The Effective Use of Mileposts

“Unless you want to wander through life without direction,

you need to set goals and go after them.”

Goal setting is essential to your success in network marketing.

A lot has been written and said about goal setting, and rightly so. However, the focus on most goal setting is misguided in that it asks you to visualize high incomes and jet-set lifestyles, as if the dreaming of such things will cause miraculous materialization of all your wants by next Thursday.

The purpose of this website is to help you progress in the field of network marketing and achieve your financial goals. To do this, you must do more than imagine driving to the grocery store in your Mercedes. To achieve success, you need to focus your attention and efforts on achieving specific recruitment and sales volume goals (or, mileposts). Somewhere in the back of your mind is the image of wealth and success, but your day-to-day visualization of the future should be on the next definitive milepost you have established for yourself.

Take care of
recruiting and sales volume,
and income and lifestyle
will take care of itself.

The establishment of mileposts is dependent upon your ability to determine structured levels of growth. For example, how many people do you need to recruit to reach the next promotion in your plan’s matrix? Or, What sales volume do you need to move up to the next commission level? A definitive milepost may read: Sponsor three people into my organization by March 15. Or, By March 15 have organizational sales volume in excess of $1,500 per month. These are goals you can visualize and measure.

The effective use of mileposts does not, however, end with the simple statements illustrated above. Now, you must get into the meat of goal setting and spell out in detail how you intend to achieve this next milepost.

This is your action plan. Viktor Frankl, a Nazi concentration camp survivor, suggested a circuitous route to goal achievement.

Rather than focusing on a goal, such as, “become a Direct Distributor within 30 days,” Frankl claims it is more effective to focus on the individual steps necessary to achieve that goal. If the Direct Distributorship level in your organization requires sales volume of $2,500 per month and an organization of three personally sponsored associates, using Frankl’s method you focus your efforts on recruiting three people and increasing monthly sales. The Direct Distributorship falls naturally into place when you achieve these intermediate mileposts.

This is so important I need to restate it. Using Frankl’s suggestions, focus on the daily tasks of increasing your sales volume and recruiting three people into your organization. Take your eyes off the Direct Distributor goal. Wear blinders if you have to. This technique should not be new to you. Have you ever heard the expression “take care of the pennies and the dollars will take of themselves?” It’s the same idea. When you focus on the small steps, you will achieve your goal of becoming a Direct Distributor, without becoming intimidated by the one huge step of jumping from raw recruit to Direct Distributor. Develop action plans and goals that use Frankl’s ideas.

Action plans should be written for each specific milepost. The activities delineated in the action plan become the focus of your attention and efforts until the objective is achieved. Note that you do not focus on, for example, the statement: “recruit three people.” Going to bed each night chanting, “recruit three people, recruit three people,” will never achieve anything. Instead, reflect on the things you must “do” to recruit three people.

Following up on the hypothetical milepost given above, here is a sample action plan:

Milepost: Recruit three people by March 15.
Action Plan: I have fourteen days from today to achieve this goal. To accomplish the above milepost, I will:

• Plan and implement a daily list of activities.
• Introduce myself to three people each day.
• Discuss the opportunity with at least one person daily.
• Attend two opportunity meetings with at least one guest.
• Host one meeting in my home during this time period.

To monitor your progression and adherence to the established activities, you may further break the action plan into daily activities, which you can check off as you complete them. Some people find it motivates them to do what needs to be done when they have a written list, like a grocery shopping list, of required activities. Failure to complete daily activities will indicate that your achievement of the milepost is either unrealistic, or not truly desired. Either way, only you will know the reason.

Daily Activities To Do List:

Monday

1. Review prospect list and call people on list until I have reached three people (item b of Action Plan)

2. Through contact with people throughout the day, discuss the plan with one person (item c of Action Plan)

3. Secure one commitment, preferably two, to attend opportunity meeting tomorrow night at restaurant (item d of Action Plan)

4. Send invitations to everyone on prospect list to attend opportunity meeting in home this Thursday. Call to confirm on Wednesday night. (item e of Action Plan)

The milepost and action plan illustrated above may or may not be realistic for your purposes. The point is, to achieve your personal goals you need to establish definitive, smaller levels of accomplishment, which can build and grow upon one another, resulting in your eventual success in network marketing.

Even lottery players set goals to win, in a game they cannot control.

The dream of hitting it big drives these people to purchase tickets week after week, and to bank their future on random number generators that pop little ping-pong balls into a cup. Their drive and confidence is so strong that many share with family and friends what they plan to do with their winnings, knowing full well the odds are about one in ten million or more against them. It’s just a matter of time, they say. And, for some they are right. Unfortunately, it’s all about luck, and the astronomical odds against the individual.

Imagine the power of setting goals in a game you can control. You don’t need the lottery to dream. You need a vehicle, a plan, and personal ambition. Network marketing gives you the vehicle, your sponsor can teach you the plan, but you will have to provide the ambition. Goals will set you on the right course and help keep you juiced along the way.

An important part of setting mileposts is the act of charting your progress up the network marketing ladder. This is a graphic representation of where you started, where you are, and where you want to go in the sponsoring company’s rank levels and commission rates. It should coincide with your mileposts, and may in fact be a viable first step in establishing realistic mileposts.

After completing a progress chart for your first year in the business, discuss it with your sponsor. Be receptive to her suggestions and comments, and ask her to help you. Because of your inexperience, you may have unrealistic expectations, or you may have understated your abilities.

The progress chart is not written in stone and should be adjusted up or down according to your progress. Keep notes on where you fall short of expectations and evaluate the causes of this shortfall. This is part of learning from your mistakes. If you can identify the root cause of the shortfall, you may be on the fast track to success. On the other hand, if you consistently surpass your goals, you may not be challenging yourself sufficiently.

Subscribe for Future Network Marketing News and Updates.

Share on Google Plus