Today, I’d like to share my top MLM Recognition tips.
Recognition is vital if you want to build a successful team and have long-term success in this industry. People crave recognition. I once heard that babies cry for it and grown men are willing to die for it.
Providing GENUINE recognition will do more to help grow (and keep) your MLM Team than anything else I can think of. My goal is to give you a list of helpful ideas, so you can decide what is best for you.
When it comes to recognition, you must tailor it to the person you are recognizing, if you want it to be effective. Since everyone has a different temperament, personality, and love language, it’s different strokes for different folks.
In fact, what works as a great recognition idea for one person might be a horrible idea for someone else. That’s why you must learn about each person on your team.
What Should You Recognize People for?
One of the most common questions people ask me is this:
What should I recognize people for?
In my humble opinion, you should recognize people even for the smallest of things. Nurturing and developing your team is like raising a child or pet. You give them positive feedback when they do well to encourage MORE of that behavior.
If you only recognize the MAJOR things, you won’t get many MAJOR things happening in your team. Why? Because most people don’t do MAJOR things in this business.
You must walk your team members through a series of baby steps and work their way up to hitting the major milestones.
Here are a few things I like to recognize people for.
- Signing up their first person
- Getting 10 NOs
- Helping a team member enroll someone
- Rank advancing
- Making a retail sale
- Completing their name’s list
- Contacting everyone on their name’s list
- Completing the getting started training
- Scheduling a three-way call
- Doing their first in-home meeting
- Enrolling in auto-ship
The bottom line is you want to recognize the behaviors you want people to do MORE OF (the income producing activities).
MLM Recognition Tips, Ideas & Strategies
Here is a list of simple, easy, and effective ways to recognize your MLM Team.
# 1: Handwritten Note
Contrary to what you might have been told, handwritten notes work great. They are much more effective than a text, email, or Facebook message. You could have custom stationary made and send the person you want to recognize a handwritten note in the mail.
We tend to think of recognition as company-wide awards, gifts, or trips, but the truth is that most people, regardless of their level or job in your organization, want to feel valued for the work they do. Simply taking the time to thank them for that hard work can go a long way to making them feel engaged and empowered at work. Teams that focus on strengths are 12.5% more productive, so knowing and recognizing what your employees are good at isn’t just good for your team, it’s good for your business.
Source: Inc.
# 2: Public Recognition
Whatever you do, recognize each person publicly, even if it is on a team webinar or conference call. Recognize them in front of their peers whenever possible.
In organizations that put a heavy emphasis on praising and recognizing employee achievements, engagement levels increase by nearly 60%.
Source: Bonusly
# 3: Personalized Gift
I can’t speak for you, but I love personalized gifts. I know your team members will to. You could have a coffee cup, pen, shirt, or something made up with their name on it.
A personalised gift also shows that you know the individual very well and have made a great effort to ensure that the gift is something they will adore and love.
Source: The Fifth Design
# 4: Cash
Cash is king, especially in these crazy times. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money either. Even a $20 bill with a kind gesture to treat themselves to a nice lunch will make the person quite happy.
# 5: Create a Unique Club
You could create a unique club for people. Here are a few examples:
- Sponsor 20 People Club
- $1,000 in Retail Sales Club
- Rank Maker’s Club (for helping team members rank up)
You could set certain criteria to be eligible to qualify for the club.
# 6: Nominate them for a Company Award (if applicable)
Some companies in our industry offer service and leadership awards for reps. People can be nominated for these awards. If your company offers that, you should nominate people on your team.
# 7: Free Gifts
Some people love free gifts. Here are some examples of free gifts you could send people.
- Free Sample
- Free Product
- Free CO-OP Advertising Share
- Free Drop Cards
- Free Post Cards
- Postage Stamps (for mailings)
- Coffee Mug
- Company Shirt
- Amazon or Starbucks gift card
81% of employees feel appreciated when they receive gifts from their employer.
Source: LEAD Apparel
# 8: Wall of Fame
This is an amazing way to recognize people. You could create a Hall of Fame or Wall of Fame. For instance, anyone who recruits 50 people could be entered into the Hall of Fame. Or anyone who sells $3,000 in products could be entered onto the Wall of Fame.
Having an entire wall of the office dedicated to appreciation of employees — with their pictures and contributions — is not only a great way to brighten up the workspace but also one of the best ways to recognise effort.
Source: The Economic Times
# 9: Invitation to a Private Event
You could schedule a private event. To qualify for the event, you must sponsor 1 person that month and acquire 1 new retail customer (as an example). Even if there is a cost associated with the event, make sure there is some type of qualification. This will encourage people to do a little bit more. You could even have the top performers of the month get special seating at the event.
