If your network marketing business isn’t going as you’d hoped, you may wonder what to do—or what things to stop doing—to be more successful. Pausing to reflect and self-assess is smart! It’s a fact that certain behaviors and mindsets can sabotage your progress and make you feel like it’s impossible to excel.
For me, I had a hard time giving up self doubt. That lack of confidence can really be detrimental to your ability to lead and grow a business. Thankfully, once I released the negative thoughts, I was able to dive into my dream and set the tone for success in my life and business.
So, what is holding you back?
In this post, I’m going to talk about some of the most common things that make it difficult to reach higher levels in your business. If you recognize any of these behaviors, then it’s time to make a plan and start eliminating them from your life!
1) Making Excuses
When you make an excuse, you’re shifting the blame from yourself to other people or to circumstances. You may not even realize it, but placing the responsibility for your outcomes on outside sources suggests that you don’t control your own destiny.
Don’t get me wrong: sometimes there are legitimate reasons beyond your control that influence your outcomes. For example, maybe you do everything in your power to prepare for a business meeting, but at the last minute you come down with the flu and have to cancel. Life happens!
On the flip side, when you hit every red light on your way to a business meeting and arrive late, that’s a result of you failing to plan ahead. Blaming the traffic lights is an excuse.
Good leaders take responsibility and are accountable for their decisions and actions. They take an active role in their own success.
So, one thing to stop doing to be more successful is to quit making excuses. This will empower you to be more prepared and to be less passive about the situations and choices in your life.
2) Fearing Failure
As the saying goes, “to err is human.” In other words, you will inevitably make mistakes because no one is perfect. You will not win at everything you do. So, accept failure as a part of success and don’t be afraid of it.
According to Psychology Today, a fear of failure is a fear of shame. While you’re preoccupied with worrying about failing, your motivation for success wanes. The result is that you unconsciously sabotage yourself in your effort to avoid failure.
Not sure if this is an area of struggle for you? You may have a fear of failure if you:
- Believe that you don’t have skills or knowledge you need to succeed
- Procrastinate to the extent you miss deadlines or avoid trying in the first place
- Express to others that you’ll probably fail
- Minimize your own abilities to avoid disappointment
- Worry that’ll disappoint others or that your flaws will cause people to think less of you
Reframe how you look at failure and how you define it. Rather than seeing it as something negative, think of it as a chance to learn and grow. This change of perception will help shift your beliefs around failing.
Also, consider talking about these feelings and beliefs with a trusted coach or mentor who can reassure you and help you tackle self-doubt.
3) Having a Scarcity Mindset
When you view life and challenges in terms of what you don’t have or what you are lacking, this is called having a scarcity mindset. A scarcity mentality approaches situations with a miser’s attitude and a fear of losing out, especially when someone else is excelling.
The opposite of scarcity is abundance. An abundance mindset is optimistic and sees that there are plenty of resources available for everyone.
For example:
“I don’t have the money, so I can’t hire a virtual assistant which means I won’t have enough time to get all of my work done.” (scarcity)
versus
“Hiring an assistant will give me more time for completing high level tasks that generate more revenue in my business.” (abundance)
How you perceive the people around you and your circumstances affects your success. Your beliefs determine your interactions with your team and the outcomes you experience.
If you look at life through the lens of limitations, negativity, deficiencies, jealousy, and fear, then you’ll attract those things in your life and they will work against you. You attract what you are, not what you want.
On the other hand, having an abundance mindset means that you are confident in yourself and your team. You think of obstacles as growth and learning opportunities rather than feeling defeated by them or threatened by the success of others.
If you want to be more successful in your business, adopt a leadership mindset that avoids scarcity and embraces abundance.
4) Doing Everything Yourself
You’re probably no stranger to the hustle since network marketing requires you to be a self-starter who does it all. However, once you build a team and have more income each month, it’s time to stop doing everything yourself.
In your mind, you may debate whether hiring help makes sense. In fact, you may believe that DIY-ing your business means saving money. However, the reality is that doing everything yourself often limits your earning potential. Let me explain why.
