What Do You Do When Your Network Marketing Upline Isn’t Supportive?

So, you’ve just started your network marketing home business. You’re excited, ready to get going and make some money. But you need coaching.

Did you know that the waiters and waitresses go through an average of 40 hours of training and observing before they do their job on their own?. Forty hours! To bring people food.

So, you should definitely expect to need some training if you are starting your own business. But the cool thing about most network marketing opportunities is that you can learn as you go. Sure, you need some initial training before you take some action, but the majority of what you learn will be as you go.

But what do you do then your upline isn’t supportive? Where do you turn for coaching and training? I’ve heard this questions countless times, and for several reasons.

Maybe your sponsor is just as new as you are and aren’t equipped to lead or coach you yet. Maybe your upline lives far away. Or maybe they aren’t as involved in the business as they used to be. Here are a few things you can do to get the training you need even if your upline isn’t supporting you.

Reach Out for Cross-Line Support

Some companies, like the one I’m partnered with, have a great culture of cross-line support. This is support from people who are not in your upline or downline. They are not tied to you financially in any way.

Why would someone want to help you if they don’t benefit from it financially? There are several reasons.

One reason is that you learn a lot when you teach. So, they can actually develop themselves as a leader when they are in the coaching role. Another reason is that it helps the entire company and overall brand. The more the company grows, the better it is for everyone. There’s a lot of integrity in helping those who are not financially linked to you. Or, you may be able to help them down the road with some of their team members.

This is the case in our company, because we have team members in other states mentored by people not on our team. And those people have team members in our area who we can help. It’s a mutual benefit.

The best way to reach out for cross-line support is to just ask. Explain your situation and then just ask for some training. Chances are, cross-line leaders will already have a specific training system set in place they can plug you into.

Just a warning: there will be some cross-line leaders who see you as competition. So they may not help you, but keep looking for those with a different mindset.

Get Corporate Training

Surly your company has some sort of corporate training. Maybe it’s a video, maybe it’s a starter kit with training guides and tools, etc. Find out what training tools they provide and follow the system. I’ve build a lot of training and prospecting tools for many different companies, so your company very likely has something like this.

What most people new to network marketing miss about training is the importance of repetition. A lot of people go through maybe one hour of training and then never revisit that training or seek out more training. Yet, they expect their business to grow while they don’t work on their skills.

Go to any NFL or NBA practice and you know what you’ll see? You’ll see the best players in the world practicing blocking and tackling, layups and free throws. It’s the same stuff they were practicing when they were kids. They’re the best because they mastered the fundamentals.

Find out what the fundamentals are to building your business, and focus on learning that. Call your corporate support and ask for training materials.

Get to Events

I could write several blog posts about the importance of attending events and local training. In fact, I think I will!

I honestly don’t know of any top earners in this industry who don’t regularly attend events. Getting around like-minded people who have the same goals as you is invaluable and cannot be replicated. There’s just something different about physically being together.

Events are also perfect for meeting cross-line leaders you can learn from. So, find what local events, business presentations and trainings are happening in your area. Attend those regularly. Even if you feel like you know what they are teaching, remember that Steph Curry is somewhere practicing his free throws. And Tom Brady is practicing his drop-back. Repetition. Fundamentals.

Seek Out Third-Party Industry Coaching

OK, shameless plug here. Seek out coaching from people in the network marketing industry who regularly offer advice and coaching (like CoachDavidLee.com, you know,  just as an example). Some of this coaching might be free, and some might come in paid extensive training packages such as CD and DVD sets, audio downloads, books, etc. Others may offer one-on-one coaching programs.

If you are looking for help with specific issues, search the Internet for training on those specific issues. Whatever the issue, you can bet that many other people have that same issue. Common ones are prospecting, how to invite someone to look at your business, team-building, developing the right mindset, or just entrepreneur researches and books.

If you’re not regularly seeking out coaching and training, you’re not a serious business owner. I have met and worked with CEOs and leaders of hundred-million-dollar companies, and many top earners in the network marketing industry, and all of them are constantly learning and growing. If they don’t have a personal coach, they are pouring themselves into books and other training programs.

You should do the same.