Are You a Good Sponsor...Do You Have a Good Sponsor?

Are you a good Sponsor? Do you have a good Sponsor? This is what I want to deal with in this post.

I have been in various Network Marketing businesses for almost 30 years. Amway was my first venture back in the late '70's when people were really making big money in it. Living in North Carolina at the time, I was priviliged to personally meet Bill Britt and Chuck Yeager, two of the earlier multi-millionaires. What I learned from that early experience through to the present is the importance of one's Sponsor.

Your sponsor in any kind of network marketing, affiliate, internet or otherwise business can be critical to your success. This seems to especially be true with Internet Marketing type businesses where it is more and more impersonal and you just deal with faceless names on a computer screen. Here are some things you need from your Sponsor and this is what I feel a Sponsor should strive to be or do:

1. Credibility -- It is best to have a sponsor with experience but it is better to have one with character. Credibility is developed from one's experience and knowledge put into action through one's character. In short, your sponsor should "know what they are talking about," but have the character to admit when they "don't know what they are talking about."
2. Accessibility -- Can you get in touch with your sponsor when you need to? What if you want to bounce an idea off them before you spend a bunch of money, will they be available? Is it possible to pick up the phone and call them or do they at least return emails. I personally prefer those in my team to email me with most things because then I have a written record of their question or concern. Still, I take all phone calls and make every effort to return messages left.
3. Reliability -- Can you count on your sponsor to do what they say they are going to do. This is not always a character issue, but do they have the time, talent, or treasure to do what they intend to do...especially when you are counting on them. I have to really work on not over promising. If I say I am going to do something, I better know I have what it takes to do it.
4. Accountability -- As a sponsor, I cannot be a lone ranger, bringing multitudes of new enrollees on board, but leaving them as orphans. If I sign someone up in a program, I must be accountable to that person for what I do or do not do later. Your sponsor needs to be aware that their actions can have a big impact on your business.
5. Ability -- Finally, does your sponsor have any ability? They may be ever so nice, but if they have no ability, you need to strongly consider whether you should sign up under them or not. Some clues to look for...what kind of emails do they write, what does their personal website look like, are they professional on the phone, etc.

Finally, you probably do not want some Huge Internet Guru as your sponsor as you may only become a number to them, but you do want to seriously consider some of the above before you just blindly sign up under the first person who presents you.