what they're involved in.

There’re times when you're trying to learn what the business is about and you'll find that some uplines constantly

Have no idea how the compensation plans work
How the product works
Don’t now the numbers to the customer service / upline help desk, etc.

Over time when you ask them a question, they pretty much brush you off or tell you to contact the company

No Leadership

If you're going to follow someone, most likely want to follow someone strong. You should be able to know what to do by what you see your upline doing.

Some leaders will ask you to do things that they’re not willing to do themselves (leading from the back). They take no initiative and blame you for not producing.

No Returned Contact

You have mlm sponsors that never return your call, e-mail, or text. There have been times where I'm actually putting in the work and I have a potential member on the phone.

There would be a question asked that I wouldn't know and I'd call my upline. Not only would they not return my call or texts, they would blatantly ignore my efforts to try to contact them.

Bossy

Some uplines will make you feel like you're working a full time job. Not that there's anything wrong with that because in network marketing you can do it full-time, part time, or during your spare time.

However, there are uplines that will tell you what to do, how to do it, went to do it and whom to do it with. When they find out that you slacked on one of those instructions, they act like they want to discipline you for it.

No 3rd Party Presence

There's nothing worse than when you have a potential member that you need to do a 2 on 1 or 3 - Way with, and instead of your upline being present, they tell you what to do with that potential member just so they can avoid being there.

You need their expertise and experience but instead you are left to fumble through words on your own

Never Available

This is one of the main reasons why some downlines quit. You join a business because you believe in the product and opportunity. However, you don't know anything. Sometimes instead of watching videos and going to professional trainings all the time, you need one-on-one help.

No one is ever available to sit down with you and go through what it is you need to do to reach your goal. With some people if there is no upline available when they need them, it’s only a matter of time before they quit.

Reasons why you may have an mlm sponsor or upline that fits the above descriptions is either:

They talked / forced you into it - Instead of realizing you were a person who actually had goals of having time and financial freedom, they looked at you as a dollar sign and put you in the system just to get a bonus check. They play on your weaknesses or make you feel bad until you give in and decide to join.
They made a deal - There are upline’s who offer you an incentive to sign up with them. They barter their services. For example, if your upline is a mechanic, they will say something like, “I’ll fix your car but instead of paying me, just purchase my products and come in as an distributor under me.

They are family - You may have signed up with them out of obligation because they are a family member and you want to help them out.

There are many more examples, but either of these 3 above have the wrong intensions and are potentially bringing you into their opportunity for monetary gain. Uplines who behave like this are most likely to do the bare minimum to see you on your way to your personal goals.

Now that you know what a bad sponsor or upline is (maybe because you experienced these problems yourself), learn from these mistakes and strive to be a better MLM Sponsor.

Qualities of a Good MLM Sponsor

You can be an average MLM Sponsor (Upline) to an individual and that is okay. However, if you want to bring out the best in your downline and maximize the potential of your business you need to be a good MLM Sponsor (not just average).

The qualities of a good mlm sponsor are:

Leadership

If you're going to be a leader it's important that you lead from the front. What that means is everything that you ask your downline to do you should be doing first.

Going to all meetings
Getting on all conference calls
Sponsoring new distributors
Using the products, etc.

You should be an example of exactly how you want your downlines to be.

Positive

Being an independent representative for an mlm company is hard enough when you have to deal with rejections on a daily basis (or weekly basis depending on how much time a representative puts in the business). Down lines don't need to hear you get upset or frustrated with them when they're really trying.

I had an upline one time who yelled at me once because I didn't buy the newest materials (that were realeased at least a couple days before) to show my next prospect. Then I've had uplines who encouraged me throughout my rejections. They reassured me that I'm doing the right thing and Help me realize my potential

Be Available

You need to be available several different ways when you're leader. With all the technology available now it shouldn't be as hard as it was 20 years ago. Now we have landline phones, cell phones, text, e-mail, Skype, FaceTime, Facebook, etc.

Also make sure you get back with your downline no later than 24 hours (the sooner the better). There’s no reason why a downline has to wait weeks just to hear from the person who put them in the system in the first place.

Be Active

If you have people in your downline who are looking to you for leadership they are also looking at your performance.

When I ran track I knew almost every professional sprinter's name regardless of what country they came from. However I was always motivated by those who I wanted to be like. My favorite track and field athlete was Michael Johnson at the time. Even though I admired others for their athletic ability, Michael Johnson was one of the ones that I saw that was actually active and consistent in his performance.

When your downline has an example to look at, and you are that example that may actually push them harder knowing that they have a direct connection to you.

Provide Training

Aside from the national and regional trainings, try to set aside one day per week to have a meeting with your downline. National and regional trainings are effective as you meet with other members and representatives nationwide.

However, an intimate weekly meeting will help with more of their personal questions. As a result, it may help them over the hump that might be holding them back. You can use conference calling, Skype or Zoom, to hold some meetings if possible.

Momentum

The easiest way to build momentum with your team is to have a system in place that every person in your downline can use. If everybody in your downline can use the same system, everyone (the serious ones) will move a little faster and be more encouraged.

Connect with Leadership

As an mlm sponsor it will benefit you greatly to introduce people who you bring into the company to your upline or mentor as well.

To be honest, there are times as a leader when your availability is stretched so thin, you may not be able to get back to as many people in a timely manner. Therefore this will create more people for your downline to reach out to.

Make sure they develop a decent rapport so they are comfortable calling them when they need to.

Set Goals

Everyone's goals are not the same. Some may want to make $10,000 a month, some may just want to make enough money to buy a car. Some may only want to make $500 month so they can invest just enough in the stock market to retire comfortably.

Set time aside with each person you bring into your organization to go over their goals specifically and work out a detailed plan how to accomplish those goals with them.

Help Use Products

You as an upline would know that if you have your downline use the products, it will increase their faith in what they have.

They would have experienced what it is to be a customer so their faith in the product could be solidified

. . . No Guarantee

As a disclaimer, don't think that just because you do these things and actually are a good upline to the person you sponsored that it will automatically guarantee your success. Sometimes the people you sponsor with good intention will avoid you and not be interested in doing anything you suggest to them.

It is vital that you know how to pick out the people who are serious in your downline and spend more of your time with those people.

Don't neglect everyone who you think isn't serious. Something maybe going on in their life right now where they can't devote as much time as you would like them to in the business. There has been people who sign up with companies and did nothing for six months. Then they decide to get serious. Months later they become top earners in the company.

My point is by saying that is always be reachable when your downline needs you. However, don't waste valuable time chasing people and begging them to what they they know they are to do.

Being a Great MLM Sponsor will Improve the Retention of Your Downline

Qualities of a Bad MLM Sponsor

Qualities of a Good MLM Sponsor

. . . No Guarantee

Recent Articles

Network Marketing Lead List: To Buy or Not to Buy

Pre Qualified MLM Leads: How to Generate Them

Pre Qualified MLM Leads vs Unqualified MLM Leads

Top 10 MLM Strategies for Success

Internet Network Marketing

Network Marketing Leads