What Is This Thing Called Duplication?

Duplication is, in my opinion, often misunderstood in our industry and because of that it often fails. And of course, that is really problematic because duplication is necessary to build a vibrant network marketing business. Sometimes it is best to describe what something is by first talking about what it is not. Duplication is not about turning your team into automatons. You are not cloning yourself.

Trying to force change in a personality is like fighting gravity. It’s not gonna happen, not on this planet.

One of the definitions from Dictionary.com nails exactly what ‘duplication’ means for network marketing:

To do or perform again: repeat.

For those of us working a network marketing business, duplication is an action. It is a verb. It is something that we do and our team duplicates. It is not something our team members become. It is an easy concept really. We see it in lots of places. McDonald’s is the old standby example. Certainly the personalities behind any counter at any McDonald’s are varied.

But the process in which the product is made is identical from one McDonald’s to the other – across the globe. The McDonald’s’ process is duplicated.

Duplication for network marketers is about duplicating our processes. It is about duplicating what we do (money making activity) every working day that

• creates possibilities 2. which may turn into probabilities 3. some of the which turns into results that ultimately generate income.

So Why Is This Tough For Network Marketers? Because we don’t have a system of money making activity that people can follow. Oh, I can hear your groaning, “Yes I do!”

We have a Starter Kit the company sends out. It tells them what to do. I have a Welcome Package I give them. It tells them what to do.

And I am sure you do. But let me ask you, if you are so sure you have an appropriate “starter kit” or an “appropriate welcome package” why isn’t it working? Why don’t you have duplication?

Why aren’t the people in your organization all consistently doing the same money making activity that you do?

Hmmmmm?

We can tell ourselves it is because they are not “self starters.” And you’d be correct. They are not. But the process of duplication doesn’t require ‘self starting.’ Think McDonald’s again. Do you think they are staffed by teams all over the world who are self starters? No, neither do I.

Duplication doesn’t require “self starters.” Duplication requires following something that has already been done. Let’s go back to the Dictionary.com definition of duplication: To do or perform again: repeat So What Might Be Missing From Your Starter Kit? Most of us in network marketing know that we need to train our new recruits to make a list of people. We tell them that they should call them and invite them to: (fill in your blank) A meeting? A conference call? A three way call?

This is money making action. Getting everyone to do it and train their new recruits to do it is duplication. The problem is, all too often the new recruit may call one person or two and most likely will not sponsor anyone and then doesn’t call anyone else again.

I know, I’ve worked a network marketing business or coached the industry at large for 20 years. A constant lament I hear is I can’t get my representatives to work. They don’t pick up the phone. And if they do make calls they don’t do it consistently. I don’t seem to be able to find (here it is again) self starters.

But here is the rub.

You have given them only half of the duplication equation. Yes, only half. They know “what” to do (make calls), but they don’t know “how” to do it.

Let’s look at McDonald’s again. Do you think they were simply told to “make hamburgers?” That’s what they do. They just make hamburgers. How difficult is that? We all know how to make hamburgers.

Obviously, McDonald’s did much more than just tell their franchisee’s ‘what to do’. They didn’t just say, “Make hamburgers.”

The Other Half Of The Equation McDonald’s not only told their franchisees to make hamburgers they taught their franchisees “HOW” to make that hamburger. McDonald’s did that so well they are the number one restaurant in the world. And it would be tough for anyone to argue that it is because the hamburger is the best in the world. What McDonald’s did was come up with the best ‘duplication system’ in the world.

You see folks, if people don’t know ‘how’ to do something, even something as simple as making a hamburger, they often don’t do anything and seldom do it the same way twice. Thus, things fall apart.

Let’s stay with the McDonald’s’ example for a bit longer. What is McDonald’s promising? The best hamburger in the world? No. McDonald’s promises the “same hamburger” anywhere in the world. Consistency. People like to go into the same place and get the same service each time. It keeps them coming back. They know what to expect. Their hamburger may not be gourmet but you know exactly what you are going to get.

Now, how does this translate into one of the most viable businesses in the world? The system of putting those hamburgers, fries, coffee etc. together is completely spelled out. There is no room for guessing. This is where the fryer machinery goes. This is how many fries go in a basket. This is how much weight is in each burger. This is how many pickles on the burger. And this is how the pickles are placed. Think about that for a minute. McDonald’s’ franchisees’ are taught not only how many pickles but “how” they are to be placed on the burger. We are talking system here. We are talking duplication here.

How Do You Add Duplication To Your Business? You set up duplication by setting up systems for each facet of your business. Don’t panic. You already have a system. It is what you do now. Most likely, however, you haven’t documented it so that you are conscious of what you do. However, the problem with not documenting your system is if it is not explicit you most likely will not do things the same way each time and you can’t teach and coach it. Plus, there is no studying your system to see what works, what doesn’t, what might be missing and what’s great and should be expanded.

