Do You Have to Be an Expert to Teach Someone in Your MLM?
by: Gobala Krishnan
"How can I teach others when I am not successful myself? That's ethically wrong..."
If you're in an MLM program, you might have heard that question from one of your affiliates. You may even have asked the same question before. I know I have, and I get it all the time too from people in my group.
Many people say this when I mention to them that a big part of being in an MLM program is to help others "duplicate" your efforts. Teach them to fish, instead of giving them the fish. If your affiliates are not able to duplicate your efforts, at least to a certain degree, it will be very hard to see real exponential growth in your organization. So is it wrong to teach someone when you're not "up there" yourself?
Well, it really depends on WHAT you're teaching them.
My father thought me to ride the bicycle, and I have thought others to ride the bicycle. My father was not an Olympic cyclist; he was simply teaching me what he knew. Nothing more, nothing less. And to this very day, I appreciate him for it, for otherwise I would never learn something as easy and as fun as that.
So teaching others what you know is perfectly OK! It's human nature to teach. Whether you realize it or not, you do it all the time, with family members, friends and spouses.
Here's what I consider ethically wrong...
It's wrong to teach people how to be an Olympic cyclist, when you're not an Olympic champion yourself. It's common sense, right? You cannot teach someone to reach the top of the mountain if you have not shed tears and blood to get up there yourself. Doing otherwise IS unethical, for you're only leading someone down the wrong road.
So even if you have been in MLM for only one day, always remember that you DO have something to teach your downline affiliates. Simply sharing your experience, in most cases, is more than enough. Tell them what you like about the company, the products, the opportunity, etc. Tell them the truth about what you feel.
If the question is technical in nature or beyond your expertise, please say so to your affiliates, and refer the affiliate to your upline leaders, corporate support, websites, or online forums for more information. There is nothing wrong in showing them where they can get more info if you can't provide that info yourself.
This is ok... after all, network marketing is supposed to be all about teamwork, right?
Don't recommend anything you've not personally tried yourself. Don't teach anything you're not sure about. Don't make up stories. Don't fake the figures. Don't fake your emotions. Don’t give false hope.
Most importantly, don't doubt the relevance and significance of your own knowledge. Confucius said that "If three men walk with me, one can be my teacher". We can all learn from each other, and thinking otherwise is a mistake. It’s only your way of thinking that stops you from sharing and touching another human being in a sincere way. And you’ll need to change that in order to be successful in MLM.
You cannot, and probably should not, teach someone about the road ahead of you, no matter how many books you’ve read, and how many seminars you’ve attended. However, you can always look back at the road behind you and teach them how to get to where you are.
So share your knowledge with everyone if your team. There is always something that they can learn from you, and there is always a way you can help them to duplicate your efforts.
How many have you helped this week...?
Copyright 2005 Gobala Krishnan
About The Author
Gobala Krishnan is a member and a writer for the International Association of Home Business Entrepreneurs, the perfect knowledge tool for network marketers to train and grow their organization. Visit his site at
http://www.home-business-association.com/IAHBE to get more info.