# 10: Trophy or Plaque
Trophies and plaques are inexpensive, and they are genuinely nice. I order mine at CrownAwards.com for my team. You can have nice medals made up with the person’s name on it for less than $5.
Ultimately, giving trophies and plaques boosts productivity. Everyone in the workplace will have a newfound drive and a sense of competitiveness within themselves. Everyone will strive to do more and do better, therefore making the workplace more productive and efficient.
Source: Craftsmen Enterprises
# 11: MVP of the Week
I used to do a “Beast of the Week” incentive for my team. The top performer of the week was recognized with a certificate, public recognition on the weekly webinar, and a gift.
# 12: Distributor of the Month
Like MVP of the Week, having a monthly Distributor of the Month works great. You can do a certificate, a prize, and public recognition to make it that much more effective. You can even have a Distributor of the Month plaque, where each recipient gets their name added to the plaque.
# 13: Interview Them
Another great way to recognize people is to interview them on your weekly webinar or conference call. Ask them to share their story or some of their best success tips. You could even ask them to teach a class about their area of expertise in the business.
# 14: Feature Them on Your Facebook Group or Team Website
If you have a team website or Facebook group, you can recognize the team member in the group.
# 15: Public Recognition on Social Media
You could craft up a post on social media to recognize your team members with their achievements. You could even have other team members comment, like, and share the posts, so it gets lots of engagement.
Simply post a pic of your employees on social media and brag about their achievements. Employees naturally spend a huge amount of time on various social media platforms. Let them flaunt their recognition on these platforms.
Source: Springworks
# 16: Treat Them to Lunch
Spend quality time for an hour or two and treat your team member to lunch. Have a friendly conversation with them. Get to know them better. Ask them questions and listen. Make it all about them.
Every professional has a strong desire of getting mentored by the best in their field. People feel good when they get the chance to interact with someone who is more experienced. It fills them with new aspirations and enhances their ideation capabilities. Overall, it’s like getting recharged once again and ready to take on any challenge to get the job done.
Source: VantageCircle
# 17: Have Corporate Call Them
If corporate is willing to call people when you ask them to, this can be overly effective. Ask your CEO or one of the corporate leaders to call and recognize one of your reps for something specific.
# 18: Verbal Feedback
Giving someone verbal feedback is important and effective, especially when they are new in the business. Even giving someone an “atta boy” is extremely effective. When possible, do this face-to-face, or through video chat so you can look them in the eyes when you say it.
Verbal praise is perhaps the oldest, and longest-standing form of peer-to-peer recognition in the workplace. Verbal praise is given by colleagues, generally in an ad-hoc fashion, in recognition of a staff member’s valuable contribution.
Source: Bonusly
Additional Tips
When you recognize someone, you must be GENUINE. Don’t recognize someone for something vague. Don’t just say great job. Tell them WHY you are recognizing them.
Teach recognition. Encourage everyone on your team to recognize their team members following the advice I shared previously.
Recognize someone daily. Identify at least one team member per day to recognize and do it. This will help you develop the habit of doing recognition.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, these are some of my best MLM Recognition tips. These things are easy to do and easy not to do. I hope you will take the advice you learned today and implement it in your business. If you do, there is no doubt in my mind you will see an improvement in retention and a surge in growth.
What are your thoughts? What are your best MLM Recognition tips? Leave a comment below to let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing from you.
Chuck Holmes
20+ Year Network Marketing Professional
Top Earner & Top Recruiter
Email: mrchuckholmes@gmail.com
P.S. Learn how to grow a successful network marketing business. Secret tips, training, and practical ideas. Free training delivered by email.
Whether in network marketing, or a job, recognition is very important. Just doing little things like giving employees certificates, days off, prizes, gifts and other inexpensive things have a huge benefit in production and morale.
Yes, recognition is very important in the world of network marketing. Best of all, recognition can be free or low cost. It doesn’t have to cost and arm or leg. I tell people to get creative and figure out what motivates each person on your team, and do something that will make them feel important and appreciated.
The human being is always searching to feel valued and recognized. I think it is essential for your MLM Team to work in a happy and healthy environment, which is going to increase their productivity a lot. You gave me a lot of new ideas of how to recognize and make a teammate happier. I completely agree that you have to be genuine and tell them the exact reason for the recognition, because that is the only way that they are going to fell really valued. Also, in my opinion it will be best to complement a private and a public recognition.
Yes, if you make your team members feel appreciated and important, in a sincere and honest way, with no agenda, it can have a huge positive impact on morale and retention.