As you build your network marketing business, you’ll want to create a strong team of thriving network marketers. Although many teams seem like they’re naturally cohesive, getting to the point of team unity takes time and, most importantly, good leadership. Behind the scenes, a lot of work is done by the leader and the team to create and foster positive chemistry and healthy, supportive relationships. At the center is trust – if there’s no trust, it’s impossible to create a thriving and successful team. So, how do you develop great chemistry within your team, based on common ground and a common goal – to succeed? 

Create healthy team chemistry

Team chemistry is all about trust. The team members trust that their leader has their best interests at heart, and the leader continues to work hard to ensure that this trust is preserved. Although challenges may arise – they always do – the team knows that their leader will not do anything to jeopardize that trust. The author Simon Sinek refers to the “circle of trust” and explains that in the modern business world, when teams feel safe and supported, they’re more likely to work together. He bases this on the theory that prehistoric man relied on one another for safety. Although they couldn’t predict when an enemy – human or animal – would strike, they could control the conditions within the group. This meant building the trust that they would have each other’s backs. 

The same is true in a network marketing group. Sure, you’re not concerned about hungry tigers approaching at night to feast on the group, but you may be worried about outside economic forces negatively impacting the business. Or negative attitudes from within the group infecting and reducing the morale of your team. When the team trusts their leader, they’re better equipped to weather economic storms and ignore negative attitudes that may fester from within. In fact, a well-functioning group with high levels of trust in their leader and one another may even be able to turn negative attitudes into positive ones. In practice, if a team functions in this way, they’re said to have great chemistry. 

What is chemistry?

Chemistry is that connection you have with someone else based on common ground. In teams, it’s the connections they have with one another based on what they have in common. Although sometimes this chemistry occurs naturally, often it needs to be nudged along by a leader. 

As a business owner, you’re the center of your team. You’re the person that everyone on your team knows; after all, if they didn’t know you, they wouldn’t trust you enough to join your team in the first place. Your mission is to connect your team to one another so that the trust they have in you, they have in the other team members as well. 

How to foster team chemistry

Here are a few ways to develop and nurture the chemistry of the team.

Change your mindset

When you’re just starting out, you may have the mindset of leading a small group. You may not be thinking that far down the road when you’re leading a much larger group of people. However, thinking small in the beginning will make it much harder to change your mindset later one when your team has grown. 

Work to change your mindset now and act like you’re leading a large team already. That large team relies on you for leadership – they’re watching your every move so they can emulate it themselves. Regardless of whether your team is three people or 300, act like you’re leading the much larger team.

Meet with your team regularly and consistently

To build trust, your team needs to know they can rely on you and to do that, they need face time. While the events of the last year have made it impossible to meet face to face, the good news is there are online meeting tools that make it easy and fun to still see your team’s bright, shining faces. Online meetings also make it easier for people with busy schedules to join in wherever they happen to be. 

Schedule a Zoom call right away after a new team member signs up. Ideally, you’ll schedule it the day after they sign up. This allows you to get time face-to-face with them and get to know them. It doesn’t have to be long; the point is to reach out and make them feel welcome. If they’re local, you can also take them out for coffee to get to know them. Then you can begin to build chemistry and trust.

Also, schedule a Zoom meeting with the rest of our team as well. That way they can get to know the new team member. Be sure to establish guidelines from the outset, including a rule to keep cameras on. It’s tough to build rapport among the team if no one can see each other live. Who wants to talk to a sea of people’s headshots? Keeping cameras on allows everyone to meet each other. Also, when someone is sharing and has the floor, have everyone else mute themselves. It can be distracting to actively listen to someone when one can hear the background noises of others on the call. 

Have an agenda

An agenda allows you to cover all the topics that you need to. If, during your individual meetings or messages with your team, you notice similar challenges or want to bring up some common pain points the team is encountering, add them to the agenda. Send it out ahead of time for the team to review. If they have anything they want to add, ask them to message you. This allows you to set expectations for the team and remind them that you’re all on the same page. 

Stick to routine questions

When a new team member is joining the call, ask them about themselves from a list of routine questions. Among these questions should be what are their goals and why they’ve set them. Having the team share their goals allows you to set the expectation of goal setting in the first place. Team members will understand they have to set goals, especially if they want to succeed within the team. This helps build chemistry within the group.

Introduce them to the team Facebook group. 

After you’ve met with the new team member, create an introductory post on your team’s Facebook page. Tell the team a few things about the new person and then welcome them to the team. Keep it simple: “Good afternoon, Team! Let’s welcome Sara, our newest member of the team. She loves the beach, reading, and her two young kids. Give her a warm welcome!”

Then message some members of the team and have them respond to the message to break the ice. More than likely, a few team members will take it upon themselves to respond. However, a reminder helps ensure that there will be a response and the new team member will feel welcome.

Stay in touch

At a previous company, Mike Lopez would block off 30 minutes from his day to come around and say hi to everyone in the company. He’d check in and maybe chat for a second before moving on to the next person. He was doing what the company told clients to do for their teams and customers. As a result, he built a strong rapport with everyone in the company and they could see that he was practicing the company’s values. 

Do the same for your team. Block off time each day to check in with your team members, even if it’s just to say hi. You don’t always have to have an in-depth conversation about their challenges and pain points. A quick “hello” shows that you value each member of your team and that you care. It shows you’re so organized that you won’t let anyone fall through the cracks. In addition to making them feel like a valuable part of the team, it also also builds trust so when they need to talk or want advice, they’ll know to turn to you. 

Chemistry is just the first step in leadership

The next step is to sign up for our new Teamzy Lead program. The Teamzy Lead 4-week leadership development course will help you become a more effective leader to your network marketing team. You’ll develop and sharpen your leadership skills so you can take your business to the next level. The better your leadership skills, the better you’ll be able to serve your team.  Click here for more information.