It’s no secret that if you want to grow your network marketing business, you have to continue to build your skills and expertise. However, many network marketers do not do so. Although they may set goals to help them achieve success, they rely on the skills they have currently to help them build the foundation for a successful business. Sure, these skills help initially. However, as the market changes, customer needs change, and the business expands, you need to develop a new set of skills and evolve the ones you have. This is where personal development comes in. The more you focus on developing yourself, the better prepared you are to expand your business and serve more people.

What is personal development?

Personal development includes anything that helps you build new skills or augment existing skills, as well as anything that helps you improve your expertise. The sharper your skills are, the better able you are to serve the people in your network as well as the people they introduce you to. It can include anything from a book written by or about an entrepreneur you admire to a course that focuses on helping you improve a specific skill. It can also include podcasts, audiobooks, online courses, industry training, etc. The important thing is that you are either developing or improving a skill. 

The market is always changing. Consumers evolve with these changes and may also drive them in some cases. To meet the needs of your clients and your team you have to evolve with these changes as well. Often, these changes involve utilizing new skills. The quicker you are to develop these skills, the better prepared you are to serve the people in your network.

So, why don’t people take time for personal development?

The reason why many network marketers don’t focus on personal development is because they feel they don’t have time. We all have busy lives and it’s easy to put things on the back burner. We need to get to them eventually, however, we get busy. As a result, we often don’t get around to doing things that we intend to do. To have time to do something, you have to make time for it. This means making it a priority in our days. It means more than adding it as an item on our to-do list; we have to make personal development a priority every day, or nearly every day.

Some network marketers may not focus on personal development because they’re not sure how. Although their leaders may talk about personal development, they may not know where to start. Does a book count? If so, how many books do they have to read? How often do they have to train? Do they have to take several courses each year or will one suffice? These are all valid questions and the answer is it depends. When you focus on personal development, you focus on building skills. What skill do you want to improve upon or build? For example, perhaps you want to improve your communication skills. To do so, seek out books, podcasts, and training programs that can help you improve your skill. And, once you complete the step, be sure to put what you’ve learned into practice. People often forget about step two of the process. They take the courses or read the book but they do not put what they’ve learned into practice. If you build the skill, you keep it strong by practicing it often.

Options for development

There are many options for personal development. Many people read books by and about people they admire who have achieved success. It could be a sports figure, an entrepreneur, a politician, an actor, or whoever. They all have stories that can inspire you to become better at what you do. They can inspire you to improve your skills and gain new ones that you didn’t realize you could build. If you don’t have time to read books, audiobooks are a great way to get information while you’re on the go, you can listen while you’re on the treadmill or taking a walk, or even while you’re running errands in the car. The key is to nurture that thirst for information and continue to grow it.

Another option for personal development is podcasts. Many business leaders, sports figures, and other notable folks have podcasts that are released weekly or regularly. Subscribe to the ones that interest you, whether it’s to get inspired, learn a new skill, or improve your knowledge of your industry. You can listen to the news while you’re exercising or running errands. It’s a convenient way to learn while you’re on the go.

Training

Training courses, whether in person or online, are also common ways to learn a new skill or improve upon one that you have. These courses can take many forms. Some are self-paced, meaning you take the modules of the course whenever you have time. The schedule depends on you. For example, you may choose to work through it during your power hour every day until you have completed the course. Or you may choose to work on the modules while you are waiting at your child’s sports practice. Other courses are set up so that you are learning with other people at the same time you meet at the set time and day of the week. You may even have assignments to complete to help you understand and retain the information you’ve learned. These can be in person or online. The goal is to not only learn from the instructor but also learn from each other.

There are many other opportunities for personal development. However, it’s up to you to find them and make time to do them. Ask your coach, mentor, or the other successful person you know for recommendations of personal development options that might be useful for you.

Commit now and make time for personal development

Making personal development a habit takes time and motivation. You have to want to make it a priority in your day to ensure that you will get it all done. It’s not enough to say that you’re going to take a course or read more inspirational books; you have to follow through and do it. Although the intention of your Power Hour is to connect with people in your network, if you have extra time, this is a great opportunity to focus on personal development. This allows you to schedule personal development into your day so that you can make sure that you do it. Or, you may schedule it as a separate event in your day, when it is most convenient for you. So that way, you are not hemmed into doing it when you focus on connecting with your network. Although most network marketers have networks small enough to be able to connect with everyone they need to within 30 minutes or less, some network marketers have networks that are so large that they need the full hour. Scheduling a separate time for personal development will allow them to connect with their networks while also working towards improving their skills and expertise.

Let Teamzy help you with your personal development

Teamzy is more than a CRM. We also offer online personal development courses to fit into your schedule. We offer short courses that will help you talk to anyone about your business as well as multi-week courses that will help you build the foundation for a reliable and strong network marketing business. If you haven’t signed up for a Teamzy training course, what are you waiting for? Click here to learn more about what we offer.