Why Edify

Something we do in network marketing more than any other business, industry or group is edify.

To edify is to uplift. To build up. To see and promote the best in people.

When you introduce someone to the business the most important thing you can do edify the leaders of your business.  When you see the best in them and share that with your prospects, it builds trust, motivation and connection.

And that creates confident, committed action. And as you know, action is everything when it comes to business.

The Trust Triangle

Life works because of trust.

Think about it.

Without trust you’d be giving your father a DNA test to see if he’s actually your dad. Without trust, you’d be questioning your significant other every time they left the house. Without trust, you’d never tell your friends about a product or company you like.

What most of us don’t realize is how trust is built.

Trust between two people is initially built off the trust of a third party — which is usually another person. This is called the trust triangle.

John trusts  you.
John see’s you trust Jolie.
John has immediate respect for Jolie. Trust is transferred.

Here’s the thing.

• The more you edify Jolie, the more respect John has for Jolie.
• The less you edify Jolie, the less respect John has for Jolie.

You’re in charge.

It’s a strange fact to know how much power you have to keep trust going.  Of course trust needs to be deserved. But it’s not just about deserving the trust, but communicating it.

Who You Edify Matters

When you introduce someone into the business it’s critically important that you edify others.

First, edify the company, executives, backers – see the best in them and know it in your heart. Don’t read a script. That doesn’t show trust.  Practice what you’re going to say, but tell it from the heart.

Second, edify your team leaders – the more you build up your leadership the more your guests will listen with intent. If you introduce someone without edification, your guests trust is starting from zero. If you promote your leaders and all their accomplishments and tell a story of what they mean to you, trust starts high.

Third, edify your guest, but don’t over edify them — in the beginning stages of any relationship there is always an imbalance of influence — the most edified have the most influence. If you over edify your guest, you take the power away from your leadership to influence.  If you build up your guest and not your leadership you did a huge disservice to your business.  OVER-EDIFYING your guest is the biggest mistake people make in their business.

Proper edification takes practice.

We live in a world of sarcasm, trash-talk and tear-downs.  It’s dog-eat-dog so we try and be the top dog by edifying and promoting ourselves.

But self promotion doesn’t work. It’s seen as self-serving and actually reduces trust with the people who have influence.

You must have others edify you. And to get that, you have to edify others.

How to Edify Your Leadership

Here’s how to best edify leaders in your team.

• Learn and memorize their accomplishments — numbers are more trustworthy.  Associations are key.  Use your own words when describing them.

“Celine is one of the most respected Real Estate agents in her area. She sold $8 million in homes in one month last year”. “She’s won the 2011 achievers award…”  or “Tina ’s a single mom who has taken charge of her life, even though her company went out of business, she didn’t… “

• Share a personal experience you have with them — stories are way more powerful than facts because the listener can imagine themselves in the experience. Experience creates emotion.

“When I first met Celine, she was sitting in a coffee shop and her phone didn’t stop ringing, but she never picked it up and just focused on our conversation. I was blown away because no one does that these days. I knew she was something special that day”

• Close with personal insight about how they care – your genuine opinion is what your guest wants to hear at this point — they want to know if they will like and trust this person.

“Celine is one of the most trusting and powerful women in business I’ve ever met.  But it’s her fun and willingness to listen to others that makes her so great to work with.  Celine… this is my friend, Daymon. Daymon, Celine”

4 Kinds of People

One way to improve your edification is to understand who your audience is.  Fifty years of personality research has shown there are 4 basic personality types. Of course we all have some of each of these and generally people lean toward one of these four:

Red — achievers 
Blue — socializers
Green — relaters
White — analyzers

When you’re edifying someone, use the facts and stories that would make more of an impact on the person you are talking to.

• The Achievers want to know about accomplishments and income
• The Socializers want to know about fun
• The Relaters want to know they care
• The Analyzers want to know they have the facts straight

If you aren’t sure which one your guest is, you can include all four areas during your edification:

“Celine is one of the most successful people I know, she is a blast to be around because she really cares about people. And there is no one who understands the facts about what it takes to succeed than Celine.”

Once again, DO NOT READ THIS AS A SCRIPT. It will not sound genuine and that does not build trust.

Instead read these over and over and over again until they are in your head and come out automatically in your words.

You might say “Y’all need to know how ‘mazin Celine is” or “Yo! Yo! Celine is da bomb. Yo!”

However you say it. That’s how you should say it.

How Often Should You Edify?

It’s sometimes a little uncomfortable for people to edify just once, because they almost never do it in our take-down society.

So when I tell you that you should be edifying all the time, that might seem like a little too much.

But it’s the answer.

Edify all the time.

Edify on the phone. Edify in person. Edify at conferences. Edify in your home.

And the most important…

Edify behind people’s backs.

Huh! What?

Yes… talk behind people’s backs. I know you were told your entire life not to do that, but it’s the most powerful thing you can do when you edify.

The Secret of the Wingman

Guys who break free from combative competition for women and recognize that they can all meet more women when they “wing” for each other have learned the secret of great edification.

When a guy tells a girl great things about another guy behind his back, it’s so shocking to the girl, she instantly creates a curiosity for the edified guy.  But even more, it creates trust and respect for the guy who is doing the edifying.  Sneaky.

This is a secret that men who have learned it rarely share because it’s so powerful.

It’s the same with your business.

Talk good about the leaders in your company with genuine enthusiasm, all the time.

It will give your business the chance it needs and build your reputation as someone to respect and admire.

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