Challenges and struggles – every network marketer, no matter how long they’ve been in the business, will face them at some point. One of the most common challenges is growing your business. I’m sure the same things you’re feeling and dealing with right now are the same ones your distributors are.

Think about it: When you check in with your distributors, what topics do you hear about most often? Chances are you’re all currently focused on growing your businesses and may be experiencing the same concerns and have the same questions. Although you may not have a definitive solution for them, it’s up to you, as their leader, to work with them. You can help them find solutions to overcome their challenges and grow their businesses.

So, how can you help your downline with their struggles and grow their businesses?

Practice what you preach.

No doubt you encourage them to abide by a system and stick to it. You may also check in with them to ensure they’re checking in with their networks on a daily basis, reminding them how important it is to be consistent. But, are you practicing what you preach? Do you stick to your system and do your activities daily? Are you consistent with your communication with your customers, prospects, and distributors or do you let days go by when you don’t connect with anyone?

Although your team will likely never find out for sure if you’re shirking your responsibilities, you’ll know. The best leaders not only talk the talk, they walk it as well. This not only gives them more credibility with their teams, but it also allows them to serve their people better as well. They understand what their teams are going through because they’ve gone through it themselves. This makes their teams like and trust them more. They know the advice you give is rooted in your own personal experiences. Better still, they now that if you’ve experienced the same challenges and have still seen success, they’ll come out of it stronger as well.

Be transparent

If you’re experiencing the same challenges as your team, by all means, share it with them. As their leader, though, you may feel self-conscious sharing that you’re also facing similar challenges. You may be thinking, “I’m the one who’s supposed to have all the answers, right?” I have excellent news for you: No one expects you to have all the answers. You don’t even have to have some of the answers.

In fact, your team may feel relieved that you’re in the same boat as they are. You see, being a business owner can be lonely at times – you become convinced that you’re the only person who’s facing an issue. How relieved do you feel when you find someone who’s also facing the same challenge as you? You want to jump up and down and scream, “Yay, I’m not alone!” Well, that’s how your team feels when they know you’re facing the same issues as them.

By sharing your situation, your team can relate to you better. And – this is the best part – you can overcome the challenge together. They say, two heads are better than one. Each person is able to bring their own experiences and ideas to the table to find a solution, whether it’s finding new ways to serve your customers or things to say to overcome objections you may hear from prospective distributors.

Be a mentor

If you’ve already dealt with a particular challenge in your own business, share your experience with your team. Again, be transparent about your experiences. If you failed when you faced the challenge, admit it and share how you’d go about it all differently today. For example, say a distributor complains that they’ve tapped out their network. Now, you and I both know that’s impossible, right? Perhaps when you first became a network marketer, you were all about the go-for-no approach and, as a result, you alienated a ton of people in your network and that’s why you’re all about relationship marketing today. Share that with your distributors! Explain what you did wrong and why you wouldn’t do it the same way again. Then, share what you’d do differently this time around if you were in their shoes.

Since the details of everyone’s situation are different, be sure to ask lots of open-ended questions to help you get to the core of the issue. Then offer your best advice to help them, if appropriate. However, resist the urge to sound too preachy; after all, you want to help them find the right solution that works for them, not dictate to them how to run their businesses.

Offer support

Although in a perfect world, your downline would be super motivated all the time, life doesn’t work that way. They’re likely to feel their motivation wane when they’re not getting the results they were hoping for as quickly as they expected. As a result, they may be feeling frustrated, aggravated and just disappointed that their messages and texts to their networks aren’t garnering results. They have goals they want to reach and if they’re not making sales, they can’t reach them, right?

You know what – they need you! It’s your opportunity to offer your distributors the best service possible. How? By helping them stay motivated. It’s time to pick up those pom-poms and be a cheerleader for your team.

• Share your favorite inspirational quotes or quotes from successful business leaders or celebrities
• Tell a story about a time when you felt the same way and explain how you broke out of your funk
• Listen to their frustrations and let them vent before offering advice
• Offer reassurance – setbacks are temporary and often essential on the road to success

Prepare your team for business growth

As a network marketer, you want your team to grow their teams. After all, the more they grow their teams, the more people you can reach. If you want to grow your business, it’s essential to grow your mind. What better way to grow your business than to sharpen your skills, better connect with your network, and run your day more efficiently?

Encourage training

Training keeps your skills sharp. You’ll learn new tips and strategies that are sure to help you thrive in your business. Take our new training The Art of Creating Conversations that Convert, for instance. During this 7-lesson course, network marketers will learn how to overcome the most common challenges they face in their businesses – trying to convert those great conversations! You’ll get all the information you need to hone those skills and get started right away. (psst: if you’ve already taken Elite Business Bootcamp, we have a special offer for you. Click here to learn more.)

Check in often

Teamzy makes it easy to stay on top of communication with all of your distributors and prospects. Just load their information into the CRM and Teamzy will let you know who to contact and when. And, if you’re just not sure what to say, Teamzy offers a variety of scripts to start a conversation with anyone in your network. Remember, following-up is an act of love – there’s simply no better way to show your team that you care (and show them you’re practicing what you preach) then to send them a short message to make their days and check in with them. If you know they’re feeling frustrated, be sure to check in with them more often to help them stay on track and keep them motivated.

Provide accountability

We all need a little push to help us reach our goals. It’s all too easy to fall off course – one day you’re putting off your daily activities and before you know it, you haven’t followed up with anyone for months. Accountability is something we all need to some degree to build our businesses (yes, even those super self-motivated folks need a heaping dose of accountability from time to time, too!). If you think a  member of your team needs a bit of accountability to keep them on track, offer to provide it. Check in with them weekly (or every few days) with a quick text to remind them to do their activities. Think of it as another way to better serve your distributors.

Pro Tip: Your team may not practice what you preach, but they will practice what you practice. Set the example to show them what you expect and help them thrive.

Although your team is ultimately responsible for the growth of their individual businesses, there are things you can do to help them stay on track, boost their motivation and thrive overall. Remember, these little things not only help them with their businesses, but they also improve your relationships with them.