Now that you’ve set your 2021 goals and you’re super motivated, you may be eager to get started and put all of your energy into your business and building a connection. The first step is to connect with your network. But how?, you may wonder. 

Whether you’re new to network marketing or you’ve been doing it for years, you may still feel anxious when making a connection with your network, especially with people you’ve just become acquainted with. The good news is, you’ll connect with everyone the same way, by following these tips.

Focus on service

Relationship is at the center of a growing network marketing business. It’s all about building and growing your relationships with everyone in your network, especially your biggest advocates. How do you build relationships? You start with trust. And, how do you build trust? By looking for ways you can help and serve them.

The role of service in building connection

When relationships are at the center of your business, service is also front and center. This doesn’t mean you act as a servant to them; rather instead, you look for ways to help. Help can come in the form of listening as they tell you about their struggles or challenges or connecting them with someone you know who can help. For example, if they mention a leak in their roof, connect them with a reputable roofer that you know. Or, if they mention a need that your business can fill, tell them how you can help. However, keep in mind that your business may not always fill the need, and that’s okay. The key to service is being helpful and of use.  Then you can begin to build a connection.

“Some of our finest work comes through service to others.”

-Gordon B. Hinckley

Finding ways to help

If you got into network marketing to help others, this may come naturally to you. You may automatically look for ways to help people, whether you realize it or not. Even if it doesn’t come naturally to you, there are ways to make helping a habit. 

• Listen. First, you have to listen to the other person. It sounds so simple, but how many of us truly listen? Often we’re so busy thinking of the next thing we’re going to say, especially if we’re nervous or want to make a good impression, that we totally miss the message behind what the other person is saying. Listening also includes reading and comprehending the written response of your network. What are they saying?
• Look for a need or a way you can help. Although some people will ask you directly to help, most will mention a struggle or pain point their facing. Still others won’t reveal it, but you can decipher it in their tone or actions. Tap into your empathetic nature and figure out how to help. 
• Know that you can always help. People don’t need grand gestures; sometimes they just want someone to listen and offer encouragement. The help with the most impact often comes from a small, seemingly insignificant act that gets to the heart of things. If you infer a customer, prospect, or distributor is having a rough day, send them words of encouragement in a short message in text or over social media or write them a short note and pop it in the mail. It seems like such a small thing; however, the other person will be touched that you took the time to reach out to them. It’ll show that you care about them as more than a customer, but also as a friend. They’ll appreciate it and it’ll help build trust, which is essential to any relationship.
• When connecting with someone, ask yourself, “How can I help?” If helping isn’t automatic, don’t worry. Just like weight lifting trains your muscles and makes them stronger, asking this question will help build your helping muscle. By taking a step back and asking how you can help, you’re making yourself present in the conversation. You become focused on looking for clues to help you figure out how to help, whether it’s a kind word or connecting them with someone in your network.
• If you’re stuck, think of the help you’d want in that situation. Although we all come from different backgrounds, we’re very similar in that we want to feel loved and appreciated. Empathizing with them is an expression of this. Put yourself in their shoes and think about what would make you happy. Is it a short message with an inspirational quote to encourage them, is it more action-focused, like getting the phone number or email of a business that can help. Chances are, what you’d like to hear in a given situation is what they’d like as well.

Keep in mind that all of these acts of service help build trust and the overall relationship you have with your network. They’ll look to you as someone who can help and has their best interests at heart. And, they’ll grow to trust you more and more and the relationship builds. As a result, they’ll go to your business when they have a need that only it can fill. They’ll also recommend your business to others and introduce you to other great people they know. With that, your business will grow and strengthen.

Be a connection hub

A hub is the center of activity. In the airline sense, it’s the airport that an airline routes the majority of its flights to. Socially, it’s the person who is at the social center of the community; the person who knows everyone and can connect people to one another. 

As a network marketer, you’re the social butterfly of the business. As your network grows, so do your relationships with people. At your fingertips is a powerful tool – a network of people who can help one another if only someone would introduce them. 

Now, we’ve told you that the best way to grow your network is to have your best advocates introduce you to other people just like them who will appreciate you and the services you offer. Show them how to introduce you by introducing them to one another. 

If they mention a pain point or need, think of who in your network can help. It doesn’t need to be anything dramatic – a customer could just mention that she wished she knew someone who could recommend a great children’s book for her niece. If it just so happens that you know someone who’s a children’s librarian or just in-the-know about children’s literature, connect them. Social media makes this super easy – send a private message and include them both. It could be as simple as:

Hi Anna! Sally was looking for a book to get her niece for her birthday and since you’re a children’s book guru, I immediately thought of you. Since you two are among my favorite people, I just had to connect you.

It doesn’t need to be a long, drawn out message. Just explain the need and why you wanted to connect them and let them take it from there. Who knows – they may become lifelong friends from your introduction. Even if they don’t, it feels good to connect people with one another. 

Success tip: When you meet someone, think to yourself, Who can I connect them with? You’ll need to ask some questions to get to know them better and understand what their needs are, but once you do, seek to connect them with other people in your network. They’ll appreciate it and it’ll help you earn their trust.

“Earn your success based on service to others, not at the expense of others.”

-H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Be a role model of connection for your team members

The old adage “practice what you preach” is true. If you want the people on your team to focus on relationships as they grow their network marketing businesses, you have to do the work as well. 

Think of who you can connect your team with to help them grow as people and as network marketers? Then, reach out and connect them, just the way that you want to see them make a connection with other people. When they see that you’re doing it, they’ll be inspired to do it themselves. They’ll be more motivated to listen to their customers, prospects, and distributors and look for ways to help them. And if they can’t help themselves, they’ll be more willing to reach out to others in their networks to connect them to one another. 

It’s more than good business skills, it’s good people skills, too! Think of how fulfilling it feels to help one another and connect them to each other. There’s no better feeling in the world.

Teamzy can help you build a connection with everyone in your network

Relationships are at the heart of Teamzy. We created our CRM specifically for building and maintaining business relationships. Simply import your database, sort your network and set your goals and Teamzy will create a list of people to connect with each day. If you’re not sure what to say, Teamzy has scripts to get you started. What are you waiting for? Build your relationships today with Teamzy and watch your network marketing business grow.