Some exciting news, ladies! My husband and I just moved into a new house with a big backyard that we (read: the dogs) just love! Last weekend, we invited our friends over for a house-warming fiesta including homemade tamales, guacamole, and the best margaritas in town! 

Y’all, this backyard party was going to be epic! I had all of my Pinterest boards filled with ideas of backyard patio decor and lighting (I had to have that cute cafe string lighting!) and felt pretty good about how my DIY hand had gone. Many of our friends came over to celebrate with us, but girls, we had WAY too many tamales and not enough people! So here I am… on my phone calling people, walking over to the neighbors on the street, and I even went to go pick up a few people that I knew wouldn’t be able to refuse when they had their chariot awaiting them in the drive. 

But wouldn’t you know it…by the time we got back home, some of the neighbors had already grabbed their food and gone back home, and I didn’t even get a chance to get to know them and form those neighborly bonds. I was especially sad when this one friend of mine had already left and hadn’t sent even a text letting me know she was gone.

Overall, yes, a lot of people came to the house-warming party, so it wasn’t a total loss, but I feel like, in retrospect, I probably would have had more fun and even been able to build more of a foundation with my neighbors if I had just stayed at home the whole time rather than continuing to try and go out and get more people to come.

Confession:

So yes, we did just move into a new home with a killer patio and backyard (y’all, there is even a pre-made spot for a hot tub just waiting to be placed!). The house-warming story, however, is a little premature (girl, you know I’m still working on unpacking all of those boxes!). It does, however, make me think about the recruiting and team-building process. 

I mean, most people see either the signing of the agreement OR the first active order as the end of the recruiting process. This is why consultant retention rates are so low. Look back to where you were in your business a year ago or 6 months ago, even, and look at the consultants you have on your team now compared to then – what does the turnover look like? Honestly, it’s a little discouraging, isn’t it? Sure, you could say it’s all a part of the process, and you definitely wouldn’t be wrong, but I think there’s more to the story…

Consultants need to be nurtured after they join!

It’s much like our pretend house-warming party! You can do one of two things: you can either

• A. turn music on, serve your delicious food, and work the room, OR you can
• B. leave and try to find more people to come to the party, much like we did.

If you choose B, when you return, everyone who DID show up for you is going to be gone. No one wants to be at a party where nothing is going on and the hostess abandoned them.

If you choose A, those people who showed up might end up being your best friends for life (yay for loving your neighbors!) because you took the time to create a welcoming, nurturing environment for them. You helped them overcome their shyness by talking to them, you helped them get excited by putting music on, and when they got a little hangry, instead of sending them home for dinner, you served up some tasty tamales and mouth-watering margaritas.

This is JUST like your Unit and wherever you communicate with your team — Facebook, for example. If you recruit someone, get them to order, and then jump ship so you can go recruit more people, then the likelihood of that consultant ever ordering again or working their business is slim. 

But…

If you take the time to nurture them, help them understand their business, and feed them a delicious tamale (or two!), then not only will they work their business and order over and over again, but more likely than not, they will build a team, too, because they saw how rewarding and joyful it can be!

But how do we nurture our team members during that crucial first 30 days?

Here are 5 simple, quick ideas to help you build a bond with your new team member!

1. Set a time for coffee, or virtual coffee, and spend at least 15 minutes JUST getting to know them. Make it a priority to get to know who they are, what they value, and to understand their personality. By doing this you’re sending a clear message early on that you aren’t just in this for the commission you make on their orders – you truly do care about who they are as a person.
2. Schedule time for them to shadow you. Instead of doing a party for them, bring them to your parties! Let them interact with your guests and take notes on what you do and say. This actually pans out for you twofold: first, it helps your team member get to know YOU and see that you are a working Director or Consultant and it also shows everyone at your party what kind of hands-on support they can expect from you if they decide to join your team.
3. Get consistent on Facebook and add your new team member to your unit Facebook group right away. If you are regularly posting recognition, birthday posts, tips, and updates your new team member is going to immediately see how engaged and dedicated you are to your team. Better yet, try making a welcome post introducing your new team member to your team and asking your team to comment, introducing themselves!
4. Call your new consultant for a check in and just ask how she is feeling. Being a new consultant can be overwhelming especially if you didn’t feel the pull of the entrepreneurial spirit until the day she joined. A quick call that doesn’t involve sales (unless she brings it up) shows her that you care and are invested in her as a person. It shows her that she isn’t just a number. This call could even be made twice – once during the great start period, and one as her first month wraps up.
5. Get your new consultant systems in order so that your time is efficiently spent when you are together and she has a clear path of what to do and where to go next. Your new consultant is relying on you to show her that she can make this business work, but without clear and defined steps during her first 30 days she’s going to feel lost… and that can trigger buyers remorse pretty fast. Get a good New Consultant packet into rotation with your team and stick to it! When you get more consistent, so will your team.

Let’s keep nurturing one another, friends, and building up teams of teams who are there for one another and really rooted in the firm foundation of our beautiful sisterhood!