MLM Master Class

“Motivation”

By John Counsel

Why doesn’t it last? Why don’t rallies and other “rah-rah” meetings really work? Why is the let-down next day so bad? And, more importantly, can it be fixed?

"No, it can't be fixed," claims The Profit Clinic's John Counsel. "This false, manufactured 'excitement' is the wrong thing, for all the wrong reasons."

Discover what WILL work, instead.

The secret lies in understanding the true nature of human motivation – and how to change it through effective leadership – not emotional manipulation.

There’s a cynical view that defines Multi-Level Marketing as “a room full of people getting highly excited about not making any money”.

Just about everyone in Multi-Level Marketing knows the feeling. You go along to a company rally. You applaud the speakers and their success stories. You cheer the achievers up there on the stage. You clap and whistle and stomp your way through a steady stream of new product releases, new sales and sponsoring promotions, new literature and sales aids, and you tell yourself “this time is IT… no more stalling… I’m going to go out there and finally do it! First thing in the morning!” Oh boy, you’re excited!

The problem is, first thing next morning you no longer feel like you did the night before. In fact, more often than not, you feel worse than you did before the meeting . You doubt your ability to get out there and achieve. You just can’t find whatever it takes to stay “motivated”.

Again.

And, before too long, you reach the conclusion that you never will — and you quit.

Sound familiar?

The fact is, this scenario isn’t confined to Multi-Level Marketing. Any organisation involved in selling spends a small fortune on “motivational” speakers and meetings for its sales people. Over and over again, because the effects are so short-lived. It seems that only a tiny handful of genuine achievers can ever make the grade.

Why does “motivation” fail to last?

To find out, we have to look inside, at our own motives.

Motives are what drive human attitudes and behaviour. Motives are internal, and they work from the inside out.

Take a look at Figure 1 — which shows the relationship between out motives, our attitudes and our behaviour.

Our attitudes reflect our inner motives, whatever they are. In turn, our attitudes influence our behaviour. Our behaviour is how we make contact with the world around us – which is why it’s the outer circle.

So you can see how the process works from inner to outer in logical sequence.


Now look at Figure 2, which shows the three levels on which human beings operate. Can you see the connections between the two sets of circles?

Our behaviour is actually a function of our bodies. Our words and actions. Our motives are closely connected with our minds – our thoughts. This is the real person, the one whose inner thoughts determine everything they say and do. Our attitudes are very much a function of our emotions. Our past emotional experiences, and our personal values, all shape our attitudes and help determine our emotional responses to things that are then translated into physical behaviour. Hopefully, our rational mind is able to control the whole process and override any uncontrolled emotional response to a situation, such as the one described at the beginning of this article.

The secret of successful motivation is NOT manufactured excitement or hype.

Motives have to have substance to be real. Trying to force people to succeed by manipulating them emotionally is about as rational as trying to steer your car with the horn.

Or like trying to fill a glass with beer at ten paces from a super-high-pressure tap… all you get is a glass full of froth. When the bubbles all burst and the air finally evaporates, you’re left with a glass that’s all wet, lots of deflation, and very little substance. Much like the way we feel after being artificially “motivated”!

Unless motives can be changed in such a way that they change attitudes and behaviour, we’re wasting our time and, more than likely, doing very real damage.

Substance abuse

By manipulating peoples’ emotions we also trigger a physical response: the endocrine system begins pumping out adrenaline, our heart rate surges and we feel ”fantastic“ (another very familiar word in this context).

In reality, this is nothing more nor less than internally induced substance abuse. And just like any other form of substance abuse, such as drugs or alcohol (which are both externally induced), there’s a pretty nasty after-effect when the stuff stops coursing through our veins. The let down is real, and the long-term physical, emotional and psychological damage is just as real. “Executive Burnout” is a classic example of this pattern of long-term internal substance abuse.

Is it any wonder, then, that the morning after a rally is usually such a let-down? We’re experiencing it on every level… physical, emotional and psychological! In terms of cause and effect, it’s no different to a hangover or any other come-down from a drug-induced “high”.

The reality’s quite frightening.

People who would never dream of abusing drugs or alcohol wind up abusing their own body’s internal systems — “hooked on their own juices” as the saying goes — the most insidious form of substance abuse of all because it’s hidden from view. Worse still, we actually encourage others to do the same when we adopt this approach to “motivation”!

So what’s the answer?

We don’t have room here to examine the underlying principles that apply. If you’re serious about creating a permanent solution to this and similar problems in your own group, you need to educate yourself on the processes involved in human fulfilment. Here are two useful, FREE resources (both will open in new windows for your convenience):

For now, let’s look at some simple methods you can apply right away to help yourself and your people overcome the let-down that always follows artificial “motivation”, especially at Rallies and other meetings.

The secret…

The sad fact is that most people are “motivated” by Fear of Loss… the most negative, emotionally-dependent “motive”. More people experience fear more often than any other emotion. It’s not really a motive at all. Fear of Loss is the reason they don’t buy, don’t join, don’t sell, don’t prospect, don’t sponsor — don’t do anything.

To succeed in MLM, our motive needs to be the exact opposite: the Desire to Share what we have… the most positive, emotionally independent motive.

How do we change motives?

For a start, forget about forcing it. People can only be led. They can’t be “managed”. The contrariness of human nature ensures that the more we try to force a result, the less likely we are to achieve it — because most people are driven (“motivated”) by Fear of Loss. It’s that simple.

(By the way, using force is illegal. There are laws against it. You can actually go to jail! And using deception instead is just as illegal — and just as stupid!)

It’s virtually impossible to get people to make the quantum leap directly from Fear of Loss to Desire to Share. It’s just too big a gap. But we can help them to move in a more positive direction, to Desire to Obtain. Once they obtain whatever it is they desire, the natural human response is to want to share that sense of fulfilment. The change is now achieved as a natural consequence of their desire to obtain. But it’s not quite that easy. There’s still something else you need to do as an effective leader.

The Two Keys

To help them move from Fear of Loss to Desire to Obtain, we use a simple Key: VISION – the promise of fulfilment. By creating a clear picture in their minds of what it would be like to achieve their desired goal, we focus them away from what they might lose onto what they might miss out on if they don’t act! But that’s not enough on its own.

The real secret is to ensure that they then achieve their goal — the FULFILMENT of that promise. And this is why rallies and other forms of “motivation” ultimately fail: because they’re all promise, and no fulfilment!

So, unless there’s immediate, measurable progress toward fulfilment of the promises held out to your people at the rally or meeting, they’re going to revert back to Fear of Loss, becoming damaged in the process.

You cannot – MUST not – provide the fulfilment yourself … or they simply become emotionally dependent on you and fear the loss of your support! As a true leader you have to lift their vision to what’s possible, then hold their hand, sit down with them immediately after the event and map out a SMART plan of action to achieve their goal:

Get them to write it down. Help them visualise the result, clearly. Help them get started. Boost their confidence. Stay in touch. Point out any pitfalls. Pick them up and dust them off when they fall, and help them stay on track*.

One they achieve their first, very short-term targets (fulfilment!) they’ll want to share their success.

Bingo!

You’ve done it… together!

*Help them stay on track with the powerful resource materials and training available to them and to you right here on this website. Explore the site and links to other sites.

© 1995 John Counsel. All rights reserved. No reproduction by any means permitted without prior written consent of the copyright owner. This article appeared originally in Australian Business & Money-Making Opportunities magazine.

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©1998 The Profit Clinic. All rights reserved. This page updated 12 December 2004.