You have a limited amount of hours each day. If you hand off some of your administrative tasks to an assistant and automate some of your workload, that frees up time in your schedule to concentrate on recruitment, sales, and other revenue generating actions.
For example, if posting on social media takes three hours a week, those are three hours better spent on reach-outs, lead generation, and closing sales. Hiring help means that you can better manage your time and focus on doing the higher level tasks that lead to business growth.
One of the things I stopped doing to be more successful in business was getting out of some of the daily tasks of running a business. Investing in my team made it possible for me to focus on the right tasks, including spending time on professional development and coaching.
It comes down to being good at prioritization and time management. Identify the tasks that are most important for you to do as the business owner and delegate the rest. To be a leader, you must think and act like one.
5) Worrying What Others Think About You
Repeat after me: what other people think of you is none of your business.
Trying to please other people burdens you. Why would you let others control and affect your emotions, actions, and decisions? You run the risk of living your life for reasons that have nothing to do with what you want, your goals, and who you are. Furthermore, your perception of what people think of you is often inaccurate.
There will always be people you can’t please or who don’t resonate with your message. Even the most popular, likable leaders aren’t beloved by everybody. This is actually a good thing! You’ll attract who is supposed to be a part of your community and repel those who aren’t a good fit.
Evolution has wired all of us to care about being accepted by others as a means to survive. But, you’ve got to fight this internal urge. Set yourself free from the judgment of others so that you don’t impair your own judgment and choices. In doing so, you’ll stop one of the things that is standing in your way of success.
6) Hanging With the Wrong Crowd
If your network is full of negative elements and personalities, then you may be hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Who you allow into your sphere of influence has a big impact on your character, decisions, mindset, and, ultimately, your success. That’s because it is not unusual to pick up the habits, beliefs, and behaviors of those around you, including your in-person and online peers, friends, colleagues, or mentors.
Your social and physical makeup can be affected by your associations. For instance, data shows that:
- happier friends make you happier;
- friends that smoke make you 61% more likely to smoke; and,
- a friend who becomes obese makes you 45% more likely to gain weight over the next few years.
Even people you don’t know―such as friends of friends, authors, experts, or those you follow on social media―have the ability to affect your actions and thoughts.
Be very selective of who can access your emotions and intellect since you’re susceptible to become more like them. Surround yourself with positive people you admire, respect, and who have attained some of the goals or dreams you hope to achieve. These folks will be good role models to inspire you and show you the way to more success.
7) Hounding Your Family and Friends
Since your friends and family already trust you, they may seem like the perfect customers and potential team members for your network marketing business. After all, it’s faster to sell and recruit from your existing network versus generating leads online from people who don’t know you.
Starting with your existing connections isn’t necessarily the wrong move. But, the reality is that eventually you’ll need to extend your reach beyond your current social network to advance your business. If you keep hounding family and friends, then you’ll alienate a lot of them, and some may avoid you altogether.
In fact, a Lending Tree survey found that more than half of respondents said that they spent too much buying MLM products from friends and family. The same survey revealed that MLM ruined at least one friendship for more than one out of four Americans while 20 percent of respondents said MLMs have affected their bond with a family member.
Destroying valued relationships is not a positive, healthy way to grow your business. So, pressuring family and friends is definitely one of the things to stop doing to be more successful.
Instead, learn how to find leads outside of your inner social circle and consider hiring a coach to help you with your sales and recruiting approaches and strategies. Invest in yourself! Take the time and make the effort to educate yourself about relationship building, marketing, selling, and networking to broaden your connections.
Which Things Will You Stop Doing to Be More Successful in Your Network Marketing Business?
The list above isn’t exhaustive, but it does provide examples of ways that could be sabotaging your success. Did any of the above behaviors resonate with you? Is there one that you think is holding you back from being more successful?
Self-reflection and analysis may help you to recognize any patterns of behavior that need to be addressed and mindset shifts that you need to make. But, if you can’t seem to make progress on your own, hiring a leadership coach may be just what you need.
If you’re not ready to invest in coaching, be sure to check out my free leadership training that will help you grow your team. And, don’t forget that network marketing isn’t a “get rich quick” scheme; it takes persistence, commitment, and work to grow a business!
