Sponsor or Coach?
By Ed Ludbrook, Futurist, Leadership Specialist
Website: www.100percentinstitute.com
13 June 2008
If you recruit someone, we say that you are that person’s ’sponsor’.
What does this mean? Is this the right term? I don’t think so.
[Words matter. They create meaning in your head which effects your actions.]
Some people say ‘Sponsor’ means you have reSPONSORbility for the person.’ What does that mean? If it’s not clear, it creates confusion. Confusion is the death of action.
There are many definitions of Sponsor yet the one that is relevant is ‘One who assumes responsibility for another person or a group during a period of instruction, apprenticeship, or probation.’
Think about it, are you ‘responsible’ for the people you sponsor? If so, responsible for what? If you don’t do what you are responsible for, how should you be impacted?
If you are responsible for someone achieving their goals and they do not achieve them, should be earn any money on their activities? If you do not actually invest enough time in someone, should you earn any money from their actions?
Makes sense, if you are ‘responsible’!
Do you see why the word is wrong?
What are the facts:
1. People joining are independent business people and are responsible for their own success.
2. To help these independent people, the company pays you to do three things:
a. Introduce them – recruit then and give them the initial briefing
b. Coach them until Competent
c. Coach them for greater Performance once they are competent
3. The introduce commissions must be small as a part of the combined commissions paid or the programme is a ‘recruiting programme’, better known as ‘pyramid selling’
So your main ‘responsibility’ is to be a Coach. If we were smart, we would change the name of the Introducer to Coach, not Sponsor. Then everyone would understand the responsibility of the introducer. The focus and therefore the behaviour would be correct and results would increase.
Then our only challenge would be to get the Coaches to focus on Competence Before Performance.
More information on this type of business is at Work At Home Business Internet ‘N’ Network Marketing
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