I have watched mediocre network marketing businesses turn into financially vibrant business once their system(s) were in place and driving their business.

Once they were using their system(s) to drive their businesses they could train and coach their downline to simply drive the system (like McDonald’s) to success.

A Duplicate System To Jump Start Your New Recruits. You may have to break up the following steps into more than one meeting. It depends on how much time you have with your new recruit and their energy level. If you are training on a Saturday morning and have the time blocked out to get through these steps, then it should be fairly easy. If you are training at 8:00 pm at night, then it may take a few appointments to get through it.

Ask your new recruit,

• “How much money do you want to make in your first three months

so this business is real for you?”

• “In the longer run over the next six months to a year what kind of

money would you like to make?”

• “How will that change your every day life?” (This is a huge

question!) All of these questions start your new recruit’s vision. These questions feed an emotional reason to keep them going when the

going isn’t so easy. Emotional reasons are key. We are emotional beings. We are driven by our emotions. Find out how the money they make will change their lives. “Financial independence” is not a good answer. What does that look like for them? None of us work for green pieces of paper with pictures of dead white men on them. We work because of what that currency will bring to our lives. Get them to articulate it. Get them to talk and write about how that experience will feel.

• Store hours – Without good clear working hours your recruit’s business courts chaos. A business won’t survive chaos. If you don’t have a great system to get your new recruit and their friends and family on board with store hours check out our Savvy Sponsoring Store Hours CD If you send your new recruits home to do their store hours alone, then they most likely won’t get it done. Do it with them.
• Identify how many events per week and what kind of events your new recruit needs to do in order to accomplish their first set of goals.
• Circle all the dates your new recruit has available to work in the month. The goal is to circle more dates than she needs to meet her goals. This is really important. It seems easier to fill six of eight (or ten) spaces than six of six! (It is that emotional being thing again.) All of us can buy calendars. But knowing how to use them so you love your calendar is what makes it a great tool. If you don’t love your calendar you either leave it behind or forget to open it. Check out SavvySponsoring.com to learn how to run a calendar you love.
• Ask your recruit to identify (right then) at least 3 to 5 people she thinks will be interested in playing and working with her in a business of their own.
• Identify the first few people she’s going to speak with about holding an event that she believes will only be hostesses or customers. (Make sure she realizes she could be wrong and to always ask if they have interest in starting their own business.)

The best way to ask someone about the business that we think is not interested is to use the “after thought” technique. Only a couple of sentences are necessary. You literally interrupt yourself with a “By the way...”, and then give a couple of sentences that (similar to your elevator speech short, sweet and to the point) point out the benefits of your business (that’s benefits not features).

• It is your job to go over with your new recruit exactly what she

should say for each of her first contacts. That includes people who are going to simply be customers and for sure all those people she identified for you in step 7 above. Every minute you spend making sure your new recruit is thoroughly trained in how they are going to run their first calls, including what they are going to say (that means written out, rehearsed and then practiced with you) will be worth solid gold to both of you.

• Follow through using the Savvy Sponsoring “Five Steps To Work

Less and Make More Money” to make sure she knows exactly what to do with those who say, “Yes, I’m interested.” (I’ll call you next week is not the appropriate response.) Use the “Five Steps” to set her next follow up with you to go over her successes and frustrations. The Savvy Five Steps are available to you at no cost at SavvySponsoring.com. Simply go to the Savvy site, tell us where to send them and they’ll be on their way.

Is This Baby Sitting My New Recruits? After outlining what it takes to get a new representative up to speed so they can duplicate the business, I’m often asked, “Isn’t this baby sitting?” Absolutely not. Think about the amount of work it took to find this recruit. The hard recruiting work is done.

Now, finish the job professionally and make sure that they know exactly HOW to do what you tell them to do. Is this really too much work if it results in a team that knows not only what to do but how to do it?

Duplication depends on everyone understanding the system and being able to drive it themselves.

Duplication: To do or perform again: repeat.

Jillian Middleton Jillian Middleton is a Mentor Coach and Trainer, and author of the courses '5 Steps to Working Less and Making More in MLM' and Setting Up Your Store Hours and Design Your Calendar.

As creator of the 'Savvy Sponsoring Strategies' programs, Jillian trains network marketers and direct sales consultants the same strategies she used to build two 6-figure network marketing businesses in 5 years.

Get Your Free Report: The "5 Steps to Work Less and Make Money In Network Marketing" at www.SavvySponsoring.com If you would like to inquire about having Jillian speak at your next event, please send an email to speaking@savvysponsoring.com